Children who are brought up in families that do not have large amounts of money are better prepared to deal with the problems of adult life than children brought up by wealthy parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
在并不富有的家庭里长大的孩子比在富有家庭里长大的孩子对于成年之后的问题准备得更充分。对此观点你同意还是不同意?
【 说明 】
在美国有本著名的书叫 Rich Dad Poor Dad ,是讲怎样实现财务自由(financial freedom)的,在几年前的次贷危机(subprime mortgage crisis)以及目前仍然可能发生的美国经济“二次探底”(double-dip recession)中,这本书更是火得一塌糊涂(It's all the rage.)。
有些人相信“宁愿坐在宝马里哭,也不愿坐在自行车上笑”。但是这篇8分范文却选择了力挺苦孩子,而且写出了比较强的说服力。但在这里必须指出的是:本文用Bill Gates作为“苦孩子”的典型例子,而且说Bill Gates的童年背景是impoverished(贫穷的)明显是在欺负考官对于美国社会知识的缺乏。全美国人民都知道Bill Gates出生于富裕家庭,老爸是知名lawyer,而且比尔·盖茨读中学时还上过西雅图“灰肠”著名的私校Lakeside School。如果要是连这样的背景也算是impoverished,那郭美美“炫富”就是“炫贫”了。
总体来说,IELTS作文对于举名人或者著名事件等“实例”的要求确实并不高, 剑桥官方提供的满分范文里绝大多数都没有举像这样的“实例”。 本文的论证扣题、充实,语言都不错,而且举出了一些比较贴切的 “泛例” ,对于重在测试英语能力而非考查思维深度的IELTS作文来说依然是一篇值得认真体会的范例。
▶8分范文
I do agree with the statement that children brought up in poor families are better prepared to deal with the problems of adult life than children brought up by wealthy parents.
Children of poor parents are prematurely exposed to the problems of adult life,e. g. learning to survive on a low family income and sacrificing luxuries for essential items . These children begin to see the realities of life in their home or social environment. Their parents' own struggles serve as an example to them.
These children are taught necessary skills for survival as an adult from a very early age. Many children e. g. work at weekends or on holidays to either collect some pocket money or even contribute to their family income. A good example is the children who accompany their parents to sell produce at the market. They make a direct contribution to their families in terms of labour and income.
Children of poor families also are highly motivated . They tend to set high goals to improve their economic and social situation. A relevant example would be Mr Bill Gates(founder of Microsoft Corporation). He had an impoverished background but he used his talent and motivation to set up the world's largest computer organisation.
However ,there are some problems that children from poor backgrounds do encounter . Many of these children who are “robbed”of their childhood,e. g. while working,may feel cheated. They often turn to crime. This,however,is a small group.
In summary,children with impoverished backgrounds are able to deal with problems of adult life because of early exposure,family role models and sheer motivation .
词汇和短语
(标★的是本类话题的高频词汇或短语)
wealthy parents 富有的家长
deal with … 处理某些问题
★ are prematurely exposed to … 在按常规应接触到某种影响的年龄之前就已经接触到了某种影响
【剑桥例句】 His stressful job made him go prematurely grey (= made his hair turn grey at a young age ).
e . g. 例如,for example
【剑桥例句】 You should eat more food that contains a lot of fibre , e . g. fruit , vegetables , and bread .
★ survive on a low family income 只依靠很低的家庭收入生活
sacrifice luxuries (动宾短语)本文里指 放弃非必要的享受
★ essential items (名词短语) 用来满足基本需求的物品
★ the realities of life (名词短语) 生活真实的一面
their parents' own struggles (名词短语) 他们的家长自己与生活的抗争
★ pocket money (名词短语) 儿童的零花钱 ,在美式英语里经常叫allowance
accompany vt. 伴随,跟着去
sell produce (动宾短语) 出售蔬菜水果等农产品 ,注意:这里的produce不是动词“制造”,而是一个不可数名词,表示蔬菜水果等农产品,比如英语国家的很多超市里都有produce section(蔬果部)
★ is/are highly motivated (做某事) 是有很强的动力的
set high goals (动宾短语) 制定很高的目标
A relevant example would be … 一个相关的例子是…… (省略号里填入名词或名词词组)
tend to 往往,通常会怎样做
founder of Microsoft Corporation 微软公司的创始人 ,其实Bill Gates 在美国一般都是被称为微软的co-founder(合作创始人),因为他是和Paul Allen合作一起创立了Microsoft Corporation
★ an impoverished background 贫穷的背景 ,用Bill Gates的童年作为贫穷孩子能力强的这个例子很“欢乐”
★ talent and motivation (名词短语) 天赋与动力
encounter vt. 本文里指 经历某种负面的体验
【剑桥例句】 They first encountered these difficulties in the 1990 s .
