专八写作的考试时间是45分钟。很多考生担心自己在45分钟内写不完作文,因此看到作文题目后提笔就写,结果不是偏题就是将卷面涂改得乱七八糟,影响考试成绩。为避免出现以上情况,请考生记住两点:
第一,不要占用属于作文的45分钟。
据统计,在专八考试中,有相当一部分考生因时间不够而占用属于作文的45分钟去完成其他题目,这种做法是很不明智的。考生应该合理分配时间,充分利用这45分钟,力争写好作文,在作文这个题型上拿到高分。
第二,不要一看到题目就写,而应该认真审题、仔细构思、草拟大纲。
所谓“磨刀不误砍柴工”,先做好准备工作再动笔写,不仅速度快,而且写出来的文章思路清晰,语言通畅,错误也会少很多。
只要写作步骤和写作方法得当,45分钟写一篇300词左右的作文绰绰有余。我们可以将45分钟的写作时间分成四个部分:
本章将结合真题详细讲解如何高效利用这45分钟来搞定专八作文。
在写作中,审题是关键的一步,但也最容易被考生忽略。在专八考试中,总有考生绞尽脑汁写出的作文因跑题而不得分。所以,用3~6分钟时间认真快速地审题非常重要。
专八作文题目大体上由两部分构成:题目要求和选段材料。下面我们结合2018年专八写作真题进行详细讲解。
The following are two excerpts about perfection. Read the two excerpts carefully and write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:
1. summarize the main ideas in the two excerpts, and then
2. express your opinion on perfection, especially on whether aiming for perfection matters in whatever you do.
You can support yourself with information from the excerpts.
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.
①确定写作话题
本题讨论的话题是“如何看待完美主义”。
②写作要求
►概述两篇选段内容。
►给出自己的观点,表达自己对完美主义的看法,并说明追求完美是否重要。
►作文词数不少于300。
也就是说,专八作文不仅要求总结别人的观点,还要给出自己的见解。
斜体部分告知考生作文会根据内容阐述能力、篇章组织能力、语言运用能力来评分。具体的评分标准考生可以参考第一章中的相关内容。这部分内容比较固定,考试时可以一扫而过。
下面结合2018年专八写作真题材料讲解如何找出材料观点。
①选段1
Pupils should not worry about their exam results because no one will remember them in years to come, the head of a leading girls' school has said.
Judith Carlisle, headmistress of Oxford High School, said there was no point fretting over GCSEs because no one will “give a damn” about the result—and because they don't reflect character.
She is running a “Death of Little Miss Perfect” initiative at the private school to combat perfectionism in her students.
“ Perfectionism is only captured in a moment—it's not achievable longer term,” she said. “It undermines self-esteem and then performance .”
Miss Carlisle said that students don't always need to aim for 100 percent, and if they do need an A grade to attend their university of choice, it's not necessary to get the highest A possible.
She said: “It matters, but sometimes it probably won't matter. It's important (the girls are) not going for things that if they don't get it, it will destroy them. Exams aren't who they are—it's what they did on that day.”
She said: “There's unhelpful perfectionism as opposed to high standards. It's not that we're aiming to undermine high standards—it will actually help you achieve higher standards.”
斜体字的线索(“不要为考试烦恼”“完美主义会伤害自尊,影响表现”)告诉我们,选段1阐述的是完美主义的负面影响——牛津高中校长告诫学生不要因考试成绩而烦恼,因为她认为完美主义是暂时的、不长久的,而且还会打击个人的自尊,影响学生的表现。
②选段2
The pursuit of perfection is a strategy for motivating organizations to innovate and reach levels of improvement and performance not previously seen as possible . Leveraging the pursuit of perfection as a strategy was developed and refined by quality leaders such as Bob Galvin and Paul O'Neill, and it has led to success in industries including health care, telecommunication, and manufacturing.
Prior to serving as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O'Neill was one of the most successful industrial leaders of the 20th century. As CEO of Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, he proposed and demanded a radical goal: zero work-loss incidents. No one would be hurt working at Alcoa. Alcoa moved toward perfection, becoming the safest industrial company in the world—as well as the most successful aluminum producer in the world.
Paul O'Neill has developed a revolutionary kind of leadership—one that centers around the pursuit of perfection.
