There are many ways of exploring the world. Previosly the choice of the means of
exploring the world was rather limited. It was cinfined to books and meeting
other people. Transport was poorly developed to allow people to travel
throughout the world with out difficulties. With the appearance of newspapers in
the 17th century people had a chance to learn about current events more quickly.
The technical progress of the 20th century has made uor planet a small world.
Any distance is covered in a twinkle of an eye. Today besides the books and
travelling the world can be explored with the help of Mass Media and the
Internet.
Books are concidered to be a traditional way of learning about the world
around us. This is quite natural bacause books give information about various
subjects. From the point of view of the 21st century it is possible to say that
this source of knowledge is proved by time. Books introduce us to the experience
of the present, past and future. In every day life we all are limited in Time.
We cannot enter the distant future or return to the past. Every moment we live
only in present. Books make an easily accessible time machine. They give every
body a wonderful oppertunity to travel into the past and future. With the help
of the books we can become eyewitnesses of the major historical events, the way
people lived in distant epochs. Ancient and medival writers show us the world of
the past centuries as it was. For example, by reading books about the
expeditions to the North and South oles we livi the lives of the people who
prticipated in them. From books we derive all possible knowledge of art and
sciences.
Textbooks and manuals are written to give knowledge and
information about different special things. It is held that nothing can be more
important but the book acquired in time. All the revolutions are conceived first
in mind and then put into the practice. From books we understand that the idea
of an ideal society has interested people since antiquity.
The phenomenon of the 20th century is the Internet. It is a brand-new way of
exploring the world. The symbol of the 20th century is becoming more and more
popular among the people of different ages and social standing. Throgh the
Internet people get all kind of information. The Internet as a means of
communication is very convenient: a person can get a lot of information withuot
leaving his apartment. The Internet breaks the traditional frontiers. Through it
the person, who lives in Moscow gets information which is stored in th libraries
of Oxford, Cambrige or Washington.
The Internet is the global communication system. With its help person can
find friends, who share his interests and tastes in any part of the world. Such
programs as ICQ(I seek you) and AOL(America online) Messenger, specifically
designed for communication, make it easy and thrilling. Through the Internet it
is not onlypossible to recieve message fron a friend in the USA, but to see a
picture of him and hear his voice. The only is that people in different
countries speak different languages and in order to explore the full depth of
the Internet one should now the universal language of international
communications, English. The invention of mobile phone, the wireless mean of
communication, allows a contemporary man to communicate and get information 24
hours wherever he/she is.
We can not imagine our life without mass media. They are one more source of
information. Mass media give not only the current information about the
situation in the world. They impose certain values on contemporary man.
Sometimes information given by television, radio, newspapers is contradictory
and man must decide which one is more reliable. The received information moulds
the way of thinking. It is imposed on people in such a way that they hardly
understand that they are robots and the greatest task of mass media is to
program man to do certain things. Of course it is possible to switch everything
off and live in isolation but then people will deprive themselves of one of one
of sources of information. Previously it took news months to travel from Asia to
Europe; today it takes only several seconds. It is better to be selective to all
the received information, for it is really important to live with mass media.
It’s common knowledge that newspapers report the news. Published on regular
basis, usually daily or weekly, they also interpret events behind the news. In
addition, newspapers give useful information, such as stock market prices,
weather reports and TV programs.
They are also a popular source of reading for entertainment. People often
buy newspapers for their feature articles on subjects of wide interest, such as
travel and fashion, for their comics and crosswords, and for their regular
columns on topics, such as gardening, eating out, show business, gossip and
astrology. Together with other means of communication, such as radio, television
and magazines, newspapers form the mass media. Printed forms of mass media,
including newspapers and magazines are also called the “press”.
Newspapers treat the news in two different ways. They can take a serious
line, reporting and explaining the news with the aim of informing the readers as
fully as possible. Alternatively they may take a more popular approach which
requires more entertainment in the choice and presentation of stories, photos
and larger eye-catching headlines.
I cannot say which way of getting information is the best. It depends on
various factors. Sometimes it is necessary to travel to get more information. I
think that books continue to be the best and the most traditional way of getting
information. We cannot deny that to get information through the Internet is very
convenient. As for me, I think that all the above mentioned manners are useful
and important. It is impossible for me to choose one way at the expense of
others.