Getting to Know about You and Me (p.95)

Summary

    Schoenberger’s experience of attending the camp at the University of Wisconsin in the summer showed the problem of ignorance. In the beginning, all members, who believed in different eight religions, got along with each other well.

Nevertheless, something changed her first impression. On the first day, a girl told another girl that the clothing Mormon wore was abnormal just because she mistook Mormon for Mennonite. One of Schoenberger’s friends thought of Judaism as a “strange” religion, for in her hometown every religion except from Catholic and Protestant was not the mainstream. A girl from Minnesota, knowing few Jews only form the Bible, even asked her whether she practiced animal sacrifice. No one was completely against Judaism. However, the seemingly intelligent biology professor unconsciously remarked the word “Jewed,” which was offensive to Jews. Schoenberger’s visit to Wisconsin gave her an insight into the problems of ignorance. Everyone was expected to respect each other and respect requires knowing others. Without knowing other cultures, we could not understand others, which resulting in misunderstandings, prejudice and hate.

    After coming back to school, Schoenberger decided to educate people about her religion and tradition by applying for Diversity Committee, which she had refused to help with the presentation on Passover. Those who doubted that she was Jewish did not know everything about her religion- Judaism. Therefore, she would rather be hated because of her misdeeds than be judged by ignorance.

Response

   Most people are ignorant and I am no exception. The world is so big; there are many unknown knowledge waiting for us to learn. Nevertheless, even we learn until we are dead, we still cannot know everything. It is no doubt that we humans are usually foolish because we are not almighty Gods.

    Although most of us are ignorant, we can avoid being rude. That is, we can respect, learn and observe before judge unknown things and unfamiliar people. The difference between rude people and polite people is that the former randomly criticize based on ignorance and the latter confess that they are ignorant and respect the unknown. When I was in junior high school, one day the teacher played the violin as performance. Honestly saying, he played very well and was very professional. Without knowing that there was a skill called trill in music, one of my classmates laughed and said that the teacher’s hands got spasm. The classmate kept making fun at the teacher and other classmates laughed bitterly like her. I was somewhat angry when seeing her rudeness. How ignorant she was! If she could not know what trill was, she could choose to keep quiet and afterward asked the teacher why his hands shook when playing the violin instead of mocking.

    We can hope that there are still people whose speech is deliberate. Through education, we learn more knowledge and know how to respect others. We may not be intelligent people but we can choose to become cultivated people.

summary and resonse of Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary:
They were ordinary, but they changed the history. Rosa Parks who refused to offer her seat to a white person had made a name to herself and changed the America society. To abandon the uncertainties and doubts, we, common people, do have a chance to rewrite the history.
She never abandoned her movement of opposing racial segregation. Also, she attended training session and met old generation of civil rights activists. However, her success is not an accident. The way the media report made Rosa Parks become a heroine. A misunderstand standard was set that the unachievable goal which the rest of us cannot do it. When people who made a big change are presented as sages, so much more noble than the rest of us.
Her success is not an accident. The corporation between her ex-activists achieved their goal. The description of heroes says that social activists come out with nothing and make a dramatic event all of a sudden. However, “Ordinary people produce extraordinary result” we could know from this sentence that Rosa Parks is just the normal person. She did not come from nothing. People misread her story and give it a wrong stereotype of heroes.
In the last part of the article, the author claims that social change is the product deliberate, incremental action if we are willing to join together to try to shape a better world. This is the way do we have a chance to have a better society.

Response:
Why Rosa Parks can rewrite the history? “Never give up” let her did it. Most of the heroic people are success within this characteristic. They fight against the time. Even though they had failed several times and did not know when will achieve their goal, they never give up and keep on it. That’s the reason why they can success.
Take Chen Shu-chu for example, she is a vegetable vendor. However, she is willing to donate most part of her income in order to help the poor. She said, “the money is use to help the poor.” Therefore she donates her money to help them. Where are those people who have more ability to help? They only know how to tell the poor how wonderful the dream is but do not want to help them to fulfill it. What a shame!
Chen Shu-chu is a ordinary person but what she did is great. If the Time did not choose her, I will not know there is someone who is willing to devote everything to the society. Hence, I think the media do have the advantage to give us those information.
We are all ordinary people, but if we would like to do something to our society. We can rely on our ability to make a more perfect world. We all can be somebody if we are willing to do something.

summary and resonse of The Decline of Neatness

Summary:
In “The Decline of Neatness,” Norman Cousins indicates that a “sloppiness virus” has spread out all areas of our society. He takes those three points: style of dress, sloppy speaking habits, insensible to violence and brutality, and aloof attitude in human relationships as examples.
Cousins first analyzes the way we dress. He points out that the torn, slovenly jeans worn by so many people today can stand as a symbol of our generations. Today it is fashionable to look disheveled. In fact, he says that today’s sloppy dress makes people look as if they had been “stamped out by cookie cutters.” It suggests as if the mere “appearance of alienation” were our goal.
Besides, the following point that Cousins discusses is the sloppy speech. He says that people does not speak complete sentence. In a word, people break the sentence into pieces and they are not capable of using effective English language. The speech is violent and foul so that the screenwriters refused to turn in insipid scripts.
Our foul and violent speech, leads to apathetic attitudes toward all violence and brutality. Cousins claims that we seem to be losing the ability to react to suffering, that “mindless violence” is the characteristic of our generation. People are increasingly becoming desensitized to violence on television and movies.
The last point that he concerns is human relationships. He thinks that our sloppy dressing, speech, and emotions are factors that affect human relationships and give an example which is sex in the film. People are weakened on feelings and ruined out privacy. We don’t have ability to feel anything. In the final part of his article, Norman Cousins wishes maybe things will be changed by predominant people in the society and pursue “genuine creativity” instead.

Response:
I totally agree that “sloppiness virus” is affecting our society. People drift with the tide, become more inward-looking and do not care about everything around them. In a word, they take themselves in the first priority. I guess maybe inside their heart, the best description will be “I don’t care!” Here, I want to use two points: sloppy of speech and human relationships which Norman Cousins mentioned in the article to give some examples.
First, we all know that Cape No. 7 is really famous. At the first time, I wonder why this movie can become so popular. The research which I find out is that they are so many four letter words in the movie. I am really sure that it is one of reasons that make this movie so popular. Thus, it can proof that why dramatist want to write that kind of lines in the movie.
Second, many media is becoming open these days. It is really easy for us to see some sexual, violent plots and pictures in film like Lust Caution and Monga. People say that it is a work of art and we should see in a positive way. The following consequence is that people become desensitize about things. We cannot distinguish which is good or bad.
Those two examples are the first thought after I read the article. I extremely think that it can totally represent what the author is trying to tell us in the article. Our society needs to be changed.

summary and resonse of A view from Mount Ritter

Summary:
A turning point of his life was when he saw the sight in Mount Ritter. As being a teenager in his senior high, he was rebellious. Refusing to accept any advices and helps, he thought he could make it without anyone’s help. However, his life had been changed through the experience of attending a mountaineering program.
It was happened on the second week of his mountaineering adventure. The blue sky turned black. Suddenly, it rained cats and dogs and thundered loudly. The whole team were searching for the shelter, hopingly it would stop in a minutes. The guide, Ethan, panicked as a novice.
Unfortunately, the torrential rainfall lasted all day so that we had to build the tent with our frozen hands. That day was the worst day that I haven’t experienced. Even so, the scene shows vividly in my mind as it was yesterday. It’s horrible in everyone’s mind. “When the rain is over, they sky clears up.” This sentence fit in with not only what I thought but what a view from Mount Ritter.
The morning’s conversion made him suddenly see the light. After a storm comes a clam. He was wasting time in the past two years. From now on, he knew he should study hard and he set a goal for his future. “No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and how dear to his heart and eye the morning can be” form Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker.

