12月6日的SAT作文題是“Can people who are not famous be better role models than people who are famous?”與歷年SAT的作文題目相比,這一題目的難度系數(shù)并不算很高,但是仍然有些小陷阱,考生在審題時還需謹慎。同學(xué)們大都選擇了“Yes”這一立場。西奈山國際教育SAT考試指導(dǎo)專家鄭峻華老師對本次SAT考試作文題目進行了詳細點評,并提供一篇范文,給廣大SAT考生參考。就作文題目本身鄭峻華老師有幾點提醒大家:
一、Rolemodel與idol并不是一個概念。
不少同學(xué)并沒有完全弄清rolemodel與idol的區(qū)別。Role model 更傾向于“榜樣”,而idol傾向于“偶像”的含義。具體來說,rolemodel具備某種物質(zhì)或者優(yōu)點,我們非常希望通過對他(她)的學(xué)習(xí)也同樣具備這樣的特質(zhì)及優(yōu)點。但我們對role model不見得會有著對idol那樣的“崇拜”(worship)的色彩。
二、不要忽視原題中的“better”。
相信不少同學(xué)看完原題,特別是原題中方框內(nèi)的引言部分后,都會想到一些例子,比如自己的親人(父親或者母親)、同學(xué)、其他所認識的人等,其中會有幾位,他們雖然不是名人,但有一些優(yōu)點值得我們學(xué)習(xí)。在文中能舉出這樣的例子確實很好,但是原題中有一個問題沒有解決,為什么這些不出名的,就在我們身邊的人們相對于那些名人而言,會成為更好的榜樣呢?這一點我們是否考慮過?是否進行論證?
三、為什么我們身邊的人會是“betterrole model”?
為什么我們身邊的人會是“betterrole model”?這是因為,我們身邊的人是真實的,是我們可能朝夕相處的,他們身上的,無論是優(yōu)點還是缺點,我們都清晰地看到。他們是真實的人,正因為他們有血有肉,有優(yōu)點也有不足,所以他們的閃光點更加彌足珍貴。而名人,距離我們比較遠,我們對他們的認知都是間接的。為他們寫傳記的人,或者關(guān)于他們的影視作品,會或多或少地擴大他們的優(yōu)點或者缺點。名人可能會成為我們的idol,但不見得是最好的rolemodel,因為我們對名人的了解往往是不完整和不客觀的。
四、不要亂套“例子庫”。
看到網(wǎng)上有一篇文章,鼓勵大家用這樣的方法來寫這篇作文“大家準備的很多名人例子,在成名之初都有過一段較長的‘屌絲期’,后來由于自己的發(fā)憤圖強、不畏艱難、持之以恒、挑戰(zhàn)權(quán)威,最后出名了”,用這些例子來寫這篇文章“就行了”。對此,不得不大聲疾呼一下,此大謬也!
原題十分清楚,無論是famous還是notfamous 之前都是一般現(xiàn)在時are,如果是剛才那種寫法,描述一個‘無名屌絲’如何“逆襲”成為名人,那至少notfamous前面應(yīng)該是過去時were或者used to be。‘屌絲逆襲’的寫作思路是嚴重的理解錯誤。
就此附上一篇短小的文章,這是西奈山國際教育的SAT學(xué)員所寫,由老師指導(dǎo)并加以一定的修正,僅供大家參考。此文能否得到高分也許大家見仁見智,但至少它對原題的理解是正確的。
2014.12.6SAT考試作文例文:
Fame doesn't naturally make a person a good role model. All it does is make the actions of a person more public on television and magazines. A good role model needs to be someone whose actions can be learned from. Because of this, I strongly believe that people who are not famous can be better role models than famous people.
Nikola Tesla was a famous engineer in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During his career, he made great contributions to engineering and physics, including the invention of the induction motor and studies of magnetism and electricity. He was made famous by magazines, journals, and newspapers, and many people thought of Tesla as agreat role model because of his achievements.
Though Tesla remained charming in public, he was not a good role model. He fired a secretary because she was overweight and often told his employees to go home and change their clothes if he didn't like what they were wearing. It is not the fact that he did these bad things that makes him a bad role model. He is a bad role model because his bad actions remained hidden, so that we can't learn from them.
My father is not famous, but he makes a better role model than Tesla. My father works hard as a doctor, which I think is a good thing in the same way that Tesla's great inventions were good things. He also does bad things, like get angry and waste lots of money. However, I see both the good and bad things that my father does. I can learn both to do the good things that he does and to not do the bad things that he does. Because I have a complete understanding of him, I can learn from all aspects of him, not just the good actions that he did.
Neither fame nor good achievements make a good role model. Whether a person is a good role model depends on how much can be learned from the actions and reasons of that person.So, people who are not famous can be better role models than people who are famous.