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Also it is easy to bridge a generation gap by playing games. Games help to bring people together. Many families I know that like to play games are very well-knit families. Parents spend much more time together with children if they have similar interests.

Adults should not spend all their time thinking of and playing games, they should balance time they spend at work and with their families. If they have children, sharing their interest with their children is extremely recommended. In conclusion, I want to say that playing games is a very good hobby for adults.

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Topic 60 Are games important to adults?

Playing games has always been thought to be important to the development of well-balanced and creative children; however, what part, if any, it should play in the lives of adults has never been researched that deeply. I believe that playing games is every bit as important for adults as for children. Not only is taking time out to play games with our children and other adults valuable to building interpersonal relationships but is also a wonderful way to release built up tension.

There's nothing my husband enjoys more after a hard day of work than to come home and play a game of Chess with someone. This enables him to unwind from the day's activities and to discuss the highs and lows of the day in a non-threatening, kick back environment. A close friend received one of my most memorable wedding gifts, a Backgammon set. I asked him why in the world he had given us such a gift. He replied that he felt that an important aspect of marriage was for a couple to never quit playing games together. Over the years, as I have come to purchase and play, with other couples & coworkers, many games like: Monopoly, Chutes & Ladders, Mastermind, Dweebs, Geeks, & Weirdos, etc. I can reflect on the integral part they have played in our weekends and our "shut-off the T V. and do something more stimulating" weeks. They have enriched my life and made it more interesting. Sadly, many adults forget that games even exist and have put them away in the cupboards, forgotten until the grandchildren come over.

All too often, adults get so caught up in working to pay the bills and keeping up with the "Joneses'" that they neglect to harness the fun in life; the fun that can be the reward of enjoying a relaxing game with another person. It has been said that "man is that he might have joy" but all too often we skate through life without much of it. Playing games allows us to: relax, learn something new and stimulating, interact with people on a different more comfortable level, and to enjoy non-threatening competition. For these reasons, adults should place a higher priority on playing games in their lives.

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Topic 60 Are games important to adults?

I agree with the statement "Playing games is important for adults." In this challenging world, adults work very hard to earn a better living and thus do not get time to keep their body and mind fit. By playing games, adults not only can remain fit but also can enjoy life. Games can be of two types: physical and mental. The former keeps the body fit, whereas the latter keeps the mind fit.

Physical games include indoor games like table tennis and outdoor games like football and basketball. These games not only increases blood circulation but also burns the excess fat present in our body. These games keep us fresh and thus improve the quality of our life. These games also teach discipline, cooperation, respect for others, build our self-confidence and teach us how to face defeat bravely, both in games and in real life.

Mental games include chess, puzzle, quiz and IQ tests. These games increase our mental ability and thinking power. They teach us how to make decisions, increase our knowledge, improve our way of thinking and our memory, thus keep us mentally alert and allow us to make the right decisions in life.

By looking at the above reasons, I conclude that games, whether they are physical or mental, indoor or outdoors can improves our lifestyle and help us achieve our goals. Therefore, playing games is important for adults.

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Topic 60 Are games important to adults?

Some people assert that playing games is important for adults. In my opinion the importance of playing games depends on the types of games considered. While some games may benefit to health, mental abilities, working capacity, or help to relax, others may harm the person playing in different ways. I think the games that are important for adults to play include those requiring action, intensive thinking and teamwork. It has been medically proven that physical training is extremely important for adults. It helps not only to maintain fitness, but also enhances the capacity of thinking and working. Therefore participating in sports games, such as basketball, football, tennis and other action games is essential.

Games that require intensive thinking develop logic, attention and unconventional approach. Among this type of games are puzzles, crosswords, and strategy games. Games that involve team work are important to develop abilities to make correct decisions with consideration of opinions of different people , because these skills are often used in everyday situations.

