综合写作：
The Erie Canal, built in the early nineteenth century, is an artificial waterway over 300 miles long. It connects the Hudson River north of New York City to the interior of the United States. The canal opened up waterway access from much of the Midwest all the way to the East Coast of the United States. However, before its construction, many critics doubted that the project would be successful. There seemed to be too many challenges.
The first challenge was the local terrain and landscape. The canal had to be dug out and built through areas that would make construction difficult. There were many forests, and clearing a channel through a forest required a slow process of using saws to cut down trees and then axes to chop out the tree stumps and roots that remained. In addition, another challenge was that the canal would also pass through wetlands, in which workers might fall ill from malaria, a disease caused by mosquitoes.
The second challenge was a lack of workers. The entire United States at that time had a relatively small population. The massive construction of a canal would require many thousands of workers, which opponents of the canal said the country would not be able to supply.
Finally, critics argued that the Erie Canal would not yield enough benefits to justify its high cost. The main purpose of the canal was to facilitate commerce between the coast and the interior of the United States. However, at the time there were simply not very many people who lived or wanted to settle in the Midwest, so there wasn’t that much in the way of goods produced there to be sent back to the coast.
学术写作：
Instructions: Your professor is teaching a class on education. Write a post responding to the professor’s question. In your response you should:
- express and support your personal opinion
- make a contribution to the discussion in your own words
An effective response will contain at least 100 words.
Dr. Achebe
Having students work together in small groups on learning activities is a popular alternative to teaching the whole class as one large group. The average age of students in a classroom can, of course, be an important consideration when choosing any teaching approach. I’d like us to consider two age groups: very young students (ages 5 – 11) and older students (ages 14 – 18). Which age group do you think would benefit more from working in small groups on learning activities?
Claire
I think young elementary school kids would benefit more from small group activities than high schoolers. Young kids are often more eager to participate and cooperate, whereas teens can be disengaged and distracted during class. Grouping kids and they’re young can teach them social skills and get them excited about learning together. High schoolers may prefer independent work where they can focus without distractions from peers.
Andrew
I think older high school students would benefit more from small group work. Teens tend to be more competitive and motivated to stand out, so working in groups can encourage them to challenge each other intellectually. From my experience in group projects for class, we pushed each other to think deeper and produce better work than we could have individually.
