In many parts of the world, children have more freedom than they used to have. Is this a positive or negative development?

本题设问：孩子们享受的自由越来越多，这是好事还是坏事？可能很多同学觉得这个问题很难论述。最关键的问题是如何理解freedom这个词，如果狭隘地理解为政治意义上的“自由”，可能就比较抽象了。

但如果我们想一想，freedom这个词不仅包括思想的自由，还包括行动的自由，这样我们就可以将“自由”分解为“时间更多”和“自主做决定“这样两种自由了。

唐老师的范文在段引出话题，解释为什么现在的孩子能够享有更多的自由：技术进步使孩子们的手工劳动大大减少，同时因为家长和学校不像以前那样对孩子管教严格。这里提及的其实就是孩子们有更多自由时间和自由思想了。接下来，范文第二段论述自由时间多了后有些孩子可能沉迷电脑游戏，从而带来坏处；第三段则转换角度，论述自由选择对挖掘孩子潜力方面的意义；最后一段是简单的总结。

Children today are apparently enjoying more freedom than ever before. This is so because the technological advances have relieved children of much of their manual labor and because the parents and schools these days are far less controlling than in the past.

参考译文
今天的孩子们显然享受着比以前更多的自由。之所以如此，是因为技术进步解放了孩子们很多手工劳动，也因为现在家长和学校远不如以前那样控制孩子了。

解析
（1）开头直接引出话题，并简要地对现象进行解释。这也是雅思作文开头的一种方法。
（2）apparently 明显地；显然地；外表地
（3）relieve sb. of... 把......从......中解脱出来
（4）manual labor 手工劳动

It may turn out to be a bad thing that children have much free time at their disposal. Without the supervision of their parents and teachers, many children end up being addicted to computer games or other unhealthy habits. This is detrimental to both their academic development and character formation. In contrast, children before had to help their parents do the housework and they did not have calculators or computers to help them with their maths, so they would have to spend much time on all these tasks during which they learned the value of hard work and cooperation. 

参考译文
孩子们有很多时间自己支配，这可能会是一件坏事。没有父母和老师的监管，很多孩子最终沉迷于电脑游戏或者其他不健康的习惯。这对孩子们的学业发展和性格形成都有害。相反，以前的孩子必须帮助父母做家务，也没有计算器或计算机帮助他们做数学，因此，他们不得不花大量时间来完成这些任务，在这一过程中，他们就明白了努力工作和合作的价值。

解析
（1）at one’s disposal 供某人支配
（2）supervision 管理；监督
（3）end up (doing)... 最终沦为......
（4）detrimental 有害的

This said, I would argue for the benefits more freedom can bring to children. When given the freedom of time and mind, the children can fully explore their own potentials instead of being told to do things they are not really interested in. If a child has a strong passion for music, but is forced to spend much of his time on some more “practical” subjects like physics and chemistry, his talent for music may be wasted and he will never be happy in life. Meanwhile, freedom also breeds independence and responsibility. When left free to make their own decisions, many children actually become more independent and responsible.

参考译文
虽然如此，我还是要支持更多自由带给孩子的益处。当孩子们有了时间和心灵的自由，他们就可以彻底地开发自己的潜能，而不是由别人来告诉他们做自己不敢兴趣的事情。如果一个孩子对音乐热情很高，但却不得不花大量时间去学习一些诸如物理和化学更“实际的”课程，那么他的音乐天赋就可能被废掉，他也永远都不会幸福。另外，自由还培养独立和责任感。让他们自己做决定时，很多孩子都变得更独立更负责任。

解析
（1）this said... 虽然如此
（2）explore 探索
（3）potential 潜力；有潜力的
（4）breed 滋养；养育

To conclude, though not without hidden risks, more freedom will will turn a child into a better person when he/she grows up by fostering his/her sense of self-reliance and commitment. 

参考译文
总之，虽然更多自由并非没有暗藏的风险，但它可以培养孩子独立自主，信守承诺，从而让孩子长大后成为一个更好的人。

解析
（1）hidden 暗藏的
（2）foster 培育
（3）self-reliance 独立自主
（4）commitment 承诺