英语书信写作模板大学【20篇】

According to many people, university is aspringboard towards better jobs or higher salaries, and their only goal ofuniversity education is to get a degree. Why do you go to university? I believedifferent people have different answers to this question. As far as I amconcerned, I do not agree with their opinion that university education is aspringboard. Let me name my reasons.

First of all, university education can helpstudent cultivate sentiments. People who are having university education mustlearn much more knowledge. This knowledge will help them cultivate their tastefrom their inside heart. What’s more, the atmosphere in college is also helpfulin developing students’ personal quality.

Secondly, university education is a goodplace for students to prepare for going to society. College doesn’t like highschool. Students have to learn many things besides study. This is the finalstage before they enter the society for most students. Having universityeducation helps them adapt the society easily.

Thirdly, university educationwill let students have a further knowledge in one field. Before going to university,students have to choose their major. This is because they have to learn specializedknowledge in that field. If they want to success, having knowledge about onething deeply is necessary.

To sum up, university education has manyfunctions. It is not only a springboard for better jobs or higher salaries. Theycan’t set their goal for university education is to get a degree. It deservesmore.

对于许多人来说，大学是一个走向更好的工作和更高的工资的跳板，他们在大学教育中唯一的目标就是获得学位。你为什么上大学呢？我认为这个答案是因人而异的。对我来说，我不同意他们认为大学教育只是一个跳板的看法。让我列举我的原因。

首先，大学教育可以帮助学生陶冶情操。接受过大学教育的人肯定能学到更多的知识。而这些知识可以帮助他们从里培养他们的情操。再者，大学的氛围也是有助于培养学生的个人素质。

其次，大学教育是让学生做好进入社会的地方。大学不像高中。除了学习之外学生还得做很多别的事情。对于大多数人来说这是他们进入社会前的最后阶段。拥有大学教育可以帮助他们更容易地适应社会容易。

第三，大学教育可以让学生在一个领域中学到深刻的知识。在上大学前，学生们要选择自己的专业。这是因为他们要在某一领域学习专业的知识。如果想成功，深入学习是很重要的。

总之，大学教育的作用多多。它不仅仅只是获得更好工作或者薪水的跳板。人们不应该把大学教育的目标设定为拿到学位。它有更多的价值。

[大学教育的目标英语作文

示例：

Dear______,

I am writing to extend my sincere gratitude for ________(感谢的原因). If it had not been for your assistance in _________(对方给你的具体帮助), I fear that I would have been_________(没有对方帮助时的后果).

Every one agrees that it was you who__________(给出细节).

Again, I would like to express my warm thanks to you! Please accept my gratitude.

Yours sincerely

Li Ming

1 天空没有翅膀的痕迹，而鸟儿已飞过

there are no trails of the wings in the sky, while the birds has flied away。

2 没有谁对不起谁，只有谁不懂得珍惜谁。

no one indebted for others,while many people dont know how to cherish others。

3 我的世界不允许你的消失，不管结局是否完美。

no matter the ending is perfect or not, you cannot disappear from my world。

4 凋谢是真实的 盛开只是一种过去

fading is true while flowering is past。

5 为什么幸福总是擦肩而过，偶尔想你的时候…。就让…。回忆来陪我。

why i have never catched the happiness? whenever i want you ,i will be accompanyed by the memory of.。。

6 如果你为着错过夕阳而哭泣，那么你就要错群星了

if you weeped for the missing sunset,you would miss all the shining stars

7 如果只是遇见，不能停留，不如不遇见

if we can only encounter each other rather than stay with each other,then i wish we had never encountered 。

8 宁愿笑著流泪，也不哭著说后悔 心碎了，还需再补吗？

i would like weeping with the smile rather than repenting with the cry,when my heart is broken ,is it needed to fix?

9 爱情是一个精心设计的谎言

love is a carefully designed lie。

10 当香烟爱上火柴时，就注定受到伤害

when a cigarette falls in love with a match,it is destined to be hurt。

11 人活着 总是要得罪一些人的 就要看那些人是否值得得罪

when alive ,we may probably offend some people.however, we must think about whether they are deserved offended。

12 命里有时终需有 命里无时莫强求

you will have it if it belongs to you,whereas you dont kveth for it if it doesnt appear in your life。

13 爱情就像一只蝴蝶，它喜欢飞到哪里，就把欢乐带到哪里。

love is like a butterfly. it goes where it pleases and it pleases where it goes。

14 永远不是一种距离，而是一种决定。

eternity is not a distance but a decision。

15 在回忆里继续梦幻不如在地狱里等待天堂

dreaming in the memory is not as good as waiting for the paradise in the hell。

16 哪里有真爱存在，哪里就有奇迹

where there is great love, there are always miracles。

17 每一个沐浴在爱河中的人都是诗人

at the touch of love everyone becomes a poet。

18 假如每次想起你我都会得到一朵鲜花，那么我将永远在花丛中徜徉。

if i had a single flower for every time i think about you, i could walk forever in my garden。

19 有了你，我迷失了自我；失去你，我多么希望自己再度迷失。

within you i lose myself, without you i find myself wanting to be lost again。

20 承诺常常很像蝴蝶，美丽的飞盘旋然后不见

promises are often like the butterfly, which disappear after beautiful hover。

[优美英语写作段落句子摘抄中英互译

英语四级考试目的是推动大学英语教学大纲的贯彻执行，对大学生的英语能力进行客观、准确的测量，为提高我国大学英语课程的教学质量服务。下面是小编为大家带来的基础薄弱如何进行英语四级写作训练的知识，欢迎阅读。

英语四级写作备考可分为四大步骤：

一、 背诵：

首先认真研究历年四级写作真题，重点研究2001年6月—2005年12月的11次真题，分析近年来四级写作的出题规律和考试重点，从语言、结构、 内容三大层面，认真研读经典写作真题范文：语言方面学习范文中的精彩词汇、词组、句型；结构方面学习范文的框架结构、内在逻辑、关联词、同义替换和代词替换；内容方面学习范文的论点、论据和论证。同时背诵精彩写作范文，要求滚瓜烂熟、脱口而出、多多益善，扎扎实实提高自己的写作实力。历年英语四级六级真题 >>

二、默写：

背诵熟练之后默写下来，仔细对照原文，会发现你默写的文章与原文有一些语法、拼写、标点的区别，这些区别就是你的写作弱点，学习关键在于针锋突破，不要全面出击。这些弱点正是你在考试中扣分的原因所在，把这些弱点意义克服，分数自然就会提高。

三、 中译英：

首先将写作真题范文译为中文，或参考范文的正确译文，然后进行中译英的工作，根据自己的理解把中文译为英文，最后对照英文原文，你会发现你的译文与原文存在较大的差别，这些差别正是你写作低分的症结所在。同样的一个中文句子，仔细对比一下你使用了哪些词汇、词组和句型，原文使用了哪些，这样你的写作水平才会逐渐提高。

四、 写作：

进行完上述工作之后，在考前必须进行写作的工作，只有动笔写作，才会发现自己的问题。可以写5—10篇真题或模拟题，模仿自己曾经背诵过的精彩词汇、词组、句型、框架和范文，写出一篇新的文章。最初不要求速度，但考前一定要进行模考，半小时写出一篇120－150词的文章。写完之后仔细修改其中的语言错误，将其改的更加精彩。

英语写作基础不太好的四级考生，必须按照上述步骤严格进行；基础较好的考生学习顺序正好相反，首先写作，直接写作英语四级真题；其次中译英，在研读原文之前，进行中译英的工作，译完对比，找出差距；然后背诵；最后默写。同时可以准备自己的写作框架，应用文和论说文分别形成固定的写法，积累精彩句型。

On Water Shortage

No one can have failed to notice the fact that water shortage is a grave problem with which the whole world is confronted. Actually, it has become so widespread that it has severely affected peoples daily life and hindered the development of the global economy.

A number of factors could account for the problem, but the following might be the critical ones. First, with the development of agriculture and industry, an increasing amount of water is needed. Secondly, the ever-increasing population is another leading cause of water shortage. Besides, the global tendency of warming up also contributes to the problem. Whats worse, pollution and waste of fresh water aggravate the situation.In view of the seriousness of the problem, effective measures must be taken before things get worse. First, it is essential that laws and regulations be worked out and enforced to protect water resources. Secondly, people should enhance their awareness of saving water. With these measures taken, it is reasonable

for us to expect a brighter future.

