issue 77 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 10:56 编辑77) The most effective way to understand contemporary culture is to analyze the trends of its youth.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Thesis: I strongly agree that analyzing the trends of the youth is the most effective way to understand the contemporary society for two reasons. First, the behaviours of the youth often reflect the values of not just themselves but that of their parents and teachers. Second, it is fairly straight-forward to analyze their behaviors through data from the social media and the credit card transaction.
ts1: The trends of the youth can reflect the values and attitudes of the young people as well as their parents, the two groups of people that form the dominant forces shaping the contemporary culture.
One way to understand the contemporary culture is to look at what the young people buy for clothes, books and entertainment. (follow the money)
it will also somehow reflect the parents’ attitudes as they utlimately foot the bills
another approach is to consider what they have to say about what they bought when interacting with others (the talk about the products makes the stories that can reflect the culture)
ts2: the consumption trend could be studied by analyzing the credit card transaction records of the parents and the young people
- big data is now available electronically and shared among the financial insitutitions and the corporations
- maybe studied through data mining
ts3: the talk about the consumption could be studied through analyzing the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- natural language processing
- hashtag
- image recognition
issue 81/ 95 示范 占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 10:56 编辑81) All parents should be required to volunteer time to their children's schools.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.
95) All parents should be required to volunteer time to their children's schools.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
相对冷门 其实好写
TS: I strongly agree that all parents should spend some time volunteering for their children’s schools because doing so may help the parents to participate in the school affairs and better understand their children’s academic and personal development. While parents may not have time to come to the schools in person, they might volunteer their time through online teleworking.
ts1 : the first benefit of this policy is that parents may become more actively involved in the school affairs
- volunteering in PTA enables parents to participate in the decision-making of the schools (with the support of the parents, the decisions can be executed more effectively)
- vounteering in extracurriculuar activities may provide students with extra learning opportunities (some parents may have special talents or hobbies)
- volunteering in career counselling and mentoring (better network; insights from the industry)
ts2: the second benefit of this policy is that parents can better understand the development of their own children
- know more about the school affairs and how they may affect the learning and development of the children
- provide support for the children according to the school policies
- get more information about children while interacting with the teachers
ts3: some parents may not have time to come to the schools as volunteers
- they can always volunteer their time through online collaboration with teachers and other parents
- Facebook groups and Google docs can be used
- help review the proposals and contribute ideas online
- participate in the discussion through video conference or make decisions by email
issue 82 97 100 124 示范 占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-7-28 23:35 编辑124) All college and university students would benefit from spending at least one semester studying in a foreign country.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
82) Colleges and universities should require their students to spend at least one semester studying in a foreign country.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.
I agree that this recommendation would be beneficial for students specialising in certain disciplines such as foreign languages, international trade and comparative politics. Yet, students in other fields such as national language and literature, history and archeology would find the requirement unnecessary. Moreover, students with limited financial resources or abilities to adapt to the new environment may not benefit from the recommendation.
I agree that this recommendation would be beneficial for students specialising in certain disciplines such as foreign languages, international trade and comparative politics.
句子的功能：针对题目的建议提出立场，指出这个建议对某个群体的学生是有益的。
同意转换：this recommendation would be beneficial for 如果改成benefit怎么写 如果改成students做主语又怎么写
语法结构：
students specialising动名词后置对前面的名词进行限定
disciplines作为一个概括性的名词后面跟such as及并列结构引出具体的例子
注意下面的两个句子也是表面立场，但是针对不同的学生群体，这个建议就可能不好
Yet, students in other fields such as national language and literature, history and archeology would find the requirement unnecessary. Moreover, students with limited financial resources or abilities to adapt to the new environment may not benefit from the recommendation.
这个句子里是如何表达不好的？这里为了避免词汇重复用了什么词？还可能用什么词？
练习
129) College students should base their choice of a field of study on the availability of jobs in that field.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.
