ETS官网GRE6分范文赏析 As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. Essay Response — Score 6 The statement linking technology negatively with free thinking plays on recent human experience over the past century. Surely there has been no time in history where the lived lives of people have changed more dramatically. A quick reflection on a typical day reveals how technology has revolutionized the world. Most people commute to work in an automobile that runs on an internal combustion engine. During the workday, chances are high that the employee will interact with a computer that processes information on silicon bridges that are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving home, family members will be reached through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. Each of these common occurrences could have been inconceivable at the turn of the 19th century. The statement attempts to bridge these dramatic changes to a reduction in the ability for humans to think for themselves. The assumption is that an increased reliance on technology negates the need for people to think creatively to solve previous quandaries. Looking back at the introduction, one could argue that without a car, computer, or mobile phone, the hypothetical worker would need to find alternate methods of transport, information processing and communication. Technology short circuits this thinking by making the problems obsolete. However, this reliance on technology does not necessarily preclude the creativity that marks the human species. The prior examples reveal that technology allows for convenience. The car, computer and phone all release additional time for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency does not preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees humanity to not only tackle new problems, but may itself create new issues that did not exist without technology. For example, the proliferation of automobiles has introduced a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern inconceivable to the horse-and-buggy generation. Likewise dependence on oil has created nation-states that are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling parties to oppress minority groups such as women. Solutions to these complex problems require the unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and politicians. In contrast to the statement, we can even see how technology frees the human imagination. Consider how the digital revolution and the advent of the internet has allowed for an unprecedented exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular internet portal for medical information, permits patients to self research symptoms for a more informed doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of thinking that were previously closed off to the medical layman. With increased interdisciplinary interactions, inspiration can arrive from the most surprising corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the UN Millenium Development Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage techniques. The unlikely marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation environments from South America to Eastern Europe. This last example provides the most hope in how technology actually provides hope to the future of humanity. By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and eradicated. Technology will always mark the human experience, from the discovery of fire to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human