Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Young people today are more likely to help others than young people in the past.
【譯文】你是否同意下面的陳述：現今年輕人比以前更樂于助人
【解析】有了解過托福考試官方指南(Official Guide)的同學都應該知道獨立寫作5分原始分標準里面的第一條是“有效地回應寫作話題和任務”
具體來說，就是要求各位同學在看到題目之后，可以選用2-3個論點去論證自己的主要立場，這個立場就是全文的總論點，英文是‘Thesis’。很多同學的問題在于，在文章開頭可以提出一個很清晰的立場，同時頭腦中大概也能想到支撐該立場的原因，但是在真正開始寫主體段的時候，所用的表達方式、所寫的句子就會讓人看得云里霧里！換句話說，就是沒有很好地把關鍵內容——整個段落里面的‘核心’用一句話寫下來，這句話叫做文章的主題句，英文是‘Topic Sentence’ (TS)。那么如何解決這個問題呢？接下來我們就以下面這篇范文一起來探討一下。

In our country there has always been a spirit of volunteerism. As children, we are taught that helping those less fortunate is our responsibility. But unfortunately, the growing prosperity of the nation has placed an emphasis on materialism and individual success, creating a generation of youth that do not understand the meaning of being selfless. I believe young people today are not as charitable as previous generations of young people.
【譯文】在我們國家，始終有一種志愿精神的精神。從孩子時代起，我們就被教育說，幫助那些不幸的人是我們的責任。但不幸的是，這個國家日益增長的繁榮把重點放在了物質主義和個人成功上，造就了一代不懂得無私的人。我認為今天的年輕人不像前幾代年輕人那樣仁慈。
【解析】很多同學在拿到一個獨立寫作題目的時候，所面臨的第一個難點就是不知道該如何開頭。單刀直入的In my opinion，I agree…覺得太過簡單粗暴，而花式開頭又不知該從何入手。本文通過描述與該題材關鍵詞相關的一些社會現狀、現象、問題、趨勢等內容來引入話題。然后直截了當的表明傾向性立場。不過建議可以注意對“我認為”的表達，盡量避免使用“I think”、“I believe”等比較俗套的短語，可以使用比如“From my own perspective”, “I am inclined to”, “I am prone to”等表達方式。

The main reasons I am so skeptical of the inclination of today’s youth to help people is that they are spoiled. I remember when I was young and using a computer at the public library was a privilege. When my parents bought me my own computer when I went to university, I understood how much they sacrificed to give me that as a present. Nowadays, children see expensive computers, like the iPad and iPhone, as a necessity, not a privilege. They receive all these kinds of gifts without comprehending how much their parents sacrifice to give them the very best in the latest technology. They do not know what it is to be without. I believe this has created a generation of selfish young people who do not understand and cannot empathize with those less fortunate, making them less likely to feel compelled to help others.
【譯文】我對今天的年輕人更樂于助人這一點持懷疑態度，主要原因是現在的年輕人被寵壞了。我記得我年輕的時候在公共圖書館用電腦是一種特權。當我上大學的時候，我的父母給我買了我自己的電腦，我知道他們為了給我這個禮物而犧牲了多少。如今，孩子們把像iPad和iPhone這樣的昂貴電腦視作必需品，而不是一種特權。他們收到了各種各樣的禮物，卻不知道他們的父母為了給他們最好的最新技術而犧牲了多少。他們不知道沒有的是什么。我相信，這造就了一代自私的年輕人，他們不理解，也不能同情那些不幸的人，讓他們不太可能去幫助別人。
【解析】段落的主題句可以出現在主體段落的開頭、結尾或者中間部分。但是我們建議各位同學在考托福的時候還是要將主題句寫在段落的首句，以便考官更好更快地抓到大家的分論點。然后關于主題句長度的問題，一般情況下，我們建議各位考生使用簡單陳述句來表達觀點，句子長度最好控制在15—20詞之間。本段一開始作者就明確表達自己持懷疑態度，并且表述了原因。后續舉例支持自己的分論點。

