Self employment
Self employment could bring many advantages. One of the advantages of being self-employed is that the profit the business makes belongs to the owner. If the self-employed person succeeds in business, he has the chance to earn a great deal of money. The profit earned is the reward for the owner’s effort, ability and creativity. Thus, a second advantage is that a person’s intelligence and abilities have a direct effect on the earnings. A third advantage of being self-employed is that a person can control his working hours. While not all self-employed people are completely free, most of them have more control over this area than the salaried people.
However, being self-employed is not without problems. First, being one’s own boss places the responsibility directly on that individual shoulders. Everyone has some weaknesses in a certain aspects. These weaknesses will affect how successful a self-employed person is. Second, though the self-employed can earn considerable profits with a successful business, losses can force them out of business and sometimes, place them in debt. A third disadvantage concerns income security. Self-employed people have no guaranteed wage. Their earnings can vary greatly, depending on business conditions. Salaried people, however, can generally count on continued earnings. In addition, salaried people often enjoy fringe benefits that mean greater peace of mind. One of these benefits may be insurance paid for by the employer that continues the employee’s salary in the event of sickness or accident while many self-employed people do not have such protection①.
［253 words］
行文点评
文章结构简单明了。第一段阐述了自我创业的3个好处。第二段分析了自我创业所存在的问题。
两段中“first, second, third”的使用，不仅使文章在句式上显得条理分明，更在内容上体现了连贯性。
好文妙译
自我创业
自我创业的好处之一是商业利润归创业者所有。如果创业者生意成功，他有可能挣很多钱。这些利润是对创业者努力、能力和创造力的回报。因此，自我创业的第二个好处是一个人的才智和能力直接反映在收入上。自我创业的第三个优势是自己做老板能够支配自己的工作时间。虽然不是所有的创业者都有完全的自由，但是相对于工薪族来说，他们大多数人在这方面拥有更多的自主权。
词汇斟酌
in debt 负债
count on 指望，依靠
fringe a.附加的，额外的；边缘的
佳句临摹
①【注释】in the event of sth万一；倘若
思如泉涌
Something attempted, something done. 有尝试就会有收获。
Actions speak louder than words. 行动胜于语言。
