专四作文样题

第一部分：原题

PARTVIWRITING

[45MIN]

Should we review traditional Chinese charactersor continue using simplified characters? This has been an intensely discussedquestion for years. The following are the supporters' and opponents' opinions.Read carefully the opinions from both sides and write your response in about200 words, in which you should first summarize briefly the opinions from bothsides and give your view on the issue.

Marks will be awarded forcontent relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality.Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

第二部分：参考答案（1）

写作指南

考生在下笔之前应先审题，明确写作要求：针对“我们究竟是该恢复中文繁体字还是继续使用简体汉字”这一热议话题，首先总结正反方的意见，然后给出个人观点。文章结构可安排如下：

第一段：简要概括赞同和反对恢复繁体字方和提倡使用简体字方的观点，

第二段：表明自己的观点：复兴繁体字是不明智的。直击正方观点漏洞，分三点铺陈论证。繁体字在沟通交流上效率不及简体字；繁体字可读性和可接受性不强；保存传统文化和价值并不是只有恢复繁体字这一种方式。

第三段：重申观点——恢复中文繁体字不是明智之举。

The necessity torevive traditional Chinese characters has aroused an increasingly heateddiscussion for decades.Some in favor of ithold thattraditional Chinese characters,with a more vivid and descriptiveappearance,isa perfect embodiment of traditional culture and a bond for cross-Straitsexchanges and national reunification(复兴).Some are against itfor its complexity to write and inefficiencyto communicate,whichcan be otherwise avoided by simplified characters.Besides,simplifiedcharacters can also serve the purpose of promoting traditional culture and thissimplified writing system is an irreversible(不可逆的)trend.

From myperspective,it'snot wise to deliberately / intentionally initiate a renaissance of traditionalChinese characters for following reasons:

First andforemost,wordsand language are tools created for better communication.In thissense,efficiencyis of utmost importance if simplified Chinese characters can perform the samefunction of the traditional ones.

Secondly,readability(可读性)andacceptability are potential barriers / hindrance to the restoration(恢复)oftraditional characters.Most of mainland Chinese learnsimplified characters from their infancy / childhood.So it willbe hard for them to accept a totally unfamiliar word system.

Last,traditionalChinese characters do help cultural inheritance(传承),but itdoesn't mean reviving it is the sole(唯一的)way to preserve traditional culture and values.

Taking theabove factors into consideration,I think itis unwise to revive traditional Chinese characters.

(252 words)

专四真题作文

第一部分：原题

PART VI WRITING

[45MIN]

Read carefully thefollowing excerpt on term-time holiday arguments in the Uk, and then write yourresponse in NO LESS THAN 200 words, in which you should:

lSummarize the mainmessage of the excerpt, and then

lComment on whetherparents should take children out of school for holiday during term time inorder to save money.

You should supportyourself with information from the excerpt.

Marks will be awarded for content relevance,content sufficinecy, organization and language quality, failure to follow theabove instruction may result in a loss of marks.

Term-time holidays will be banned

Parents are to be banned by Michael Gove, UK’s Education Secretary, from takingtheir children out of school to save money on holidays.

He is to abolish theright of head teachers to “authorise absense” from the classroom, which hasbeen used to let families take term-time breaks, and will warn them they facefines for their children not being at school.

“Any time out ofschool has the potential to damage a child’s education,” a senior source at theDepartment for Education said this weekend. “That is why the government willend the distinction between authorized and unauthorized absence.”

“This is part of thegovernment’s wider commitment to bring down truancy(['truːənsɪ]旷课)levelsin our schools. There will also be stricter penalties(['penəltɪ]处罚)forparents and schools.”

The tough measures ontruancy are part of a wider attempt by Mr Gove to make education moreacademically rigorous and to tackle a culture in the educational establishmentwhich he believes has accepted “excuses for failure”.

Russell Hobby, thegeneral secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said themeasure would discourage parents from trying to put pressure on heads tosection term time holidays. “ The high cost of holidays outsideof term time is still an issue but ultimately a child’s ismore important than a holiday, he said.

