On the Importance of a Name

　　According to the Bible, it is the almighty God who gave names to everything he created: "he named the light ‘Day' and the darkness ‘Night'". In fact, a name is a word or phrase that man uses to denote and identify a specific person, place or thing. There is no inexorable correlation between the sign and "the signified". For this reason, some claim that names are not so vital as they are supposed to be. However, I am fully convinced that they are of great importance.

　　Take the name of a person as an example. It is known to all that a person's name is divided into two parts: given name and surname. The given name is the name our parents assign us. We ourselves might change it later in our life. Usually, when a name is given, it contains a lot of information. Say, "li" in the name of some Chinese females shows that we wish them to "beautiful" while "wei" in the names of some males reveals that we expect them to be "great" in their future life.

　　As to the surname or family name, it is even more important, so important that some people may sacrifice their life for it. Originally, man had no such a name. But ever since a certain name was given, each member of the family carries it wherever he goes. Rather than merely a sign, it is the root from which we can trace back to our ancestor, the tie that helps bind us to other members of the same clan, the dignity most people hope to live for.

　　Apart from the name of a person, that of a place or thing is also significant in that it embodies history and culture. All in all, though names are assigned artificially, man is not free when giving names. But God is.

　　作文作为四六级考试中最大的一块主观题，对考生来说是重要的。和以前一样，现在作文沿袭固有的出题风格，四级偏重于校园生活，六级掺入初步的分析方式。另外，考生应该注意以下一些方面。

　　由于作文采用先扫描，然后在电脑前阅卷，所以在阅卷教师主观判卷过程中，作文的框架和书写的整洁程度对分值段的评定起着较重要的作用。黑色水笔作答，这样可以显影更加清晰。涂改液，对答题纸的折叠，和使用其他颜色的水笔都有可能对扫描效果造成负面影响。格式上，这里推荐用齐头式，这样会让卷面看上去更整洁。另外，字写得大且端正，可显得文章清楚，也可以弥补字写得不好的缺点。齐头式，要求所有段落的首行，都在左边顶格，段落中间空行。

　　构思简单，少犯错误。外语考试的作文，考查的目标不是考生的思维水平或逻辑分析能力，而是考核语言表达能力。所以建议采取的措施是，简化自己的思维和分析。也就是，如何降低自己的思维水平，来迎合自己有限的语言状况。语言上，关键在于变化，变化不分难易，只要有变化就行。变化分为词的变化、句的变化。在用词上，同一文章中，相同意义的词要争取不断的用近义词替换。

　　广大考生可以灵活运用写作套路，比如上课时候学的一些经典句型或结构。现在的作文大多还是提纲式的文章，可以把提纲变为中心句放在每段的开头，后面加上由逻辑词链接的分支观点。这就是所谓的老路新走，不变应万变。

　　本次四、六级考试出题方式仍然借用国内外成熟稳健的出题模式。四、六级考试，作为国际上认可度最高的中国英语(论坛)考试之一，其改革使之更为科学，更贴近现实语言学习情况。只要学员掌握好英语学习的基础，适当应用考试技能，就一定能考出更好的成绩。

　　总的来说，大学英语四、六级考试，作为中国人自己的英语语言测试，其科学性和权威性，目前在国内是难以被替代的。随着英语全球化发展，外资的不断引入和对外交流的不断扩大，在激烈的就业竞争中，四、六级分数的高低，对大多数毕业生的求职有着不可替代的重要作用。四、六级的作用和影响将在较长时间内难以动摇。