Directions: 　　Study the following picture carefully and write an essay in which you should　　 　　　　1) describe the picture,　　 　　　　2) interpret its meaning, and　　 　　　　3) support your view with examples.　　 　　You should write about 160—200 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (20 points)　 　　金字塔是由一块块石头积累成的 　　范文1：　　 　　One glance at a pyramid can leave the viewer in awe of its beauty and splend or. Upon closer examination, however, one might be surprised to discover that such a grandiose structure is composed entirely of ordinary stones.　　　　 　　Most people are familiar with the proverb: Rome was not built in a day. An object as grand as a pyramid is likewise not so quickly or easily constructed. Just as the greatness of the city of Rome is due to the combination of its smaller parts, a pyramid is only as strong as the stones it is comprised of. The image of a pyramid reminds us that great success is in fact an accumulation of small a chievements. 　　History proves that many famous artists and scientists are only successful because of their continued efforts, even after numerous failures. One might recall Leonardo DaVinci's drawing of an egg, Wang Xi Zhi practicing handwriting, or Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb, for example. The fable that tells us that even water can eventually pierce through stone also points to the importance of patience and diligence. We should take such stories and histories into account and remember the importance of fundamentals; remember that one can build a pyramid only if one is willing to work with small stones. People would be wise to abandon rash inclinations and instead try in earnest. Perseverance is sure to leadto success. 　　 　　译文：　　 　　瞥一眼金字塔，看见其美丽壮观的景象，敬畏之情就会油然而生。然而，走近仔细再看，人们会很吃惊地发现如此宏伟的建筑皆由普通的石头砌成。　　 　　大多数人都熟悉这个谚语：罗马不是一天建成的。像金字塔这样壮丽雄伟的建筑也同样不能如此快地轻易建成。就像罗马城的伟大是由各个小的部分组合起来的一样，金字塔也如构建它的石头一样坚固。金字塔的形象告诉我们伟大的成功实际上就是集腋成裘。　　 　　历史上，许多有名的艺术家和科学家都是由于他们不断的努力才获得成功的，尽管屡屡失败他们也在所不惜。例如，人们可能会想到莱昂纳多·达芬奇画蛋，王羲之练习书法和托马斯·爱迪生发明电灯的故事。“水滴石穿”这个寓言也喻意耐心和勤奋的重要性。我们应该重视这些故事和历史，牢记打好基础的重要性；且还要记住人只有在他愿意堆砌小石块时才能建造起金字塔。人们摒弃急燥冒进并代之以严肃认识是明智之举。坚持不懈必定会走向成功。　　 　　范文2：　　 　　We can see in the picture, a great Egyptian Pyramid towering magnificently into the sky. At first sight visitors may be overwhelmed by the pyramid and cannot help but marvel at the huge stones in front of them — the embodiment of patience and endurance of an Ancient Egyptian Civilization. During this extended period of building, one can only imagine the amount of patience and endurance that was required by the people before any of this greatness was to be achieved.　　 　　The stones of the pyramid remind us of a famous saying: “Rome was not built in a day,” that is, great things are never done without much time and labor.　 　　As human beings, we are eager to win merits for ourselves. It is, however, onlypatience as well as endurance that can help us to succeed in performing great deeds. In the case of Si Maqian, without those brilliant qualities mentioned above, he could never attain such great achievements. Difficulties are unavoidable, unless we do not engage in anything at all. In the end, it is patience and endurance that counts. 　　 　　Some people would give up halfway in the face of what seems to be insurmountable. Men of such a type can hardly expect to succeed. We must take a stepbystep approach to accomplish everything until we get the final result. The reason is very simple: if one attempts to climb a mountain, however high he reaches, he has failed if he does not reach the top. 　　 　　译文：　　 　　在这幅画中我们可以看到，一座伟大的埃及金字塔擎天而立，雄伟壮观。尽管游客们第一眼看到它时，都会被它的磅礴气势所震撼，然而震撼过后，他们都不禁要对眼前这些体现着古埃及人民坚忍不拔精神的巨石惊叹不已。在漫长的修筑过程中，你不难想象在这个伟大创举的背后，饱含着人民坚韧不拔的精神与毅力。 　　 　　金字塔的巨石使我们想到这样一句名言：“罗马不是一天建成的。”也就是说，不付出艰辛的劳动和足够的时间就不会成就伟大的事业。人类急切希望为自己创造价值。但是，只有耐心和坚韧才能帮助我们完成伟大创举。以司马迁为例，假如他不具备上述优秀品质，成就那样的伟业绝无可能。做任何事情，障碍都是不可避免的，除非我们什么都不做。说到底，有了耐心和坚韧才能成功。 　　 　　有些人在看上去不可逾越的障碍面前中途放弃。这些人是永远不会成功的。我们在做任何事情时都要脚踏实地，一步一步去实现我们最终的目标。道理很简单：如果一个人爬山，无论他爬得多高，只要没有到达山顶，他终归是一个失败者。