Response:
It is really lucky to him for finding out what he was doing and what he is going to be in the future. I don’t have that kind of experience. To be frank, I am waiting for it. I am waiting such kind of experience to guide me or it could say to tell me what I can do. I like traveling and challenge new things, because I believe that can give me a new perspective of my life.
This summer, I attended a seminar which was associated with the diplomacy and trade. The people who attended this seminar came from every university especially in NTU, NCCU and NCKU. I discovered that they are not major in English. However, they still can speak fluent English. It was really frustrated to face the truth, but I know the reality is always ruthless.
For me, it is good to get real. Even if I felt depressed at that time, I totally awaked. “If you want to do, then you have to try your best.” that is what I tell myself every time I want to give up doing something. It is to say the experience of attending that seminar was one of my turning points in my life. After that, I start reading more information which can improve my English ability. I totally awaked at those days.
Every experience is a good experience. Take a trip no matter what it is to relax yourself. You will find out that will be a magic journey in your life. What are you waiting for? Book it now!

summary and response of " Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Rosa Parks was an African American woman known as the women who wouldn't get up her seat to the white person, and this act let her become a hero in the U.S.A. However, the author of this article has a different point of this event. Rosa Park had been attended some civil right organizations before she refused to give her seat, it means that she didn't come out form no where and suddenly became a hero. But the public misunderstanding the whole story of Rosa Park, and shaped her as a hero. For the believe that hero born to be a hero, people then doubt that normal people can also be a hero, and they even doubt themselves can be a hero. It is important for us to know and learn how those successful people become a hero then have a misunderstanding of them. Because the misreading of hero tend to let us forget the other people who were still doing their best to change our society, and those people are trying to tell us normal people can also fight for their right. By attending a meeting to another, Rosa Park run for the freedom of black people, and overcome her fear to speak out loud. If she and her partners gave up, the Montgomery boycott might never com out. The real story of Rosa Park can inspired all of us, and let us know: By working together, do our best to change the world, and overcome our doubt, we can all change the history and become a hero.

Is Rosa Park a hero? Is the first came up to my mind after I read this article. It tell us that hero isn't come out nowhere, but all of are not come off no where. So why can they be a hero not us? “ordinary people produce extraordinary result” is the main ideal that the author wanted to tell us, but I have a different though about that. Although hero isn't come out no where, I believe some persons are born to be a hero, and Rosa Park is a person who made to be a hero. There are also lots of black people run for their civil right, some of them even have more experiences then Rosa Park, but they didn't become a hero. We all appreciate for their hard work, but no one become more famous them Rosa Park. I believe most of the black people took the bus at that time, and might have facing the same situation as Rosa Park did, but they didn't refuse to get up or they didn't make a big effect as Rosa did. It is Rosa Park who refuse to get up and made a huge change. Maybe Rosa Park was as normal as us, but at that moment she become a extraordinary person. In my opinion, Rosa Park is a hero, and she is the one who change the American's history. There is no wrong to call her “hero” because she has a extraordinary confidence, and she know what is her goal. Call Rosa Park hero won't let us give up our hard work; on the other hand, we will have a goal that we want to achieve and know how brave should a hero be. After all Rosa Park did a extraordinary thing so she is a extraordinary person.

SUMMARY & RESPONSE-Appearances Are Destructive

Summary:
In Appearances Are Destructive, Mark Mathabane shared the experience about dress code of his two sisters. Mark Mathabane argued that he have ever visited some public schools, he knew that his sisters’ experiences are really true. He think that students in school pay more attention to their bodies instead their intelligent and wisdom. They know many name brands but know nothing about their learning. Some teachers are frustrated while they are teaching because their students are ogling themselves in mirrors, combing their hair and even painting their fingernails. The fiercest competition between students and students is very popular in school. Why they attach their important to dress up and pay less time in their learning? The answer is that it can earn them respect from their classmates and will gain high status. They blur their goal and girls may think skimpy dresses and gaudy looks can earn more attraction from boys. So the intelligence and academic excellence is not the most important thing to them. The argument about dress code infringe on freedom of expression is misleading. The author tells that many countries students dress the school uniforms. It can not only let students pay more attention to their leaning but also can let them become neater. It can decrease students’ competition in school. And focus on their learning serious and spend less time dressing up. In the end, Mark Mathabane claimed that it’s time Americans realized the benefit and consider to let their students having dress code in school.




Response:
There are more and more students compete their dressing with each other in school. Because of information technology, students can gain more information from media and they know how to makeup. Although students in nowadays are more attractive than past students, they pay less attention in their learning. They spend their time to find how to become more beautiful and handsome instead learning more knowledge to become wisdom. Few years ago, there was an issue about should students wear uniforms in school? In my opinion, I think students in junior and senior high school should wear uniforms because the most important thing to students is their schoolwork in this stage. If they wanted to show themselves with their fashion styles, they can dress up out of school. And I think there is a benefit for students wearing uniforms, for example, every morning they shouldn’t worry what to wear. And they wouldn’t compare with other classmates because everyone looks same. Some students would do some inconceivable things in class, such as always looking in mirrors, combing their hair and painting their fingernails, I don’t know why they can repeat those things again and again. Maybe they think it’s very boring in class, but I think students doing those things in class just wasting their time. I think intelligence and academic excellence is the most important thing for students and appearance is the next. But it is the best if you could become a wisdom and attractive people.

Summary and response - Appearance are destructive

Summary of Appearances Are Destructive

Bully has become a headache bur pricked American school for such a long period. The worst point is, besides the thorny school violence problems, the author Mark Mathabane took his two sister experiences to not only unmask the how ridiculous vanity could high school students be in America, but contrast the notion of dress code could both protect students and promote learning, also.

After his sisters arrived in America, Mark has great expectations about America education with comparison between apartheid and Shangri-Las. However, that was another story after her sister stepped into the Shangri-Las. Their peer mocked on their homely outfit. Both of them could not tolerate anymore, crying for transferring to different schools.

Mark began to visit numerous schools to make sure that there was nothing wrong with his sisters’ wearing. Nothing comes out as he planned; he found that students paid more attention on their bodies than in their minds. Moreover, students valued

parental love by how their parent willing to pamper them money on clothing, shoes and other vanity stuffs. And parents without many to waste on it would be tag as “cruel and uncaring”. “It is cool thing to do.”, said by students. Vanity gave them status and respect. Girls thought that gaudy looks are the only thing that could catch boy’s attention.

Dress codes infringe on freedom of expression is mislead by citizens, through the above scenario. We observed that dress codes is are in nearly every aspect in our daily lives Mark emphasized that it could create the proper learning environment for students. And finally he made a restatement by it is time to let American rethink about the dress codes.

Refection:

As the old proverb goes, “ all that glitters is not gold.” In my opinion, appearance could be divided into surface beauty and innermost beauty. It is obviously to see that students’ conception has been twisted. They thought appearance are everything, but it is cruel that when taking off their gaudy look. Nothing is the only thing they have.

