高考英语写作词汇整理【热门20篇】

假设你是李华，你的英国网友Peter希望了解一下我国高考英语试卷（NMET）中的“短

文改错”（Error Correction）题型的情况。请你写一封回复邮件。并特别强调自己某一次因为没有严格按照要求答题被扣掉了本可得到的7分。

注意：1．词数100左右

2．内容请参照本卷该大题内容。

3．生词：（打）勾：tick 分：point 逻辑（的）：logic

Hi, Peter:

Thanks for your e-mail. Here I’m going to tell you what you asked about.

Error Correction, as the 1st section of Written Part of NMET, mainly tests the mastery of the use of words and grammar of English. The understanding of the given text is course important to the performance.

There are 10 numbered lines, each of which may have one mistake. You have to decide firstly whether there is a mistake or not. If not, put a tick in the numbered blank. If there is a mistake, you may have to add a word, cross out a word, or change word. You have to find out the mistakes in the use of words and/or grammar. Sometimes there may be a logic problem, which would be the most difficult.

Last time I got 7 points less than expected. Why? I didn’t put the answers strictly following the rule, although I did know how to do it.

Anything still unclear? Just write to me.

嗨，彼得：

谢谢你的邮件。在这里我要告诉你，你问。

误差校正，作为高考英语笔试部分第一部分，主要测试词汇和语法的掌握英语的使用。对文本的理解是很重要的。

一共有10株，其中可能有一个错误。首先你要确定是否有错误。如果没有，空格的空白。如果有一个错误，你可以添加一个词，划掉一个字，或改变的话。你要找到的词语或语法错误使用。有时可能会有一个逻辑问题，这将是最困难的。

上次我得了7分，比预期的少。为什么？我没有把答案的严格规则，虽然我不知道如何去做。

还不清楚什么呢？就给我写信。

导语：梦想，人人都有，每个人生阶段，都有各自的梦想;一个国家，也有自己的梦想，比如中国梦。下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的作文素材，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

参与《开门大吉》节目的选手面对8扇大门，每按响一个门铃，会听到一段音乐，答对歌曲名字即可获得该扇门对应的家庭梦想基金。一旦答错，所获奖金将被清零;每个选手答题过程中有一次求助亲友团的机会。

节目播出后，观众对选手的做法有这样一些评价：

甲说，获得一定数额的奖金后就不再继续比赛的选手太不自信，尤其是那些求助后就停下脚步的人，依赖感太强。

乙说，所获奖金已经可以实现家庭梦想还继续向前走的选手太贪婪，已经失去了参加节目的意义。

丙说，觉得奖金不够，使用过求助机会，依然前进而最终空手而归的选手，值得尊敬。

丁说，实现梦想要靠自己的双手与智慧，依靠这类节目实现梦想，是不劳而获的表现。

对此你有什么感想?要求选好角度，确定立意，明确文体，自拟标题。不要脱离材料内容及含意的范围作文，不要套作，不得抄袭。

押题理由与解析

梦想，人人都有，每个人生阶段，都有各自的梦想;一个国家，也有自己的梦想，比如中国梦。现实生活中的人，都在为理想的生活而奋斗着，他们对理想的态度，以及为实现理想而采取的方法，都能引发我们的思考。

“开门大吉”的材料，兼具时代气息与思辨色彩，能够承担起考查学生分析能力与表达能力的任务。而且《开门大吉》是一个收视率较高的节目，学生们一般都看过，有了这样的基础，分析起来更容易切中肯綮。

参加节目的选手们有不同的表现，观众们也有不同的看法，从甲乙丙丁任一角度切入立意均可。从甲的角度切入，注意“不自信”“依赖感”这些关键词，正确的立意是：做人要自信。从乙的角度分析，“贪婪”是关键词，正确立意为：要知足，莫贪心。从丙的角度切入，立意为：失败者也值得尊敬。从丁的角度立意：靠自己实现梦想。

佳作展示

燃自信之烛，照人生之路

气球能升空，首先是因为它充满氢气;人生能否腾飞，首先在于有没有自信。充分的自信是一个人事业成功的重要因素。漫长的人生路，并不总是阳光灿烂，也会有阴霾乃至黑暗，这就需要我们燃起自信之烛，照亮人生之路。

以自信为刃，披荆斩棘。古时有一位智勇双全的将军，一次他遭遇强敌，士气低迷。将军取出一枚铜钱，对众将士说：“如果铜钱正面朝上，神将保佑我们胜利;反之，我们将会失败。”硬币抛出两次都是正面朝上，于是士气大振。凯旋后，众将士提出要感谢神灵，将军拿出铜钱，原来铜钱两面都是正面，众将士才明白，原来保佑他们胜利的不是神灵，而是他们自己。

命运掌握在自己手中，只要心中充满自信，奋力前行，定能披荆斩棘，所向披靡。

以自信为灯，照亮前方。秦军包围了邯郸，赵国一片愁云惨雾。毛遂自荐，随平原君出使楚国，说服楚王与赵国结盟，出兵解赵国之围。是毛遂的自信，驱散了笼罩赵国的愁云惨雾，也成就了自己的一世英名。动画电影《大圣归来》上映两个月创下了内地动画电影票房纪录9.56亿元的记录，成为国产动漫逆袭的范例。如果不是导演田晓鹏始终怀着强烈的自信，8年磨一剑，何来口碑与票房齐飞的《大圣归来》?

自信是精神的航灯，是心灵的太阳，当人生遭遇迷茫或阴霾，自信的阳光会助你拨云见日，迎来属于你的艳阳天。

以自信为石，登顶巅峰。自信是成功的基石，带着自信上路，山穷水尽也会柳暗花明。一位哲人曾说过：“如果你对一件事从内心胆怯了，那你就真正失败了。” 爱默生也说：“自信是成功的第一秘诀。” 小泽征尔在世界优秀指挥家大赛的决赛中，凭着那句斩钉截铁的“不，一定是乐谱错了!”摘取了世界指挥家大赛的桂冠。是心中的自信让小泽征尔顶住了权威的质疑，坚定了自己的判断，在世界级大赛中一举夺魁。

自信是事业的基石，让我们奠石为阶，拾阶而上，攀登事业的巅峰。

通往成功的道路上，一定充满荆棘与黑暗，我愿燃自信之烛，照人生之路，为自己搏来万里晴空。

夺分亮点提醒

1.标题“燃自信之烛，照人生之路”暗用比喻手法，形象生动，令人眼前一亮。

2.结构严谨。正文部分设立三个分论点，“以自信为刃，披荆斩棘”“以自信为灯，照亮前方”“以自信为石，登顶巅峰”，也运用比喻手法，彼此呼应，从不同角度来形象表现自信之于人生的意义。

Instant noodles are great to eat no matter what the situation may be. They are easy, extremely quick to make and require little knowledge to make them taste delicious.

First, the noodles must be placed in a bowl with about five hundred milliliters of boiling water. There is a small package with spices that should be added into the noodles. Cover the container and wait for about three minutes until the noodles are soft. Upon lifting the cover you will find a tasty and filling dish that took you less than five minutes to make.

So if youre in a hurry or just craving for instant noodles, tear open a package and see for yourself just how easy it is.

在任何情况下方便面都是食用佳品。食用方便、迅速，而且不需要什么知识。

首先，用大约500毫升的沸水将方便面泡在碗里。把一小包调料放在面条里，盖上容器不要管它，大约三分钟后面条变软。当打开盖后你就会吃到荚味、加好调料的面了。整个过程不到五分钟。

如果你忙碌或只是想吃到方便面，打开一包自己试试，真是太容易了。

If you are in a hurry or hungry, what would you like to eat? I guess the answer should be instant noodles. Yes, instant noodles are easy to make and taste good. It can save you lots of time because it doesnt need cooking.

Now let me tell you how to have it.

First, put the noodles in a bowl, along with the soup stock.

