专业英语八级(作文)模拟试卷71(题后含答案及解析)

专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷71 (题后含答案及解析)

题型有：1. summarize the arguments on both sides and then 2. give your comment on the statement that beauty contests are beneficial to women.Naomi Wolf, writer, and author of Beauty Myth The most obvious detrimental effect of beauty pageants is enforcing an inappropriate body perception for men and women. Unlike the majority of so-called “average” women, the beauty of such contests’ participants is cherished and rehearsed; this is the case when natural beauty is heavily supported by the efforts of visagistes and dressers. Though pageants represent the absolute minority of the society, their appearances set high, unrealistic standards for how women of all ages should look like. Young girls who try to live up to these standards, mature women complaining about their bodies, men who demand their wives/girlfriends to look like beauty pageants—all of them are affected by the illusions propagated by beauty contests. Another perception issue arises from the very nature of beauty contests—the objectification of women. Despite proclaimed gender equality, physical attractiveness remains one of the major requirements for women today. No matter how progressive and tolerant people strive to be, they still make their first impression about other people by their appearance, and this is natural. However, the idea of beauty contests implies evaluating women solely on their physical shape, ignoring all other aspects of individuality. Interviewing, meant to show a contestant’s personality, is a fraud; as one of the former pageants wrote, none of the judges wanted to hear about deep problems, asking about the most challenging childhood experiences. This turns a woman into a media object, or even a product, which can be assessed and then either approved or rejected; due to the popularity of beauty contests, such attitude is being widely propagated.Elizabeth Day, feature writer for The Observe In an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more, according to a survey in The Observer. Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about—they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained. Beauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world; indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s.

正确答案： The Benefits of Beauty Contests The two excerpts mainly present two distinct attitudes towards beauty contests with Naomi Wolf in the first excerpt maintaining a negative attitude while Elizabeth Day in the second excerpt is positive about beauty contests. Specifically, Naomi Wolf believes that beauty pageants not only spread high, unrealistic standards for how women of all ages should look like, but also contribute to the objectification of women. Elizabeth Day, however,

appreciates beauty contests in that they open up an opportunity for women to improve their situations, help to raise money for charities and provide scholarship assistance for women in the world. I think the long-running history of the contest shows that beauty contests are beneficial to women. To begin with, beauty contests draw the public attention to women and improve their social status. The emergence of beauty contests, such as Miss World pageant, showcases the refined attributes of women, beautiful, kind-hearted, understanding and considerate. The contests, though indirectly, urge people, especially men, to look at women in a different perspective. They are confident and self-sufficient ladies who are brave enough to compete and make their voices heard. In other words, beauty contests lead to the positive image and the subsequently improved conditions of women. What’s more, entering or even winning a beauty contest is a national pride for the contestants’ home countries. For example, when Ms. Zhang Zilin was crowned Miss World 2007, Chinese people and East Asians were all very proud and uplifted, because she was the first Miss World of East Asian region. Like sporting games, beauty contests give a chance to the people around the world to compete on a fair ground, immune from the economic prowess. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “Love of beauty is taste; the creation of beauty is art”. Beauty contests are tasteful and artistic events, because they hail the love of beauty and create a stage to celebrate it.

解析： 材料围绕“选美比赛”这一话题，给出了两位女性杂志作者对此的看法，两人的观点相反。 Naomi Wolf持否定看法，认为选美比赛歪曲人们对身体的看法(enforcing an inappropriate body perception)，而且会造成物化女性形象(the objectification of women)。Elizabeth Day则主要阐述了选美比赛的好处，认为选美比赛不仅给女性一个改善处境的机会(an opportunity to improve their situations)，提供了一个宣传慈善(publicize charities)的公共平台(public platform)，还可以带来其他好处，比如为女性提供奖学金(provider of scholarship assistance)等。 开篇：总结材料中的正反观点，随后提出自己的看法，选美比赛对女性有好处。 主体：阐释选美比赛对女性的两个好处。 1．选美比赛使女性得到重视并能提升社会地位，转变女性的形象。 2．选美比赛能提升荣誉感和民族自豪感，以张梓琳为例。 结尾：引用爱默生的话重申观点，指出选美是一项有品位的赛事。 知识模块：作文

