Some people believe that success in creative fields, such as painting, fiction writing, and

filmmaking, primarily requires hard work and perseverance. Others believe that such suc-
cess mainly requires innate talents that cannot be learned.

Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own posi-
tion and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting
your position, you should address both of the views presented.
What are the most important qualities to be successful in the creative fields? Some people
believe that talent is key to success in creative fields. However, as I see it, hard work and
perseverance are more crucial.

First of all, we should not deny that to be successful in the creative field, talent plays a
prominent role. To fully understand this viewpoint, we can start from the definition of "cre-
ative". The reason why something is considered "creative" is that it has not been done be-
fore. Since no one has ever done it before, there exists no experience and method, so it is
impossible to learn. Thus if you want to do something "creative", talent is essential. For
example, Picasso's cubist painting style completely broke the traditional principle of per-
spective. This kind of unprecedented creativity is inseparable from talent.

The second reason is that there is no quantifiable indicator to measure whether a work of
art is "creative". It often depends on the personal feelings of the evaluator. Hard work, by
contrast, requires a direction and an implementable methodology. Therefore, the results
created by "hard work" often follow the path of the previous ones, and thus can hardly be
called "creative". For example, if I try to imitate a painter's painting, my result can be stun-
ning, and even my painting can be sold for a high price. But unfortunately, this cannot be
called "creative".

That said, we should not overlook the importance of hard work and perseverance. This is
because creativity can be stimulated by acquired effort. It is true that creativity is some-
thing that has not been done before, but nothing can be created from nowhere, and many
ideas emerge because of the great accumulation of writers and painters before. And this
accumulation cannot do without hard work. For example, in the aforementioned Picasso's
case, his cubism is indeed unprecedented. However, it is because of Picasso's deep un-
derstanding of traditional perspective that he was able to break the traditional perspective
relationship in his cubist paintings.

Moreover, if one wants to achieve success in the secular sense, hard work is more valu-
able. Let's look at the definition of "success". The debate between talent and hard work
depends on what kind of success one wants to achieve. If you want to start a new genre
that will be known for centuries, then talent is more important than hard work. That's be-
cause in a world where there is already a wealth of results in every field, most things have
been done by others. So if you want to make a breakthrough, you can only rely on talent.
However, if you want to achieve worldly success, such as fame, money, and popularity,
then talent plays a less important role, and more depends on the effort. Hollywood block-
busters, for example, are already an industry which follows a mature production flow. For
Hollywood directors to make blockbusters, it is enough to follow the formula to write the
script and hire popular actors. The key to the success of these works could hardly be said
to be talent, and they are not even creative, but have won worldly success. For the direc-
tor, all he puts in is the hard work of shooting and coordinating various processes. Another
example is that, to be a famous pianist in contemporary times, one just needs to have the
acquired hard work of practicing the works of predecessors, such as Bach or Mozart, to
become a great piano performer. Talent will play a role in this, but the difference is that tal-
ented people can become pianists at a young age because their fingers are more flexible
and their musical sense is more sensitive, while those who lack talent will eventually be-
come pianists if they work hard, just a few years later.

In summary, talent is certainly important in the creative field, but hard work can inspire
creativity, and hard work is more important than talent for achieving success in the secular
sense.
The following memorandum is from the business manager of Happy Pancake
House restaurants.

"Butter has now been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants
throughout the southwestern United States. Only about 2 percent of customers
have complained, indicating that 98 people out of 100 are happy with the change.
Furthermore, many servers have reported that a number of customers who ask for
butter do not complain when they are given margarine instead. Clearly, either these
customers cannot distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term 'butter' to
refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, to avoid the expense of purchasing butter
and to increase profitability, the Happy Pancake House should extend this cost-sav-
ing change to its restaurants in the southeast and northeast as well."

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered
in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted re-
sult. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate
the recommendation.
(1)Some customers might be unhappy but didn’t complain.
(2)The fact that few customers complain when they are giv-
en margarine might be explained by other factors, not nec-
essarily by the explanations provided by the author.
(3)The author fails to indicate the actual number of servers
who reported, and what percentage of the whole server
group do they make up, thus we cannot evaluate if the fact
cited above is significant. Also, the author does not tell us
the percentage of customers who do not complain.
(4)The author hastily assumes that customers in other re-
gions will respond to the change similarly as southwestern
customers.
(5)The author fails to provide any information concerning the
possible change in the profit of Happy Pancake House after
the replacement, thus we cannot evaluate the overall effect
of the recommendation mentioned above.
In this memorandum, the author concludes that their customers
do not distinguish butter from margarine, or they use the term
"butter" to either butter or margarine. However, the inference is
based on insufficient evidence, and other explanations could
equally account forthe information presented.

