翻译和写作练习

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay based on the picture below. You should start your essay with a brief account of the impact of the Internet on the way people communicate and then explain whether electronic communication can replace face-to-face contact. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. (2013-12)

The Impact of the Internet on the Way People Communicate

Internet does exert such a profound impact on our life that it revolutionizes the way of people’s living and thinking. As is subtly revealed in the portrayal，there are two parents sitting in the front of computer，who are chatting with their child on the internet.

From my perspective, the electronic contact cannot replace face to face communication owing to the following factors. To begin with, over-reliance on electronic contact will damage the interpersonal relationship, for the cold machine never replaces a warm-hearted greeting face to face. For instance, the aged parents would like their only son who works far away home to come back home more often rather than to communicate with him on the Internet occasionally. What’s more, face to face communication is preferable because it is conducive to build a harmonious society, for it attaches more significance on human affection and feelings instead of convenience and speed.

Just as an ancient Arab proverb says, “Every sword has its two edges.”On the contrary, others are under the impression that electronic communication can replace face-to-face contact.Consequently,we should naturally arrive at the conclusion that we should not spend too much time on their computer terminal rather than relating to people in the real world.

【解析】

profound a.意义深远的revealed vt.显示，透露portrayal n.描绘conducive a.有益的

interpersonal a.人际的occasionally adv.偶尔on the contrary相反arrive at the conclusion 得出结论computer terminal 电脑终端

Translation:

支付宝(Alipay)是中国最大的第三方在线支付平台，由阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)于2004年创建。截至2012年底,支付宝拥有用户超过7亿。用户可利用这一平台支付各种费用，诸如网购、电话费、学费等等。以网购为例，买家先将钱存到支付宝账户，收到商品后，再通过支付宝将钱转给卖家。支付宝为其用户提供了“简单、安全、快速” 的在线支付方式，保护了买卖双方的利益。

Founder byAlibaba Group in 2004, Alipay is China’s largest third-party online payment platform. Alipay has over 700 million users by the end of 2012. Users can pay various bills via the platform, such as online shopping, telephone bills, and tuition fees. Take online shopping as an example, buyers put the money into their Alipayaccount which will not release the money to the sellers until the buyers get their goods. Alipay provides its users with a simple, safe and fast online payment method, protecting the interests of both buyers and sellers.