2004“CCTV Cup” English Speaking Contest
Man and the Internet
Zhang Ting
If Confucius lived in this 21st century, he would be too surprised to believe the present acchievement. What a picture he would see! People in different continents are talking with each other by tapping their keybroads. Mails are sent out and can be received just in several seconds. Young students are taking the class but without teachers in the classroom, just by watching live presentation via an Internet connection. Definitely, the invention of the Internet is a milestone in man's history. It has already changed our world so throughly and vehemently that their effects are everywhere. A famous scholar, John Perry Baron, once claimed that the establishment of the global Internet is the greatest invention since human beings learned how to make fire.
However, ever while we are celebrating all the benefits, convenience and advantages it brings to us. We are qutie puzzled by the question: Is the Internet man's blissful angel or evil devil? There is another picture we see, a picture formed by hackers, viruses, porn websites.
As for the hot issue of chat rooms and cyber games, both unfortunately do more harm than good to our society. Our vulnerabel children are getting so addicted to them that they spend excessice time. As a result, both their physical and mental conditions have been severely damaged and it makes our parents feel quite concerned now. A report made by 75 American educators, doctors and other experts suggests that this damage includes poor sight, obesity and loneliness. Moreever, there are also lots of vulgar adult chat rooms; such websites are filled with unsuitable and pornographic information. So just imagine how young children, whose minds are like pieces of blank paper, will react, when they happen to visit them. Consequently, it is a very urgent task for parents and teachers at hand.
As is known to all that every coin has two sides. And Internet is no exception. However, the point that we focus on is that Internet is such a powerful tool that if it is used indifferently for both good and evil, man’s good intention of creating Inernet will surely be reversed. Cyber world, basen on the technology of computer network, is a whole new world, a world parallel with ours. In this world, men are free to talk, to argue, to entertain, and also to damage. Most of us , in fact, are free of moral and lawful obligations in Inernet. A world which lacks of balance between rights and duties is doomed to be disordered and destructive.That is why Internet has the potentiality of serving as an evil Devil. Therefore, the first and the foremost thing deserves to do is to establish a set of cyber moraly standards and also, the more importantly, compulsory law systems that are able to regulate and dicipline man’s behavior on-line.
att:
the above article is a draft from the contestant and thus it is somewhat different from the final speaking version. And the following email was two required questions for simulating purpose.
Now, suppose i were the judge...
Q1:
As for the hot issue of chat rooms and cyber games, both unfortunately do more harm than good to our society.
Do you have a firm proof/evidence that the cyber-stuff caused the problem? If there were NO Net, the so-called vulnerable chilren would have approached to some other kind of "traditional" fun. It seems that the key point is NOT the way, instead, it is the man who mis-used the way for their fun-chasing. An obvious example is the TV in 1980s, a devil in parents' eye, but a common et device in every families.
Q2:
Therefore, the first and the foremost thing deserves to do is to establish a set of cyber moraly standards and also, the more importantly, compulsory law systems that are able to regulate and dicipline man’s behavior on-line.
What's the difference between the law for the real world and the cyber-space on regulating man's behavior? The Net can be regulated both by moral standards and laws. Laws are to forbid while morality is to encourage. What is your idea on morality regulation where laws cannot apply to?
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The questions are NOT real ones, but for your consideration or reference. Considering exclusively on the article, it is a nice one, but i just feel it is NOT much reasonable/convincing. Anyway, it's just a show, not an argument to be analysed, and your final score is not totally decided by the article itself.