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imongUID：140258

Issue152
"The only responsibility of corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, is to make as much money as possible for their companies."

Sample Essay

Corporate executives do have a responsibility to make money for their companies. For publicly owned companies, this means that they must find a way to maximize shareholder value. People buy shares in a company because they want to make money, therefore the more money that the company makes, the more money the stockholder can potentially make. But it would be wrong to say that, without qualification, making as much money as possible is an executive's only responsibility. Shareholder value can be maximized in ways other than by making money, such as the corporation's treatment of the global environment and people, the corporation's image, and its long-term viability as a stable corporation.

First of all, corporate executives have a duty to protect our natural environment and to not exploit human resources, particularly in lesser-developed countries. These poorer countries sometimes have poorly developed legal systems and laws that can be used unfairly by companies, even though the companies are actually operating within the limits of the law in that country. As an example, a pharmaceutical company should not be allowed to test new drugs on people in a poor country even though it is perfectly legal under that country's laws. Similarly, a chemical company should not be allowed to use manufacturing processes in a developing country that pollute and destroy the environment, whether those manufacturing processes are legal or not in that nation. Corporate executives must take it upon themselves to ensure that it operates ethically in all countries and that the corporation does not exploit lax operating laws in underdeveloped parts of the world.

Secondly, a related responsibility of corporate executives is to make sure that the company reflects a positive image to the rest of the world, thus giving stockholders and owners a sense of pride in being a part of that company. Most people do not want to be associated with a company that is seen as greedy or exploitive. If corporate executives focus solely on making as much money as possible, there can be a backlash against that company for appearing too materialistic and uncaring. Executives at multinational companies such as McDonalds and Wal-Mart have recognized this problem in the past and have now become heavily involved in the communities in which their stores are located through charitable programs. As just one example, McDonalds operates "Ronald McDonald's homes" which give parents a place to stay near hospitals where their children are undergoing medical treatment. Corporate executives have a responsibility to ensure that their companies are seen as "people friendly" rather than just focusing on bringing in more money.

A third and also related responsibility of corporate executives is to ensure the long-term viability of their companies. Employees, as well as other stakeholders, need to know that the company executives are interested in building an enduring institution. A good example of this responsibility not being honored is that of the Enron energy company and Arthur Andersen bankruptcy and accounting scandal. In this case, corporate executives abdicated their responsibilities to both companies in order to maximize short-term profit and possibly their own bonuses and stock options. Enron used misleading documents and practices that overstated its income by hundreds of millions of dollars. As Enron's accountants, Arthur Andersen certified that Enron's bookkeeping was all in order when in actuality they knew otherwise. Both companies' executives failed to look at the possible effects on the long-term viabilities of the companies. As a result, Enron has declared bankruptcy and Arthur Andersen, one of the world's most respected accounting firms, is being broken up into small pieces. Corporate executives have the responsibility to make sure that the corporation will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.

Corporate executives do have a responsibility to make as much money as possible. But they also have the responsibility to do so in a manner that helps to protect the world's environment and people, that reflects a positive corporate image, and that will guarantee the long-term survival of the company.
（662 words）

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"只要不违法，公司决策者的唯一责任就是为公司尽可能地多赚钱。"

[范文正文]

为公司赚钱确实是公司决策者的责任。对于股份由多方共有的公司，这意味着他们必须找到能将股东利益最大化的方法。人们在一个公司购买股份就是想要赚钱，因此，公司赚的钱越多股东的潜在收益也就越大。但是，如果绝对地说赚钱就是公司决策者的唯一目的，那就大错特错了。除了赚钱，股东的利益还可以通过其它手法达到最大化，比如公司对全球环境、人类的贡献、公司的形象以及它作为一个稳定的组织所具有的长期生命力。

首先，公司决策者有保护我们的自然环境以及不对人力资源，特别是欠发达地区的人力资源，进行剥削的责任。在这些较为贫穷的国家中，法制系统的发展也较为不完备，因此有些公司就利用法律从事有失公正的商业运作，虽然它们表面上并没有超出该国的法律规定。举个例子，制药厂不应该被准许利用贫穷国家的人来做新药的实验，即便在该国这是完全合法的事情。与此相似，化工公司在发展中国家的生产过程不应该对该国的环境造成污染或破坏，无论生产过程本身在该国是否合法。公司决策者应该承担起责任以确保其公司在所有国家的运作都符合道德标准，确保其公司不去利用世界上不发达地区存在疏漏的现行法律。

其次，公司决策者的另一个相关的职责就是确保公司在世界上具有良好的形象，这样股份持有人和公司所有者都会为自己是公司的一部分而感到自豪。大多数人都不愿意把自己同一个贪婪的或剥削人的公司联系在一起。如果公司决策者关心的只是尽可能地多赚钱，那么该公司就有可能因为显得太过自私、重实利而招致强烈的反对。跨国公司如麦当劳、沃尔马特的决策者早在过去就已经意识到了这个问题，因此它们现在就能够通过开展慈善计划而与分店所在社区保持紧密的联系。让我们仅仅看其中的一个例子：麦当劳在医院附近开设了"罗纳德·麦当劳之家"，为有小孩在医院进行治疗的家长提供逗留之处。公司决策者有责任让公司与社会民众建立友好的关系而不仅仅是赚钱。

公司决策人的第三个而且与以上也相关的职责是确保公司长期的生命力。公司职员以及其他股份持有人都需要知道，他们公司的决策者是要将公司长久办下去的。安龙能源公司和亚瑟·安德森公司的破产及财务丑闻案是一个很好的反面实例子。这两个公司的决策者都为了扩大短期收益，或者可能是为了自己的收益和股利，而忽略了自己的责任。安龙利用容易产生误导的文件和行动将收入额夸大了上亿美元。作为安龙的财会公司，亚瑟·安德森公司在两者都知道实情的情况下证实安龙公司的帐目准确。两个公司的决策者都没有看到他们的这些做法给公司长久生命力可能带来的后果。结果，安龙公司宣布破产，而曾是世界最负盛名的财会公司之一的亚瑟·安德森公司也落得个分崩离析的下场。公司决策人有责任保证公司在可以预见的未来都一直生存下去。

为公司赚钱确实是公司决策者的责任。然而他们也有着保护世界环境和人类、树立公司良好形象的责任和确保公司长期生存下去的责任。

imongUID：140258

Issue153
"Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."

Sample Essay

The unquestioned role of a student is to learn as much as possible through whatever means it takes to ingrain that knowledge in the individual student. Teachers and professors are human beings and are therefore not perfect. No one knows the correct answer to every question even when you limit the questions to a certain field of study. Having a certain skepticism about what they are being taught can help students to make the teachers and professors even better by clarifying correct answers or correcting mistakes and misinformation.

Students certainly have a huge role in their own abilities to learn. Teaching faculty should act more as guides along the way rather than trying to force each student to learn whatever it is that they are studying. The best teachers in the world cannot teach an unmotivated student. If the teacher, for whatever reason, cannot motivate the student, then the student must somehow find a way to motivate him or herself. One method of doing this is by become an active rather than a passive student. The more the student involves him or herself in the act of studying, the better he or she can learn. One of the best ways to become more active is simply to ask the teacher or professor questions. Students who passively sit in a classroom and take everything that the teacher says for granted are not fully using their mental capacities to learn. Better education comes from teachers who are able to get their students to think about a subject rather than merely absorb a certain amount of information. Having a healthy skepticism can improve a student's ability to both think and absorb knowledge in a learning situation.

Students should practice a certain amount of skepticism in the classroom as a means of fostering better communication between the teacher and the students. To sit passively receiving and digesting information from a teacher or professor would be to assume that everything that the teacher says is absolutely correct. Teachers are human beings and no one is one hundred percent right all of the time, even in a classroom situation. No professor or teacher is infallible. Perhaps a teacher would simply unconsciously say the wrong word or pass on some misinformation that the teacher truly believed was correct. Simply asking a question by the student could prevent an entire classroom from becoming confused or misinformed.

In my own education, I have had at least two experiences that showed me the value of being somewhat of a skeptic at times in a classroom situation. In my younger years, a grade school teacher told the class that it was wrong for people of different races to intermarry because the children would grow up confused about their "real" identity. Although it seemed wrong at the time, because I was so young and impressionable, I thought that the teacher must be right because he was the teacher. Looking back now, I realize just how wrong he was and that a healthy skepticism even at a young age can be a valuable tool in education. In another example of the value of questioning a teacher, we had an inexperienced first-time teacher teaching our second language class. Although she tried very hard, it became obvious that she was making many mistakes. I began asking questions (in a helpful manner) and found out that the book that she was using was full of mistakes. She appreciated the feedback and we all had a better learning experience by watching for mistakes from the book. Without a little skepticism, we would have been pronouncing and using many words incorrectly.

There is of course a fine balance between a student having a healthy skepticism and just being a downright cynic. But with the proper attitude toward learning and a little skepticism, both the student and the professors or teacher can improve upon the learning process and maximize learning efficiency.
(652 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"学生应该对他所学的一切东西持怀疑态度。他们对教给他们的东西应该进行质询而不是被动地接受。"

[范文正文]

毫无疑问，学生就是应该通过一切手段尽可能地多学习，牢牢掌握所学到的知识。老师和教授毕竟也是人，因此不可能尽善尽美。即使将问题限制在特定的研究领域内，也不可能有人会知道所有问题的正确答案。对别人教给他的东西持有一种怀疑态度能够帮助学生督促老师和教授改正错误，进一步讲清正确答案，纠正错误的表达，从而使他们做得更好。

学生自身确实具有很强的学习能力。老师应该在学生学习的过程中多引导他们取得进步而不应该强迫他们学习。如果一个学生自己没有学习的动力，那么就算是全世界最好的老师也对他无能为力。如果老师出于某种原因不能激发学生学习的动力，那么学生自己必须要找到激励、启发自己的方法。方法之一就是要成为一个积极的而不是消极的学习者。学生积极参与学习过程的程度越深，他就能学得越好。变得积极起来的最好方法之一就是去问老师或教授问题。那些被动地坐在课堂上理所当然地将老师说的话奉为真理的学生并没有充分运用自己的智能。能在学习中启发学生思考而不仅仅是让学生单向吸收知识的老师才能进行更好的、卓有成效的教育。

学生在课堂上应该抱有一些怀疑态度，以期达到学生与老师之间更好的交流。被动地坐在课堂上接收、消化老师或教授所传授的信息无异于认为老师说的就是绝对正确的。老师也是人，没有人总是百分之百正确，即使是在课堂这个小小的领域内也是如此。没有哪一个老师或教授是绝不犯错的。有时老师可能会无意识地说错词或者传达一些自己认为是正确但实际上却是错误的信息。这时，学生只要问一个问题就能防止全班产生迷惑或被误导。

在我受教育的过程中，至少有两次经历告诉我在课堂上有时有一点怀疑态度的重要性。我小时候，一个小学老师上课时说不同种族的人通婚是错误的，因为他们生下的孩子长大后会搞不清自己"真正"的身份。尽管这种说法当时就是错误的，但是由于我那时还很小很单纯，我认为因为他是老师他肯定就是正确的。现在回想起来，我意识到老师的错误有多么严重，意识到即使是在很小的年纪，有益的质疑态度也会是受教育过程中的宝贵工具。另一个例子发生在一个初次教学毫无经验的老师给我们上第二外语课的时候。尽管她很努力，但显然她犯了很多错误。因此我就开始对她提问（是以一种帮助的口吻），结果发现是她用的那本书错误百出。她非常感激我的提问，我们也在给书找出错误的同时达到了更好的学习效果。如果当时我没有一点怀疑态度的话，我们现在对许多词语的读音和用法可能都会是错误的。

当然，一个学生应该找到一个好的平衡点，使自己具有一种有益的质询态度而不是成为一个彻底的愤世嫉俗、好嘲笑挖苦的人。有了对学习的正确态度和一点质疑精神，学生和老师、教授都能够完善学习过程，最大限度地提高学习效率。

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Issue154

"Both parents and communities must be involved in the local schools. Education is too important to leave solely to a group of professional educators."

