2003年1月甘肃自考00603英语写作真题试卷

全国2003年1月高等教育自学考试

英语写作试题

课程代码：00603

Ⅰ.Supply the missing topic sentence in the underlined part of each of the following paragraphs. 20%

1.___________. He is also my brother! We go to school together. We play soccer together. We live together. We even share a bedroom. We also share parents! I think that we are going to be longtime friends. We are certainly going to be longtime brothers.

2.These violent TV programs do not relax our tension. Instead, they disturb the peace of our mind and lead us to think that the world now is insecure and that we should learn to resort to violent means when we are in trouble. Worse still, such shows are still on the increase.___________ As peaceloving viewers, we demand to see healthy programs to enrich ourselves. We look forward to the day when TV programs are free of violence.

3.Like other skills, swimming requires courage, persistence and practice. “Practice makes perfect.” Usually it takes two weeks to a month to learn swimming. When you can swim freely, you'll enjoy the voluptuous touch of water on your body. But don't forget the tips. Before you become a skilled swimmer, stay in the shallow water. Second, whenever and wherever you swim, be sure to be in the sight of people.___________.

4.___________. The first one is to lay down more roads. Its advantage is to relieve the traffic density and accelerate the flow of traffic. But its disadvantage is to take up too much land. The second one is to open up more bus lines. Its advantage is to decrease the number of bikes and cars. But its disadvantage is to bring inconveniences to some people who do not take a bus.

Ⅱ. Write an outline. (20%)

Read the following passage carefully and then write a “sentence outline”or a “topic outline” for it.

Words That Camouflage

People use words, of course, to express their thoughts and feelings. And as everyone knows, if one tries to write, choosing just the right word to express an idea can be difficult. Nevertheless, it is important to choose words carefully ,for words can suggest meanings not intended at all; words can also be used to deceive. In order to express ourselves accurately and to understand what other people express, we must be aware that words can camouflage attitudes; English is full of examples.

Experts at camouflage are those in advertising. Advertisers obviously want to emphasize the virtues of their products and detract from their faults. To do this, they use carefully chosen words designed to mislead the unwary customer. Carl P. Wrighter in his book I CAN SELL YOU ANYTHING has dubbed these expressions “weasel words”, which the dictionary defines as words “used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position”. Let's say, for example, that the advertiser wants you to think that using his product will require no work or trouble. He can not state that the product will be trouble free because there is usually no such guarantee; instead, he suggests it by using the expression “virtually”, as in this product is “virtually trouble free.” The careless listener will ignore the qualifier “virtually” and imagine that the product is no trouble at all. Another misleading expression is “up to”. During a sale a car dealer may advertise reductions of “up to 25 percent”. Our inclination again is to ignore “up to” and think that most of the reductions are 25 percent, but too often we find that only a few products are reduced this much. The other day I saw a sign on a shoe store advertising “up to 40 percent off” for athletic shoes. Needing some walking shoes and wanting a good bargain, I went in, only to find that there were only a few shoes marked down by 40 percent. Most of the shoes weren't even on sale.

Just as “weasel words” are used to engender favorable impressions, so are euphemisms. A euphemism is defined as “the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant”. We often use euphemisms when our intentions are good. For instance, it is difficult to accept that someone we love has died, so people use all kinds of euphemisms for death, such as “She passed away”, “He's gone to meet the maker”, or “She is no longer with us”. To defend against the pain of such a reality some use the humorous euphemism, “He's kicked the bucket.” To make certain jobs sound less unappealing, people use euphemisms. A janitor is now a “custodial worker”or “maintenance person”. A trash man may be called a “sanitation engineer”. Such euphemisms are not harmful, but sometimes euphemisms can be used to camouflage potentially controversial or objectionable actions. For example, instead of saying we need to raise taxes, a politician might say we need “revenue enhancement measures”. When psychologists kill an animal they have experimented with, they prefer to use the term “sacrifice” the animal. Doctors prefer “terminating a pregnancy” to “abort the fetus”.

What may be found objectionable today is sexist language. Sexist language refers to expressions that demean females in some way. For instance, when someone refers to a grown woman as a “girl”, the implication is that she is still a child. Therefore, instead of an employer saying, “I'll have my girl type that.” What should be said is “I'll have my assistant (or secretary) type that.” Other offensive expressions include “young thing”, as in “She's a cute young thing”. The proper term “girl” should be used in this case, since the “thing” is a young female. Further, the names of many jobs suggest women should not fill these positions. Thus we use “chair” or “chairperson” instead of the sexist “chairman”. Likewise, a “foreman” should be called a “supervisor”.

We must always be careful to choose the words that convey what we really mean. If we do not want to give offense, then we should always be on guard against sexist(as well as racist) language. If we do not want to be misled by advertisements, we must keep our ear open for “weasel words”. Finally, when we use a euphemism, we should be aware that we are trying to make an idea more acceptable. At times, this may be preferable, but let's not forget that euphemisms camouflage reality. After all, “coloring the truth” is still lying.

Ⅲ.Composition (60%)

How would you react if you bought an inferior or a fake product from a shop? Write an essay of about 300 words to tell your usual attiutde towards such an event. Use specific reasons and examples to support your attitude.