牟牟老师2015.10.03 SAT ESSAY预测解析

预测 BY 合肥新东方

解析 BY 深圳新东方 牟婷（WeChat: mouting003）

写在前面的话：此篇SAT解析仅针对一天后的SAT考生们。解析的标准是-如何迅速的将考前准备的素材关联到题目上，确保不偏题。因此，并不适合纯粹抱着写好一篇议论文目的的同学观看。里面的素材示范牟牟老湿都是用的最简单的做案例，方便大家理解。相信大家一定也都准备了更精彩的素材可以结合题目重点使用！

祝愿各位付出真心对待SAT的考生们都斩获高分！

1.

Popular culture refers to television shows, movies, books, musical selections, artworks, products, activities, and events that appeal to the interests and desires of large numbers of people. Popular culture tells us a lot about the people of a society. Some people may criticize popular culture or deny its influence on their lives, but one thing is clear: popular culture typically displays the ideas and principles that people value most.

Assignment: Are the values of a society most clearly revealed in its popular culture?

【解析】

题目重点：value和popular culture

逻辑：只要证明具体哪些流行文化体现了哪些具体价值观就可以了。

一开始看到popular culture不要惊慌地以为跟自己的素材没有关系，excerpt里面提到了，TV shows, movies, books, artworks, products, activities都算是popular culture. 你们准备的名人们哪一个跟这个没有关系？所以都是有关的。因此，重点在于强调你们那广为流传的名人故事告诉了我们怎样的社会价值观。

示范：素材（马拉拉，乔布斯）

立场：同意

主体段1大意：马拉拉的经历被写入了她的自传，成为了广为阅读的畅销书。她的经历所体现的就是这个社会注重性别平等、追求人权的精神。

主体段2大意：乔布斯的经历被改编成电影、书籍，受到了很多人关注，也代表了现代社会的人们创新和追求完美的精神。

最后可以做让步承认popular culture有一些非正面的东西（也可以在开头段做），或者做一些观点提升，探讨这个题目出现的意义。比如我们之所以探讨社会价值观体现最多的方面，目的在于更加有效地观察和了解这个社会。并且从这样的渠道更正面的引导人们的想法。

2.

Our culture puts entirely too much emphasis on popular entertainment. Of course, we all need to be distracted occasionally, but if we spend a lot of time browsing our favorite websites, watching television, playing video games, or updating our social net working accounts, we are merely avoiding life’s more important realities. Moreover, none of these activities helps us develop any of the skills or acquire any of the knowledge we need to succeed in the real world.

Assignment: Can popular entertainment offer us anything of value, or is it just a worthless distraction?

【解析】

重点：popular entertainment & value 此题和第1题的核心基本一致。

逻辑：只要证明具体哪些流行娱乐有哪些具体价值就可以了。跟上题基本一致。

示范：素材（马拉拉，乔布斯）

立场：同意

主体段1大意：从网站上了解到马拉拉的经历，激励社会民众注重性别平等、追求人权的精神。

主体段2大意：看乔布斯的经历被改编成的电影，鼓励观众创新和追求完美。

最后可以做让步承认popular entertainment有一些非正面的东西（也可以在开头段做），或者做一些观点提升，探讨这个题目出现的意义。比如我们之所以探讨popular entertainment是否有价值，是因为我们注意到了它巨大的影响力正在渗透我们的生活。认清它的价值和可能的弊端让人们可以更好的运用这一工具。

3.

People often focus on "the details," those seemingly minor features and elements that often have major effects or consequences. Whether they are making ordinary, everyday decisions, analyzing historical events, or enjoying the plot of a novel, many people consider the details to be all-important. Others, however, argue that paying attention to details distracts people from the big picture—perceiving an idea, goal, or plan in its entirety.

Assignment: Is it a disadvantage to pay attention to details?

【解析】

典型的追求完美的题目，使用追求完美的人物素材即可。比如Steve Jobs和Coco Chanel.

4.

Many people wish that there were fewer limits on their behavior. They believe that rules—such as those imposed by parents, teachers, coaches, employers, and governments—prevent them from being successful in the activities they undertake. Other people believe that rules assist them in becoming successful in their endeavors. They claim that rules provide guidance and help define what is expected. They even say that having too much freedom can be a burden.

