英语新高考写作【精彩20篇】

导语：高考英语作文是高考英语中比较重要的一部分，下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理了优秀英语作文，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

1) 主语+ cannot emphasize the importance of … too much.(再怎么强调……的重要性也不为过。)例如：We cannot emphasize the importance of protecting our eyes too much.

2)There is no need for sb to do sth. for sth.(某人没有必要做……)，例如：There is no need for you to bring more food. 不需你拿来更多的食物了。

3)By +doing…，主语can …. (借着……，……能够……)，例如：By taking exercise, we can always stay healthy. 借着做运动，我们能够始终保持健康。

4) … enable + sb.+ to + do…. (……使……能够……)，例如：Listening to music enables us to feel relaxed. 听音乐使我们能够感觉轻松。

5) On no account can we + do…. (我们绝对不能……)，例如：On no account can we ignore the value of knowledge.我们绝对不能忽略知识的价值。

6) What will happen to sb.? (某人将会怎样?), 例如：What will happen to the orphan? 那个孤儿将会怎样?

7)For the past + 时间，主语 + 现在完成式…. (过去……年来，……一直……)例如：

For the past two years，I have been busy preparing for the examination. 过去两年来，我一直忙着准备考试。

8)It pays to + do….(……是值得的。)例如：It pays to help others. 帮助别人是值得的。

9)主语+ be based on….(以……为基础)，例如：The progress of thee society is based on harmony.社会的进步是以和谐为基础的。

10)主语 + do one’s best to do….(尽全力去……)，例如：We should do our best to achieve our goal in life.我们应尽全力去达成我们的人生目标

注意：“尽全力”在英语中有不同表达，例如：We should spare no effort/make every effort to beautify our environment.我们应该不遗余力的美化我们的环境。

11)主语+ be closely related to …. (与……息息相关)， 例如：Taking exercise is closely related to health.做运动与健康息息相关。

12) 主语+ get into the habit of + V-ing = make it a rule to + V (养成……的习惯)，例如：We should get into the habit of keeping good hours.我们应该养成早睡早起的习惯。

Owing to/Thanks to sth… (因为……)，例如：Thanks to his encouragement, I finally realized my dream.因为他的鼓励，我终于实现我的梦想。

13)What a + 形容词 + 名词 + 主语 + be!= How +形容词+ a +名词+ be!(多么……!)，例如： What an important thing it is to keep our promise!= How important a thing it is to keep our promise!遵守诺言是多么重要的事!

14)主语 + do good/ harm to sth.. (对……有益/有害)，例如：Reading does good to our mind.读书对心灵有益。Overwork does harm to health.工作过度对健康有害。

15)主语 + have a great influence on sth. (对……有很大的影响)，例如：Smoking has a great influence on our health.抽烟对我们的健康有很大的影响。

16) nothing can prevent us from doing…. (没有事情能够阻挡我们做……), 例如：All this shows that nothing can prevent us from reaching our aims.这显示了没有事情能够阻挡我们实现目标。

17) Upon / On doing…, …. (一……就…….) ，例如：Upon / On hearing of the unexpected news, he was so surprised that he couldn’t say a word. 一听到这个出乎意料的消息，他惊讶到说不出话来。

注意：此句型一般可以改为如下复合句句型，例如：As soon as he heard of the unexpected news, he was so surprised that he ….

Hardly had he arrived when she started complaining. 他刚来，她就开始抱怨。

No sooner had he arrived than it began to rain. 他刚来，就下雨了。

18) would rather do…than do…(宁愿……而不……), 例如：I would rather walk home than take a crowded bus. 我宁愿步行回家也不愿做拥挤的公交车。

注意：此句型可以改为prefer to do…rather than do…句型，例如：

I prefer to stay at home rather than see the awful film with him. 我宁愿呆在家也不愿意和他去看那部恐怖电影。

19) only + 状语， 主句部分倒装 例如：Only then could the work of reconstruction begin. 直到那时，重建工作才开始。

20) be worth doing (值得做)，例如：The book is worth reading. 这本书值得读。

21)Owing to/Thanks to sth, …. (因为……)，例如：Thanks to his encouragement, I finally realized my dream.因为他的鼓励，我终于实现我的梦想。

以下为复合句高级句型：

22)主语+ is + the +形容词最高级+名词+(that)+主语+ have ever + seen(known / heard / had / read,etc)例如：Liu Yifei is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen in my life. 刘亦菲是我所看过最美丽的女孩。Mr. Liu is the kindest teacher that I have ever had. 刘老师是我曾经遇到最仁慈的教师。

注意，比较级也可以用来表达最高级的意思， 例如：I have never seen a more beautiful girl than Liu Yifei in my life. 在我生活中我从来没见过比刘亦菲更美的女孩。Nothing is more important than to receive education. 没有比接受教育更重要的事。

23)There is no denying that + S + V….(不可否认的……)，例如：There is no denying that the qualities of our living have gone from bad to worse.不可否认的，我们的生活品质已经每况愈下。There is no denying the fact that the new management method has greatly increased the production. 不可否认的事实是，新的管理方法已经极大提高了产量。

24)It is universally acknowledged that +从句(全世界都知道……)，例如：It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable to us.全世界都知道树木对我们是不可或缺的。

注意，全世界都知道还可以改为以下句型：As is known to us/As we all know, …. (众所周知，……)。例如：As is known to us/As we all know, knowledge is power.众所周知，知识就是力量。

25)There is no doubt that +从句(毫无疑问的……)，例如：There is no doubt that he came late. 毫无疑问，他来晚了。There is no doubt that our educational system leaves something to be desired.毫无疑问的我们的教育制度令人不满意。 There is no doubt that you will be helped by others if you have any difficulties.毫无疑问，你有困难时，会得到别人的帮助。

26)(It is) No wonder that.... (难怪……)，例如：No wonder that he fell asleep in class. 难怪他在课堂上睡着了。

27)So + 形容词 + be + 主词 + that + 从句 (如此……以致于……)，例如：So precious is time that we can’t afford to waste it.时间是如此珍贵，我们经不起浪费它。

28)形容词+ as +主语+ be，主语+ 谓语(虽然……)，例如：Rich as our country is, the qualities of our living are by no means satisfactory.虽然我们的国家富有，我们的生活品质绝对令人不满意。

29)The + 比较级 +主语+谓语， the +比较级+主语+谓语(愈……愈……)，例如：The harder you work, the more progress you make. 你愈努力，你愈进步。The more books we read, the more learned we become.我们书读愈多，我们愈有学问。The more, the better. 越多越好。

30)It is time + 主语 + 过去式 (该是……的时候了)例如：It is time the authorities concerned took proper steps to solve the traffic problems.该是有关当局采取适当的措施来解决交通问题的时候了。

注意：此句型可以转化为简单句句型：It is time for sth./for sb to do….例如：

It is time for lunch. 该吃午饭了。

It is time they were taught a lesson. 他们该接受教训了

31)To be frank/ To tell the truth, …. (老实说, ……) , 例如: To be frank/ To tell the truth, whether you like it or not, you have no other choice.老实说，不论你喜不喜欢，你别无选择。

32)it took him a year to do….( 他用了1年的时间来做……), 例如：As far as we know, it took him more than a year to write the book.到目前为止我们所知道的是，他用了1年的时间来写这本书。It took them a long time to realize they had made a mistake. 过了很久，他们才意识到犯错了。

33)spent as much time as he could doing sth.(花尽可能的时间做某事)，例如：He spent as much time as he could remembering new words. 他花了尽可能多时间记新单词。

34)Since + 主语 + 过去式，主语 + 现在完成式，例如：Since he went to senior high school， he has worked very hard.自从他上高中，他一直很用功。

35)An advantage of… is that + 句子 (……的优点是……)，例如：An advantage of using the solar energy is that it won’t create (produce) any pollution. 使用太阳能的优点是它不会制造任何污染。

36) It was not until recently that….( 直到最近, ……) ，例如：It was not until recently that the problem was solved. 直到最近这个问题才被解决。

37) We will be successful as long as we…. (只要我们……，我们就会成功的) ，例如：We will be successful as long as we insist on working hard.只要我们坚持努力工作，我们会成功的。

38) No matter + wh-从句，…, 例如：No matter how difficult English may be, you should do your best to learn it.不管英语有多么难，你都应该尽你最大的努力来学它。No matter what he asks you to do, please refuse him. 不管他让你做什么，请拒绝他。注意：此句型一般可以改为疑问词+ever引导的从句，+主句，例如：Whatever he asks you to do, please refuse him.

39)It’s useless/ no good / no use doing sth. (做……是没有用的) , 例如：It’s no use crying over spilt milk. 覆水难收。

40)It’s + a shame / nice/ kind + to do (做.....真惭愧/好)，例如：It’s a shame to lose the match. 输了比赛，真惭愧!It’s nice of you to tell me the truth. 你太好了，告诉我真相。It’s your turn to look after the young trees. 该你照顾这些小树了。

41)It is obvious/clear that + 从句 (…是明显的)，例如：It is obvious that knowledge plays an important role in our life.可想而知，知识在我们的一生中扮演一个重要的角色。

注意：此句型中it是形式主语，其后谓语可以有不同变化。例如：

It’s certain that he will win the election. 他肯定会赢得选举。

It is true that we must make our greater efforts; otherwise we cannot catch up with the developed countries.是真的，我们要作出更大的努力，不然/否则，我们不能赶上发达国家。

It is hard to imagine how Edison managed to work twenty hours each day.很难想象爱迪生每天是怎样工作20小时的。

It’s hard to say whether the plan is practical.这个计划是否实际很难说。

It is a common saying that where there is a will ,there is a way.俗话说，有志者，事竟成。

It must be pointed out that it is one of our basic State policies to control population growth while raising the quality of the population. 一定要指出的是国家基本政策之一是在提高人口质量的同时控制人口增长。

It must be kept in mind that there is no secret of success but hard work. 一定要记住的是成功的秘密是努力的工作。

It can be seen from this that there is no difficulty in the world we cannot overcome.从这里可看出，世上没有克服不了的困难。

It has been proved that his theory is right.已经证明，他的理论是对的。

42)It is/ was ….that… (强调句型), 例如：It was on the desk that you put your book. 你把书放桌子上了。It was the doctor that inquired what had happened. 医生询问了发生的事情。

43)I don’t think / feel/ suppose that… (否定前移)，例如：

I don’t think that we shall finish it on time. 我认为我们不能按时完成(工作)。

44)The reason why + 从句 is that + 从句 (……的原因是……)，例如：

The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can provide us with fresh air.

