GRE，全称Graduate Record Examination，中文名称为美国研究生入学考试，适用于除法律与商业外的各专业。由美国教育考试服务处(Educational Testing Service，简称ETS)主办，GRE是美国、加拿大的大学各类研究生院（除管理类学院，法学院）要求申请者所必须具备的一个考试成绩，也是教授对申请者是否授予奖学金所依据的最重要的标准。 另有，Generic Routing Encapsulation（通用路由封装）也简称GRE。
33
of that period. Just prior to and during the decline of the Roman Empire, many women fled to
join Benedictine monasteries, bringing with them substantial dowries which they used to
acquire artifacts, art works, and manuscripts. As a result, their monasteries became centers for
the preservation of Western culture and knowledge which would otherwise have been lost
forever with the fall of the Roman Empire.
However, equally influential was Johannes Gutenberg, whose invention of the printing press
several centuries later rendered Western knowledge and culture accessible to every class of
people throughout the known world. Admittedly, Gutenberg was not single handedly
responsible for the outcomes of his invention. Without the support of paper manufacturers,
publishers, and distributors, and without a sufficient demand for printed books, Gutenberg
would never have become one of"the famous few." However, I think any historian would agree
that studying the groups of people who rode the wave of Gutenberg's invention is secondary in
understanding history to learning about the root historical cause of that wave. Generally
speaking, then, undue attention to the efforts and contributions of various groups tends to
obscure the cause-and-effect relationships with which the study of history is chiefly concerned.
Gutenberg is just one example of an historical pattern in which it is individuals who have
been ultimately responsible for the most significant developments in human history. Profound
scientific inventions and discoveries of the past are nearly all attributable not to forgettable
groups of people but to certain key individuals--for example, Copernicus, Newton, Edison,
Einstein, Curie, and of course Gutenberg. Moreover, when it comes to seminal sociopolitical
events, the speaker's claim finds even less support from the historical record. Admittedly,
sweeping social changes and political reforms require the participation of large groups of
people. However, I would be hard-pressed to identify any watershed sociopolitical event
attributable to a leaderless group. History informs us that groups rally only when incited and
inspired by key individuals.
The speaker might claim that important long-term sociological trends are often instigated not
by key individuals but rather by the masses. I concede that gradual shifts in demography, in
cultural traditions and mores, and in societal attitudes and values can carry just as significant
an historical impact as the words and deeds of "the famous few." Yet, it seems that key
individuals almost invariably provide the initial spark for those trends. For instance, prevailing
attitudes about sexual morality stem from the ideas of key religious leaders; and a culture's
prevailing values concerning human life are often rooted in the policies and prejudices of
political leaders. The speaker might also point out that history's greatest architectural and
engineering feats--such as the Taj Mahal and the Great W~--- came about only thm~h the
efforts of large groups of workers. A~, however, it was the famous few--monarchs in these
cases whose whims and egos were the driving force behind these accomplishments.
To sum up, with few historical exceptions, history is shaped by key individuals, not by
nameless, faceless groups. It is the famous few that provide visions of the future, visions which
感谢您阅读《GRE作文范文大全（18） 》一文，出国留学网(liuxue86.com)编辑部希望本文能帮助到您。