本文由陸佳偉老師（牛津大學(xué)語(yǔ)言碩士、延安中學(xué)教師）撰寫(xiě)。

又一年高考落下了帷幕。今年的英語(yǔ)作文題較有新意——假設(shè)作者上周在一所小學(xué)觀摩兩堂繪畫(huà)課，以日記的形式描寫(xiě)兩幅小朋友的繪畫(huà)作品，并談?wù)剰闹蝎@得的啟發(fā)。其中一幅是小孩用腳蘸了顏料在畫(huà)布上踩腳印，另一幅圖是小孩用畫(huà)筆在紙上畫(huà)山水。

這不是一篇容易寫(xiě)的文章。同樣是圖片作文，今年的難度要高于2010年的《課堂一角》。 首先，提供的圖片有兩張，提高了對(duì)于描寫(xiě)的要求。高考英語(yǔ)作文已經(jīng)不再僅僅考察學(xué)生的議論能力，它有些借鑒中文作文，要求學(xué)生夾敘夾議。在敘述中，如果只是平鋪直敘那顯然得不到高分。描寫(xiě)的關(guān)鍵在于捕捉事物的特征，而高考作文往往要求學(xué)生在短短幾句話中描寫(xiě)到位，這其實(shí)是不低的要求。在筆者看來(lái)，精妙地運(yùn)用幾個(gè)動(dòng)詞是這部分制勝之道。相反，要少用形容詞和副詞。馬克吐溫曾說(shuō)：“當(dāng)你看到一個(gè)形容詞時(shí)，殺死它?！彪m然這樣說(shuō)不無(wú)夸張，但好的動(dòng)詞確實(shí)能讓文章充滿力量，生機(jī)勃勃。如，以下是筆者為2010年高考作文原創(chuàng)的范文，請(qǐng)看這里的描寫(xiě)：

In this picture, the pupils are all beaming. They are scrambling to answer a question as if they have full confidence in themselves. The excitement and the eagerness to participate gush out of the picture.

This is reminiscent of my own classes at primary school. At that time, we each wore the same innocent smile, fought with a jungle of other hands, and single-mindedly believed our answer would impress the teachers most. I enjoyed these classes for they sparked my interest in many subjects and taught me that competition could be fun.

其次，圖片的含義并不是顯而易見(jiàn)的，需要看出每張圖背后的意思并將兩張圖結(jié)合起來(lái)說(shuō)。2010年的考題也是開(kāi)放性的，但相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)學(xué)生比較容易展開(kāi)?？梢跃唧w分析為什么小學(xué)生會(huì)積極舉手發(fā)言，而年齡越大課堂參與感越弱。如以下這樣論述：

Such fond memories they are! Unfortunately, as we grow older, we are increasingly reticent in class. There are many possible reasons for this change. It may be puberty that is to blame because we dread losing face. It may be that our body and mind are straitjacketed by the education system. It may simply be humans’ desire to conform to their peers—“Since nobody is putting their hand up, why should I?”

Whatever the reason, our carefree and innocent years at primary school is a reminder that we are always children at heart. Behind that cool facade, we can still be enthusiastic and committed to what we love doing.

而今年的考題可以表達(dá)的含義則更為多元。有些學(xué)生認(rèn)為這兩幅畫(huà)體現(xiàn)了傳統(tǒng)和創(chuàng)新優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)，筆者并不完全同意。單單從創(chuàng)作的角度來(lái)說(shuō)，用腳畫(huà)畫(huà)談不上創(chuàng)新，腳印的堆砌也構(gòu)不成藝術(shù)。而用畫(huà)筆畫(huà)山水也不盡然都是傳統(tǒng)。因此，用這兩幅畫(huà)分別代表傳統(tǒng)和創(chuàng)新不具有很大的說(shuō)服力。既然話題是開(kāi)放性的，繪畫(huà)可以只是個(gè)表象，在繪畫(huà)背后的寓意則更深刻。一個(gè)個(gè)腳印可以代表腳踏實(shí)地，不拒絕做一些樸實(shí)而基礎(chǔ)的事。相反，山水畫(huà)代表著鴻鵠之志，代表著對(duì)未來(lái)的憧憬。而這兩種特質(zhì)應(yīng)該是一對(duì)矛盾統(tǒng)一。就像Facebook的創(chuàng)始人馬克?扎克伯格說(shuō)的一樣：“把眼睛盯著繁星，把雙腳踩在地上?！憋@然，這樣的立意更耐人尋味。

再次，文章要求考生用日記的方式寫(xiě)，對(duì)熟悉了議論文、圖表作文和書(shū)信等較正式文體的廣大考生來(lái)說(shuō)，是個(gè)不小的挑戰(zhàn)。即如何體現(xiàn)出日記的風(fēng)格，保持一種真實(shí)、清新、內(nèi)省的筆調(diào)，而不是一副架勢(shì)十足的虛偽樣子。 但是，作為應(yīng)試作文需要有一定的規(guī)范?？忌赡軙?huì)疑惑是否可以使用俚語(yǔ)、習(xí)語(yǔ)、縮寫(xiě)或網(wǎng)絡(luò)流行詞。確實(shí)，筆者認(rèn)為既要考慮日記的特性又要兼顧考試的規(guī)范是一件令人糾結(jié)的事。 盡管如此，還是可以通過(guò)一些手段，如將較正式的it is縮略為it’s（面對(duì)自己，我們無(wú)需如此正式）或運(yùn)用如would be better off這樣較口語(yǔ)化的表達(dá)。

在本次高考結(jié)束，筆者又特地創(chuàng)作一篇范文，供讀者參考。筆者水平有限，如有錯(cuò)誤，請(qǐng)不吝指正。

范文：

Date: June 8, 2012

Last week, I sat in on two painting classes at a primary school. In one class a student dipped her feet in ink and made a painting out of footprints. By contrast, the same student used a brush to make a breath-taking landscape painting—so vivid that one could almost smell the refreshing rivers and hear the chirping birds.

Though standing in stark contrast, the two paintings both intrigued me. In fact, they reminded me of what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said, “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” It’s this maxim on success that lends insight into the two paintings. The first painting represents that we should remain grounded and be cautious of being carried away with temporary success. A kite stays afloat because it’s attached to a reel; otherwise it will instantly lose its balance before eventually crashing into the ground. So it is with us.

However, success requires more than being simply down-to-earth, with a lofty ideal being another crucial factor. So grand was the scenery portrayed in the second painting that it embodied the reach of our dreams. Instead of ignoring the gleam of light, the spark of wisdom that flashes across our mind and worshipping the luster of the sky of geniuses, we’d be better off trusting that the gleam and the spark will one day shine as brightly as a search light if we have faith in ourselves.

The paintings taught me to dream big and act small. And I believe, by doing so, the warm light of success will cascade into my life.