내가 살고 있는 도시에 한 가지 중요한 변화를 준다면?

■제시문

There is no place that is perfect and my city cannot be an exception. I believe what needs the most change is paved roads, for the following reasons. First, the environment in my city is not in a good state. Second, people find it more comfortable with more nature around. Third, the price of real estate would go up with more nature around the city.

The first reason why I want to change paved roads into unpaved roads with plants, is that the environment in my city is not in a good state. All the pollutants from cars exceed the amount of pollutants that the plants in my city can manage. As it accumulates, the environment gets worse and it becomes harder for people to live in. Also, these pollutants can cause acid rain and global warming, which makes the world's environment even worse.

The second reason is that people find it more comfortable to live with more nature around. It is natural for people to be relaxed in nature. Think of yourself in a room covered with cement. It would probably make you feel uneasy. That is why houses are covered with wallpaper, with nature surrounding. The house would do much better than that.

The third reason is that the prices of real estate would go up with more nature around the city. As I mentioned, a city surrounded with nature is a better place for people to live in. As a result, the real estate would become more expensive, and trades of houses in big amounts of money will also bring fortune to the city for taxes.

To conclude, if I can change one thing in my city, I would not hesitate to change paved roads into unpaved roads with many plants for the following reasons. First, the environment would become much better with many plants in the city. Second, people will be more comfortable to live with more nature and all these benefits; the price of real estate would go up.

■이해력 높이기

1. How can unpaved paths with plants help the environment?

a. They make it harder for cars to drive on roads.

b. More plants help reduce the amounts of pollutants

in the city.

c. They make the environment look nicer.

2. How can more nature help people?

a. It helps people relax.

b. It makes people more active.

c. The flowers smell nice and make people happy.

3. How can a better environment help the economy?

a. Real estate prices will go up.

b. It costs money to buy plants.

c. People won't want to drive, so they won't have to

buy gas for cars.

정답:1(c), 2(a), 3(a)

◎ 써서 보내요

If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change?

여러분이 살고 있는 도시에는 어떤 개선점이 있을지 잘 생각해 보고 여러분이라면 도시의 어떤 점을 바꾸고 싶은지 써 보세요.

■논제

Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed (damaged) by human activity. Others feel that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion?

여러분은 앞으로 긴 세월을 지구와 더불어 살아가야 한다. 과연 우리 인간의 활동은 지구를 해치고 있는 건지, 아니면 이 지구를 더 살기 좋은 곳으로 만들고 있는 것인지 새로운 해를 여는 지금 진지하게 생각해 보자.

■학생글 - 전민경·경기 과천중학교 2학년

There seems to be a controversy over the effect of human activities on the Earth. Some people believe that human activities have greatly damaged the Earth whereas others think that human activities made the Earth a place to live. In my opinion, humans have harmed the Earth by polluting water and the air and by making lots of species to extinct.

First and foremost, factories produce contaminated water. Sometimes, they even let it flow down the stream without purifying the water. The stream water would flow into the rivers and oceans. Marine life would ultimately die, and the animals that drink this water would get sick. Also, pollution from cars is a serious problem. We do not only breathe contaminated air, but the air also leads to green house effect and acid rain. Both of them are significantly harmful to the Earth.

Another reason for holding the opinion is that human activities destroys animal's habitat and eventually make them extinct. What I mean is that when we damage the environment, it becomes harder for the animals to survive, and they most likely lose their habitat. For example, we have destroyed more than seventy percent of rain forests. However, about one third of the entire animal species are considered to be living in the rain forests. In addition, people cut down trees to build houses and factories. Cutting down trees would also lead to lose of habitat or mud slides and kill a host of animals. Plus, this can lead to desertification.

It may be true that the Earth benefits from human activity. However, the bad effects on the Earth outweigh the good impacts. Human activities have polluted water, air, and made many animal species to be extinct. There are at least some ways to save the Earth. Factories should minimize producing contaminated water, and purify it before letting it flow down the stream. People should also use public transportation and stop cutting down trees.

■첨삭글

There seems to be a controversy over the effect of human activities on the Earth. Some people believe that human activities have greatly damaged the Earth, whereas others think that human activities made the Earth abetter place to live. In my opinion, humans have harmed the Earth by polluting water and the air and by making lots of species to extinct.

First and foremost, factories produce contaminated water. Sometimes, they even let it flow down streams without purifying the water. The stream water flows into rivers and oceans. Marine life ultimately dies, and animals that drink this water get sick. Also, pollution from cars is a serious problem. We do not only breathe contaminated air, but the air also worsens the green house effect and acid rain. Both of them are significantly harmful to the Earth.

Another reason for holding the opinion is that human activity destroys animals' habitats and eventually makes them extinct. When we damage the environment, it becomes harder for the animals to survive, and they most likely lose their habitat. For example, we have destroyed more than seventy percent of the world's rainforests. However, about one third of the entire animal species are considered to be living in the rainforests. In addition, people cut down trees to build houses and factories. Cutting down trees also leads to the loss of habitat or mudslides, and kills a host of animals. Plus, this can lead to desertification.

It may be true that the Earth benefits from human activity. However, the bad effects on the Earth outweigh the good impacts. Human activities have polluted water and air, and made many animal species become extinct. There are at least some ways to save the Earth. Factories should minimize the production of contaminated water and purify it before letting it flow down the stream. People should also use public transportation and stop cutting down trees.

■총평 - 구성-논지-사례 ‘에세이 3요소’ 잘 갖춰

우선 전민경 학생의 에세이는 구성이 좋고 근거도 잘 제시되어 있다. 특히 서론과 결론이 훌륭하다. 아주 흥미로운 문장으로 글을 시작하고 있으며 결론의 문장들은 주어진 주제의 부정적 관점을 변화를 위한 긍정적 계획으로 바꿔놓고 있다.

좋은 구성은 모든 에세이의 가장 중요한 기본이다. 그런 점에서 민경 학생이 쓴 글은 구성이 잘 되어 있다. 서론은 논지가 매우 뚜렷하고 본론에서 논할 아이디어를 잘 제시하고 있다. 결론은 서론의 논지를 완벽하게 따라가고 있고 본론의 주요 아이디어들을 다시 한번 요약해 주고 있으며 마무리 역시 훌륭하다. 구체적인 해결책을 제시함으로써 글의 마무리를 아주 긍정적으로 끝내고 있기 때문이다.

또 하나 민경 학생의 글이 좋은 이유는 본론에서 들어 준 예가 매우 구체적이기 때문이다. 세계 곳곳의 환경과 상황을 실제 사실을 이용해서 설명하고 있다. 이렇게 들어 준 예는 모두 main idea를 완벽하게 뒷받침하고 호소력 있게 해 주고 있다.

2nd prize: 한시은

3rd prize: 임민지

장보숙 영재사관 YES어학원 실장

저스틴 루이스 영재사관 YES어학원 팀장

○ 이 사이트로 보내세요

‘다음 논제 써서 보내요’에 대한 글을 다음 주 월요일까지 보내 주세요. 잘된 글 가운데 일부를 선정 문화상품권을 보내 드립니다. 글 보내실 곳: www.easynonsul.com → 중학논술 →논술클리닉(www.easynonsul.com/Middle/Clinic/)

※ 초등영어 논술클리닉은 인터넷 이지논술 사이트에서 계속 제공됩니다.