GRE作文范文 Issue-49

“Creating an appealing image has become more important in contemporary society than is the reality or truth behind that image.”

嘉文博译Sample Essay

“Image is everything.” Perhaps this statement is an over-exaggeration, but not by much. Billions of dollars are spent every year on creating just the right image for products, services and people. An entire industry has been built upon the premise that image is everything. But when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough. If there is no substance behind the image, the product, service or person will ultimately fail. The reality or truth behind the image is at least as important, if not more so, than the image itself.”

First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. Television commercials create a visual imagery that becomes closely associated with the product itself. Public perception of that product or service is certainly manipulated by the images created by the advertising agencies. However, it is not enough to simply have a good image – there must be something of substance behind the image. An advertisement can be a very powerful way to form an image for a product or a service that persuades the consumer to buy the product or try the service. But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly seek recourse by asking for their money back. As an example, consider the Arthur Andersen accounting firm. Arthur Andersen had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness and integrity. But the recent Enron energy company scandal revealed that behind that image, there was corruption and dishonest business practices. Despite having previously had an extremely positive image, the accounting firm is under prosecution by the United States government for criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business entity. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm. Image is important, but the reality and truth behind that image is at least equally important.

Similarly, personal consultants can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars. Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general populace. But once again, although image is important, if there is no truth behind that image, the public will find out. History is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace despite having highly polished, favorable images in the public eye. It is almost a cliché now – the story of the Hollywood actor succumbing to the pressures of fame and fortune and checking into a rehabilitation center. Hardly a month goes by without some famous person doing something that clashes with his or her image, resulting in a huge scandal. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is imminent.

To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is associated with selling a product or service or with the “selling” of a person. Without an appealing image, there is not much chance for a politician to be elected or for a new product to become a worldwide hit. But image is only half of the equation. What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself – the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term sustained success

参考译文

在当代社会, 创造一个有魅力的形象比形象背后的现实或真理还要重要。

　　“形象就是一切。”也许这种说法过于夸张，但夸张得并不严重。每年都有几十亿美元花在为产品、服务和人们创造合适的形象上，以形象就是一切为立足点的一个完整的产业已经建立。但实际上一个有吸引力的形象并不是足够的，假如在形象背后没有内容，产品、服务和人将彻底失败。形象背后的现实或真理最起码与形象本身同等重要，如果不是比形象更重要的话。”

　　首先，人们应该考虑在出售产品和服务过程中形象有多么重要。广告代理们已经把创造形象的艺术发挥到了近乎完美的状态，电视商家创造了与产品本身紧密相关的视觉形象，而那种产品或服务的公共观念当然地受制于广告代理们创造的形象。但是，仅仅拥有一个好的形象是不够的。在为产品或服务制造形象以促使顾客购买产品或尝试服务方面，广告可谓是非常有力的途径。但假如产品或服务并不能等同于所创造的形象，顾客将会不乐意并有可能试图把钱索要回来。举一个例子，想一想亚瑟?安达信会计公司吧。亚瑟?安达信花了几十年时间建立可信与诚实的形象，但安然能源公司丑闻揭露了形象的背后存在着腐败和不诚实的商业行为。尽管以前有完全正面的形象，会计公司还是被美国政府指控有犯罪行为，而且它非常有可能不能恢复为一个商业实体。虽然形象近乎完美，形象背后的现实还是导致了这个世界著名公司的崩溃。形象是重要的，但形象背后的现实和真理最起码是同样的重要。

　　与此相似的是个人顾问可以为政治家或电影明星建立一个公众形象，发布正面的新闻，确保只有最好的照片被出版，以及保证此人只在合适的场合露面,从而可以在公众的心目中建立起积极的形象。但是话又说回来，虽然形象是重要的，假如没有真理在其后，公众必将会发现这一点。历史上这种例子不胜枚举：政治家和电影明星从体面中落泊，尽管在公众心目中有着精心包装、深受喜爱的形象。好莱坞演员被名誉和财富压垮并被送进康复中心几乎是家喻户晓的故事了。几乎没有一个月不发生某个著名人物连同他或她的形象垮掉并成为大丑闻的事。对人来说，就像对产品和服务来说一样，形象当然是重要的，但如果在形象后面没有积极的实在的东西，失败也就为时不远了。

　　总之，有魅力的形象对成功来说是极其重要的，不管它是与卖产品或服务有关还是与“卖”人有关。没有一个有魅力的形象，一个政治家获得选举或一个新产品成为轰动全球的热销品的机会不大，但形象只是方程的一半，形象背后的东西在每一点上都与形象本身同样重要——人或产品必须与形象保持一致，否则长期保持成功的机会将甚为渺茫。

 

GRE作文范文 Argument-49

“In each city in the region of Treehaven, the majority of the money spent on government-run public school education comes from taxes that each city government collects. The region's cities differ, however, in the value they place on public education. For example, Parson City typically budgets twice as much money per year as Blue City does for its public schools---even though both cities have about the same number of residents. It seems clear, therefore, that Parson City residents care more about public school education than do Blue City residents.”

嘉文博译Sample Essay

The thrust of this argument is based on the idea that two different cities place different values on public education because they budget different amounts of money for their public schools. Although each city in the region of Treehaven gets the majority of the money spent on government-run public school education from taxes collected by each city’s governments, Parson City usually budgets twice as much money for public schools as does Blue City, even though the populations are similar. The arguer then concludes that Parson City residents therefore care more about public school education than Blue City residents. There are no facts presented in this argument that can logically lead to such a conclusion.

