英文作文 homework 1
2/21 開始，週二週四晚上都會去學校後門的語言中心上英文作文課。分班測驗後我被編在第五級班，老師是一位來自紐約的女性藝術家康居易，住在台灣十年了，不會說中文但相當親切幽默。她原本只在師大的語言中心教，這回是她第一次在台大語言中心授課。她平常也在 TaipeiTimes 上寫藝評，是該報的 contributing reporters 之一 (破報英文版在還沒停刊前也有她主筆的藝術專欄)。
今晚已經是第五次上課了。上課時非常有趣，我們不只是坐在那邊聽老師說話而已，而是三個小時全程參與討論，腦筋得要動個不停，因為老師會丟很多問題出來引導我們思考：怎樣定一個好的 topic statement (因為 topic statement 至為重要，她花了超久的時間在 revise 每個人的 topic statement)、怎麼樣拉住讀者的注意力、拿到一段文章後如何 identify 它的 topic statement 並加以評估等，讓我們知道一個作者在寫作時腦筋都是怎麼動的。
這次老師改好了之前所派的第一次作業，並發回來給我們。這作業是要我們寫一篇 journal style 的作文，用一種類似新聞記者的第三人稱角度寫一個主題。從定 topic statement、first draft、peer-review、second edit，寫了很久，一路下來大概花了七、八個小時，裡面有很多時間花在在翻字典和同義詞典，以及順文章的 logic flow 上面。這次發回來後發現我挑的主題應該要寫成 case-study 的風格比較適合，否則大部份都是些抽象的文詞，跟讀者距離太遠。(四段裡面第二段 self-esteem 重要性的描述是從社會心理學課本*挑句子出來湊的，其他完全是自己寫出來的... 希望下次能把引用的東西 paraphrase 一下，不然不太好。)
Acceptance by one’s social network of friends raises one’s self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to one’s positive or negative evaluation of oneself. Before people can appraise themselves independently, they usually learn to do it with the help of the evaluation given by their social networks, just like using a mirror to help inspect one’s own appearance. People tend to feel themselves worthy of being loved when their friends show them kindness and friendliness, and to regard themselves worthless if shown contempt or neglect. So, having supportive and caring friends around helps build a positive self-image.
Does high self-esteem really matter? Research shows that people with high self-esteem are inclined to be happy, healthy and successful. They are also confident and optimistic about the future, bringing to new challenges a winning and motivating attitude – which leads them to persist longer in difficult tasks, sleep better at night, and maintain their independence in the face of peer pressure. In contrast, upon facing new challenges, people with low self-esteem tend to fall into a vicious self-defeating cycle: expectation of failure and fear of the worst make them anxious, so they exert less effort and undermine performance. And when they do fail, they tend to blame themselves, which further worsens their feelings of self-worth. This process often goes unnoticed, and only professional psychiatrists can tell. In many ways, satisfying the need for self-esteem is critical to our entire outlook on life!
Acceptance intends to give one confidence to brave difficulties, and to strengthen their own belief in their worthiness despite failure. Acceptance is to admire one’s willingness to try once again after repeated futile efforts, rather than to do crucial things on their behalf – which will only pamper them. It is to heal their mental fatigue caused by unsuccessful attempts and to help them carry on, instead of blaming their inability to achieve. Unavailing effort can hardly shatter self-worth fortified with acceptance.
From time to time, people feel disappointed with themselves, because no one is perfect. For those with low self-esteem, acceptance by their social network can help free them from being trapped in the above-mentioned vicious cycle when they encounter new challenges. Nowadays, research reveals that many social problems induced by mental illness, such as suicide or depression, have direct or indirect relations with low self-esteem. Mutual support and care among the social networks are critical to personal and even social well-being, and therefore cannot be over-emphasized.
上面就是我的第一篇作業啦 (分數保密 ccCc)... 丟出來湊合近來乾涸的版面 :p
心裡有許多想法要寫，可是最近事情太多了，沒空把它們沈澱下來。希望四月中旬英文作文課結束、對一個作家的腦力活動更為熟悉之後，可以把這陣子在心裡琢磨的一些思緒寫出來自娛娛人。 
* pp.68-69, Social Psychology, 5th edition, by Sharon S.Brehm, Saul M. Kassin and Steven Fein, ISBN: 0-618-12964-2
