GRE寫作官方題庫(kù)高頻ARGUMENT題目滿分范文分享： available space in our landfill
The following appeared in a memo from the mayor of the town of West Egg:
"Two years ago, our consultants predicted that West Egg's landfill, which is used for garbage disposal, would be completely filled within five years. During the past two years, however, town residents have been recycling twice as much aluminum and paper as they did in previous years. Next month the amount of material recycled should further increase, since charges for garbage pickup will double. Furthermore, over ninety percent of the respondents to a recent survey said that they would do more recycling in the future. Because of our residents' strong commitment to recycling, the available space in our landfill should last for considerably longer than predicted."
【滿分范文賞析】
In this memo West Egg's mayor indicates that a variety of factors lead to an increase in recycling and a reduction in the amount of trash deposited in the landfill. The landfill, he states, should not be full for considerably longer than previously projected. To support this projection the mayor cites the following evidence: (1) a twofold increase in aluminum and paper recycling by West Egg residents over the last two years, (2) an impending twofold increase in charges for trash pickup, and (3) a recent survey in which 90% of respondents indicated that they intend to do more recycling in the future. For several reasons, however, I am not convinced that the mayor's projection is accurate.
【本段結(jié)構(gòu)】
本文采用了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的Argument開(kāi)頭段結(jié)構(gòu)，即C—A—F的開(kāi)頭結(jié)構(gòu)。本段首先概括原文的Conclusion，之后簡(jiǎn)要提及原文為支持其結(jié)論所引用的一系列Assumption及細(xì)節(jié)，最后給出開(kāi)頭段到正文段的過(guò)渡句，指出原文的Flaw，即這些Assumption無(wú)法讓原文的結(jié)論具有說(shuō)服力。
【本段功能】
作為Argument開(kāi)頭段，本段具體功能就在于發(fā)起攻擊并概括原文的結(jié)論，即West Egg垃圾池的裝滿要比之前顧問(wèn)預(yù)期的晚。本段接下來(lái)提到了原文中為支持之前的Conclusion所提供的證據(jù)，包括West Egg居民對(duì)于某些特定垃圾的回收量上升了，對(duì)于居民征收的垃圾處理費(fèi)用加倍，以及最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查表明居民們?cè)趯?lái)會(huì)做更多的垃圾回收。文章提及這些信息，為是在正文段中對(duì)這些Assumption即將進(jìn)行的具體攻擊做鋪墊。
To begin with, aluminum and paper may account for only some of the materials West Egg's residents can recycle. Perhaps recycling of other recyclable materials (plastic and glass) has declined to the point that the total amount of recycled materials has also declined. If so, then the mayor could hardly justify the claim that West Egg's residents are becoming more committed to recycling.
【本段結(jié)構(gòu)】
本段采用了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的Argument正文段結(jié)構(gòu)，即先是提及原文的第一個(gè)邏輯錯(cuò)誤，之后分析該邏輯錯(cuò)誤的原因，接下來(lái)，進(jìn)一步分析這樣的錯(cuò)誤為什么讓原文的Conclusion不成立。
【本段功能】
作為正文第一段，本段攻擊原文所犯的第一個(gè)重要邏輯錯(cuò)誤——因果類錯(cuò)誤。原文假設(shè)對(duì)鋁制品和紙制品的廢物回收工作能夠減少垃圾的排放量。但是，這樣的假設(shè)忽視了其它相關(guān)的因素，畢竟這兩種特定的垃圾回收也許只占總垃圾回收的一部分而已。那么原文的結(jié)論就不能成立。
Another problem with the argument is that an increase in the amount of recycled materials does not necessarily indicate a decrease in the total amount of trash deposited in the city's landfill. Admittedly, if West Egg residents previously disposed of certain recyclable materials that they now recycle instead, then this shift from disposal to recycling would serve to reduce the amount of trash going to the landfill. However, the mayor provides no evidence of such a shift.
【本段結(jié)構(gòu)】
本段采用了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的Argument正文段結(jié)構(gòu)，即先是提及原文的第三個(gè)邏輯錯(cuò)誤，之后分析該邏輯錯(cuò)誤的原因，接下來(lái)，進(jìn)一步分析這樣的錯(cuò)誤為什么讓原文的Conclusion不成立。
【本段功能】
作為正文第三段，本段攻擊原文所犯的第三個(gè)重要邏輯錯(cuò)誤——因果類錯(cuò)誤。原文假設(shè)垃圾堆填滿的速度僅僅和人們的丟放垃圾的習(xí)慣有關(guān)。但是，和第二個(gè)假設(shè)類似，作者忽視了和垃圾填方速度相關(guān)的其它因素。因此，原文并不能證明這樣的假設(shè)成立，進(jìn)而不能證明其結(jié)論有意義。
Finally, the mayor provides no evidence that the survey's respondents are representative of the overall group of people whose trash goes to the city's landfill. It is entirely possible that people inclined to recycle were more willing to respond to the survey than other people were. In short, without better evidence that the survey is statistically reliable the mayor cannot rely on it to draw any firm conclusions about the overall recycling commitment of West Egg residents.
