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imongUID：140258

Issue186

“Practicality is now our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve. Anything that is not obviously practical has little value in today’s world.”

Sample Essay

The value of something that is or is not practical in today’s world depends on whose vision you are using to look at the situation. In the richer countries of the world, frivolous and apparently useless products, ideas and services abound. But even within these wealthy countries, there are still those that are barely surviving as opposed to those who are unabashedly rich. On the contrary, for the poorer, still developing countries that comprise most of mankind, practicality is usually a necessity for survival. It is an interesting contrast between different perspectives that shows a true dichotomy between the different types of societies and the people that live within those societies.

To begin with, one should look at the idea of “practicality” from the standpoint of a person living in a rich country, such as the United States. There are poor people living in poverty in virtually every state of the union. From the barrios of California to the mountain villages of West Virginia, there are numerous people who have no need for anything that is not “practical” for them. Food and shelter are their priorities with no time to even think about owning something as frivolous as a mobile phone or satellite television. For these people, practicality is a necessity and they must use what little power or talent they have available to them to merely survive.

On the other hand, in these same United States, there are people of almost unimaginable wealth whose idea of what is “practical” is vastly different. As just one example, the billionaire Donald Trump probably believes that he could not properly go about his business without his fleet of jets, yachts and automobiles, not to mention the vast range of luxury hotels and condominiums that he owns. In his situation, what is practical is whatever makes his life more comfortable. Undoubtedly Mr. Trump owns either property or possessions that he has probably never even seen. For these ultra-rich people, the word “practicality” may not even exist, as they have more money to spend on what other people would consider to be useless items, such as a $100,000 Rolex watch. These types of assets may not be practical but they certainly have value. For the very rich, practicality gives way to wants and desires.

In contrast with the two distinct groups discussed above, people from developing nations may never have even heard of satellite television or $100,000 timepieces. For them, practicality is a way of life. If something is not useful, then it must be discarded. Their focus is on subsistence, much in the same way as those poorer people in the richer countries. In an impoverished country however, these people would likely trade the expensive Rolex watch for a goat or cow – much more practical in their situation. Whereas the people of a richer country would see an intrinsic value built into the brand name and quality of the watch, people in an extremely poor country would see only a useless piece of metal and crystal. They perhaps tell time by the sun and need no watch regardless of its so-called “value”. In these parts of the world, clearly practicality is the necessary focus that requires the devotion of all time, talent and effort to things that are useful.

In summary, how much talent and power one devotes to something will depend on the value that the individual places on the particular idea, product or service. The value of something that is not practical, and indeed what is in itself “practical” will depend solely on the individual’s point of view

(597 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“实用性是我们现在最大的偶像，我们所有的力量和才能都必须服务于它。任何不具明显实用性的事物在今天的世界上都是没有价值的。”


[范文正文]

一个事物在今天的世界上是否实用，其价值取决于用谁的观点去看待它。在比较富裕的国家，花哨却无实际价值的和明显无用的产品、观念和服务设施比比皆是。但是，即使在这些较为富裕的国家，仍然有一些人仅能勉强糊口存活，与那些富得荒淫无度的人们构成鲜明对照。相反，对于比较贫穷的、仍然处于发展中的国家（他们构成人类的大多数），实用常常是生存的必要条件。正是不同观点之间的一个饶有趣味的对比，才揭示出了不同类型的社会之间以及生活于这些社会中的人们之间的一个真正的两极分化。

首先，我们可以从生活在富裕国家——例如美国——的人们的视角来审视“实用”。实际上在联邦的每一个州，都有穷人生活于贫困之中。从加利福尼亚的市镇郊区到西弗吉亚州的山村，许许多多的人对于不“实用”的东西毫无需求。食物和住房是他们最迫切需要的东西，他们甚至没有时间考虑拥有诸如移动电话或卫星电视这类没有意义的物品。对于这些人，实用是必要条件，而且他们必须使出浑身解数以保生存。

另一方面，同样是在美国，有些人拥有多得难以想像的财富，而他们对“实用”的观念与前者有着天壤之别。举一例以说明，亿万富翁Donald Trump或许认为，如果没有他的飞机、快艇和汽车队伍，他就不能正常地干他的事情，且不说他所拥有的数目可观的豪华饭店和设施场所。对他来说，实用意味着那些使他生活得更舒适的东西。毫无疑问，Trump先生拥有着他甚至可能从未见过的财产或财富。对于这些极富的人，“实用”一词或许根本就不存在。因为他们拥有更多的钱能花在那些被其他人认为没有用的东西上，例如价值十万美元的劳力士手表。这类财产可能不实用，但它们的确具有价值。对于非常富有之人，实用性已让位于需求与欲望。

与上面谈到的两类不同的人形成鲜明对照的是，发展中国家中有些人甚至从来没有听说过卫星电视或十万美元的手表。对于他们来说，实用就是生活方式。某物如果没用，就必须被扔掉。他们的目光只是专注于生活，与富裕国家的穷人毫无二致。然而，在一个贫困的国家，这些人很可能会拿这块昂贵的劳力士手表去换一头羊或一头牛——这在他们看来要实用得多。

虽然富裕国家的人能意识到手表的名牌和质量包含着内在价值，但在极端贫困的人看来，它只不过是一件毫无用途的金属和晶体。他们或许利用太阳获知时间而不是借助手表，尽管手表具有所谓的“价值”。在世界的这些地区，显然实用才是他们每时每刻追求的需要，用途才是他们的才华和精力所投入其中的东西。

总之，人把多少才华和精力投入到一种事物，取决于一个人所赋予给某观念、产品和服务的价值。某物是否实用，以及什么东西就其本身而言是“实用的”，仅仅取决于一个人的看法。

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Issue187

“It is easy to welcome innovation and accept new ideas. What most people find difficult, however, is accepting the way these new ideas are put in to practice.”

Sample Essay

To a greater or lesser degree, all people are resistant to change, and change often begins with innovation and new ideas. Indeed, the human body has a built-in response mechanism for dealing with the anxiety that occurs in unfamiliar situations. Particularly in the world of business, the dynamics of affecting change in a company are becoming increasingly important but also increasingly difficult to do without creating dissension among the employees. Barring any difficulties in their current situation, people prefer the status quo to almost any changes. The resistance to change begins with the difficulty in the initial acceptance of innovation and new ideas, which then leads to difficulties in putting those ideas into practice.

People are most comfortable with that with which they are familiar. Depending upon the situation and the degree to which innovation or a new idea means changing one’s life, every person will feel a certain amount of discomfort when facing the unfamiliar. Whether it is a new job, new location or even meeting a new friend, psychologists and sociologists know that there is an automatic adrenaline response within the human body that occurs in response to the unfamiliar. It is a totally natural and ingrained response similar to the “fight or flight” idea that is left over from the days when humans were often faced with situations that determined whether they would survive to live another day.

Even in today’s more modern society, business management and human resources literature is filled with techniques and ideas for dealing with the dynamics of change within an organization. If human beings were well equipped to deal with innovation and new ideas, there would be no reason for managers to have to worry about getting employees to “go along” with a different business direction or method. Acceptance would be automatic and there would be no problem with putting the ideas into practice. The reluctance to change begins with accepting the idea rather than actually putting the new idea into practice.

Furthermore, history is littered with examples of human resistance to innovation and new ideas, even those that are routinely accepted and taken for granted in today’s world. As early as the 6th century BC, Pythagoras insisted that the world was round, but no one believed him. The idea was not widely accepted until actually proven by maritime explorers over one thousand years later. American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) invented the first cell phone in 1947 - yet it would not be commercially accepted until thirty-six years later. It would be several more than another decade before the general public decided that the cell phone had a practical use. In the late 1930’s, an inventor tried to sell his idea of “xerography” to two of the world’s largest companies, IBM and Kodak, among others. They flatly rejected his idea and sent him away. A little known company named Haloid-Xerox, now known as Xerox, bought the idea and debuted the first photocopier in 1960, which became an unprecedented success in the world of business. Human beings natural resistance to innovation and new ideas has been displayed throughout history; it continues to be a natural human trait even in today’s modern, high-tech society.

In summary, it is human beings’ natural resistance to change that presents the greatest challenge to accepting new ideas and innovation. Business managers struggle to overcome it, and history shows many examples of this human trait. Although putting these changes into action is also problematic, it is definitely not easy in the first place for people to welcome new ideas with open arms.

(593 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“迎纳革新和接受新思想，并非难事。然而，大多数人所感到困难的，是实施这些新思想的方式。”


[范文正文]

在一定程度上，所有的人都不愿意变化，而变化常常始于革新和新思想。的确，人体具有一种内在的反应机制来处理不熟悉的环境中产生的焦虑。尤其在商业界，影响公司内部变化的动态因素日趋重要，而且日益难以处理，因为它常常在雇员当中造成不和。除非他们目前的情形中出现困难，否则人们还是宁愿选择维持现状而不愿选择任何变化。对变化的抵制始于最初难以接受革新和新思想，这又导致人们难以实践这些新思想。

人们能处在他们熟悉的环境中是最舒适不过的。因为环境的改变以及革新或新思想意味着改变他们的生活方式，所以人们在面对陌生事物时都会感到一定程度的不适。心理学家和社会学家研究得知，无论是找工作，迁移到新地方还是会见一位新朋友，人体内有一种不自觉的肾上腺素反应随着陌生事物的出现而发生。这完全是一种自然的而且是与生俱有的反应，它与古代所留下来的“打不赢就跑”的思想相似，在那个时代，人类常常会面临某些危险的境地，这些境地可以决定他们是否能生存下来，去享受另一天的生命。

即使在今天更具现代色彩的社会中，企业管理和人力资源文献中到处可见组织机构内部发生变动时的应变对策和理论。如果人们有很好的准备来应对革新和新思想，那么经理们也就没有理由去担心如何使雇员适应不同的工作指令或工作方式。接受将是自然而然的，实践新思想也就不会有问题。只接受新思想，而不真正将新思想付诸实践，这只能意味着拒绝变化。

再者，历史上不乏人类拒绝革新和新思想的实例，甚至是那些在今天看来是被很自然地接受且毫不置疑的思想。早在公元前6世纪，Pythagoras提出地球是圆的学说，但是没有人相信他的话。他的思想直到一千多年以后被航海探险家实际证实才被普遍接受。美国电话电报公司（AT＆T）1947年发明了第一部电池电话，但是它直到36年后才被商界接受。普通大众认为电池电话可以实际应用，那还是又过了十多年之后的事。在20世纪30年代，一位发明家试图把他的静电印刷术卖给世界上两家最大的公司IBM和Kodak。这两家公司断然拒绝他的想法并把他打发走。一家名不见经传的叫做Haloid—Xerox的公司——现在称为Xerox公司——买下了他的思想，于1960年首次使用了摄影复制机，并在商界取得了前所未有的成功。人类对革新和新思想的本能排斥，在整个历史上俯拾皆是，而且这一本能在今天现代的高科技社会仍然是人性的一个特征。

总之，正是人类对变化的本能抵制构成了接受新思想和革新的最大挑战。企业经理努力克服它，而且历史也展示了许多实例足以证明这一人性特点。尽管把这些变化付诸行动同样是一个问题，但是，让人们一开始便信奉新思想决非易事。

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Issue176

“The function of art is not to keep pace with science and technology but rather to provide an escape from these forces.”

