1、专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 101及答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 All over the world, various kinds of tests are used to indicate a persons knowledge of a subject. Are grades a good indicator and determining factor of peoples, especially students knowledge? Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 30
2、0 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the different opinions on this issue; 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. Cathy (the US) I
3、 would say that not all grading systems are equal and I have my fair share of complaints against standardized testing, as well as grade curves. However, I do believe the grades of specific testing material are indicative of your understanding of the material. Now when I say test, I do not only mean
4、paper or multiple choice. It can take many forms such as physical activities, speeches, or traditional tests to show peoples abilities. After that they should get a grade as feedback on their knowledge. Duke (Australia) Grades do not necessarily translate directly to intelligence, but they do genera
5、lly represent a students effort and consistency. A student who consistently gets good grades, at the very least, applies themselves to their schoolwork, while a student that consistently gets poor grades either clearly does not understand material or does not put forth an appropriate effort. So grad
6、es must have some correlation with intelligence. There may be exceptions to this rule, but an intelligent student will generally understand the importance of good grades. Johonny (Italy) It depends on the grading method. If those grades are based on some sort of holistic approach, then it is Ok. It
7、is entirely unfair to say that grades on a 4-answer multiple choice assignment directly translate to knowledge. For all one knows, that person could have been a lucky guesser or a good test-taker. However, if the grade is given based on a short answer or essay type assignment, those grades would be
8、more correlated with ones knowledge on a subject because it requires that person not only to give the “correct“ answer but also to explain it thoroughly. Mary (Britain) GPA does not equal the level of intelligence. Grades are not a good indicator of intelligence because some students copy answers fr
9、om friends, some teachers give easy work and random grades. Not always does a lazy student equal an unintelligent student, and not always does a student that turns in work equal an intelligent one. Dorothy (France) Grades can be a good indicator of a persons knowledge of a subject if the grade has b
10、een earned over a period of time through projects, reports or essays. Examinations are memory tests and are poor indicators of a persons knowledge. It is easy to obtain previous years papers, have some clues given to you by a teacher or learn enough about a subject to ace certain questions while not
11、 learning other fundamental knowledge of a subject. There is also the case of people becoming too nervous during an examination and suddenly forgetting important knowledge, only for it to return when they leave the room. I will always believe that an in-depth report or essay that has been worked on
12、over a long period of time will indicate a persons knowledge more than a 2-hour exam on a subject. Tracy (the US) No, because they are unfair and they do not show what you have learned. Grades arent a sign of learning, rather a sign of obeying. Americans today get quizzes and tests 24/7. Instead of
13、doing projects and understanding concepts, we are simply forced to memorize rather than understand. Quizzes, tests, homework are NOT signs of learning and they are actively detrimental to learning in every way possible. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 2 To a university student who is doome
14、d to enter into society to realize himself, which is more important education or social life? 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, c
15、ontent sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Alex (Britain) Education is more important. With education, you can make money. Having to cope with loneliness (no social life) can be resolved when you look back on how muc
16、h more knowledge you have acquired than others, and how much more money the knowledge has brought you than others. Tom (the US) Education doesnt mean learning without social life. Simply put, the university is not just a place for gaining knowledge but a community for the students to grow and mature
17、. Olive (Poland) Education is the foundation of life. Education is far more significant than social life. This is because education prepare students for success and helps them go further in life as well. With a vast variety of career paths, education allows people to select their fields of interest
18、and specialize in an occupation related to that career path. As a result, education not only allows people to make a living but also enables them to do what they want and love in their daily life. Twist (Canada) Yes, you can have your fun with a great social life; yes, you can not have a bachelors d
19、egree and still do well in life. But statistically, people with a degree get higher paying jobs, which leads to a more diverse and comfortable lifestyle. If you are confident of success without a degree, dont get one! Go and start doing what you want to do. Most people misunderstand the term “educat
20、ion“; education can take place not only at school, but at your work and at home; its intimately linked to your life. Steve (China) Technically, education is a part of your social life. Anyway by having a social life you will have connections. You can be the smartest person in the world while with no
21、 connections you are nothing. If you meet a CEO of a big company, are you going to say, “I have a Ph. D. Hire me. “ or socialize with him? Ann (Austria) Life is about living, not getting a grade A. At the end of your life, when you look back on everything, you are not going to smile and feel glad th
22、at you have learned more instead of celebrating your best friends birthday. Even if you get a doctorate, it doesnt guarantee that you will get success and money, and having a social life guarantees a psychological fulfillment that grades can never supply. Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 3
23、The phrase “everybodys doing it“ is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence exerted on an individual in order to get that person to act or believe in a similar way as a larger group. Most people experience it in some way during their lives. The following exc
24、erpt is about peer pressure and alcohol. The author presents his opinion on peer pressure. 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 will be awarded for content relevance, content
25、sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Peer Pressure In the United States, over 80% of college students have at least one alcoholic drink over a two-week time period. Of these college students, 40% are binge drinking (i
26、. e., having four or more drinks) on occasion, which greatly surpasses the rate of their non-college peers. Research suggests that this discrepancy between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the college environment. More specifically, college students must experience a tr