On the other hand, I won’t against someone pursue their appearance. That is his or hers choice or freedom. However, I do against someone discriminate other people just because the innate sense of priority makes them to think that they are better even prior than other. In my consideration, it is quite ridiculous and childish. Traced the origin element of why people want to discriminate other , the riddle could be no more simple than other ---- fear. People who fear to lose their power, status would take this step to transfer their fear to other. From the scenario in the context, which make me insist on that high school should and must have dress code.

The reason why I support it is that they high school students are not mature enough to decode the dress code. Because of the discrimination, which have buried their freedom into ground, make them be locked with dress code. But dress code isn’t so bad at all; it represents a unity, a group and community. In some ways the dress code do have its meaning. And we should not miscomprehend it.

Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary

      Rosa Parks, mother of the civil rights movement, was interviewed on CNN on Martin Luther King Day because of her devotion to the civil right movement. Paul Rogat Loeb was also part of the show, and it came to his mind that the host’s explanation of Rosa’s story revealed the context of Montgomery boycott. Before her refusal to yield her bus seat to the white, Parks had dedicated herself to NAACP chapter and Highland Center, where she had met predecessors of civil right activists. That is, the success of the movement was achieved not only by her but by many activists.

       Though it was no doubt that Parks mad a great impact on the civil right movement, behind her story was the hard work that upset her, which showed that she was same as ordinary people. We found it difficult to be heroic like Parks because convention and media shaped models that were hard to achieve and skipped reasons and details behind extraordinary actions. Therefore, we believed that extraordinary people were different from normal people and ignored the fact that those who “were bathed in a circle of light” may feel hesitant like ordinary people. However, the grass-roots movements, for example, were composed of ordinary and forgotten people who fought for freedom and justice with perseverance. Besides, the most inspiring examples were people who “succeed despite their failings and uncertainties” like Parks.

      Park’s story told us the importance of joining together to change the world though we ordinary people may fail and be uncertain. If she and her peers had given up without humble work, Montgomery boycott would not have been heard. Therefore, only when we act despite hesitation and uncertainties would we have opportunities to success.

Response

       Ordinary people are often ignored. It is their seemingly ordinary behavior that they do not be noticed. Nevertheless, under their ordinary behavior and appearances are thought and consciousness that may be unique or even surprising. If they do not show what they think and do not be noticed by others, it is impossible for them to be thought of as extraordinary people.

       Most extraordinary people are like we ordinary people; they have frailties and encounter failure like us. As in gossip magazines, those who are more powerful, wealthy, and gorgeous than us sometimes make troubles and feel upset and uncertain when facing dilemmas. We could imagine that Rosa Parks felt worried and depressed when seeing that African Americans were still discriminated, though Parks dedicated herself to civil right movements. Furthermore, ordinary people can actually do extraordinary deeds. Without those unknown and ordinary people, civil right movements could not be successful because it was their efforts to advance the movements that America had the hope of being the country that all races are born equal. If fact, ordinary people have power to change the world. If ordinary people gather together, their power can be strong and cannot be underestimated. Therefore, ordinary people are the key to make the world better and different than it used to be.

      We can believe that we ordinary people have opportunities to become extraordinary if we have faith in ourselves. What makes extraordinary people extraordinary lies not in their fame but in their confidence, braveness and virtue, which makes differences between ordinary people and extraordinary people.

The Decline of Neatness

Summary

      According to Norman Cousins, Unkempt Generation is the time that has problems of sloppiness, happened not only among college students but all the society. People pursue sloppiness on purpose to look untidy.

      There are four aspects that unveil how people perform sloppiness in their lives. First, clothing like blue jeans is apt to be tattered and unclean. Manufacturers thus cater to this fashion and make prices higher if the jeans look more antique. Besides, wearing oversize sweaters and muddy sneakers is not for feeling comfortable but for being unique, which shows blindness of pursuing fashion and unwillingness to be “cookie cutters.” Second, slovenliness and violence in language occur when people communicate. People use incoherently chopped-up phrases and even tastelessly four-letter words when talking, leading to their being “linguistic paupers.” Screenwriters and motion-picture exhibitors prefer the R rating than the G rating because of the theory of forbidden fruit and thus provide audience the foul language and bloody scenes. Third, casual attitudes toward cruelty and violence contribute to reacting suffering with apathy. Cousins claims that children cannot outgrow casual attitudes toward brutality because materials with depreciating humans will not develop respect for life but desensitize children. Finally, sloppiness in clothing, speech, emotions eventually affects human relationships. Casual sex, as shown in movies, runs the risk not of indulging in sexual pleasures but of feeling nothing and harming privacy.

      Although Cousins does not want to make clichéd remarks, he hopes that the phenomenon of sloppiness will vanish and that designers, motion-picture and television producers and exhibitors can create works that are truly beneficial to human beings. Cousins finally put emphasis on “genuine creativity” and the way that “we locate the best in ourselves and put it to work.”

Response

      Conventional as Cousins was, I agreed with some of his view points. To prevent the world from being chaotic, many conventionalists like Cousins denounced oddity in everyday life. However, if everything became neat and normal, what were the differences between you and others? We should seek ways that could balance neatness and sloppiness.

     In my viewpoint, the decline of sloppiness in emotion and human relationship was necessary because the two aspects played important roles in our personalities. As for sloppiness in emotion, I could not agree with Cousins more. If we could not be sympathetic when seeing others’ suffering, we were mere puppets rather than human beings. Children were affected by violence even more greatly, for they could not know motivation behind violence and would be affected after their childhood. Furthermore, I was confused about casual sex and somewhat agreed with Cousins. In Sex and the City, characters always had opportunity to have sex with countless boyfriends or strangers. Did they learn anything from sexual experience? Would they be tired of having sex? I was also curious about whether audiences would think that casual sex was true and put it into practice. However, Sloppiness in clothing was not as serious as Cousins thought. Everyone was different from others and thus possessed different perspectives on clothing. Clothing was that what you thought was normal did not always be accepted by others. Besides, one who was dressed in sloppy jeans did not mean that he spoke four-letter words, felt nothing when seeing violent films, and had casual sex and vice versa.

      We should pursue the neatness that could lead us to respect for life and believe in genuine love. Nevertheless, we did not need to request ourselves to doing anything with neatness. For example, when having leisure time, we should take a rest and allow a little bit sloppiness because too much pressure was not beneficial to us. In conclusion, making a good balance between neatness and sloppiness was necessary in our everyday lives.

       

SUMMARY & RESPONSE-The Decline of Neatness

Summary:

In The Decline of Neatness, Norman Cousins claims that a sloppiness virus has spread to all sectors of society. He mentions four sorts of trouble in the unkempt generation, including bad dress, bad manners, bad speech, and bad human relationship. An example is about blue jeans, people discarded crisply clean and new blue jeans. Instead, they like blue jeans in good condition but jeans that are frayed, torn, discolored. They regard an appearance of alienation as the triumphant goal, and pursued something fashionable what they like. Norman Cousins claims that sloppy speech is so common today. People communicate in chopped-up phrases and rarely use complete sentences. In people’s communication, it’s impossible without four-letter words. “The effect is to foster attitudes of casualness toward violence and brutality not just in entertainment but in everyday life” Cousins claims those violence and brutality in movies and television would affect our children. We lack the ability to react and this “desensitizing” to our children won’t be outgrown. Norman Cousins thinks that our clothing, speech, and emotions affect our human relationship, as the casual attitude toward sex in films. The problem with the casual sex in films would cause some danger. “The danger is not the sexual exploitation will create sex fiends but that it may spawn eunuchs.” Norman Cousins said. In he finally opinion, Norman Cousins does not want to return to Victorian decorum, but he suggests that those people who design fashion and produce television may discover that the forms they showed would affect audience. He hopes schools will encourage students pursue “genuine creativity” and put the best in themselves and work.

