GRE作文范文 Issue-16

"High-speed electronic communications media, such as electronic mail and television, tend to prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication."

嘉文博譯Sample Essay

Telecommunications have developed at a tremendous pace over the past decade. Electronic mail has become nearly an exclusive form of communication for some people. Satellites and an increasingly wired worldwide community allow for videoconferencing and instantaneous communication all over the globe. Television no longer has to be just a one-way communication; it can now be an interactive experience. When used properly, high-speed telecommunications can actually add to the meaningful and thoughtful exchanges of ideas. But in many other ways, these new communications media have taken away the art of letter writing and conversation and serve to prevent evocative and introspective interactions from taking place.

The rapid development of high-speed electronic communications media has led to many improvements that actually allow humans to communicate with each other better than ever before. Fiber optic cable can very quickly deliver enormous amounts of information almost anywhere in the world. Satellites orbiting the earth can transmit voices and video instantaneously from one point to another. Technology and the overall development of the telecommunications infrastructure have lowered the costs of global communication to the point that it is now affordable for the great majority of the world's population.

As worldwide telecommunications have become both faster and less expensive, people are now able to keep in contact with more people in more places. Electronic mail can be used to deliver vast amounts of information at basically no cost. Email is fast, flexible and reliable. A person can communicate with the world from the privacy of their own home without ever having to set foot outside. Thoughts and feelings can be put down into writing and sent immediately to another person on the other side of the planet. Instant messenger services allow real time communication with anyone that has a computer and access to the Internet, anywhere in the world. In this manner, high-speed telecommunications have fostered thoughtful and meaningful conversations between people who in many cases might never have been able to meet at all without these technological advances.

On the other hand, in years past people would sit down and put pen to paper to write heartfelt letters that required great thought and reflection. The entire process of writing a letter and mailing it to another person took time and effort. Letters could be rewritten over and over again until they were practically perfect before being sent. Every word could be carefully chosen to ensure that just the right message would be delivered. As opposed to email, once the letter was delivered, there was then a physical object that could not only be read, but also touched and possibly even smelled (if it were scented) to give the written letter an extra dimension of communication. The handwriting itself often told much about the writer of the letter. Another factor in favor of handwritten letters is that because physically handwriting a letter took time and effort, it was much less likely to be written and delivered in anger or haste. This greatly lessened the distinct possibility, which occurs frequently with email or instant messengers, that one might regret the message that was delivered. As with the spoken word, instant electronic communication can often never be taken back, and even worse, it is also in writing so it can be passed on in its original form to others.

As with handwritten letters, electronic communications have also tended to supplant actual spoken conversations with others. Why call or stop in for a visit when you can email your friends, with less time involved, for free? For that matter, why pick up the telephone and call your friends individually when you can send them all one mass email with the latest news about your life? Speed and ease of effort with new technology can definitely lead to less thoughtful and meaningful conversations between people.

In some ways, rapid telecommunications media have made the exchanges of ideas between people much more meaningful and thoughtful by allowing people to keep in touch in many different ways that were impossible in the past. But as usual with progress, some traditions such as the handwritten letter and the art of conversation are in danger of being lost, leading to more superficial interactions that keep us more isolated as individuals.

(706 words)

參考譯文

高速電子傳播媒介，例如電子郵件和電視，常常妨礙人們達(dá)成意義深刻、有思想深度的交流

過去的十年間電信業(yè)飛速發(fā)展。對某些人來說，電子郵件幾乎已經(jīng)成為無可替代的一種通信方式。人造衛(wèi)星的使用以及一個日益互聯(lián)的世界使電視會議及全球內(nèi)的同步交流得以進行。電視實現(xiàn)的不再僅僅是單向的傳播，如今它可以給人們帶來互動式的全新體驗。如果使用得當(dāng)，高速的電信業(yè)實際上可以促進意義深刻、有思想深度的交流。然而在其他許多方面，這些新的傳播媒介卻使人們丟棄了書信及交談的藝術(shù)，不利于人與人之間產(chǎn)生啟發(fā)性的、內(nèi)省性的交互作用。

高速電子傳播媒介的快速發(fā)展帶來的進步實際上使得人們能夠比以往更好地進行交流。光纖光纜能很快地將大量的信息傳送到世界上幾乎任何一個地方。繞地球軌道運行的衛(wèi)星瞬間就能把聲音和圖像從一個地點傳送到另一地點。先進的技術(shù)和電信基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的整體發(fā)展降低了全球通信的費用，如今世界上的絕大多數(shù)人都能夠負(fù)擔(dān)得起。

由于世界范圍內(nèi)的電子通信速度越來越快、費用越來越低，現(xiàn)在人們能夠與更多地方的更多數(shù)量的人保持聯(lián)系。使用電子郵件幾乎不用花錢就可以傳播大量的信息。電子郵件傳送速度快，方式靈活，使用起來也比較可靠。一個人足不出戶，呆在自己家的私人小天地中就能夠跟全世界進行交流。他的想法和感受一經(jīng)記錄就能立即發(fā)送到地球另一端的人那里。即時信使服務(wù)(MSN)使世界各地任何一個有電腦能上網(wǎng)的人都能進行實時交流。通過這種方式，高速電子通信促成了人與人之間意義深刻、有思想深度的交談。而如果沒有這些技術(shù)進步，他們很可能永遠(yuǎn)也不會聚在一起。

另一方面，在過去，人們常常會坐下來用筆和紙寫信，寫下他們經(jīng)過仔細(xì)思量的肺腑之言。這個寫信和寄信的整個過程需要花費時間和精力。在寄出前，信是可以一遍又一遍地重寫直到萬無一失為止。每一個字都可以被仔細(xì)推敲直到確保意思被完好表達(dá)出來。與電子郵件不同的是，當(dāng)這種手寫的信件被寄出去以后，它就是一個實實在在的東西，不僅能被閱讀，還能被摸得著、嗅得到(如果信紙有香味的話)，這就使手寫的信件具有了獨特的交流內(nèi)涵。信的筆跡本身常常可以反映出寫信人的許多情況。人們偏愛手寫信件的另外一個原因是手寫信件花費時間和精力，因而就不太可能是在發(fā)怒或匆忙的狀態(tài)下寫就和寄出的。這大大減少了使用電子郵件或即時信使(MSN)時可能發(fā)生的情況--人們經(jīng)常會對發(fā)出的信息懊悔不已。如同出口的話一樣，即時的電子通信一旦完成常常是不能夠收回的，甚至更糟--由于它也是以記錄下來的方式存在的，所以它可以以最原始的形式傳送給其他更多的人。

如同手寫信件一樣，電子通信也有讓人們減少面對面交談的傾向。既然無需付錢、花一點時間發(fā)個電子郵件就能夠問候一下朋友，為什么還要打電話或登門拜訪呢?只要給朋友們發(fā)一個集體電子郵件說說你的近況，又干嗎要給他們一個個分別打電話呢?花費的時間和精力少了，意義深刻、有思想深度的交談肯定也就減少了。

快速的電子通信借助許多過去不可能具備的新方式使人們建立起了聯(lián)系。因此，在某些方面，它使人們之間思想的交流意義更為深刻、更有思想內(nèi)涵。然而，正如進步通常都會對傳統(tǒng)帶來負(fù)面影響影響，像手寫書信和談話的藝術(shù)這些傳統(tǒng)的東西正面臨著被擯棄的危險，這會使人們的交流更趨膚淺而使我們作為個體更加被隔絕開來。