GRE作文范文 Argument-29

"The way students and scholars interpret the materials they work with in their academic fields is more a matter of personality than training. Different interpretations come about when people with different personalities look at exactly the same objects, facts, data, or events and see different things."

嘉文博译Sample Essay

A new report suggests that men and women experience pain very differently from one another, and that doctors should consider these differences when prescribing pain medications. When researchers administered the same dosage of kappa options--- a painkiller---to 28 men and 20 women who were having their wisdom teeth extracted, the women reported feeling much less pain than the men, and the easing of pain lasted considerably longer in women. This research suggests that kappa opioids should be prescribed for women whenever pain medication is required, whereas men should be given other kinds of pain medication. In addition, researchers should reevaluate the effects of all medications on men versus women.

In this argument, the arguer cites a new report suggesting that men and women experience pain very differently from one another and that doctors need to consider these differences when prescribing pain medicine. The arguer cites as evidence the results of the study, which indicated that when giving a painkiller called kappa opioids to twenty-eight men and twenty women who were having wisdom teeth taken out, the women reported feeling much less pain than the men with the easing of the pain also lasting longer in women. The arguer then concludes that this same painkiller should always be prescribed for women when painkillers are required, and that men should be given some other kinds of pain medications. The arguer finally concludes that researchers should study the effects of all medications on men versus women. This argument is not convincing because it contains several critical fallacies.

In the first place, this was a very small study - just twenty-eight men and twenty women so it is possible that the sample of people studied is not representative of the entire population. It may also be that the men's wisdom teeth extractions were much more difficult cases than that of the women, so naturally the pain was worse, either because the small sample size contained a disproportionate number of difficult men's cases or because men's wisdom teeth are physically more problematic to remove. In either case, a small study like this is not enough on which to base such a broad conclusion.

Furthermore, the arguer states that the researchers administered the same dosage to both the men and the women. Men are normally physically bigger in body size than women, thus making the same dosage more powerful in the smaller women when compared with its effect on the larger men. It is likely that a dosage that takes relative body size into account would provide similar levels of pain relief for both men and women, therefore it is not necessary to use a different drug on men but rather a larger dose to reflect their larger physical size.

In addition, the arguer concludes that women should be given kappa opioids whenever pain medication is required. This fallacy ignores critical factors such as the possibility of side effects of the medications in some women, such as women who are pregnant. Simply because one small study appeared to show that the medication worked better for women than men does not mean that it should always be used for pain relief for women. This part of the argument also fails to take into consideration that there are other, even better pain medications that could also be used rather than kappa opioids.

Finally, the arguer says that researchers should reevaluate the effects of all medications on men versus women. This simply does not follow as there is no evidence presented to warrant such research. This was a small and probably misleading report on only one type of painkiller. It would be foolish to launch such a broad and expansive research study on all medications and their effects on the different sexes. Instead, medications should be prescribed and adjusted on a case-by-case basis depending on the patient's needs, not by gender.

In summary, the arguer bases his or her argument on groundless conclusions that don't really prove anything. Without a broader study that takes into account body size, other types of pain medications and the severity of the medical procedure, this argument will remain unconvincing and should be ignored.

(586 words)

参考译文

一篇新的报告表明，男人和女人感受疼痛的方式彼此不同，因此医师在开具处方治疗头痛时应考虑到这些差异。当研究人员给拔智齿的28位男性和20位女性用同样剂量的卡巴止痛药时，女性反映说她们受的疼痛比男性少，而且缓解疼痛的时间在女性身上比较长。这一研究表明，当需要止痛药时，卡巴止痛药应该给女性服用，而男性应该服用其他类型的止痛药。此外，研究人员应该根据男女差异重新评估所有药物的疗效

在这篇论证中，论证者引用一篇新的报告，说男性和女性感受疼痛的方式彼此不同并且说医师在开具处方时需要考虑到这些差异。论证者还引用了一项研究作为证据，说明当给28位男性和20位女性服用名叫卡巴的止痛药拔智齿时，女性反映她们遭受的疼痛比男性少，而且缓解疼痛的时间在女性身上较长。论证者接着得出结论：当需要使用止痛药时，这种止痛药应该总是给女性服用而男性应该服用其他类型的止痛药。最后论证者还说，研究人员应该根据男女的差异去研究所有药物的疗效。这一论证由于存在几处严重的错误，所以不能令人信服。 首先，这项研究所涵盖的范围太小--只有28位男性和20位女性，因而很可能研究对象的整个抽样不能代表全体患病人口。也可能拔男性的智齿要比拔女性的困难得多，所以很自然男人的疼痛更厉害一些，或者是因为很小的抽样范围中只包含了拔牙困难的男性的一个不成比例的数量，或者是因为男人的智齿从生理上讲更难拔出。但无论属于何种情形，这样小范围的研究不足以作为这样重要结论的基础。

再者，论证者声称，研究人员给男性和女性使用同样剂量的止痛药。男性比女性在身材上更大，所以与大个儿的男性相比，同样剂量的药物在小个儿的女性身上会更有效。把身材大小考虑进去的剂量可能会对男性和女性产生同样程度的疼痛缓解效果，因此，不必要对男性使用另一种不同的药物，而只需对身材较大者使用较大剂量即可。 此外，论证者的结论是，当女性无论何时需要止痛药时，都应该服用卡巴。这一谬误忽视了某些重要的因素，例如该药可能会对某些女性产生副作用，如孕妇。仅仅由于一个涵盖范围很小的研究似乎说明这种药物在女性身上比在男性身上更有效，这并不意味着女性应该永远用它来缓解疼痛。论证的这一部分同样也没能考虑到会有其他的、甚至比卡巴更有效的止痛药可用。 最后，论证者提出，研究人员应该重新评估所有药物在男性身上相对于在女性身上所产生的疗效。这一论点显得毫无依据，因为论证者没能提供证据来证明进行这一研究的合理性。这是一份仅涉及到一种止痛药的研究范围甚为狭窄且可能带有误导性质的报告。依据这份报告来对所有药物及对男女患者不同疗效展开如此广泛、如此大规模的研究，无疑会显得愚蠢。相反，大夫应该依据病人的具体需要，而不是依据性别，来对单个病例逐个开列药方，并不断作出调整。

总之，论证者的论证，是建立在什么也证明不了的、毫无根据的结论之上。如果没有一项将身材、其它止痛药、医疗程序的严重程度考虑进去的范围较广的研究，该论证将是没有说服力的，应该不予理睬。