Response:

After reading the article, Norman Cousins tells us “disheveled is in fashion; neatness is obsolete.” I don’t know why there are many young people like to dress up themselves like uncombed or unshaved. They think this type is in fashion. But I think it looks just like a vagrant. For me, I don’t like to dress up myself as a vagrant, I like something neatness because it will let me feel more comfortable. So I don’t think oversize sweaters and muddy sneakers are attractive. Most young people like to follow their idols’ styles, but are they suitable for everyone? I don’t think so. Comfortable and suitable clothes maybe is the best choice. You can dress them with your own style, not always pursue other people’s type of clothes. It will let you look more beautiful and confident.

I find that there are many young people having some four-letter words in their communication. Maybe they are affected from television or films. Many films and television programs in our society having violence and sex, if children accepted those bad message, it would result them having deviation behavior. Deviation behavior is connected to human relationship, people have those bad behaviors would effect their mind. It’s the most important issue to those television producers, isn’t it? In my opinion, solving the problem and let children free from bad image is the most necessary.

SUMMARY & RESPONSE-Male fixations

Summary:

In Male fixations, Dave Barry argued that most guys believe that they’re supposed to know how to fix things. For example, one day a guy’s wife tell him that there is something wrong with the commode, it is making a loud groaning noise. The guy strides in, removes the tank cover and checks the commode parts. He announces that there is “nothing” wrong with the commode with a guy mechanical understanding tone. Barry never fixes anything because he announced that he had tonsillitis in the ninth grade, he missed the opportunity which other guys learned about mechanical things in the auditorium. He is intimidated by mechanical guys such as his roommate in college, Bob. One time Bob went into his room, opened the toolbox and started fixing the transmission. The transmission reworked in the end, whereas Barry still knew nothing. Another experience was about the boat trailer. The salesman told Barry that he should re-pack the bearings every so many miles. It was the ability that all guys have inborn. But the truth is that Barry never ever knew what a bearing is. Barry’s point about fixations is to deny that there’s ever anything wrong with anything. Barry’s wife, Beth, does not know the mechanical problems of him. Every time there is something wrong, Barry doesn’t admit that he know nothing. Just find a reason like “that’s the grommet bearing.” He thinks guys have a natural tendency to act as though they are in control of the situation even when they’re not, just like what he acts to the hall light switch problem.

Response:

In traditional society, people think guys all have ability to fix everything. “Male fixations” is an article giving us an example that not every man knows how to fix things. Does every man should have ability to fix things, even the mechanical things like carburetors, valves, splines, gaskets, ratchets, grommets, etc.? My answer is “No, they don’t.” It’s just a traditional thinking. There are many women who can fix things by themselves because they have congenital ability or even they have some education about mechanical engineering. Some guys may announce that he know everything, however, he knows nothing. They think that guy who can’t fix things are not really man and will be laughed. So they choose a way just like Barry said, “I think guys have a natural tendency to act as though they are in control of the situation even when they’re not, just like what he acts to the hall light switch problem.” I don’t think it’s a good idea. Instead, if you don’t know how to fix it, you can admit it honestly. I think its better telling the truth rather than let things get worse. Fix things is an additional ability, not everyone can control. Whether a man can fix things or not won’t influence him becomes a real man.

Summary and response of Male Fixations

Summary of Male FIXATION:

Most guys believe that they’re supposed to know how to fix things, so does the author, Barry. He makes a hypothetical anecdote at bathroom that a guy would walk into it but he would never dream of cleaning it. Later, he shared his experience as a example with us. One day his wife informs him that is something wrong with the commode. He the guy removed the cover part, while down into the mysterious area of it. Simultaneously, “there is nothing wrong with it.” he announced.

He admit that that’s the way how he deal with those troublesome things, also, he blamed it as “tonsillitis”. The scenario could be traced back to nine-grade-old. He ran acrossed with the best opportunity for explanation of mechanic stuff. The nightmare had been followed him to the college campus. His roommate, Rob, who is gifted to deal with mechanic problem, making him humiliated. Unfortunately, the nightmare seems no intend to leave him. Another occasion is boat trailer, when the salesman told him to repack the bearing every several miles. Actually, he had no idea about what bearing it is. But still he didn’t calculate to admit and make his tonsillitis exposed.

From that event, Barry had learned a lesson that is, denying. Disguise to deny that “there’s ever anything wrong with anything.”, he considered. Even though the problem is so severe that couldn’t be covered or disguised anymore. “It’s supposed to do that.”, he respond affirmatively.” I think this goes beyond mechanic”, he said.

Guys have the natural tendency with the coming out of womb, that is, to act as though they are in control of the condition even when they are not. At the end of this article he gave some interesting hypothetical example like there was some guys patiently explaining how normal the effect is when the Titanic slipped beneath the waves.

Response of Male fixation:

Actually, I have to say that I cannot agree with you anymore, Barry!! When it comes to damnable complicated mechanic-oriented stuff, I am totally an all thumbs. I think that I come out of the womb without that so-called instinctive ability to repair or adore mechanism. That would be a long story I would like to tell.

Time could be traced back to my high school life. After graduated from elementary school, the mechanic devil had already made his focus on me since I stepped into the gate of high school. I had suffered a lot from the damnable hard physics. Even now I couldn’t understand that does it have necessity for me to figure out or trace the source of physical strength? Could you imagine that one day you have to measure that how many newton or joule you use for every action? “Spare me!!!”, I screamed out .Physics is to me what Lucifer is to god. I think it is apparently to the relationship from my personal experience.

But you may curious about that what I would do if I encounter the mechanic dilemma. For this part, I have to thank my mom, although she didn’t give me the instinctive ability, but maybe she wanted to make a compensation for me. She taught me a tip that is quite work on medium or medium –large sized electronic product. The tip it is very simple. First, raise your right hand and knock the product with 45degree angle. The mystery occurred, with unknown reason, it works. For I myself, it is really quite work, and that is the only weapon when I battle with the mechanic demon.

Another point is, I think male really have natural tendency to act as though they could control the situation. May be this potential is produced from testosterone. And sometime we used to name it as “manhood”. I take it for granted that male are supposed to protect female no matter in what kind of condition or just from human beings animal instinctive.

Summary and Response for "Appearance are destructive"

Summary:

As a new semester begins, the issue of school violence will be debated once again. But the author, Mark Mathabane, has an experience of his sisters; dress codes become a way of protecting students. Mark’s sisters were teachers who are from South Africa and were enrolled by Mark at a local public school. One day, they were taunted by wearing their homely outfits, and they felt sad because they had not worn jewelry before. They became distraught and wanted to transfer to another school; however, Mark told them that was not their fault.

Mark thinks that it is not a unique condition in America. He also considers students tend to pay more attention and money to what they wear but not in their minds. Mark’s colleagues also share their experiences that they are unable to teach students in a good condition because students are always willing to do their own thing. Students even compete how well the way their parents treat them and how expensive the clothes they wear. If parents who do not want to use their money in such extravagances, they will be considered uncaring. They even feel helpless for their children who raise money in dirty ways. Another condition is that students consider good-looking clothes as a status and respect. Even girls are willing to pursue skimpy and gaudy clothes rather than intelligence.

