GRE作文范文 Argument-26

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

嘉文博譯Sample Essay

The following appeared in a letter from the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment building to its manager.

"One month ago, all the showerheads on the first five floors of Sunnyside Towers were modified to restrict the water flow to approximately 1/3 of its original force. Although actual readings of water usage before and after the adjustment are not yet available, the change will obviously result in a considerable savings for Sunnyside Corporation, since the corporation must pay for water each month. Except for a few complaints about low water pressure, no problems with showers have been reported since the adjustment. Clearly, restricting water flow throughout all the 20 floors of Sunnyside Towers will increase our profits further."

In this argument, the owner of the Sunnyside Towers apartment building states that one month ago, the showerheads on the first five floors of the building were changed to restrict the flow of water to one third of its original force. The owner argues that the change will result in saving a considerable amount of money for the company because the corporation pays for the water each month. The owner further states that other than a few complaints about low water pressure, there have been no problems with the showers reported since the change. The owner then concludes that all twenty floors of the apartment building should have restricted water flow to further increase the corporation's profits. This argument is based on faulty logic and fails to convince that the change will increase the corporation's profits.

First of all, it is possible that there will actually be no water savings at all due to the modification of the showerheads. It is quite a reduction in water flow, down to one third of its original force, so it is likely that it takes Sunnyside's tenants much longer to take a shower. If it takes the tenants three times as long to take a shower, there will be no net savings of water at all, and therefore no cost savings. Because the actual "before and after adjustment" water usage statistics are not available, it is purely speculation that less water will be used.

Secondly, showers are only one use of water and perhaps not even the biggest use at that. Considerable amounts of water may be used for washing clothes, for example. The percentage of water used by taking a shower may in fact be a very small proportion of the total water usage. Reducing the flow of water through the showerhead may result in very little overall water savings. Furthermore, it is possible that most of the tenants of the apartment building take a bath rather than a shower. There would be absolutely no water savings by changing the showerheads in apartments where the tenants take a bath instead of a shower. If there is no or very little water saved by making the change to restrict the flow of water through showerheads, there will obviously be very little increase of profits due to the lower cost of water usage.

Thirdly, the owner states that there have been only a few complaints about low water pressure, and no problems with showers having been reported since the adjustment. The owner doesn't state exactly how many complaints there have been related to how many apartments have had their showerheads modified. For example, if five out of a total of ten tenants have complained, a "few" is a significant percentage of those that live there. Additionally, it is likely that many more tenants don't like the change but have not had the time or the willingness to complain. Rather than complain, it is possible that they will simply move out. If tenants begin to move out because of the poor performance of their showers, profits for Sunnyside will decrease rather than increase. Fewer tenants paying rent would have a far more negative impact on profitability than any positive impact by the lower costs of reduced water usage. The owner should make further inquiries as to whether the modified showerheads have caused problems rather than waiting for complaints to come in before changing over all the showerheads in the building.

To summarize, the owner is not looking at the big picture but rather basing his argument on assumptions that have no basis in fact. Without providing evidence that the tenants are indeed not bothered by the change and that reducing water usage will actually further increase profits, the owner's argument remains unconvincing.

(633 words)

參考譯文

下文取自陽光塔公寓業(yè)主給其經(jīng)理的一封信

"一個月前，陽光塔公寓五層以下所有人的淋浴噴嘴都進行了改裝，以便把水流控制在原水流的近三分之一。盡管在改裝之前和之后的實際用水的讀數(shù)目前尚未獲得，但是這一變化顯然會為陽光公司節(jié)省大筆開支，因為公司必須每月支付水費。除了幾起投訴說水壓低之外，自調(diào)整改裝之后，還沒有報告說有什么淋浴問題。顯然，對陽光塔公寓全部20層實施限水，將進一步增加我們的利潤。"

在這一論證中，陽光塔公寓的業(yè)主聲稱一個月前五層以下的淋浴噴嘴都進行了改裝，以便把水流控制在原水流的三分之一。業(yè)主說到，這一改裝將為公司節(jié)省大筆開支，因為公司每月須支付水費。業(yè)主進而言道，除了幾起投訴說水壓較低以外，改裝之后還沒有報告說有什么淋浴問題。業(yè)主接著得出結論，公寓的全部20層都應該限水，以便進一步增加公司的利潤。本段論證的邏輯基礎是錯誤的，并不能使人確信改裝將會提高公司的利潤。

首先，很有可能由于淋浴噴嘴的改裝而一點也不能節(jié)水。把水流控制在原水流的三分之一，水流肯定減弱了許多，因而很可能陽光公寓的房客沖淋浴的時間延長了許多。倘若房客洗淋浴的時間是原先的三倍，就不會節(jié)水，因而也不會節(jié)約費用。由于"改裝前和改裝后"的實際用水量尚無記錄，用水少純粹是臆斷。

第二，淋浴只是用水的其中一種方式，或許甚至不是最主要的方式。例如，大量的水會用來洗衣。淋浴用水的百分率，實際上可能是總用水量中的很小一部分。在噴嘴上減少水流，可能會有少量的節(jié)水。再者，有可能公寓的房客洗盆浴而不是沖淋浴。這樣，在房客洗盆浴而不洗淋浴的公寓改換淋浴噴嘴，根本就不會節(jié)水。如果改裝淋浴噴嘴限制水流并沒能節(jié)水，那么也就不會因為降低用水成本而增加利潤。

第三，業(yè)主說道，只有幾起投訴抱怨水壓低，而且自改裝之后還沒有報告說淋浴有問題。業(yè)主沒有精確無誤地陳述有多少起投訴與多少間改裝淋浴噴嘴的公寓有關。例如，如果10個房客中有5個投訴，那么"幾起"就是居住在那里的房客總數(shù)中的一個很高的百分比。此外，有可能許多其他的房客不喜歡這一改裝但沒有時間或不愿意投訴。他們沒有采用投訴這一形式，而是可能搬出去。倘若房客因為淋浴問題而搬遷出去，那么陽光公司的利潤不但不會增加反而會減少。租房的房客減少，會因為減少水量對總體利潤產(chǎn)生負面影響而非正面影響。業(yè)主在把公寓所有的淋浴噴嘴改裝之前應該作進一步調(diào)查，以便弄清楚改裝的淋浴是否已造成問題，而不應該等待人們前來投訴。