issue63 To truly understand your own culture-no matter how

gteryyUID: 114434

“To truly understand your own culture-no matter how you define it-requires personal knowledge of at least one other culture, one that is distinctly different from your own."

Sometimes to compare one thing with another is helpful for us to understand it. For example, for a child to understand the color white, writing on a white paper with black pen make the white color conspicuous, thus leave the child a deep impression of white. However, is this method the same implemental when used to understand a culture? Probably not.

To understand a culture, the most effective way is for one to live in it for a few time. Because the culture is unlike theories, knowledge, or ideologies which can be learned through oral or written teaching, but need more to be felt to understand. Say, the Chinese celebrate spring festival for new year, while the westerners celebrate Christmas. Even if a Chinese were told the origin or Christmas, the customs during Christmas, he/she cannot truly understand it unless he/she had experienced it by his/herself. It is because culture is the deposit of long accumulated customs, habits, including history, rituals, ceremonies, religions etc. of a crowd of people concentrated in a certain extent both geographically and culturally, which can be felt only in certain atmosphere.

It is bootless to understand a distinctly different culture for understanding one’s own culture, or at least no good. For one thing, no two cultures, no matter how different they are, are opposite after all. They do not have the opposite properties or same properties with opposite appearances . When one sees the westerners use spoons and forks to eat, he may want to know why the Chinese use chopsticks. Only when he/she lives in china, know something about its long history and its people’s dinning habit, can he/she understand the meaning of chopsticks. For another thing, every culture is special so that it is incomparable with another. Culture is such a complicated thing that relates much to the history, geography, race, and development of a nation that it can be understood only through studying what help forming the culture first. After an American understanding what the Confucius and Mencius in history inculcated the Chinese people he/she will understand why Chinese people tend to be modest and moderate. Whereas for a Chinese to understand an American’s confidence and forthrightness, he/she also needs to understand something about the history of the United States/

Finally, for a culture, there is no right or wrong. It is necessary or anyone to esteem every culture. And to understand one’s own culture, one should not count on compare it with another distinct culture but concentrate on those important factors that shaped the culture.

kiki_yaUID: 46397

写的不错! 观点挺好的..跟我的思路反着的,感觉很fresh!

paisleyUID: 64183

写的挺好！立意比较独特。虽然我和你持相反意见，还是觉得你的想法也颇可取。不过我有个建议，你的重点在于“认识一种文化关键在于体验和感受他，而不在于空洞的将它与其他文化比较”。最好能比较直白地、明确的把这个意思说出来（以上是我读了你的文章以后经过paraphrase自己总结的，可是ETS的人不会给你总结啊）。否则的话，我总觉得你的第三段比较open to criticism。因为还有不少人和我一样，是相反的看法么。所以你那么猛烈的抨击，不一定站的住脚啊。 当然也不是说你错了，关键在于对这个“对文化的比较”的角度不同。所以，我建议你把那句话明确的写出来，本身就是为了表明你的角度。

angeikimUID: 4857

最初由 gteryy 发表
[B]   “To truly understand your own culture-no matter how you define it-requires personal knowledge of at least one other culture, one that is distinctly different from your own."  [/B]

我们首先来看看这个题目。
我暂且把这个题目翻译成： 真正深刻理解自己的文化的最好途径是通过理解至少一种的，与自己有差别，不同的文化。（欢迎批评）

而在题目里面说道了personal knowledge，这个我们是不是也可以理解成为个人的认识，知识，那么个人经验，体验是不是也可以包含在里面？
我个人认为这个题目的重点是在说：用自己所知道并且\或者了解的一种文化与自己身在的文化－－我在这里暂且理解成自己的motherland的文化（这里也可以进行一个倒置，如果你身在国外的话）－－进行对比可以帮助自己更加深刻的理解自己所身处的文化。
然后来分析一下GTERRY 的文章
[B]Sometimes to compare one thing with another is helpful for us to understand it. For example, for a child to understand the color white, writing on a white paper with black pen make the white color conspicuous, thus leave the child a deep impression of white. However, is this method the same implemental when used to understand a culture? Probably not. [/B][/QUOTE]
你这个段落是在说在理解一个概念或者东西的话，最形象的方法是用与之相反、相对的同类事物进行对比，但是文化却并不如此。

[B] To understand a culture, the most effective way is for one to live in it for a few time. Because the culture is unlike theories, knowledge, or ideologies which can be learned through oral or written teaching, but need more to be felt to understand. Say, the Chinese celebrate spring festival for new year, while the westerners celebrate Christmas. Even if a Chinese were told the origin or Christmas, the customs during Christmas, he/she cannot truly understand it unless he/she had experienced it by his/herself. It is because culture is the deposit of long accumulated customs, habits, including history, rituals, ceremonies, religions etc. of a crowd of people concentrated in a certain extent both geographically and culturally, which can be felt only in certain atmosphere. [/B][/QUOTE]
在你的第二个段落里面是说文化没有办法用单纯的讲授来理解的，必须要身处其中采可以体会其中的不同。这个是不是已经与你的第一个段落的意思相悖了？身处于他处体会文化以理解自身文化，不是也是进行着对比以便加深理解吗？

