武汉大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

武汉大学2012年博士研究生入学考试英语试题

Part I Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions: In this part of the test, there will be 5 reading passages for you to read. Each passage is followed by four questions or unfinished statements, and each question or unfinished statement is followed by four choices marked A, B, C, and D. You are to decide on the best choice by blackening the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the following passage:
Passage 1
A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically “proved” by economists that the laws of society made it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. Today, hardly anybody would dare to voice this principle. It is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the laws of nature or by those of society. The opinions, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility, are outdated. In all Western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of subsistence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. I would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, everyone has the right to receive the means to subsist; in other words, he can claim this subsistence minimum without having to have any “reason”. I would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let’s say two years, so as to avoid the encouraging of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation.
This may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, I think, our insurance system would have sounded to people a hundred years ago. The main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. This assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness in human nature. Actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work.
However, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum are not groundless from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership of capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would have to be sufficiently interesting and attractive to induce one to accept it. Freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject it; in the present capitalist system this is not the case.
But such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees, its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life.
1. People used to think that poverty and unemployment were due to ______.
A. the slow development of the economy
B. the poor and jobless people's own faults
C. the lack of responsibility on the part of society
D. the large number of people who were not well-educated

2. Now it is widely accepted that ______.
A. the present system of social insurance should be improved
B. everybody should be granted a minimum of subsistence without any “reason”
C. everybody has the right to share in the wealth of the country
D. people have to change their attitude towards the poor

3. The writer argues that a system of social insurance should ______.
A. provide benefits for the sick, old and unemployed
B. encourage people to take on more social obligations
C. guarantee everyone the right to be employed
D. provide everyone with the right to a minimum subsistence for a certain period

4. According to the writer, a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum ______.
A. demands too much from society
B. makes freedom of contract impossible
C. helps people take interest in their work
D. helps bring about changes in the relationship among people

Passage 2
Public speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; self-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.
Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of falling in the most public of ways.
Extroverts, on the contrary, will feel less fear before the ordeal. It does not mean they will necessarily do it better, some very shy people manage to shine. When I met the British comedian Julian Clary, he was shy and cautious, yet his TV performances are perfect.
In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.
Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written scripts to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.
Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural. You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food, and you get a nameless sense that you’ve been cheated.
Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana’s funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally. A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers.
But, being yourself doesn’t work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.
I remember going to see British psychiatrist R. D. Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.
The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of “flow”, as psychologists call it, is very satisfying.
5. Women hate public speaking most mainly because of ______.
A. their upbringing very early on
B. their inability to appeal to the audience
C. their sense of greater public pressure
D. their sense of greater humiliation

6. Which of the following is NOT the author’s viewpoint?
A. Acting like performers spoils the message in a speech.
B. Perfection of scripts is necessary in making good impressions.
C. Acting naturally means less dependence on the prepared script.
D. There should be a balance between actual acting and acting naturally.

7. What is the author’s view on personality?
A. Personality is the key to success in public speaking.
B. Extroverts are better public speakers.
C. Introverts have to learn harder to be good speakers.
D. Factors other than personality ensure better performance.

8. In the last paragraph the author recommends that ______.
A. you forget about your nervousness
B. you feel natural and speak naturally
C. you may feel nervous, but appear naturally
D. you may imagine yourself to be natural

