In some countries, the difference in age between parents and their children is generally greater than it was in the past. Do you think the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?(2019/9/28)
解析
本题是一个新题，但与2017年4月8日的考题有重合之处。2017年4月8日的考题问的是“晚育的优势和劣势”，而问题需要回答的问题是“父母和孩子之间年龄差距增大的优势和劣势”。其实，“父母和孩子之间年龄差距增大”的原因也就是晚育造成的，因此这两个题有一些重合之处，但重心又稍有不同。
老雅范文采用“双边讨论+自己观点”的结构。
父母和孩子年龄差距越来越大，可能有如下好处：
- 父母经济条件更好
- 父母的情绪更稳定
父母和孩子年龄差距越来越大，也可能有如下坏处：
- 对父母的身体是一个挑战，父母可能看不到孩子长大就去世；
- 孩子刚刚走上社会，就面临着要照顾父母
我个人的观点：
父母和孩子年龄差距越来越大是一件好事，因为在孩子成长的关键时期，父母的经济条件和稳定情绪对孩子的成长至关重要；而医疗技术的发展和社会福利体系的发展则可以有效解决以上谈到的两个问题。
以下是老雅的高分范文。
7分范文
The number of older parents is on the rise(增长中）as people are waiting until their 30s and 40s to start having babies, which has widened the age gap between parents and their children. For the most part（总体来说）, the benefits of this trend outweigh the drawbacks.
The widened gap in age between parents and their children may bring about financial and emotional benefits. Parents who decide to have babies later in life may have climbed the corporate ladder, received promotions, and are therefore financially secure to raise children. With that financial security would come the emotional privilege. Older parents seem to be more stable, relaxed, and less stressed-out than their younger counterparts（对应的人或物）. Since older parents are more likely to have been settled down professionally, they are able to allow themselves to spend more time with their children.
However, the choice to put off having babies（推迟要孩子） may have negative implications for both parents and children. For parents, it is physically challenging to raise a baby when they are, say, over forty years old. Thedelayed parenthood（推迟当父母） is quite unfair for the children , too, because their parents probably will not be able to live long enough to see them grow up. Most importantly, when the parent-child age difference is 40 years or more, parents will very quickly become a burden to their children who are just starting their career as young adults. In this case, children might be forced to care for their older parents from a very young age.
For all（虽然） these disadvantages, I still believe the greater parent-child age gap is a good thing, because it contributes to the economic and emotional well-being of children during the most important years of their growth. Meanwhile, with the improvement of medical technology and social pension system, the potential（潜在的）risks the older parents may experience and the burden they may give their children have been greatly reduced.
(314 words)
