Value of Knowledge
In the Information Age, public awareness of the value of knowledge critically affects the economic growth of a nation. The schematic diagram clearly shows how the value of knowledge evolved in China in the past 50 years.
The schematic diagram mainly consists of three parts. From 1950 to 1966, the curve was roughly a straight line slightly above zero, showing that China was a poorly-educated nation then. In 1966, the curve drastically dropped below zero, moving down hopelessly in the next 11 years. This periodcoincided with the "Culture Revolution". Our society went mad then, books were burned,schools were closed and all kinds of academic activities were banned. Knowledge inflicted its masters nothing but disasters. Life was a nightmare for Chinese intellectuals, including famous scholars as well as common people who received higher education or whose profession had anything to do with knowledge. It was a time when ignorance was a virtue and knowledge was a crime. People tried desperately to be away from knowledge. As a result, China lagged farther behind the rapid progressing world. This was the darkest time in the history of New China. The curve returned to its original non-zero position around 1978 and moved up but slowly. From 1984 on, it has been shooting up. The open-up policy encourages people to study and to channel their knowledge to the market economy. Millions of Chinese are bettering off by means of their knowledge and more Chinese enjoy the fruits of knowledge and say goodbye for good to poverty that haunted them for generations.
As our world is rapidly advancing towards the Information Age, increasing number of people realize that knowledge is power and creativity is everything. Only when China becomes a better educated nation, can China be a great nation with international prestige.
Information and my life
As you know, information plays an important role in our modern society. Someone ~ys that ours is a society of information. I agree with him. In fact, information is expanding at an increasing rate. As a member of modern society, I am fully aware of the significance of information to my life. It affects nearly every aspect of my life. Then how to obtain and deal with information seems to be of utmost importance.
As for me, the first way to obtain information is to go to library. Our library is so large that it covers a wide range of subjects. Various kinds of information can be got in it. Information about society, economy, politics and sciences will give you a fresh mind. Of course, library isn' t the only source of information. I can learn much information by other means. Even when talking with my friends I can get a lot of useful information.
But information is so immense that we haven' t ample energy and time to deal deeply with' it. Moreover, some of the information might not be true. So, how to select information is also significant to me. Listen to all, trust only three tenths. To obtain accurate information and to throw off the false part of it should be our goal.
Information should be made full use in my life. Right now, I try to use information mostly on my studies. When I get into society several years later, information will probably become more and more important
Air-conditioners
In recent years, the air- conditioner has become one of the many indispensable electrical appliances for thousands upon thousands of families, especially those in the south, where the intense heat overwhelms the earth throughout the summer. The advantages of the air- conditioner are self - evident. Armed with the ability to refrigerate, the air- conditioner makes you feel refreshing and comfortable no matter how hot it is outside. Thus it guarantees the efficiency of your work and the quality of your rest. Without it there would be no knowing what would happen to you in the dog days. Moreover, it can also create a proper condition in summer for the operation of computers -- the best friends of yours in the information age. Too high a temperature would make computers work improperly, causing much inconvenience for your daily life and work.
With all the advantages the air- conditioner offers, its disadvantages are also obvious. To begin with, the installment of the air - conditioner always involves the hole making in the wall, which undoubtedly makes the wall less pleasing to the eye than if not. Besides, the air- conditioned environment may make you more and more dependent on the air - conditioner, thus physically weakening your ability to cope with hot weather. Most important, the air - conditioned environment provides
poor ventilation, and sometimes may even give rise to a strange kind of smell, which makes you feel dizzy and sick. Consequently, you will be in no mood for enjoying the cool air produced by the air- conditioner.
All things considered, I think its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. Actually, nothing in the world is perfect. It is unwise to make light of the favorable aspects of a thing on account of its unfavorable aspects. The same is true of the attitude you take towards the air - conditioner.
Today's Luxuries Are Tomorrow's Necessities
By "luxury", we mean "a pleasant and often expensive thing that is not necessary". From a historical point of view, things which Were a luxury when they first came into being all became necessities later. When the electric bulb was first invented in the U.S., it was such a luxury that only government bodies could afford to use it. Nowadays, however, it has reached every part of the world. It is the same case with telephone, TV, and a lot of others, which were all luxuries years ago.
Anything, no matter how luxurious it is, will become a necessity when it is widely used. This is true of many of the present luxuries, including mobile phones, cars, computers and many other things. It is known to all that the purpose of the
development of science is to make things easy for the mankind, not for only a small number of people. Therefore, the first thing to do after a new invention occurs is to spread it so as to benefit as many people as possible. In the course of the spread, the luxury becomes decreasingly luxurious until in the end it becomes a necessity. This is an objective law, nothing can be an exception.
With the quick development of science and technology, the process for many things to become a necessity from a luxury will be greatly shortened. Anything that can be imagined will be invented and in no time becomes a necessity accessible to ordinary people.
Unemployment
Unemployment is viewed as the number one problem in China now and the government has launched a major attack on the problem.
The steps the government has taken to deal with unemployment are' as follows. Firstly, unemployment fund has been established to help the unemployed workers to support themselves. Secondly, the unemployed receive vocational training, which is expected to pay off in the short term and give the unemployed an advantage in the job market. It is due to the lack of professional skills that these workers have lagged behind in the society. These training programs aim to equip the workers with some special skills, such as typing, sewing, and cooking. Finally, psychological advice is also available, since unemployment, apart from exerting financial pressures, brings enormous psychological discomfort. With the advice, the
unemployed will learn how to adapt to the fierce competition in the technological age.
With the joint efforts of the government and the society, we are optimistic that we can win the current war on unemployment.