Passage 3
I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me; it is the reality I took with me into sleep. I try to think of something else.
Immediately the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind.
I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her. She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and loveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling. In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue, green, and white. They reminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our hair.
I don’t know the word for “ribbons”, so I put my hand to my own hair and, with three fingers against my head, I looked at her ribbons and said “Beautiful”. She lowered her eyes and said nothing. I wasn’t sure if she understood me (I don’t speak Laotian very well).
I looked back down at the skirts. They had designs on them: squares and triangles and circles of pink and green silk. They were very pretty. I decided to buy one of those skirts, and I began to bargain with her over the price. It is the custom to bargain in Asia. In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices and easy moves with the sort of quiet peacefulness.
She smiled, more with her eyes than with her lips. She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language, although they were mostly numbers, and she saw that I understood something about the soft playfulness of bargaining. We shook our heads in disagreement over the price; then, immediately, we made another offer and then another shake of the head. She was so pleased that unexpectedly, she accepted the last offer I made. But it was too soon. The price was too low. She was being too generous and wouldn’t make enough money. I moved quickly and picked up two more skirts and paid for all three at the price set; that way I was able to pay her three times as much before she had a chance to lower the price for the larger purchase. She smiled openly then, and, for the first time in months, my spirit lifted. I almost felt happy.
The feeling stayed with me while she wrapped the skirts in a newspaper and handed them to me. When I left, though, the feeling left, too. It was as though it stayed behind in the marketplace. I left tears in my throat. I wanted to cry. I didn’t, of course.
I have learned to defend myself against what is hard; without knowing it, I have also learned to defend myself against what is soft and what should be easy.
I get up, light a candle and want to look at the skirts. They are still in the newspaper that the woman wrapped them in. I remove the paper, and raise the skirts up to look at them again before I pack them. Something falls to the floor. I reach down and feel something cool in my hand. I move close to the candlelight to see what I have. There are five long silk ribbons in my hand, all different colors. The woman in the marketplace! She has given these ribbons to me!
There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry, and very hard, as if I could make up for all the months that I didn’t cry.
9. Which of the following is NOT correct?
A. The writer was not used to bargaining.
B. People in Asia always bargain when buying things.
C. Bargaining in Laos was quiet and peaceful.
D. The writer was ready to bargain with the woman.

10. The writer assumed that the woman accepted the last offer mainly because the woman ______.
A. thought that the last offer was reasonable
B. thought she could still make much money
C. was glad that the writer knew their way of bargaining
D. was tired of bargaining with the writer any more

11. Why did the writer finally decide to buy three skirts?
A. The skirts were cheap and pretty.
B. She liked the patterns on the skirts.
C. She wanted to do something as compensation.
D. She was fed up with further bargaining with the woman.

12. Why did the writer cry eventually when she looked at the skirts again?
A. She suddenly felt very sad.
B. She liked the ribbons so much.
C. She was overcome by emotion.
D. She felt sorry for the woman.

Passage 4
Definitions of “culture” are multiple, broad, and notably ambiguous. While there is no agreed-upon definition of culture, the classic definition by E. B. Tylor in 1871 is widely cited: “culture… is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” Most definitions of culture emphasize that it is complex and dynamic, comprised of the shared solutions to problems faced by the group. These solutions include technologies, beliefs, and behaviors.
Culture does not determine behavior, but affords group members a repertoire of ideas and possible actions, providing the framework through which they understand themselves, their environment, and their experiences. Culture is a complex set of relationships, responses, and interpretations that must be understood, not as a body of discrete traits, but as an integrated system of orientations and practices generated within a specific socioeconomic context. Culture is ever changing and always being revised within the dynamic context of its enactment.
Culture is neither a blueprint nor an identity; individuals choose between various cultural options, and in our multicultural society, many times choose widely between the options offered by a variety of cultural traditions. It is not possible to predict the beliefs and behaviors of individuals based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin. Individuals’ group membership cannot be assumed to indicate their culture because those who share a group label may variously enact culture.
In its zeal to encourage respect for cultural differences, the cultural competency movement has sometimes lost sight of these important features of the concept of culture. Instead it has too often represented culture as a decontextualized set of traits providing a template for the perceptions and behaviors of group members. A burgeoning literature on cultural diversity presents the reader with veritable laundry lists of traditional beliefs and practices ostensibly characteristic of particular ethnic groups. This approach encourages the questionable notion that immigrants and certain ethnic and racial minorities are particularly driven by traditionalism. The emphasis in this genre is on difference, pitting the exotic and esoteric against mainstream or conventional beliefs that remain unnamed and unexplored.
The misconception, common in clinical settings, that culture can be understood as a set of discrete traits, has led some mistakenly to treat culture as an explanatory variable, subject to prediction and control. In such applications, specific ethnic cultures are represented as a codified body of characteristics that can be identified and then either modified or manipulated to facilitate clinical goals.
Paradoxically, in such approaches, what originated in a desire to promote respect for individual differences may instead promote stereotyping and essentializing. This process of reifying presumed difference may have the unintended consequence of bolstering a sense of group boundaries. It may also reinforce the belief that culture can be diagnosed and treated, that exotic or unfamiliar beliefs and behaviors of members of already disempowered subgroups should be controlled and adjusted to resemble norms of the dominant group.
13. Which statement is NOT true according to this passage?
A. Definitions of culture are usually difficult, varied and ambiguous.
B. There is no agreed-upon definition of culture so far.
C. There is no common ground in different definitions of culture.
D. Most definitions of culture emphasize that it is complex and dynamic.

