issue208 【7\8\9\10】(第10次作业)

野猪大改造UID: 2484392

TOPIC: ISSUE208 - "The way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people."
WORDS: 452         

The speaker generalizes that the way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests, and we can tell much about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people. In general, I agree with this assertion. In my view, while in certain respects the appearance and behavior of people are not accurate indicators of a society's attitudes and values. In other respects, they actually are.

Admittedly, in certain respects, the way people look and dress is not a function of their attitudes and values but rather their climatic. For instance, a society of people who live in the North Pole tend to wear for cold climatic and their skin appear to be weather-beaten; While in a country which is located in the Torrid Zone, its people tend to wear for hot, humid climatic and their skin appear to be pink and supple.

While in other respects, the way people look and dress do inform us of their ideas, attitudes, and values. A society whose members are in a good shape clearly places a high value on physical health, and a low value on pleasure and extravagance. A society whose members tend to wear luxury clothes obviously value splurging rather practicality and saving. And each member of a society having a distinct preference for clothes evidently reveals that the society places a high value on individual freedom and a low value on cultural homogeneity.

I turn next to the way people act. The habits and lifestyles of a culture often of provide accurate signals about its values. For example, a society of people who behave precisely and obey the standards strictly clearly demonstrates the society's high value on standards and laws. Moreover, a society whose members tend to act unrestrictedly and freely is one which values freedom and is unwilling to be in bondage to standards and laws. Furthermore, there is a society, in which most of its members have begun to raise money for a cosmetic surgery since their very childhood. They can do almost everything such as reducing the expense which is expected to be spent on food or house, or work extremely hard to make a financial preparation for an expensive cosmetic surgery. By doing this, they hope to have a beautiful appearance which will give them self-confidence to achieve their goals. Obviously, this society of people places a high value on extrinsic appearance.

In sum, in few respects, the appearance and behavior of people are not accurate indicators of a society's attitudes and values. Except for these exceptions, I fundamentally agree with the speaker's assertion that the way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and their society's values.      



[ 本帖最后由 野猪大改造 于 2008-7-30 10:25 编辑 ]