Then, pour in 500ml boiling water.

Next, cover the bowl and stands for three minutes.

Now, lift the cover and you can have the noodles at once.

It takes less than five minutes.

It is really easy, isnt it?Please try it by yourself!

如果你很忙或很饿，你想吃什么?我猜一定是方便面。对，方便面很容易做且味道不错。它不需烧煮，因此很省时间。

现在让我来告诉你如何食用方便面。

首先，将面和汤料放入碗中。

然后，加入500m1沸水。

接着加盖3分钟。

现在打开盖，你马上就可吃到面了。

整个过程不到五分钟。

真的很容易，是吗?你亲自试试吧!

My Favorite Food 我最喜欢的食物

There are many different kinds of food. My favorite food is fried rice.In China, most of the people in the south eat rice. And I like fried rice best.

It’s really delicious. When I go home from school, I am always hungry. At that time I always make fried rice by myself. I often cook it carefully and it is so delicious. It makes me happy. After eating it, I am not hungry any more. Fried rice is my favorite.

世界上有许多不同种类的食物。我最喜欢的食物是米饭。在中国，大多数人在南方吃米饭。我最喜欢炒饭。

它真的很美味。当我从学校回家，我总是饿。那时我总是自己做炒饭。我经常认真地做饭，它是如此美味。它使我快乐。吃了它之后，我不再饿了。炒饭是我的最爱。

Cupcake 纸杯蛋糕

Last night, when I saw the TV series, I find a new food，that is the cupcake. The show shows me that the cupcake is just like the cake, but it is a little different. It is smaller and has many favors. So I go to the cake shop, but I can’t find the cupcake, then I learn that it is special. Only few shops sell it. I want to taste it.

昨晚，当我在看电视剧的时候，我发现了一种新的食物，那就是纸杯蛋糕。节目展示了纸杯蛋糕就像蛋糕一样，但是有点不同。它更小，有很多风味。所以我去蛋糕店，但是找不到纸杯蛋糕，我才知道纸杯蛋糕是比较特别的。只有一些小的商店才有。我想要尝尝。

巨大的水果味蛋糕 Huge fruit flavored cake

youll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whisky.

你需要以下几点：一杯水，一杯糖，四个大鸡蛋，2杯干果，一茶匙小苏打，一茶匙盐，一杯红糖，一杯柠檬汁，一瓶威士忌，一瓶威士忌。

sample the whisky to check for quality.

样品的威士忌要检查质量。

take a large bowl. check the whisky again. to be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. repeat. turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

拿一大碗。再次检查威士忌。要确保它是最高品质，倒一杯酒。重复。打开电动搅拌器，在一个大碗里打一杯黄油。再加一茶匙的糖，再打一次。

make sure the whisky is still okay. cry another tup. turn off the mixer. break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. mix on the turner. if the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver.

确保威士忌仍然是好的。另一个有哭。关上搅拌机。打破二雷格斯和添加的碗和盘干果杯。特纳的混合。如果炸druit卡住的beaterers它撬松一drewscriver。

sample the whisky to check for tonsisticity. next, sift two cups of salt. or something. who cares? check the whisky. now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. add one table. spoon. of sugar or something. whatever you can find.

品尝威士忌检查tonsisticity。下一步，筛选双杯盐。或某事。谁在乎呢？检查威士忌。现在过滤柠檬汁和你的坚果。加一张表。匙。糖或某物。无论你能找到什么。

grease the oven. turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. dont forget to beat off the turner. throw the bowl out of the window, check the whisky again and go to bed

在烤箱中润滑。把蛋糕变成350度。别忘了击败特纳。把碗扔到窗外，再检查一次威士忌，然后去睡觉

鸡肉三明治 Chicken sandwich

1．First ,put the mayonnaise on a slice of bread .The cut u an onion and a tomato .Add these to the sandwich .Next ,put some lettuce and the chicken slices an the sandwich .Put the relish on the chicken .Finally ,put another slice of bread on the top.

1。首先，沙拉酱放在一片面包上。砍你一个洋葱和一个西红柿。把这些加在三明治上。接下来，把一些生菜和鸡肉片的三明治。鸡上放些佐料。最后，把另一片面包放在上面。

食品安全问题之我见 My View on Food Security

Over the past couple ofyears, several cases of the food scandal have been disclosed on various media.The problem of food security has become a hot button across society. Theprevalence of food insecurity has greatly impacted public health, which thegovernment could not afford to ignore, according to the online edition of thePeople Daily. -

在过去的几年中，几起食品丑闻案件已经在各种媒体上披露。全社会的食品安全问题已经成为一个热题。食品不安全的盛行已经大大影响了群众的健康，根据人民日报网络版，政府不应该忽视这一问题。

There are a couple of drivingforces, I would argue, behind this undesirable tide. First, in the course ofthe rapid economic evolution, we ignore moral education, giving rise to therising rate of the problem. More importantly, the lack of adequate regulationand punishment on those illegal producers enforces the trend. -

我认为这一不良行为的背后有很多驱动力。首先，在快速的经济进化过程中，我们忽视了道德教育，从而导致了这一问题不断上升。更重要的是，缺乏足够的对那些非法生产者的监管和处罚加强了这一局面。

As Confucius instructed, itis better late than never. Prompt and strict measures should be taken to turnback this evil trend. The government should launch a massive moral campaign toeducate all citizens and draw up tougher laws to crack down on those irresponsiblecorporations and prohibit them from entering the food industry again. I amfirmly convinced that through our combined efforts we are bound to enjoy morerisk-free foods in the days ahead.-

正如孔子教导的，迟到总比不到好。我们应该采取及时严厉的措施来扭转这一不好的局面。政府应该发起大量的道德运动以教育所有的市民，并制定更严厉的法律打击那些不负责任的企业，并禁止他们再次进入食品行业。我坚信，通过我们的共同努力，我们一定会在未来的日子中享受更多的无风险食品。

The Memory About College Entrance Exam

The college entrance exam is a big exam for students, they have learned so many years for the purpose of entering the college. For most person, they have the very deep impression about the big exam, it has changes so many people’s destinies. I had taken part in the exam, I remember it clearly, the situation just like happened yesterday. I studied so hard, in those days that were nearing the exam, all the students focus their attention on the study, we fought together. The paper and the books were piled up our desks, when I entered the classroom, I hardly could see my classmates’ heads. Though it was the tough days for us, we felt happy, because we fought for our future, we believe what we do will bring us a promising future. These memories will linger on my mind forever.

高考对于学生来说是一个大的考试，他们已经学了那么多年，目的是考上大学。对于大部分人来说，他们对于这个重大的考试有很深的印象，它改变了很多人的命运。我已经参加了高考，我能清楚地记得它，那情形就像发生在昨天。我很努力学习，在那些接近考试的日子，所有的学生都集中他们的精力来学习，我们一起奋斗。那些书本和试卷堆满了我们的桌子，当我今日教室时，我几乎看不到同学的头。虽然那些日子很艰苦，但是我们觉得很开心，因为我们为未来奋斗，我们相信所做的会让我们的将来更加的明朗。这些记忆将永存在我的脑海里

[难忘的高考记忆英语作文

写人作文在文学创作中，它与“叙事”、“抒情”鼎足而三，又常常难解难分。小编收集了怎样写人作文，欢迎阅读。

一、熟悉中选材。

在我们周围，有很多关心我们的人，如在生活中对你关怀备至的爷爷奶奶、对你严格教育的爸爸妈妈、为你播下知识种子的老师、和你一同成长的同学伙伴等。从中加以筛选，选出你认为最值得写的人和事写下来。

