关于Gre的意思和用法的提问

Q: GRE is a stiff examination for me 和 GRE is a stiff examination to me. what are the differences between 'for' and 'to'in this sentence or others 和有什么不一样？

Q: I'm preparing for GRE and English is my second language. Could someone help me check my essay to see if there are any grammar mistakes or awkward sentences? Thank you~

Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.

HERE's my essay:

Many people believe that formal education tends to undermine creativity and innovation among students. However, if universities and schools provide enough space for students to choose their paths, formal education can offer time and resources for students to truly commit to their interested fields and innovate great things.
In some places, formal education is very rigid and could potentially hinder students' ability to innovate or pursue their own interests. China, for example, has a very strict education system. Parents want their children to get high scores because it is the only reference for universities to admit students. No matter how well you do in other fields, as long as you do not get good scores, you would lose your chance to apply to a university. Without a bachelor's degree, no companies or schools would risk investing in you. With such fierce competition, there is no room for students to truly have a hobby and develop it into something extraordinary. In other words, formal education occupies all the energy students have, leaving no time for students to invent something fruitful. Moreover, the content of formal education's subjects restrains student's minds, too. For instance, history and politics are too one-sided and do not condone controversial thinking. Even in objective fields, such as math and physics, there are few experiments but lots of formulas and inflexible methods for students to merely remember, instead of understanding the logic behind them.
Formal education, however, differs from country to country. In America, for instance, the educational system obtains more flexibility(also more expensive, though). Students are entitled to choose some of their subjects in high schools. Furthermore, universities take a variety of elements into account; students' grades in high school, SAT scores, letters of recommendation, personal achievements, etc. This way, students are condoned to score low in SAT if they devote lots of time in a specific field and obtain some valuable achievements.
In conclusion, I believe that formal education will restrain students' minds and spirits if the educational system itself is obsolete and thus problematic. However, a healthy formal educational system would provide a sound environment whereby students would have enough discretion to pursue their interested fields of study and therefore encourages innovation and free thought.
听起来自然吗？

Q: I'm preparing for GRE writing and English is my second language, so please let me know if there is any sentence that sounds awkward or grammar mistakes. Thank you~

"In an attempt to improve highway safety, Prunty County last year lowered its speed limit from 55 to 45 miles per hour on all county highways. But this effort has failed: the number of accidents has not decreased, and, based on reports by the highway patrol, many drivers are exceeding the speed limit. Prunty County should instead undertake the same kind of road improvement project that Butler County completed five years ago: increasing lane widths, resurfacing rough highways, and improving visibility at dangerous intersections. Today, major Butler County roads still have a 55 mph speed limit, yet there were 25 percent fewer reported accidents in Butler County this past year than there were five years ago.

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument."

Here's my essay:

Because of the failed attempt to improve highway safety in Prunty County last year, the author suggests that Prunty County should not lower its speed limit from 55 to 45 miles per hour. Instead, it should borrow the methods implemented by Butler County, which lowered its accident rates by a quarter by increasing lane widths, resurfacing rough highways, and improving visibility at dangerous intersections. However, the author's assumptions have several flaws.
First, the author assumes that lowering the speed limit in Prunty County is utterly useless since the number of accidents has not decreased. However, it is possible that the number of accidents was rising at the time, and despite some of the drivers ignoring the speed limit, most of them did adhere to this new change. In other words, lowering the speed limit could have a positive impact on drivers, and might gradually influence drivers' average driving speed, leading them to drive slower as time passes by.
Secondly, the author assumes that the reconstruction completed by Butler County is affordable for citizens in Prunty County. From the author's description, the redesign of the roads seems pretty expensive, and if the population in Bulter County is denser and higher than in Prunty County, then the construction fee could take a toll on individuals in Prunty County; lower classes in Prunty County might vote against this proposal. Moreover, even if the population in Prunty County is denser and the county is relatively wealthier, the author would still have to prove that the methods taken by Butler County have directly resulted in the decrease of accidents in Bulter County. Maybe when the construction was completed, the economy in Bulter County was declining, and people were moving out of the county to find new jobs. With less population and fewer people who could afford a vehicle, there would reasonably be fewer car accidents. 听起来自然吗？

Q: I'm currently preparing for GRE and English is my second language.
Could someone help me check my essay? thank you very much!

Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.

Here’s my essay:
Some governments argue that scandals are bad for the nation’s stability. However, by deliberately disregarding scandals, governments and citizens could blithely believe in the apparently innocuous system whereby venal and inhumane incidents are operating behind the scenes. On the other hand, by uncovering insidious things happening around us, citizens will acknowledge the necessity and urgency to resolve these issues.
China, for instance, is one of the countries which implements heavy censorship with the goal to eliminate negative news and opinions of any form. The government states that negativity is unhealthy, and people should promote positive thoughts instead. Apparently, positive energy has lots of benefits. It engenders better efficiency at work, longevity, and more importantly, a sense of happiness. Nevertheless, bad news is as necessary as good ones. Negative energy a lot of times presages potential wrongdoings and restiveness hidden among a society. By disregarding unjustified transgressions and suppressing the dissemination of information, the regime helps prompt citizens’ dissatisfaction towards each other or the government secretly. The regime gives rise to scandals and negativities among citizens due to the censorship it employed, it just does not condone its citizens expressing those negative feelings publicly.
However, the culmination of negative feelings is more detrimental than expressed dissents. For example, if a regular laborer gets mugged and beaten down at night on his way back home after a day of onerous work, and it turns out the mugger is the son of the chief of police, due to the exhaustiveness and the efficacy of censorship encompassing all forms of media, there will be no scandals regarding this hideous incident. Consequently, because of the lack of attention and pressure from the outside world, the criminal would probably get away with his father’s connections. Furthermore, knowing he has nearly zero chance to win even after spending lots of money and energy preparing for the case, the victim would very likely drop it with little compensation. The victim cannot talk to journalists, cannot talk to lawyers, and cannot post his miserable story on his social account, but the negativity and the anger that reside within him do not disappear. He could become a venal and dishonest worker for the rest of his life, he could go and abuse his children, or maybe he cannot repress his impulse for vengeance and therefore conceives and implements a plot to murder the initial attacker. As a result, the seemingly innocuous promotion of positive thoughts actually erodes the very fundamental for the stability of a society, that is, citizens’ confidence in a government. No country is flawless. Harmonious voices of approbation and a total lack of dissents on all sorts of media belie a truly free society whereby different interpretations on the same issue are often, and disagreements among stations are common.
That being said, scandals regarding trivial issues are not worthwhile. For instance, a famous star might divorce his wife because he is in love with another woman, and people are very interested in this gossip. It is hard to decisively conclude whose fault it is. Maybe the star’s former wife was stubborn and pugnacious, and at the same time the woman he met was reasonable and proper, or maybe it is the star’s fault because he like another one more. This scandal, however, does nothing but diverts citizens’ attention from more important things, such as politics, covid-19, and climate change.
In conclusion, I truly believe in the value and usefulness of scandals’ impact on society as long as the content of scandals remains pertinent to critical events happening around the nation and the world.
听起来自然吗？

Q: This is a GRE question. Charlotte Salomon's biography is a reminder that the currents of private life, however diverted, dislodged, or twisted by overpowering public events, retain their hold on the individual recording them. Can someone tell me what "retain their hold" means?

Q: Could you give me some advise about GRE?Thank you.