【大作文真题】

Some people think that a person improves their intellectual skills more when doing group activities. To what extent do you agree? Use specific details and examples to explain your view.

有些人认为一个人在做集体活动时能提高自己的智力技能。你在多大程度上同意？用具体的细节和例子来解释你的观点。

【模板参考】

In recent decades, many researchers have studied the importance of group-level cognition. Indeed, to my mind, there is now convincing evidence that group activities improve the intelligence of individuals. In this essay, I shall examine how research in team-games and study-groups supports this view.

To begin with, team-games clearly require individuals to perform a diverse range of rapid mental calculations. This is because, in a sporting context, players must predict and anticipate possible actions within tight time constraints. For example, a recent Cambridge study showed that soccer players can – within the span of seconds – calculate over a dozen different permutations that could result from a single soccer related action. Such predictive powers clearly improve players’ mental abilities and result from activities performed in a group context.

Secondly, study-groups enable individuals to obtain information that they could not acquire in isolation. This is because peer feedback allows individuals to refine their understanding of concepts and to also learn new information from other members in the study-group. For example, a study by The British Institute for Learning found that, if individuals participated in study-groups, they had a far more objective and sophisticated understanding of a topic than learners who were not part of study-groups. Therefore, it is certainly the case that learning in a group improves an individual’s mental abilities.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with the notion that group activities improve intellectual abilities. In the future, we will certainly see schools take greater measures to ensure that more group-level cognition occurs in the classroom.

重难点词汇：

researchers

释义

n.研究员，调查者( researcher的名词复数 );

Several notable researchers are studying the effects of hyperventilation.

几位的研究人员正在研究通气过度的后果。

Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.

研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。

This vast archive has been indexed and made accessible to researchers.

这个存量巨大的档案室的所有文件都已编了索引，可供研究人员使用。

individuals 

释义

n.[口语]人（常指有趣或有点特别的人）( individual的名词复数 ); 与众不同的人; 某种类型的人;

He conjectured that some individuals may be able to detect major calamities.

他猜测说有些人也许能够察觉重大灾难。

The media seems obsessed with hyping up individuals or groups.

媒体似乎热衷于大肆吹捧某些个人或团体。

There's a great deal of variability between individuals.

人和人之间有很大的不同。

feedback

释义

n.反馈; 反应; 反馈噪音;

I'd appreciate some feedback on my work.

如果有人对我的工作提出意见我将感激不尽。

It would monitor traffic flows and provide feedback to motorists.

它能监控交通状况，然后给司机提供反馈信息。

The process is essentially dynamic with ideas and feedback flowing both ways.

这个过程本质上是动态的,有各种建议与反馈的双向交流.

 intellectual 

释义

adj.智力的; 有才智的; 需用智力的; 智力发达的;

n.知识分子; 脑力劳动者; 有极高智力的人; 凭理智（而非感情）办事的人;

Some Americans see Oxford as an intellectual Disneyland.

一些美国人把牛津视为知识分子的乐园。

He regarded them as intellectual pygmies.

他把他们视为知识上的侏儒。

She was an intellectual snob.

她自以为才智高人一等。