1、专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 79及答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 In the rapid process of urbanization in China, many cultural relics have been torn down to make room for high-rise buildings. Some people think that this leads to social progress and increasing living standard. Some argue that the cultural essence of China
2、 is rooted out, with the depletion of the historical sites. The following news report introduces a dispute over this issue. Read it carefully and write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the news report; 2. give your comment on whether cultural relics
3、should give way to urban development. Historic Buildings Threatened The Republic of China era (1911-1949) buildings have become the focus of dispute in Nanjing, capital of East Chinas Jiangsu Province. “Architecture from the period has a high profile, the buildings possess high academic and historic
4、 value, and their demolition is truly unwise,“ said Zhang Hong, an architecture professor from Southeast University (SEU). During the 1911-1949 period, Nanjing was Chinas capital city, and site of some of the eras most ambitious architectural projects. According to a group of architecture experts fr
5、om SEU, who have banded together to protect the citys heritage, many buildings from the period have already been torn down to make way for urban construction. Starting in 1988, the group has listed more than 200 buildings of significant historic, architectural and cultural value. More than 40 have a
6、lready been lost. According to Zhang, buildings from the time represent the transitional period of contemporary Chinese architecture, shifting gradually from a pure Western style to a combination of both Western and traditional Chinese styles. Zhang Yan, another architecture expert, says that becaus
7、e of Nanjings central location, there is a mix of both northern and southern architectural styles. The publics view on the preservation of the buildings is not so clear. Wang Huisheng, a 74-year-old local resident, is a strong advocate of protecting the architecture he grew up with. “These buildings
8、 are an irreplaceable record of that period of history,“ said Wang. His grandson, Wang Qiang, disagrees. “Those old buildings, usually in commercial districts, should give way to urban development which is crucial to the improvement of our daily lives,“ said Wang junior. “I dont think they have much
9、 historical importance compared with other relics from ancient dynasties.“ The local municipal government has shown some commitment to protecting the buildings. More than 500 million yuan has been invested in preserving the buildings since 2000 with 134 designated provincial-level protected cultural
10、 relics, including Sun Yat-sens Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace. But this is just a drop in the ocean for a city with more than 1,000 buildings from the relevant period. “The majority of buildings cannot be included on the protection list and have not received enough protection. Often, buildin
11、gs are removed by real estate companies without notifying the government,“ said a member of staff, surnamed Wu, from the citys Urban Planning Bureau. But, according to Wu, the bureau is working on a detailed record of all the remaining 1,000-plus buildings from the 1911-1949 period, including those
12、of former foreign embassies and the residences of then celebrities. The bureau is calling for joint protection efforts from individuals, non-government organizations and relevant departments of the local government. 2 During the past decade, talent shows have been quite popular among Chinese audienc
13、e. Despite the phenomenal response from the grass root Chinese, shows of this kind are often criticized as vulgar and profane ones. The following are three excerpts of opinions towards talent shows. Read them carefully and write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summar
14、ize briefly the opinions; 2. express your opinion towards talent shows, especially whether talent shows should be restricted on TV channels. Excerpt 1 I dont think the mass popularity of talent shows is a bad thing, but the precondition is that there must be enough originality, creativity and differ
15、ences between such programs. Since the overwhelming success of Hunan TV Stations talent show Super Girl in 2005, talent shows have hit major TV stations across China. The artistic presentation of these contests, with their unpredictability, has attracted a large number of viewers. However, at the sa
16、me time, the similarity of such shows makes TV quite inanimate. Program producers must realize that not everyone is interested in such programs, with some needing a richer choice. Although no such programs have been labeled as “piracy,“ its obvious that most draw from similar programs broadcast abro
17、ad, with little originality and creativity. In order to win more viewers, some TV channels have directly purchased the copyright of popular overseas reality talent shows. Copying successful products is not a problem existing in the entertainment market alone. It might have something to do with a cur
18、rent lack of creativity in current Chinese society. Vitality of the cultural industry comes from originality and creativity. To always follow and copy others will turn the Chinese entertainment market into another “workshop“ of simple and low value-added products. Excerpt 2 In recent years, talent s
19、hows, like singing contest programs, have produced some excellent programs and uncovered many talented stars, like singers and actors. It provides opportunities for such once unknown singers, which is a good practice for Chinese TV. However, we must realize that due to the excessive production of su
20、ch programs that are quite similar to each other, there is a huge waste of resources and a waste of audience time. Excerpt 3 To deal with talent shows on TV, the best way out is not the application of administrative interference, but market rules. Many TV programs, including reality talent shows, fl
21、ashy TV serials and dating shows, always manage to thrive despite relevant regulation and control. Some authorities hope to guide TV programs in a proper direction and hope that screens will not be packed with similar entertainment programs. Nevertheless, such kinds of interference seem unnecessary.
