V119 Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students for every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
這實際是從教育領域讓我們議論男女平等。類似的一道也是考過多次的考題還有
Some country allow women to join the armed forces, well some others think not such as navy, army doesn't suit for women, do you agree or disagree? Use your own experience and reasons.
G類的考生還曾被考過女性當警察,好還是不好。依此類推,如果哪天考官再出,現(xiàn)在女科學家,女性政府官員越來越多,好還是不好。只要準備過其中一篇,我們自可從容應對。下面以教育領域的男女平等為例,我給大家介紹怎樣巧言善辯,并融會貫通。
V119的關鍵詞有兩個,every subject , equal number 這道題,很難折衷地說,每個學科既應該男女人數(shù)均等,又不該均等,所以結構上只能寫單邊支持,或者單邊反對,兩條路,要么寫每個學科男女生人數(shù)應該均等,要么寫每個學科男女生人數(shù)不必強求一致,有趣的是,在寫作強化班我給大家的小冊子里,兩篇V119的高分范文,觀點截然相反,但使用的“工具”,或者論據(jù)都一模一樣,實際上,我們在考場上,想到的可用的論點論據(jù)往往是有限的,怎樣用有限的工具,去解決花樣繁多的作文題目,還能巧妙地自圓其說呢?以該題為例:我們可以初步檢查一下可用的論點。
“存在的往往就是合理的”,學過雅思寫作的同學對這一點一定是深有體會!想一下身邊的具體的現(xiàn)象,真的會幫助我們把抽象的作文題具體化,提供最初的寫作靈感。中國的大學和國外的大學,現(xiàn)在每個學科有沒有做到男女生人數(shù)均等呢?答案是否定的。我們接著想原因,有可能是我們該作文的一條重要論據(jù)。大家馬上就可以告訴我, gender feature 是主要原因,的確,male and female tend to have different physical traits and way of thinking , being adept at certain fields in tertiary education. 以上的論點,正好可以支持“不必強求一致”派。性別特點是一個重要的工具,是我們寫男女權利要用的最重要的論據(jù)之一。問題是,我們能否用這個論據(jù),來支持“人數(shù)均等”派呢?只要想到我們寫作課常用的一個表達,就解決問題了:正因為 different gender feature, they tend to complement each other both physically and psychologically , bringing their talents and strengths into full play. 其中,complement 是很多雅思作文都要用到的一個詞匯,說男女生互補。也可換形容詞用,complementary to each other.
第一個自然段有了著落,我們來看還有什么論據(jù)可用。除了性別差異,我們接著找社會原因,發(fā)現(xiàn)Sex discrimination 也是導致該現(xiàn)狀的主要因素。不少同學都能成功地寫出類似的表達:In the old days majority of women were deprived the right of further education, which has been changed dramatically thanks to the growing gender equality in the modern society .這個道理我們很容易認同,想想這句話是哪一派的論據(jù),顯然,它幫助了“人數(shù)均等”派的論證?,F(xiàn)在的問題是,有沒有辦法用同樣的工具,幫“不必強求一致”派說話?如果能做到這一點,大家的辯論能力是很強的了。這是我們從V119的兩篇范文中拿出的一個論證部分:
To eliminate sex discrimination means rather taking special consideration of the willingness and qualification of the two gender rather than purely statistical data , otherwise an overwhelming waste of talents would arise as the university turn down those eligible as well as enthusiastic applicants, based on superficial apprehension of sex equality.
性別歧視不應該僅僅是報表上的數(shù)據(jù),更應該是尊重男女生的意愿,如果強求一致,就會在性別平等的旗幟下,把有才華并熱衷于該學科的申請人拒之門外,反而導致人才浪費。這段話真是充滿了說服力。
兩個自然段采用的是男女平等類話題,最經常采用的兩大論據(jù)。第三個自然段,我們可以按照慣例,雅思作文的話題是什么,我們就扣問一下該事物的功能或目的,既然寫的是大學招生政策,我們就可以想想,大學成立的根本目的何在?這個問題很好回答:
The ultimate purpose of the tertiary education is to cater for the demand of the society for intelligent resources.
大家都認同的一個道理,想想看,這個論據(jù)可以拿來支持誰?答案是兩派都可以,只要做到自圓其說,“不必強求一致”派可以說,由于現(xiàn)在社會上以男女為劃分的社會分工,并不均衡,(uneven division of labor in terms of gender)所以為了跟現(xiàn)實同步(keep abreast with the reality), 學校的招生政策也應順其自然。而“男女人數(shù)均等”派可以說,隨著社會文明的進步,以性別為劃分的社會分工正在日趨一致,因此,學校的招生政策應該做出調整。
Enrolment policy should be adjusted accordingly along with the progress of the social civilization and sexual equality.
這樣,我們就完成了有血有肉的兩篇文章,用的工具居然都是一樣的,都很好達到了考官要考察的自圓其說。練完這一篇教育領域的男女平等的話題,其他領域的男女平等大多可以類推,再加上一些調整即可做到雄辯和說服力。
如果我們考場上又碰到女性參軍好還是不好這篇作文,即可主張女性參軍,也可反對女性參軍,考官并不關心你同意還是不同意的大的觀點,考官要重點考察的是你的論證過程能否自圓其說,以及語言的準確和豐富程度。在時間緊,想到的論據(jù)有限的前提下,看看上述這兩個“共同的工具”能否幫我們構造好文:
以“男女特點不同”支持女性參軍,可寫:
With the nature of the modern war changed from physical-oriented to the one replete with high technology , female could exhibit their versatile talents in the various posts of the army, such as detective , nursing , information analysis and even commanding .
以“男女特點不同”反對女性參軍,可寫:
Deemed as passive , caring and gentle, females could hardly fit in the masculine, aggressive and cold-blooded battlefield not only physically but also mentally.
以“男女平等”支持女性參軍,可寫:
With the increasingly improved sexual equality in all walks of life , it has been an inevitable trend that women are entitled to serve in the army .
以“男女平等”反對女性參軍,可寫:
It is understandable that to tear down the sex discrimination means more freedom and options rather than compulsory military service for the women.
第三個自然段還可探討部隊存在的目的,To build up the defensive ability of the country is the original intention of the military service.
女性參軍的支持者可寫,
Complementing their male counterparts, females would help enhance the overall efficiency and morale of the army ,thus sharpening the edge of the military .
反對者則可以:
Highly effective maneuvering and operating is the key to success for military force, which is hard to secure since recruiting female soldiers would induce more discriminated and complex rules , regulations and sometimes even compromises.
再根據(jù)我們課堂上的論證手法充實一些例子,細節(jié),對比點,富于個性,言之有物的百變作文,就由你自己親手完成啦。