想要在20xx年英语四级考试中作文拿高分，遵循以下技巧就行。

20xx年英语四级考试作文技巧一：

总体原则：六个字：先结构后表达。

总体做法：三步法

1. 审题：两项内容：1)英文标题+2)汉语提纲 (如果汉语提纲不是三条，则将其转化为三条提纲)

2. 将三个汉语提纲转化为一个英文表达，充当该段主题句。(首尾段可无主题句，但中间段落最好有)

3. 将主题句扩展成一个英文段落。(方法：举例、数据、对比、列举、补充说明、因果法等)

20xx年英语四级考试作文技巧二：实例及具体时间分配

第1、2步为准备工作 时间控制在三分钟以内：

(注：建议考生带上手表，以便掌握写作时间分配，超过三分钟按照已经列出的关键词的内容展开文章的开头部分)

如一道六级的写作考题为：

directions: for this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic college students" part-time jobs. you should write at least 150 words, and base your composition on the outline (given in chinese) below:

1. 有些人赞成大学生做兼职, 有人反对

2. 我的看法

审题：1. 题目：college students" part-time jobs

2. 提纲：1. 有些人赞成大学生做兼职, 有人反对;2. 我的看法

题目关键词为: part-time jobs

3. 提纲转化为三条：

1. 有些人持相反意见

2. 有些人赞成大学生做兼职

3. 我的看法 (无需写出)

20xx年英语四级考试作文技巧三：先结构：

联想课堂所讲：三段或四段式结构，且每段只写一项内容。

以“三段式”为例：

后表达：(三方面：句、词、衔接)关键词罗列

1. 联想开篇句式：when it comes to …, people" opinions differ/vary. 或者it is a common phenomenon for … to do sth, 或者 it can be noticed that an increasing number of …

将这些表达以关键词的形式列出：如： when… 或者 it is …

2. 转化主题句：

1) 有些人持反对意见- others hold the opposite view.

理由：1. main task- academic study, 2. society complex- cheated

2) 有些人赞成大学生做兼职- hold the positive view

理由：1. ease financial burden 2. enrich experience

3) 我的看法- both right …….

3. 扩展成文

最后，请检查基本语音错误：1， 单词拼写 2， 时态， 3， 单复数，4，关联词

高考中的写作部分既限制字数，又要包含所有要点，且不能逐条翻译。如果写作方法运动得当，会有明显的提分效果。下面来看看小编为大家带来的方法吧。

一、 从词汇入手，强化短语写作

有研究表明，词汇学习可以促进英语水平的提高(文秋方，1998)。培养和提高学生的英语写作能力应从词和句入手，抓好基础训练。英语是结构语言，具有其自身的固定搭配、习惯用语和基本句型(陈立华，2003)。而《牛津高中英语》教材大量的词汇和地道的生活语言、任务型编排体系以及文本体裁的多样性，为“写”提供了基本素材。教师可根据不同话题的写作要求，采用不同形式的方法对学生进行写作基础训练。比如：关键词和短语写作训练法，即教师根据本单元的写作话题，每天精心选择2～3个词组或句型，让学生做翻译和造句练习;一周之后，让学生运用这些词组和句型进行写作。通过这种训练方法，既可以培养学生的写作能力，又可以提高写作的效率，还可以帮助学生掌握一些习惯用语和句子结构，从而提高学生遣词造句的能力。

二、抓好基本句型的训练，促进写作

书面表达题是由许多句子组成的，句子是写文章的基础。要完成书面表达题，首先要从句子入手，指导学生如何用句子表意。从语言形态学的角度看，英语属于分析型的语言，它有较为固定的基本句型、稳定搭配、俗成短语等，要想在写作中用好它们，必须加强这方面的基本训练。

首先，要加强五种基本句型的教学训练。几乎所有的英语句型都是这五种句型的扩大、延伸或变化，因此训练学生“写”就要抓住五种基本句型，熟练掌握这五种基本句型。五种基本句型是：S+V，S+V+O，S+V+O+O，S+V+O+C，S+V+P。五种基本句型虽然能表达一定的意思，但无法比较自由地表达思想，因此还必须对学生进行扩句训练，在课堂上充分发挥学生的想象力。

其次，加强句型教学，要对一些句子进行分析，增强学生利用各种句子进行一意多种表达的训练。

最后，充分利用教材，对学生进行基本语感的训练。

三、从阅读入手，培养写作表达技巧

阅读与写作密不可分，阅读是写作的基础，是搜集素材、学习词汇句型和新颖表达方式的源泉。因此，教师应想方设法把阅读与写作结合起来，利用教材训练学生的写作技能，在阅读能力的培养过程中融入多种形式的写作技能训练，将写作教学贯穿于阅读教学中。笔者采用了如下方法：

1.利用教材，开展改写

在完成阅读教学，学生基本掌握文章内容的基础上，笔者进一步指导学生改写文章。改写要求学生注意人称、时态、直接引语、间接引语、遣词造句和谋篇布局等方面的变化，充分理解课文内容，认真思考，写出语言得体、内容完整的文章。例如：《牛津高中英语》模块6 Unit 2What Is Happiness to You?的Reading部分是一篇以对话采访形式出现的课文，在采访过程中，嘉宾Dr.Brain以体操运动员桑兰的经历为例，谈到他对幸福的理解。在完成阅读教学后，笔者要求学生用第三人称写一篇介绍桑兰的作文，并鼓励学生引用课文中描述桑兰的经典词汇和例句。如：hard?鄄working, energet?鄄ic, stay optimistic/positive, in good spir?鄄its; She was happy to devote herself to gym?鄄nastics等。通过这些训练，学生既加深了对课文的理解，又运用了所学重点词汇，同时学生的写作技能得到了实际的锻炼。

2.模仿范文，鼓励仿写

写的过程实际上是模拟读者阅读的过程;而阅读也是模拟写作的行为(戴军熔，2002)。教师可给学生一篇与书面表达体裁和题材相同的范文，让学生通过阅读完成类似话题的写作任务。例如：《牛津高中英语》模块1 Unit 3 Looking Good，Feeling Good的写作话题是保持健康。笔者从英文报刊上选择一篇有关如何科学合理地减肥、健身的报道，先让学生在课堂上进行限时阅读，然后提问学生：Which do you think is more important，looking good or feeling good? How would you keep fit?Why?等。学生通过模仿阅读材料的结构进行写作。通过阅读带动写作，由知识的输入到知识的输出，提高了学生表达的条理性和连贯性，为学生提供了写作策略和技能。

四、培养学生用英语写作的习惯

“临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网。”如果仅仅掌握了写作技巧，熟背了大量文章，不亲自动手实践还是不行的，没有一成不变的文章让你照搬。《英语课程标准》指出：基础教育阶段英语课程的总体目标是培养学生的综合语言运用能力。因此，我们要遵循“一切为了运用”的原则，提倡和鼓励学生亲自实践，动手写作，用英语给亲人、朋友、老师写信，用英语写日记，或用英语写便条，写留言短信，还可以用英语与老师谈心或反映情况，或给老师写每周情况报告或总结。只有将所学内容适时地运用于实际生活，才能内化成自己的能力。

五、重视写作的规范化训练

起始阶段的写作训练，培养学生良好的写作习惯非常重要。首先，书写和文体格式要规范。严格要求学生正确、端正、熟练地书写字母、单词和句子，注意大小写和标点符号，养成良好的书写习惯。同时对各种文体特点、格式要清楚，使学生熟悉规范的书面表达形式，用正确的标准评析和规范自己的书面表达。其次，写作过程要规范。一般来说，短文写作都要有以下步骤：审清题目要求;确定写作要点;选好动词，搭好句子骨架;有效连接，使短文结构紧凑;认真检查，保证卷面整洁。对学生进行写作模式的训练，这样看起来比较麻烦，但避免了反复，养成了好的写作习惯。

总之，随着新课改的实施和近几年高考(微博)评分标准的完善，对学生的书面表达能力提出了新的要求。作为高中英语教师，在教学中要根据不同时期学生的具体情况采取相应的教学方法，灵活多样地开展英语写作教学，有效调动学生的积极性，定能使学生厚积薄发，写出行文通顺、流畅、有文采的佳篇妙作来。

英语书信是英语中最常见的应用文体裁，用途极为广泛。以下是小编整理的大学英语书信作文格式，欢迎阅读参考！

1、信头(heading)

信头是指发信人的姓名(单位名称)、地址和日期，一般写在信纸的右上角。一般公函或商业信函的信纸上都印有单位或公司的名称、地址、电话号码等，因此就只需在信头下面的右边写上写信日期就可以了。

英文地址的写法与中文完全不同，地址的名称按从小到大的顺序：第一行写门牌号码和街名;第二行写县、市、省、州、邮编、国名;然后再写日期。标点符号一般在每一行的末尾都不用，但在每一行的之间，该用的还要用，例如在写日期的时候。

其中日期的写法，如1997年7月30日，英文为：july 30，1997(最为普遍);july 30th，1997;30th july，1997等。1997不可写成97。

2、信内地址(inside address)

其中在一般的社交信中，信内收信人的地址通常省略，但是在公务信函中不能。将收信人的姓名、地址等写在信头日期下方的左角上，要求与对信头的要求一样，不必再写日期。例如：

3、称呼(salutation)

是写信人对收信人的称呼用语。位置在信内地址下方一、二行的地方，从该行的顶格写起，在称呼后面一般用逗号(英国式)，也可以用冒号(美国式)。

(1)写给亲人、亲戚和关系密切的朋友时，用dear或my dear再加上表示亲属关系的称呼或直称其名(这里指名字，不是姓氏)。例如：my dear father，dear tom等。

(2)写给公务上的信函用dear madam，dear sir或gentleman(gentlemen)。注意：dear纯属公务上往来的客气形式。gentlemen总是以复数形式出现，前不加dear，是dear sir的复数形式。

(3)写给收信人的信，也可用头衔、职位、职称、学位等再加姓氏或姓氏和名字。例如：dear prof. tim scales, dear dr.john smith。

4、正文(body of the letter)

位置在下面称呼语隔一行，是信的核心部分。因此要求正文层次分明、简单易懂。和中文信不同的是，正文中一般不用hello!(你好!)

