下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
音频
Read carefully the following excerpt and then write your response in NO LESS THAN 200 WORDS, in which you should:
1. summarize the main message of the excerpt, and then
2. comment on the topic of examinations, especially on its importance.
You can support yourself with information from the excerpt.
Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Excerpt
We might marvel at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to devise anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For all the pious claim that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability and aptitude.
As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the mark of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t count: the exam goes on. No one can give his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of vicious competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of “drop-outs”: young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even embarked on a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?
A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memorize. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive the teacher of all freedoms. Teachers themselves are often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques which they despise. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under duress.
审题立意
作文要求考生先阅读一则英文材料，然后就“考试”这一话题发表自己的看法。材料是对考试的批判，抨击了考试的各种弊端，包括：常考学生不会的内容；不能检验学生的真实能力；考试设置不人性化、不会顾及学生参加考试时的具体状态；迫使学生为备考而学习；老师迫于考试成绩压力而只注重传授考试技巧而不是学科教学等。关于考试这一沿袭数千年的制度，很多人有着不同的看法，但是存在即合理，考生可根据材料并结合自己的体会发表对考试的看法。
写作框架
1 简述材料内容，然后提出自己的观点：考试可为师生带来一系列好处。
2 分点论述：首先，学校考试被视为考查学生学习状况的客观衡量标准；其次，各级学校里的考试对于检验知识、训练必备技能是有必要的，今后可以应用到职场；最后，就公平性和灵活性而言，没有其他方式比考试更能公正、客观地检验一个人的学习成绩和智力。
3 得出结论：尽管考试并非完美无缺的评价工具，但却是检验学生学习成绩的最有效的手段。
精彩范文
The author of the above excerpt criticized examinations as inflexible or even biased measurement of students’ performance and teachers’ effectiveness, especially when it comes to students who have suffered a lot that day. I am of the opinion that examinations can provide an array of benefits for both learners and instructors. (Viewpoint)
First of all, school tests are seen as an objective measure of students’ performance. (Topic sentence) A teacher can analyze the results and adjust teaching schedules according to students’ understanding of specific content, while education officials may seek to reform teaching standards or requirements, ensuring a sound evaluation of students’ learning.
Secondly, exams are necessary in schools and colleges for students to demonstrate mastery of knowledge and acquire various essential skills that can be applied later in the workplace. (Topic sentence) With this method featuring praises, recognition or awards for higher grades, students will get motivated to study and achieve higher scores in examinations. Moreover, if a student achieves good results in exams, it will boost his or her confidence.
Lastly, in terms of fairness and flexibility, no method can be better at testing a student’s academic competence and intelligence than an examination does in a relatively impartial manner, which is not vague—but with clear, measurable guidelines. (Topic sentence) We can imagine, if there were no entrance examinations, there would be little chance for children from ordinary families to get into a prestigious university.
In short, although examinations are not perfect evaluation tools, they are the most effective means of testing students’ academic performance. (Conclusion) Used validly and reliably, they can provide decision-makers useful information and promote academic achievements.
主题词汇
inflexible adj. 不灵活的
biased adj. 有偏见的，片面的
an array of 一系列；大量的
recognition n. 认可
demonstrate v. 证明；展示；演示
boost one’s confidence 增强自信心
impartial adj. 公平的，公正的
vague adj. 模糊的；含糊的；不明确的
validly adv. 合法地；正当地；妥当地
decision-maker n. 决策人
亮点句式
1 Lastly, in terms of fairness and flexibility, no method can be better at testing a student’s academic competence and intelligence than an examination does in a relatively impartial manner, which is not vague—but with clear, measurable guidelines.
译文 最后，就公平和灵活性而言，除了以一种相对公正的方式进行测试外，没有任何其他方法能够更好地检测学生的学习能力和智力水平，而这种测试方式并不模糊，而是有明确的、可衡量的指导方针。
分析 该句的主干是no method can be better at testing a student’s academic competence and intelligence than an examination does in a relatively impartial manner，是固定句式，即no...can...than...意为“除了……，没有……可以……”。句中which引导非限制性定语从句，修饰先行词manner；句中的破折号表示意思的突然转折，with短语作manner的后置定语。
2 In short, although examinations are not perfect evaluation tools, they are the most effective means of testing students’ academic performance.
译文 总之，尽管考试并非完美无缺的评价工具，但却是检验学生学习成绩的最有效的手段。
分析 in short意为“总之”，是总结全文的常见表达；although引导让步状语从句；the most effective means of是形容词最高级的表达方式。