issue 44/75/84 regarding living men and women as heroes

tesolchinaUID：2191404

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44) Claim: It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.
Reason: The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.

75) In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

84) It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

tesolchinaUID：2191404

6分博客140楼有我写的示范
谁有兴趣可以写一个逆向提纲

zsczslUID：2888426

tesolchina 发表于 2014-12-15 13:35
6分博客140楼有我写的示范
谁有兴趣可以写一个逆向提纲

老师，我写了这样一个提纲，从三方面反驳了题目中的观点，应该够逆向了，请点评一下，谢谢！

44. Claim: It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.

Reason: The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.


TS (pt1, pt2, pt3): I agree neither with the claim nor with the reason presented in the statement, since both of them impress me with a tendency of oversimplifying the intricate world where we are living in. In fact, even though we go along with the speaker’s line of thought, whether an individual can be deemed as a real hero relies on how the principles of perfectionism apply to the public figure themselves, the mass media and the audience, and does not have merely one answer.  

ts (pt1): First of all, if a celebrity himself or herself is a perfectionist, he or she will be meticulous about what he/ she says and what he/ she does. Therefore, it is possible for his or her fame to survive for a long time, during which he or she is the hero or heroine in eyes of the mass.面对媒体的监督，有些名人洁身自好，始终保持各方面的良好声誉，因此成为道德楷模，被许多人尊为英雄。For instance, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi at present is still struggling for democracy and human rights via her non-violent means.她的生活越是曝光在媒体下，人们越是敬佩她。而有些名人虽然因为有些壮举一时被人看作英雄，但他本身不追求完美主义，结果生活放荡，或是言行失慎，而后英雄的光环就褪去了。比如动作影星成龙，在主演的电影中尽扮演英雄，而且坚持自己亲身上阵完成高难度动作，加上媒体的追捧，因此博得了英雄之名。而后来，随着他糜烂的私生活糟媒体曝光，以及他经常当众说出一些伤害大众感情的言语，人们渐渐不再当他是英雄了。总而言之，英雄的本质决定了英雄在人们心中的地位，不是所有活人都是不能把持自己的。

ts (pt2): What is more, the workers in the media industry may not expend their time and energy in examining every corner of a public figure’s life, where some flaws are likely to exist. 媒体工作者由于时间、精力有限等原因，不可能报道名人生活的方方面面，因此就算名人身上有许多不完美之处，媒体也不一定能完全报道出来。在有些新闻自由受限制的地方，这种情况尤为突出。Take the Bo Xilai Event in China as an example. Before the Scandal of Wang Lijun broke out, many citizens in Chongqing regard Bo Xilai, the head of the city, as their heroes due to the media propaganda of his cracking down on local Mafia-style organizations. 直到他被推上法庭，他过去的斑斑劣迹才浮现于媒体上。您也许要问了，最后他不也按照题目中的逻辑垮台了，不也被媒体炮轰了，不再是许多人眼中的英雄了吗？我要告诉你两点，第一，他做不成英雄不是直接源于media scrutiny，而是其它原因使他失势后，媒体再来补刀，这不是题目中逻辑的体现；第二，目前世上不知还有多少Bo Xilai式的人物，在当着人民心中的英雄。所以，过分夸大媒体的监督能力，是不明智的。

ts (pt3): Finally, the common people who are exposed to the tremendous amount of media information play the keys role in the process of determining who is their hero. Once the public do not bear the perfectionist standards in their minds, they can tolerate and forgive some celebrities’ drawbacks, which allow them to still cherish certain shining characteristics of the famous individuals and to have their own heroes. 媒体的受众，即观众、读者等才是谁是英雄的决定因素。他们若不吹毛求疵，对名人的缺陷报以宽容的态度，那么仅有几处闪光点、在其它方面表现平庸甚至糟糕的名人，亦是他们的英雄。比如，Malala, the youngest Nobel Prize laureate of all time, 有人说在这个世上为妇女争取平等受教育权利的人有很多，头部中弹而幸存的人也不少，作出巨大贡献的也大有人在，为何就是她获奖并且成为许多人心中的英雄呢？答案是诺委会和人民大众欣赏她年纪轻轻就体现出来的那种为了信念敢于牺牲的勇气，不在乎她资历浅，学识低，实际贡献小。因此，媒体受众的态度，最终决定了谁是英雄。

lisa_CUID：2678347

MEMO


44) Claim: It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.
Reason: The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim.