An argument, “dress codes infringe on freedom of expression”, is misleading. Actually, dress codes do not violate the expression at all. In some country where students tend to achieve academic success, school dress codes are good ways to make students better. They want to pursue intelligence and do not want to let how attractive they are bothers them.

It’s time to realize the benefits of effective schools are more important than how students wear in school. What they should learn is intelligence and knowledge but not the way of dressing attractive.

Response:

This article tells us about the power of dressing, but it affects in the negative aspects. Learning how to dress attractive is not so bad, but if we do it at the time we should concentrate on the intelligence and wisdom, that will be a matter.

The trend of fashion is more and more influential. We may observe that the age of students who tend to use makeup and wear fashion clothes is lowering. We may also see many girls who are shining with their dressing and hairstyle but maybe they are just junior or senior high school students. We can also apply this condition to our life as university students. When the professor is giving a lecture, students may be watching themselves in mirrors, chatting for what brand of makeup is better, playing games with their cell phones or PSP, or just daydreaming. If they do not have the heart to concentrate on the class, no matter how good the professor or the lecture is will be useless.

Maybe the appearance does matters. But in my opinion, one thing, a principle I believe the most, should be the most important: “Every thing has its opportune moment to do.” As we are students, we should use most of our time to absorb knowledge and wisdom. It’s not the time for us to waste in meaningless things. As the time we get a job, we should learn how to work hard, and it is also the time to learn how to dress attractive. I think this should be the best way to plan what to do in the right moment; after all, everyone only has one life!

Since learning how to dress up ourselves is important, I think it is better for us to focus on our textbooks instead of mirrors, online shopping and PSP.

Summary & Response - The Decline of Neatness

Summary:

Sloppiness virus spreads too many aspects of our modern society widely to ignore its existence. However, people regard it as a type of fashionable or popular thing. Norman Cousins, the author of this article, claims that there are three major areas which are affected obviously.
The first aspect that Cousins mentions is clothing. Our modern clothing is no longer a neat looking, and frayed, discolored, shabby blue jeans, which manufacturers think them as a hot chick, become representative of this generation. In other words, neatness is totally out of date. After that, Cousins also claims that our speech and expression have some problems in this generation. Through out the television and movie, “violence in language has become as casual as the possession of handguns.” However, this situation is gradually hurting our children. Cousins concludes that the reason why violence in language shows up is because of the casual attitude. In the end, he tells that all of the sloppiness, like emotion, and speech affect our human relationships deeply. Some attitude about sex in the movie or a television series deaden our feeling and affect our privacy. Finally, Cousins does not want to go back to the Victorian decorum, but it does not mean that he supports the sloppiness in our life. He really hopes sloppiness can disappear as soon as possible, and he also hopes we will all begin to “locate the best in ourselves and put it to work” at the same time.

Response:

In the modern life, you can find out many things become sloppy totally, and it gradually spreads to our daily life. However, the sloppiness of using words can be the representatives and it is the most affected aspects among others without doubt. We no longer use a complete sentence to express our idea and thought instead of a noun, a phrase or even an abbreviation. “Thx” means “thanks”, and “ILY” means “I love you”. On the other hand, “you know”, which is not a formal word in some situation, becomes a kind of fashion to be as a pet phrase. Meanwhile, the four-letter words become more common because of the media. In other words, the elder people would feel confused about the reason why the four-letter words are so usual in the modern times, but I think we will not have the same feeling at all.
In my opinion, I can regard this sloppiness of language using as a kind of youthful culture. If this can make conversation become more convenient and understandable, I think we can use that and try to understand this culture. Nevertheless, it is still too casual to use in some formal situations, such as an interview or a piece of News. It is forbidden to use these kinds of words in a seminar, a discussion, or a press conference. In conclusion, I think the sloppiness is a habit of teenagers, or a modern culture, but it is not formal for some situations. We need to pay much attention on the word we use.

Summary & Response - Male Fixations

Summary:

Gender stereotypes are easy to be found in everywhere, such as our daily lives. Men are supposed to know how to fix things as same as women are supposed to clean the bathroom. However, not every man really knows how to deal with a mechanical emergency, some of them just pretend that they truly have fixed them already and they can handle everything, like the guy in this essay. He is actually the one who never fixe anything and pretend that he can handle this kind of stuff. Nevertheless, he blames it on tonsillitis, which was happened in his ninth grade. All his classmates were asked to go to the auditorium to learn those mechanical things, so that is the reason why he does not know them at all. At the same time, he is intimidated by mechanical guys because of having no mechanical knowledge. When those people tell him about it, all he could do is nod his head knowingly, or they would laugh at him and give him a noogie.
Probably, “guys have a natural tendency to act as though they’re in control of the situation even when they’re not.” For example, it might happened that there was some guy explained to his wife that everything was absolutely all right just seconds before the Titanic slipped into the sea. That is to say, it would be men’s responsibility to take to compensate some other things.

Response:

In my opinion, I do not agree that men need to be asked to fix everything, just like doing the house work is not exactly for women. Therefore, I think it is a kind of gender stereotypes, and I do not believe it at all. Nobody rules it, and nobody command it, so why men need to fix anything? At the same time, most of men need to lie everybody who is skilled at mechanical thing because they would laugh at them and they might look down on them for lack of mechanical knowledge. I think it does not reasonable, and a little stupid. People have no chance to learn everything unless they put their energy to achieve their goal so that people who know how to fix anything are not allowed to laugh at other people because you try to learn it, others not.
For me, I am the one who do not know how to fix things. If I am laughed at those mechanical guys, I would look down on them because of their childish behavior. I won’t pretend that anything does not happen when my wife asks me. I prefer telling the truth to her, and try to think about how to solve the problem together. In conclusion, men stop your pretending movement, please. Finding a way to solve the problem is the most important thing that you need to do with your wife.

Summary & Response - A View form Mount Ritter

Summary:

Joseph T. O’Connor, an eighteen years old senior high school student in Stanton, is the author who writes this article. He tells us that an experience of mountain climbing to the top of Mount Ritter in northeastern California has changed his lifestyle and ideas. He describes his experience in detail and lifelike. According to paragraph two, he characterized his experience to the lightning. It struck a tree only about 20 feet from where he was standing. And, he tells us what he had experienced during his way to the top of mountain, such as lasting all day downpour, fumbling with the ropes with our frozen hands, and constructing their tents in the dark.
After this trip of mountain climbing, he thinks it will become the most fulfilling and stimulating experience in his whole life, at the same time, he feels born again. Meanwhile, he totally agrees what Robert Louis Stevenson had written, “Youth is wholly experimental.” because of his unforgettable trip. Surprisingly, he starts to think about his future, his goal, and what he needs to do. He was just a kid who thought he could do anything perfect on his own without any preparation before. However, he becomes a new person and understands what he should does now.


Response:

Life can be changed completely because of an unforgettable experience in your whole life. Just like the author, an eighteen-year-old senior high school student, change his mind and manner after this memorable experience of mountain climbing. He no longer does a childish person, who always flatters himself and ignores everything that parents and teachers suggest, and starts to think about his future and work hard. On occasion, we need a key point to make us grow up and be maturity, it could be a person, an experience, or even a book. No matter what it is, everyone has his/her own chance to grow up. For me, my life in club is the chance to make me become mature. Regardless of in senior high or in university, it absolutely teaches me how to think and stop being like a childish person. I learn a lot of things in there so that I can’t agree with the author’s perspective anymore. “There will be mistakes, but there will also be success.” We need to have a lot of experiences in youth so that we can understand current events and expand our knowledge. In a nutshell, the more experiences we have, the more knowledge we will get.

