Issue208【0906G 文以载道三月四月作文小组】1.26作业 by noheven

nohevenUID: 2447539

208."The way people look,dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about asociety's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of itspeople."

人们的眼神，衣着和行动表现出他们的态度和兴趣。你可以通过观察人们的外表和行为来获知这个社会的思想和价值观。

1.      1.在大部分情况下，人们的外表确实可以揭示一部分他们的态度和兴趣。因为人们的举止与对衣着的选择总是自觉不自觉地受到这些因素的影响。
Eg: Oscar Wilde; Chanel’ssuit
2.
2.但外表不能作为判断人们兴趣与态度的决定因素，因为衣着受到气候，环境，以及生活背景等的影响；即使是人们的眼神与行动也未必完全发自内心。
Eg. Banker&soho, Uniform  performance
3.
3.社会的思想和价值观，是深藏于人们心底的。它们可能通过人们的外表和行为有所反映，但无法决定性地由此来观察。
Eg Victorian era
Words:520



How do you look? How do you dress? How doyou act? All of them tell something about you, as a part of a society; or evenmore, they may reveal something deeper than interest or attitude. But ingeneral, the appearance and behavior can not reveal all- or most, of the ideasor values of a society.



Turning first to common situation, certain aspects of theoutward appearance could inform some people’s preference, interests or evenattitudes, because the choices of people’s clothes, hairstyles, or even somegestures are infected by them. For instance, Oscar Wilde, who is well known forhis role in the aesthetic and decadent movements, wore his hair long, dressedup all the time, and openly scorned so-called "manly" sports, anddecorated his rooms with peacock feathers, lilies, sunflowers, blue china andother objects d'art. Even being called “effeminate dandies”, it is his gestureto show and act his philosophy in art and life. Of course, you can definablytell his ideas and values from them. In the other example, women’s going towork resulted in the Chanel’s famous suit which let women act free.


But turn to some other situations; appearance can not be thedeterminant factor to judge people’s interests and attitudes. The reason isthat the clothes depend on climate, environment and economical conditions atthe same time; and even the way people look and act can not be totally fromheart. In harsh climates people bundle up, while in hot, they just go with fewclothes. A banker should dress formal black suit during work time– whatever heor she likes it or not, while a soho could choose nearly anything to wear whileworking. On the other hand, since people have their own social role, one cannot always behave from heart; the way people behave can belie their attitudesand values. Maybe a smile does not mean friendly but adulate; or going to operadoes not mean preference to art but just to show up. And one chooses a high-oilcost cat may not because he is not interested in the protection of environmentbut just because of the affordable price.

Last but not least, ideas and values aredeep in people’s heart; they can be observed from appearance in some level, butcan not be totally told. In Victorian era, people praised asceticism but theyellow books were very popular at the same time; you could observed the paradoxand contradict behaves exit in the same society during the same time; if justfrom the appearance, how to choose and how to judge? The ideas and values aremore likely to show in social theory, movement and art. Then they willinfluence the dressing, hairstyles and lifestyles.

To sum up, accordingly, a society whose members share somesimilar rituals, ways of dressing and even public behaviors and certain valuesstill can not be judged or defined just by observing the way people look, dressand act. The values and ideas of a society are related to oceans of factors-some of them are much more determining than appearance.