2． Chinese people are no longer strangers to food-safety crisis—the contaminated vinegar, the meat that glowed in the dark, the exploding watermelons, the mushrooms imbued with bleach, the pork so dosed with chemicals to make it lean and the infamous melamine-tainted milk. The following news report provides detailed information about this issue. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the news report; 2. give your comment, especially on what are the major causes of food-safety crisis in China. Food Safety Top Concern in China In China, where food safety scandals are commonplace, the public have to be extra careful before every bite. Reports of meat injected with steroids and unhealthy animals butchered for consumption give new weight to the phrases “beef up” and “sick as a pig”. There have been reports of problems from every link in the production chain. Even agricultural produce, it

seems, is not safe. A huge batch of bean sprouts was seized after they were found to contain worrying amounts of controlled chemicals. Last July, Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd, a supplier to leading fast food brands including McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, were discovered using expired meat in their products. Six of the company’s senior executives were arrested. The revised Food Safety Law comes into effect on Oct. 1, and brings harsher punishment for the adulteration of food intended for our plates. An annual China Youth Daily survey in March found that food safely was the public’s top concern. In response to a list of “quality of life” issues including housing and the environment, 77.3 percent of respondents said food safety mattered most to them. The new law should rebuild confidence in the domestic food industry. Those found to have added substances unfit for human consumption to food could be jailed for up to 15 days, and producers may face fines of up to 30 times the value of their products. The amendment includes provisions for landlords and suppliers found to be complicit, at any stage of the production chain, in the adulteration of food. Should officials with food and drug regulators, or health and agriculture departments, be found negligent or involved in concealment, they will face administrative penalties, such as demotion or dismissal. Producers will now have to run tests on their products, conduct regular inspections and submit reports to regulatory bodies. Earlier this month, the Premier lauded the revamped Food Safety Law and its “zero tolerance” stance. He advised that a tracking system, which would record and monitor the whole food production process, should be established. Zhang Gaoli, a vice premier and head of a ministerial food safety committee under the State Council, called for strict supervision of food manufacturers and distributors. Wang Yang, another vice premier, concurred with his colleague and stressed the importance of risk management. He also reminded local governments that they must assume responsibility for food quality. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has started to draw up a black list of firms, as a stepping stone toward a system to monitor corporate conduct. An administration official said last June that better records detailing the food companies’ conduct would be kept, and they would be made available to the public to ensure an environment of honesty.

正确答案： No More Food-Safety Scandals The repeated melodramas of food scandals in China undermine people’s trust in food producers and government. In order to protect people from hazardous and poisonous food, the government show its determination to crack down the recurring food safety crimes by revising Food Safety Law, which stipulates food adulteration and slack regulation would lead to harsher penalties. Government officials have claimed their no-tolerance attitude towards food safety problems, saying that the construction of an efficient and transparent supervision system as well as risk management is of great necessity. Moreover, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce began to blacklist those conscienceless food producers. As I see it, the food-safety issue is caused by the profit-first attitude of food makers and the laissez-faire approach to regulating the food industries in some local authorities. Firstly, due to the significant amount of demands of food products, some food makers are seeking profits at the expense of

people’s health. For instance, in Shanxi Province, some of its highly regarded “aged vinegar” is actually dosed with industrial acid to cut fermentation time. The profit-driven and quicker-returns attitude of manufacturers has led to many cheated acts, which all pose great threats to consumers’ health and well-being. The integrity of food producers is tempered by the unlimited desire for profits and gains. Besides, out of the petty mindset of protectionism, some local food associations or agencies choose to turn a blind eye to the rampant wrongdoers. As watchdogs empowered by law and people, local inspection and quarantine departments should be more responsive and proactive to crack down any potential or existing malpractice in the industry. To guarantee complete food safety, a more stringent and transparent mechanism should be adopted to expose and punish the illegal makers. To conclude, Chinese people will only be reassured of the food safety, if the manufacturers put the public health before their marginal gains and if relevant departments undertake a periodic inspection and exposure system.