Summary & Response - Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary:

When it comes to Rosa Parks, who is called mother of the civil rights movements, you must know what she had done on the bus. This movement, refusing to go to the back of bus, makes her become famous and celebrated. However, everyone only sees what she did and what powerful she is. No one tries to understand how to make her successful.
After the show that the author participated in, we could know Rosa Parks in detail. Before giving up her bus seat, “she had spent 12 years helping lead the NAACP chapter” and “had attended a 10-day training session” so that she could know more knowledge about racial discrimination and tries to change this kind of environment. Meanwhile, the media played an important role to fill our society with this belief. To sum up, Parks does not come out of nowhere. Even though she felt hesitant at first, she learns how to get over this feeling and keeps going straight without any fear.
Many people in the world always remember what the famous person had done, but they forget the most important thing, how much they have pay. At the same time, it could be the most useful thing to inspire our courage and conscience, such as their failings and uncertainties. Just like the problems that Rosa Parks faces and how she solved them. In conclusion, a hero is just an ordinary person in the beginning. When you act, you have the chance to shape the history.

Response:

It has no reasons that heroes, such as Rosa Parks, come out without paying any efforts. No matter what makes them become a legend for a long time, they need to pay a lot of efforts to achieve their goal, which is such a difficult and hard work for them to do. It could take them a lifetime to become successful, such as Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. However, most of people only focus on their success, and forget what they had paid for that. For example, we only know that Thomas Alva Edison invents an electric light, which makes him become a legend, but most of us do not know that it takes him about five years to finish this work. Meanwhile, the reason why Rosa Parks become the mother of the civil rights movement is what she had experienced and learned in her youth life. Because of these reasons, she realized that everyone in this world is equal so that she starts to fight with her own and her racial rights as possible as she can. In conclusion, the most important thing that we need to focus on is not what their goal is, is why they become successful and what efforts they had paid because it can help us feel more courageous and confident effectively.

Summary & Response-Three Passions I Have Lived For

Summary

Three Passions I Have Lived For, written by Bertrand Russell who is a British philosopher, talks about the most important three things – love, knowledge and the suffering of human beings- the author Bertrand Russell aspires after and how these three things affect him throughout his whole life. Bertrand Russell points out that, at the beginning, the first thing he longs for is love. To Bertrand Russell, love is a kind of fantastic and wonderful thing which let him be ravished with joy. Because of love, loneliness in Bertrand’s mind can be eliminated. Because of love, Bertrand’s heart can be saved from the suffering. Love can lead him to heaven.

The second thing Bertrand care about is knowledge. He wants to know the deep thoughts of human beings; moreover, he wonders why the stars shine in the dark sky. He is eager to gain the knowledge he does not know on earth.

After chasing love and knowledge, Bertrand says that pity brings him back to the real word as soon as he almost arrives at the heaven. Because all people are born to be human beings, people have to feel lonely and despairing when they suffer from torturous things.

Because of love and knowledge, Bertrand finds the reasons and meaning to live in hopes. In addition, Bertrand has the courage to face the suffering in front of him and solve them.

Response

“What are the most important three things which are worth pursuing throughout my life?” I ask to myself. After pondering, I think that those are love, family and friendship.

The first thing I am concerned about is family. We all are born in one family although the real “home” is not really existent in everyone’s life. To almost people, they are born in the world because of their parents; there is invisible but indivisible connection between parents and their children. In my thoughts, it is predestination that we can be born in the same family, meet each other and have so much time getting along with my family members. Because of these precious reasons, we should cherish the family members around us and treat them well.

I believe that, secondly, everyone needs friends; friendship is an important element to everyone. When we go outside from home, there are no parents caring about us. We are bound to care ourselves; however, there are still some situations that we cannot deal with. At the moment, friends around play an important role to us. I have a memorable experience that one of my friends save me when I need help. Once I had a serious stomachache at midnight, only one of my friends can come to the house I live and bring medicine which can take me to heaven from hell.

Last but not the least, love is the priority I consider throughout my life. I deeply believe that to love and to be loved are both happiness. When we feel depressed and need help, there are always someone giving us a hand; on the contrary, when we have happiness and enough ability, we can help others who need us.

In conclusion, no matter friends, family or love, I am deeply convinced that we should appreciate people around us and things we have. Because we never know what will happen in the future, we should seize the moment and continue to live seriously.

Summary and Response: Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary:

Paul Rogat Loeb presents a new conception of heroic figures. He once were on the same show with Rosa Parks who refuse to give in the front seat to a white person, and He turned out to find Rosa doesn’t emerges out all at once; she had spent twelve years helping leading local NCCAP chapter and attending several courses. Specifically, she has been a member of a certain movement when achievement was still untouchable.

Paul said her critical step participating in the movement by refusing go to the back of the bus fits into the feature of fabled movement. Yet the conventional retelling usually enhances the standard that seems too far to reach; suggesting heroes bobs up alone to take vital actions. He said the belief has permeated through the whole society, partly attributes to media’s selectively report of a certain historic event. Furthermore, publics consider most people’s action as futile efforts or insufficient ability. An activist from Atlanta said this phenomenon hurt their scarifies.

Lastly, Paul concludes that people are misled to public myth that neglects the positive encouragement Parks brings with. She was at first hesitant, gradually become confidence, and last sparkling on the stage. Therefore, he urges people to struggle for success despite uncertainties and doubts are waiting ahead.

Response:

When it comes to famous historic event, many people could first come up with the most well-known great man. Rarely do they know others who also play a role in the event. Additionally, people sometimes exaggerate these huge figures’ virtue, forgetting that they also pay some expense; making normal people feel these great dedicators are too extraordinary that seems impossible to keep pace with.

Actually, most of people always merely look upon on their achievement rather than consider about their background. Some people praise for giant’s terrific achievement while disincentive to other’s diligent works. I think this thought submerge many contributors’ capability, even frustrate people who have spent long time endeavor to help the society. I remember once a teacher taught me a philosophy of life when I was at junior high: “Do as possible as you can, and fear not about others. No matter how other depreciate your efforts, go persistently and you will find a stage that belongs to you.” This inspiration is correspond to Paul’s article. Just as he wants to convey, the significant story behind every somebody can bring people more power instead of blindly worshipping. Success doesn’t come out of thin air; it is a process of many efforts and decisions.

Sometimes we hesitate; don’t know how to do in the next step. Sometimes we frustrated; don’t have any energy to go forward. However, these challenges are inevitable. Although we may not achieve something as astonishing as great man has done, we must never forget that they were doing their best in the past. What really precious is the force to get through quagmire. They did affect the society, or the world; likewise, we can also do something to benefit our society. Ultimately, one should also recognize others’ efforts that are behind the stage, for they help great man push something through without receiving any feedback.

Summary and Response: The Decline of Neatness

Summary:

In this article, Norman Cousins is talking about the issue of the climate of untidiness; the situation is as he said:” the sloppiness virus has spread to all sectors of society.”

