2014年英语专四作文押题预测：现代科技的影响

　　2014年英语专四考试马上就要来了，同学们是不是很紧张呢?下面是小编为大家整理的2014年英语专四作文押题预测，供各位考生参考。

　　Topic 13: Do you agree thatmodern technology has given us more leisure time than before?

　　现代科技让人更轻松、休闲时间更多的观点：

　　• 汽车、飞机和铁路的普及(the popularity of automobile^ air travel and rail)减少了人们在路途上奔 波的时间(spend less time commuting);电脑和自动化等设备(computerisation and automation) 让人们可以更快更有效地完成工作，休闲时间更多;

　　• 效率的提高和收人的增加(rising wages),人们不需要加班也能够获得足够的收人。此时，人们对生活质量的要求更高(higher demand on standards of living)，可以支付得起更多的娱乐活动 (able to afford recreational activities),在休闲的时间里放松自己(relax themselves intheir spare time)

　　现代科技让人更繁忙、休闲时间更少的观点：

　　• 新科技的产生加快了工作节奏，人们需要不断地接受教育和培训(continue education and receive on-the-job training)以适应新科技带来的变化(keep pace with the fastdevelopment of technology), 人们因此更加繁忙;

　　• 科技发展使社会的产品变得丰富(diversified)，人们需要刻苦工作才买得起琳琅满目的商品;

　　• 电脑和因特网的产生让人们在正常工作时间之外也可以工作(work beyond normal working hours),科技的发展促进全球化，人们需要加班工作以消除时差的影响(have to work overtime due to time difference )

　　范文

　　In the history of mankind, possibly nocentury witnessed more progress in technology than the 20th century did. Peoplehave become increasingly interested in assessing the correlation betweentechnological development and leisure time. As far as I am concerned, people'sleisure time has been shrinking as a result of the tremendous advance in moderntechnology. Admittedly, thanks to modern technology, people can thus spend lesstime on compulsory activities (e.g. ,working), but it should also be noted thatother non-compulsory activities have come to consume a larger proportion ofpeople's after-work life, such as education. If leisure refers to the timespent in non-compulsory activities, people's leisure time has in factcontracted. The growing concern on education has increased the likelihood thatpeople are willing to give up their leisure lives for educationalopportunities. This trend is attributed mainly to competition and fears of jobloss, causing people to turn to on-the-job training and education for securedemployment. Another incentive is the increasing flexibility of educationalinstitutions. Worthwhile knowledge can be passed on from one generation ofworkers to another in different forms of education, such as televised teachingand online courses. It comes at the cost of their leisure time.

　　People's leisure lives are continuouslyeroded also because of ubiquity of modern technological tools (e.g. ， computers with Internet access andtelecommunications equipment). It is noteworthy that people now take fewer andshorter vacations following the increase in the number of technology-basedactivities. For example, cell phones and laptops make people accessible totheir superiors wherever they go and wherever they are. People are morestressed than any generation before. Meanwhile, people now have to engage inmore everyday processes than ever before, such as shopping, food ordering, andso on. It seems that the time budget is burdened because more time should beinvested in activities that were previously ignored or unnoticed.

　　While posing a threat on people's leisurelives, technologies might on other occasions, give workers more flexibility incontrolling their work and more quality time after work. A traditional workweekhas been cut, as the amount of manual work continues to decline because ofautomation. The availability of various means of transport has released workingpeople from lengthy commutes. The line between work *and private life is muchmore blurred, with many workers shopping, checking private emails and readingnewspaper online even when working.

　　From what has been discussed, one understandsthat the development of technology has tremendous impacts on people's dailylives, although the exact impacts are not conclusive. When the proliferation ofnew technologies, such as computers, allows people to manage their own workingtime and accommodate family needs and lifestyle choices, it has locked them ina struggle to cope with more tasks in daily lives.

　　近义词表

　　1. shrink=decline=diminish=contract:减少，缩'小

　　2.compulsory=required：必需的

　　3. after-work life=personal life:工作之外的生活，个人生活

　　4. pass on to=hand on=transfer:传递

　　5. ubiquity prevalence:四处存在,无处不在

　　6. commute=the journey between home andplace of work:上下班的路程

　　7. proliferation=increase=mushrooming:增加 8.accommodate=give room for:容纳

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