二、所选的事例要突出人物的某一品质。

写人离不开写事。在对事情的叙述中完成人物性格的塑造。人物的特点多种多样。不仅有我们平时爱写的某个人刻苦学习、助人为乐、关心集体、热爱劳动等品质;还有人物的性格脾气，如平易近人、心直口快、做事拖拉、懒散傲慢、粗心大意等也可作为写作素材;还可以写人物兴趣爱好方面的特点，比如喜爱集邮、酷爱绘画，喜欢游泳等。只要你了解了某一个人的任何特点，都可以作为材料进行写作。正所谓：“千人千模样，万人万脾气。”

在确定了文章的中心后，接下来把自己收集到的材料排排队，比较一下哪一件事最能反映文章的中心，也就是人物某一方面的特点。所选的材料越有代表性，人物的特点就越鲜明，文章的中心就越突出。

三、描述要一定的技巧。

文章讲究文采。文章在中心明确，选材符号要求后还要讲究语言生动、叙述有一定的技巧。正如评价一个人的外在漂亮与否“三分长相，七分打扮”。文章也是如此。既然写人要通过写事来突出人的特点。所写的事要符合记叙文六要素。尤其要按照事情的发展顺序把事情的起因、经过、结果一步一步写清楚。但并不是把事情像报流水帐似的记一遍，而是要突出重点，有详有略。与突出人物特点密切的情节要详细写，写得具体些，而那些和中心不那么密切的情节要简单些，甚至不写。这样才能做到重点突出、中心明确。语言叙述也要讲究技巧。刻画人物进行叙述的过程中，要多住住人物的外貌、神态、动作心理来刻画。如《爱唠叨的妈妈》：“妈妈一把拽过我，拉到她面前，整了整我整整全齐齐的衣领，拍了拍刚换的衣服上的‘灰’，又开始了唠叨：‘上课要老师的话，要积极发言，下课要-------，过马路要------’我只能一个劲地点头，表示已经记下了。如果我不做声或心不在焉，那可就糟了，她准以为我干了什么见不得人的事，她非要到学校问个明白不可。-------”