The first example is the change of wearing style. People nowadays like blue jeans that are far from clean and intact, reflecting the conception of desperate conformity. He thought what they try to do are no more than the same style they want to keep away from. Another sloppiness takes form of speech. Cousin consider that the tidiness of language is as important as dress, for English is one of the best derivation in the world when it comes to linguistic treasure. Nevertheless, not only people communicate in incoherence sentence, but also speech itself goes beyond the slovenly to violent. The overflow of improper speech leads to offhand attitude toward cruel-related incidents. Cousins argues that people are becoming relentless and neglectful of all brutality and violence due to such TV and movies.

Overall, these phenomenon in consequence affect human relationship badly, which can be easily found everywhere. People’s recession of emotion and overexposedness of privacy affairs makes them senseless toward things. Finally, Cousins concludes that he demand not for Victorian attitudes, although he wish people’s sloppiness will disappear and go back to their own track.

Response:

Sloppiness does make people become more arbitrary in many aspects. People speak with segment, incoherent phrase; sometimes even use language as a weapon to insult others. Their minds are going away from respect, worsen people’s relationship. However, I wonder about the definition of the word “slavish”. If pursue sloppiness is really a kind of slavish uniform, why it is?

Personally speaking, slavish conformity means someone who doesn’t really know what they are doing, just to follow the trend because many people are doing or elders tells them to do so. In this case, Cousin’s thought may mainly attributes to the phenomenon he had seen before. Moreover, the cutting-edge media affect people hugely since they are young; violence, sex, and bloody TV or movies are the cause to changes their minds. From these two circumstances, it seems plausible to conclude this kind of person as slavish conformity. However, another question comes: Can gracious things improve people’s emotion and relationship? I think it depends. If adult people are easily affected by both things, then the world must be promiscuous. One don’t need put on a set of rule toward people to hope what they ought to be, not everyone inwardly share the same thought. In addition, as soon as the sloppiness totally disappears, there will come out another kind of sloppiness: perfectness.

People are different, as a saying goes: “It goes all sorts to make a world.” As standpoint diverse from person to person, we should try to judge people as a whole, not by what they behave outwardly. It is impossible to change the world to Utopia-like society, neither past nor future. Who knows, maybe some people in the corner who look sloppiness, watch violent movies possess more wisdom than average people.

Summary and Response: A Generation of Bigots Comes of Age

Summary:

Richard Cohen said a worrying inclination has been found; the situation is like what he described: “the generation of bigots is coming of age.” This discovery is based on a survey conducted by two corporations famous for dependable public opinion research.

According to many opinion polls, people who had more education show better tolerance in several issues. Older people, who have the least education, would be the most intolerant group in a country. Recently, however, Anti-Defamation League found both older and younger American people share the same bias toward black people. Through a sequence of questions concerning black people, their attitude of bias has been lead out. The cause of this phenomenon is referred to age, for under-30 generation knowing nothing of recent history of civil right and severe discrimination. The other factor result in this finding is affirmative action. Many people receive inverse discrimination under several circumstances, which make them become prejudicial.

Although these statements don’t stand for the verification of bias attitudes, he said, it is true that both races have induced more discrimination. While the economic situation is in plight, racial intolerance would be more intense. Therefore, Richard suggests both black leaders and affirmative action programs evaluate their behavior and damage they had done before take in action.

Response:

Difference of tenet or appearance among races had triggered various problems over many generations. Stronger ethnic always infringe upon the weaker one; enslaving and ravaging innocent life. Uncountable victims of discrimination live under tough life.

It seems that the race problem has improves a lot nowadays. However,Richard put forth an important assertion that if people have not receive enough background knowledge of equalization, a new potential problem is predictable. Plus, the action of reverse discrimination should be taken seriously. Despite got insulted in the past; victim side should not take intense action against people who want to help them. No matter what happen before, all races are human is truth; no one has the right to tread other’s life just because of their color or even gender. From one of the books I had read, I had learned people’s original sin, which is by the way not about the conception of a certain religion. In the beginning, three races lives peacefully without any quarrel in a nation. This tranquil, however, is on the surface. They don’t express their discontent for the fear of rigid punishment of law. One day, conspirators abruptly overtake the nation, topple the regime, and deliver a provocative speech. The long term hatred was emerged out; even came the raid of monsters, they are still repelled each other. At last, the nation was destroyed from place to place, no race survived.

The story is thought-provoking, it is in many aspects implies the importance of collaboration, and above all, the notion of so-called “human”. It is not appearance that makes a human, but heart. People share the same sentiment, from happy to sad. Both strong and weak races could suffer the same pain and starvation when unknown disasters befall. Hence, people need to view other races in a new way; no more pure life should be sacrificed for nothing. After all, human don’t receive better treat from nature for their privilege.

Summary & Response – Mathabane: Appearance Are Destructive

Summary

Appearance Are Destructive, written by Mathabane, which is about the author’s sisters are discriminated by their appearance and their clothes in school. He hopes his sisters can learn better with modern textbooks, computers, and technology so he enrolled them at American local public school from South Africa. But despite these benefits, they were mocked by their homely clothes. After visiting other schools, the author knows that his sisters’ experiences are not unique.
In school, students know brands like Nike, Adidas and Calvin Klein more than Shakespeare and Zora Neale Hurston. Too many students lay too much stress on their appearance than their minds. Their competition is even not constructed on academic achievements but on who dresses more expensively or fashion. And comparing their parental love by how their parents are willing to pay money for them. At the same time, parents without paying money for their children’s appearance are considered cruel. Most students think that the more cool appearance they have, the more respect and status they get. And civil libertarians think that dress codes violate freedom of expression is wrong.
Finally, the author says that academic environment must have dress codes because they should create the proper learning environment and let students focus more on learning and less on materialism.

Response:

In this material world, it is not easy for students being attracted. Nowadays, more and more brands and material things attract students’ attention. That’s the reason why students will compete with each other. Modern world brings people more effective and more convenient; on the other hand, it also let people be more lazy and value external but not internal.

Why students will value appearance? The answer is bad society custom. For example, show girls, receptionists, models, and more and more occupations all need “a good appearance.” If you have a good appearance, your society status will ascend and other people will respect and flatter you. This vanity makes you satisfy. I think that nowadays, students pay more attention to their external and focus less on their minds. According to this condition, when they are growing up, most students become useless because they do not have profession and they cannot do anything well. They forget their duties, including studying and improving themselves.

For me, appearance is not the most important because except being a model, you cannot earn money or get anything by your good appearance. So I prefer improving my ability to making up myself.

Summary&response-Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary:

Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results, which was written by Paul Rogat Loeb. He was interviewed on CNN a few years ago with Rosa Parks, a mother of the civil rights movement. She was the woman who wouldn’t go to the back of the bus. She wouldn’t get up and give her seat in the white section to a white person. Before this event, she had spent 12 years helping lead the local NAACP chapter. Parks wasn’t the only person who shape model of social commitment. Paul Rogat Loeb claimed that Parks’ story reinforces a notion that anyone who takes a committed public stand. But once the media let us enshrine heroes on pedestals, we may hard to measure up in our eyes. And we may not knowing the detail or having uncertainties and doubts. A young African American activist said. “when people who work for social changes are presented as saints, so much more noble than the rest of us. We get a false sense that from the moment they were born they were called to act, never had doubts, were bathed in a circle of light.” These activists showed us that it changed public sentiment, and the entrenched institutional power which can’t easily be accepted. Parks’ story is an example of social change, and it conveys an empowering moral that is lost in her public myth. Many times Parks’ peers and her predecessors’ struggles failed, but it still bring them a better world in the end. “For only we act, despite all our uncertainties and doubts, do we have the chance to shape history,” Paul Rogat Loeb said.

