新gre作文2012:GRE作文范文大全(54)
Do computers offer greater promise for thoughtful and reflective communication than
television? Emphatically, yes. After all, media such as email and the Web are interactive by
design. And the opportunity for two-way communication enhances the chances of meaningful
and thoughtful communication. Yet their potential begs the question: Do these media in fact
serve those ends? It is tempting to hasten that the answer is "yes" with respect to email; after
are, we've all heard stories about how email has facilitated reunion s of families and old friends,
and new long-distance friendships and romances. Moreover, it would seem that two-way
written communication requires far more thought and reflection than verbal conversation.
Nevertheless, email is often used to avoid face-to-face encounters, and in practice is used as
a means of distributing quick memos. Thus on balance it appears that email serves as an
impediment, not an aide, to thoughtful and reflective communication.
With respect to Web-based communication, the myriad of educational sites, interactive and
otherwise, is strong evidence that the Web tends to enhance, rather than prevent, meaningful
communication. Distance learning courses made possible by the Web lend further credence to
this assertion. Nonetheless, by all accounts it appears that the Web will ultimately devolve into
a mass medium for entertainment and for e-commerce, just like traditional television.
Meaningful personal interactivity is already yielding to advertising, requests for product
information, buy-seU orders, and titillating adult-oriented content.
Thus, on balance these high-speed electronic media do indeed tend to prevent rather than
facilitate meaningful and thoughtful communication. In the final analysis, any mass medium
carries the potential for uplifting us, enlightening us, and helping us to communicate with and
understand one another. However, by all accounts, television has not fulfilled that potential;
and whether the Web will serve us any better is ultimately up to us as a society.
Issue 65
72
"No amount of information can eliminate prejudice because prejudice is rooted in emotion, not
reason."
The speaker actually raises two distinct issues here: (1) whether information can eliminate,
or at least help reduce, prejudice; and (2) if not, whether this is because prejudice is rooted in
emotion rather than reason. Despite the evidence to the contrary, I fundamentally agree with
the speaker's essential claim that prejudice is here to stay because it is firmly rooted in
emotion rather than reason.
Regarding the first issue, it would appear at first glance that prejudice is declining as a result
of our becoming a more enlightened, or better informed, society. During the past
quarter-decade, more so than any other period in human history, various voices of reason
have been informing us that racial, sexual, and other forms of prejudice are unfounded in
reason, morally wrong, and harmful to any society. During the 1960s and 1970s such
information came from civil-rights and feminist activists; more recently the primary source of
this information has been mainstream media, which now affirmatively touts the rights of
various racial groups, women, and homosexuals. Moreover, increasing mobility and cultural
awareness surely serve to inform people the world over that we are all essentially alike.
It would seem that, as a result of this flood of information, we would be making clear
progress toward eliminating prejudice. However, much of this so-called progress is forced
upon us legislatively--in the form of anti-discrimination laws in the areas of employment,
housing, and education, which now protect all significant minority groups. Without these laws,
would we voluntarily refrain from the discriminatory behavior and other forms of prejudice that
the laws prevent? Perhaps not. 感谢您阅读《GRE作文范文大全(54) 》一文,出国留学网(liuxue86.com)编辑部希望本文能帮助到您。
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