写作素材积累(1)

写作素材积累（1）

1. Are parents the best teachers?

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

『分析』

因观点绝对而不能同意。

不是所有的父母都是好老师

最好的老师不仅仅是父母

有些父母尽管善良，但对教育孩子一无所知

有些父母不配做孩子的老师，对孩子有不良影响

『范文』

Obviously, in most cases the earliest teachers people have are their parents, and parents are generally most concerned about the development of their children. However, it is not completely true to say that parents are the best teachers. First of all, not all parents are good teachers. As normal individuals, some parents more or less have some bad habits. Even though parents almost instinctively devote themselves to cultivating their offspring, the outcome might turn out to be disappointment, for all children tend to unconsciously or subconsciously copy everything including bad ones from their parents. Another deficiency of parents as teachers is the fact that most parents are lack of common senses of education. All too often we observe some parents tend to pursue their cherished but failed dream by forcing their children to develop in a prearranged direction. Ironically, when their children do not follow the instructions, the children will be regarded as disobedient or allegedly rebellious. In fact, it is parents rather than their children that virtually disobey common senses.

Moreover, some parents are qualified as good teachers, but not all of them are the best ones. When children are in the preliminary school, it is not surprising that parents are perhaps capable of teaching their children almost every subject even better than professional teachers in the school. But the situation will not last long. We live in a world where knowledge is accumulated by multiplying and at the same time becomes more and more specialized. Therefore, to be a professional in a certain field today takes much longer time than has ever been before. No parent is able to be professional in all fields, though they might be experts in one or more fields. Wise parents often release rather than charge their children as early as possible. They are aware of the possibility outside the family.

Parents may, nevertheless, help their children much more than do good teachers. Most parts of children education are virtually beyond teachers' reaches. It is parents that supplement. Psychology studies have shown us that parents' love sometimes has astonishingly magic power to their children. Albeit Einstein's mother and that of Forest Gump are both good examples. On the other hand, parents might do their children harm more than do bad teachers as well. The natures of those children whose parents have divorced are often severely distorted. In a word, it is rather superficial to

simply say that parents are the best teachers.

2. Which is more important, book knowledge or experience? It has been said, "Not everything that is learned is contained in books." Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why?

『范文』

In general, knowledge gained from books has a wider range than that gained from experience. We now live in a world that typophile is no longer exorbitant, and that printed matters are readily available. In libraries, we can learn nearly everything only if we have already acquired basic reading skills, philosophy, history, literature,

physics, mathematics, chemicals, biology, geography, anthropology, and the list will go on. Unlike the experience of an individual that is limited by the range of that individual, books seem to have almost no limitation. Sitting in the local library, we virtually can travel everywhere through an interesting geographic encyclopedia, and certainly, with nearly no expense at all.

On the other hand, it can be argued that sometimes knowledge gained from

experience is much deeper and more comprehensive than that gained from books. It is quite true that not every thing is contained in books. How to deal with personal

finance, how to cope with current social trends, even how to most effectively organize our own mind, and numerous other things can seldom be found thoroughly and comprehensively discussed in books, we have to gain the knowledge by our own experience. And the sad news is that even some knowledge that is contained in books usually needs further comprehension, mainly through experience.

As to which source is more important, the answers vary. Some knowledge can be acquired only through books. It's hard to imagine we can have a good understanding of history without reading books. On the other hand, some knowledge can be obtained only through experience. When we try to learn to swim, merely a detailed manual of swimming skills, even abundantly filled with illustrations, is at most

useless. We have to jump into the water and then gain the knowledge with experience. We have to use books and experience as source simultaneously to get what we want to know. Take learning physics for example, both books and experiences are equally important sources, and examples as such are numerous. Therefore, I think whether one source is more important than the other depends on circumstances.

3. The most important thing you want to change about your hometown

If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

『分析』

改变其环境，因为一个好的环境会使人们

更加快乐

更加健康

更加有效率

『范文』

I was born in a small town named Hailin, located in the North-East of China. The most serious problems in my hometown are the backward ideas about a woman's place in the family, school, workplace, and society. These negative stereotypes hurt not only women, but all of society as well. If possible, I would change the attitudes of the people in my hometown so they would view men and women equally.

Discrimination against women in my hometown begins before they are even born. Because people here believe that only a man can carry on the family line, every

family wants to have at least one son. Each family is only supposed to have one child because of the overpopulation problem. This means that if a family can find out a fetus is female before it is born they might abort it. Or in other cases, people will have many female babies before they have a son, which only makes the population problem worse. If female babies were considered as important as male babies, then these two problems probably would not exist.

Discrimination against girls continues as they go to school and work. The prevalent stereotype is that women are not as smart as men and we shouldn't waste time and money educating them. Families often insist that their daughters stay at home and help with housework while sending their sons to school. Girls are born every bit as smart as boys and equally deserve to reap the benefits of education. Many of the world's famous scientists and leaders are women, from Marie Curie to Margaret Thatcher. We need to eliminate the stereotype that women are less intelligent than men so that our community can benefit from the achievements that women are capable of making when armed with education.

In fact, women need to be respected enough to hold professional and leadership jobs in our community. This would mean that in the classified section of newspapers, there would no longer be jobs for "men only." We will never know how many women could have done those jobs better than a man could have until the parents of every baby girl decide that their daughter is worth as much as their son. This is probably the most important thing that I want to change about my hometown.

4. The influence of movies or television on people's behavior How do movies or television influence people's behavior? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

『分析』

电影、电视等大众传媒(mass media)往往可以对人们的行为产生影响

通过改变人们的价值观、世界观、审美观而改变人们行为

通过制造“社会热点”而使大众不停地讨论一件事情

通过满足人们的幻想，或使人们处于平衡状态，或使人们一定程度上失衡

『范文』

The impact that movies or television has had on our daily life, and society in general, is undeniable. No doubt it will become even greater as the scope of which continues to grow, and as the relevant technologies become more and more sophisticated, and so fascinating that virtually nobody will be able to escape. Already, it can be seen how western movies are exercising influence on our youth generation: they grow long-hair regardless of their gender, commonly part of which is dyed in gold; they wear jeans in each and every season, usually the knees of which are deliberately tattered; boys are fond of earrings or other odd pendants; and girls are keen on Marlboros and weird bad words.

The major means that movies and television influence the public is by creating topics of discussion in the society. Movies offer people (the consumers) issues to talk and think about. Titanic had brought a worldwide uproar by its extolling of fascinating immortal love; Prime Color and Wag the Dog met the national debate on right and duty of the president of the United States. Antiwar movies such as Tears of the Sun and All Quiet on the Western Front among numerous others have been raising the

question that is any war really to uphold justice or is it really worthy that an individual makes sacrifices to his country and at the same time ignores his own family or his personal values?

Television also shapes our understanding of what is important and what is not

important (to know). The "important" issues are being discussed over and over or in the beginning of a program. The "not important" stories are the ones that are not being told at all. The "not very important" stories are probably very short and hidden in the last part. By prearranging public issue, movies and television make decisions for us. Even though there are critical thinking individuals in any society, they are definitely in minority; the public in whole indeed lack skills of critical thinking, and therefore they are often led by the movies and television.

In brief, movies and television, by offering topics and affecting the ways in which we discuss "the important issues", has a strong influence on our perception of the truth, of the world or of the structure of our society. We have to admit that it has a role in our lives as a source of information, experiences, entertainment, amusement and relaxation.