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  3. As Christmas celebrations in Western countries are in full swing, Chinese pe

As Christmas celebrations in Western countries are in full swing, Chinese pe

游客2023-12-03  25
问题     As Christmas celebrations in Western countries are in full swing, Chinese people, especially the youngsters, are embracing the festival in their own way. Western festivals are gaining increasing popularity in China, while traditional Chinese festivals seem to be losing their charm. Many nationalists call for a boycott of Christmas, saying that the " invasion" of foreign culture can pose a threat to traditional Chinese culture. Is Christmas a threat to traditional Chinese culture? Youngsters and nationalists have totally different views. The following are opinions from both sides. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should:
    1. summarize briefly the opinions from both sides:
    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.
    Youngsters
    Many Westerners may be surprised at the way Chinese people have made Christmas a festival of their own. More surprising for them would be the ease with which Chinese people have added so many Chinese elements to an essentially Western celebration.
    For as long as people in their 20s can remember, apples have been wrapped in red and green paper to be gifted as presents on Christmas Eve, because the pronunciation of the first character in apple and Christmas Eve sound like "safe and sound" in Chinese.     Just like Valentine’s Day, Christmas with distinguishable Chinese characteristics has become a celebration for people in China to forget, no matter how temporarily, their humdrum everyday life.
    Last year, a photograph of a Christmas tree in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, became a big hit on Sina micro blog. The tree, topped with a huge dice, was decorated with mahjong tiles and Chinese red lanterns. Why? Because people in Chengdu are known for their fondness for mahjong.
    Western traditions such as gifting roses on Valentine’s Day and partying on Christmas Eve are attractive for young people, especially college students, who crave for diverse lifestyles and love fashion. They choose such days to meet up with friends, go to the movies or enjoy a dinner with families, or to spend a romantic evening with their partners.
    Today’s youths are under great pressure—either from work or studies—and don’t get enough time to spend with their families or friends. And Western festivals like Christmas provide them a good opportunity to make up for that loss.
    The popularity of Western holidays in China shows that an increasing number of Chinese people are pursuing individuality and are ready to spend money to buy more quality leisure time.
    Globalization has introduced many foreign cultures to China and influenced the life of ordinary Chinese people, especially those who have benefited from the three decades of reform and opening-up. Also, the rapid pace of social development has prompted many Chinese to pay greater attention to recreation and leisure. Of course, the hype created by the media and the accompanying marketing blitz have played an important role in making Western festivals popular among the Chinese people.
    Nationalists
    The increasing popularity of Western festivals, however, has drawn the ire of nationalists. A few years ago, 10 post-doctoral research scholars from prestigious Chinese universities wrote an open letter asking Chinese people to boycott Christmas celebrations and resist the invasion of foreign soft power.
    The invasion of foreign culture, to a certain extent, poses a threat to traditional Chinese culture. The promotion of Western culture and values at the material level is evident in products from McDonalds and iPhone to fashion and luxury brands. Nationalists say that people need to be careful about the fallout of making Christmas a "Chinese festival" and take steps to protect their culture and history. There is no denying that many of the Chinese people, especially the youth, who celebrate Western festivals don’t know why they are celebrated or observed.
选项
答案                 Is Christmas a Threat to Chinese Culture?
    Nowadays, Christmas celebrations in China are in full swing among youngsters while many nationalists argue that Western cultures such as Christmas celebration is a kind of invasion to traditional Chinese culture. Is Christmas a threat to traditional Chinese culture? Youngsters’ view is poles apart from that of nationalists’.
    On Christmas, youngsters make romantic appointments with their boyfriends or girlfriends, go shopping or enjoy a dinner with the family. Western festivals like Christmas provide them a good opportunity to make up for their loss of free and gathering time. The increasing popularity of Western festivals, however, has drawn the ire of nationalists. They consider Christmas celebrations as the invasion of foreign culture and call for Chinese people to boycott. Nationalists warn Chinese people of the negative effects of accepting Christmas as a "Chinese festival".
    As far as I am concerned, Christmas sure does have a profound religious connotation and is part of 2,000 years of Western tradition, but it can’t threaten traditional Chinese culture. For one thing, it is more of a celebration, a commercial carnival in China, if you will, with all the colors of life. In a recent online survey on what netizens think of Chinese-style Christmas, 39. 2 percent of the respondents said that it did not matter whether the day was celebrated in a Chinese or Western way as long as it helped people relax and have a good time. This means more than one-third of the people like Christmas but merely view it as an opportunity to celebrate an occasion. For anothor, most Chinese actually know full well the origins and importance of Chinese festivals: even kids know why the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Tomb Sweeping Day or the National Day is celebrated. This is the power and unconscious influence of traditional culture and that cannot be erased by the influence of Western festivals.
    The Chinese culture, rooted as it is in thousands of years of history, can ward off the bad influence of foreign cultures and absorb the merits of exotic cultures to become even richer. Therefore, there is no need to worry that Western cultural influence will threaten traditional Chinese culture.
解析 通过审题可知，本题讨论随着时代发展，西方节日在中国越来越受欢迎，这一现象是否会对中国传统文化造成冲击这一话题，紧贴时代脉搏，具有浓厚的时代气息。在写作时，第一段开门见山，引出话题；第二段简要概括年轻人与民族主义者的不同观点；第三段重点阐述自己对这一话题的观点与看法。表达自己的看法时，可以站在任意一个角度来写，只要言之有理，有据可依即可。
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