解析： 材料对我国食品安全问题作了分析报道，内容大致有关三个方面。 材料前四段列举了我国食品安全方面的种种乱象，如给肉类注射激素(meat injected with steroids)、豆芽的化学物质超标和使用过期肉类(expired meat)等。 第五至九段是食品安全法的修正内容。指出食品安全问题是公众最关心的问题(top concern)，修正案涉及对非食用化学物质(substances)的添加、食品掺假(the adulteration of food)、相关官员监管不力或同流合污等情况的处理。 最后三段是领导人及有关部门对这一问题的态度和应对措施。表明政府对违反食品安全法的零容忍(zero tolerance)，列举了各级官员对此问题的建议，如建立食品生产跟踪系统(tracking system)，进行风险管理(risk management)等。并且国家工商行政管理局已经开始建立违法企业的黑名单。 开篇：概括材料，总结食品安全问题的乱象、相关法律修正的情况以及政府部门的态度与措施。指出食品问题产生的两方面原因：生产厂家利润至上的心态以及相关部门放任自流的监管方式。 主体：分两方面阐述原因。 1．生产厂家利润至上的心态。以山西省优质醋制造真相为例，指出企业为逐利而牺牲消费者的安全。 2．一些地方部门受地方保护主义思想影响，对无良厂放任自流的监管方式。指出食品安全需要相关部门严格监管。 结尾：重申上述两方面的原因，并简要提出改善措施。 知识模块：作文

3． A child’s world is supposed to be fresh and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some kids, especially for those born and bred in cities. Their joys are dimmed and even lost to study. In the following news report, you can find more details about this phenomenon. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize the main idea of the news report, and then 2. express your opinion towards this phenomenon. China’s Children Too Busy for Playtime Like most other Chinese children of her age, Zhuzhu, at the age of 12, has to go to school from Monday to Friday, nine hours a day—an hour more than her parents spend at work. On weekends, she has to get up early for piano lessons on Saturday and Sunday morning, followed by private extracurricular Maths and English classes the afternoon. As a reward for her hard work, Zhuzhu’s parents let her play with her toys for one hour on Saturday and

Sunday evening. Zhuzhu is not alone. According to a new survey conducted by the Chinese Youth and Children Research Center (CYCRC), increasing numbers of children in large cities across the country are experiencing joyless childhoods. The CYCRC surveyed 2,500 primary and secondary school pupils across the country. The results of the survey reveal how, due to long school hours and growing pressure from parents to study hard, children are feeling unhappy about a lack of playtime. On average, China’s children spend 8.6 hours a day at school, with some spending 12 hours a day in the classroom. The survey also claimed that the majority of children spend longer hours at school than their parents spend at work. Almost all of the students involved in the survey said they had to do homework, revise and prepare for classes after school. Around half of the students’ parents testified that they often don’t allow them to play outside as it means less study time. The CYCRC survey also reveals that when they do have spare time for play, many children are either too tired to play or have nobody to play with—only 4 in 10 of the survey’s participants claim they had friends to play with. Indeed, Sun Yunxiao, director of the CYCRC noted that heavy study loads have exhausted children, more than half of the survey’s participants said that what they want most is, “A good night’s sleep.” Chinese students are put under ever-increasing pressure by their parents to study hard due to the country’s highly competitive market for university places and jobs. Study pressure has led to an increase in stress, psychological problems and even tragedy. Last June, a 16 year-old girl from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, committed suicide after failing to pass the entrance exam for a respected senior high school. In spite of persistent requests from the Ministry of Education asking parents to stop enrolling their children in extracurricular courses and requesting schools to limit homework time to one hour a night, primary and secondary schools have continued to offer after school Maths and English classes, with the sole aim of sending more students to good universities. “Too many students are striving for the limited places in higher education resources may be a reason for schools’ flout to the circulars,” said Sun Yunxiao.