22、 As long as they stay within the law and social moral standards, enough tolerance should be given to these programs. Excessive administrative interference might lead to a monotony of programs and affect audience ratings. Apart from singing shows, we need to have more other reality talent shows, so t
23、hat more people will have the opportunity to present themselves and chase their dreams. 3 Among the 518 items of national nonmaterial cultural heritages currently published by the Ministry of Culture, 92 are Chinese traditional opera. In recent years, however, traditional opera is facing an unpreced
24、ented crisis as many of these time-honored arts are disappearing. The following article gives details of this phenomenon. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize the current crisis Chinese traditional opera is facing, and then 2. express your opinion towards it,
25、 especially whether we should try to save the disappearing opera Struggling Chinese Opera Almost all disciplines of traditional Chinese opera have battled difficulties of the shrinking market. The repertoire stops developing and fans gradually disappear. Statistics shows that the number of unique tr
26、aditional Chinese opera styles had decreased from 368 to 267 by last year, with one or two disappearing each year. And half of them lack any video or audio documentation. Although Beijing is home to more than 150 movie theaters, the capital hosts only a handful of stages for opera performance, such
27、as the National Center for the Performing Arts, Changan Grand Theater and Meilanfang Grand Theater. The massive disproportion evidences the marginal situation of traditional Chinese opera in the nations modern cultural market. Although it is the cradle of Peking Opera, Beijing even lacks substantial
28、 venues to appreciate its indigenous performing art. And even when the curtain does go up, the spectators are always foreigners. Lack of demand from the Chinese public has resulted in a waning market. In a city as large as Shanghai, only a few hundred Kunqu Opera fans remain, and only about a hundre
29、d can be found in Nanjing. Presently, not a single theater dedicated to Kunqu Opera remains anywhere in China. A production costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan would close after only one or two performances because of meager attendance. Local opera troupes disbanded one after anot
30、her. For instance, in Zhejiang Province alone, the number of Yueju troupes is down to 20 from over 100. Squeezed by modern and foreign culture and entertainment such as movies, TV programs and pop music, traditional Chinese opera has been severely marginalized. Elderly opera fans pass away while you
31、ng ones are non-existent. The well-maintained traditional aesthetics of Chinese opera also deter many young people. Featuring local characteristics and performed with dialects, traditional Chinese opera is characterized by sublime singing skills and performance, which can be difficult for laymen to
32、appreciate. And their stories of ancient times are considered out-dated by the young. “You need to practice three years for every three minutes on the stage,“ goes a saying illustrating the necessary devotion to become a proficient Chinese opera performer. The daunting work isnt attractive to youngs
33、ters considering the profession. Today, fewer children can bear the hardships. Presently, students recruited to learn opera often come from poor families. Parents send them here to find a way out. The modern “mass production“ teaching mode does not work for teaching opera, which requires more one-on
34、-one and face-to-face instruction. It leads the long circle of the training. So, an opera performer can seldom enjoy over-night fame like a pop star or a film actor might. Restless yearning for quick success contributes to the major decline in those willing to learn opera performance. Because of the
35、 market slump and low salaries, traditional Chinese opera practitioners are finding other work one-by-one, as are many directors and playwrights. For example, the number of Kunqu Opera practitioners is still decreasing 10 years after its acceptance to the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The
36、 brain drain inhibits development of new repertoires. In an era of fickle audiences, its hard to draw more spectators with familiar old repertoires. 4 Despite rising education levels and the convenience of buying books online, Chinese of every age are reading less and less these days, according to a
37、n analysis released by Chinese Academy of Press and Publication. The following article gives detail information of this phenomenon. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize the article briefly; 2. give your comment. Why Arent Chinese People Reading Books Anymore?
38、 While the supply of books has exploded in China in recent decades, peoples interest in them has not kept up. According to a survey result published by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication in February, Chinese people read 4.39 books per capita in the past year, a figure that trails far behin
39、d major developed countries. And, on average, Chinese people allocated just over 15 minutes a day to reading, compared to almost 100 to watching television and over 45 for using the Internet. Why are the Chinese turning away from reading books? The question has prompted soul-searching among the coun
40、trys intellectuals. Zhang Lijia, a freelance writer based in Beijing, reminisced fondly about peoples passion for reading: “I often had get-togethers with friends where we talked about politics and discussed the books we were reading,“ she recalled. “There was such a strong spirit of inquiry.“ That
41、spirit disappeared, Zhang says, by Chinas single-minded pursuit for economic prosperity, which has left its people with little regard for anything else. “People are too restless, too utilitarian,“ she reflected. “You need some peace in mind in order to be able to sit down with a book.“ Zhangs opinio
42、n is echoed by a number of longtime professionals in the book industry, who, since the early days of the industrys market-driven reform, have kept close watch of the publics changing preference in books. Some of them point out that in addition to turning away from books, Chinese people have also aba
43、ndoned more serious and intellectually enriching stories in favor of easy reads. “In the last decade, best-sellers in China have less intellectual content and have become increasingly practical,“ said He Xiongfei, a well-known publisher of popular books since the early 1990s. Best sellers in China t
44、oday, He says, consist mainly of “child-rearing manuals, cookbooks, health and fitness guides, test-preparation books, thrillers, and romance novels.“ Chinese people now have flocked to the Web for more light-hearted fare. According to a 2012 report from the China Internet Network Information Center
45、, almost 200 million Chinese read online literature, although the term lacks a clear definition. A survey by the Chinese research firm iResearch shows that the ten most popular Chinese literature websites receive a total of 12.2 million visitors on an average day. These websites run the gamut of gen
46、res, from romance and horror to science fiction and fantasy, and reader interest helps carve them into more specific niches, like military fantasy novels, “officialdom“ literature, and stories about time travel. Some websites require readers to pay a small fee, usually less than 5 RMB (80 cents), to
47、 access the most popular serialized novels. In the U.S., readers who used to buy physical books now flock to digital stores to find content. Chinas online readers, however, are choosing e-books for precisely what print books lack: critical and realistic depictions of society, and, more often, a chea
48、p form of escape that, not unlike video games and television, offers them a refuge from the complications and concerns of the real world. 专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 79答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 【正确答案】 Civilization on Bulldozers The article mainly shows us a discouraging fact that the Republic of China era buildi
49、ngs of high academic and historic value are in danger. On the one hand, many such buildings have been torn down to make way for urban construction. On the other hand, governments protection of such buildings is far from enough in that only a small number of historic buildings are included on the protection list while the majority of these buildings are left out and have not received enough protection. Besides, not all local residents are in favor of protection of historic buildings. Its my belief that historic relics should never be sacrificed to make