Assignment: Do rules interfere with or aid in the pursuit of success?

【解析】

可以归类到最常见的“挑战权威”的题目。正是因为外界的限制，不看好，才让成功变得艰难。比如The Imitation Game里面Alan Turing的例子，还有Malala的例子都可以用。

5.

People who like to think of themselves as tough-minded and realistic tend to take it for granted that human nature is “selfish” and that life is a struggle in which only the fittest may survive. According to this view, the basic law by which people must live is the law of the jungle. The “fittest” are those people who can bring to the struggle superior force, superior cunning, and superior ruthlessness.

Assignment: Do people have to be highly competitive in order to succeed?

【解析】

“人与他人”之竞争关系类型题目。因为竞争带来的压力推动取得成功。比如Kobe Bryant，Taylor Swift这些在激烈竞争行业生存的人都是可以用的素材。

如果没有准备竞争素材的同学，可以把这个题目转换一下，变成人生价值的追求。对于成功的定义不见得只是金钱或者社会地位，那些无私奉献（因为excerpt里面提到selfish，正好对立）追求其他人生价值的人一样可以算是成功。比如Mother Teresa；还有不在乎别人的眼光，没有攻击性，不好胜依然成功的例子，比如Forrest Gump.

6.

Identifying with a group makes people feel secure with and trust one another because of what they have in common. They might share the same interests, language, beliefs, ethnicity, or cultural background. However, by limiting their identities to a specific group, people may miss important opportunities to connect with and understand others.

Assignment: Is a strong group identity a good thing or a bad thing?

【解析】

类型：“人与他人”

准备的素材人物和其他领域的人产生的关系。比如Mother Teresa，关爱各类群体。不仅仅是自己国家的人，也把慈善机构扩展到其他国家；又比如负面例子Hitler，种族论，看不起其他民族，最后引起全世界反抗。

7.

Mistakes we have made in the past are supposed to make us wiser, stronger, and better able to deal with the future. This approach suggests that we should continue to focus on our mistakes, that we should remember them, no matter how painful or embarrassing to us they may be. But nothing is to be gained by concerning ourselves with old mistakes. We should forget them as soon as possible.

Assignment: Is it best to forget about past mistakes as soon as possible?

【解析】

此题很简单。“失败到成功”类。任何名人素材都可以写。记得具体反思犯了什么错误。

8.

Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.

Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation

Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?

【解析】

同第7题。从失败到成功吸取教训。

9.

A colleague of the great scientist James Watson remarked that Watson was always “lounging around, arguing about problems instead of doing experiments.” He concluded that “there is more than one way of doing good science.” It was Watson’s form of idleness, the scientist went on to say, that allowed him to solve “the greatest of all biological problems: the discovery of the structure of DNA.” It is a point worth remembering in a society overly concerned with efficiency.

Adapted from John C. Polanyi, “Understanding Discovery”

Assignment: Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way?

【解析】

创新类

Coco Chanel, Alan Turing等的例子都可以用。

10.

Some people emphasize that strong leaders never depart from their goal, plan, or vision and that such dedication is, in fact, a measure of their strength. Others would argue, however, that strong leaders are flexible. Strong leaders know when to admit they have made a mistake and when it is appropriate to change their goal or mission. This flexibility shows their strength and the extent of their wisdom.

Assignment: Is flexibility the sign of a strong and wise leader?

【解析】

重点在于flexibility的理解。题目上面有暗示：承认错误和改变目标都算是flexibility，所以两个方向就有了。President Barack Obama and the Desecration of Korans in Afghanistan就是承认错误，改变的好例子；王石（万科的leader）曾经各种生意都做，比如粮食、饮料（怡宝矿泉水一开始是万科的哦），后来发现这样不专一，开始改变，专攻房地产，后来成为了房地产巨头。

11.

Many people are philanthropists, giving money to those in need. And many people believe that those who are rich—those who can afford to give the most—should contribute the most to charitable organizations. Others, however, disagree. Why should those who are more fortunate than others have more of a moral obligation to help those who are less fortunate?