Sample Essay

Art has long been a favorite topic for debate within a society. Questions such as “What is art?” and “Is this a work of art?” have been around for millennia. The purpose of art is to entertain, and in some cases, to educate. As a form of entertainment and escape, art does in some ways must keep up with science and technology, but in most aspects the true value of art lies in its ability to free the mind from the fast pace of a modern high-tech society.

In the first place, one needs to simply look at the most valuable art in the world to see that its main function does not lie merely in keeping up with technology. Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and “Last Supper” were painted around five hundred years ago, but they are still cited as some of the best examples of “true” art in the world and are visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year. Michelangelo’s sculpture “David”, as well as his incredible paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, were also produced around five hundred years ago, but are still revered as some of the absolute pinnacles of artistic achievement. Although technology has changed incredibly in the last half millennium, these enduring works of art still capture the spirit and imagination of millions of people worldwide.

Of course, it follows that as technology has advanced, new art forms have been developed as the ability to express oneself has found new outlets for creativity. Michelangelo and da Vinci could never have imagined having the ability to create works of art in the mediums of television or computer imagery, for example. Modern day avant-garde artists use video, computers, lasers and other high technology to create works of art, while more traditional artists still use the traditional methods of paint, canvas and paintbrush or stone and chisel. It is not the function of art to keep up with science and technology, rather the facility of art to do so that is important. The main purpose of art is still to allow the viewer to escape from what science and technology has wrought upon us.

A further example of the escapism quality that is inherent in art can be found in the art of making a movie. Although some so-called “art purists” might object to calling most of today’s cinematic productions a form of art, there is no denying that there is an artistry involved in the making of at least some of today’s movies. With this art form more so than any other, art does the fine balancing act of keeping pace with science and technology while simultaneously fulfilling its main function - that of entertaining the masses of society. Moviegoers do not pay out relatively large sums of money just to see the state of the art technology of the latest movies; they go to the theatres expecting to be entertained. Proof of this fact can be found in the colossal box office failures of some of the most technologically advanced movies that nevertheless lack entertainment value due to the lack of a good story. If it were purely science and technology that audiences wanted to see, they would pay half the price and go to a planetarium, for example.

Finally, art, science and technology can complement each other in a multitude of different ways, such as the display of famous works of art on the Internet for all to see. But the main function of art is to allow for an escape from the drudgery of day-to-day life that has been created by the combined forces of science and technology.

(611 words)


  

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“艺术的功能不是紧随科技的步伐，而是提供一种逃离这些力量的方式。”


[范文正文]

艺术一直是各个社会群体热衷争论的话题。诸如“什么是艺术？”以及“这是一件艺术品吗？”等问题，已经存在近千年了。艺术的目的在于娱乐，在某些情况下还进行教育。作为一种娱乐和逃避的方式，艺术的确在某种意义上必须紧随科技的步伐。然而，在多数情况下，艺术的真正价值在于把人的头脑从现代高科技社会的快速节奏中解放出来。

首先，我们只要看一下世界上最珍贵的艺术便可知道，艺术的主要功能不是与技术进步保持一致。达?芬奇《蒙娜?丽莎》和《最后的晚餐》是约500年前创作的，但在今天它们仍被认为是世界上“真正的”艺术典范，并且每年有成千上万的人前去观赏它。米开朗琪罗的雕塑《大卫》以及他在梵帝冈西斯廷教堂里不可思议的天庭画，同样是在约五百年前创作的，但今天仍被认为是艺术成就的登峰造极之作。尽管技术在过去的五百年中发生了不可思议的变化，这些具有永久魅力的艺术品仍然吸引着世界上成千上万的人们。

当然，顺理成章的是，随着科技取得了很大的进步，新的艺术形式也应运而生，因为表现自我的能力为创造力找到了新的渲泄渠道。例如米开朗琪罗和达?芬奇决不可能想像到借助电视或计算机图像为手段来创作艺术品。现代先锋派艺术家用录像、电脑、激光以其它高科技手段进行艺术创作，而较传统的艺术家仍然用油料、油画布和画笔或者用石料和凿子等传统的方法从事创作。紧跟科技的步伐并不是艺术的功能，而是艺术的工具，这一点是重要的。艺术的主要目的，仍然是帮助受众逃离科技施加于我们的枷锁。

另举一例来证明逃避是艺术的内在本质，这就是电影制作艺术。虽然一些所谓的“纯粹艺术者”会拒绝把今天的电影看作是一种艺术形式，然而，不可否认，在今天某些电影里的确包含着艺术性。这一艺术形式比其它任何艺术形式更紧密地跟随着科技的步伐，同时完成着它的主要功能，即娱乐社会大众，这样，艺术得以保持某种平衡。电影观众要想欣赏一下最近电影的艺术技巧，并不需要付出昂贵的费用。他们来到电影院，期待着被娱乐。有事实证明，技术上最先进的电影也会因为故事性差而缺乏娱乐价值以致于票房收入失败。倘若观众想观赏的只是纯粹的科技，他们会只付一半的钱去参观（比如说）天文馆了。

总而言之，艺术和科技可以以许多方式相互补充，例如在互联网上展出著名的艺术品以便让大家都能欣赏它们。但是，艺术的主要功能是为我们提供一个机会，逃避科技力量所产生的日常生活的枯燥乏味。

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Issue197

“The material progress and well-being of one country are necessarily tied to the material progress and well-being of all other countries.”

Sample Essay

The world is undeniably involved in an apparently continuous trend towards globalization in almost every aspect of society. The advent of advanced telecommunications, transportation and possibly most importantly, the Internet, has led to all countries’ progress and welfare becoming increasingly intertwined as their population’s needs and wants become more and more similar. Whether it is by design because of a country’s need, because of consumer wants or because a country simply cannot live in isolation, the progress and well-being of individual countries is increasingly interrelated.

In the beginning, societies survived with what they had available to them in their particular area of the world. Because the world’s total population was small, the earliest societies were able to survive in isolation. As the number of the earth’s inhabitants grew, societies began to increasingly interact with one another, sharing traditions, customs and goods with one another. Early consumers began to demand the goods that other societies owned. This was of course the beginning of early tribal wars, but also the beginning of international trade. No longer could societies live in total isolation.

As civilization continued to develop, it became apparent that to continue to advance, some countries needed supplies that were available only in other countries. International trade was begun as a necessary alternative to war to allow one country or society to get what they needed. David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage states that each individual country should specialize in producing what it does best and use that production as trade for everything else. An early example of this is shown by the ancient Silk Road trade route, begun around 200 AD. Actually a series of trade routes, the Silk Road connected the mighty Roman Empire with the equally advanced Imperial Court of China, with trade conducted at all points in between. Even in those early days, the welfare and interests of the different rulers of different parts of the world depended a great deal upon each other.

Consequently through the ages, countries (with few exceptions) have been able to act unilaterally without repercussion. Continuous advances in transportation, communication and technology have led to countries becoming more and more involved with each other. Early exploration led to new trade routes, which began to tie countries closer together. Later, industrialization and the invention of the steam engine tremendously improved the speed and methods of transportation. The development of the automobile made transportation even easier and faster. Airplanes and giant ships began to cross the oceans, making the world even smaller and increasing country interdependency.

Finally, today’s technology has tremendously increased the speed of globalization. Telecommunications allow a person in one part of the world to instantaneously speak with someone in another part of the world, while satellite transmissions allow them to see one another at the same time. The Internet can theoretically connect anyone with anyone else in the world. The Internet and other technologies have allowed societies to communicate with each other in ways previously never imagined. It is easy to see that, through the development of trade, technology and transportation, each country has become aware of what the other countries possess. Whether it is because a country designs interdependence because of its own needs, or because its own consumers demand that which other countries have, or simply because a country cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world, each country’s progress and well being definitely depends on the progress and well being of all the other countries in the world.

