Writing:
A statement goes that "both the development of technological tools and the uses to which humanity has put them have created modern civilizations in which loneliness is ever increasing." To what degree do you agree with this statement? Write an essay of about 400 words.
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Sample
For a Balance between Technology and Life
Technology, broadly defined as the use of tools, has a long history. Ever since Erg the caveman first conked an animal with a rock, people have been using technology. For thousands of years, the use of tools allowed people to move ever closer together. Because fields could be cultivated and the technology to store food existed, people would live in cities rather than in small nomadic tribes. However, in the past centuries, both the development of technological tools and the uses to which humanity has put them have created modern civilizations in which loneliness is ever increasing.
First, the Industrial Revolution deprived people to a large extent of the pleasure of communication during work. It is true that the revolution introduced and spread technologies that mechanized many tasks and saved people much labor, but as a result of the drive toward more efficient production and distribution, people began to act as cogs in the technological machine. Clothing was no longer produced by groups of women sewing and gossiping together, but by down-trodden automation's operating machinery in grim factories.
Secondly, the new technology of today, computers and the Internet, pushed people further to the abyss of loneliness. Truly, they have made work ever more efficient and knit the world together in a web of information and phone lines. The world has been made into one in which Erg need not check in to his office; he can just dial in from home. He won't need to go to a bar to pick up women because there are all those chat rooms. Hungry? Erg orders his groceries from an online delivery service. Bored? Download a new game. And yet……However, many people, myself included, are a little queasy about that vision. Erg may be doing work, but is it real work? Are his online friends real friends? Can he really enjoy this solitude?
Actually, since the Industrial Revolution, we have been haunted by the prospect that we are turning into our machines: efficient, productive, and soulless. The newest technologies, we fear, are making us flat as our screens, turning us into streams of bits of interchangeable data. We may know a lot of people, but we have few real friends. We have a lot of things to do, but no reason to do them. In short, the new technology emphasizes a spiritual crisis that has been building for quite some time.
While I am certainly not a Luddite, I do believe we need to look for a bit more balance between technology and life. We have to tear ourselves away from the fatal distractions and go out into the world. Technology has given us long lives and endless supplies of information. Now we need to apply that information, use the time we're not spending conking our dinner with a club, and find our reasons for living.
暂无解析
I_______ that there_______ an evening party on Saturday evening.
Roger Rosenblatt ’s book Black Fiction,in attemptingto apply literaryratherthansociopolitical criteria to its subject, successfully alters the approach taken by mostprevious studies. As Rosenblatt notes, criticism of Black writing has often served as apretextfor expounding on Black history.Addison Gayle’s recent work, for example, judgesthe value of Black fiction by overtly political standards, rating each work according tothe notions of Black identity which it propounds.Although fictionassuredly springs from politicalcircumstances ，its authors react tothose circumstances in ways other than ideological, and talking about novels and storiesprimarilyas instrumentsof ideologycircumvents much of the fictional enterprise.Rosenblatt ’s literaryanalysisdisclosesaffinitiesand connections among works of Blackfiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignored. Writing acceptable criticism ofBlack fiction, however, presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions.First of all, is there a sufficient reason, other than the facial identity of the authors, to group together works by Black authorsSecond, how does Black fiction make itself distinct from other modern fiction with which it islargely contemporaneous Rosenblatt shows that Black fiction constitutes a distinct bodyof writingthat has an identifiable， coherent literarytradition.Looking at novels writtenby Black over the last eighty years, he discovers recurringconcerns and designs independentof chronology. These structures are thematic, and they spring, not surprisingly, from thecentralfact that the Black charactersin these novels exist in a predominantlywhite culture,whether they try to conform to that culture or rebel against it.Black Fictiondoes leave some aestheticquestions open. Rosenblatt ’s thematic analysispermits considerable objectivity; he even explicitly states that it is not his intentionto judge the merit of the various works D yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especiallysince an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For instance, some ofthe novels appear to be structurallydiffuse.Is this a defect,or are the authors workingout of, or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic In addition, the style of someBlack novels, like JeanToomey’s Cane, verges on expressionism or surrealism; does thistechnique provide a counterpointto the prevalenttheme that portrays the fate against whichBlack heroes are pitted,a theme usuallyconveyed by more naturalisticmodes of expressionIn spite of such omissions, what Rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes foran astute and worthwhile study. Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels, bringingto our attention in the process some fascinating and little-known works like James WeldonJohnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Its argument is tightly constructed, andits forthright, lucid style exemplifies levelheaded and penetrating criticism.
