1、专业英语八级（作文）-试卷92及答案解析 (总分：10.00，做题时间：90分钟)一、WRITING(总题数：5，分数：10.00)1.PART V WRITING（分数：2.00）_2.Nowadays, over-reliance on computers and smartphones has eroded our penmanship. Worse still, it may further worsen our reading skills which are based on the recognition of Chinese characters. Read the excer
2、pt carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the authors opinion; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a
3、loss of marks. Bad Characters Some Chinese Forget How to Write Calligraphy has been a revered art form in China for centuries. Children are taught to write with brushes; endless copying of characters is a rite of passage in their schooling. Writing is a feat of memory. Mastery requires learning thou
4、sands of unique characters. Despite these ordeals, literacy rates have increased from around 20% in 1949 to over 95% now. But computers, smartphones and tablets are posing a new obstacle to progress. Penmanship is on the decline. Reading skills may follow. Pundits all over the world blame a reliance
5、 on computers for shoddy handwriting and spelling. In China the problem is particularly acute. The number of primary schoolchildren with severe reading difficulties is rising, according to a 2012 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors linked poor reading scores to
6、increased use of keyboards. One reason is that learning to write is so arduous. Chinese uses ideograms, or characters, rather than an alphabet, to represent each syllable. An ideogram is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words o
7、r phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms. It normally takes six years of primary education to master the 3 ,000 or so characte
8、rs required to read a newspaper. Nowadays Chinese can use keyboards to type a word in pinyin, a Romanisation of Chinese words that reflects sounds but not appearance. They then select the right character from a list. This process does not reinforce how to write the separate strokes that make up a ch
9、aracter, and may even disrupt the process of remembering, says Wai Ting Siok of the University of Hong Kong. Ms. Siok predicts that on current trends literacy levels will begin declining within ten years. The problem is already evident. A government body helped to launch a popular television spellin
10、g show that pits middle-school students against each other to write difficult words; in one episode in July more than 50% of the adult audience incorrectly drew a two-character word meaning gossip , feiwen. Over the past century, some have campaigned to raise literacy by replacing characters with an
11、 alphabet. That remains unlikely. Homophones are so common in Chinese that many different words would be spelled the same. And China views its script as near-sacred. Abandoning its written form would be entirely out of character. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.（分数：2.00）_3.Just like other n
12、ations in the world, China has been entering an aging era demographically. How serious is this problem and what can we do to tackle it? Read the excerpt carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the authors opinion; 2. give your comment. Marks wi
13、ll be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Aging Liu Caiping is a former teacher, now 71, who has lived alone in Xian since her husband died last year. The radio is her steadfast
14、 companion. Her eyesight is failing and she rarely goes out. Like many city residents, her former neighbors have scattered, and her two daughters are far away. When she can no longer cope on her own she will go to a nursing home, she says. That option remains extremely rare for old Chinese. And that
15、 highlights the problem: China is struggling to cope with a rapidly aging society and a rising number of elderly people living by themselves. For most of the past two millennia the family has been central to how Chinese have seen themselvesand the state has been seen as a family writ large. Filial p
16、iety was somewhere near the heart of a Confucian order regulating society, and the family was an extended, stable unit of several generations under one roof. A very common saying encapsulated it all: yang er fang lao raise children for your old age. Today multi-generation families are still the norm
17、. Almost three-fifths of people over 65 live with their children, a higher proportion than in most rich countries. Yet things are changing fast. Increasingly, parents are living apart from their childrenand when one spouse dies, as with Ms. Liu, the other often lives alone. A fifth of all single-per
18、son households in China are made up of over-65-year-olds. In contrast to younger Chinese living alone, few elderly do so by choice. Many are poorly educated. Women predominate, because they tend to outlive their husbands. China is unprepared for the consequences of solo dwelling among the elderly. G
19、overnment policy enshrines the idea that families should live together and provide for the old and others unable to look after themselves. Despite efforts to extend pensions and other social protection, provisions fall far short because the state assumes offspring will help the old and sick. The wel
20、fare system is ill-equipped to help the elderly living alone. State financial support has improved in the past decade, but many millions of elderly Chinese still have no pension or retirement income. Health insurance is increasingly widespread, but usually covers only the basics. Rural areas lag far
21、 behind cities in the provision of pensions and health care for the old. By 2025 nearly one in four Chinese will be over 60. Chinas one-child policy has made a mockery of yang er fang laofewer among the younger generation are around for the old to move in with, a trend reinforced by starting familie
22、s later. By 2050 there are likely to be just 2.5 working-age adults for every person over 65, down from eight today. Chinese born in the boondocks who migrate to far-off cities in search of work cannot easily take older family members with them even if they want to. Despite the challenges, many in C
23、hina still regard responsibility towards their family as a defining feature of their culture. Not much difference with other countries there. But the expectation of filial piety means that those who are not recipients of it often feel ashamed or isolated. Many are reluctant to seek help of neighbors
24、 when they need it, for instance. The government acknowledges the problem. When it relaxed the one-child policy, one reason it cited was a growing number of elderly singletons. Some enterprising local governments have introduced schemes aimed at the lonely old. But with a weak social-safety net, lit