原思路:

Thesis Sentence: As for those false heroes who behave in different ways in different circumstances, regarding them as role models definitely will destroy people’s belief on them; choosing those living men or women who are consistent in their behavior, however, can help people learn better from them. Media scrutiny is not a way to destroy living heroes but a way to bring real heroes to public view.

TS1: As for living men or women who are inconsistent, admittedly their reputation will be diminished under media scrutiny, and thus, they are not the appropriate candidates for role models in a society.
（对表里不一的所谓“典范”，确实存在reason陈述的问题，所以把这些人当成典范会mislead people。譬如尼克松水门事件，在此之前人们相信尼克松是伟大的领袖，在大选中尼克松获得民意支持成功连任总统，在水门事件爆发之初，尼克松甚至还不承认自己有窃听行为，媒体曝光的事实让其声望迅速下滑，最终走下神坛，成为美国历史上第一个连任后被迫请辞的总统）
TS2: As for living men or women who has inner beauty, however, their reputation will not be diminished in the spotlight and even will be enhanced because more details about their real lives make people believe the existence of real heroes, thus more people will learn from them for good behaviors.
（真正内外兼修的典范，如姚明，参加公益事件，参加热门娱乐秀，更贴近民众，有活生生的例子在前，给人们更多学习的范本，人们会从中主动学习）

TS3: Moreover, appropriate media scrutiny, actually, help us find real heroes, and it is an effective way to investigate heroes’ behavior, making it possible to select living people as heroes.
（典范本来就应该是经得起考验的，媒体的存在是对公众人物的监督）

原思路存在问题:
有点回避问题，问的是living heroes而这里是抛出真假英雄的概念

讨论后思路:
参见王老师6分楼范文

1. 娱乐和运动
2. 政治
3. 对可能的challenge回应

140楼

With the development of the Internet and the social media, the private lives of celebrities are being scrutinised and talked about by ordinary people all the time. Therefore, it is argued that people can no longer regard the living celebrities as heroes given so much information about their not so honourable private lives. I would agree that this is indeed the case in the field of entertainment, sports and politics. Some people may argue that celebrities with lifelong achievements in entertainments and sports may still be regarded as heroes. But with the social media more interested in celebrities in their prime time, the older celebrities would only receive much attention when they pass away.  

I agree that it is no longer possible to consider celebrities in the fields of entertainment and sports as heroes because they are often young and rich facing temptations in their private lives. Consider the case of Tiger Woods, the heroic figure in professional golf. While Woods was often regarded as the greatest contemporary golf player and a hero in the field, his reputation was severely undermined after his scandal of extramarital affair.  Stories of fallen heroes who were young, talented and well-regarded are commonplace because it was more difficult for them to discipline themselves when they could do anything they like with the money and fame.  

It is equally difficult, if not impossible, for people to idolise political leaders these days.  President Clinton was widely regarded as a competent leader of the US bringing great economic prosperity to nation plagued by economic aftermath left by President Bush.  Yet, he was not a perfect man and made mistakes that gave opportunities to his political enemies to exploit leading to the infamous scandal of Monica Lewinsky. Even if a majority of Americans are willing to forgive Mr. Clinton’s misconduct, it is nearly impossible to count him among the great US presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy.  

Some people may challenge my argument by pointing out that older celebrities in these fields may be regarded as heroes considering their lifelong achievements. Figures like Robin Williams and Woody Allen, for example, may be considered heroes in the movie industry in the light of their numerous accomplishments throughout their lives. This may indeed be the case. But we need to bear in mind that, in today’s social media as well as traditional media, attention is often given disproportionately to the celebrities in their prime time. People are more interested in news and gossips about Jennifer Lawrence and Ellen Page than the biographies of Mike Douglas or Steve Martin.  

Given the limited space, I only address this issue with regard to the celebrities in fields of entertainment, sports and politics. But the points I try to make may be applicable to other fields as well: celebrities in their prime time often could neither resist the temptations that arise from their fame and wealth nor avoid the attacks from their enemies; as a result, it is difficult for them to be regarded as heroes; for the older celebrities with lifelong accomplishments, they were often forgotten by the general public until the day they pass away.