1. The author of the text is primarily concerned with __________.
[A] Evaluating the soundness of a work of criticism.[B] Comparing various critical approaches to a subject.
[C] Discussing the limitations of a particular kind of criticism.
[D] Summarizing the major points made in a work of criticism.
2. The author of the text believes that Black Fiction would have been improved hadRosenblatt __________.
[A] Evaluated more carefully the ideological andhistoricalaspects of Black fiction.
[B] Attempted to be more objective in his approach to novels and stories by Blackauthors.
[C] Explorein greaterdetailthe recurrentthematicconcerns of Black fictionthroughout its history.
[D] Assessed the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzes thematically.
3.author ’s discussion of Black Fiction can be best described as __________.
[A] Pedantic and contentious.
[B] Critical but admiring.
[C] Ironic and deprecating.
[D] Argumentative but unfocused.author of the text employs all of the following in the discussion ofRosenblatt ’s
4.book EXCEPT： __________.
[A] Rhetorical questions.
[B] Specific examples.
[C] Comparison and contrast.
[D] Definition of terms.
5. The author of the text refers to James WeldonJohnson’s Autobiography of anEx-Colored Man most probably in order to __________.
[A] point out affinitiesbetween Rosenblatt ’s method of thematic analysis and earliercriticism.
[B] Clarify the point about expressionistic style made earlier in the passage.
[C] Qualify the assessment ofRosenblatt ’s book made in the first paragraph of thepassage.
[D] give a specific example of one of the accomplishments ofRosenblatt ’s work.
It’s necessary ______ us to keep our pets clean everyday.
Writing：
The76thAnnualAcademyAwardsattractedtheattentiono{anunprecedentednumberofChinesethankstocompleteliveTVcoverage.However,exceptforCouchingTigerHiddenDragon,directedbyTaiwanesefilmmakerAnLee,nootherChinesefilmhasevenbeennominatedforanOscaraward.ShouldourdomesticfilmsaimatthisHollywoodawardorisitsomeoneelse'sgame?Writeacompositionofabout400wordstostateyourview.
Inthefirstpartofyouressayyoushouldstateclearlyyourmainargument,andinthesecondpartyoushouldsupportyourargumentwithappropriatedetails.Inthelastpartyoushouldbringwhatyouhavewrittentoanaturalconclusionormakeasummary.
Youshouldsupplyanappropriatetitleforyouressay.
Markswillbeawardedforcontent,organization,grammarandappropriateness.Failuretofollowtheaboveinstructionsmayresultinalossofmarks.
汉译英;但是正如其他许多已经发生过的事情一样，当他们最终结婚后， 发现最憧憬的生活变得再实际不过了。他们非但没有分担各自原先的责任--- 正如那些学生们所说 " 一半一半 " ，相反却发现生活的重担加倍了。 这使得我们那两个结婚的朋友时常觉得沮丧;他们突然发现自己并没有过着天堂般的生活而是仍实实在在地生活在地球上，而且成为了新规则和新约束的奴隶。生活并没有比以前更自由、更幸福，因为他们要去承担新的责任。 既然成立了一个新的家庭， 那就无论如何也要尽一点家庭的义务。 他们深情地回想起订婚的那段时光， 曾经如此地渴望拥有彼此而忘掉这个世界，然而现在最深切的感受却是自己仍是这个世界的一份子。
