Should Children Be Allowed to Make Their Own Decis

There is much discussion nowadays as to whether or not society should accept that children mature at a younger age these days by allowing them to make decisions about their lives with out the interference of their parents or teachers， and the law should be adjusted or modified accordingly. As law is brought into the matter， it certainly merits our close attention and prudent action. In my opinion， we should not go as far as that.

　　In the first place， for most teenagers， mental and social maturity has not been sufficiently achieved. It is true that improved living standards and the consequent dietetic excellence have brought about the physical prematurity of teenagers. Yet， most of them fail to be mentally or socially mature. All too often credulousness and thoughtlessness subject them to impetuous and wanton acts. The disparity between physical and mental maturity necessitate proper and timely guidance from their parents or teachers. And legal validation of their immature behavior will do harm to society as well as to themselves.

　　Second， decision making power granted at an earlier age involves the possibility of being held legally liable at an earlier age.It is a widely acknowledged rule that in a civilized and democratic society rights and obligations should be shaped equal or proportionate to each other. The right to decision making entails torresponding assumption of certain responsibility. That is to say，negative interests as well as positive ones resulting from their behavior should be shouldered. A case in point is capital punishment， whose application is otherwise confined to adults above 18 may now cover 16 year-olds. It is a well established rule that it is unfair to impose punishment on one who is mentally inade quate to understand his or her behavior because the punishment of law should only go to those who have knowledge of their behavior.

　　In addition， the withdrawal of parental interference will prove impracticable and negative in the present Chinese society，which has always been heavily family oriented. The traditional Chinese family pattern holds it that parental decision is to be observed and the freedom of children is to be limited. Today， a Chinese child's dependence on his parents remains strong. As lawmaking should take into account possible social effects of a certain adjustment， the legal stipulation at issue will not yield desirable results against above mentioned social background.

　　In fact， the question at issue is not whether children over 15 should be allowed to make decisions on their own but whether or not certain laws should be changed to cater for it. In view of all the foregoing factors， I firmly hold that the granting of exclusive decision making power to children over 15 through the adjustment of certain laws in China will prove undesirable， from which good results are not to be expected.

　　简 评

　　这篇文章的开篇就极大地吸引了读者的注意力。第一句就是极为复杂的长句，长达45个单词，气势磅礴，咄咄逼人。从行文来看，很难相信它竟是出自一名大学女生的手笔。显然张珍莲同学非常热爱自己的法律专业，并具有很强的律师天赋。文章语言流畅，思路严谨，用法律的典型文体讨论了严肃的社会和法律问题，具有很强的时代感和现实意义。

　　作者的英文功底极为出色，除了词汇量引人注目以外，还具有相当的英语思维能力，善于使用诸如merit、entail、subject等中国的英语学习者不容易留心到的词汇。从句式上看，作者善于使用被动语态来体现行文的严谨性和客观性，被动句占全文的31％，平均每句的长度是19.2个单词，而单词的平均长度达5.2个字母，从文体和风格上都充分体现出法律文体的特征。全文结构清晰，每一段开头的主题句和衔接手段的使用都不错，观点鲜明，具有一定的说服力。作为一名大学生来说，能够写出如此不凡的文字，是非常难能可贵的。

　　当然，作者的文字也并非白璧无瑕，有时也过于注重大词难句的使用。其实句式若太长太复杂，则驾驭的难度也倍增，稍不留神就可能犯错，其效果也不够亲切自然，好比一位小姑娘硬是板起了面孔开始说教大道理，过犹不及。

　　总的来说，作为一名非英语专业的大学生，作者无论是在英文功底还是语言思维方面都体现出了相当高的水平，这是一篇难得的上乘佳作。