Sample Essay

Local schools are an integral part of a society and of each individual community. Much of what happens in a community is directly tied in to the local schools, whether the members of that community's children are of school age or not. The quality of the local schools also depends a great deal on the community. If the schools are well supported, they generally will be good quality schools. If the community ignores or contributes to the school's problems, the schools and students may not perform to the best of their abilities. Without the involvement of parents and the surrounding communities, professional educators cannot do their jobs properly. Additionally, the involvement of the parents ensures that educators will keep the school children as their first priority, rather than focusing on maximizing personal profits through teachers unions and the like.

Traditionally in years past, the parents and communities cooperated to set up schools to serve all the children in a particular location. As the United States has become larger, local, state and federal governments have become further involved, thus lessening the responsibilities of the parents with regards to the schools. Parents cannot and should not abdicate all of their responsibilities to the various governmental bodies, however. It remains incumbent upon the parents and communities to remain involved in as many aspects of the local schools as they can.

First of all, the most fundamental responsibility of the parents is that they must ensure that their own children are properly dressed, on time and actually behaving themselves in the classrooms. Professional educators cannot properly teach children that don't know how to behave while at school. Other children are distracted or maybe even misled to misbehave themselves by children who are chronically disruptive. Parents must control their own children and not leave the job of child behavioral training to the teachers at school.

Secondly, parents and communities must make sure that they contribute financially to their local schools, and not only by the mandatory payment of taxes to the government. School groups are always trying to raise money for some beneficial school projects. It is important that parents do not turn their backs when school children come door to door asking for money, even when (and maybe especially when) it is not their own children who are asking for help.

Furthermore, parents have more than just a financial responsibility to the local schools, they also have an obligation to give generously of their time whenever possible. Attending their own child's sports games and recitals are certainly important. Volunteering to coach, referee or to help organize activities for the school children are also extremely important. Local schools seem to never have enough help to accomplish all that needs to be done or to accomplish all that should be done. Just ask any teacher or professional educator, they can probably find a place for any volunteer that desires to help.

Finally, parents and communities must be involved with local schools just to be sure that the professional educators are indeed "professional" and are giving the children the proper educational basics that they need. Direct and continuous communications with a teacher or principal can sometimes give parents all the information that they need to decide whether he or she is properly fit for the job. Powerful teachers unions have developed over the years that sometimes tend to put the teachers first and the priorities of the children second. By staying involved with the local schools, parents and the communities can show the educators that they are committed to the children and the schools, and that they should always remember whom the schools were built for in the first place.

The success or failure of a local school depends almost entirely on the involvement of parents and the local community. The parents and others in these communities must be willing to make sure that their own children are properly behaved, that they support the school both financially and with their time, and that the professional educators always put the well-being of the children as the number one priority.
(681 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"家长和社区都必须参与到地方学校对青少年的教育中去。教育的至关重要性决定了它不能只依靠专业的教育工作者。"

[范文正文]

地方学校是整个社会及个人所属的社区不可缺少的组成部分。无论社区中的孩子是否达到上学的年龄，这个社区发生的很多事情都会与其学校有着直接的联系。地方学校的好坏也极大地依赖于它们所属的社区。如果社区努力办学，则学校的质量就会很高。如果社区忽视学校的建设或者使学校产生一些问题，则学校就不能充分发挥其作用而学生的能力也得不到最好的开发。没有家长和社区的支持，专业的教育工作者不能够很好地开展工作。另外，家长的支持与监督能保证教育者将孩子的教育放在最首位而避免他们将精力放在通过教师联合会或其他类似组织来谋取个人利益上。

根据过去的传统，家长和社区在特定的地区协力创办学校，为当地所有的孩子提供教育。随着美国的扩展，地方、各州及联邦各级政府加大了对学校教育的扶持，因而家长对学校的责任有所减少。然而实际上，家长不能也不应该放弃他们对学校教育承担的责任而交由各种政府部门管理。家长和社区有义务尽可能多地参与地方学校各方面的工作。

首先，家长最基本的责任就是保证他们的孩子穿着得体地按时去上学并在课堂上有良好的表现。对那些连在学校应该如何作为都不知道的孩子，专业的教育者不可能有效地进行教育。还有的孩子可能会受到坏孩子的影响甚至被坏孩子误导，做出不好的行为来。家长必须管教自己的孩子，不要把约束孩子行为表现的工作留给学校的老师来做。

其次，家长和社区必须在经济上支持地方学校而不仅仅是给政府缴纳必需的税款。学校团体常常要为开展一些有益的学校计划进行募捐。当孩子们上门来要求捐款，尤其是当别人家的孩子上门来要求捐款时，家长不应置之不理或予以拒绝，做到这一点是非常重要的。

而且，家长对地方学校负有的责任不应该仅仅是在钱财上的支持，他们还应该尽可能慷慨地将自己的时间投入到学校中去。参加自己孩子的运动会、朗诵会意义重大，主动帮助学校的孩子们组织活动，充当教练或裁判也是极其重要的。地方学校在达成需要完成的工作或应该完成的工作时似乎从未得到过充分的帮助。只要你愿意主动帮忙，随便问任何一个老师，都会找到需要你帮忙的地方。

最后，家长和社区参与到地方学校的工作中去可以确保那些专业的教育工作者确实是"专业"人员，确保他们能够教授孩子所需的基础知识。与老师和校长直接、频繁的交流可以让家长全面了解教师，看出他们是否适合教育这个岗位。近年来的发展使教师联合会的权力增大，有时倾向于将教师放在首位而将对孩子的考虑放在其次。家长和社区对地方学校工作的参与能提示教师他们对孩子、学校负有的责任，让他们记住学校首先是为谁设立的。

一所地方学校办得成功与否几乎完全依赖于家长和社区是否参与学校的工作。孩子的家长以及社区内的其他成员都必须愿意确保自己的孩子表现良好，确保他们自己在金钱上和时间上给予了支持，而且学校的专业教育者们将孩子的利益放在了第一位。

imongUID：140258

Issue161

"In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any woman or man as a hero."

Sample Essay

Media coverage of just about every person and every topic of any interest anywhere in the world has certainly increased over the past few years. As the number of possible ways to broadcast that media coverage continues to increase, it seems likely that the phenomenon of exhaustive media coverage will only intensify further. However, as the saying goes, anything is possible, and that certainly pertains to whether or not a society can regard any man or woman as a hero in today's world. Despite the tendency of society in general and the media in particular to build up a person to hero status and then tear that person back down again, there are certainly people that society can look up to as heroes even today.

A few generations ago, media coverage was limited both in the overall information available and the methods of distribution of that information. Newspapers, radio and to a certain extent, television were the only forms of mass media available. Prior to the electronic age, only the written word, the arts and word of mouth could be used to disseminate information. Due to great distances and a much smaller population, it was much harder to find information then than it is now. People were able to keep a great many more things secret from the rest of the world in the past. There was also a tendency for people to be a little more discreet with what they did know, rather than selling the story to some national tabloid for money.

We now live in what has been termed "the information age" and that would seem to be entirely appropriate. Even if one considers only the Internet as a source of information, there is more information available now than the mind can even comprehend. As information becomes more and more digitalized, it becomes easier to access. People's entire written and recorded history could theoretically be obtained through one method or another (most of them likely illegal). No one is perfect. Many people make one or two mistakes that may involve the law when they are young. Someone intent on "digging up some dirt" can usually find even the most minor violations whether the person in question was underage or not. Because no one is perfect, and the intensity of media coverage tends to overemphasize even small mistakes, it becomes easy to understand then why one might be inclined to believe that there can be no more heroes

But heroes are made and not born. The public, to a certain degree, has learned to ignore that which is irrelevant while focusing more on the heroic qualities of the man or woman who has shown courage in a particular situation. One recent example involves the hundreds of firefighters and policemen that perished while trying to save others in the World Trade Center attacks in New York. No one can question their bravery, and certainly no one can deny that each and every one, no matter what their background, is a hero. The passengers on the airplane that rushed the hijackers and caused the plane to crash short of its target, likely the White House in Washington, D.C., are also each and every one a hero. One could possibly look into each firefighter, policeman or civilian's background and find problems in the past but there is absolutely no denying them their hero status on that day.

