When you take the analytical writing section of the GRE General Test, you will be presented with two Issue topics from this pool. Because the wording of some topics in the test might vary slightly from what is presented here, you should read your test topics carefully and respond to the wording as it appears in the actual test.

Present your perspective on the issue below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to support your views.

Issue 1

"We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose views contradict our own; disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning."
“一般而言，从那些我们能认同其观点的人那里，我们所能学到的东西远多于那些观点与我们相悖的人；意见分歧会导致压抑并阻碍我们的学习。”

Issue 2

"Competition is ultimately more beneficial than detrimental to society."
“最终而言，竞争将对社会利大于弊。”

Issue 3

"It is more important to allocate money for immediate, existing social problems than to spend it on long-term research that might help future generations."
“将经费用来解决直接的、现存的社会问题，要比将它花费在那些可能造福人类下一代的长远研究上来得更为重要。”

Issue 4

"No field of study can advance significantly unless outsiders bring their knowledge and experience to that field of study."
“除非有局外人将其知识和经验带入某一特定研究领域，否则，任何研究领域均无法获得重大进展。”

Issue 5

"A nation should require all its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college rather than allow schools in different parts of the nation to determine which academic courses to offer."
“一个国家应该要求它的所有学生学习相同的全国性课程，直到他们进入大学，而不应该允许全国不同地区的学校来自行决定向学生提供何种课程。”

Issue 6

"The most effective way to understand contemporary culture is to analyze the trends of its youth."
“理解当代文化最有效的方法是去分析其年轻一代人身上的各种趋势。”

Issue 7

"The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records."
“录像机能提供如此精确和令人信服的有关当代生活的记录，以致于它与书面记载相比已成为一种更为重要的记载方式。”

Issue 8

"It is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public."
“对于政治领袖们来说，向公众隐藏某些信息常常是必要的，甚至是可取的。”

Issue 9

"Academic disciplines have become so specialized in recent years that scholars' ideas reach only a narrow audience. Until scholars can reach a wider audience, their ideas will have little use."
“在最近几年中，学术性学科已变得如此专业化，以致于学者们的思想只能抵达一群非常狭窄的受众。除非学者们的思想能抵达一群更为广泛的受众，否则，他们的思想将几乎毫无用处。”

Issue 10

"Governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support they need in order to thrive, because it is primarily in cities that a nation's cultural traditions are preserved and generated."
“政府必须确保大城市能获得它们所需的财政支持以便保持繁荣，因为一个国家的文化传统主要是在都市里才能得到保护并得以产生。”

Issue 11

"All nations should help support the development of a global university designed to engage students in the process of solving the world's most persistent social problems."
“所有国家应该伸出援助之手，来推动建立一所世界大学，从而使学生置身于解决世界上最积重难返的社会问题这一进程。”

Issue 12

"People's attitudes are determined more by their immediate situation or surroundings than by any internal characteristic."
“人们的态度在较大程度上是由他们的直接情形或环境所决定的，而不是由任何内在的特点所决定的。”

Issue 13

"Many of the world's lesser-known languages are being lost as fewer and fewer people speak them. The governments of countries in which these languages are spoken should act to prevent such languages from becoming extinct."
“世界上许多不那么著名的语言正在不断消亡，因为说这些语言的人数量越来越少。说这些语言的国家，其政府应该行动起来，阻止这些语言趋于灭绝。”

Issue 14

"It is necessary for everyone to read poetry, novels, mythology and other types of imaginative literature."
“所有人都有必要去阅读诗歌、小说、神话和其他类型的想像性文学。”

Issue 15

"The stability of a society depends on how it responds to the extremes of human behavior."
“一个社会的稳定取决于它如何来应对极端的人类行为。”

Issue 16

"Although many people think that the luxuries and conveniences of contemporary life are entirely harmless, in fact, they actually prevent people from developing into truly strong and independent individuals."
“尽管许多人认为当代生活的奢侈与便利全然无害，但它们实际上使人们无法成为真正强有力且独立的个体。”

Issue 17

"There are two types of laws: just and unjust. Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and, even more importantly, to disobey and resist unjust laws."
“有两种法律，公正的与不公正的。置身于社会中的每个个人都有责任去遵守公正的法律，甚至更重要的是，去拒不服从并抵制不公正的法律。”

Issue 18

"Only by being forced to defend an idea against the doubts and contrasting views of others does one really discover the value of that idea."
“只有当人们被迫针对他人的怀疑和对立观点为自己的观点进行辩护时，他们才会真正发现该观点的价值。”