正确答案： Don’t Infringe on Children’s Right to Play Mountains of homework and long hours of extracurricular classes among school children and adolescents are never an isolated case in China where education is seen as a major pathway to social success. According to the news report, many Chinese youngsters are deprived of a happy childhood and are susceptible to mental problems caused by unbearable study pressure. Such pressure partly comes from the suffocating educational environment, but parents’ over-concern on children’s academic and extracurricular excellence makes children feel even more stressful. Kids should be carefree at their ages instead of being pushed towards unhealthy lifestyles. I therefore strongly suggest reducing the competitive nature of education and promoting the right of children to play. First of all, the general public should stop being so obsessed with academic success. Test scores should not be viewed as the sole indicator of competence or intellectuality, and the assessment and enrollment systems, which still heavily count on examination results, should be adjusted. In this regard, a

fundamental change needs to be made to the college entrance exams, which is used as the single criterion for college admissions. Otherwise, the Chinese educational system will continue to define academic success based on scores. For primary and lower-secondary education, the policies should try to reduce the pressure on students and parents to compete for the limited seats in the high-achieving schools by narrowing the resource gaps among schools. Next, it is time for parents to return their children a carefree childhood. “Never let our kids lose at the starting line” is a common voice of most Chinese parents and it becomes their very reason for enrolling their children in numerous tutorial classes and extracurricular activities. However, few may realize that it doesn’t matter who wins at the starting line but who lasts until the finishing line. There has to be some balance between schoolwork and recreational activities. Play isn’t a waste of time, but rather gives children life experiences and relieves them from pressure. In short, much effort needs to be done to relieve children from academic stress, and it requires the interaction between parents, schools and society as a whole.

解析： 材料围绕“中国孩子的娱乐时间太少”进行了分析报道。可分为四个部分。 第一段以一个12岁的女孩为例，指出如今孩子学习负担重的现实。除了工作日每天九小时的学习时间(nine hours a day)，周末还要参加钢琴课和各种课业辅导班，而娱乐时间只有周末晚上的一个小时。 第二至五段则根据中国青少年研究中心的调查，分析了孩子们的现状。由于长时间的学校生活(long school hours)和日益增长的压力(growing pressure)，孩子们都感到不快乐(feeling unhappy)，而且超过一半的家长为了不影响学习时间，反对孩子到外面玩耍。 第六至九段阐述了这一现象的后果。首先会导致孩子们十分疲惫(too tired)，或是找不到玩伴(have nobody to play with)；其次严重影响孩子们的睡眠时间(exhausted children)；最后，学业压力会导致孩子越来越紧张(stress)，出现心理问题(psychological problems)甚至是酿成悲剧(tragedy)。有孩子就因为不堪重负而自杀(committed suicide)。 最后两段总结了产生这一现象的原因。教育部为减少学生压力禁止补课，却屡禁不止。原因在于高校资源有限(limited places in higher education resources)，而太多的学生梦想进入好的大学(good universities)。 开篇：总结材料里中国小孩的生活现状，迫于学业压力和升学压力，他们普遍缺少一个快乐的童年。随后提出个人见解——帮助孩子减负，一方面需要减少教育的竞争性，另一方面需要倡导孩子玩的权利。 主体：针对具体问题，给出具体的解决办法，如改革以成绩为导向的评选机制和招生制度，解决教育资源不均的问题，父母改变教育方式。 结尾：总结全文，呼吁各方共同为孩子减负。 知识模块：作文

4． Over the past generation, about 270m Chinese labourers have left their villages to look for work in cities. Many of those workers have children; most do not take them along. We call these youngsters liushou ertong, or “left-behind children”. It is not hard to imagine that the damage will be felt not just by the left-behind themselves but by society as a whole. The following article analyzes the problem in details. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the news report; 2. give your comment. An estimated 61 million children are “left behind” by their migrant parents. Being left behind