The world today is eager to find heroes, which may explain the tendency to prematurely promote a person to hero status and then find out later that maybe they were not so heroic after all. Intensive media coverage may make it harder to remain a hero, but heroes are still around today as evidenced by the courageous events of many on September 11, 2001.
(630 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"当今时代铺天盖地的媒体宣传使社会不再可能将任何一个男人或女人奉为英雄。"

[范文正文]

在过去的几年中，传媒所覆盖的区域大大拓展，几乎能涵盖世界上的任何角落、任何有意义的话题以及任何一个人。随着传媒方式的持续增加，铺天盖地的传媒攻势看起来亦会愈演愈烈。然而，正如俗话所说：万事皆有可能，这句话也适用于当今世界社会是否还能将任何男人或女人奉为英雄的情况。尽管大到整个社会，具体到媒体宣传，都有先把某人立为英雄继而再将其打倒在地的趋势，但是，即便在当今，仍然存在一些社会能将其尊为英雄人物的人存在。

几代人之前，媒体宣传涉及的领域就仅仅是获得信息和通过有限的几种方式将信息发送出去。报纸、广播、电视（在某种程度上）就是大众传媒的仅有形式。在进入电子时代之前，只有书写下来的文字和口头表达艺术可以用来发布信息。由于距离的遥远和人口的相对稀少，搜集信息远比现在要难得多。过去，人们能将更多的事情据为秘密，不让其他人知道。那时一种趋势就是人们对他们实际知道的事情持较为谨慎的态度，而不会将事情透露给本国的小报以谋取钱财。

我们现在所处的时代被称为"信息时代"，这个称呼恰如其分。即使一个人只把互联网当作他唯一的信息来源，那他所能获得的信息也大大超过了大脑所接受的限度。随着信息数字化的发展，人们获得信息越来越容易了。人们全部的被书写记录下来的个人历史从理论上来说能够被其他人通过这样或那样的方法获得（大多数方法可能并不合法）。没有人是十全十美的。很多人在年轻时都犯过一两个触犯法律的错误。一些喜欢"揭别人老底"的人总是能发现别人最轻微的过失，即使这个过失是发生在他未成年的时候。人无完人，金无赤金，媒体的强大攻势总是过分夸大即便是微小的错误，因此，我们便能理解为什么人们现在相信不再会有英雄人物了。

然而，英雄不是天生的而是后天形成的。人们如今在某种程度上已渐渐学会着眼于那些在特定场合下能显示勇气的男人或女人所具备的英雄气质，而忽略其他不相关的事情。那些"9·11"事件后在纽约世贸中心为抢救他人而丧生的上百名消防员和警察就是很好的例子。没有人会怀疑他们的勇气，没有人会否认他们中的每一位都是英雄，无论他的背景如何。那些在飞机上与劫机者搏斗而使劫机者偏离撞击目标（据信可能是华盛顿特区的白宫）的乘客每一位也都是英雄。如果审查这些消防员、警察或普通公民的背景，我们可能会发现他们过去有一些问题，但是在那一天他们都是真真正正的英雄，这是不容置疑的。

当今的世界急于发现英雄，这就是为什么现在有过早地将一个人奉为英雄的趋势，不久人们就发现这个人并没有什么英雄气概。铺天盖地的传媒可能会使保持英雄形象变得很难，但是英雄在当今依然是存在的，2001年9月11日许许多多的英雄壮举就是例证。

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Issue160
"The most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little."

Sample Essay

Leaders come in all forms - from those running small groups of people in an office to heads of state that must lead millions or billions of people. Leaders also serve during different time periods marked by different states of the overall environment. National leaders may act in times marked by intense crises such as war, while others may serve during relative times of peace. Business leaders may operate during rapid economic changes and progress or relatively slow times, such as during a recession. An effective leader must be able to fit the situation, whether that means remaining consistently committed to particular principles and objectives or being able to go with the flow of change of opinion to best complete his or her mission. The mission or final goals desired would most likely determine which type of leader would be most effective in that particular situation.

One example would be to examine the actions of two consecutive Presidents of the United States. President Bill Clinton served during a relatively peaceful time of prosperity and economic growth in the United States. Personal proclivities aside, President Clinton seemed to run the country by gauging popular opinion through the heavy use of polling. With almost never varying consistency, President Clinton took stands on the issues that fell closely in line with the popular opinions of the country. Mr. Clinton's opinions sometimes changed overnight, apparently following the ebb and flow of the tide of popular opinion. Most people in the world would agree that President Clinton did a good job of running the country during his administration and that he was an effective leader, whether or not they agree with how he conducted his personal life.

In stark contrast, George W. Bush had served little more than eight months as President when his leadership was subjected to one of the strongest tests possible. The worst terrorist attacks on the United States in history struck just as the economic conditions of the country seemed to be sliding towards recession. War and economic distress came to the country at the same time. Mr. Bush acted quickly and decisively on both fronts. War was all but declared against the ruling Taliban government of Afghanistan and the worldwide Al-Quaida terrorist organization. During the same time period, Mr. Bush's administration made several rapid adjustments to the government's prime lending rates. Many leaders worldwide and some opponents at home questioned some of his decisions. Popular opinion in the rest of the world often portrayed President Bush as acting as a "lone ranger" without regard to the opinions of the rest of the world. Through it all, President Bush stayed with his decisions, including the controversial statement regarding Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil". No one can seriously argue that President Bush has not been an effective leader while remaining consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Both Presidents took the opposite extremes proposed by the above issue statement, but both have been proven to be effective leaders. The situations were different and possibly called for a different type of leadership in order for the final goals to be reached.

Other levels of leadership also would likely require different actions of a leader in different situations. When times are good, it may be easier to follow along with popular opinion as long as it does not appear to be particularly disruptive. Usually when the majority of the population of a country or the stockholders of a corporation are happy, there is little call for rapid changes. However, when times turn tough, a leader that can make the difficult decisions to stay with certain principles and objectives is required. Although they may not be the popular opinions, they may be the best ones for the overall good of the country or company. An effective leader is one who can determine which approach will most likely lead to the accomplishment of the overall mission.
(654 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"一位强有力的领导人最根本的品质就是能够一如既往地坚持特定的原则和目标。任何一个容易受舆论影响而很快改变立场的领导人很少能有什么建树。"

[范文正文]

领导人是分成很多种类的--有那些只是管理较少人的办公室头头儿，也有领导着成百万上亿人的国家元首。由于不同时期社会大环境的差异，领导人任职期间也会呈现出不同的特点。有的国家领袖经历的时期危机四伏，比如经历了战争，而有的却度过了一段相对和平的时期。有的商界领袖处于经济快速变化增长时期而有的却恰恰相反，比如遇到了经济不景气。一位强有力的领导人必须能够适应所处的环境，无论这意味着坚守特定的原则目标还是为了最好地完成使命而能够灵活改变策略。想要达成的使命或最终目标最能够决定在特定形势下什么样的领导人最能够实施有力的领导。

举个例子，让我们来看看美国两位连续执政的总统。比尔·克林顿总统执政时期的美国社会相对稳定繁荣，经济有所增长。抛开他的个人癖性不谈，克林顿似乎是通过大量民意测验考察舆论来治理国家的。几乎每一次他所采取的立场都是与国家民众的意见紧密保持一致。克林顿先生的观点有时会在一夜之间发生转变，这显然是随舆论潮流进行调整的结果。世界上多数人会认同这样一个观点，即克林顿在任职期间表现良好，是一位强有力的领导人，无论他们对他私生活方面的做法是否赞同。

然而，与克林顿的情形迥然不同的是，乔治·W·布什上任刚满八个月，其领导地位就遇到了最大的威胁。美国遭受了历史上毁灭性最强的恐怖主义袭击，而此时国家的经济状况也正趋于不景气。战争与经济衰退在同一时期到来。布什总统在这两个条战线都展开了迅速而果断的行动。美国向阿富汗的独裁塔利班政府及全世界的恐怖组织宣战。同时，布什对美国政府的基本贷款利率做出了几次快速调整。他的一些决策受到了世界上许多领导人及国内反对派的质疑。世界其他国家的舆论常常把布什描述为一位"孤独的突击队员"，他采取行动时从不顾及其他国家的看法。无论如何，布什坚持着他的决策，包括他把伊朗、伊拉克和朝鲜定为"邪恶轴心"的有争议的论断。没人能否认坚守特定原则和目标的布什总统不是一位强有力的总统。在上述的不同情形中，克林顿和布什两位总统采取了绝然不同的两种做法，然而他们两位都被证明是强有力的领导人。不同的形势需要有不同的领导风格来达成最终目标。

其它层次上的领导职务也要求领导人在不同的情况下采取不同的行动。形势一片大好时，只要公众舆论不带来混乱，遵循舆论来进行决策是很容易的。通常来说，只要一个国家的大多数人或一个公司的股东觉得满意，很少会有人要求进行剧烈的变革。然而，当时局变得困难起来时，就需要有一位能坚守特定的原则目标而做出艰难决策的领导人了。尽管这些决策可能并不符合大众的观点，但是它们却是最有利于国家或公司的整体利益的决策。一位强有力的领导人应该是一个最知道用什么样的方法最有利于他完成全部使命的人。

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Issue164
"Sometimes imagination is a more valuable asset than experience. People who lack experience are free to imagine what is possible and thus can approach a task without constraints of established habits and attitudes."

Sample Essay

Inevitably, there are times when imagination can be a much more valuable asset than experience. Life is full of examples of such situations. There are, however, times when the reverse is also true. No one would probably prefer, as cases in point, a first-time astronaut piloting a dangerous space mission or a newly commissioned officer leading an army into battle. But for many occupations and tasks, imagination leads to creative thinking and solutions that may be beyond the ken of someone with years of experience in that particular field.

One example that immediately comes to mind is that of the superiority of new computer software programmers. The computer software producing companies want to hire the latest graduates that have only the basic programming skills and abilities - and the creative ideas that may not have been presented to the industry before. Although years of computer programming experience may be advantageous for certain tasks, such as the building of computer network systems for businesses, the computer software industry must have the very latest in state-of-the-art design. Imagination leads to creativity that can take computer games and other types of software in directions that were never before thought possible. Innovative computer games and software can earn hundreds of millions of dollars for the company that produces them. The latest and most creative ideas come almost exclusively from the imaginations of fresh talent lacking any formal experience with computer software companies.

Another example that occurs frequently with management and human resources in business is the idea of
forming cross-functional task forces to solve problems that arise in the course of doing business. Management creates cross-functional task forces by choosing individuals across several different functional areas, such as the marketing, finance, human resources and accounting departments, to form a team that will address the particular dilemma facing the company. The idea is to invite the idea of "thinking outside of the box", or looking beyond the normal solutions that would probably be proposed by management or the particular department that is affected by the problem. As an example given, suppose that an accounting department is facing a crisis caused by the application of Western accounting principles to Chinese business documentation. By inviting all departments of the organization to focus on the problem, even though most have little or no accounting experience, the company hopes to gain an imaginative solution beyond that of the experience of the accounting department alone.

Politicians give maybe the prime example of the battle between the comparative merits of imagination versus that of experience. The classic battle lines are formed when a new challenger with no political experience faces an incumbent politician with perhaps decades of experience. The newcomer will focus his or her campaign on imagination as he or she attempts to generate new ideas to solve either the age-old problems of government or newly arisen crises. The wizened old politician will focus his campaign and the issues in such a way as to maximize his experience in politics as the prerequisite for an elected leader. Generally, a given voting population opposes change. Therefore in politics, in the absence of problems that obviously require imagination and fresh ideas, the candidate with the greater experience will probably have the edge, all other things being equal.

