ISSUE207球拍...倒计时4天..

hudu464UID: 2512268

TOPIC: ISSUE207 - "Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are."
WORDS: 601 TIME: 00:40:00 DATE: 2009-12-26 11:31:24

Culture, however abstract, reveals itself through rituals and ceremonies observed by its people. These rituals and ceremonies are part and parcel to the social identity of people and indispensible social glue in a society. Nevertheless, the absence of rituals and ceremonies does not necessarily lead to a diminished identity of both the society and its people.

Any society, civilized or primitive, is marked by its unique rituals and ceremonies, which reveals its history and culture. People in a certain society could be identified by practicing certain pattern of rituals and ceremonies. In primitive society, people celebrated harvest with fire and dance to express their joy and happiness. People who celebrated Christmas are more likely to be a westerner than to be a Chinese. Similarly, spring festival is exclusively celebrated by Chinese. Minorities in China also have their own patterns of rituals and ceremonies which fascinate foreigners and other Chinese alike. Dai minority, for example, celebrated a festival which they call Water-Splashing festival, during which day they pour water to each other. The wetter one gets the more luck he will receive. This unique ritual of washing away dirt, sorrow and demons of the old year becomes the signature of Dai minority, which is widely recognized by people all over China and even some parts of the world. What distinguished Dai Minority from the dominant Han people in China are not their appearances but this unique pattern of rituals and ceremonies. For people in every society, their unique culture is remembered by their distinct rituals and ceremonies. Part of their social identity is from their rituals and ceremonies.

Moreover, rituals and ceremonies play a paramount role as the glue of a society, by which people collectively form a society. National holidays are one important way to unite people in a society. From every walk of life, people have a chance to share their happiness and realize their alliances with each other. One indispensible ritual of Spring Festival in China is to visit relatives and families and wish them good luck in the New Year. It is through this particular day that people gain a sense of belonging and feel closer to each other.

Rituals and ceremonies, as important as they are, are explicit forms of culture. Unfortunately, these explicit forms of culture are just one part of any culture, which embraces implicit values and beliefs underneath the rituals and ceremonies. As long as these values and beliefs still exist, the society and its people will have a strong sense of who they are. The United States, for example, have millions of immigrants from every corner of the world. Some of them might continue to practice rituals and ceremonies from their home countries. For those immigrants who do not practice rituals and ceremonies, their identities will not be diminished as long as values and beliefs underneath the rituals and ceremonies are instilled in them. For immigrants from China, families still occupy the most important place in their mind even what they celebrate is Christmas instead of Spring Festival. Rituals and ceremonies are carriers of values and beliefs, which are the core elements in a culture. As long as these core elements are still embedded in their mind, their sense of who they are will not be diminished.

As presented in my analysis, no doubt that rituals and ceremonies help define a culture, glue a society and shape who we are. But it does not mean that without them, societies and people will have a diminished sense of who they are. After all, they are just carriers of values and beliefs in a culture.

plukaUID: 2721764

Culture, however abstract, reveals itself through rituals and ceremonies observed by its people. These rituals and ceremonies are part and parcel to the social identity of people and indispensible social glue in a society. Nevertheless, the absence of rituals and ceremonies does not necessarily lead to a diminished identity of both the society and its people. 

Any society, civilized or primitive, is marked by its unique rituals and ceremonies, whic

hudu464UID: 2512268

2# pluka

恩??~~这个帖子只有第一段呀...

plukaUID: 2721764

啊怎么回事？昨天明明改完了的……

plukaUID: 2721764

额……就把昨天记得的关于思路方面的东西放这了，语言等其他的就没有细看了。

Culture, however abstract, reveals itself through rituals and ceremonies observed by its people. These rituals and ceremonies are part and parcel to the social identity of people and indispensible social glue in a society. Nevertheless, the absence of rituals and ceremonies does not necessarily lead to a diminished identity of both the society and its people. 