正文有缩进式和齐头式两种。每段书信第一行的第一个字母稍微向右缩进些，通常以五个字母为宜，每段第二行从左面顶格写起，这就是缩进式。

但美国人写信各段落往往不用缩进式，用齐头式，即每一行都从左面顶格写起。商务信件大都采用齐头式的写法。

5、结束语(complimentary close)

在正文下面的一、二行处，从信纸的中间偏右处开始，第一个词开头要大写，句末用逗号。不同的对象，结束语的写法也不同。

(1)写给家人、亲戚，用your loving grandfather，lovingly yours，lovingly等;

(2)写给熟人、朋友，用yours cordially，yours affectionately等;

(3)写业务信函用truely yours(yours truely)，faithfully yours(yours faithfully)等;

(4)对上级、长辈用yours obediently(obediently yours)，yours respectfully(respectfully yours)等。

6、签名(signature)

低于结束语一至二行，从信纸中间偏右的地方开始，在结束语的正下方，在签完名字的下面还要有用打字机打出的名字，以便识别。职务、职称可打在名字的下面。当然，写给亲朋好友的信，就不必再打了。

7、附言(postscript)

如果一封信写完了，突然又想起遗漏的事情，这时用p.s.表示，再写上遗漏的话即可，要长话短说。通常在信末签名下面几行的左方，应于正文齐头。

注意：在正式的信函中，应避免使用附言。

8、附件(enclosure)

如果信件里面有附件，可在信纸的左下角，注上encl：或enc：，例如：encl：2 photos(内附两张照片)。如果福建附件不止一项，应写成encl：或encs。

我们有时可看到在称呼与正文之间有re：或subject：(事由)字样。一般在信纸的中间，也可与“称呼”对齐。还应在底下加横线，以引起读信人的注意，使收信人便于在读信之前就可了解信中的主要内容。事由一般在公务信函中使用，也可以省略。

良好的开端等于成功的一半，下面是小编整理的高考英语写作基础知识，欢迎阅读。

一. 开头用语：

良好的开端等于成功的一半.在写作文时，通常以最简单也最常用的方式---开门见山法。也就是说, 直截了当地提出你对这个问题的看法或要求，点出文章的中心思想。

1.议论文：

A. Just as every coin has two sides, cars have both advantages and disadvantages.

B. Compared to/ In comparison with letters, e-mails are more convenient.

C. When it comes to computers, some people think they have brought us a lot of convenience. However,...

D. Opinions are divided on(关于) the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city and in the countryside.

E. As is known to all/ As we all know, computers have played an important role/part in our daily life.

F. Why do you go to university? Different people have different points of view.

2. 书信：

A. I am writing to you to apply for admission to your university as a visiting scholar.

B. I read an advertisement in today’s China Daily and I apply for the job...

C. Thank you for your letter of May 5.

D. How happy I am to receive your letter of January 9.

E. How nice to hear from you again!

3. 口头通知或介绍情况：

A. Ladies and gentlemen, May I have your attention, please? I have an announcement to make.

(词典例子：Can I have your attention please?请注意听我讲话好吗?)

B. Attention, please. I have something important to tell you.

C. Mr. Green, Welcome to our school. To begin with, let me introduce Mr. Wang to you.

4. 演讲稿：

A. Ladies and gentlemen, I feel very much honored to have a chance here to make a speech on the subject -- A Balanced Diet and Health.

(词典解释：be/feel honoured to do sth=feel proud and happy做某事感到荣幸

例子：I was honoured to have been mentioned in his speech. 他在讲话中提到了我，真是荣幸。)

B. Good morning everyone! Allow me, first of all, on behalf of all present here, to extend our warm welcome and cordial greeting to our distinguished guest.

(词典解释：extend=to offer or give sth to sb 提供;给予

例子：I’m sure you will join me in extending a very warm welcome to our visitors. 我肯定你们会同我一起向来访者表示热烈的欢迎。)

(词典解释：allow me=used to offer help politely (礼貌地表示主动帮忙)让我来

二.并列用语：

as well as, not only…but (also), including,

A. Not only do computers play an important part in science and technology, but also play an informative role in our daily life.

B. All of us, including the teachers / the teachers included, will attend the lecture.

C. He speaks French as well as English.=He speaks English, and French as well.=He speaks not only English but also French.

D. E-mail, as well as telephones, is playing an important part in daily communication.

三.对比用语：

on the one hand---, on the other hand---, on the contrary/contrary to ..., though, for one thing, for another; nevertheless

A. I know the Internet can only be used at home or in the office, but on the other hand, it is becoming more and more popular for much information as well as clear and vivid pictures.

B. It is hard work; I enjoy it, though.

C. Contrary to what I had originally thought, the trip turned out to be fun.

(词典：contray to sth 与之相异的，相对的，相反的

Contrary to popular belief, many cats dislike milk. 与普通的想法相反，许多猫并不喜欢牛奶。)

四. 递进用语：

even, besides, what’s more, as for, so…that…, worse still, moreover, furthermore; but for, in addition, to make matters worse

A. The house is too small for a family of four, and furthermore/besides/what’s more/moreover /in addition/worse still , it is in a bad location.

我们知道，很多人认为大学生活是自由、舒适的，但我想说这不是真的。事实上，我的大学生活是如此的忙碌，以至于我都不知道我的能量是否足够。下面是小编帮大家整理的大学生活感触英语作文，希望大家喜欢。

As we know, many people favor theidea that the college life is free and comfortable, but I’d like to say it’snot true. As a matter of fact, my life in university is so busy that I wonderif my energy is enough. As to my college life, I divide it into four parts,including study, student activities, library and the others.

Firstly, I want to talk about thestudy. In my opinion, study is the priority in college. When I received theletter of admission in summer, I knew clearly that what I should do. So I makeup my mind to study hard and pursue learning as much as possible. I’m greatlyconvinced that knowledge can change my life. Therefore, I often go to the quietstudy room where many people study there. By working so hard, I get good gradesin the exams.

Secondly, student activities playan important role in our college life. To be honest, the student Union is agood place where one can develop social skills, get his abilities trained. Itake part in many student activities. For example, I’ m a volunteer, teachingthe kids to learn to dance and write. I think it’s meaningful for everyone togive a hand to others. I can also do some jobs in the Student Union, includingreceiving and sending fast mail, selling papers and magazines. I think they’re unforgettableand worthwhile experiences for me.

Thirdly, I also visit the libraryconstantly. It’s said that “shelves of books, oceans of knowledge”, so I readbooks that I’m interested in. In this way, I can share stories with my new friendsand it also changes my horizons .When I’m sad, lost or in trrouble, staying thelibrary makes me quiet and comfortable. After all, every life has bad momentsas well as good ones, and the library for me is a support in bad moments. So it’s wise choice for me to stay in thelibrary.

Finally, I often do other thingsin my spare time. In order to alleviate parents’ burden, I often do somepart-time jobs and write some articles to earn money. It helps me to beindependent and improve my social skills.

In short, mylife in university is busy but valuable. You can see that study brings me knowledge,student activities improve myself, library changes my horizons, the othersthings make me independent. They get all my abilities trained. And I see thatthe chance will come only if you have a prepared mind, so I’m sure that I canachieve my dreams in college life.

写作是最灵活的一种测试形式。写自己提前准备的表达是提分最有效的利器。下面是语文迷为大家提供的高分英语写作方法，希望对你有帮助。

一、“功能段落”突破CET写作

“To be or not to be: that is a question。”莎士比亚如是说。冲刺阶段，背模板还是不背?我的答案：背，但绝不是盲目地背。

整篇背诵模板不是最有效的方法，因为模板的写作思路是固定的，然而很多时候试题的命题思路可能与所背模板思路不同。因此，可能导致“所背非所考”，甚至导致文不对题，生搬硬套。

但是，无论四六级写作话题如何变化，一般都对应三个或两个汉语提纲。只要按提纲要求去写相应的内容段落，就做到了紧扣主题。历年写作提纲可以总结为六种功能段落：现象描述、危害分析(弊)、原因分析、建议措施、观点阐述(观点的本质为利弊：支持方观点等于分析“利”，反方观点等于分析“弊”)、意义阐述(利)。

下面，结合近年真题展示功能段落内容：

2011-06：Online Shopping

1.现在网上购物已成为一种时尚

2.网上购物有很多好处，但也有不少问题

3.我的建议

解析：本次四级作文对应四个段落分别是：现象、观点(利、弊)和建议。该类作文可以被称之为：观点对比型作文，对比的内容重点在利弊分析上。

2010-12：How Should Parents Help Children to Be Independent?

