2017年9月17日托福写作真题解析

　　Writing 1综合

　　Nacza Lines为什么形成的三种理论：

　　1.用来记录星象变化，因为有些图案像天上的星星。

　　但教授反驳还有无数的图案根本不能match到天上的星星，而且仅有的那些像的图案也只是巧合而已。

　　2. 一种表达文化的艺术形式，因为很壮观。

　　教授反驳说在高处看确实很壮观，但在平地看就not visible，根本不能识别，所以不可能是人为创作的艺术作品。

　　3. 是人们赛跑的轨道，因为有很多人的足迹。

　　教授反驳说这些足迹很复杂，还包含了动物的脚印，很难定位，而且不一定是用来赛跑的，可能是人们进行宗教仪式时留下来的。

　　如下是阅读听力原文

　　2016.6.25

　　综合写作

　　The straight lines and the central shape with straight line are “Nazca Lines”

　　The term “Nazca Lines” refer to a series of images created in the desert of Peru about 2,000 years ago. These images, many depicting geometric shapes, are extremely large with some covering several kilometers. Although researchers know how the Nazca Lines were created--the top layer of dark rocks were removed from the desert floor, exposing the lighter soil underneath--they remain uncertain why they were created. Several theories have been suggested to account for the presence of these lines.

　　One theory is that the Nazca Lines were used as an astronomical calendar for tracking events such as the winter solstice (the day with shortest number of daylight hours) that were important to agricultural peoples. This theory was supported by the discovery of an astronomical link between some of the images and various planets and stars. It was pointed out, for example, that on the day of the winter solstice, the Sun sets almost directly over a single long line drawn in the desert.

　　Another theory is that the Nazca images were created as a monumental art form expressing the Nazca people’s cultural and social importance in the region. Many ancient peoples built large monuments and artworks to demonstrate their power and celebrate their achievements. The Egyptians built massive pyramids, for example, and Easter Islanders curved massive human heads out of stone. It seems reasonable, therefore, to think that the Nazca images were built for similar reasons--to impress others.

　　A third theory focuses on the fact that there is evidence that people traveled by foot along the line. This has led to the speculation that the Nazca Lines represented sites of footraces in which individuals or groups of individuals competed for athletic victory. In this view, the Nazca images are ancient racetracks.

　　Listening

　　The three theories that you read give some very creative explanations for the Nazca Lines. But none holds up well unto the examination.

　　First, about the Nazca Lines as indicators of astronomic events. What the reading didn’t mention is that the vast majority of Nazca images don’t match up with anything observable in the sky. And for the few images they do, well, you know, there are hundreds of Nazca images and countless objects in the sky. Given these numbers, of course, a few line up. That would happen just by chance.

　　Second, the Nazca images as art. Well, it is certainly true that Nazca images are large, but they are impressive really only when seen from overhead, like in an airplane. When you’re simply standing on the ground next to one of these images, it is not impressive at all. The landscape is too flat and the images are too large to allow people on the ground to recognize them. This is very different from the pyramids and the Easter Island stones. They are not just large, they are tall. It is their great height them makes them visible and impressive.

　　Third, the idea that people were using the lines as racing tracks. Some of the images are in the shape of animals. There is a monkey, a hummingbird, a spider and so on. And these images are too complex to make good locations for foot race. Ok, so what could count for the evidence that foot traveled along the line? We can’t be sure of course, but we know that other prehistoric peoples in the region had religious rituals that involved walking along especially created pathways. It could be that Nazca line played a role in religious rituals or ceremonies that involved walking along the line.

　　Writing 2

　　2017年9月17日独立作文：

　　A lot of high school students now cheat in homework assignments, by asking other students for answers. Which of the following do you think is the most efficient way to stop?

　　-asking parents to help stop the students from cheating

　　-penalty or punishment to the students

　　-asking teacher to create homework assignment that cannot be easily cheated

　　今天的独立写作是久违了的三选一题目，ETS出的题目越来越接地气，考察防止高中生作弊哪种方法最有效。这种题型的思路是选择一个支持的说明理由，并解释为什么不支持其他两个选项。

　　这道题假如选择第三个，我们可以找到理由是老师可以布置开放性的家庭作业，学生可以去图书馆查阅资料，整理形成presentation或者写paper，这样学生就不太容易作弊。

　　第一个选项--父母帮助孩子防止作弊—可能作用不太大，是因为有些家长本身受教育程度不高没法进行有效的指导;甚至有的父母会为了孩子在学业中拿到比较高的成绩会帮助孩子做作业，这就起不到防止作弊的效果。

　　第二个选项—处罚—也起不到作用是因为处罚过轻起不到震慑作用，处罚过重比如开除学籍可能会给学生带来严重影响，甚至心理素质不好的学生会跳楼自杀等等。