CET4 sample essay - CET4 exam essay writing on Jan 1995 :Can Money Buy Happiness?

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Can Money Buy Happiness? You should write no less than 100 words and you should base your composition on the outline (given in Chinese) below:

1. Money is source of happiness?
2. Money is root of all evil?
3. my opinion

Sample essay：

　　Can money buy happiness? Various people have various answers. Some people think that money is the source of happiness. With money, one can buy whatever he enjoys. With money, one can do whatever he likes. So, in their minds, money can bring comfort, security, and so on. Money, as they think, is the source of happiness.

　　But there are still a lot of others who think that money is the root of all evil. Money drives people to steal, to rob, and to break the law. A lot of people became criminals just because they were in search of money. And in the Western countries, there is nothing that can’t be bought by money. Many people lose their own lives when hunting it.

　　I think that money is essential to life and we cannot do without money. But even though money is necessary to life, it can’t buy happiness. Happiness is not something that can be measured by money. It is a state of mind. One can have plenty of money, with which he can buy whatever he wants, and at the same time he is not happy because he is never satisfied or he is troubled by various kinds of problems. Therefore, although money is necessary for a happy life, it can’t buy happiness.