1. 目前不少父母为孩子包办一切

2. 为了让孩子独立， 父母应该……

解析：该题目只有两个提纲：现象和建议，可以添加一个功能段落：原因。这样这篇作文就是“三段论”的形式：提出问题(负面现象描述)、分析问题(原因)、建议措施段。2010年6月CET也属于该种那类型。

2009-12：Creating a Green Campus

1. 建设绿色校园很重要

2. 绿色校园不仅指绿色的环境……

3. 为了建设绿色校园，我们应该……

解析：该段对应提纲如下：意义阐述(即分析：利或好处)、现象描述(解释绿色校园环境之外的因素)、建议措施段。

综合以上分析，六种功能段落已经涵盖住了以上考试的所有提纲。因此，如果能够掌握住六种功能段落的写作实际就掌握了四六级考试写作考题的最本质特征。那样的话，无论题目如何变化，我们准备都是有的放矢的。反观，死背模板容易导致生搬硬套，甚至文不对题。

二、写作短期提分方略

在了解了四六级考试在命题特点的基础上，考生在冲刺阶段最需要准备的是两个内容：思路和表达。思路解决怎么写的问题，表达解决写什么的问题。如果拿到一个作文题目，你知道应该按照什么思路去写，又知道应该写什么表达，这篇作文就已经成功了一半。

思路点拨：在本人所讲授的基础班、强化班、精品班等不同班型上都曾讲授到现象、原因、建议、利弊、观点分析时的逻辑：“一个中心，四个基本点”。具体内容：“以孩子(学生、事件)为中心，以家长[微博](老师、相关人员)、家庭(学校、管理机构)、社会、法规(道德意识)为基本点”。

试举例说明：以2010年12月真题为例，主题为子女教育话题。谈到子女，必然涉及到家长，孩子和家长组成家庭，千千万万的家庭组成社会，是什么在维护着社会稳定?法规和道德意识。这样我们就找到了可以入手去分析的五个方面：孩子、家长、家庭、社会、法规道德意识。如何使用这五个方面?比如分析家长溺爱孩子原因时至少可以从家长意识、家庭结构变化、社会背景角度去分析。

同理，2010年6月话题为学生英语学习，可从学生自身、教师教学、学校教学政策角度去分析。那么，如果主题不是孩子也不是学生，怎么分析?2011年6月主题为网络购物，分析时就以该事件为中心，可以想到相关人或物(买方：customers/clients/shoppers;卖方：online shops/stores;中间方：支付宝、淘宝等)，其管理机构(政府)、社会背景，相关法规是否健全等。

“一个中心，四个基本点”的分析逻辑形成一种立体化网状结构，考生运用该思维模式，只要能想到其中两到三点，思路问题即可迎刃而解。建议童鞋们首先将该思路背诵下来，以备将来可以在考场上灵活应用。

表达积累

表达分为四个层次：词句段篇。其中篇章层面只要按照提纲要求去组织文章即可，因此篇章方面不足为虑。段落方面按照“功能段落”的六种形式去识别，也小菜一碟。

词和句是表达的基本元素，也是语言质量的根本体现。在新东方教书的这几年中和参加四六级考试阅卷的经历中，看过无数学生的作文，深感学生词句方面能力的薄弱。同时结合过往教学中的成功案例，提出冲刺阶段表达积累的高效途径。

背写：思路+表达

很多同学考前也在背，背的滚瓜烂熟，脱口而出，觉得自己水平很牛!上了考场也顺利将文章写了出来，却得了一个很低的分数，为什么?因为单词都拼错了。冲刺阶段，请牢记：口头背诵得再好不等于能够写对。背写是提高写作和翻译唯一也是最有效的方法。

那么，背写什么内容哪?答案是思路和表达。思路上文中已有论述，遣词和造句的表达方面应该紧密结合功能段落来背诵有效句式和用词。考生不必刻意追求适用难词，但可以将常见词汇稍作替换：如，

exceedingly, extremely, intensely替换very;an army of/a great many/a host of 替换a lot of;advancement 替换 development; positive, favorable, promising(有希望的)， perfect, pleasurable, excellent, outstanding, superior替换good; give rise to, lead to, result in, trigger 替换cause; harbor the idea that, take the attitude that, hold the view that替换think; beneficial, rewarding替换helpful; bear in mind that替换remember; enjoy, possess替换have; shopper, client, consumer, purchaser替换customer……

表达精彩体现在三个方面：遣词、造句、连贯。大家可以结合以下例文感受这三个方面：

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minute to write a short essay on the topic of To Help or Not to Help. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given bellow:

1. 帮助别人是一种美德

2. 但是帮助陌生人容易使自己陷入麻烦

3. 我的看法

首段阐述意义：In contemporary society, it should be a virtue for individuals to offer help to those who are in need. Without this morality, it is impossible for the society to be named “Harmony”. Apparently enough, it is of great importance/ significance/ value/ benefits for people to help each other, especially in difficulties。

二段描述负面现象：However, a host of people find it hard or troublesome to offer helps to strangers. We have been frequently informed that(A typical example is that) a warmhearted man —who lends a hand to an old lady—gets himself in trouble. Since helping others may trigger trouble, a few people refuse to offer help timely. And if we let/allow this situation to continue as it is now, we would not know where civilized society will be in the forthcoming future。

尾段我的看法或建议：As college students, we should bear in mind this virtue. However, it is essential that regulations should be worked out to support this virtue. In addition, it is suggested that we should offer aid to strangers in a safe way, such as dialing 12o or 110 for help. If we try our utmost to do so, the future of our society/ civilization will be promising, hopeful and rosy. (以上范文字数为202词，请自己酌情删减即可)

三、冲刺复习安排建议

总体原则：先背再写、阶段总结、适当模拟。

先背再写：基础较差同学一定要先背一些功能句式和教材相关范文，然后模仿该作文的思路和表达去写。背写的目的是积累语言表达实力，同时练习书写的公正和优美。建议书写较差的考生买本英语字帖练一下书写，也许你会有意外的惊喜。

阶段总结：每过一周就要问自己几个问题：所背诵的表达可以用来写什么类型的文章?该类文章的相关词汇或表达有什么?关键词如何避免重复?请记住：没有复习，没有巩固。

适当模拟：在熟练掌握背写了六种功能段落的思路和表达之后，可以结合适当题目在写作中运用所讲所背所总结提分词汇、句式。建议大家能够灵活运用，做到一例多用。比如我在多个班上讲过的关于英语学习的话题作文，可以写13次四级考试的作文。

题目：On English Learning

提纲：1. 英语学习很重要;2. 英语者所面临的困难;3. 如何学好英语

In contemporary world, English learning has gained great popularity and it is of great significance. (主题句) Firstly, based on a survey, a majority of tourists acknowledge that they prefer to speak English when traveling around the world. (调查法表述)Secondly, compared with the poor English speakers, good English-speakers are superior in many ways. (比较模板句式)

However, English learners may have a variety of difficulties or troubles in their learning. (主题句) For example, it can be noticed that a large number of students have difficulty memorizing words. Sometimes, it is difficult for them to understand the rules of grammar. In addition, though some are good at reading or writing, they can not express themselves freely in English。

Then, how to get a good command of (学好) this language? I am convinced that practice makes perfect. Only practice can enable one to speak and write fluently. And it is also through practice that one can master the rules of grammar and remember words, and there is no other way. (强调句式)

There is no consensus [knsenss] 一致of opinions among people about X(争论的焦点)。Some people are of the view that 观点1，while others take an opposite side, firmly believing that 观点2。As far as I am concerned, the former/latter notion(观念) is preferable in many senses. The reasons are obvious. First of all, 论据1。 Furthermore, 论据2。

Among all of the supporting evidences, one is the strongest. That is, 论据3。 A natural conclusion from the above discussion is that总结观点。 As a college student, I am supposed to 表决心. 或 From above, we can predict that 预测

下面是语文迷小编整理提供的100个英语写作句式，欢迎大家阅读参考。

1. According to a recent survey, four million people die each year from diseases linked to smoking.

依照最近的一项调查，每年有4，000，000人死于与吸烟有关的疾病。

2. The latest surveys show that quite a few children have unpleasant associations with homework.

最近的调查显示相当多的孩子对家庭作业没什么好感。

3. No invention has received more praise and abuse than Internet.

没有一项发明像互联网一样同时受到如此多的赞扬和批评。

4. People seem to fail to take into account the fact that education does not end with graduation.

人们似乎忽视了教育不应该随着毕业而结束这一事实。

5. An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that education is not complete with graduation.

越来越多的人开始意识到教育不能随着毕业而结束。

6. When it comes to education, the majority of people believe that education is a lifetime study.

说到教育，大部分人认为其是一个终生的学习。

7. Many experts point out that physical exercise contributes directly to a persons physical fitness.

许多专家指出体育锻炼直接有助于身体健康。

8. Proper measures must be taken to limit the number of foreign tourists and the great efforts should be made to protect local environment and history from the harmful

effects of international tourism.

应该采取适当的措施限制外国旅游者的数量，努力保护当地环境和历史不受国际旅游业的不利影响。

9. An increasing number of experts believe that migrants will exert positive effects on construction of city. However, this opinion is now being questioned by more and more city residents, who complain that the migrants have brought many serious problems like crime and prostitution.

越来越多的专家相信移民对城市的建设起到积极作用。然而，越来越多的城市居民却怀疑这种说法，他们抱怨民工给城市带来了许多严重的问题，像犯罪和卖淫。

10. Many city residents complain that it is so few buses in their city that they have to spend much more time waiting for a bus, which is usually crowded with a large number of passengers.

许多市民抱怨城市的公交车太少，以至于他们要花很长时间等一辆公交车，而车上可能已满载乘客。

11. There is no denying the fact that air pollution is an extremely serious problem: the city authorities should take strong measures to deal with it.

