Directions: Stress is a natural part of modern life. In this part, you are required to write within 40 minutes a composition of no less than 200 words about "Stress in Modern Life" (现代生活中的压力). You are to state briefly the relationship between stress and modern life and the different attitudes towards stress. At the end of your composition you should draw your own conclusion.

Stress in Modern Life

As everyone knows, stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. As the pace of modern life continues to increase, we are always feeling on the go from morning till night. And it is hard to slow down. It seems to us that everyone around us is aggressive. Therefore, whatever one does, he feels under stress all the time. It is clear that stress has much to do with the life in a competitive society.

Different people, however, think of stress quite differently. Some believe that stress is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. They are of the opinion that a certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and to give purpose to life. Others argue that stress contributes to one’s mental decline and hence endangers his health. According to them, relaxation, the opposite of stress, is essential for a healthy mind and body.

Personally, I’m in favor of the former view. I think it is impossible to avoid stress when one is entirely devoted to the career he pursues. In my opinion, it is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health. (207 words) 1 With the fast are pace of modern life, more and more people are living under great pressure.

Some people are afraid of pressure. They think that the stresses and strains of work deprive them of joy and happiness. In their view, stress does harm to them both physically and mentally. That is why they prefer something less competitive and strenuous to something more demanding and challenging.

Others argue that stress isn't as bad as it often supposed to be. Unless it is overwhelming, a certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and stimulation. With out stress, you may slack off and idle away your time. It gives purpose and meaning to an otherwise meaningless, dull life. People under stress tend to bring their potential into full play and to realize their goals.

In my opinion, we shouldn't escape from stress but to face it as it is. What we can do is to adapt to the stress and to profit from it rather than to avoid it.

2 " I can‘t stand the pressure and competition," explained one friend of mine when asked why he decided to quit his highly-paid but demanding position in his company recently. My friend may have his own reasons, but I don‘t think his decision is wise in reality.

It is true that my friend‘s case is not unique. In the last few years quite a number of men and women have chosen to do something less competitive at the cost of a comfortable, easy life a highly-paid job can obtain. They are afraid that the stresses and strains of work will rob them of joy and happiness and do them harm both physically and mentally. In fact, however, stress isn‘t the bad thing it is often supposed to be. Unless it gets out of control, a certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and challenge, and to give purpose and significance to an otherwise meaningless, idle life. People under stress tend to express their full range of potential and to actualize their own personal worth - the very aim of a human life.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. What we can do is to develop our adaptive abilities to deal with it rather than to escape from it.