★ role model (名词短语) 榜样
sheer motivation (名词短语) 非常强的动力 ,sheer是一个语气较强的形容词,用来强化某种性质的语气
Bonus:
strong self-discipline (名词短语) 很强的自制力,很强的自我约束力
a key quality for success (名词短语) 成功所需的一种关键品质
independent adj. 独立的
achieve career success (动宾短语) 实现事业上的成功
剑桥对这篇8分考生作文的官方评语
论证扣题度和充实度
The topic is very well addressed and the position is clear throughout. Main ideas are presented and well supported,apart from some over-generalisation in the penultimate paragraph. The rubric is copied in the opening paragraph,but when this is deducted from the overall word count,the response is not underlength.
文章扣题而且考生的观点始终非常清晰。除在倒数第二段里有少数论证过于笼统、缺乏论证之外,全文的论点都得到了有效的论证。本文在开头段后部重复了题目后部的表述形式,但即使扣除这部分文字后全文长度也超过了250 words的字数要求。
行文连贯性与衔接效果
The ideas and information are very well organised and paragraphing is used appropriately throughout. The answer can be read with ease due to the sophisticated handling of cohesive devices—only the lack of an appropriate introduction and the minor error in the second use of “eg”mars this aspect of the response.
论点与信息组织良好,而且全文分段恰当。对行文衔接手段使用娴熟,综合使用了because,in terms of等“明连接”方式和this,these,they,their等“暗承接”方式(关于“明连接”和“暗承接”的详细讲解请看下一篇范文)。除了开头段和对e. g. 第二次使用的效果不够理想之外,全文读起来都非常流畅。
词汇多样性与准确度
The writer uses a wide and very natural range of vocabulary with full flexibility. There are many examples of appropriate modification,collocation and precise vocabulary choice.
用词广泛而且自然、灵活,全文有多处修饰、搭配和选词均恰当得体。
语法多样性和准确度
Syntax is equally varied and sophisticated. There are only occasional errors in an otherwise very accurate answer. Overall this performance is a good example of Band 8.
对句法的掌握也很多样、纯熟。除了偶有失误,本文在语法方面的准确度很好。整体上来说,这是一篇很典型的8分作文。
语法多样性分析
◆ Children with impoverished backgrounds are able to deal with problems of adult life because of early exposure , family role models and sheer motivation . 本句里的because of后面连续使用了三个名词短语,构成工整的平行结构
■译文
我同意在穷人家庭里被抚养大的孩子比在富裕家庭里被抚养大的孩子对成年后所面对的问题准备得更充分的意见。
贫穷父母的孩子们早于常人就接触到成年生活的种种问题,例如要学会依靠很低的家庭收入去生存,为了基本的生活需求而放弃非必要的享受等。这些孩子们在家中和社会环境下目睹生活的真实一面。他们的家长自身与生活的抗争对他们来说就是范例。
这些孩子从很小就被传授作为成年人所需的生存技能。例如,很多儿童在周末或者假期去工作以获取零花钱,甚至要为家庭的收入尽自己的一份力。一个很有说服力的例子是那些跟随家长去市场卖蔬果的孩子们。就劳动力和收入而言,他们都为家庭做出直接的贡献。
贫穷家庭的孩子们也有更强的动力。他们往往为改善自己的经济与社会状况设定很高的目标。一个相关的例子是比尔·盖茨先生(微软公司的创始人)。他出身贫寒,但他利用自己的天赋和动力建立了世界上最大的计算机机构。
然而,出身贫困的孩子们也会遇到一些问题。他们中的很多人在工作时被“剥夺”了童年,也许会感到被欺骗,并常常走上犯罪的道路。但这只是一个小群体。
总之,出身贫寒的孩子们能够更好地解决成年生活中的问题,因为他们在少年时代就接触到这些问题,有家长作为榜样,而且有很强的动力。