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

又一年高考落下了帷幕。今年的英語作文題較有新意——假設(shè)作者上周在一所小學(xué)觀摩兩堂繪畫課，以日記的形式描寫兩幅小朋友的繪畫作品，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布上踩腳印，另一幅圖是小孩用畫筆在紙上畫山水。

這不是一篇容易寫的文章。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，提高了對于描寫的要求。高考英語作文已經(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到位，這其實是不低的要求。在筆者看來，精妙地運用幾個動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：“當(dāng)你看到一個形容詞時，殺死它?！彪m然這樣說不無夸張，但好的動詞確實能讓文章充滿力量，生機勃勃。如，以下是筆者為2010年高考作文原創(chuàng)的范文，請看這里的描寫：

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的，需要看出每張圖背后的意思并將兩張圖結(jié)合起來說。2010年的考題也是開放性的，但相對來說學(xué)生比較容易展開?？梢跃唧w分析為什么小學(xué)生會積極舉手發(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的含義則更為多元。有些學(xué)生認(rèn)為這兩幅畫體現(xiàn)了傳統(tǒng)和創(chuàng)新優(yōu)缺點，筆者并不完全同意。單單從創(chuàng)作的角度來說，用腳畫畫談不上創(chuàng)新，腳印的堆砌也構(gòu)不成藝術(shù)。而用畫筆畫山水也不盡然都是傳統(tǒng)。因此，用這兩幅畫分別代表傳統(tǒng)和創(chuàng)新不具有很大的說服力。既然話題是開放性的，繪畫可以只是個表象，在繪畫背后的寓意則更深刻。一個個腳印可以代表腳踏實地，不拒絕做一些樸實而基礎(chǔ)的事。相反，山水畫代表著鴻鵠之志，代表著對未來的憧憬。而這兩種特質(zhì)應(yīng)該是一對矛盾統(tǒng)一。就像Facebook的創(chuàng)始人馬克?扎克伯格說的一樣：“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，對熟悉了議論文、圖表作文和書信等較正式文體的廣大考生來說，是個不小的挑戰(zhàn)。即如何體現(xiàn)出日記的風(fēng)格，保持一種真實、清新、內(nèi)省的筆調(diào)，而不是一副架勢十足的虛偽樣子。 但是，作為應(yīng)試作文需要有一定的規(guī)范?？忌赡軙苫笫欠窨梢允褂觅嫡Z、習(xí)語、縮寫或網(wǎng)絡(luò)流行詞。確實，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，還是可以通過一些手段，如將較正式的it is縮略為it’s（面對自己，我們無需如此正式）或運用如would be better off這樣較口語化的表達。

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，如有錯誤，請不吝指正。

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.