Sample 1: Thomas Edison
Born in America, Thomas Edison was a great scientist and inventor. He was once thought to be a boy who was not worth educating. In fact, he was a man full of imagination.
I admire Edison a lot because of his great contribution to the world. He had more than 1,000 inventions. In his life time, he was always eager to know how things worked, which helped him to earn the nickname “the Wizard of Melo Park”. He was also so diligent that he worked day and night. And this explained why he had so many great inventions.
What impresses me most is his famous saying: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine perspiration”. Probably I cannot be an Edison myself, but I can be a hardworking learner. From him, I realize the secret to success is not when or where you were born, but what you are doing and how you do it in your life. (157 words)
Sample 2: Helen Keller
Every time I read “… if I had the power of sight for three days”, I cannot help being moved by its author Helen Keller, an ordinary but great American woman.
I admire Helen because she was optimistic about life. She became deaf and blind when she was 19 months old. Since then she lived in a world of darkness and silence, and communication seemed only a dream for her. But she never gave up and struggled to lead an active life. Under the guidance of her teacher, Ms Sullivan, Helen learned to read and write and became a famous writer. For a disabled person like her, this was really a wonder!
Helen has set an excellent example to all of us. Her story tells us that we should value what we have, and try our best to overcome any difficulty in life. (143 words)
Sample 3: William Shakespeare
Do you know Hamlet? Have you read The Merchant of Venice? These two great works are both written by William Shakespeare, my favourite English writer and the man of all ages!
Shakespeare, a son from a poor family, a man of little education, wrote plays and poems that are read all over the world. I like him because his comedies and tragedies bring me into a fantastic world; I love him because his poems let me enjoy the beauty of the English language; I admire him because his keen sights set me thinking and teach me how to lead a meaningful life!
Since “Life is a stage”, we are actually all actors and actresses. On this stage, everyone has his own role to play, and I will try my best to play my role well. (135 words)
试题分析：考查半开放性作文。本文的要求是描述自己最喜欢的一位人物，给考生自己发挥的余地较大，要求考生根据所给的写作要求和提纲，确定文章的中心思想，然后紧紧围绕中心思想展开写作。要求考生在保证内容要点全部概括的基础上可以充分发挥自己的想象，进而用自己的语言来表达某种观点或看法，增添了写作的灵活性，同时能较好地考查考生的想象能力和英语语言表达能力。
点评：半开放性作文给出了一个话题，并有部分的文字提示。给考生自由发挥的余地较大。对于考生的综合能力要求较高，要求考生有很强的谋篇布局的能力和组织要点的能力。在完成开放性作文时，首先要选择自己熟悉的短语或者句型，在你的能力范围之内，选择句式时要赋予变化，因为这样你才可以更好的驾驭。同时也要选择合适的连接词，把各个要点组织成一个完整的整体，如besides, further, last but not least等。在发表个人观点的时候，可以使用谚语来提升整个文章的档次和文采，也能增加得高分的可能性。
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