1.對……人們有不同意見
The Economist最近在商業板塊推出了一個全新專欄Bartleby，該專欄會對一些職場以及商業趨勢進行解讀，推薦感興趣的同學關注。
今天要分析的句子來自Bartleby專欄一篇關於自由職業的文章：
THE decline of the conventional job has been much heralded in recent years. It is now nearly axiomatic that people will work for a range of employers in a variety of roles over their lifetimes, with a much more flexible schedule than in the past. Opinion is still divided over whether this change is a cause for concern or a chance for workers to be liberated from the rut of office life.
這一開頭段雖然只有三個句子，但每個句子都值得模仿學習。第一句The decline of the conventional job has been much heralded in recent years. 意思是“傳統工作的衰落在近年來被大勢宣揚”，從中我們可以提取出一個句式：…has been much heralded in recent years. 用於形容某一現象被人們廣泛關注和讚揚。例如：
(1) The rise in remote working / sharing economy has been much heralded in recent years.
(2) The widespread use of artificial intelligence has been much heralded in recent years.
第二個句子中It is now nearly axiomatic that… 含義是“……幾乎是不言自明的”，例如：It is now nearly axiomatic that China will surpass the U.S. to become the world's largest economy.
第三個句式則可以用於說明人們對某事物（例如變化、趨勢等）持有不同的看法：Opinion is still divided over whether…is a cause for concern or a chance for… 其中a cause for concern是一個固定搭配，含義是“令人擔憂的事物”。
舉個例子：
Opinion is still divided over whether genetically modified foods are a cause for concern or a chance for humanity to fight world hunger and poverty.
2.對……感到擔憂
下面的句子出自Bartleby專欄的另一篇文章：How an algorithm may decide your career.
Worries about potential bias in AI systems have emerged in a wide range of areas, from criminal justice to insurance. In recruitment, too, companies will face a legal and reputational risk if their hiring methods turn out to be unfair.
第一句話的大意是“對於AI系統潛在歧視的擔憂已經在很多領域開始顯現，包括刑事審判和保險”，從這裡我們可以提取出一個句式：Worries about…have emerged in a wide range of areas, from…to… 可以使用該句式來對人們擔憂的現象進行說明並舉例。比如：
Worries about genetic engineering have emerged in a wide range of areas, from food safety to biodiversity. Some claim genetically modified crops can develop new substances that are harmful to humans. There is also concern that engineering specific traits into select species threatens biodiversity by upsetting the natural balance. Engineered organisms spread quickly into the wild, and other species may be driven to extinction because of this.
3.觀點站得住腳
要表達“某觀點（聲明、解釋等）站得住腳”，我們一般可以說The statement/argument/explanation is true/reasonable/valid. 除此之外，還可以採用下面這個說法：
These temporary workers can be viewed as a “reserve army” of labour that employers can use to hold down wages. (This might explain the sluggish growth of real earnings in America of late; but that argument holds water only if the reserve army is growing over time, and the BLS data cast doubt on that.)
上面選段中有這樣一句話：…but that argument holds water only if the reserve army is growing over time… （但這一論點只有當預備員工的數量隨著時間流逝而增加時才成立）其中hold water是議論文寫作中經常用到的一個表達，它的含義是“（觀點、聲明、解釋等）站得住腳”。例如：
The argument that foreign visitors should pay more than locals for cultural and historical attractions holds water, as the local population already pay money to these sites through the tax system.
這一表達也可以使用否定形式…does not hold water，例如：
The argument that universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject does not hold water. In fact, it would be unfair to base admission to university courses on gender, since some qualified candidates will be denied a place on their favorite courses because of the criterion.
4.一個對比句型
常見的用於對比的句型有in/by contrast，這裡再介紹一個新的表達：
Countries in the OECD have very different immigration rates (the size of the immigrant flow relative to the population). From 1990 to 2000, the United States’ immigration rate was 5.7%. At the other end of the spectrum stood Estonia, with a rate of -16.7%. A negative value means that more people left than arrived.
第二句中有一個說法：At the other end of the spectrum stood Estonia…這是一個倒裝結構，還原後是Estonia stood at the other end of the spectrum.其中spectrum原本含義是“光譜”，at the other end of the spectrum即“處於光譜的另一端”，引申為“與……相反的情況”。at the other end of the spectrum也可以寫成at the other end of the scale.
我們可以使用該句型來引出與上文相反的情況，例如：
Global inequality is growing ever more pronounced in recent years. The rich throw lavish parties and snap up luxury products. At the other end of the spectrum/scale are the poor who struggle to get enough to eat.
總結：
(1) ...has been much heralded in recent years.
(2) It is now nearly axiomatic that…
(3) Opinion is still divided over whether…is a cause for concern or a chance for…
(4) Worries about…have emerged in a wide range of areas, from…to…
(5) hold water
(6) at the other end of the spectrum/scale
感興趣的同學可以對這些短語句型做造句練習，以進一步加深印象。
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