一、历史人物及事件类素材精析

《SAT 官方指南》上的一道作文题可以归为“道德、社会、教育、艺术类”话题，问的是“相比起金钱、名望或权力来说，良心是不是能提供更强大的驱动力呢?”请阅读原题：

与这个题目相对应的范文中有这样一个主体段：

Oligarchs and robber barons are commonly notorious figures slandered for unscrupulous tactics and greedy intentions. However, without such individuals, many industries, particularly those of the natural resources, and national infrastructure, may be less developed than they are now. John D. Rockefeller was one such oil magnate in the 19th century who ran his company, Standard Oil, ruthlessly. Rockefeller would broker deals with the newly established railroads, which desperately needed business. By driving up the prices of shipping, he drove many of his competitors, who would spend thousands more than Standard Oil would on transporting products, out of business. Eventually, Rockefeller enjoyed a near-monopoly on the oil industry in the United States, and to an extent, much of the Western world. Though other American oil companies suffered during Rockefeller’s lifetime, his aggressive strategies enabled the railroad systems to grow. His oil business provided much of the business that enabled the newly built train system to thrive and continue growing. In addition, Rockefeller’s legacy of philanthropy has also created charitable foundations supporting the arts that are still thriving today. Without the drive for money and power, the American railroad system would not have developed as quickly as it did, and nor would the U.S. enjoy such an influential legacy as Rockefeller’s philanthropic foundations provide. (228 words)

本段运用了历史上的石油大王John D. Rockefeller(洛克菲勒)的例子来说明对金钱和权力渴望，能推动个人乃至社会的发展。

这个段落的基本结构是：步，指出本例来自的领域，并提出一般人的观点作为铺垫(划虚线部分);第二步，转折提出自己的独到见解(第二句，划横线部分);第三步，举出具体、切合自己态度的例子(段落中没有划线的部分);，总结此段内容，注意照应自己提出的观点，点明段落主旨(一句，划横线部分)。

在这个段落，虽然例子部分占了比较大的篇幅，但也绝不能忽视第二步和一步里用横线标记出来的议论性文字。段落中的议论就像是牢固、坚实的链条，将文章的主旨(作者对题目的总体观点、态度)和相应的证据(例子)紧紧拴连在一起，是不可或缺的。

请再看一道2008 年12 月的SAT Essay 考题：

与这个题目相对应的范文中有这样一个主体段：

During the mid-19th century, the abolitionist movement in the U.S. began to pick up steam, when an increasing number of people began to realize the harm and inequality of the slavery system. The Southern slave states passed extremely rigid laws favoring slave owners’ rights, which allowed white citizens to legally own blacks simply through a buy-and-sell trade. However, these violations of human rights were not tolerated by a few. Now-famous figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and William Lloyd Garrison all risked their lives for the sake of enabling others’ escapes to freedom. In fact, these abolitionists who housed, fed, and directed escaped slaves to the North did so at risk of imprisonment, and even death under the Fugitive Slave Law. Yet Tubman, for example, still made multiple trips from the safety of Philadelphia to Maryland for her family, though she herself had already found freedom. Abolitionists aided slaves because they were driven by an integral belief in human equality, and the desire to live in a country free of captive humans. (175 words)

相比较起来，本段的长度明显短于上一个例子，但质量仍然较高。相对于上一个例子来讲，其省去了铺垫、转折等环节，因为对于这个话题，作者所持的态度与大部分人是一致的：我们帮助别人不是只为了成就自己。这个段落采用的例子是19 世纪中期的废奴运动，全段一共七句话，前六句较为客观地描述了废奴运动本身及其代表人物的事迹，一句(划横线部分)是点睛之笔，说明一些废奴主义者因为坚守人人平等的信念而帮助奴隶获得自由，并不是出于私心。

二、 历史人物及事件类素材扩展

相信许多同学对于“VOA”这个名字不会感到陌生，它的全称是“Voice of America(美国之音)”，是世界上的新闻广播机构之一，总部设在美国华盛顿。VOA 播出过一系列关于美国历史的广播节目The Making of a Nation(常被译为《建国史话》)，详细介绍了美国的历史，受到了全世界听众的欢迎。另外，其广受关注的节目People in America(《美国人物志》)也同样为SAT Essay 提供了颇有价值的素材。

以下摘录了上述两种节目里的一些片段(根据篇幅需要，素材已经过编辑和删减)，与同学们分享。必须强调的是，SAT 准备时间比较充裕的考生，不应只留意这里列举出来的若干素材，而应该参考这里给出的范例，去收集、整理一些同类或相关的材料。另外，不建议考生死记硬背、生搬硬套素材内容;例子着实关键，但将例子和主旨扣在一起的链条，即段落里的说理部分，也非常重要。在写作中，考生需要根据题目的要求来阐述例子和主题之间的关系。

素材选段中标记出的表达为语言难点或亮点，笔者将在随后的括号中给出相应的解释或说明。

(一)欧洲移民和印第安人的冲突——A Clash of Cultures in the New World

The first permanent settlers in New England began arriving in 1620. They wanted to live in peace with the Indians, since they needed to trade with them for food. Yet, problems began almost immediately. Perhaps the most serious was the different way the American Indians and the Europeans thought about land: the European settlers viewed land as a crucial source of great wealth and political power; American Indians believed, however, that anyone who wanted to live on and grow crops on a piece of land was able to do so. To the Indians, the settlers’ idea of trying to keep the land was foreign; it was like to trying to own the air, or the clouds.

Religion was another problem between the settlers and the Indians. The settlers in New England were very serious about their Christian religion. Many settlers came to believe that Native Americans could not be trusted because they were not Christians. The settler groups began to fear the Indians, thinking of the Indians as a people who were evil because they had.