Issue-89. Many social problems cannot be solved by the legal system because laws cannot change what is in people's hearts or minds.

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满分范文赏析

Ever since the Code of Hammurabi came into being, laws have attempted to restrict people's behavior. Laws have played an important role in the maintenance of social order. But aside from limited impacting on behavior, laws cannot change was a person thinks or feels.

【此段结构】  

前两句是对本题进行背景分析，作者从最初的汉莫拉比法典说起，认为法律是试图约束人们行为的手段，是维持社会秩序的重要工具。但是第三句作者清晰地提出自己的观点，法律无法改变人的思想或感觉，也就是反对题目所说。  

【此段功能】  

分析题目背景，提出作者观点。  

We live each day under a legal system. No one is ever granted extralegal rights. If we break the law, we will be punished. It is fear of consequence that guides our behaviors—the threat of a fine, imprisonment or even death. Laws, for better or worse, serve to enhance social stability by encouraging or discouraging certain behaviors.

【此段结构】  

前两句指出人人生活在法律系统下，每人能获得法外特权。第三四句接着指出，违法就要受罚，制约人们行为的是对违法后果的惧怕，言外之意，不是法律本身。最后一句承认尽管如此，法律还是发挥了约束行为和维稳的作用。  

【此段功能】  

论点一，提出法律制约行为和维护稳定的原因是人们惧怕违法的后果。  

Laws, while they can certainly guide behavior, can exert their influences on the body, not hearts and minds. In the long history of legal development, laws have always changed to reflect different needs. Bigamy, for example, is commonly regarded as illegal in most countries, and yet it is legal in some Arabian countries. For Islamic people, outlawing bigamy seems an impinge upon their religious freedom of choosing mates. Instead of bringing about a revolution in the conception of marriage among Islamic disciples, the laws give way to the members of the society over which it governs.

【此段结构】  

首句提出本段论点后，第二句指出法律自出现以来一直在改变以反映不同需要。接下来用重婚为例，指出虽然它在多数国家不合法，但很多阿拉伯国家中，这是与宗教上的婚配自由相悖的，所以不可能在法律上做出对他们思想的冲击，法律需要适应他们的需要，为重婚让路，符合他们的社会需求。  

【此段功能】  

论点二，法律的影响能施加到人身，而施加不到人心。  

Still more, from the psychoanalytic perspective, laws can never change nature. Sigmund Freud has divided the individual personality into threefold: the id, the ego and the super ego. The ego, as the surface of the nature and the part you show the world, is governed by the "reality principle," otherwise known as laws. However, the power of law cannot extend its impacts on the id and the superego. A rapist, for example, despite years of imprisonment, will rape again as he is motivated on different levels. Law or fear of punishment can’t change a rapist. There is no force known to man that can reconstitute the very human nature that guides us all.

【此段结构】  

首句提出本段是从精神分析层面论述法律的功效，法律不能改变天性。接下来先是提到了弗洛伊德的本我、自我、超我论，再说到法律只能约束自我，而无法影响本我和超我。作者选用强奸犯的例子作为支持，指出强奸犯哪怕坐过牢也可能一犯再犯。法律上的惩罚没能改变强奸犯的天性。尾句总结道，没有已知的力量可以重塑人的天性。  

【此段功能】  

论点三，法律无法改变人的天性。  

In conclusion, as we can see by the evolution of the legal system as presented above, if the law doesn’t reflect the will of the people, they aren’t going to embrace it. Further, if the law runs contrary to an individual’s nature, it will have little effect in deterring or encouraging particular behaviors.

【此段结构】  

两句话总结了全文的论述，先说明法律反映人们需求的时候人们才拥护；再延伸说如果法律与人的天性不符，法律很难阻止或鼓励行为。也就是说，法律有制约作用但是无法改变人心。  

【此段功能】  

总结了全文的论述。  

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满分要素剖析

一、语言表达
这篇作文用词准确，行文流畅。作者用到的很多词汇和固定搭配对其他备考者都能起到借鉴和启发的作用。

1、It is fear of consequence that guides our behaviors—the threat of a fine, imprisonment or even death. 这句话用it is…that强调句的方式，表达了知道人们行为的不是法律本身，而是对违法后果的恐惧，支持了作者的观点——法律不能改变人心。

2、Laws, for better or worse, serve to enhance social stability by encouraging or discouraging certain behaviors. 这句话中使用了一个固定搭配——for better or worse，意思是不管好坏，无论怎样。短语serve to的意思则是用来，有助于，考生在想表达此类意思的时候可以与其他同义近义词汇混合使用，使词汇保持多样性。

3、Instead of bringing about a revolution in the conception of marriage among Islamic disciples, the laws give way to the members of the society over which it governs. 本句中的give way to的意思是给……让路的意思，也就是被……替代。

4、There is no force known to man that can reconstitute the very human nature that guides us all. 这句话中也有一个常见的搭配——known to sb，known除了是know的过去分词之外，还有形容词词性，表示已知的、大家都知道的。其他常见搭配还有be well known to sb，备考者可灵活运用。

二、逻辑结构
这道作文题要求考生对题中所给claim和reason发表看法。本文作者的立场是，赞同题中观点，认为法律有制约人们行为的功效，但无法改变人们的思想和感觉。在总分总的结构之下，作者用中间三段给出了三个理由来支持自己的观点。首先是退让一步承认法律的制约行为作用，但同时又指出原因在于人们惧怕违法的后果，而非法律本身。其次的理由是法律能制约人身，却难以将影响施加到人心，法律如果不合需求，人们也许不会拥护和遵守它。第三点理由是法律没有改变人的天性。作者先退再进的论述方法是逻辑完整的体现，后两点从正面支持了自己的立场。