大家都知道
Pool of Argument Topics
This page contains the Argument topics for the Analytical Writing section of the GRE revised General Test. When you take the test, you will be presented with one Argument topic from this pool.
Each Argument topic consists of a passage that presents an argument followed by specific task instructions that tell you how to analyze the argument. The wording of some topics in the test might vary slightly from what is presented here. Also, because there may be multiple versions of some topics with similar or identical wording but with different task instructions, it is very important to read your test topic and its specific task directions carefully and respond to the wording as it appears in the actual test.
1.Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.
一种具有独特花纹的编织篮子以前只在史前村庄Palea的临近地区发现过，因而被认为是Palea居民所独有的。然而最近，考古学家在一个与Palea隔着一条叫做Brim的河流的村庄Lithos发现了一个Palea篮子。Brim河水很深很宽，所以古代Palea人只能坐船穿过它，但没有证据表明Palea人拥有船只。这表明这种所谓的Palea篮子不是Palea村的人所独有的。
Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.
2.The following appeared as part of a letter to the editor of a scientific journal.
"A recent study of eighteen rhesus monkeys provides clues as to the effects of birth order on an individual's levels of stimulation. The study showed that in stimulating situations (such as an encounter with an unfamiliar monkey), firstborn infant monkeys produce up to twice as much of the hormone cortisol, which primes the body for increased activity levels, as do their younger siblings. Firstborn humans also produce relatively high levels of cortisol in stimulating situations (such as the return of a parent after an absence). The study also found that during pregnancy, first-time mother monkeys had higher levels of cortisol than did those who had had several offspring."
下面这段文字节选自一封写给科学杂志编辑的信。
最近一项对18只猕猴做的调查为研究出生顺序对个体刺激水平的作用提供了线索。这项调查显示在收到刺激的情况下(比如说遇到另外一只陌生的猴子)，第一个出生的幼猴产生的hormone cortisol是他们的弟弟妹妹的两倍。hormone cortisol是一种能够刺激身体活动水平的物质。第一个出生的人在收到刺激的情况下也会产生相当高的cortisol，比如说当家长离开一段时间后又回来。这项研究还发现在怀孕期间，第一次当妈妈的猴子比有很多孩子的猴子的cortisol水平更高。
Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.
3.The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner.
"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."
。
在过去的两年中，随着滑板的日益流行，。。乱扔垃圾和破坏公物的现象也有明显的增多。因此，。如果滑板被禁止了，我们相信这里的商业将会恢复到以前的水平。
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
4.The following appeared in a letter from a homeowner to a friend.
"Of the two leading real estate firms in our town—Adams Realty and Fitch Realty—Adams Realty is clearly superior. Adams has 40 real estate agents; in contrast, Fitch has 25, many of whom work only part-time. Moreover, Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of Fitch and included home sales that averaged $168,000, compared to Fitch's $144,000. Homes listed with Adams sell faster as well: ten years ago I listed my home with Fitch, and it took more than four months to sell; last year, when I sold another home, I listed it with Adams, and it took only one month. Thus, if you want to sell your home quickly and at a good price, you should use Adams Realty."
下面这段文字节选自一个房主写给一位朋友的信。
在本市的两家最大的房地产经纪公司--Adams Realty和Fitch Realty--之中，Adams显然更优秀一些。Adams有40名房地产经纪人，而Fitch只有25个，且很多是兼职工作。而且，Adams去年的收入是Fitch的两倍，其平均房价为$168000，而Fitch仅为$144000。在Adams销售的房屋卖得也更快：十年前，我把我的房产交给Fitch，它用了四个多月才卖出去;去年，我在Adams卖了另一处房产，仅用一个月就售出了。因此，要想让你的房产卖的更快更好，你应该选择Adams。
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
5.The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer Island Gazette.
"On Balmer Island, where mopeds serve as a popular form of transportation, the population increases to 100,000 during the summer months. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians, the town council of Balmer Island should limit the number of mopeds rented by the island's moped rental companies from 50 per day to 25 per day during the summer season. By limiting the number of rentals, the town council will attain the 50 percent annual reduction in moped accidents that was achieved last year on the neighboring island of Seaville, when Seaville's town council enforced similar limits on moped rentals."
下面这段文字出自写给Balmer Island Gazette杂志社编辑的一封信。
在Balmer Island，机动脚踏车是一种非常流行的交通工具。该岛夏季的人口达到了100000人。为减少由机动脚踏车和行人引发的事故，Balmer Island市委打算在夏季把本岛机动脚踏车出租公司的机动脚踏车出租数量从每天50辆限制到每天25辆。通过限制出租数量，机动脚踏车事故数量将会减少50%。去年邻近的Seaville岛采取了类似的措施后就达到了这样的效果。
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.