14. Culture is not an identity because culture ______.
A. does determine behavior
B. does not provide possible actions
C. can predict the beliefs and behaviors of individuals
D. is optional and ever changing within the dynamic context

15. Emphasizing cultural differences too much would ______.
A. help grasp the most important features of the concept of culture
B. treat culture as a contextualized set of traits
C. respect the traditions of immigrants and certain ethnic and racial minorities
D. lead to regarding the exotic and esoteric against mainstream or conventional beliefs

16. Which of the following is the author’s viewpoint?
A. Culture can be understood not as a set of discrete traits but as an integrated system of orientations and practices generated within a specific socioeconomic context.
B. Culture can be treated as an explanatory variable, subject to prediction and control.
C. Culture can be represented as a codified body of characteristics that can be identified and then either modified or manipulated.
D. Culture can be diagnosed and treated and the exotic or unfamiliar beliefs and behaviors should be controlled and adjusted to resemble norms of the dominant group.

Passage 5
The other problem that arises from the employment of women is that of the working wife. It has two aspects: that of the wife who is more of a success than her husband and that of the wife who must rely heavily on her husband for help with domestic tasks. There are various ways in which the impact of the first difficulty can be reduced. Provided that husband and wife are not in the same or directly comparable lines of work, the harsh fact of her greater success can be obscured by a genial conspiracy to reject a purely monetary measure of achievement as intolerably crude. Where there are ranks, it is best if the couple work in different fields so that the husband can find some special reason for the superiority of the lowest figure in his to the most elevated in his wife’s.
A problem that affects a much larger number of working wives is the need to re-allocate domestic tasks if there are children. In The Road to Wigan Pier George Orwell wrote of the unemployed of the Lancashire coalfields: “Practically never… in a working-class home, will you see the man doing a stroke of the housework. Unemployment has not changed this convention, which on the face of it seems a little unfair. The man is idle from morning to night but the woman is as busy as ever—more so, indeed, because she has to manage with less money. Yet so far as my experience goes the women do not protest. They feel that a man would lose his manhood if, merely because he was out of work, he developed into a ‘Mary Ann’.”
It is over the care of young children that this re-allocation of duties becomes really significant. For this, unlike the cooking of fish fingers or the making of beds, is an inescapably time-consuming occupation, and time is what the fully employed wife has no more to spare of than her husband.
The male initiative in courtship is a pretty indiscriminate affair, something that is tried on with any remotely plausible woman who comes within range and, of course, with all degrees of tentativeness. What decides the issue of whether a genuine courtship is going to get under way is the woman’s response. If she shows interest the engines of persuasion are set in movement. The truth is that in courtship society gives women the real power while pretending to give it to men.
What does seem clear is that the more men and women are together, at work and away from it, the more the comprehensive amorousness of men towards women will have to go, despite all its past evolutionary services. For it is this that makes inferiority at work abrasive and, more indirectly, makes domestic work seem unmanly. If there is to be an equalizing redistribution of economic and domestic tasks between men and women there must be a compensating redistribution of the erotic initiative. If women will no longer let us beat them, they must allow us to join them as the blushing recipients of flowers and chocolates.
17. The first paragraph advises the working wife who is more successful than her husband to ______.
A. work in the same sort of job as her husband
B. play down her success, making it sound unimportant
C. stress how much the family gains from her high salary
D. introduce more labour-saving machinery into the home

