GRE作文范文 Issue-15

　　GRE作文范文 Issue-15 “Because of television and worldwide computer connections, people can now become familiar with a great many places that they have never visited. As a result, tourism will soon become obsolete.” 嘉文博译Sample Essay In any society, there are people that are born to travel and there are homebodies who are happy with where they are at, with no desire to go anywhere else at all. Most people probably fall somewhere in between the two extremes. As television channels have become more numerous and computer connections have become faster and more easily available, there is more information on hand to the average person than ever before in history. But rather than making tourism obsolete, the Internet and television will spur more people to travel to places that they otherwise would never have known. In years past, people could read about different places in newspapers and magazines or possibly hear about them on the radio. In the earlier days of television, an inability to take television equipment to some of the more remote spots of the world kept people from learning about many places. Even when another country or continent was described or televised, it would seem to be a far away, exotic place that was unreachable to all but the hardiest and most adventurous travelers. Airplanes were still thought of as more of a novelty or for domestic travel only. Ships could take people to far away places but weeks or months were needed to reach the destination. Normal people did not have the time or the money to spend on such foreign travel. Incredible changes in vehicles for transportation have made travel not only safer but faster and more comfortable as well. High-speed magnetic levitation (mag-lev) trains can transport people safely at speeds of up to three hundred miles an hour in parts of Europe and Japan. The Concorde jet can transport people from New York to London in less than four hours in luxurious comfort. Gigantic cruise ships that can sail to almost any ocean ports have been built that rival any five star land-based hotels anywhere in the world. There have even been space tourists who have traveled into outer space to the International Space Station and returned safely to Earth. Not only have the transportation vehicles themselves been greatly enhanced, but the highways and railways that the vehicles use have also been tremendously improved. More places than ever before are now accessible by rapid and reliable transportation. The information technology age will likely also drive more people to tourism through the sheer increase in information available to the average person. Access to knowledge about any country is as close as an individual‘s desktop computer. The more countries and regions that an individual can become familiar with, the greater the likelihood that he or she will find a place that he or she would like to visit in person. Previously unknown island paradises and countries are now making themselves famous through the use of television and the World Wide Web, trying to cash in on the billions of dollars that are spent every year on tourism. Global incomes have also increased, allowing more and more people in more countries to afford traveling for a vacation. While it is likely that there are people that will do their traveling “virtually” through television or the computer, it is equally likely that even without the availability of such a wealth of information, they would not have traveled anyway. Hiking the Grand Canyon in the United States or scuba diving around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is not the same as watching it on television or the Internet. Snow skiing in the Swiss Alps or breathing in the fresh air of the Scottish Highlands must be personally experienced to be enjoyed. Shaking hands with a local Chinese villager in his own home or tasting the cooking of a friendly tribesman along the Amazon River simply cannot be done without traveling. Technology only increases the knowledge that is easily available; it cannot dampen the enthusiasm for tourism in those that love to travel. (684 words)

　　参考译文 由于电视和全球性的电脑联网，人们现在可以了解从前没有见到的众多地方，其结果是旅游业会很快变得萧条

　　在任何一个社会里，总有一些人天生爱旅游，也有一些恋家的人喜欢他们所在的地方，根本没有到别处去游山玩水的愿望。大多数人们可能处于两个极端之间。由于电视频道更多了，电脑联络更快更方便了，普通人所能掌握的信息比历史上任何时候都多。但是，网络和电视不仅不会使旅游业萧条，反而会促使更多的人到更多的地方旅游。假如没有网络和电视，他们会永远都不知道这些地方。

　　在过去的年代里，人们能在报纸和杂志上了解到不同的地方，或者可能从收音机里听说一些。在电视发展的早期，电视设备不能被运到世界上某些更偏远的地区，这使得人们无从了解许多地方。即使当一个国家或某个大陆被描述或在电视上播放时，它似乎还是那些坚强的、敢于冒险的旅行者以外的人们所无法接近的遥远而又神秘的地方。飞机更是被看作一种新奇的事物或者只是为国内旅行所用。轮船能把人们带到遥远的地方，但要到达目的地，还需要几周或几个月的时间。普通人没有时间和金钱用于这样的境外旅游。

　　交通工具的令人难以置信的改进使得旅行不仅安全快捷，也更加舒适。欧洲和日本的一些地区的高速磁悬浮火车能以每小时高达三百公里的速度安全运送旅客；协和客机能在不到四小时的时间内把人们极其舒服地由纽约送到伦敦；能远航到几乎所有海港的大型巡游船已经被建设得能和世界上任意一处的五星级陆地酒店相媲美；甚至还有一些宇宙空间游客到外层的国际空间站旅行并安全返回地球。不仅是交通工具本身被大大地改善，这些工具所利用的高速公路和铁路也被大幅度地改进。迅速而可靠的交通工具使得人们可以到达前所未有的更多地方。

　　信息技术时代很可能也会因为普通人的可用信息的迅速增长而促使更多的人去旅游。了解一个国家正如同接近一台个人桌面电脑那样容易，一个人所熟悉的国家和地区越多，他或她发现一个自己想亲自旅游的地方的可能性就越大。以前所不为人知的岛上乐园和国家现在正通过电视和互联网使自己扬名并试图从每年消费于旅游的数十亿美元中赢得利润。全球的收入也增加了，这使得更多的人能够支付假期旅游的费用。

　　虽然可能会有一些人通过电视或电脑进行“虚拟”旅行，但也同样有可能在没有这样大量的信息可用的情况下，他们还是哪也不去。在美国的大峡谷游玩或在澳大利亚的大堡礁周围戴水肺跳水和在电视上或网络上观看并不是一回事；在阿尔卑斯山滑雪或是在苏格兰高地上呼吸新鲜空气必定是亲身经历的快乐；到一个中国本地的村民家中与他握手或品尝亚马逊河岸边友好的部落成员的烹调手艺都离不开旅行。技术只是增加了容易获取的知识；它并不能打消那些爱好旅行的人们的热情。