无可否认，空气污染是一个极其严重的问题：城市当局应该采取有力措施来解决它。

12. An investigation shows that female workers tend to have a favorable attitude toward retirement.

一项调查显示妇女欢迎退休。

13. A proper part-time job does not occupy students too much time. In fact, it is unhealthy for them to spend all of time on their study. As an old saying goes: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

一份适当的业余工作并不会占用学生太多的时间，事实上，把全部的时间都用到学习上并不健康，正如那句老话：只工作，不玩耍，聪明的孩子会变傻。

14. Any government, which is blind to this point, may pay a heavy price.

任何政府忽视这一点都将付出巨大的代价。

15.Nowadays, many students always go into raptures at the mere mention of the coming life of high school or college they will begin. Unfortunately, for most young people, it is not pleasant experience on their first day on campus.

当前，一提到即将开始的学校生活，许多学生都会兴高采烈。然而，对多数年轻人来说，校园刚开始的日子并不是什么愉快的经历。

16. In view of the seriousness of this problem, effective measures should be taken before things get worse.

考虑到问题的严重性，在事态进一步恶化之前，必须采取有效的措施。

17. The majority of students believe that part-time job will provide them with more opportunities to develop their interpersonal skills, which may put them in a favorable position in the future job markets.

大部分学生相信业余工作会使他们有更多机会发展人际交往能力，而这对他们未来找工作是非常有好处的。

18. It is indisputable that there are millions of people who still have a miserable life and have to face the dangers of starvation and exposure.

无可争辩，现在有成千上万的人仍过着挨饿受冻的痛苦生活。

19. Although this view is wildly held, this is little evidence that education can be obtained at any age and at any place.

尽管这一观点被广泛接受，很少有证据表明教育能够在任何地点、任何年龄进行。

20. No one can deny the fact that a persons education is the most important aspect of his life.

没有人能否认：教育是人生最重要的一方面。

21. People equate success in life with the ability of operating computer.

人们把会使用计算机与人生成功相提并论。

22. In the last decades, advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past.

在过去的几十年，先进的医疗技术已经使得人们比过去活的时间更长成为可能。

23. In fact, we have to admit the fact that the quality of life is as important as life itself.

事实上，我们必须承认生命的质量和生命本身一样重要。

24. We should spare no effort to beautify our environment.

我们应该不遗余力地美化我们的环境。

25. People believe that computer skills will enhance their job opportunities or promotion opportunities.

人们相信拥有计算机技术可以获得更多工作或提升的机会。

26. The information Ive collected over last few years leads me to believe that this knowledge may be less useful than most people think.

从这几年我搜集的信息来看，这些知识并没有人们想象的那么有用。

27. Now, it is generally accepted that no college or university can educate its students by the time they graduation.

现在，人们普遍认为没有一所大学能够在毕业时候教给学生所有的知识。

28. This is a matter of life and death--a matter no country can afford to ignore.

这是一个关系到生死的问题，任何国家都不能忽视。

29. For my part, I agree with the latter opinion for the following reasons:

我同意后者，有如下理由：

30. Before giving my opinion, I think it is important to look at the arguments on both sides.

在给出我的观点之前，我想看看双方的观点是重要的。

31. This view is now being questioned by more and more people.

这一观点正受到越来越多人的质疑。

32. Although many people claim that, along with the rapidly economic development, the number of people who use bicycle are decreasing and bicycle is bound to die out. The information Ive collected over the recent years leads me to believe that bicycle will continue to play extremely important roles in modern society.

尽管许多人认为随着经济的高速发展，用自行车的人数会减少，自行车可能会消亡， 然而，这几年我收集的一些信息让我相信自行车仍然会继续在现代社会发挥极其重要的作用。

33. Environmental experts point out that increasing pollution not only causes serious problems such as global warming but also could threaten to end human life on our planet.

环境学家指出：持续增加的污染不仅会导致像全球变暖这样严重的问题，而且还将威胁到人类在这个星球的生存。

34. In view of such serious situation, environmental tools of transportation like bicycle are more important than any time before.

考虑到这些严重的状况，我们比以往任何时候更需要像自行车这样的环保型交通工具。

35. Using bicycle contributes greatly to peoples physical fitness as well as easing traffic jams.

使用自行车有助于人们的身体健康，并极大地缓解了交通阻塞。

36. Despite many obvious advantages of bicycle, it is not without its problem.

尽管自行车有许多明显的优点，但是它也存在它的问题。

37. Bicycle cant be compared with other means of transportation like car and train for speed and comfort.

在速度和舒适度方面，自行车是无法和汽车、火车这样的交通工具相比的。

38. From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw the conclusion that advantages of bicycle far outweigh its disadvantages and it will still play essential roles in modern society.

通过以上讨论，我们可以得出结论：自行车的优点远大于缺点，并且在现代社会它仍将发挥重要作用。

39. There is a general discussion these days over education in many colleges and institutes. One of the questions under debate is whether education is a lifetime study.

当前在高校和研究机构对教育存在着大量争论，其中一个问题就是教育是否是个终身学习的过程。

40. This issue has caused wide public concern.

这个问题已经引起了广泛关注。

41. It must be noted that learning must be done by a person himself.

必须指出学习只能靠自己。

42. A large number of people tend to live under the illusion that they had completed their education when they finished their schooling. Obviously, they seem to fail to take into account the basic fact that a persons education is a most important aspect of his life.

许多人存在这样的误解，认为离开学校就意味着结束了他们的教育。显然，他们忽视了教育是人生重要部分这一基本事实。

43. As for me, Im in favor of the opinion that education is not complete with graduation, for the following reasons:

就我而言，我同意教育不应该随着毕业而结束的观点，有以下原因：

44. It is commonly accepted that no college or university can educate its students by the time they graduate.

人们普遍认为高校是不可能在毕业的时候教会他们的学生所有知识的。

45. Even the best possible graduate needs to continue learning before she or he becomes an educated person.

即使最优秀的毕业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地学习。

46. It is commonly thought that our society had dramatically changed by modern science and technology, and human had made extraordinary progress in knowledge and technology over the recent decades.

人们普遍认为我们的现代科技使我们的社会发生了巨大的变化，近几十年人类在科技方面取得了惊人的进步。

47. Now people in growing numbers are beginning to believe that learning new skills and knowledge contributes directly to enhancing their job opportunities or promotion opportunities.

现在越来越多的人开始相信学习新的技术和知识能直接帮助他们获得工作就会或提升的机会。

48. An investigation shows that many older people express a strong desire to continue studying in university or college.

一项调查显示许多老人都有到大学继续学习的愿望。

49. For the majority of people, reading or learning a new skill has become the focus of their lives and the source of their happiness and contentment after their retirement.

对大多数人来讲，退休以后，阅读或学习一项新技术已成为他们生活的中心和快乐的来源。

50. For people who want to adopt a healthy and meaningful life style, it is important to find time to learn certain new knowledge. Just as an old saying goes: it is never too late to learn.

对于那些想过上健康而有意义的生活的人们来说，找时间学习一些新知识是很重要的，正如那句老话：活到老，学到老。

51. There is a general debate on the campus today over the phenomenon of college or high school students doing a part-time job.

对于大学或高中生打工这一现象，校园里进行着广泛的争论。

52. By taking a major-related part-job, students can not only improve their academic studies, but gain much experience, experience they will never be able to get from the textbooks.

通过做一份和专业相关的工作，学生不仅能够提高他们的专业能力，而且能获得从课本上得不到的经验。

53. Although peoples lives have been dramatically changed over the last decades, it must be admitted that, shortage of funds is still the one of the biggest questions that students nowadays have to face because that tuition fees and prices of books are soaring by the day

近几十年，尽管人们的生活有了惊人的改变，但必须承认，由于学费和书费日益飞涨，资金短缺仍然是学生们面临的最大问题之一。

54. Consequently, the extra money obtained from part-time job will strongly support students to continue to their study life.

因此，业余工作挣来的钱将强有力地支持学生们继续他们的求学生活。

55. From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw a conclusion that part-time job can produce a far-reaching impact on students and they should be encouraged to take part-time job, which will benefit students and their family, even the society as a whole.

通过上面的讨论，我们不难得出结论：业余工作对学生们会产生深远的影响，我们应鼓励学生从事业余工作，这将有利于学生和他们的家庭，甚至整个社会。

56. These days, people in growing numbers are beginning to complain that work is more stressful and less leisurely than in past. Many experts point out that, along with the development of modern society, it is an inevitable result and there is no way to avoid it.

现在，越来越多的人们开始抱怨工作比以前更有压力。许多专家指出这是现代社会发展必然的结果，无法避免。

57. It is widely acknowledged that computer and other machines have become an indispensable part of our society, which make our life and work more comfortable and less laborious.

人们普遍认为计算机和其他机器已经成为我们社会必不可少的一部分。 它们使我们的生活更舒适，减少了大量劳动。

58. At the same time, along with the benefits of such machines, employees must study knowledge involved in such machines so that they are able to control them.

同时，随着这些机器带给我们的好处，员工们也必须要学习与之相关的知识以便使用它们。

59. No one can deny the basic fact that it is impossible for average workers to master those high-technology skills easily.

