電視：是好還是壞?
【內容提示】
當今世界，人人都離不開電視。電視能給人們提供各種各樣的信息，給人們帶來不少樂趣。但，它也給社會帶來負面影響，暴力、謀殺使不少青少年誤入歧途，某些虛假廣告使小孩子們學會說謊話等。請你就電視的利弊寫一篇短文，談談自己的看法。
【作文示範】
Is Television Good or Bad?
Television first came into being in 1939, but it did not become common until the early 1950s. Since then, millions of children have grown up in front of the set. Many people now worry about the effect of TV on the young. They wonder if television should be allowed to go on. Many parents wish that there had never been such an invention. Why are they so afraid? Is television really harmful?
Like almost anything else, television has its good as well as bad sides. It makes us informed of daily news. It tells us product information. It lets us know of the outside world. It provides lessons for learners. And it has brought joy and interest into the lives of the old, the sick, and the lonely. Without it, some of these people would have little pleasure in the world.
Unfortunately, some television programs have been extremely harmful to the young. Children do not have enough experience. They do not realize that TV programs often show an unreal world. Commercials tell lies in order to sell products that are sometimes bad or useless. Children believe them and want to imitate① what they see on TV. They believe that they will make more friends if they use a certain soap----or some other product. They believe that the murders on TV screens are normal and acceptable②. By the time they are out of high school, most young people have watched about15，000 hours of television, and have seen about 18,000 Dviolent deaths. If they see violent deaths every day, how can they be shocked by murder in real life?
Television has certainly changed our lives and our society. Along with its good points, it has brought many problems. We must find a solution③ to these problems because----whether we like it or not----television is here to stay.
【詞語解釋】
①imitate["imiteit] v.模仿，仿效
② acceptable [+k"sept+bl] a.可接受的;合意的
③ solution[s+"lju:M+n] n.解決(辦法);解答
【寫法指要】
本文是對同一種事物的兩個方面的對比，即比較分析看電視的得失、利弊。作者首先用一分為二的辯證觀點在第二段一開頭給出了段落主題句，其實也是全文的篇題(thesis)，“Television has its good as well as its bad sides.”。然後用綜合分析模式(all of one/all of the other)對看電視的利和弊分別進行了闡述：第二段說的是有利的一面;第三段談的是有害的一面。第二段用5個平行句式(parallelism)講好處;第三段用3個同樣的句式講壞處，所以，從形式到內容均構成了鮮明的對比。結尾段既對利弊作了總結，又提出作者的建議。整篇文章完全是按照“啓、承、轉、合”的寫作技巧構思的。