下面是语文迷网整理提供的35个初中英语写作会用到的句型，大家一起来看看吧。

一、~~~ the + ~ est + 名词 + (that) + 主词 + haveever + seen ( known/heard/had/read, etc)

~~~ the most + 形容词 + 名词 + (that) + 主词 + have ever + seen ( known/heard/had/read, etc)

例句：

Helen is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen.

海伦是我所看过最美丽的女孩。

Mr. Chang is the kindest teacher that I have ever had.

张老师是我曾经遇到最仁慈的教师。

二、Nothing is + ~~~ er than to + V Nothing is + more + 形容词 + than to + V

例句：

Nothing is more important than to receive education.

没有比接受教育更重要的事。

三、~~~ cannot emphasize the importance of ~~~ too much.(再怎么强调...的重要性也不为过。)

例句：

We cannot emphasize the importance of protecting our eyes too much.

我们再怎么强调保护眼睛的重要性也不为过。

四、There is no denying that + S + V ...(不可否认的...)

例句：

There is no denying that the qualities of our living have gone from bad to worse.

不可否认的，我们的生活品质已经每况愈下。

五、It is universally acknowledged that + 句子~~ (全世界都知道...)

例句：

It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable to us.

全世界都知道树木对我们是不可或缺的。

六、There is no doubt that + 句子~~ (毫无疑问的...)

例句：

There is no doubt that our educational system leaves something to be desired.

毫无疑问的我们的教育制度令人不满意。

七、An advantage of ~~~ is that + 句子 (...的优点是...)

例句：

An advantage of using the solar energy is that it wont create (produce) any pollution.

使用太阳能的优点是它不会制造任何污染。

八、The reason why + 句子 ~~~ is that + 句子 (...的原因是...)

例句：

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

我们必须种树的原因是它们能供应我们新鲜的空气。

九、So + 形容词 + be + 主词 + that + 句子 (如此...以致于...)

例句：

So precious is time t

that we cant afford to waste it.

时间是如此珍贵，我们经不起浪费它。

十、Adj + as + Subject(主词)+ be, S + V~~~ (虽然...)

例句：

Rich as our country is, the qualities of our living are by no means satisfactory. {by no means = in no way = on no account 一点也不}

虽然我们的国家富有，我们的生活品质绝对令人不满意。

十一、The + ~er + S + V, ~~~ the + ~er + S + V ~~~

The + more + Adj + S + V, ~~~ the + more+ Adj + S + V ~~~(愈...愈...)

例句：The harder you work, the more progress you make.

你愈努力，你愈进步。

The more books we read, the more learned we become.

我们书读愈多，我们愈有学问。

十二、By +Ving, ~~ can ~~ (借着...，..能够..)

例句：By taking exercise, we can always stay healthy.

借着做运动，我们能够始终保持健康。

十三、~~~ enable + Object(受词)+ to + V (..使..能够..)

例句：Listening to music enable us to feel relaxed.

听音乐使我们能够感觉轻松。

十四、On no account can we + V ~~~ (我们绝对不能...)

例句：On no account can we ignore the value of knowledge.

我们绝对不能忽略知识的价值。

十五、It is time + S + 过去式 (该是...的时候了)

例句：It is time the authorities concerned took proper steps to solve the traffic problems.

该是有关当局采取适当的措施来解决交通问题的时候了。

十六、Those who ~~~ (...的人...)

例句：Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished.

违反交通规定的人应该受处罚。

十七、There is no one but ~~~ (没有人不...)

例句：There is no one but longs to go to college.

没有人不渴望上大学。

十八、be + forced/compelled/obliged + to + V (不得不...)

例句：Since the examination is around the corner, I am compelled to give up doing sports.

既然考试迫在眉睫，我不得不放弃做运动。

十九、It is conceivable that + 句子 (可想而知的)

It is obvious that + 句子 (明显的)

It is apparent that + 句子 (显然的)

例句：It is conceivable that knowledge plays an important role in our life.

可想而知，知识在我们的一生中扮演一个重要的角色。

二十、That is the reason why ~~~ (那就是...的原因)

例句：Summer is sultry. That is the reason why I dont like it.

夏天很燠热。那就是我不喜欢它的原因。

二十一、For the past + 时间，S + 现在完成式.(过去...年来，...一直...)

例句：For the past two years, I have been busy preparing for the examination.

过去两年来，我一直忙着准备考试。

二十二、Since + S + 过去式，S + 现在完成式。

例句：Since he went to senior high school, he has worked very hard.

自从他上高中，他一直很用功。

二十三、It pays to + V ~~~ (...是值得的。)

例句：It pays to help others.

帮助别人是值得的。

二十四、be based on (以...为基础)

例句：The progress of thee society is based on harmony.

社会的进步是以和谐为基础的。

二十五、Spare no effort to + V (不遗余力的)

例句：We should spare no effort to beautify our environment.

我们应该不遗余力的美化我们的环境。

二十六、bring home to + 人 + 事 (让...明白...事)

例句：We should bring home to people the valueof working hard.

我们应该让人们明白努力的价值。

二十七、be closely related to ~~ (与...息息相关)

例句：Taking exercise is closely related to health.

做运动与健康息息相关。

二十八、Get into the habit of + Ving= make it a rule to + V (养成...的习惯)

We should get into the habit of keeping good hours.

我们应该养成早睡早起的习惯。

二十九、Due to/Owing to/Thanks to + N/Ving, ~~~(因为...)

例句：Thanks to his encouragement, I finally realized my dream.

因为他的鼓励，我终于实现我的梦想。

三十、What a + Adj + N + S + V!= How + Adj + a + N + V!(多么...!)

例句：What an important thing it is to keep our promise!

How important a thing it is to keep our promise!

遵守诺言是多么重要的事!

三十一、Leave much to be desired (令人不满意)

例句：The condition of our traffic leaves much to be desired.

我们的交通状况令人不满意。

三十二、Have a great influence on ~~~ (对...有很大的影响)

例句：Smoking has a great influence on our health.

抽烟对我们的健康有很大的影响。

三十三、do good to (对...有益)，do harm to (对...有害)

例句：Reading does good to our mind.读书对心灵有益。

Overwork does harm to health.工作过度对健康有害。

三十四、Pose a great threat to ~~ (对...造成一大威胁)

例句：Pollution poses a great threat to our existence.

污染对我们的生存造成一大威胁。

三十五、do ones utmost to + V = do ones best (尽全力去...)

例句：We should do our utmost to achieve our goal in life.

我们应尽全力去达成我们的人生目标。

第1段150字左右：写出中心论点，首选单句形式，且是判断句或肯定句。绝对不用复句(复句易走题，影响得分)，点出写作的由头，作文题中含有的提示性文字材料，一定要有所涉及。

第2段200字左右：段首讲述分论点一，如第一节的内容是几个分论点的简单组合，则“分论点一”适宜放在段尾。这样和分论点二、分论点三的位置区别开来，使行文有变化。“分论点一”论证不许举例，采用纯分析的说理论据展开。

第3段200字左右：段首讲述分论点二，采用举例论证，首选作文题提示中的例子来分析论证，同时也可辅助一个自己举的例子，自己举的例子要比前例文字少。如没有作文题提示中的例子，则自己举个典型的例子来分析论证，同样要求叙写例子的文字一定要比分析论证的文字少。否则对文体特征会产生重创，影响得分。

第4段200字左右：段首讲述分论点三。采用联系实际举例。这是写作本文的时代意义所在。联系的实际可以是学习、生活、社会任何一个方面，目的是或提高思想认识，或明确是非正邪，或提出解决的方法途径，或揭示某种疑难迷惑，总之要给人以启发。

第5段150字左右：要再现中心论点，扣住中心论点写出作用、意义、号召、展望等。易走题，影响得分)，点出写作的由头，作文题中含有的提示性文字材料，一定要有所涉及。

第2段200字左右：段首讲述分论点一，如第一节的内容是几个分论点的简单组合，则“分论点一”适宜放在段尾。这样和分论点二、分论点三的位置区别开来，使行文有变化。“分论点一”论证不许举例，采用纯分析的说理论据展开。

