gre作文模板：GRE作文范文大全（62）
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Supporting the speaker's claim is the fact that each culture has its own distinct ethos--
consisting of its core values, principles, and spirit which defines and distinguishes the culture.
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And I agree that the failure of one culture to understand the unique ethos of another is what
often lies at the root of discord between nations and cultures. An apt current-day illustration of
this point involves a certain American Indian tribe in Washington State, and its traditional
custom of whale hunting. Environmentalists denounce the practice as unnecessary
endangerment of a species. However, underlying this custom is a centuries-old spiritual belief
that ceremonial whale-hunting is sacrificial ritual honoring Nature, and an even more
fundamental Native American ethos, characterized by a far greater respect for animals and for
Nature than the ethos of white Americans.
The sort of unfair judgment exemplified by certain white Americans' denunciation of Native
American customs and practices is what sociologists term "ethnocentricity"-- reference to
one's own cultural ethos as a standard for judging the values and actions of other people.
History informs us all too well that ethnocentricity leads inexorably to disharmony. Virtually all
wars are rooted in religious ethnocentricity. Political ethnocentricity results in
imperialism--assimilation of any and all peoples with complete disregard or respect for ethos.
Understandable resistance to British imperialism during the 19th Century resulted in the
oppression and demise of many indigenous peoples of Africa and Indonesia. And
ethnocentricity on a societal level can lead to mass persecution, as demonstrated by the
legions of citizens and soldiers brainwashed by the Nazis into believing that the Jewish race
posed some sort of threat to German society and to the Arian race.
Thus the speaker's contention that harmonious international relations are impossible
because of conflicting cultural values finds ample support from history. Yet, as compelling as
this argument might be, it nevertheless suffers from two notable deficiencies. First, in spite of
their differences the world's mainstream cultures all share certain fundamental
tenets--particularly about the dignity of human life and that they all agree upon these tenets,
at least tacitly. And people should judge other cultures against such universal standards. 感谢您阅读《GRE作文范文大全（62） 》一文，查字典出国留学网()编辑部希望本文能帮助到您。本文主要讲解GRE作文相关内容，希望能帮助童鞋们提高写作能力。查字典出国留学网编辑部敬上。
Otherwise, the end result is that we find ourselves acquiescing in or even sanctioning war and
other such atrocities. Since all cultures share a universal ethos the speaker's rationale seems
inadequate. Discord occurs not only as a result of an ethos clash but also upon violation of the
universal ethos.
A second problem with the speaker's rationale is that it overlooks the fact that we can find
considerable discord within almost every culture. On a microcosmic scale we all observe
so-caUed infighting among members of the same church congregations, political factions, and
so forth. On a larger scale infighting is all too evident--from overt gang warfare and civil war to
covert corporate espionage and political back-stabbing. Thus even if all cultures were to share
the same ethos the promise of complete harmony would still be an illusory one. In short,
contentiousness seems to be part of human nature.
To sum up, I agree with the speaker that complete harmony among nations is unrealistic, but
not just because of conflicting cultural values; it runs contrary to human nature. Yet, the outlook
for international relations is not necessarily so grim. An enlightened understanding of the ethos
of other cultures, and of our own cultural bias, can foster a universal ethos of respect for
human dignity and life. The end result would be to stem, or at least minimize, discord among
nations and cultures.
Issue 83
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"Originality does not mean thinking something that was never thought before; it means putting
old ideas together in new ways." 感谢您阅读《GRE作文范文大全（62） 》一文，查字典出国留学网()编辑部希望本文能帮助到您。本文主要讲解GRE作文相关内容，希望能帮助童鞋们提高写作能力。查字典出国留学网编辑部敬上。
Are people who make the greatest contributions to society those who pursue their personal
intellectual interests, as the speaker asserts? Or are they the ones who focus instead on areas
that are most likely to benefit society? I strongly agree with the speaker, for three reasons.
First of all, by human nature we are motivated to pursue activities in which we excel. To
compel people to focus their intellectual interests only on certain areas would be to force many
to waste their true talents. For example, imagine relegating today's preeminent astrophysicist
Stephen Hawking to researching the effectiveness of affirmative-action legislation in reducing
workplace discrimination. Admittedly, this example borders on hyperbole. Yet the aggregate
effect of realistic cases would be to waste the intellectual talents of our world's scholars and
researchers.
Secondly, it is unusual avenues of personal interest that most often lead to the greatest
contributions to society. Intellectual and scientific inquiry that breaks no new ground amount to
wasted time, talent, and other resources. History is laden with quirky claims of scholars and
researchers that turned out stunningly significant--that the sun lies at the center of our universe,
that time and space are relative concepts, that matter consists of discrete particles, that
humans evolved from other life forms, to name a few. One current area of unusual research is
terraforrning---creating biological life and a habitable atmosphere where none existed before.
This unusual research area does not immediately address society's pressing social problems.
Yet in the longer term it might be necessary to colonize other planets in order to ensure the
survival of the human race; and after all, what could be a more significant contribution to
society than preventing its extinction? 感谢您阅读《GRE作文范文大全（62） 》一文，查字典出国留学网()编辑部希望本文能帮助到您。