( 272 words)
Sample 51
Youshouldspendabout 40 minutesonthistask.
Companiesshouldencourageemployeeswhoworkinahighpositiontoleaveat
theageof 55 inorderto give opportunitiestothenewgeneration.
Towhatextentdo youagreeordisagreewiththisopinion?
Youshouldwriteatleast 250 words.
Givereasonsforyouranswerandincludeanyrelevantexamplesfromyourown
knowledgeorexperience.
modelanswer:
Itotally disagreewiththeideaofhigh-levelemployeesleavingattheageof 55 tomake
roomfortheupcoming generation.Whileitistruethattheenergyleveland
freshideasofyouthcanrejuvenateacompany,thesteady hand ofexperiencecan
stillbestguideacompanyinmostcases.
InEnglishthereisasaying,“Youcan’tteachan old dog newtricks.”Inthefast-paced
world ofbusiness, bolstered byevenfasterhi-techinnovations,ayoungermore pliant
mindwouldseemto beabletoadaptwith greaterflexibility,whilesuchanenvironment
mightbogglean oldermoreset-in-its-waysmind.Take,forexample,Microsoft’sBill
Gates,whoseenergyand brilliantinsightsasayouth helped himto pioneernewterritory
inthecomputersoftwareworldandestablishadigitalempire.Nowasamoremature
CEO,this king ofthe“computer”mountainisconstantly onthevergeofbeing knocked
down by upcoming digerattientrepreneurs.
However,itisnowtheexperiencehehasaccumulatedasan oldermanwhich keeps him
ontop.So,combiningthevigourandinnovation ofyoungerworkerswiththeexperience
ofolderworkerswouldseemto bethewinning handintheworld of business.
Theassertionisto giveopportunitiesto
theyoungergeneration.Ifeveryoneretiresat55,therewillbesmallerpoolof
experienceatthecompany.So,whowillshowthemtheropesofthetrade?Itwould be
asifwelopped offthelastfewchapters ofatextbook.Onthispointtheargumentwould
seemto bebuiltonfalse presumptions.
Andthink ofalltheotherproblemsretirementat 55 wouldcreate.Withlife
expectancyinmanyadvanced nationsat
70 - plusyears, howwouldthestatealong
with privateenterprisesbeabletosupporttheirretirementpensions?Theeconomic
repercussionsofsuchanideacould be great.
Besides,theWesternformofcapitalismis builtoncompetitionandmeritand not
seniorityaccordingtoage,and democracyisbuiltonequalityforallregardlessof one’s
age,sotheargumentclearlygoesagainstthesetwo pillarsofWesternsociety.