1. Homes ected 4.indirectly 5.books 6.difference 7. Content 8. decided/ chosen 9.adult 10. challenges
(三)
Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?
In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.
Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.
In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.
Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.
In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.
Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?
|
Main
comparisons |
Contexts |
|
__1__ are changing |
In the past people put
caring, sharing and generosity in
the first ____2____. |
|
Nowadays, people seem
to be more ____3____about themselves. |
|
|
___4___are changing
too. |
People in the past
appeared to be modest and self-effacing(谦让的). |
|
People may strive to
achieve their own __5___ at the price of their coworkers. |
|
|
The author’s
understanding |
|
|
___6____ for the
changes in author’s eyes |
Fierce __7___ and
great __8___on modern people may be responsible for the changes. |
|
The author’s ___9____towards topic |
A relationship which
can ___10___ two sides should be established. |
1. kinds/ types 2. main 3. namely 4. more 5.periods 6. lack 7. birthrate 8. fewer 9. occurred 10. temporary
(二)
The family sphere(范围) used to be defined by its isolation from the public realm. There was the public male realm(领域)of "rational accomplishment" and cruel competition, and the private female and child-rearing sphere of home, intuition(直觉)and emotion. The private realm was supposed to be isolated from the realities of adult life. For both better and worse, television and other electronic media tend to break down the difference between those two worlds. The membrane around the family sphere is much more permeable(可渗透的). TV takes public events and transforms them into dramas that are played out in the privacy of our living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
Parents used to be the channel through which children learned about the outside world. They could decide what to tell their children and when to tell it to them. Since children learn to read in stages, books provide a kind of natural screening process, where adults can decide what to tell and not tell children of different reading abilities. Television destroyed the system that separated adult from child knowledge and separated information into year-by-year slices for children of different ages. Instead, it presents the same information directly to children of all ages, without going through adult filters.
So television presents a real challenge to adults. While a parent can read a newspaper without sharing it with children in the same room, television is accessible to everyone in that space. And unlike books, television doesn't allow us to flip(翻转)through it and see what's coming up. We may think we're giving our children a lesson in science by having them watch the Challenger take off, and then suddenly they learn about death, disaster and adult mistakes.
Books allow adults to discuss privately what to tell or not tell children. This also allows parents to keep adult material secret from children and keep their secret keeping secret. Take that same material and put it on The Today Show and you have 800,000 children hearing the very things the adults are trying to keep from them. "Television takes our kids across the globe before parents give them permission to cross the street."
More importantly, children gradually learn that adults are worried and anxious about being parents. Actually, television has also places families under a lot of stress.
How Television Changes Childhood?
|
Main
comparisons |
Contexts |
|
Distance
between ___1__and the outside. |
Homes used to be
isolated from the ___2___realm. |
|
Homes nowadays are
__3__to the outside world. |
|
|
Media
through which children can obtain information |
In the past, children
might learn __4__about the outside world with the help of parents and
___5___. |
|
More information is
got directly through TV and other electronic media, which breaks down the
__6___ between adult world and the child world. |
|
|
_____7___
of the information children get |
Traditionally, kids
could only knew what they should learn at their age, carefully___8___by their
parents. |
|
Everything can
possibly be known by children, including many aspects of _____ life. |
|
|
Effects on family education |
|
|
Parental
instruction |
Families are now under
greater stress than before.
Adults are anxious about being parents and faced with new __10_____. |