下面我們看一下最新公布的樣題：
The following sample Essay prompt is followed by an annotated version of
the source text that suggests some of the ways that students might analyze the
text in response to the prompt. The annotations are only examples of elements of
the passage students may choose to write about.
As you read the passage below, consider how Paul Bogard uses
• Evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
• Reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
• Stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to
emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.
Adapted from Paul Bogard, “Let There be Dark.” ©2012 by the Los Angeles
Times. Originally published December 21, 2012.
At my family’s cabin on a Minnesota lake, I knew woods so dark that my
hands disappeared before my eyes. I knew night skies in which meteors left smoky
trails across sugary spreads of stars. But now, when 8 of 10 children born in
the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way, I worry
we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness before realizing its worth. This
winter solstice, as we cheer the days’ gradual movement back toward light, let
us also remember the irreplaceable value of darkness.
All life evolved to the steady rhythm of bright days and dark nights.
Today, though, when we feel the closeness of nightfall, we reach quickly for a
light switch. And too little darkness, meaning too much artificial light at
night, spells trouble for all.
Already the World Health Organization classifies working the night shift as
a probable human carcinogen, and the American Medical Association has voiced its
unanimous support for “light pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction
efforts at both the national and state levels.” Our bodies need darkness to
produce the hormone melatonin, which keeps certain cancers from developing, and
our bodies need darkness for sleep.Sleep disorders have been linked to diabetes,
obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression, and recent research suggests one
main cause of “short sleep” is “long light.” Whether we work at night or simply
take our tablets, notebooks and smartphones to bed, there isn’t a place for this
much artificial light in our lives.
The rest of the world depends on darkness as well, including nocturnal and
crepuscular species of birds, insects, mammals, fish and reptiles. Some examples
are well known—the 400 species of birds that migrate at night in North America,
the sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs—and some are not, such as the
bats that save American farmers billions in pest control and the moths that
pollinate 80% of the world’s flora. Ecological light pollution is like the
bulldozer of the night, wrecking habitat and disrupting ecosystems several
billion years in the making. Simply put, without darkness, Earth’s ecology would
collapse . . .
In today’s crowded, louder, more fast-paced world, night’s darkness can
provide solitude, quiet and stillness, qualities increasingly in short supply.
Every religious tradition has considered darkness invaluable for a soulful life,
and the chance to witness the universe has inspired artists, philosophers and
everyday stargazers since time began. In a world awash with electric light. . .
how would Van Gogh have given the world his “Starry Night”? Who knows what this
vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in our children or
grandchildren?
Yet all over the world, our nights are growing brighter. In the United
States and Western Europe, the amount of light in the sky increases an average
of about 6% every year. Computer images of the United States at night, based on
NASA photographs, show that what was a very dark country as recently as the
1950s is now nearly covered with a blanket of light. Much of this light is
wasted energy, which means wasted dollars. Those of us over 35 are perhaps among
the last generation to have known truly dark nights. Even the northern lake
where I was lucky to spend my summers has seen its darkness diminish.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Light pollution is readily within our
ability to solve, using new lighting technologies and shielding existing lights.
Already, many cities and towns across North America and Europe are changing to
LED streetlights, which offer dramatic possibilities for controlling wasted
light. Other communities are finding success with simply turning off portions of
their public lighting after midnight. Even Paris, the famed “city of light,”
which already turns off its monument lighting after 1 a.m., will this summer
start to require its shops, offices and public buildings to turn off lights
after 2 a.m. Though primarily designed to save energy, such reductions in light
will also go far in addressing light pollution. But we will never truly address
the problem of light pollution until we become aware of the irreplaceable value
and beauty of the darkness we are losing.
Assignment: Write an essay in which you explain how Paul Bogard builds an
argument to persuade his audience that natural darkness should be preserved. In
your essay, analyze how Bogard uses one or more of the features listed in the
box above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and
persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most
relevant features of the passage.
Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Bogard’s claims, but
rather explain how Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience.
好，看完題目，我們來看一下具體該如何著手去寫這篇文章，應該從哪幾個點來展現作者的意圖。
1. 用詞：
a) The descriptive words used in this sentence add visual intensity,
evoking the wonder of the night sky. 作者是如何使用詞匯來突出文章的畫面感。
b) The writer chooses his words carefully in this paragraph in order to
shape readers’ perceptions and bolster his claims. For example, he argues that
we are using too much light when less is needed by referring to light being
“wasted.” He also suggests how easily the problem of light pollution might be
addressed, using “simply” to describe what “other communities” are doing.
作者是如何選擇詞匯來加強自己的論證，同時說服讀者相信自己的觀點。
2. 論據：
The writer uses this statistic as evidence to inform his subsequent
claim that we “are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness.
作者是如何使用數據作為論據引出下面他的觀點的。
3. 如何展開文章：
The writer continues to draw
on evidence from the authorities cited above. He uses this evidence to
inform his subsequent point
that “whether we work at night or simply take our . . . smartphones to bed,
there isn’t a place for this much artificial light in our lives.”
作者是如何展開論證，使得整篇文章連為一體，整體聯會貫通。
4. 如何使用論據支持文章：
The presentation of facts and evidence supports the claim
that follows at the end of the paragraph that “without darkness, Earth’s ecology
would collapse.” 作者如何使用合適和相關的論據來支持自己的觀點。
5. 修辭手法：
a) The writer compares light pollution to the effects of a “bulldozer,” a
machine that can be used to ravage land. This imagery dramatizes the destructive
potential of light pollution. 類比修辭
b) The use of rhetorical questions encourages the reader to consider a
world without Van Gogh’s beloved painting and what Van Gogh’s vision inspires in
us all. The suggestion of a world without such artistry and the notion that
darkness is “invaluable to a soulful life” are also designed to evoke an
emotional reaction in the reader. 作者是如何使用假設來強調自己的論點。