没有人能否认这一基本事实：对于一般工人来讲，轻松掌握这些技术是不可能的。

60. In the second place, there seem to be too many people without job and not enough job position.

第二方面，失业的人似乎太多而又没有足够的工作岗位。

61. Millions of people have to spend more time and energy on studying new skills and technology so that they can keep a favorable position in job market.

成千上万的人们不得不花费更多的精力和时间学习新的技术和知识，使得他们在就业市场能保持优势。

62. According to a recent survey, a growing number of people express a strong desire to take another job or spend more time on their job in order to get more money to support their family.

根据最近的一项调查，越来越多的人表达了想从事另外的工作或加班以赚取更多的钱来补贴家用的强烈愿望。

63. From what has been discussed above, I am fully convinced that the leisure life-style is undergoing a decline with the progress of modern society, it is not necessary a bad thing.

通过以上讨论，我完全相信，随着现代社会的进步，幽闲的生活方式正在消失并不是件坏事。

64. The problem of international tourism has caused wide public concern over the recent years.

近些年，国际旅游的问题引起了广泛关注。

65. Many people believe that international tourism produce positive effects on economic growth and local government should be encouraged to promote international tourism.

许多人认为国际旅游对经济发展有积极作用，应鼓励地方政府发展国际旅游。

66. But what these people fail to see is that international tourism may bring about a disastrous impact on our environment and local history.

但是这些人忽视了国际旅游可能会给当地环境和历史造成的灾难性的影响。

67. As for me, Im firmly convinced that the number of foreign tourists should be limited, for the following reasons:

就我而言，我坚定地认为国外旅游者的数量应得到限制，理由如下：

68. In addition, in order to attract tourists, a lot of artificial facilities have been built, which have certain unfavorable effects on the environment.

另外，为了吸引旅游者，大量人工设施被修建，这对环境是不利的。

69. For lack of distinct culture, some places will not attract tourists any more. Consequently, the fast rise in number of foreign tourists may eventually lead to the decline of local tourism.

由于缺乏独特的文化，一些地方不再吸引旅游者。因此，国外旅游者数量的快速增加可能最终会导致当地旅游业的衰败。

70. There is a growing tendency for parents to ask their children to accept extra educational programs over the recent years.

近些年，父母要求他们的孩子接受额外的教育呈增长的势头。

71. This phenomenon has caused wide public concern in many places of world.

这一现象在全世界许多地方已引起了广泛关注。

72. Many parents believe that additional educational activities enjoy obvious advantage. By extra studies, they maintain, their children are able to obtain many kinds of practical skills and useful knowledge, which will put them in a beneficial position in the future job markets when they grow up.

许多家长相信额外的教育活动有许多优点，通过学习，他们的孩子可以获得很多实践技能和有用的知识，当他们长大后，这些对他们就业是大有好处的。

73. In the first place, extra studies bring about unhealthy impacts on physical growth of children. Educational experts point out that, it is equally important to take some sport activities instead of extra studies when children have spent the whole day in a boring classroom.

首先，额外的学习对孩子们的身体发育是不利的。教育专家指出，孩子们在枯燥的教室里呆了一整天后，从事一些体育活动，而不是额外的学习，是非常重要的。

74. Children are undergoing fast physical development; lack of physical exercise may produce disastrous influence on their later life.

孩子们正处于身体快速发育时期，缺乏体育锻炼可能会对他们未来的生活造成严重的影响。

75. In the second place, from psychological aspect, the majority of children seem to tend to have an unfavorable attitude toward additional educational activities.

第二，从心理上讲，大部分孩子似乎对额外的学习没有什么好感。

76. It is hard to imagine a student focusing their energy on textbook while other children are playing.

当别的孩子在玩耍的时候，很难想象一个学生能集中精力在课本上。

77. Moreover, children will have less time to play and communicate with their peers due to extra studies, consequently, it is difficult to develop and cultivate their character and interpersonal skills. They may become more solitary and even suffer from certain mental illness.

而且，由于要额外地学习，孩子们没有多少时间和同龄的孩子玩耍和交流，很难培养他们的个性和交际能力。他们可能变得孤僻甚至产生某些心理疾病。

78. From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw the conclusion that, although extra studies indeed enjoy many obvious advantages, its disadvantages shouldnt be ignored and far outweigh its advantages. It is absurd to force children to take extra studies after school.

通过以上讨论，我们可以得出结论：尽管额外学习的确有很多优点，但它的缺点不可忽视，且远大于它的优点。因此，放学后强迫孩子额外学习是不明智的。

79. Any parents should place considerable emphasis on their children to keep the balance between play and study. As an old saying goes: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

任何家长都应非常重视保持孩子在学习与玩耍的平衡，正如那句老话：只工作，不玩耍，聪明的孩子会变傻。

80. There is a growing tendency for parent these days to stay at home to look after their children instead of returning to work earlier.

现在，父亲或母亲留在家里照顾他们的孩子而不愿过早返回工作岗位正成为增加的趋势。

81. Parents are firmly convinced that, to send their child to kindergartens or nursery schools will have an unfavorable influence on the growth of children.

父母们坚定地相信把孩子送到幼儿园对他们的成长不利。

82. However, this idea is now being questioned by more and more experts, who point out that it is unhealthy for children who always stay with their parents at home.

然而，这一想法正遭受越来越多的专家的质疑，他们指出，孩子总是呆在家里，和父母在一起，是不健康的。

83. Although parent would be able to devote much more time and energy to their children, it must be admitted that, parent has less experience and knowledge about how to educate and supervise children, when compared with professional teachers working in kindergartens or nursery schools.

尽管父母能在他们孩子身上投入更多时间和精力，但是必须承认，与工作在幼儿园的专职教师相比，他们在如何管理教育孩子方面缺乏知识和经验。

84. From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw a conclusion that, although the parents desire to look after children by themselves is understandable, its disadvantages far outweigh the advantages.

通过以上讨论，我们可以得出如下结论：尽管家长想亲自照看孩子的愿望是可以理解的，但是这样做的缺点远大于优点。

85. Parents should be encouraged to send their children to nursery schools, which will bring about profound impacts on children and families, and even the society as a whole.

应该鼓励父母将他们的孩子送到幼儿园，这将对孩子，家庭，甚至整个社会产生深远的影响。

86. Many leaders of government always go into raptures at the mere mention of artistic and cultural projects. They are forever talking about the nice parks, the smart sculptures in central city and the art galleries with various valuable rarities. Nothing, they maintain, is more essential than such projects in the economic growth.

只要一提起艺术和文化项目，一些政府领导就会兴奋不已，他们滔滔不绝地说着美丽的公园，城市中心漂亮的雕塑，还有满是稀世珍宝的艺术展览馆。他们认为在经济发展中，没有什么比这些艺术项目更重要了。

87. But is it really the case? The information Ive collected over last few years leads me to believe that artistic and cultural projects may be less useful than many governments think. In fact, basic infrastructure projects are playing extremely important role and should be given priority.

这是真的吗?这些年我收集的信息让我相信这些文化、艺术项目并没有许多政府想象的那么重要。事实上，基础设施建设非常重要，应该放在首位。

88. Those who are in favor of artistic and cultural projects advocate that cultural environment will attract more tourists, which will bring huge profits to local residents. Some people even equate the build of such projects with the improving of economic construction.

那些赞成建设文化艺术项目的人认为文化环境会吸引更多的游客，这将给当地居民带来巨大的利益。一些人甚至把建设文化艺术项目与发展经济建设等同起来。

89. Unfortunately, there is very few evidence that big companies are willing to invest a huge sums of money in a place without sufficient basic projects, such as supplies of electricity and water.

然而，很少有证据表明大公司愿意把巨额的资金投到一个连水电这些基础设施都不完善的地方去。

90. From what has been discussed above, it would be reasonable to believe that basic projects play far more important role than artistic and cultural projects in peoples life and economic growth.

通过以上讨论，我们有理由相信在人们的生活和经济发展方面，基础建设比艺术文化项目发挥更大的作用。

91. Those urban planners who are blind to this point will pay a heavy price, which they cannot afford it.

那些城市的规划者们如果忽视这一点，将会付出他们无法承受的代价。

92. There is a growing tendency these days for many people who live in rural areas to come into and work in city. This problem has caused wide public concern in most cities all over the world.

农民进城打工正成为增长的趋势，这一问题在世界上大部分城市已引起普遍关注。

93. An investigation shows that many emigrants think that working at city provide them with not only a higher salary but also the opportunity of learning new skills.

一项调查显示许多民工认为在城市打工不仅有较高的收入，而且能学到一些新技术。

94. It must be noted that improvement in agriculture seems to not be able to catch up with the increase in population of rural areas and there are millions of peasants who still live a miserable life and have to face the dangers of exposure and starvation.

必须指出，农业的发展似乎赶不上农村人口的增加，并且仍有成千上万的农民过着缺衣挨饿的贫寒生活。

95. Although rural emigrants contribute greatly to the economic growth of the cities, they may inevitably bring about many negative impacts.

尽管民工对城市的经济发展做出了巨大贡献，然而他们也不可避免的带来了一些负面影响。

96. Many sociologists point out that rural emigrants are putting pressure on population control and social order; that they are threatening to take already scarce city jobs; and that they have worsened traffic and public health problems.

