Topic 5.3.

Many people take the view that technology has made the world a better place to live. As far as I am concerned, I share the common view with them. Because I could pick up examples here and there around us and I would here explore a few of the most important ones.

The main reason is that if we look around, we may find that technology makes for us a better place to live. Take our house for example, without architectural technology, we could only live in the open wild. Thanks for those architects and engineers, we can live in a warm comfort house that protects us not only from the rain and wind, but also from the coldness of the winter, and the hotness of the summer.

Another reason is that we could communicate with our relatives or friends without the need of meeting them face-to-face. Information technology helps us a lot in communication. For instance, telephones and cellular phones help us talk with others no matter where they are; computer networks connecting the whole world offer us another alternative of communication. By email, our messages can reach the destination in just a few seconds.

Furthermore, transportation technology realizes the dream of people who want to travel around the world or to the space. We all can imagine that without car, bus or bicycles, how could most of us manage to get to work everyday?

In a word, technology has changed the world in a better way for us to live in terms of housing, communication, transportation and many other aspects. Taking into account of all factors mentioned above, we might reach the conclusion that technology has made the world a better place to live.

Topic 6. What person in history would you like to meet?

If I were granted an opportunity to travel back in time, the first person I would like to visit is Buddha. I hope to learn from such a wise and benevolent figure on my own. And I want to ask him for advice on the predicament we human beings are in.

Buddha is a symbol of humanity, a symbol of wisdom, leniency, tolerance and virtue. Millions of people over the world respect him. Sometimes it occurs to me rather difficult to understand that why a person of two thousand years ago can affect human spirit so much. If I had the opportunity, I really want to stand beside him, touch him, and perceive his strength.

When I visit him, I would ask him about the idea of tolerance non-violence. What I want to ask him is that how people, in an era full of violence, can restore the trust among each other and learn to negotiate peacefully. I would ask him if we still have any possibility to stop the war in Iraq, to calm the violence in Palestine, to return peace back to Afghan, to cure the terrible nightmare of Sept. 11 catastrophe in New York.

When I visit him, I would also ask him about diversity and co-existence. What would he think of Jesus Christ, Allah, Confucius, whether we have only one path to final happy or we would have different choices? Will Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Communists, Green Peace Warriors and any other groups of people co-exist in this tiny global village? I would ask him about Hitler, Stalin, and Ben Laden, whether he thinks human beings should tolerate them or not? I would also ask him if he could give any advice for ordinary people like me, how to access happy, and how to access peace.

Buddha is Buddha, and he would not disappoint me. I am sure!