Still there are other types of games that may be harmful. These are mainly computer games, which cause severe eye-strain and exposure to radiation. Moreover, computer games not only harm our health, but also have a negative impact on our working productivity. Many companies have stringent rules against their employees playing games during work-hours.

There is also one category of games that I believe can be both harmful and beneficial. These are games played for money. On one hand, winning such a game the player feels happy, which have an overall positive influence on the players' health and financial situation. On the other hand, loosing the game can drive the person playing into disappointment and even into depression, thus harming his health, not to mention the loss of money.

Thus, in my opinion, the importance of adults playing games can be evaluated depending on the level of positive or negative influences that those game may have on the person involved.

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Topic 60 Are games important to adults?

The young of most mammals, including humans, likes to play. Scientists claim that with lions, for example, play fighting prepares the cubs for their future life as a hunter and killer. The question is whether games teach humans about life. Many people believe that games accustom the player to life-skills such as perseverance and competitiveness.

However, I disagree with the title statement because I consider games to be mainly for children. In childhood, we do not have responsibility for the world. The child is always eager to grow up - to become a year older or to reach the legal age of an adult. Children find happiness in games by pretending to be an adult in the real world. The problem is that games are optional; they contain too much happiness and too little hardship to ever be real. An adult, by contrast, finds meaning in his life by accepting that there are greater things in the world than his own happiness.

One of the dangers of games is that some people attempt to translate the rules of a game onto reality. The modern example of this problem is television and computer games. People in the West are now growing concerns that children and teenagers occasionally imitate violence that they see on the screen. Death is fun on a computer game; and unstable teenagers who kill people in computer games can forget the value of life. American films are often accused of making violence glamorous.

This is not to say that games did not deceive people before the invention of television and the microchip. Success as a sports-star can lead a player to self-importance. If a football player is made captain of his team and receives praise from the local press, he might be tempted to assume that he is the boss in other areas of his life, such as within friendships. Also, he might be surprised to find that sport is simply not important.

Finally, gambling should also be mentioned as a dangerous game. Although gambling and the acceptance of luck are acceptable features of many cultures, a selfish gambler can neglect his financial duties towards his family. Eventually, gambling can become a drug that destroys life.

To an extent, life for most people is precarious enough to include some degree of winning and losing, and of adventure. Also, an unexpected opportunity or lucky find is one of the joys of life. But sooner or later we have to settle down and face the grind of adult life.

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Topic 61 Should parents make decisions for their teenage children?

The issue of whether parents or other adult relatives should make important decisions for their teenage children arouses much controversy among people with different perspectives and backgrounds. Some people believe the statement is legitimate, because children are not mature and have not enough experiences to determine the optimal choice. On the other hand, people claim that no body can control other's life even their parents. People should be responsible for their own behaviors and determine their lives. As far as I am concerned, I would like to refute the former and support the latter. In the following discussing, I would like to address some evidence to substantiate my point of view.

In the first place, the most important reason for me to choose this position is that old teenagers have their own thoughts and ideas. The fact that the thoughts of children are not perfect and logical dose not mean their parents have right to eliminate their decision without considering the children's intentions. In the era of rapid social and technological changes leading to increasing life complexity and psychological displacement, the good decision in parents' time would be out of data.

In the second place, the job of parents is not to make decision for their children, but to help them to choose. In this period of 15 to 18 year-old children, they are always radical. If their parents make decisions instead of themselves, they will not obey these decisions. Parents had better told their kids about their opinions, worries and experiences as friends. Give much more room for their kids to think and decide. Respect and believe their kids will choose the better one and will face the result directly.

In sum, considering the aforementioned reasons I support the statement that older teenagers had better make decisions by themselves. Admittedly, our parents are our best and most early teacher. They would give us more important advices to help us choose the best decision.

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Topic 61 Should parents make decisions for their teenage children?

First of all, it is not easy to define if people at the age of 15 to 18 are adults or children because they are physically grown up and intelligent enough to carry out general work like adults do in a company, while a lot of them are under their parents' control. I believe that they should be able to make important decisions by themselves, no matter how hard for them.