尝试用上面的句型写出这道题的第一段
基本思路为
对于家境富裕的学生，这个建议没有好处，他们可以根据自己的兴趣来选专业
对于特别有才华的学生，这个建议也不好，因为他们应该根据自己的才华来选专业，将来总会有工作
对于经济压力较大的学生，这个建议很合适，因为对他们来说找到工作最重要
There is no doubt that students studying certain subjects will benefit tremendously from the overseas experiences. One obvious example is students majoring in a foreign language. To further improve their proficiency in that language, there is no better way than spending a semester in that country and using the language with native speakers. They can also get more exposure to the local culture which is essential for mastering the language. In addition, the study-abroad program may also provide students the opportunities to access top faculty members and state-of-the-art research facilities in certain fields that are not available in their own universities. Students majoring in computer science may benefit if they could study in some American universities which feature top experts and host internationally-renowned laboratories in the field.
On the other hand, for students majoring in other subjects such as national history, literature and archeology, the requirement would add little extra value to their college education. For one thing, students in these fields can find the best professors in their home countries and studying in a foreign university would unlikely provide them the opportunities to learn from top experts in the fields. In addition, their home universities or other universities in their home countries would provide the library materials and archives they need to conduct their researches. Again there is no need to study abroad. Finally, they can collect more useful original data by doing field work domestically rather than going abroad.
It is also important to take into account students’ financial situation and abilities to adapt to new environment before adopting the proposed policy.
上面这篇没写完
今天重新写了一篇完整的范文
There are two reasons why I believe that the requirement of studying abroad for one semester is important for the development of students. First, it is particularly helpful for students to sharpen their foreign language skills that can benefit their future careers. In addition, the experiences of studying in a foreign country can help the students better understand their own country and culture through intercultural communication. As for the concern about the cost of studying abroad, exchange programs and scholarships should be offered to make the opportunities of studying abroad more affordable.
To begin with, students should be required to study abroad so that they can improve their proficiency levels of a foreign language. This policy is particularly important for university students from non-English speaking countries. With English becoming the dominant lingua franca for academic and business communication, students who use English as a foreign language can benefit tremendously from spending some time in an English-speaking country. Not only can they get more chance to use the language on a daily basis and practice the language skills with native speakers. They will also become much more confident users of the language after studying abroad. With English skills becoming increasingly important for one’s future career, this requirement can help the students become more marketable and employable.
The second reason why I believe this requirement is helpful is that students can also better understand one’s own culture after spending some time in a foreign country. This may seem a bit counter-intuitive at the first glimpse. But the truth is students studying abroad will often have more opportunities to introduce their home cultures to local students with limited knowledge about their countries but strong interest to learn more. They also need to answer questions about their home cultures raised by foreign friends who do not take things for granted. By serving as a cultural ambassador of one’s home country, one can deepen one’s own understanding of the home culture. The new perspective that is very valuable may not be possible if students stay in their home countries for college studies.
People may be concerned with the cost of studying abroad and argue that this requirement may impose extra financial burden on students and their families. Here are two ways this concern can be addressed. First, the study-abroad program usually takes the form of exchange program through which the local university exchange students with a partner university abroad. Under such arrangement, students only need to pay tuition at the local universities and their tuition fees in the foreign university will be paid by the foreign exchange students paying their local tuition. Therefore the tuition will not be more expensive. Meanwhile, scholarship and financial aid should be provided to cover the transportation and living expenses for studying abroad. Through the financial support of the government and/or the universities, students with limited financial resources can also have the opportunities to study abroad.
In conclusion, the policy of requiring students to study abroad can provide valuable opportunities to practice their foreign language skills and reflect on their own cultures from new perspectives. Meanwhile, exchange programs and financial aid programs should be introduced to help students with financial difficulties.
issue 85 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 10:57 编辑85) Some people believe that in order to thrive, a society must put its own overall success before the well-being of its individual citizens. Others believe that the well-being of a society can only be measured by the general welfare of all its people.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
将overall success定义为economic development，论述overall和individual两者之间的关系。1，总结出overall success 跟general welfare是统一的，跟specific group of citizens是不统一的，某些政策的提出与一部分人的利益相搏，但通过整体计算，general welfare可以保证；2，举例三峡工程Three Gorges Project使得大批库区居民家园被毁坏，牺牲了一部分的利益，但换来了经济利益和长远的整体的成果；3，举例计划生育政策one-child policy限制了人生育的权利，但政策的目的是为了保证国家经济的阶段性发展。（类似的例子还有international trade/free trade与trade protection之间的矛盾；数码化、机器人使一部分人失业但很大程度上提高了整个社会的运作效率）
TS1: I believe that a society should focus on its overall success which is often measured in long term rather than the well-being of the individual citizens which is often short-term in nature. I would illustrate my position with examples about family planning, transportation infrastructure and sustainable development.
