這次給大家的是一篇雅思寫作真題：學習外語是必要的還是浪費時間？

 Is learning a foreign language essential or a waste of time

原題：

Some people feel that learning a foreign language is an essential component of a child's education. Others feel that learning a foreign language is often a waste of time that can be better spent on learning about technology and other more vocational subjects.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

范文：

Throughout the history of education, learning a foreignlanguage or languages has been a constant component. Of course, many people feel that this is really an unnecessary part of education for everyone, but this is not a point of view that I share.

在整個教育史上，學習一門或多門外語一直是一個不變的組成部分。當然，許多人認為這對每個人來說都是教育中不必要的部分，但我不同意這種觀點。

The opponents to learning a foreign language might argue that most people do not travel that often outside their owncountry. In addition to this, out of all the countries of the world, comparatively not many share the same language. Therefore, learning a foreign language will only be useful for the very limited time that one spends in a country where this language is used. For some people, the language might never be used in their entire lives. When one thinks about how much time and money are spent training language teachers, buying resources, going on trips and delivering lessons for such a negligible benefit, this would seem to be a very inefficient allocation of resources.

反對學習外語的人可能會說，大多數人并不經常到本國以外的地方旅行。此外，在世界所有國家中，使用相同語言的國家相對較少。因此，學習一門外語只能在一個使用這種語言的國家停留的非常有限的時間內發揮作用。對有些人來說，這門語言可能一輩子都不會被使用。當人們想到有多少時間和金錢花在培訓語言教師、購買資源、旅行和授課上，而收益卻微乎其微，這似乎是一種非常低效的資源分配。

However, the benefits of learning a foreign language go further than just the ability to use it from time to time on a holiday or business trip. Firstly, through learning onelanguage, one gains an understanding to some extent of how all languages work. Thus, no matter where people might end up around the world, the knowledge of language can be of use. Secondly, with the study of a foreign language, one also opens oneself up to other cultures. This allows in turn an appreciation for different points of view and belief systems. With an ever-shrinking world due to globalisation, the ability to empathise and understand the people from other countries is vital to reducing conflict and creating a more tolerant society. Finally, quite simply learning languages is excellent for the improvement of general cognitive skills.

然而，學習一門外語的好處不僅僅是在度假或商務旅行中不時地使用它的能力。首先，通過學習一門語言，人們在一定程度上了解了所有語言的運作方式。因此，無論人們最終在世界的哪個角落，語言知識都是有用的。其次，通過學習一門外語，人們也會向其他文化開放。這反過來又讓人欣賞到不同的觀點和信仰體系。隨著全球化帶來的不斷縮小的世界，同情和理解其他國家人民的能力對于減少沖突和創造一個更寬容的社會至關重要。最后，很簡單，學習語言對于提高一般的認知能力是非常好的。

It seems to me that learning a foreign language, therefore, is more than just gaining the ability to speak a few words of a foreign tongue. It is part of intellectual and social development and needs to be continued for everyone in today's schools.

因此，在我看來，學習一門外語不僅僅是獲得說幾句外語的能力。它是智力和社會發展的一部分，需要在今天的學校里繼續為每個人服務。