GRE范文：古迹是否应该要得到保护

［Direction］ 　　Many old building are protected by law because they are part of anation‘s history. However, some people think knocked down to make wayfor new ones because people need houses and offices. How important isit to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way ofprogress?
　　［Example］
　　Old buildings sometimes conflicts with social advancement.Appealing as it is in the eyes of business people, tearing down oldarchitect to make room for real-estate development is not a wise ideain many ways.
　　The primarily reason is that old buildings, like our nativelanguage, forms our cultural identity and keep a unique record thehistory of a country. From this aspect, old buildings are consideredvery valuable as one of the symbols of the culture of a nation. Forinstance, the traditional Chinese residence in Beijing, Siheyuan, areonce seen as the remains of the Old World, and were destroyed by peopleshortly after the founding of People‘s Republic of China. Untilrecently did the people and policy makers as well realize that it is aninexcusable and stupid idea to commit such a terrible deed because oldbuildings, once gone, are not restorable. But their economic values andaesthetic appeals have just caught the attention of Chinese people.
　　Moreover, old buildings, if planed and preserved properly, couldcoexist with modern real-estate development. In France, aged buildingsbring millions of dollars of revenue for the government and amazedthousands of tourists. Yet no one thinks the high-rising officebuildings and apartment buildings make the old architect a sore of theeye. By contrast, the new learn from the old, a fact that makes themmore attractive.
　　We admit that not all old buildings should be treated equally andsome of them do need to be torn down for various reasons such as safetyand new buildings. However, we should not be too blind to see theirvalue too. If only the real and practical factors are being considered,the country will be sorry for its loss in years to come.
　　As we have discussed, old buildings are part of a country‘shistory and are valuable in many ways. We should plan well and be wiseenough to see their value. But the same time, we should also do ourbest to find solutions to make the old and the new coexist in harmony.