ts1 : the one child policy in China hurt certain families such as those who lost their only children and those who are forced to abort their babies but may be justified considering the long-term development of the national economy
- the suffering of the parents who lost their only children
- the suffering of the women who are forced to abort their babies
- the importance of one child policy for population control and the improvement of population quality
ts2 : the development of transportation infrastructure in cities often means the worsening of the traffic jam and the inflation in the short term but upgrading of the economy that is beneficial for the long term
- the building the subway usually means less road available for the traffic for a few years
- the large construction projects may also lead to labor shortage and inflation
- but the transportation infrastructure upgrades could lead to long-term economic growth as the cities can increase its overall productivity and attract more investment
ts3: The idea of sustainable development further illustrates why society should focus on its long-term overall success.
- the idea of sustainable development: the development of the current generations should not compromise the opportunities of development of future generations
- environmental protection
- the replacement of fossil fuel with renewable energy sources
- to practice such principles may lead to the decline of certain industries and unemployment for many
- but it is essential for the overall success in the long term
issue 87 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 10:58 编辑87) Claim: Any piece of information referred to as a fact should be mistrusted, since it may well be proven false in the future.
Reason: Much of the information that people assume is factual actually turns out to be inaccurate.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
Any piece of information referred to as a fact should be trust in engineering fields and science fields, but not in social science fields.
In engineering fields, information should be trusted as long as it can be applied into practice.工程领域以后推翻或者证伪不会影响现在的应用价值。举例：爱迪生发明电灯使用了钨丝，即使后来人们发现了更好的灯丝材料，钨丝电灯在那个年代任然适用。
In science fields, information now should also be trusted because it can be used to explain many phenomena. 举例：相对论与牛顿万有引力定律。
In social science, however, any piece of information referred to as a fact should be mistrusted and more proof is needed because the information may be biased.搜集数据者先入为主，使得观察结果带有偏误；根据Hawthorne effects，观察者知道自己在被观察时表现会受到影响。举例：社会学中的社会调研。
TS: We should not mistrust facts that have been proved logically especially those in mathematics. For facts presented in science, while it is true that they may be proven false later, they can still be trusted in the domain where they are used to solve problems. Nevertheless, facts in politics should be treated with a grain of salt as the information is always colored by the bias of the observers.
ts 1: Facts that have been proved logically should not be mistrusted.
example: the fact that there are infinite prime number
it can be easily proved by contradiction. Given a finite set of prime number, one can always get another prime number by adding one to the product of all the set of prime numbers.
Facts like this should not be mistrusted because it has been proved rigorously in math. And it is guarenteed to be timeless truth.
ts 2: Facts found in science may be proved wrong later but the facts should be trusted so long as they are still useful in certain domain.
- Newtonian physics are later proved wrong by Einstein’s theory of relativity
- the Newton’s law, for example, may not apply when an object travels at a speed near the speed of light
- but facts in Newtonian physics are still useful in many fields such as civil engineering and mechanical engineering
- we still rely on such facts to drive the automobiles, fly the airplanes and send the sattelites to the space
ts 3: Information presented as facts in politics should be mistrusted for two reasons.
