my first thanksgiving in American

There are many historical holidays in China, such as Spring festival, moon festival and so on. while in America,Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
This year, as a international student in America, I am very fortunate to have such an opportunity to have my first thanksgiving day here.
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. During the thanksgiving break, I visited my sister who lived in Wisconsin and had a family dinner during the holiday. Usually, On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years. But cause I stayed in a multiculture family, the dishes on table is more attractive. My sister and I made the hotpot ourselves! it is the famous food in our hometown--Chongqing China. Everyone enjoyed it a lot though it is very spicy.
Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join to express their thanks for the year's bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.except this, the most attractive part of thanksgiving is the crazy shopping especially at black Friday!
For my won experience, I had waited for a store open in Chicago outlet for nearly 2 hours and kept shopping in the whole night.When it comes to the early morning, my friends and I were heading to Michigan ave to continue our shopping tour. When we walk out of the mall, it was already dark outside.And there are other people bring the tents to wait in the line. they came to wait at night until the store open in the early morning.
I have to say it is a good way to stimulus the national economy and a good chance for people to find the cheapest price to buy things, I can't deny that even a foreigner like me would love this shoping way a lot. But sometimes I feel like its not the right way for people to celebrate. In thanksgiving, the most important thing we should do is show our thanksgiving to god, to our families, lovers and friends. people should have enough time spending around them and don't worry about if they miss the best time to shop.

the influence of the visual media

　　
I'm a movieholic as well as a TV-holic. In my eyes, there is no doubt that watching movies and television can influence the way that people behave. Moreover, it seems that people are spending more and more time watching some sort of visual entertainment, whether it is television, a video tape or a DVD. Therefore, the effects of visual media cannot be ignored.

　　One obvious effect of these media is that we can know every kind of information by watching them. they are the small window of the change world.For example, the most common thing we see through them is advertise. Television advertising is widespread and,nowadays, even movie theaters permit advertisements. There are usually left 20 minutes for advertisers introduce their products in the movie cinema.And lots of them would be preview of some new films, which attract audience a lot.
Another way TV and the movies affect people is that they give people either a broader view of the world or a distorted one, depending on what type of program they watch.Those who watch news and educational program can learn many new things while those who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world possess great wealth and good looks. It may make them become dissatisfied with their own lives. Take thriller movie for further explanation, some people know that they would be scared but they still want to have such experience. It mostly because they want to get out of their current situation and release themselves from daily pressure by a extreme way.Movies, TV shows all present the different visual angles of our thoughts, in order to allow us to understand the world much better.
Finally, perhaps the most susceptible viewers are children, who may be unable to tell fact from fiction and may try to imitate acts that they see on TV or in the movies.Sometimes it will bring them nice dream even lead their life goals. While sometimes it only shows illusory and has negative effect on children's growth. Such as violent movies, once one addicted to it, it would be hard to avoid fight in one's real life.

therefore, though i love watching movies and TV shows, i am not a totally supporter of watching them too much.Considering the influence they bring,we should explore more about our real life and gain useful experiences from it not in movie or TV.

outline

introduction: whether China should remain the one-child policy.

Thesis statement: There are many arguments against one child policy, while based on its importance and current situation, China should remain one child policy for at least another decade.
1. the history of one child policy dates to the founding of people's republic of China.
A.economic boon.
B.Mao Zedong's proclamation in 1949.
C.The communist government condemned birth control and banned imports of contraceptives.
D.In 1955 officials launched a campaign to promote birth control, only to have their efforts reversed in 1958 by the Great Leap Forward.
E.by 1962 a massive famine had caused some 30 million deaths,In the aftermath, officials quietly resumed a propaganda campaign to limit population growth.
F. interrupted by the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution in 1966; it began it again in 1969.

G.In 1979 they introduced a policy requiring couples from China's ethnic Han majority to have only one child.
H.The one-child policy, first adumbrated by Deng Xiaoping in a 1979 speech, was in place nationwide by 1981.
2. Opinions of one child policy vary--different mind hold different opinion about one child policy.
A.elder generations and some traditional places against them
B.government enforce
C.in the short run, it relieve population burden and promote economic growth; in the long run,it cause youth labor shortage and reduce the economic development.
D.the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA)has supported the one child policy in China from 1979.
3. against arguments--there are three major arguments opponent use to against the policy.
A.forced abortions.
B.gender imbalance.
C.aging population.
4.adjustment--based one some problems, government did some adjustment of one child policy in order to let it fit well in this society.
A. flexibly enforced in rural areas and in those portions of the country heavily populated by ethnic minority groups.
B.shanghai encourages second child for eligible couples.
5.the necessary to remain one child policy--no matter what problems Chinese are facing, remain one child policy is a necessary in current situation for three reasons.
A.population control.
B.poverty reduction.
C.avoidance of overuse of resources.
6.remain one child policy for at least another decade--for the long run, government may change our policy based on how well Chinese population controlled.
A.Nearly 200 million Chinese will enter child-bearing age in the next 10 years.
B.China's population is expected to peak around 1.6 billion by 2050.

Research Log

A. TOPIC:China should retain its one child policy for at least another decade

1.
One-Child Policy. CQ Researcher [serial online]. July 25, 2008;18(26):613-616. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2009.
It is stated that advocates of women's rights has been emphasizing the threats of such policy. It is implied that included in the threats which the advocates are referring to is forced abortion. Forced abortion has been noted as the long-term problem associated with the government's one-child family planning policy.

