1) Good habits result from resisting temptation.
2) A smile is the shortest distance between two people.
3) Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
好家伙:一次考试,三道写作题!并且,三道题都是清一色的形而上!这在以往考试中都是从未有过。
英语六级往年总共写作试题几十道,两千年以后写作题也有三十道。从题材来分不外两种:教育和生活;从体裁分也主要有两种:问题解决型和对立观点型。就算近年出现一些新的形式(如图画作文),其实除了第一段需要对图画作简单交代,其余的写法没有任何不同。因为文章要讨论的内容都是比较具体的现象和问题。反观本次考试,尽管形式上看似传统的命题作文,但三道试题无一不是抽象的“论道”题。与以往相比,难度明显加大。
想起前段时间和复旦大学教授蔡基刚老师(他同时兼任全国大学英语教学指导委员会和上海市英语教学指导委员会主要领导)探讨英语四、六级考试的发展方向,他说以后会向“托福、雅思”方向发展、侧重考察能力。我当时的印象就是:四、六级的难度要提高了。
从这次的写作试题看,不仅难度提高了,而且甚至高于托福、雅思了。因为那两种考试的写作试题中绝大部分还是讨论具体现象和问题的。有些是关于非常具体的日常生活。比如:Which room is the most important in your apartment? 有些是关于科技对生活的影响,如:Is reading books still important in modern society with so many sources of information? 这些题目考生在平时的课本及各种媒体中接触较多因而比较熟悉。而我们的这次六级考题却开始远离我们熟悉的话题,超“玄妙”的方向发展,开始要求学生由形而下的“论器”到形而上的“论道”了。
另外,这样的题目也为作文模版的使用增加了难度。尤其是一些人拿手的“一些人认为;另一些人认为”之类的模版在这样的试题面前完全就完全无能为力。要写好这样的作文,学生需要更扎实的基本功。
那么,考生应该如何应对这种新的变化?下面就三篇文章中的第一篇提供两种不同的写法,并作分析。希望能给考生一些借鉴和启发。
Good Habits Result from Resisting Temptation
Resolved to be an early morning riser, but finding yourself in class on an empty stomach because you don’t get up until the sun has risen high in the sky; determined to be punctual, but turning out to be late for an appointment; decided to be a regular reader, but leaving the book on the desk to be read untouched……
Most people know the influence of bad habits: they may cost a person his job or a full happy life. Unfortunately, many individuals find themselves trapped in them. Thousands of times they might have told themselves to start a new life by forming good habits but a thousand and one times they see themselves still on the old track.
Why so hard?
It is human nature to pursue comfort and convenience. Admittedly, this pursuit has proved to be one of the motivators for the advance of science and technology. However, the temptation of an easy life prevents us from forming positive habits, which are essential for good health, efficient work and stable social relationship.
No goal can be achieved without pain. To discover and develop our talents, to uncover who we really are, we need to resist temptations.
在上面的第一种写法中,首先我们要想清楚:What are good habits? 要做到这一点,我们最好还要弄清楚:What are bad habits?为此,文中列举了三个好坏相对的习惯:想早起床但结果还是在床上捱到日上三竿;想准时赴约却总是迟到;想每天看书却总是提不起精神。这样我们就把抽象的habit变成具体形象的了。
下面第二部分通过对比说明恶习的严重后果:可能丢掉工作,也可能造成不幸的人生。但就算对好习惯的重要性非常了解,很多人还是无法养成,从而引出问题:为什么这么难?
主体第三部分首先指出这是人的本性所然。接着首先让步:对舒适生活的追求某种意义上推动了科技的发展和人类的进步。但是,人生的苦乐是辩证的。通过努力养成好的习惯有助于强健体魄、提高工作效率以及维持正常的人际关系。
再看这道题的另一种写法:
Good Habits Result from Resisting Temptation
Most people know the importance of good habits. For instance, having regular physical exercise benefits health; reading books enriches knowledge; telling the truth wins others’ trust. Regrettably, many individuals find themselves trapped in negative habits. Even if they are also clear about the crucial role played by good habits and the tips of forming or keeping them, they have difficulties in practice, because they cannot resist the temptations.
Take telling lies as an example. People tell lies for various reasons. Politicians spin facts to win votes and influence elections; businessmen make up fictions to attract customers; white-collars gild stories to obtain a rise on the social ladder. Of course, some people intend not to “hurt” but to “heal” - they use lies to protect their friends or lovers, or “grease the wheel of a social discourse”. In a word, the “necessary social evil” does have its uses.
Just as we need to resist the temptation of lies to tell the truth, so we should stand firm against various lures to form good habits.
第二个版本的第一段思路和第一篇相似,都是通过列举具体的例子证明:理论上大家都知道好习惯的重要性,但知易行难。
但后面的写法就完全不同了。与第一篇的抽象“论道“不同,这篇文章的主体部分集中探讨了一种好习惯:实话实说。但是人们不管出于善意还是恶意往往会说谎。通过这种写法,我想和同学们说明, “玄妙”的“论道”也可以小中见大。这样往往易于操作。