托福写作范文学习：高速公路vs城市交通

　　Should governments spend more money on improving roads and highways, or should governments spend more money on improving public transportation (buses, trains, subways)? Why? Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay.

　　写作思路展开结构分析

　　关于这个话题，大家不要急着对比高速公路和公共交通的优劣，因为题目的主体是政府花钱，所以需要考虑到投入产出的问题，也就是说政府也需要盈利。从这个角度来对比两者，高速公路是有盈利的。并且有利于促进经济繁荣，进一步增加税收。而公共交通则是政府开销，但也是市政府的职责。大家可以结合我国情况选择立场。比如：可以认为目前要大力发展高速公路，而其收入可以用来开发公共交通。

　　本话题高分范文赏析

　　As China continues along the road of economic development, new demands are being put on the transportation infrastructure of the country. This is particularly evident in the cities, where daily traffic jams are unavoidable facts of life. Faced with a mounting traffic crisis, I believe the government should focus on improving public transportation instead of improving roads and highways. Public transportation is cheaper, better for the environment, and a better long-term solution for meeting the transportation demands of the future. The traffic crisis in large cities is mainly due to the increase in the number of private cars on the road. If 30 people each drive their own private cars to work in the morning, polluting emissions from these 30 cars pollute the air. Having 30 extra cars on the road not only means more traffic, it also means that all cars on the road will run their engines longer to produce more pollution while they idle in traffic jams. On the contrary, if those same 30 people take the bus to work, there would be less traffic, and even less pollution.

　　More bus and subway lines would also save much space now wasted on parking lots, which makes sense from both environmental and city-planning perspectives. Investment in public transportation also makes sense for the customer. The most expensive public transportation in the city costs about 5 yuan. Two trips across the city every day for a whole year would still be less than a fifth of the cost of a new car, not to mention the inevitable expenditure of maintaining a good performance of the car. Taking into account the considerable upkeep expenses of a car, gas, insurance, and repairs, owning a car is much less economic and convenient than is taking the bus or the subway.

　　While some people would argue that investing money on highways is imperative for holistic benefits of our country, I personally believe the need for solving current traffic disasters that are prevalent in most such major cities as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou is more urgent. The problem has already become the biggest headache of local governments and their residents, and would cost even more if not handled promptly.