英语写作自考2019年4月试题真题及答案(00603)

Many people envy others' possessions or status instead of cherishing their own, as in the saying The grass is always greener on the other side.' What do you think of 300-word expository essay to express your opinion in this respect.

How to Make Friends

      We are friends for? This isn't a rhetorical question, but of essential concern for everybody. We might find friends extremely valuable in difficult situations. The truth is that friendship is always one of life's most important features, and one too often taken for granted. As a matter of fact, making friends requires time and effort, sometimes involving strategy.　　The human desire for companionship may be boundless, but research suggests that our social capital is finite—we can handle only so many relationships at one time. Social scientists have used a number of ingenious approaches to gauge the size of people’s social networks;these have returned estimates ranging from about 250 to about 5,500 people,though a Stanford thesis focusing exclusively on Franklin D. Roosevelt, a friendly guy with social job, suggested that he might have had as many as 22,500 acquaintances.Looking more specifically at friendship,a study using the exchange of Christmas cards as an friend group at about 121 people.

     However vast our networks may be, our inner circle tends to be much smaller. The average American trusts only 10 to 20 people. Moreover, that number may be shrinking: From 1985 to 2004, the average number of bosom friends that people reported decreased from three to two. This is both sad and consequential, because people who have strong social relationships tend to live longer than those who don’t. So what should you do if your social life is lacking? Here, research findings can be instructive.

     Generally speaking, people tend to dismiss the humble acquaintance. However, building deeper friendship from acquaintance may be largely a matter of putting in time. A recent study found that it takes about 50 hours of socializing to go from an acquaintance to a casual friend, an additional 40 hours to become a “real” friend, and a total of 200 hours to become a close friend.       If that sounds like too much effort, reviving dormant social ties can be especially rewarding. Reconnected friends can quickly recapture much of the trust they previously built, while offering each other a dash of novelty drawn from whatever they've been up to in the meantime. And if both fail, you could start randomly confiding in people you don't know that well in hopes of letting the tail wag the relational dog. Sharing personal stories makes us more likable, and as a bonus, we are more inclined to like those to whom we have bared our soul.

     The academic literature is clear: Longing for closeness and connection is pervasive, which suggests that most of us are stumbling through the world yearning for companionship that could be easily provided by the lonesome people all around us. So set aside this article, turn to someone nearby, and try to make a friend.

Why We Love Holiday Rituals and Traditions

The mere thought of holiday traditions brings smiles to most people’s faces and elicits feelings of sweet anticipation and nostalgia. Holiday rituals ：fireworks or flowers signal to all of our senses that this is no common occasion.Such a sensory feast helps create lasting recollections of those　　memory as special events worth cherishing. Indeed, there are plenty of reasons to value family rituals.Then can help us take a respite form. the daily grind ,enjoy festive meals and connect with our loved ones.

   Everyday life is stressful and full of uncertainty. Having a special time of the year when we know exactly what to do and how to do it provides a comfortable sense of structure, control and stability. Holiday traditions comprise rituals. The structured and repetitive actions in such rituals can act as a buffer against anxiety by making our world more predictable. For this reason, more people travel during the year-end holidays. Gathering together form. remote locations helps people leave their worries behind, and at the same time lets them reconnent with time-honored family traditions.