Press Release - Updated Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) -
IP Chapter (second publication)
Thursday 16 October 2014, WikiLeakshttps://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip2/pressrelease/
2014年12月31日水曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, TPP Wikileaks Press Release (IP and Environment Chapters
https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip2/pressrelease/
2014年12月29日月曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, TPP and (un)employment
Increased Employment with TPPA? Is it true?
at academia.edu Uploaded bySivarajan Arumugamhttp://www.academia.edu/9107790/Increased_Employment_with_TPPA_Is_it_true
2014年12月17日水曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, cyber-warfare
Cyber-warfare
Turning worm
How cyber-warfare really started—and where it will lead
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21635967-how-cyber-warfare-really-startedand-where-it-will-lead-turning-worm
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, technology and unemployment
As Robots Grow Smarter, American Workers Struggle to Keep Up
2014年12月7日日曜日
TOEFL iBT, Independent Writing, Basic Writing Class Supplement
Day 1
Writing Topic
Some people think watching television is enjoyable and educational, while others think it is a complete waste of time to watch television. Do you think watching TV is a useful or enjoyable way of spending time?
☆Let’s think
“A” useful or enjoyable way of spending time means that, although it is not “the” best, it is as useful or enjoyable as activities that are considered good. What are useful and enjoyable ways of spending time? What do you usually do when you have some free time and try not to waste it? Do you read, listen to music, watch a movie, work out, do something creative like painting, or hang around with your family or friends? Is watching TV as worth spending your precious time on as other choices?
☆Ideas and Expressions
♦Waste of Time
not a good information source anymore:
♢The amount of information provided by TV is smaller compared to that of newspapers, magazines, books, and the Internet, which provide detailed information.
♢The quality of TV news is not so good as that of other media. TV stations choose which news to broadcast according to ratings, which are not always good or right. They also withdraw bad news about their sponsors. There are more informative independent online news shows nowadays.
♢TV news is not really new. Information on the Internet is now updated by the minute. Social media such as WikiLeaks, Twitter, and Facebook often outshine TV in terms of providing truth and latest developments of important events.
passive: Not interactive, TV watching requires little creativity, so it dulls your mind.
mind-numbing: TV can make you narrow-minded or brainwashed because it is sponsored by corporations, which can manipulate the content and put emphasis on advertisements. For example, you might develop desire for needless goods or come to follow fashion trends obsessively, not aware of what is really going on in the world.
♦Useful or Enjoyable
Some special programs such as live broadcasts of sporting events, documentaries, and language programs are hardly available elsewhere. e.g. language program, documentary
Popular TV programs or ads provide conversation pieces, which are good icebreakers.
One good thing about TV watching is that it allows you to learn things that you did not intend to. By keeping TV on or zapping channels, you can come across interesting people, useful information, or moving stories. It is like taking a walk in an unfamiliar neighborhood and find a lovely garden or sitting among strangers and hear an eye-opening story. The Internet, which is made to be used to search for specific information of your choice, allows this to happen less often.
As long as you keep an eye on how you use it, TV can be an inexpensive, handy tool for fun.
☆One-paragraph essay
Sample
【Main Idea = Outline】
In moderation, watching TV is useful and enjoyable.
【Good/Bad point 1】
TV-watching is useful for spending time with others because it is inclusive.
【Good/Bad point 2】
Some TV programs are inspiring or educational.
【Counterargument & Counter-counterargument】
It is true that TV is addictive and often becomes a waste of your precious time. However, if you select good programs and do not watch them in excess, watching TV can be enjoyable and useful, just as alcohol and gambling are harmless fun unless you indulge yourself in them too much,.
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】
TV can provide a good time if used wisely.
Your one paragraph essay
【Main Idea = Outline】
【Good/Bad point 1】
【Good/Bad point 2】
【Counterargument & Counter-counterargument】
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】
☆Paragraph development
Sample
【Main Idea】 TV-watching is useful for spending time with others because it is inclusive.
【Explanation】You can usually share the content of TV with others and with anyone.
【Detail / Example】 You can enjoy an evening with your family or friends watching programs intended for most people.
【More Specific Detail / Example】 TV is especially useful when you spend time with someone you know little about. You do not have to worry about likes and dislikes of the stranger once you have chosen a popular program such as a news program, a music show, a drama, or a sporting event. You just watch it together, and in time you can laugh together or pick up a conversation piece from the content of the program, say, the latest costume of a popular singer or a succor game result.