- it is not possible to see the whole picture and the information is always collected based on the interest of the observers
example: US criticizes China’s human right records and China also criticizes US’s human rights records
- US focuses on the human rights violation in China such as censorship and arresting dissidents but ignores the facts that national security is the prerequisite of protecting human rights
- China focuses on the overuse of police force and gun violence but overlook the fact that such problems are complex and deeply rooted in US history
- facts are presented with political motivation should always be mistrusted as they may be challenged later with more information or hindsight
issue 89 考场回忆及习作
Claim: Many problems of modern society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system. Reason: Laws cannot change what is in people's hearts or minds.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
在考场上我的基本思路是这样的
基本观点：完全不同意claim 同意reason
第二段 从个人层面讨论法律可以通过提供incentive和disincentive来调整人的行为 举例包括冲红灯 酒驾 指出即使法律无法改变人的想法 只要能改变人的行为就能解决很多问题
第三段 从企业的层面讨论 法律可以通过提供incentive和disincentive改变企业经理人的行为 举例是逃税问题 通过罚款来减少逃税 即使经理不愿意交税 也得交
第四段 从政府的角度讨论 法律赋予政府权力 调配资源解决各种社会问题 举例是小布什的No Child Left Behind Act 其实对于那个Act我只知道这个名字 具体是什么完全不记得了 不过这些法案都离不开拨款 所以就说这个Act给联邦政府资金去帮助那些穷人读的学校
以上三段都在最后部分提到reason 指出虽然法律无法改变思想 但可以改变行为 从而解决问题
写到这里本来可以结束的 但还有10分钟时间为了保险起见 加了第五段
第五段 既然法律这么牛 为什么还有这么多问题没有解决呢 问题不在于法律不能改变人的思想 而在于我们未能充分发挥法律的潜能 unleash the potential of the legal system
第六段 结束 同意reason 但不同意 claim 强调一下法律制度还有潜力可挖
以下这篇是我之前的练习。
According to the prompt, laws and the legal system cannot solve many social problems in today’s world because it is impossible for the system to change how people feel or think. While we need to acknowledge the usefulness and importance of the legal system in solving a great many problems for individual members of the society on a daily basis, it is true that the current legal system is less effective when it comes to solving social problems at large scale. Nevertheless, as I will illustrate with my examples, the inefficency of laws mainly results from the complexity of the social problems rather than the reason stated in the prompt.
To begin with, it is important for us to recognize the essential roles played by laws in our daily life as we rely on the laws to solve many problems confronting the individual citizens. Take the simple example of traffic laws. The only reason why we can safely cross the streets is that the drivers of all vehicles usually obey the traffic laws, i.e. (e.g.) stop when the light is red or at a stop sign. The traffic laws also make sure that drivers who are engaged in dangerous behaviors, e.g. drink and drive or hit the red light, will be punished. The prospect of getting published serves as an effective deterrent for the drivers (usage about deterrent) to follow the laws most of the time. As a result, we enjoy a safe environment as pedestrians and passengers most of the time.
On the other hand, we have to admit that laws are far from effective in addressing a number of widespread social problems in out (our) world today. One of the most poignant examples is the seemingly widening income gap and the resulting poverty many people have to suffer. The government has introduced different legislative measures to address the problems of poverty and income gap such as the compulsory education for children and the progressive income tax system. Through compulsory education, it is hoped that children from the lower socioeconomic classes can also benefit from education and move upward in the social ladder with more employable skills. Likewise, the tax money from the middle and upper class is used to provide basic services and welfare for the poor.
Unfortunately, however, the laws that intend to solve one social problem may lead to another social problem, which may further complicate the original one. For example, the law of compulsory education has kept many adolescents in schools who have neither interests nor talents to pursue their academic studies. By the time they leave the schools, they do not have the skills that the schools should help them develop and become unemployed right away. Meanwhile, the progressive income tax system may discourage the middle and upper class from working hard or make more purchases, thereby harming the overall economic development.
Based on my analysis of the laws that may help us as individuals but may not solve social problems, it is clear that laws may create incentives or disincentives to change people’s behaviors and solve problems at individual level. Nevertheless, for more complicated social problems such as poverty, laws may be less useful because there are too many factors involved in the problems and the laws intended to solve one problem may lead to another even more severe one. The effectiveness of laws depends on the extent to which they can change people’s behaviors as well as the complexity of the social problem. It has nothing to do with people’s thoughts or feelings.
issue 93 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 11:04 编辑93) Unfortunately, in contemporary society, creating an appealing image has become more important than the reality or truth behind that image.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
按image和reality是否可以区分开来分别论述。1，image和reality可区分时，如除去花哨，只留核心内容的no frills生活方式；2，image和reality为统一整体，不可区分时，举例conspicuous consumption，如买luxury goods就是给别人看的；3，image和reality为统一整体，不可区分时，再举例在interpersonal relation中，人的外表和内在不能区分开，如很多时候可以判断肥胖的人obesity是因为生活方式有问题，化妆的人make up在意别人对自己的评价；smiling代表态度亲切等。
TS: This statement does not hold true when image is part of the reality or image can accurately reflect the reality. it may be true when image masks the reality or the truth.
ts1: it is impossible to compare the importance of image and the reality when the image is an integral part of the reality.
