2. 外语
  3. According to a recent survey, 74% of American adults online use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

According to a recent survey, 74% of American adults online use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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问题    According to a recent survey, 74% of American adults online use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On social media sites like these, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more. The same thing is happening around the world. The following are opinions on the impact of social networking sites on our society. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should:
   1. summarize briefly the opinions mentioned below;
   2. give your comment.
   Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
   Write your response on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
   Nicole Ellison, PhD, Assistant Professor of Michigan State University
   I believe the benefits provided by social network sites such as Facebook have made us better off as a society and as individuals, and that, as they continue to be adopted by more diverse populations, we will see an increase in their utility. Anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies such as political activities organized via Facebook or jobs found through LinkedIn—is well-known. Social technologies never have predictable and absolute positive or negative effects, which is why social scientists dread questions like these. In considering the effects of social network sites, it is clear that there are many challenges to work through—the increasing commercialization of this space, the need to construct strong privacy protections for users, and safety issues—but I believe the benefits we receive as a society provided by these tools far outweigh the risks.
   Kyung-Tag Lee, PhD, Professor of Management at Kyungpook National University (South Korea)
   Social networking sites are used to facilitate studying, forming new relationships, mamtaining preexisting personal ties, engaging in self-presentation, looking at photos and user profiles of other people, commenting on messages posted by others, avoiding boredom, passing the time, and procrastinating. These activities help individuals reduce loneliness and accumulate personal social capital, including emotional satisfaction, access to information, increasing one’s well-being, and so on. When people use social networking sites, they tend to establish strong ties online, and strong ties support high quality friendships and social companionship, which ultimately enhance their well-being.
   Susan Greenfield, Professor of University of Oxford
   Social networking sites might tap into the basic brain systems for delivering pleasurable experience. However, these experiences are devoid of cohesive narrative and long-term significance. As a consequence, the mid-21st century mind might almost be infantilised, characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity.
   Tom Hodgkinson, writer for the Guardian
   I despise Facebook. This enormously successful American business describes itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". But hang on. Why on God’s earth would I need a computer to connect with the people around me? Why should my relationships be mediated through the imagination of a bunch of supergeeks in California? What was wrong with the pub? And does Facebook really connect people? Doesn’t it rather disconnect us, since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my desk?... Clearly, Facebook is another uber-capitalist experiment: can you make money out of friendship? Can you create communities free of national boundaries — and then sell Coca-Cola to them? Facebook is profoundly uncreative. It makes nothing at all. It simply mediates in relationships that were happening anyway.
选项
答案 We See Limited Faces on Facebook In the 21st century, people are empowered by new technology. What we do and what we think can easily be shared to anyone anytime anywhere, thanks to the all-powerful social media. That is why scholars from America to Korea acknowledge the benefits brought by social media: we enjoy stronger ties and instantaneous connectivity. With the blessing of social media, we are able to effect individual and social changes, leading to our well-being. However, social media is not without its problem. Some experts argue that pleasures gained from social media make our minds under-developed and that virtual connection replaces face-to-face contact, weakening our relationships. As a hesitant social media user, I am inclined to agree with the second school of thoughts: social media spells more disasters than blessings. Social media rushes things through and leads to the impatient mindset of its users. Overwhelmed by the instantaneous supply of information and immediate exchanges of communication, people can no longer wait for things to happen. A recent study shows that if a social networking website takes more than 30 seconds to load, users tend to quit this website and switch to another one. This also explains the Prof. Greenfield’s comment about the "short attention spans" of the mid-21st century minds. With the ubiquitous social media, it is very difficult to read a novel, sit in a 2-hour concert or wait in a line, without being disturbed by social media contact. We are trained by the instant technology to be impatient, agitated, restless and even super-sensitive. In conclusion, a major disadvantage of social media is programming people to think that everything happens in 140 characters. As a viral saving in the Chinese Internet community goes, "the world is so big; I wanna check it out! " Breaking away from the shackles of the 140 characters, you will find your horizon broadened and your mind developed.
解析 题目给出了四段关于社交媒体的评价。在概括时，考生须注意总结出共性观点。显然，这四段评价，前两段以褒扬为主，主要提到社交媒体对个人及社会的积极影响；后两段则以贬斥为主，主要谈及社交媒体的害处。根据题目的要求，考生可采取以下的布局：
第一段：从两方面概括专家对社交媒体的褒贬看法，并提出个人见解——社交媒体弊大于利。
第二段：社交媒体让人们行事急躁。引用例子及题目提到的专家观点说明社交媒体对我们思维方式的负面影响。
第三段：总结全文，指出我们的世界不应局限于社交媒体的140个字。
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