(609 words)


  

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“一个国家的物质进步和富裕，必然与所有其它国家的物质进步和富裕连结在一起。”


[范文正文]

世界无疑有一个明显的发展趋向，那就是社会各个层面上的全球化。先进的电信，交通，以及最主要的互联网的出现，已导致了所有国家的进步和财富愈发紧密地缠结在一起，因为各国人民的需要和需求越来越相似。无论是因为一个国家的需要，还是因为消费者的愿望，还是因为一个国家不能孤独地存活，单个国家的进步与富裕越来越与其它国家联系在一起。

刚开始时，各个社会的幸存，有赖于它们所在地区能够提供给它们的物质资源。因为那时世界的总人口数量很小，早期的社会可以在孤立状态下存活。随着地球上居住者的增加，社会开始逐渐地彼此交往，开始共享它们各自的传统、习惯和商品。早期的消费者开始要求其它的社会所拥有的商品。当然，这就是早期部落战争的开端，它同样也是国际贸易的开端。社会再也不能孤独地生存了。

随着文明不断发展，显而易见，一些国家为了继续发展进步就需要占有只能从其它国家可以获得的资源。因而，国际贸易开始成为战争的必然替代品以使一个国家或社会获得它们所需要的东西。David Ricardo的比较优势理论声称：每一个国家都应该专门生产它最好的产品并用它来换取所有其它东西。早期的实例是古代丝绸之路贸易，它始于公元200年左右。丝绸之路实际上构成若干个贸易路线，把强大的罗马帝国与同样先进的中国宫廷联系起来，之间的贸易活动涉及各个方面。即使在那时，世界上不同地区的不同统治者的财富和利益已在很大程度上彼此依赖。

之后世世代代，国家（少数除外）一直能够单方地活动而不受其它影响。交通、通迅、科技等持续不断的进步，使各国越来越彼此相连。早期的探险产生了新的贸易路线，这些贸易路线把各个国家更紧密地拴在一起。后来，工业革命和蒸汽机的发明，极大地改进了交通运输的速度和方式。汽车的发明，使交通更加便利和快捷。飞机和巨轮开始跨越大洋，把世界变得越来越小，增加了国家间的相互依存性。

最终，当今的科技已经极大地加快了全球化的速度。电信可以让人们从世界的一个地方即刻与世界的另一个地方的人通话，而卫星传播可以让人们同时相互看到。互联网在理论上可以把世界上任何一个人与任何其他人联接起来。互联网和其它技术已经使各个社会群体以各种从前想像不到的方式彼此联系交流。现在很容易看到，通过贸易、科技和交通的发展，每个国家清楚地了解其它国家有什么。无论是因为一个国家由于其自身的需要而追求互相依存，还是因为它的消费者要求获得其它国家所拥有的东西，或是因为一个国家孤立于其它国家而不能生存，每个国家的进步和富裕都毫无疑问地依赖于世界上其它国家的进步和富裕。

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Issue210

“Most people choose a career on the basis of such pragmatic considerations as the needs of the economy, the relative ease of finding a job, and the salary they can expect to make. Hardly anyone is free to choose a career based on his or her natural talents or interest in a particular kind of work.”

Sample Essay

It is an unfortunate reality of life that most people view work as a chore – something that must be done in order to put money in the bank and food on the table. Very few people are fortunate enough during their lives to have a job that they love and can actually make a living while performing it. But it would be an incorrect statement to say that people are not “free to choose” their careers based on his or her natural talents or interests. The main problem with choosing a career is that many times, regardless of their individual right to choose, people simply give up that right and surrender to the demands of family and society.

First of all, in almost every country in the world, people are free to choose what it is that they want to do for their life’s work. Mostly gone are the days of totalitarian regimes forcing children to develop a particular skill at a very young age in order to play a government mandated role in society. Although this is a providential and perhaps inevitable development, it does not mean that all individuals actually pursue a career doing what they love for a living. Indeed, it is a rare individual who loves his or her work and can therefore wholeheartedly put his or her natural skills and interest to the test in order to become successful. These people can count themselves as fortunate, although they probably believe that it is only natural to do something that you like as a career. Though the freedom to choose a career is almost always there, there are many reasons why people choose their work based primarily on pragmatic reasons.

Most of us know what we want to be when we grow up from a very young age: doctors, lawyers, truck drivers or firefighters are common examples. The problem is that as we mature, we lose the clear-headed thinking that is natural for children. Somewhere along the way between childhood and adulthood, we lose the ability to follow our dreams and instead base our choice of career on how much money we can make or maybe simply on what jobs are available in the place that we choose to live. There is a “short-circuit” somewhere between what we always wanted to be as children and what we actually become when we grow up. Perhaps it is because as we mature, we believe that our childhood dreams were somehow foolish and that we never could have become a world famous singer or movie star anyway. Whatever the reason, it is a sad fact of life that somewhere along the way, most of us give in to society’s demands and leave our youthful fantasies to some forgotten place in our minds.

Usually, what an individual’s choice of career comes down to is that the person follows the path of least resistance rather than pursuing something that they possibly believe is an unreachable goal. Perhaps the person falls in love early on, or simply gets tired of going to school and goes to work in a factory, always believing that someday he or she will somehow “make it” to a better station in life. Years pass by before the person realizes that, while working to support the family, pay the mortgage and buy the latest cars and clothes, the opportunity to fulfill those childhood dreams has forever passed them by. Truly fortunate are those who, for whatever reason, have the tenacity to go after what they want and do whatever it takes to make those childhood dreams become reality rather than simply going to work to pay the bills.

(672 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“大多数人在选择职业时基于实用的考虑，例如经济的需要，找工作相对容易，以及他们希望得到的工资报酬等。很少有人因为他/她的天赋或对某工作的兴趣而自由选择职业。”


[范文正文]

大多数人把工作看成是不得不做的一件事——为了挣钱存在银行里以及挣到餐桌上的食物，这是生活中不幸的现实。很少有人一生中非常幸运，能够去从事他们爱干的工作，而且是干工作本身就可以谋生。但是，说人们不能根据他们的天赋或兴趣“自由地选择”他们的职业，这是不正确的。选择职业的主要问题是，在许多情况下，人们尽管拥有个人选择的权利，但是他们不得不屈服于家庭和社会的需要而放弃他们的权利。

首先，在世界上几乎任何国家，人们都有自由选择他们想做的事情作为其毕生职业的权利。极权主义政权强迫儿童在很小的年龄培养某一技能以便完成政府授予的任务，这种日子已是在很大程度上一去不复返了。尽管这是不以人们的意志而转移的，或许是必然的进步，但是这并不意味着每个人实际上都可以选择一个他们所喜爱的职业并以此谋生。的确，很少有人热爱他/她的工作而且因此全身心地把自已的才能和兴趣投入到工作中去以便获得成功。这样的人可算是幸运之人，虽然他们可能认为做你喜欢的工作是很自然的。诚然，选择职业的自由是永远存在的，然而有许多理由说明为什么人们依照实用的原因选择工作。

我们大多数人在成长过程中知道我们想成为什么样的人。医生、律师、卡车司机、或者救火队员等等。问题是在我们成熟时，我们失去了儿童时拥有的头脑清晰的思维。在我们从童年到成年这一过程的某个时期，我们失去追寻梦想的能力，取而代之的是根据挣钱多少或在我们居住的地区能找到什么工作来选择职业。我们童年时想做什么和成年后实际做什么，两者之间在某阶段出现了“短路”。或许是因为，当我们成熟时我们相信童年的梦幻有点傻或者认为我们不会成为举世闻名的歌星或影星。无论何种原因，我们大多数人在成长过程的某个阶段不得不屈服于社会的需要，把我们年轻时的梦幻扔到我们脑海的忘却地带，这是生活的悲惨事实。

通常，在一个人职业选择中所发生的情形是，他要沿着阻力最小的路走，而不是去追求他们认为可能达不到的目标。或许一个人很早就恋爱了，或者懒于上学了，因而就到一家工厂工作了，同时憧憬着有朝一日“发了迹”过上较好的生活。许多年过去了他才认识到，因为要养家糊口、偿还抵押贷款、购买新款汽车和衣服，所以实现童年梦想的机会一个接一个擦身而过。有些人确实是幸运的，这些人不管发生什么事情都锲而不舍地追求他们的愿望并且不辞辛劳以使童年的梦想变成现实，而不是为了支付账单去奔波工作。

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Issue212

“If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it are justifiable.”

Sample Essay

This is a type of Machiavellian statement that has led many a leader down the wrong path to destruction. There are plenty of worthy goals that are truly desirable and that could be beneficial for the entire world. Then there are other goals that may be worthy for some but detrimental to others. Part of the problem is in defining what is a “worthy” goal. Even assuming that a goal is truly worthy, it is an extremely broad overstatement to say that just because a certain goal is worthy, then whatever it takes to reach that goal is justifiable.

To begin with, one must define what is a worthy goal. What may be a worthy goal for one person may not be a worth goal for another. Is it a worthy goal to desire to have a million dollars? Is it a worthy goal to want to own a beautiful home? What about the goal of having a beautiful rich wife or a handsome wealthy husband? Certainly as individuals we can say that these indeed are worthy goals. But when you look at these goals in the context of an entire society, these goals may not be commendable to the population as a whole and may in fact be detrimental to their individual well being, particularly when the individual tries to reach these goals.

Furthermore, some goals that on the surface may appear to be admirable and worthy may actually be for personal gain only. Consider the politician whose stated goal is to be elected to office in order to serve the needs of the people. While this would seem to be a laudable goal, perhaps something more sinister lurks underneath, such as the lust for power or an individual propensity for corruption. Additionally, there have been many examples in the past of religious leaders whose goals were praiseworthy and commendable on the outside. In several cases, however, it came to the public’s attention that the money that they had been raising for their so-called “worthy” goals had in fact been used to support their very luxurious homes and the very same self-indulgent, immoral lifestyles that they had been preaching so vehemently against. One needs to look beyond the stated goal to see what end is truly trying to be accomplished.

Finally, just because a goal is truly worthy does not justify any means to achieve it. Certainly it is a worthy goal to desire to eliminate a particular disease, but it does not mean that it is acceptable to kill every human that has the disease in order to eradicate it. It is a creditable goal to want to save the environment from pollution, but closing down all factories and industries because they pollute would be disastrous to the world. The goal of lowering birth rates in developing countries to ease the suffering of their populations may very well be a praiseworthy goal, but forced sterilization of their citizens is certainly out of the question. The elimination of deaths caused by traffic accidents is unquestionably a creditable goal, yet the elimination of all automobiles is a ludicrous proposition.