【Counterargument Treatment or Detail Follow-up】If your guest says that he dislikes TV, it is a good opportunity to ask the person what he likes. Also, if the person says that the only program he watches is FoxNews, you could just watch that ultra-right-wing news show with him and learn what kind of people the Right are.
【Conclusion】 TV is a good medium for relationship-building.
Note: It could be a good strategy for a writing beginner to start with a short and simple sentence and elaborate on the idea in the next one: a simple main idea (topic sentence) and a longer explanation, and a simple example and a more specific example or two. Of course starting with the main idea with expressions for transition like “Another good thing about having a TV set in your room is that” or “Last but not the least” is a good idea and these expressions can sometimes be long and complicated, but the core of the main idea should be short and simple so that you can make the point clearly. Very often, we lose our point by being particular about details at the beginning of the paragraph, so I would recommend making it simple first and focus on the details later. A main idea (topic sentence) is the pillar of the paragraph to which you attach other parts (details). Making it straight and firm would be safe in academic test writing.
Now let’s practice paragraph development. Choose one of the reasons you have come up with, make it the main idea, and develop it using the following form. As this is a sketch of a part of your real essay, use simple words and sentences for supporting details and focus on the logic and ideas.
【Main Idea】
【Explanation】
【Detail / Example】
【More Specific Detail / Example】
【Counterargument Treatment or Detail Follow-up】
【Conclusion】
Day 2
☆Writing Topic
Many people like to eat in restaurants on a regular basis. Others would rather eat at home, except on rare occasions. Which approach to dining habits do you choose and why? Support your essay with details and examples.
☆Hints for points
Eating at home:
healthy
economical
relaxing
flavor of Mom’s cooking / passing down culture and tradition
Eating out only once in a while will make the event more enjoyable ( “spice of life”, “less is more”)
Counterargument: It takes time to cook.
Counter-counterargument: A simple but well-balanced meal takes only 15-40 minutes to prepare. Also, cooking helps you get refreshed because you use the different part of your brain and, if you cook with someone else, you can interact with other human being.
Eating out on a regular basis:
saves time
tastes better
variety
social life (people, manners)
Counterargument: unhealthy
Counter-counterargument: health-conscious restaurants
☆Essay Structure
♦Sample Essay Structure in the case that you have two or three reasons to support your argument
【Introduction = Outline】 主張と理由の概要
【Point 1】理由1の詳細
【Point 2】理由2の詳細
【Point 3 / Counterargument-treatment】理由3の詳細または反論の処理
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】結論
♦Your Sample Essay Structure
【Introduction = Outline】
【Point 1】
【Point 2】
【Point 3 / Counterargument-treatment】
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】
Paragraph development
☆A paragraph of the body of an essay often develops its main idea as follows:
【Main Idea】 (主張)
【Explanation】 (主張の説明)
【Detail / Example in general】 (一般的な例)
【More Specific Detail / Example】 (より具体的な例)
【Follow-up / Counterargument-treatment】 (補足または反論の処理)
【Conclusion】 (結論)
Sample
【Main Idea】 Eating at home is better for your health than eating out.
【Explanation】 You can use fresh and safe ingredients.
【Detail / Example】 For example, when you prepare food, you buy ingredients at a store of your own choice right before you cook while restaurants often use frozen food.
【More Specific Detail / Example】 This is especially true in seasoning. At home, you can make broth from real bones or fish and use fresh spices, but restaurants often use ready-made soup stock which may contain synthetic additives and preservatives.
【Follow-up / Counterargument-treatment】Of course, regulations on food have become tighter these days and eating out is not so unhealthy as before, but businesses always prioritize cutting costs to make profits and at least you know what you are eating when you prepare dishes for yourself.
【Conclusion】 By cooking for yourself, you can make sure that you stay healthy.
♦Your Sample Paragraph Development
Choose one of the points of your essay structure, and develop it. You can either use or not use the form below.
