Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places

（老题库174）

法律应该根据不同的环境、时期和地点而足够灵活。

1. On the one hand, a certain measure of consistency, stability and predictability in our laws is required in order for us to understand our legal obligations and rights as we go about our day-to-day business as a society.

2. On the other hand, rigid laws can result in unfairness if applied inflexibly in all places at all times.

法律的灵活性

观点：基本同意，应该灵活；但有些不能变

1． 随着科技发展和社会进步，法律也在不断发展和完善，以保护人民的利益。As the development of the society, people may find urgent demand to modify laws for the society to well function. 例：With the appearance of Internet crime，it is imperative必要的 to amend the criminal law to include this case so that this kind of criminals should be punished；antitrust law 反垄断法

2． 对于不同的风俗和习惯，法律条例在不同的地方应该是不同的。例如，中国实行"一夫一妻制monogamy"，一夫多妻polygamy是犯法illegal的，而在阿拉伯国家Arab countries却是合法的；同性恋homosex婚姻在某些国家是合法的，而在其他国家却是不合法的

3． 然而，法律的基本精神和原则是不能变的，公平equity公正justness，保护合法权益rights and interests。否则会破快社会秩序，降低法律威信，公民丧失安全感。

结尾：社会多样化、不断发展，法律也应该发展、多样化；但法律的基本原则不变

范文：

Does "originality" mean putting together old ideas in new ways, as the speaker contends, rather than conjuring up truly new ideas? Although I agree that in various realms of human endeavor, such as linguistics, law, and even the arts, so-called "new" or "original" ideas rarely are. However, when it comes to the physical sciences originality more often entails chartering completely new intellectual territory.

The notion that so-called "originality" is actually variation or synthesis of existing ideas finds its greatest support in linguistics and in law. Regarding the former, in spite of the many words in the modern English language that are unique to Western culture, modern English is derived from, and builds upon, a variety of linguistic traditions--and ultimately from the ancient Greek and Latin languages. Were we to insist on rejecting tradition in favor of purely modern language we would have essentially nothing to say. The same holds true for all other modern languages. As for law, consider the legal system in the United States, which is deeply rooted in traditional English common-law principles of equity and justice. The system in the U.S. requires that new, so-called "modern" laws be consistent with and indeed build upon--those traditional principles.

Even in the arts--where one might think that true originality must surely reside--so-called "new" ideas almost always embrace, apply, or synthesize what came earlier. For example, most "modern" visual designs, forms, and elements are based on certain well-established aesthetic ideals--such as symmetry, balance, and harmony. Admittedly, modern art works often eschew these principles in favor of true originality. Yet, in my view the appeal of such works lies primarily in their novelty and brashness. Once the ephemeral novelty or shock dissipates, these works quickly lose their appeal because they violate fn:rnly established artistic ideals. An even better example from the arts is modern rock-and-roll music, which upon first listening might seem to bear no resemblance to dassical music traditions. Yet, both genres rely on the same 12-note scale, the same notions of what harmonies are pleasing to the ear, the same forms, the same rhythmic meters, and even many of the same melodies.

When it comes to the natural sciences, however, some new ideas are truly original while others put established ideas together in new ways. One striking example of truly original scientific advances involves what we know about the age and evolution of the Earth. In e~rlier centuries the official Church of England called for a literal interpretation of the Bible, according to which the Earth's age is determined to be about 6,000 years. If Western thinkers had simply put these established ideas together in new ways the fields of structural and historical geology might never have advanced further. A more recent example involves Einstein's theory of relativity. Einstein theorized, and scientists have since proven empirically, that the pace of time, and possibly the direction of time as well, is relative to the observer's motion through space. This truth ran so contrary to our subjective, linear experience, and to previous notions about time and space, that I think Einstein's theory can properly be characterized as truly original.

However, in other instances great advances in science are made by putting together current theories or other ideas in new ways. For example, only by building on certain well-established laws of physics were engineers able to develop silicon-based semiconductor technology. And, only by struggling to reconcile the quantum and relativity theories have physicists now posited a new so-called "string" theory, which puts together the two preexisting theories in a completely new way.

To sum up, for the most part originality does not reject existing ideas but rather embraces, applies, or synthesizes what came before. In fact, in our modern languages, our new laws, and even our new art, existing ideas are reflected, not shunned. But, when it comes to science, whether the speaker's claim is true must be determined on a case-by-case basis, with each new theory or innovation.

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