I do not think students of all majors should learn history in college. We cannot ignore the importance of learning history, but history courses offered at college have deviated from the original purpose of studying history. Students should study history before college matriculation.
I do concur that students should acquire a certain level of history knowledge. As an old saying goes, ‘history is the mirror of the present’. From studying history, we can form a guideline for our instant behavior. Also, a basic scale of historical knowledge is as indispensable as knowing common scientific sense, for example, water freezes at zero degrees. These bits of knowledge reveal how our world functions, so every civilized person should learn it.
However, I deem that we should study history not in college but before college. In middle and high schools, learning all disciplines can both expand students’ scope of knowledge and encourage them to find a field they are interested in. But at the college stage, it’s high time that they choose their favorite subjects and get a more advanced and intensive education. Taking a wide range of courses would be a drain of their time, exploiting their efforts to focus on their majors.
Moreover, history courses in college are more of propaganda than education. Universities are eager to manipulate students’ thoughts by teaching them so-called history, which contains many rewrites by the statesmen. For example, my school requires us to take modern history classes, but what we learn is how prosperous and mighty our country is instead of what happened. I understand that the pride for one’s nation is essential for college students as new civils, but we can cultivate that by other means, not simply instilling slogans by teaching them history in college.
To conclude, I disagree that students of all majors should take history lessons in college. They should be equipped with basic history knowledge before attending college instead.

Both the Internet and public transportation strongly impact the quality of our lives. As we are so reliant on the Internet that we use it from waking up to falling into sleep, it seems that public transportation only plays a trivial part in our daily life. However, I still deem that improving public transit can generate more happiness for the public than building some signals stations.

Have you ever been almost late for work, hurrying to the subway station only to find the carriages are too crowded to get in? Are you exhausted by the daily 2-hour commuting, which dramatically drains your energy for the whole day? Commuting is such a headache for most office workers as it consumes their passion for work, devastating their vigor. If the government could update the public transportation system to reduce commuting time, it will dramatically enhance the workers’ efficiency and happiness.

Meanwhile, I think the Internet facilities are already well-developed enough, and further improvements may provoke havoc. As the speed of the Internet becomes faster and faster, we are submerged by massive information, seldom having spare time to enjoy what is happening around us. Although technological development is crucial to humankind, maybe it’s time for us to slow down a little bit and retreat to a simpler stage.

On the other hand, a well-organized public transportation system also shows the economic strength of a city. Efficient transportation is undoubtedly a necessity for a modern metropolis. As a resident in both Beijing and Shanghai, I witness what guarantees Shanghai’s drastic development. Its public transportation system is more scientific, and there are always multiple ways available for one route. In Beijing, however, roads are always jammed and subway capacity is far from enough. So the government can consider improving public transportation as a shortcut of enhancing cities’ competence.

To sum up, I disagree with the statement because refining public transportation can benefit people’s happiness and improve the city’s image and overall competitiveness. In contrast, further progress in Internet access is not in urgent need and may harm people’s life.

I do not think the rules in societies are too strict for young people to follow nowadays. Young people must comply with specific regulations to maintain order and etiquette in the community.

Basic rules like no extortion or stealing are compiled in the law so that every citizen should not break. These laws are the duty of every adult, preserving the society. Having existed for centuries, they will continue to be effective because of their necessity. So following them is easy for every adult, including young people.

Other rules include lending a helping hand, diligence, and respecting others. Though not written in black and white, young people should follow these rules. However, I do not think we passively follow these rules but choose to behave accordingly after trial and error. When we were kids, teachers always taught us to share. Although feeling reluctant, we still handed over our toy to another kid and received their toy. To our surprise, we discovered that their toy was new and engaging. By sharing and exchanging, we enjoy more happiness than mindlessly locking up our possessions, thus understanding that sharing is a good exercise as it generates delight and promotes friendship. So for the rest of our lives, we will continue sharing with others. This whole process illustrates how we follow these rules and actively internalize them in essence. Following rules is a decision made voluntarily by young people, so why do we violate their free will and assert they are forced?

In conclusion, obeying social rules is simple and pleasant for us, so it is never a burden.

The reading and listening both discuss whether imposing taxes on cigarettes and unhealthy food is beneficial. The reading claims that it surely is while the professor suggests that it cannot hold water for the following reasons.

First of all, the reading passage contends that imposing taxes on unhealthy products will escalate their prices, which will prevent people from consuming them. However, the professor argues against that point by saying that this strategy will only push people to purchase cheaper and less healthy ones, thus doing nothing good for improving the physical well-being of the whole society.

Second, even though the reading passage reckons that this policy is doing justice as it balances the extra medical costs resulting from unhealthy behaviors，the professor holds a totally different view that the tax is more of a burden for poor people than the rich ones. As a result, imposing taxes is unfair.

Finally, the professor also disagrees with the idea that these taxes are a good profiting channel for the government. She puts forward that the government may become reliant on this income source, therefore refuse to put forward policies that may harm this revenue, even though the policies can reduce unhealthy products’ consumption.

Revision:

I don’t think the rules in societies are too strict for young people to follow nowadays. The young must comply with specific regulations to maintain the order and etiquette of the community.

Basic rules like mustn’t break the laws, are so fundamental that every citizen should obey. They’re the duty of every adult which preserve our societies well-organized. These rules have existed for centuries and will continue to be effective because of their necessity. So following them is easy for every grown-up, including young people.

Another kind of rules includes lending others helping hands, being diligent, and respecting others. They are not written black and white but are also what young people should follow. However, I don’t think we passively ‘follow’ these rules, but ‘choose’ to behave accordingly after attempts. Recall when we were kids in kindergartens, teachers always taught us to share with others. Although unwilling, we still handed over our toy to another kid and received his/her toy. To our surprise, we discovered that his/her toy was new and engaging. By sharing and exchanging, we enjoyed double happiness. After this experience, we learn that sharing is a good exercise as it generates delight and promotes friendships. So for the rest of our lives, we will continue sharing with others. In this way, following these rules is internalizing them in essence. It’s the free will of young people, thus not being strict for them.

In conclusion, obeying social rules is either basic or pleasant for us, so it’s never too strict.