The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can supply fresh air for us.我们必须种树的原因是它们能供应我们新鲜的空气。

The reason why the river is polluted is that the factory has poured much waste into it.这条河受污染的原因是那家工厂向里倾到了很多垃圾。

注意：表示原因还可用以下句型。请比较：That is the reason why …. (那就是……的原因)，例如：Summer is very hot. That is the reason why I don’t like it.夏天很热。那就是我不喜欢它的原因。

45)It will (not) + 时间段 + before…(……需要很长时间), 例如：It will be a long time before everything returns to normal. 一切恢复正常需要很长时间。

46) I think / feel/ find it + important/ our duty + to do… (我发觉做……重要/是我的责任),例如：I feel it our duty to help the old. 我觉得帮助老人是我们的职责。

47)Those who…. (……的人……)，例如：Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished.违反交通规定的人应该受处罚。

注意：此句型还可以转化为one/a person who…, 例如：

As the saying goes, nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it.俗话说，世上无难事，只怕有心人。In a certain sense, a successful scientist is a person who is never satisfied with what he has achieved.在某种情况下，一个成功的科学家就是一个绝不满足于自己已取得的成就的人。

Every year on January 15th of the lunar calendar is the Chinese attaches great importance to the traditional festival, the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival, the spring Lantern Festival, is a lot of family the reunion of the festival. The fifteenth day the full moon is the first month of the year, and the tradition of eating yuanxiao, the celebration and reunion of two word firmly together. The Lantern Festival is the first important after the Spring Festival holiday, whether the south north more attention for this holiday, a lot of activities to celebrate this festival. You must be very curious about the history and custom of the Lantern Festival, eat small charged China now tell you what is the Lantern Festival, what are the customs.

About the Lantern Festival origin is varied, there are three widely circulated.

The Lantern Festival comes a legend

Night when the festival is a Chinese emperor in honor of "ping lu". Legend hanshu a series after the death of hanshu afraid of to slip, plotting insurgency, clan wang capsule combined with founding veteran bo zhou suppressed "chaos" of lu. Special riot, the minister the second son of liu liu, said the Chinese emperor. Wen emperor was deeply millennium hard-won, kept calm "chaos of the lv" the fifteenth day of the first, as the day which was attended with the people, every family decorated in the capital, to celebrate. From then on, the fifteenth day of the first became a folk festivals celebrate - ring "yuanxiao".

The Lantern Festival origin legend ii

The Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival, is celebrated the first full moon of the year. According to Taoism "three yuan", the fifteenth day of the Lantern Festival, July 15 for the hungry ghost festival, on October 15th is RMB under section. Head up, middle and down three yuan heaven, earth, three officers, respectively cheongwan joy, so the Lantern Festival to eep. Yuanxiao randeng custom of setting off fireworks is from the claim.

The Lantern Festival origin legend three

Lantern Festival originated in the "torch festival", the han people in the country field hold torches to drive bug beast, hope to reduce the insect pest, pray for good harvest. To this day, people in some areas in southwestern China on the fifteenth day of the first made a torch LuChai or branches, flocking carrying torches in farm or ShaiGuChang dance. Since the sui, tang, song, but also reached its zenith. Sufficient amount to tens of thousands of those who participate in the dance, from the unconscious, and to grey and alone. When along with the social and the change of The Times, the Lantern Festival customs already had a big change, but still is a traditional Chinese folk festival, torch also gradually into the lantern.

Since middle period of tang dynasty, the Lantern Festival has become the national reform and development of mardi gras, so the Lantern Festival is a traditional festival custom is the most thorough and typical traditional festival.

Most of the Lantern Festival custom have yuanxiao, lanterns, guess riddles, and bang, dragon dance, lion dance and other activities, but across the north and the south customs has uniqueness.

每年的阴历正月十五是中国人很重视的传统节日，元宵节。元宵节也叫“上元节”,春灯节，是很多家庭团圆的节日。正月十五日是一年中第一个月圆之夜，加上吃元宵的习俗，这个节日就和团圆两个字牢牢的联系起来。元宵节是春节之后的第一个重要节日，不管是南方北方都对这个节日比较重视，举行很多的活动来庆祝这个节日。大家一定很好奇元宵节的来历和习俗，现在中国吃网小编就告诉你元宵节是怎么来的，都有哪些习俗。

有关元宵节来历的说法多种多样，有3种说法流传较广。

元宵节来历传说一

宵节是汉文帝时为纪念“平吕”而设。相传吕后一系在吕后死后害怕大全旁落，密谋叛乱，宗室齐王刘囊联合开国老臣周勃一起平定了“诸吕之乱”。平乱之后，众臣拥立刘邦的第二个儿子刘恒登基，称汉文帝。文帝深感太平盛世来之不易，便把平息“诸吕之乱”的正月十五，定为与民同乐日，京城里家家张灯结彩，以示庆祝。从此，正月十五便成了一个普天同庆的民间节日--“闹元宵”。

元宵节来历传说二

元宵节又称“上元节”,是人们庆祝一年中第一次的月圆之夜。据道教的“三元说”,正月十五日为上元节，七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下三元的分别为天、地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵燃灯放烟火的习俗就是从这个说法来的。

元宵节来历传说三

元宵节起源于“火把节”,汉代民众在乡间田野持火把驱赶虫兽，希望减轻虫害，祈祷获得好收成。直到今天，中国西南一些地区的人们还在正月十五用芦柴或树枝做成火把，成群结队高举火把在田头或晒谷场跳舞。隋、唐、宋以来，更是盛极一时。参加歌舞者足达数万，从昏达旦，至晦而罢。当随着社会和时代的变迁，元宵节的风俗习惯早已有了较大的变化，但至今仍是中国民间传统节日，火把也逐渐变为了彩灯。

自唐朝中期以来，元宵节发展成为了我国全民性的狂欢节，因此元宵节是把传统节日习俗体现得最为彻底和典型的传统节日。

大部分地方元宵节习俗有吃元宵、观花灯、猜灯谜，还有擂鼓、舞龙、舞狮等活动，但南北各地风俗也有独特之处。

南瓜灯(Jack-O-Lantern)是庆祝万圣节的标志物。下面语文迷网整理了关于南瓜灯的故事作文，希望对你有帮助。

One story about Jack， an Irishman， who was not allowed into Heaven because he was stingy with his money. So he was sent to hell. But down there he played tricks on the Devil (Satan)， so he was kicked out of Hell and made to walk the earth forever carrying a lantern.

Well， Irish children made Jacks lanterns on October 31st from a large potato or turnip， hollowed out with the sides having holes and lit by little candles inside. And Irish children would carry them as they went from house to house begging for food for the village Halloween festival that honored the Druid god Muck Olla. The Irish name for these lanterns was "Jack with the lantern" or "Jack of the lantern，" abbreviated as " Jack-o-lantern" and now spelled "jack-o-lantern."

The traditional Halloween you can read about in most books was just childrens fun night. Halloween celebrations would start in October in every elementary school.

关于万圣节有这样一个故事。是说有一个叫杰克的爱尔兰人，因为他对钱特别的吝啬，就不允许他进入天堂，而被打入地狱。但是在那里他老是捉弄魔鬼撒旦，所以被踢出地狱，罚他提着灯笼永远在人世里行走。

在十月三十一日爱尔兰的孩子们用土豆和萝卜制作“杰克的灯笼”，他们把中间挖掉、表面上打洞并在里边点上蜡烛。为村里庆祝督伊德神的万圣节，孩子们提着这种灯笼挨家挨户乞讨食物。这种灯笼的爱尔兰名字是“拿灯笼的杰克”或者“杰克的灯笼”，缩写为Jack-o-lantern 。

现在你在大多数书里读到的万圣节只是孩子们开心的夜晚。在小学校里，万圣节是每年十月份开始庆祝的。孩子们会制作万圣节的装饰品：各种各样桔红色的南瓜灯。

英语写作的开头结尾是写作的重点。下面语文迷为大家带来了经典的句型，供大家阅读参考。

一.开头句型

1.As far as ...is concerned 就……而言

2.It goes without saying that... 不言而喻，...

3.It can be said with certainty that... 可以肯定地说......

4.As the proverb says， 正如谚语所说的，

5.It has to be noticed that... 它必须注意到，...

6.Its generally recognized that... 它普遍认为...

7.Its likely that ... 这可能是因为...

8.Its hardly that... 这是很难的......

9.Its hardly too much to say that... 它几乎没有太多的说…

10.What calls for special attention is that...需要特别注意的是

11.Theres no denying the fact that...毫无疑问，无可否认

12.Nothing is more important than the fact that... 没有什么比这更重要的是…

13.whats far more important is that... 更重要的是…

二.衔接句型

1.A case in point is ... 一个典型的例子是...

2.As is often the case...由于通常情况下...

3.As stated in the previous paragraph 如前段所述

4.But the problem is not so simple. Therefore 然而问题并非如此简单，所以……

5.But its a pity that... 但遗憾的是…

6.For all that...对于这一切...... In spite of the fact that...尽管事实......

7.Further, we hold opinion that... 此外，我们坚持认为，...

8.However , the difficulty lies in...然而，困难在于…

9.Similarly, we should pay attention to... 同样，我们要注意...

10.not(that)...but(that)...不是，而是

11.In view of the present station.鉴于目前形势

12.As has been mentioned above...正如上面所提到的…

13.In this respect, we may as well (say) 从这个角度上我们可以说

14.However, we have to look at the other side of the coin, that is... 然而我们还得看到事物的另一方面，即 …

三.结尾句型

1.I will conclude by saying... 最后我要说…

2.Therefore, we have the reason to believe that...因此，我们有理由相信…

3.All things considered,总而言之 It may be safely said that...它可以有把握地说......

4.Therefore, in my opinion, its more advisable...因此，在我看来，更可取的是…

5.From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw the conclusion that….通过以上讨论，我们可以得出结论…

6.The data/statistics/figures lead us to the conclusion that….通过数据我们得到的结论是，....

7.It can be concluded from the discussion that...从中我们可以得出这样的结论

8.From my point of view, it would be better if...在我看来……也许更好

下面的材料旨在丰富学生在是非问题写作方面的思想和语言，考生在复习时可以先分类阅读这些篇章，然后尝试写相关方面的作文题。

对于素材中用黑体字的部分，特别建议你熟读，背诵，因为它们在语言和观点上都值得吸收。学习语言的人应该明白，表达能力和思想深度都靠日积月累，潜移默化。从某种意义上说，提高英语写作能力无捷径可走，你必须大段背诵英语文章才能逐渐形成语感和用英语进行表达的能力。这一关，没有任何人能代替你过。

因此，建议你下点苦功夫，把背单词的精神拿出来背诵文章。何况，并不是要求你背了之后永远牢记在心：你可以这个星期背，下个星期忘。这没有关系，相信你的大脑具有神奇的能力。背了工具箱里的文章后，你会惊讶的发现：I can think in English now！

1.?????? Proverbs

1. A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success.

2. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s time.

3. Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

4. The classroom--not the trench--is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore.

5. Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

6. It is the purpose of education to help us become autonomous, creative, inquiring people who have the will and intelligence to create our own destiny.

7. You see, real ongoing, lifelong education doesn’t answer questions; it provokes them.

8. People will pay more to be entertained than educated.

9.the most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

10. The essence of our efforts to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each as equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different-to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind, and spirit he or she possesses.

11. A great teacher never strives to explain his vision-he simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.

12. If you can read and don’, you are an illiterate by choice.

2. Damaging Research

A study by National Parent-Teacher Organization revealed that in the average American school, eighteen negatives are identified for every positive that is pointed out. The Wisconsin study revealed that when children enter the first grade, 80 percent of them feel pretty good themselves, but by the time they get to the sixth grade, only 10 percent of them have good self-images.