【Main Idea】
【Explanation】
【Detail / Example in general】
【More Specific Detail / Example】
【Follow-up / Counterargument-treatment】
【Conclusion】
付録
英文エッセイの書き方の基本
☆手順
1．Writing Topicの確認: 課題を正確に読みとり要求されている解答内容をイメージします。
2．Brainstorming: 課題に関して思いつくことを書き出します。（頭の中にある材料を頭の外に出して整理しやすくする作業です。）
3．構成: Brainstormingで書き出した材料を整理してエッセイの基本構造に合う形にします。（１）同じ事項に関するものは同じ段落に集めます。（２）段落を重要な順に並べ替えます。
4．書く: 構成でできた段落（本論）に導入と結論の段落をつけ、実際の文章にします。
5．見直し: 論旨の矛盾、説明不足、構文・つづり・句読点等のミスをチェックします。
☆構成
英文エッセイの構造はごく簡単に言うと【主張（～だと思う）→理由（なぜなら…だからだ）→結論（従って～だと言える）】という流れになります。
この流れの各部分は以下のようにIntroduction, Body, Conclusionと呼ばれています。
|
英文エッセイの基本構造
主張＝Introduction (Thesis) 導入
理由＝Body 本論
結論＝Conclusion 結論
|
主張＝Introductionでは意見と根拠の要旨を示します。エッセイの概略の段落です。エッセイ全体が見通せるように書きましょう。
理由＝Bodyでは根拠を列挙します。具体例はここに書きます。
結論＝Conclusionでは本論から導き出せる結論を書きます。エッセイの総括の段落です。
Bodyでは示したい根拠の数だけ段落を作ります。例えば主張の理由が2つある場合、Bodyは2段落になります。
英文エッセイでは全体がこの流れになると同時に各段落もこの流れ（主張→理由→結論）になるようにします。
余裕がある場合はIntroductionを更に細かい(1)
Hook（つかみ）(2) Background（背景説明）(3) Thesis（主張）(4)
Reasons（理由）の構成にし、Conclusionでは最後にinsight（掘り下げの一文）をつけるとより形が整います。
以下は、次のWriting Topicに対するエッセイ構成メモとエッセイ例です。
Writing Topic: Do you agree or disagree with
the following statement. It is
truly enjoyable to play a game only if you win. Support your response with specific reasons and
examples.
エッセイ構成メモ
Introduction
|
Disagree
Reasons:
1) for fun 2) joy of
improvement 3) more enjoyable things than
winning
|
Body
|
Reason 1: Games are for having fun. e.g.to kill time, to spend time with
family or friends
|
|
Reason 2: Playing a
game involves joy of improvement e.g. gamers
|
|
Reason 3: More enjoyable things than winning
can happen during a game. e.g. a great performance
|
Conclusion
|
many other ingredients to make us truly enjoy ourselves than
winning
→It cannot be said that it is truly
enjoyable to play a game only if you win.
|
☆Sample Essay
(エッセイ例)
Humans have
had many kinds of games since ancient times and there seem to be many reasons
for our fascination with this activity. I disagree with the statement that it
is truly enjoyable to play a game only if you win. I think gams are for
fun, development and more, not just for winning.
First of all,
we play games to have fun. We play games to kill time, to release stress, or to
spend time with others. When you feel empty or stressed out, you take out a
game machine, play it for a while, and feel good whether you lose or win. Games
are also used to add to the good companionship. At a party, for example, a game
helps people laugh and talk, enjoying themselves, both winners and losers
alike.
Also, playing
a game involves joy of improvement. Humans, like other animals, have desire for
learning something new and fulfilling this desire is a great joy of life. A
game makes you lose more often than it lets you win, and you will be absorbed
in gaining new skills and improving yourself by trial and error. What makes
games enjoyable is not only reaching the top but the process.
Last but not
least, more enjoyable things than winning can happen during a game. It is true
that winning a game usually gives us a greater joy than just having fun or learning
new skills through a game. However, in addition to the fact that difference in
degrees does not deny the authenticity of the less in degree, there could be a
moment of delight comparable to nothing in a game. There could be a great
player or an incredible play. Olympians often express joy of witnessing superb
performances of the medalists. A miracle goal at the last moment in an amateur
soccer game would make all the participants excited and have them keep talking
about it even years after the happening.
There are many other
ingredients to make us truly enjoy ourselves than winning. Therefore, it cannot
be said that it is truly enjoyable to play a game only if you
win. (355 words)
2014年12月1日月曜日
TOEFL iBT, Independent Writing, so ～ that ….
S so ～ that ….
Sはあまりにも～なので．．．だ。
+
“Technology helps us understand ourselves.”
1.
科学技術の発達により我々はより自然を理解できる。たとえば、顕微鏡の解像度は今やあまりにも良いので細胞をまるで機械装置であるかのように観察できる。
2.
過去にインターネットが平等な社会の実現に役立つという期待が存在したが、ITにおける独占があまりにも極端になったので、皮肉にもITの発展は人間が依然として野蛮であることを教えたと言える。
3.