Any society, civilized or primitive, is marked by its unique rituals and ceremonies, which reveals its history and culture. People in a certain society could be identified by practicing certain pattern of rituals and ceremonies. In primitive society, people celebrated harvest with fire and dance to express their joy and happiness. People who celebrated Christmas are more likely to be a westerner than to be a Chinese. Similarly, spring festival is exclusively celebrated by Chinese. Minorities in China also have their own patterns of rituals and ceremonies which fascinate foreigners and other Chinese alike. Dai minority, for example, celebrated a festival which they call Water-Splashing festival, during which day they pour water to each other. The wetter one gets the more luck he will receive. This unique ritual of washing away dirt, sorrow and demons of the old year becomes the signature of Dai minority, which is widely recognized by people all over China and even some parts of the world. What distinguished Dai Minority from the dominant Han people in China are not their appearances but this unique pattern of rituals and ceremonies. For people in every society, their unique culture is remembered by their distinct rituals and ceremonies. Part of their social identity is from their rituals and ceremonies. 
本段指出仪式揭示社会特征。几个例子有圣诞、春节和泼水节。在段首提到了reveals its history and culture，泼水节的例子里history and culture展现了一点，但圣诞和春节涉及的不多。题目中说rituals define culture，觉得应该突出一下ritual define了哪些culture，是如何define的。

Moreover, rituals and ceremonies play a paramount role as the glue of a society, by which people collectively form a society. National holidays are one important way to unite people in a society. From every walk of life, people have a chance to share their happiness and realize their alliances with each other. One indispensible ritual of Spring Festival in China is to visit relatives and families and wish them good luck in the New Year. It is through this particular day that people gain a sense of belonging and feel closer to each other. 
指出ritual增加社会凝聚力，例子是国庆和春节。私以为国庆的例子的发展部分不是很有特点，只提到分享欢乐和realize their alliances with each other，为啥非要是国庆，其他的节日也行啊，比如劳动节。建议更集中于‘国’庆，讲一下整体的氛围。

Rituals and ceremonies, as important as they are, are explicit forms of culture. Unfortunately（有啥不幸的？）, these explicit forms of culture are just one part of any culture, which embraces implicit values and beliefs underneath the rituals and ceremonies. As long as these values and beliefs still exist, the society and its people will have a strong sense of who they are. The United States, for example, have millions of immigrants from every corner of the world. Some of them might continue to practice rituals and ceremonies from their home countries. For those immigrants who do not practice rituals and ceremonies, their identities will not be diminished as long as values and beliefs underneath the rituals and ceremonies are instilled in them. For immigrants from China, families still occupy the most important place in their mind even what they celebrate is Christmas instead of Spring Festival. Rituals and ceremonies are carriers of values and beliefs, which are the core elements in a culture. As long as these core elements are still embedded in their mind, their sense of who they are will not be diminished. 
本段讲礼仪是外表，精神是内核；只要有内核没外表也能够有identity。例子是美国的华人移民。我不太了解这个例子：国外华人是不是更重视春节？貌似华人聚集区的春节都相当热闹。这种对仪式的重视正反映了他们对内核的尊敬。不过这个观点是很好的。如果要用国外华人的例子，觉得用留学生来说好一些——不像移民，留学生是真的有家不能回嘛。

As presented in my analysis, no doubt that rituals and ceremonies help define a culture, glue a society and shape who we are（这个shape就严重了，文章也说了，礼仪是外表，shape我们的应该是精神内核）. But it does not mean that without them, societies and people will have a diminished sense of who they are. After all, they are just carriers of values and beliefs in a culture.
全文：T（ritual定义社会特征、增加凝聚力，但其减少不一定导致社会身份消失）——>B1(仪式揭示社会特征)——>B2（ritual增加社会凝聚力）——>B3（礼仪是外表，精神是内核；只要有内核没外表也能够有identity）——>结论
个人觉得在define a culture方面还可以深入一点。B1中提到的多半是现象：有这个ritual，说明有这个culture。但是为何？为什么这个ritual就是define这个culture而不是另外一个呢？建议挖掘一下一些culture是如何在演变中形成各种ritual从而让ritual与特定文化间有牢固的联系。
增加社会凝聚力提到春节和国庆，很可以明确一下成两个方面：春节是家庭凝聚力；国庆是国家凝聚力。两个都提高，社会凝聚力就提高了。
精神内核这个观点很好，但也是最难举例的一个……不妨联系一下社会发展的现状，指出举办有些ritual是不切实际的——显然，现代社会不可能像原始人一样大开篝火晚会。
以上~