Example: luxury cars
The external appearance of luxury cars is one of the main reasons why the buyers want the car
they do not buy the cars to drive around
they buy the cars to tell people they can afford the beautiful cars
to get the attention and to pass the message that they are rich
image is the part of the reality
ts2: efforts made to create an image is also legitimate when the image can be used to tell the reality or the truth accurately
example: job interview
a confident and energetic image may convince the interviewer that the candidate is comeptent and enthusiastic about the job
it is often the case, competent candidates are more likely to look confident
enthusiastic candidates usually appear more energetic
candidates who wear make-up, dress nicely usually take the job opportunity more seriously
ts3: Government officials may do certain things to impress the public and divert public attention to the larger issues
- Obama’s attendance and speech at Clementa Pinckney funeral
- POTUS delievered a passionate eulogy
- reinforces his image as the first AA president who cares about the AA community
- but the reality is that racial inequality is deeply rooted in institutional practices such as racial profiling and affirmative actions
- Obama administration have failed when it comes to race relation (Michael Brown case- the tip of iceberg)
issue 94/ 147 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-16 00:06 编辑94 The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
147) The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
TS: The effectiveness of the national leaders should be best measured by examining how successful the nations achieved their most important goals. During the second world war, the leaders’ effectivness was ultimately judged by the outcomes of the war. During the cold war, the leaders’ effectiveness could be measured by progress of the space programs. While it is true that leaders are responsible for improving the citizens’ welfare, sometimes they need to work on projects or tasks that may have long-term rather than short-term positive impact on citizens’ well-being.
ts1: in wartime, leaders are considered effective if they could lead the nations to win the war despite the great casualty and loss
- Churchill was effective in resisting the threat of Nazi Germany
- Roosevelt was effective in ending the war in Pacific with atomic bombs
- British and American citizens suffered during the war
- but they were effective leaders nevertheless
ts 2: when nations are competing in certain areas, the effectiveness of leaders could be measured by examining the national achievement in those areas
- after the successful launch of Sputnik by USSR, the US was threatened in the area of space exploration
- the US decided to send men to the moon
- the lunar landing is a great achievement indicating the effectiveness of the US leaders
- although there is no direct positive effects to the citizens’ well-being
ts3: some people may argue that the statement holds true because the leaders are responsible for maintaining the well-being of the citizens
- sometimes the well-being of the citizens are not the top priority
- during the wartime, to end the war is the main goal which is also important for the long-term prosperity of the nation
- during the cold war, to outperform the Soviet in the space is important
issue 101 示范
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-7-9 07:25 编辑Although innovations such as video, computers, and the Internet seem to offer schools improved methods for instructing students, these technologies all too often distract from real learning.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Technological innovations have inevitably changed the ways students learn in schools and teachers present their materials. Whether or not such innovations may distract students from real learning depends on the specific technology and how they are used for learning. I’ll first illustrate how video and computers can be very useful for students to learn certain subjects with some specific examples. Afterwards, I’ll discuss the problem of online distraction given the ubiquity of the Internet.
Materials in video form can serve as useful supplement to the written texts for courses in history and literature. In a history course on World War II, for example, students can have better understanding of the issues after watching a documentary film on the topic. Different from the textual account of the historical events, the films treat the topic with multimedia materials, some of which may come from primary sources. The video can offer a fresh perspective on the subject matters and stimulate the students to ask more questions. Since the teachers usually operate the equipment (e.g. DVD players) and have control over what to present, students will not be distracted by materials irrelevant to the topics. Therefore, the use of video should not cause any problems of distraction.
