作文題目

An increasing number of people do not know their neighbors, and there is no longer a sense of community.
What do you think are the causes of this situation? Can you suggest some solutions? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

題目講解

鄰里之間的疏遠是現代社會人際關系冷漠的典型寫照。其原因有很多方面。
第一，鄰里之間的交流和互動活動相比較以前要減少很多，社會競爭和工作壓力使得人們無暇參與更多的社區活動，因此與鄰居的互動交流大幅度減少，鄰里關系自然不如從前；
第二，鄰里關系的疏遠，以及鄰里互相不愿意交流與互動，源自鄰里關系不再是人們生活的不可缺少的一個環節。沒有互助和友善的鄰居，人們的生活質量不會受到太多的負面影響。
第三，鄰里關系的疏遠，還來自于一些現代社會人們對于陌生人的猜忌，擔心與鄰居交流可能會受騙或被誤導。

范文

Nowadays, there is a growing perception that a neighbor is more like a stranger next door, and this is obviously true of a newly-established urban community where crime rates are on the rise. Apparently, that kind of friendliness which existed in grandparents'' neighborhood is replaced by that of ignorance, or even indifference. What might have contributed to this negative tendency could be that today`s young neighbors prefer not to get acquainted with each other, and that modern housing designs also prevent such communication from happening.
An increasing number of people, particularly the young adults who have jobs, do not sense the need to know their neighbors. To begin with, most young people tend to be self-centered and do not trust people living near them. It is also possible that working people could not afford to spend time on gossiping about weather, dogs and new babies, in a similar way that traditional neighbors used to do. This absence of communication might turn out to be a dangerous thing, considering that having a friendly neighbor is important to report suspicious activities to the police who handle the crooks. One good solution for this problem is to encourage neighbors to participate in a Citizens Neighborhood Watch Program meant to make it more difficult for bandits to perpetuate a crime nearby. By so doing, people in the same community can know each other and keep intruders away.
On the other hand, interactive face-to-face contact among neighbors has become rare because of modern housing plans. In big cities, for instance, it seems that families are either "caged" like animals in department units of tall buildings, or are separated by walls usually two meters high. In both cases, neighbors appear to be at once so near, and yet so far away. As a result, the level of personal communication among neighbors is declining. This situation may also have something to do with the current crime wave reportedly up and rising. To cope with this situation, the least neighbors need to do is to know people next door and watch each other''s back.
It would not be necessary for people to move away from where they live so as to avoid crimes from happening in the neighborhood. However, it is imperative that they should have a sense of community by caring for their neighbors. Now that geography makes people neighbors for a reason, people should love their neighbors, but the question remains: do they know their neighbors next door? (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh)