2013 年3 月

真题1

The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely.

Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheet—you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.

Important Reminders:

A pencil is required for the essay. An essay written in ink will receivel a score of zero.

Do not write your essay in your test book. You will receive credit only for what you write on your answer sheet.

An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero.

If your essay does not reflect your original and individual work, your test scores may be canceled.

You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below.

Essay 1

Attention to detail is often praised by employers and teachers, who, when appraising an employee or student, use this trait as a measurement of diligence and amount learned, respectively. I don’t believe this is a negative trait to encourage in other people, as there is a great amount of work that requires immense concentration and scrutiny to produce quality results. Oftentimes, people think of attention to detail—or meticulousness—as a negative when it is excessively applied. However, there is a time and place for this trait in every role.

For example, in chemistry, students must memorize the various molecular compositions of compounds like water and oxygen, and are required to recall the exact chemical reactions of mixing baking soda and vinegar. This high level of accuracy required for these reactions to occur also demands a detailed memory of exact formulas, reactions, measurements, and other factors. A chemist cannot perform his job without attention to detail; if he did, lab and research experiments would go awry, we would not know levels of toxins in the air we breathe and water we drink, and if the milk and food we are ingesting contain harmful chemicals. Thus, when we are asked to list out molecular compounds of carbon dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, and fluoride on tests, I believe this level of detail is necessary to test our absorption of lessons.

What’s more, many high school students intend to enter medical school or become scientists performing research experiments for the government. Thoroughness is not a triviality when the impact of details may save or end lives. For instance, the notorious explosion of the space shuttle Challenger that took place in 1986 and ended the lives of 7 astronauts was due to an oversight in details. As with any major aircraft, all safety parts, however small, are absolutely vital to flights and missions. In this case, one safety feature, the O-ring seal, was crucial to the stability of the solid rocket booster in the Challenger. Though the O-ring was tested under pressure in various temperatures, the safety crew failed to test whether the ring functioned properly at below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The January morning of the Challenger launch, the temperature through which the spacecraft flew was 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The O-ring failed, allowing hot gas to flow out of the rocket motor, leading to a chain of effects that brought down the shuttle and its crew into the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t think attention to detail can be overstressed when considering the effects all the thousands of parts of a machine can have on its functions and human lives.

Whether or not a painting is slightly tipped to the left or right when it is hung, or whether the color of an eye shadow matches a girl’s sweater are trivial details. Such niceties have little (if any) impact, and thus do not deserve great amounts of attention. However, at the other end of the spectrum lie the types of details that make humans sick or healthy, machines functional or shoddy. There is no disadvantage to discerning and memorizing these details.