Claim: The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its role models. Reason: Heroes and role models reveal a society's highest ideals.

结论：了解一个社会特点的最好方法是，考察这个社会标榜的英雄人物和模范榜样的特点。

原因：英雄人物和模范榜样揭示了一个社会的最高理念。

老题库203

1. First consider the sports hero, whom in my observation society chooses not merely by virtue of athletic prowess.

2. Next consider the military hero, who gains heroic stature by way of courage in battle, or by otherwise facing certain defeat and emerging victorious.

3. On the other hand, consider a third type of hero: the champion of social causes who inspires and incites society to meaningful political and social change.

开头:

1. 有时，英雄确实反映了整个社会的想法与倾向。英雄是在社会中长大的，他必定带上了时代的印记。人们尊之为英雄，必定是因为对之行为、思想、态度的认可。如，马丁路德金反映了50年代美国黑人要求经济、政治平等自由的呼声，以及国内的种族歧视的严重性。从毛泽东身上我们看到了中国人民当时对于自由民主独立的向往。

2. 然而，英雄毕竟是英雄，有时候他们是社会梦想在现实中的反映，并不是任何人都像一样，即使人们以他为榜样。在中国，我们乐于把那些勇敢的和歹徒搏斗的人称为英雄，而且我们也崇尚这种，危难之处相助他人的勇气，可是并不是每一个人遇到相同情况的时候都会这么做，有人胆小，也有人自私，也有人犹豫。所以我们不能从英雄就推断整个社会都是这样的。

3. 而且，由于媒体夸张的报道，现在很多英雄都似乎变成了神，什么都是好的，没有任何缺点。人们由于光环的存在，往往忽视了他们的缺点，或者被缩小，或者被消除。太阳太亮了，我们看不见任何的瑕疵warts。这样，英雄就不是一个真正能反映社会特点的样本了。

4. 况且，评价一个社会还有很多方面可以参考，比如文化风俗，建筑风格，服装，语言等等。通过这些的研究，我们同样可以获得更多的对于这个社会的全面了解。

结尾：

范文：

The speaker claims that the character of a society's heroes and heroines ('heroes' hereafter) reflects the character of that society. I tend to disagree. In my observation a society chooses as its heroes not people who mirror the society but rather people whose character society's members wish they could emulate but cannot--for want of character. Nevertheless, I concede that one particular type of hero----the sociopolitical hero--by definition mirrors the character of the society whose causes the hero champions.

First consider the sports hero, whom in my observation society chooses not merely by virtue of athletic prowess. Some accomplished athletes we consider heroes because they have overcome significant obstacles to achieve their goals. For example, Lance Arm-strong was not the first Tour de France cycling champion from the U.S.; yet he was the first to overcome a life-threatening illness to win the race. Other accomplished athletes we consider heroes because they give back to the society which lionize them. As Mohammed Ali fought not just for boxing rifles but also for racial equality, so baseball hero Mark McGuire fights now for disadvantaged children, while basketball hero Magic Johnson fights for AIDS research and awareness. Yet, do the character traits and resulting charitable efforts of sports heroes reflect similar traits and efforts among our society at large? No; they simply reveal that we admire these traits and efforts in other people, and wish we could emulate them but for our own personal failings.

Next consider the military hero, who gains heroic stature by way of courage in battle, or by otherwise facing certain defeat and emerging victorious. Former presidential hopeful John McCain, whom even his political opponents laud as a war hero for having not only endured years of torture as a prisoner of war but also for continuing to serve his country afterwards. Do his patriotism and mettle reveal our society's true character? Certainly not. They reveal only that we admire his courage, fortitude, and strength.

On the other hand, consider a third type of hero: the champion of social causes who inspires and incites society to meaningful political and social change. Such luminaries as India's Mahatma Gandhi, America's Martin Luther King, South Africa's Nelson Mandela, and Poland's Lech Lawesa come immediately to mind. This unique brand of hero does reflect, and indeed must reflect, the character of the hero's society. After all, it is the function of the social champion to call attention to the character of society, which having viewed its reflection in the hero is incited to act bravely--in accordance with its collective character.

In sum, I agree with the speaker's claim only with respect to champions of society's social causes. Otherwise, what society deems heroic reflects instead a basic, and universal, human need for paragons--to whom we can refer as metaphors for the sorts of virtues that for lack of character we cannot ourselves reflect.

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Orignal From: Claim: The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its role models. Reason: Heroes and role models reveal a society's highest ideals.