In summary, there are may be some extremely rare instances when reaching a goal may justify any means required to achieve it, but is hard to imagine what such a goal would be. It is difficult enough to come up with a goal that benefits an entire population and that is truly worthy. To say that any means are justified to reach that goal may very well be impossible when one considers that wide range of repercussions that may follow from such actions.
(602 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“如果某个目标是值得追求的，那么为了达到这个目标所采取的任何手段都是正当的。”


[范文正文]

这是一种马基雅维利式的说法，它导致许多领导人沿着错误的道路走下去直至灭亡。有许许多多值得追求的并且会对整个世界有益的目标。但是也有许多对某些人是有价值的但对其他人是有害的目标。问题的所在是如何界定什么才是“值得追求的”目标。即使假定某个目标的确是值得追求的，但如果有人说因为某个目标值得追求所以不管采取什么手段达到这一目标都是正当的，那么，这便是一种过于宽泛的夸张说法。

首先，我们必须对什么是值得追求的目标作出界定。对一个人来说能成为值得追求的目标对另一个人来说可能不能算作值得追求的目标。希望拥有一百万美元算不算一种值得追求的目标？希望拥有一个漂亮的家算不算一种值得追求的目标？想拥有一个漂亮而又富有的妻子或者一个英俊而又有钱的丈夫，这种目标又该如何看待？毫无疑问，作为个人，我们可以说所有这些都算得上是值得追求的目标。但当你把这些目标置于整个社会这一框架下加以审视时，这些目标对于所有人来说不一定全都是值得称道的目标，并实际上有可能是有害于他们的个人福祉，尤其是当这些个人企图去实现这些目标的时候。

进而言之，有些目标表面看来是很高尚的也是值得追求的，但实际上可能仅仅关涉个人利益。请看一个政客，所宣称的目标是为了当选以便服务于民众的需要。尽管这一目标表面看来可称可赞，但是其后很可能隐藏着某种阴险邪恶的企图，例如权力欲或者腐败倾向。此外，过去已有许多宗教领袖的实例可证明这一点。这些人的目标从外面看来的确可称可赞。然而，公众却注意到他们在募集金钱时是为了所谓的“有价值有意义的”目标，但这些钱实际上却被用于支付他们奢侈住宅的费用，满足他们荒淫的、不道德的生活方式，而这些恰恰是他们在布道时最激烈反对的。所以，我们需要透过人们口头所声称的目标来看清人们意欲达到的真正目标。

最后，仅仅因为一个目标是有价值的，并不能作为人们为达到该目标就采取任何手段的正当理由。诚然，试图消除某种疾病是一个有价值的目标，但是这并非意味着为了消除该疾病而杀死每个患者是可以接受的。想拯救环境免受污染是一个值得称颂的目标，但是因为工厂污染环境就关闭所有的工厂却是人类的灾难。发展中国家降低出生率以缓解其人口的苦难，这一目标是值得称赞的，但强迫公民做绝育手术却是不可取的。消除交通事故所造成的伤亡，无疑是一个很好的目标，但是将所有的汽车赶尽“杀”绝却是一个荒唐的主意。

总而言之，可能有一些极个别的例子说明目标的实现可以证明所采用的手段是正当的。然而我们很难想像这是一个什么样的目标。提出一个目标，它既能有利于人类，又的确有价值有意义，这不是那么容易的。当我们考虑到任何行动所产生的广泛影响时，我们就不会说为了达到某一目标采取任何手段都是正当的了。

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Issue214

“Society should identify those children who have special talents and abilities and begin training them at an early age so that they can eventually excel in their areas of ability. Otherwise, these talents are likely to remain underdeveloped.”

Sample Essay

The role of raising children is undeniably best left to the child’s parents, not society as a whole. It is not the job of society to judge what a child’s talents or abilities are, nor to train that child at an early age. However, once that child’s special skills or aptitudes become apparent, society and the parents should do everything that they can to encourage the development of such abilities as long as the child agrees and desires to participate. No child should ever be pushed into a training program or special school if they do not wish to do so.

Firstly, society does play a role in the development of a child, albeit a much smaller role than that of the child’s family. One cannot deny outside influences such as schools, churches and peer groups. But the role of the parents and siblings is paramount. It is the parent’s job to raise the children, not society’s. However, should a coach or teacher see some special talent or ability in a child, it is incumbent upon him or her to let the parents know that they have an exceptional child. Perhaps they can even encourage the child to develop those skills if the child shows an interest. But the main burden of responsibility for the child’s overall development remains with the parents.

Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, is the fact that if a child does show some special aptitude for something, they should not be forced into focusing on that particular skill if they do not wish to do so. There are far too many stories of adults who had horrible childhoods because well-meaning parents required intense training or practice for something that the child hated. Too much emphasis on one area may make the child rebel against it, even if they actually do excel at the activity. As an example, very few child actors, who are usually introduced into acting through well-meaning parents, continue with acting careers into adulthood. Additionally too many former child actors run into problems in adolescence and adulthood, often running afoul of the law with drug and alcohol problems. Although they may have truly been gifted child actors, having been forced into the profession causes too many problems later on in life.

Thirdly, all human beings have an inalienable right to self-determination, even to a certain extent as children. Children must be allowed to grow up at their own rate. Psychologists have done studies on so called “child prodigies” who show tremendous intelligence and learning aptitude at a young age. Some of these child prodigies have graduated from universities before even reaching their teen years. But studies have shown that lack of association with children their own age causes many problems. These child prodigies were forced to grow up too fast without the benefit of a normal childhood. By the time they reach adulthood, they begin to feel that they missed out on childhood and may experience psychological problems related to being pushed through school too quickly. Some of them are even ashamed of being so intelligent and try to hide these abilities later on in life. Even children with special aptitudes must be allowed to choose for themselves whether they pursue these skills or not.

To summarize, it is the parents and not a society that bears the responsibility for raising children. Should society or parents recognize some special talents or abilities in a child, every effort must be taken to ensure that the child is given the chance to develop these skills, while at the same time the child must not be forced into developing these talents against his or her own will.

(610 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“社会应该识别那些具有特殊禀赋和才能的儿童，从早期就开始教育培养他们，这样，他们就必然会在他们具有天赋的领域中脱颖而出。否则，这些天赋很有可能悉遭湮没。”


[范文正文]

培养孩子的任务是无可非议地交给了父母，而不是整个社会。判断一个儿童具有什么才具和能力，并不是社会的工作，对儿童早期的教育也不是社会的工作。然而，一旦儿童的特殊才能显露出来，那么社会和父母都应该尽最大力量使这样的才能得到发展，当然，是在儿童同意并期望参与的情况下。倘若儿童不情愿，他就不应该被强迫进行专门训练或进入专业学校学习。

首先，社会在儿童的发展中确确实实起着作用，尽管这种作用比起家庭的作用小得多。我们无法否认外界对儿童的影响，例如学校、教会、成人群体等等。但是父母和兄姊的作用是至关重要的。抚养孩子的工作应该是父母的，而不是社会的。诚然，如果某位教练或老师发现某个儿童拥有特殊的才能，他/她就有义务让其父母知道这个孩子很出类拔萃。或许，如果孩子有兴趣，父母应鼓励孩子去发展那些才能。然而，孩子全面发展的责任，自然是在父母。

其次，或许更重要的是，如果孩子确实表现出对某事物的特别才能，成人不应该强迫他们集中所有的精力来培养这种特别才能，如果他们不情愿的话。我们有太多的故事可说明有些成年人的童年是多么的可怕，原因就是他们好心的父母要求对孩子进行苛刻的训练，但孩子却不喜欢。对某一方面强调过分，就会使孩子产生逆反心理，即便他们实际上的确在该方面很优秀。比如，几乎没有任何儿童演员能将其演艺生涯持续到成年，这些儿童多是由好意的父母要其演戏的。此外，还有许多这样的儿童演员在青年时期和成年时期陷入麻烦，常见的是因吸毒或酗酒陷入法律诉讼。尽管他们很可能是很有才能的儿童演员，但是由于是被迫从事这个职业，所以在以后的生活中造成很多麻烦问题。

再其次，每个人都有自主的权力。这是一种不可剥夺的权力，在某种意义上儿童亦复如此。儿童应该遵循其自身的发展而成长起来。心理学家对所谓的“神童”进行了大量的研究，这些所谓的“神童”在早年表现出异乎寻常的智力和学习能力。这类神童中的有些人在到达青少年年纪前就已大学毕业。但研究表明，因为他们缺乏与其同龄人的交往，产生了许多问题。这些天才儿童没能经历正常的童年而被迫成长过快。当他们成年后，就开始感到他们错过了儿童时代，因而会经历与过快度过学校时光相关的心理障碍。有些甚至为聪明而倍感羞愧并且试图在以后的生活中埋藏其才能。所以，即使是具有特殊才能的儿童也应该自主选择是否应该追求这些技能的发展。

总之，是父母而不是社会应该对培养孩子负责。倘若社会或父母发现孩子具有某种特殊天赋或才能，应该尽最大努力以保证孩子有机会发展这种才能。同时，不应该强迫孩子违背自己的意愿去发展这种才能。

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Issue

“Too much time, money, and energy are spent developing new and more elaborate technology. Society should instead focus on maximizing the use of existing technology for the immediate benefit of its citizens.”

Sample Essay

There is certainly something to be said in favor of a society trying to take full advantage of current technology to benefit its citizens. Too often there are too many people that are left behind by technology, and they therefore realize few if any advantages from the gains of science. But it would be a very shortsighted society that decided to cut back on research into new technologies to devote resources to ensuring that all of its citizens benefit from the state of current technologies.

First of all, it must be noted that any society must strive to ensure that as many citizens as possible benefit from advances in technology. The knowledge and expertise that are gained from science should not just benefit the privileged few. Leaders have realized this, and quite often social programs aim at providing access to the latest in technology for even the poorest members of society. As one example, many local governments in the United States fund social programs that provide free access to computers and the Internet through local libraries and community outreach programs for underprivileged citizens. Hospitals and clinics also provide the latest in health care technologies at reduced prices or even free to those who could not otherwise afford it. It would be ill advised or even misanthropic for a society to not endeavor to share technology within all levels of the community.

Secondly, research and development must continue in order to ensure that a civilization continues to advance and develop. Reducing the focus on development to make sure that everyone in society benefits from current technology would be equivalent to claiming that we know all that we need to know, so we should make sure that everyone learns and benefits from the current state of knowledge. However, is must be realized that the benefits that a society gains from the development of technology far outweigh its expenditures. As an example, consider the technological developments of the United States’ space program. Although originally developed for use in space travel and exploration, a tremendous amount of space technology has been adapted for use in normal, everyday products that have improved the quality and safety of people’s lives. Smoke detectors, Teflon non-stick coating, cordless power tools and a variety of protective clothing have all been developed using NASA technology. One of the latest advances is a miniature, implantable heart assist device based on space shuttle fuel pumps that can help patients with heart problems to survive and even live normal lives. These are but a few of the benefits that have been realized by an intense focus on researching and developing new technologies.

It is a tough argument to make sometimes when certain pressure groups or activists point out how much money is spent on technological research and development as opposed to how much money is spent on community and welfare programs. These groups are very vocal in quoting raw financial numbers that on the surface do seem to make it appear that the government cares more about technology than its people. But what these groups fail to note are the overall benefits that are gained from the technology that is developed from this research. It is impossible to put a dollar figure on the lives that have been saved or improved by developments in technology.

It is imperative that a society continue to devote as much time, money and energy as possible to the research and development of new technology. What we learn from this research today may turn out to save all of our lives or even the earth itself in the future.