コンピューター・テクノロジーがあまりにも発展したので、人間のそれとほぼ同じ人工知能ができる日も遠くないと信じている人もいるが、今のところ昆虫の脳の一機能をまねるのが精いっぱいなのでヒトの脳が非常に複雑であることがわかるだけだ。
Answer Keys
1.
科学技術の発達により我々はより自然を理解できる。たとえば、顕微鏡の解像度は今やあまりにも良いので細胞をまるで機械装置であるかのように観察できる。
The development of technology helps us
better understand nature. For example, the resolution of the microscope is so
high now that a cell can be observed as if it were a mechanical device.
2.
過去にインターネットが平等な社会の実現に役立つという期待が存在したが、ITにおける独占があまりにも極端になったので、皮肉にもITの発展は人間が依然として本質的に野蛮であることを教えたと言える。
There used to be an expectation that the
Internet would facilitate the realization of an equal society, but the
monopolies in the information technology has become so extreme that its
development can be ironically said to have taught that human being is still
inherently barbaric.
3.
コンピューター・テクノロジーがあまりにも発展したので、人間のそれとほぼ同じ人工知能ができる日も遠くないと信じている人もいるが、今のところ昆虫の脳の一機能をまねるのが精いっぱいなのでヒトの脳が非常に複雑であることがわかるだけだ。
Some believe that computer technology has
developed so much that it will not be long before we have an artificial intelligence
which is almost the same as that of human. However, what we can do at best
would be to mimic a function of an insect brain so far, which just tells us
that the human brain is very complicated.
2014年11月17日月曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, state terrorism
Noam Chomsky & Michael Moore On the So Called War On Terrorism
Democracy Now! 2002
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObnXJuTAPbs
2014年11月15日土曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, TPP "The Pacific Age" The Economist
The Pacific Age
The Economist November 15, 2014
2014年11月13日木曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, problems of capitalist democracy, "How to Ruin an Economy; Some Simple Ways" by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky (2014) "How to Ruin an Economy; Some Simple Ways"
YouTube videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mhj-j0z-fk&list=PLE409D5F8E93486ED&index=28
国際教養学部AO入試 reference, energy sources and politics, "Bad energy, good energy; choose side in moral fight" by Noah Smith
Noah Smith: Bad energy, good energy; choose side in moral fight
The Morning Call Novermber 4, 2014
http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-renewable-energy-web-20141104-story.html
The Morning Call Novermber 4, 2014
http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-renewable-energy-web-20141104-story.html
2014年11月9日日曜日
国際教養学部AO入試 news, issues, and points 2014 w/sample answers
Read the news or issues below
and write a one-paragraph essay on the following questions using some of the
points given.
1.
NEWS: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
confirmed Tuesday that the government will raise the consumption tax rate from
the current 5 percent to 8 percent from April 2014.
QUESTIONS
a.
Do you think this tax raise proper?
POINTS： tax rates in other countries, no tax on foods in the countries with
high consumption tax rates, progressive taxation, public welfare, economic
slowdown, corporate tax cuts
SAMPLE ANSWER： There still seem to be areas from which financial resources can be
drawn without raising consumption tax. First, cutting corporation taxes would
worsen our economy. The reason for the cut is to prevent corporations from
leaving this country, but the US government, which has kept cutting corporate
taxes to almost zero, has also had very high unemployment rate, it would be possible
for our government to lose a huge part of the revenue without improvement of
the whole economy. Next, the progressive taxation, the highest tax rate of the
progressive taxation in Japan now is less than half of that of the 70’s. Since
the system is now working to syphon money from the bottom to the upper scale at
a great degree, sending back an appropriate ratio of the rich to the bottom,
meaning raising the highest income tax rate at least for a while, would make
the economy livelier. Lastly, leaving the tax rate on food untouched would help
the poor make ends meet and would get this country revitalized in the long run,
since this would lessen precariousness in the life of the young.
b.
What are the problems of the
capitalist democracy?
POINTS： plutocracy, bailouts, deregulations, short-term interest pursuit, reduction
of research and development, income inequality, neglect on the protection of
the environment
SAMPLE ANSWER： Those who have the money own huge corporations, including the media,
and the government in the capitalist democracy. They take advantage of the
system to gather more money. They pay to lobby and direct politicians to
promote deregulations of the laws protecting public good and the environment.
