Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then translate
each underlined part into Chinese.
21. Every time you try to answer a question that asks why,
you engage in the process of causal analysis--you attempt to determine a cause
or series of causes for a particular effect. When you try to answer a question
that what if, you attempt to determine what effect will result from a particular
cause. You will have frequent opportunity to use cause- and-effect analysis in
the writing that you will do in college. For example, in history you might
be asked to determine the causes of the Seven Day War between Egypt and Israel.
In political science you might be asked to determine the reasons why Ronald
Reagan won the 1984 Presidential election. And in sociology you might be asked
to predict the effect that changes in Social Security legislation would have on
senior citizens. 22. Determining causes and effects is
usually thought-provoking and quite complex. One reason for this is that there
are two types of causes: immediate causes, which are readily apparent because
they are closest to the effect, and ultimate cause, which, being somewhat
removed, are not so apparent and perhaps even hidden. Furthermore, ultimate
causes may bring about effects which themselves become immediate causes, this
creating a causal chain. For example, consider the following causal chain.
Sally, a computer salesperson, prepared extensively for a meeting with an
important client (ultimate cause), impressed the client (immediate cause), and
made a very large sale (effect). The chain did not stop there: The large sale
cause her to be promoted by her employer (effect). A second
reason why causal analysis can be so complex is that an effect may have any
number of possible or actual causes, and a cause may have any number of possible
or actual effects. 23. An upset stomach may be caused by eating spoiled food,
but it may also be caused by overeating, flu, allergy, nervousness, pregnancy,
or any combination of factors. Similarly, the high cost of electricity may have
multiple effects: higher profits for utility companies, fewer sales of
electrical appliances, higher prices for other products, and the development of
alternative sources of energy. Sound reasoning and logic are central to any
causal analysis. Writers of believable causal analysis examine their
material objectively and develop their essays carefully. They are convinced by
their own examination of the material, but are not afraid to admit other
possible causes and effects. Because people are accustomed to
thinking of causes with their effects, they sometimes commit an error in logic
known as the "after this, therefore because of this" fallacy. 24. This
fallacy leads people to believe that because one event occurred after another
event, the first event somehow caused the second. That is, they sometimes make
causal connection that are not proved. For example, if students began to perform
better after a free breakfast program was instituted at their school, one could
not assume that the improvement was caused by the breakfast program. There could
of course be any number of other causes for this effect, and a responsible
writer on the subject would analyze and consider them all before suggesting the
cause.