[i习作temp] ISSUE28 "The surest indicator of a great nation" [复制链接]

Dr_JohnDoe
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发表于 2012-11-10 10:45:05 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

本帖最后由 Dr_JohnDoe 于 2012-11-10 11:16 编辑

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提纲：

立场：general welfare很重要，achievements of great individuals同样不能忽视

（1）界定general welfare
（2）不能保证general welfare的国家不能被称为伟大
（3）但光有general welfare也不行，因为只关注了自己国民的情况
（4）国家的伟大应该由它对世界的贡献来定义
（5）因此，great individuals促进国家伟大，因为他们的成就不分国界，而且经久不衰

全文无例子（加例子的话字数很难控制），无总结（暂时没想到好的结尾）。

原题：

28) The surest indicator of a great nation is represented not by the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but by the general welfare of its people.

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.

正文：

The speaker contends that the surest indicator of a great nation is represented by the general welfare of its people rather than the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists. While I concede that general welfare can be an important characteristic of a great nation, the achievements of its great individuals should never be ignored, because their accomplishments also contribute significantly to the greatness of a nation.

To begin my discussion, it would be necessary to clarify the notion of “general welfare”. Although the perception of general welfare can vary from people to people, these perceptions all bear something in common, that is the fundamental needs of human for survival (such as food and shelter) and the basic requirement for human rights (such as freedom and equity).

Admittedly, a nation that fails to ensure the general welfare of its people can hardly be termed a great nation. If most citizens are starving and suffering from illnesses, the achievements of rulers, however significant, will not make the whole nation great. Likewise, if most people are deprived of freedom and equity, the accomplishments of a handful of artists and scientists are not likely to justify the greatness of a nation. Hence, the achievements of a nation’s great individuals, if largely detached from most of its people, will not represent the greatness of a nation.

However, is people’s general welfare the surest indicator of a great nation? Not necessarily. Say, if a nation ensures the general welfare of its people but turns a blind to the suffering of other nations, will it be called a great nation? Or, say, if a nation possesses the most powerful military force but only use it to wage wars against other nations, can it be termed a great nation? The answers to these questions are clearly no. So what defines the greatness of a nation?

In fact, the greatness of a nation is mostly defined by the contributions it made to the entire human community. Our world is a seamless web where every nation is connected to others. A nation that only concerns about the general welfare of its own citizens while ignoring the needs of other nations is no more than a selfish nation. Therefore, a nation can be termed great only if it strives to promote the peace, prosperity, equity and freedom of the entire world.

That is why the achievements of a number of rulers, artists and scientists is also an important indicator of a great nation: rulers and politicians serve to promote the world peace and development of other nations; the brilliant works of great artists enrich our spiritual lives and give us insights into human nature; the accomplishments made by scientists not only change our material lives but also revolutionize our understandings of the world in which we live. The reason we respect these great individuals is that their achievements are without borders, and their accomplishments will not fade with the elapse of time. In short, these individuals make contributions to the entire human race, and thus facilitate the greatness of their nations.

欢迎斧正，谢谢！