As the use of computers has revolutionized many scientific disciplines, the computing tools have become essential components in learning such disciplines. The study of Calculus nowadays, for example, often involves programming in Matlab, a powerful software and programming language for sophisticated calculation. When using computers to learn programming in Matlab, the students will focus on how to implement the math models by writing codes and learn to debug the codes when errors occur. It is very unlikely that they would be distracted by other activities as Matlab will keep them busy and concentrated. As this example clearly illustrates, digital distraction is not an issue when the students are fully engaged in learning how to use an advanced computer software to solve problems.
The use of certain Internet technologies, however, could lead to the concerns of digital distraction. In many courses, students are often asked to conduct research online and collect materials that can be incorporated in their reports on certain topics. As a result, students often have full access to the Internet with their own computers during the course. As teachers can only supervise one or two students at a time, there is no way to ensure that students are working on their research projects while online. They might find themselves checking their friends’s facebook updates or browsing the web mindlessly. After all, doing so requires less effort than doing researches. Digital distraction can be a serious problem in cases like these when teachers do not have full control over how the students use the technology and the students may lack the self-discipline to do what they are supposed to do online.
In conclusion, whether we should be concerned with digital distraction depends on the specific technological innovations used in the teaching and learning processes. When teachers have control over how the tools are used or students are fully engaged with the technology, there is no need to worry about this issue. Nevertheless, more attention has to be paid to digital distraction when students are left on their own on the Internet.
issue 103 提纲示范
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-16 00:24 编辑103) The best ideas arise from a passionate interest in commonplace things.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
TS: Best ideas in math and technology are usually unrelated to commonplace things as the ideas often involve theoretical concepts that are not accessible to people without specialized training. The statement may be valid for certain social sciences such as economics.
ts1: in math, good ideas often arise from collaboration among well-trained mathematicians
- Consider Green-Tao theorem
- as a result of the colaboration of Ben Green and Terrance Tao
- it has nothing to do with commonplace things
- its development involves sophisticated concepts and theories in number theory and other branches of pure math
ts 2: in technology, good ideas often come from hybridization of different existing technologies that are not necessarily commonplace
- consider the design of iPhone
- the idea of smartphone has been around (not very common at the time)
- touchscreen technology also not popular at the time
- the hybrid of smartphone and touchscreen leads to iPhone
ts 3: in social science, strong interest in how commonplace things affect human behaviors may lead to insightful ideas
- consider the study of how seatbelt laws affect drivers’ behaviors
- economists with passionate interests in seatbelt (a commonplace thing) dedicate a great amount of efforts to research
- found the unintended consequence of seatbelt laws (reduction of risk leads to more reckless driving and more pedestrians injuries)
issue 104 示范 先占楼
104To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards. 想成为一名有效力的领导则,政府官员必须坚守最高的伦理和道德标准。
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
这道题可以考虑分不同情况来写，可将政府官员的行为分为履行职务时的行为和私生活。指出在履行职务时应该以最高伦理和道德标准要求自己，而在私生活方面则可以按照自己的生活方式来选择。有人可能认为官员私生活不检点会导致民众对他不信任，我认为民众根本不应该知道官员私生活的任何信息。
政府官员在履行职责时应该保持最高的伦理道德标准。
- 防止腐败与滥用权力
- 给下属做榜样、取得下属信任、团队效率
- 制订符合伦理道德的政策
政府官员的私生活可以有更多元化的道德标准
- 消防员在非执行任务时看到火警也不必去救
- 官员驾驶私家车超速应该和普通人受到同样的处罚
- 官员通过某些手段合理避税也不应受到谴责
有人认为私生活不检点会导致民众不信任官员
不信任会导致官员无法正常履行职务
但是官员的隐私应该受到保护
与公职无关的私生活信息不应该被媒体传播
如果民众不了解官员的私生活自然无从质疑
但前提是官员不会因为私生活的问题二影响公职
issue 105 示范 先占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-11-2 15:04 编辑105) Claim: Imagination is a more valuable asset than experience.
