19 Governments should focus on solving the immediate problems of today rather than on trying to solve the anticipated problems of the future

Governments should focus on solving the immediate problems of today rather than on trying to solve the anticipated problems of the future.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

文勇五问：

（1）政府的功能是什么？如何定义政府将使原命题成立？例如：政府是解决民众迫切需求的行政机关。如何定义政府则原命题不成立？例如：政府是致力于实现人类长久发展的机构。

（2）政府产生的过程和换届选举的机制是否会导致政府更倾向于处理眼前的事情？为什么？是否因为处理好眼前的事情更有利于政府迎合民意、赢得选票？

（3）你能具体地举例说说政府眼前的事情有哪些吗？例如：举办体育赛事、抗震救灾等。

（4）你能具体地举例说说政府有哪些值得关注的长远大计吗？例如：缩小贫富差距、消除贫困、实施可持续发展战略等。

（5）你认为政府应该基于哪几个因素来衡量和平衡眼前和未来的需求？你能列举几个吗？例如：民众的基本权利的保障、对国家具有全局意义、可持续发展的未来走向。

翻译练习：

曾经有一个时期，我们的先辈过度开发自然资源去推动经济发展，完全不顾将来可能会出现的不良后果。如今，我们面临着环境污染及能源枯竭等日益严重的问题。于此最重要的是，这些都是只能被改善而无法完全被纠正的问题，至少在短期之内不可能。

参考答案：

There was a time when our predecessors excessively exploited natural resources to push economic development, in total disregard of the harmful consequences that may arise in the long run. Nowadays, we are faced with such increasingly serious problems as environmental pollutions and fossil energy depletion. What’s most important about this is that these are all problems that can only be ameliorated but never be totally redressed, at least not in a short time.

翻译练习：

当不断增长的人口的吃饭问题被认为是最紧急的，人们清除了大片的森林，而没有预料到沙漠化有一天会成为严重的问题；当为经济发展提供能源被认为是应该被最优先处理的问题时，人们过度开发了地球的自然资源，而没有预料到能源短缺和环境污染在将来会成为棘手的问题。

参考答案：

When feeding the expanding population was perceived as most urgent, people cleared large tracts of forest, not expecting desertification to become a serious problem one day; and when providing energy for economic development was perceived as the foremost issue to be dealt with,people excessively exploited Earth’s natural resources, not anticipating energy deficiency and environmental pollution to become tough problems in the future.

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