Response:

In Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results, Paul Rogat Loeb told us a mother of the civil rights movement called Rosa Parks. She is a person who just an ordinary person, but she is very courage. She wouldn’t get up and give her seat in the white section to a white person. It’s very unfair in that time, different races didn’t have equal rights. For other example, Martin Luther King also a civil rights movement leader. To promote his philosophy of nonviolent protest against segregation and other kinds of social injustice, he organized a series of marches. “I have a dream” is his famous speech, he strives for racial equality. Race issue always receives the attention in the world. Many people offer their life in civil rights movement even if it would undergo many difficult. Although most of them failed in the end, all of them were our heroes. We should thanks for those forerunners. They promote racial equality, so we have an equal society. We wouldn’t worry it is not equal between people and people. Parks’ story gives us an example although sometimes our struggles will fail. If we can stick it out, we will gain more in the end.

Summary & Response - Barry: Male fixations

Summary

In “Male fixations,” Dave Barry points out the stereotype about men are supposed to know how to fix things. Because this is a compensative things for women about guys never clean the bathroom or something else. But in fact, not all men will fix things. According to the example that Barry gives us, when men will not fix things, they will find a lot of excuses to escape from the reality. For example in the article, his wife has told his husband that the commode has started making a loud groaning noise, he will stride into the bathroom and pretend to inspect it seriously, and say that almost men will say historically “there is nothing wrong with the commode.” Sometimes guys will choose not to escape but disguise that they can do it and then make a mess. Or try to make a sicere-looking frowny face to deceive somebody there’s nothing happen even if the truth speaks for itself. Such as, “Do you hear that grinding sound in the engine?” his wife asked. And his husband will reply,” I don’t hear any grinding sound.” Even if his husband shout her can hear him over the grinding sound. In fact, guys act though they are in control of the situation by predispositions even they are not.
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Response:

That is a typical stereotype about men should fix things. Why should men know how to fix things? Everyone is proficient in different things. Nowadays, more and more women will study like architecture, electric machinery, electrical engineering, and some subjects we think that only men will study. Men also can be househusbands who do chores just like housewives. Maybe men can do chores better than women or vice versa.

In my opinion, I don’t think that men should be proficient in fixing things. Fix things is an ability. Maybe we only just do not know how to fix things but be proficient in other abilities like languages, teaching, studying and etc. Sometimes, we do not find excuses to escape from the reality on purpose, but women’s stereotype forces us to do that. If men say honestly “I don’t know how to fix it,” we are usually abused by women like “You are a man, and I can’t believe you do not know how to fix things. By the way, if men ask women do you think that women must be a good cook, I think that most women’s answer is No. That‘s the same situation, but the character just change from men to women. Most women will think why we should be a good cook. But when you have this thought, why cannot just think of men being in the same situation?

In my conclusion, it is not necessary for a man knowing how to fix things as long as he has other abilities.

Summary and Response- Appearances Are Destructive

Summary

Appearances Are Destructive, written by Mark Mathabane and adopted from The News York Times, describes how the author's sisters are treated in American school and how open dress codes affect American students. Having enrolling them at one of the American public school, Mark originally is expectant to give his sisters a brand-new lives; however, they are teased by their classmates because of their plain and unattractive clothes. These sisters are not specialized in dressing up themselves for they do not have to think about what they wear and just wear uniforms.

Trying to find one school which is more proper for them to study, Mark is astonished that the phenomenon exists in almost American schools; students care about the appearance instead of their studies. In class, most students are distracted; they take their mirrors out, put them on the desk and start to gaze their faces rather than books. They always compare what they wear, how much their jewelries are and whether their brands are high and valued. Mark also points out that civil libertarians prefer open dress codes for humans' freedom is not invaded; however, in Mark's mind, freedom is never affected by dress codes. There are so many people wearing uniforms when they work.

Mark concludes that students should not concentrate on materialism; instead, they should focus on school works. If they release the minds of pursuing outer vanity, they can be more mature and gain the real freedom from themselves.

Response

After reading the article, I can fully understand what the author talks about and agree with his thoughts. In the modern society, people live under the environment filling with the stimulation of senses. In cities, there are too many neon lamps lighting up at night. With the prosperous medium, people see plenty of dazzling images and beautiful celebrities appearing on television or on the websites. While people watch these programs or pictures, they are unconsciously imbued with the concepts of keeping up with the times. People blindly worship the latest fashion, extremely expensive and well-known brands and try their best to make them become beautiful or mimic singers or movie stars. Because of the stimulation of senses, people all over the world prefer the beautiful appearance for humans always use their eyes to "judge" people.

A question is in my mind for a long time; one day if all human beings are blind, what the world would be? If people lose their sight ability, they are bound to "feel" people by using their hearts. When people make friends, they use their true hearts to judge whether the person is good or not; there is no obstruction and influence because eyes do not get between them. Especially, when people choose their mates, they are not concerned people whether they have good-looking faces; instead, they choose the person having good characteristics, similar habits and hobbies. If the hypothesis would happen, I deeply believe that there would be enormous changes between people to people.

To my thinking, appearance is not the priority we have to consider firstly; instead, when we get along with people, we should be concerned about their thoughtfulness. We should endeavor not to be superficial and become more mature.

Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results

Summary:
This is an article written by Paul Rogat Loeb who gives comments on social issues provides his perspective to see a social heroine, Rosa Parks. The author breaks the conventional model shaped by our society and demonstrates the real story that brings up a successful person.
At the beginning, the authors recalls the time he meets a social heroine, Parks and finds out that the most important background was skipped in the introduction of Parks’ achievement of the civil rights development. The interviewer only describes it as the single-handed outcome without reporting other people’s hard working and the training that Parks have participated.
Through media, it is not easy for audiences to find a common people to reach a famous change. They try to highlight the marvelous actions making by heroes and pay no attention to most people’s assistance. As a result, people tend to consider heroes are born to achieve it and seldom think that an ordinary person is able to make a significant difference in dedicating our society.
The conventional thought also set a myth that it is too hard for common people to contribute such an achievement. They just see the outcome instead of noticing the examples that motivate their behaviors. They ignore the hard working process that common people have done before the critical change. The real story of the efforts are transferred by media and missed in public.
Park’s story shows that social change depends on people’s participation making the world better. However, people would give up because of the uncertainties and suspicion. The one who has the opportunity to change history needs to keep on hard-working and wait to activate modest fruit by chance.

Response:
In the article Ordinary People Produce Extraordinary Results, the author provides his own point of view to explore the main factors producing a social hero. The author discovers that the host only focused on the outcome and the conventional thought have shaped what a hero should be. He guides his readers to know the real story of a hero in the background.
Usually, our media reports the marvelous achievement, yet they do not tell the efforts that the heroes, their peers and the previous people have worked for. For example, when we talk about Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s revolution, do common people deeply discuss the details or the previous efforts that he and other people had prepared and worked? No, the media only shows his achievement, so we seldom notice the main factors that let him succeed.
The conventional thoughts also shape the hero as the person who is born to act extraordinarily. However, we can find the truth in the article that even ordinary people are able to produce extraordinary results like Parks. So, what are the mainly reasons that contributes her as a social heroine? Comparing to other people who have participated in civil rights development like her, they usually give up in the process of facing uncertainties and suspicion.
In my conclusion, an ordinary person can actually produce marvelous results. Although working hard for uncertain things can not guarantee people to reach their goals, it is out of the question for people to succeed if they give up before gain the fruit.