Issue 19

"If a society is to thrive, it must put its own overall success before the well-being of its individual citizens."
“一个社会若想繁荣昌盛，它就必须将其自身的整体成功置于个体公民的福祉之前。”

Issue 20

"National governments should devote more of their social programs and services to children than to adults."
“各国政府应将其社会计划和服务更多地致力于孩子而非成人。”

Issue 21

"Reform is seldom brought about by people who are concerned with their own reputation and social standing. Those who are really in earnest about reforming a government, an educational system, or any other institution must be willing to be viewed with disdain by the rest of the world."
“改革不应由那些关注其名声和社会地位的人来进行。那些真正很认真想改革政府、教育制度或任何体制的人们应该愿意被社会的所有其他成员以鄙视的态度来看待。”

Issue 22

"Many people believe that a few individuals or small groups (family, friends, teachers, celebrities, for example) have caused them to think and behave in the way they do. Yet it is always society as a whole that defines us and our attitudes, not a few individuals."
“许多人相信，小数几个个人或小团体（例如家庭、友人、老师或名人）导致他们以现在的这种方式进行思考和行动。但总是整个社会，而不是少数几个个人在制约着我们及我们的态度。”

Issue 23

"Contemporary technology makes available many small pieces of factual information. As a result, people have become so preoccupied with bits of fragmented information that they pay too little attention to the larger issues and overall perspectives."
“现当代技术使我们能获取许多条事实性的小信息。这样一来，人们变得如此专注于一条条支离破碎的信息，以致于他们很少将注意力集中在较大的问题和全局性视野上。”

Issue 24

"People in positions of power are most effective when they exercise caution and restraint in the use of that power."
“处于权力位置上的人只有在行使其权力时做到慎重而有节制，才能最为有效地行事。”

Issue 25

"Anyone can make things bigger and more complex. What requires real effort and courage is to move in the opposite direction—in other words, to make things as simple as possible."
“任何人都能将事情做得更大、更为复杂。真正需要努力和勇气去做的是采取相反方向的行动——换言之，使事情变得尽可能的简单。”

Issue 26

"Most people would agree that buildings represent a valuable record of any society's past, but controversy arises when old buildings stand on ground that modern planners feel could be better used for modern purposes. In such situations, modern development should be given precedence over the preservation of historic buildings so that contemporary needs can be served."
“大多数人都会同意，建筑物代表着任何一个社会有价值的历史记录；但当旧建筑物矗立在那些被当代规划者觉得能更好地满足当代目的的地面上时，争论便由此而生。在这样的情形中，现代发现与保护古迹之间，前者应得到优先考虑，以便使当代的需求能得以满足。”

Issue 27

"No one can possibly achieve success in the world by conforming to conventional practices and conventional ways of thinking."
“遵循常规做法和常规思维模式，世界上几乎不可能有人取得成功。”

Issue 28

"Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little."
“只有当学生研习过了那些有助于解释某些事实的思想、潮流和概念之后才应该去铭记这些事实。只铭记事实的学生可谓知之甚少。”

Issue 29

"Public figures such as actors, politicians, and athletes should expect people to be interested in their private lives. When they seek a public role, they should expect that they will lose at least some of their privacy."
“公共人物，如演员、政治家和体育运动员应该能料到人们会对其私生活甚感兴趣。当他们追求一种公共角色时，他们应能预料到他们将至少丧失一部分隐私。”

Issue 30

"The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time."
“技术进步的主要目标是提高人们的效率，这样，每个人都能享受更多的闲暇时光。”

Issue 31

"Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial."
“即使在某项研究结果有争议的情况下，花费在该项研究上的经费几乎总是不失为一项有益的投资。

Issue 32

"A school or college should pay its teachers at the same rate in all disciplines, regardless of differences in salaries for related fields in the world outside of school. For example, entry-level teachers in mathematics and in the arts should receive the same pay, even if outside of school, math specialists earn a much higher salary on average than do specialists in the arts."
“任何一所学校或学院应该向所有学科的教员支付同等的薪酬，无论学校之外的社会上相关领域中的薪酬差异有多大。例如，刚开始执教的艺术类和数学类教员应获得相同的工资，尽管在学校之外，数学专家平均要比艺术专家工资远来得高。”

Issue 33

"Creating an appealing image has become more important in contemporary society than is the reality or truth behind that image."
“在当代社会中，创造一种有吸引力的形象已变得比该形象背后的现实或真相来得更为重要。”

