issue103 The study of history has value only to the extent

turtle24UID: 122933

103. “The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives.”

People live for the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the demands that press in from living in the present and anticipating what is yet to come. By studying history, people can connect the past, present and future. In my opinion, the author’s assertion is wrong in three respects.

In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how societies and people behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies are difficult, though a number of disciplines make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly handicap people’s efforts. How can they evaluate war if the nation is at peace – unless people use historical materials? Likewise, how can they understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if people do not use what they know about experiences in the past? No matter one agrees or not, people form their opinions with reference to history. On the other hand, their present decisions are affecting the future. Therefore, people will evaluate the possible consequences brought by their present behavior.

Second, history helps people understand change and how the society they live in came to be. Once again, the past causes the present and hence the future. At anytime people try to explain the reasons why and how something will happen – whether a major change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the Middle East – they have to look for factors that took shape earlier. Take an important human phenomenon such as soccer gambling. Through surveys, government can identify the societal preference for causing a proclivity toward the legalization of soccer gambling. But soccer gambling, as a society reality, has a history in itself: the prevalence of soccer gambling in UK, the estimated gambling tax, the negative impacts on the society…etc. Obviously, a government would take into consideration of the afore-mentioned factors on top of the survey when thinking about the legalization of soccer gambling. If the government, as what the author assets, only believes history has present value, it will legalize soccer gambling without thinking of any potential negative impacts. However, this is not the case. Government does consider what will happen out of its present decision.

Last, history is useful for creating tomorrow’s businesspeople, professionals and political leaders. The study of history, of course, does not necessarily yield historians. But people study history use their training for broader professional purposes. Historical study is unquestionably an asset for a variety of works and professional situations, even though it does not, for most students, lead as directly to a particular job slot, as do some technical fields.

The author’s assertion is short-sighted. The reasons are human virtually must gain access to the laboratory of human experience in formation of their opinions. To know the present configuration of society is not the only reason to study the past; history also provides unique insight into future society.

paisleyUID: 64183

“The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives.”

People live for the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the demands that press in from living in the present and anticipating what is yet to come. By studying history, people can connect the past, present and future（connect后面一般要跟to的）. In my opinion, the author’s assertion is wrong in three respects. （我觉得这样说是不是太绝对了呢？毕竟这不是argument，你只要说你自己什么观点就好咯）

In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how societies and people behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies are difficult, though a number of disciplines（这个主语和attempt搭配好象有点怪，而且应用have made） make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly handicap people’s efforts. How can they evaluate war if the nation is at peace – unless people use historical materials? Likewise, how can they understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if people do not use what they know about experiences in the past? No matter one agrees or not, people form their opinions with reference to history. On the other hand, their present decisions are affecting the future. Therefore, people will evaluate the possible consequences brought by their present behavior.

Second, history helps people understand change and how the society they live in came to be. Once again, the past causes the present and hence the future. At anytime people try to explain the reasons why and how something will happen – whether a major change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the Middle East – they have to look for factors that took shape earlier. Take an important human phenomenon such as soccer gambling. Through surveys, government can identify the societal(social吧?) preference for causing a proclivity toward the legalization of soccer gambling. But soccer gambling, as a society reality, has a history in itself: the prevalence of soccer gambling in UK, the estimated gambling tax, the negative impacts on the society…etc. Obviously, a government would take into consideration of the afore(这个词我不懂)-mentioned factors on top of the survey when thinking about the legalization of soccer gambling. If the government, as what the author assets, only believes history has present value, it will legalize soccer gambling without thinking of any potential negative impacts. However, this is not the case. Government does consider what will happen out of its present decision.

Last, history is useful for creating tomorrow’s businesspeople(businessmen吧?), professionals and political leaders. The study of history, of course, does not necessarily yield historians. But people study history use their training for broader professional purposes. Historical study is unquestionably an asset for a variety of works and professional situations, even though it does not, for most students, lead as directly to a particular job slot, as do some technical fields.

The author’s assertion is short-sighted. The reasons are human virtually must gain access to the laboratory of human experience in formation of their opinions. To know the present configuration of society is not the only reason to study the past; history also provides unique insight into future society.

我觉得写的很不错啊。语言\结构都很好.例子也不错.你可以对照范文http://www.gter.net/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51342
第四篇

feixiangflyUID: 2839023

感觉似曾相识！