Needless to say, the recognition of age and maturity is not universally identical. There were some times that 15 to 18 years old were recognized as adults and supposed to think and act independently. It was usual for women at the age of 15 to get married in my grandmother's generation in Japan. Even in the present days, it is still a common thing in some developing countries. Thus, I guess it depends on whether the community is wealthy enough for 15 to 18 year-old children to be children or not. Women in my grandmother's generation needed to get married as soon as possible and have about 10 children in order to get enough labor forces for their family business and have them taking care of their parents and grandparents. In those days, children must have grown up with prediction of earlier age they had been supposed to become independent.

These days, women in developed countries do not need to have so many children anymore and they can go on to higher education, by comparison with early times. It has enabled mothers to get a job as well as fathers in order to make their family wealthier and keep their children beside them longer. As children are not expected to be important labor forces for their family anymore, it may not really matter if they are mature enough to make important decisions. Then how do children predict themselves to be independent at the age of 15 to 18 in such a situation?

I strongly believe that this phenomenon has made today's adults more immature and immoral. I could not believe that a lot of 20 year-old Japanese people attended the ceremony for Coming of Age Day with their parents this year. Unless adults stop treating young people like children, future adults will become even more immature. They still need parents' and other adults' advice to make important decisions but I cannot agree with the title statement: parents or other adult relatives should make important decisions for their older teenage children. I would say that it is no more than spoiling children.

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Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

A lot of characteristics make a good friend. However, in my opinion, having a friend who is intelligent can do you good in many ways.

An intelligent friend can share your problems and help you solve them properly. You are overwhelmed with stuff? He can show you the order to finish them on schedule. You are having problems with someone? Tell him and he will find out the appropriate way to satisfy you and the other friend of yours. Let's imagine you were stuck in an elevator for instance. You could be very upset and unable to get out of it. The situation could change dramatically if you had an intelligent friend beside. He could calm you down and quickly find the way to rescue you.

An intelligent friend is also a good example for you to learn from. In fact, you can get a lot of interesting and invaluable things from this knowledgeable friend. You can better yourself by learning his unique way of thinking and handling things. My friend is very intelligent, not only in his study, but also in his everyday life. He can solve problems in the way that I can never think of. Having him my close friend for ages, I have learnt a lot of things from him that may help me much in my life. He taught me the way of finding and solving problems, and even changing unchangeable situations in some intelligent ways.

Indeed, having an intelligent friend can give you the motivation to keep on trying to be equal to him. This makes you become competitive, or emulative in some positive ways. You may have a thought: "Why could he do that but couldn't I ?" And you will try your best in order not to be inferior to your friend. You then will change your old and conservative way of thinking and doing things, becoming open-minded to grasp new things and develop your true potentials.

All of these fabulous things an intelligent friend brings to you can be a stable basis for a long-lasting friendship. However, friendship requires a thorough and mutual understanding. So, you, yourself, also play an important part to make it last forever, with whoever friends you have.

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Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

Almost every person in the world needs friends. Different people hold different opinions in choosing friends. Some consider intelligence as the most important characteristics in their friends; others regard a sense of humor as the most significant personality. As far as I am concerned, reliability, which means faith, confidence and trust, is of vital importance. The reasons go as follows.

Firstly, based on reliability, friendship can be lasting. On the one hand, when your friends are faithful, you would love to get in close touch with them. For instance, you could reveal your secrets to them without worry about being betrayed, and tell them your pleasure so as to double the joys. On the other hand, when you are loyal to your friends, they would also like to keep relationship between each other. Undoubtedly, you will be frequently invited to friends' get-togethers and discussions, in which your opinions will be fully taken into consideration since your friends respect you and know your suggestion does good not only to yourself but also to them as well. Thus, willing of both your friends and you to continue the formed friendship will lead to your perpetual friendship.

