第一篇高频48， 求拍砖

tangyyyUID: 2814121

TOPIC: ISSUE48 - "The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."
WORDS: 469         TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2010-8-1 18:37:07

Observing books of history, it is easy to find that large amounts of history stories are about individuals. Does the study of history place too much emphasis on individuals? In my view, key individuals are important in history so that we should research and learn their stories. However, these famous individuals would have been unable to succeed in their daring endeavors without the support active participation of groups of people.

In politics, key individuals are often promoting society with their outstanding abilities and some certain political powers. For instance, during the Great Depression, Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, put forward a New Deal for the American people. His administration was marked by relief programs, measures to increase employment and assist industrial and agricultural recovery. Attributing to a series of Roosevelt's New Deal, Americans overcame the Great Depression and developed their economy. Another powerful example is the supreme efforts of Mahatma Gandhi in the attainment of India's freedom. Mahatma Gandhi's principles of Satyagraha and non-violence had great effect on achieving freedom.

In science, profound scientific inventions and discoveries of the past are nearly all attributable to certain key individuals rather forgettable groups of people. Copernicus, the Polish astronomer, advanced the theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun. In that time, the nearly all people supported the Ptolemaic system of astronomy and the whole society believed that the earth is the centre of the universe. Depending on endeavors of Copernicus, heliocentric theory can be realized. Einstein, one of the most famous scientists, formed special and general theories of relativity revolutionized modern thought on the nature of space and time. His theories are profound and are hard to understand by mass. It can effectively show that in history of science, key individuals are significant to study.

However, the study of history can not overstate personal effects and should also pay attention to groups of people. Without groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten, revolutions of society can not come true and famous individuals can not succeed. For example, Winston Churchill was a very competent prime minister whose speeches gave courage to an entire nation. However, Britain would have been unable to defend itself without the sacrifices of the soldiers on the battle field. In addition, we all know Homer, the writer of the Iliad and Odyssey. However, the two works are not written by him alone, to be more accurate, he did most of work on addition, expurgation and modification of the achievement of others.

In the final analysis, it is reasonable that the study of history emphasis on individuals because of their great effects of promoting the world. However, people are important part of history. Without these forgettable groups of people, famous individuals can not succeed and they can not promote society.
(加黑的字是超时写的)