20xx年5月SAT写作真题：

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

It is often the case that revealing the complete truth may bring

trouble—discomfort, embarrassment, sadness, or even harm—to oneself or to another person. In these circumstances, it is better not to express our real thoughts and feelings. Whether or not we should tell the truth, therefore, depends on the circumstances.

Assignment: Do circumstances determine whether or not we should tell the truth? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

写作范文：

Even though it is true that honesty is a great virtue, I still cannot help but believe that under some circumstances, choosing not to tell the truth is a wise decision. Look at O.Henry’s short story, “the last leaf.” Johnsy suffers from pneumonia, a severe disease that can result in the death of a person. Johnsy sinks into the depths of hopelessness. Seeing the leaves of ivy outside her window fall down every day, she tells Sue, her best friend, that she must go when the last leaf falls. Fearing that Johnsy’s

hold upon the world grows weaker, Sue goes to see Mr. Behrman, an old painter. Knowing the matter, Mr. Behrman comes up with a good idea of drawing a leaf on the tree outside Johnsy’s window. An artificial leaf will never fall down. When Johnsy sees the last leaf still stands out after the heavy rain and fierce wind, she has the courage to fight with pneumonia. Finally she recovers. In this story, Sue knows the truth but does not tell Johnsy about the artificial leaf because she believes Johnsy can pluck up at the critical time.

In the movie, les miserable, the bishop’s action also demonstrates that people should not always tell the truth. In 1815, convict Jean Valjean is released on parole after serving a nineteen-year sentence. Valjean is driven out of every town, because of his paroled status. Fortunately, later he is offered food and shelter by the Bishop of Digne. However, during the night, Valjean steals silver when the Bishop sleeps soundly. The next day, he is captured by the authorities, but the Bishop informs them that the silver was given to Valjean as a gift, then gives him even more,

securing that Valjean be released. Moved by the Bishop's grace, Valjean breaks his parole, vowing to start an honest life helping others under a new identity and he really performs his vow from then on. Had the Bishop told the truth, Valjean would have been arrested and sent to prison, which would definitely ruin a person.

Another example that could be used to justify that circumstances determine wether people should tell the truth or not is a story by Kathryn Forbes. The narrator actually lives in an impoverished family. One day she is filled with fear when she knows that Jensens in her neighborhood are put out because they cannot pay the rent. She fears that the same thing will happen to her family. But her sister reminds her that they have a bank account. Thinking that their mother always tells them that they have a bank account downtown, the narrator feels a sense of relief. Every time when the family needs money, children will volunteer to do some part-time jobs and Papa will give up tobacco. Children do not want to withdraw money from the bank because they feel that with Mama’s bank account they can live without fear.When the narrator grows up and gets her first check and asks Mama to put it in the bank account, Mama says they do not actually possess a bank account. In this story, Mama lies to her children about the bank account when time is difficult because she does not want to make her children worry and she knows that it is not good for little ones to be afraid, to not feel secure. When children grow up and have ability to earn enough money, Mama chooses to tell them the truth.

Examples from O.Henry’s story, the last leaf, the behavior of the kind Bishop and Mama’s white lie can illustrate that if we want the world to

move in the right direction we must understand that in some situations we should not tell the complete truth.(639字)

第二篇：SAT作文真题+满分范文(高难度)

SAT作文真题+满分范文（高难度）

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Assignment: Should we admire heroes but not celebrities? (2007.10) There are people suggesting that we should admire heroes but not celebrities. Admittedly, heroes are famous because they are great people, while a certain number of people become celebrities only because of their undeserved fame. However, this does not mean that all celebrities are not worthy admiration. In fact, there are still a multitude of admirable celebrities who are also amazing people and can bring us enormous positive influence.

An excellent example to prove this point is Nicholas James Vujicic, who is not a hero saving a country but a celebrity famous for his unusual experiences. He was born with a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs but now is a well-known motivational speaker helping thousands of people. While born with no limbs, Vujicic was not defeated by his disability. Instead, he learned to transcend his disability. With his optimism and persistence, he successfully mastered the daily tasks of life, like typing, shaving, brushing teeth and answering the phone, and he even learned to dive and throw tennis balls without limbs. Now he is a man grateful for life and a motivational speaker giving talks to share his stories and to encourage people to be confident and thankful. A tremendous amount of his fans have learned from him optimism, self-confidence, persistence and gratitude, and I am also one of them. Vujicic is now my idol. Whenever I encounter obstacles or failures, I think of him, and then I get courage to move on.

Another example of the celebrities worthy of admiration is Steve Jobs, the former CEO of the present extremely successful Apple Inc. Though not a hero saving the whole world, Jobs is, undoubtedly, one of the most renowned and influential people in the human history. His innovation has transformed a variety of fields like computer, music, movie, phone and retailing. Today,

people around the world are learning from him. Entrepreneurs learn from him leadership, management and inspiring. Designers learn from him how to create a product that is both functional and beautiful. Students learn from him how to pursue what they are truly passionate about. Ordinary people who are craving for success learn from him the secrets to spectacular achievement. As a world-known celebrity, Jobs is definitely worth admiring. His wisdom and legacy will benefit generations of people.

Nicholas James Vujicic and Steve Jobs are only two of the countless examples of the celebrities that worth admiring. Worshiping these famous people is no less valuable than looking up to heroes.

(2006.6) Do we tend to accept the opinions of others instead of developing our own independent ideas?

It is rare to find an objective and independent viewpoint on style, literature, politics, or any other matter. Many people's opinions are formed through their associations with others. It is our nature to conform; conformity is a force that few can successfully resist. We give in to the human instinct to go along with the crowd and to have its approval.

