I urgently need an article of about 2000 words.

Even though we live in a capitalist society, I still have to believe that the motivation for people's success comes from personal satisfaction rather than wealth, despite my cynicism. In Chekhov's short story Bet, a man promised to exchange fifteen years' imprisonment for one million. Obviously, the motive of this extreme gambling is money, but by the end of the sentence, this person doesn't care about money anymore. After years of thinking and reading Shakespeare, the Bible and textbooks, he turned his nose up at the money he bought with 15 years of his life. Instead of going to the banker to withdraw money, he continued to live alone, a place he had fallen in love with, and no longer worried about money and wealth.

In psychology class, when it comes to motivation, students should first study the relationship between external stimulus and personal internal motivation. Any textbook will tell you that research shows that if a task makes children happy, it is more likely to make them go all out to complete the task than to give them external rewards. If good academic performance can make a child feel better about himself, it will promote him to get good grades more than every time his parents reward him on the list of top students. I agree with this motivation theory because it is embodied in daily life. Every night's documentary TV shows tell us the importance of money and honor, but if my sister cares about money and honor, she will go to college after graduating from high school. However, she knows that school study will not bring her happiness, and she doesn't intend to go to school for four more years and suffer four more years just because a college diploma can bring a better job. Now, her job doesn't make much money, but she loves life and likes her own way of life. Compared with sitting in the classroom, she gets more pleasure from answering the phone and dealing with people at work. Last year, I was forced to review my priorities. I studied hard at school since I was a child, and I was an excellent student every semester because I liked it. I didn't cram subjects I didn't like into my schedule, because taking calculus and economics society made the university like you. With my academic average, I am fully qualified to join the National Federation of Excellent Students, but I decided not to join, because although it can impress the admissions officers of many universities, it will not bring me happiness. Instead, I spend time studying creative writing, art history and other subjects that I really love.

There is a happiness principle in psychology, which basically means that people will do things that make them feel happiest or least painful. I think so, and I feel that the happiness that most people pursue has nothing to do with money and luxury. Maybe not from the media, because advertisements all say that people dream of becoming a real estate giant like Trump, but this is not real life. In real life, my neighbor takes looking after other people's gardens as his second job. Although his salary is low, he likes to work outdoors with his hands when the weather is fine. I believe that no one doesn't care about winning the lottery, but it is sad and unrealistic to say that winning the lottery is the main driving force of life. A happy and low-paid person lives longer than a person who works 64 hours a week under high-intensity work all the year round and earns a lot of money. Isn't someone strongly driven by money? Literature, psychology and our own life experience tell us that this is not the case, and I believe it will be the case in the future.

Let's start with a glass of sea.

The title clearly reminds candidates to "fully understand the material" and "don't leave the content and meaning of the material". The content of the materials can be summarized in three aspects: (1) The reading rate of China national books has been declining continuously; (2) The reasons why educated people don't study are: "no time", "unaccustomed", "can't afford it" and "no place to borrow it"; (3) The online reading rate has increased rapidly. The meaning of the material (implied information, that is, the subject category of writing) also has three points: (1) Analyze the reasons, advantages and disadvantages of the continuous decline of the national book rate and the rapid increase of online reading, and the relationship between them; (2) Views on the reasons (one or more) why educated people don't study; (3) The meanings of these two aspects can be written in combination, or only one of them, or one or more points of a certain aspect. This is what the so-called "one side (including front and back) and one angle" means. So, what is written in A Cup of the Sea?

First, it is said that "reading now seems to have been" buried by a hundred herbs "and faded out of people's sight", that is, there are fewer people reading; As for why fewer people are reading, the author says that "people are used to running around all day", and the result is that "no one yearns for a moment's leisure", while "only those who steal a moment's leisure can enjoy the fragrance of a book and chew the hidden sea in that glass of water". Judging from these sentences, this composition is mainly based on the deduction of "no time" and "unaccustomed", on the other hand, people are accustomed to "running all day". But readers can't help asking: What are people busy with? Playing mahjong and poker all day, often rushing to eat and play games, these people are really "busy", which can really be used as a reason for "no time" to study, but is this enough? Is it only reading that is "leisure"? Isn't it "leisurely" to lie on the soft sofa listening to music and watching TV? How can I "steal a moment" to read some books? ……

Although this passage is not off topic, the author has not fully expounded his own views, leaving readers with a series of questions.

