1、专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 65及答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 The number of British universities offering specialist modern-language courses is in sharp decline. This collapse might be partly down to the rise of free translation software such as Google Translate. The following excerpt is about this issue. Write an ar
2、ticle of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the article; 2. express your own opinion, especially whether automatic translation technology will eliminate foreign language learning. I hear more and more about automatic translation technology. Skype recently announced the
3、ir Skype Translator Preview. This translation technology will make it possible for people to communicate via Skype across languages. Two people can speak two different languages, and the conversation is automatically translated for each person to hear in his or her own language. This technology is n
4、ot surprising. Google Translate is already quite accurate for many languages, although not for all. The more closely related the languages are in vocabulary and structure, the more accurate the translations are. Recently, text-to-speech technology has greatly improved, enabling any text to be accura
5、tely voiced for someone to listen to. How is this likely to affect language learning? I recently did a Google search for articles on the subject and came across a blog post by a Benny the Irish Polyglot where he discusses a product called Vocre. Benny points out that these translations are not alway
6、s reliable. To me, this is a minor problem. The quality of these translations can only improve over time, since they are based the accumulation of context examples of ever increasing quantity, and in this way the context based-accuracy improves. I already find that Google Translate is much better th
7、an it was, and usually serves my purpose. So I dont think that it is the accuracy of this technology that will be the main reason why it will not replace the need to learn languages. Rather it is because language learning is not just about learning to ask for directions and ordering beer. Language l
8、earning, in my opinion, is about connecting with a different language group, getting an insight into how these people think and getting exposure to their history and culture. This new automatic interpreting technology is helpful for situations like the ones that I will face in Myanmar and Vietnam as
9、 a tourist, where I dont speak the language, and very specific questions that I need to have answered. It is an interim communication tool. It is not a substitute for learning the language. On the contrary, if after visiting Vietnam and Myanmar, I find that one of these countries is sufficiently fas
10、cinating, I may very well want to learn the language in order to get closer to those people, their history and their culture. I may simply want to be able to interact naturally with speakers of those languages, not via some interpreting device. Just as the advent of the computer increased the consum
11、ption of paper, I tend to think that the introduction of this kind of technology will increase the interest of people in language learning, and not decrease it. It is a short-term bridge or crutch which enables communication across certain language barriers, but not a longer-term resource for really
12、 getting to know people and discovering other cultures. This new translation technology will again make our world smaller, bring people closer together, and as a result, people will want to take the next step in getting closer to people who share their world, and learn their language. 2 Every year,
13、various organizations and magazines publish college rankings issues in their countries. These rankings often get a lot of attention from the media, colleges and college-bound students and their parents. But are these rankings actually a good thing? The following excerpts are opinions from two Americ
14、an experts on this issue. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize both opinions, and then 2. express your opinion towards college rankings. Excerpt 1 Philip Altbac, Research Professor in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College College and university rank
15、ings are ubiquitous worldwide. Big decisions are made on the basis of rankings. Students and their families use them for deciding where to study, governments sometimes allocate funds on the basis of rankings and the academic community obsesses over its current score. In todays world of mass and comp
16、etitive higher education, rankings are probably and unfortunately inevitable. But what do the rankings measure? Everything and nothing. They claim to provide in a single score the essence of quality. But quality cannot be measured easily, and some aspects of educational performance cannot be accurat
17、ely assessed at all. Research performance is most easily assessed; it is possible to count articles, grants, books and to measure the impact of work in the sciences. Most rankings rely a lot on measures of reputation, such as asking administrators and academics what they think about various universi
18、ties. These are notoriously inaccurate. No one has wide knowledge of a range of schools, particularly if asked about institutions in other countries, and subjectivity reigns supreme. Other key variables cannot be accurately gauged. Teaching quality and learning outcomes are among the most problemati
19、cal and most important. Further, one size does not fit all in higher education. Harvard University differs immensely from Bunker Hill Community College, just a few miles away. Rankings generally measure the research universities and neglect the rest. Some of the rankings change their criteria from y
20、ear to year, thus making it difficult to trace trends over time. Excerpt 2 Paul Glastris, American journalist and political columnist I like rankings. So do most students and parents. Rankings provide a quick and easy way for normal, busy people to visually grasp the results of assessments that are
21、often quite complex. We rely on rankings Zagat for restaurants, Angies List for contractors, Consumer Reports for just about everything else to be our arbiters of quality and value because we dont have the time or ability to reliably figure out all the products and services in the marketplace on our
22、 own. This is especially true of colleges. Higher education is the biggest investment many people will ever make, and often the most fateful. College is also what economists call an “experience good“ that is, a good or service whose quality isnt readily apparent until after youve consumed it Its alm
23、ost impossible to buy an experience good intelligently without some reliable third party assessment. Though certainly not perfect, popular college rankings are a great way to sift through thousands of universities and find college options that are most in tune with an individuals wants and needs. In
24、 the broadest sense, rankings provide a list of top colleges. This allows prospective students to identify and expand the list of potential 4-year or online schools based on quality of degree programs, majors available, career opportunities and more. For example, if a small school is your priority,
25、you can find a list of the top ten small schools. If youre primarily looking for a social experience, you can check out the top ten party schools. 3 The education authorities in south Chinas Guangdong Province have decided to introduce finance into the curriculum in primary and middle schools in Gua