Assignment: Should people who are more fortunate than others have more of a moral obligation to help those who are less fortunate?

【解析】

重点：对于fortunate的理解

解题：可以有分论点-能够提供更多的帮助；社会责任感的体现。

例子：Gandhi（出身富裕是种幸运）和Jackie Chen（成名也是一种幸运）的例子都可以。

12.

People's lives are the result of the choices they make—or fail to make. The path one takes in life is not arbitrary. Choices and their consequences determine the course of every person's life. All people, whatever their circumstances, make the choices on which their lives depend.

Assignment: Are people's lives the result of the choices they make?

【解析】

失败与成功、人生价值的素材都可以写。

重点：choices 具体做了什么决定

13.

Aiming advertisements for products directly at teenagers is a practice that occurs on television, in magazines, and on the Internet. These advertisements may help prepare young people for adulthood, as teenagers gain experience in evaluating and selecting from among the many options in our complex consumer society. Many critics, however, argue that teenagers are especially vulnerable to misleading claims of the advertising industry; moreover, they argue that advertisements often promote values harmful to young people.

Assignment: Are advertisements harmful to teenagers?

【解析】

很具体化的题目。可以写跟托福一样的结构。给出两个分论点：广告误导青少年，买家秀和卖家秀差距很大（淘宝平台的大量假货）；广告制造幻觉，以为拥有了它就此拥有了全世界（卖肾啊卖肾）。

14.

Our cherished notions of what is equal and what is fair frequently conflict. Democracy presumes that we are all created equal; competition proves we are not, or else every contest would end in a tie. We talk about a level playing field, but it is difficult to make conditions equal for everyone without being unfair to some.

---Adapted from Nancy Gibbs, "Cool Running"

Assignment: Is it possible for a society to be fair to everyone?

【解析】

人与环境类的题目。

不公平是肯定存在的。完全公平是不大可能的。The Shawshank Redemption和Nick Vujicic的例子都可以用。

可以升华：不公平的普遍性是无法抗拒的，关键是我们面对不公平的态度和行为去克服这些困难，让自己更强大。并且在不公平的现状中尽量实现公平，让后人少走弯路。

15.

No one knows how the future will turn out. Faced with this uncertainty, some people choose to live as though the only thing that matters is now. Instead of planning for the future, they devote their energy to enjoying the present. How misguided! They should spend their time today preparing for the future. Knowledge, skills, and resources they work to acquire now will serve them long after the pleasures of today are forgotten.

Assignment: Is preparing for the future more important than enjoying the present?

【解析】

努力奋斗的名人素材们都可以用了。如果是为了享受现在，Tom Cruise就没有必要在Mission: Impossible - Rogue Natio 中，不用替身自己爬飞机了而是在旁边躺着看了；如果Malala享受现在海外国家的庇护，就不用再到处演讲了。他们都没有enjoy the present.

16.

Technology promises to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovation and the split second processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstop have made all of us feel rushed. We have adopted the relentless pace of the very machines that were supposed to simplify our lives, with the result that, whether at work or play, people do not feel like their lives have changed for the better.

Assignment: Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better?

【解析】

这个题目要准备的是一些比较负面的例子。可以参考exerpt写科技类的，比如手机让人们疏离、核电站带来潜在危险的例子都可以写；或者名人类的，比如Mike Tyson，越来越成名，人生变得更容易，但是并没有珍惜，而是酗酒打架斗殴坐牢，人生更失败了。

17.

A better understanding of other people contributes to the development of moral virtues. We shall be both kinder and fairer in our treatment of others if we understand them better. Understanding ourselves and understanding others are connected, since as human beings we all have things in common.

Assignment: Do we need other people in order to understand ourselves?

【解析】

人与他人

可以写一个朋友的鼓励和榜样的激励。比如Sherlock Holmes 和Watson的满满基情（看过美剧Elementary的同学可能记得，Sherlock说过是Watson的人性让他们合作愉快，也是Watson的爱心满满让他感受到了人性，感觉自己在做有意义的事情）；榜样就可以写Van Gogh模仿Millet的例子，正是在模仿的过程中开发出了独特的自我风格。

BY Pony_G