Reason: People who lack experience are free to imagine what is possible without the constraints of established habits and attitudes.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
106) In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
126) In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
TS: Both imagination and experience are important ingredients for success in different undertakings or projects. I believe that imagination is more valuable at the early stages of the projects when the novelty of the ideas is crucial. At later stages, however, the implementation of the ideas and the management of the projects would require the team members to have experience in different areas. I would illustrate my point with the stories of Google, Wikipedia and Alibaba.
ts1: imagination is more important and valuable for a company or an organization at the early stage of its development
all successful companies began with an imaginative idea
- Google’s idea of ranking web pages based on the number of back links (an example of crowdsourcing)
- Taobao’s idea of serving as a middleman for online transaction (a model that help maintain trust among strangers)
- Wikipedia’s idea to allow everyone to edit an online encyclopedia (blur the line between users and producers of knowledge)
ts2: as the projects grew big, the experience of effective management becomes more valuable
- financial management
- human resournces management
- operation management
ts3: equally important is the experience of understanding and meeting the needs of the customers and the society
- deal with the need of the customers
- negotiate with the government
the outline needs to be modified for 106/126 to emphasise more on academic fields
issue 108/110 示范 占楼
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 11:05 编辑108) Critical judgment of work in any given field has little value unless it comes from someone who is an expert in that field.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
110) Critical judgment of work in any given field has little value unless it comes from someone who is an expert in that field.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
批判性的判断在任何领域当中都是没什么用处的,除非判断来自于该领域专家。
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.【第一类写作指导】
这道题没有对领域进行限定，认为只有专家对作品的批判性判断才有价值。显然我们需要考虑分不同的领域来讨论。而在考虑选择不同领域的时候，我们还要搞清楚一个问题，即专家和非专家的区别在哪里。另外还可以考虑的一点是，在某个领域的专家和这个领域以外的专家的区别。题目认为只有前者的评判有价值，而我们似乎可以指出后者的评价也很有价值。
开头段
在提出观点之前，最好简单介绍背景。这里的背景可以指出在各个领域我们都需要评价作品的价值从而认可那些优秀的作品和创作者。于是有人提出这个题目中的观点。而我认为在某些领域如纯粹数学，作品的价值只能由领域内专家评价；而有些领域例如经济学、工程学，除了领域内专家评价外，还需要领域外专家的评价；而在一些应用领域如广告设计、电视剧本编写，作为非专家的观众的评价显然是十分重要的。
第二段 纯粹数学的论文、成果只能由领域内专家评判
涉及的理论概念只有领域内专家能够理解
对于这个工作对本领域的贡献也只有本领域专家对领域的发展比较熟悉
领域内专家可以提出批判意见指出下一步的改进方向
学科本身并无应用、相对其他领域比较超前，因此领域外的专家无法给出意见
第三段 经济学、工程学等领域的研究需要领域外的专家评判
经济学理论已经被应用到法学、政治学、人类学等多领域
经济学家在这些领域所做的工作需要得到来自这些领域专家的评判 他们具有相关的知识背景
相关领域的专家可以提出他们的角度和数据来验证相关工作
工程学的研究成果往往涉及多学科 如计算机工程涉及复杂的数学模型 因此数学家的评价也很有价值
第四段 广告设计、电视剧本等作品需要非专家的观众点评
广告设计需要广告受众来批评以修改那些观众不喜欢的元素
麦当劳需要聘请市场调查公司了解家长和孩子对儿童乐园餐广告的看法
电视剧本作家会根据观众对人物的喜好决定下一步人物的命运
这些作品的最终价值取决于观众的喜恶
TS: In some fields such as pure mathematics, only experts in the field could offer valuable critical comments on the works; in other fields such as cosmology, experts from other fields, for example, mathematics and computer scientists may also offer some interesting insights; in more practical fields such as industrial design and movie production, the general public as end users may also contribute to the judgement.
ts1: in certain fields where outsiders can hardly understand the materials, this statement probably holds true.
- example: pure mathematics (Green-Tao theorem)
- difficult for outsiders without proper training to understand
- outsiders not able to make judgement
ts2: in some fields experts from related fields may judge the works with regard to the methodology.
