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argument38
TOPIC: ARGUMENT38 - The following memo appeared in the newsletter of the West Meria Public Health Council.
"An innovative treatment has come to our attention that promises to significantly reduce absenteeism in our schools and workplaces. A study reports that in nearby East Meria, where fish consumption is very high, people visit the doctor only once or twice per year for the treatment of colds. Clearly, eating a substantial amount of fish can prevent colds. Since colds are the reason most frequently given for absences from school and work, we recommend the daily use of Ichthaid, a nutritional supplement derived from fish oil, as a good way to prevent colds and lower absenteeism."
WORDS: 623 TIME: 0:37:40 DATE: 2006-7-21
In this argument, the arguer recommend that people in West Meria should have Ichthaid to prevent colds and lower absenteeism. However, careful examiation and scrutiny reveals that the evidence cited in this argument lends little support to the arguer's assertion.
To begin with, the fact that fish consumption in East Meria(EM) is very high does not necessarily follows that eating a substantial amount of fish can prevent colds. To bolster his claim, the arguer presents the evidence that people in EM seldom visit the doctor for curing colds. However, this is not the case. The argument does not provide us sufficient information of the health conditions of people in EM. It is entirely possible that they often catch colds but are not willing to go to hospitals for the treatment for the reason that they regard colds are small disease(disease太严重了,这里不恰当,最好用illness) and therefore require less seriousness, or just because they consider the hospital fee is too high to afford. Without the information above, the arguer cannot assert that these people are healthy enough. Besides, the arguer fail to inform us whether fish in East Meria is all consumed by native people, it is as likely that native people there only consume a small percent of the total amount so that the arguer cannot build connection between the health condition of EM's people with fish consumption.(这一点我个人不是很赞同,我理解的原文意思就是当地人吃鱼吃得多,完全没有远销外地之意。鉴于你这一段里写得有点太多,我认为可以把这点省掉) Moreover, even if people there eat a substantial amount of fish, it still cannot support that people prevent themselves from colds are due to, or only due to diets including fish. It might be attributed to people's own habits of exercise, other beneficial food consumption, or their regular life styles. Perhaps, these people are prone to drink a cup of tea in the morning, while something in the tea is quite conductive to prevent from catching cold. In short, it is too presumptuous for the arguer to judge the health condition of people there according to the hospital records and fish consumption merely.
Further, even if fish consumption is at last justified as the very reason that contribute to people's health in EM, the fact that the daily use of Ichthaid could prevent colds cannot support the conclusion that it could prevent colds and thus hinder lower absenteeism. What we first shed our doubt on is whether those people who claim they suffer cold and then are absent from school and work are really the case. It is entirely possible that this is merely an excuse to absenteeism. They might not catch(用have较好,表状态,catch表动作) cold but make an excuse to do what they want to do. In this sense, no matter how much fish they eat or other solutions are adopted, they will still be absent.
On the other hand最好换一个,用在这里好象不合适, even if those who claim to be ill are actual ill, the daily use of Ichthaid might not replace the fish in EM to prevent colds. The arguer does not offer us any more information of the components of Ichthaid. Perhaps, the nutritional supplement in it is quite different from the fish in EM, which has special components that could effectively prevent colds. Or perhaps, the effective conponent in the raw material of fish vanished after the process of later refining. Without informing us such information, we cannot believe that this kind of pills could prevent colds.
In sum, the reasoning behind recommending people to take the daily use of Ichthaid is not cogent at all. Before we believe this recommendation, the arguer should tell us whether suffering from cold is merely an excuse. Moreover, to better evaluate this argument, we also need to know the relationship between fish consumption and that people there seldom visit the doctor for curing colds, as well as the effectiveness of the Ichthaid in preventing colds. |
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