读趣百科

Sample

The Celebration of Western Festivals

No one can have failed to notice the fact that Western festivals gain ever-increasing popularity in China. An increasing number of Chinese are fond of celebrating Western festivals today. On Valentine’s Day, many people, especially the young, give flowers or chocolate to the one they love; when Christmas approaches, nearly every store put on decorations like Santa Claus, snowflakes and even Christmas trees, not to mention the millions of people immersed in the thrilling atmosphere of festival on Christmas Eve; even such holidays as Halloween and the Easter Day are becoming known and celebrated by more and more Chinese. In comparison, such traditional Chinese festivals as the Spring Festival, the Festival of Lanterns and the Mid-Autumn Day seem to be losing their attraction.

In view of such a situation, many are worried that Chinese culture will be ignored or even ruined by the invasion of Western festivals. Personally, I believe that we needn’t be over worried. Actually, the increasing popularity of some Western festivals in China is nothing accidental, but some thing justifiable.

First, it is a part of cultural globalization. With the development of communication science and technology and along with more and more nations opening up to the outside world, the world today has turned into a global village, with many national things becoming international. China is no exception. While we are absorbing advanced science and technology from foreign countries, we are also taking in different cultures.

Secondly, it is a sign of China’s rejuvenating. As a nation boasting a civilization of 5,000 years, Chinese have been known for their spirit of accommodation or open-mindedness. China used to be a melting pot of cultures as the U.S. is today. In the prosperous Tang dynasty, China was host to travelers and settlers from over the world. Actually, being accommodating is a sign of any thriving nation. Therefore, we should be pleased rather than upset to see Chinese people embracing foreign festivals.

It is true that some traditional Chinese festivals are losing their appeal to many people, but this does not necessarily the ruin of Chinese culture. Actually, a closer inspection reveals that most Chinese celebrate Western festivals merely out of the wish to seek novelty, to find a new way to entertain themselves or to express their identity in the face of the older generation. On the other hand, most Chinese have not ignored their native festivals. A convincing proof is that the Spring Festival still sees the largest flow of population in the world as most Chinese rush to their homes for family reunion.

In a word, while we are giving priority to the preservation and development of traditional Chinese culture, we needn’t worry too much about the inflow of foreign culture.

Sample

Failure Teaches Success

Paul Ehrlich, a chemist, discovered a drug to treat those afflicted with syphilis(梅毒). It was named "Formula 606," because the first 605 tests were mistakes. The lesson we can draw from this story is clear and simple: discovery or progress is born in mistakes.

Making mistakes is a valuable learning experience. A now famous story at IBM involved founder Thomas Watson and one of his vice presidents who took the initiative on the development of a new product. As reported in Fortune, the product was a risky venture that ended up a colossal failure and cost the company $10 million. Watson called the executive into his office saying there was something he wanted to discuss with him. Sure he was about to lose his job; the young man blurted out, "I guess you want my resignation?" Watson replied, "You must be kidding. We've just spent $10 million educating you." Watson's logic is this: anyone making a multi-million-dollar mistake had to learn something that would help him do a better job the next time.

Furthermore, making mistakes gives one an opportunity to try a new approach. China's progress in the past decades is a case in point. After Liberation in 1949, China, under the leadership of Chairman Mao, gradually built up a nationwide state-run economy. This mode of economy was originally intended to ensure both stable economic development and social justice. Unfortunately, what it resulted in was economic stagnation and lasting poverty. Recognizing this fatal mistake in Mao's economic policy, Deng Xiaoping took a new approach—a gradual but dramatic reform. He first introduced some elements of market economy, hoping to juxtapose planned economy and market economy. This approach worked for some years, but then proved ineffective. Finally, after a series of trials and errors, he decided that market economy was China's only choice. Due to this strategic turning, China's economy has now embarked upon a stable and dynamic course. Although Mao's mistakes caused Chinese people painful sacrifice, we are lucky that we have learned our lessons and now we are marching on the road of prosperity.

