Which Deserves Priority — Specialty or Scores?
Directions: For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a composition on the topic: Which Deserves Priority — Specialty or Scores? You should write at least 120 words, and your composition should be based on the following information:
2003年高考招生，一位曾两度获得全国数学竞赛一等奖的应届高中毕业生，由于其高考成绩没有达到其所在省所规定的保送生高考录取最低分数线而被其梦寐以求的一所名牌大学拒之门外。请你就此问题谈谈自己的看法。
【范文】
Which Deserves Priority① — Specialty② or Scores?
When asked whether the student should be admitted by the university, some people, including college students, say that if that happened, it would mean the destruction of the principle that every student shares equal right in front of the Entrance Examination. What’s more, they argue that it doesn’t accord with③ the present educational orientation④, which puts great emphasis on students’ all-round development⑤. However, those who are in favor of the admission argue that it is not scientific to assess⑥ a student only by means of his scores in the exam. In their eyes, students of specialties are rare and should enjoy some privilege, for if not, chances are that a prospective elite⑦ in scientific research would be buried. In this case, history has taught us lessons. A good case in point⑧ is Wu Han, a well-known contemporary historian, whose scores in math were only 15 in an important exam.
Considering the tug-of-war of the views on both sides, I would add weight to the latter. On one hand, to open the door to talent differs from to those who long for the admission by foul means; on the other hand, all-round development lies in three aspects — morality, intelligence and physical fitness, not in school achievements alone, so to admit the student has little to do with the ruin of the educational policy; therefore, talented students should be treated as such.
【注释】
①priority：优先
②specialty：特长
③accord with：与…一致
④orientation：方位；位置
⑤all-round development：全面发展
⑥assess：评估；评定
⑦elite：精华；中坚
⑧a good case in point：一个恰当的例子；一个很好的例子
【点评】
本文是一篇根据情景提示展开的议论文，这种题型的作文在近几年的CET中经常出现。
本文针对题目指令中的情景提示，围绕高考录取时是应该优先考虑学生的特长，还是应优先考虑学生的总分这个中心展开，作者首先提出一种观点——一些人反对录取该考生，理由有二，一是因为这有孛于公平竞争的原则，二是因为这没有鼓励学生全面发展。接着，作者用“However”将笔锋一转，指出对学生的评价不能仅凭考试成绩。这些人认为特长生毕竟是少数，他们应该享受特权。作者进一步用“A good case in point”引出一个真实的事例来进行证明。
在第二段，作者阐明了自己的观点，并用“on one hand … on the other hand …”从两个方面进行论证，有力地反驳了对方的观点。
参考文献：英语作文高分必背丛书：大学英语四级写作/李华田主编，武汉大学出版社，2005