3. Education and Citizenship

An important aspect of education in the United States is the relationship between education and citizenship. Throughout its history this nation has emphasized public education as a means of transmitting democratic values, creating equality of opportunity, and preparing new generations of citizens to function in society. In addition, the schools have been expected to help shape society itself. During the 1950s, for example, efforts to combat racial segregation focused on the schools. Later, when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite, American schools and colleges came under intense pressure and were offered many incentives to improve their science and mathematics programs so that the nations would not fall behind the Soviet Union in scientific and technological capabilities.

Education is often viewed as a tool for solving social problems, especially social inequality. The schools, t is thought, can transform young people from vastly different backgrounds into competent, upwardly mobile adults. Yet these goals seem almost impossible to attain. In recent years, in fact, public education has been at the center of numerous controversies arising from the gap between the ideal and the reality. Part of the problem is that different groups in society have different have different expectations. Some feel that children should be taught basic job-related skills; still others believe education should not only prepare children to compete in society but also help them maintain their cultural identity (and, in the case of Hispanic children, their language). On the other hand, policymakers concerned with education emphasize the need to increase the level of student achievement and to improve parents in their children’s education.

Some reformers and critics have called attention to the need to link formal schooling with programs designed to address social problems. Sociologist Charles Moscos, for example, is a leader in the movement to expand programs like the Peace Corps, Vista, and Outward Bound into a system of voluntary national service. National service, as Moscos defines it, would entail “the full-time undertaking of public duties by young people whether as citizen soldiers or civilian servers-who are paid subsistence wages” and serve for at least one year. In return for this period of service, the volunteers would receive assistance in paying for college or other educational expenses.

Advocates of national service and school-to-work programs believe that education does not have to be confined to formal schooling. In devising strategies to provide opportunities for young people to serve their society, they emphasize the educational value of citizenship experiences gained outside the classroom. At this writing there is little indication that national service will become a new educational institution in the United States, although the concept is steadily gaining support among educators and social critics.

4. The Teacher’s Role

Given the undeniable importance of classroom experience, sociologists have done a considerable amount of research on what goes on in the classroom. Often they start from the premise that, along with the influence of peers, students’ experiences in the classroom are of central importance to their later development. One study examined the impact of a single first-grade teacher on her students’ subsequent adult status. The surprising results of this study have important implications. It is evident that good teachers can make a big difference in children’s lives, a fact that gives increased urgency to the need to improve the quality of primary-school teaching. The reforms carried out by educational leaders like James Comer suggest that when good teaching is combined with high levels of parental involvement the results can be even more dramatic.

Because the role of the teacher is to change the learner in some way, the teacher-student relationship is an important part of education. Sociologists have pointed out that this relationship is asymmetrical or unbalanced, with the teacher being in a position of authority and the student having little choice but to passively absorb the information provided by the teacher. In other words, in conventional classrooms there is little opportunity for the students to become actively involved in the learning process. On the other hand, students often develop strategies for undercutting the teacher’s authority: mentally withdrawing, interrupting, and the like. Hence, much current research assumes that students and teachers influence each other instead of assuming that the influence is always in a single direction.

5. Education Philosophy

For the past fifty years our schools have operated on the theories of John Dewey (1859-1953), an American educator and writer. Dewey believed hat the school’s job was to enhance the natural development of the growing child, rather than to pour information, for which the child had no context, into him or her. In the Dewey system, the child becomes the active agent in his own education, rather than a passive receptacle for facts.

Consequently, American schools are very enthusiastic about teaching “life skills” –logical thinking, analysis, creative problem--solving. The actual content of the lessons is secondary to the process, which is supposed to train the child to be able to handle whatever life may present, including all the unknowns of the future. Students and teachers both regard pure memorization as an uncreative and somewhat vulgar.

In addition to “life skills”, schools are assigned to solve the ever growing stoke of social problems. Racism, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, reckless driving, and are just a few of the modern problems that have appeared on the school curriculum.

This all contributes to a high degree of social awareness in American youngsters.

6. Student Life

To the students, the most notable difference between elementary school and the higher levels is that in junior high they start “changing classes”. This means that rather than spending the day in one classroom, they switch classrooms to meet their different teachers. This gives them three or four minutes between classes in the hallways, where a great deal of the important social action of high school traditionally takes place. Students have lockers in these hallways, around which thy congregate.

Society in general does not take the business of studying very seriously. Schoolchildren have a great deal of free time, which they are encouraged to fill with extracurricular activities—sports, clubs, cheerleading, scouts—supposed to inculcate such qualities as leadership, sportsmanship, ability to organize, etc. those who don’t become engaged in such activities or have afterschool jobs have plenty of opportunity to “hang out”, listen to teenager music, and watch television.

Compared to other nations, American students do not have much homework. Studies also show that American parents have lower expectations for their children’s success in school than other nationalities do. (Historically, there has not been much correlation between American school success and success in later life.) “He’s just not a scholar”, the American parents might say, content that their son is on the swim team and doesn’t take drugs. (Some of the young do choose to study hard, for reason of their own, such as determining that the road to riches lies through Harvard Business School.)

What American schools do effectively teach is the competitive method. In innumerable ways children are pitted against each other—whether in classroom discussion, spelling bees, reading groups, or tests. Every classroom is expected to produce a scattering of A’s and F’s (teachers often grade A=excellent; B=good; C=average; D=poor; and F=failed). A teacher who gives all A’s looks too soft—so students are aware that they are competing for the limited number of top marks.

Foreign students sometimes don’t understand that copying from other people’s papers or from books is considered wrong and taken seriously. Here, it is important to show that you have done your own work and are displaying your own knowledge. It is more important than helping your friends to pass, whom we think do not deserve to pass unless they can provide their own answers. Group effort goes against the competitive grain, and American students do not study together as many Asians do. Many Asians in this country consider their group study habits a large contributor to their school success.

7. Adult Education

After complaining about many aspects of American life, a 40-year-old woman from Hong Kong concluded, “But where else could someone my age go back to school and get a degree in social work? Here you can change your whole life, start a new business, do what you really want to do.”

So at least to this person, school requirements weren’t inhibiting. And to millions of others, adult education is the path to a new career, or if not to a new career, to a new outlook. Schools generally encourage the older person who wants to start anew, and besides regular classes, schedule evening classes in special programs. Today there are so many people of retirement age in college that it is no longer remarkable.

8. Moral Relativism in American

Improving American education requires not doing new things but doing (and remembering) some good old things. At the time of our nation’s founding, Thomas Jefferson listed the requirements for a sound education in the Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia. In this landmark statement on American education, Jefferson wrote of the importance of education and writing, and of reading history, and geography. But he also emphasized the need “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” Jefferson believed education should aim at the improvement of both one’s “morals” and “faculties”. That has been the dominant view of the aims of American education for over two centuries. But a number of changes, most of them unsound, have diverted schools from these great pursuits. And the story of the loss of the school’s original moral mission explains a great deal.

Starting in the early seventies, “values clarification” programs started turning up in schools all over America. According to this philosophy, the schools were not to take part in their time-honored task of transmitting sound moral values; rather, they were to allow the child to “clarify” his own values (which adults, including parents, had no “rights” to criticize). The “values clarification” movement didn’t clarify values; it clarified wants and desires. This form of moral relativism said, in effect, that no set of values was right or wrong; everybody had an equal right to his own values; and all values were subjective, relative, and personal. This destructive view took hold with a vengeance.

In 1985 The York Times published an article quoting New York area educators, in slavish devotion to this new view, proclaiming, “They deliberately avoid trying to tell students what is ethically right and wrong.” The article told of one counseling session involving fifteen high school juniors and seniors. In the course of that session a student concluded that a fellow student had been foolish to return one thousand dollars she found in a purse at school. According to the article, when the youngsters asked the counselor’s opinion, “He told them he believed the girl had done the right thing, but that, of course, he would not try to force his values on them. ‘If I come from the position of what is wrong,’ he explained, ‘then I’m not their counselor.’”

Once upon a time, a counselor offered counselor, and he knew that an adult does not form character in the young by taking a stance of neutrality toward questions of right and wrong or by merely offering “choices” or “options”.

In response to the belief that adults and educators should teach children sound morals, one can expect from some quarters indignant objections (I’ve heard one version of it expressed countless times over the years): “Who are you to say what’s important?” or “Whose standards and judgments do we use?”

The correct response, it seems to me, is, is we ready to do away with standards and judgments? Is anyone going to argue seriously that a life of cheating and swindling is as worthy as a life of honest, hard work? Is anyone (with the exception of some literature professors at our elite universities) going to argue seriously the intellectual corollary, that a Marvel comic book is as good as Macbeth? Unless we are willing to embrace some pretty silly position, we’ve got to admit the need for moral and intellectual standards. The problem is that some people tend to regard anyone who would pronounce a definitive judgment as an unsophisticated Philistine or a closed-minded “elitist” trying to impose his view on everybody else.

The truth of the real world is that without standards and judgments, there can be no progress. Unless we are prepared to say irrational things—that nothing can be proven more valuable than anything else or that everything is equally worthless—we must ask the normative question. It may come, as a surprise to those who fell that to be “progressive” is to be value-neutral. But as Matthew Amold said, “the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things” and if the world can’t decide what the best things are, at least to some degree, then it follows that progress, and character, is in trouble. We shouldn’t be reluctant to declare that some things, some lives, books, ideas, and values are better than others. It is the responsibility of the schools to teach these better things.

At one time, we weren’t so reluctant to teach them. In the mid-nineteenth century, a diverse, widespread group of crusaders began to work for the public support of what was then called the “common school”, the forerunner of the public school. They were to be charged with the mission of school felt that the nation could fulfill its destiny only if every new generation was taught these values together in a common institution.

The leaders of the common school movement were mainly citizens who were prominent in their communities—businessmen, ministers, local civic and government officials. These people saw the schools as upholders of standards of individual morality and small incubators of civic and personal virtue; the founders of the public schools had faith that public education could teach good moral and civic character from a common ground of American values.

But in the past quarter century or so, some of the so-called experts became experts of value neutrality, and moral education was increasingly left in their hands. The commonsense view of parents and the publicthat schools should reinforce rather than undermine the values of home, family, and country, was increasingly rejected.

There are those today still that claim we are now too diverse a nation, that we consist of too many competing convictions and interests to instill common values. They are wrong. Of course we are a diverse people. We have always been a diverse people. And as Madison wrote in FederalistNo.10, the competing, balancing interests of a diverse people can help ensure the survival of liberty. But there are values that all American citizens share and that we should want all American students to know and to make their own: honesty, fairness, self-discipline, fidelity to task, friends, and family, personal responsibility, love of country, and belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and the freedom to practice one’s faith. The explicit teaching of these values is the legacy of the common schools, and it is a legacy to which we must return.

9. Schools Should Teach Values

People often said, “Yes, we should teach these values, but how do we teach them?” this question deserves a candid response, one that isn’t given often enough. It is by exposing our children to good character and inviting its imitation that we will transmit to them a moral foundation. This happens when teachers and principals, by their words and actions, embody sound convictions. As Oxford’s Mary Warnock has written, “You cannot teach morality without being committed to morality yourself; and you cannot be committed to morality yourself without holding that some things are right and others wrong.” The theologian Martin Buber wrote that the educator is distinguished from all other influences “by his will to take part in the stamping of character and by his consciousness that he represents in the eyes of the growing person a certain selection of what is, the selection of what is ‘right’, of what should be.” It is in this will, Buber says, in this clear standing for something, that the “vocation as an educator finds its fundamental expression.”

