【内容提示】
在美国，有一种流行的说法“hitting the books”（攻书），意思是为了考试而努力学习功课，相当于汉语的为迎接“中考”或“高考”的“攻读”。请用英语写一篇文章，就你自己所知对这一话题展开讨论。主要内容包括：
①对于学生来说，重大的挑战之一就是考试；要想进步，就得考好。
②“攻书”的学生为了准备考试要花费好长时间反复地阅读、复习老师讲过的内容。
③在美国，多数儿童在5岁时上学。大众教育是免费的。多数孩子在离家不远的学校上学。他们学文化，也玩耍和旅游，这时他们不需要攻书。
④随着年龄的增长，情况就不同了。课程多了，也难了；压力增大，孩子们就得用功学习。
⑤学习认真的学生到了高中才真正开始攻书。
⑥想进入大学的学生须参加全国性的称为S—A—T的统一考试。部分学生就要努力攻书，把每一门功课学好才能考上大学。
【作文示范】
Hitting the Books
Every society has its special words, expressions and ways of saying things. One of the popular expressions in the United States is“hitting the books”. It means studying a subject with GREat effort.
One of the GREat challenges① for students is taking tests. The students must do well on the test to advance. ②.
A student who hits the books spends long hours preparing for a test.
They read all their books carefully, and a then read them a second time, and a third time. They make sure they know all the material the teacher has offered and prepared for every possible question. They study every night. They are“hitting the books”.
In the United States, most children begin attending school when they are five years old. Public education is free and most children go to schools near their homes. School in these early years is fun. The children learn to read and write. But they also play games and go on trips. There is no reason at such an early age for them to hit the books.
This situation changes as children become older. The subjects become more and more difficult. Students must learn about world history, algebra③, and the life sciences. Tests become more common. Pressure④ is growing to hit the books, study hard, and advance.
However, most serious students only really begin hitting the books for long hours when they reach high school.
High school students who hope to continue their education at a college or university must take a special test called the S----A----T. The test has two parts. The first part tests the student＇s ability with numbers and mathematical skills. The second part tests the student＇s ability in the English language.
The S----A----T test is very important. A high school student who gets a high score on the two parts of the test has a good chance to enter a top American college. For this reason, many students hit the books for months to prepare for the S----A----T.
All this adds up to a lot of work----“hitting the books”. Knowledge is a prize that is not easy to gain.
【词语解释】
①challenge[＇tM$linDN] n．挑战；鞭策
②advance[+d＇v%:ns] n．前进；进步
③algebra [＇$ldNibr+] n．代数学
④pressure[＇preM+] n．压力；强制
【写法指要】
1）这也是一篇事理说明文。全文分三部分：第一段是第一部分，解释什么是“hitting the books”；第二部分包括 2—7自然段，说明美国学生要苦读数月才能取得学业水平考试的好成绩而进入好大学，所以他们必然要“hit the books”；第三部分，即结尾段，只有两个句子，作者用“知识毕竟不是轻易就能获得的奖品”总结全文。
2）本文有两处用到指示代词的回指（anaphora）功能。第一处是在第五段开头，“this”回指紧挨着的上一段说到的情况，具有衔接上一段的作用。第二处是用在最后一段开头的“all this”，虽然它也是回指，但它有总括全文的作用，我们可以把它看做是总结性回指。