For starters, the author mentions that after Happy Pancake

House restaurants replaced their butter with margarine, only
about 2 percent of customers complained, indicating that 98%
of people were happy with the change. Clearly, he or she as-
sumes that 2% is a small amount, and that all unhappy cus-
tomers would complain. However, maybe most restaurants have
a lower proportion of complaints, and the 2% is already high
enough to influence the restaurant's reputation. Also, customers
do not always complain when they are angry. They sometimes
don't bother speaking up; instead, they just leave and never re-
turn again. Without evidence ruling out these possibilities, the
author's conclusion does not firmly stand.

In addition, the author points out that many servers have re-

ported that a number of customers who ask butter do not com-
plain when they are given margarine. Apparently, he or she as-
sumes that ervers are always honest. However, not all servers
will tell their bosses about every customer complaint. Perhaps
servers who receive the most complaints could be fired or have
their wages cut, so they have reason to hide the information.
We just do not know if these possibilities are true, unless the
author can offer more evidence to clarify the uncertainty.
Furthermore, the author recommends that the company should
extend the change to “its restaurants in the southeast and
northeast.” Obviously, the author hastily assumes that cus-
tomers in other regions will respond to the change similarly as
southwestern customers. It is very likely that the customers in
these regions are more sensitive to the replaced butter and
therefore unwilling to accept the change, which may lead to a
series of complaints. It is also likely that some customers will
doubt the motivation underlying the replacement, and appeal
against the company for food safety reasons.

Last, even if the above possibilities are ruled out, it does not

necessarily follow that customers do not distinguish between
butter and margarine or use the terms interchangeably. The au-
thor assumes that no other explanation exists. However, maybe
they are just nice people who are willing to accept everything
the restaurant offers. They know the difference, but they just
won't say anything. Maybe when they see that they are not giv-
en what they want, they don't use the margarine at all.

In sum, these above possibilities could all equally explain the

evidence offered by the out. Without ruling them out, her con-
clusion cannot stand on firm ground.
The surest indicator of a great nation is represented not by the
achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but by the gen-
eral welfare of its people.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or
disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position
you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider
ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how
these considerations shape your position.
1. It is true that the general welfare of its all people is a reliable indicator of a
great nation. The welfare of the people, including the living condition, so-
cial security system and charity of developed country is often far better
than those of developing countries.

2. On the other hand, however, the achievements of its rulers, artists and
scientists are of equal important, which by their way bring the aim of
welfare of its people into fruition.

1) As what is mentioned above, when we speak of “promoting the

general welfare”, we refer to the following index: public health and
safety, security against invasion, individual liberty and freedom as well
as a high standard of living, while all of these are brought about by its
rulers, artists and scientist.

2) Scientific and technological achievements serve in the first place to

enhance a nation’s general welfare. (Advance in medical treatment,
transportation, communication, etc.)

3) Artistic achievements could not be neglected, though. They help to

make a nation a better place to reside. (Provide inspiration, life peo-
ple’s spirit and bring about creativity and imagination, all of which
spur us to make more accomplishments.)

4) Yet the achievements of artists and scientist, while integral, are in-
sufficient. The military and diplomatic accomplishment of its leaders
could neither be ignored in the general welfare of a nation. (The War
of Independence)
Society should identify those children who have special talents
and provide training for them at an early age to develop their
talents.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with
the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In
developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which
adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how
these examples shape your position.
I strongly agree with the author on the claim that gifted children
should be identified and provided special education. Since such
training can help better develop talented individual and greatly ben-
efit the whole society, it is necessary to put this proposal into reality
as soon as possible.

　　Both theoretical studies and experimental practices have indi-

cated that gifted children would better develop themselves under
circumstances specially designed for them. Starting with the obser-
vation of extraordinary children, teachers from kindergartens and
elementary schools have long been reporting their being obsessed
with certain "troublesome" kids by their unique behavioral patterns.
For example, while the whole class is learning basic arithmetic such
as twelve plus thirteen is twenty-five, a math whiz, exercising multi-
plication on 4-digit numbers without awareness of what's going on
in the classroom, may always draw the teacher's attention. So it is
very often a headache for the teachers in that to punish this com-
mitted kid for not being attentive is so unreasonable. Actually letting
him/her to stay in this class is an unreasonable thing itself since
what is taught is far behind what is wanted. Hence the solution is to
set up a special class or institution for all kids of this kind. I came to
know one of these classes in China which mainly aims at academi-
cally promising stars. Some thirty talented children of ten years old
from elementary schools are enrolled every two years and they will
be sent to universities in various majors at the age of fourteen,
since they are capable of learning much more and much faster.
That is to say—take the chemistry major as an example—some of
them will be doing experiments in university chemistry curriculum
with ease while others of the same age find it painful to understand
the composition of water. It makes a great difference once their po-
tentials are fully developed. Therefore one can see the necessity in
providing the talented such institutions as the genuine nourishment
they need.