第二部分：参考答案

WhichIs More Important, Education or a Cheaper Holiday?

New research has shown thatalmost four out of tenparents in the UK have taken their children out of school to go on holidays.Cost is the main reason given by parents for sacrificing their children’seducation. Parents are to be banned, however, by UK’s Education Authority, fromtaking their children out of school to go during term time.

Should local authorities stagger school holidays to enablefamilies with children to take advantage of travel bargains?Oris it wrong for parents to jeopardize their children’s education for the sakeof a cheaper holiday?As far as I am concerned,education is more important.Firstly,children’seducation must come first. A cheap holiday during the school season shouldn’tbe the reason to take a child out of school. Some parents are not willing tosacrifice or schedule their lives in terms of their children’s needs. This kindof attitude will influence their children deeply. It’s no wonder so many kidsare not interested in school and don’t take their study seriously.Secondly,school isn’t day care center. It’s an educational institution that needs everystudent to follow its rules. Taking a child on holiday when school is insession will disturb the order of the school.Besides,it is disruptive for the child, because he will have to catch up when hereturns.

All in all,taking children out of schoolfor a cheaper holiday is irresponsible behavior. Those parents would risk beingfined financially and morally. It’s not only kids that need to grow up——a lotof parents need to as well.

(265 words)

专四真题作文

第一部分：原题

PARTVIWRITING

[45MIN]

Read carefully the following excerpt and then write yourresponse inNO LESS THAN200 WORDS, in which you should:

1 ) summarize the main message of the excerpt, and then

2 ) Comment on whether our brains will get lazy in a world runby intelligent machines

You can support yourself with information from the excerpt.

Marks will be awarded for content relevance, contentsufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructionsmay result in a loss of marks.

Write yourresponse on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

Withintelligent machines to do the thinking, will our brains get lazy?

Changing technology stimulates the brain and increasesintelligence. But that may only be true if the technology challenges us. In aworld run by intelligent machines, our lives could get a lot simpler. Wouldthat make us less intelligent?

Artificial intelligence is taking over many human jobs. Forinstance, planes are being flown much of the time by automatic pilots. And thecomplex problem of controlling air traffic around large modern airports is alsoachieved by artificial intelligence that operates well beyond the capacity ofmere human air traffic controllers.

Artificial intelligence is embedded in many features of modernlife for the simple reason that intelligent machines can already outperformhumans, including some aptitudes where there was once thought to be a humanadvantage, such as playing chess, and writing poetry, or even novels.

As machines get smarter, they will do more of our thinking forus and make life easier. In the future, the electronic assistant will developto the point that it serves similar functions as a real living butler,fulfilling requests such as: "Organize a dinner party for six on Thursday,Jeeves, and invite the usual guests."

At that point, our long struggle with challenging technologiesis at an end. Like Be Wooster, we can take it easy knowing that the hard workof planning and organizing is being done by a better brain-the electronicassistant. Starved of mental effort, our brains will regress.

第二部分：参考答案

Nowadays, many aspects of people’s daily life have undergone considerablechanges because of the recent development in artificial intelligence.Obviously, artificialintelligence has already completely renovated people’s lifestyle.On the one hand, thecontribution of artificial intelligence to the society is prominent andpeople’s dependence on it is an irreversible trend. People enjoy the benefitsand convenience brought by intelligent machines.On the other hand, people arestill concerned about its negative impact, for example, whether our brains willregress with intelligent machines to do the thinking.

In my opinion, artificial intelligence will enable our brains to get morecreative.Admittedly, a lot of work has been done by intelligent machines. It seemsthat the function of people has been weakened and people‘s brains have beenreplaced.As a matter of fact, thanks to intelligent machines, people can expand their creativeenergy and add new varieties.Simply speaking, when people are free from tedious, repetitive, sometimes evendangerous work, work efficiency will undoubtedly be improved.As a result, people canspare more time to do what they want and pursue what they dream of, which isthe premise of creativity.Moreover, creativity stems primarily from knowledge and thinking.Oncepeople havethe opportunity to do more thinking and learning, their intelligence would beenhanced rather than weakened.