Many of those who are not super rich but smart tend to pursue short-term
profits by virtually criminal means to make their life comfortable and retire
early ignoring those who will be affected, not to speak of the impact on the long-term
profit for the whole system. In this system, the ordinary citizens, and of
course the poor, are powerless except in elections and referendums, which can
be easily manipulated by the media. As a result, the gap between the haves and
have-nots keeps widening and nature exhausted.
2.
NEWS: The Nobel Prize Committee has
officially nominated war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution as a
candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
QUESTIONS
a. Do you think this nomination proper?
POINTS： soft power, today’s political climate, terrorism, development aid, domestic
issues
Unfortunately, Article 9 did not
get the Nobel Peace Prize but I strongly think the nomination was proper. It is
the only article in the world declaring that this country will never resort to
force to solve problems with other countries and for this it has long been
praised all over the world. It presents a good vision of the world free from
conflicts and wars. Also, giving the article the prize at this time would be
significant because the Japanese government is getting ready for more active
involvement in the use of weapons in foreign affairs. The nomination attracted
some attention to the decision of the wider interpretation of the collective
self-defense and the debate over the amendment of Article 9. Sadly, the
nomination seems to have put little pressure on the government.
b.
Is this award technically
meaningful?
POINTS： questionable laureates and nominees in the past, public appeal
Although I am not qualified to
say who should be chosen to be the one that contributed to the building of the
better world, I remember questions on this prize expressed in some cases
especially those of politicians. The most recent two examples are Russian
president Vladimir Putin and the US President Barak Obama. Putin was nominated
for the prize this year for facilitating the prevention of the US attack on
Syria with regard to its use of chemical weapons, but the country is well-known
for human rights abuse and violations of sovereignty of other counties. Obama
got the prize for declaring the realization of the world without nuclear
weapons when he had just won the presidency, but disarmament has not been in
progress and America’s wars have become bigger and uglier. Some even say he
should return the prize for too many “collateral death” of innocent people in
Afghanistan and Iraq. In the past, a Vietnamese laureate rejected the prize
arguing that the peace has not yet come to the country while Henry Kissinger, a
co-recipient of his, got the prize despite the flaws in his political life. These
facts tempt me to regard Nobel Peace Prize as the Peace-of-Mind-of-the-Rich-World
Prize.
3.
NEWS: The historic change in
security policy that will let the Japanese military use force under the right
to collective self-defense has been approved by the cabinet.
QUESTIONS
a. Do you think it proper for
the cabinet having approved the change?
POINTS： democracy, involvement in wars not directly related to Japanese
affairs especially American issues, conscription, reduction of Japanese soft
power, terrorism, development aid, domestic issues
I do not think the approval
proper. Deciding the controversial issue on the use of the force without asking
the will of the citizens is undemocratic first of all. The decision was made in
an exceptionally quick move without much discussion. We are now an active ally
of Americans in the eye of terrorists. By this new interpretation, Japan could
be directly involved in the wars or operations against terrorists which are related
to the interest of the rich countries. This means that it is possible for our
tax money to be used to directly kill those who are fighting for what is not directly
or hardly related to us and innocent civilians in poor countries. In the eye of
the neighboring countries, Japan is a small but violent country which is again
trying to flex its muscles. Some countries have expressed concern over Japanese
militarization, which is understandable considering our warlike past. We are
following the steps of the US, which has lost its soft power by waging wars
without enough civil efforts.
b.
In what way do you think Japan
should play a role in today’s world?
POINTS： development aid, humanitarian aid, domestic issues, nuclear disarmament,
cultural exchanges, the environment
Although minding our own
business in a good way to recover from the blows in terms of economy and
disaster in recent years seems to be the best policy before minding other
countries’ business, but we have to be obliged to help the disadvantaged as the
situation in Japan is still relatively better compared to those of poor
countries. Japan can still pay and dispatch specialists for development or
humanitarian aids. Also, as the only country on which the atomic bombs were
dropped, we should keep working for the nuclear disarmament. Furthermore, with
the tradition of prioritizing the harmony between the civilization and the
environment, this country can take initiative to protect the environment and
mitigate the impact of the global warming.
4.
NEWS: In July, the UN’s
human-rights committee demanded that Japan add hate speech to legislation
banning racial discrimination.
QUESTIONS:
a.
Do you think this is a fair
demand or not. Why?
POINTS: long history of
discrimination against non-naturalized Koreans, xenophobia, globalization,
bullying, war-time sex slaves (comfort women) issue, violence, freedom of
expression
1) I
think the demand fair, even overdue because Japan has a long history of
discrimination and abuse against some minorities. Above all, non-naturalized
Koreans have seen the darkest side of Japanese society and its individuals. Hate
speech related to them, including comments on the Internet, graffiti and
literatures, do not go without noticed every day. Harassment and violence,
including those inflicted to innocent school girls, are also often reported.