　　Moreover, these specialized institutions are capable of prevent-

ing some unpleasant consequences. Needless to say without these
institutions we will miss the chance to produce numerous experts
on various fields, or at least their debuts have to be postponed.
More importantly, the unbalanced development, that is indulgence
in their field of interest and disregard on others, is a commonplace
among gifted children. A young math whiz may find it hard to ask for
direction when lost his/her way since he/she is poor at communica-
tion. Or a young poet with personality flaws frequently complains for
his/her absurd demands not being fulfilled. This problem is particu-
larly conspicuous in that they are unexpectedly superior in one field
yet unbearably inferior in another. In this case, gifted children's
class can better afford solutions than ordinary ones as their experts
on psychology can put more emphasis on these points, while ordi-
nary school teachers tend to overlook such problems. In these
classes it is far more convenient to make distinct therapy for indi-
vidual on his/her own drawbacks, and produce genius with person-
ality well-being and other necessary living skills. Thus the special-
ized institutions yield experts but not maniacs, which is a very satis-
fying outcome.

　　Last but not the least, establishment of these institutions is

beneficial to the society.These kids with special training will general-
ly work at an early age, and therefore produce more wealth for the
society. Teenage university graduates can best support this thesis.
The society spend less on their education yet gets back more once
they get a job. Also it has been found out that people are usually
more creative in their youth,as we recall those prominent figures
like Goethe, or Mozart, or Einstein. On the behalf of the society it is
advantageous for the talented spend his/her youth on research than
on education. Therefore we can expect more inventions from them,
be they scientific theory or painting masterpiece. Eventually we see
how wise it is to invest in the special training programs.

　　In conclusion, I believe identification and special education for

gifted children is necessary for the society. These projects should
be carried out without hesitation, and the society will find it a strik-
ingly wise decision as the talented make contributions in all aspects
of life.
In business, education, and government, it is always appropriate to remain skeptical of
new leaders until those leaders show that they are worthy of trust.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling
reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

Sample：

Should people remain skeptical of new leaders until they demonstrate their reliability?
Some people hold that they should remain skeptical. But I think in most cases, it is wise
not to always be skeptical.

Admittedly, it is beneficial to maintain an appropriate level of skepticism about leaders.

This is because we need to be able to think independently at all times and not follow the
crowd. This is especially true in democratically elected governments. In the United States,
for example, the president is elected by the people. The president elected can be an
experienced professional politician, like Joe Biden, but he or she could also start from
being an actor, like Reagan, or a businessman, like Trump. No matter how successful they
were in their previous fields, presidents in the latter category are rookies in the presidency.
So these staffers in the administration could potentially be in serious trouble if they
consistently take orders from the new president. Imagine if Fauci, the U.S. epidemiologist,
had not questioned Trump's level of competence in facing the Covid 19 pandemic; the
current state of the epidemic in the United States might have been even worse.

That said, we cannot always doubt new leaders either, because that would hinder the
functioning of the organization. Still using Trump as an example, imagine if every member
of the administration was skeptical when he first took office, this would not only stifle the
introduction of wrong policies, but also more correct policies, and the stable functioning of
the government would be seriously affected.

In addition, there is a paradox in this proposal. That is the relationship between the new
leader demonstrating trustworthy qualities and the trust of the people. If people are always
skeptical of new leaders, how will they be able to unleash their talents and demonstrate
their trustworthiness? It is true that people are skeptical of new leaders in order to gain a
higher level of security. People need to see the trustworthiness of a new leader to be
reassured. However, within the limits of control, people should trust the leader more than
anything else. First, this is because, in most cases, the leader has demonstrated strong
performance in the previous job to become the leader of the new job. Second, in many
positions, the perception is that the cost of waiting until the leader demonstrates
trustworthy characteristics is greater than the cost incurred by the new leader making
mistakes. This is especially true in areas where the impact is far-reaching. Take education
for example. Imagine the president of a university wants to introduce a new policy to
improve the employment rate of students after graduation. The effect of this policy will not
be evaluated until the students have graduated in four years, and every year the policy is
in place, there is a year of delay for students. If people want to wait for new leaders to
demonstrate their abilities, there are bound to be students who will be negatively impacted
by the lack of this new policy in the process.

