95. Spend money exploring outer space, or for basic needs on Earth?
In the last one hundred years, space exploration has become more and more common: a number of countries have reportedly sent spaceships to the moon, there are dozens of satellites orbiting the earth, and there are massive telescopes floating in space whose purpose is to find out what else could be out there. However, I tend to agree that governments should spend money for basic needs.
Throughout the world, there are millions and millions of people who are homeless, and even cannot afford to eat. These people need help from the government. If the government has so much money to spend on space exploration, they should easily be able to have enough money to help these people gain entry to the working world. The government could set up programs which allow homeless people to train for jobs. This would be a much better way to spend money than exploring space.
Pollution is another major problem which plagues all of the industrial nations. Instead of spending money on other planets, we should be focusing on how to fix the one we live on. The ozone layer is getting thinner and thinner every year, which means that the sun's radiation is causing more damage to people and the environment. The governments need to design a method to drastically reduce pollution, or else we might need to move to one of those other planets they are exploring!
In addition to the problems of pollution and homelessness, the general population could use the money as well. In many countries, including our own, the health care and education system leave so many things to be desired. I think that more money should be put towards making citizens healthier and wiser.
In conclusion, while the study of space is fascinating, I believe that governments spend too much money exploring the great unknown, when they should be focusing on the needs of people on earth.
译文
95. 把钱用于外太空探索还是满足人们的基本需求？
近一百年来，空间探索变得越来越普遍：据说很多国家已经把宇宙飞船发射到了月球上，许多卫星正在绕地球轨道而行，大型望远镜被放置在太空中，在寻找那里可能还会有些什么。然而，我认为，政府还是应该把钱花在满足人们的基本需求上。
全世界还有千千万万的人无家可归，无以果腹。这些人需要政府的帮助。如果政府有那么多钱用来进行空间探索，那么就更应该有足够的钱来帮助这些人找到工作融入社会，这对政府来说是件很容易的事情。政府应该拟订计划来帮助这些无家可归的人接受培训，使他们找到工作。相比探索太空而言，这是一种更好的花钱方式。
污染是折磨着所有工业化国家的另一个主要问题。我们应该关注如何“修复”这个我们赖以生存的星球，而不是把钱花在其他星球上。年复一年，臭氧层正在日益稀薄，这意味着太阳的辐射正在给人类和环境带来更严重的危害。政府需要设计方案来大幅度减轻污染，否则我们只能搬到某一个正在被探索的星球上去居住了。
除了那些无家可归的人和污染问题，我们普通人也需要用钱。在许多国家，包括我们自己的国家，卫生保健和教育体系遗留下大量问题亟待解决。我认为，应该把更多的钱用在使公民更加健康和接受更多教育上。
总而言之，尽管太空探索非常令人着迷，我仍然坚持认为政府在探索这些未知世界上花费了太多的金钱，政府应该集中精力满足生活在地球上的人类的需求。
Word List
- satellite ［ˈsætlˌait］ n. 卫星；人造卫星
- orbit ［ˈɔ:bit］ v. 绕…轨道而行
- space exploration 太空探索
- telescope ［ˈteliskəup］ n. 望远镜
- entry ［ˈentri］ n. 进入；入口
- plague ［pleig］ v. 折磨，使苦恼
- ozone ［ˈəuˌzəun］ n. 臭氧
- layer ［ˈleiə］ n. 层，阶层
- radiation ［ˌreidiˈeiʃən］ n. 辐射，放射；放射线
- fascinate ［ˈfæsəneit］ v. 使着迷；入迷