The qualities that a person needs to become successful cannot be learned at university or in a similar academic institution. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
一个人获得成功所需要的品质是无法在大学或类似的教育机构里学到的。多大程度上你同意或不同意?
【 说明 】
本题让Pat想起了美国最著名的辍学者(a dropout of Reed College)Steve Jobs当年在Stanford University演讲时连续重复三遍的名言,“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”。当然,它也让我想到了Bill Gates(He dropped out of Harvard University and became a co-founder of Microsoft.),Larry Ellison(Oracle甲骨文公司的创立者之一),Elon Musk(“特斯拉”Tesla的CEO,他在斯坦福大学只上了两天,是的,I'm not kidding—just two days的PhD课程就辍学“下海”了),Ralph Lauren(您肯定听说过或者穿过Polo的休闲服),Dean Kamen(国内的“烤鸭”们可能并不太熟悉此人,但他作为an inventor一个发明家在美国可是家喻户晓),Michael Dell(也许在您的大学寝室里就能找到Dell的标识)…… 这些成功的辍学者们。成功所需要的很多素质,例如创造力(creativity),工作的主动性(initiative),强烈的责任感(a strong sense of responsibility),顽强的意志(perseverance),人际交往能力(interpersonal skills),发展关系网的能力(networking skills),面对挫折时良好的心态(resilience)以及创业精神(entrepreneurial spirit)等等,在家庭、社区和工作中都能够得到有效的培养,大学教育真的未必就是培养这些素质的最佳方法。
但这名考生却一边倒地认为在当代大学里的学习经历就是发展成功所需素质的重要途径。剑桥官方评分标准对于 论证的扣题度与充实度 这一评分项的要求是 fully addresses all parts of the task & presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant,fully extended and well supported ideas ,而不是具体持何种看法。不能否认,本文里的论证是扣题的,而且该考生的确对自己的观点进行了充分、深入的支持论证。因此,尽管与Pat关于这一话题的看法相左,它仍是一篇优秀的IELTS议论文。
▶7.5分范文
Success in different areas may require different qualities. However,I would argue that for most people,universities and similar educational institutions can provide the learning experiences necessary for developing the qualities that they need to succeed.
Universities offer a wide variety of learning opportunities. Academic activities such as listening to lectures , taking notes ,doing assignments and preparing for examinations not only provide students with important specialised knowledge but also encourage hard work, self-discipline ,focus and enthusiasm for learning . These qualities help students to continue gaining new knowledge and skills even after leaving university,thus making them more successful in their future careers.
Studying at university also helps students to think more independently and critically . For example, research projects encourage students to explore research questions, form their own ideas and develop their own explanations and solutions. Independent thinking developed over the process is important to success because inventions and innovations today require the courage to challenge old ideas and the desire to find new and better answers to problems.
Another benefit of higher education is that it makes students more socially competent. Class discussions and seminars allow students to exchange ideas and viewpoints , while group assignments provide them with opportunities to cooperate and work as teams. Students also become more open-minded and tolerant towards opinions different from their own. These are essential qualities for success in the increasingly teamwork-oriented and multicultural workplace .
In conclusion,higher education today develops the desire for lifelong learning,independent thinking and team spirit. These are the most important qualities for success in a knowledge-based,fast-changing and culturally-diverse society.
词汇和短语
(标★的是本类话题的高频词汇或短语)
★ a wide variety of 多种多样的
listen to lectures(大学生)听讲
take notes 记笔记
do assignments 本文里指完成教授布置的作业
★ specialised knowledge 专门化的知识
★ think more independently and critically更加独立而且辩证地思考问题
research projects 本文里指大学生从事的研究课题
encourage hard work , self-discipline , focus and enthusiasm for learning促进学生发展勤奋工作、自律、集中精力做事以及对于学习的热情等素质 (请注意在地道英文里当encourage前面的主语不是人物而是事物时,它是指促进某种特征或倾向的发展)
★ make them more successful in their future careers 让他们在未来的事业中更成功
explore research questions 探索研究过程中所提出的问题
form their own ideas 形成他们自己的看法
explanations and solutions (名词短语) 解释和解决方案
★ inventions and innovations (名词短语) 发明与创新
★ the courage to challenge old ideas向旧观念提出挑战的勇气
★ make students more socially competent 让学生们有更强的社会能力 (近义比较:competent是指能达到某种要求的,表现很良好的;而competitive 则是指具备很强竞争力的)
★ exchange ideas and viewpoints 交换想法和观点
class discussions and seminars 前者指常规的课堂讨论,后者在英美大学里则是大学生们针对某一专题进行的研讨, 有些seminars本身也是课程的一部分并且有教授参与主持
open-minded and tolerant towards opinions different from their own对于和自己意见相左的观点更加开明与宽容
the increasingly teamwork-oriented and multicultural workplace 越来越以集体合作为导向而且文化多元的工作场所
develop the desire for lifelong learning (动宾短语) 形成终生学习的愿望
★ team spirit 团队精神
★ knowledge-based adj. 以知识为基础的
culturally-diverse adj. 文化多元的
本文量化评分
■译文
在不同的领域里获得成功所需要的品质也许不尽相同。但是我认为对于大多数人来说,在大学和与其类似的教育机构中人们都可以通过学习来获得那些成功所必需的素质。
大学向学生提供了广泛的学习机会。学生通过听讲座、记笔记、完成布置的课业以及准备考试等活动不但可以学到重要的专业知识,还可以培养刻苦认真、自我约束、精神集中的态度以及对学习的热情。这些良好的素质能促使学生即使在离开校园以后,仍会继续学习知识和技能,并使他们在以后的事业中更成功。
大学学习的经历同样对培养学生独立、客观的思考能力很有帮助。例如,学生通过实验项目可以研究实验课题、形成自己的见解以及提供个人对课题的解释和解决方法。而在这一过程中所形成的独立的思考能力对于成功是至关重要的,因为当今的发明创新需要的是挑战传统观念的勇气,以及对找到更优答案的渴望。
高等教育的另一大优点就是它会让学生更加习惯社交交往。学生们可以在课堂讨论和论坛上交换彼此的思想和看法,还可以在小组作业中锻炼合作及团队协作能力。学生们在面对不同思想的时候 也 能表现得更加开放和包容。这些品质在当今愈来愈团队化、文化多元化的职场是很关键的。
总而言之,当今的高等教育能培养学生终生学习的愿望,独立的思考能力和团队精神。在以知识为基础、变化迅速和文化多元的社会中,这些都是成功所需的最重要的素质。