国际贸易地理(一).docVIP

Map of the World Questions Geography asks: “Where?” questions (descriptive inventory) Where are things located? What is their distribution across the surface of the earth? “Why?” and “How?” questions (analytical approach) Why are things located where they are? How do different things relate to one another at a specific place? How do different places relate to each other? How have geographic patterns and relationships changed over time? What is geography? (a more academic definition) It is concerned with place, describes the changing pattern of places, and attempts to unravel the meaning of the evolving of such patterns. It seeks to understand the physical and cultural features of places and their natural settings on the face of the earth. The spatial dimension is central to geography. It uses a distinctive language – the language of maps. ?Part VI – the most insightful enlightening part this table provides: Geography helps us to understand the world, the earth as it was, its past tense, to explore the world as it is, its present tense, and to think of the world as it might be, its future tense. ( ( ( ( ( ( ( The Carnegie Report on Higher Education (1991) sets forth the almost certain dangers that exist in the global future if we fail to see the world as thus: The world has become a more crowded, more interconnected, more volatile and more unstable place. If education cannot help students see beyond themselves and better understand the interdependent nature of our world, then each generation will remain ignorant, and its capacity to live competently and responsibly will be dangerously diminished. (p.42) Maps Some fundamental concepts of space and location Properties of space Geographers consider various dimensions of space: One-dimensional space, Three-dimensional space, Two-dimensional space that can be represented on a plane, The spatial elements of point, line, and area may be used to define the basic