A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions. Old-fashioned values, such as honour, kindness and trust, no longer seem important.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

翻译：如今，一个人的价值似乎是根据社会地位和物质财富来判断的。传统的价值观，如荣誉、仁慈和信任，似乎不再重要。

你在多大程度上同意或不同意这个观点？

话题：抽象类

类型：同意与否

解析：

还记得在电影《阿甘正传》中，阿甘在大学毕业后便应招入伍参军， Uncle Sam wants you. 在那时Serve the coutry 是恒定个人价值的重要标准，越南战场上的丹上校更是宁愿战死沙场也不想被阿甘救下屈辱回国。

人们愿意将自己的生命全权交托于为国而战的荣誉感上，即便这场战争也许并不高尚，但在人们价值观的底层 团结 有爱 忠诚 为国奋战，却是最为高尚。 （honour, trust, serve the country）

功成名就后阿甘投身于Shrimp Boat Business 大赚了一笔，可他将这些钱大部分捐出，只身回到母亲的房子中，过着平静的生活。直到Jenny再次离他而去，阿甘开始了漫长的跨州长跑。途中很多人都自嗨式的跟随阿甘，问他是否在为女权运动，环境污染等而跑，人们相信他的奔跑一定有意义，而这意义一定很高尚，这意义不是挣钱，不是为名利，而是为了和平，平等，世界美好，那时人们的底层价值观中慈爱，友善，平等是恒定好与坏的标准。 （kindness, equality）

历史在每一个人身上发生。 一个时代的价值观是一个时代社会状况的提炼升华。 阿甘就是那个时代的美国。历史很短，先天不足，却借由那一股子执着劲儿和各种机缘巧合实现了暴富，然而还在不知缘由的奔跑，因为迷茫。善良，执着，重情义，有信仰，愿意为国而战，内心无比纯净，这些阿甘身上的特质，就是那一年代，美国仍为主流的价值观(values）也就是社会和个人评定一个人价值的重要标准(a person’s worth)。

然而随着社会的发展与变革，人们对社会地位与物质财富的关注度不断提升。 一座小屋，一亩田是普通人生。一座小屋，一亩田，一亿存款是成功人士。而一座小屋,一亩田,一亿存款且在行业内部极具影响力的大亨才是开挂人生。

对个人价值的评定标准似乎的确变成了social status 和material possessions. 看朋友driving a Lamborgini or carrying a Hermes bag可能会改变对其看法，但是如果他/她去热心帮助了迷路的路人可能并不会引起心中波澜。

有不少youtuber的爆红建立在自己的财富基础之上，share一个新买的几万包包的开箱，share一辆新买的豪车，house tour来带你观赏豪宅，而这些youtuber也会被很多人认定为成功人士。

虽然我们不能忽视这些人背后的努力，但大众的舆论导向的确倾向于因这些物质表现而评定成功与否。

虽然如此，但我们是否就可以断定traditional values 比如respect others, being responsible, honesty and integrity已经被淡忘了呢？

其实不然，很多时候当雇主去挑选员工时，还是会看他们是否负责真诚（employers are still assessing their potential employees based their hard working attitude, positive behaviour and their integrity.）

商业人士在寻找合作伙伴时，还是会去看合伙人的可信赖度（Business people are still looking for business partners who are reliable, can be trusted, and dependable. ）

父母还是在教育自己孩子这些传统的重要的价值观，因为他们坚信这对孩子的正向成长和未来发展至关重（Parents still believe it is important for them to educate their children about these positive values because they still play an essential part in the societies. ）

因此我们看到社会价值观的确在变，但传统价值观并没有因此而失去重要性。而物质财富与社会地位的基础悄悄是建立在将这些价值观发挥利用之上不是吗？

好啦，来一起看今天的范文分析，这篇范文来自雅思主办方British Council，为BC为考试提供的样板范文，其重要性和规范性自然不言而喻，来一起阅读一下吧~

范文分析：

Given the power and influence of the super rich, it might seem as if social status and material possessions are the new symbols of personal worth, but in everyday life I do not think this is true.

（开头段：背景引入+自己观点）

（句型：Given…..， Given 是介词prep.（表示原因）考虑到;（表示假设）倘若,假定此处使用为表原因，引导原因状语）

It is apparent that(形式主语) most celebrities today are admired or envied solely（adv. 单独地；仅仅） for their material wealth or position in various social hierarchies（n. 阶层，层级）. 观点 Many of these people are known to turn their backs on(词组：背弃，置之不理) friends, cheat on their spouses or spend their evenings over-indulging（indulge in sth /with sth沉浸于，沉迷于) in alcohol and/or drugs. 展开：讲这些人真实状态Things like owning a mansion（豪宅）, driving an expensive car and getting into A-list parties are exalted（地位崇高的） above old-fashioned values. Ultimately, though, it is the many readers of gossip magazines and celebrity blogs who reinforce（vt. 加强，加固） these ideas 反驳:说明其实只是媒体炒作

（反方观点段：给出反方观点-展开反方观点-推翻反方观点）

Nevertheless, I do believe that in their day-to-day lives most people still believe in values such as honour, kindness and trust. 观点 In some way most of us want to form loving families, raise our children to be good citizens, stand up for the downtrodden（adj. 被践踏的，被蹂躏的） and protect our communities from harm. We still form friendships, romances and business partnerships based on old-fashioned criteria. When our trust is abused or we are unfairly treated, we see that as a major violation of our relationship and we judge the wrongdoer（n. 做坏事的人；违法犯罪者） accordingly. 展开

（己方观点段：给出观点+展开论证）

In conclusion, I believe there is some truth to the notion that status and possessions have superseded（vt. 取代，代替） old-fashioned values as a measure of a person’s worth. Looking beyond the tabloids（小报）, however, it is apparent that most ordinary people have still preserved an old-fashioned conscience.

（结尾段：重申立场）