Secondly, the author said, "Even if technology develops to the point where all books are electronic and online, there are still learners, because life goes on, and only by learning to read can we learn to live." . This sentence ostensibly buckles the relationship between book reading and online reading in content (1), but in essence obliterates the difference between them: book (paper) reading, like online reading, is all read by readers. Without books (paper), "readers still exist." -This somewhat deviates from the implied substantive connotation of the material. Of course, if you can give sufficient reasons to prove that "playing back the pipa" is reasonable, it is also a topic, but what is the reason? Because life goes on, because you can learn to live by learning to read? This reason itself is a pseudo "learn to read first, then learn to live". There are so many illiterates in history, how can you read if you can't read? Haven't they lived in this world? Also, do people who have "learned to live" still want to study? What is the relationship between reading and life? According to the author's understanding, reading is an inseparable part of the life of people who like reading, even a very important part. People who don't read are still alive, but their spiritual life may not be as rich as those who like reading. -How does a false reason prove an argument?

Not only that, that paragraph just said "whose life is full and beautiful without books", and then said "those who refuse to learn may still be wandering and looking for it" Is this self-contradictory? (there are similar places, limited to space, not to list them one by one. )

Except for these two paragraphs, the whole article is almost all about the topic of "reading", which has little to do with the meaning of the material. -Although the topic of this composition is inseparable from "reading", it cannot be talked about in general.

In the first paragraph, three sentences say that "a book" is "a cup of sea"-but what does this statement (like "quite critical") mean? Reading a book is enough!

The first sentence of the second paragraph: "The ancients said:' Knowing books is a gift'." It is about the purpose or result of ancient people's reading. It is supposed that the first sentence should be the center of this paragraph, at least it has played a transitional role, but what is written below has nothing to do with this sentence.

What does the fourth paragraph mean? It seems that no matter what you read, no matter how you read it, as long as you read it, you can know "the splendor of' one flower and one world' and the gloom of' looking back at the bleak place, rain or shine'" (this seems to be "relevant", but is it realistic? Is there any evidence? )

I can't understand what the sixth paragraph says. There are too many places in this composition that people can't understand! I only know that I talk about "reading" and "life" over and over again.

Looking at the full text, "A book is a kind of life" is repeated four times. This seems to be the main idea of the article, right? Then what does this sentence mean? Does it conform to the meaning of the material?

Writing materials is different from writing topics. Theoretically speaking, everyone is well informed, but when it comes to specific compositions, they are more blind. You see, even the two paragraphs that best fit the topic are hard to explain. How to give full marks for such a composition? Mr. Cao Wenxuan, a well-known professor at Peking University, is well aware of the "tricky" composition of the college entrance examination. Frankly speaking, I am a writer myself, and I think I should help my son do well in the college entrance examination Chinese no matter what. What do we do? I studied for my children for a week, made six model essays, and then gave them a "class", telling them that all kinds of composition routines could not surpass these six essays: three narrative essays, three argumentative essays, and the college entrance examination composition would not change no matter how it was changed. It took me a week to get the children to recite it, and I mastered the countermeasures to deal with the change. Finally, the children's college entrance examination composition scores are close to full marks. (Quoted from Children's Composition and Life, see Innovative Composition Junior Middle School Edition, June 5438+ 10, 2005) A Cup of the Sea is such an exam-oriented composition based on the "recited" questions. -There are many such compositions in the perfect composition. You can find them with a little attention.