In addition, I think this generation has not learned to respect others. Trapped in their own digital world, they are unaware of the disrespect they show their elders when they ignore their parents and grandparents as they text and talk on their cellphones. Maybe that is not the sole cause, but I see a distinct difference between how they behave and how my generation behaved at that age. For example, when riding the bus, it is commonplace to offer your seat to an elderly gentleman or lady. Now, when I ride the bus, I constantly see young people who are sitting in the seats specifically reserved for senior citizens and who basically refuse to vacate the seat when a senior citizen enters the bus. Instead, they pretend to be more absorbed in the game on their iPhones, pretending to be unaware of their obligation to offer their chair to those in need. Today’s youth are so wrapped in their own self-interests that they are disrespectful and do not willingly help those in need.
【譯文】此外，我認為這一代人還沒有學會尊重他人。他們被困在自己的數字世界里，沒有意識到他們對長輩的不尊重，當他們無視父母和祖父母在手機上發短信和聊天的時候。也許這并不是唯一的原因，但我看到他們的行為和我們這代人在那個時代的行為有明顯的不同。舉個例子，當你坐公共汽車的時候，把座位讓給一位年長的紳士或女士是很平常的事。現在，當我坐公共汽車的時候，我經常看到年輕人坐在專門為老年人預留的座位，當一個老人坐上公共汽車時，他們基本上拒絕離開座位。相反，他們假裝自己更專注于iphone上的游戲，假裝不知道自己有義務為有需要的人提供椅子。如今年輕人是如此地沉浸在他們自己的利益之中，以至于他們不尊重別人，也不愿意幫助那些有需要的人。

【解析】主題句在段落中充當著一個 ‘路標’（road map）的功能，它應該包含著段落要展開的一個核心思想。本文作者在段首明確自己的觀點，認為我們這一代人還沒有學會尊重他人。表達清楚，整個段落的核心內容很明了。從內容層面講，一個好的主題句一般都會包含以下兩個特征：
1. 包含論證的主題 (state the topic)
2. 提出個人對主題的明確觀點，而不僅僅是陳述一個事實 (include clear personal ideas; do not just state the fact)

Admittedly, it is not entirely correct to say that all young people are selfish and do not help others. The number of volunteer organizations in schools and community suggests that there are many youths who understand the importance of helping our fellow man. I am certain there are many students who full-heartedly believe in volunteerism and charity, but I think that in general these school volunteer programs serve a selfish end. Volunteering has more or less become a requirement for college applications. A student who does not have any volunteer service experience is a less competitive applicant than one who does have volunteer service experience. Although there may be a few students who genuinely believe in the social responsibility of charity, many students participate simply to forward their own self-interests.
【譯文】誠然，說所有的年輕人都是自私的，不幫助別人是不完全正確的。在學校和社區里，志愿組織的數量表明，有許多年輕人明白幫助我們的同胞的重要性。我敢肯定，有許多學生完全相信志愿精神和慈善，但我認為，總的來說，這些學校的志愿者項目還是出于自私的目的。志愿活動或多或少成為了大學申請的必要條件。一個沒有任何志愿服務經驗的學生，比一個有志愿服務經驗的學生更缺乏競爭力。盡管可能有一些學生真正相信慈善的社會責任，但許多學生只是簡單地參與到他們自己的自我利益中去。
【解析】托福考試官方指南(Official Guide)關于托福獨立寫作5分標準里面的第二條是“（文章）結構/邏輯好、內容拓展好，運用了十分合適的解釋、例證、以及或者細節”，這要求考生在段落內容拓展的時候要使用足夠的信息點（information）例如原因、例子和細節來支撐自己所寫該段的論點。作者每次提出一個分論點，都會舉一個具體示例去論證自己的觀點，使得內容豐滿殷實。

Today’s youth, who have been raised in a period of affluence and privilege and do not understand what it means to have nothing, are self-centered, disrespectful, and less likely to help other than previous generations.
【譯文】今天的年輕人，和以前相比，他們在富裕和特權的時期長大，不明白什么是一無所有，以自我為中心，不懂尊重，不太可能幫助別人。
【解析】面對托福獨立寫作，好的開頭固然重要，但是一個好的結尾，也能夠我們的作文增加分數。一個好的結尾段應該滿足如下幾個功能：1. 重申文章觀點;2. 總結主體段落的論點;3. 升華主題。

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