Directions: You are to write a composition about 300 words on the following topic: Technology and Culture. In the first part of your writing you should present your thesis statement, and in the second part, you should support the thesis with appropriate details. In the last part, you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion with a summary.
Technology and Culture
The 21st century has witnessed extraordinary changes brought by modern technology. The technological growth is taking place at such a speed that new achievements being made with each passing day. Therefore, it has been argued by some that considering the outstanding role of technology in present-day society, technological growth is more important than cultural prosperity. Without any doubt, innovations from technology have improved the quality of people’s lives. However, the prosperity of the whole society is not sorely determined by technology. For my part. I convince that the role of culture should never be undermined due to the overemphasis on technology.
Initially, people should realize that technology is a cultural product. Without the nourishment from culture, it is impossible for people to further develop user-friendly technology. For instance, new translation tools are created by people for their need to have a deeper knowledge of another culture. Technology can occur at any given time or place as long as the culture still provokes the person’s curiosity and drives him or her to have new inspirations.
Furthermore, technology and their products are not great all by themselves. It is the culture that leads people to make good use of technology to benefit the whole mankind. Dating back to the World War Ⅱ, modern weapons were designed by armies in order to slaughter their own fellows. From this perspective, if people live in a culture provoking hatred and hostility, technology may become destructive to humanity.
In the final analysis, then, it is important for people to appreciate culture as an important element in the society. Culture is the system of shared values and beliefs which leads human constantly to pursue goodness and aspirations. Without culture, technology itself can by no means be valuable.
In conclusion, though technological advances benefit people in many aspects, it is unwise for critics to downplay the significant role of culture in our society. Subverting the role of culture and technology may result in harmful impacts on the society.
本文围绕科技与文化之间的关系展开讨论。文章第一段表达了自己的观点，首先认可科技在当今社会所起的重要作用，但是若因过度重视科技发展而忽视文化便是本末倒置。第二段陈述第一个论点，科技是文化的产物，没有文化科技将无法获得持续性发展。第三段陈述第二个论点，当文化衰退时科技给人类带来的很有可能是灾难。这两段分别举了翻译工具以及二战中现代武器的例子来支撑论点。第四段从定义上来强调文化对于整个社会的重要性。最后一段进行总结，再次点明观点，说明文化在社会中不可或缺的地位。