“攻書”
【內容提示】
在美國，有一種流行的說法“hitting the books”（攻書），意思是為了考試而努力學習功課，相當於漢語的為迎接“中考”或“聯考”的“攻讀”。請用英語寫一篇文章，就你自己所知對這一話題展開討論。主要內容包括：
①對於學生來說，重大的挑戰之一就是考試；要想進步，就得考好。
②“攻書”的學生為了準備考試要花費好長時間反覆地閱讀、複習老師講過的內容。
③在美國，多數兒童在5歲時上學。大眾教育是免費的。多數孩子在離家不遠的學校上學。他們學文化，也玩耍和旅遊，這時他們不需要攻書。
④隨著年齡的增長，情況就不同了。課程多了，也難了；壓力增大，孩子們就得用功學習。
⑤學習認真的學生到了高中才真正開始攻書。
⑥想進入大學的學生須參加全國性的稱為S—A—T的統一考試。部分學生就要努力攻書，把每一門功課學好才能考上大學。
【作文示範】
Hitting the Books
Every society has its special words, expressions and ways of saying things. One of the popular expressions in the United States is“hitting the books”. It means studying a subject with great effort.
One of the great challenges① for students is taking tests. The students must do well on the test to advance. ②.
A student who hits the books spends long hours preparing for a test.
They read all their books carefully, and a then read them a second time, and a third time. They make sure they know all the material the teacher has offered and prepared for every possible question. They study every night. They are“hitting the books”.
In the United States, most children begin attending school when they are five years old. Public education is free and most children go to schools near their homes. School in these early years is fun. The children learn to read and write. But they also play games and go on trips. There is no reason at such an early age for them to hit the books.
This situation changes as children become older. The subjects become more and more difficult. Students must learn about world history, algebra③, and the life sciences. Tests become more common. Pressure④ is growing to hit the books, study hard, and advance.
However, most serious students only really begin hitting the books for long hours when they reach high school.
High school students who hope to continue their education at a college or university must take a special test called the S----A----T. The test has two parts. The first part tests the student＇s ability with numbers and mathematical skills. The second part tests the student＇s ability in the English language.
The S----A----T test is very important.A high school student who gets a high score on the two parts of the test has a good chance to enter a top American college. For this reason, many students hit the books for months to prepare for the S----A----T.
All this adds up to a lot of work----“hitting the books”. Knowledge is a prize that is not easy to gain.
【詞語解釋】
①challenge[＇tM$linDN] n．挑戰；鞭策
②advance[+d＇v%:ns] n．前進；進步
③algebra [＇$ldNibr+] n．代數學
④pressure[＇preM+] n．壓力；強制
【寫法指要】
1）這也是一篇事理說明文。全文分三部分：第一段是第一部分，解釋什麼是“hitting the books”；第二部分包括 2—7自然段，說明美國學生要苦讀數月才能取得學業水平考試的好成績而進入好大學，所以他們必然要“hit the books”；第三部分，即結尾段，只有兩個句子，作者用“知識畢竟不是輕易就能獲得的獎品”總結全文。
2）本文有兩處用到指示代詞的回指（anaphora）功能。第一處是在第五段開頭，“this”回指緊挨著的上一段說到的情況，具有銜接上一段的作用。第二處是用在最後一段開頭的“all this”，雖然它也是回指，但它有總括全文的作用，我們可以把它看做是總結性回指。