25、tle support is in place when families fail to help those living alone. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.（分数：2.00）_4.The recent tragedies involving small children dying from heat strokes after being left in cars have sparked online discussions. Should parents be held legally accountable for l
26、eaving their children in a car? Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the different opinions; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure
27、 to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.Ratfink (Australia) Penalties dont always work in cases like this. From a humanitarian viewpoint, losing a child in such a tragic manner will cause a lifetime of grief for the parents. However, there are times when a steep penalty is ne
28、eded, in the case of wilful neglect for example.Ted (Canada) Here in Canada criminal charges are sometimes brought against negligent parents and they are sometimes convicted and sometimes imprisoned. This has been the case for as long as Ive been alive (72. 5 years).Heir (The Philippines) No. The lo
29、ss of a child is enough to bear. Instead, as a result of the first incidence of such an accidental death of a child, the government should instruct the mass media to educate all the parents by forewarning them of such possible tragedies. Also educate law enforcers to check parked vehicles for childr
30、en inside and how to get them out even if they have to break the windshield or side door window to free a trapped child.Hail (Australia) Here in Australia we have accidents on farms from time to time where children are injured or killed. It is most often the case that the parents have been careless
31、and this has resulted in their childs death but there is no sense in getting angry at them about it. These types of accidents are a tragedy and often the parents are in more need of counseling than punishment. I do not think that parents that cause a tragic accident through being careless should be
32、charged with manslaughter.Earthcitizen (the US) Its about time parents were held more responsible for their lack of action. Too many times a child has drowned in a dam or at the beach, been run over in the driveway or on the road outside the house, been in a room many storeys up with insecure window
33、s or left in the car to cook. Too many times people say oh those poor parents. We need to start saying Where were the parents? There is NO EXCUSE for failed parenting. If I live in a property with water or dangerous equipment I never let my children out of my sight. If I am at a beach or lake I neve
34、r let my children out of my sight and this also applies to the park, my own yard, etc. Children and accidents happen easily, but when it is because of the failure of the parents, they need to be held responsible.Team (France) I dont believe any prison sentence could be more tortuous to a parent who
35、has forgotten his/her child than his/her own conscience. I dont think the threat of prison would deter any further instances of children dying in cars. Again, it is not an intentional act. People who had the misfortune of leaving their child in the car most likely did not intend to harm their child.
36、 What is needed is a proactive measure. The technology exists to implement security sensors in the back seat of a vehicle that would sound an alarm once the car door is opened, indicating that there is something in the back seat of a cara package or a child. It can be as simple as a pressure sensor
37、blanket installed under the fabric of the seat that activates as soon as it senses a measure of weightsay, that of a child. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.（分数：2.00）_5.Celebrities are some of the worlds most influential trend setters in the world of fashion, style, movies, television, food,
38、 diets, and everything else in between. The question of whether celebrities should have the right to privacy remains controversial. The following are opinions on this issue. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the differen
39、t opinions; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.Vincent (China) Everyone has the right to privacy and the paparazzi should not be allowed to i
40、nterfere in their life. They should be arrested and fined for invading the privacy of others and the magazines who buy the pictures should be sued as well. Why should actors be treated like this? Just because they earn more money or because of what? I think it is unfair because the paparazzi are kil
41、ling the actors and pushing them too far.Vicki (the UK) Celebrities know perfectly well that when they are famous, the press is going to try and dig out all the secrets from their private life, but I do think that some things should be private because we are all human!Hannan (the US) I think that it
42、 seems a bit unfair that the press is too hard on the celebrities. Some celebrities just want to be a singer, or an actor, rather than a red-carpet walking person. Theyre just doing something that they really love and are so good at that they are famous for it.Linda (the UK) Even though they should
43、have the right to their privacy, the reality is that once you put yourself in the spotlight, you must expect a certain amount of attention in your personal life. Its the price you pay for having such a high profile occupation or lifestyle.Oshuy (France) French law states that taking a picture of you
44、 while you are in your house or car or anywhere private without your consent is forbidden, but allows any shot taken in a public area ( with restrictions concerning publication). If the shot is taken at home, paparazzi may be fined. If the shot is taken inside and published, the publisher may be sue
45、d for reparations.Mark Borkowski (Russia) If you want privacy, you can obtain it by keeping a delicate balance between the needs of promoting what you have to professionally and how you conduct your life. You need to have a long-term commitment to the amount of fame you have generated. You cant swit
46、ch it on and off, so you have to have a strategy of dealing with it.Christy (the US) I think that like everyone, they have the right to privacy in their houses, of their medical records, etc., just like you and me, but when they go out in public, they are fair game for the paparazzi. Its public know
47、ledge that a job in the entertainment industry makes you a target for this kind of thing. There are some entertainers who do a good job at remaining private, and I dont think thats entirely by chance. They arent necessarily hanging out at the hollywood hotspots or getting into mischief that draws at
48、tention, and therefore arent as easy to follow. I think that they are well compensated in the size of their paychecks. Its one of those things where you have to take the good with the bad. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.（分数：2.00）_专业英语八级（作文）-试卷92答案解析 (总分：10.00，做题时间：90分钟)一、WRITING(总题数：5，分数：10.00)1.PART V WRITING（分数：2.00）_
