1.The following is a letter to the editor of the Waymarsh Times.
"Traffic here in Waymarsh is becoming a problem. Although just three years ago a state traffic survey showed that the typical driving commuter took 20 minutes to get to work, the commute now takes closer to 40 minutes, according to the survey just completed. Members of the town council already have suggested more road building to address the problem, but as well as being expensive, the new construction will surely disrupt some of our residential neighborhoods. It would be better to follow the example of the nearby city of Garville. Last year Garville implemented a policy that rewards people who share rides to work, giving them coupons for free gas. Pollution levels in Garville have dropped since the policy was implemented, and people from Garville tell me that commuting times have fallen considerably. There is no reason why a policy like Garville's shouldn't work equally well in Waymarsh."
下面这段文字出自写给Waymarsh Times编辑的一封信。
Waymarsh交通成了问题。虽然三年前州政府做的一项交通调查显示开车上班的人花20分钟上班，但是根据一份刚刚结束的调查，现在几乎要用40分钟了。市政委员建议修更多的路来解决问题，但这不但贵，还必将会影响居民的生活。效仿附近Garville市的做法或许更好。去年Garville市实施了一项鼓励人们拼车上下班的政策，给拼车的人免费加油的优惠券。自从这一政策实施以后，Garville市的污染水平下降了，来自Garville的人告诉我他们上下班的时间大大减少了。在Waymarsh实施类似Garville的政策没有理由不会取得同样好的效果。
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 a letter to the editor of a national newspaper.
"Your recent article on corporate downsizing* in Elthyria maintains that the majority of competent workers who have lost jobs as a result of downsizing face serious economic hardship, often for years, before finding other suitable employment. But this claim is undermined by a recent report on the Elthyrian economy, which found that since 1999 far more jobs have been created than have been eliminated, bringing the unemployment rate in Elthyria to its lowest level in decades. Moreover, two-thirds of these newly created jobs have been in industries that tend to pay above-average wages, and the vast majority of these jobs are full-time."
下面这段文字节选自一封写给一位全国性报纸编辑的信。
你们最近关于Elthyria集体裁员的文章认为，很多在企业面临严重经济困难的时候裁员而导致失业的有能力的工人通常要用几年的时间找到另一份合适的工作。但这种说法与最近一次关于Elthyria经济的报告相矛盾，报告发现自1999年以来新增的就业机会数量远超过消失的岗位数量，并且Elthyria的失业率达到了几十年来的最低值。此外，新增就业机会中有三分之二是那些提供高于平均水平薪酬的企业提供的，而且这些岗位绝大多数是全职工作。
*Downsizing is the process whereby corporations deliberately make themselves smaller, reducing the number of their employees.
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.
3.The following appeared on the Mozart School of Music Web site.
"The Mozart School of Music should be the first choice for parents considering enrolling their child in music lessons. First of all, the Mozart School welcomes youngsters at all ability and age levels; there is no audition to attend the school. Second, the school offers instruction in nearly all musical instruments as well a wide range of styles and genres from classical to rock. Third, the faculty includes some of the most distinguished musicians in the area. Finally, many Mozart graduates have gone on to become well-known and highly paid professional musicians."
下面这段文字出自Mozart School of Music网站。
Mozart音乐学校应该是打算让孩子学音乐的家长的首选。首先，Mozart学校欢迎任何水平任何年龄段的孩子，入学时没有试唱。第二，学校提供几乎所有种类的乐器和从古典到摇滚各种风格的音乐课。第三，聘用当地最杰出的音乐家来教学。最后，从Mozart毕业的学生已经成为了非常有名并且高薪的音乐家。
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.
4.The president of Grove College has recommended that the college abandon its century-old tradition of all-female education and begin admitting men. Pointing to other all-female colleges that experienced an increase in applications after adopting coeducation, the president argues that coeducation would lead to a significant increase in applications and enrollment. However, the director of the alumnae association opposes the plan. Arguing that all-female education is essential to the very identity of the college, the director cites annual surveys of incoming students in which these students say that the school's all-female status was the primary reason they selected Grove. The director also points to a survey of Grove alumnae in which a majority of respondents strongly favored keeping the college all female.
Grove学院校长提议学校放弃有百年历史的女校传统，开始录取男生。他指出，其他女校改为男女同校后申请人数增加了，这说明男女同校可以有效的增加申请和招生人数。然而，女校协会会长反对这一提议。他认为女校教育是学院重要的特殊身份认同，并且引用了每年女校调查的数据，数据显示新生选择Grove的主要原因是它的女校传统。会长还指出，在一次由Grove女校协会组织的调查中，大多数被调查者强烈建议学校保留女校传统。
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
5.The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a Batavia newspaper.
"The department of agriculture in Batavia reports that the number of dairy farms throughout the country is now 25 percent greater than it was 10 years ago. During this same time period, however, the price of milk at the local Excello Food Market has increased from $1.50 to over $3.00 per gallon. To prevent farmers from continuing to receive excessive profits on an apparently increased supply of milk, the Batavia government should begin to regulate retail milk prices. Such regulation is necessary to ensure fair prices for consumers."
下面这段文字出自给Batavia报社编辑的一封信。
Batavia农业部门报告说全国奶牛农庄的数量比10年前增加了25%。然而就在同一时期，当地Excello Food Market牛奶的价格从每加仑$1.5上涨到了$3.0。为防止农场主在牛奶供应量明显增加的情况下获取过多的利润，Batavia政府应限制牛奶的零售价。这种限价对于保证更低的牛奶价格和充足的供应是必需的。
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.