It goes without saying that in many cases imagination can be a much greater asset than experience. What would the state of technology in the world be today without the imagination and ingenuity of Thomas Alva Edison, as an individual example, or the imagination and experimentation of the thousands of medical doctors that have dramatically advanced the medical sciences over the ages? Experience does have its advantages at times and in certain situations, but it is imagination that can take people outside of their current state of knowledge to solve problems.
(635 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"有的时候想象力是一种比经验更为可贵的财富。有的人虽然缺乏经验但是却能够自由地发挥想象力，这样他们就可以不受固有习惯和态度的约束而完成任务。"

[范文正文]

确实，有的时候想象力可以成为比经验更为可贵的财富。生活中我们可以看到许多这样的例子。然而，有时候，经验比想象力更为可贵也是一条不折不扣的真理。比如说，没有人会愿意看到一个初次飞行的宇航员执行一项危险的太空任务或者一个新任军官指挥部队进行战斗。但是，在许多职业或工作中，想象力可以给人们带来创造性的思维和解决之道，这是那些在这个特定领域有多年经验的人所望尘莫及的。

我们能够立刻想到的例子就是那些新的电脑软件编程人员所具有的优势。制作电脑软件的公司想要雇用的是刚刚毕业的学生，他们有的仅仅具有基础的编程技巧和能力，以及这个行业可能前所未有的创造性思想。虽然多年的电脑编程经验对于某些工作，比如建立商务电脑网络系统，可能会是一项优势，但电脑软件行业必须要有最新、最好的设计方案。想象力产生的创造力能将电脑游戏或其他软件向以往未曾想象到的新方向发展。革新性的电脑游戏和软件能给生产它们的公司带来数以亿计的大把美元。最新、最具创造性的思想几乎无一例外地都是来自那些从未在电脑软件公司有任何正式经验的人的奇思妙想。

另一个在商务管理及人力资源方面常常遇到的例子就是要组成跨部门的工作力量以解决商务运作中出现的问题这样一种理念。管理部门从几个不同的职能部门如市场、金融、人力资源和财务部门抽调人才创造出跨部门的工作力量，他们作为一个团队共同工作，去解决公司面临的困境。这个想法引进了"局外思维"的概念，寻求更好的、更有创新意识的解决办法，以别于管理部门或已被问题影响到的部门所通常提出的解决方案。举个例子，假设在将西方会计原理适用于中国商务文件的时候，财务部门遇到了紧急的难题。通过组织各部门共同对这个问题出谋划策，公司就有希望找到一个更富有想象力的解决方案，这一定比只依靠财务部门的经验要好得多。

政治家为"想象力和经验谁更占上风"这场争辩提供了最显著的例子。典型的斗争在毫无政治经验的新挑战者与或许拥有几十年经验的现任政治家之间进行。新的挑战者在选举中强调他或她的想象力会为解决老问题或新危机提出创造性的思路，而老朽的政治家则会最大程度地强调经验是被选举成为领导人的先决条件。通常，大部分投票选举的人都不反对变革，因此，在政治领域内，如果没有明显需要想象力和新鲜念头的问题出现，那么，其他方面处于平等位置而经验较为丰富的选手就会占有优势。

显然，在某些情况下想象力是比经验更为可贵的财富，如果没有托马斯·爱迪生的想象力和创造力（作为个人贡献的代表），如果没有成千上万名医生几个年代以来通过发挥想象力和进行试验大大提高医学水平的话，如今我们这个世界的技术状况将会处在怎样的一个水平？具有经验在有些时候、有些情况下确实非常有利，但是，唯有想象力才可以使人们超出他们现有的知识状态去创造性地解决问题。

imongUID：140258

Issue
"What is called human nature is really a reflection of the human condition: if all people had a reasonable share of territory and resources, such products of 'human nature' as war and crime would be extremely rare."

Sample Essay

At first glance, this would appear to be a reasonable and correct statement. If every person in the world could share all of the world's territory and resources on a reasonable basis, there would seem to be no need for crime or war or for that matter, any relational problems between human beings. To a certain extent, human nature probably is a reflection of the inequality of the human condition. But this would seem to exclude other aspects of human nature such as ethnocentricity and racism, religious conflicts and two of mankind's greatest troublemakers: envy and greed.

Ethnocentricity is the natural favoritism of one's own ethnic group over other ethnic groups wherein the individual cultural group's values, norms and beliefs are seen as superior to all others. While not as overt as racism, it can still cause problems between members of different races or ethnic groups simply due to the fact that the person simply believes that his or her culture is better than the other. Racism obviously causes problems in a similar but more open manner. The person that looks down upon another person simply because of his or her race is bound to cause problems any time he or she interacts with another race. Neither of these problems would disappear with the equal sharing of territory and resources. A world that shares territory and resources must interact as the territory and resources are not equally distributed in every part of the world. It is within the context of that interaction that ethnocentricity and racism would continue to cause such problems as crime and war.

Religious conflicts would also not be excluded by the sharing of territory and resources. Throughout the ages, wars have been fought based almost purely on religious beliefs. The early Muslim holy wars or "jihads", the Christian Crusades and various other wars based almost entirely on a desire to convert the rest of the world to a particular religious faith have raged throughout history. There are various reasons that otherwise religious people believe that they must make war in order to fulfill their religious beliefs. Some religious writings, particularly the Quran, specifically mention making war on all "infidels" that do not believe in its teachings. An example of this is found in the Islamic extremism of Osama Bin Laden and other Islamic militants who have vowed to kill all "infidels" in declaring "jihad" on all nonbelievers. Others can take religious writings out of context to find that they "require" them to convert others by whatever means are necessary. Certainly there are many religions that focus on peace and harmony, too many to mention here. But the sheer presence of any religion that believes that others must be converted at all costs ensures that even a world with equally divided territory and resources will continue to suffer from crime and war.

Finally, mankind as a species too often suffers from the twin evils of envy and greed. From the earliest days of humans, envy and greed have caused conflict even when the two parties involved don't really have anything that the other party needs. Greed could probably be best defined as the desire to have more than you actually need. Envy can be defined as wanting something that someone else has, whether you need it or not. In a perfect world, an equal division among the world's population of both territory and resources would solve these two problems. But humans are not perfect and are not infallible. The saying "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is popular for a reason. It is simply human nature to want what you don't have. Dividing all territory and resources equally cannot solve this problem.

The human condition is part of what makes up human nature but it cannot be considered as the full cause of the various actions of human beings. History has shown that there are other motivations for war and crime that spring not only from an unequal division of territory and resources. The distinctly human problems of ethnocentricity and racism, religious conflicts, envy and greed will most likely always give rise to crime and war.
(695 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"所谓人性实际上是人类生存条件的反映：如果所有的人都可以适当地分享土地和资源，那么诸如战争、犯罪这样一些'人性'的产物就会极其罕见了。"

[范文正文]

乍一看，这似乎是个很有道理、很正确的论断。如果全世界的人都能够在适当程度上共享全世界的土地和资源，似乎确实没有战争和犯罪的必要，因而也就没有人际关系上的种种问题了。在某种程度上，人性可能是人类生存条件不平等的反映。然而这一说法似乎排除了人性的其他方面，比如种族优越感、种族差异论、宗教斗争以及人类两个最大的麻烦制造者：嫉妒和贪婪。

种族优越感是一种对自己种族的自然偏爱，它认为自己的种族比其他种族优越，因而自己所属文化群体的价值观、准则和信仰也要高于别的文化群体。尽管种族优越感并不像种族主义那么公开，但只要有人认为自己的文化高于其他人种的文化，它仍然会引发不同种族或不同种族群体成员之间的种种问题。种族主义引发的问题与此相似，只是表现得更为明显而已。单纯因为种族差异就轻视别人的人在处理与其他种族相关的问题时肯定会产生麻烦。这些由于种族优越感或种族主义产生的问题是不会由于土地和资源的共享而消亡的。当土地和资源不能够在世界上的每一个地方平均分配时，世界各国就必须要进行彼此交流。在这种交流中，种族优越感和种族主义仍将继续引发犯罪、战争等问题。

宗教战争也不会因土地和资源的共享而消失。纵观各个历史年代，有许许多多的战争纯粹是由于宗教信仰的不同而激发的。早期的穆斯林圣战或称"吉哈德"、基督教的"十字军东征"以及各种其他战争（几乎全部基于一种想要迫使全世界的其他所有地方都皈依到某一特定宗教信仰这一欲望）在人类历史长河中风起云涌。有着不同宗教信仰的信徒也出于不同原因相信他们必须通过战争成就自己的宗教追求。一些宗教文献，尤其是古兰经，特别指出要与异教徒战斗到底。本·拉登和其他伊斯兰好战分子等极端主义者就是一个例子。他们以"吉哈德"的名义向所有不信伊斯兰教的人宣战，发誓杀净一切异教徒。还有些人断章取义地理解宗教文献，认为为了使别人皈依自己的宗教就可以不择手段。当然，有很多很多宗教是强调和平与和睦的，这里就不一一列举。然而，即使实现了土地和资源的共享，只要还存在着一种认为可以不择手段转变别人信仰的宗教，世界就仍然会有犯罪和战争。

最后，整个人类，作为一个物种，在太多的时候极易为嫉妒和贪婪这对孪生罪恶所累。从人类最早的历史开始，嫉妒和贪婪就常使两方相互争斗，即使他们之间并没有什么东西值得你争我夺。对贪婪最好的解释可能就是一个人想要拥有比实际需求更多的东西，而嫉妒可以被定义为对别人拥有的东西的一种觊觎，无论你对这个东西有没有实际上的需要。在一个按照世界人口平均分配土地和资源的完美世界，这两个问题都有可能得到解决。然而，人无完人，孰能无错。俗话说："栅栏那边的草总比自己这边的绿"，这句话如此流行是有道理的。想要得到自己没有的东西就是人类的天性。平均分配土地和资源也无法根除这个问题。

人类的生存条件是构成人类本性的一个部分，但它不足以成为人类诸多行为的解释。历史表明，除了领土和资源划分上的不平等，战争和犯罪还有其它的原因。种族优越感、种族差异论、宗教斗争、嫉妒和贪婪等等这些人类存在的突出问题很可能会一直导致犯罪和战争。

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Issue
"A person from one culture has no right to judge the actions or values of a person from a different culture."

Sample Essay

Virtually every person throughout human history has been required to look at different cultures of the world through his or her own cultural paradigm. It is practically impossible to separate one's cultural upbringing from an individual's true identity to allow for a perfectly subjective outlook on a culture different from one's own. Based on the assumption that all cultures should be considered truly equal, no person from one culture should have the right to judge the actions or values of a person from a different culture. However, there may be basic human rights that should not be violated that could allow an individual to at least judge some of the actions and/or values of an individual from another culture.

Cultural imperialism has been a factor in human civilization probably since time began. Stronger cultures have either converted or assimilated weaker cultures from the time when man still roamed the earth in nomadic tribes. Darwin's theory of evolution could probably applied to the human species' various cultures, as "survival of the fittest" certainly seems to describe the development of early cultures in particular. Natural selection allowed those early tribes to either learn and grow or fail to learn and die off as a culture. In the beginning, it seems likely that the cultural traditions that allowed human beings to survive in their environments the best were probably the ones that were kept, regardless of what other cultures thought of them or what traditions those other cultures were practicing themselves. A low population density probably kept most cultures from even coming into contact with one another.

