2013年6月的英语六级考试即将举行，在有限的备考时间里，考生应多多研究往年真题。

　　Part I　Writing　(30 minutes)

　　Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled On the Importance of a Name. you shuold write at least 150 words following the outline given below.

　　1. 有人说名字或名称很重要

　　2. 也有人觉得名字或名称无关紧要

　　3. 我认为

　　范文：

　　On the Importance of a Name

　　According to the Bible, it is the almighty God who gave names to everything he created: "he named the light ‘Day' and the darkness ‘Night'". In fact, a name is a word or phrase that man uses to denote and identify a specific person, place or thing. There is no inexorable correlation between the sign and "the signified". For this reason, some claim that names are not so vital as they are supposed to be. However, I am fully convinced that they are of great importance.

　　Take the name of a person as an example. It is known to all that a person's name is divided into two parts: given name and surname. The given name is the name our parents assign us. We ourselves might change it later in our life. Usually, when a name is given, it contains a lot of information. Say, "li" in the name of some Chinese females shows that we wish them to "beautiful" while "wei" in the names of some males reveals that we expect them to be "great" in their future life.

　　As to the surname or family name, it is even more important, so important that some people may sacrifice their life for it. Originally, man had no such a name. But ever since a certain name was given, each member of the family carries it wherever he goes. Rather than merely a sign, it is the root from which we can trace back to our ancestor, the tie that helps bind us to other members of the same clan, the dignity most people hope to live for.

　　Apart from the name of a person, that of a place or thing is also significant in that it embodies history and culture. All in all, though names are assigned artificially, man is not free when giving names. But God is.

　　Recently, it is universally acknowledged that due attention has to be paid to the importance of name. To begin with, a large number of people assert that one’s name can exert profound influence on the success of a person or institution. In addition, some even maintain that the mental health and physical fitness of a person will be influenced or even determined by his or her name。

　　On the contrary, it is the view of a great many people that one’s name is of little significance. I can think of no better illustration than the following ones. “Qiu”， which means “hill”， is the name of Confucius, the greatest thinker, philosopher and educator throughtout history. Likewise, another case in point is Lao Zi, the founder of philosophical and religious Taoism, whose name is “er”， which means “the ear”. These examples effectively clarify that one’s future is only determined by his striving spirit, talent or intelligence rather than some mysterious and superstitious factors such as certain names or lucky numbers。

　　As for me, significance should be attached to intelligence, persistence and diligence instead of one’s name. Given all the above arguments, it is high time that we put an end to this undesirable phenomenon。