【一日再二拍】Issue113 & Argument 60

helencumc

Issue 113:
Claim: The surest indicator of a greatnation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists.
Reason: The surest indicator of a greatnation is actually the welfare of all its people

There are all kinds of indicators to judgewhether a nation is at the level of greatness, yet the opinions about thesurest indicator have some diversities since while the prominent achievementsmade by rulers, artists and scientists are one of the criteria for evaluatingthe greatness of a country, some may argue that the fundamental promise of theassessment should be the well-being of the whole nation.

I would stand to the side that thewell-being of the nation’s people is the surest indicator of a great nation,although I do not deny the achievements of social elites are also important. Firstly,as a modern democratic country, the ultimate goal of the country is to enhancethe living standard and the life quality of its people, namely, to improve thewell-being of the whole society. This can be demonstrated by the internationalcustom of evaluating GDP per capita instead of total GDP as the indicator of anation’s economic power, and Gene indicator is another important standardmeasuring the overall happiness of the whole nation in terms of equality. Allof these practical experiences show that nowadays, a nation is judged againstthe criteria focusing on how the country could elevate the social benefits ofits citizens.

Moreover, the modern political system haslong eradicated the existence of “rulers” compared with that of the ancienttime when monarchy was still in fashion. Politicians today are faced with a relativelyrigorous examination from tax payers, also the citizens, of the country andthey have to work hard to serve the people instead of trying to make a soundfame in the history books at the expense of the whole society. If a politiciantoday dares doing so, his/her rivals would accuse him in the first place, notto mention thousands of voters who are eagerly voting him/her out.

Additionally, the well-being of the peopleof a nation is the foundation for the improvement in the fields of art andscience. Only in a prosperous economy and a stable society can artists andscientists focus on their works, and this could only be achieved by lettingpeople live a decent life on average, so when most people in the society do nothave to struggle for survival, they would have time to explore the outsideworld or discover the inner feelings of themselves where the sources ofinvention and inspiration of art and science often lie. As a result, arts andsciences prosper, and the achievements from both could help elevate thewell-being of the society even more.

Nevertheless, I do not deny that there arejustifications in the argument that sometimes the nation is judged on theachievements of its rulers, artists and scientists because when looking back inhistory when there was no democracy, a country was usually ruled by a king oran emperor and the monarch would regard the country as a mean of reaching hislife goals or even ambitions. For some rulers, due to the pressure fromreligion or political rivals, they would show some sympathy to the hardshipthat ordinary people went through, yet most of the rulers would only care abouttheir extravagant life in palaces and so-called spectacular winnings on warswhen the nation paid the price of blood. Unfortunately, historians in today’sworld often regard those things as “achievements” of the rulers in the ancienttimes.

On top of that, artists and scientistscould only survive by flattering to royal members so that they could getfinancial support and continue their inventions or works, and the achievementsby those people were not surprising because they got the best resources of thenation and the support from the highest leaderships. But even though theycontributed a great deal to the development of certain fields, the benefitswere only enjoyed by a few of royal members, although people today areastonished by their intelligence and hard work and the dazzling civilizationthey contributed to the history of the mankind.

Above all, the well-being of the society is abetter indicator of greatness in the context of the modern world while theachievements of social elites can be regarded as complements to all theimprovements made by the human race.  

helencumc

Argument 60
写作内容：关于投资于CI这家油零售公司
写作要求：assumption

In the argument, the arguer advised that the investment in Consolidated Industries, whose main business was retail sale of home heating oil, was feasible because of the increase of the demand in heating oil. To sustain this claim, however, several key assumptions need to be clearly stated.

First of all, the demand of heating oil originated from the tradition in the Northeastern US that people used to burn oils for heating based on the assumption that the tradition has never changed and new technologies are not applied for more efficient heating. It could be that the technological development has allowed people to use electricity or thermal power to warm themselves up instead of burning oils, which is both environmentally unfriendly and expensive. Other reasons could be that the government has launched a “clean-energy program” so that the tradition has changed and people would have to obey new laws and change their old heating systems.

