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

Small Town

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：

1．文字優美
2．細節描寫使文章真實可信
3．家庭環境對成長的影響十分自然
4．人生目標闡述的非常清晰
5．條理清晰

翻譯：

[命題要求：描述你成長的環境以及環境如何影響你形成人生目標]

我家鄉的小鎮

在麻薩諸塞州的Hampden，那里沒有紅綠燈，沒有商場或者電影院，我們所擁有的只是草地和效區遠足。一個微型的商業區包括了一個加油站和便利店，一家比薩店，以及一家當地退休老人經常去喝咖啡的鄉村餐館。如果你在Hampden延著主路向南邊的山開，你會進入一條鄉村公路，路的兩邊是農場，老式新英格蘭谷倉和Holstein乳牛。開到半山腰就到了我的家：一間小型的鄉村農場住著我的家庭和農場里的山羊，鴨子以及小雞。我的父母自從在獸醫學院認識后，就搬到這里來實現他們在鄉村中建立一個家庭的夢想。

我的早期童年基本上是在屋子后面的山上度過的， 一只手抓著我最愛的山羊Heidi那又厚又白的毛，而另一手則握著一大串的野生藍莓。我的家庭（包括狗和山羊們）經常在周末的時候探索附近的美景，并在靠近山頂的地方吃中飯。在那一刻，我覺的我和大自然還有我的家庭完全的溶合在一起。我的父母教我的妹妹和我該如何了解我們的環境，教我們辨別松樹和橡樹，灰色松鼠和紅色松鼠。他們也會告訴我們一些關于他們自己的故事，通過這些故事告訴我們在人與自然的關系中什么是仁慈，謙遜以及同情。
 
不管從區域上看還是人口上看，Hampden都非常小，但她給人的感覺其實并不小。我的父母在有關鎮上的事務中都非常活躍，并且盡他們的努力在保護當地的土地不因發展而被占用。我母親是Hampden土地計劃和保護委員會的主席，我們曾在一起制作傳單，發通訊報，并且為了保護鎮上的土地每月都出席鎮里的會議。父母的激情是我教養的一部分，并且我因此參加了每一項當地活動。從保護當地野生植物的請求到Hampden年度會議上的土地計劃，我全身心的愛著我的家鄉并參與建議她美麗的自然環境。

在我們的屋子里，每頓家庭聚餐都是由美食伴著社會、政治和道德主題的討論。我們的意見雖然不是完全一致，但我的父母總是強調從多方面考慮問題的重要性。過去的兩個暑假，我組織了一項給貧困兒童送食物的活動。這項活動是在我了解到暑假期間的食物捐贈有所減少之后發起的，

幫助這些不幸的兒童使我非常的感動，甚至超過了保護家鄉的環境和野生動植物。盡管我熱愛自然和那些動物們，我仍然希望把我的人生投入到幫助貧困人群的工作中，特別是幫助那些年輕的孩子們。我希望鼓舞他們去改變世界（和保護自然），就像我的父母和鎮上的其他人激勵我的方式。