Technology and Culture

When my father was young， he practiced Chinese calligraphy every day and enjoyed Peking Opera with my grandfather on weekends. Now as his daughter， I type in English when communicating with my friends and enjoy surfing on the Internet during holidays. When I enjoy the pleasure and convenience that new technologies have brought me， some people cry out that as technology develops traditional cultures must be lost. Is it true that we cannot have both？ Different as my lifestyle is from that of my father， I still believe that the development of technology won't lead to the loss of tradition. On the contrary， it will facilitate the development of traditional cultures.

　　Some people draw the conclusion that technology leads to the loss of tradition because they find nowadays many people，especially the young， take interest in new things like the Internet， thus make less contact with traditional cultures. However，decreased popularity isn't equal to loss. With the development of technology， we have more choices of arts and entertainments. In other words， many new forms of culture are coming into existence， which provide people with more choices rather than threaten the existence of the traditional ones. In actuality， if we look at the tradition itself， we can find that great achievements have been made in many fields with the development of technology.New operas are on show； new researches about history are going on； new facts about historical cities have been found； all of which can prove that technology can stay peacefully with traditions.

　　In fact， technology works far beyond that. The development of technology boosts that of the tradition. On one hand，new technologies make the research for traditional cultures possible as well as provide advanced techniques of reserving historic masterpieces. Take calligraphy as an example， new ways of illumination， which is the fruit of Hi-tech， can prevent the color of scripts from fading. On the other hand， the rapidly developing media such as the Internet and communication satellite provide traditional cultures with a stage to face the whole world. As we can see， after the short piece of ad of Shanghai Expo. ， more people will know the beautiful melody of "Jasmine."

　　In addition， if we look back to history， we can find out that it was always in the era when economy developed greatly that cultures prospered the most. No doubt that the development of technology can guarantee that of economy， which eventually influences the prosperity of culture.

　　As we all see， the development of technology brings us richness， making the research and development of cultures affordable brings us more leisure time， making our desire to enjoy ntertainments possible. After all， as the great philosopher Marx aid， "economy determines everything，" whose adaptation in the era of technology can be described as "technology determines everything."

　　Culture is something that develops with the times， whether it's traditional or not. I am quite sure that what I am doing now adays will seem out of date in the eye of my child. However， traditional cultures won't be lost because of technology. It may be changed a little， may become less popular， but will surely be better with the help of new technologies.

　　简 评

　　科技的飞速发展到底会不会使传统文化退出历史舞台？作者对此不只是一般的肯定或是否定，而是有她独到的见地：科技不仅可以和传统和平共存，而且可以促进传统的发展。为此，她举出了一系列较为贴近现实生活的实例加以论证。

　　这篇议论文视角新颖，结构缜密，有理有据，视野开阔，声情并茂，主题、内容均颇为感人。文章末段的写法值得一提。"Culture is something that develops with the times，whether it's traditional or not."一句话客观中肯，有些深意。紧接的一句与文首呼应。最后三言两语概括了全文的主旨。可见作者既胸怀传统，不忘历史，又志向远大，充满自信。放眼未来，让人有一种"柳暗花明又一村"的感觉。不过作者对"culture''内涵的理解似略显狭隘，好像只定格在"arts"和 "entertainments"上。此外，类似"technology determines everything"这样的论断也似乎有失公允。