18. Orwell’s picture of relations between man and wife in Wigan Pier describes a relationship which the author of the passage ______.
A. thinks is the natural one
B. wishes to see preserved
C. believes is fair
D. is sure must change

19. The last paragraph stresses that if women are to hold important jobs, then they must ______.
A. sometimes make the first advances in love
B. allow men to flirt with many women
C. stop accepting presents of flowers and chocolates
D. avoid making their husbands look like “Mary Anns”

20. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT about the present form of courtship?
A. The woman's reaction decides the fate of courtship.
B. Each man “makes passes” at many women.
C. Men are equally serious about courtship.
D. The man leaves himself the opportunity to give up the chase quickly.

Part II English-Chinese Translation (20%)
Directions: Read the following passage carefully, and then translate the underlined parts, numbered from 1 to 4, from English into Chinese. Please write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.
My topic today is “The Car and Air Pollution.” In particular, I want firstly to discuss the ways in which the car causes air pollution; and secondly, how we can control or reduce air pollution from the car.
First, then, how does the car cause air pollution? 1. What happens is that the car’s internal combustion engine is a kind of chemical factory on a small scale. It uses a mixture of petrol and air, and this mixture explodes and burns, to produce the energy which propels the car. 2. But while this is happening, many complicated chemical reactions are taking place. In particular, part of the petrol-air mixture is not completely burned up, and so the exhaust gases from the engine contain some very dangerous chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, lead and hydrocarbons.
This is the situation, then, and it’s going to get much worse, unless we do something about it. So let’s focus our attention now on ways of controlling or reducing the amount of air pollution caused by the car.
First, we can discourage the use of cars. For example, we can put higher taxes on petrol, and on cars themselves, especially on larger ones that use a lot of petrol. 3. Second, we can encourage alternative methods of transport, both between and within urban areas. For instance we can make train and bus services cheaper and more convenient. And we can build a mass transit system in large cities, particularly an underground railway system.
Next, we can use a different and cleaner fuel for the internal combustion engine.
Fourth, we can replace the internal combustion engine with other designs. There are several possibilities being researched at present, such as electric, gas turbine, and “steam” engines. However, each of these designs has its own disadvantages.
4. Last but not the least, we are trying to control the emissions from the internal combustion engine much more strictly. This, for example, is a catalytic converter, which converts the most dangerous ingredients of the car exhaust into water and harmless gases.
As I’m sure you can see, there are problems with each of these ways; but at least they’re a step in the right direction. Probably the best answer is a synthesis of all five.
Part III Chinese-English Translation (20%)
Directions: Translate the following paragraphs from Chinese into English. Please write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.
各国文明的多样性，是人类社会的基本特征，也是推动世界文明进步的重要动力。当今世界拥有 60 亿人口，200 多个国家和地区，2500 多个民族，5000 多种语言。由于历史传统、宗教信仰、文化背景、社会制度、价值观念和发展程度的不同，各个国家和地区才具有了各自鲜明的特征，整个人类文明也因此而交相辉映、多姿多彩、富有活力。这种文明的多样性是在历史长河中形成的，并将长期存在下去。我们应该尊重和维护各国文明的多样性，而不应人为歧视或贬低他国文明；应该鼓励各种文明在对话交流中相互借鉴、取长补短，而不应相互隔绝和相互排斥；应该倡导各种文明在相互包容、求同存异中共同发展，而不应强求一律、强加于人。
随着经济全球化和新科技革命的发展，国家间的相互联系和相互依存愈益加深，但这并不意味着可以忽视和削弱国家主权的地位与作用。必须实行国际关系民主化。不尊重别国主权，以大欺小，以强凌弱，推行霸权主义和强权政治，实践证明是行不通的。
Part IV Short Essay Writing (20%)
Directions: More and more Chinese scholars now believe that their academic studies should be oriented toward the needs of the society and the government instead of personal interests. What do you think of this belief? You are required to make comments on this belief in about 200 words. Don’t forget to give a title to your comments. Please write your short essay on the ANSWER SHEET.