26、ngzhou. The finance course will cover basic financial knowledge, stock market investment and financial management. This decision has sparked discussions among the public. From the following excerpts, you can find two different opinions toward this policy. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words,
27、in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the arguments on both sides; 2. give your comment on whether it is suitable to set up finance course in primary and middle schools. Excerpt 1 Chen Fang from Xinmin Evening News When it comes to finance, people usually focus on investment and money making. Kn
28、owing how to spend ones money is also a part of it. In China, most children are not familiar with financial concepts. During the Spring Festival, for example, how to best put their “lucky money,“ monetary gifts given to them by adults, to use is a popular topic of discussion, implying a need to begi
29、n financially educating young students. Such an idea is not alien to Western countries. The British, for instance, require schools to educate children in financial management at a young age, even requiring youngsters to complete compulsory courses on the topic. In China, college students daily expen
30、ses have gleaned discussion. Some students excess spending is shocking. Partly, this is because they have rich families, but this is also a reflection of their poor financial common sense. Nowadays, a lot of young people spend every penny of their monthly wages without depositing anything into savin
31、gs. Isnt this a result of their poor capacity for financial management? Educating students on the proper use of money and giving them some financial knowledge will help them make better use of their allowance and plan for their lives when they mature. Excerpt 2 Pi Haizhou from Primary and middle sc
32、hool students should be informed of basic financial knowledge, such as what money is, the function of money and how to properly use money. A correct understanding of money will help foster positive consumption concepts and habits. However, investment topics are too heavy for such young minds. Beside
33、s, they may not have an opportunity to practice. If children are sent to the bank to deposit money, their parents and bank staff may feel uneasy. Its all right for students in middle schools to gain financial knowledge, but its too risky for them to go to the stock market. Also, it will squeeze thei
34、r already limited study time. Their study will be seriously affected if they are distracted by financial issues. To become a rational investor, one must know how to make a basic analysis of the stock market and gain a sense of the macroeconomic situation, domestically and internationally. These are
35、difficult topics how can you expect middle school students to cope with the stock market? A stock market investor must be capable of independently bearing risks, as speculation in this market is a risky practice. There is no necessity to encourage young students to get involved in this speculative a
36、ctivity. 4 College education or not, this is a dilemma for the graduates of high school. In terms of this issue, people hold different opinions. The following is an article about a parents views on whether students should receive college education. Read it carefully and write your response in NO LES
37、S THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the authors view; 2. give your comment Is College Really Necessary for All High School Graduates? One of the biggest assumptions I read about in books and articles about financial planning for your children is the outright assumption that y
38、our child must attend a college or university of some sort after graduating from high school, so youd better financially plan for it. To me, this assumption is one that needs to be seriously re-evaluated. Many people assume that if you dont go to college and earn a degree, youre destined for some mi
39、serable, failed life, earning minimum wage on a factory floor somewhere. Thats simply not true. There are many opportunities available to those who do not attend a post-secondary institution. For example, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen do not have the need to earn a four yea
40、r degree to ply their craft, and theyre always in demand. But in fact, I know from my own experience how beneficial college can be. You can learn critical thinking skills and also get the preparation you need for certain career paths. I spent six years earning two separate bachelors degrees and I th
41、oroughly enjoyed the experience. After I graduated at age twenty three, I spent six years working at two different jobs directly related to my degrees, both of which I enjoyed quite a lot and both of which paid well. But the itch inside me told me that I needed to forge a different path, and now I f
42、ind myself in a self-defined career as a writer focusing on personal finance topics. Im not trained in English nor in finance, yet this is the path Im following. The point is that college itself does not define the path that your life will follow. When you enter college after high school, youre movi
43、ng from thirteen years spent in the educational system directly into another number of years in the educational system. If youre one of the lucky ones, youve already figured out your internal talents and passions and even luckier your parents have supported and fostered those talents and passions. B
44、ut most incoming college students arent there yet. Most of them are either majoring in something that seemed vaguely interesting in high school, or are majoring in something that someone told them would earn them good money. And these were those kids in the minority that were even in college at all.
45、 Given all of this, my primary concern for my childrens educational growth is helping them find their natural talents and their natural passions. I intend to encourage their critical thinking skills as much as I can and try to expose them to as many areas as possible while still at home. Theyll try
46、musical instruments, various art forms, sciences of all kinds, and so on, and well see where their natural magnet leads them. Im also going to strongly encourage them to be entrepreneurs in their spare time, from selling lemonade to mowing lawns. Or maybe even starting their own blogs Ive discovered
47、 some amazingly successful bloggers early in their teen years. 专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 65答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 【正确答案】 Translation Technology Will Not Eliminate Language Learning The emergence of automatic translation technology, such as Google Translation and Skype Translator Preview, raises the debate w
48、hether it will eliminate foreign language learning. It is pointed out by the above excerpt that automatic translation technology will overcome the problem of inaccuracy if data of context examples is enough. However, the author also holds the opinion that translation technology will not eliminate la
49、nguage learning, as language learning is not only related to information exchange but also a way of knowing the essence of the culture of the target language. Therefore, automatic translation technology, rather than saving people the efforts in language learning, becomes a useful intermediary which can surely arouse peoples passion for language learning by affording them the ease in receiving information from other languages. As I see it, translation technology will not eliminate language learning. Firstly, the curren
