The Essence of Private Enterprise

Chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces， bodyguards， continual reports and attentions， thousands of enthusiastic fans， millions-of-dollar annual income …… pop stars today enjoy a living which was once the privilege to Royalty and the shining lives are admired by many ordinary people. However， on the other hand，we can also hear grudges around us that the stars gain too much.Is it fair for the pop stars to be highly paid？

　　In my opinion， it's right that the stars are highly paid.They've made great contributions to the entertainment， to the sports world and brought tremendous excitement as well as joy to our ordinary world. Besides， pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency and the tax collector can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. Accordingly，who in the world would begrudge them their income？

　　We always hear people in humdrum jobs complain about the highly paid stars and their luxurious lifestyle. They may not know the harsh competitions and the cruel reality they have to face with everyday， not to mention these distinguished stars representing only the tip of the iceberg. For each famous star，there are hundreds of others struggling to make a living. People holding a steady job have no right to expect a very high reward.They've chosen the security and peaceful life， so they will get limited material being. No pain， no gain； less pain， less gain.

　　By contrast， people who dream to be a star， either in entertainment or sports world， have deliberately taken a high risk.They know at the outset that only a handful of competitors can reach the peak of their dreams； they know that days， months，years， and even decades of concentrated efforts may ultimately turn out to be a complete failure； they know that even if they succeed， they'll have to live with the inconvenience accompanying with their fame， no privacy， no peace of mind， etc. Yet，they also know that the rewards will be very high， which serves as a compensation for their bravery and persistence， their tears and sweat； they know that the society will pay for the dreamers，who have struggled all along to live out their ambitions. No pain， no gain； more pain， more gain. That's the principle of fair play；that's the essence of private enterprise.

　　簡 評

　　有人把明星們的奢侈生活與昔日王室貴族的豪華相提竝論，但這兩者之間存在可比性嗎？他們是激烈競爭中脫穎而出的幸運兒，是什麽促成他們的成功？成功的背後又有怎樣的故事？這是劉林琳同學對明星現象的解讀。

　　文章開篇的引子很精彩，用許多點的描寫組成明星生活的寫照，他們的奢華和氣派濃縮在短短的一句話之內，有點語不驚人死不休的意思，給人印象深刻。

　　分析篇章的結搆，我們不難看出，第一段引出討論的主題，第二段闡明了筆者的看法，而第三、四段分別對普通人和明星的工作模式和性質進行比較，從而得出結論，"No pain，no gain； more pain，more gain."作爲結尾，竝且釦題。文章的條理清楚，論說組織有序，但論述的力度不夠。比方說，第二段涵蓋了兩個論據即明星在儅今的社會中的社會使命和功能與他們爲國庫稅收的貢獻。但這兩點都是一句話帶過，沒有展開論述。其中第一點應該成爲文章的重要論據，如果這一點能展開論述和第三、第四段的明星之路的艱辛搆成文章的兩條主線，成爲文章的平衡點，文章的結搆會更理想。至於增加稅收一點，本身就不是文章要表達的主要信息，又沒有提供任何有說服力的數據，因此顯得多此一筆，可有可無。