issue147 [sjtu八勇士小组]第7次作业

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TOPIC: ISSUE147 - "Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them."
WORDS: 474          TIME: 01:29:58          DATE: 2007-8-6 下午 09:47:46

These days there is a growing concern over the issue that whether tradition and modernization are compatible. The speaker in the title statement believes that they are incompatible and one must choose between them. I disagree with the speaker because though modernization overwhelms tradition in many areas, tradition still holds the meaning for existence for the essence part of it.

Admittedly, I must concede that with the development of science and technology and the trend of globalization, the pace of modernization is moving faster and faster in most parts of the world. Manufacturing using machines has taken the place of production by hands. Automatization in agriculture appears to substitute for manual plowing. And more and more people use e-mail rather than traditional letter for communication, for e-mail is faster, clearer in expression and environment-friendly -- it doesn't use papers. Cell phones and mobile phones link us together. We watch movies in VCDs and DVDs in stead of cinema. Such changes suggest that modernization has greatly impact on our traditional life. Many traditions which conflict the advancement of era have to be abandoned .

Nevertheless, however profound the modernization has changed our lives, tradition never became extinct in our society for its essence parts always exert a profound and meaningful influence in modern life. In China almost everyone knows that the 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. To stage this grand game successfully, the Chinese government is dedicated to the modernization of Beijing. Recently we see that modern stadiums are built one after another. The traffic of downtown is largely improved after several undergrounds are finished. A new technology -- identification using IC cards is put into use for the convenience of the future athletes. But when the government comes to the problem of deciding the sign of this Olympics, they turn from modern to tradition by choosing the imagination of five lucky kids, which appeared in the ancient Chinese legendary. This action wins the supports from all areas of society because people think that the imagination is typical of Chinese and expressly shows the world our characteristics. Not only China uses tradition in Olympics. In the opening ceremony of 2004 Athens Olympic and 2000 Sydney Olympics, holders all perform their folk plays and traditional programs because tradition accompanies a people for a long time and makes it different from other peoples.

In our daily lives, tradition is also easy find. Historic of interest is a good example. China's Warior tomb of Qin Dinasty, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City all existed for thousands of years and they witnessed the boom and decay of the country. The four-president statue of the U.S. reminds people of the notable forerunners of their nation. And the Statue of Liberty is a sign of friendship between the Frenchmen and the Americans. So why are these traditional things well preserved since they are of little use to the modernization? Because they are the sign of the history, which people must not forget.

To sum up, the human civilization is now advancing with the pace of modernization, in which all traditional factors conflicting with it are abandoned and replaced. However the essence of tradition should be preserved, because it is a sign of one people and reminds us of the past.


TOPIC: ARGUMENT56 - Collectors prize the ancient life-size clay statues of human figures made on Kali Island but have long wondered how the Kalinese artists were able to depict bodies with such realistic precision. Since archeologists have recently discovered molds of human heads and hands on Kali, we can now conclude that the ancient Kalinese artists used molds of actual bodies, not sculpting tools and techniques, to create these statues. This discovery explains why Kalinese miniature statues were abstract and entirely different in style: molds could only be used for life-size sculptures. It also explains why few ancient Kalinese sculpting tools have been found. In light of this development, collectors should expect the life-size sculptures to decrease in value and the miniatures to increase in value.
WORDS: 345          TIME: 00:44:21          DATE: 2007-8-7 上午 10:17:59

1.发现Kali的头和手的磨具，不足以排除kali人不用雕刻工具来制作statue

2.发现头和手的磨具不能说明Kali人只在等身大小的雕塑身上使用磨具，更不能解释小雕塑抽象和形态各异的特点

3.其他因素：作者没有考虑其他可能导致小雕塑贬值的因素，可能小雕塑多，大的少；或者大的更有意义，使君主的雕像，小的什么都不是

In this argument, the author concludes that the life-size sculptures will decrease in value and the miniatures will increas in value. To bolster his argument, the author points out that the molds were used in life-size sculptures but not in miniatures. However I am not convinced that the conclusion is accurate.

First of all, the author mentions that molds of human heads and hands on Kali. Yet this fact is no indication that ancient Klinese artists used molds in the sculpture. Perhaps these molds of bodies were made to satisfy the needs of other tribes and would be carried outside Kali. Even if the molds were used in Kali, there is the possibilities that they are served as sacrifices to the heavens, or other uses rather than sculpture.

Secondly, even if molds were used in the sculptures, the author fails to prove the reason that the Kalinese miniature statues were abstract and different in style. Perhaps the Kalinese also used molds in their miniture statues. But the molds they used is different from the one that is used in sculptures. Even if molds were not used in miniature statues, this contains no reasons for the variation and abstraction of miniature statues. Maybe these statue were made by more sophisticated workers or the tools used in them are more advanced.

Thirdly, even if the molds were only used in life-size sculptures, the author fails to provide evidences that the life-size sculptures will decrease in value and the minatures will increase in value. The value of a sculpture is determined by the need and the offer in a market. Though life-size sculptures lack difference in style, it is possible that many people are interested in them because they can be put in the hall for decoration because they symbolize the gods. Or though miniature statue is more delicate and abstract, they are so fragile that most people fear that they will break it easily.

In sum the argument suffers from several illogical flaws which render it unpersuasive as it stands. To further support his argument, the author should provide evidences that hat ancient Klinese artists used molds in the sculptures, that the reason that the Kalinese miniature statues were abstract and different in style is not using the molds and that the need for scultures is less than that for statues.