GRE作文范文 Issue-32

“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.”

嘉文博譯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)

參考譯文

實(shí)用性是我們現(xiàn)在最大的偶像，我們所有的力量和才能都必須服務(wù)于它。任何不具明顯實(shí)用性的事物在今天的世界上都是沒有價值的。

一個事物在今天的世界上是否實(shí)用，其價值取決于用誰的觀點(diǎn)去看待它。在比較富裕的國家，花哨卻無實(shí)際價值的和明顯無用的產(chǎn)品、觀念和服務(wù)設(shè)施比比皆是。但是，即使在這些較為富裕的國家，仍然有一些人僅能勉強(qiáng)糊口存活，與那些富得荒淫無度的人們構(gòu)成鮮明對照。相反，對于比較貧窮的、仍然處于發(fā)展中的國家(他們構(gòu)成人類的大多數(shù))，實(shí)用常常是生存的必要條件。正是不同觀點(diǎn)之間的一個饒有趣味的對比，才揭示出了不同類型的社會之間以及生活于這些社會中的人們之間的一個真正的兩極分化。

首先，我們可以從生活在富裕國家——例如美國——的人們的視角來審視“實(shí)用”。實(shí)際上在聯(lián)邦的每一個州，都有窮人生活于貧困之中。從加利福尼亞的市鎮(zhèn)郊區(qū)到西弗吉亞州的山村，許許多多的人對于不“實(shí)用”的東西毫無需求。食物和住房是他們最迫切需要的東西，他們甚至沒有時間考慮擁有諸如移動電話或衛(wèi)星電視這類沒有意義的物品。對于這些人，實(shí)用是必要條件，而且他們必須使出渾身解數(shù)以保生存。

另一方面，同樣是在美國，有些人擁有多得難以想像的財富，而他們對“實(shí)用”的觀念與前者有著天壤之別。舉一例以說明，億萬富翁Donald Trump或許認(rèn)為，如果沒有他的飛機(jī)、快艇和汽車隊伍，他就不能正常地干他的事情，且不說他所擁有的數(shù)目可觀的豪華飯店和設(shè)施場所。對他來說，實(shí)用意味著那些使他生活得更舒適的東西。毫無疑問，Trump先生擁有著他甚至可能從未見過的財產(chǎn)或財富。對于這些極富的人，“實(shí)用”一詞或許根本就不存在。因?yàn)樗麄儞碛懈嗟腻X能花在那些被其他人認(rèn)為沒有用的東西上，例如價值十萬美元的勞力士手表。這類財產(chǎn)可能不實(shí)用，但它們的確具有價值。對于非常富有之人，實(shí)用性已讓位于需求與欲望。

與上面談到的兩類不同的人形成鮮明對照的是，發(fā)展中國家中有些人甚至從來沒有聽說過衛(wèi)星電視或十萬美元的手表。對于他們來說，實(shí)用就是生活方式。某物如果沒用，就必須被扔掉。他們的目光只是專注于生活，與富裕國家的窮人毫無二致。然而，在一個貧困的國家，這些人很可能會拿這塊昂貴的勞力士手表去換一頭羊或一頭牛——這在他們看來要實(shí)用得多。

雖然富裕國家的人能意識到手表的名牌和質(zhì)量包含著內(nèi)在價值，但在極端貧困的人看來，它只不過是一件毫無用途的金屬和晶體。他們或許利用太陽獲知時間而不是借助手表，盡管手表具有所謂的“價值”。在世界的這些地區(qū)，顯然實(shí)用才是他們每時每刻追求的需要，用途才是他們的才華和精力所投入其中的東西。

總之，人把多少才華和精力投入到一種事物，取決于一個人所賦予給某觀念、產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)的價值。某物是否實(shí)用，以及什么東西就其本身而言是“實(shí)用的”，僅僅取決于一個人的看法。