damages children in many ways. A non-governmental organisation, Growing Home, surveyed them this year and found that they were more introverted than their peers and more vulnerable to being bullied; they also had “significantly higher states of anxiety and depression” than their peers. Being brought up by grandparents is a common experience worldwide, and by no means necessarily harmful. But China’s rapid development does make it more of a problem now than it was in the past. Unlike their parents, the left-behind children’s grandparents are often illiterate; their schooling can suffer accordingly. Lastly, left-behind children are vulnerable to sexual and other abuse. Child abuse is distressingly common anyway. An analysis of 47 studies in Chinese and English this year estimated that over a quarter of Chinese children are physically abused at some point in their lives. The left behind are among the most vulnerable to such abuse, especially those in boarding schools, because any adults who might speak up for them are far away. Leaving such broader consequences aside, the decision to leave behind a child is a hard one. Why do so many migrants make it? According to a survey, two-thirds said they would not have enough time to look after them while working in the city; half said it was too expensive to bring up children there. In principle migrants might take along their grandparents rather than leaving behind their children. But the restrictions of the hukou system make that almost impossible. The hukou or household-registration document is a bit like an internal passport, giving people access to various services. When registered in the country, grandparents get a lower pension than urban dwellers—and the money is not enough for them to live in the city. The hukou system also exacerbates things by making it very hard for children registered in a rural area to get state schooling or health care in the city. Private schools that exploit the opportunity this presents are often crowded, substandard and constantly threatened with closure by city governments. On top of this vital school-leaving exams have to be sat where a child is registered. So even if children accompany their parents to the city, they are almost always sent back again at the age of 14 to prepare for the exam. Reform of the hukou system-already under way, in a piecemeal fashion-can address some of the problems of the left-behind and those who leave them. But given the underlying factors at work a full response will require China to build a child-welfare system almost from scratch. At its heart, the problem of the left-behind is one of misplaced hopes. Like so many parents, China’s migrants are deferring pleasure now (that of raising their children) for the hope of a better life later (to be bought with the money they earn). One result has been the stunning growth of cities and the income they generate. Another has been a vast disruption of families-and the children left behind are bearing the burden of loss.

正确答案： How to Solve the Problem of Left-Behind Children As China’s urbanization quickens its space, more and more rural couples head to the cities in search of work and leave their children behind. The report above explores the current situation of the left-behind children in China and discusses the causes and negative consequences. Due to parental absence, these children are more vulnerable to psychological problems as well as challenges to their personal safety and well-being.

The emergence of left-behind children is a natural result of the country’s household registration system which limits rural migrants’ access to public services in the cities, and makes it unaffordable for migrant parents to keep their children there. It is a pity that in the rush for economic growth, children are becoming victims, and there should be a solution to this social problem. It is urgent for the government to create an information system to track each and every one of these youngsters to ensure that safe custody is provided to all of them. A feasible way may be that rural officials set up files, visit them at home and make sure their parents talk to them regularly via phone or video chat. But these are short-term measures. The fundamental solution is creating more jobs in small towns during urbanization, which will enable migrant workers to find satisfactory jobs closer to home. Meanwhile, reforming the household registration system should not slacken. The government should try to lower the threshold for migrant workers to be registered as urban residents and create conditions to make them financially capable of taking their children along with them. Additionally, enterprises with migrant parents are encouraged to offer paid leave for employees to visit their children, and charity organizations can launch funds or programs to support such reunions. The success of battling the problem of left-behind children requires joint efforts of the whole society. Many reforms are needed and they will not bear fruit all at once. But let us not have any doubt about the direction towards which we are moving: for the well-being of the nation’s 61 million left-behind children.

解析： 材料围绕中国留守儿童的现象展开分析。可分为三部分内容。 前四段描述了留守对儿童造成的不良影响，和同龄人相比，他们的性格内向(introverted)、软弱(vulnerable to being bullied)以及焦虑悲观(anxiety and depression)，学业成绩不佳(their schooling can suffer)。 接下来的两段指出留守儿童出现的原因，家长在城市里没有足够的时间(not have enough time)照顾孩子以及城市的消费高(too expensive)。而且受到户籍制度的限制(the restrictions of the hukou system)，农村老人的养老金不够维持他们在城里的生活，城里的公办学校及其医疗服务对农村孩子而言都很困难，而且孩子必须回到户籍所在地参加结业考试。 最后两段总结全文，指出在这一现状下留守儿童是受害者(bearing the burden of loss)。 开篇：总结留守儿童存在心理、教育、受欺凌的问题。留守儿童问题存在的根源是中国的户籍制度。 主体：提出如何解决留守儿童问题，主要是从政府方面阐述解决措施，如建立信息追踪体系，发展乡镇建设，加快户籍制度改革。 结尾：总结全文——解决留守儿童问题需要全社会的共同努力。 知识模块：作文