Unreported heinous activities could be countless. Some might think that hate
speech is different from other acts of discrimination, but words are as painful
as physical harm and words also nurture in those who use, hear, see, or read
them prejudice, aggression, and sadism against the targeted people. This
problem should be monitored and addressed on a daily basis.
2) It
is strange that we Japanese are relatively tolerant to some minorities like
gays and those who have abortions while cold to foreigners like Koreans or
Chinese as well as aboriginal people like Ainu people or Okinawans. Some might
say that gays and those with pro-choice idea have been in our tradition, but
Koreans and Chinese have existed throughout our history too and many of them
have contributed to our society and culture. They are not given proper respect
no matter how long they have lived with us. Naturalization is not the key factor
as is clear in the case of the Ainu and Okinawan. Also, many Japanese know that
they themselves would not naturalize were they to be in the same situation in a
foreign country. Giving up one’s nationality is largely a matter of identity. It
is different from having a membership of a society, and each member of a
society should be paid the same respect to that the other members are paid to.
The issue of coexistence with people with different backgrounds should be dealt
with in view of building a peaceful and productive living environment for each
member. A society whose members hate each other calls for its own demise. Our
deep-rooted xenophobia needs some intervention. The demand from the biggest
international organization to ban hate-speech would therefore help change the
situation for the better.
b.
Are people in Japan losing
their moral values?
POINTS： education, competition, corruption, breakdown of the community, family
relations, materialism, public manners, religion, the Internet
Seeing long-belated ban on the possession
of child pornography was realized, quoting “finally after repeated demand from
other G7 countries as globalization in progress”, in October this year almost ten
years after its ban on the production of it, I doubt whether we still have room
to be more evil. We might still have a heart, as we sympathize for those
unfortunate and cheer for those trying to overcome difficulties like any other
people, but when it comes to moral values, it is not clear if we had them
before we lost much of them. Indeed we seem to follow the Confucius philosophy,
respecting our parents, but relations in families and communities seem to be
weaker while everyone is focused on surviving in the competition, where the
survival means promise in materialistic success. Many even do not seem to feel
any qualms about taking a morally wrong means to win the race. Using the rule
of the survival of the fittest as an excuse to do whatever we want to do,
taking advantage of the weak like helpless children and teenagers or those
neglected or exploited in poor countries, we might be forgetting that we are
human, not animals.
5.
NEWS: Heirs to the Rockefeller
family, which made its vast fortune from oil, are to sell investments in fossil
fuels and reinvest in clean energy.
QUESTIONS:
a.
Do you think this move is
significant?
POINTS: the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment report, obligation of rich
countries, Kyoto protocol
I think the news is fairly
significant in terms of softening the impact of global warming. The latest IPCC
report seems to indicate that it is too late to stop devastating changes in our
lives from happening in the next three decades and yet governments and
corporations plan to keep digging fossil fuels. The competition in world
economy prevents governments from working together to tackle the problem. Ordinary
people are concerned but can do little other than saving and recycling
resources in their lives. In this circumstance, powerful people like the
Rockefellers deciding to say farewell to the fossil fuels will directly help
reduce CO2 emissions and may affect the policy of other entities with potential
influence on global warming mitigation.
b.
What else is necessary to help
impact the mitigation of the global warming other than huge funds directed to
sustainable energies?
POINTS: international cooperation,
ongoing oil mining projects, emerging economies, population growth, consumerism,
recycling
Inter-governmental cooperation
is necessary to solve such a huge and complex problem as global warming. The
developing countries should make efforts to reduce emissions while developed
countries should assist them using their money and technology. It would be a
great improvement if the slated oil productions are cancelled and the money is
used to increase sustainable energy sources. More efforts should be made on
public education on this issue. As well as promoting reduction, reuse and
recycling, it is important to focus on the problem of consumerism, where a lot
of oil is used to produce needless products. People cannot change production
but can change their consumption. Without demand, companies cannot sell
oil-based products.
6.
NEWS: Farmers from across
Japan staged a protest in Tokyo on Tuesday over signs that the
Japanese government will soon sign on to join negotiations for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership "free-trade" agreement with the U.S. and
other nations.
