第四部分：作文模式
Model 1: Problem-solution
Writing 1
2005年
Directions: Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay, you should first describe the drawing, then interpret its meaning and give your comment on it.
养老“足球赛”
Model Composition
A “Football Match” of Taking Care of Parents
As is illustrated in the cartoon, the four children are playing a “football match”, however, the “ball” is their old father. While the eldest son kicks his father out, his younger brothers and sister are serving as “goalkeepers”, trying to keep their father out of their “goals”.
There is no denying that this picture reveals a common yet serious problem in our country. In the first place, many young people are enjoying a comfortable life, but they regard their parents as burdens. In the second place, their parents have grown so physically weak that they cannot support themselves. If their children don’t take care of them, they will be reduced to utter poverty. Last but not least, to be kind to one’s parents is the height of virtue in our tradition.
As far as I am concerned, we should do something to prevent such an evil phenomenon from happening again. To begin with, all the society should condemn such a wrongdoing and these children should be punished by law. What’s more, every citizen must realize it is our duty to support our parents when they are old. Only with the joint efforts can we hope to solve this problem. (199 words, 47/84/68)
Writing 2
Our Right Attitudes Toward Animals
Your essay should meet the requirements below:
1) Describe the cartoon and deduce the purpose of the drawer of the cartoon;
2) State the negative effects of eating wild animals; and
3) Give your suggestion as to how to solve the problem.
As is depicted in the cartoon, both the cat and snake are on the table, with tears in their eyes, waiting to be eaten by humans. Through this picture, the drawer condemns the eating of wild animals and calls for our sympathy for and protection of them.
Eating wild animals gives rise to a lot of negative effects. In the first place, as many wild animals carry viruses or parasites, when we eat them, the viruses or parasites enter our bodies, thus causing a lot of illnesses. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a case in point. It was reported that the virus derived from a “delicious” animal and the disease has claimed thousands of lives throughout the world and brought great damages to people’s properties. In the second place, since animals are an indispensable part of our environment, the extinction of some animals may disturb the natural balance. Last but not least, eating wild animals is cruel. After all, wild animals are our close friends.
Since eating animals causes so many harms, we should work together to put an end to the problem. On the one hand, the government should make stricter laws to prohibit people from eating wild animals, just as our government has been doing. On the other hand, all the people should realize the harms of eating wild animals and refrain from doing so. Only through these measures can we hope to solve the problem. (240 words. 47/120/73)
Writing 3
There is a discussion in the newspaper about the employment problems of college graduates. According to a recent survey, many graduates will be unable to find a job. You should write a letter to the newspaper to
1) Explain the statistics in the table;
2) Give the reasons for the phenomenon, and
3) Propose your suggestions as to how to solve the problem.
Employment Problems of College Graduates
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005
Number of Unemployed Graduates 380,000 420,000 700,000 1,000,000
As is demonstrated in the table, more and more college graduates are out of a job in our country, which is a serious problem to our economic development and social security as well as a hindrance to our building a “harmonious society”. It is estimated that in 2005, there will be 1,000,000 unemployed graduates, more than twice the number in 2002.
There are several reasons for this phenomenon. In the first place, as the enrollment of college students has grown by more than 30% annually since 1998, more and more students are thrown into the labor market. However, our annual GDP growth has been about 8%. Therefore, the supply of labor exceeds the demand, hence a shortage of positions. In the second place, many graduates do not want to work in medium-sized and small cities or towns where they are most needed. Instead, too many of them crowd in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. Last but not least, the knowledge of many students is out of date. As a result they cannot meet the requirements of the factories and companies.
Serious as the problem seems, we can come up with some measures to deal with it. On one hand, the government should develop our national economy more rapidly, creating more job opportunities. On the other hand, the college students must be realistic in choosing jobs. It is reported in the newspaper that many graduates went to the West of our country to pursue their career in 2003. With the joint efforts of all of us, the unemployment problem will surely be solved soon. (265 words, 61/121/83)
Writing 4
2000年
Your essay should meet the requirements below:
1) Describe the pictures.
2) Deduce the purpose of the drawer of the pictures.
3) Suggest counter-measures.
As is shown in the pictures, we can see clearly that with the increase of commercial fishing, the number of fish sharply decreased. In one picture, there were various kinds of fish and only one fishing-boat in 1900. On the contrary, in 1995 there was only one fish, but many fishing-boats.
