106 指考

Living in the era of information explosion, we are overwhelmed by miscellaneous  advertisements and news every single day. According to the bar chart, I found that American youngers and pre-adult are more concerned about social and international news and less concerned about entertainment or arts. For example, 69% of the people pay a great attention to news like environmental and natural disasters, while only 30% care about news talking about arts and culture.

As for me, the kind of news that I usually focus on would be social issues, and that is also the reason why I volunteered to be the leader in our school’s volunteering club. There are lots of underprivileged groups in our society; however, we have been ignoring them even that we knew their existence. It was not until I met a girl diagnosed with Down syndrome had I knew how hard their lives were, hence I am more aware of the news regarding social issues. Also, I often read about international news happening around the world. For instance, the protests sparked by a controversial extradition bill in hong kong, and the U.S.-China trade war. In my opinion, reading news is also a way of learning, but celebrities’ gossips aren’t educational at all, so I barely pay heed to news like that.

It is a mixed blessing to live in a rapid-developing age, while we can get any information anytime and anywhere, there is a lot of fake news on the Internet, in which people posted them for attention and fame. I think fake news is not only misleading but it is putting many youngsters in hazard because we usually read the news on our smartphones. I myself had an unforgettable experience of deeming fake news real, it was the protest that took place in Hong Kong last year. At first, I read a so-called “Cliff’s notes version” of the extradition bill, which I realized it was deliberately obscured and exaggerated by media after searching for deeper details about the extradition agreement. Well goes the saying, “A fall in a pit, a gain in the wit.” Only when I experienced how the fake news affects people did I know the importance to stay clear-minded in this fancy world. 

Words to learn

information explosion (n) 資訊大爆炸

miscellaneous (adj) 各種各樣的

pre-adult (n) 未成年人

underprivileged groups (n) 弱勢群體

be diagnosed with 被診斷患有

Down syndrome (n) 唐氏綜合症

controversial (adj) 有爭議的

extradition bill (n) 引渡法案

pay heed to 注意=pay attention to 

a mixed blessing (n) 好壞參半的事情

a rapid-developing age (n) 快速發展的時代

hazard (n) 危險=danger

Cliff’s notes version of (n) 懶人包**

deliberately (adv) 故意地

obscured (adj) 將...模糊

exaggerated (adj) 將...誇大

**CliffsNotes 以前是美國一家很大的出版社(現在被別人買走)

它最有名的系列是把世界名著改寫成簡短的版本，給年輕的讀者或不想讀原著的讀者看

Grammar Focus

1. Contrast  ( direct opposition)  比較相異點

For example, 69% of the people pay a great attention to news like environmental and natural disasters, while only 30% care about news talking about arts and culture.

生活在資訊大爆炸的時代，每天都有各種各樣的廣告和新聞讓我們不知所措。 根據條形圖，我發現美國年輕人和未成年人較關注社會和國際新聞，而較少關注娛樂或藝術。 例如，69％的人非常關注環境與自然災害等新聞，而只有30％的人關心談論藝術和文化的新聞。

對於我來說，我通常關注的新聞是社會議題，這也是我自願成為學校義工社社長的原因。 我們社會中有許多弱勢群體； 但是，即便人們知道他們的存在，卻一直無視它們。 直到我遇到一個被診斷患有唐氏綜合症的女孩，我才知道他們的生活有多麼艱難，因此我便更關注有關社會議題的新聞。 另外，我經常閱覽世界各地發生的國際事務。 例如，由富有爭議的引渡法案引起的香港抗議活動以及中美貿易戰。 我認為，閱讀新聞也是一種學習的方式，但是名人的八卦根本就沒有教育意義，所以我幾乎不注意這種新聞。

生活在一個快速發展的時代，是件好壞參半的事情，儘管我們可以隨時隨地獲取任何信息，但互聯網上有很多假新聞，人們在其中發布它們以引起關注和成名。 我認為假新聞不僅會誤導人，而且還會使許多年輕人處於危險之中，因為我們通常會在智能手機上閱覽新聞。 我本人曾有誤將假新聞視為真實的刻骨銘心的經歷，那是去年在香港發生的抗議活動。 起初，我看了所謂引渡條例的「懶人包」，在尋找有關引渡協議的更深層細節後，我意識到媒體故意將其模糊和誇大。 俗話說得好：「不經一事，不長一智」 。只有當我了解到假新聞如何影響人們時，我才知道在這個絢爛的世界中保持頭腦清醒的重要性。

How to form a comparison and contrast Essays

1. To explain similarities and differences 找出相同/相異點

2. Make a point 提出觀點

      3.   Supporting details 根據提出的觀點寫出對應的範例佐證 

            如有兩個範例( 一個寫切身經歷/另一個寫時事 / 研究資料) 讓你的觀點更具說服力