2016年3月13日托福寫作解析

綜合寫作

　　話題：討論曾經很繁榮的Akkad Kingdom覆滅原因。

　　閱讀：給出帝國覆滅的三個原因。

　　閱讀分論點1-征服地區人民頻繁反抗、起義，傷了帝國根基。

　　閱讀分論點2-降水少導致農耕受影響，沒有充足食物供給(enough food supply)。

　　閱讀分論點3-帝國很霸道，總是企圖控制貿易(聽力中稱為unfair trade)，并且把自己的條件強加給其他國家，引起周邊國家不滿甚至導致了幾十個外國國王對其宣戰。舉例海戰。

　　聽力：閱讀三個原因都沒有說服力。

　　聽力分論點1-征服地區的城墻被征服拆了，起義軍沒有城墻保護很容易會被政府軍鎮壓。

　　聽力分論點2-糧食并不短缺，農耕技術很先進，甚至掌握灌溉技術(irregation)，北方缺水能從別的地區引水。并且知道存儲糧食(store grain)

　　聽力分論點3-海戰是真實的，雖然和一些國家會有摩擦，但戰后新的機會和資源都會變多，彌補(make up)損失。

　　獨立寫作

　　題目：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

　　Students should take at least a year to work or travel before beginning college.

　　同意與否：在上大學之前學生至少應該花一年時間去工作或旅行。

　　解題思路：

　　本題目為利弊類題型。立意及構思分論點時，重點落在討論題目中做法的好處與壞處。在文章結構上，可采取“一邊倒”或“讓步式”寫法。即給出三個正方理由或給出兩個正方理由及一個正方缺點(或反方優點)。

　　范文總觀點為同意。采取“讓步式”寫法，兩個主體段分別闡述題目優點，另外一個讓步段闡述其缺點。tips：寫讓步段時，一定要保持思路清晰，掌握好結構，不要忽略讓步段必要的轉折環節。

　　范文

　　分論點1: 花一年時間去工作或旅行能夠幫助學生確定今后的學習方法及人生目標。

　　分論點2: 疲憊的學生能夠通過至少一年時間去充電、放松。

　　分論點3: 誠然，這種做法可能會讓學生喪失一定學習能力。

　　Gap year, a break between high school and college, has become a trend among many American and European students theses years. As the popularity of gap year has grown, so to has its appeal. Generally, it can be constructed (working in a company, taking time off to improve coding skills, learning a language, working on personal projects) or unconstructed (travelling, figuring out what to do as it comes). The idea of gap year has been strongly questioned by some nervous parents, however, some supporters contend that it will be a lifelong treasure which enables one to have the full command of his life. From my perspective, taking a year to work or travel before college brings about more advantages than shortcomings.

　　To begin with, a gap year helps guide students’ future education and life goals. Most of young students do not know exactly what they wanted to do once they left high school or even half way through college. Working or travelling a year will give them some “real world experience” as well as insight into their interests and strengths which will help them shape a path to a successful career. Once students learn a whole lot about themselves, they are likely to take full advantage of college. Take an Australian boy for an example. Enjoying his gap year in Nepal, he helps the locals in Pokhara to build their organic farms. He is so passionate about what he is doing now and he decided to pursue environmental science after he comes back to university. The internships and professional experience gained over the gap year will have much more influence on the development of one’s future than college.

　　In addition, taking a year off can refresh the tired-out high school graduates. In general, it will take at least ten years before jumping into the long and challenging years of university. There is no doubt that studious students will spare no effort to improve their academic performance with the expectation that they will receive offers from their dream schools. Under the competitive pressure of high school, they will not only prepare for exams such as SAT or ACT but also seek for voluntary opportunities to enrich their Curriculum Vitae. My younger sister used to travel to Cuba to volunteer with brown bears for three months. After that she went to Europe driving her Vespa across more than 20 cities. She said it was so different from school. She won’t have to attend a test at then end of the trimester, which means that there is no peer pressure or any pressure from outside. At the same time she can reorganize her mind which was full of chemical equations, historical events as well as verses from poems.

　　It is true that students who choose to drop a year are more likely to lose their study skills. During the gap year, there will be less chances for them to participate in actual classes in college. Without attending lectures given by famous professor and communicating face-to-face with classmates, the whole learning process will be incomplete. Many of study skills could not be developed and trained, which leads directly to the deprivation of both academic ability and motivation. However, it won’t be a potential problem nowadays because most of top universities offer MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). Students can study random topics through free online classes. Although they don’t have any college credit, they learned a lot, met wonderful people, and keep their brains in shape for college.

　　Ultimately, the benefits of gap year far outweigh the only drawback because it can help exhausted students relax both mentally and physically and provide them with the opportunities to take a step back to focus on their goals, leading to a stronger sense of direction once they’re back in the classroom.