参考答案及解析
Part I Reading Comprehension
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. D 5. C
6. B 7. D 8. C 9. A 10. C
11. C 12. C 13. C 14. D 15. D
16. A 17. B 18. D 19. A 20. C

1.【答案】B。细节理解题。人们曾认为贫困和失业是穷人及失业者自身的过错所致。由第一段第四句可知，100 年前流行“穷人把处境归因于愚昧无知和不负责任”的观点，而今已过时。
2.【答案】C。细节判断题。如今人们普遍认为人人有权分享国家财富。由第一段第四句可知，自然法则和社会法则都不应把任何人排斥在国家财富之外。
3.【答案】D。细节理解题。作者认为社会保险制度应在一定时期内为每个人提供最低生活保障的权利。由第一段后半部分可知，西方工业化国家的保险制度保证人人在失业、生病、年迈时享受最低生活保障，作者进一步认为即使不具备这些条件，人人也有权获取赖以生存的财富，但应限于某一段时期。
4.【答案】D。综合推理题。由末段可知，这种制度不仅是雇主与雇员之间真正契约自由的开端，最大的好处是在日常生活的每个领域改善人际关系。
5.【答案】C。细节推理题。女性最讨厌当众演讲，因为她们意识到在公众面前有更大的压力。由首段末句“女孩从小就被要求注意各种仪表”可知。
6.【答案】B。作者观点题。由第五、七、十段可知，作者认为纯粹表演无济于事、自然表演几乎不依赖稿子、纯粹表演与自然表演之间应有平衡；B 项“完美剧本是留下好印象所必需”与作者观点相悖。
7.【答案】D。细节理解题。由第四段“personality is not the best predictor of who does it well”可知，性格以外的因素能保证更好的表现。
8.【答案】C。段落理解题。末段“the best psychological place… is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural”意为：演讲者可能内心紧张，但要表现得自然。
9.【答案】A。是非判断题。由“It is the custom to bargain in Asia… In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices…”及作者准备砍价可知 B、C、D 均正确；A 项“作者不习惯砍价”与原文不符。
10.【答案】C。细节推理题。由第六段“She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language… she accepted the last offer I made”可知她因作者懂得他们的砍价方式而高兴。
11.【答案】C。细节推理题。由第六段后半部分可知，作者觉得价格太低、妇女太慷慨赚不到钱，于是又拿两条裙子一起付款作为补偿。
12.【答案】C。细节理解题。由末段“There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry, and very hard”可知作者被情绪所征服。
13.【答案】C。细节判断题。由第一段可知，文化的定义通常艰深多样且含糊、尚无一致定义、多数定义强调其复杂性和多变性；C 项“不同定义间没有共同点”与原文相悖。
14.【答案】D。细节理解题。由第二段末句“Culture is ever changing and always being revised within the dynamic context of its enactment”及第三段“individuals choose between various cultural options”可知文化是可选择且不断变化的。
15.【答案】D。细节理解题。由第四段末句“The emphasis… is on difference, pitting the exotic and esoteric against mainstream or conventional beliefs”可知。
16.【答案】A。作者观点题。由第二段第二句可知，作者认为文化不应理解为一系列互不关联的特征，而应理解为源自特定社会经济环境、由诸多取向和习俗组成的综合系统。
17.【答案】B。细节理解题。由第一段“the harsh fact of her greater success can be obscured…”可知作者建议比丈夫更成功的职业妻子淡化自己的成就。
18.【答案】D。细节推理题。由第二、三段可知，作者认为家中男人不分担家务的状况必须改变，丈夫应像妻子一样分担家务。
19.【答案】A。细节理解题。由末句“they must allow us to join them as the blushing recipients of flowers and chocolates”可知作者暗示女性在恋爱中也应主动一些。
20.【答案】C。判断推理题。由倒数第二段可知，男子会对任何进入视野的女士求爱，态度并非认真、可随时停止；C 项“男人对求爱同样认真”与原文不符。
Part II English-Chinese Translation 参考译文
1. 汽车导致空气污染，是因为汽车的内燃机实际上是一座小型化工厂。内燃机所用的燃料是汽油和空气的混合物，这种混合物燃爆后产生驱动力。
2. 但是，在汽油与空气燃爆时，许多复杂的化学反应也同时发生。特别值得注意的是，汽油和空气的混合物不能完全燃烧，发动机排出的废气中含有一些非常有害的化学物质。
3. 第二，我们可以鼓励在城市内部和城市之间使用替代的交通工具。比如，我们可以使火车和公共汽车服务更加廉价和便利，并在大城市建立公交系统，特别是地铁系统。
4. 最后，我们正尝试更加严格地控制内燃机排放的气体。例如催化式排气净化器，它将汽车废气中最危险的成分转化为水和无害气体。
Part III Chinese-English Translation 参考译文
The diversity of the world’s civilizations is a basic hallmark of human society and an important driving force that propels human progress. Our world today has over 6 billion inhabitants living in more than 200 countries and regions. They break down into over 2,500 ethnic groups and speak more than 5,000 different languages. Because of the difference in historical tradition, faith and culture, or social system, values and level of development, those countries or regions are often different from one another. It is these differences that make our