There is no escaping the fact that young people need as example principals and teachers who know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and who themselves exemplify high moral purpose.

As Education Secretary, I visited a class at Waterbury Elementary School in Waterbury, Vermont, and asked the students, “Is this a good school?” They answered, “Yes, this is a good school.” I asked them, “Why?” Among other things, one eight-year-old said, “The principal Mr. Riegel, makes good rules and everybody obeys them.” So I said, “Give me an example.” And another answered, “You can’t climb on the pipes in the bathroom. We don’t climb on the pipes and the principal doesn’t either.”

This example is probably too simple to please a lot of people who want to make the topic of moral education difficult, but there is something profound in the answer of those children, something education should pay more attention to. You can’t expect children to take messages about rules or morality seriously unless they see adults taking those rules seriously in their day-to-day affairs. Certain must be said, certain limits lay down, and certain examples set. There is no other way.

We should also do a better job at curriculum selection. The research shows that most “values education” exercises and separate courses in “moral reasoning” tend not to affect children’s behavior; if anything, they may leave children morally adrift. Where to turn? I believe our literature and our history are a rich quarry of moral literacy. We should mine that quarry. Children should have at their disposal a stock of examples illustrating what we believe to be right and wrong, good and bad—examples illustrating what are morally right and wrong can indeed be known and that there is a difference.

What kind of stories, historical events, and famous lives am I talking about? If we want our children to know about honesty, we should teach them about Abe Lincoln walking three miles to return six cents and conversely, about Aesop’s shepherd boy who cried wolf if we want them to know about courage, we should teach them about Joan of Arc, Horatius at the bridge, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. If we want them to know about persistence in the face of adversity, they should know about the voyages of Columbus and the character of Washington during the Civil War. And our youngest should be told about the Little Engine That Could. If we want them to know about respect for the law, they should understand why Socrates told Crito: “No, I must submit to the decree of Athens.” If we want our children to respect the rights of others, they should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ “Letter from Birmingham jail.” From the Bible they should know about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Jonathan’s friendship with David, the Good Samaritan’s kindness toward a stranger, and David’s cleverness and courage in facing Goliath.

These are only a few of the hundreds of examples we can call on. And we need not get into issues like nuclear war, abortion, creationism, or euthanasia. This may come as a disappointment to some people, but the fact is that the formation of character in young people is educationally a task different from, and prior to, the discussion of the great, difficult controversies of the day. First things come first. We should teach values the same way we teach other things: one step at a time. We should not use the fact that there are many difficult and controversial moral questions as an argument against basic instruction in the subject.

After all, we do not argue against teaching physics because laser physics is difficult, against teaching American history because there are heated disputes about the Founders’ intent. Every field has its complexities and its controversies. And every field has its basics, its fundamentals. So they are too with forming character and achieving moral literacy. As any parent knows, teaching character is a difficult task. But it is a crucial task, because we want our children to be healthy, happy, and successful but decent, strong, and good. None of this happens automatically; there is no genetic transmission of virtue. It takes the conscious, committed efforts of adults. It takes careful attention.

10. College Pressures

Mainly I try to remind that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don not want to hear such liberating news. They want a map—right now – that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, Social Security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.

What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future. I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as instructive as victory and is not the end of the world.

My wish, of course, is na?ve. One of the national gods venerated in our media—the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive—and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.

I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains—to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, and the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains: only victims.

“In the late 1960s.” one dean told me. “The typical question that I got from students was ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world’ or ‘how I can make a contribution?’ Today it’s ‘Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?’” many other deans confirmed this pattern. One said: “They are trying to find an edge—the intangible something that will look better on paper if two students are about equal.”

Note the emphasis on looking better. The transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security. How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person. A is for Admirable and B is for Borderline, even though, in Yale’s official system of grading, A means “excellent” and B means “very good.” Today, looking very good is no longer good enough, especially for students who hope to go on to law school or medical school. They know that entrance into the better schools will be an entrance into the better law firms and better medical practices where they will make a lot of money. They also know that the odds are harsh. Yale Law School, for instance, matriculates 170students from an applicant pool of 3,700; Harvard enrolls 550 from a pool of 7,000.

It’s all very well for those of us who write letters of recommendation for our students to stress the qualities of humanity that will make them good lawyers or doctors. And it’s nice to think that admission officers are ready reading our letters and looking for the extra dimension of commitment or concern. Still, it would be hard for a student not to visualize these officers shuffling so many transcripts studded with As that they regard a B as positively shameful.

The pressure is almost as heavy on students who just want to graduate and get a job. Long gone are the days of the “gentleman’s C.” when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses-music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion—that would send them out as liberally educated men and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades. I know countless students whose inquiring minds exhilarate me. I like to hear the play of their ideas. I do not know if they are getting As or Cs, and I do not care. I also like them as people. The country needs them, and they will find satisfying jobs. I tell them to relax. They cannot.

Nor can I blame them. They live in a brutal economy. Tuition, room, and board at most private colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what college receives in endowments, grants, and gifts. Now, the remainder keeps being swallowed by the cruel costs—higher every year—of just opening the doors. Heating oil is up. Insurance is up. Postage is up. Health-premium costs are up. Everything is up. Deficits are up. We are witnessing in American the creation of a brotherhood of paupers—colleges, parents, and students, joined by the common bond of debt.

Today it is not unusual for a student, even if he works part time at college and full time during the summer, to accrue $5,000 in loans after four years—loans that he must start to repay within one year after graduation. Exhorted at commencement to go forth into the world, he is already behind as he goes forth. How could he not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? I have used “he,” incidentally, only for brevity. Women at Yale are under no less pressure to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. In fact, they are probably under more pressure. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society has not yet caught up with this fact.

Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined.

I see many students taking pre-medical courses with joyless tenacity. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know tem in other corners of their life as cheerful people.

“Do you want to medical school?” I asked them.

“I guess so,” they say, without conviction, or “Not really.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Well, my parents want me to be a doctor. They are paying all this money and …”

Poor students, poor parents, they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. The parents mean will; they are trying to steer their sons and draughts toward a secure future. But the sons and daughter want to major in history or classics or philosophy—subjects with no “practical” value. Where’s the payoff on the humanities? It’s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. The intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics—an ability to synthesize and relate, to weigh cause and effect, to see events in perspective—are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field. Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”

But the pressure on students is severe. They are truly torn. One part of them feels obliged to fulfill their parents’ expectations; after all, their parents are older and presumably wiser. Another part tells them that the expectations that are right for their parents are not right for them.

I know a student who wants to be an artist. She is very obviously an artist and will be a good one—she has already had several modest local exhibits. Meanwhile she is growing as a well-round person and taking humanistic subjects that will enrich the inner resources out of which her art will grow. But her father is strongly opposed. He thinks that an artist is a “dumb” thing to be. The student vacillates and tries to please everybody. She keeps up with her art somewhat furtively and takes some of the “dumb” courses her father wants her to take—at least they are dumb courses for her. She is a free spirit on a campus of tense students—no small achievement in it—and she deserves to follow her muse.

Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin almost at the beginning of freshman year.

“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I could not tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda.”

The story is almost funny—except that it is not. It is symptomatic of all the pressure put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they would sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the clacking of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: “Will I get everything done?”

Probably they won’t. They will get blocked. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.

Part of the problem is that they are expected to do. A professor will assign five page papers. Several students will start writing ten page papers to impress him. Then more students will write ten page papers, and a few will raise the ante to fifteen. Pity the poor student who is still just doing the assignment.

“Once you have twenty or thirty percent of the student population deliberately overexerting,” one dean points out, “It’s bad for everybody. When a teacher gets more and more effort from his class, the student who is doing normal work can be perceived as not doing well. The tactic work, psychologically.”

Why cannot the professor just cut back and not accept longer papers? He can, and he probably will. But by then the term will be half over and the damage done. Grade fever is highly contagious and not easily reversed. Besides, the professor’s main concern is with his course. He knows his students only in relation to the course and does not know that they are also overexerting in their other courses. Nor is it really his business. He did not sign up for dealing with the student as a whole person and with all the emotional baggage the student brought along from home. That’s what deans, masters, chaplains, and psychiatrists are for.

To some extent this is nothing new: a certain number of professors have always been self-contained islands of scholarship and shyness, more comfortable with books than with people. But the new pauperism has widened the gap still further, for professors who actually like to spend time with students do not have as much time to spend. They are also overexerting. If they are young, they are busy trying to publish in order not to perish, hanging by their figure nails onto a shrinking profession.

If they are old and tenured, they are buried under the duties of administering departments—as departmental chairmen or members of committees—that have been thinned out by the budgetary axe.

Ultimately it will be the students’ own business to break the circles in which they are trapped. They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears. They must be jolted into believing into themselves as unique men and women who have the power to shape their own future.

“Violence is being done to the undergraduate experience,” says Carlos Hortas. “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choices narrow as they go along. It’s almost as if they think that the country has been codified in the type of jobs that exist-that they’ve got to fit into certain slots. Therefore, fit into the best paying slot.”

“They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to life of colorless mediocrity. They’ll be comfortable. But something in the spirit will be missing.”

I have painted too drab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. That is only half of their story; if they were so dreary I wouldn’t so thoroughly enjoy their company. The other half is that they are easy to like. They are quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They are not introverts. They are usually kind and are more considerate of one another than any student generation I have known.

Nor are they so obsessed with their studies that they avoid sports and extracurricular activities. On the contrary, they juggle their crowded hours to play on a variety of teams, perform with musical and dramatic groups, and write for campus publications. But this in turn is one more cause of anxiety. There are too many choices. Academically, they have 1,300 courses to select from; outside class they have to decide how much spare time they can spare and how to spend it.

This means that they engage in fewer extracurricular pursuits than their predecessors did. If they want to row on the crew and play in the symphony they will eliminate one; in the ‘60s they would have done both. They also tend to choose activities that are self-limiting. Drama, for instance, is flourishing in all twelve of Yale’s residential colleges, as it never has before. Students hurl themselves into these productions—as actors, directors, carpenters, and technicians—with a dedication to create the best possible play, knowing that the day will come when the run will end and they can get back to their studies.

They also cannot afford to be the willing slave of organizations like the Yale Daily News. Last spring at the one-hundredth anniversary banquet of that paper—who’s past chairmen include such once and future kings as Potter Stewart, Kingman Brewster, and William F. Buckley, Jr.—much was made of the fact that the editorial staff used to be small and totally committed and that “newsies” routinely worked fifty hours a week. In effect they belonged to a club; Newsies is how they defined themselves at Yale. Today’s students will one or two articles a week, when he can, and he defines himself as a student. I’ve never heard the word Newsie except at the banquet.

If I have described the modern undergraduate primarily as a driven creature who is largely ignoring the blithe spirit inside who keeps trying to come out and play, it’s because that’s where the crunch is, not only at Yale but throughout American education. It’s why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.