- example: cosmology (involves mathematical modeling and high-performance computing for analyzing big data)
- mathematicians may judge the validity of the math model
- computer scientists may judge the efficiency of the algorithms for dealing with the data
ts 3: the general public without any specialized training may also judge work in certain fields such as industrial design and movie
- Apple ran numerous focus group discussion to collect comments from layperson end users on their design
- one of the key principle of user interface design is user-friendliness (users should find it easy to use)
- Hollywood movie studios also run workshops for layperson to read stories before the screenplays are finalized
issue 119
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 11:33 编辑119) When old buildings stand on ground that modern planners feel could be better used for modern purposes, modern development should be given precedence over the preservation of historic buildings.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
1，做决定之前，先了解利益相关者stakeholder的意见及不同old building的value具体如何；2，城市有效规划和保留old building可以两全其美时，重新装修内部用于modern purpose如博物馆等，在风格上保持一致；3，城市有效规划和保留old building不可两全其美时，只好demolish房子，但可留下电子扫描版本scanning technology以备之后有需要可以重建或做研究所用。
TS: I strongly disagree that historic buildings should be sacrificed for the sake of modern development. In fact, perservation of historic buildings is important for education and tourism of the cities. For the purpose of modern development, the urban planners should try to build satellite cities around the old cities to balance the need for preserving historic buildings and the demand of space for economic development.
ts1: preservation of historic buildings can create educational value for young people, researchers and the city residents
- for young people, the buildings can help them to learn more about the history of the city and the nation
- for researchers, they can collect more first-hand historical data
- for city residents, the buildings help cultivate their sense of identity as part of the city
ts2: well-preserved historic buildings can also boost the tourism of the city as well as the nation
- the histortic buildings may attract more tourists
- the booming tourism can create more jobs
- it can help attract more foreign investment
ts3: some people may argue that the city needs more space and land for economic development
- more land is needed for housing, transportation and office building
- urban planners should consider building satellite cities around the old city
- it is easier to build a new city from scratch than to renovate the old city
- such policy can also help lift the people in the suburban and the rural area from poverty
issue 123/128 示范 占楼先
本帖最后由 tesolchina 于 2015-8-17 11:08 编辑123) The best way for a society to prepare its young people for leadership in government, industry, or other fields is by instilling in them a sense of cooperation, not competition.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
128) Some people argue that successful leaders in government, industry, or other fields must be highly competitive. Other people claim that in order to be successful, a leader must be willing and able to cooperate with others.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
The best way for a society to prepare its young people for leadership in different fields is by instilling in them a sense of cooperation, not competition, because cooperation can teach young people how to communicate with others and how to work together with others, which are of great significance for leadership.
First of all, cooperation can teach young people how to communicate with others.合作促进交流，竞争阻碍交流，交流能力对于领导能力很重要。举例:对交流方式的选择：email, telephone, message.
What is more, young people can practice how to work with others in cooperation while only rely on themselves in competition.合作能够锻炼年轻人对不同人和不同资源coordination的能力，coordination的能力对于领导力很重要,能够让合适的人在合适的位置，效率最大化。
People may argue that a sense of competition will make students more hardworking and industrious. I, however, insist cooperation is more important than competition because young people have already learned competition during their growth.生活中已经有太多竞争，竞争意识不需要灌输。
TS: I agree with the statement that future leaders need to appreciate the importance of cooperation for the success of governments and corporations. In fact, cooperation is essential within an organization and among different organizations. While competition is also important for leaders, most young people learn enough about it as they grow up.
ts1: Future leaders have to understand the importance of cooperation within an organization in which people with different expertise can work together productively.
- the idea of comparative advantage
- leaders need to understand how team members with different skills and exeprtise can work together to create more value together
- leaders also need to design a work flow that can facilitate the cooperation
- to do that young people have to develop a sense of cooperation through extracurricular activities
ts2: It is also important for young people to learn how an organization need to cooperate with other stakeholders in the society.
- the importance of negotiation among different stakeholders
- the example of Google who failed to cooperate with Chinese government
- not only Google is not accessible in China; now gmail is also blocked
- cooperating with other organizations is also important
- young people need to learn that
ts3: While there is no doubt that competition is also essential for any organization, most young people learn how to compete through formal schooling.
- competition is important for creating incentives to make progress
- but most students learn that in schools when they work hard to compete for places in college
- they will also learn that when they compete for jobs and leadership positions