Essay by 謝振禮老師 Jeenn Lee Hsieh

TWE Topic>

真題還原

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? "Although science and technology will continue to improve, the most significant improvements for the quality of people's lives have already taken place." Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

范文：

Science and technology are believed to continue advancing endlessly and are expected to bring about more benefits for the quality of people's lives in various aspects.Already history has witnessed a number of important changes, particularly in the past 100 years, that have greatly improved people's wellbeing, although not without a price.It is possible that the world is yet to see more amazing scientific and technological innovations in the future.

In science and technology, change is constant whereas improvements are without frontiers. For now, it is next to impossible to predict what innovations are lying ahead, especially in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and the IT (Information Technology). What has taken place in our favor must include magic medicines for health; motorized cars, ships and airplanes for travel; movies, television and video games for entertainment; robots and machines for work; telephones, cell phones and the Internet for communication; and what not-- you just name it. On the top of these, more breakthroughs are anticipated, further upgrading the quality of people's lives. In all likelihood, what will happen will keep on changing the world to an extent beyond our wildest imagination. However, only one thing is sure: there is no turning back.

Doubts abound about the future developments of science and technology, for better or for worse. On the positive side, for instance, people are living longer now, but does it foretell that humans might eventually become immortals? Further, it is a known fact that the sky is not the limit for traveling, but does it mean that people would be able to immigrate in space ships to distant planets? On the negative side, when the natural environment is losing ground, would climate change as a result of human activities actually put human lives at risk? Besides, would the improved warlike nuclear science and technology foreshadow the beginning of the end of the entire civilization? All in all, are there answers to these questions?

So far so good--science and technology in the past have made significant improvements for the quality of people's lives. The bottom line is what will become of the world for our children and our children's children and the generations after, and at what price? Hoping for the best to come, human beings are in for a brave new world rather than a "paradise lost".