第3段200字左右：段首讲述分论点二，采用举例论证，首选作文题提示中的例子来分析论证，同时也可辅助一个自己举的例子，自己举的例子要比前例文字少。如没有作文题提示中的例子，则自己举个典型的例子来分析论证，同样要求叙写例子的文字一定要比分析论证的文字少。否则对文体特征会产生重创，影响得分。

第4段200字左右：段首讲述分论点三。采用联系实际举例。这是写作本文的时代意义所在。联系的实际可以是学习、生活、社会任何一个方面，目的是或提高思想认识，或明确是非正邪，或提出解决的方法途径，或揭示某种疑难迷惑，总之要给人以启发。

第5段150字左右：要再现中心论点，扣住中心论点写出作用、意义、号召、展望等。易走题，影响得分)，点出写作的由头，作文题中含有的提示性文字材料，一定要有所涉及。

第2段200字左右：段首讲述分论点一，如第一节的内容是几个分论点的简单组合，则“分论点一”适宜放在段尾。这样和分论点二、分论点三的位置区别开来，使行文有变化。“分论点一”论证不许举例，采用纯分析的说理论据展开。

第3段200字左右：段首讲述分论点二，采用举例论证，首选作文题提示中的例子来分析论证，同时也可辅助一个自己举的例子，自己举的例子要比前例文字少。如没有作文题提示中的例子，则自己举个典型的例子来分析论证，同样要求叙写例子的文字一定要比分析论证的文字少。否则对文体特征会产生重创，影响得分。

第4段200字左右：段首讲述分论点三。采用联系实际举例。这是写作本文的时代意义所在。联系的实际可以是学习、生活、社会任何一个方面，目的是或提高思想认识，或明确是非正邪，或提出解决的方法途径，或揭示某种疑难迷惑，总之要给人以启发。

第5段150字左右：要再现中心论点，扣住中心论点写出作用、意义、号召、展望等。

什么是点题？点题，就是在恰当的地方用简明扼要的语句点明题意，揭示的主旨，暗示全文的脉络层次。点题之笔，在诗歌中又称之为“诗眼”，在中又称之为“文眼”。

点题，是获取“保险”分的“奠基石”；点题，不仅是写作水平一般的同学的法宝，而且也是想要获取高分甚至满分的考生的妙招；点题，是挽救离题文的“救命草”，能有效防止中心不明或游离，避免无中心、多中心、材料不支持中心等现象。

高考作文不喜欢含蓄，这与阅卷工作时间紧、任务重有关，正如某省高考作文阅卷组组长说：“高考作文，要多一点‘二锅头’，少一点‘碧螺春’！二锅头——我国北方的一种烈性酒，一口下去，两眼冒火，浑身发热。碧螺春——此茶需要慢慢地品味，快喝猛喝是喝不出滋味来的。”高考作文必须有很强的‘视觉冲击力’。让阅卷老师在瞬间被它吸引，被它打动。‘犹抱琵琶’，太曲折，太含蓄，都是高考作文的大忌。“考场作文的立意不仅要准确，而且还应该在行文时将其显豁地展现出来，在作文中要不断提到话题，点明你的行文和话题的关系，引领读者随你的思维而去。”“有时候一个关键词、一句关键性的话，就会救活一篇高考作文！这是未曾阅卷的朋友想象不到的！”

一、标题点题。

拟写的标题切合题意，让阅卷老师一眼就能知道的主旨。像《别让孩子成为时尚的受害者》（江苏）、《成败皆因常识》（广东）、《选择适合自己的路》（河北）、《三月陌上花自开》（山东）、《心中的乡情不会随时间风化》（山东）等无不是紧扣题意的精彩妙题。

如果标题看起来与题意关系不大，赶快补救。如四川满分作文《乌云晴日上，清流暗礁藏——忘记与铭记》，就采用了副标题的形式，点明了题意，不会让阅卷老师因费解引发反感。

二、首尾点题。

开篇（包括题记）便点明题义，卒章显“题”。

把点题的句子放在醒目的位置。如果是前面的内容很少提到话题甚至有偏题的嫌疑，那最后的亡羊补“题”就显得更为重要了。高考高分作文往往都是很重视首尾点题的。例如四川某考生的《熟悉》的开头和结尾：

（开头）生活如美人的脸，总是半遮半掩。没有人生来就对生活熟悉。我们在生活的小路上对事物总是由不熟悉继而变为熟悉。人们常说，熟能生巧，我们就应该只掌握熟悉的，放弃一切新的事物而止步不前？

（结尾）没有人一生下来就对生活熟悉。渐渐地，我们所熟悉的事物越来越多。此时，不妨放下熟悉的事情，去挑战新的事物，让自己的人生不在熟悉而无味中度过，而描绘出自己不一样的多彩人生！

三、中间醒目处点题

首尾点题固然很重要，但我们也不能把中间的主体段落给忘了。在中间的关键处、醒目处适当地来上几个点题的句子，常常可起到提纲挈领、突出主旨的作用，同时也是在不断提醒阅卷老师，我是紧扣话题作文的。这应该是最醒目的点题方式。

1、运用主旨句点题。

这些主旨句可以领起全段，也可以用独立成段的形式表达。例如湖南某考生《踮起脚尖》在的中间部分采用了三个主旨句“踮起脚尖，感受大自然的美丽”“踮起脚尖，谱写人间的真爱”“踮起脚尖，成就完的美人生”“踮起脚尖，就更靠近阳光”点题，收到了题义凸显、引领全篇、脉络清晰、层次分明的效果。

2、运用小标题点题。

使用小标题点题，既能彰显文意，又使得结构清晰，让人一目了然，给人好感。例如四川考生优秀作文《挺立前行》采用了“司马迁·不屈”“朱元璋·奋进”“康熙·勇敢”三个小标题，既有力地诠释了话题，又引领下文，纲举目张，一箭双雕。

3、点题句分析论据。

议论文中，叙述完事例论据后，如果能紧扣话题进行适当地分析议论，既能避免罗列事例、文体不清的毛病，又能起到画龙点睛、突出中心的作用。如广东省高考一号标文《情与理的抉择》，在简单叙述完郑培民的事例后，紧接着来了几句议论分析，“感情亲疏，并没影响郑培民清醒认识到自己是人民的公仆，他没有因为个人利益而抛弃为人民服务的宗旨，依旧踏实勤恳、无私奉献。他们父子的这种高洁情操，在当今社会实属难得”，只短短两句话，可它把事例与话题紧紧连在一起了。

另外，还要注意扣题的两种方式：明扣和暗扣。议论文则多采用明扣，记叙文、散文、小小说要明暗结合。如果标题或话题是比喻型的，则一定要把明扣和暗扣紧紧结合起来。

公布的新版《中小学生守则》首次把《守则》和《中小学生日常行为规范》合二为一，更简洁明了，也更接地气。有记者发现，以往在学生行为规范中的“见义勇为”等提法消失了，代之以“珍爱生命保安全”、“会自护懂求救”等内容。

面对危难，中小学生该不该像成人一样勇敢地冲上前去?或者说，对中小学生要不要提倡见义勇为?

几代家长都记得，以前，无论中学还是小学校园，都鼓励孩子见义勇为，学生若做出见义勇为的壮举，也往往享受着英雄般的待遇，被披红挂彩隆重表彰奖励。如今，学生守则不再提见义勇为，这会否令部分老师家长们感到迷茫?

小学生因其心智和体能发育的不成熟，面对各种危急的场景，盲目要求孩子们挺身而出，不仅于事无补，甚至可能造成更多更大的牺牲。这在近年的媒体报道中屡见不鲜。一个孩子落水了，其他小学生下水施救，结果导致几个孩子一同溺亡。

作为未成年人，在危难面前，会自我保护，懂得求救比“奋不顾身”更重要，也更值得提倡。新版学生守则中要求学生“会自护懂自救”无疑是一种进步，也更能体现现代社会的人文精神。尤其是在目前这样充满风险的社会，令学生们从小具备风险意识，掌握应对各种灾害和不测的基本技能、常识，十分重要。

见义勇为是整个社会都应提倡的品德，但具体到中小学生则不可一概而论，未成年人本身便是弱者，是社会保护的对象，要孩子们见义勇为，或者说，要全社会人人都做“英雄”，不但不现实，也与人道主义精神相悖。

悲情和牺牲不该属于孩子，社会也不能苛求未成年人做出英雄壮举。事实上，对中小学生来说，在他们的年龄段见义勇为应有其特定含义。譬如，遭遇水火灾害等首先要会报警，碰到危难突发事件等，懂得如何自救或求救，尽量避免和降低自身的伤害，同时为社会救援提供力所能及的帮助，“见义智为”，这才是中小学生应具备的行为规范。

The winter solstice, the winter solstice as the "holiday" in han dynasty, the rulers to congratulate ceremony known as "He Dong", official holidays, routine officialdom popular each "winter" worship custom. "Were" has such records: "before and after the winter solstice, the gentleman place static body, baiguan, scenes, and then pick an auspicious day Chen save trouble." So on the court and off to rest, to the army on standby, frontier retreat, business travel out of business, family and all distinctions to food, visit each other, a joyous festival "place static body". When in the six dynasties, the winter solstice is called "the age", people to elders to extend holiday greetings to your parents; After the song dynasty, the winter solstice festival gradually become the sacrifice to ancestors and gods.

Tang and song period, the winter solstice is to worship the day of worship ancestors, the emperor held outside the day to worship, the people in this day to the parents or elders worship. Ming and qing dynasties, the emperor have to worship, of "winter solstice jiao days". There has to be given to a emperor, table officials ritual, but also to each other for congratulations, like New Years day.

Winter festival also called yesterday, hand in winter. It is one of the 24 solar terms, is a traditional festival of China, have "the winter solstice as big as a year". Winter solstice supplements, is Chinas traditional customs, folksay: fill a lump-sum winter, in the coming year without pain. Summer volts, winter lump-sum. The winter solstice mend, nutrients.

冬至到了，汉代以冬至为“冬节”，官府要举行祝贺仪式称为“贺冬”，官方例行放假，官场流行互贺的“拜冬”礼俗。《后汉书》中有这样的记载：“冬至前后，君子安身静体，百官绝事，不听政，择吉辰而后省事。”所以这天朝廷上下要放假休息，军队待命，边塞闭关，商旅停业，亲朋各以美食相赠，相互拜访，欢乐地过一个“安身静体”的节日。魏晋六朝时，冬至称为“亚岁”，民众要向父母长辈拜节;宋朝以后，冬至逐渐成为祭祀祖先和神灵的节庆活动。

唐、宋时期，冬至是祭天祀祖的日子，皇帝在这天要到郊外举行祭天大典，百姓在这一天要向父母尊长祭拜。明、清两代，皇帝均有祭天大典，谓之“冬至郊天”。宫内有百官向皇帝呈递贺表的仪式，而且还要互相投刺祝贺，就像元旦一样。

冬至节亦称冬节、交冬。它既是二十四节气之一，是中国的一个传统节日，曾有“冬至大如年”的说法。冬至进补，是我国传统风俗，俗语云：三九补一冬，来年无病痛。夏养三伏，冬补三九。冬至补一补,一年精气足。

On-line voting becomes increasingly popular, and many competitions get

people involved in it. It is beneficial to some people, while it puts others

into a dilemma over whether to vote or not.

In my opinion, on-line voting is an inseparable part of modern life and

should be welcomed, since it is no more than a way to participate in public

life. It makes no difference from ordinary voting events, in which candidates go

