[a习作temp] Argument53【Triple Week】第7次练习by david36355 [复制链接]

david36355
UID: 2603992

新手上路

Rank: 1

声望: 0
寄托币: 243
注册时间: 2009-2-18
精华: 0
帖子: 1

电梯直达

楼主

发表于 2009-7-25 20:50:42 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

TOPIC: ARGUMENT53 - Thirteen years ago, researchers studied a group of 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli such as an unusual odor or a tape recording of an unknown voice. They discovered that these infants were more likely than other infants to have been conceived in early autumn, a time when their mothers' production of melatonin-a hormone known to affect some brain functions-would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight. In a follow-up study conducted earlier this year, more than half of these children-now teenagers-who had shown signs of distress identified themselves as shy. Clearly, increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life.

Casting a long-tracked research on the 25 infants, the author argues the babies born in early autumn, who are influenced by the increased levels of melatonin before birth, tend to be shy in the later life. However, the survey lacks credence in certain aspects. Fundamentally, we may cast doubt on the survey, for the survey does not necessarily indicate the conclusion the author asserts. On the first hand, 25 infants were involved in the research, and the number of the sample is not statistically significant, exceptions are very well likely to appear if the samples increase. On this condition, it would be hasty for the speaker to come to the definite causal conclusion. Moreover, the original data of the 25 young testers are not given according to the survey. The author attributes the mild distress to the melatonin, while neglecting the diversities between the little testers. For the kids selected were possible to be originally introvert, or they may be suffering from other innate deseases. And what should not be neglected is, unfamiliar stimuli serves an unfriendly effect on all the children, even adults. To determine the whether kids are depressing or not, the attitude towards the stimuli could be a standard, but not the most convincing one. Conversely, however, the other possible factors are not accounted for. Certain factors might as well influence or at least, together with melatonin. In short, the research excluded other possible factors, which might also be the reason. Therefore, the mere fact does not prove a necessary causal relationship between melatonin and the distress.
In the next place, the follow-up survey on the children is also to be doubted. Firstly, the proportion of the teenagers identifying themselves as shy is merely 50 percent, which serves little significance in such statistics. Nevertheless, the author gave an assertion that the shyness would clearly continue into the individuals` later life, which do not accord with the 50% fact. The hasty causal relation undermines, rather supported, the speaker`s claim.
Overall, in the research, ostensible flaws lies both in the two periods of infant and teenage. Without regarding to more samples on the issue, without more details given according to the respective sample, and without excluding other factors which may also cause the distress reaction, the research is to be questioned and remains unconvincing.

第一个论述点的段落实在是太长了，不知道是否异常不妥当= =

= =待改动。