各位好，欢迎回到作文专栏的第十期，关于专栏的介绍可见栏目介绍。
我在上一期的推送有哪些可以提升写作的工具书和应用？介绍了www.vocabulary.com上面的一个易混淆词表，今天在这里补充介绍网站上的一个功能：Vocabulary Lists
vocabulary.com 允许用户制作和上传自己的词表，同时官方也会推出一些专用词表。词表上的单词会调用网站的释义以及例句，非常便于学习。
这里推荐三个重点词表：
1.The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
这份词表是网站编辑选出的学术以及商业英语中有代表性的1000词，这些词汇也经常出现在各类大大小小的语言考试中：
The top 1,000 vocabulary words have been carefully chosen to represent difficult but common words that appear in everyday academic and business writing. These words are also the most likely to appear on the SAT, ACT, GRE, and ToEFL.
词表链接是：https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/52473
2.GRE High Frequency Words
巴朗GRE高频词表，不管你需不需要考GRE，系统掌握一下这份词表中的单词对词汇能力进阶都大有裨益。
词表链接是：https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/194479
3.100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
这是由《美国传统词典》的编辑们选出的美国中学生应该掌握的100个单词，这100词难度适中，在各大报刊中的出现频率也非常高，建议每个人都要掌握：
American Heritage Dictionaries normally feature about 70,000 entries. From that multitude, the editors have chosen 100 words that are neither obscure nor outlandish that could give middle schoolers more aplomb and aptitude in their verbal encounters.
词表链接是：https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/558097
今天要分析的作文题目是：
Many people think that the government should spend money to explore the outer space, while others believe that it is a waste of public money. Discuss both views and include your own opinion.
这是作文的原始版本：
习作/S
Opinion is divided as to whether the government should invest in the exploration of space. It will set the stage for finding alternative energy at best and waste money at worst. I think we should welcome space exploration with open arms on condition that enough money is input into infrastructure construction.
Lacking necessary fossil fuel and other natural resources that are essential to industrial development, scientists go to great lengths to search for new energy. Chances are that the remote and untouched planets are buried various kinds of resources, so it is imperative to spend money exploring the outer space. Furthermore, exploiting outside the earth mirrors the strong comprehensive national power of a country to some extent, which is one of the important target of a government. Last but not least, it is a arduous but rewarding process in a long run.
People who take a dim view of the exploration deem that it does not amount to much compared to millions upon millions dollars it has wasted and valuable social resources it has occupied, for the reason that the scientific exploration activities are likely to turn out abortive. What’s more, the unpractical research is of secondary importance when there are many social issues such as poverty, terrorism and the endless wars remained to be solved. Additionally, The governments are supposed to invest the public money in the fields that concerned to the daily life of people.
As far as I am concerned, exploring the outer space is inductive to human being in long-term interests, and the government should support it as long as the country have a solid economical foundation.
这是点评版本：
Opinion is divided as to whether the government should invest in the exploration of space. It will set the stage for finding (help to find) alternative energy at best and waste money at worst. I think we should welcome space exploration with open arms on condition that enough money is input into infrastructure construction. (/)
Lacking necessary fossil fuels and other natural resources that are essential to industrial development, (To combat the problem of energy shortages) scientists go to great lengths to search for new energy. Chances are that the (/) remote and untouched (/) planets are buried (possess) various kinds of resources, so it is imperative to spend money exploring the outer space. Furthermore, exploiting outside the earth (space exploration) mirrors the strong comprehensive national power of a country to some extent (a country's scientific strength), which is one of the important target of a government.(/) Last but not least, it is an arduous but rewarding process in a long run (in the long run).
People who take a dim view of the exploration (space exploration) deem that it does not amount to much compared to millions upon millions dollars it has wasted and valuable social resources it has occupied, for the reason that the scientific exploration activities are (space exploration is) likely to turn out abortive. What’s more (What is more), the unpractical research (such research) is of secondary importance when there are many social issues such as poverty, terrorism and the endless (/) wars remained to be solved. Additionally, The (/) Governments are supposed to invest the (/) public money in the fields that concerned to the daily life of people. (in fields related to people's daily lives)
As far as I am concerned, exploring the outer (/) space is inductive to human being in long-term interests, (crucial to human's long-term interests) and the government should support it as long as the country have a solid economical foundation. (within its means)
思路分析：
Many people think that the government should spend money to explore the outer space, while others believe that it is a waste of public money. Discuss both views and include your own opinion.
这道题目非常具有现实意义。之前曾经有人质疑“目前还有很多人吃不饱饭，上不起学，政府为什么不先花钱改善民生，而要耗费巨资去搞太空探索？“对此的一个回答是”民生是永远改善不完的，如果要等民生问题完全解决后再开始太空探索，那这一天可能永远不会到来“。
实际上，太空探索能够带来非常多的好处，比如下面这几点：
（1）很多民用技术都是太空探索的副产品，比如GPS导航，卫星电话，吸尘器，更加准确的天气预报等；
（2）太空探索技术复杂，耗资巨大，单一国家往往难以承受，需要多个国家参与。这促进了国家之间的和平交流协作。（即使是在冷战期间，美苏之间也曾互相协助）；
（3）人类不可能永远待在地球上，发展太空技术能够提升人类面对灾难的抵抗力（比如陨石撞击，全球变暖等），也为人类未来走向星辰大海打下基础；
（4）太阳系中不少行星含有丰富的资源，开采这些资源有助于解决人类的能源问题；
（5）太空探索满足了人类探索未知的好奇心，而正是这种好奇心让我们的祖先在200万年前走出非洲，开创了新纪元。如果人类失去了这种好奇心，文明将会停滞不前。
写作的时候可以选择其中一个或多个观点展开，这是我写的一个版本：
习作/魏剑峰
Since the beginning of The Space Age in the 1950s, there have been debates about whether governments should allocate funds for space exploration. Although man’s venture into space is costly and often risky, the benefits it brings are enormous, justifying huge amounts of space funding.
Some people argue that space exploration is too expensive and should therefore remain a low priority. Launching a space mission would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and too often with no immediate, tangible benefits. Given that there are still many people living in poverty in some counties, governments should use the money instead to solve pressing problems such as hunger, disease and unemployment.
Advocates of space research base their arguments on the benefits it can offer. First of all, space exploration has created new markets and new technologies that have spurred the economy and changed our lives in many ways. Many common everyday services such as GPS systems and satellite television could not have come into being without scientists’ efforts at space research. Secondly, space technology is crucial for the long-term survival of the human species. It is said that the Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever. Developing new technologies to travel between planets increases our chances of survival should the Earth is under threat. Finally, space exploration satisfies human’s desire to explore the unknown, and it is such desire that drove our ancestors to go out of Africa two million years ago and continues to inspire many to push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits. Simply put, space exploration epitomizes the power of the human spirit.
My view is that space exploration can benefit the citizens of the world today and the generations of tomorrow, and it is not something governments should give up for the sake of some short term investment and effort.
预告：
本专栏下期要分析的作文题目是：
Several languages are in danger of extinction because they are spoken by very small numbers of people. Some people say that governments should spend public money on saving these languages, while others believe that would be a waste of money. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
感兴趣的同学可以先思考如何写，然后对照下期的思路分析。建议有空的同学自己动笔写一篇。
本作文专栏长期接受读者投稿，感兴趣的同学可以将习作发到我的邮箱 [email protected]，部分习作有机会得到点评。
多写作文，总会有好事发生的：
