1、专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 83及答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 The following two excerpts are about the practice of renting boyfriends and girlfriends for the Chinese New Year. From the excerpts, you can find that there is some opposition to this practice. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you shoul
2、d: 1. summarize the main ideas of both excerpts, and then 2. express your opinion towards the practice, especially whether it is a good way to solve the problems. Excerpt 1 Renting a girlfriend or boyfriend for the Chinese New Year and taking her or him to meet the parents, is a practice that reveal
3、s the dating difficulties some Chinese experience and it also indicates about some features of parent-child relationship in China. “Rent a girlfriend to take home for the new year“, also translated more simply to “rent-a-date“, is a hot topic in China for already a decade. This year, this practice s
4、eems to be discussed less compared to previous years, though this is not because the scope of the phenomenon has been reduced, but rather because few people are surprised by it. The term can be modified to “rent a boyfriend“ instead, and “new year“ could be replaced by other big holidays. This pract
5、ice, as the name implies, is basically finding a date, who would be willing, for a decent salary, to accompany one to visit his parents during the holiday. The main reasons expressed when justifying this practice are located on the line between showing filial piety, making parents less worried, and
6、avoiding their constant nagging for a change. These objectives are more intense in more “traditional“ families, whereas early marriage is promoted, though evidence show that “rent-a-date“ is also quite common in developed urban societies and even among the middle class. Being a single child in the m
7、odern society is quite a burden also when it comes to parents marriage expectations. Excerpt 2 A booming market has emerged where women or men offer their services of being the perfect partner for a day. Renting a girlfriend or boyfriend for Chinese New Year has become a solution for many who dont w
8、ant to face another year of annoying questions about their (non-existent) love life. While men looking for a fake girlfriend often have concerns about her trustworthiness and whether or not their parents will like her, the women offering their services also have their worries. One woman interviewed
9、by Peoples Daily says that she first talks with potential clients to see what their expectations are. She makes it very clear that she will not share a bed with him, she says, as some customers have “inappropriate wishes“. Renting a girlfriend for the holidays temporarily solves one problem. But sin
10、ce the most dreaded questions for Chinese New Year also include those on whether or not you own a car, have a house, got a raise, passed your exams, and are planning on children or are pregnant yet, we can only wonder if these kinds of Chinese New Year services will come to include more “fake it“ un
11、til you make it possibilities. Rent a baby, anyone? 2 While Chinese celebrity weddings are becoming more extravagant year on year, ordinary couples have now also caught the pre-wedding shoot fever. The following news report illustrates this trend and peoples view on it. Write an article of NO LESS T
12、HAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize the development of wedding photography industry in China, and then 2. give your comment Chinas Booming Wedding Photography Industry Wedding photos are an important part of wedding ceremonies across the globe, but in China theyre a whole different ball
13、game; the perfect wedding shoot has become a top priority in the wedding arrangements. The Chinese marriage industry is soaring with an estimated worth of 130 US$ billion in last year. Wedding shoots are one of its key sectors some photography packages are sold at a staggering $80,000. Profits stem
14、from the expensive backdrops and costume rentals, along with more modern additions of presentation videos and interactive wedding invitations. In todays social media age, Chinese wedding photographs are routinely shared with a large audience. This has led to various trends in the industry. One style
15、 mirrors the original “wedding photographs of Chinas pre-reform era. Before the popularity of pre-wedding shoots, engaged couples would usually pose for one formal photograph when in the process of obtaining a marriage certificate. In more modern interpretations, couples can be seen to wear Mao-era
16、military fatigues and hairstyles, even holding copies of Maos Little Red Book in keeping with photographs of the time, the main difference being that today couples are permitted to adopt whimsical poses and expressions. Another recent trend is to stand out from the crowd by taking pre-wedding photos
