Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the topic of Due Attention Should Be Given to the Study of Chinese. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below:
1. 近年来在学生中出现了忽视中文学习的现象
2. 出现这种现象的原因和后果
3. 我认为……
Due Attention Should Be Given to the Study of Chinese
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【参考范文】
Due Attention Should Be Given to The Study of Chinese
Currently, the Chinese proficiency of the considerable majority of individuals in the Middle Kingdom is far from being impressive, which lays bare to a worrisome trend that much too many people fail to put a premium on the learning of our native language. Unarguably, this burning question merits our pressing attention.
Digging into this evil tide, we can identify that a couple of elements have combined to trigger it. For one thing, the economic and cultural globalization is well under way, making the whole planet a village, and English has been in the driving position of various languages. Consequently, the critical importance of mastering English is over-emphasized and the study of Chinese is virtually ignored. For another, a wealth of folks are under the impression that as native speakers, we already enjoy an excellent command of Chinese, and further study of it will be of no value. On top of that, Chinese courses are barely offered in contemporary colleges, which to some extent also compounds this headache.
Great efforts, on my personal level, ought to be made in an attempt to remedy this unfavorable trend. All parties involved in this issue should direct more attention to the promotion of Chinese and people from every walk of life can learn more and be proud of our own language. And we should be awake to the fact that what we have learned only scratch the surface of our splendid history, and only by commanding Chinese can we grasp the essence of our culture.
【译文】
应给予汉语学习应有的关注
如今，大部分中国人的汉语水平很一般，这反映出一个令人担忧的趋势：太多的人不重视学习我们的母语。毫无疑问，这个燃眉之急应该得到迫切的关注。
仔细探究，我们可以发现几个因素加起来导致了这个不太好的趋势。一方面，经济与文化全球化已经在深刻进行中，使得世界成为了一个全球村，英语成为了各种语言中的主导语言。因此，整个社会都在过分强调学好英语的极端重要性而汉语的学习几乎背忽略了。另一方面，很多人错误地认为，作为中国人我们已经很好地掌握了汉语，深入学习汉语没有多少价值了。除此以外，大学里很少开设汉语课程，这在某种程度上也加重了这个问题。
我认为，必须付出极大的努力来改善这个不良的趋势。涉及到这个问题的各方应该重视汉语的推广，以便各行各业的人们能够学习到更多自己的语言并以此为荣。而且我们应该意识到我们所学到的知识仅仅触及到了我们灿烂历史的表面，只有掌握好汉语才能够理解我们文化的精髓。
