2000年全国自考英语写作试卷

Ⅰ.Supply the missing conclusion（20 points）

Study the following passage carefully and write a conclusion of about 100 words. Make sure that the tone and vocabulary you

use are in unity with the passage provided.

Big Ideas in Small Words

In English, most often short words are as good as long ones, and simple words like"bright sun","fresh air"and"sweet home"

are best of all. Though small, these words can meet our needs with grace, charm and strength, and can cast a clear light on

big things like：war and peace, love and hate, and life and death.

As has been said in THE MIRACLE OF ALNGUAGE by Richard Lederer, many of the pithy proverbs use very simple words in

the expression of excellent ideas, "Where there is a will, there is a way","Rome was not built in a day","Two heads are

better than one", to name only a few.

Many of the ancient poets and orators recognized the power of small words in making a straight line between two minds.

Several hundred years ago, William Shakespeare used small simple words in his play KING LEAR:"And my poor fool is hang''d!

No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, and thou no breath at all?…"

In the Bible, with which many English speakers are familiar, the short words which describe the beginning of human life

sound like this: And God said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, and it was good.

Modern great leaders or poets have also been using simple English words in their speeches or writings. During World War Ⅱ

when Hitler was nearly occupying the whole of Europe, and many people thought the end of mankind was drawing near,

Winston Churchill responded in his ringing words:"Let''s fight by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all

the strength that God can give us."A tit-for-tat struggle was forged, and Hitler was defeated. And now let''s hear what

Robert Frost said in his poem THE DEATH OF THE HIRED MAN:"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to

take you in."Even more terse words are probably ten two-letter words by William H. Johnson when he described his secret

of success,"If it is to be, it is up to me."

Ⅱ.Write an outline（20 points）

Read the following passage carefully and compose a"sentence outline"for it.

Foreign Graduates Dominate US Programs

For at least 10 years, most students earning doctoral degrees in science or engineering in the United States have

been from other countries.

In 1996, about 40 percent of the science and engineering doctorates awarded in the United States went to foreign students,

and three out of four went to foreigh-born minorities, according to the National Science Foundation.

At the University of Texas at Austin, for example, 108 of the 187 graduate students studying computer science are

non-US citizens with temporary visas, according to a recent report.

Some complain that foreign students are being educated, in part, at US tax-payers'' expense. A recent National Research

Council study found that more than 70 percent of non-US citizens cited university support as their primary source of financing.

"I think what it comes down to, frankly, is... an unwillingness to finally do something about our own system of

selecting graduate students,"said John F. Alderete, president of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans

in Science.

But other educators say the selection of graduate students is colorblind. They say US minorities just don''t perform as well

on standardized tests.

With a flood of foreign applications, a graduate program might have little incentive to"go and tramp around the University

of Texas at El Paso trying to find smart Hispanic kids,"said Michael S. Teitelbaum, an analyst with the

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Based on the above facts, universities can draw upon the economic, educational and cultural elite of other nations.

Overall, US minorities are less likely to be able to afford graduate school tuition, so some promising minority students

are taking lucrative jobs in the private sector instead.

High-paying jobs in a booming economy lure top minority students away from graduate programs, said Bill Perry, dean of

faculty at Texas A and M University. In some cases, students choose to pursue a graduate degree in business or on

other lucrative fields, such as law or medicine.

Ⅲ.Composition（60 points）

Throughout China, there has been a strong emphasis on quality education. However, schoolwork is still a heavy weight on

pupils'' back. Write a short argumentative essay（about 300 words）explaining your point of view.