The purpose of this picture is to show us that due attention has to be paid to the decrease of ocean resources. Owing to over fishing, the number of fish has obviously dropped. If we let this situation go as it is, we won't know where fish is in the future. By that time, our environment will suffer a great destruction.
Therefore, it is imperative for us to take drastic measures. For one thing, we should appeal to our authorities to make strict laws to control commercial fishing. For another, we should enhance the awareness of people that the ocean resources are vital to our survival. Only in this way can we protect our ocean resources. Also, I believe that we human beings can overcome this difficulty, and we will have a bright future. (185 words, 51/61/73)
Writing 5
The Harmfulness of Smoking
1) Describe the cartoon;
2) State the harms of smoking;
3) Give your suggestions as to how to solve the problem.
As is shown in the cartoon, when the man is enjoying the cigarette, the smoke becomes a monster which will devour him. This picture tells us vividly that smoking is harmful to people.
The harmfulness of smoking can be illustrated in three aspects. To begin with, smoking does harm to people’s health. It is common knowledge that many deadly diseases derive from smoking. Take my neighbor, Lao Wang, as an example. He has been smoking cigarettes for nearly 30 years and during the recent check-up, doctors told him that he suffers from lung cancer. His days are numbered. Much as he likes smoking, he decides to give it up to stop the illness worsening. In addition, smoking costs a lot of money. It is estimated that tens of billions of yuan is spent on cigarettes every year in our country, which is a huge waste. Last but not least, smoking may cause fire. Do you still remember the big fire in the Northeast of our country which caused serious damages to people’s lives and properties?
Serious as the problem seems, we can come up with some ways to deal with it. For one thing, the government should make stricter rules to prohibit smoking in public places, imposing higher fines on smokers. For another, all the smokers should give up smoking for the sake of themselves and those around them. (229 words, 33/142/54)
Writing 6
1998年
Your essay should meet the requirements below:
1) Write out the messages conveyed by the cartoon.
2) Give your comments.
Model Composition l
The past several years have witnessed a phenomenon that a variety of promises have been arising from all walks of life. Regrettably, quite a lot of promises are sheer nonsense, just as the hen in the given cartoon commits herself to laying eggs which are round without any angles and corners and have shells, egg whites and yolks.
Odd and funny as they sound, such false promises can be seen and heard everywhere in our country. Administration departments claim to perform their tasks effectively and fairly without taking any bribes; manufacturing units guarantee to turn out products of good quality; commercial enterprises swear to provide genuine commodities and enthusiastic services. Can you find anything new and substantial other than their obligations, duties and jobs in these so-called promises? I guess your answer will be negative. As a matter of fact, their intention to make such commitments is nothing but to put on civilized outer clothing to please or deceive the public.
I dare say that our society is suffering corruption and cheat which are causing damage to society both materially and morally. But the hen and her like should know that by dishonest words no one could survive the intense competition in the market economy. They should remember the old saying, "Honesty is the best policy". (216 words, 58/103/55)
Model Composition 2
Here is an interesting cartoon: With her head held high, maybe singing, a hen stands proudly in the center of the picture with a notice in her hand, which says that she promises to lay eggs that are like any normal egg. It's so ridiculous that we can't help laughing. But after that there must be something for us to think.
Recently, many promises have come up in many walks of life, especially in the service departments. They promise that they will provide you with warm smile service and good products. At first you are moved nearly to thank them. But if you think twice, you may wonder if those should be their duties. It goes without saying that factories should produce goods of quality; department stores should serve customers politely; buses should arrive on time, and so forth, because all of these are their responsibilities. But why should they promise what are their due jobs? One reason may be that they want to correct their past mistakes under the planned economic system. Another reason is that they intend to improve their images and please the customers.
In my opinion, trying to be better is worth welcoming, but making empty and false promises is unacceptable. If factories, companies, stores and administrations do their jobs well rather than talk nonsense, our society will be more prosperous. (225 words, 61/126/38)
Writing 7
Homework
1) Give your understanding of the symbolic meaning of the picture;
2) State the harms of the phenomenon;
3) Tell how to solve the problem.
As can be clearly seen from the cartoon, the mahjong pieces occupy most part of the desk, while a book, an exercise book and a pencil box lie at the corner. This picture vividly tells us how poor the condition is for the child to study.
