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  3. Make sure your headset is on. The Writing section measures your ability to use writing to communicate in an academic environ

Make sure your headset is on. The Writing section measures your ability to use writing to communicate in an academic environ

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问题     Make sure your headset is on.
    The Writing section measures your ability to use writing to communicate in an academic environment. There will be 2 writing tasks.
    For the first task, you will be asked to read a passage and listen to a lecture. You will then answer a question based on what you have read and heard. For the second task, you will be asked to answer a question based on your own knowledge and experience.
    Now listen to the directions for the first writing task.
    The Integrated Writing Task
    For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic. A clock at the top of the screen will show how much time you have to read. Then the passage will be removed and you will listen to a lecture about the same topic. You will be able to see the passage again when it is time to write. You may take notes while you read and listen.
    You will then have 20 minutes to write a response to a question that asks you about the relationship between the reading passage and the lecture. Using information from the reading and the lecture, try to answer the question as completely as possible. The question does not ask you to express your personal opinion.
    Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words long. Your response will be judged on the quality of your writing and on the completeness and accuracy of the content. You may use your notes to help you answer.
    Now you will see the reading passage for 3 minutes. Remember the reading passage will be available to you again when you write. After the reading time ends, the lecture will begin immediately, so keep your headset on until the lecture is over.
    Reading
    Although self-employment poses some challenges, the allure of being one’s own boss is undeniable. Being self-employed means determining one’s own destiny. When working for someone else, so many factors are beyond the worker’s control: advancement, salary, personalities, etc. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, answer to no one but themselves and work when and how they decide. It is the difference between captaining one’s own ship and just being a passenger, often not knowing where the ship is going and maybe never even glimpsing the ocean.
    Entrepreneurs reap all the benefits of their work. The value of an employee’s daily work may be one hundred dollars, but that worker may receive only seventy-five dollars. This is how companies work. A self-employed person, however, takes the whole hundred. It is no coincidence that most of the world’s wealthiest people are self-employed. It is difficult to get rich when workers have to surrender some of their value just for the privilege of being employed.
    Perhaps the greatest reward of self-employment is the satisfaction of creating something from scratch. The process of taking an idea, nurturing it, and watching it grow into full-fledged success is its own reward for many entrepreneurs. Striking out on one’s own requires vision, courage, and the determination to finish the job. The challenges of the creative process are not for everyone, but many entrepreneurs could not imagine stifling their creative powers in some uninspiring, unrewarding job.
    Listening

    Question
    Directions: You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the quality of your writing and on how well you present the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150-225 words long.
    Question: Summarize the points you just heard in the lecture, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading.
    Although self-employment poses some challenges, the allure of being one’s own boss is undeniable. Being self-employed means determining one’s own destiny. When working for someone else, so many factors are beyond the worker’s control: advancement, salary, personalities, etc. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, answer to no one but themselves and work when and how they decide. It is the difference between captaining one’s own ship and just being a passenger, often not knowing where the ship is going and maybe never even glimpsing the ocean.
    Entrepreneurs reap all the benefits of their work. The value of an employee’s daily work may be one hundred dollars, but that worker may receive only seventy-five dollars. This is how companies work. A self-employed person, however, takes the whole hundred. It is no coincidence that most of the world’s wealthiest people are self-employed. It is difficult to get rich when workers have to surrender some of their value just for the privilege of being employed.
    Perhaps the greatest reward of self-employment is the satisfaction of creating something from scratch. The process of taking an idea, nurturing it, and watching it grow into full-fledged success is its own reward for many entrepreneurs. Striking out on one’s own requires vision, courage, and the determination to finish the job. The challenges of the creative process are not for everyone, but many entrepreneurs could not imagine stifling their creative powers in some uninspiring, unrewarding job.
A lot of people think about self-employment in a romantic sort of way. Sure, it’s great if you break through and succeed, but the sad fact is that more than fifty percent of small businesses fail within the first year. Ninety-five percent fail within five years, and the majority of the surviving businesses yield only a modest income. In other words, it’s a long shot. Most entrepreneurs don’t strike it rich and retire to the Bahamas. In fact, those who work for someone else generally earn more and enjoy better benefits and job security than self-employed entrepreneurs.
    Now, it is true that some people are glad to trade all that for being their own boss. However, they face a rough road full of uncertainty, burdensome responsibilities, and tough decisions. They may have thought that being self-employed meant freedom and self-determination, but the fact is that the boss is the one who answers to the customer. If there is a problem or some kind of mistake, the boss has to take the blame and sometimes pay out of his own pocket. The boss often has to put in long hours and make countless sacrifices in his personal life to keep his dream alive.
    Then there’s the myth of the untold riches to be had when you don’t work for someone else. Again, some entrepreneurs do establish very successful ventures, but the majority find that those untold riches are, well, just not there. Often they have to bear the financial burden of running a business because many banks are reluctant to back an unproven startup. Many new businesses fail because the owners underestimate how much capital it takes to keep them afloat. Overall, self-employment means a lot of financial obligations with few or none of the benefits of working for someone else, such as health insurance, sick pay, paid vacation, pension, and, ah, so on.
    When you take a good look at all the risks and responsibilities, starting up a business is not all that different from investing your life’s savings in lottery tickets. Daring? Sure. Smart? Well ... you’re only a genius if you win.
选项
答案 The message of the lecture is that self-employment gives much more challenges and problems than working for someone else. Most of the information contained in the lecture contradicts the optimistic ideas given in the reading passage. Although the professor admits that some entrepreneurs become successful, he gives statistics and other information indicating that being an employee is safer and more beneficial than starting a new business. The professor’s specific information was very persuasive compared to the general one-in the reading passage. The high failure ratio of new businesses is difficult to disagree and probably is the professor’s strongest point against the optimistic impression in the reading passage. An entrepreneur may be brave and have control of his or her work, but what good does it make if the business fails? Another point that the professor made was the lack of benefits in self-employment. The reading passage mentioned that an employee lacks control over promotions, pay, and other factors but did not mention all the benefits of being an employee, such as health insurance, sick pay, paid vacations, and pension. The professor did mention these things and it was quite persuasive. As the professor mentioned, self-employment is very romantic idea to many people. The reading passage shows that an entrepreneur is brave, creative, and his or her own boss. However, this romantic picture is true for less than 5 percent of entrepreneurs. The 95 percent of entrepreneurs that eventually fail probably have a less romantic idea of self-employment.
解析 这是综合写作题。这类题的阅读短文和讲座内容的观点可能相同也可能相反。本题属于后者，即阅读短文对创业持肯定态度，而讲座里持否定态度。当两个观点相反的时候，作文里重点对讲座内容的要点进行了说明，并与阅读短文的要点进行了比较。如果将阅读短文里出现的要点记在心里再听讲座的话，写作的时候就会很容易地写出自己的想法。教授在讲座里说到给别人打工比自己创业要好的主要理由以及与之观点相反的阅读短文的要点如下：
    1．讲座：创业的成功率只有5%，因此失败的可能性很大。
    (阅读短文：创业需要具有勇气和判断力，需要自己开拓经营，但是有前途。/通过劳动赚来的钱100%属于自己。)
    2．讲座：创业者要有强大的责任心和决断力并且要做出自我牺牲。
    (阅读短文：创业者不受他人干涉，可以自由工作。)
    3．讲座创业者经营自己的生意，财政负担比较重，但是却享受不到医疗保险、病假工资、带薪休假和养老金等福利待遇。
    (阅读短文：雇佣工作者升职、薪资等多方面的因素自己都无法控制。)
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