(601 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“过多的时间、资金和精力都花在了开发新的和更为复杂的技术上。反之，社会应该把目光集中在最大限度地应用现有技术，以便使其公民获得直接利益。”


[范文正文]

我们当然可以说社会已经做了一些事情来充分利用现有的技术为公民谋取利益。常常是，有许多人被科技抛在了后边，因此，他们对科技给人们带来的好处认识不多。然而，如果一个社会群体决定切断对新技术的研究以便把所有的资源用于保证每一位公民都受益于现有的技术，那么可以说，这是一个目光短浅的社会群体。

首先，应该注意到，任何社会群体都必须努力保证尽量多的公民能从科技进步中获益。从科技中获得的知识和技能，不能只让少数特权阶层享受。领导者已经认识到这一点，而且常常有社会活动旨在为社会中甚至最贫穷的人提供掌握最新技术的机会。例如，美国许多地方政府资助某些社会项目，通过当地图书馆和社区扩大服务计划向弱势民众提供免费的电脑和因特网使用。医院和诊疗所降价提供最新的保健技术，而且甚至为负担不起降价费用的人们提供无偿服务。一个社会如果不努力在其所有阶层分享技术将是不明智的，甚至是不人道的。

其次，必须持续不断地进行研究开发，以保证一个文明社会能持续不断地进步和发展。减少对研发的投入以便保证社会中的每个人都能得益于现有的技术，这等于声明我们已经知道了我们所需知道的全部知识，因此我们应该保证每个人都学会并受益于现有的知识。然而，我们必须认识到，一个社会群体从技术研发中所获得的利益远远超过其在技术研发上所投入的花费。我们不妨看一下美国航天计划中所进行的技术研发。尽管航天技术最初的研发是用于宇宙航行和宇宙探索，但是现在大量的航天技术被应用于日常的普通产品，从而极大地改善了人民生活的质量和安全。烟雾探测器、聚四氟乙烯不沾性涂料、无绳式电动工具，以及各种各样的防护衣，都是利用美国国家航空和航天局的技术开发而成的。最近的一项进步是微型可移植心脏助博器，它是基于航天飞机油泵研制而成的，可以用来帮助心脏病患者存活甚至过上正常人的生活。这些仅是研究和开发新技术所带来的诸多裨益中的几个例子。

当某些施压集团和活动家把新技术研究和开发所用花费与用于社区建设和福利项目的花费进行比较时，进行正当的辩论就很困难。这些集团在引用原始财政数字说明政府更加关注技术而不是关注其人民时显得非常具有煽动性，因为这些数字表面上看确实如此。但是这些集团所未能看到的却是从新技术研发中所获得的整体利益。从技术开发中所拯救的人类生命以及所改善的人民生活，是不可能用小数字计算出来的。

一个社会群体，必须持续不断地付出尽量多的时间、资金和精力进行新技术的研究和开发。我们从今天的研究中所获得的知识，可能在将来拯救我们所有人的生活，甚至拯救我们的地球本身。

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Issue216

“Most important discoveries are accidental: it is usually while we are seeking the answer to one question that we come across the answer to another.”

Sample Essay

It could be said that almost no discoveries are accidental because human beings are always looking for something, whether it is peace of mind or the answer to the origins of life itself. Humans are a curious lot – always questioning their surroundings and looking for answers. However, it cannot be denied that many times, although it is not necessarily the usual situation, we find the answer to a question when we were looking for the solution to a problem, rather than the answer to that particular question.

To begin with, history is chock full of examples of “accidental” discoveries that have played tremendously important roles in human development. While there may be an argument about whether such discoveries were truly accidents or not, one cannot deny that many discoveries were based on a series of fortuitous events that were not necessarily what the researcher had planned. However, it is difficult to ascribe to pure accident many of the most famous “accidental” discoveries.

It is true that there have been many inventions and discoveries credited to discovery by accident. Velcro, nylon, x-rays, polyethylene, vulcanized rubber and sugar substitutes have all been discovered more or less by chance, or at least by an unplanned series of circumstances. One of the all-time greatest “accidental” discoveries in this category would have to be that of penicillin. Alexander Fleming, a Scottish scientist, found that a bacterial sample that he was studying had become contaminated with mold, which inhibited the further development of the bacteria. Although the discovery of the drug penicillin itself was an accident, Fleming had previously researched the development of antibiotics during World War I. Additionally, more than three thousand years ago, Chinese people used moldy soybean curd as a poultice for boils and other skin infections. Warm earth, containing mold and other fungi, was also used by some cultures as a first-line treatment against infection thousands of years ago. Even though the final naming and refinement of the ultimate drug that we now know as penicillin was discovered by “accident”, it was more than a mere accident that led to its discovery.

Similarly, one can look at the “accidental” discovery of vulcanized rubber. An experimenter named Charles Goodyear had become interested in the substance of pure rubber, which could be used for many things but still had problems in its natural state. It would become brittle in cold weather, and melt in hot weather, which made it unacceptable for use in most climates. Mr. Goodyear began conducting many experiments on the substance, combining the pure rubber with many different chemicals. However, it was a fortuitous event that led to his greatest discovery. One experiment led him to combine sulfur with the pure rubber, whereupon he accidentally dropped the mixture onto a red-hot stove. Rather than melting, the substance formed into a disk-like object. It maintained its ability to stretch even when he put it outside into the cold winter air. Although Mr. Goodyear had been trying for five years to fix the problems with rubber, he “accidentally” discovered the process of vulcanization, which gives rubber strength, elasticity and durability.

Both of these examples are among the most widely cited “accidental” discoveries that have made great contributions to modern society. Although the actual sequence of events that led directly to the discovery could be deemed accidental, it was the search for answers to a particular problem that led the scientists or researchers to look in that general area anyway. While we may not find the answer to exactly the question we were originally concerned with, it is in the pursuit of knowledge in a particular area that we will usually find the answer to the question at hand.

(615 words)

观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“最重大的科研发现都是随机偶然的：往往存在着这样的情况，当我们在寻找某一问题之答案时，我们碰巧获得了另一个问题的解答”。


[范文正文]

可以说几乎没有任何科学发现是随机偶然的，因为人类总是在为着某一事物或目标而寻寻觅觅，无论所要寻觅的东西是心境的平静，抑或是有关生命本身之起源的解答。人类实乃一充满好奇心的生物种类——总是在探究其所处的环境，寻求各种答案。然而，我们也不能否认，在许多时候，虽然并不必定是在经常性的情况下，当我们在寻找一个问题的答案时，会意外地发现另一个问题的答案，而不是原来那个特定问题的答案。

首先，人类历史充斥着在人类发展过程中曾发挥过极其重大作用的“偶然性”发现的实例。虽然对于这些发现是否真正属于偶然性事件可能尚有争论，但不能否认的是，许多这些发现基于一系列并非必然是研究人员计划好的巧合事件。但是，将许多最为著名的“偶然性”发现归诸于纯粹的巧合，亦是非常不切实际的。

诚然，有许多发明和发现已被人们归诸于随机性事件。维可牢，尼龙，X－线，聚乙烯，热补橡胶和蔗糖替代品等，无一不是通过那些或多或少是碰运气的过程而被发现的，或至少是经由一系列非人为策划的情况所致。在这一范畴中，青霉素堪称人类历史上最伟大的“偶然性”发现之一。苏格兰科学家Alexander Fleming发现他正在研究的一种细菌样本被霉菌所感染，而该霉菌遏制了细菌的进一步发育。尽管青霉素这一药物本身的发现纯属偶然，但是，Fleming在此之前已在第二次世界大战期间进行过抗菌素的研发。此外，早在三千年之前，中国人已使用发霉的豆腐作为膏药来治疗烫伤及其他各类皮肤感染。含有霉菌和其他真菌的热土数千年前也被有些文化用作防止传染的首要医治手段。尽管我们现在所知道的青霉素，其终极药物的最后命名及精炼是通过“凑巧”而被发现的，但导致其发现的并非只是一次偶然事件。

同样地，我们可以来分析一下热补橡胶的“偶然性”发现。一位名叫Charles Goodyear的实验人员对纯橡胶的物质产生了浓厚的兴趣。纯橡胶可用来做许多事情，但在自然状态下仍存在诸多问题。在寒冷的气候下，它会变得易于碎裂，但在炎热气候下则易于融化，这些问题使它在大多数气候状况下无法使用。Goodyear先生开始对这一物质进行研究，在纯橡胶中加入许多不同的化学品。但是，只是出于一次偶然的幸运事件，才得以导致了他那最伟大的发现。在一次实验中，他必须将硫磺和纯橡胶混合在一起。在实验过程中，他不小心将混合剂掉到一火红的炉子上。混合剂非但没有融化，相反，它形成了一个盘状物。即使当他把这一物质放到室外寒冷的隆冬空气中，它仍保持着伸缩的特性。虽然Goodyear先生五年当中一直在努力解决纯橡胶的种种问题，但他却是“偶然地”发现了热补这一过程，使橡胶具有了力度、弹性、和耐用性。

这只不过是许多最广为人们津津乐道的对现代社会作出巨大贡献的“偶然性”发现中的两个实例。尽管直接导致这些发现的一系列实际事件可被视作“偶然的”，但不管怎么说，正是对某一特定问题之答案的求索才导致科学家或科研人员朝着那个大方向进行探索。虽然我们并不一定能寻找到我们原初所关注的那个问题的确切答案，但在追求某一特定领域的知识的过程中，我们往往会寻找到所考虑的那一问题的答案。

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Issue218

“In order for a work of art – whether film, literature, sculpture, or a song – to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.”

Sample Essay

It is impossible for one person to speak for every other person on earth about which works of art - whether visual or audio - have any value. No one individual has the right to decide the merit of any particular artistic endeavor, nor does the majority have the right to dictate what art has merit to the minority of the population. For many reasons, the value of any work of art is in the eye of the beholder, whether the person that understands it is only the artist himself or the whole of the earth’s population.

