issue186【challenge yourself小组】第六次作业 by infant~

infant~UID: 2242949

TOPIC: ISSUE186 - "Practicality is now our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve. Anything that is not obviously practical has little value in today's world."
WORDS: 444     TIME: 00:45:00    DATE: 2008-8-2 11:22:12

Should all powers and talents serve practicality as our great idol? The speaker asserts so. I agree insofar that practicality has considerable merits in many branches of human endeavor. However, there are certain areas where practicality proves to be inadequate concern only proper for short-term achievements.

Admittedly, in today's world, practicality is admired as a golden principle in the realm of education, business. In education, driven by short-term ambition for personal success, few students nowadays pursue a subject by the sense of mission or mere interests. Grade point average, higher degrees or lucrative jobs seem to be the primary motivation in school studies. The same admiration for practicality is true in business. In contemporary society, few businessmen hold the pure concerns on societal responsibilities or a sense of anthropological achievements. Profits and personal status dominate business strategies and business ambitions. In a word, practicality is pursued as a great idol the realm of education and business.

However, when it comes to science and technology, practicality is considered mush less importance. Admittedly, scientists still hold practical hopes for a better living condition. Yet mostly, real scientific and technological breakthroughs are primarily made by those who have a priority for long-term contribution to human history rather than short-term pleasure in practical life. An apt example for this involves the Curies, who gave up comfortable and routine life for the pursuit of a higher ambition in science. Another example should be the more modern one involves the cloning technology. Ever since the first cloned sheep Dolly's birth, scientists have achieved a lot in this scientific branch. Although some of them, like cloning organs, may practically serve to cure patients who suffer from relevant diseases. Yet hardly can any practical profits be attained by the scientists by those researches attempting to clone animals or even humans. Thus, in science and technology, practicality is never the great idol if it is any aim at all.

Moreover, practicality simply has no merits when it comes to protection of environment. As we strive to exploit any possible ways to facilitate our lives, shortage in natural recourses and environmental deterioration finally alarm humans as a species. Nowadays, both individuals and societies are making the greatest efforts to compensate: regulations on industrial pollutions, laws against exploitation of fossil energy, appliance of solar transportation tools, to name a few. However, these efforts, in turn, harm business profits and life expense in the short-term, which is anything but practical.

To sum up, while we are admiring practicality as our great idol when concerning short-term goals, in many areas concerning long-term achievements, humans are actually making the wise the decision of posing low value on practicality.

[ 本帖最后由 infant~ 于 2008-8-2 01:12 编辑 ]

infant~UID: 2242949

有保留的反对。

1.在教育和商业领域， 实用主义是现代社会的偶像
2.在其他领域并非如此
  1）科学技术方面。例：克隆
  2）环境保护方面。

qilluraUID: 2186638

TOPIC: ISSUE186 - "Practicality is now our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve. Anything that is not obviously practical has little value in today's world."
WORDS: 444     TIME: 00:45:00    DATE: 2008-8-2 11:22:12

Should all powers and talents serve practicality as our great idol? The speaker asserts so. I agree insofar that practicality has considerable merits in many branches of human endeavor. However, there are certain areas where practicality proves to be inadequate concern （，and is）only proper for short-term achievements.
（作者的观点不止第一句，还有后面的Anything that is not obviously practical has little value in today's world.笨呀笨呀笨。。。）

Admittedly, in today's world, practicality is admired as a golden principle in the realm of education, business. In education, driven by short-term ambition for personal success, few students nowadays pursue a subject by the sense of mission or mere interests. Grade point average, higher degrees or lucrative jobs（看不懂） seem to be the primary motivation in school studies. The same admiration for practicality is true in business. In contemporary society, few businessmen hold the pure concerns on societal responsibilities or a sense of anthropological achievements. Profits and personal status dominate business strategies and business ambitions. In a word, practicality is pursued as a great idol the realm of education and business.

However, when it comes to science and technology, practicality is considered mush less importance. （tant）Admittedly, scientists still hold practical hopes for a better living condition. Yet mostly, real scientific and technological breakthroughs are primarily made by those who have a priority for long-term contribution to human history rather than short-term pleasure in practical life. An apt example for this involves the Curies, who gave up comfortable and routine life for the pursuit of a higher ambition in science.（这个例子和practicality有何关系？） Another example should be the more modern one involves the cloning technology. Ever since the first cloned sheep Dolly's birth, scientists have achieved a lot in this scientific branch. Although some of them, like cloning organs, may practically serve to cure patients who suffer from relevant diseases. Yet hardly can any practical profits be attained by the scientists by those researches attempting to clone animals or even humans. Thus, in science and technology, practicality is never the great idol if it is any aim at all.

Moreover, practicality simply has no merits when it comes to protection of environment. As we strive to exploit any possible ways to facilitate our lives, shortage in natural recourses and environmental deterioration finally alarm humans as a species. Nowadays, both individuals and societies are making the greatest efforts to compensate: regulations on industrial pollutions, laws against exploitation of fossil energy, appliance of solar transportation tools, to name a few. However, these efforts, in turn, harm business profits and life expense in the short-term, which is anything but practical.（这个句型看不懂－－）

To sum up, while we are admiring practicality as our great idol when concerning short-term goals, in many areas concerning long-term achievements, humans are actually making the wise the decision of posing low value on practicality.（结尾很有气势）