关于亲情淡化的托福作文范文

　　Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Extended family （grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts） becomes less important today than in the past. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

你是否同意以下观点？与过去相比，现在的大家族（祖父母、表兄妹以及叔婶）变得越来越不重要了。请用具体的理由和事例来说明。

　　There used to be a time when family members remained physically near each other through all generations: When Mother and Father got married, they moved in with Grandma and Grandpa （and perhaps also Brother and Sister）； when Mother and Father had children, Grandma and Grandpa helped raise them; Brother and Sister remained close to Niece and Nephew, helping to share the burden of parenting until they left to start their own families （and probably moved in right next door）。

曾经有段时间，家族成员世代都住得很近：父亲和母亲结婚之后，他们搬去与祖父母（可能还有兄弟姐妹）住在一起；当父亲和母亲有了小孩之后，祖父母帮忙抚养；弟弟妹妹也会跟自己的侄女、外甥很亲近，分担抚养小孩的责任，直至他们出去组建自己的家庭（可能只是搬到隔壁的房子里住）。

　　Nowadays, it seems harder to find such extended family models-when the children grow up, they typically leave the family “nest,” venturing out to find their own adventures and start their own family units far from “home.” Sometimes it's economics that separates the family members （children must leave to find jobs）； sometimes it's political （children must leave to find freedom of speech）。 It's not unusual nowadays for Grandma and Grandpa to be retirees living in Florida, while one child lives with his family in Germany, another is in Canada, and another is in New Mexico. Just getting together for Thanksgiving dinner can be a huge problem.

现在，似乎已经很难找到这种大家庭模式--孩子长大后一般就会搬离家庭的“鸟巢”，去外面闯荡寻找他们自己的奇遇，并在远离家的地方组建属于自己的家庭。有时候，是经济原因导致了这种家庭成员的分离（孩子必须出外打工挣钱）；有时候则是政治原因所致（孩子执意离开去寻找自己的言论自由）。现在很常见的现象是退休的祖父母住在佛罗里达州，其中一个孩子跟他的父母生活在德国，一个在加拿大，而另外一个则远在新墨西哥州。仅是聚在一起吃顿感恩节晚餐，对他们来说都是一件非常困难的事情。

　　Yet the need for the kind of support that members of an extended family can provide each other remains as important today as ever. After all, the family is the means by which we know our place in the history of the world-who we are depends to a large extent on where we come from. Before written history, the mores and traditions of various cultures were passed down directly from parents to children; the clan's very existence depended on its members' ability and willingness to look out for each other and protect the family. Now we may live much further apart, but we can still be connected by means of various technologies: We may not be able to sit with each other in the same room, but we can see and talk to each other by means of Skype.

但是现在，大家庭成员之间的相互扶持依然和过去一样重要。毕竟，家族是让我们了解自己在历史中所处位置的途径-我们是谁很大程度上取决于我们来自哪里。在可记载的历史之前，风俗和传统都是父母直接传给孩子；而氏族部落能否存活下来，取决于本部落成员相互保护并且保卫家族的能力和意志。在现代，我们可能分隔几地，但是依然可以通过各种高科技手段保持联系：虽然可能没有办法同坐一屋，但是我们可以通过网络沟通工具面对面地交谈。

　　Most importantly, the members of our extended family provide us with the kind of support we cannot get anywhere else because of one critical element: loyalty. We may not like some of our relatives, but we will not abide anyone outside the family attacking one of them. In our modern fragmented world, where stress is rampant and fear seems universal, it is comforting to know that there are at least some people （grandparents,cousins, aunts and uncles） who will love and protect us just because we are family.

重要的是，因为关键的一点：忠诚，所以家庭成员所给予的支持是我们无法从别人那里获得的。我们可能不喜欢某些亲人，但是我们不能容忍家庭成员之外的人抨击任何一人。在现在这个分崩离析的社会，压力肆虐，恐惧无边无际，我们知道至少有一群人（祖父母、表兄妹、叔叔婶婶等）仅仅因为我们是一家人就会爱我们并保护我们，我们该有多欣慰啊。