2.
Chang M. Tipping the Scale. Harvard International Review [serial online]. Spring2008 2008;30(1):10-11. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2009.
This policy, which generally limits couples to one offspring, has helped the country to reduce the rapid growth of population in the country. A growing gender imbalance can be seen in the country's male-dominating birth rates, matchmaking services and school classrooms. Currently, there is a growing concern among academics and older Chinese generations on plans for reform of the one-child policy, wondering whether it will help the country to solve the widening gender gap.

3.
Yardley J. China Says One-Child Policy Will Stay for at Least Another Decade. New York Times [serial online]. March 11, 2008:10. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2009.
China's top population official said the country's one-child-per-couple family planning policy would not change for at least another decade. The announcement refutes speculation that officials were contemplating adjustments to compensate for mounting demographic pressures. The official, Zhang Weiqing, minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said China would not make any major changes to the overall family planning policy until roughly a decade from now, when an anticipated surge in births is expected to end.

4.
Chao L. China to Retain Its One-Child Policy. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition [serial online]. March 11, 2008:A7. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2009.
Zhang Weiqing, Minister of China's State Population and Family Planning Commission, has announced that family-planning policies will continue until 2018. He said that abandoning China's one child policy will cause economic strains and more problems and has to remain to ensure stable and balanced population growth. Critics link the policy to social problems including fewer young people in the future, sterilization and abortion. Before the announcement, expectations were building that the policy might be relaxed.

5.
Zamiska N. China Bolsters One-Child Policy. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition [serial online]. January 8, 2008:A14. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 6, 2009.
the efforts of China to bolster its one-child policy.The policy limits urban couples to one child and promotes small families throughout China. Although criticized as harsh, the policy is the government's way of controlling the population according to the article.

treasure time

The picture of melting clock shown in class gave me a deep impression. It warned us time is disappearing quietly. to own a meaningful life,we should treasure time.

sometimes time acts like a drop of water hides in the ocean.it is too little to notice.Thus we easily ignore it.However,in our limited life,time acts like a millionaire,he is s so mean that even we beg,he won't give us any favor.

i still remember when i was a kid, our teacher always worn us--"time is like the gold, but we can never buy it with gold."at that time,i was too naive to understand the sentence. All i know is that i am a little kid,i have a plenty of time to use.
yet actually, i am wasting my time as wasting my life. every time when we tear a day on calender,we are losing one day in our life.

There is a popular saying--time is money. but in my opinion, time is more than money.
for instance,a scientist can make a big contribution if they can get inspiration at any time. let's see if a scientist is watching a football game. while watching,he tries to connect the game situation together with his Rational analysis in order to indicate the possible development. during this process, his Rational and emotional thought get trained. Thus,his creative idea will benefits from it and lead to a big contribution.
secondly, the importance of time can be proved in business area. there are lots of business opportunities offered for people. if they manage the time properly, they will easily get the opportunities and win their business. time management is a key factor to the successful business.
what's more,time is also a significant factor in the war period. who catch the right time, who would win the final victory. At the end of world war II, no matter how powerful Germany was, they would still be a loser under the strong offensive from united countries.
The final example i want to list is the life-saving moment. in the hospital, life-saving is a every-minute-count task.in such arduous situation, even one minute later will cause the death.

however, there are lots of people don't know how to value time and use it to obtain more worthy things.
take gambling for example.you may be a big winner on the poker table, yet meanwhile, you lost your time, health and self-esteem.and the same thing goes for various gamers.those people never notice the importance of time. they chose to waste time and life.

yet to the success, they always understand the weighty of time and use it well.
when people are sinking themselves into the TV shows，scientists may completely concentrate on their research in lab; when people are still lying in bed, athletes may already finish their morning training.

time is important to everyone, we should treasure it as invisible assets and use it to enrich our lives.

please remember the famous saying:"treasure time is treasure our own lives!"

outline for C&E

what causes more and more people shopping online?
thesis statement:
people like shopping online due to the factors of convenience, price and much more choice.
1.topic sentence:
shopping online is convenience since consuners don't have to waste time and money on transportation.

• related to personal experience, it usually takes me half an hour to WALMART, mot mention the time needed for waiting for the bus,
• for the people who own cars,they still have to spend time driving and find place parking.otherwise, they have to pay the petrol cost.

2.topic sentence:
shopping online is much cheaper than shopping in mall.

• you can always find the taxes and shipping free staffs on website.
• salers make more discounts since there are no additioal service fees.
• less worker needed, more income shared.

3.topic sentence:
shopping online provides much more chioce.

• through online research, we can find anything we want without area limitation.
• buy the latest goods online

outline for C&C

compare and contrast

college life in China and America
Thesis statement:
college life in China and America can be different of the ways they evaluate a top student and culture. however, they can be similar regarding competitions and pursuits.
differences:
1.topic sentence:
China and America hold different views on top student.
ex:

• in China, people pay more attention to grade. top student is the person who completely puts him/her into academic pursuit and always gets high school.

• while in American, people value more on the balance of study and social activities. Good student would be the one who has lots of social experiences and also does well in study.

2.topic sentence:
Compared to China, American schools have more diversity culture.
ex:

• America is a diversity country. Thus，so does its school. there are many diverse organizations students can join in. Also, they offer you lots of opportunities to explore your interest, major and career option.

• In China, due to its traditional and conservative culture, students' lives are mostly about study.

similarities:
1.topic sentence:
they have lots of competitions.
ex:

• there are always many exams and jobs' opportunities to fight for.

2.topic sentence:
they pursue high academic level
ex:

• the most important thing for attending college is to further study and obtain comprehensive knowledge.

• they both concern the abilities and skills needed in future career.