race, there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us to tackle. There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 6 The author of this essay stakes out a clear and insightful position on the issue and follows the specific instructions by presenting reasons to support that position. The essay cogently argues that technology does not decrease our ability to think for ourselves, but merely provides "additional time for people to live more efficiently." In fact, the problems that have developed alongside the growth of technology (pollution, political unrest in oil-producing nations) actually call for more creative thinking, not less. In further examples, the essay shows how technology allows for the linking of ideas that may never have been connected in the past (like medicine and economic models), pushing people to think in new ways. Examples are persuasive and fully developed; reasoning is logically sound and well supported. Ideas in the essay are connected logically, with effective transitions used both between paragraphs ("However" or "In contrast to the statement") and within paragraphs. Sentence structure is varied and complex and the essay clearly demonstrates facility with the "conventions of standard written English (i.e., grammar, usage and mechanics)," with only minor errors appearing. Thus, this essay meets all the requirements for receiving a top score, a 6. ETS官网GRE6分范文赏析的延伸阅读——合理安排GRE学习时间。 1、第一步:明确GRE词汇量空间。 任何的词汇[wiki]记忆[/wiki],都不是所有英文单词的记忆。一定要根据需要,明确自己的词汇量空间。一般来说,目前的各种词汇辅导的书已经很多,不需要自己去样本采集。 教学大纲的要求。比如初中英语,大纲要求是词汇量830(再加上157词组)。高考大纲要求英语词汇量是2832个(最近大纲的要求还有降低,好像在 2500左右)。大学4级词汇量4000个。6级词汇量是5500个。虽然每年新大纲的要求会出现修订。但是4级4500,6级7500完全可以满足要求。 然而,对于较高层次英语水平的词汇量,不再局限地要求词汇量的绝对多少,对于研究生英语,记忆6级词汇已经够用。这时候,构词法的理解更为重要。至于考托福、GRE,10000词汇量是高分必备,而20000词汇量,有当然最好,没有也不影响阅读速度。 建议选择简单明了的词汇表,看着要少而薄,每页单词list尽可能多。选择一本好的词汇表,可以说是决定了下一步的难度和信心耐心。这时候应该注意区分两种需求。买书的时候,书厚实一些、内容全一些丰富一些,让人觉得实在,对得起书价,从而决定购买。但是在看书的时候,书越薄、越简单,就越容易接受,降低畏难情绪。特别是词汇表,本身比较枯燥乏味,进度慢就不会有成就感,锐气也会消磨光。 初学者,我推荐《大学英语教学大纲通用词汇表》(大学英语教学大纲词表调整小组编 上海外语教育出版社/高等教育出版社)。其中1-4级价格8.00元;5-6级价格3.00元。 有的人强调背字典,因为字典上每个词的解释比较全面。但这是针对骨灰级人物——也就是英文高手的,对于一般人学习并不合适。 2、第二步:看GRE单词表。 先集中看单词,而不是背单词。这个阶段7-21天。 在最短的时间内,把所有常用的单词粗粗看一遍。不要刻意去记忆,但是要认真,调用心里的所有感觉来接受每一个生词。 一般来说,对于6级5500词汇量,可以一天用0.5-2小时看一遍。由于人都有本能集中注意陌生词汇,浏览速度将越来越快。 以这种方法突击,是最容易见效的。 但是,一定要用心。如果心早就飞到天外,仅仅机械地翻看这些书页,是一点意义都没有的。 之所以是看单词而不要念单词,这是为了突破阅读障碍。在阅读的过程中,往往是默读影响了阅读速度。我们必须把视觉刺激整合起来,对应思维要求,达到飞速阅读的境界。在未来的应用中,即使是考试,口语和听力都是较小的部分。大多数人学习英语的目的也不是为了应付考试,而是作为工具能够在将来能够流畅地阅读和翻译各种资料,比如浏览外国网站,学习国外先进技术和经营管理思想等。不要让少量应用占用了大量的学习时间和运用时间。 看单词比背单词有效。这是因为看单词的时候比较轻松,不容易产生疲劳,此外,也很容易达到形成整体单词结构轮廓印象的速度。 3、第二步:想GRE单词表。 从看单词的第三天开始,就需要想单词。这是调用记忆,让单词不断地从脑子里过。 想单词是系统学习法最关键的一步。 想单词是脱离书本的最好方法。可以在任何空闲的时候进行。要尽量在脑子里多过几遍,这样,留下的印象要深得多,可以经年不忘,就算以后忘记,由于已经形成思维短路,也很容易再拣起来。 在刚开始的时候,可以按照词汇表来回忆单词。也就是让词汇表在脑海重现。 想单词的速度比看单词要快。对于记忆来说,看单词是“记”的过程,想单词是“忆”的过程。“记”“忆”的最有效结合就是“看”“想”结合。 在七天以后,想单词可以尝试自己分类归纳总结。这时候应该让单词概念和实际事物对应,形成image(形象)。 一般来说,归纳总结的依据是单词的区别和联系。找到单词的特点,形成概念群并捆绑,是深化记忆的最佳办法。建立单词之间的逻辑关系是很重要的。这样可能对一些几年没用过一次的单词都牢牢记得。 单词的特点有很多。发音,词根变化,外形差异,内容,使用范围等等,都是思考的重点。 在想不起的时候,要及时地看书,补上。 “学而不思则罔,思而不学则殆”,这是学习的真谛。 想单词将伴随英语学习的一生。但是在突击阶段过去以后,可以适当降低其深度和广度,减少想单词的时间。 最后希望你明确的一点是:学是为了使用,现学现用是最有效的学习方法。 使用是多方面多角度的。使用的过程,能真正发现单词和短语的特点和使用环境的需要,因此是树状结构细化的过程。也只有通过实际应用,网状联系才可能较准确较细致地铺开。实践是广泛联系的基础。 在刚开始的时候,由于条件不具备,我建议从大量的[wiki]快速阅读[/wiki]开始。阅读材料不需要很难。为培养速度和感觉的时候,往往是越简单越好。初学者可以看一些国外儿童读物,趣味短文,如幽默和童话故事。 大量阅读可以迅速形成整体意念,并在单词的使用环境做出定格和校正。有前面的铺垫,阅读不存在单词的障碍,这时的注意力就应该转移到单词在文章中的映射上。 |
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