1.What do you think motivates people who seek fame?
对于人们寻求名誉的动力或途径(pathway)其实按大类归大概有两种:一种是为了出名或金钱,另一种是真正的具备某种才能(talent)。有一些人就想着如何出名,并把出名一开始就定位自己的目标。如果这些人真正的有天赋或者其他的才能也就罢了,但是他们仅仅是为了塑造自己的名誉,他们成名的动力是想要被众多人喜欢,吸引很多人的attention注意力,或者是为了金钱,我认为这些不能算是寻求名誉真正的动力。有些人他们只是在做自己喜欢的事情,由于擅长做的事情而出名,我认为这些才能是真正追寻自己名誉的动力。
这道题虽然在问考生自己的观点,但是需要注意的是,考生一定不要举特定的个例进行说明。因为作为part 3 的题目我们在答题的时候一定要注意题目所涉及的范围和群体,本题可以说明自己的观点,但是需要用群体为单位进行论述及说明。比如:一类有才能的人有真正的动力,但是另一类只为了出名而出名的人不具有真正的动力等等。
参考答案:
In some ways I think there are two types of motivation, or two pathways, if you like, to fame. There are those who deliberately set out to become famous and that is their goal from the beginning. It doesn’t really matter if they have talent or anything, they just crave fame and I think they are motivated by wanting lots of people to like them, and the attention and perhaps the money also, but I don’t think that is the main motivation. Then there are people who simply do what they love and become famous doing it. They are motivated by their talent, I believe.
2.Some people argue that celebrities and famous people have no right to expect privacy because they are in the public eye. What’s your opinion?
这道题的论点偏向性可能对于大多数来讲会比较一致,大家可能都会认为这个说法并不合理或有效(valid).名人并不是因为出了名就简单的变成了public property公共财产,我绝对相信他们被给予了与其他人一样拥有隐私的权利。就拿戴安娜王妃做例子 – 她被媒体和狗仔队(paparazzi)不断侵扰最后到了导致她死亡的程度。当然,名人也是人,他们有和我们其他人一样有对于隐私的基本权利。
对于part 3 中表达自己观点的题目,考生不必多虑自己持有的观点与考官持有观点的一致性。因为在很多这样的题目中并没有正确的答案,考生只要对于自己持有的观点能够有合理的,充分的论述理由就可以,不必担心或多虑是否与考官观点一直。只要紧扣题目,能够自圆其说就不用担心在正确性方面的分数。
参考答案:I don’t think this is a valid argument at all. Famous people do not become public property simply because they are famous and I certainly believe they are entitled to as much privacy as the rest of us. Take Princess Diana as an example—she was hounded by the media and paparazzi to the extent that it killed her in the end. They are human beings and have the basic right to privacy like the rest of us. The only exception to this would be related to politicians and information which the public needs to be aware of in order to keep them honest!
3.Many celebrities have begun using their fame to raise awareness of social issues. Do you think this is a good trend or a bad trend?
许多名人已经开始用自己的名誉来唤醒社会的意识,这是一个非常好的positive的趋势。但是名人应该对于自己代言或宣传的内容做以了解,而并不是只为了提升或丰富自己的经历而做一些完全不知道具体相关内容的事情。名人不能用这样的方式来只为他们自己获得好处,这一点需要他们认真的考虑。用名人效应来唤醒公众的意识并为一些重要的事情筹集到需要的钱款绝对是有益处的一件事儿,比如说为了汶川地震筹款而举行的慈善音乐会(the benefit concert)就是一个很好的例子。
如果考生想要对于part 3的题举例,就一定要注意题目中所涉及的范围。如果题目或考官都没有提到个人的内容,考生一定不要以自己或自己的经历作为例子,如果实在要用,必须将人称或范围换成与题目一致的范围。最好给出大范围的具体事例比较保险,比如这道题中涉及的汶川地震的慈善音乐会就是合适的,但是最好不要给出某一位名人为此而做的贡献。
参考答案:
I think this is a positive trend, but I also think celebrities have to be informed and knowledgeable about the issues they claim to believe in rather than just lending their names to causes they know nothing about in order to promote their own profile. They can’t just use it for their own gain, they have to be genuinely concerned. When it’s done well, there’s a real benefit in having celebrity power in raising awareness and money for important issues, such as the benefit concert for the earthquake in Wenchuan for instance.