楼主先抛砖引玉一篇当时的练习作文,刚开始刷分时写的,估摸着应该是7左右:
In some parts of the world it is becoming popular to research the history of one's own family. Why might people want to do this? Is it a positive or negative development?
In the past most people lived in large multi-generation families. Nowadays young people tend to stay in small families which allow more freedom, and their extended families can spread over a wide geographical area. However, this does not necessarily mean that they care less about their families. Recently there has been an interesting trend that in some parts of the world, people are willing to devote a significant amount of time and money to research the history of their own family.
There are two possible reasons why people want to do this. Firstly, it is a good way to discover where they originate from, and therefore they can have a better knowledge of their ancestors. Nowadays with the globalization, quite a few people have parents and grandparents from all over the world. When they grow up they may feel confused about their nationality and even suffer from a feeling of lost identity. This has resulted in their desire to trace back the history of their families.
Another reason why people research their family history is that they want to have a reunion with their families. In the past there were wars and natural disasters, and in certain countries the situation was so severe that people were forced to desert their hometown. They might be easily separated from their parents and relatives, and never met each other ever since. By researching the history of their families, they hope that some clues on their family members' whereabouts may surface.
This is a positive development for the society that people are placing more importance on the history of their families, because families carry on languagues, cultures and all the childhood memories for all of us. People should be encouraged to understand more about their family trees; therefore they have a better sense of belonging.
比如这些话题: TOY, GIFT, CHILDHOOD MEMORY, SOMETHING IMPORTANT, SOMETHING OLD
楼主准备的素材是:
I’ll tell you something about a doll. Like all young ladies, when I was a child I dreamt of having a toy doll. However, back then my family was not very well-off and my parents need to work really hard to put food on the table. Obviously they couldn’t afford the one I want. So I had to wait until my birthday, when my grandma bought this pretty little doll for me as a present. I can still remember it vividly as i was so excited at that time.
The doll was a little girl, with big black eyes and pink colour dress. She even had a tiny handbag with her. I would always carry her around and play games with her. I pretended I were her mom and changed clothes for her. And when I got any titbits I always asked her: do you want a bite as well? I talked to my doll so much that my parents thought I went crazy. But the truth is, because I was the only child of my family and we lived in an apartment in the city, I didn’t have any brothers, sisters or even neighbours to play together with. That’s why I always felt so lonely and the toy doll became my best friend.
重要的事情说多三遍:不要背!不要背!不要背!准备一份属于自己的答案,大概知道要说啥,别冷场就足够了。
再比如这些:
GIFT, SOMETHING IMPORTANT/EXPENSIVE/RECENTLY BOUGHT
I’m going to describe my smart phone. I bought it last year on a road show and it was really a good bargain, with free Bluetooth earpiece and a protective leather cover. / I got it as a present from my mom during her last visit. It was quite expensive because it was the latest model back then. But since I loved it, she bought it anyway.
I use it frequently to keep in touch with my friends and families. The physical keyboard is quite rare nowadays, as all the models prefer big touch screens. But maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, and I find it extremely convenient to send messages using a physical keyboard, as I know where all the buttons are, and I can even type while I’m walking, without watching the screen at all.
On top of that, it has all the smart phone features, with hundreds of applications available in the online store. Be it games, GPS maps, or even e-books, I can always have the latest version within minutes.
Another important function of my phone is its easy access to the internet. With this feature, I’m always connected wherever I am. If I want to check on news, events, or weather forecast, I can get all these information I need.
I feel that my smart phone has actually become the essential part of my life. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without it.
这个篇幅真的说起来早就超过一分钟了,所以说准备这些更多的是给自己提供说什么的素材。
再加一个关于人物的:
GOOD FRIEND / FRIENDSHIP / FRIENDS VS FAMILIES
I've got my closest friend ever since we entered primary school. She was sweet, caring; basically she had all the good characters a friend can have. And she was surprisingly creative as well - back then she'd always think of new games we could play together. Unfortunately we didn't go to the same high school and gradually we grew apart. But recently we managed to get into touch again, thanks to the social networking website. It's really a happy reunion for both of us.
What do you expect from a good friend? All the good characters of course, such as honesty, kindness and generosity. And personally I think reliability is pretty important. I mean, I can't stand being stood up or having my phone calls ignored by a good friend.
Are friends as important to you as family? No, I would never agree to this point. Maintaining friendship is like growing flowers. It requires tremendous care. A simple neglect may result in dying of the plant. Friendship always comes and goes like this. Unlike families, I mean, families are like trees. They are much less demanding, and more reliable. Therefore we should put our families in the first place. Do you think friendships change as we get older? Yes, I definitely find that as time goes on, things change and people change. Especially if we are geographically separated with our friends, after a couple of years we will gradually grow apart. That's because we would have fewer things in common and much less time spent together. And bear in mind that human beings are social animals. Once our old friendship cannot comfort and satisfy us, we tend to go out and look for some new friends.
FESTIVAL / CELEBRATION / SOMETHING YOU MISS ABOUT HOMETOWN / CHILDHOOD MEMORIES / IMPORTANT EVENT
The most important festival in my country is Chinese New Year. It is also known as the spring festival. It is celebrated at the beginning of a year in the Chinese agricultural calendar, by all regions with significant Chinese population, including mainland China, HK, TW, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.
On New Year’s Eve, people go back home TO have the annual reunion dinner with their families. Usually before that, we would cleanse the houses to sweep away all the bad luck and welcome the good fortune. And also, we decorate our rooms with red color paper cuts and lanterns, which symbolize prosperity. After the reunion dinner, we would set off fireworks and that really brings a wonderful festive feeling, with all the beautiful firecrackers in the sky.
When I was a child I loved spending New Year’s Eve with my families, because of all the delicious food for dinner. But what exited me most was the next day, which is the official beginning of the New Year. My parents would bring me to our grandparents and other relative’s places, and they would visit us as well. All kids would say good words to people such as “Happy New Year”, “Have a good fortune”, and of course we could receive red envelops with pocket money inside. And we were allowed to buy unlimited cadies and titbits during the New Year period. You can imagine how excited all the children were!
I think CNY really means a lot to all the Chinese. Not only because it reminds us of our happy childhood memory, but more importantly, it is part of our traditional culture, which should be passed down from one generation to another.