First of all, the question over what is or is not a work of art has been debated endlessly over the centuries. Because no human being is just like any other (although we are all created equal), every person has a highly subjective idea of what is or is not art, whether it is a work of literature, a sculpture, a painting, a poem or a song. What is one man’s work of art is another man’s garbage. Indeed, it is not necessary for an individual to even understand a work of art to find it aesthetically pleasing to the eye or ear. In the 1950’s, the song “La Bamba” was a huge hit in the United States although most people didn’t understand a word of the song – it was entirely in Spanish. There are numerous examples of songs in foreign languages that have been worldwide hits, even in countries that could not understand a word of what was being sung. Particularly with a musical composition, it is not so much the understanding of the lyrics that is important but rather the beat of the music.

Similarly, paintings and sculptures are always open to a wide variety of interpretations. No one person can know exactly what was in the mind of the creator, even if that artisan is still alive to try to explain what it was that he or she was trying to create. Paintings and sculptures that appear at first glance to be relatively straightforward in meaning can have hidden nuances and subtexts that are understood by practically no one but the most well trained art experts. Simply because the majority of the population does not understand it does not mean that the work of art has no merit.

Finally, one needs to only consider the fact that not all art is intended to be understood and enjoyed by the masses to observe that a simple majority does not determine the true value or merit of a work of art. Artists often create a particular piece based purely on their own personal desire for self-expression, sometimes to the point of expressing disdain for what the vox populi states that it likes or wants. In a similar vein, who would like to be the one that tells a class of kindergarteners that their just-completed finger paintings are not works of art because no one understands them? Who has the right to tell a blind artist that what he or she has painted has no value because no one can understand it?

In summary, the merit that is found in art does not come from a vote of the majority of the population on whether they understand it or not. Art can have significance even if the only value that is realized is that of the self-expression of its creator. Particularly with a field as subjective as art, the relative merit of the subject lies not with the majority but within each individual that bears witness to its presence.

(596 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“为了使一件艺术品——无论是电影还是文学，雕塑或者歌曲——具有某种价值，它必须要使大多数人理解它。


[范文正文]

一个人代表世界上所有其他人来断定哪些艺术作品——无论是视觉艺术品还是听觉艺术品——具有价值，这是不可能的。没有任何人有权力决定某项艺术成就的价值，多数人也没有权力武断什么艺术对于少数人是有价值的。从许多方面讲，任何艺术作品的价值都存在于欢赏者的眼光，不管这观赏者是艺术家本人还是全世界民众。

首先，什么是艺术品什么不是艺术品这一问题已经被无休无止地争论了数百年。因为没有任何人与其他另一个人完全相同（尽管我们都生来平等），故每个人对于什么是艺术品，什么不是艺术品的看法都是非常主观的，无论它是文学作品，还是雕塑作品，绘画作品，一首诗或者一支歌。一个人的艺术作品很可能是另一个人的垃圾。的确，没有必要一个人必须理解一件艺术品以便发现它审美地悦目或悦耳。20世纪50年代，歌曲“LA　BAMBA”在美国引起极大轰动，尽管大多数人并不明白歌曲的一个词，因为它是用西班牙语写成的。有许多外语歌曲都是全世界流行，甚至在某些国家，所唱的一个词也听不懂。尤其是音乐作品，重要的不是听懂它的歌词而是聆听音乐的节奏。

同样，对绘画作品和雕塑作品也可以进行多种多样的解释。没有任何人确切地知道作者创作之际脑海里在想些什么，即便是那位艺术家仍然活着，试图去说明他、她当时努力要创造的是什么。有些绘画作品和雕塑作品乍一看似乎意义相对直截了当，但它们所隐藏的含义和潜台词只有受过良好训练的艺术家才能理解。只是因为大多数人不理解并不意味着一件艺术品就没有价值。

最后，我们只需要考虑一下这样一个事实：并非所有的艺术都是需要民众理解和欣赏的，这说明简单的多数并不能决定一件艺术品的真正价值。艺术家常常根据他们纯粹的自我表现的愿望创作一件特定的作品，有时是在表达对民众喜爱之物的鄙视。同样，谁能告诉幼儿园的孩童们，他们刚刚完成的手指画不是艺术品，因为没有人理解它们？谁有权力告诉一位盲人艺术家说他/她所画的作品没有价值，原因是没有人理解它？

总而言之，艺术品中所被发现的价值不是来自人口中的大多数人对是否理解这一艺术进行的投票表决。即使艺术品中得到实现的唯一价值是创作者的自我表现这一价值，该艺术品仍然是有意义的。尤其是艺术这一非常主观的领域，其价值不在于大多数民众的看法，而在于每一个人对所存在价值的认识。

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Issue226

“People are mistaken when they assume that the problems they confront are more complex and challenging than the problems faced by their predecessors. This illusion is eventually dispelled with increased knowledge and experience.”

Sample Essay

Today, people are living in an age of information and technology explosion. Telecommunications and computers have led to the ability to access literally billions of pages of information on virtually any subject without ever even leaving your own home. This information explosion has led to a chronic condition of information overload. It would appear on the surface that our problems have been made much more complex and challenging because of our increased knowledge and experience. However, taking a broad overview of the situation, it becomes apparent that when placed into context, human beings over the centuries have faced equally challenging problems with similar complexity.

From the beginning of time, mankind has been faced with problems. The earliest problems were focused simply on the act of survival, such as how to gather enough food to live and how to build a shelter that would keep them safe from the elements. Although these problems seem quite simple to solve for most of the world’s population today, at that time the state of technology and knowledge was not so advanced. Of course, looking back with hindsight from today’s perspective, one can say that the problems of today are much more complex and challenging. But to a civilization that had not yet discovered fire or the wheel, the problem of just surviving was as difficult for them as are any of the problems facing humans today.

Similarly, the problems throughout the ages up to today have continued to focus on survival, but with more of an emphasis on the quality of life rather than merely with just staying alive. As people learned how to build proper shelters and to grow and raise their own food, they began to want better shelter and more varieties of food. Jealousies arose between those that had more and those that had less, creating even more problems. The complexity of a society’s difficulties seems to increase in direct proportion to their level of knowledge and experience. As technologies became more developed and complex, so did the intricacies of the society’s problems. Rather than solving all of a civilization’s problems, increasing knowledge and experience actually added to those problems.

Additionally, it is axiomatic that the people that are alive today believe that their own problems are much greater than those of civilizations past. Overpopulation, the threat of AIDS, pollution of the environment and continued war in many parts of the world seem to be insurmountable problems that are unique to today’s society. Certainly our ancestors did not have to worry about privacy on the Internet or suicide hijackers slamming an airplane into a heavily populated city, nor did they have to worry about nuclear war or biological weapons being unleashed upon a city. But it doesn’t take additional knowledge or experience to understand that to those past societies, their problems seemed at the time to be equally complex and challenging.

To summarize the issue, throughout human civilization, mankind has faced problems that seemed insurmountable at the time. Problems throughout history have become more complex as human knowledge has become more complex. Increased technology has led to continuously more difficult problems while at the same time providing better tools to solve these problems. When taking the state of technology at the time into consideration, it is apparent that the problems of our predecessor’s were either equally or possibly even more challenging and complex than the problems that we face in today’s world. It does not require additional human knowledge and experience to realize that the view that our problems are more difficult is based on our own paradigm rather than the reality of the situation.

(604 words)



观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“人们如果认为他们所面临的问题比他们的前人所面临过的问题更为复杂，更具挑战性，那么这是大错特错的。这种虚幻的认识会随着知识和经验的增加而被驱散。”


[范文正文]

今日，人们生活在信息和技术爆炸时代。电信和计算机使人们不离开房间就能够获得关于任何学科的数亿页的信息。这一信息爆炸已导致了一种长期的信息过剩状态。表面看来，我们的问题由于知识和经验的增加反而变得更加复杂，更具挑战性。然而，从广义上看待这情况，显而易见，当置于大背景中时，人类几百年来一直面临着同样复杂的，同样具有挑战性的问题。

人类从一开始起，就面临着种种问题。最早的问题集中在生存上，即如何积攒足够的食物以维持生命，如何建造一个住所能够抵挡风雨。尽管对于今天世界上大多数人来说这是非常简单的问题，但在那时技术和知识尚未达到如此进步。当然，如果我们以今天的眼光事后聪明地回头看，可以说今天的问题复杂得多，棘手得多。但是对于一个尚未发现火或轮子的文明社会来说，仅仅生存的问题已是与我们今天所面对的任何问题同等困难了。

同样，千百年来的问题仍然集中在生存上，但今天更强调的是生活质量而不是仅仅活着。随着人们学会如何建造合适的住所以及如何播种庄稼，他们开始想得到更好的住所，吃品种更多的食物。富裕者与贫困者之间产生了妒忌，从而生出更多的问题。一个社会中各种困难所能达到的复杂性，似乎与知识和经验水平成正比地增加。　知识和经验的增加，不但没有解决一个文明社会的所有问题，反而使那些问题节外生枝。

此外，今天活着的人们认为他们的问题比前人所面临的问题大得多，这是不言自明的。人口爆炸，爱滋病，环境污染，世界上许多地方连绵不断的战争，似乎成了今天的社会独有的不可解决的问题。当然，我们的祖先不需担心网络上刺探隐私，也不必担心自杀性劫机犯驾机撞入人口稠密的城市，更不必担心核战争或生物武器投向某座城池。然而，不需要更多的知识和经验我们也能认识到，对于过去的社会群体，他们的问题当时似乎是同样地复杂和棘手。

总而言之，纵观人类历史，人类在各个时期都面临着似乎难以克服的问题。随着人类的知识变得更加复杂，问题也相应地变得更加复杂。不断增加的技术不断导致更难的问题，但同时也为解决这些问题提供了更好的方法。考虑到当时的技术状况，显然我们祖先的问题比起我们今天所面对的问题或者是同样的复杂和棘手，或者是更加复杂和棘手。不需要更多的人类知识和经验我们就能认识到，认为我们的问题更为困难的观点是基于我们自已的范式，而不是基于具体的现实。

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Issue228

“The best way to teach – whether as an educator, employer or parent – is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.”

Sample Essay

The cumulative benefits of praising positive actions can hardly be overestimated. People like to be recognized for the good things that they have done, whether in work, school or simply everyday life. Teaching methods should employ the praising of positive actions in the course of positive reinforcement, which has been proved to be beneficial in the learning process. While praising positive actions is beneficial and necessary, negative actions cannot be ignored without jeopardizing the entire learning process.