around to seek supports. In addition, the Internet makes surveying and voting

easy and convenient, regardless of time and space. Furthermore, voting on the

Internet makes instant feedback possible.

To be honest, voters sometimes feel annoyed, not because they hate voting,

but because they are divided between emotion and fairness. Things will turn for

the better if we can work out some participation rules for people to obey.

Therefore, I hold a positive attitude towards on- line voting.

导语：诚然，制度和监督是外力的遏制，作为具有五千年文明史的中华民族，勤俭节约的优良传统是不能丢的，“成由勤俭破由奢”的历史戒律更要时时谨记，下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的作文素材，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

据媒体报道，中国人在餐桌上浪费的粮食一年高达2000亿元，被倒掉的食物相当于2亿多人一年的口粮。与此形成鲜明对照的是，我国还有一亿多农村扶贫对象、几千万城市贫困人口以及其他为数众多的困难群众。

数十年的经济快速发展，让我们离饥馑年代越来越远，现在的生产力和生产关系基本解决了吃饱问题，而开始着眼于吃得健康与否的问题。但是，粮食安全从来就是一个主权国家的头等大事，粮食的特殊性和相对稀缺性，决定了粮食也是与全社会成员利益息息相关的公共资源。一个人可以通过市场交易占有和享有粮食，但没有权利浪费粮食。不仅没有权利浪费，如果浪费还应面临制度措施的惩罚。

作为一个有着悠久农耕文明的国家，作为一个自诩勤劳节俭的民族，我们的传统，我们的历史，我们身体血液里流淌的文化因子，都让我们本能排斥铺张浪费。三百多年前的《朱子家训》对此有着点睛之笔：一粥一饭，当思来之不易;半丝半缕，恒念物力维艰。

要想刹住“舌尖浪费”之风，必须要有全社会的正能量。首先要有敬畏劳动者之心，敬畏劳动者就是珍惜粮食，若连粮食都不能珍惜的官员，谈何以民为本?若连粮食都不能珍惜的人，谈何国富民强?勤俭节约是中华民族的优良传统，也是中华民族伟大复兴的根本。一切发展都是建立在充裕的粮仓之上，没有盈实的仓廪，何以保障中国梦的实现?

诚然，制度和监督是外力的遏制，作为具有五千年文明史的中华民族，勤俭节约的优良传统是不能丢的，“成由勤俭破由奢”的历史戒律更要时时谨记，所以，只有社会传递“勤俭节约“的正能量，发扬共产党艰苦朴素的工作作风和中华民族勤俭节约的优良传统，让每个人在内心拥有“浪费可耻，节约光荣”的荣辱观，才能在内外结合下刹住“舌尖上的浪费”这股不正之风。

导语：英语作文在英语试卷中还是相当重要的一部分，你知道写作有哪些技巧吗?下面是yjbys作文网小编为您收集整理的资料，希望对您有所帮助。

初中英语作文分为四等。一等文：13-15分;二等文：9-12分;三等文：5-8分;四等文：0-4分。教给大家十个字，搞定初中英语写作，帮你拿到一等文。

要点+结构+逻辑+语法+亮点

要点：

实际上中考英语写作就等于两个字，翻译!因为中考英语写作一般会给出几个要点，要求必须在文章中有所体现。文章写的再好，只要缺少要点就会扣分。所以要点，也就是文章的第二段内容，要做到全，围绕中心。

结构：

中考最流行的结构就是三段式，深受各地区中考英语写作阅卷老师的喜爱。为什么尼?因为这种结构十分清晰。“观点——要点——总结”让人一目了然。三段式的第一段：简单明了，开门见山，不超过2句话，如，我们想表达小强很强壮，第一段直接说XQis extremely strong。观点明确，这一句足矣。2014年中考英语写作技巧

第二段：分2-3点说为什么他强壮。1. 每天吃10顿饭，He has ten mealseveryday!详举吃的是什么。2. 每天运动2小时，He does exercise 2 hours a day!详举做了什么运动。

第三段：经过第二段的论证，可以得出结论。但请注意，不能完全照抄第一段，要有升华。也可以提出希望和建议等。如，Howstrong and robust XQ is!I hope to be him one day!

逻辑：

这里的逻辑实际指的就是逻辑词。最常用的就是表示递进的，转折的，总结的逻辑词等。递进：除了first，second，third，finally等还可以使用高级点的，如first of all(首先)，in addition，whatsmore，moreover(都是另外的意思)，in a word，all inall(表示总结的)。转折：but，yet，however等。真正有经验的阅卷老师会很注意这些逻辑连接词，因为这些词体现了这个文章的思路。

语法：

其他几点都不是硬性的要求，不那样做不能说是错，只能说是不好，但是语法却是硬性的。如，单词的使用，时态等。

亮点：

当我们将前八个字都做得很完美的时候也只能得到一个二等文的上。要想得到一等文，最后两个字，亮点至关重要。大家设想如果我们是阅卷老师。有两篇写人美丽的作文摆在我们面前，都是结构清晰的三段式，要点都很全，都用了一些逻辑词，都没有语法错误，但是A篇只用了beautiful，good-looking，B篇却用到了attractive，charming，catching等，我坚信正常人都会给B篇高分的。这些高级一点的词汇，词组，句型便是我们得到一等文的最有力的绝招。所以，以后写英语作文要养成一般词汇限量用的好习惯。

英语作文依靠的是同学们的语感和平时的积累，但是在面临中考的紧要关头，要想在短时间内提高英语写作水平不是一件容易的事情，这就需要同学们掌握中考英语作文写作技巧。

近年来，话题作文对学生发挥想象能力，进行创新思维提供了相当宽泛的写作范围。小编收集了话题作文五忌，欢迎阅读。

一、忌复制话题

话题作文，出题者只是提供一个写作的由头，意在引出习作者发表新议论，展开新联想，讲述新故事，抒发新感情。所以，写作时不能将命题所提供的话题材料照搬不误——复制一番，然后才进入自己的“话题”。更不能通篇只是颠来倒去的解释所供材料的含义，引用所供材料的例子在原地打转转。其实，读者不需要复制，读者需要创新。因为试题所供材料，读者已经听过了，感受过了，下面得看你的感悟和创新如何?如果写议论文，就要能够帮助读者深刻领悟其中道理;如果写记叙文，就要通过描述自己的亲身体验或讲述新鲜的故事，使读者有更具体、更强烈、更丰富的思想感情。有时，根据写作需要对所供的一组材料概括出具有“共性”或独具“个性”的某一见解而适当引用材料，这种情况当然不能算是“复制话题”，反而体现了写作者的创新意识了。

二、忌穿靴戴帽

近年来，话题作文对学生发挥想象能力，进行创新思维提供了相当宽泛的写作范围。但某些习作者由于领悟能力不够，想象、创新能力欠缺，同样会把原来提供的话题变成僵化呆板、穿靴戴帽的病文章。例如：近年一次以“答案是丰富多彩的”为话题写作时，某考生居然写了这样的内容：“记得有一次，我们去自然博物馆参观，当我们看到地球仪时，讲解员问我们：‘地球为什么是圆的?’一位同学说：‘因为圆的比较好看。’还有的说：‘因为它在地球仪上，比较好转。’也有的说：‘为了使人看得清楚。’各种回答，千变万化，最后讲解员说：‘有位航海家在大海中一直向西行，最终达到了他的出发点，所以证明地球是圆的。’”然后，这位习作者又归结道：“的确，世界是千变万化的，疑问是层出不穷的，答案是丰富多彩的。”以上这段文字，根本没有理解原话题的丰富的内涵，仅仅是摘引了一些语句生硬地给自己的文章“穿靴戴帽”而已，习作仍然走在缺少想象力、缺乏创新思维的老路上。

三、忌转移话题

一位考生，他的“心灵悟语”一文开头是这样的：“心，我的心不要悲哀，你要忍受命运的安排。严冬掠走的一切，新春会给你带回来。心，我的心，只要是你情乏所钟，你都可以尽量去爱。”可是后面他又接着写道：“平淡，不是与世无争，也不是无所谓，而是平常与淡然。用一颗平常而且淡然的心去面对社会的艰难和压力，就不会过于烦恼和紧张了。就象面对高考，我从小学到初中真是12年寒窗苦，为的就是在这人生的转折点上有一个好的开始，但这一路上却充满了艰辛与痛苦，即将要达到终点时，还要考虑万一没有考上大学怎么办?这时，我的平常心和淡然的心对我说话了，他告诉我不要有太多顾虑，在这12年里流的汗水会化作春雨毫不吝啬的浇在你身上，严冬夺取的一切，新春会给你夺回来。”这篇习作，开头谈的是“爱”，后面写的却是如何看待人生路上的“难”与“苦”，明显属于“转移话题”。“心灵悟语”，可“悟”的话题有许多，“爱”心可以去“悟”，“人生”也可以“悟”，但每一篇“悟”只应围绕一个中心来写，如果前言不搭后语，驴唇不对马嘴，谁知道你“悟”出了什么道理呢?

四、忌文意散漫

一般来说，话题提供的是写作范围，并没有规定写作的主旨。所以，在话题规定的范围内，还要“炼意”，也就是提炼自己文章的中心思想。如果在这一环节下功夫不够，没有考虑好自己究竟要写什么，要表达什么意思，就匆匆忙下笔，就有可能东拉西扯，多头指向，文意散漫，不知所云。例如：有位习作者写《答案是丰富多彩的》，开头三段写学生学习负担太重;接着写李素丽如何在平凡的岗位上成为劳动模范;再下来写一个故意开枪伤人的派出所所长被判死刑;最后又写到做数学题可以一题多解。这样一篇文章，七零八落，让人不知所云，是典型的文意散漫，东拉西扯的病文。

五、忌缺少创新

话题作文的审题难度大为降低，内容更加宽泛，而且更加淡化文体观念。围绕一个话题，可以议论，可以记叙，可以说明，甚至可以编写出小小说或短剧，形式非常自由。正由于话题作文在内容和形式上彻底松绑，学生可以极大地发挥创造力和想象力。可是，由于旧教学思想的影响，学生的作文中仍有不少八股味。写记叙文只会一味赞“心灵美”，编造虚假题材;也有写“悲壮美”的，以损害父母身体健康为代价编造所谓“车祸”换来“我追求的品格——坚韧”、“战胜脆弱”的作文得高分者也大有人在。(由于以前作文命题的欠缺，造成虚假、编造的作文已越来越此路不通了。)现代社会，人文精神已渗透到生活的各个领域，在作文中写出活生生的富有个性的人，极有创意、大胆想象的科幻故事等是我们中学生应该尽力追求的目标。但要达到这个目标，必须广泛阅读课外书籍，关心未来世界，着眼科学素质的培养，重视想象力的开发，只有这样，才能使你的作文有创新、有特色。

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

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

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

1.?????? Proverbs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Damaging Research

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

3. Education and Citizenship

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

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

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

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

4. The Teacher’s Role

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

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

5. Education Philosophy

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

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

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

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

6. Student Life

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

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

