全国2007年10月高等教育自学考试

　　英语写作试题

　　课程代码：00603

　　全部题目用英文作答

　　I．Supply the missing paragraph(20 points) The following passage is incomplete with one body paragraph missing．Study the passage carefully and write the missing paragraph in about 100 words．Make sure that your tone and diction are in unity with the passage provided．

　　Why People Should Exercise

　　In the past, I had never been inclined to participate in sports. Honestly, I didn’t like it, but many persons whom I lived with kept telling me every day how good it was. Since the peer pressure was growing, I decided to go to the gym. It wasn’t until then that I could really understand people when they said exercise really helped a person get organized and keep healthy, physically and mentally.

　　For starters, if you are a lazy person, it is difficult to take the first step. But it is all a matter of committing yourself to something that will provide you with much positive feedback. Once you start exercising and observing positive results, you will actually enjoy it. It takes much effort and a strong will, but it’s worth it. The principal thing to do is to take up a sport you like. If you do, you will start organizing your day in a way that enables you to do whatever you have to, including exercising. You will no longer be a person stressed-out without time to carry on with all your activities.

　　Moreover, exercising is good because it affects you positively in a mental and psychological way. Exercising helps you set specific goals which, along with a strong will, can be achieved. When reaching the goals, you come to know your abilities and your weaknesses, and your self-esteem is enhanced. Any sport relieves stress because it distracts you from thinking about school, work, or your problems, among other things. It helps keep you uplifted and avoid unhealthy habits like indulgence in TV and computer games.

　　Exercising is very important to any person of any age. The positive effects, which I’ve already mentioned, are like a chain. Once you take up a sport that you like, you become bet来源:91 考试网ter organized. Therefore, you start doing things the right way and enjoy enormous benefits. As a result, you feel good as a healthy human being. You start living your life happily.

　　II．Write an outline (20 points)

　　Read the following passage carefully and compose a“topic outline”for it．

　　Africas

　　When many people hear the word “Africa”, inevitably they picture steaming jungles and gorillas and other wild animals. Hollywood films have shrunk the public image of this immense, varied continent into a small segment of its actual diversity. To have a more accurate picture of the whole continent, however, one should remember that the continent can be roughly divided into three Africas: the northern desert areas, the southeastern grasslands, and the tropical jungles to the southwest, each with its distinct climate and terrain and with a style of life suited to the environment.

　　The northern regions have the environment and living patterns of the desert. Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco have hot, dry climates with very little land suited to farming. Green fields cannot be easily seen. Therefore, the population tends to be clustered into cities along rivers or the seacoast or into smaller settlements near oases. For thousands of years, people have lived in this vast region, relying partly on what the land could offer such as crops and animals they could raise and partly on trade with Europe.

　　The southeastern grasslands provide a better environment for animal life and for some kinds of crops. Many wild animals inhabit the plains in this region—elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, antelopes, zebras, and lions. The people in this area have long been expert cattle raisers and experienced hunters. Tea, coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, and tobacco are some of the main products grown in this region. Fishing also provides some food and income for people along the coast. The population here is less concentrated in cities and towns than in the north, but tends to be denser in areas where adequate rainfall and fertile soil make farming possible.

　　West Africa is the region closest to the Hollywood image of mysterious jungles. As in the other two regions, the way people make a living depends upon their environment. This does not mean that most of the people live in grass huts in the jungle. In fact, such nations as Nigeria have become highly modernized by income from oil, timber, and minerals. Most of the western countries have some farming that provides food and income; sugar cane, coffee, and tobacco are the important cash crops, while bananas, rich, and corn are raised for food. Fishing in the rivers and along the coast also accounts for food and income, and precious stones, especially diamonds, enhance the economy of countries like Angola and the Ivory Coast.

　　Even a superficial look at the major regions of Africa shows that it is a continent with varied environments. Although most of the continent is tropical in its range of temperature, the climate ranges from deserts to rain forests. Similarly, human lifestyles vary from the simplest rural villages to industrial cities, both new and ancient. Contrary to the myth, however, jungle life makes up only a very small portion of the whole of Africa.

　　III. Compose an essay (60 points)

　　Nowadays, many old buildings are being replaced by new constructions. Some people think that they should be knocked down to make way for the new ones. Others think that they should be preserved, for they are part of our history. What is your opinion? Write a 300-word expository essay stating your views.