What's more, reliability makes real friendship more solid and deeper. Take borrowing money as example, it is almost completely sure that, probably besides your family, people you ask for money are your most reliable friends. You turn to them because you trust their sincerity to give you help, and, at the same time, they exert themselves to meet your need because they are confident of your attitude to your friendship, to be more specific, your promise to return money. Friendship between those friends and you, thereby, gets further development and finally becomes really invaluable friendship just in coincide with the old saying- a friend in need is a friend indeed.

In conclusion, reliability can be a norm to exam the real friendship and motivate people to deepen their friendship. When I choose my friends, reliability is the foremost factor to be considered. Not only should my friends be reliable to our friendship, but also I should too.

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Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

What is the most important quality in a friend? Is it intelligent, humorous, or reliable? As far as I am concerned, I think it is reliable. Among countless factors that influence the choice, these are three conspicuous aspects as follows.

To me, reliability is the most important quality of a friend. A friend is person whom we know, like, and trust. We may know and like a person who is intelligent, or who has a sense of humor, but we cannot call him a friend unless he is also faithful and trustworthy. Perhaps we all know the famous novel by Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris, and wish that we had a friend like Quasimodo. Although he is ugly, the man has a kind heart and a very loyal nature. He seems dedicated to anyone who will show him true kindness. Even if someone we know who does not have a sense of humor, or does not intelligent enough, he can still be our friend because he is the one who we can trust.

Another reason is that a friend must be a person whom we can depend on. He is willing to listen to us, give us supports, and lend a helping hand to us when we are in need. "A friend in need is a friend indeed." A friend is a person whom we can trust our feelings and inner thoughts with, and do not fear that he will betray us. It is hard to imagine that anyone will share his thoughts with a person who afterwards will spread the content of their conversation to everyone else in the world.

Of course, intelligent and humorous are also important qualities of a friend. A friend who is mentally acute can give us sound judgment and rationality when we face problems; a friend who is funny can give us an enjoyable time, and add spice to our life. But for me, I still think that the most important quality of a friend is being reliable.

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Topic 62 Friends

Friends are as precious as priceless treasures sent by angels. Every individual are longing for sincere and congenial friends. Among various virtues that contribute to an ideal friend, I believe that it is honesty that I value most.

The foremost reason for an honest friend is that I can always count on him whenever I am involved in some trouble. As the saying goes? A friend in need is a friend indeed? Come what may, the loyal friend always gives me a feeling of security and warmth. What is more, it is my sincere friend that inspires me and shows me the courage to carry on. Some so-called friend may draw back in the case of a serious adversity while the honest friend would reach out his hands to me, unconditionally and sincerely.

Another subtle explanation is that an honest friend always laudable and exemplary. It is a great honor and fortune to own such a convincingly honorable friend and, definitely, following his step as an honest person is never too excessive a thing to do. Honesty is, most of us believe, the indispensable part of a person's valuable traits/peculiarity. Never can a person achieve many accomplishments nor have a high prestige without the conspicuous sparkling quality: honesty. There are numerous instances closely fit the notion, just like the American president George Washington. His bravery to be honest was acknowledged by the story readers and it was of no accident that he later became one of the greatest American presidents.

In addition, the third reason I would like to mention is that a truthful companion points out my shortcomings and it is definitely a tremendous help for me. Unaware of the innate defects, I am apt to make the same mistake again and again unconsciously. Friends, some of who are more or less sophisticated and artful, are reluctant to rectify my mistakes in fear of irritating or offending me. Things would be completely different if I am fortunate enough to have a truthful friend. By his hearty advice, I am persuaded to go the right way; by his pertinent blame, I am able to be free form making repeated mistakes; by his good intentional warning, I am alert to the conceivable danger.

All in all, it would not be too hasty to determine that honesty is the enormously significant virtue of friends. A genuine friend is, without doubt, always a great helper, a responsible teacher and furthermore, an instructive advisor.

