Issue208红尘笑沧桑作文互改小组第三周周五作业

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12.31.2009题目：ISSUE208 - "The way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people."
The author asserts that by observing the appearance and behavior of people we can know their attitude and interests. I agree with this assertion. Meanwhile, we can tell some about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people. But how much can we tell about the society by observing this?
On the one hand, I admit that the way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests and you can tell some about a society by observing this. For instance, French are famous for their beautiful and fashionable dresses, showing their romantic trait, while German usually try their best to do a job perfectly, indicating they are prim and meticulous. To be more specific and concrete, just by reviewing the change of Chinese in terms of dress and behavior you will find the transformation of Chinese Society in past decades. All Chinese adults, whether men or women, were dressed in clothes with same color and style, which were fabricated by same materials. Workers commute to work places by the same bicycles—there were few bicycles specifically designed for women then. In addition, the forms of entertainment are rare: all songs are to chant the eulogy of the Communist Party of China and there is almost no pop music for the fact that people who composed and sang them would probably be sent into jail. Furthermore, people only shake hands for greeting when meeting each other because other gestures such as hug were considered to be immoral then. But nowadays, people in China are in various clothes and sing any song they like. Besides, there are dancing rooms, Karaoke and home parties. No one will be blamed for kissing in public, let alone hugs. Moreover, the state-run China Central Television, marked with tedious leaders’ speech and rigid official news, has held a beauty contest and broadcasted it lively, which is beyond imagination before.  

However, observing the appearance and behavior of its people is not the only way of telling a society's ideas and values. We should take into account the exceptions that sometimes appearance and behavior of people will cheat our eyes. For an extreme case, a spy, who disguise himself or herself to win others’ trust and by which obtain what he or she wants. In this case, the appearance and behavior does not reveal one’s true attitudes and interests. As to a country or a society, similar exceptions also exist. We cannot know much precise and exact information about a country by observing its national grand ceremonies because people in those activities act more as political symbols rather than independent individuals. Therefore, there are lots of other ways of knowing much about a society, such as the social policies and social economy.

From what has been discussed above, we can safely draw the conclusion that it is hard for one to completely and objectively know about a society only by observing the appearance and behavior of its people. More studies should be undertaken, such as the history, culture and customs of a society to get a full understanding of a society.