五篇种子文章必备中英版

Question 1

In spite of the many advances women have made in education and employment, they continue to be at a

disadvantage when it comes to pay and promotion. In your view, what should be done to promote the

equality of opportunity for men and women in the workplaces?

Model answer 1

In many parts of the world, there is now greater equality between working men and women.

Nevertheless, women still tend to earn less and enjoy fewer promotions than men. Some would

argue that this situation will correct itself over time. However, in my view, there is much that can be

done to address the problem constructively.

One possible approach would be for governments to force employers to promote the same numbers

of men and women and to pay them the same salaries. This would certainly tackle the problem

quickly. However, measures like this would probably be seen as excessive and difficult to enforce.

A more feasible approach would be for governments themselves to take the lead by ensuring that

their male and female employees earn the same for equivalent work and that women are promoted

fairly. This would help to establish gender equality as a norm and set a good example for companies

in the private sector. Countries, such as Sweden and Iceland, which have done this are often

regarded by others as socially-advanced models.

To further encourage equality, companies could be required to publish figures on the rank and

average earnings of men and women in their workforce. Evidence of large inequalities would create

a bad impression. In order to avoid bad publicity, companies might consider it worthwhile to pay

fairer wages and promote more women to management positions.

It is true that the problem of gender inequality in the workplace will probably not be solved quickly.

However, that is not a reason to avoid taking action. Governments can encourage change by

showing the way forward and taking advantages of the need for companies to present themselves as

fair and reasonable.

【翻译】

在世界上的很多地区，男女员工有了更进一步的平等。然而，女性往往比男性赚钱更少，也

很少得到晋升。也许有人会说随着时间的推移这个问题会自主修正过来。然而在我看来，我

们现在可以做很多有建设性的事来解决这个问题。

其中一种可行的方案就是政府可以强制雇主促使男女员工数量相等而且给他们同样的薪水。

这无疑可以迅速解决这个问题，然而，类似这样的措施执行起来可能会有些过分和困难。

更可行的办法是政府本身来带头确保他们的男女员工获得等价的薪水而且女性可以公平晋升。

这可能会帮助建立起性别平等的社会准则，给私营企业树立一个良好的榜样。类似瑞典和冰

岛这样已经采取上述办法的国家通常会被当做是社会高度发达的典范。

为了进一步鼓励男女平等，公司应该被要求制定薪水等级和男女员工在工作量内的平均工资。

大量不平等的迹象可能会造成很糟的影响。为了避免负面影响，企业可能会觉得提供更合适

的薪水并提供给女性更多管理岗位是值得的。

的确，职场中男女不平等的问题可能很难被迅速解决。然而这并不是我们要回避解决问题的

原因。政府可以通过展示前景和利用公司的需求来告诉他们，这样的改变是公平而合理的。

Question 2

Some people suggest higher education should be funded by the government, while others think

students should pay the course fees themselves. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Model answer

In the last decade, the funding of higher education has become one of the most heated focuses of

discussion and disputes across the whole country. Opinions are deeply divided as to who are

responsible for paying the increasingly high fees.

Many people claim that students themselves should fund their college education. This indeed

reduces governments’ financial burden to a certain extent and it is argued that students’ motivation

would be highly strengthened since they have paid a large amount of fees to obtain the access. But

the downsides should not be neglected. That is mainly to say, the economically disadvantaged

groups, for example, children of impoverished farmers in remote rural areas and laid-off workers in

cities, may be put at an extreme disadvantage.

An alternative approach would be for the government to pay all the tuition fees, thus enabling

all its citizens, whether poor or rich, can have equal access to higher education. What is more, it is

also a scheme to reduce the disparities between the two classes so as to enhance the social harmony.

However, this also has limitations: the government budget is never unlimited and the taxes

imposed on individuals would be dramatically increased.

Consequently, the third approach - by government loan - seems to be the most practical one.

Governments can make loans to students who get accepted to universities, which are supposed to be

paid back within one or two years after their graduation. This allows the students, the impoverished

ones in particular, to go on with their further education in university regardless of their economic

status. Meanwhile, the government does not shoulder too much financial burden beyond its

capacities.

Overall, I believe the third strategy – student loan – is the most feasible strategy in dealing with the

issue of increasing tuition fees. This offers a wider range of benefits to both individuals and

governments.

【第三篇文章】

Question 3： CONVENIENCE FOOD VS TRADITIONAL FOODS

Task 2: Model answer

The increasing availability of convenience foods has been a significant feature of modern life in

many developed countries. Some people have predicted that with advances in food technology,

traditional foods and traditional methods of food preparation will disappear. In this essay, I will

argue that this is unlikely to happen.

It is true that nowadays many people do not have enough time to cook and that convenience foods

present an attractive option. These foods have improved significantly in terms of quality and

availability and the range for sale in the average supermarket is quite impressive. It is possible to

find even very sophisticated ready-prepared microwavable meals.

However, the growing popularity of television cookery programmes ‘celebrity chefs’, and cook

books suggest that people continue to value traditional ways of preparing foods. Farmers markets

selling fresh, locally-produced food continue to be the norm in many parts of the world. In fact, they

are growing in popularity in countries such as the UK, where they had virtually disappeared from

many cities. This may be partly because cooking with basic, natural ingredients is cheaper than

buying processed foods.

Moreover, traditional foods are an important aspect of culture and social life. In many countries,

traditional meals continue to be shared in regular family gatherings. Important celebrations such as

weddings, Christmas and Chinese New Year are marked by traditionally prepared feasts.

In spite of the utility of convenience foods, people are unlikely to abandon practices that are

economically sound and give them great pleasure. It is hard to imagine a world in which people do

not continue to enjoy traditional, home-cooked meals at least some of the time.

【翻译】

在很多发达国家，方便食品可选择性的增加成为了显著的特点。一些人预言随着食品科技的

进步，传统食物和传统的烹饪方法将会消失。在这篇文章中，我将说明为什么这个预言不会

实现。

现代生活中的确有很多人没有时间下厨，对他们来说方便食品提供了很有吸引力的选择。这

些食品从品质和方便性上都有显著的提升，在普通超市的销售范围也令人印象深刻。即使是

非常复杂的预制微波食品也是可以找到的。

但是，越来越多的电视烹饪节目（比如《明星主厨》）以及烹饪书籍，都说明人们对于传统

的烹饪方式仍旧很重视。销售本地产新鲜食物的农产品市场依然是世界很多地区的生活常态。

实际上，在很多国家（比如英国）已经近乎消失的农产品市场，如今又重新回到人们的视野

并在数量上有所增长。也可能有部分原因是因为用基础的、天然的素材做饭比购买加工食品

更便宜。