planet dazzling, colorful and bustling with life. Such diversity is a legacy of history and will stay with us into the future. Instead of harboring bias against or deliberately belittling other civilizations, we should give full respect to the diversity of civilizations all over the world. Instead of shutting each other out in mutual exclusion, we should encourage dialogues and exchanges between civilizations so that they can learn from each other in mutual emulation. Instead of demanding uniformity and imposing one’s will on others, we should promote common development of all civilizations in the course of mutual tolerance and seeking agreement while shelving differences.
With the globalization of economy and the advancement of the new scientific and technological revolution, the interconnection and interdependence between countries are developing in depth, but this doesn’t mean allowing the ignoring and weakening of the status and role of a nation’s sovereignty. It is necessary to have greater democracy in international relations. Practice indicates that the disregard for other countries’ sovereignty, the practice of the big oppressing the small and the strong bullying the weak, and the pursuance of hegemonism and power politics won’t work.
Part IV Short Essay Writing 参考范文
Study for Social and National Needs
There is a public debate nowadays on the issue of the orientation of academic studies. More and more Chinese scholars believe that the academic studies should be oriented toward the needs of society and the government. They think that personal interests should be subordinate to the social interests. But some others, on the other hand, argue that individual preferences are more important in the choice of studies. They maintain that interest is the best teacher for study. I think the former is more reasonable from the following two aspects.
On the one hand, only when the students reasonably determine their study and developing directions according to the social needs, will they blend in the society and make their valuable contribution to the society in the future. Let’s take the story of Lu Xun, the famous Chinese writer, as an example. As we all know, his first interest was medicine. He took troubles to go to Japan for advanced medical techniques. But when he came back, he found that it was mental illness instead of physical one that made China weak and backward. So he dropped his own interest and began writing to awaken the people. This is such a good example of realizing personal value by quitting individual interests and meeting the social and national needs.
On the other hand, as proved by practice, anything against the social development will be inevitably eliminated. So is the academic study. If the students’ choice of academy just paid attention to their own preferences, they would gradually be isolated from the society.
From what has been discussed above, a conclusion may be reasonably reached that social needs far outweigh individual interests in the academic studies. Thus, it is suggested that precedence should be given to the public needs over the personal interests when they are in conflict.