I tell students that there is no one “right” way to get ahead—that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell neither them that change is a tonic and that all the slots are not codified nor the frontiers closed. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. They are heads of companies or ad agencies, editors of magazines, politicians, public officials, television magnates, labor leaders, business executives, Broadway products, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians—a mixed bag of achievers.

I asked them to say a few words about how they got started. The students assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. Luckily for me, most of them got into their field by a circuitous route, to their surprise, after many detours. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not pre-planned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.

11. To Err Is Wrong

In the summer of 1979, Boston Red Sox first baseman Carl Yastrzemski became the fifteenth player in baseball history to reach the three thousand hit plateaus. This event drew a lot of media attention, and for about a week prior to the attainment of this goal, hundreds of reports covered Yaz’s every more. Finally, one reporter asked, “Hey Yaz, aren’t you afraid all of this attention will go to your head?” Yastrzemski replied, “I look at this way: in my career I’ve been up to bat over ten thousand times. That means I’ve been unsuccessful at the plate over seven thousand times. That fact alone keeps me from getting a swollen head.”?

Most people consider success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. As Yaz suggest, an activity that produces a hit may also produce a miss. It is the same with creative thinking; the same energy that generates good creative ideas also produces errors.

Many people, however, are not comfortable with errors. Our educational system, based on “the right answer” belief, cultivates our thinking in another, more conservative way. From an early age, we are taught that right answers are good and incorrect answers are bad. This value is deeply embedded in the incentive system used in most schools:

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

Right over 70% of the time = “C~” Right over 60% of the time = “D~” Less than 60% correct, you fail.

From this we learn to be right as often as possible and to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We learn, in other words, that “to err is wrong.

Playing It Safe

With this kind of attitude, you aren’t going to be taking too many chances. If you learn that failing even a litter penalizes you (e.g., being wrong only 15% of the time garners you only a “B” performance), you learn not to make mistakes. And more important, you learn not to put yourself to situation where you might fall. This leads to conservative thought pattern designed to avoid the stigma our society puts on “failure”.

I have a friend who recently graduated from college with a Master’s degree in Journalism. For the last six month, she has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. I talked with her about situation, and realized that her problem is that she doesn’t know how to fail. She went through eighteen years of schooling to try any approaches where she might fail. She has been conditioned to believe that failure is bad in and of itself, rather than a potential stepping-stone to new ideas.

Look around. How many middle managers, housewives, administrators, teachers, and other people do you see who are to try anything new because of this failure? Most of us have learned not to make mistakes in public. As a result, we remove ourselves from many learning experience except for those occurring in the most private of circumstances.

Different Logic

From a practical point of view, “to err is wrong” makes sense. Our survival in the everyday world requires us to perform thousand of small tasks without failure. Think about it: you wouldn’t last very long if you were to step out in front of traffic or stick your hand a pot of boiling water. In addition, engineers whose bridges collapse, stock brokers who lose money for their clients, and copywriters whose ad campaigns decrease sales won’t keep their jobs very long.

Nevertheless, too great an adherence to the belief “to err is wrong” can greatly undermine your attempts to generate new ideas. If you are more concerned with producing right answers than generating original ideas, you’ll probably make uncritical use of the rules, formulae, and procedures used to obtain these right answers. By doing this, you’ll by-pass the germinal phase of the creative process, and thus spend litter time testing assumptions, challenging the rules, asking what-if questions, or just playing around with the problem. All of these techniques will produce some incorrect answers, but in the germinal phase errors are viewed as a necessary by-product of creative thinking. As Yaz would put it, “if you want the hits, be prepared for the misses.” That’s the way the game of life goes.

Errors as Stepping Stones

Whenever an error pops up, the usual response is “Jeez, another screw up, what went wrong this time?” the creative thinker, on the other hand, will realize the potential value of errors, and perhaps say something like, “Would you look at that! Where can it lead our thinking?” and then he or she will go on to use the error as a stepping stone to a new idea. As a matter of fact, the whole history of discovery is filed with people who used erroneous assumptions and failed ideas as stepping-stones to new ideas. Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. Johannes Kepler stumbled on to the idea of interplanetary gravity because of assumptions that were right for the wrong reasons. And, Thomas Edison knew 1800 ways not to build a light bulb.

The following story about the automotive genius Charles Kettering exemplifies the spirit of working through erroneous assumptions to good ideas. In 1912, when the automobile industry was just beginning to grow, Kettering was interested in improving gasoline engine efficiency. The problem he faced was“knockthe phenomenon in which gasoline takes too long to burn in the cylinder-thereby reducing efficiency.

Kettering began searching for ways to eliminate the “knock.” He thought to him, “How can I get the gasoline to combust in the cylinder at an earlier time?” the key concept here is “early”. Searching for analogous situations, he looked around for models of “things that happen early.” He thought of historical models, physical models, and biological models. Finally, he remembered a particular plant, the trailing arbutus, which “happens early,” i.e., it blooms in the snow (“earlier” than other plants). One of this plant’s chief characteristics is its’ red leaves, which help the plant retain light at certain wavelengths. Kettering figured that it must be the red color, which made the trailing arbutus bloom earlier.

Now came the critical step in Kettering’s chain of thought. He asked himself, “How can I make the gasoline red?” perhaps I’ll put red dye in the gasoline—maybe that’ll make it combust earlier.” He looked around his workshop, and found that he didn’t have any red dye. But he did happen to have some iodine—perhaps that would do. He added the iodine to the gasoline and, lo and behold, the engine didn’t “knock”.

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

导语：近年来，雾霾天气已经成为日常生活的一个正确的在中国的很大一部分。人们不得不戴上口罩避免呼吸有毒空气。下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的英语作文，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

Recently,Hazeweather has become a daily one right here in large part of China.People are forced to wear the mask to avoid breathing poisonous air.So it is necessary to find out the reason why leads to that and work out the resolution.If we trace the cause for haze weather ,the main points are as follows ,first,china s air quality standards are rather lax and evaluation factors are limited,so you will see that current air appraisal system has defects.Second,some people just go for economic interests instead of turning out products according to relevant law and regulations.They tend to use obsolete equipment in which they are high likely to emit a great deal of wasted air.

Third,across our society ,relevant protection awareness has not built up so that people havent formed a habit of using green product and saving energy as much as possible.Just for the sake of convience to go out,people rely more and more on travelling and working by car while car is the main cause for the haze weather

To settle this problem,a series of meaures should be taken as follows.First ,we should strengthen air monitor to lower the levels of small particulate pollutants.Second,we should enact more strict laws and regulations and keep perfecting our current law on environmental protection to regulate people s daily action and the industrial production and punish those factories that ignore the protection and keep emitting dangerous material that cause haze.

【参考译文】

近年来，雾霾天气已经成为日常生活的一个正确的在中国的很大一部分。人们不得不戴上口罩避免呼吸有毒空气。因此有必要找出原因，导致和解决的决议。如果我们跟踪灰霾天气的成因，主要有以下几点，第一，中国的空气质量标准是相当宽松的评价因素是有限的，所以你会看到，目前的空气评估体系有缺陷。二，有些人只是为了经济利益而出的产品根据相关的法律法规。他们倾向于使用陈旧的设备，他们有很高的可能发出大量浪费的空气。

第三，在我们的社会中，相关的保护意识还没有建立起来，人们已经形成了习惯使用绿色产品和节能的尽可能多的。只是为了方便出门的缘故，人们越来越依赖于旅行和工作的汽车，而汽车是雾霾天气的主要原因

为了解决这个问题，应采取一系列措施如下：第一，我们应该加强空气监测的微粒污染物浓度降低。其次，我们应该制定更加严格的法律法规，不断完善我们现有的环境保护法律规范人们的日常行为和工业生产和惩罚那些工厂忽视保护和保持发射危险材料造成的阴霾。

【示例一】

① Accordingly, it is vital for us to derive positive implications from these though-provoking drawings. ②On the one hand, we can frequently use them to enlighten that (主题). ③On the other hand, we should be sensible enough to ________(观点/态度). ④Only by ________(段落总结句), and only in this way can we have a brilliant future.

【示例二】

①The effects of which has produced on can be boiled down to two major ones. ②First, ________(影响一). ③More importantly, ________(影响二). ④Hence, I believe that we will see a ________(提出展望)./ Nevertheless, I do not think we will see a ________(或反面展望).

Lets prevent H1N1 from happening to usDuring the last few months,H1N1 ful has set off across the whole world.If we have the right way to prevent it ,it wont scare.Here are some suggestions for you:First of all,you should cover your mouth with a napkin whtn you cough re sneeze,Next youd better stay away from the public place if possible, if you have to,please wear a mask.Wash your hands carefully before meals and always keep your windows open so that the air will be fresh.At last,try to do more excisice to make your body strong so that you can stay in health.I think this is the most important.

最近这几个月里，H1N1病毒在全世界引发起来。如果我们用正确的方法预防它，免费学英语网站，它就不会那么可怕。这里有一些为你的建议：首先，当你在咳嗽或者打喷嚏的时候，你应该用手捂着嘴。然后你最好尽可能的离公共场所远一点，如果你必须去，免费英语学习网站，请戴上口罩。饭前仔细洗手，经常打开窗后这样使空气保持清新。最后你应该做更多的运动去使你身体更强壮，这样你就可以保持健康了。我认为这才是最重要的。

英语写作：Freedom in my Dream

高考作文是高考语文中分值比重最大的题目。而写作却是大部分学生的弱项，那么写作的提高很可能意味着总成绩会高出很多分。下面我们就开始高考作文如何提高呢?

一、高考作文的题目。

这是高考作文提高指导的第一个分值点，虽然题目分不是很多，但是这个题目却是你作文总分的关键点。一般老师都是教学生们紧扣主题，抓住重点。这样的方法、方式确实可以保证作文分数不会低，但是也不会高。一般能直接以题目抓住人的视线的文章题目都是一些很简单，很有哲理，也和主题有关的词语，短语。而想这么做唯一的方法就是积累，你需要积累很多的词语句子。当然，积累的很多了，也许在写作文的时候也没有用上，那也没关系，积累的多了，你会发现作文以外的题目变的简单的很多。

二、高考作文的开头。

这是高考作文提高指导的第二个分值点。如果你题目吸引住人的目光了。那么作文的开头一定要有新意。让人看了觉得你的作文和别人的不一样。那么别人的作文是什么样的。现在国内的教育界都是教育学生作文的一个保守的“套路”。就是开头一定要写出文章的中心思想，或者写出作文题目给你的素材的意思。而换一个角度，例如写一个和题目所给的素材差不多的小寓言。这样就比死板的“套路”好很多。

三、年高考作文的内容。

这是高考作文提高指导的第三个分值点。内容上就看你的写作功底了。这个时候若果你的文笔比较好。那么你把它发挥好就可以了。注意句子的链接，引用名言或者论证观点的把握就可以了。但是如果你的文笔不好呢，那就尽量把观点写清晰，然后每一段用一个举例论证。每一段的开头用一句名言或者一个事实来写。

四、高考作文的结尾。

这是高考作文提高指导的最后的分值点。注意，这个地方尽量不要用总结或者论点来做结尾。因为现在高考作文一般的时候给你的素材都不是只有一个意思的。所以在结尾的时候要用一些有哲理，或者说类似于题目素材的小故事来做文章的结尾。

​导语：道歉信不难写，下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的优秀英语作文，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

假定你是李华，与留学生朋友Bob约好一起去书店，因故不能赴约。请给他写封邮件，内容包括：

1.表示歉意;

2.说明原因;

3.另约时间。

注意：

1.词数100左右;

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

范文：

Dear Bob,

I’m sorry to say that I cannot go to the bookstore with you on Friday afternoon. I have just found that I have to attend an important class meeting that afternoon. I hope the change will not cause you too much trouble.