Althoughartificial intelligence is the exhibition of people’s high degree of creativepower,it should be noted thatit is like a double-edgedsword. The sensible choice is to embrace its advantages and cope with theproblems it has aroused. This is what an advanced and rational society shouldbe like.

(268words)

专四真题作文

第一部分：原题

PARTVIWRITING

[45MIN]

ReadcarefullythefollowingexcerptandthenwriteyourresponseinNOLESSTHAN200words,inwhich

you should:

summarizethemainmessageofthereport,andthen

commentonthetwopointsmadebyStephenCorry,Survival’sDirector.

Youcansupportyourselfwithinformationfromthereport.

Markswillbeawardedforcontentrelevance,contentsufficiency,organizationandlanguagequality.

Failuretofollowtheaboveinstructions mayresultinalossofmarks.

WriteyourresponseonANSWERSHEETTHREE.

ReportExposestheDarkSideofConservation

AreportlaunchedbySurvivalInternational—theglobalmovementfortribalpeoples’rights—revealshowconservationhasledtotheeviction ofmillionsoftribalpeoplefrom“protectedareas”,since“protectedareas”likenationalparksshouldgenerallybe“nogo”formining,agriculture,dams,roadsandpipelines.Survival’sreportshowsthatnearlyallprotectedareasare,orhavebeen,theancestralhomelandsoftribalpeoples,whohavebeendependenton,andmanagedthemforthousandsofyears.Butinthenameof“conservation”,tribalpeoplesarebeing“illegallydrivenout”fromtheselandsandaccusedof“poaching”;meanwhile,tourists andfee-payingbig-gamehuntersarewelcomedin.BushmanDauqooXukurifromtheCentralKalahariGameReserveinBotswanasaid,“Isitandlookaroundthecountry.Wherevertherearebushmen, thereisgame.Why?Because weknow howtotakecareofanimals.”Survival’sreportconcludesthatthecurrentmodelofconservationneedsaradicalshake-up.Conservationmuststicktointernationallaw,protecttribalpeoples’rightstotheirlands,listentothem,andthenbepreparedtobackthemupasmuchastheycan.Survival’sDirectorStephenCorrysaid,“Millionsarebeingspentbyconservationistseveryyear,andyettheenvironment’sindeepeningcrisis.It’slimetowakeupandrealizethatthereisanotherwayandit’smuch,muchbetter.Firstly,tribalpeoples’rightshavetobeacknowledgedandrespected.Secondly,theyhavetobetreatedasthebestexpertsatdefendingtheirownlands.Conservationistsmustrealizeit’sthey,themselves,whoarejuniorpartners.”

第二部分：参考答案

With industrialization andglobalization,more and more farmlands, wet lands, jungles, forests and wild lands areswallowed in the name of modernization.As aresult, large quantities of wild animals are killed or are driven out oftheir original habitants. The tribal people who used to live a peaceful life intheirancestralhomelands have gradually lost their landsand traditional way of life.Facing this situation,DirectorStephenCorryof SurvivalInternationalputs forwardtwoeffective measuresto reverse this deterioratingtrend.

I cannot agree with him more.He has found out thekey to the problem that has always puzzled the conservationists.

In the first place, the conservationists should abandon theidea that they are superior to the local people and have come to “save” theland or to “protect” the environment. They shouldacknowledgeandrespectthe tribal people, including their lands, their culture, their religion, theirrights and their way of life.In fact,theconservationists are not leaders or masters in conserving nature.

The next key pointis cooperation. The tribalpeople are a natural and integral part of the natural environment. They aremasters of their homelands, knowing everything there perfectly—the stones, thegrass, the trees, the streams, the birds, the animals, the weather, and so on. Tofulfill the task of conservation,it is essential torecognise the importance of cooperation with the tribal people, taking them asequals, partners, and even teachers.

Only in this way, can the obstacles facing theconservationists be removed and the situation of conservation be improved.

(260 words)