新航道

  Task：Some people want the government to spend more money looking for life on other planets, while others think it is a waste of public money and there are many problems on the earth. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
  解析：
  又見外星人!
  記得2016年10月13日，雅思作文問的是人類是否應(yīng)該與外星人進行交流，當(dāng)然有的人認為應(yīng)該，有的人認為不應(yīng)該，因為讓外星人知道地球的存在后，我們會遇到很多危險。這次稍微轉(zhuǎn)換一下角度，問我們是否應(yīng)該花錢去尋找外星球上的生命?觀點自然還是有人認為應(yīng)該，也有人認為不應(yīng)該，因為地球上還有很多問題需要花錢去解決。對比一下，兩道題其實都是要求雙邊討論：首先要討論應(yīng)該交流/花錢尋找，然后討論不應(yīng)該交流/花錢，最后給出自己的觀點。不難看出，這兩個題目第一部分的討論其實差不多，無非是找到外星生命后，我們可以向他們學(xué)習(xí)，我們不再孤獨，地球毀滅時可以有人幫助我們，等等，但第二部分略有不同：2016年10月13日重點要我們討論與外星人聯(lián)系后可能帶來的危險，而本題的討論重點則是地球本身現(xiàn)在還有很多現(xiàn)實問題需要花錢去解決，比如貧困，教育，醫(yī)療，這些都很好想出來，也很好寫。
  總體看來，這次考試的題目比較容易寫，審題沒有難度，觀點很明確，也很容易細化。
  Sample answer：
  Our imagination about beings on other planets has never stopped and reached its climax in such movie series like “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” in 1960s and 1970s. If other life forms do exist, as many people believe, is it worthwhile for the government to spend money looking for them?
  There are many people who are very enthusiastic about those life forms on other planets. They are interested in how these different beings survive and believe their more advanced technology may well help us human beings solve their existing problems. Besides, as many scientists have speculated, the Earth will eventually die and disappear into the black hole. We therefore need to find our siblings on other planets so that when that day does arrive, our future grand, grand children will not perish from the Earth.
  Those with more realistic bend of mind, however, do not support the idea of spending money on life forms on other planets. They are generally more doubtful about the existence of other beings in the outer space, so they believe it is just a huge waste of money to try to look for them, especially when there still are so many practical problems on this planet crying for solution. The money squandered on the exploration of aliens, they argue, should go to helping children who are unable to pay for their college education and those who are ill but cannot enjoy decent medical services.
  Personally, I do think that there should be a balance between the money spent on the immediate issues and the future ones. Undoubtedly, such pressing problems as housing, education, and medicare ought to be taken care of by the government, but it is also the responsibility of the government to prepare for the future of the Earth. Seen in this light, a reasonable investment on the life on other planets is perfectly justifiable.