I don't need to rap about the composition of American candidates. It's a glass of pure water, which can be seen at a glance, unlike the composition of China candidates, which makes people confused. Their writing time is only 25 minutes (unimaginable! Although there is the advantage of convenient English writing here, there is no need to draw up a question.) From American students' compositions, we know what a calm, sincere, individual and independent personality is. It may not be an exaggeration to say that it is "every word is me", that it is "a man of letters", that it is "impenetrable" and that it is like flowing water.

For example, the former is a fashion model with transsexual cosmetic surgery, and the latter is a healthy and simple western cowboy; The former is the golden lotus, the latter is the foot of heaven; The former is a faint white reed, and the latter is a heavy red sorghum; The former is a balloon and the latter is a shot put. Isn't it clear at a glance which is true and which is false, which is beautiful and which is ugly, which is important and which is light?

Let's give another example: if the test questions are compared to the sea, American candidates swim freely in the sea, while China candidates are like dragonflies, flying on the water forever, only occasionally patting the water with their tails; American candidates played hard and tired, while China candidates played "smart" and "beautiful". Why is the difference so big? Let it happen! Please read the comments of different tutors:

Chinese (profile)

Side batch:

Poetic parallelism is intriguing. It is really a great skill to publicize literary talent from the beginning, because it is convenient to grasp the heart of the marking teacher with one voice.

(2) Using books to describe life is not new, but it fits the topic calmly, and it cannot be said that its technique is not clever.

(3) Books are "fading out of people's sight", which coincides with the "continuous decline in the reading rate of national books". It is so appropriate and really high.

(4) It's wonderful to accurately classify the literati and reflect their life with the method of seeing the big from the small.

⑤ "Only by learning to read can you learn to live", which is really difficult for people who have no deep experience.

⑥ Deepen the theme in Jingjing's metaphor and respond to the title, killing two birds with one stone, which is wonderful.

Comments:

What a beautiful cup of "sea"! This unique title, coupled with the dislocation of quantifiers, suddenly aroused the appetite of readers, and people could not help but read more. This is the beauty of carefully drafting the title. Then, the examinee begins with a comparison, that is, to discuss the interest of books by metaphor, so as to be alert and thorough; After taking over, the pen turned sharply and cut into reality. There are fewer and fewer readers, which skillfully coincides with the requirement of "choosing sides and casting roles"-"The reading rate of China's credentials has dropped for six consecutive years", which is really seamless, and it also makes people appreciate the examinee's insights, subtle quotations, well-organized structure and novel metaphor-"learning to learn", and finally ends with a metaphor, which not only echoes the beginning, but also deepens.

American side

Taking "literature, psychology and our own life experience" as an example, the author powerfully and profoundly expounds a viewpoint that "even if we live in a capitalist society, I still have to believe that people's motivation for success comes more from personal satisfaction than wealth". In Literature, Psychology and Our Own Life Experience, the author focuses on examples to support this view, which shows extraordinary critical ability. At the beginning of the article, the protagonist's pursuit of changing life in Chekhov's short story Bet is taken as an example. Then, based on the psychological principle of "external stimulus, personal internal drive" and the embodiment of this principle in the author himself and his sister, he once again showed his extraordinary critical thinking ability. At the end of the article, with the help of psychology again, the concept of "happiness principle" strengthens that "the happiness pursued by most people has nothing to do with money and luxury" but "personal satisfaction gained from doing useful things". The full text is well-structured, focused and highly integrated, coherent and fluent. The author is skilled in using language, and the sentence patterns used are diverse and appropriate.

To sum up, the author's writing ability has been clearly and fully reflected in this paper, so he got full marks.

Note: The raters of the SAT writing test include experienced high school teachers, teachers who teach English, writing and language arts in universities, and teachers who teach a lot of writing in other disciplines. Graders grade according to grading rules and model essays. Each article is graded by two raters, and the score is 1-6, with 6 as the highest score.

The above comments show that Chinese and American teachers have completely different grading standards for college entrance examination compositions. China attaches great importance to rhetoric, appreciates skills, encourages showing off and instigates flattery; The United States appreciates intellectuality, emphasizes rationality, emphasizes individuality and respects independent personality.