Firstly, one must realize that there are as many different methods of teaching as there are different types of people. Whether the teacher is an educator in a school system, an employer in a work situation or a parent training a child, the proper technique of teaching must be found for that particular person being taught. Different students learn better through different styles and methods of teaching. However, no matter what the method or style of teaching, it is fundamental that the teacher praise the positive actions of the person being taught. Positive reinforcement is an integral part of the learning process.

Though positive reinforcement can play a tremendous role as a motivator for the continuance of positive actions, negative actions cannot be simply ignored and expected to go away. Think about the situation of a small child that is being taught how to get along with other children. There is a natural tendency for children to be selfish with their things, to not want to share anything with any other child. The child may take more toys than he or she can play with at one time to keep for him or herself. Although the child may be doing everything else right, for example, playing quietly and using the toys in a proper manner, the negative action of hoarding toys cannot simply be ignored if the child is to learn to get along in society. Praising the positive actions of being quiet and playing properly with the toys will certainly encourage those positive behaviors, but this does not address the underlying problem of selfishness. To merely ignore the selfishness will not teach the child to share with others. In this case, it is easy to see that solely praising positive actions will not be the best way of teaching the child to get along with others.

Similarly, an employer cannot properly train employees by only praising positive actions and ignoring negative actions. Contemplate the situation where an employee does everything right – arrives on time for work, accomplishes tasks efficiently, never misses work and is pleasant and approachable in the work place. All of these are positive actions that should be praised and encouraged in any place of business. However, this particular employee must be told what to do for every task – the employee lacks the initiative to do anything on his or her own. This is a form of negative inaction that will keep the employee from reaching his or her full potential on the job. Simply praising the employee’s good characteristics while ignoring his or her lack of resourcefulness will never result in a better-trained employee. The boss must take a proactive stance to change the employee’s behavior and eliminate the negative action of waiting to be told what to do.

In summary, merely praising positive actions is not enough to properly teach or train a student, employee or child. Negative actions must actively be discouraged in order for the individual to learn properly. Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator, but negative actions must be addressed to properly teach or train an individual whether in an academic, business or home environment.

(600 wrods)




观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“最好的教育方法——无论是作为教育者、雇主还是父母——是称赞正面行为，忽视负面行为。”


[范文正文]

称赞正面行为所带来的整体好处，再多估量也不为过。人们做了好事喜欢得到承认，无论是在工作中、学习中还是在日常生活中皆是如此。教学方法应该运用在正强化过程中称赞正面行为这一做法，这在学习过程中被证明是有益的。虽然称赞正面行为是有益的而且是必要的，但负面行为却不应该被视而不见，因为这样会危害整个学习过程。

首先，我们应该认识到，有许许多多不同的教学方法，正如有许许多多不同类型的人一样。无论教育者是学校里的老师，工作环境中的雇主，还是训练子女的家长，都应该为受教育的那个人找到恰当的教育方式。不同的学生通过不同教学风格和方法可以学得更好。然而，不管教学风格和方法是什么，教育者称赞受教育者的正面行为，这是最基本的。正强化是学习过程不可分割的一部分。

尽管正强化作为正面行为持续存在的激励因素可以起到巨大作用，但是负面行为不能简单地被置若罔闻，以为它会自行消失。想一想一个受教育的孩子如何与其他孩子们玩。孩子们都有自私的倾向不想让其他孩子玩他们的玩具。这个孩子可能拿很多玩具，超过他/她一个人在一个时候所能玩的。虽然这孩子可能做其他事情都很正确，例如平静地玩耍以及正当地处理他/她的玩具，但是隐藏玩具这种负面行为却不应该被视而不见，倘若这孩子要学会在今后的社会里生活的话。称赞安静地玩以及正当地处理玩具这种正面行为，当然会鼓励这些正面行为，但是这并不能解决自私这一根本问题。忽视自私，并不会教育孩子与别人共享玩具。因此，很容易看清，仅仅称赞正面行为并不是教育孩子与别人和睦相处的最佳方法。

同样，一位雇主不可能靠仅仅称赞正面行为和忽视负面行为来恰当地培训雇员。想一想这种情况，一个雇员任何事情都做得不错——准时上班、效率很高、从未耽误工作，而且在单位与他人相处很好。所有这些在任何行业都是值得称赞和鼓励的正面行为，但是，这位雇员必须得有人告诉他该干什么——这位雇员缺乏工作的主动性。这是负面惰性的一种形式，它使雇员在工作中不能充分发挥潜力。仅仅称赞雇员的优点而忽视他缺乏主观能动性，永远也培养不出一个更加训练有素的雇员。老板必须采取积极的立场以改变雇员的行为，消除他等待吩咐这种负面行为。

总之，仅仅称赞正面行为不足以恰当地教育或培训一个学生、雇员或孩子。负面行为必须被正面地制止以便让受教育者正确地学习。正强化是一种有力的激励因素，但负面行为必须予以解决以便正确地教育或训练一个人。无论在学术领域，工作单位还是在家庭环境，皆是如此。

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Issue230

“College students – and people in general – prefer to follow directions rather than to make their own decisions. Therefore, colleges should eliminate as many choices as possible in order to offer students clear direction.”

Sample Essay

While it may be true that there are some college students and people that prefer to live their lives based on the directions of others, most people prefer freedom of choice, particularly when choosing an education and the future paths of their own careers. There are certainly some institutions that can benefit by eliminating as many choices as possible, but on the whole, students and people in general must be given free rein over the choices that they make in order to control their own lives.

The freedom to choose one’s own destiny is a fundamental human right. While it is true that simply because a college eliminates as many choices as possible to give students a clear direction does not deny any individual that freedom (they can always choose another university or choose not to attend university at all), it is still a somewhat disturbing idea that students would actually need such an action to guide them through their university years. It is absurd to think that college students would actually want a reduction in their number of choices in the educational process, particularly at that age where they are just now being allowed to finally make some of their own choices. It is a fundamental part of the normal process of maturation at the age when young adults are finally given the freedom to make choices of their own volition.

Certainly there are some institutions that can benefit from a policy of narrowing the choices for students to give them clear direction. One example would be that of the military training schools, where freedom of choice is secondary in importance to learning to behave in the same manner, no matter what the situation is. Future military personnel must learn how to follow orders in order to ensure the success of the military organization as a whole. For these students, a clear sense of direction and a well-charted path to development is a necessity. The need for regimented training and an ability to follow orders to the letter in a military situation fundamentally requires that the students have fewer options to choose from, even in a university situation.

Additionally, consideration must be given to the fact that giving students or people in general more choices rather than less can be conducive to the development of that person as an individual. With a wider variety of choices, it is more likely that a student can choose exactly the courses that he or she wishes to take in order to reach his or her fullest potential. Narrowing the choices available also narrows the skills that future graduates from that particular university will have. Although having fewer choices can simplify the process of making a decision for students, it also results in more homogeneity of the graduates. As more students are required to pursue the same educational path, the competition among graduates for finding a job will be even tougher, as employers will look upon them as all the same. It is possible that only the best and brightest of these similarly educated graduates will find employment in their areas of education simply because there are too many of them with the same educational backgrounds.

Narrowing a student’s choices is a seemingly simple and relatively harmless way to sharpen his or her focus upon entering college. But the end result of such a policy is to increase competition among college graduates, to create more dependency on others to make choices for them, and to constrain students from making more specialized choices in education to fulfill their goals of self-realization.

（597 words）




观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“大学学生——以及普通民众——宁肯听从指令也不愿意自己做出决定。因此，大学应该尽量地取消选择，以便给学生提供清晰的指令。”


[范文正文]

尽管确实有些大学学生和一般民众宁肯按照他人的指令来生活，但是大多数人却喜欢拥有选择的自由，尤其是在选择教育以及他们职业生涯的未来道路时更是如此。确实对有些机构来说取消选择是有益的，但总体而言，学生和普通民众应该拥有选择的自由以便支配他们自己的生活。

选择自己的命运是最基本的人权之一。的确，仅仅因为一所大学尽量取消选择以便给学生提供清晰的指令并不意味着剥夺个人选择的自由（他们可以选择另一所大学或选择不上大学），虽然如此，但学生实际上需要这样的行为去指导他们度过大学时光，这却是一个令人甚感不安的观点。同样荒谬的是认为大学生实际上想要在大学教育过程中减少选择的数量，尤其是在他们刚刚被允许做出自己的最终选择这一年龄段上。年轻人最终得到按照自己意愿进行选择的自由，这是成熟过程中不可或缺的一部分。

当然，有些机构缩减学生的选择范围并且给学生提供清晰的指令，这会来得更为有利。以军事训练学校为例，这里，从重要性上讲，选择的自由已让位于学会步调一致地行动，无论情况如何均是如此。未来的军事人员必须学会遵从命令，这样才能保证整个军事行动的胜利。对于这类学生，清晰的指令以及明确的成长道路都是必要的。严格统一的训练之需要以及一丝不苟服从命令之能力，在军事环境中本质上要求学生拥有较少的选择余地，甚至大学学习中亦复如此。

此处，必须考虑到这样一个事实，即给一个学生或普通人更多的选择会有助于这个人的自身发展。有了广泛选择的机会，学生就更可能选择他/她所想选择的课程，从而充分地拓展他/她的潜力。缩小选择的范围，同时也缩小了这所大学未来毕业生所具有的技能。尽管提供较少的选择可以简化学生的决策过程，但它同时也会产生毕业生较大程度上的同类性。随着更多的学生必须踏上相同的求学道路，毕业生寻找工作时竞争会更趋激烈，因为雇主会认为他们都一样。因为有太多的毕业生受教育的背景相同，因此很可能只有最优秀、最聪明的毕业生才能在他们所受教育的领域中找到工作。

缩小学生的选择范围，似乎是学生在踏入大学校门之际突出他们学习重点的一种简单且相对无害的方法。但是，这种政策的最终结果是增加了大学毕业生之间的竞争，使他们更加依赖别人进行选择，并且限制学生在受教育过程中进行更专业化的选择，从而限制了他们的自我实现和自我发展。

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Issue17

“There are two types of laws: just and unjust. Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and, even more importantly, to disobey and resist unjust laws.”

Sample Essay

Once a society has determined that it wants to be governed by the rule of law, then each individual in that society has a responsibility to obey those laws. If the laws are fair, then they must be obeyed. Unjust laws must be resisted through whatever means are necessary, including disobeying those same laws until they are repealed.