POINTS: democracy, free trade, protectionism,
Korean FTA and NAFTA, domestic producers, self-sufficiency, regulations, financial
meltdown, social welfare, environment, copy-rights, investor-state disputes
(ISD)
QUESTIONS:
a. Who do you think would
benefit most from TPP?
Huge international corporations
would be the ones that benefit most from TPP. Since the US is the country most
of those corporations exist, we could also say the rich people in the US would
get the lion’s share. Free trade has been going on between the US and Japan
since Admiral Perry ended our national isolation with warships about 150 years
ago, but we have been allowed to protect some of our industries and to run our
economy in our own patriarchal way, protecting the public good fairly well. TPP
can disrupt this system. It could make American insurance companies sue our
government for having the universal healthcare system or allowing the same kind
of mutual helping funds, taking tax money as compensations and ending good
welfare programs. It can force strict piracy laws to protect corporate
interests. All in all, corporations with power to sue what are in their way to
make profits will benefit at the expense of those without resources under TPP.
b. Would Japanese society
drastically change due to the TPP?
The way the TPP negotiation goes
seems to symbolize the society after the TPP in place. The TPP has been
prepared behind closed doors by the government officials and corporate lawyers,
showing that the government and corporations openly ignore democracy. If this
attitude is reflected in this so-called agreement, ordinary people in the
signatories around the Pacific, including those in the US, would be shamelessly
taken advantage of. Mexico has become much poorer and more violent under the
same kind of agreement, NAFTA. South Korea call their FTA (Free Trade
Agreement) slave trade agreement. Not only farmers who would lose their jobs
when cheap imports get rid of their produce from the market but also many
people would have the substantial part of their lives changed due to the TPP.
QUESTIONS AND POINTS ON OTHER
ISSUES
Sample point sentences and
sample essays: 英検1級作文 解答例http://www.cel-eigo.com/contents/essay/
2014年11月7日金曜日
TOEFL, iBT, Independent Writing, How do you think computers have affected the world we live in? - rewrite -
Writing
Topic
Many
people feel that computers have been the biggest change in human life in recent
decades. How do you think computers have affected the world we live in?
☆Let’s think
The
expression in the first sentence “the biggest change in human life” means a
large scale of impact on our lives like those of typography, electricity, or
penicillin that brought fundamental changes in man’s life. The first sentence,
therefore, means that the influence of computers on human life is comparable to
these revolutionary changes.
The
question starts with the word “How.” This word is about scales and
characteristics. Thus this question is not about right/wrong but about quality
and quantity. Although of course good/bad effects can be included in the list
of changes caused by computers, you do not have to decide whether the
development of the computer-based world is good or not.
☆Note
Computers
are not only desktop/laptop computers but also those embedded in other
machines: cell-phones, electric dictionaries, elevators, ATM, industrial
robots, etc.
☆Hints for points
Examples
of changes:
♦Study:
paper dictionary → electric dictionary;
research at the library → on the web (e.g. Wikipedia)
♦Business:
making documents with pen, scissors, and paste → on a desktop, laptop, tablet,
or smart phone; storing documents in cabinets → in servers; R&D,
production, or distribution by humans → computer networks and robots
♦Travel:
travel agents making arrangements for you → buying tickets and making hotel
reservations directly online by yourself
♦Household
work: by hand or machines without
computers → machines with computers; information through family members and
neighbors → the Internet
♦Communication:
letter → e-mail/text-messaging; international phone call → Skype; fixed phone →
mobile phone; direct (face-to-face or on the phone) → indirect (through
mails/texts/social networking services like Facebook)
♦Entertainment: board game → video game, CD → iPod,
handmade animation → CG, video shop → YouTube free download
♦Medicine: much faster research and development, equipment
with built-in computers such as hospital facilities and artificial arms and
legs, treatments of patients in remote areas through the Internet
The
characteristic of the changes brought by computers:
faster/more
efficient, more accurate, better designed, more entertaining, compact, interactive (e.g. TV viewers passively receiving
information actively participating in the programs by commenting through
Twitter), more open/inclusive/democratic/decentralized (e.g. more
information is available to the public and more people can participate),
global, much larger scale (e.g. Pentagon Paper – 4000 pages of documents → WikiLeaks leak by Bradley Manning – hundreds of
thousands of documents and a video in a memory stick and some CDs), more
dependent on technology (spell-checkers, navigators), change of thought (e.g.
communication only by e-mails/texts, concept of friends through SNS, sharing
the same culture worldwide on YouTube)
☆Essays
for ideas and expressions
1) Barron’s How to Prepare for the
TOEFL Essay
xxx
2)
The impact of the computer is like that of electricity. Supply
of electricity has totally changed all people’s lives, from dark to light, from
tiresome to easy, or from unthinkable to possible, and opened a new era.
