現在vs未來的題目，怎麼寫比較好？by J2 - 英檢

大家好，我是J2.

作文題目今昔對比很多，這類文章同學通常在發展不會有太大問題，因為不
管假設是多久前的過去，畢竟事情都已經發生過，比較好描述、舉例，但是
題目如果是問「現在vs.未來」，很多同學在舉例的時候可能會掌握不好。

當然未來會發生任何事是沒有人可以預期的，不過J2建議同學在寫的時候，
還是可以「根據現今趨勢、情況」合理推測，例子會比較有說服力，才能說
服讀者/考官。

以下舉幾個例子給同學參考看看。

題目是：
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Twenty
years from now, people will have more leisure time (free time)
than they do today.

S同學贊成（感謝S同學提供），認為20年後，我們會有更多空閒時間。

其中一段同學是這麼寫的：
Secondly, when it comes to having more free time, having fewer or
even no children can allow people to achieve this goal, but people
in modern times have more children. Take my parents as an example.
I have two brothers and a sister, so my parents have to spend
plenty of time taking care of us. That is to say, after they get
off work at five p.m., they need to check our homework, train us
to do household chores, and cook dinner for us. Therefore, they
barely have free time. However, in 2041, people normally will have
fewer than 2 kids. Apparently, they can have a lot of time to
enjoy their leisure time.

可以看一下倒數第二句 “However, in 2041, people normally will have
fewer than 2 kids.” 我常常跟同學說寫作第一原則是要解釋清楚，而不
是期待讀者腦補、能讀懂你。

所以同學應該要想的是：
(O)我寫了這麼鉅細靡遺，你還看不懂，那一定是我還有什麼地方沒有解釋
清處。
(X)我寫了這麼鉅細靡遺，你還看不懂，那一定是你理解有問題。

如果只有一句「20年後人們通常不會有超過兩個小孩」，沒有其他的論述、
佐證，會比較難有說服力。建議可以簡單說個數據例如：調查顯示現在20到
40歲願意生小孩的只有三成（這數據可以隨便掰，重點是能說服人即可），
所以可見20年後很少人有小孩，就可以「把照顧小孩省下的時間」作自己喜
歡的事。

特別提一下當然20年後會發生什麼事沒人知道，搞不好疫情後突然來個baby
boom, 突然大家都很願意生了，每對夫妻都生個兩個甚至三個。但重點是可
以用現在「已知的事實」去推測未來，即使沒人說的準，普遍讀者也比較能
接受，才能「認同」你所寫的，進而達到「說服讀者」的目的。

再舉另一段的例子。
Last but not least, if the society cares more about work-life
balance, people will have more leisure time, and I believe that in
20 years, people will put a lot of emphasis on work-life balance.
For instance, a friend of mine, Jason, works from 8:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. during workdays. Besides, when he gets home, he still
has to reply to his boss’s emails. What’s more, he has to work
on his project on weekends. In addition, he usually stays up late
to prepare his firm’s financial reports. Clearly, it is
completely difficult for him to maintain a balance between work
and life and create his free time.

這段跟上段比起來，又多了一個問題。整段描述現在的人是多麼的忙碌，整
天忙工作完全沒有生活，所以根本沒有空閒時間。

所以20年後呢？整段都沒有提到，變成讀者又得去腦補所以20年後大家都會
注重work-life balance, 就會有更多空閒時間了？

回到與上段同樣問題，如何說服讀者「20年後大眾都會更在乎work-life
balance呢？」可以試著說現在幾乎所有國家都實行週休二日，甚至有些企
業或國家也開始嘗試週修三日，而且證實效果還不錯，所以可以合理假設20
年後，會又更多的企業及國家跟進，使的週修三日變常態，人民就會有更多
空閒時間。

用「現在的趨勢」去推未來，相信普遍多數人比較能接受，故事也較有說服
力。

以上幾點建議大家在寫關於未來現在比較的題目，可以試試看。

最後附上未來vs.現在的獨立寫作題目：
(A/D = agree or disagree)

A/D: People in the future will read fewer books.
A/D: Even though people nowadays care about environmental problems
such as pollution and global warming, the environment is not going
to improve much in the future.
A/D: Robots will replace humans in the future of work.

Cheers,
J2

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