Agree or disagree the best way to learn about a foreign country is by reading newspaper or magazines.
Nowadays, there is a hot discussion concerning whether reading newspaper or magazines is the best way to learn about a foreign country. As for me, vast though the information of the foreign country that newspaper and magazines brings to are, this isn’t the best way to know a foreign country, when the drawbacks of this approach and others methods that can help people know a foreign are taken into account.
It is true that newspaper and magazines introduce a great deal of information helping us learn a foreign country. Through reading them, readers not only learn more details of a foreign country, like culture, custom and history, but also enjoy the pictures of the foreign country’s spectacular landscape. Newspaper and magazines provide a platform for people who cannot personally visit other countries. However, we must admit the shortcoming that through reading, people cannot directly experience and feel a foreign country.
In order to deeply understand a country, one of the best choices is to travel or live there for some time. Just as the old saying goes “seeing is believing”. One cannot have a directly feeling about a foreign country until he/she experiences it by himself/herself. It is common that information on newspaper and magazines just reflects some part of a country. They may conceal some true information and pictures for some practical reasons, such as political censorship or financial pressure. Therefore, visit or live in the foreign country is a better way to learn about the country. People can walk on the street, talk to local people, eat special food and enjoy the amazing scenery. After integrating oneself into the local group, one can learn the real culture and custom of a country.
Furthermore, with the development of Internet, people have another way to know a foreign country. Due to the abundant resource on the Internet, people can visit the website of other countries, download videos and photographs, and even communicate with foreigners. Through the Internet, people can see more dynamic videos and have more interactivity with foreigners. Thus, this way is more convenient and more attractive than reading newspaper and magazines.
Although I concede that there are some advantages to reading newspaper and magazines to learn about a foreign country, these mean nothing when the beneficial aspect of visiting the country and surfing Internet are taken into consideration. In my view, obviously, all evidence confirms an undoubted conclusion that reading newspaper and magazines isn’t the best to know a foreign country.
TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between two students (2)