17、 in another country, such as posing under the Big Ben in faraway London. This generally involves more Western-style photographs in suits and white bridal gowns. Transport and accommodation are often organised as part of one photography package. Other popular pre-wedding photo locations and styles in
18、clude local parks, botanical gardens, amusement parks and indoor studio backdrops, with couples often wearing traditional Han qipao and hanfu dress. As the production level of pre-wedding photography rises, couples in China have been spending increasing amounts on photography packages. In order to g
19、et ahead in the market, there are now companies that have begun to offer additional services including electronic online invitations and wedding videos at comparatively affordable prices. Pre-wedding shoots themselves can range from hundreds to (ten) thousands of dollars, depending on the number of
20、locations and the price of the outfits. Online opinion of pre-wedding photography varies, with some Weibo users admiring viral wedding photos while others scorn the practice. Some netizens are critical at the costs involved in extravagant photo shoots. Commenting on the recent story of the couple wh
21、o wore 56 ethnic minority outfits in their pre-wedding photographs, one Weibo user said: “All I can say is that they have too much money.“ On the other hand, unusual photo shoots can attract admiration, with one netizen commenting on the same story: “What a creative journey!“ With the growth of Chin
22、as emerging middle-class, the trend for pre-wedding photographs is likely to further flourish for the years to come; as couples strive to find new and innovative wedding photos, the industry is only set to become more competitive. 3 In China, grooms typically have to pay their would-be wives a “brid
23、e price,“ which now often turns into a costly affair and burden of the grooms and their families. It has sparked debate around the nation about how the bride price tradition reflects an obsession with materialism and makes it hard for young Chinese couples to start families. The following article gi
24、ves details of this practice. Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the opinions in the article, and then 2. give your comment. Bride Prices in China Are Sky-High Bride prices are a long-standing tradition in China. A “bride price“ is an amount of mone
25、y or goods paid by the grooms family to the brides family upon marriage. Since Chinas gender imbalance has made it more difficult for men to find a bride, the “bridewealth“ prices have gone up drastically. This holds especially true for the poorer, rural areas in China. According to CCTV, the bride
26、price phenomenon has changed significantly over the past fifty years. During the 1950s, the “bridewealth“ would mostly consist of some material items such as a thermos bottle or bedding. In later decades, this changed to more costly things such as furniture, radios, watches, or a sewing machine. But
27、 in the rural areas of contemporary China, the bride price is now all about hard cash. In some places, like in Shandong province, it is common for the brides family to ask for more than 100,000 RMB before their daughter marries a staggering figure for average rural households in Shandong province. A
28、ccording to sociologist Zhang Yi, rising bride prices have three major reasons. The first is Chinas gender imbalance, which has caused a surplus in men, making it statistically more difficult for them to find a wife. The second reason has to do with the population division in China the majority of C
29、hinas single, young men live in the rural areas, whereas the majority of Chinas single young women live in the bigger cities. It has caused a highly competitive marriage market, where the brides families can ask for a high price. The third reason is the growing trend of the so-called “bride price cu
30、lture“, where many families now feel a low bride price means losing face if ones daughter or future wife is “too cheap“, it is generally seen as a bad thing, both by the brides side as the grooms. According to Zhang Yi, it is highly unlikely that bride prices will go down in the decade to come. On W
31、eibo, not all netizens seem convinced that CCTVs conclusion about the sky-high bride prices is realistic: “Im from the countryside, but Ive never heard about sky-high bride prices,“ one netizen comments. Another Weibo user says: “Where Im from, the bride price is used to take back home and is consid
32、ered the start-up capital for the new family.“ Some netizens see the sky-high bride prices as a serious problem: “Authorities should standardise bride prices, based on the average income of the locals. Whoever exceeds the standardised price should be punished by law as a human trafficker,“ one netiz
33、en writes. 4 Some universities in China set up a rule that students are not allowed to display their affection in public. If students are found kissing or hugging on campus, they might be expelled from the college. Some think that these regulations are somewhat ruthless. The following article provid