This phenomenon gives rise to a lot of negative effects. In the first place, while the parents are playing mahjong, they make a lot of noise, which disturbs the child’s study. How can a child concentrate on his study in such a poor condition? In the second place, the child will have no place to study if his parents spend all day playing mahjong. However, time is crucial for him to acquire the knowledge, because “Practice makes perfect”. Last but not least, the child will learn to play mahjong from his parents. Just as the old saying goes, “Like father, like son”, so the child will abandon his study and be a gambler like his parents.
Serious as it seems, we can think of some measures to deal with the problem. To begin with, the government should make stricter rules to prohibit parents from playing mahjong. What’s more, the parents should give up playing mahjong for their child’s sake. (205 words, 46/116/43)
Writing 8
How Can Laid-off Workers Find New Jobs?
1． 很多下岗工人很难找到新的工作。
2． 如何帮助他们。
The market economy has brought China both benefits and headaches, one of which is the problem of finding new jobs for laid-off workers. There is no denying that serious social problems will arise unless this problem is properly solved. As a result, it is essential to explore ways to get laid-off workers back to work.
Serious as the problem seems, we can find some solutions to it. To begin with, priority should be given to the expansion of tertiary industry because tertiary industry can create a great number of positions with few restrictions on age, education, skill, etc. Also, little capital is needed to set up enterprises in this field. In addition, the laid-off workers have to update their skills to meet the demands of the society, just as the old saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves.” Last but not least, they should stop relying on the state and throw away any worries about their “face” while doing “low” jobs such as washing dishes at restaurants or sending newspapers to households. Once the habit of dependency is cracked, then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving their living standards. With the concerted efforts from all parties concerned, laid-off workers are bound to find new jobs in the future. (213 words, 55/158)
Writing 9
The Tears of A Bird
1. Describe the cartoon and deduce the purpose of the drawer of the picture;
2. State the harmful effects of the phenomenon;
3. Give suggestions as to how to solve the problem.
As can be clearly seen from the cartoon, a bird is sitting on the top of a huge ax, with tears streaming from its eyes. Because all the trees are cut down, the bird will have no habitat. The cartoon conveys the meaning that it is urgent to preserve the woods for the birds and protect the environment for human beings.
The cutting of trees, as well as the destruction of our environment, may lead to several harms as follows. In the first place, the trees provide us with many vital things we humans need, such as oxygen, food, shelter and so on. The animals, such as the bird in the picture, also need the trees. In the second place, if trees are cut down, then there will be nothing to retain the rain water, thus floods will happen more often in the future. Last but not least, there is only one earth. If the environment is destroyed, then we will have no place to live in.
Since this phenomenon causes so many harmful effects, we have to come up with some measures to deal with it. First of all, the authorities should adopt the policy of “sustainable development”, just as our government has been doing. What’s more, every citizen should realize the seriousness of the problem and make concerted efforts to protect our environment. (225 words, 61/106/58)
Writing 10
Illiteracy among the Adolescents
Nowadays one of the serious problems China is faced with is the increasing illiteracy among the adolescents. According to a recent survey by Dr. Li, dean of Educational Department of Beijing Normal University, about 10% of the children between 8 and 15 years old have dropped out of school across the country. The same survey also indicates that the number of dropouts is likely to grow in the years to come. Therefore, it is clear that illiteracy has been getting more and more serious.
To account for the phenomenon, people have come up with various causes as listed below. On the one hand, many families are still too poor to afford schooling for their kids. Take my neighbor as an example. There are three members in their family and the two adults were laid off last year. The only child will have to drop out of school next semester. On the other hand, some parents believe that schooling is useless, particularly for girls. In the end, some students are bored of the school life, and they drop out to escape teachers and lessons.
Whatever the reason, the issue has turned a crippling force to the development of our country. Therefore, some measures should be taken to put an end to this problem. To begin with, our government should make stricter laws to forbid parents to take kids away from school. In addition, more funds should be given to those poor students. Last but not least, we should enhance the awareness of the harms of illiteracy among the people. Only through these measures can we hope to solve the problem. (270 words, 84/98/87)
Follow-up Exercises:
1. On Superstition
2. Overpopulation
3. Harmfulness of Fake Commodities
4. “Holiday Economics”
5. Combating Desertification and Sandstorms
1) Describe the cartoon.
2) Analyze the reasons.
3) Your suggestion.