Judging from the content of the composition, the composition of American students is also quite "different": at the beginning, I said "I am cynical"-the views in the article do not conform to the mainstream consciousness of society-"documentary TV programs are telling us the importance of money and honor", and the candidate said "no"; One of his reasons is that he can "live longer", which may not be in line with the values of most marking teachers. But American marking teachers can understand and tolerate. They highly praised the article and gave it full marks. It can be seen that this American candidate is lucky-of course, he will not be the only lucky person. In contrast, the fate of our "alternative" composition among China candidates can be described as one in the sky and one in the dust: zero! Not only "kill the chicken", but also "scare the monkey" (for the public to see): whoever is "different" will be killed! -Every year. Of course, the original intention was to kill them all, but the result always backfired: "wildfire never quite consumes them, the spring breeze is blowing high." What can a teacher do?

Needless to say, the "alternative" among American candidates is extremely natural, calm and used to it in the eyes of American teachers, so the marking teacher will not be stimulated; The "otherness" among China candidates is boasting, exaggerating language and techniques, or satirizing and mocking every word. The sentence "humor", like a dagger, seems to throw a gun at you and stab you with "no discussion" (this is actually the tradition of condemning novels and Lu Xun's essays in the late Qing Dynasty); The mainstream consciousness of society and the authority of marking teachers are openly challenged, and marking teachers often can't stand it, so they take zero as revenge. Obviously, examiners in the United States are rational and wise, while examiners in China are more emotional, so examiners are not necessarily more rational and self-restrained. Therefore, if American teachers are asked to evaluate China's zero-point composition, they will never give zero-in their rules, they can't give zero as long as they don't digress, but they are likely to give high marks; If American teachers are asked to evaluate China's perfect composition, it is likely that more than half of them will not get full marks, and some even fall below the passing line. On the other hand, if China's teachers evaluate American perfect composition, a large part (even the vast majority) will definitely be downgraded. This is inevitable, because in their view, these compositions lack literary talent.

Why is there such a big contrast? The reasons are both historical and realistic.

From the political background, China has a history of feudal autocracy of more than 2,000 years, and the idea of political autocracy is deeply rooted. Zhu Qingyu's Boudoir Sacrifice to Zhang Shui Department in Tang Dynasty: "The bridal chamber stopped the red candle last night and waited for Tang Xiao to worship my aunt. After putting on makeup, I whispered to my husband, is thrush deep and fashionable? " It is the reflection of this ideology. Although history has entered 2 1 century, no matter people's ideology or social reality, the "masters" who were denounced and hated by Mr. Lu Xun are still posing as "masters", and the "slaves" have to live humbly. There is always an ambiguous "mother-in-law relationship" between examiners and candidates, and even the relationship between masters and handmaids-those famous teachers are waves. The composition that can't tolerate the anti-social mainstream consciousness is also a mirror of this social reality. Under such a political background, teachers who have the right to mark papers always "stand at the height of the times", with a strong sense of political responsibility to the society, formulate grading standards, strengthen the legitimacy and importance of the theme, and "strictly control" according to this standard; The average teacher, according to the established "grading standard", is already "familiar with the door". Seeing the "alternative" composition, he raised his hand: zero! It saves time and trouble, so why not? Of course, there are always arguments, but the "little wizard" can't compete with the "big wizard" after all, not to mention that most of the "little wizards" are still on the side of the "big wizard". The United States is the first country in the world to enter a democratic society. Although it is still "capitalism", their teachers don't have to have a strong sense of political responsibility like us. They can dilute their ideology and strictly grade them from the perspective of discipline and scholarship.