Shall we go on Saturday morning? We can set out early so that we’ll have more time to read and select books. If it’s convenient for you, let’s meet at 8:30 outside the school gate. If not, let me know what time suits you best. I should be available any time after school next week.

Yours,

Li Hua

【参考译文】

很抱歉，我不能和你一起去书店星期五下午。我刚刚发现我要参加一个下午的重要的课堂。我希望这个变化不会给你带来太大的麻烦。

我们星期六上午去好吗?我们可以早出发，以便我们有更多的时间来阅读和选择书。如果方便的话，我们8:30在校门口见面。如果没有，让我知道什么时候最适合你。我应该在放学后的任何时间都在学校。

Some people hold the opinion that A is superior to B in many ways. Others,

however, argue that B is much better. Personally, I would prefer A because I

think A has more advantages.

There are many reasons why I prefer A. The main reason is that ... Another

reason is that...(赞同A的原因)

Of course, B also has advantages to some extent... (列出1~2个B的优势)

But if all these factors are considered, A is much better than B. From what

has been discussed above, we may finally draw the conclusion that ...(得出结论)

2001年7月13日22时21分，“北京成功了!”“我们赢了!”天安门前，人潮奔涌，真情撼天震地。世界把信任给了我们，未来把机遇给了我们，执著的“五星”钟情于“五环”，热情的“五环”拥抱“五星”。昨天，中国选择了爱;今天，世界选择了中国;明天，中国将给世界一个奇迹!

奥运是什么?它是一个没有硝烟的战场。人类之间的战争，就其本质目的来说，并不在于屠杀，而在于使敌方屈服。这一点，在奥运会上得以充分实现。人类作为一种高级动物，本来就有着协作与好战的双重属性，否则，世界上就不会有那么多的战争。但愿奥运能成为人类竞争与好胜的最终战场，而使真正的血腥战争得以消亡。

奥运是人类体能的博览会。似海豚，奥运会上有着那么多优美的泳姿;似猎豹，百米冲刺风驰电掣;似雄鹰，体操、跳水志在长空。

奥运是一个舞台，展现着力量、意志、技巧和自然的美，以及生理上的极限，赢得了数以亿计观众的青睐。人们为胜利所鼓舞，为失误而遗憾，为参与而自豪。每一枚奖牌，其分量均超过奥斯卡、金熊的奖杯。

奥运是人生的缩影。冠军是幸运的，在通往冠军的金字塔下，多少无名英雄为之而奋力攀登;冠军是短暂的，今日的冠军，明日可能名落孙山;冠军是相对的，某一项目的冠军，在其他方面很有可能是低能儿;冠军是荣耀的，但在他高唱国歌、热泪盈眶之时，想到的并不是未来怎样辉煌，而是回想到了数年来伤病的困扰和艰苦的训练;冠军是可贵的，在他的身上，有着多少不屈不挠、挑战自我、勇攀高峰的精神。

奥运是人类的圣会。除了它，人类的哪一项社会活动能在如此公正、祥和、欢庆的气氛中进行?祝愿奥运精神永驻人间，给世界带来和平、带来欢乐、带来繁荣、带来希望。

高考英语之关键词大揭秘 从供给侧结构改革到万众创新，从大山的相声到阿喀琉斯之踵，从对一代拳王阿里的名言直引到向莎士比亚经典的致敬，今年的高考英语(江苏卷)可是吸足了考生的眼球。 关键词揭秘之阿喀琉斯之踵(Achilles Heel) 上世纪九十年代的那部《特洛伊》，还是一枚小鲜肉的布拉德·皮特主演的就是阿喀琉斯。传说刚出生的时候，他母亲特意提溜着他的脚踵将他放在冥河之中浸泡，从而打造了他的刀枪不入之身。而唯一没有浸到冥河水的脚踵，也就成为了这位英雄的唯一弱点。 关键词揭秘之拳王阿里( Muhammad Ali) 今年考卷上阿里的那句话，让人震撼“Champions arent made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire， a dream， a vision.”(冠军不是诞生在体育馆里，而是来自人的内心。成就冠军的是渴望、是梦想，是愿景!) 关键词揭秘之莎翁( William Shakespeare) 今年的书面表达问了考生一个让人纠结的问题：面对微信上铺天盖地的“最萌宝宝”、“最美小学生”投票，你是投还是不投。“To vote or not to vote”就是对莎翁悲剧《哈姆雷特》中经典名言“To be or not to be”的致敬。

[英语高考作文真题该不该参加网络投票

导语：生命的棱角就是必须寻回的一部分。下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的作文素材，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

青葱少年时，我们斗过、闹过、哭过、笑过。如今偶尔回想起这些场景，心中装的是满满的欣慰与满足。看似冲动、蛮横，但又何尝不是认准了对的美的好的，就决不妥协与屈服?

但是，随着时光的流逝，这股不妥协不屈服的劲头哪儿去了?阅读，是寻回生命之棱角的一条光明大道。在功利主义大行其道的社会里，它让我们懂得为自己卸掉多余的包袱，让我们逐渐懂得放弃什么。

放弃也是寻回，放弃就是为了寻回。生命的棱角就是必须寻回的一部分。陶渊明在《归去来兮辞》中写过的“富贵非吾愿，帝乡不可期”，似乎就是给现代人的一个意味深长的提醒。倘若非要“富贵”与“帝乡”，那么在人际复杂的社会里，圆滑、世故、投机、钻营自是不可免的。陶渊明毅然决然地抛弃了官场的昏暗，回归田园的清明，就是由外而内，寻回生命棱角的探求。

1、故事发生在伦敦。

The story happened in London.

2、起初，他没看见那个人。

At first, he didn’t see the man.

3、然后，他走到汽车那儿。

Then he went over to the bus.

4、过了一会儿，他上了小汽车。

After a little while,he got on the car.

5、后来，他掏出了枪。

Later on he took out his gun.

6、最后，他被捕了。

At last, he was arrested.

7、开始时，老师给我们做了简短的介绍。

In the beginning, the teacher gave us a brief introduction.

8、后来，他开始在黑板上写东西。

Afterwards, he began to write something on the blackboard.

9、同时，学生记笔记。

Meanwhile, the students took notes.

10、最终，学生们成功了。

In the end, the students succeeded.

高考是争分夺秒的战场，对写作手法熟悉，不仅能的高分，也能提高你的速度。下面由小编为大家提供关于高考高分作文的写作方法指导，希望对大家有帮助!

高分作文的写作方法一、结构模式要简

高考作文先要整体构思。开头结尾，过渡照应，主体展开，材料选取等，在动笔前要通盘考虑。只有自己想清楚了，才能写清楚;自己写清楚了，阅卷老 师才能看清楚;阅卷老师看清楚了，给分才能给清楚。笔者认为，考场作文的结构应该简明，因为教师阅卷时，每篇作文平均阅读的时间仅为一分钟。因此，一篇应 试的议论文最好只包括三大部分，五到八段文字：第一部分，简要提引原材料，在这个基础之上引出自己的感悟，作为中心观点，这个观点要明明白白，旗帜鲜明; 第二部分，分三至五段，前两段(或三段)从古今中外不同角度各取一个例子，紧扣观点进行正面论证;后一段(或两段)可从反面选取事例与前文进行对比论证; 第三部分，对全文论述的观点进行总结升华，给人以完整感。这样结构文章既简明又严谨且不呆板，还能让阅卷老师一目了然。

高分作文的写作方法二、列提纲要快

高考既考能力又考速度。考场上列作文提纲，可先写出简单的结构模式，然后把可能能用上的词句和例子，如名言警句、古诗词、古今中外的事例(尤其 是带有时代气息的当今事例)，简省写出，只要自己看得懂就行。写于卷面之前，可边浏览边修改，择优录用。这样既能节省时间，又能一气呵成，避免文面多处涂改。

高分作文的写作方法三、内容要新

1.题目要新颖别致。“题好文一半”，许多阅卷老师就是根据学生命的题目来判定他的审题能力和写作水平的。因此，能拟一个独具特色的题目，就能以一道亮丽的风景线吸引住老师的视线，分数自然偏高。

2.开头要新颖独特，结尾要深刻感人。从题目实际出发，选取自己最拿手的文体，精心打造开头和结尾，确保获得高分。

3.素材的选取要新鲜贴切。材料新颖又切合题意，那就能显示自己敏捷的思维能力和深厚的文化底蕴，让阅卷老师耳目一新，作文分数自然就能上一个 档次。我们要力避大众化和过于平淡的素材，要善于从现实生活、历史典故、文学名著中去搜寻别人没有用过的材料，而且要注意材料的贴切性、典型性、新颖性、 多样性。

高分作文的写作方法四、立意要深

1.要扣命意。高分作文必定是扣题行文的。扣题能力其实就是审题能力，如果扣题不紧，得的分数会很低。

2.立意要有深度，要“掘地三尺”。“千古文章意为高”，不少考生的应试作文往往是蜻蜓点水，浅尝辄止，立意没有深度。立意，我们可以从历史和 文化的沃野中去找寻理论的“掘地三尺”的深度。通过纵向和横向的比较，理想和现实的观照，偶然和必然的分析尝试辩证地寻找理性的答案。阅卷老师一般对深具 慧眼、富有哲理的作文情有独钟，给分较高。

3.立意不能浅俗，思想不要幼稚，态度不要“嬉皮士”。每年的高考作文都有一些境界低下、思想庸俗之作。我们要明白，高考体现国家意志，而国家 意志则重在弘扬真、善、美。有些同学喜欢唱反调，不管写什么都用调侃嘲讽的口气来写，显得很不严肃。高考作文立意要境界高雅、胸襟阔大，力避市侩气息、低俗趣味。

高分作文的写作方法五、感情要真

文章不是无病呻吟的“涂鸭”，而是酸甜苦辣感情的寄托。诚挚朴实的情感，读来是一种享受，品来是一种惬意。真情实感的自然流露，常能打动阅卷者。要让阅卷老师感动，自己首先要投入，要动真感情。真情实感的文章往往能得高分。

高分作文的写作方法六、语言要美

流畅优美的语言给人赏心悦目的感觉，这种语言能力要靠平常的努力锻炼。无错字、病句，词句洗练流利，语脉首尾贯通，文意开合自如，是做到语言美的第一关。词语生动、句式灵活、文句有意蕴是语言美的真正体现。作文的语言美，可以从以下几个方面来练就：

一是恰当引用古今中外名人名言、诗词名句、谚语、典故等;

二是综合使用多种修辞手法，比如排比、比喻、反问、设问、对偶、夸张等;

三是综合使用各种句式，如多用短句，变式句，倒装句，双重否定句等。

四是丰富自己的生活和文化积累。因为“腹有诗书文自华”。

五是锤词炼句，以铺陈、抑扬、排比、反问等手法增强文章气势。总而言之，润饰好了语言，能寓繁于简，寓抽象于具体;能使文句更形象生动，更含蓄幽默，更有意蕴;能使文意更鲜明突出，更富有哲理，更耐人寻味。

高分作文的写作方法七、文面要洁

文面如人面，它是敲开阅卷老师心扉的第一块砖。高考阅卷时间紧，天气又热，评卷老师每天面对电脑屏幕，心态很微妙。字迹清楚、端正，字体美观大 方，无明显涂痕的试卷，能立即获得评卷老师的好感，这样一来印象分就高了。试想：一份字迹潦草、卷面不整洁的试卷出现在工作强度极大又十分疲累甚至有点焦 躁的你的面前，你岂愿卒读?太潦草的作文，往往只看了首尾，可能三类作文偏下的分数就出来了。当然，我们所写之字不一定是练过书法的(练过当然更好)，而 只是要求所写之字大小一样，一笔一画认真书写，不潦草，不涂改(实在需要修改时也应用笔轻轻划去，切不可重重涂写，乱打叉)，要让阅卷老师知道你所写的字 是什么字，以求一个整体效果。

这里所谈的高考作文七“要”，多少有一些“急功近利”、“离经叛道”的味道，但它确实是获取应试作文高分的有效策略。希望高三学子予以重视，针对自己的实际状况，采取相应的措施，使作文复习备考更具针对性，也更富有成效。

Fast food business has developed tremendously in the past 50 years.Nowadays people will see all kinds of fast food restaurants here and there.which clearly shows how closely it is related to our daily life.Most people believe that fast food business has become part of our life and its developement is good for both society and people.

