GRE写作优秀实例：现代摄像机和印刷术

 　　题目：

　　"The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records."

　　摄像机可以通过如此精确而有力的记录手段来再现当代生活，因此它已经代替书面记录成为了一种更重要的记录手段。

　　正文：

　　"The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records."There have been many methods of documenting in the history of human, from carved ancient pottery¹ to sheepskin documents, of which the video camera may be the newest form with certain superiorities and inferiorities to written records. The advantages of video camera certainly make it an important form of documentation, but not to the extent of being more essential than written records due to its disadvantages.

　　To begin with, video can be interpreted as a series of pictures associated along the time, while written records can be considered as the descriptions of these pictures.Therefore, it is undoubtedly² that video contains much more information than that of written records. From a video, we can clearly know what happened with subtle details.Merely with a television set, we can easily watch the happenings at home, such as the Olympic Games, comfortably sitting on the sofa, needless to be present on the spot.

　　And more excitedly, certain close-up enables us to scrutinize³ our favorable athletes. If there isn't video camera, we may be unable to enjoy such activities unless we can afford time and expense to be on the spot. While it is true that we can also be acquainted with the circumstances through newspaper or other media, however, the written record may be unable to present them as accurate as video. The imagination from the reports, however detailed⁴, dooms⁵ to be imaginary, by all means different from the real circumstance, which video can represent. Moreover, the written records may contain some mistakes due to the carelessness or injustice⁶ of its reporters, while the video may be more accurate and convincing.

　　Another strongpoint of video is that it can be perceived simply by visual signals, from which people mainly get information in their daily lives, and therefore this method is more natural than written records. Everyone, ranging from a babbling⁷ child to an old grandpa, is able to get some information from the video just as they do during their daily lives, regardless of their literate⁸ ability. While the written record, no matter how easily it is represented, requires literacy of its readers, and a newspaper or book means nothing to an illiterate⁹ person. In addition, video is much easier to comprehend for people all over the world. For instance, an American can grasp nothing about a story written in Chinese unless s/he has learnt such a foreign language. However, s/he can absolutely understand something about a video recorded in China, although s/he may be confused with the language spoken in the video.

　　While video is certainly not superior to written recorders in all aspects, its limitations determine that the written record will not be replaced at least at present. The first disadvantage of video is that it is much more inconvenient¹⁰ and expensive. Video must be recorded on the spot, namely, when an event happens to you, you cannot record it unless you have a camera at hand. However, even though you haven’t paper and pencil either, you are still able to recall it to record based on your remembrance.

　　Therefore, for those who can't afford a handy camera or who are unwilling¹¹ to bring it anytime anywhere, the written records may be the easiest form available. Further, another weakness of video is that its cost is too high and its correspondingly high-quality record may be beyond people's requirement. The cost of making a written report is much less than that of manipulating a video. Also, every morning we may browse¹² a newspaper to know what happened throughout the world, and the simple report, which may only consume us a few seconds, meets our needs of curiosity; we needn't the accuracy and vividness of video, which may be more time-consuming.

　　It is fortunate for us to own video as a supplementary¹³ kind of documentation. With a video camera, we can record important events in our lives, such as the weeding or birthday party. However, it is impossible to record everything happening around us, yet we can record them in our diaries. In a word, both the video camera and the written records are irreplaceable forms of documentation, and their supplementation serves better than any one of the documentation method alone.

1 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

2 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

3 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 dooms   

v.注定( doom的第三人称单数 )；判定；使…的失败（或灭亡、毁灭、坏结局）成为必然；宣判

参考例句：

• The ill-advised conceit of the guardian angel dooms the film from the start. 对守护天使的蹩脚设计弄巧成拙，从一开始就注定这部电影要失败。
• The dooms of the two are closely linked. 一条线拴俩蚂蚱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 babbling   

n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密

参考例句：

• I could hear the sound of a babbling brook. 我听得见小溪潺潺的流水声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Infamy was babbling around her in the public market-place. 在公共市场上，她周围泛滥着对她丑行的种种议论。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

8 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

9 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

10 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

11 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

12 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

13 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。