From the cultural background, China is an ancient country with thousands of years of civilization development history and rich traditional cultural accumulation. These cultural accumulations have both essence and dross. From the source, there are realism in The Book of Songs and romanticism in Li Sao. Later, there were fu styles that pursued formal beauty, and Tongcheng School prose that paid attention to "bones and muscles". From Qu Yuan to Sima Xiangru and then to Wang Bo, literary talent has a long history and is deeply loved by scholars of all ages. Moreover, from the Book of Songs to the ancient prose movement to Tongcheng School, the quality is the same, and the incense continues. Liang Shiqiu said that his article was "a little tough and honest and frank", which was attributed to a Chinese teacher (Liang Shiqiu's One of My Chinese Teachers) as an example. Only among the literati, the former has more market and popularity, and often forms a strong position, which makes the latter lose. The following joke reflects this situation:

Before Xi Ning (Nianhao) changed his major (imperial examination reform), Wu Zhuo worked as a professor in Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui Province), and he had to use deep-rooted words to teach students composition, such as "emphasizing Ran Yan's fame and fortune" to make his writing powerful. Luzhou scholars sneered, "Professor Wu has known nothing for a long time." -A Cup of the Sea is an inverted sentence of "A Cup of the Sea", and the whole article is also a specimen of "a meaningless long period" and "no nose at all": how similar the history is!

There are many such jokes. According to "Ear Tan":

"The eunuch mansion has a history, meet grand meeting, and invigilate, after having obtained the class. Yi Yan (the official is the crown, here the official is the loan) has a profound meaning in his book, saying,' There is no need to write essays today, only a pair of good ones will take them away.' Because of the cloud,' Luz is riding a fat horse'. All the students bowed their heads and laughed. One of them said to Yun,' Yao Shun rode a sick pig.' Greatness is a good thing. "-"A Cup of the Sea "is not because of unreasonable parallelism and metaphor!

Since ancient times, examiners have been too pedantic, and those who have not learned are always the first to board. It is no wonder that people who read widely have repeatedly expressed their feelings: "Do educated people know what an article is? Who knows what talent is? "

Throughout the ages, literary talent has always been the most important choice in imperial examinations. The main reason may be that "professors" in past dynasties were mostly shallow and pedantic "quasi-gifted scholars" and "quasi-experts". These "quasi-gifted scholars" and "quasi-experts" have a special preference for stereotyped writing and rhetoric. They choose articles according to their own preferences, and the result can only be "the spread of fallacies and heresies" and "endless harm". If Rainbow Bo, a real talent, is allowed to read papers, I think they must not like making fakes and showing off their literary talent; If real experts such as Ye Shengtao and Lv Shuxiang are allowed to read the papers, I don't think they will give full marks to those compositions that falsely show off "literary talent". America is an immigrant country, and its history is much younger than ours. In their history and culture, there is no tradition of showing off "literary talent" like ours, which needs no elaboration. Therefore, American professors are extremely dissatisfied with the irrational writing of foreign students in China: "Lyrics are always expressed" [see China Learning (July-August 2006) and Sun Shaozhen's Perceptual Proposition and Intellectual Potential-Comment on the Composition of the 2006 College Entrance Examination].

Chinese is the treasure and pride of the Chinese nation, but in another sense, it is also the yoke and foot-binding cloth of several generations of students in China. Complex glyphs, diverse meanings and complex pronunciations are tormenting readers. Ten years of study time, a lot of time is spent on this difficult discrimination memory. As I just quoted in the Open Letter to Teacher Xu Jiang (see Chinese Teaching and Research Teachers Edition,No. 10, 2006), Teacher Nan Xiang said that students "forget after the exam" and "neither increase the amount of knowledge nor have any application value, which is a complete waste of time". These "knowledge" that are useless to learn and can't be counted as knowledge waste students' time, brain power and vision. (1998 may composition) in addition, there is endless "reading analysis", which imposes many specious things on students and leads them into a "maze" that even teachers themselves can't get out of; What's more, there is endless "tutoring" in writing, and with the "guidance" of college entrance examination composition, students' feet are wrapped into "three-inch golden lotus". -Do you think students in China can not suffer? Mr. Lv Shuxiang once asked why Chinese teaching in China is inefficient, and I think this is the fundamental reason.

-It seems to be off topic again, or get to the point: I really hope that the history of "alternative" composition in the college entrance examination will come to an end; I really hope that China students can compete as freely as American students!