練習題一
Writing (30 minutes, 15 points)
範文：
The picture shows a boy who is crossing a river by stepping on his peasant parents‘ heads like stones. The river symbolizes the heavy financial load on rural parents to support their children‘s advanced education. As is quoted in the picture, a family in countryside can barely afford a high school student, not to mention a college student.
The picture apparently mirrors an increasingly common social phenomenon in China—the hiking cost of education in contrast with the tiny income of the rural population. For one thing, the problem is partially attributed to the present disparity of wealth distribution. Sometimes the college tuition per student equals the annual income of a rural family. For another, colleges and other educational institutions fail to provide financial tools to assist students from poor areas. For example, the application for scholarship and student loan is usually so complicated that the procedure seems to take forever, while students see no trace of money.
In my opinion, the government needs to reform the educational system with measures that can show immediate effect. Cutting tuition and other expenses proves to be most beneficial to students. Further, a large-scale reform at the macroeconomic level to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor is a basic solution to this issue.
譯文：
這幅圖一個男孩子正在把他的農民父母的頭作為墊腳石來跨過一條河。這條河象徵了農村的父母們為了供孩子們接受高等教育所承受的巨大財政負擔。正如圖中所說的那樣，在農村養一個高中生都很困難，更不用說是大學生了。
這很顯然反映了在當今中國一個越來越普遍的社會現象——快速增長的教育費用和農村人口的微薄收入之家的差別。一方面，這個問題部分歸咎於現有的財富分佈不均。有時候一個大學生一年的學費就相當於一個農村家庭一年的收入。另一方面，大學和其他的教育機構沒有通過各種各樣的融資工具來幫助來自貧困地區的學生。比如說，申請獎學金和貸款的程式都非常複雜、需要花很長時間，而學生們卻很難真正拿到錢。
我認為，政府應該改革教育系統，採取一些立竿見影的措施。降低學費和雜費被證明是對學生最有利的.。此外，解決這個問題的根本措施在於在巨集觀經濟的層面上進行一個大規模的改革，從而縮小貧富差距。
詞彙及片語：
symbolize: v. 象徵
advanced education: 高等教育
not to mention: 更不用說
hiking: n./ v. 提高, 增加
partially: adj. 部分地
disparity: n. 不一致，不等
wealth distribution: 財富分配
tuition: 學費 equal: 等於
institution: n. 公共機構
procedure: n. 程式，手續
macroeconomic: adj. 巨集觀經濟的
bridge the gap: 縮小差距
練習題二
Writing (30 minutes, 15 points)
範文：
The picture presents an interesting scenario occurring in a kindergarten. Little kids are playing on a teeterboard, on the two sides of which sit three boys opposite just one girl. The teacher, who stands beside, cannot help commenting that the situation would worsen when the children grow up.
The cartoon vividly reflects a serious problem in the composition of China‘s population, that is, the number of males outweighs that of females. Such a gap owes principally to a deep-rooted concept in the majority of the Chinese people‘s mind that only boys can continue the family bloodline as well as inheriting family honor and property. This is particularly thought in rural areas, thus creating a huge stimulus for residents to give birth to boys through all possible means. Despite the strict implementation of China‘s family planning policy, some households never give up the efforts of expecting a boy even if they already have several daughters. Punishment and penalty fail to weaken the strong belief.
The general favor toward the male leads to gender imbalance. It contributes to a series of social problems, especially increasing the male‘s difficulty when finding a spouse.
譯文：
這幅圖描繪了在幼兒園發生的一個有趣場景。幾個小孩子在玩蹺蹺板，一邊是三個男孩、而另一邊是一個女孩。站在旁邊的老師不禁評論道這種失衡的性別比問題在孩子們長大以後就更明顯了。
這幅圖生動地反映了中國人口組成的一個嚴重問題，即男性的人數大大超過了女性的人數。這種差距主要是源於中國大多數人的一種根深蒂固的關鍵，也就是男效能夠繼承家庭的血統、榮譽和財產。這種現象在農村尤其顯著，因此人們有很大的動力通過任何可能的方式生男孩。儘管中國嚴格實施了計劃生育政策，一些家庭儘管已經有了幾個女兒、卻仍然不放棄生男孩的努力。懲罰和罰款都不能削弱他們的堅強信念。
因此，對於男性的普遍偏愛導致了性別失衡。這進一步引起了一系列社會問題。
詞彙及片語：
teeterboard: n. 蹺蹺板
comment: v. 評論
worsen: v. 使惡化
outweigh: v. 超過
principal: adj. 主要的
stimulus: n. 刺激，促進因素
household: n. 家庭，家族
penalty: n. 處罰，罰款
spouse: n. 配偶
input: v. 輸入，投入
manpower: n. 人力
curb: v. 控制，約束
