1998年真题。Directions:
    
    Study the following set of pictures carefully and write an essay in no less than 150 words.
    
    Your essay must be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2.
    
    Your essay should cover all the information provided and meet the requirements below:
    
    1. Write out the message conveyed by the cartoon.
    
    2. Give your comments.
    
    真题分析：
    
    本题是考研短文作文中采用漫画来作为试题的第一次尝试。图中一只母鸡在高唱产品承诺，但是我们看一看其承诺会不禁哑然失笑，因为所谓的“承诺”只不过的它的本分。漫画形象生动了反映了当今社会上一个普遍而又奇怪的现象，也就是商家故意混淆“吹嘘”和“分内事”之间的关系，从而误导消费者。
    
    本题的难点在于考生需要从大量的文字信息中找到中心思想。这里的一大忌讳就是盲目翻译打油诗和母鸡的承诺，因为这不仅会占用很多字数，而且不伦不类的翻译还会降低文章的质量。这就进一步说明了在写作图画作文的时候，抓住中心思想、提炼观点才是关键。
    
    思路拓展：
    
    职业道德问题也是中国的经济和社会发展中一个值得人们长期关注的关键问题之一。在市场经济大潮中，许多人在利益的驱使下纷纷都失去了道德和理智，以假冒伪劣产品和劣质的服务来欺瞒消费者，损害消费者的利益。相关话题还包括近年来社会上大力抨击的商业欺诈问题，以及努力倡导“诚信”原则等。相关的领域几乎可以囊括各行各业，包括工业制造业、商业、教育、医药、娱乐界等等热门行业和产业。考生应该注意在平时搜集相关资料，做到举一反三。
    
    范文：
    
    The cartoon presents a hen singing proudly about her promise of producing good-quality eggs. However, a quick glance at her words reveals ironically that the so-called “promise”—round eggs composed of the three necessary parts of shell, white and yolk—is, as a matter of fact, what a hen is supposed to produce.
    
    The hen mirrors a phenomenon that permeates our society, that is, businesses utilize the basic features of their products and services as the selling points for their advertisement campaigns. These “beautiful promises” tend to shape a false impression in the consumers’ mind that the products and services are of extraordinary characteristics. In this sense, the promise of one’s own responsibility is like a method of cheating, and is quite against professional morals, although there is no evidence of dishonesty if the words are examined literally.
    
    In my point of view, other than promising what one should do, the secret for business success is to have the consumers understand what extra advantages they would be provided with. Such an initiative can push businesses to conduct profound research, dedicate themselves to innovation, and concentrate on quality improvement and perfection, thus leading to healthy industry development and positive social effects. Consequently, businesses themselves are surely to benefit more from a wholesome market environment.
    
    译文：
    
    这幅漫画显示了一只母鸡正在骄傲地高歌其生产的优质鸡蛋。可是瞥一眼她说的话，我们就能发现所谓的“承诺”—即下蛋不见棱角，保证蛋皮、蛋清和蛋黄—其实是任何母鸡应该做的事情。
    
    这只母鸡反映了现在社会上普遍存在的一个典型现象，即一些商家在广告中故意用产品和服务的基本特征来作为宣传的噱头。这些“美丽的承诺”给消费者们造成了虚假的印象，使他们认为面对着的产品和服务拥有一些非凡的特点。从这个意义上来说，对于自己本该履行的责任的承诺就好像商业欺骗，违反了职业道德，尽管从字面上来说没有欺诈的痕迹。
    
    我认为，商业成功的秘密不在于承诺做自己应该做的事情，而是应该让消费者得到额外的好处。这会促使企业加大和深入研究工作、致力于创新、关注产品质量的提高和完善，从而取得健康的产业发展和积极的社会效应。商家自身也会因此从一个更加健康的市场环境中得到更多的好处。
    
    闪光词汇及词组：
    
    so-called: 所谓的
    
    as a matter of fact: 实际上
    
    utilize: v. 利用
    
    selling points: adj. 卖点
    
    tend to: 易于，倾向于
    
    in this sense: 在这个意义上，
    
    万能句型：
    
    The cartoon presents…
    
    However, a quick glance at … reveals ironically that…
    
    … mirrors a phenomenon that permeates our society, that is…
    
    In my point of view…Consequently …