27、ansitional period from depending on their parents at home to depending on their peers on campus. Peer interactions may be essential for college students in that peers provide the guidance and support needed to circumvent this transitional period. In addition, the freshman population is particularly
28、reliant on peer groups because they are new to the college environment and are attempting to adapt to the college lifestyle. Although peers may be an essential coping mechanism during this transitional period, the increase of peer involvement in a students everyday life may influence the increase of
29、 peer pressure as well. Peer pressure, or the direct or indirect encouragement from ones own age group to engage in activities that they may or may not want to engage in, is a major factor in the development of students risk-taking behavior (e. g., alcohol use, drug use, and tobacco use). Peers act
30、as an influential model by introducing, providing, or pressuring risky activities (i.e., alcohol use) to other peers. By modeling the behavior of their peers, college students are viewing alcohol use as a positive and socially acceptable experience. However, what college students fail to take into c
31、onsideration are the negative consequences that are related to alcohol use, especially within a peer group context. For example, the leading cause of death for adolescents 17 to 20 years old is alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). In addition, abo
32、ut 400,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 have unprotected sex due to drinking. More than one fourth of those students report being too intoxicated to know if they even consented to have sex (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Therefore, it is imperative to understand
33、 peer pressure, as well as which groups of college students are more susceptible to it, in order to decrease these negative consequences from occurring. The social identity theory may help to explain why college students are influenced by peer pressure. The social identity theory suggests that a sig
34、nificant portion of an individuals self-concept is formed through their peer groups, with the in-groups being viewed more positively than the out-groups. In a college environment, it is essential for students to be associated with the in-groups in order to be socially accepted. Out-groups, such as f
35、reshmen college students and non-drinkers, may lack the social support needed during this transitional period because they are not fitting in with the majority of their peers. More specifically, non-drinkers would be considered an out-group because they are not participating in the normative behavio
36、r of alcohol use. Subsequently, students who enter college determined to remain non-drinkers often give in to peer pressure in order to become a part of the in-group. This experience of feeling like an out-group is prevalent in freshmen college students as well. Freshmen are highly at risk for alcoh
37、ol consumption because they are adapting to the college lifestyle and attempting to develop new friendship. Furthermore, vulnerable college groups ( e. g. , freshmen and non-drinkers) will give in to peer pressure in hopes to be socially accepted and have a successful transition to college. Write yo
38、ur response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. 4 Gaokao is Chinas national university admission test, which places heavy emphasis on foreign language study. However, the gaokao reform targeting at foreign language has commenced to change step by step. In the following excerpt, the author states the change and th
39、e concerns. Read the excerpt carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the different opinions about the issue; 2. give your comment. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to f
40、ollow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. As to gaokao, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has proposed fundamentally changing the foreign language requirement altogether by 2017. The MOE proposal would phase out English testing altogether and shift it over to other testing authoritie
41、s who are not confined to the gaokaos usual, one-and-done approach. This would give students more opportunities to take the exam, including the option of taking it more than once, and further, allow for greater regional variation to better meet local needs and abilities. Unsurprisingly, these propos
42、ed reforms have generated a hot debate among various stakeholders. Many Chinese have a love-hate attitude toward gaokao, particularly its English component. On the one hand, while imperfect, gaokao has provided most people with a meritocratic means for determining who gets access to specific advanta
43、ges. On the other hand, gaokao, even with regional variation, takes a one-size-fits-all approach and thus, is too reductive, too standardized, and in turn has fostered rote-based pedagogies. Further, the make-or-break consequences frequently associated with the exam mean that students, their familie
44、s and their schools face intense and often harmful pressure to over-achieve. For many, this pressure is most acutely felt when faced with the foreign language requirement. Policymakers have other concerns as well. De-emphasizing the foreign language component will likely support expanding enrollment
45、s, therefore confronting the fact that most Chinese do not actually become bilingual, despite the tremendous amount of time and resources lavished on foreign language studies. Indeed, it is practically impossible to teach a foreign language the same way other subjects are taught, and further impossi
46、ble to test it the same way as well without resulting in what is sometimes called “dumb English“ the ability to engage a standardized test but not to actually speak or comprehend it when they hear it. Indeed, whats the point of spending so much if the actual return is so little? Wouldnt funds be bet
47、ter spent on areas where higher returns might be realized, particularly if slowing economic growth rates require increasing thriftiness? Some are worried that such reforms might limit Chinas access and connection to international information and studies. This includes both Chinese people and foreign
48、 universities who have benefited from the fact that most overseas students in the world today are Chinese. Conversely, some worry that overemphasizing English diminishes Chinese studies and subjects to linguistic imperialism while providing direct conduits for foreign soft power operations. Others a
49、re concerned that overstretched primary and secondary school budgets will respond by sharply curtailing foreign language study, particularly in the provinces, while the major municipalities like Shanghai and Beijingwhere Chinas top universities are located will continue to teach English and require it for university admission. Also, while Chinas meteoric rise amid reform and opening up has resulted in less pressure to be “international“, and while more foreigners than ever before are studying Chinese, English remains the global language and will likel
