What do a 15-year-old high school sophomore named Tanja Vogt and Thomas Paine have in comm

on？ The answer is that both inspired major changes in their societies by writing an essay.

In October 1988, Vogt--a student at West Milford High School in New Jersey--read an article in her local newspaper that disturbed her. The article reported that the Board of Education had decided to use polystyrene (聚苯乙烯) trays in the lunchroom because they were less expensive than paper.

Vogt knew from her science class that polystyrene can have harmful effects on the environment. In the first place, it is not biodegradable, meaning that it can' t be broken down by natural biological processes. In addition, some polystyrene products release gases called chlorofluo rocarbons (CFCs氟氯化碳) into the air. Scientific evidence indicates that these CFCs break down the protective ozone layer (臭氧层) of the atmosphere.

Vogt decided to write a paper for her social studies class on the issue of polystyrene. Her teacher, Carl Stehle, read her paper to the class. After reminding students that Thomas Paine had had to persuade many hesitant colonists to support the American Revolution, Stehle challenged his class to do something about the polystyrene problem.

Vogt and her classmates immediately conducted a survey in the high school and middle school. They discovered that a large majority of students said they wanted to switch back to paper goods in the cafeteria. When they presented their findings to the Board of Education, the board' s business administrator did a survey of his own. He found that roughly 80 percent of the students in the two schools would be willing to pay an extra nickel to eat their lunch from paper trays. As a result, the board voted in December to change to paper trays in all the township' s schools as of February 1, 1989.

The author' s purpose in writing this article is to ______.

A．tell the readers the power and influence of an effective essay

B．persuade the readers to do something to protect the environment

C．encourage the readers to challenge the authorities by writing essays

D．teach the readers to put what they learned in the class into practice