1 Człowiek

Zadanie 1.

1.

• husband and wife with a small baby; a young man wearing a mortarboard, probably during his graduation ceremony -the fact that the pictures are put together may reflect the function of upbringing, role models and aspirations in life

• a group of children holding hands in a circle; a drawing of two human heads with their brains visible, some com­munication taking place between them in the form of a current, which may refer to the role of human relationships and communication in shaping personality

• mother and daughter in some poor country - the girl does not have the same opportunities for development as the baby in the first picture, because of poverty

2. the role of environment (surroundings) in affecting our life; nevertheless we are in control of the environment, we keep changing it; the fact that we are thinking beings helps us to control how we live, and then we ourselves change to adjust to the environment

3. the ongoing debate about what is more influential in shaping our personality: nurture, that is the surrounding world and the way we are brought up, or nature, which refers to our genetic inheritance

4. a decisive role:

• parents' role: shaping character, developing aspirations in life and in education

• any form of education changes us considerably: gives us knowledge and teaches us to think about life in a different way

• people we meet also affect us because we exchange our ideas and experiences

• poverty and lack of education often may not allow us to develop fully and we become disappointed, frustrated, and may have low-esteem, for example

5. environment may have a stronger influence: we may inherit
certain intellectual abilities and that influences our success
at school; the way we are brought up, people we met and
what we do every day may all affect us and our personality
in positive and negative ways; this influence may be
weakened or strengthened by the way we interpret the
world -this is how our nature and nurture interact

Zadanie 2.

1.

Introduction:

• genetic engineering is controversial because its evaluation
depends on the purposes for which people use it and in this
way it becomes a moral problem

It is a blessing because it may:

• help reduce the number of incurable diseases, like cancer

• increase the quantity and quality of crops in agriculture, and thus reduce famine and poverty, especially in the Third World

It is a curse because it may:

• get out of control and affect future generations of people,
their genes and even create new diseases

• change the way we treat others, e.g. the way parents
consider children and life itself; in this way genetic engine­
ering may be opposed for moral reasons: people should
feel responsible for another person's life, for a child; life is
not something we can play with and influence in any way we
wish

Conclusions:

• genetic engineering should remain under control and be used for the benefit of other people

• danger: people are selfish and are tempted to create a perfect human being; they can't know how that new creature will change us, what its strengths and weaknesses will be

• possible solution: use genetic engineering for purposes which would contribute to a better life of many people: above all, to eliminate famine and diseases

2. Introduction:

• generally speaking, I agree with the claim - it reflects our
belief in the power of first impressions that we form about
other people when we meet them

This claim may be right because:

• we tend to assess other people constantly, even if we do not realize it, and in the first minutes of contact our concen­tration on the person is at its highest; thus we remember this moment best

• it is natural to form our initial opinion about the person when we first meet them - this opinion may be positive or negative and later we refer to it frequently

• this first evaluation is based on our intuition; people trust their intuitions more than they are ready to admit

• example - emergence of the so-called "fast dates": parties which are based on first impressions to help people meet new friends; many people who are strangers meet in one place and each of them has several minutes to talk to as many other people as possible in order to decide who they want to meet again later; if two people decide to do it, it only shows that they made a good impression on each other and their friendship or relationship has a chance to become stable and long-lasting

On the other hand:

• we should not generalize; there are people we may dislike at first and only after some time may we become good friends when we get to know them better in a variety of situations, for example if they help us when we do not expect it

• several minutes are never sufficient to get to know the person well and we should give each other more time; after all, as the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed

In conclusion:

• however irrational it may be, people do form opinions about others on the basis of first impressions

• still, much depends on what people do together and what intentions they have; thus the first four minutes may only be a good start of a long-lasting relationship

1.What can you see in the pictures?

2.How can you interpret the quotation from William James?

3.How do you understand the opposition of nature vs. nature?

4.What is the role of the environment in shaping our personality?

5.Which factors have a stronger influence on us: our genes or environment? Why?

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