许多社会学家指出民工正给人口控制和社会治安带来压力。他们正在威胁着本已萧条的工作市场，他们恶化了交通和公共卫生状况。

97. It is suggested that governments ought to make efforts to reduce the increasing gap between cities and countryside. They ought to set aside an appropriate fund for improvement of the standard of peasants lives. They ought to invite some experts in agriculture to share their experiences, information and knowledge with peasants, which will contribute directly to the economic growth of rural areas.

建议政府应该努力减少正在拉大的城乡差距。应该划拨适当的资金提高农民的生活水平;应该邀请农业专家向农民介绍他们的经验，知识和信息，这些将有助于发展农村经济。

98. In conclusion, we must take into account this problem rationally and place more emphases on peasants lives. Any government that is blind to this point will pay a heavy price.

总之，我们应理智考虑这一问题，重视农民的生活。任何政府忽视这一点都将付出巨大的代价。

99. Although many experts from universities and institutes consistently maintain that it is an inevitable part of an independent life, parents in growing numbers are starting to realize that people, including teachers and experts in education, should pay considerable attention to this problem.

尽管来自高校和研究院的许多专家坚持认为这是独立生活不可避免的一部分，然而越来越多的家长开始意识到包括教师和教育专家在内的人们应该认真对待这一问题。

100. As for me, it is essential to know, at first, what kind of problems young students possible would encounter on campus.

我认为，首先应看看学生们在校园可能遇到哪些问题。

作文一直是考生重点关注的部分，也是考试的重难点，下面是为大家带来的大学英语作文考试常用句子，希望可以帮助大家！

一.段首句

1)关于……人们有不同的观点。一些人认为……

There are different opinions among people as to 省略.Some people suggest that 省略.

2)俗话说……，它是我们前辈的经历，但是，即使今天，它在许多场合仍然使用。

There is an old saying省略.It is the experience of our forefathers,however,it is correct in many cases even today.

3)现在，……，它们给我们的日常生活带来了许多危害。首先，……;其次，……。更为糟糕的是……。

Today,省略,which have brought a lot of harms in our daily life.First,省略,Second,省略.What makes things worse is that 省略.

4)现在，……很普遍，许多人喜欢……，因为……，另外……。

Nowadays,it is common to 省略.Many people like 省略because省略.Besides,省略.

5)任何事物都是两面性，……也不例外。它既有有利的一面，也有不利的一面。

Everything has two sides and 省略is not an exception.It has both advantages and disadvantages.

6)关于……人们的观点各不相同，一些人认为……，在他们看来，……

Peoples opinions about 省略vary from person to person.Some people say that 省略.To them,省略.

7)人类正面临着一个严重的问题……，这个问题变的越来越严重。

Man is now facing a big problem省略which is becoming more and more serious.

8)……已成为人的关注的热门话题，特别是在年轻人当中，将引发激烈的辩论。

省略has become a hot topic among people,especially among the young and heated debates are right on their way.

9)……在我们的日常生活中起着越来越重要的作用，它给我们带来了许多好处，但同时也引发一些严重的问题。

省略has been playing an increasingly important role in our daily life.It has brought us a lot of benefits but has created some serious problems as well.

10)根据图表/数字/统计数字/表格中的百分比/图表/条图形/成形图可以看出……。很显然……，但是为什么呢?

According to the figure/number/statistics/percentages/ in the chart/bar graph/line/graph, it can be seen that省略.Obviously,省略,but why?

二.中间段落句

1)相反，有一些人赞成……，他们相信……，而且，他们认为……。

On the contrary,there are some people in favor of 省略.At the same time ,they say省略.

2)但是，我认为这不是解决……的好方法，比如……。最糟糕的是……。

But I dont think it is a very good way to solve省略.For example,省略.Worst of all,省略.

3)……对我们国家的发展和建设是必不可少的，非常重要的。首先，……。而且……，最重要的是……

省略is necessary and important to our countrys development and construction.First,省略.Whats more,省略.Most important of all,省略.

4)有几个可供我们采纳的方法。首先，我们可以……。 There are several measures for us to adopt.First,we can省略.

5)面临……，我们应该采取一系列行之有效地方法来……。一方面……，另一方面…… Confronted with省略,we should take a series of effective measures to省略.For one thing,省略For another,省略.

6)早该拿出行动了。比如说……，另外……。所有这些方法肯定会……。

It is high time that something was done about it.For example,省略.In addition.省略.All these measures will certainly省略.

7)然而，正如任何事物都有好坏两个方面一样，……也有它不利的一面，像……。

However,just like everyone has both its good and bad sides,省略also has its own disadvantages,such as省略.

8)尽管如此，我相信……更有利。

Nonetheless,I believe that省略is more advantageous.

9)完全同意……这种观点(陈述)，主要理由如下： I fully agree with the statement that省略because省略.

三.结尾句

1)至于我，在某种程度上我同意后面的观点，我认为……

As for as I am concerned,I agree with the latter opinion to some extent.I think that省略.

2)总而言之，整个社会应该密切关注……这个问题。只有这样，我们才能在将来……。 In a word,the whole society should pay close attention to the problem of省略.Only in this way can省略in the future.

3)就我个人而言，我相信……，因此，我坚信美好的未来正等着我们。因此……

Personally,I believe that省略.Consequently,Im confident that a bright future is awaiting us because省略.

4)随着社会的发展，……。因此，迫切需要……。如果每个人都愿为社会贡献自己的一份力量，这个社会将要变得越来越好。

With the development of society,省略.So its urgent and necessary to省略.If every member is willing to contribute himself to the society,it will be better and better.

5)至于我(对我而言，就我而言)，我认为……更合理。只有这样，我们才能…… For my part,I think it reasonable to省略.Only in this way can we省略.

6)在总体上很难说……是好还是坏，因为它在很大程度上取决于……的形式。然而，就我个人而言，我发现……。

It is difficult to say whether省略is good or not in general as it depends very much on the situation of省略-.However,from a personal point of view find省略.

7)综上所述，我们可以清楚地得出结论……

From what has been discussed above,we may reasonably arrive at the conclusion that省略.

8)如果我们不采取有效的方法，就可能控制不了这种趋势，就会出现一些意想不到的不良后果，所以，我们应该做的是……

If we can not take useful means,we may not control this trend,and some undesirable result may come out unexpectedly,so what we should do is...

[大学英语作文考试常用句子

这是04年某省的中考题目：根据美国朋友Bob来信的内容写一篇英文回信。

Dear friend,

亲爱的朋友，

Hello, Im your new friend. My name is [ename]Bob[/ename]. Im fifteen. Im American. I live in New York.

你好，我是你的新朋友。我的名字叫鲍勃，我十五岁，是美国人，我住在纽约。

I am a middle school student. Im good at maths. It is very interesting. My favourite sport is basketball. And I am not only a basketball fan but also a good player. I like music. My friend and I often sing pop songs together.

我是一个初中生，我擅长数学，它很有趣。我最喜欢的运动是篮球，我不仅仅是一个篮球迷，也是一个很好的选手。我喜欢音乐，我经常跟我的朋友一起唱流行歌曲。

After school, I am interested in getting on-line. I have known a lot about China from the Internet. Now I am learning Chinese. I hope I will visit your country one day.

放学之后，我喜欢上网，通过网络，我了解了很多关于中国的事情，现在我在学汉语，我希望有一天能去你的国家游览。

Please write to me and tell me something about your life. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

请给我回信说说你的生活吧，我期待着你的来信。

[关于初三英语作文的范例：英语书信

Im very glad to join in the interviw.First,let me introduce myself to you.My name is Lin YA Qian,Im 20 years old,I come from Zhe Jiang,and Im an outgoing girl,I like philosophy and sport.Oh yes,I hope that I can do something for the Beijing Olympics.If you give me the great chance,I wont let you disappoint.Ok,thats all.I hope that you are satisfied with me,thank you!

考研英语大纲对于考研英语作文的评分标准有明确规定，其中一项标准表述如下“标点符号反映语言准确性的一个方面。评分时，要视其对交际的影响程度予以考虑。如书写较差，以致影响读者理解，将分数降低一个档次”。还有一些考生英语基本功不太扎实，在进行英语写作时甚至出现一“逗”到底的情况，没有养成正确的书写习惯。以下是英语写作基础知识之标点与书写详细内容：

一、标点符号

标点符号有助于明确或强调句子的意思，而且，考研英语作文评分标准中要求考生在写作时使用的标点符号要正确，因而有必要学会正确使用各种英文标点符号。此处提出一些基本规则，在学习写作时应特别注意并牢记。

1. 结构完整的句子，不论长短，后面都用句号。

2. 不要用逗号连接两个并列句;应用逗号加连词，或用分号。

3. 把逗号和句号分清：逗号带个小尾巴(,)句号是个黑圆点(.)，不是一个圆圈(。)，中文的句号才为小圆圈。

4. 在疑问句后用问号，但在改为间接引语的问句后不用问号：

“Have you done your exercise?” the teacher asked.

The teacher asked whether we had done our exercises.

