TPO 8
8-1
叙述一次你曾经受到家人或者朋友们帮助的经历。具体描述这个人是如何帮助你的，并解释这对于你意义重大的原因。
response
One time during finals week in college, I was very tired. I had been studying very hard for my finals, but not getting much sleep. The night before my last final, I fell asleep by accident really early without properly preparing for my final. The next morning when I woke up, I panicked. My friend David came to my room and helped me study more for my exam. He made sure I knew all of the important information, and because of him, I passed the exam. I was able to finish my semester happily and without worry, largely because of David’s kindness.
8-2
有些人喜欢冒险和尝试新鲜事物。而另一些人不喜欢冒险，他们非常小心谨慎，并且尽量避免危险的事物。你更倾向于哪种行为？解释原因。
response
While it is difficult to say what is correct in every situation, I believe that being cautious is a better behavior than being daring and adventurous. The win-big or lose-big mentality of risky people is dangerous; if they win big a few times, they start to think that they can win more. This can continue until they lose big. Cautious people are more stable in most areas of life. And cautious people are the ones who start the most stable families, and they are more reliable, etc.
8-3
阅读材料：餐厅中即将开始播放音乐
学生生活委员会主任，Mary Dixon，昨日宣布自下学期开始，学校餐厅将于就餐时间播放古典音乐。“音乐会营造一种较为放松的氛围，”Dixon说道，“学生生活紧张忙碌，利用就餐时间他们可以休息片刻，在学习下一门课程或者进行下一项作业之前，增进朋友们之间的感情。”Dixon补充道，“我们同时也希望，在餐厅播放音乐，可以使学生不再使用自己的音乐播放设备（他们的随身听、mp3播放器等），这样他们就会有更多的时间跟他人交谈。当学生们塞着耳机听歌的时候，他们就不会跟其他人交流。”
题目：对话中的男生阐述了他对学校该计划的看法。请陈述他的观点以及他所给出的原因。
response
The university is introducing a plan to start playing classical music during mealtime, claiming that the music will encourage students to talk to each other instead of listening to mp3 players, and that the music will make for a more relaxed environment. However, the man disagrees with the school’s argument. According to him, many students want to study or do homework during mealtime, and the music would be a big distraction. Also, he says that most students don’t fancy classical music, and so the policy will only encourage them to bring their mp3 players to block the classical stuff, and it will make them socialize even less.
8-4
阅读材料：展示警戒色
很多动物都用保护色保护自己以免被捕食者捉到。一种有关保护色应用的防御策略被称为展示警戒色。使用这种策略的动物的身体常有一处或多处的颜色异常鲜艳；这些鲜艳的颜色平时会被隐藏起来。而当捕食者接近时，这些动物会突然展示它们身体上有鲜艳颜色的部分；这种预料之外的颜色展示会使捕食者惊愕或者困惑，这就给那些本应成为猎物的动物提供了逃跑的机会。
题目：用提灯蜡蝉（注：提灯蜡蝉（peanut bug），又称“lantern fl y”、“peanut-headed lanternfl y”、“alligator bug”或“machaca”。其拉丁文学名为“Fulgora laternaria L.”，属名中文为蜡蝉属，拉丁文原意为“光明、明亮”，种加词原意为“灯笼的”。其中文名为“提灯蜡蝉”，在中国台湾也被称为“南美提灯虫”）和大闪蝶的例子来解释展示警戒色的概念。
response
Revealing coloration is a technique that many animals use when they are being preyed upon, as it helps them escape. These animals have a colorful or bright part of their body that usually remains hidden. When in danger, they reveal this part, which surprises the predator and allows them to escape. The examples the professor uses are of the Peanut Bug and the Morpho Butterfly. The Peanut Bug has bright, colorful back wings that it shows when it is attacked, and the bright colors distract long enough for the bug to escape. The Morpho Butterfly has very shiny wings, so when it is chased by birds, it reflects the sunlight and makes it hard for the birds to follow it.
8-5
简要总结对话中人们所讨论的问题，并陈述你支持哪种解决方案及其原因。
response
The man is entering his final semester in college, but has a problem of the course selection. To graduate with a literature degree, he needs to take two more required courses; however, they meet at the same time. To solve this problem, he can either do an independent study for one of the courses or take a class at a nearby college. Since he would waste a lot of time driving back and forth between his college and the other college if he takes the class elsewhere, I suggest that he does the independent study. While motivation may be a problem, if he is able to finish the work and do a good job, it will help his discipline greatly. This solution allows him to finish his requirements and graduate on time, which is the solution he is looking for.
8-6
运用课堂中给出的观点和事例来阐明教授介绍的两种价格策略。
response
The professor describes two opposite methods companies use to initially price their items. The first method involves initially setting the price high, and lowering it as time goes on. Since consumers believe that more expensive goods are of higher quality, they will believe that the product is of high quality. In this way, richer people buy the product first, and as the price goes down, more and more people buy. This method is seen in products with new technology, like iPods or cell phones. The other method is initially pricing low. In this way, companies can sell products for less money than their competitors, and will attract customers. It seems like they would lose profit, but they sell accessories and earn profit. This method is seen with things like computers, or things that the market already has a lot of.