Truly, it is our nature to conform, and human’s long history has witnessed the prevalence of conformity among the general public. However, this does not indicate that we will give in to our nature all the time. In the modern age, with education available to most people and with competition heating up around the globe, people in mounting number are developing their own independent ideas instead of blindly conforming to others.

In history, there are abundant examples revealing that most of the remarkable breakthroughs that humans have ever made are invariably attributable to a few individuals’ independent ideas instead of those of the majority. This indicates a significant fact about the majority of our ancestors, that is, a strong tendency to conform to conventional thoughts and wisdom with little independent questioning. For instance, one of the biggest revolution in the field of astronomy was sparked by an individual—Copernicus whose

heliocentric model transformed people’s understanding of the universe. Before Copernicus’ novel idea was popularized, the public at the time tended to conform to the widely held views, believing that Earth was the center of the universe. Had it not been for Copernicus’ novel theory, the public would have been fooled for longer time.

However, fortunately, this is no longer the case with modern people who have more and easier accesses to public education. Since modern education highly values critical thinking and independent thinking, people receiving this education are all encouraged and trained to do independent thinking. Hence, now it is not uncommon to see children challenging their parents’ excessive controlling at home, students questioning their teachers in class, and people protesting against unjust laws or policies in the street. These are all the manifestations of modern people’s independent thinking.

Another factor contributing to the strong tendency to independent thinking is the rigorous global competition facing the present world. To succeed in this highly competitive world, one has to resort to innovation, which entails independent thinking. Hence, the ability to think independently has become a key element of one’s success. The unprecedented success of Apple Company is the best illustration of this. Thanks to its exceptional creativity, Apple not only defeats all his rivals but also brings us such amazing products as iPad and iPhone. In a word, the pressure of living in the world rife with competition is forcing people to nurture their independent thinking ability so that they can innovate and then succeed.

In the past, humans were subject to conformity, but it is not the case now. The widespread public education and the competition around the world are shaping the strong tendency for people to think independently rather than just blindly following others’ steps.

Assignment: When some people win, must others lose, or are there situations in which everyone wins? (2009.6)

It is often assumed that when someone wins, there must be people losing. Indeed, there are some people whose winning is at the cost of the happiness of others. However, this does not mean that there is no situation in which everyone wins. In fact, when we cooperate with others, there will be a win-win situation.

An excellent example to illustrate this point is the international

cooperation among countries around the world to deal with the deteriorating global warming. Scientists and environmentalists have warned us that our planet is facing a warming climate globally, which will cause a series of problems like ice melting in Antarctic areas, rising of sea levels,

desertification and so on. These problems will severely threaten humans’

survival in the near future. Cognizant of the possible catastrophic

consequences of global warming, nations around the world are trying to reach an agreement to curb global warming. While the international cooperation concerning this issue is not going on smoothly, once the international agreement is settled down, every nation will benefit from this joint effort. Once our planet is exempt from the threat of global warming, each nation will be protected. In this case, every nation is a winner. In other words, this international cooperation creates a win-win situation.

Apart from international cooperation, in business world, it is also not uncommon to see win-win situations. A typical example is the partnership between Apple Company and such top record companies as Time Warner. When Jobs unveiled iPod in 2001, he sensed that the music service provided by record companies at the time was far from satisfactory. Nor were the record companies themselves satisfied with the music service, for there was massive piracy hurting their profits. Hence, to improve music service, Jobs and his team created the iTunes Store and persuaded the top record companies at the time such as Warner Music and Universal Music Group to sell music in the iTunes Store. In this successful partnership, both Apple Company and the record companies were winners, for the rising popularity of the iTunes Store not only immensely sparked the sales of iPod, but also stimulated the sales of the music of those record companies, helping them sell a million songs in six days. Now the iTunes Store it has been the most popular music vendor in the world since 2010. The spectacular success of the iTunes Store is just another example of win-win situation.

One’s winning does not have to occur at the expense of others’ success or happiness. As shown in the above two examples, when there is successful cooperation, there will be a win-win situation.

Assignment: Can common sense be trusted and accepted, or should it be questioned? (2009.6)

Common sense is the product of society’s norms during a certain time frame, prone to reinventing itself at the change of an opinion. Such “common sense” cannot be the natural basis of all decisions and must be questioned, as it is contingent upon fickle norms.

Millennia ago, the Egyptians believed that thought and reasons were formed inside the heart, not the brain. Thus, during the process of embalmment, they threw away the brain while carefully preserving the heart in an assortment of herbs. It was common sense, they thought, that one’s center of knowledge

should rest in the center of the body. We know now that what they believed to be “common sense” was in fact flawed and incorrect, yet at the time, Egypt was the most technologically advanced nation on the planet and its beliefs were thought to be the most correct. By ancient Egypt’s example, we can clearly see that one era’s common sense may become utter nonsense with the passing of time.

Centuries ago, the Chinese believed that their emperor was divine, a son of the heavens who had to be respected and worshipped at all times. It seems ridiculous now, that any mere mortal could be seen as a divinity, yet religious common sense of the 10th century persuaded all citizens that it was noble and necessary to worship their ruler. Their common sense depended on the religious beliefs of their time – beliefs we now perceived to be incorrect and even somewhat silly. Common sense, it seems, does not always confer common sensibility.

Decades ago, Americans believed that it was common sense to spread a certain pesticide in their fields – because who could want bugs preying on

potentially profitable wheat, corn, or rice products? The pesticide they used was DDT, and years later, we now know that what Americans of the mid 1900s believed to be beneficial common sense translated into environmental harm and ecosystem destruction.

From the scientific beliefs of ancient Egyptians to the religious and agricultural “common sense” of the Chinese and Americans, it is evident that common sense is quite common but not necessarily sensible.