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

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

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

7. Adult Education

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

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

8. Moral Relativism in American

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Schools Should Teach Values

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. College Pressures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then why are you going?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. To Err Is Wrong

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

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

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

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

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

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

Playing It Safe

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

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

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

Different Logic

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

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

Errors as Stepping Stones

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

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

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

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

[英语作文写作的需要背诵的部分

导语：个人修养就是个人认识、情感、意志、信念、言行和习惯的修炼和涵养。一个人只有通过自觉地遵循社会道德体系的要求，更好地履行个人的社会义务，以下是小编为大家精心整理的关于修养的作文素材，欢迎大家阅读参考!

1.如果一切皆善，就一切皆美。--《托尔斯泰作品研究》

2.生活中的善越多，生活本身的情趣也越多。二者水乳交融，相辅相成。--托尔斯泰《伊凡·伊利奇之死》

3.功利是一部机器的目的和检验机器价值的根据，而善良只是人的目的和意愿。--泰戈尔《民族主义》

4.善良的、忠心的、心里充满着爱的人儿不断地给人间带来幸福。--马克·吐温《镀金时代》

5.良心这玩意儿，它谴责起人来，是够叫我害怕的，对大人是这样，对小孩也是这样。--狄更斯《远大前程》

6.人心是广漠寥廓的天地，人在面对良心、省察胸中抱负和日常行动的时候，往往黯然神伤!--雨果《悲惨世界》

7.虔诚的开端，带来美好的结束。--雨果《吕意·布拉斯》

8.爱你自己要爱在最后，珍爱那些恨你的人，诚实比起腐败会给你赢得更多的好处。--莎士比亚《亨利八世》

9.你必须对你自己忠实;正像有了白昼才有黑夜一样，对自己忠实，才不会对别人欺诈。--莎士比亚《哈姆莱特》

10.如果你想要过的快活，想要祷告上帝，做一个诚实的人，那你就得遵守诺言。--狄更斯《荒凉山庄》

11.如果你做事缺乏诚意，或者迟迟不愿动手，那你即使有天大本事，也不会有什么成就。--狄更斯《荒凉山庄》

12.一个诚实的人绝不会白用人家的东西，也决不会白拿人家的东西……--高尔基《崔可夫一家》

13.有些人相信诚实总是上策。其实这是迷信;有时候假装诚实要比真正的诚实强好几倍。--马克·吐温《赤道环游记》

14.你们以诚实获得了悠久和崇高的声誉，当然你们是以此自豪的--那是你们的宝中之宝，简直是你们的心肝宝贝。--马克?吐温《败坏了赫德莱堡的人》

15.善良的心就是太阳。--雨果《笑面人》

16.一只小小的蜡烛，它的光照耀得多么远!一件善事也正像这支蜡烛一样，在这罪恶的世界上发出广大的光辉。--莎士比亚《威尼斯商人》

17.爱与善是幸福，亦是真理，世界上唯一可能的幸福与真理。--罗曼·罗兰《托尔斯泰传》

18.最光明的天使也许会堕落，可是天使总是光明的;虽然小人全都貌似忠良，可是忠良得一定仍然不失他的本色。--莎士比亚《麦克白》

19.纯朴的忠诚所呈献的礼物，总是可取的。我们不必较量那可怜的忠诚所不能达到的成就，而应该重视他们的辛勤。--莎士比亚《仲夏夜之梦》

20.人们倾诉衷肠的声音更温柔，更真实，可以绝对信赖，并且可以十分肯定它除了给人以最亲切的劝告之外，再无别的。--狄更斯《圣诞故事集》

21.诚实，像我们所有的情操一样，应当分成消极的与积极的两类。消极的诚实没有发财的机会时，是诚实的。积极的诚实是每天受着诱惑而毫不动心的。--巴尔扎克《邦斯舅舅》

22.当一个人是一个真正的人的时候，他就应当在大言不惭和矫揉造作之间保持等距离。既不夸夸其谈，也不扭捏取宠。--雨果《悲惨世界》

23.文明是善，野蛮是恶;自由是善，束缚是恶。但正是这种臆想的知识把人类天性中的那种本能的、最幸福的、原始的对于善的需要给消灭了。--托尔斯泰《卢赛恩》

24.不要相信良心的责备，它会带你走得很远。不合理的忠贞像地下屋的楼梯一样落下去。走下一级，两级，再到目前为走一级，就走进黑暗中。聪明人就回头走上去，天真的人留在那里。--雨果《笑面人》

25.每个人的良心上都有污点，但多数人对自己心灵上的这种点缀却满不在乎，就像穿着一种浆得笔挺的衬衣一样轻松。--高尔基《水及其在自然界与人类生活中的意义》

26.人如果没有良心，哪怕有天大的聪明也活不下去!--高尔基《我的大学》

27.良心的法则常常与经典上的法则不同。--泰戈尔《牺牲》

28.你就这问题作解释的时候，千万不能够歪曲、穿凿，或牵强附会;更不能仗着自个儿精明，就明知故犯，叫自己的灵魂负上罪名。--莎士比亚《亨利五世》

29.酒是一种无色的液体火焰，它迅速、准确地把人的心灵中一切人性的东西统统烧尽。--高尔基《扫烟囱的人》

30.遭到了诽谤，还大事张扬，那是不聪明的，除非张扬起来能得到什么很大的好处，诽谤很少能经得住沉默的磨损的。--《马克·吐温自传》

一、开头句型

1.As far as ...is concerned

2.It goes without saying that...

3.It can be said with certainty that...

4.As the proverb says，

5.It has to be noticed that...

6.It`s generally recognized that...

7.It`s likely that ...

8.It`s hardly that...

9.It’s hardly too much to say that...

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

11.There’s no denying the fact that...毫无疑问，无可否认

12.Nothing is more important than the fact that...

13.what’s far more important is that...

二、衔接句型

A case in point is ...

As is often the case...

As stated in the previous paragraph 如前段所述

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

But it’s a pity that...

For all that...In spite of the fact that...

Further, we hold opinion that...

However , the difficulty lies in...

Similarly, we should pay attention to...

not(that)...but(that)...不是，而是

In view of the present station.鉴于目前形势

As has been mentioned above...

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

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

三、结尾句型

I will conclude by saying...

Therefore, we have the reason to believe that...

All things considered,总而言之

It may be safely said that...

Therefore, in my opinion, it’s more advisable...

From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw the conclusion that….

The data/statistics/figures lead us to the conclusion that….

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

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

四、举例句型

Let’s take...to illustrate this.试举例以兹证明

let’s take the above chart as an example to illustrate this.

Here is one more example.

Take … for example.

The same is true of….

This offers a typical instance of….

We may quote a common example of….

Just think of….

五、常用于引言段的句型

1. Some people think that …. To be frank, I can not agree with their opinion for the reasons below.

2. For years, … has been seen as …, but things are quite different now.

3. I believe the title statement is valid because….

4. I cannot entirely agree with the idea that …. I believe….

5. My argument for this view goes as follows.

6. Along with the development of…, more and more….

7. There is a long-running debate as to whether….

8. It is commonly/generally/widely/ believed /held/accepted/recognized that….

9. As far as I am concerned, I completely agree with the former/ the latter.