Issue 34

"Instead of requiring students to take courses in a variety of disciplines—that is, courses ranging from the arts and the humanities to the physical and biological sciences—colleges and universities should allow students to enroll only in those courses that will help prepare them for jobs in their chosen fields. Such concentration is necessary in today's increasingly work-oriented society."
“学院和大学不应该要求学生学习诸多学科中的各种课程，包括艺术与人文学科到物理与生物科学的课程。相反，应允许学生仅仅去学习那些能帮助他们为其所选择的领域中的工作做好准备的课程。在当今越来越面向工作的社会中，这样一种专业侧重是必要的。”

Issue 35

"No matter what the situation, it is more harmful to compromise one's beliefs than to adhere to them."
“不管情况如何，放弃自己的信仰要比坚持这些信仰来得更为有害。”

Issue 36

"The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries."
“某些个人是否伟大，只能由那些生活在他们之后的人来决定，而无法由其同代人来决定。”

Issue 37

"In most societies, competition generally has more of a negative than a positive effect."
“在大多数社会中，竞争一般弊大于利。”

Issue 38

"In the age of television, reading books is not as important as it once was. People can learn as much by watching television as they can by reading books."
“在电视时代，阅读书籍不再像过去那么重要了。人们通过看电视，可以学到与看书同样多的东西。”

Issue 39

"The intellectual benefits of attending a university or college are vastly overrated: most people could learn more by studying and reading on their own for four years than by pursuing a university or college degree."
“上大学或学院所能带来的智力裨益被过分夸大。大多数人自己通过四年的学习和阅读就可以比获得大学或学院的学位学到更多的东西。”

Issue 40

"Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests, however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem."
“学者与研究人员不应该关注他们的研究是否能为整个社会作出贡献。更重要的是，他们应该去追求他们的兴趣，无论这些兴趣有可能会显得多么的异常或独特。”

Issue 41

"Such nonmainstream areas of inquiry as astrology, fortune-telling, and psychic and paranormal pursuits play a vital role in society by satisfying human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science."
“诸如占星术、算命、以及通灵和超科学追求等非主流探究领域在社会中起着举足轻重的作用，因为它们满足了主流科学所不曾涉及的人类需要。”

Issue 42

"Because learning is not a solitary activity but one that requires collaboration among people, students of all ages will benefit academically if they work frequently in groups."
“由于学习不是一项孤立的活动，而是一项需要人们彼此间相互合作的活动，因此，每个年龄段的学生如果经常以群体的形式进行学习，他们在学业上就会获益匪浅。”

Issue 43

"To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards."
“要成为一个卓有成效的领导者，每一位公共官员必须维持至高的伦理与道德水准。”

Issue 44

"Government should not fund any scientific research whose consequences, either medical or ethical, are unclear."
“任何科学研究，如果其后果——不管是医学上的还是伦理上的——不明晰，政府就不应该予以资助。”

Issue 45

"Anyone can make things bigger and more complex. What requires real effort and courage is to move in the opposite direction—in other words, to make things as simple as possible."
“任何人都能将事情做得更大、更为复杂。真正需要努力和勇气去做的是采取相反方向的行动——换言之，使事情变得尽可能的简单。”

Issue 46

"While some leaders in government, sports, industry, and other areas attribute their success to a well-developed sense of competition, a society can better prepare its young people for leadership by instilling in them a sense of cooperation."
“虽然政府、体育、工业及其他领域的领袖将其成功归诸于一种成熟的竞争意识，但社会通过向青年一代灌输某种合作意识可能会使年轻人更好地作好进入社会的准备。”

Issue 47

"Society does not place enough emphasis on the intellect—that is, on reasoning and other cognitive skills."
“社会对人类理智——即逻辑推理及其他认知技能——没能给予足够的重视。”

Issue 48

"The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."
“史学研究过分注重个人。历史上最重大的事件和趋势并不是由少数杰出人物造就的，而是由那些其身份早就湮没无闻的人类群体所创造的。”

Issue 49

"Imaginative works such as novels, plays, films, fairy tales, and legends present a more accurate and meaningful picture of human experience than do factual accounts. Because the creators of fiction shape and focus reality rather than report on it literally, their creations have a more lasting significance."
“诸如小说、戏剧、电影、童话、传奇故事等虚构性作品，较之于事实性的作品能表现出更为精确的和更有意义的有关人类经验的图画。由于小说的创作者聚焦于现实并塑造现实，而不是如实地报道现实，故他们的创造具有一种更为持久的意义。”

Issue 50

"In order to improve the quality of instruction at the college and university level, all faculty should be required to spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach."
“为了提高学院和大学一级的教学质量，所有教职人员都应该花一定时间从事学术界之外与他们所教课程相关的职业。”

嘉文博译郑重声明：