In conclusion, while we should be skeptical of leaders, we should not always be skeptical

of incoming leaders in order to keep the organization running smoothly and to give new
leaders the opportunity to show what they can do reliably.
24. The following report appeared in the newsletter of the West Meria
Public Health Council.
"An innovative treatment has come to our attention that promises to
significantly reduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces. A study
reports that in nearby East Meria, where fish consumption is very high,
people visit the doctor only once or twice per year for the treatment of
colds. Clearly, eating a substantial amount of fish can prevent colds. Since
colds represent the most frequently given reason for absences from school
and work, we recommend the daily use of Ichthaid — a nutritional
supplement derived from fish oil — as a good way to prevent colds and
lower absenteeism."
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or
strengthen the argument.
47. The following appeared in a letter from a firm providing investment
advice for a client.
"Most homes in the northeastern United States, where winters are typically
cold, have traditionally used oil as their major fuel for heating. Last
heating season that region experienced 90 days with below-normal
temperatures, and climate forecasters predict that this weather pattern will
continue for several more years. Furthermore, many new homes are being
built in the region in response to recent population growth. Because of
these trends, we predict an increased demand for heating oil and
recommend investment in Consolidated Industries, one of whose major
business operations is the retail sale of home heating oil."
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated
assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument
depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the
argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
1、新落户在该地的家庭是否会根据当地传统适⽤燃油来取暖?
New inhabitants, who have moved there, will not necessarily use the same
source as the local residents. If some of them have been accustomed to
electric heating, and they have not used oil for heating before, they prob-
ably would not choose oil.
And we do not know the detail number of the new residents, if there have
200,000 native residents, and the number of new inhabitants is just 500,
thus the new inhabitants are relatively less and they will make little ef-
fect on oil consumption.
2、除了天⽓变冷，还有哪些其他因素影响着当地家庭对燃料油的需
求?
The cold weather is not the only factor, influencing the need for oil in the
local, but a crucial factor. There is a combination of factors, such as the
price of oil, the income of a family, the consumption of other sources for
heating.
If the price of oil is increasing with the decreasing temperature, many
families with finite incomes will limit their consumption of oil.
Although the oil is the traditional heating source, it cannot illustrate all
the local residents only use it for heating. With the generalization of nat-
ural gas, part of the residents may also use natural gas.
Therefore, even if the weather is getting colder, it is not necessary to
boost the total consumption of oil.
3、当地家庭储备燃料油是否主要通过零售购买?还有哪些其他⽅式?
The local residents reserve heating oil by many ways, besides the retail.
The wholesale is a general way to purchase the oil, because the price is
lower than the retail.
4、当地⼈是否⼀定会购买Consolidated Industries的家⽤燃料油?题⽬
忽视了哪些(⽐如：市场竞争等)关键信息?
The firm has ignored/overlooked the market competition. There is not
only Consolidated Industries, who selling home heating oil. Many other
strong peer companies would offer more alluring condition and price to
attract the residents to buy their oil.
So even if the residents buy oil, they would not necessarily choose Consol-
idated.
54. A recent study reported that pet owners have longer, healthier lives on
average than do people who own no pets. Specifically, dog owners tend to
have a lower incidence of heart disease. In light of these findings,
Sherwood Hospital should form a partnership with Sherwood Animal
Shelter to institute an adopt-a-dog program. The program would encourage
dog ownership for patients recovering from heart disease, which should
reduce these patients' chance of experiencing continuing heart problems
and also reduce their need for ongoing treatment. As a further benefit, the
publicity about the program would encourage more people to adopt pets
from the shelter. And that will reduce the incidence of heart disease in the
general population.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated
assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument
depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the
argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
(1)No causal relationship between owning pets and healthier lives of the pet owners is es-

tablished.

(2)There may be other differences between people who own pets and those who do not.

(3)Pets could cause other health problems.

(4)The author fails to illustrate that owning a dog would have the same positive effects on

recovery of heart disease as it has on preventing heart disease.

(5)Some patients may not be willing to adopt a dog, or capable of owning dogs, or could

afford raising a dog.

(6)The patients may suffer form other health problems, thus their medical expenses would

not necessarily decrease even if owning a dog could indeed lower the risk of heart dis-

ease.

(7)The author unfairly assumes that at least a significant number of people who adopt pets

from the shelter will have risks of heart disease.

(8)The author fails to illustrate that adopting other pets would have the same effect on pre-

venting heart disease as owning a dog has.

(9)The author hastily assumes that the proposed program would be appealing to the gen-

eral public.

(10)Since the risk of heart disease in the general population might be influenced by many

factors, implementing the program alone may not sufficiently reduce the risk.
55. The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of a large,
highly diversified company.
"Ten years ago our company had two new office buildings constructed as
regional headquarters for two regions. The buildings were erected by
different construction companies — Alpha and Zeta. Although the two
buildings had identical floor plans, the building constructed by Zeta cost
30 percent more to build. However, that building's expenses for
maintenance last year were only half those of Alpha's. In addition, the
energy consumption of the Zeta building has been lower than that of the
Alpha building every year since its construction. Given these data, plus the
fact that Zeta has a stable workforce with little employee turnover, we
recommend using Zeta rather than Alpha for our new building project,
even though Alpha's bid promises lower construction costs."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be
answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the
argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the
answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.