斜体字的线索(“追求完美”“激励创新”“达到以前不可能达到的改进和表现水平”“最成功的”)告诉我们,选段2阐述的是完美主义的正面影响——追求完美可以鞭策我们前进,促使我们不断地完善自我,最终走向成功。
所以,该作文的两篇材料分别阐述了完美主义的负面影响和正面影响。考生写作时可以根据材料的关键词用自己的话进行概述。
审完题后,要立即提炼出作文的中心思想(即自己的观点)。在该题目中,自己的观点可以是:虽然完美主义促进成功,但是过分追求完美会导致人们变得神经质,形成执念。
明确了写作的中心思想后,就可以开始构思文章的结构,确定文章的整体框架,写出文章的简要提纲。
专八作文可以按“总—分—总”的结构来写:
►第一段:引入话题,概述材料主旨,表明自己的观点(此部分可酌情选择放在第一段末或主体部分开头)。
►主体部分:写1~3段,用实例或引用等方法论证自己的观点。
►最后一段:总结全文,重申自己的观点。
对正式写作来说,一个清晰的提纲非常重要。它不仅能确保作文扣题,还能防止文章结构混乱,凸显出文章的逻辑性和连贯性。
专八作文一般采用“总—分—总”结构。下面结合上述专八真题范文进行详细介绍。
第一段引入话题,概述材料主旨。(斜体部分为作文中使用的连接词)
►用一句话引出写作话题:
竞争激烈的社会导致所有人都在力争完美。
In order to survive in this competitive society, all of us are laboring under our own and society's expectations to be perfect in every way.( 为了在这个竞争激烈的社会中生存,我们所有人都在自己和社会的期望下努力,力求在各个方面都做到完美。 )
►概述材料主旨,准确描述材料间的关系:
有人认为完美主义有助于成功;有人则表示反对,认为极端完美主义会毁掉我们。
Many people embrace the idea that perfectionism helps us to continuously aim for higher standards and become better, which is critical to success.( 许多人都认为完美主义有助于我们不断追求更高的标准,让我们变得更好,这对成功至关重要。 ) But some hold opposing views on this matter.( 但有些人对此持反对意见。 )They argue that perfectionism at its extreme not only prevents us from being our best, but undermines our self-esteem and even ruins us.( 他们认为,极端的完美主义不仅妨碍我们做到最好,而且会逐渐伤害我们的自尊,甚至毁灭我们。 )
主体部分要陈述自己的观点,并用实例或引用等方法进行论证。主体部分通常分为1~3段。
►表明自己的观点:
虽然完美主义促进成功,但是对完美的追求过分痴迷会导致人们变得神经质,形成执念。
In my view , the problem doesn't lie in perfectionism, as we can't deny the fact that our dedication to perfection pushes us to achieve great results.( 在我看来,问题不在于完美主义,因为我们不能否认我们对完美的执着促使我们取得了伟大的成就。 )The problem is when the quest for perfection turns into an obsession, so much so that the perfectionist becomes neurotic over gaining perfection and refuses to accept anything less than perfect.( 问题在于,当完美主义者对完美的追求变成一种痴迷时,为了获得完美,他们会变得神经质,拒绝接受任何不完美的东西。 )
►论证自己的观点:
过分追求完美的两个负面影响:
一方面,对完美的过度痴迷会影响我们的工作,然后举例说明;
On the one hand , the obsession has a great impact on our work.( 一方面,这种痴迷对我们的工作有很大的影响。 ) For instance , due to our desire to “perfect” everything, what is actually a simple task may get blown out of proportion, to the extent it becomes subconsciously intimidating.( 例如,由于我们想把每件事都“做到尽善尽美”,实际上很简单的任务可能会被夸大,以至于在某种程度上,它变得让人下意识地害怕。 ) We may procrastinate, waiting for the ever “perfect” moment until it is too late.( 我们可能会拖延,等待永远的“完美”时刻,但要做时却为时已晚。 ) Other than that , perfectionists who are too hung up over details tend to forget about the bigger picture and the end vision, and as a result failure at work seems to be inevitable.( 除此之外,完美主义者过于关注细节,往往会忘记大局和最终愿景,结果工作失败似乎是不可避免的。 )
另一方面,消极和神经质的完美主义者失败时只会责备自己,导致抑郁和自卑。
On the other hand , for these negative and neurotic perfectionists, when they fail, they will not look into other aspects that could have caused their failure.( 另一方面,对于这些消极和神经质的完美主义者来说,当他们失败时,他们不会考虑可能导致失败的其他方面。 ) Instead , they will blame themselves for everything, which results in depression and low self-esteem.( 相反,他们会把一切都归咎于自己,这会导致抑郁和自卑。 )
最后一段总结全文,并重申自己的观点。
►总结全文,重申观点:
我们应该成为健康的完美主义者,勇于犯错,并在错误中学习和成长。
To sum up , we should become healthy perfectionists who truly try to achieve personal excellence, not maladaptive perfectionists who inhibit their own efforts for personal growth. ( 总之,我们应该成为健康的完美主义者,真正努力实现个人的卓越,而不是成为非适应性的完美主义者,抑制自己为个人成长所做的努力。 )Bear in mind that every bean has its black.( 记住,人无完人。 )The more we open ourselves to making mistakes, the faster we can get down to learning from them, and the quicker we can grow.( 我们越是勇于犯错误,就能越快地从错误中学习,也就能越快地成长。 )
如果严格按照审题、拟提纲、写正文的步骤进行写作,考生写完全文时通常会剩下1~3分钟的时间,很多考生此时会觉得如释重负,把写好的作文放在一边不再看,但这是不可取的。通常情况下,考生在检查作文的过程中会查出2~4处错误,包括拼写错误、语法错误等,如果能改正这些错误,就会提高作文分数。
我们总结了下面几个值得重点检查的方面。
单词拼写错误是最常出现的错误。正确拼写单词是英语学习者最重要的基本功。考生在备考的准备阶段就要注意单词的正确拼写形式,避免在考试中犯这种不该犯的错误。另外,在检查单词拼写的时候还要注意首字母大小写的问题。
标点符号也是考生容易疏忽的,尤其注意不要在英文作文中使用中文标点(还需注意英文中没有顿号)。
一篇文章中,人称要始终保持一致,不能前面用第一人称,后面又用第三人称。时态和主谓关系也是如此。一个句子中,表示同时发生或并列关系的两个或多个谓语动词的时态应该保持一致。
可数名词与不可数名词用错也是考生常犯的错误。例如information、evidence、advice、knowledge等都是不可数名词,都没有复数形式。
对于一些常见的词组和短语,有固定的搭配,不能随意更改,例如for the sake of意为“为了”,不能把for换成其他介词。
在写作过程中,由于时间仓促,可能出现句子成分残缺的情况,造成句子不完整,考生在检查时也需注意。
总之,一篇文章写完之后,考生应该抓紧最后几分钟一丝不苟地检查和修改,尽可能减少错误,提升文章质量。