2017年2月25日雅思考试A类大作文真题回忆

Some people want the government to spend money looking for life on other planets, while others think it is a waste of public money when there are many problems on earth. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

这是一道跟外星人有关的话题，上次出类似话题是在2016年的10月13日，题目是这样的：

Some scientists believe that there are other intellectual life forms and people should send messages to them. Others believe that it could bring about dangerous consequences. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Ａ方观点是应该联系外星生命，Ｂ方观点是联系外星生命会带来危险。B方观点注意一定要扣着"危险"去答，不能简单地回答不该去联系，比如说应该把钱节约下来给地球人花都属于不扣题的观点。这道题的A方观点跟最近这场考试的类似，B方观点还真不太好写；能有什么危险呢？无非就是说会惊动他们，从而惹来杀生之祸。没什么话说了，那就接着反驳，比如可以说，既然对方有能力威胁我们，那么不主动联系他们就能使我们免于这种威胁吗？

这次２５日的题目并没有那么怪，不过是披着"外星人"外衣的政府题而已。如果探索外星人的意义大家没太多好说的，可以多写一些这种探索的消极影响，也就是说完全可以把重点放在Ｂ方观点，着重论证把钱花在解决地球人所面临的问题上。而这也是政府题我们必然会讲到的。

本篇范文把重点放在探索外星人的意义上，希望可以弥补课堂上没有涉及到的一块空缺。

The topic of aliens is always fascinating and the efforts of searching for extraterrestrials have been going on for decades. Some people argue that such efforts are a waste of money, given the fact that many human beings are still living under poverty line. However, I believe that this view is not fully justified.

There is little doubt that the government should put priority on meeting the immediate demands of its citizens. When a considerable number of people still do not have access to proper shelter, basic education, medical care and pension, it does seem absurd to pour enormous amounts of money to the search for life on other parts of the universe, the results of which are highly unpredictable.

However, we should not only focus on the short-term benefits, but we should also think about the future of mankind. The search for extraterrestrial life reflects human curiosity about and constant exploration to the unknown world. This same exploring spirit has brought human beings from a primitive society to today's highly developed one. Therefore, to suppress the search for extraterrestrial life is to suppress the driving force for mankind to move forward. If, for example, it were not for the seemingly useless but persistent explorations of our ancestors to the outer space, the first man landing on the moon and the constant launching of satellites orbiting the earth would not have been possible. Similarly, today's search for aliens may not bear solid fruit in the near future, but will surely lay groundwork for the successful probes of our next generations.

The search for life on other planets is also out of the need for a sense of safety and for survival. The more we know about the world around us, the better we can protect ourselves from unexpected attack. I believe that nobody wants to see that one day human beings are suddenly invaded by creatures coming from nowhere and are then wiped out before knowing what has happened. Besides, if we were able to find some low end life forms on other planets, we　would actually found a way to ensure the survival of human race by colonizing other planets. This would be increasingly necessary considering the current exploitation of natural resources and the expansion of world population.

I believe that the key is for the government to achieve a balance between current needs and future developments. While it is of course not a wise decision for developing countries to pay too much attention to space exploration, it is absolutely justified for developed nations to divert part of their budgets to the search for life on other planets.