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Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

Some people argue that most experiences in our lives that seemed difficult at the time, can later become valuable experiences. I cannot agree with them more. There are numerous reasons why I hold confidence on this opinion, and I would explore only a few primary ones here.

Difficulties are beneficial to our personal growth. In the course of our life, we are going to face numerous difficulties and obstacles, and each difficulty will help us grow up, and become a valuable lesson for the future. A toddler fells off the ground for many times before he knows how to walk, and a child learns how to swim after he drinks water in the swimming pool. In addition, only after we experienced failures, we know the value of success. We will never appreciate anything that comes so easy. Difficulties can make us feel stronger and be more confident for the future obstacles.

Furthermore, difficulties in our work can help us gain more experience and knowledge. Most of the times we can gain knowledge and experiences faster through experiencing difficulties in our life and trying to find a solutions to the perplexities that we face. There is a famous saying, "no pain, no gain." For example, when we take on a new job that we do not have much experience in, the first few weeks can be extremely painful and we may feel enormous pressure and difficulties. And we will try our best to adjust, to learn and to think, how to do this job better. The more difficulties we feel, the harder we try to acquire the skills and knowledge to overcome it. Learning and this stage is extremely efficient and our problem-solving skills well increase. After we overcome more and more problems, we can become an experienced worker in this field and will be able to take on more challenges. We will never fear that we will face the same kind of problem again. This means that we have accumulated valuable experiences for the future.

In a word, a difficult experience is a gift that life gives us. We should appreciate it and take it as a precious opportunity to gain knowledge and experience about our study, work and life.

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Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

No one in the world can escape some kind of difficulties for perhaps they are given by fate and they will accompany us for a whole life. Success is one of the most important life goals for everyone, but every mature human being has to admit that success will be a blank dream without difficulties.

From childhood, my parents and teachers told me that there is no flat and paved road for me and I have to explore the road by myself. I do not know what are waiting for me in the unknown future, but what I know is that if I withdraw without courage to face difficulties, I will never reach my success. Every time when I met difficulties, I always felt upset and sometimes I felt so hopeless that I think the world is closing the door on me; but looking back afterwards, my life experience always tells me that what I felt at that time was wrong. Life consists of all kinds of difficulties and these difficulties are the most useful lessons given by life.

We bring about most of the difficulties by ourselves. It's a rule that making mistakes will result in difficulties, and by dealing with difficulties we will reduce mistakes. I think that is a process of making progress. At the same time, difficulties can teach us how to face life and help us to gain courage. Once you have courage and deal with all difficulties with a healthy mood, you will really know what life is like and to some extend, you have achieve a kind of success.

All in all, difficult is the best teacher for us.

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Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

Life experiences definitely come in many different forms and shapes. They can be really sweet and really painful just as well. There is an opinion that sooner or later all of the above mentioned experiences would turn into valuable lessons of some kind.

I think it is a little naive and somewhat childish approach. This is the way people want it to be, not the way it actually happens in real life. I am convinced that, unless some supernatural powers interfere, no experiences will start turning into anything of value. It seems to me that some efforts must be applied, because experience is not the sort of things that can come naturally, so to speak. To give an obvious example, if a student flunks his or her examinations one day, and gets into big trouble with the faculty and the dean put together, how likely is this student to do well on the exams next term? It remains to be seen, unless the student in question had given the whole thing some thought and decided to do everything possible not to get in such a jam over again. I suppose that if he hadn't done that, he would simply repeat the whole mess once more.

Quite naturally, things don't work out this way all the time. There are people who do learn from their mistakes. The bad part about this very peculiar kind of learning is that it always hurts, one way or another. If one has the habit of learning only after some first-hand experience, he will most certainly suffer from it. I personally can tell from my own experience that it's way more reasonable to stay on the safe side and avoid unpleasant experiences. Because when you have to deal with some of them you rarely think about all of the good things that can come with it some time in the remote future. What you really think about in such moments is how uncomfortable, upsetting and painful the whole experience is and how much it hurts to go through it.

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