Firstly,the best thing about fast food is being fast. Now everyone lives a busy life so time is the most valuable thing to us all.Fast food offers a most efficient way to eat.You will waste no time in waiting or choosing.Secondly,fast food restaurants provide us with a good environment for entertainment and study.Friends come here,chatting or playing cards;students come here,reading books or doing homework,and meanwhile you can enjoy a bag of chips and a bottle of cola which will bring more pleasure.Thirdly, youngsters can even find good opportunities of working practice in some fast food restaurants.Working experience help them understand the society better and improve their communicating skills.

In many ways,we benefit a lot from the fast food business.Therefore,I think it helpful and important to our life.

这类作文不需要考生自己拟题，文题已经直接印在试卷上。比如高考作文考查过的面对大海转折包容说安今年花胜去年红自嘲，等等。命题作文往往文体不限。

认清高考作文命题模式，才能真正有效地提高备考的科学性并大大增强训练的力度。回顾最近若干年高考作文命题的轨迹，我们也可以看出其发展趋势，进而预测2006年高考作文命题的主要特点。

1999年高考作文以假如记忆可以移植为话题，让考生根据自己的生活体会、感受和理解充分发挥想象，写一篇不少于800字的文章。不过，这个话题容易引导考生往现实中不存在的方面去构思，导致不少作文显得空泛。2000年的话题是答案是丰富多彩的，这道题目充满了哲学的睿智和丰厚的生活底蕴，作文时只要求立意与看问题、理解问题、解答问题的多元性有关即可，内容不受限制，表达方式不拘一格。命题自由度之大，开放意识之强，是前所未有的。然而试题的过于宽泛，给考生宿构、仿作、套作带来了便利。2001年的诚信和2002年的心灵的选择，更加贴近时代的脉搏，同时在开放的前提下加大了对作文内容的限制。对于心灵的选择这道题目，有人把它归为道德层面的话题，这个认识是片面的。事实上，这个话题针对的是人的思想和内心活动，考生可以从道德、伦理、思想、感情、人格、操守、文学、美学等各种各样的角度展开对选择的思考、探索、描述、阐释、议论、抒情。2003年的感情亲疏和对事物的认知，则辩证地设置了话题，突出了对学生理性思维和认识水平的检测，切实体现了立意自定的写作要求，允许考生独抒己见。

2004年高考分省自主命题，一下子涌现出十四道话题作文(另一题为北京卷的命题作文包容)。从话题思想内容的指向看，更加注意对人的关注：或指向人的内省，或指向人的处世，或指向人的生活状态，或指向人的精神发展，或指向人与环境，或指向人的思维方法、思想方法、价值判断和哲理思辨等。尤其是全国卷的四道试题(相信自己与听取别人意见遭遇挫折和放大痛苦快乐幸福与我们的思维方式看到自己与看到别人)以及重庆卷的自我认识与他人期望、辽宁卷的平凡与自豪、天津卷的材与非材、湖北卷的买镜等，话题贴近人生、时代，关注人的主体感悟，既注重人格修养，也注重世界观、方法论;既注重人文关怀，又有理性思辨，也不失对美的追求，充分体现了话题作文的成熟美。

题意作文分析

2005年高考分省自主命题的范围进一步加大，话题作文一统天下的局面被打破，材料作文、命题作文开始占有了一定比例。但除了这三种类型，尤其值得我们关注的是，2005年高考上海卷、福建卷和湖北卷的作文题出现了另一种倾向，试题中虽然没有直接出现明确的话题，但是上海卷提示需要对当今的文化生活作一番审视和辨析，并谈谈它们对你的成长正在形成怎样的影响这就意味着本题可以转化为文化生活与我的成长的话题作文;福建卷的作文题，从外观上看是图画材料作文，但材料中一组组相对应的提示文字(我规范与我新颖、我稳定与我多变、我周长短，面积大与我周长长，面积小，等等)，却可以看成是一个个子话题;湖北卷提供了王国维《人间词话》中的一段话(诗人对宇宙人生，须入乎其内，又须出乎其外)，要求考生根据对这则文字的感悟，自定立意、自选文体、自拟标题，写一篇不少于800字的文章，同样不在审题上设置过多的障碍，这在某种程度上可视为比较特殊的话题作文——出与入。这三道试题，我们可以称之为题意作文(也可以称为后话题作文，因为从本质上看，其命题特点、写作要求与原来的话题作文还是相通的)。

那么，该如何应对这种新出现的题意作文呢?很简单——将它转换为话题作文。下面，我们通过一则例子来加深认识。

阅读下面的材料，根据要求作文。

有个教授做过一项实验：12年前，他要求他的学生进入一个宽敞的大礼堂，并自由找座位坐下。反复几次后，教授发现有的学生总爱坐前排，有的则盲目随意，四处都坐，还有一些人似乎特别钟情后面的座位。教授分别记下了他们的名字。10年后，教授的追踪调查结果显示：爱坐前排的学生中，成功的比例高出其他两类学生很多。

后来，教授语重心长地对新生们说道：不是说凡事一定要站在最前面，永远第一，而是说这种积极向上的心态十分重要。在漫长的一生中，你们一定要勇争第一，积极坐在前排呀!

请根据你对上述故事的感悟，自定立意、自选文体、自拟标题，写一篇不少于800字的文章。

我们可把这则题意作文转换为话题作文。转换后的话题可以为——坐在生活的前排。

审读题意：坐在生活的前排，这是一种积极进取的生活态度，一种积极向上、不甘落后的心态。它是敢为天下先，它要求自己尽己所能，去争取尽可能好的成绩，去争取成功，但并不奢望自己一定成功;尽了力就没有遗憾，更不会后悔。因此，写本题时，首先要准确地理解题意，把握它的内涵，选取符合话题要求的材料，安排好文章的结构，表现自己确定的主题。这样一种趋势和方法，相信2006年高考作文会出现更多。

高考作文展望

高考作文命题的原则是稳中有变。展望2006年，笔者觉得有必要理清四个关系，把握五个层面。

理清四个关系，即理清人与人、人与社会、人与自我、人与自然之间的关系。(1)人与人的关系：包括倡导公平竞争，颂扬人与人之间的爱，学会沟通，学会尊重与宽容，学会赞美与鼓励，倾听他人，欣赏他人，善待他人，团结协作，感悟亲情、友情，构建和谐的人际关系等。(2)人与社会的关系：包括遵循社会公德，遵守社会法则，承担社会责任，具有强烈的社会责任感，呼唤法律意识，促进人与社会的和谐，走可持续发展的道路等。(3)人与自我的关系：包括确立一种积极的价值观和处世态度，推崇砺志自强的品质，呼唤对卓越成功的不懈追求和对有品位的文化艺术和精神生活的追求，关注健康问题(包括身体的、心理的、人格的、个性的)，注重内心的探索，促进自我发展等。(4)人与自然的关系：包括热爱自然，关注自然，正确处理好现代化建设与环境的关系，正确处理好人与动物之间的关系，遵循自然界的法则，树立环保意识，真正达到人与自然的和谐等。

把握五个层面，即把握时代、社会、生活、人文、哲理五个层面。高考作文命题，始终体现着时代性、社会性、生活性、人文性和哲理性。虽然命题本身不一定体现高考当年的热点，但作文肯定要体现出生活年代的特征，所以高考作文即使不考热点问题，仍然要考查学生对生活中常发生的一些事件的看法，考查学生对社会上一些现象的看法，这些都是和学生的所学、所思、所想分不开的。高考既然提倡学生说真话、抒真情，那就离不开学生的实际，同时也离不开时代生活和时代精神。另外，人文关怀和哲理思辨是文章走向深刻的标志，也是高分佳作的亮点所在，考生在备考时应予以高度重视。

高考作文备考方法指津

(一)丰富生活积累和阅读积累

首先，要丰富生活积累。平时关注现实生活，多方面、多角度地感知社会人生，把握当今时代的脉搏，写作时就能左右逢源。比如满分作文《包容》，以发生在美国发动的越战期间和2004年伊拉克某城市的两个相互关联的小故事构成文章主体，描写当年越南孩子的包容，使杰克成了坚定的反战派;受爸爸杰克的影响，杰瑞面对伊拉克少女扣不下扳机，却因此付出了生命的代价，两相对比，发人深思。结尾紧扣题目，发出拨开战争的乌云，让包容还生命一份安宁的呼吁，鲜明地表达了反战的主题。由于作者从社会热点中找到了作文的自由，将重大时事信手拈来，又能紧扣题目巧妙为文，所以写来得心应手。

其次，多读多思也是作文的源头活水。因此要博览课外读物，常咀时文英华，并注意消化吸收，为我所用，使考场作文既有深度又新颖别致。笔者建议，考生在多阅读的同时，应建立属于自己的作文复习手册。这个复习本要分门别类，有作文题、构思路数、精彩作文概要、写作资料等。还可编个索引，以后要看哪一方面的内容知道到哪里找，以减少翻检时间。

(二)加强思维训练

写作是一种复杂的思维活动，在作文备考的过程中，文字功夫固然要讲究，但形成文字前的思维训练更为重要。要学会换一个角度看问题，追求新的发现;积极突破思维定势，学会将直觉思维、反向思维、发散思维、聚敛思维、联想想象思维等灵活地运用于作文中，使思路活跃，文如泉涌。比如围绕话题快乐幸福与我们的思维方式作文，立意上除了谈快乐幸福说到底不过是人的一种感受，它和人的思维方式有着直接的关系，因此我们要多往好处想，积极乐观地看问题;也可以谈思维方式对快乐幸福感受的影响较小，幸福主要不是想出来的，而主要来自实实在在的生活条件的改善，提倡从自立自强的发展中获取幸福感(反向思考);此外，还可以谈幸福感既来自实际利益，又来自思维调节(辩证思考)。

