[Prompt: Describe the environment in which you grew up and how it shaped your personal goals.]

There are no traffic lights in Hampden, Massachusetts. Instead of malls or movie theaters, we have hay fields and hiking trails. The tiny business district consists of a gas station/general store, a pizza parlor, and the country restaurant that is a popular hangout among the retired coffee-drinking locals. If you drive down Main Street, turning south towards the mountain, you enter a winding country road lined with open pastures, old New England barns, and Holstein cows. Halfway up the mountain is my home: a small rustic farm shared with my family and an assortment of dairy goats, ducks, and chickens. My parents, both city folks who met in veterinary school, moved here to realize their dream of raising a family in the country.

I spent much of my early childhood on the mountain behind my house, clutching the thick, pearly-white fur of my beloved goat Heidi in one hand and a fistful of wild blueberries in the other. My family (dogs and goats included) and I would spend weekends exploring the almost surreally beautiful landscape, eating lunch in a grassy field located near the top. It was during these hours spent on the mountain that I felt truly connected to nature and my family. My parents taught my younger sister and me how to understand our surroundings, pointing out pine trees from oaks, red squirrels from grays. They told us stories about their own lives as well, weaving lessons in kindness, humility, and compassion into the fabric of nature and human relationships.

Though Hampden is small in both size and population, it never felt that way. My parents are extremely active in town affairs and have gone to great lengths to preserve local land from the threats of development. My mother is the president of the Hampden Land Project and Conservation Committee, and we have worked together to make flyers, send out newsletters, and attend monthly town meetings in hopes of saving the town’s open space. My parents’ fervor and passion were part of my upbringing, and I involved myself in every local event and cause that arose. From petitioning to save the local wildlife sanctuary to running the Hampden Land Project Booth at the annual town fair, I kept myself involved -- and thus connected to both my hometown and its beautiful natural setting.

In my house, every family meal is dedicated to discussing various social, political, and ethical issues. Although we don’t always agree, my parents have always stressed the importance of giving back to one’s community in various ways. For the past two summers I have organized a food drive to benefit poor children. I originally began this project after learning that food pantry donations decrease in the summer, even as school lunch programs are ending for vacation.

Working to help these unfortunate children moved me even more than helping to preserve the environment and wildlife of my town. Though I love animals and nature, I wish to dedicate my life to working with people, especially young children. I hope to inspire them to work towards changing the world (and preserving nature) in the same way my parents and other members of my town have inspired me.

點評：

這是一篇命題式的文章，文章開頭的提示已經揭示出了這篇文章的主要內容。這篇文章主要講述作者出身于馬薩諸塞州的一個小鎮上，鎮上人的純樸、熱情以及鎮上美麗、宜人的自然景色無一不使作者對這個小鎮產生熱愛。而父母是鎮上大小事務的積極參與者，并為小鎮免受開發所帶來的威脅做出了很大的貢獻。作者從小受父母這方面的影響，也漸漸地投身于小鎮的發展事業上去。文章的最后一段是作者感情升華的部分，作者希望可以通過教導小孩子們，讓他們知道人與自然和諧共處的重要性，激發他們改變當今發展的現狀，激發他們去愛護和保護大自然。

作者并沒有擺出種種的事例以顯示自己為小鎮勞心勞累，而是把自己在工作中所想和所感悟到的東西寫出來。可以說這是一篇以情動人的文章，并沒有過多的華麗詞藻，卻可以把一份純真的心表達出來，讓人可以感受到作者的一片真心和苦心。雖然文章感情的表達是很滿的，但是結構略顯凌亂，連貫性較差，給人的感覺有點象隨筆錄。但總的來說，這篇還算是一篇值得參考的文書。

譯文：

提示：描述一下你成長的環境和此對你人生發展目標的影響。

小鎮

馬薩諸塞州的漢普登小鎮上是沒有交通燈的。它不像一些大城市那樣有購物商場和影院，我們有的只是無邊際的草原和彎彎曲曲的爬山小道。小鎮上的商業中心是由一間加油站，一家雜貨店，一家比薩餅店和一家餐館所組成。這家餐館很受鎮上的人歡迎，特別是一些退休了的老人，他們比較喜歡到餐館去喝咖啡。如果你沿著小街主道開車，并向著大山的那個方向開去，你會發現一條鄉間小道，小道旁邊是開闊的草原，古老的新英格蘭谷倉還有一些荷蘭黑白花牛。沿著這條小道上山，到半山腰的時候你就會發現我的家:那是一個小的農場，里面住著我的家里人還有我的羊群、鴨群和雞群們。我的父母都是城里人，他們是在一間獸醫學校里面認識的，后來就搬到這里來了。其實他們都有一個共同的夢想，就是在鄉村小鎮里過生活，所以他們才搬到這里來的。

我小時候大部分的時間都是在我屋后的那座大山里度過的，一只手攫著我心愛的Heidi小山羊的珍珠般白的軟毛，另外一只手就滿滿的拿著野生藍莓。周末的時候，家里人包括我的狗和山羊們和我都會出去游玩，去尋覓更美的風景，而且可以在山頂的草地上享受我們豐盛的午餐。只有在那時我才感覺到自己和家里人還有大自然是融合在一起的。我的父母會教我和我的妹妹們如何識別大自然的萬物，例如教我們如何區分松樹和橡樹，紅松鼠和灰鼠。他們也會說他們自己的故事，用親善、和諧和愛心編織著人與自然和平相處的故事。

雖然漢普登地方小而且人口又少，但是我們從來不會覺得自己缺少些什么。我的父母都很積極地參與到鎮上的事務并且為保護小區免受由于城市發展所帶來的威脅作出了很大的努力。我媽媽是漢普登鎮土地規劃和保存項目委員會的主席，我們一起制作和派發宣傳冊，同時也為保護我們小鎮家園而參加每月的鎮上例會。我父母對鎮上事務的熱心和激情對我的成長有一定的影響，我也像他們一樣獻身于鎮上的大小事務。從懇求保存我們小鎮上的自然環境到在年度小鎮交易會上建立我們漢普登土地保存項目的攤位，我時刻都保持著積極的態度，因此我感覺自己時刻都與我的家鄉和家鄉的美麗風景緊密聯系在一起。

在家里，每次吃飯的時候我們總會討論一些社會、政治和種族的問題。雖然我們的意見不盡相同，但是我的父母在討論的時候總會強調民族社區發展的多樣性。在過去的兩個夏季我組織了一次為貧困小孩募捐的活動。因為我發現夏季時候學校的物料募捐就減少了，盡管學校在假期一般都結束午餐供應，但是我還是組織了這次的募捐活動。

通過幫助這些不幸的小孩使我不再局限于環境保護和小鎮的事務工作。雖然我很喜歡動物和大自然，但是我更希望自己可以與人共事，特別是小孩子們。我希望我可以激發他們去改變這個世界，去保護大自然，就像當時父母和其他鎮上成員激發我一樣。