2010年考研经典短文背诵之家庭关系类八

2010年考研经典短文背诵之家庭关系类八

· Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay, you should:
1) describe the drawing briefly,
2) explain its intended meaning, and then
3) state your point of view.


范文：
This is quite an extraordinary and meaningful picture. The old grandma, when alive, was fed poorly with a bowl of rice for every meal. In contrast, after her death, there is a memorial tablet set up for her, in front of which is a table of delicacies as tributes. Apparently, the grandma's children merely want to show off how well they treat their mother while they were actually ingrates.
Ridiculous as it is, the phenomenon is not rare in today's society. For one thing, enormous economic development brings not only wealth, but also the public obsession for material possessions, individual gain and loss which undermines the once sacred bond between parents and children. For another, people seem to be fond of boasting off how they abide by traditions through holding grand funerals for their parents. As a matter of fact, some even compete about the extravagance of the event.
I contend that those who practice as the picture reveals miss the essence and deep values of our traditions. Filial piety should not be expressed via superficial “performance”, but via children's genuine care and love for their parents. Thinking about how parents have taken care of us when we were babies in cradles, we should realize that they all need due attention when aging.
译文：
这是一幅非常特别而且有意义的图画。一位老奶奶在生前吃得非常简单，每顿饭只有一碗米饭。相反，在她过世后，后人为她立了一个牌位，前面放了一桌的山珍海味作为她的贡品。显然她的孩子们只是想炫耀他们对待母亲有多么好，实际上他们只是忘恩负义之辈。
尽管这种现象非常荒唐，但是在我们的社会中却并不少见。一方面，经济的巨大发展不仅带来了更多的财富，而且也使人们热衷于物质收益和个人得失，这些都破坏了过去那种父母与儿女之间的神圣关系。另一方面，人们似乎非常喜欢通过为父母举办豪华的葬礼来显示他们有多么遵守传统。实际上，有一些人甚至攀比葬礼的奢华铺张。
不过，我认为图中揭示的这种做法没有抓住我们传统文化的本质和深层价值。孝顺不应该通过表面的“表演”来表现，而是应该通过孩子们对父母真正的关爱来表达。想一想当我们还是在摇篮中的婴儿的时候父母曾给过我们怎样的关爱，我们应该意识到在他们老了以后也应该得到该得的关心。
闪光词汇及词组：
memorial tablet:牌位
delicacy: n.山珍海味
tribute: n.贡品
undermine: v.破坏
sacred bond:神圣的关系
show off, boast off:炫耀，自夸
abide by:遵守
grand: adj.盛大的，豪华的
extravagance: n.奢侈，铺张
essence: n.本质
filial piety: n.孝顺，孝道
genuine: adj.真实的，真正的，诚恳的
万能句型：
This is quite an extraordinary and meaningful picture.
Ridiculous as it is, the phenomenon is not rare in today's society.
I contend that…