Sample 1: Thomas Edison
Born in America, Thomas Edison was a great scientist and inventor. He was once thought to be a boy who was not worth educating. In fact, he was a man full of imagination.
I admire Edison a lot because of his great contribution to the world. He had more than 1,000 inventions. In his life time, he was always eager to know how things worked, which helped him to earn the nickname “the Wizard of Melo Park”. He was also so diligent that he worked day and night. And this explained why he had so many great inventions.
What impresses me most is his famous saying: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine perspiration”. Probably I cannot be an Edison myself, but I can be a hardworking learner. From him, I realize the secret to success is not when or where you were born, but what you are doing and how you do it in your life. (157 words)
Sample 2: Helen Keller
Every time I read “… if I had the power of sight for three days”, I cannot help being moved by its author Helen Keller, an ordinary but great American woman.
I admire Helen because she was optimistic about life. She became deaf and blind when she was 19 months old. Since then she lived in a world of darkness and silence, and communication seemed only a dream for her. But she never gave up and struggled to lead an active life. Under the guidance of her teacher, Ms Sullivan, Helen learned to read and write and became a famous writer. For a disabled person like her, this was really a wonder!
Helen has set an excellent example to all of us. Her story tells us that we should value what we have, and try our best to overcome any difficulty in life. (143 words)
Sample 3: William Shakespeare
Do you know Hamlet? Have you read The Merchant of Venice? These two great works are both written by William Shakespeare, my favourite English writer and the man of all ages!
Shakespeare, a son from a poor family, a man of little education, wrote plays and poems that are read all over the world. I like him because his comedies and tragedies bring me into a fantastic world; I love him because his poems let me enjoy the beauty of the English language; I admire him because his keen sights set me thinking and teach me how to lead a meaningful life!
Since “Life is a stage”, we are actually all actors and actresses. On this stage, everyone has his own role to play, and I will try my best to play my role well. (135 words)
試題分析:考查半開放性作文。本文的要求是描述自己最喜歡的一位人物,給考生自己發(fā)揮的余地較大,要求考生根據(jù)所給的寫作要求和提綱,確定文章的中心思想,然后緊緊圍繞中心思想展開寫作。要求考生在保證內(nèi)容要點全部概括的基礎(chǔ)上可以充分發(fā)揮自己的想象,進(jìn)而用自己的語言來表達(dá)某種觀點或看法,增添了寫作的靈活性,同時能較好地考查考生的想象能力和英語語言表達(dá)能力。
點評:半開放性作文給出了一個話題,并有部分的文字提示。給考生自由發(fā)揮的余地較大。對于考生的綜合能力要求較高,要求考生有很強(qiáng)的謀篇布局的能力和組織要點的能力。在完成開放性作文時,首先要選擇自己熟悉的短語或者句型,在你的能力范圍之內(nèi),選擇句式時要賦予變化,因為這樣你才可以更好的駕馭。同時也要選擇合適的連接詞,把各個要點組織成一個完整的整體,如besides, further, last but not least等。在發(fā)表個人觀點的時候,可以使用諺語來提升整個文章的檔次和文采,也能增加得高分的可能性。