As mankind developed and became more advanced, it is also likely that the cultural traditions that did not necessarily mean the difference between survival and death began to develop. Different regions began to produce different cultures depending upon their local conditions, their environment and the technologies available to them. As populations increased and travel technologies improved, cultures began to interact. The idea of ethnocentricity, the belief that one's own cultural values, beliefs and traditions, etc. are superior to others, would naturally have led people to view other cultures as inferior, even though they most likely were merely different. Obviously just being different does not make a culture inferior just as it does not make another culture superior.

It is difficult to determine what aspects of human behavior could be considered to be superior to others. It might be helpful to start with what might seem to be a simple question: What is the difference between right and wrong? But such a seemingly simple question again comes back to the problem of ethnocentricity and cultural bias - whose standards are to be used to determine this apparently simple question? Right or wrong even within a single culture is almost never a purely black and white issue, and that issue only becomes infinitely more complex when different cultures are compared.

There are probably some cultural values that are common enough among different societies that a judgment might be made by one culture of another. The killing of innocent men, women and children by whatever means and for whatever reason would seem to be a universally deplored offense. After that, the actions of a culture seem to move up the scale towards a gray area rather than being a purely black and white, right or wrong issue. Most people would agree that torture and rape are wrong, yet both are tolerated in many cultures. Again we must ask the question, whose values do we use to judge a culture's actions and values?

The right of an individual from one culture to judge the actions of another culture is very much open to debate. Some basic human rights would seem to be required of all cultures, but in many that is not the case. Until such a day as the world's population truly becomes one culture and each culture is entirely assimilated into the other, an answer to the question of who is to judge can probably never be answered.
(670 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"来自一种文化的人，没有权力评判来自另一种不同文化的人的行为和价值观。"

[范文正文]

实际上，纵观人类历史，每一个人都需要透过他/她自己的文化模式来观照不同的文化。把一个人自己的文化背景与其真正的身份割裂开来从而对与自己的文化完全不同的文化形成绝然主观的看法，这是完全不可能的。按照所有的文化都应被视为是平等的这一说法，任何来自一种文化的人都没有权力评判来自另一种　文化之人的行为和价值观。然而，可能存在着某些基本的人权，它们允许一个人评判来自另一种不同文化的人的至少某些行为和/或价值观，这些基本的人权是不容践踏的。

或许，从远古伊始，文化帝国主义一直是人类文明的一个因素。从人类以游牧的方式浪迹于地球之日起，强大的文化就一直改变或吸收着弱小的文化。达尔文的进化论，完全可以应用于人类不同的文化，因为"适者生存"无疑可以描述早期文化的发展状况。物竞天择迫使那些代表一种文化的早期部落要么学会适应并发展起来，或者学不会适应而堕落灭亡。很可能，在早期能够使人类在其环境中最大限度地生存下来的文化传统，是那些得以保存下来的文化，这些文化不会顾及其它文化对它们有什么看法，也不顾及其它那些文化在实践着什么样的传统。一个很低的人口密度，很可能使大多数文化甚至无法彼此接触往来。 随着人类的发展进步，更有可能，那些并不意味着非生即死的文化传统开始产生。不同的区域开始依据其地方条件和环境以及它们所能使用的技术创造出不同的文化。随着人口增加，随着旅行技术的改进，文化开始相互影响。种族优越感，自己的文化价值、信念和传统优于其它的文化价值和传统之先入之见，会很自然地致使人们视其它文化为劣等文化，尽管这些文化最有可能只是不同而已。显然，仅仅不同并不意味着一种文化为劣等文化，正如不同并不意味着一种文化为优等文化一样。 确定人类行为的哪些方面可以被认为是优于其它方面的，这是一件不易之事。或许，从一个简单的问题开始不无裨益：正确与错误之间有什么不同？但是，这样一个貌似简单的问题又回到了民族优越感和文化偏见这一问题上：用谁的标准来衡量这一简单的问题呢？甚至在同一种文化内，正确与错误也决不仅仅是一个黑白分明的问题，而且，当不同文化比较时，这一问题越发复杂。 极有可能，有些文化价值在不同社群中非常相似，从而一种文化与价值判断可适用于另一种文化。杀戮无辜的男人、女人和儿童，无论是以何种方式或出于任何原因，都是一种普遍受到谴责的罪行。在此之后，一种文化的行为，似乎逐级上升变得灰蒙蒙的，而不是一个纯粹的黑白或正误问题。

来自一种文化之人评判另一种文化的行为的权力，仍是一个争论不休的问题。有些基本的人权，似乎是所有文化所必备的，但是在许多方面情况并非如是。除非有朝一日全世界的人口实实在在成为一种文化，而且每一种文化都完完全全地同化为它种文化，否则由谁来评判这一问题，恐怕是不会得到答案的。

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Issue171
"People who pursue their own intellectual interests for purely personal reasons are more likely to benefit the rest of the world than are people who try to act for the public good."

Sample Essay

People who pursue whatever interests they have, be they intellectual or otherwise, for purely personal reasons are rarely interested in making a contribution to society. To say that these people are more likely to benefit the rest of the world than those acting for the public good is to assume that the positive innovations, discoveries or other findings of those acting for only personal reasons will be made available to the population in general, and that the overall results will be better for the world. There may certainly be some consequences that become public knowledge because their selfish interests also require that the researcher sell his or her ideas to make money or to become famous, but on the whole, people in pursuit of benefiting the public welfare are more likely to make a positive contribution to society.

First of all, there is something positive to be said about a person that is engaged in intellectual pursuits for entirely selfish reasons. That person is likely to be highly motivated by an inner desire to learn and to discover even if only for self-satisfaction. This inner motivation can sometimes be very strong, leading to an almost tireless quest for more knowledge to feed this inner fire. Whether the knowledge gained benefits society as a whole depends entirely on whether that individual is actually selfish in keeping the knowledge learned to him or herself, or whether he or she is at least ambivalent about whether the knowledge goes out to the rest of the world. As one example, although Nikolai Tesla shared much of his knowledge with the world, he died with some of his main achievements known only to himself. Had he truly been acting for the public good, this knowledge would have been shared with the world at some point in time, supplying countless and perhaps unimaginable benefits to mankind.

On the other hand, people who are motivated by the idea of improving the public good have the internal desire to help others. This aspiration can be every bit as strong as the ambition of a person acting for wholly selfish reasons. It is axiomatic that by basing one's pursuit of intellectual interests on altruistic goals, the public stands a much greater chance of benefiting in the end. Rather than focusing on one's individual (and therefore selfish) needs, this type of person looks outward to see what is needed in a society. The pathway to success for this individual is thus defined by the wants and needs of the general population as a whole, rather than one's personal desires. A great example of one motivated by the public good was personified in Mother Teresa, the highly motivated social worker. Her pursuits were almost entirely based on an intense internal desire to help others, whether with individual people on a small scale or with entire regions of a country on a larger scale. Surely the lasting benefits that she has given to society are greater than those of anyone who has perhaps made similar contributions but based them on purely personal interests.

In conclusion, what really matters is not whether the individual was motivated by personal, selfish reasons or if they were motivated entirely by a desire to contribute to the public welfare. But it would stand to reason that one who is motivated to make a situation better has a better chance of improving that given situation than does someone motivated by his or her own desires.
（577 words）

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"纯粹为了个人的利益而去追求他们自己学术兴趣的人，比那些试图为了公众利益而采取行动的人，更有可能对世界上的其他人做出贡献"

[范文正文]

那些纯粹出于个人利益而去追求他们自己的兴趣的人，无论他们是知识分子还是黎民百姓，很少会热心于对社会做出贡献。我们说这些人相对于那些为了公众的利益而采取行动的人更可能对世界做出贡献，是假定这些为了自己个人的利益而行动之人所做出的发明、发现或其它的创造，将会应用于全体人类，且整体结果会有利于人类进步。无疑有些成果已成为公共的知识，因为他们个体的利益同样需要研究人员将他/她的思想出售以挣钱糊口，或使自己名闻遐迩。但总的说来，追求为公共事业做贡献之人更有可能为社会做出有益的事情。

首先，一个人完全为了个人的利益追求知识，仍有一些积极的因素。即使仅仅为了自我满足，这个人也可能被一种内在的学习愿望或发现愿望所驱动。这一内在的动机，有时会非常强烈，因而导致对知识不倦的追求以满足这种内心欲望。这样所获得的知识，是否能够有益于社会，完全取决于这个人是自私地持有他/她所学的知识，还是稍有将其知识应用于社会之心思。这方面的例子之一是Nikolai Tesla。尽管Nikolai Tesla与世界分享他的大部分知识，但是他怀抱着他的主要成就进入坟墓。倘若他真有造福于公众利益之心，这些知识肯定会在某时为世界所共享，从而为人类做出无数的甚至是超乎想象的贡献。

另一方面，为造福于公众利益这一思想所驱动之人，具有帮助他人的内心愿望。这一愿望可以同自私自利之人的野心一样强烈。勿需赘言，把个人对知识的追求建立在无私的目标之上，公众就有更大的机会最终从中获益。这样的人目光对准社会的需要。这样的人之通往成功的通路，是由广大民众的所急所需而决定，不是由个人的欲望所界定。一位以公众利益作为行为动机的实例是圣女Teresa，一位有着崇高动机的社会工作者。她的追求几乎全部基于帮助他人的强烈愿望，无论是在小事上帮助个人还是在大事上帮助一个地区的人。毫无疑问，她为社会所做出的具有永久意义的贡献，远远大于那些或许做了同样的事情但其动机源于个人利益之人。

总之，重要的不是一个人是由个人的、自私的动机所激励，还是完全以对公众利益做贡献为其动机。然而合乎情理的是：一个以改善环境为动机之人，比诸于一个以满足个人愿望为目的之人，有更多的机会改善那个环境。

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Issue173
"Originality does not mean thinking something that was never thought before: it means putting old ideas together in new ways."

Sample Essay

There are at least two different ways of looking at the concept of originality, and neither of these ways is mutually exclusive as proposed by the above statement. Both approaches to what constitutes "originality" - thinking up something entirely new that no one else has ever thought of before, and combining previously discovered ideas in new ways - have the word "new" in common. One can look at the two schools of thought and see that they are complementary rather than at odds with each other. Both are absolutely necessary for maximizing innovation and discovery.

First, let's consider the first phrase of the statement - "Originality does not mean thinking something that was never thought before". Coming up with something that has never been thought of before is probably the absolute pinnacle of originality. What could be more original than something that has never before presented itself to the human mind? History is rife with examples of such inventiveness and imagination. People have become rich on even very simple ideas that make one exclaim: "Why didn't I think of that?"
Brand new ideas are often scoffed at or ridiculed in the beginning. The idea that the world was flat was taken as a given until a group of explorers with a novel idea proved that the world was indeed round by circumnavigating the globe. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity had never been thought of before - can anyone honestly say that this was not an "original" idea? Thomas Alva Edison's entire (and quite amazing) career was based on thinking of things that no one had ever thought of before. Can anyone claim that his inventions lacked originality? On the contrary, thinking up ideas that have never been thought before would seem to the "purest" sense of originality as something that is wholly and entirely brand new to the human species.