[B] It is bootless to understand a distinctly different culture for understanding one’s own culture, or at least no good. For one thing, no two cultures, no matter how different they are, are opposite after all. They do not have the opposite properties or same properties with opposite appearances . When one sees the westerners use spoons and forks to eat, he may want to know why the Chinese use chopsticks. Only when he/she lives in china, know something about its long history and its people’s dinning habit, can he/she understand the meaning of chopsticks. For another thing, every culture is special so that it is incomparable with another. Culture is such a complicated thing that relates much to the history, geography, race, and development of a nation that it can be understood only through studying what help forming the culture first. After an American understanding what the Confucius and Mencius in history inculcated the Chinese people he/she will understand why Chinese people tend to be modest and moderate. Whereas for a Chinese to understand an American’s confidence and forthrightness, he/she also needs to understand something about the history of the United States/  [/B][/QUOTE]
你的第三个段落的首句是说用理解其他文化来加深对自身文化的理解是无谓的行为，因为文化是很博大精深地，不可能只是通过简单的对比就可以全部理解的。那么是不可以全部理解哪个呢？自身的还是？我想你说的是非自己本国的文化。这个表述的不是很明了。而且就如PAISLEY说的，你这个部分有一些OPEN TO BE CRITICIZED.
但是如果你的立意是说通过对比只是可以仅仅加深理解文化的某一部分的话，还是可取的。

[B]Finally, for a culture, there is no right or wrong. It is necessary or anyone to esteem every culture. And to understand one’s own culture, one should not count on compare it with another distinct culture but concentrate on those important factors that shaped the culture. [/B][/QUOTE]

最后一个段落中，你说文化没有对错－－题目有提到对比就是取舍吗？没有吧。你有提到对比就是取舍，就是用说一个文化要比其他文化要更优越吗? 没有是不是－－不切题。而段落其余的部分也是和你文中不是特别关切。这个结尾不是特别太好。

总而言之，你的这篇文章首先立意不是太清楚，而论述的时候有存在一些表达不清的问题。又因为你频繁的转换自己的idea, 到最后也是变得有点不对题。同时也存在一些语法的问题，自己修正一下。

同志还需加强努力！
－－ :)
我这里是从我的对题目的理解来说的。
这个题目如果要是反对的话，也可以从对比只是可以加深对自身文化的某个单一方面的理解来against；或者说不同文化因为形成的原因地问题的不对等性儿不存在可比性，就如苹果和梨子不可比一样。
欢迎批评指教。

gteryyUID: 114434

“身处于他处体会文化以理解自身文化，不是也是进行着对比以便加深理解吗？”
事实上我没这么说，我没有说去体会其他文化以帮助理解自身文化，我是说要理解一个文化，不要去比较，而仅仅是去体会。

“不可能只是通过简单的对比就可以全部理解的。那么是不可以全部理解哪个呢？自身的还是？我想你说的是非自己本国的文化。”
这个你理解错了，我的意思是对比不能有助于理解自身的文化。其中我列了两点，一个是两文化不是完全相反的，因为它们不可能有同性质同现象或者同性质反现象。另一个是两文化无可比性（这两点我有点凑的味道，不太明确，是这样的）

“你频繁的转换自己的idea, 到最后也是变得有点不对题。”
我要EXCLAIM，我没觉得自己转换IDEA！！！说真的，看你的分析我还是没觉得自己有这毛病？！！！我的立意很明确呀：文化不能比较及为什么，要理解文化就要亲身体验。

结尾是不好，我不太会写结尾。。。

不过呢，坦白地说，我对文化没什么概念。希望kiki_ya能把你写的相反的观点贴出来让偶观摩一下吧？

kiki_yaUID: 46397

呵呵...我还没有写的说

不过我反倒是没有看出angeikim指出的那些错误。我觉得立意还是挺明确的，一读就懂而且也很persuasive

好，我一会看看有没有时间，有的话写了发上来！

gteryyUID: 114434

呵呵，我自己也这么认为。。。嘿嘿（拥抱一下）

angeikim作文改得多了就有点象ETS的味道了。。。：)

angeikimUID: 4857

最初由 gteryy 发表
[B]呵呵，我自己也这么认为。。。嘿嘿（拥抱一下）

angeikim作文改得多了就有点象ETS的味道了。。。：) [/B]

什么意思？大概是因为这几天的睡眠都在三个小时左右，所以有点那个了吧。。 :)

我又看了你的作文，我的理解是有点偏了，原因：就是PAISLEY说的那个，文章意图表达不明确。
不过，我个人的想法是这个题目是旨在讨论文化与文化之间的关系。虽然也可以取比较不是理解文化的途径，或者不可以当作时理解文化的途径的角度，但是你或者该给一些比较典型的例子反证一下。比如文化之间的相较会带来什么坏处，引起什么误会等等，这样是不是更明显一些，更容易理解一些？
因为我个人的意见是文化之间却是存在可比性，也就是为什么比较文学或者比较文化的存在，是不是？
我给一个我个人认为可以当作是文化不应该相较的观点，就是你的结尾的第一句话，比较文化会让人简单的产生一种文化优越于另一种文化的想法，但是文化因其产生原因，发展的环境等一些特殊的原因去确定了其独特性与不可比性。所以，我们不应该将不同的文化做比较。

不得不承认，你的角度很新颖！（本来不想说的来着） :)