Secondly, even though the heating-oil tradition has not changed and new technologies are not invented, the assumption that the region will experience a unusually cold weather for a significantly long period of time is suspected. The reliability and the accuracy of the data is the first question, and the authority of those climate forecasters is also in doubt since we do not know if there are profitable trades behind those made-up data or if the forecasters received bribes from the company. Additionally, even if those people are honest, “90 days with below-normal temperatures” is a vague description because we do not know the continuous historical data of the temperatures in winter of the region and we cannot compare the current data with the previous ones to draw accurate conclusions. It could be that previously the below-normal temperatures will last for at least 100 days so that 90 days are not significant or the normal temperature is relatively high in the region so that a slight decrease in temperature will not affect people’s life.

Furthermore, if I concede that the temperature will be low for a long period of time, with another confession that the heating method does not change, I still cannot be sure if the demand will go up without justifying the assumption that the new houses being built will definitely be used to accommodating more people and will continue to use the old heating systems. Since those houses could be used for industrial or commercial use instead of residential purposes, and since a new house could be a trial on the attempting technologies for energy-saving heating systems using powers other than oil, the demand for heating oil could still be low.

Finally, even if all of the assumptions stated above are justified, the Consolidated Industries may not be a good investment option because we have to assume that people will buy heating oil on their own and burn those oil individually instead of getting the warm air from the heater operated by some government agencies which will purchase heating oil in wholesale instead of retail. In that case, the investment in the corporation may not generate enough profit to cover the costs and expenditures.

In summary, I can only be totally convinced if the arguer provide me with the following justifications for his/her assumptions: the heating oil tradition has not changed, the new technologies for heating are not invented and applied, the climate in the region will be significantly cold and will last for a long time, the house being built will be used for accommodating people and installed with the old heating systems and people will purchase heating oil individually for the warm air.

竹林中人

Issue 113:
Claim: The surest indicator of a greatnation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists.
Reason: The surest indicator of a greatnation is actually the welfare of all its people

There are all kinds of indicators to judgewhether a nation is at the level of greatness, yet the opinions about thesurest indicator have some diversities since while the prominent achievementsmade by rulers, artists and scientists are one of the criteria for evaluatingthe greatness of a country, some may argue that the fundamental promise of theassessment should be the well-being of the whole nation.

I would stand to the side that thewell-being of the nation’s people is the surest indicator of a great nation,although I do not deny the achievements of social elites are also important. Firstly,as a modern democratic country, the ultimate goal of the country is to enhancethe living standard and the life quality of its people, namely, to improve thewell-being of the whole society. This can be demonstrated by the internationalcustom of evaluating GDP per capita instead of total GDP as the indicator of anation’s economic power, and Gene indicator is another important standardmeasuring the overall happiness of the whole nation in terms of equality. Allof these practical experiences show that nowadays, a nation is judged againstthe criteria focusing on how the country could elevate the social benefits ofits citizens.

Moreover, the modern political system haslong eradicated the existence of “rulers” compared with that of the ancienttime when monarchy was still in fashion. Politicians today are faced with a relativelyrigorous examination from tax payers, also the citizens, of the country andthey have to work hard to serve the people instead of trying to make a soundfame in the history books at the expense of the whole society. If a politiciantoday dares doing so, his/her rivals would accuse him in the first place, notto mention thousands of voters who are eagerly voting him/her out.

Additionally, the well-being of the peopleof a nation is the foundation for the improvement in the fields of art andscience. Only in a prosperous economy and a stable society can artists andscientists focus on their works, and this could only be achieved by lettingpeople live a decent life on average, so when most people in the society do nothave to struggle for survival, they would have time to explore the outsideworld or discover the inner feelings of themselves where the sources ofinvention and inspiration of art and science often lie. As a result, arts andsciences prosper, and the achievements from both could help elevate thewell-being of the society even more.

