1. Talk about an interesting book you have read. Explain why you thought the book was interesting. Give specific details and examples to explain your answer.

Recently, I read an interesting novel named “Keep the aspidistra flying” which is written by George Orwell. I think it’s very interesting because in the story the main character’s experience is similar to mine. The main character wants to be a poet while I want to be a writer. He abandoned his well-paying job for his dream and I also quit my job for my dream. He had a time when he was impoverished and I also experienced a time when I couldn’t afford a lunch. He lives in a society where money talks and I live in a society where money is everything. So these similar experiences make me think the book interesting.

2.Some people think that children should be allowed to watch whatever television programs they choose to. Others think that parents should exercise control over the television programs their children watch. Which do you agree with? Explain why.

I think parents should exercise control over the television programs their children watch. It’s a way of protection, since many shows are full of violent or horrifying scenes. But children are not mature enough to bear those scenes so they may feel terrified. Take myself as an example, When I was 7-year-old, I was watching TV alone at home. I accidentally ran into a horror movie and was frightened by the horrible zombies in the movie. They eat human beings and tear bodies into pieces. I was shocked by the bloody scenes. From then on, I started to be afraid of darkness. Every time I walked along the street in the evening, I would feel a zombie following me. I didn’t get rid of the bad influence from that movie until high school.

3. The woman expresses her opinion about the university' s plan. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.

The college is planning to renovate the dormitories in order to attract more students to remain on campus. The woman thinks the plan is a mistake. The woman says that the constructions will create too much noise and will constantly disturb students who are now living on campus. So it’s possible that more students will choose to live off-campus. She also says that the new campus housing is going to cost more because the college plans to use the students’ housing fees to pay for the renovations. So students won’t be able to afford to live on campus. They may still choose to rent an apartment off-campus. So the college may not achieve its goal to attract more students to remain on campus.

4. Explain why Henry Darger is considered an Outsider Artist.

According to the reading passage, outsider artists work in isolation and don’t get formal artistic training and they also invent their own ways of doing things. Therefore, their work may look strange and can be very different from other artists’. According to the professor, Henry Darger lived by himself, had no friends and thus worked in isolation. Also，He never received any formal training and his work is very unique. Darger had a hard time painting figures but he managed to come up with his own method. He cut out pictures of children from newspapers and pasted them on the painting. So his painting looks a little strange. It’s more cluttered and more crowded with details than other artists’ paintings. Also because the entire space is painted, Darger’s painting is a lot longer than other artists’

5. The students discuss a problem and two possible solutions. Briefly summarize the problem. Then state which of the two solutions you prefer and explain why.

The man has got a summer research position on campus but he didn’t apply for a dorm room for the summer. And it’s too late to apply now. In the conversation, they talk about two possible solutions. The first one is that the man can stay with his parents and commute to campus everyday. His parents will be happy to have him home and many old friends will come back home for the summer vacation. But it’s a little tiring to drive on the road. The second solution is to rent an apartment near campus. It saves time and gas fee. But still the man has to pay for the rent. Well, I would recommend the man to choose the first solution. Since his parents are happy to live with him and he can meet many old friends, why not stay with his parents. Even if it’s tiring to drive, he can save the money for the rent.

6. Using the points and examples from the lecture, explain what unity and contrast are, and how they make interior design more effective.

In the lecture, the professor says an effective design needs to balance unity and contrast.  An easy way to achieve unity is to bring together similar elements. A common practice is by matching colors. For example, we can pick green and use light shade green for the walls ,dark shade green for the sofa, and green for the rug. When elements match, the room is unified and gives senses of order and comfort. But too much unity will make a room boring. So we need contrast to break the unity. Contrast serves to disrupt unity in a careful and intentional way. In order to create color contrast, we need to change colors now and then. For example, we could put light red cushion on the dark green sofa. Contrast makes things stand out. Green will look greener next to the red. But too much contrast will make a room feel dizzy and chaotic. So an effective design must avoid too much unity and too much contrast.