Computers have transformed the world dramatically into the one where we can no
longer live without them; different lifestyles and new things are created; and
more democratic society has become possible.
Just like electricity, computers have become ubiquitous and
indispensable. They are in almost all kinds of machines such as cell-phones,
TVs, elevators, cash machines, factory robots, medical equipment, and air
traffic control systems. A day would not pass without them. Also, the computer
has become part of infrastructure. The Internet connects the world and
facilitates business, communication and many other activities. No organization
can function well, totally cut off from the Internet any more.
The computer has changed how things are done and has created new
things. It facilitates faster, more accurate, and better designed jobs from
calculation and document-making to trading to spaceship building. Household
work is not an ordeal anymore thanks to electric appliances with built-in
computers. As the computer evolves, scientific research and development is
exponentially expedited and art and entertainment create things that did not
exist in the pre-computer age. The World Wide Web has globalized everyday
communication. People can now receive and, more importantly, send out
information across the world.
The computer has given people chances to change systems for the
better, into more decentralized and transparent ones. In business, small
business owners can now sell their products directly to consumers online, thus
reshaping the distribution channels. In politics, government employees or
officials who happen to find concealed information that the general public
should know such as war crimes or corruptions can reveal it through
whistle-blowing websites such as WikiLeaks by sending massive amounts of raw
data anonymously, and people who are more informed now owing to such leaks can
organize nationwide demonstrations with worldwide supports to stand up against
corrupt leaders using social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook.
I think it can be said that many people’s lives have changed
drastically since personal computers and Windows 95 became widespread on the
market and fiber-optic cables connected continents. There are concerns about
problems related to computer such as tendency to allow monopoly in the IT
industry and occasional nostalgia for life before computers while the technology
keeps breaking new ground and benefitting people. It is a phenomenon of the
scale that involves all the people on this planet whether they have it or not
and whether they like it or not.
☆One-paragraph essay
Sample
【Main Idea = Outline】 ≪The characteristic of the changes
brought by computers≫
We
can no longer live without computers.
【First notable change】
Computers
have become ubiquitous and indispensable.
e.g.
cell-phones, TVs, elevators, business, communication, …
【Second notable change】
The
computer has changed how things are done and has created new things.
e.
g. faster and better jobs, R & D, interactive communication, …
【Third notable change】
The
computer has given people chances to change systems into more decentralized and
transparent ones. e.g. direct
transaction, social media, …
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】≪How you
think computers affected our lives≫
People’s
lives have become more colorful and freer than before.
Your one paragraph essay
【Main Idea = Outline】 ≪The characteristic of the changes
brought by computers≫
【First notable change】
【Second notable change】
【Third notable change】
【Conclusion = Wrap-up】≪How you
think computers affected our lives≫
☆Paragraph development
A paragraph of the body of an
essay often develops its main idea as follows:
【Main Idea】Computers have made people’s lives easier and lighter.
【Explanation】 They have made it possible to
do activities more efficiently, for instance.
【Detail / Example】 They help us with household work, study, and almost all kinds of
jobs.
【More Specific Detail / Example】Computers embedded in appliances support our cleaning,
washing, and cooking. The Internet enables students to do research faster and
more extensively, and various applications help make documents and charts,
calculate, or manage schedule.
【Follow-up / Counterargument & Counter-counterargument】It is true that not all people benefit from computers and there are many
drawbacks in life with computers. Still less than only 30 % of the world
population actually have computers. Only rich countries benefit from computer
technology to the full, and climate change and much of environmental
destruction have been accelerated by the technology made possible by computers.
However, it is also true that people in poor countries are indirectly helped by
the computer. For example, even people in remote areas in Africa and Asia now
have cell-phones, supply of goods has been expedited by computers, and Arab
Spring would not have been possible without WWW.
【Conclusion】 Both directly and indirectly,
computers have been powerfully supporting lives of people all over the world.
Your
test paragraph development
Now
let’s practice paragraph development. Choose one of the points you have come up
with, make it the main idea, and develop it using the following form. As this
is a tentative part of your real essay, use simple words and sentences for
supporting details and focus on the logic and ideas.
【Main Idea】
【Explanation】
【Detail / Example】
【More Specific Detail / Example】
【Follow-up / Counterargument &
Counter-counterargument】
【Conclusion】
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