Admittedly, mistakes will not automatically lead to discovery or progress. We must analyze every failure to find its cause; we must honestly face defeat and never fake success; we must exploit the failure, we must never use failure as an excuse for not trying again. In a word, we must learn how to fail intelligently.

As a saying goes, to err is human. To this I would add: To learn from errors is progress.

Sample

Say No to Pirated Products

No one can have failed to notice the fact that piracyhas become a grave problem with which we are confronted. Taking a look around, we can find examples tool numerous to list. In many places we see people peddling pirated books or disks. There is hardly anyone who has not been asked the question: “Wanna a disk?”Actually, piracyhas become so widespread that it has severely affected people’s life and hindered the development of the nation’s economy and culture.

A number of factors could be responsible for this phenomenon, but the following are the most critical ones. First, pirated products are much cheaper than copyrighted ones, so they are very attractive to people, especially youngsters, who are not financially well-off. Secondly, with highly developed technology, it is not difficult to manufacture pirated products. An average person can produce thousands of copies of a film only if he has a computer and a recorder, which won’t cost him much. Last but not least, relevant laws are not in existence or in effect.

Piracy is bound to generate severe consequences if we keep turning a blind eye to it. First, intellectual property rightsare severely infringed upon and honest producers will lose the motivation to develop new products.As a result, the nation’s economy and culture will stay where they are and see no progress.Meanwhile, pirated products are often of low quality,thus damaging the interest of buyers, especially customers who wish to purchase copyrighted products.Finally, the destruction of pirated products means a grievous waste of the nation’s resources. It is really upsetting to see thousands of pirated books burnt or millions of pirated DVDs of films and music crushed.

In view of the seriousness of the problem,effective measures must be taken before things get worse.First, it isessential that pertinent laws and regulations be worked out and rigidly enforced to ban the manufacture and circulation of pirated products.Meanwhile, a deep-going, widespread and everlasting campaign should be launched to enhance people’s awareness of protecting intellectual property rights and saying no to pirated products.With proper laws and an alert public, it will be only a matter of time before piracybecomes a thing of the past. /With these measures taken, we have reasons to believe that the problem can be solved in the near future./Only with these measures taken can we expect a bright future.

Sample

Haste Makes Waste

A famous saying goes that “Haste makes waste”,which means thatone should do everything step by step. Even simple operations can easily be spoiled if we rush to complete them, neglecting important stages in the process. Instead, one should make full preparations before beginning any task. To be exact, this proverb is meant to teach us the importance of patience or carefulness. With such a desirable quality, we can overcome a series of difficulties and setbacks and finally find ourselves a way to greater success and happiness. On the contrary, we can only stay where we are and make no progress.

History abounds with examples to prove this proverb. In ancient China, a farmer pulled his young crops up to help them grow faster, only to find they all withered in the end.Another case in point is the so-called Great Leap Forward movement in China in 1950’s and 1960’s. At that time, the Chinese people were eager to develop their economy and catch up with such developed nations as the uS and the UK, so much so that they took some drastic measures, only to hinder the expansion of economy and lead to waste of resources.

Taking a look around, we may also find examples too many to enumerate.Here I can think of no better illustration of the proverb than the experience of my own. At the age of 11 or 12, I began to learn to ride. Eager to ride as well as others, I started by sitting on the saddle at the very beginning. Predictably, I often fell from over the bike. Lots of time had been wasted before I realized that I should do it step by step. I tried to slide by standing on one pedal. Then I began to ride the bike from under the cross bar. Finally, I succeeded.

The same is true with study or scientific research.Take English study for example. Without a good command of pronunciation, we can never hope to speak in an understandable way.Similarly, if we do not learn to spell properly and to acquire a basic grasp of grammar, we will never succeed in writing good compositions. )

In short,laying a solid foundation is essential if we want to make achievements in our studies or work, or indeed in any other aspect of our life. At every step, review what has been achieved and assess the problems ahead before moving to the next step.And remember Rome was not built in a day.

ABDDD