GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文十二

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12.        Which factor offers more opportunities for success in our society: education or
. V" z' H5 i; c* |money and property? In my view, education has replaced money and property as the
5 w# l: s0 Q+ Omain provider of such opportunities today. I base my view on two reasons. First,
education—particularly higher education—used to be available only to the wealthy but
  i( O  }' P) P* x1 c' \" B9 nnow is accessible to almost anyone. Second, because of the civil-rights movement and
' J6 x: A4 Q; m% d' v1 p) Jresulting laws, businesses are now required to hire on the basis of merit rather than the
kinds of personal connections traditionally common among the wealthy.
, E2 s' z' [" J* D) J      Education probably always played a key role in determining one's opportunities
for success. But in the past, good post-secondary education was available mainly to the
privileged classes. Because money and property largely determined one's access to
# K* \7 S! t+ }% Ohigher education, money and property really were the critical factors in opening doors to
% @* t' S8 _, n$ F3 }- y- tsuccess. However, higher education is more egalitarian today. Given our vast numbers
1 k3 N0 D$ E6 }! rof state universities and financial-aid programs, virtually anyone who meets entrance
requirements for college can obtain an excellent college education and open up 来源：www.examda.com
windows of opportunity in life.
& |* Q, g7 Z/ U( ]4 J* g      Another reason those opportunities will be open to educated young people from
0 x! y4 `! z' q1 Imiddle-class and poorer backgrounds is that hiring is more meritocratic today than ever
9 J0 s; }, H0 X; lbefore. In principle, at least, we have always been a society where all people are equal;
yet in the past, children of the wealthy and the well connected could expect to obtain
higher-status jobs and to receive better pay. But the laws and programs resulting from
, s" {) L! x) Sour civil-rights struggles have produced a modern business climate in which jobs are
available on an equal-opportunity basis, and in which candidates have a legal right to be
" T$ W1 E: j6 V! ?; Hjudged on the merit of their educational background and experience.
      In conclusion, education is probably the main factor in opening doors to success
8 J7 V2 q1 R$ y6 J  g' E+ d, ^for young people in our society. The fact that education has supplanted money and
property in this role is owing to a more egalitarian system of higher education, as well
as to more merit-based hiring practices mat generally value individual education over
family fortune or connections.