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共用时间:45分4秒 680 words
------题目------
The best way to learn a new subject or skill is to study small segments or details in great depth rather than to start by trying to develop a sense of the whole.
------正文------
From the primary school, we are told by our teachers to learn knowledge on a little by little process and first grasp the general idea of a new subject, and then we step into the next stage, that is to focus on some specific area to study. Whereas, some people assert that the best way to learn a new subject is to study small segments or details in depth rather than to start by developing a sense of the whole. I find this assertion somewhat betrayed the human cognitive process. I'd like to support my point of view in the following discussion.
It is more feasible to have in mind the general idea of a new matter than to develop in depth for the reason that an integrated image of a new subject helps us to figure out which segment we would like to go further into. In college, no professors advocate students to first get to know what is the constitutions of a cell in a biology class, no professor would rather push students to figure out what is relativity theory exactly in a physics class. Usually, we first obtain some background knowledge of a new subject, finding out that we have some special interests in a certain aspect, and then we can go further into it. Only by following these steps, can we find out where our interests are and how we are to quench our thirsty of curiosity and meet our need to acquire knowledge in the area of a particular aspect.
As for some scientific study, it is even the only approach for human being to follow, that is, developing a sense of the whole first. Take the research of raindrop forming process for example. We notice that from time to time, raindrops are falling towards the earth from the sky under some circumstances, which is a common natural phenomenon in nature. Some people might say, it is so common that everyone would know it is raining. But how many people on earth know why it rains and how to raindrops come into being? Few would go deep research into this area without noticing some phenomena happening during raining. Only by doing that, can one find out it is during cloudy days that it is more likely to rain. Having accumulated sufficient general ideas about raining, one could do some research on the forming process of raindrops and check out what is the essential factors contributing to this phenomenon. Suppose you know nothing about those prerequisite factors, the research of yours can only be misleading rather than instructing.
It is of great importance to learn first the whole picture of a new subject, which will help us find out the correlation among some segments as well as the whole structure of the new subject. When we learn to construct a house, it is always first for us to learn how to build up the structure rather than how to paint the wall to a perfect color. When we start to learn how to appreciate literature, it is always useful for us to first go into the author's personal experience and the background of his works rather than evaluate whether his works is a success or a failure. When we embark on practice of driving a car, isn't it more plausible for us to know the skills how to drive smoothly and safely in general than how to fill in the gasoline? When we try to learn these segments little by little, we will find how trifling they are, without general idea of the whole matter, we even could not find these segments even close to understandable.
In sum, we should first learn things in general rather than study small segments or details in great depth although the desire for exploring detailed knowledge is highly advocated. And we can say, only by exploring the inner part of a new subject, can human being obtain more untold truth and knowledge. Nevertheless, exploration without any background knowledge can only be misleading, and makes us feel at a loss, which can only be a tragedy for human minds. |
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