(三)练成正确的作文程序和较快的行文速度

进入高三后，阶段考、模拟考明显增多，语文试卷一般都有作文，这是我们很好的实践演习，理应引起重视，认真对待。作文时正确的操作程序如下：(一)审题。要能准确、全面地读懂题目，吃透命题意图，明确写作范围(大约用时5分钟)。(二)立意选材。要根据试题的精神和范围，确定自己作文的主旨和主要材料，并列出写作提纲(大约用时10分钟)。这里强调要列好提纲。因为考场作文时间紧迫，打草稿是来不及的，必须理出详细的提纲，才能保证行文思路的合理、流畅。(三)挥笔成文(大约在40分钟左右)。(四)检查。通读作文试题和自己的文章，如有必要，可在结尾部分再一次扣题、点题;看作文字数是否达到要求;发现明显的错别字、标点错误，立即改正。

一、单项选择题

(1)先易后难：一些考题的答案比较容易选定，可以先从这些考题入手。平时练习时，应以基础为主，主要精力不应放在偏题、怪题上。

(2)分析考查意图、运用相关知识：应学会分析出题者考查的意图，明确相关题的测试点是什么，然后运用所学知识，进行分析、判断，再进行选择。

(3)利用暗示进行选择：注意考题涉及的语境范围。平时应注重对习惯用语表达、惯用法和中英文化差别等方面知识的积累。

(4)运用排除法：可采取语言排除、逻辑排除、语法排除或选择排除等方法。先排除较容易、较明显的错误选项，缩小范围，而后对剩余的选项进行比较分析，最后确定答案。

二、完形填空题

1、搭配判断法。

根据对以往试题的分析，搭配型考题在完形填空题中占的比例最高。搭配型问题主要测试常见搭配的熟练程度，比如说哪些词要搭配不定式、动名词或某种从句，哪些词必须与某个介词搭配。我们在复习时要特别注意短语动词和介词的固定搭配。

2、结构判断法。

结构型问题主要包括句型、句式、连接词的选择等，解题时要运用句法知识，把握关键词，从而做出迅速正确的判断。完形填空题中有很多是利用语法的正确性与逻辑的排斥性间的矛盾来设计的。因此考生应结合上下文的合理性及意义关系的逻辑性选择最佳答案。完形填空中常考的逻辑关系主要有：

(1)转折、让步关系：这种关系表明后一种观点或事实与前一种观点或事实相比有些出乎意料。

常见的表示转折、让步的词或词组有：but，still，yet，however，though，although，no matter，in spite of，anyway，even if等。

(2)因果关系：

表示原因的连词或词组有：because (of )，due to，owing to，thanks to，since，for，as等。

表示结果的词或词组有：so，therefore，then，as a result，in consequence，consequently，thus等。

(3)递进、补充关系：这种关系表示对前一事实或观点做进一步阐述。

常用的词、词组有：moreover，likewise，besides，in addition，also，too，not only…but also，apart from，what‘s more 等。

(4)对比、比较关系：对比观点或事物间的差异性，比较观点或事物间的同一性。

表示对比的词或词组有：in contrast，by contrast，on the contrary，conversely，unlike，oppositely 等。表示比较的词或词组有：like，in comparison，compare…with，as，just as等。

3、词义判断法。

词汇型问题也是完形填空的一个考点，主要测试考生在段落语篇中把握语义连贯性的能力，提供选择的词可能是近义词、近形词也可能是随意拼凑的四个选项，遇到这类题，既要联系上下文，又要具有扎实的词汇基础，有时还须根据自己的文化背景知识做出判断、选择答案。

三、阅读理解

在做阅读理解题时，除了掌握前面介绍的基本题型、基本法则外，还要进行有意识的阅读训练。提高阅读能力的训练主要可以从下面几个方面入手：词汇、方法、侧重点。

1、词汇：猜词的技巧。

在阅读过程中，不可避免地会碰到不认识的单词，考试中又不允许查词典，有些不认识的单词对文章的理解影响不大，可以忽略。但有些不认识的单词则会影响阅读者对文章理解的正确性。在这种情况下，必需猜测词的含义，这就需要利用猜词的技巧了。

最基本的猜词技巧有两种：一是根据构词法的规则猜，构词法的规则在前面的章节中已有介绍，这里就不重复了;另一种猜词的技巧是根据上下文的描述、解释、列举、比较等，运用已有的知识，分析、推断该词的含义。常用的猜词技巧可归纳为以下几种：

(1)利用词根、词缀构词法推测词义。通过构词法推测词义是最常用的方法之一。

(2)分析文中对该词的直接定义推测词义。

作者在行文中有时不得不使用某些难词、偏词，为使读者理解，作者常常会在文章中直接解释该词语。作者或通过同位语，或使用定语从句加以阐明，或用冒号、破折号、括号给出，或用语篇标志词引出，这类语篇标志词有：that is (to say); e.g.;oor，in other words;to put it in another way等。如：

She is bilingual.In other words，she speaks English and French equally well.(bilingual：会说两种语言的)。

(3)分析文中对该词的近义复述推测词义。

同一短文中前后两个句子、短语或单词通常有互释作用，可以从上下文的复述中获取与某一单词或短语相关的信息以猜测词义。如：

It is difficult t

o list all of my fathe‘s attributes because he has so many different talents and abilities.(attribute：特质;才能)

(4)分析文中对该词的对比和并列表述推测词义。

利用上下文中的对比或并列表述猜测词义是最常用、最可靠的方法。有不少句子会在上下文中给出某个生词(尤其是偏词、难词)的同义词或反义词，运用对比或并列表达对这些生词加以推测。通过了解词与词之间的连接关系，特别是一些语篇标志词，如：however;on the other hand;nevertheless等，我们不难推断这些生词的词义。如：

If you agree，write “yes”;if you dissent，write “no”。(dissent：不同意）

导语：很多公园都需要收票，你觉得要不要收?下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的相关优秀英语作文，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

最近，你校同学正在参加某英文报组织的一场讨论。讨论的主题是：公园要不要收门票?请你根据下表所提供的信息，给报社写一封信，客观地介绍讨论情况。

60%的同学认为

40%的同学认为

1.不应该收门票

2公园是公众休闲的地方

3l如收门票，需建大门、围墙，会影响城市形象

1.应收门票，但票价不要太高

2.支付园林工人工资

3.购新花木

注意：1.信的开头已为你写好。

2.词数：100左右。

3.参考词汇：门票---entrance fee

Dear editor,

I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we have had about whether an entrance fee should be charged for parks. 60% of us schoolmates think that an entrance fee do not meet people’s expectations, for a park is considered to be a place where the public can have a good time when they are not busy either at home or at work. If an entrance fee must be paid by the visitors for a park, it will be necessary to build a gate and surrounding walls. In the end a city will take on a bad look. 40% of us schoolmates think that an entrance fee can be accepted, but it must not be too expensive. The money from ticket selling can be used for paying the gardeners in the park and buying some other kinds of flowers and trees.

With regard to myself, I think an entrance fee is useful, for it can be used to protect a park. Do we share the same opinion, dear editor?

Yours truly,

Li Hua

【参考翻译】

亲爱的编辑，

我写信告诉你关于我们的讨论，关于是否应该收取停车费。我们60%的同学认为一个入场费不符合人们的期望，因为公园被认为是一个地方，市民可以有一个很好的时间，当他们不忙，无论是在家里还是在工作。如果一个入场费必须由游客来支付，那就必须建造一个门和周围的墙。在结束一个城市将采取一个坏的外观。我们40%的同学认为可以接受入学手续费，但不能太贵。门票销售的钱可以用来支付公园的园丁和买一些其他种类的花和树。

关于我自己，我认为一个入场费是有用的，因为它可以用来保护公园。亲爱的编辑，我们有同样的看法吗?

你真正的，

李华

1、诗骨--陈子昂

其诗词意激昂，风格高峻，大有“汉魏风骨”，被誉为“诗骨”。

2、诗杰--王勃

其诗流利婉畅，宏放浑厚，独具一格，人称“诗杰”

3、诗狂--贺知章

秉性放达，自号“四明狂客”。因其诗豪放旷放，人称“诗狂”。

4、诗家天子 七绝圣手--王昌龄

其七绝写的“深情幽怨，音旨微茫”，因而举为“诗家天子”。

5、诗仙--李白

诗想象丰富奇特，风格雄浑奔放，色彩绚丽，语言清新自然，被誉为“诗仙”。

6、诗圣--杜甫

其诗紧密结合时事，思想深厚。境界广阔，人称为“诗圣”。

7、诗囚--孟郊

作诗苦心孤诣，惨淡经营，无好问，曾称之为“诗囚”。

8、诗奴--贾岛

一生以作诗为命，好刻意苦吟，人称其为“诗奴”。

9、诗豪--刘禹锡

其诗沉稳凝重，格调自然格律粗切，白居易赠他“诗豪”的美誉。

10、诗佛--王维

这种称谓除了有王维诗歌中的佛教意味和王维的宗教倾向之外,也表达了后人对王维在唐代诗坛崇高地位的肯定.

11、诗魔--白居易

白居易写诗非常刻苦,正如他自己所说:“酒狂又引诗魔发,日午悲吟到日西。”过份的诵读和书写,竟到了口舌生疮、手指成胝的地步。所以人称“诗魔”。

12、五言长城--刘长卿

擅长五言诗，他的五言诗作是全部诗作的十分之七八，人称其为“五言长城”。

13、诗鬼--李贺

其诗善于熔铸词采， 驰骋想象，运用神话传说创造出璀璨多彩的鲜明形象，故称其为“诗鬼”。

14、杜紫薇--杜牧

曾写过《紫薇花》咏物抒情，借花自誉，人称其为“杜紫薇”。

15、温八叉--温庭筠

才思敏捷，每次入试，八叉手即成八韵，人称他为“温八叉”。

16、郑鹧鸪--郑谷

以《鹧鸪诗》而闻名，故有“郑鹧鸪”之称。

17、崔鸳鸯--崔珏

赋《鸳鸯诗》，别具一格，人称“崔鸳鸯”。

18、诗仙 唐代诗人的别名趣录唐代大诗人李白，好饮酒，其实想象出奇，豪放飘逸，充满浪漫主义色彩，时人称他为“李谪仙”。

19、诗圣 唐代诗人的别名趣录唐代大诗人杜甫，是做敦厚严谨，沉郁顿挫，多反映民间疾苦，充满忧国忧民情怀，被称为“诗圣”。

20、诗豪 唐代诗人的别名趣录唐代刘禹锡，是个风格雄浑豪迈，被白居易推为“诗豪”。

21、诗魔 唐代诗人的别名趣录唐代大诗人白居易写实非常刻苦。正如他自己所说：“酒狂又引诗魔发，日午悲吟到日西。”所以人称“诗魔”。

22、诗鬼 唐代诗人的别名趣录唐代多才而短命的是人李贺，其实大都构思奇特，意境怪诞，迷离恍惚，变幻莫测。宋代魏庆之说：“太白仙才，长吉鬼才。”故其有“诗鬼”之称。