Similarly, putting together previously thought of ideas in news ways is just another branch of the notion of originality. Looking back to the example of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, there have been tremendous strides made throughout the sciences using his theory as a basis for theoretical and physical research and development. Combining Einstein's theories with theories on different subjects and areas that had never been looked at before also represents "originality" as they are used to develop new ideas and concepts. Edison is credited with more than one thousand patented ideas. These ideas have been combined with other people's ideas in creative and imaginative ways that Edison never could have imagined. From Edison's invention of the phonograph, we now have compact disks and MP3 digitized music files. The combination of Edison's never-before-thought-of ideas and the technology behind the digital revolution has led to the development of innovative and original methods of listening to music.

Finally, one need to only think about the concept that "originality means combining previously thought of ideas in new ways" to see that it is fundamentally in error. The statement presupposes that all basic ideas that could be thought up have already been proposed, and that there are no new ideas that have never been thought of before. This brings to mind the infamous statement made by the director of the United States Patent Office to U.S. President McKinley in 1899: "Everything that can be invented has already been invented." Concepts that we cannot even imagine will continue to be thought of for as long as people have the capability of thought. The true definition of originality must include both brand new, previously unheard of ideas as well as the later combination of those ideas in new-fangled ways to create something innovative.
(602 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"原创性并非意味着思考以前从未被思考之事物：原创性指的是用新的方法将各种旧思想综合起来"。

[范文正文]

至少有两种看待原创性的方式，而且这两种方式并非彼此互不相容，如上面引文所言。两种探讨"原创性"实质--思考以前从未被思考过的新事物以及用新方法综合以前已被发现的思想--的方法，都同样以"新"为其特点。我们可以看一下这两种思想方法，发现它们是互补的，而不是互斥的。对于最大限度地革新和发现，它们均是绝对地必需。

首先，我们考察一下上述引文的第一个命题："原创性并不是思考以前从未被思考之事物"。能构想出以前从未被思考过的事物，这或许是原创性的峰巅。还有什么能比为人类揭示出人类未知的事物更具原创性的呢？人类的历史就是一部此类发明和思想的历史。人们甚至会因为非常简单的想法--简单得以致于有人会说："我怎么会没有想到呢？" --而成为富人。

崭新的思想在开始时常常受到取笑甚至嘲弄。地球是平的这一观念被认为是铁定的，直到一群拥有新看法的探险家环球旅行证明地球确实是圆的，这一观念才被推翻。Albert Enstein的相对论以前从未有人想到。能有人诚实地说这不是"原创性的"吗？Thomas Alva Edison的整个（且非常令人惊奇的）一生，都是在思考以前从未被人思考过的事物。能有人说他的发明没有"原创性"吗？相反，想到以前从未被人思索过的思想，似乎是原创性"最纯粹"的含义。原创即是指对人类来说纯粹和彻底的新事物。 同样，以新的方法把旧的思想融合在一起是原创性的另一方面。回顾Einstein的相对论，在整个科学史上有许多人运用他的理论作为理论研究或物理研究的基础，从而获得巨大成就和进步。把Einstein的理论与以前从未提出或探讨的学科或领域的理论结合起来，同样体现出"原创性"，因为它们是用来发展新的思想和新的观念。Edison有一千多项专利发明。这些发明已与其他人的思想创造性地、富有想象力地结合起来，而这些思想是Edison所想像不到的。从Edison所发明的留声机，我们现在拥有了激光唱机和MP3型数字音乐唱机。Edison的"从未想到的"想法与数字革命以后的技术相结合，导致了富有革新意义和原创意义的聆听音乐方法的产生。

最后，我们只需考虑一下"原创性指的是用新的方法将各种旧思想综合起来"这一说法，就会发现这种说法完全是错误的。这一说法假定所有能想像到的想法都已被提出，而且已经不存在以前还未被想到的新思想了。这使我们想起1899年美国专利署署长对美国总统Mckinley所说的不知天高地厚的话："所有能被发明的已全被发明"。只要人类还具有思想的能力，我们现在甚至还无法想像到的思想将永远会不断地被构　想出来。原创性的真正定义，必须既包括全新的、前所未闻的思想，又囊括后来用新奇的方法把旧思想综合起来而创造的事物。

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Issue174
"Laws should not be stationary and fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places."

Sample Essay

The very function of law is to bring stability and order to the group of people that the laws are enforced upon. For a legal system to work for a society, the laws must be knowable, fair and implemented equally among the population. Compliance is impossible without knowing the laws, and knowing the laws is impossible without them being relatively stationary and fixed. The rule of law as a system requires not only the written laws themselves, but also the institutions and people that enforce the laws and adjudicate those accused of breaking those laws. At the enforcement and judgmental stages, the law can become more adaptable to the particular circumstances.

In the beginning, laws became necessary as civilizations began to develop. One of the earliest known set of laws was known as Urukagina's Code, developed in 2350 B.C. by Mesopotamian kings. These were the first known laws that allowed normal citizens to know what types of actions would be punished and the penalties that could be expected for violating those laws. From that time onward, human societies have tried to perfect a legal system through such famous documents as the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, the Constitution of the United States of America, and more recently, the World Trade Organization's international trade agreements. Despite the centuries that separate them, they all have in common that they were written down as rules of law and relatively fixed and unchangeable. This allowed the members of a society to know how they were expected to behave, and in most cases, what rights they had under that particular governmental system.

Furthermore, these written documents showed that as a general rule of fairness, the laws had to be knowable and at least in theory, equally applicable to certain segments of the population. The popular expression "ignorance of the law is no excuse" would not be practicable if the laws were not written and available for those who are to comply with them. Without written and published laws, ignorance of the law would be an excuse, for an individual would have no way of knowing what the laws required. In addition, the laws needed to be fixed and stable so that they could be equally applied (in theory) to everyone. Frequent changes, especially those that were made in response to particular circumstances, times and places, would make for an unworkable legal system. No one could no what to expect from the law because no one could no what the law would be on a certain date or under certain circumstances.

However, in reality, the law is adaptable and flexible in certain situations, places and times. Although the written rules of law must be fixed and seldom changed, the people that enforce the laws, as well as those who judge those who break the laws, have a certain amount of built-in discretion to see that justice is done. A policeman can usually decide, depending on the particular circumstances of a situation, whether to make an arrest or give a verbal warning. Once charged with a crime, the prosecutor can make the decision whether to prosecute the offense or dismiss the charges. Even during a trial, the judges and juries have wide discretion in most cases to adjust the punishment to the individual situation. It is in the enforcement and judicial stages that laws and punishments can be made flexible to allow justice to be served.

In conclusion, without fast and hard rules of law, a society cannot be expected to be able to comply with those laws. Certain standards for enforcement and judgment must of course be followed, but with a certain amount of discretion allowed to make sure that, although justice is blind, it is not stupid.
(622 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"法律不应是一成不变的。反之，法律应该是灵活的，以便考虑到不同的环境、不同的时代和不同的地域。"

[范文正文]

法律的本质功用是给被实施法律的民众带来稳定和秩序。为了使一个法律体系对社会产生作用，这个体系的法律必须是可被人知晓的，公平的，可以在民众当中平等地实施的。不知晓法律，则守法是不可能的；法律不相对固定，则人们知晓法律是不可能的。作为一个体系的法治不仅需要书面的法律条文，而且需要实施法律及判决那些被控告违法之人的机构和人员。在执法和裁决的阶段，法律可以根据特殊的环境更具变通性。

在最初的时期，随着文明的发展，法律变得十分必要。已知的最早的一套法律是Urukagina法典，公元前2350年出自美索不达米亚历代国王。这就是已知的最早法律，它使普通公民了解什么样的行为将受到惩处以及违反法律将被处以什么样的刑罚。从那以后，人类社会一直努力通过各种条文完善法律体系，例如十诫、大宪章、美国宪法以及最近国际贸易组织的国际贸易协定等。尽管这些条文相隔几百年，但是有一点是共同的，这就是，它们都是作为法律条文形诸文字而且是相对固定和不变的。这就允许社会成员知晓他们应该怎样行为以及在大多情况下他们在某个特定的政府体制里拥有何种权利。 再者，这些形诸文字的法律文件表明，法律作为表现公平的一般原则必须是易于令人知晓的，而且至少在理论上是平等地适用于各个阶层的民众的。倘若法律没有形诸文字，那些守法遵律的人不能了解它们，那么我们常说的"对法律无知并不是借口"就不能成立。如果没有形诸文字并公开发表的法律，"对法律无知"就能成为一个借口，因为一个人就没有办法知晓法律所要求的是什么。另外，法律也需要是固定和稳定的，这样它们就可以平等地（在理论上）应用于每一个人。经常变化--尤其为了适应特殊的环境、时期和区域而做出的变化--将会导致产生一个无法操作的法律体系。没有人能够知晓从法律中期待什么，因为没有人知晓在某个日子或在某种情况下法律会变成什么样子。

然而在现实生活中，法律在某些情况下，在某些地区和某些时期是可以变通的。尽管形诸文字的法律条文必须是固定的，且几乎是不变的，但是执法的人员以及裁决那些违法之人的人员具有某种程度的法定酌处权，以保证正义得到申张。一位执法的警员根据某个特殊的情况决定执行逮捕还是口头警告。一旦提起公诉，公诉人可以决定是起诉这个违法事件还是撤消公诉。甚至在审判期间，法官和陪审团在大多数情况下具有很大的酌处权，针对个别情形对惩处进行调整。正是在执法和司法阶段，法律和量刑可以灵活变通以保证正义得到申张。 总之，没有牢固且严厉的法律条文，一个社会群体就不可能指望能够遵法守律。当然，进行执法和审判的某些准则是必须要遵奉的，但是那必须是允许有一定的酌处权以保证公正实施得不愚蠢，尽管公正的原则是不分你我的。

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Issue177

"The study of an academic discipline alters the way we perceive the world. After studying the discipline, we see the same world as before, but with different eyes."

Sample Essay

One of the primary aims of an educational system is to change the way that its students behave and interact with the rest of the world, even at the elementary school level. As one moves further up through school, perhaps even moving on to the graduate level of studying a particular academic discipline, there is no doubt that the world itself has not changed, but the way that the educated person views the world has become vastly different. If this were not so, there would be little reason for a person to pursue higher learning.

To begin with, let's take the example of the study of a relatively simple academic discipline such as marketing. The scholar studies all aspects of marketing, such as marketing research, marketing communications and marketing management. Over a period of three to four years or more, the student learns all about how people, organizations, corporations and governments all use marketing to persuade the general public to believe in a particular idea, campaign, product or political belief. From the very first marketing class, the student becomes aware that marketing is engaged in the process of manipulating people. The world will never look the same to that individual as he sees the tremendous amount of information available to the world in an entirely different (and most likely more cynical) light. For instance, as a specific example, the student learns that most products and brands featured in television and movies are placed there deliberately, with a large fee paid to the producers by the company that sells the product. It will be difficult for the marketing scholar to watch almost any movie or program without looking through his or her new frame of reference, noticing practically every brand name and product that is featured in a television program or theatrical release.

