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Children are facing more pressures nowadays from academic (educational), social and commercial perspectives. What are the causes of these pressures and what measures should be taken to reduce these pressures?

 

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

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解析&审题

 

本题是一个典型的“报道型”（report）作文题目，要求考生对某个现象或问题进行原因分析，并给出解决办法。本题是一个比较新的题目。

 

我们需要找到题目中的关键词。

首先，children很关键，本题要求我们讨论的主人公是“孩子”，因此本题不要过多讨论大学生，更不可讨论更宽泛意义上的“人”。

 

其次，题目中已经给定了“学业”（academic）、“社会”（social）、“金钱”（commercial）三个层次的压力，

 

因此讨论原因的时候都要涉及（虽然可以根据情况进行详略选择）。

以下是本题高分范文。

 

 

 

老师笔记

 

01

 

What do you think makes children unhappy today? Researchers are pointing at the pressures from various perspectives—academic, social and commercial. While the causes of these pressures seem clear enough, there are no simple measures to reduce them.

 

你认为是什么让今天的孩子们不开心？研究人员指出是各类压力造成，包括学习、社会和金钱压力。虽然这些压力的原因似乎很清楚，却没有简单的措施来减少这些压力。

 

解析

（1）本范文开门见山，直接提出问题（孩子们为什么压力越来越大），然后提出自己的观点（解决不容易）。

（2）point at 指向......

（3）perspective 角度

（4）reduce 减少；减轻

 

02

 

It is easy to explain why children are facing academic, social and commercial pressures. Firstly, although as parents there are few pleasuresgreater than their children succeeding at school, sometimes the pressure is way too much. Parents’ unrealistically high expectations can backfire severely andend up causing their children to be unhappy. Secondly, all children have to face peer pressure in school, which is generally beneficial to kids’ growth, yet the ugly reality is that peer pressure reaches its highest intensity at just the age when children tend to be so insensitive, unkind, even cruel as topurposefully make others unhappy. Thirdly, children are easily affected by advertising that attracts them to buy things they cannot possibly afford, and as a result, they may feel unhappy.

 

很容易解释为什么孩子们面临着学业、社会和金钱压力。首先，尽管父母的快乐就是孩子在学校取得成功，但有时他们施加的压力太过了。父母不切实际的高期望值可能会适得其反，最终导致孩子不快乐。第二，所有的孩子在学校都要面对同龄人的压力，这通常有利于孩子的成长，但丑陋的现实是，同龄人压力达到最强烈的年龄正是孩子们不敏感，不友好，甚至是残酷到故意让别人不开心的年龄。第三，儿童很容易受到广告的影响，这些广告吸引他们购买他们负担不起的东西，因此他们可能为此感到不开心。

 

解析

（1）本段讨论孩子们为什么面临各种压力，提出三个原因：来自父母的原因，来自同龄人的原因，来自广告的原因，分别涉及学业压力（父母的高期望值）、社会压力（同龄竞争）、金钱压力（广告的影响）。这些原因不难想到，但请各位烤鸭注意范文在语言表达方面的节奏和技巧（尤其是从句的使用）。

（2）pleasure 快乐；愉悦

（3）way too much 太过了

（4）unrealistically 不切实际地

（5）backfire 回火；事与愿违

（6）end up 最终落得个......

（7）peer pressure 同龄人压力

（8）intensity 强度

（9）purposefully 有意地

（10）afford 负担得起

 

 

 

03

 

Though it is never easy to fix these feelings of unhappiness, there are possible measures to be taken to enhance the wellbeing of children who are under constant pressures. To begin with, parents have to draw a line on the expectations of their children and find out their true potentials, rather than pushing them to unrealistic limits. Meanwhile, with patience and guidance, parents should keep an eye on their children who fall victims to online pressure through social networking. Simultaneously, the authorities should do more to regulate advertising that are intended for children who are anxious to buy unnecessary things.

 

尽管克服这些不快乐的感觉从来都不容易，但我们可能会采取一些措施来提高长期处于压力中的孩子的幸福感。首先，父母要给孩子们的期望划一条线，发现他们真正的潜力，而不是把他们逼到不切实际的极限。同时，在耐心和引导下，父母应该关注那些在社交网络上承受网络压力的孩子们。同时，政府应该做更多的工作来规范针对儿童的广告，因为儿童总是迫不及待地购买并不必要的东西。

 

解析

（1）本段讨论解决办法。一般说来，解决办法应该针对前文提出的原因。这里的解决办法有三：一、父母调整自己的期待值；二、警惕孩子在网络上的同伴压力；三、政府规范儿童广告。这些解决办法完全针对第二段中分析到的三个原因。

（2）fix 解决

（3）enhance 提高

（4）constant 长期的

（5）potential 潜力（的）

（6）keep an eye on... 关注......

（7）fall victim to... 沦为......的牺牲品

（8）simultaneously 同时

 

04

 

In conclusion, there are no easy solutions to the increasing academic, social, and commercial pressures children face today. Frankly, I am quitepessimistic because those factors that bring pressures to children are not likely to go away, at least in the foreseeable future.

 

总之，对于孩子今天面临的日益增长的学业、社会和金钱压力，没有容易的解决办法。坦白地说，我很悲观，因为那些给孩子们带来压力的因素，至少在可预见的将来是不可能消失的。

 

解析

（1）本段为结论段，重申观点。好的结尾段应该包括两个内容：一是对前文的总结，二是适当的延伸。因此，好作文的结尾段通常都是两句话组成。

（2）frankly 坦白地说

（3）pessimistic 悲观的

（4）in the foreseeable future 在可见的未来

 

 

 

本场考试范文

 

What do you think makes children unhappy today? Researchers are pointing at the pressures from various perspectives—academic, social and commercial. While the causes of these pressures seem clear enough, there are no simple measures to reduce them.

 

It is easy to explain why children are facing academic, social and commercial pressures. Firstly, although as parents there are few pleasures greater than their children succeeding at school, sometimes the pressure is way too much. Parents’ unrealistically high expectations can backfire severely and end up causing their children to be unhappy. Secondly, all children have to face peer pressure in school, which is generally beneficial to kids’ growth, yet the ugly reality is that peer pressure reaches its highest intensity at just the age when children tend to be so insensitive, unkind, even cruel as to purposefully make others unhappy. Thirdly, children are easily affected by advertising that attracts them to buy things they cannot possibly afford, and as a result, they may feel unhappy.

 

Though it is never easy to fix these feelings of unhappiness, there are possible measures to be taken to enhance the wellbeing of children who are under constant pressures. To begin with, parents have to draw a line on the expectations of their children and find out their true potentials, rather than pushing them to unrealistic limits. Meanwhile, with patience and guidance, parents should keep an eye on their children who fall victims to online pressure through social networking. Simultaneously, the authorities should do more to regulate advertising that are intended for children who are anxious to buy unnecessary things.

 

In conclusion, there are no easy solutions to the increasing academic, social, and commercial pressures children face today. Frankly, I am quite pessimistic because those factors that bring pressures to children are not likely to go away, at least in the foreseeable future.

（310 words)