10. Before giving my opinion, I think it is essential to look at the argument of both sides.

六、表示比较和对比的常用句型和表达法

1. A is completely / totally / entirely different from B.

2. A and B are different in some/every way / respect / aspect.

3. A and B differ in….

4. A differs from B in….

5. The difference between A and B is/lies in/exists in….

6. Compared with/In contrast to/Unlike A, B….

7. A…, on the other hand,/in contrast,/while/whereas B….

8. While it is generally believed that A …, I believe B….

9. Despite their similarities, A and B are also different.

10. Both A and B …. However, A…; on the other hand, B….

11. The most striking difference is that A…, while B….

七、演绎法常用的句型

1. There are several reasons for…, but in general, they come down to three major ones.

2. There are many factors that may account for…, but the following are the most typical ones.

3. Many ways can contribute to solving this problem, but the following ones may be most effective.

4. Generally, the advantages can be listed as follows.

5. The reasons are as follows.

八、因果推理法常用句型

1. Because/Since we read the book, we have learned a lot.

2. If we read the book, we would learn a lot.

3. We read the book; as a result / therefore / thus / hence / consequently / for this reason / because of this, we’ve learned a lot.

4. As a result of /Because of/Due to/Owing to reading the book, we’ve learned a lot.

5. The cause of/reason for/overweight is eating too much.

6. Overweight is caused by/due to/because of eating too much.

7. The effect/consequence/result of eating too much is overweight.

8. Eating too much causes/results in/leads to overweight.

一、对全文进行归纳总结的句型

1.From what has been discussed above, we may safely draw the conclusion that…

2.Taking into account all the factors, we may safely come to the conclusion that…

3.Judging from all the evidence offered, we may safely arrive at/reach the conclusion that…

4.All the evidence supports a sound conclusion that…

5.From what is mentioned above, we may come to the conclusion that…

6.To sum up/draw a conclusion, we find that…

7.In short/brief/a word/conclusion/sum/, it is…

8. Therefore/Thus/Then, it can be inferred/concluded/deduced that…

9. From/Through/According to what has been discussed above, we can come to/reach/arrive at/draw the conclusion that…

10. It is believed that…

二、表达个人观点的句型

1. As far as I am concerned, I agree with the latter opinion to some extent.

2. As far as I am concerned, I am really/completely in favor of the test/policy.

3. In conclusion/a word, I believe that…

4. There is some truth in both arguments, but I think the disadvantages of… outweigh its advantages.

5. In my opinion/view, we should…

6. As for me, I…

7. As I see , …

8. From my point of view, …

9. Personally/ I think…

10. My view is that…

11. I think/consider…

12. I take/hold a negative/positive view of…

三、表达建议的句型

1. It’s high time that we tried every possible means to put an end to…

2. It’s really high time we took measures to solve the problem of/put an end to…

3. There is still a long way to go towards solving the problem. We hope that efforts should be made to…

4. We must search for a quick action, because the present situation of…

5. There is no easy solution to the problem of…, but… might be useful.

6. There is no quick answer to the question of…, but … might be helpful.

7. It is necessary that effective/proper/quick actions/steps/measures be taken to…

8. It’s suggested that great efforts be made to…

9.To check/control the tendency/trend is no easy task, and it requires a good/deep awareness/consciousness/understanding of…

Dear Sir/Madam ，

I’m lihua from class one ，senior two 。 I am wring to apply for the opportunity to help the students in chenxin Hope School with their English. Thus they can improve their English during the summer vacation 。 Meanwhile ， I can learn how to get along well the students and benefit the whole school.

I’m kind ， easy-going and always ready to help others 。 I wash clothes and make beds by myself to develop independence 。 English is my favorite subject and I have won several prizes in English contests 。 So I think that I am qualified for the position.

I plan to communicate with students first to know what they need 。 Besides ，I ‘ll try to get them more interested in English by telling stories ， singing songs ，playing games and so on 。

I’d appreciate it if you could give me the opportunity 。

Yours Sincerely ，

Li hua

[申请信高考英语作文

春节不同时代有不同名称。在先秦时叫“上日”、“元日”、“改岁”、“献岁”等;到了两汉时期，又被叫为“三朝”、“岁旦”、“正旦”、“正日”;魏晋南北朝时称为“元辰”、“元日”、“元首”、 “岁朝”、 “岁首”等;到了唐宋元明，则称为“元旦”、“元 ”、“岁日”、“新正”、“新元”等;而清代，一直叫“元旦”或“元日”。

春节是中国民间最隆重最富有特色的传统节日，也是最热闹的一个古老节日。一般指除夕和初一，是一年的第一天,又叫阴历年，俗称“过年”。但在民间，传统意义上的春节是指从腊月初八的腊祭或腊月二十三或二十四的祭灶，一直到正月十五，其中以除夕和正月初一为高潮。在春节期间，我国的汉族和很多少数民族都要举行各种活动以示庆祝。这些活动均以祭祀神佛、祭奠祖先、除旧布新、迎禧接福、祈求丰年为主要内容。活动丰富多彩，带有浓郁的民族特色。在天津过春节还有挂中国结的习惯，大年30之前天津人有到天津古文化街乔香阁请中国结的习俗，取乔香纳福之意。

春节是汉族最重要的节日，但是满、蒙古，瑶、壮、白、高山、赫哲、哈尼、达斡尔、侗、黎等十几个少数民族也有过春节的习俗，只是过节的形式更有自己的民族特色，更蕴味无穷。

春节不同时代有不同名称。在先秦时叫“上日”、“元日”、“改岁”、“献岁”等;到了两汉时期，又被叫为“三朝”、“岁旦”、“正旦”、“正日”;魏晋南北朝时称为“元辰”、“元日”、“元首”、 “岁朝”等;到了唐宋元明，则称为“元旦”、“元 ”、“岁日”、“新正”、“新元”等;而清代，一直叫“元旦”或“元日”。

2006年5月20日，“春节”民俗经国务院批准列入第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。

在小红的铅笔盒里，有四位好兄弟。其中，铅笔是老大，橡皮是老二，削笔刀是老三，笔盒是老四。

一开始，他们都很团结。可有一天，铅笔开始傲慢起来，铅笔召集橡皮、削笔刀和笔盒开会，铅笔说 ：“从今天开始，你们都要为我服务。”橡皮、削笔刀和笔盒答应了。从那时起，铅笔故意刁难他们：铅笔故意在纸上乱画，让橡皮为他美容，为此橡皮瘦了一大圈；铅笔常找削笔刀为他剃头，这让削笔刀的牙齿都磨平了；铅笔躺在软绵绵的笔盒里，稍感觉有一点儿不舒服，就对笔盒破口大骂。可是他们从不说苦，因为他们认为铅笔永远是他们的好兄弟。

不久后，小红的铅笔盒里又添了几支新铅笔，他们对铅笔老大说：“瞧瞧你的熊样，小主人早该把你扔了。”铅笔听了，赶紧跑到镜子前，想看看自己的模样，只见镜子里的自己又矮有瘦，样子真像一根火柴。铅笔见了，伤心地哭了起来。此时，橡皮、削笔刀和笔盒来到铅笔面前，说：“在你刁难我们的时候，其实也毁了你的面容，只要你和我们团结一致，咱们还是好兄弟。”听了他们的话，铅笔惭愧地低下了头。

……