Furthermore, the more intensive the education, the more that person's view of the world will change. Nuclear physicists cannot look at an object without noting on some level its subatomic components and construction. Astronomers with a PhD cannot be expected to simply gaze at a starlit sky in the same manner as a pair of young lovers out on a date. Physicians cannot help but see the human body in a much more clinical manner than most other people - after all, they have most likely thoroughly analyzed a human body before, both inside and out. A lawyer will never be able to perceive the world in the same way again after law school or especially after practicing law for several years. The study of law will instill in the law student a critical method of analyzing facts and situations. It is only natural that this training will spill over into other aspects of the lawyer's life, not just when dealing with legal facts. It is not possible to "think" in more than one way once your mind has been trained at critical analysis. Additionally, after the lawyer has practiced for several years, he or she will likely have seen both the good sides and the bad sides of humanity in a society. Even when meeting new people, the experienced lawyer will have a predisposed opinion of how he or she perceives this person based on their own paradigm, looking through the biased lenses of legal training.

The study of an academic discipline does not in and of itself make the world different, although the application of those studies can certainly change the course of human events. But the perceptions of the world and the way that it works are forever altered for the individual that pursues a higher education, as his or her "eyes" will never "look" the same way again.
(613 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"对一个学科之研习，可以改变我们认识世界的方式。在研习一个学科之后，我们所看到的仍是一个和以前相同的世界，但观察的角度已全然不同。"

[范文正文]

一种教育体制的首要目的，是改变其学生的行为以及与世界交流的方式，甚至在初等教育的水平上亦复如此。随着一个人继续上学，甚至在研究生阶段研习某一学科，世界本身无疑是没有什么变化的，但是受教育者观察世界的方式已经是很大地不同了。倘若不是这样的话，就没有什么理由让一个人接受高等教育了。 首先，让我们以研习一个相对简单的学科（例如市场营销）为例。学习者研习市场营销的各个方面，诸如市场调查，市场流通，市场管理等。通过三、四年或更长时间的学习，学生学习到个人、机构、公司和政府是如何运用营销这门学问劝诱公众相信某种观念、运动、产品或政治信仰的。从最初的市场课堂，学生意识到市场营销所关涉的就是一个操纵人的过程。随着一个人用完全不同的（而且很可能是更加愤世嫉俗的）目光看到大量的信息涌入这个世界，这个世界将永远不会对这个人是同样的。例如，作为一个具体的例子，学生会了解到，在电视和电影中所宣传的大多数产品和商品都是故意地安排在那儿的，销售那些产品的厂家给制片人支付了巨额费用。对于市场营销的学者来说，去观看任何电影或电视节目而不加进他/ 她自己新的参照框架是很困难的。他会注意到电视节目或电影上播放的几乎每一种品牌和产品。

进而言之，教育俞精深，一个人看待世界的角度就会变化愈大。核物理学家不可能观察一个事物而不在一定程度上注意其亚原子成份和结构。具有博士学位的天文学家不可能与一对在露天约会的年轻情侣以同样的方式注视星光明亮的天空。内科医生会情不自禁地比多数常人更易于从临床的角度观察一个人体。一个律师在读完法学院或从业数年之后，决不会再以同样的方式认识世界。对法律的研习会给法律专业的学生灌输一种分析事实和情况的判断方法。很自然，这种训练将扩展到这位律师生活的其它方面，而不仅仅限于处理法律事务。一旦你的脑子受到批判性分析的训练，你就不可能用两种或两种以上的方法"思维"。而且，在一位律师从业若干年之后，他/她很可能会看到一个社会群体中人类美好的方面和丑陋的方面。甚至在遇见陌生人时，有经验的律师对他/她认识该人的方式也会具有基于他们自己范式的先入之见，因为他/她是在透过法律训练的偏颇之镜来审视他人的。

对某一学科进行研习，这一做法本身不会改变世界，尽管对于所学学科的应用肯定会改变人类事件的过程。但是对世界的感知认识以及感知认识世界的方式，对于那些受高等教育之人来说却是永远地改变了，因为受过高等教育之人的"目光"决不会再以同样的方式"看"待他周围的一切。

imongUID：140258

Issue

"The way students and scholars interpret the materials they work with in their academic fields is more a matter of personality than training. Different interpretations come about when people with different personalities look at exactly the same objects, facts, data, or events and see different things."

Sample Essay

The underlying theory of how students and scholars interpret whatever materials they are working with is a subject of debate among psychologists and sociologists, similar to the debate over the "nature versus nurture" theory of some other forms of human behavior. In my opinion, whether personality or training plays a bigger factor in interpreting information will depend not only on the individual involved, but also the academic field that is being studied. Additionally, different interpretations arise even when people with the same personalities look at exactly the same objects, facts, data or events. This phenomenon is a fundamental part of human nature, not just a function of different personalities.

First of all, analysis and interpretation of information is going to depend a great deal upon the individual involved. Some people are much more emotional than others, which can lead them to act on their emotions in spite of their training. Other people may have a personality that can be subjugated to his or her training, no matter what the situation. Emotions are an integral part of one's personality. For example, a highly trained police officer with a hot temper may go beyond the bounds of his training and beat a suspect if provoked enough by that suspect. The officer had been fully trained while at the police academy on how to deal with hostile suspects during an arrest, and he knew exactly what the proper procedure was. However, the taunting of the suspect caused the temperament part of the officer's personality to take over and lash out, in spite of his regimented training.

On the other side of the spectrum, an individual with the very same training, perhaps from the same class as the hot-tempered policeman, may have viewed the situation in a very different manner and simply ignored the taunts of the suspect. This officer's personality allowed him to take provocation and insults without feeling it personally and to therefore follow his training in the situation. In the latter case, it was the training that was used to handle the problem. In the former, it was purely personality that caused the policeman's behavior. For the first officer, personality was more important, while for the second officer, training provided the basis for action.

Secondly, the type of academic field that is being studied also plays a big part in whether personality or training is the foundation for interpretation. Certain academic fields demand that the student or scholar act based on training, while others require the personality of the individual to guide interpretation. Perhaps the simplest example is the difference between a mathematics student and a student of the arts. The mathematics student will analyze the data being studied by using his or her training with formulas and numbers; there is very little personality involved in the study and application of mathematics. However, each and every art student will approach a painting or a sculpture from an almost purely personal point of view, which depends almost exclusively on that student's personality. Perhaps artistic training will give the art student the vocabulary to describe the object, but in this case it is personality that gives the basis for analysis.

Finally, it must be said that there are not just the two variables involved that give people different views of the exact same situations. A crime may have one hundred people as eyewitnesses, and investigators will get one hundred different descriptions. Although some of those people almost certainly have the same or similar personalities, other human variables distort what actually happened. Human nature is much too complex to ascribe different viewpoints or analyses based on the training versus personality argument.
(607 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"学生和学者解释他们在其学术领域所用材料的方式，与其说是训练的结果，不如说是个性使然。当不同个性的人们观察完全相同的事物、事实、数据或事件并看到不同的东西时，不同的解释便告产生。

[范文正文]

关于学生和学者是如何来解释他们研究中所用的材料，这方面的基本理论是心理学家和社会学家所争论的一个题目，它与有关人类行为其它某些方面关于"天生相对于培养"之争十分相似。以我之愚见，个性和训练哪个在解释信息中起着较大的作用，这不仅取决于所涉及的个人，而且也有赖于所研究的学术领域。另外，即使同样性格之人观察完全相同的事物、事实、数据或事件，也会产生不同的解释。这一现象是人性的一个基本部分，而不仅仅是不同个性的结果。

首先，对信息的分析和解释在很大程度上取决于所涉及的个人。有些人较他人更加感情用事，这使他们在行动时易受情绪支配，尽管他们受过某种训练。有些人所拥有的性格，可以受到其训练的制约，无论在何种境况下亦复如此。情绪是个性的内在部分。例如，一个受过严格训练但脾气暴燥的警官，可能会不顾自己所受的训练去殴打一个嫌疑犯--倘若该嫌疑犯触怒了他。警官在警察学校曾受过充分的训练，知道在执行逮捕时如何对付怀有敌意的嫌疑犯，他也清楚知道正当的程序应是如何。但是，嫌疑犯的嘲讽使警察性格中的急燥脾气取代理性并暴发出来，从而不顾自己所受的严格训练。

另一方面，一个具有完全相同的训练--或许与那位脾气暴燥的警官在同一个班上--之人，可能会以完全不同的方式处理这一情况并且根本不理睬嫌疑犯的嘲讽。这位警官的性格使他能够忍受挑衅和侮辱，不从个人的角度看待这些，而是依照他受的训练去行事。在后者，是用所受的训练去处理这个问题。在前者，完全是性格导致了警官所采取的那种行动。对于前者，个性占据了上风，对于后者，训练为行为提供了基础。

其次，所研习的学术领域的类别，也在决定是个性还是训练成为解释的基础这个问题上起着重要的作用。有些学术领域要求学生或学者按照所受的训练行事，而其它一些学术领域却要求一个人的个性来指导对事物的解释。或许，最简单的例子是数学专业与艺术专业的学生之间的不同。数学专业的学生会用他/她所受训练的方式和数字去分析所研究的数据。在对数学的研究和应用过程中很少牵涉个性。然而，每一位艺术专业的学生都会从几乎完全是个人的视角看待一幅油画或一尊雕像，这几乎完全取决于那位学生的个性。艺术训练或许会给艺术专业的学生提供用以描述对象的语汇，但在这种情况下，是个性提供了分析解释的基础。 最后，应该说明的是，并非只有以上所谈的这两种因素使人们对相同的事情有不同的看法。一起犯罪活动可能有一百个目击者，调查人员就可能得到一百个不同的描述。尽管他们当中一些人肯定具有相同的或相似的性格，但是人类身上其它的可变性因素都会歪曲所发生的事件。人的本性太复杂了，因此我们不能仅仅根据训练相对于个性的说法去划分不同的观点或不同的分析解释。

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Issue184
"It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data."

Sample Essay

It is a rare situation where one is faced with a dilemma without the benefit of having at least some information about that particular state of affairs. Seldom does something pop up out of nowhere for which there is absolutely no data available. However, when a situation occurs where there is no information immediately available, hypothesizing about a theoretical explanation for that set of circumstances can certainly lay the groundwork for an understanding of what has happened.

