In the future, it is expected that there will be more elderly people than young people. Is this a positive or negative development?
With the rise of life expectancy and the drop in birth rate, Europe and Japan already have aged populations. China is headed in the same direction. The received wisdom is that an aging population represents an ominous trend and poses unique challenges to societies where it is happening. I think characterizing the trend as either positive or negative is counterproductive and distracts us from finding real solutions.
First of all, an aging population does have its accompanying problems. Research shows that young people are more willing to make risky investments that have a potential for a great gain. Young people are also motivated to reinvest in their own human capital; they learn new things and develop new skills when they perceive the new knowledge and new skills as useful in an evolving society. Elderly people, on the other hand, are conservative in investment and are reluctant to reinvest in their own human capital because the return on investment does not justify the cost as they near the retirement age. As a result, an economy with more young people is more innovative, more dynamic, and more adaptive. Moreover, retired elderly people are net consumers of resources. They can become overly burdensome for the social welfare system and the younger generations.
The problems, however, should not discourage us from finding solutions. Our social policies regarding retirement age were made in an age when people rarely lived into their 70s. As people live longer and longer, these policies need to adapt, too. Elderly people should be encouraged to postpone their retirement plans. Means-testing retirement benefits is another way of alleviating the burden on the social welfare system we need to consider.
Elderly people can also have beneficial influences on the society that people do not generally think about. More elderly people mean a bigger market for cures for hitherto intractable diseases that afflict elderly people more often, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. With more elderly people having ready cash to spend, pharmaceutical companies will be incentivized to invest more in looking for cures for these diseases. And just as a side note, it has been suggested that elderly people can contribute to increased gender equality by being more actively engaged in the upbringing of their grandchildren, thus making it possible for working mothers to devote more of their time to their careers.
To sum up, the fact that there will be more elderly people does pose real challenges. But we need not be discouraged and cannot shy away from trying to find solutions. Elderly people deserve our support and gratitude with a lifetime of contribution to the society behind them. And who knows, we may have the elderly people to thank for the cure for cancer someday.
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作者: kjeok1o1m0 时间: 2012-10-15 19:36
to tanshen,
专业其实不重要。也许是老生常谈，不过学习英语最好的方法还是使用。而且各个方面的使用不能偏废，互相不能取代。要提高写作就要广读英语母语者写的各类文章，不光是和专业相关的。要提高口语就要多说。很多人意识不到的是口语与书面语是有细微差别的，因此只学习口语材料（电视剧电影等）是无法提高写作的。
to eagerbeaver,
民主社会，投票者的数字游戏。Hispanics也未必如上面有位说的那样团结。不过基数大了后，只要有一部分对同一个问题有强烈看法就足以影响政治。允许不同的政治倾向，而不强求基于族群忠诚的政治倾向应该是在民主社会生活的基本素质。美国现在的移民制度设立于60年代，当时对后来知识经济的发展预估有限，而世界劳工运动的余波影响仍在（引入移民工人被视为资方压低工人工资的伎俩），导致移民制度极偏向亲属移民而不利于雇佣，技术移民。再往后由于大量有投票权的人有待移民的外国亲属，导致缩减亲属移民政治上不现实，而保守派又不愿意增加移民总数，再加上美国政治制度天生容易产生gridlock，移民问题又如此敏感，终于造成今天的局面。个人估计短期内无解。
楼主如果方便的话，能不能写一个下面的作文呢 （急急忙忙找了个比较近的）？先谢过！
In many countries, students must leave school because of their poor behaviours. Some people think it is a good idea, while others argue that there are other ways to solve this problem.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
In many countries, students must leave school because of their poor behaviours. Some people think it is a good idea, while others argue that there are other ways to solve this problem.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Whether expulsion from school is an appropriate punishment for students with poor behaviors is a tough question to answer. At stake are multiple competing, yet equally legitimate, interests. In trying to answer the question, we need to properly balance educational goals for the misbehaving students in question against educational goals for other students, safety concerns for other students and the school staff, and resource restrictions.
Everyone in the society benefits from a generally educated citizenry. A democracy cannot function without a generally educated citizenry. Therefore, unlike their private counterparts that are allowed to have more limited missions, public schools, funded by taxpayer money, are tasked with, and should strive for providing an adequate education to as many young citizens as possible. In the educational context, disciplinary actions and punishment mainly serve two worthy objectives: deterrence and rehabilitation. The effectiveness of expulsion, however, is questionable on both counts. It is quite likely that students with poor behaviors would not take expulsion seriously to begin with. And absent discipline and positive role models provided by the school, they are more likely to have a troubled life or, worse yet, a life of crimes down the road. Because expulsion is so lacking in positive effects, public schools, given the nature of their missions, should avoid it when more effective disciplinary measures, such as in-school discipline and counseling, are feasible. Generally speaking, expulsion is not an appropriate punishment for non-violent offences such as defiance of authority, truancy, and plagiarism.
What is said above does not mean expulsion is never appropriate. Indeed, expulsion is called for when violence is involved. This point was made all the more stark by the Columbine High School massacre. When a student brings a firearm on to the campus, or sexually assaults a schoolmate, or otherwise does anything that would constitute a violent crime if done by an adult, he or she not only seriously disrupts other students’ educational goals, but puts other students’ and school staff’s personal safety in danger as well. Schools have limited budgets and resources, and are ill-equipped to deal with such violent students. In instances like these, the violent misbehaving student’s interest in receiving an education must yield to the concerns for other students’ and the staff’s safety, and the misbehaving student should be expelled, and justifiably so.
In conclusion, expulsion is an exacting punishment with little educational value. It must be used judiciously. But when reserved as a last resort to deal with violent and dangerous students, expulsion is appropriate, even desirable.