34、es detailed information about this issue. Read it carefully and write your response in NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the article; 2. express your own opinion, especially on whether we should allow students to display their affection on campus. Display Your Affecti
35、on But Think of the Public, Too Nearly 40,000 people have joined an online debate over whether a college has the right to interfere in public display of affection by students on campus. It all started with a media report about a unique part-time job that the Nanjing University of Forestry created fo
36、r its students four years ago. Wearing red armbands as identification, the students patrol the campus, discouraging their schoolmates from spitting, littering, vandalizing school property and stepping on lawns. But their most controversial assignment is to stop students from displaying “intense inti
37、macy“, such as kissing, embracing, or sitting on each others laps. The university is proud of its program. Jinling Evening News quotes one school official as saying: “The program not only creates nearly 100 part-time jobs, but also helps to maintain a civilized environment.“ The campus is “clean“, t
38、he official said, now that students are encouraged to show some restraint in public. Not surprisingly, the students see it a bit differently. One student complained that the monitors always appear when she and her boyfriend “just try to sit a bit closer“. Another student, a junior who calls himself
39、Ah Wei, said online that he and his girlfriend no longer meet to talk in the campus garden. “We felt as if there was always a pair of eyes watching us,“ he wrote. The student monitors feel torn. They like having a job, but they are afraid of offending their schoolmates. About two-thirds of the onlin
40、e posts appear to favor the monitors; about one-third opposes them. I certainly understand the students position. After all, who wants a chaperone hovering around during an intimate moment? College students are adults; they should be responsible for their own actions without being monitored by other
41、s. We Chinese have come a long way in openly expressing our emotions, including affection. Confucius dictated that men and women should observe propriety. Ancient rituals even forbade men and women from touching hands. A lot of barriers have fallen since China began to open up 30 years ago. Go to an
42、y middle school after school and you will see students streaming out of class, boys and girls chatting and laughing together. It is not uncommon to see boys and girls holding hands or even kissing if they think no one is watching. College-age men and women are adults and should enjoy even more freed
43、om. On the other hand, I do hate to see young people indulging in acts of intimacy in public, oblivious to the feelings of others. A colleague of mine recently found herself crowded at one end of a subway car, while a pair of teens disported themselves at the other end. “All the people around me jus
44、t tried to pretend the boy and girl werent there,“ my friend said. The Nanjing University of Forestry may have gone too far, but it is their job to teach youngsters to behave in public so as not to offend peoples sensibilities. 专业英语八级（作文）模拟试卷 83答案与解析 一、 PART V WRITING 1 【正确答案】 Fake It Till You Make
45、It? The Spring Festival is a time for family reunions. As excited as they may be about returning home, many Chinese singletons are dreading the inescapable question from their parents and relatives: “When are you getting married?“ To deflect all the unwanted attention, some of them have come up with
46、 a funny way renting a date to bring home. This phenomenon actually underscores the mounting pressure on most single people, which is caused by the difference in attitudes and expectations about marriage between parents and their post-80s children. Despite the boom in the partners rental business, t
47、his practice is doubted by many people in terms of trustworthiness and safety. In my opinion, renting a date is far from being a permanent solution to the marital problem. Children hire boyfriends or girlfriends to please their parents over the holidays and to make their own lives easier, but actual
48、ly that can achieve the exact opposite to the planned purpose. The parents will be upset to hear a few months later about the inevitable breakup. Besides, as the agreements signed by the two parties involved on boyfriend or girlfriend rentals are not protected by law, disputes may occur. There is a
49、real case where a man had a dispute with his fake girlfriend over the red packets she accepted from his family. Unfortunately, his parents found out the whole thing and it caused a lot of family conflicts. Apart from the potential unpleasantness, renting partners is unlikely to solve the deeper issues behind the phenomenon. What we really expect to see is that the gender ratio between Chinese men and women will become more balanced, and the traditional ideas about marriage will undergo serious transformations. Although young people under
