2018年自考本科英语写作试题

自考英语--浙江英语本科英语写作试卷Ⅰ. Supply the missing conclusion. (20%)Directions: Study the following passage carefully and write a conclusion in no more than 100 words. Make sure that the tone and vocabulary you use are in unity with the passage provided.Americans Are Friendly to Strangers I came to the United States one year ago and I had no idea about life in the United States and American traditions, except that life was complicated and people are strange. At the time I arrived at J. F. Kennedy Airport, I felt very happy because I am fond of traveling around the world. Coming to America had been one of my dreams. A few minutes later, however, I felt afraid. I asked myself why I had come to this strange world and what I was doing here. I remembered what my friends at home said about Americans treating strangers. After I attended college, however, I discovered the opposite of what I had expected. Even though American social relations are complex, hard to form, and hard to maintain, I managed to bridge the gap and I was able to have close friendships with some Americans. For example, the first semester I attended college, I became friends with one of the American students who used to attend math class with me. We used to study together, go to parties together, and he used to help me a lot with my English. Even though he transferred to another university, we always keep in touch with each other. From my experience, I have come to understand that Americans are generally verbal, and long, silent periods are uncomfortable to them. So, when I sit with Americans, I start a conversation with them by talking about the weather, sports, or about teachers’ skills in the classroom. I think conversations make a friendly atmosphere among people. My experience of traveling across the country from New Orleans to San Diego also proved to me that I had the wrong idea about Americans. When I told my friends that my brother and I were going to drive across the United States and if they wanted to join me, they said, “It is dangerous to drive across America. You might get killed by one of the truck drivers or get robbed.”However, we didn’t pay attention to them because we wanted to find out what America is really like and how people treat strangers. On the way from San Antonio to EL Paso, our car stopped because it ran out of fuel. We got out of the car and waited for anyone to give us a ride. Ten minutes later, a truck pulled off the road. I approached him carefully and I asked him, “Could you please give us a ride to the nearest gas station?” He said, “The nearest station is thirty-five miles away and you might not find anyone who can drive you back to your car. ” Then he came up with a solution to our problem. He towed our car to the nearest station. When we reached it, I took a fifty-dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to him, but he wouldn’t accept it. He told me that he helped me because we needed help.Ⅱ. Write an outline. (20%)Directions: Read the following passage carefully and try to compose an outline for the passage provided.The Necessity of English Writing for English Majors English writing is generally the most difficult one in the language competence required for the students majoring in English, considering the great pains student writers take and the slight progress they make in their practice. Most of the beginners think there is no need to practice writing English compositions since their writing skills in Chinese is quite sufficient, and English writing is after all not quite practical for their future work. However, English writing, as a very important part of students’ general language competence and as a means of expressing oneself and of spreading knowledge and information, is necessary and essential for English majors. The difficulty of English writing frustrates many students so much that they turn to their Chinese writing skills for help. That is natural. In fact, their Chinese writing skills do help their English writing, especially in generating and organizing ideas and details. Meanwhile, Chinese writing is different from English writing in sentence structures and paragraph organizations and their differences in expressions are certainly even bigger. Simply translating Chinese word for word into English cannot make good English writing. Other students hold a wrong view of learning English. They think to learn English is just to memorize a large vocabulary, to master the grammar and to speak fluent English. Once they are proficient in those areas of English, they can naturally handle English writing well. To correct such a one-sided view, one thing must be kept in mind, that is, spoken English is not equal to written English. Oral speech is often rather loose and flexible without precise and proper arrangement. Oral English uses simple everyday language while written English comprises complicated words and sentence structures. Therefore, written English is more demanding, and it requires intentional and intensive practice. English writing course can serve this purpose. The students’ laziness in observing and thinking partly accounts for their reluctance to practice writing. Writing sharpens and improves thinking. English writing can help students develop the habit and ability of thinking in English and become generally more competent in English. Composition topics can be varied yet close to life. If students have a good habit of observing life and thinking constantly, they won’t bump into topics with empty heads. Keen observation and deep thoughts are necessary for good English writing, and they are also signs for well-educated people. Writing can also strengthen students’ abilities in comprehension and oral English. Writing is creative work. After brainstorming, various ideas and pictures may pop into their minds and some beautiful sentences may be written down on a piece of paper, which will last long in their memory. Their written English skills may help to polish and beautify their spoken English and make their oral expression precise and elegant. Writing involves lots of reading. When reading others’ writing, they will be sensitive to various styles and that will quicken their reading speed and comprehension. Furthermore, English writing is in fact a most practical tool in students’ future career. It will be used in writing telexes, business letters, research papers and public speeches. Every kind of writing has its special style, which needs a careful study and strenuous practice. Yet all those are based on essential skills in English writing that will be covered in an English writing course. Finally, the required competence for English majors differs from other English learners. English majors are not limited to the command of any particular sphere of the English language, but they must have all-round competence in terms of listening and reading comprehension, spoken ability and writing skills in English, so that they can adopt themselves to various situations in their future work. No one is born capable of everything. Hard work is the premise of success. To be able to use English freely, we do not only have to read a lot, speak a lot, but also write a lot. English writing practice consolidates students’ overall English competence and enables them to express their ideas and feelings in a more precise, graceful and permanent form.Ⅲ. Composition (60%)Directions: Write an example paper on the given topic.We Are Entering a Computer Age