Firstly, for any society that truly wants to be civilized, laws must be enacted that at the very least give its citizens a guideline on the behavior that is expected of them. Without the rule of law, anarchy would likely reign supreme and ultimately result in the destruction of that particular society. Laws are usually enacted based on the values, beliefs and morals of the general populace. Without such laws, individuals would be tempted to give in to some of the more animalistic desires innate within the human soul, with the end result being at best a disorganized society and at worst the annihilation of the population.

Secondly, those just laws that have been enacted (which will hopefully be all or at the very least, the majority of them) must be faithfully obeyed in order for a society to move forward. Because most laws are the codification of the society’s values, beliefs and morals, they are generally based on the notion of justice and fair play. As long as the laws treat everyone equally, the population should dutifully obey them. It is equally important that those who disobey those laws are punished fairly and in proportion to their crime. Without a systematic distribution of justice, laws are worth less than the paper that they are written on. Corruption in the legal system is also a distinct danger, regardless of whether the laws that have been enacted are just or unjust. If individuals are allowed to buy themselves out of trouble, the entire legal system will break down, again resulting in anarchy. As a fundamental part of a civilized society, just laws must be obeyed to the fullest extent possible.

Furthermore, of equal importance is the fact that unjust laws must be fought against through whatever means are necessary. The very foundation of a legal system is that it is based on a notion of justice, and that means justice for all, not just the chosen few. Unfair or unreasonable laws can cause a society to lose respect for all laws, regardless of whether they are just or unjust. In these cases, civil disobedience may be necessary in order to bring attention to the situation. Perhaps the politicians or government officials were unaware of the unjustness of the law when it was written. It could be that the officials did not foresee that the law would have a disparate impact on certain individuals in a society. But regardless of the reason, an unjust law must not go unopposed. One unjust law can easily lead to another; therefore it is incumbent upon all individuals in a society to fight such inadequacies with all of their might.

In summary, a legal system should serve the society as a guideline for the behavior that is expected of its citizens. Should the leaders of that society enact any laws that are unfair or unreasonable, it is the duty of all citizens to ensure that it is changed or repealed through whatever means are necessary. Laws should be of the people, by the people and for the people, and citizens must take a proactive role in ensuring that they truly give justice for all.

(586 words)


观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“有两种法律：正义的和非正义的。社会中的每个人都有责任遵从正义的法律以及——甚至更为重要地——拒绝服从并且抵制非正义的法律。”


[范文正文]

一旦一个社会决定用法律来统治社会，那么这个社会中的每一个人都有责任服从其法律。如果法律是公正的，就必须服从它。对于不公正的法律，人们应该以各种必要的方式进行抵制，包括违抗它直至被废止。

首先，对于任何真正追求文明的社会，必须颁布法律，至少为公民提供一个期望他们如何行为处事的准则。如果没有法律，无政府状态就可能甚嚣尘上，并且最终导致这个社会的瓦解。法律的制定，通常是基于人民大众的价值观念，道德标准和信仰。如果没有这样的法律，个人就会情不自禁地委身于某些人性中固有的兽性欲望，其结果至少是社会混乱，更有甚者是整个人口的灭亡。

其次，那些所颁布的正义的法律（希望是全部的法律或者至少是大部分的法律）必须一丝不苟地得到遵循，以便使这个社会得以进步。因为大多数法律都是把社会群体的价值观念、道德标准和信仰编制成典，所以法律一般是以正义和公平为基础的。只要法律平等地对待每一个人，公民就应该责无旁贷地遵守它。同样重要的是，那些违法之人应该公正地依照所犯罪行的程度受到惩处。如果公正在法律中得不到全面体现，法律便会成为一纸空文。法律部门的腐败，也是一个极大的危害，无论所制定的法律是公正的还是非公正的。如果个人被允许舞弊枉法，整个法律体制就会分崩离析，从而同样导致无政府状态。正义的法律，作为文明社会不可或缺的一部分，必须得到最大限度的遵从。

进而言之，同样重要的是我们必须以各种方式抵制非正义的法律。法律体制的基础在于它是以公正为基础的，这就是说法律应该对所有的人都是公正的，而不是仅对少数特选子民。不公正的和不合情理的法律会引起社会群体轻视所有法律，无论法律是正义的或非正义的。在这种情况下，为了引起人们的注意，公民的抵制是必要的。或许，某部法律在当初制定时，政治家或政府官员没能意识到其中不公正的地方。也有可能是，官员没有预料到法律会对社会中的某些人产生各不相同的影响。但无论其原因为何，非正义的法律决不应该让它放任自流而不加以任何抵制。一种非正义的法律会轻易地导致产生另一种非正义的法律，因此竭尽全力反对法律中的这类缺陷是社会中全体公民义不容辞的职责。

总的说来，一个法律体制应该对整个社会充当一种公民应有行为的规范。倘若某社会的领导者制定了任何不公平、不合情理的法律，所有的公民都有责任采取一切必要的手段来保证改变或者废除这种法律。法律应该为人民拥有，由人民产生，为人民谋取福利。公民应该采取积极主动的姿态以保证法律给予全民以公正。

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Issue28

“Student should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little.”

Sample Essay

The memorization of facts can be a handy tool when trying to impress upon someone how much you know about a subject, if that particular person doesn’t know much about the subject him or herself. But to truly learn about something, one must definitely understand more than the mere facts of the situation or subject to be able to go beyond simply regurgitating memorized details.

To begin with, the foundation of learning can be based on the facts themselves. It is necessary during the learning process to memorize some facts in order to grasp the essence of the subject that is being taught. For example, learning the years that certain events happened during Chinese history can help a student to place those events in context with what was happening in Chinese society and the rest of the world during those particular time periods. But simply learning the dates of the events will not give the student any insight into Chinese history or culture without knowing the circumstances leading up to and surrounding that particular event. It is a combination of the memorization of facts, along with studying the ideas, trends and concepts of the time period that will allow the student to master the subject at hand.

In the past, teachers believed that memorization of facts was the best way for a student to learn a subject. For some subject areas, this may still be the best method for a student to comprehend what is being taught. As one example, a student’s memorization of the multiplication tables can give him or her a solid foundation on which to build additional mathematical knowledge. Similarly, memorization of the table of elements gives the student a basis of reference for an entire lifetime of future scientific study. Memorizing the spelling of words is also very helpful in the sense that the student that knows how to spell the word most likely also knows the meaning of the word. With all of these examples, it is evident that sometimes merely learning facts can be enough to give the student a solid educational background, at least early on in life.

But merely learning the facts is not enough for a student to reach his or her fullest potential. It is in the application of those facts where the student reaches a higher state of knowledge. It would truly be impressive for someone to name the list of emperors and empresses in chronological order throughout Chinese history, but without any knowledge of what he or she did as a leader, there is little value in being able to do so. Simple memorization of facts is the lowest level of learning, while being able to apply those facts in different situations and to explain the theories behind those facts is the highest level of learning. Whether the student memorizes the facts first or firstly understands the ideas and concepts behind those facts makes no difference, it is the ability to coherently discuss the facts and their underlying concepts that a student truly shows his or her ability.

In summary, it is certainly not enough for a student to merely memorize facts. Memorization is at the lowest level of learning, it is in the ability to apply concepts and theories to different situations where a student reaches the highest level of learning. Whether the facts are memorized first or after the student understands the underlying theories does not matter, what matters is that the student truly grasps the subject with full comprehension to the best of his or her ability.
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观点陈述型作文/[题目]

“学生只有在学习了那些有助于解释某些事实的思想、趋势和观念后，才可以去背诵记忆这些事实。那些只学习事实的学生是学不到什么东西的。”


[范文正文]

将事实记忆得滚瓜烂熟，这只有在试图使别人觉得你对某一学科知识渊博时才能成为一个好使的工具，如果那个人自己对该学科知之甚少。但要想真正学到知识，人们所需弄懂的就绝不仅仅只是关于某一情景或某一学科的某些事实。只有这样，才能超越对细节的呆板记忆。

首先，学习的基础可以基于事实本身。在学习过程中，有必要背诵记忆某些事实，以便掌握所授学科的精髓。例如，学习中国历史上某些事件发生的年代，这将有助于一个学生将这些事件置于中国社会及世界其它地方在这些特定的时代所发生的事件的大背景之中。但是，纯粹记忆这些事件的年代将无法使学生对历史或文化形成深刻的了解，因为学生并不懂得导致某一特定事件或围绕着某一特定事件的具体情况。只有将对事实的背诵记忆与对某一时代的思想、趋势和观念的学习结合起来，才能让学生掌握所要学习的学科。

过去，教师们相信，背诵记忆某些事实对于学生学习某一学科是一种最好的方法。对于某些学科领域来说，这可能仍不失为一种最好的方法让学生去理解所教的内容。举例来说，学生背诵乘法表可让他/她具备一个坚实的基础，据此建立起更多的数学知识。同样地，背诵记忆化学元素表可为学生提供一种参照的基础，使其未来终身的科学研究都能从中受益。牢记词汇的拼写也是非常有用的，因为懂得如何拼写的人最有可能也会知道词汇的含义。从所有这些例子中，显而易见，有时候仅仅熟记某些事实是能够给学生提供一个坚实的教育背景，尤其是在人生初期。

但是，仅仅熟记某些事实尚不足以让一个学生实现他/她全部的潜质。只有将这些事实加以应用，学生才能达到更高一层的知识境界。如果有人能按照年代顺序将中国历史上一长串男性和女性皇帝的名字逐一道出，这确实非同凡响。但是，如果根本不了解这些皇帝作为领导者都做了些什么，那么，即使能做到那样也是毫无价值的。对事实进行简单的诵记只能算作最低级层面上的学习行为，只有能将这些事实应用于不同的情况，并能解释这些事实背后所隐含的理论，这才是最高级层面上的学习行为。学生是首先熟记事实，还是首先领会这些事实背后的思想及观念，孰先孰后并不重要。能够严谨地探讨这些事实，并揭示其深层的理念，才充分体现着一个学生的真才实学。

总而言之，对于一个学生来说，仅仅熟记某些事实肯定是远远不够的。背诵只是属于学习的最低层面，将概念和理论应用于不同情况的能力，才能让一个学生抵达学习的最高层次。学生对事实的熟记是发生在弄懂了深层次的理论之前还是之后，这并不重要。重要的是，学生应尽其所能，在充分理解的基础上，真正掌握一门学科。