To theorize means to form a theory about something or to speculate about a set of circumstances. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines a theory in part as "a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation; [or] an unproved assumption." People automatically make assumptions about a situation based on prior experience with a set of circumstances or a particular set of facts. It is the normal decision and thought-making process that human beings go through in trying to decipher the world around them. If an individual were not allowed to make an assumption about a situation, the individual would be lacking an essential human element in the process of interpreting that particular situation. Theorizing about a possible explanation can eliminate implausible solutions as well as generate a range of possibilities for what has occurred.

Additionally, the human ability to think in a logical manner to rationally explain an event or series of events is one important characteristic that separates us from animals. This ability stems from being not only able to remember past facts and events, but to actually apply those memories to future situations. The ability to learn from the past is a fundamental part of building knowledge, which allows us to advance as a civilization. If one accepts the idea that it is a grave mistake to hypothesize in cases where there is a lack of data, one of the most essential tools of learning would be taken away from us.

For example, consider the situation where a human skeleton is found with absolutely no clues as to what happened to this particular person. If the investigative team is not allowed to hypothesize or make an assumption about the circumstances under which the person died, they could not make a decision on how to even begin their investigation. Should they proceed with the investigation as a homicide or a death of natural causes? With no data available, the investigators must theorize as to a cause of death
and thus proceed with the inquiry on that basis alone. Without a hypothesis, there is no guide or "roadmap" as to how to proceed, and the investigators work would be greatly hampered.

As another example, consider the situation faced in the beginning by scientists researching cancer. At first, scientists and doctors knew only that people were dying slowly from some cause, but the cause itself was unknown. Researchers were faced with almost no data other than the fact that people were dying. Hypothesizing about the situation led doctors to look inside the body for the cause. Further hypotheses have led to the state of cancer research today, and obviously, much work remains to be done as no cure has been found as yet. It may be likely that a cure for some types of cancer may come from pure speculation based on a theory rather than on any hard evidence or data.

It goes without saying that it is a rare situation where there is no data available to form a hypothesis on which to proceed. But even in situations where there is only a small amount of data available, a hypothesis can be an invaluable director toward the truth.
(606 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

"在尚未掌握数据资料的情况下就进行理论阐述，这是一种极为严重的错误。"

[范文正文]

人们面对某一困境，但对这一事态没能掌握最起码的信息线索，这一情境是极为罕见的。某事无缘无故地冒出来且无根可寻，没有一点信息线索，这种事情一般是很少存在的。但是，当出现一个事态且没有直接的信息时，为那一系列情状假设某种理论上的解释无疑会为我们了解所发生的事情的真相打下基础。 进行理论说明，指的是对某事物形成一个理论或对一系列事实进行理论判断。Merriam Webster词典对"理论"的定义是这样的："为了论证或研究所做的假说；（或）尚未证实的假设。"人们自然地根据以前对一系列情况或事实的经验对一种情况进行假设。人们在试图破解他们周围的世界时肯定要经过正常的判断和思想过程。倘若我们不允许对某一事态做一假设，那么我们在解释那一事态的过程中就会缺少最基本的人类因素。对一个可能的解释做假设，不但可以消除不合情理的解释，还会为所发生的事情导出一系列的可能性。

此外，人类用逻辑的方法进行思考来合理地解释一个事件或一系列事件的能力，是区分人类与动物的重要特征。这种能力源自人类不仅能够记忆过去的事实和事件，而且还能把那些记忆的东西应用于未来的情况。从过去学到有用东西的能力，是构建知识的基本因素，而构建知识使得我们能够作为文明人取得进步。如果我们认为在缺少信息资料时进行理论假设是一个极为严重的错误，那么我们最基本的学习方法之一就会被剥夺。

例如，设想发现了一具人的骨骼，但没有任何线索表明该人发生了什么。如果调查小组不被允许假定或假设该人死时的情景，那么他们就不可能做出决定如何开始他们的调查。他们是从凶杀还是从自然死亡着手调查呢？尽管没有信息线索可寻，调查人员必须假设一个死因，在此基础上展开调查。如果没有假设，那就没有进行调查的导向或"路线图"，因而调查人员的工作也必将严重受阻。

再例，设想研究癌症的科学家在最初时所面对的境况。首先，科学家和医生仅仅知道这人正因为某种原因慢慢死去，但真正原因是什么却一无所知。研究人员除了知道那人正在死去之外几乎没有任何信息线索。对原因的假设使医生检查病人身体的内脏以寻找原因。进一步的假设已导致了今天的癌症研究，而且显然，因为还没有找到治疗的方法，所以今后还需要做很多工作。很有可能，一种治疗某些癌症的方法出自以某种理论为根据的假设，而不是出自确凿的证据或事实。

不言自明，没有任何信息线索可让我们形成一个假设并由此着手工作，这种情况是很少见的。但是，即使在只有极少量信息线索的情况下，一个假设可能就是通往真理的宝贵向导。

imongUID：140258

Issue185

“Scandals – whether in politics, academia, or other areas – can be useful. They focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.”

Sample Essay

Charismatic leaders and ultra-popular figures in society undoubtedly have the ability to redirect our attention towards some specific problems. But there is no doubt that a scandal in any aspect of a society may be a useful and powerful attention-getter that can motivate people to sit up and take notice of a previously unknown or little-discussed problem.

To begin with, a scandal cannot actually exist if no one knows about it. Normally when one hears of a scandal, it is caused by someone’s truly outrageous behavior. It is quite often someone of a least some celebrity status that is the offender; thereby making the scandal an even bigger news story than the conduct itself would have been in the first place. Just looking at the news worldwide, one can see that, many times, the news covers a particular political or societal scandal. The very fact that a scandal mesmerizes and titillates a society makes it an ideal motivator for focusing public attention on a particular problem within that society.

As one example, the recent scandal involving sexual abuse by Catholic priests and officials focused the world’s attention on the problem of pedophiles in high-ranking positions of authority. Although there had been such allegations and even lawsuit settlements in the past, it took a large-scale scandal to really focus the public’s attention on the problem. When only a few people had previously spoken out, very little attention was directed towards the potential problems. Then a massive scandal broke out involving hundreds of priests and victims, internal cover-ups and the Church’s admission of the moving around of accused priests from parish to parish. The public was outraged, causing the problems to be addressed at the highest levels of the Catholic Church, including an announcement by the Pope, the leader of the Catholic faith.

In an example from academia, a scandal over world famous author Stephen Ambrose focused the academic world’s attention on the previously little-discussed problem of plagiarism. Although allegations of plagiarism had arisen in the past, there had been no scandal created because those accused were not well known and had mostly written little work of any consequence. On the contrary, Mr. Ambrose had been cited as an expert authority on history and had sold millions of best-selling books worldwide. The ensuing scandal that erupted over his admitted (and supposedly inadvertent) plagiarism probably focused attention on the problem of misappropriating the writings of others in a way that no individual could have done.

A further example of the impact of scandal on society can be found in the history of the public’s reaction to the AIDS virus. In the early 1980’s, the general population was not concerned about the disease as it was seen mainly as a homosexual problem with little risk to so-called “normal” people. But when famous movie star Rock Hudson died of AIDS, followed by the resulting scandal over his previously little-known sex life, the public’s attention became more focused on the plight of people with the deadly disease. Many individuals had spoken out on the potential problems caused by AIDS before his death. But it was the scandal caused by revelations over Mr. Hudson’s life and death, followed by the similarly scandalous deaths of other celebrities that tragically brought home the reality of the disease – everyone could be at risk.

In summary, there are potentially many very charismatic and influential people that can be truly motivational leaders and focus a society’s attention on a particular problem. But quite often it takes a scandal and the accompanying publicity to make the public truly take notice and actually contemplate a specific issue.

(603 words)



观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“丑闻，无论出自政治、学术，还是其它领域，都可能是有用的。它们以任何发言人和改革者都不曾做到的方式把我们的注意力汇聚于某些问题”


[范文正文]

社会里具有领袖魅力的领导者和非常知名的人物，具有把我们的注意力重新导向某些具体问题的能力。但是，毫无疑问，社会里某一领域的丑闻可能成为一个有用的且有力的引人注目的事物，它可以激发人们拍案而起关注一个以前闻所未闻或很少谈论的问题。

首先，一个丑闻，如果不为人知，是不可能实际存在的。通常，我们所听到的丑闻往往是由于某人的无耻行为而造成的。通常，某个至少拥有一定名人地位的人是丑闻的制造者，这里，从而首先就使得这一丑闻变成一堆比那行为本身甚至远大得多的新闻猛料。看一看世界各地的新闻我们就知道，很多情况下新闻都包括一个政治的或社会的丑闻。丑闻能够吸引并激发一个社会群体的极大兴趣这一事实，使丑闻成为把公众的注意力引向某一社会问题的理想因素。

例如，最近的丑闻涉及天主教教士和官员的性伤害，它把整个世界的注意力集中在上层权威人士中恋童癖患者的问题上。尽管从前曾经有过指控甚至诉讼判决，但是，只有对丑闻的大规模宣传才能把公众的注意力集中到这一问题上来。过去只有小部分人仗义执言时，也只有很少的注意力被引向这一潜在问题。之后，一个巨大的丑闻爆发出来，涉及数百名教士和受害者，内部的掩饰，以及教会允许受指控的教士从一个教区转到另一个教区继续任职等。公众被激怒了，问题被提交到天主教会的最高层来处理，其中包括由代表着天主教信仰的领袖教皇所发表的声明。

在一个学术领域的案例中，涉及世界知名作家Stephen Ambrose的丑闻，把整个学术界的注意力汇聚于以前很少探讨的剽窃问题。尽管对剽窃的指控以前曾经有过，但是并没有造成丑闻，因为那些被指控者大都不太知名，而且也没有写过有什么影响力的作品。Ambrose先生被公认为史学界的权威专家，有数百万册畅销书在全世界销售。接蹱而来的便是有关他已承认的（而且据称是非故意的）剽窃所引起的丑闻，这一丑闻可能以前所未有的力度使人们关注盗用他人写作成果这一问题。

另一个说明丑闻对社会影响的例子，是公众对爱滋病毒的反应。在20世纪80年代早期，大众并不关心这一病症，因为它被认为主要是同性恋问题，对所谓的“正常”人并没有什么危险。但是当著名的电影明星Rock Hudson死于爱滋病，紧随着是他从前鲜为人知的性生活的丑闻的披露，公众的注意力才更多地汇集到患有这一致命疾病的人们所处的困境。在Hudson死之前，许多人已直言爱滋病所引起的潜在问题，但是正是有关Hudson先生的生活和死亡的丑闻的披露，以及随之披露的其他名人要员的类似丑闻，才悲剧性地揭示出这一疾病的现实：每个人都有可能受其危害。

总之，潜在地会有许多具有领袖魅力和有影响力的人物可能成为真正的激发人们兴趣的引导者，把人们的目光聚集到某个特定的问题。但通常，需要一个丑闻以及相应的宣传才能使公众真正地注意并认真地思考某个具体问题。