5. 感叹句只用在需要强调的感叹句或表示强烈感情的词语后面。不要用得太多。

6. 直接引语应放在两个引号之间。说话人和表示“说”的动词可放在引语前面、后面或中间：

She said, “We have decided to take the examination.”

“We have decided to take the examination,” she said.

“We have decided, “she said, “to take the examination.”

注意上面三个句子的标点符号用法。第一句中的She said后面用逗号;第二句的引语后用逗号，she是小写;第三句在decided和she said后面都用逗号，而且引语的第二部分也用小写字母开始。总之，一面与和she said被视作一个句子，只是引语的第一词要大写。

二、书写

应细心书写，便于别人阅读。大写字母应稍大于并稍高于小写字母，a和o, n和u要分清，i和j上面要加一点, t要加一横。在逗号后空处约一个字母的间隔，在句号后则空处约两个字母的间隔。

如要划去一个词，不能用括号把它括起来，因为括号中的词还是要的;而要用粗线把它勾销。如果要增加一个词，应加在已写的一行词上面，不要加在下面，还要用清楚的符号表明加在何处。

常见的手写字体有两种：一种是所谓草体，即字母相连;另一种是所谓印刷体，即字母不相连。两种字体都可以，但最好坚持用一种。

要求考生列举出解决问题的多种途径：

１．问题现状

２．怎样解决(解决方案的优缺点)

In recent days, we have to face I problem-----A, which is becoming more and more serious. First, ------------(说明Ａ的现状)．Second, ---------------(举例进一步说明现状) Confronted with A, we should take a series of effective measures to cope with the situation. For one thing, ---------------(解决方法一). For another -------------(解决方法二). Finally, --------------(解决方法三). Personally, I believe that -------------(我的解决方法). Consequently, Im confident that a bright future is awaiting us because --------------(带来的好处).

万圣节又叫诸圣节，在每年的10月31日，是西方的传统节日。以下是关于万圣节的英语素材，供大家参考。

11月1日万圣节英文：Hallowmas，南瓜是万圣节的代表。

10月31日是万圣夜英文：Halloween，华语地区常将万圣夜称为万圣节。

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. By tradition, Halloween begins after sunset. Long ago, people believed that witches gathered together and ghosts roamed the world on Halloween. Today, most people no longer believe in ghosts and witches. But these supernatural beings are still a part of Halloween.

万圣节前夜是在10月31日庆祝的一个节日，根据传统，万圣节前夜的庆祝活动从太阳落山开始。在很久以前，人们相信在万圣节前夜女巫会聚集在一起，鬼魂在四处游荡。现在，大多数人们不再相信有鬼魂和女巫的存在了，但是他们仍然把这些作为万圣节前夜的一部分。

The colors black and orange are also a part of Halloween. Black is a symbol for night and orange is the color of pumpkins. A jack-o’-lantern is a hollowed-out pumpkin with a face carved on one side. Candles are usually placed inside, giving the face a spooky glow.

黑色和橙色仍然是万圣节前夜的一部分，黑色是夜晚的象征，而橙色代表着南瓜。南瓜灯是用雕刻成脸型，中间挖空，再插上蜡烛的南瓜做成的，带来一个毛骨悚然的灼热面孔。

Dressing up in costumes is one of the most popular Halloween customs, especially among children. According to tradition, people would dress up in costumes (wear special clothing, masks or disguises) to frighten the spirits away.

盛装是最受欢迎的万圣节风俗之一，尤其是受孩子们的欢迎。按照传统习俗，人们会盛装(穿戴一些特殊的服饰，面具或者装饰)来吓跑鬼魂。

Popular Halloween costumes include vampires (creatures that drink blood), ghosts (spirits of the dead) and werewolves (people that turn into wolves when the moon is full).

流行的万圣节服装包括vampires(吸血鬼)，ghosts(死者的灵魂)和werewolves(每当月圆时就变成狼形的人)。

Trick or Treating is a modern Halloween custom where children go from house to house dressed in costume, asking for treats like candy or toys. If they dont get any treats, they might play a trick (mischief or prank) on the owners of the house.

欺骗或攻击是现代万圣节的风俗。孩子们穿着特殊的衣服走街串巷，讨取糖果和玩具之类的赏赐。如果他们得不到任何的赏赐，就可能会对屋主大搞恶作剧或者胡闹了。

The tradition of the Jack o Lantern comes from a folktale about a man named Jack who tricked the devil and had to wander the Earth with a lantern. The Jack o Lantern is made by placing a candle inside a hollowed-out pumpkin, which is carved to look like a face.

南瓜灯的传统来自于一个民间传说。一个名叫Jack的人戏弄了恶魔，之后就不得不提着一盏灯在地球上流浪。南瓜灯是用雕刻成脸型，中间挖空，再插上蜡烛的南瓜做成的。

There are many other superstitions associated with Halloween. A superstition is an irrational idea, like believing that the number 13 is unlucky!

和万圣节有关的迷信还有很多。迷信是一种不合常理的想法，比如认为13是不吉利的数字!

Halloween is also associated with supernatural creatures like ghosts and vampires. These creatures are not part of the natural world. They dont really exist... or do they?

万圣节还和一些诸如鬼魂和吸血鬼之类的超自然的生物有关。这些生物不是自然界的一部分。他们实际上是不存在的......或许他们其实真的存在?

Witches are popular Halloween characters that are thought to have magical powers. They usually wear pointed hats and fly around on broomsticks.

女巫是万圣节很受欢迎的人物，人们认为她们具有强大的魔力。他们通常戴着尖顶的帽子，骑在扫把上飞来飞去。

Bad omens are also part of Halloween celebrations. A bad omen is something that is believed to bring bad luck, like black cats, spiders or bats.

恶兆也是万圣节庆祝活动的一部分。人们相信恶兆会带给坏运气，黑猫、蜘蛛或者蝙蝠都算是恶兆。

书面表达历来是英语教学中一个难点，要想在限定的时间内写出一篇质量上乘的文章，非一日之功。纵观几年来的高考书面表达，我们可以看出，高考英语写作越来越重视情景的设置，要求考生总结自己的感受和见解，给出自己的观点。书面表达又是全面衡量学生英语综合水平的一种测试形式，因此，我们不得不重视。

第一步，写作的内容，要求做到两点— 内容完整、相关。这两点只要考生不粗心，基本都能做到。比如陕西考区的题目，要求写暑假的安排，是一篇正反观点类的议论文。必须注意题目的要求，第一要提出讨论话题，Recently there has been a heated discussion about what the students should do during the summer vacation.(这是一个经典的模版开篇句型)。第二要写出一方面的观点，然后是另一方面的观点，最后提出自己的看法，根据要求缺一不可，否则就会被扣掉相应的分数，这就是完整。再比如，2005年广东考区的成语寓言故事，不仅要描写整个守株待兔的过程，还应该根据要求点名寓意，否则也是不完整，这点只要在课堂上强调，学生是很容易做到的。所谓相关，也就是不要过多出现文中没有的信息，不能过分发挥，一般学生犯此类错误的较少。

第二步，写作中的语法。在阅卷中，一般三个小的语法错误会被扣掉一分，一个大的语法错误(关于谓语的错误)会被扣掉一分。所以，学生应该尽量避免犯语法错误。我在课堂中会强调，对于语法基础薄弱的同学，除了加强自己的语法功底外，就是去背诵我给出的50个最高频用到的句法结构。这些结构不仅正确，而且一定是高考中的有效得分点，即使语法偏弱，记住这些句子然后在考试中使用也能避免学生自己造句中的语法错误，一举两得。比如，倒装句在考试中就很少有同学主动启用，但是一旦正确启用就会收到意想不到的效果，所以我会给出四组倒装句，然后让学生加强运用和练习。这些句子包括：

1、Only when we realize the importance of environmental protection, can we solve the problem of pollution.

2、So precious is time that we can’t afford to waste it.

3、Diligent as he was, he failed in passing the exam.

4、By no means should teenagers get into the habit of smocking.

第三步，连接词的运用，使文章连贯、流畅。我把这些词分为8类，叫做“畅词”，往往学生由于中西方语言的差异，会忽视这一点，所以在授课中会通过大量的练习巩固和加强学生的印象。而且不仅要写，还写出高水平的畅词，因为高考是选拔性考试，要做到“人无我有,人有我优”。比如，“首先”这个表示次序的畅词，一般同学一定想到的是firstly 或者first of all。可是我建议学生启用to begin with, 或者initially (这个是建议水平较好的启用)。“然而”，绝大部分启用but, however，我建议学生采用on the contrary 或者oppositely。

第四步，也是整个课程的核心部分，要强化“复杂、高级”两个概念。为什么是核心呢?因为学生在这一部分没有正确的认识，在平时的学习中老师也没有有意识灌输和训练总结。大部分学生以为只要写出来、写正确就可以拿到高分，其实80-120个单词包括大概10个句子，如果全部是简单的词汇和句型没有办法达到最高档作文的要求。因此，我们强调高级的词汇和高级复杂的句型，不是说全部必须高级，而是必须出现一些才能符合高考作文大纲的要求。在这一步中，我总结的“高分词汇选择原则”、“简单句到复杂句的瞬间转换”、“高分句子写作策略”以及“钻石得分50句”，通过这些理论和实践结合的讲解，学生会感觉成绩的快速提升，效果明显。

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