The entire argument is based on the flimsy premise that because the two cities have the same number of residents, they should therefore budget the same amount of money for each city’s schools. First of all, the money that each city “budgets” for its public schools does not necessarily indicate the value that each city’s residents place on public school education. There could be numerous other reasons for the discrepancy rather than the value that a city’s residents place on public education. For example, it is possible that Parson City’s budget for public education is twice that of Blue City because they have twice the number of students that Blue City has. The number of residents is not the key factor when deciding how much money a public school education system needs, the number of students attending each school district is of paramount importance. Blue City may have a far greater number of older residents, while Parson City may have a much younger average age demographic, demonstrated by a much higher population of school-age children. As another example, it is possible that Blue City “budgets” half the money for public school education that Parson City does because it supports its public schools through other means, such as public bonds or fees, rather than by a budget that comes from tax money. Perhaps Blue City has self-supporting public schools that do not require a budget from the city. In all of these cases, the value that each city places on its public school education is not determined merely by how much money is budgeted by its own city government.

Furthermore, the value or amount of “care” that Parson City or Blue City has for its public education is not necessarily indicated by each city’s budget for its public education system. The money that is budgeted cannot be directly equated with the value that a city’s residents place on its educational system. In theory, a city’s government should follow through with its residents’ wishes regarding how taxes are expended. However, in reality, what a government does may have very little to do with what its residents want, particularly on a short-term basis. It is highly likely that the residents of both cities place an equal value on public school education, regardless of the money budgeted by each city’s government.

In addition, it is possible that Blue City has a much higher proportion of religious or private educational institutions that are meeting its public education needs. Because these types of schools do not depend on governmental funds to operate, the need for public school funding may be half that of Parson City, which may have only public schools and no privately funded schools.

In summary, the arguer bases his or her argument on the fundamentally wrong idea that the amount of money budgeted by a city’s government is directly equivalent to how much that particular city’s residents care about its public school education system. When viewed from this perspective, it is obvious that this argument is not based on logical reasoning and it must therefore be rejected.

参考译文

在Treehaven地区的每个市内，投入到由政府管理的公立学校教育上的经费，多数来自每个市的市政府所征收的税款。但是，该地区的每个城市，它们对公共教育的价值各有不同的认同。例如，Parson市每年为其公立学校预算的经费是Blue市的两倍，尽管这两个城市的居民数量大致相同。因此，似乎显而易见，Parson市的居民要比Blue市的居民更加关注公立学校的教育。

　　上述论点的主旨基于这样一个观念，即两个不同的城市对公共教育的价值有着不同的认同，因为它们对各自公共教育的价值有着不同的认同，因为它们为各自公立学校所作的经费预算完全不同。尽管Treehaven地区的每个城市花在由政府管理的公立学校教育上的经费，大部分来自每个市政府所征收的税款，但Parson市一般情况下投入到公立学校上的预算额度是Blue市的两倍，虽然两市的人口大致一样。论述者然后得出结论认为，与Blue市的居民相比，Parson市的居民由此而表现出了对公立学校教育更大的关注。但是，此项论述中根本没有任何的事实被列举出来，用来合乎逻辑地让人得出这一结论。

　　纵观整项论述，我们发现它仅仅基于这样一个脆弱的前提，即因为两个城市拥有相同数量的居民，因此它们应该为各自城市的公立学校预算相同数额的经费。首先，每个城市为其公立学校“预算”的经费并不必定能表明每个城市的居民所赋予给公立学校教育的价值。对于预算经费的差异，可能存在着其他的原因，这与某一城市的居民所赋予给公共教育的价值无关。例如，Parson市之所以为其公共教育预算了两倍于Blue市的经费，有可能是因为其学生数量两倍于Blue市。在决定某一公立学校教育体系需要多少费用的过程中，居民的数量不是一个关键性因素，而每个校区上学的学生数量才具有至关重要的意义。Blue市的老年居民数量可能远来得多，而Parson市则可能拥有一个远来得年轻的平均年龄人口统计，表现为一个远为庞大的学龄儿童人口。再如，Blue市为其公立学校的教育所作的经费预算可能仅为Parson市的一半，因为该市通过其他手段（如公共债券和收费）来支持其公立学校，而非通过来自税款的预算。还有可能是，Blue市的公立学校可做到自给自足，并不需要来自市政府的财政预算。在所有这些情形中，每个城市所赋予给公立学校教育的价值并非仅仅取决于各自政府预算了多少教育经费。

　　 此外，无论是Parson市还是Blue市，对各自公共教育所赋予的价值，或曰“关注”程度，并不必定是通过每一城市为其公共教育系统所作的预算而体现出来的。预算所确定的经费不能直接等同于一个城市的居民所赋予给其教育体系的价值。从理论上来说，市政府在如何使用税收这一问题上理应遵循居民们的愿望。但在现实当中，政府的所作所为与居民们的愿望可能毫无关系，尤其是在短期规划上。极有可能的是，两市的居民对公共教育的价值同样地注重，无论每个市政府所预算的教育经费是多少。

　　此外，Blue市可能拥有数量远为众多的宗教或私立教育机构，可满足其公共教育的需要。由于这些类型的学校不需要依赖政府经费来维持其运转，故其所需筹措的公立学校经费可能仅为Parson市教育经费的一半，而Parson市有可能只有公立学校，根本没有任何私人筹资的学校。

　　总而言之，论述者将其论点基于一个根本谬误的观念，即某一市政府所作的教育经费预算直接等同于那个特定城市的居民对其公立学校教育体制的关注程度。从这一角度来看，显而易见，该项论述没有基于合乎逻辑的推理，故一定要予以摈弃。

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