Nevertheless, I do not deny that there arejustifications in the argument that sometimes the nation is judged on theachievements of its rulers, artists and scientists because when looking back inhistory when there was no democracy, a country was usually ruled by a king oran emperor and the monarch would regard the country as a mean of reaching hislife goals or even ambitions. For some rulers, due to the pressure fromreligion or political rivals, they would show some sympathy to the hardshipthat ordinary people went through, yet most of the rulers would only care abouttheir extravagant life in palaces and so-called spectacular winnings on warswhen the nation paid the price of blood. Unfortunately, historians in today’sworld often regard those things as “achievements” of the rulers in the ancienttimes.

On top of that, artists and scientistscould only survive by flattering to royal members so that they could getfinancial support and continue their inventions or works, and the achievementsby those people were not surprising because they got the best resources of thenation and the support from the highest leaderships. But even though theycontributed a great deal to the development of certain fields, the benefitswere only enjoyed by a few of royal members, although people today areastonished by their intelligence and hard work and the dazzling civilizationthey contributed to the history of the mankind.

Above all, the well-being of the society is abetter indicator of greatness in the context of the modern world while theachievements of social elites can be regarded as complements to all theimprovements made by the human race.  

-- by 会员 helencumc (2012/10/7 21:31:09)

这篇写的不错，加油坚持

竹林中人

Argument 60
写作内容：关于投资于CI这家油零售公司
写作要求：assumption

In the argument, the arguer advised that the investment in Consolidated Industries, whose main business was retail sale of home heating oil, was feasible because of the increase of the demand in heating oil. To sustain this claim, however, several key assumptions need to be clearly stated.

First of all, the demand of heating oil originated from the tradition in the Northeastern US that people used to burn oils for heating based on the assumption that the tradition has never changed and new technologies are not applied for more efficient heating. It could be that the technological development has allowed people to use electricity or thermal power to warm themselves up instead of burning oils, which is both environmentally unfriendly and expensive. Other reasons could be that the government has launched a “clean-energy program” so that the tradition has changed and people would have to obey new laws and change their old heating systems.

Secondly, even though the heating-oil tradition has not changed and new technologies are not invented, the assumption that the region will experience a unusually cold weather for a significantly long period of time is suspected. The reliability and the accuracy of the data is the first question, and the authority of those climate forecasters is also in doubt since we do not know if there are profitable trades behind those made-up data or if the forecasters received bribes from the company. Additionally, even if those people are honest, “90 days with below-normal temperatures” is a vague description because we do not know the continuous historical data of the temperatures in winter of the region and we cannot compare the current data with the previous ones to draw accurate conclusions. It could be that previously the below-normal temperatures will last for at least 100 days so that 90 days are not significant or the normal temperature is relatively high in the region so that a slight decrease in temperature will not affect people’s life.

Furthermore, if I concede that the temperature will be low for a long period of time, with another confession that the heating method does not change, I still cannot be sure if the demand will go up without justifying the assumption that the new houses being built will definitely be used to accommodating more people and will continue to use the old heating systems. Since those houses could be used for industrial or commercial use instead of residential purposes, and since a new house could be a trial on the attempting technologies for energy-saving heating systems using powers other than oil, the demand for heating oil could still be low.

Finally, even if all of the assumptions stated above are justified, the Consolidated Industries may not be a good investment option because we have to assume that people will buy heating oil on their own and burn those oil individually instead of getting the warm air from the heater operated by some government agencies which will purchase heating oil in wholesale instead of retail. In that case, the investment in the corporation may not generate enough profit to cover the costs and expenditures.

In summary, I can only be totally convinced if the arguer provide me with the following justifications for his/her assumptions: the heating oil tradition has not changed, the new technologies for heating are not invented and applied, the climate in the region will be significantly cold and will last for a long time, the house being built will be used for accommodating people and installed with the old heating systems and people will purchase heating oil individually for the warm air.

-- by 会员 helencumc (2012/10/7 21:32:23)

第一点和第三点中关于取暖方式的改变，感觉有点交叉了，LZ看怎么处理下