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SPEAKING AUDIO - MARK ALLEN (1) http://mediafire.com/?i0dzmk0rv78dxnk (2) http://mediafire.com/?5zmyx57wiou693m (3) http://mediafire.com/?kg4g8vq2m2ta6h2 (4) http://mediafire.com/?2uch4r6tt5w7fm3 (5) http://mediafire.com/?x91h59n1qmxgeb7
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P ì 9 S 9 f « s a ỉ £ t t .....................................................................................................9 <ỉ .............................................................................................. i I
1.
E ducation and L earn in g f i W
2.
W orking Life x f^ ................................................................................................................................ 14
3.
T ow ns and C ities ^ ,ĩ)^ ẩc ị> ...............................................................................................................
17
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Daily R outine and L eisure T im e F # Ế. ỳp fà íẶ $
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H olidays an d T rav elin g ^ 0
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H ousing nnd A ccom m odation
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Sports and E xercise
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Interests and H obbies r ỉ i s
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M ass M edia (T V , R adio. N ew sp ap ers) A &fỉr"£$ ..................................................................... 41
10.
N ature (F lo w ers, Birds. W eather, S easons) É
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Social Issues (T ra n sp o rt, N o is e ) H ' l t iX ls .................................................................................... 49
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Food and R estaurants Í Ẳ ^ ................................................................................................................ 54
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R elationships (F am ily , F rien d s)
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S cience and T ech n o lo g y ( M obile Phone, E m a il) f l - i t .............................................................. ố i
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À ^ ẳ & f ê í . ' â í ( T o p ic s 1 - 3 ) ........................................................................................................................ 66 T o p ic 1
S enior C itizens r ề Ả
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T o p ic 2
C hildren 1Ằ *¥* ............ ........................................................................................................ 71
T o p ic 3
C elebrities % Ã
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À t t ỉ l S i ă f f t S l i T o p ic s 4 - 6 ) ........................................................................................................................ 81 T o p ic 4
A d venturous People $ $c E è í l # ởặ A
T o p ic 5
L eaders
T o p ic 6
N e ig h b o u rs ^ #
....................................................................... 81 86
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ỉf tjr f ỉẳ iif â 'f r â l( T o p ics 7™8) ........................................................................................................................ 96 T opic 7
A B uilding in Y our H om etow n
T o p ic 8
Y our C hildhood R oom
96 M
102
Ỉ Ẻ ^ Ỉ I Ỉ i S í A S Í T o p ic s 9 —1 1 ) .................................................................................................................... 107 T o p ic 9
A L eisure C en tre *{fc ffl i t Jfr Ỳ
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107
T o p ic 10 A H otel ặKÍè ....................................................................................................................
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T opic 11 A Library IS TỈ ÍỐ
••• 117
T o p ic s 12- 1 4 ) .................................................. Ẩ ....................................................... 122 ................................................................ 1 ..................................................... 122
T opic 12 A Film ệ , #
T opic 13 A n O utdoor A ctivity ỹ* ỷh ĨẾ* T opic 14 F avorite T im e o f Hie Y ear %
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S i f f # i a R f r a ( T o p i c s 15- 1 7 ) ..................................................................................................................
137
Topic 15 A W alk
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Topic 16 Sporting E vents
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............................................................................................... 137 .............................................................................................. 142
Topic 17 Foreign C ultures ỹpỊỈỊ >c'ft. ............................................................................................ 148 T o p ic s 18- 2 0 ) .................................................................................................................. 153 Topic 18 C lothing and Fashion
153
T opic 19 W ild A nim als
158
Topic 20 E lectrical A ppliances fe-S? .............................................................................................
163
T o p ic s 2 1 - 2 6 ) ................................................................................................................... 168 Topic 21 A n Im portant L etter s 3 c w 1Ỗ# Topic 22 B ooks
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168
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Topic 23 Furniliire
.................................................................................................................... 178
Topic 24 A dvertisem ents r % ........................................................................................................ 183 T opic 25 A C h ild h o o d P resen t 4 4 ÍL1Ẳ: ..................................................................................... 188 T opic 26 N ew s R eports í í
Í&ÌỄ .................................................................................................. 193
S W ẵ lS tt» ừ ẳ tt ( T o p ic s 27- 2 8 ) ................................................................................................................... 198 T opic 27 P ublic E v en ts 'it& LVcift .................................................................................................. 198 T opic 28 L ife-changing M om tíiils lặ í Á í
# ft- ................................................................ 203
T o p ic s 2 7 - 2 8 ) ................................................................................................................... 208 T o p ic 29 English C lass A ctivities
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T o p ic 3(] A dvice 4 : ÌẴ ........................................................................................................................ 213 I opic 31 A n U nsatisfactory Purchase ^ t Topic 32 E xhibitions
f
.................................................... 218
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T opic 33 B eing I .ate i ắ £ ìtfá Ị k B Ỉ .................................................................................................. 228 T opic 34 À T im o W lien Y ou H elp S om eone
ij; »fl A f t i r }x ............................................ 233
Topic 35 Busy D ays ' I c t i S L'J "T ................................................................................................... 237 Topic 36 Practical S kills
f t nỉ. ................................................
242
{ S S # ẳ iM frỉ& ( T o p ic s 3 7 - 4 0 ) .................................................................................................................. 247 T opic 37 To Start A Sm all Business ỒJ
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T opic 38 A Large Sum o f M o ney
252
T opic 39 A G oal Y ou W an t to A chieve
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T opic 40 A M e a l — tfi'S i ................................................................................................................... 262 mm
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♦ IELTS Speaking
♦
I n tro d u c to ry q u estio n s: & ủ ị f t %
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1) G o o d m om ing^aftem oon. 2 ) C a n you tell m e your full n am e, please? 3 ) W h at shall I call you? 4 ) C an you tell m e w here you’re from? 5 ) C an Ĩ see your identification, please?
1. Education and Learning f4 W fn ^ 5 j 1) D o you w ork or arc you a student? Presently I am a student. [ have been studying a t B eijing U niversity for three years. 1 will graduate in one year. 2 ) W h at subject are you studying? I am studying A ccounting. A long w ith A ccounting, I am also m ajoring in B usiness Finance. 3 ) W hy d id you choose to study that? M y fath er lias a business and I w ant to w ork w ith him . [ plan lu take over com pany finances.
ỈH & M Ĩ It's practical and useful in g etting a jo b because m any com panies arc interested in hiring students w ith a background in international business. I’ve alw ays lik ed reading, especially novels, history, literature. T hat's w hy I chose H um anities. I didn’t choose m v m ajor, I ju st w ent w ith the llow . I w as Inking m aths eọurses lell and right and I found m y se lf m ajoring in A pplied M aths w ith a C om puter S cience option. It w a s the easiest decision ever. I chose it because I have passion for i t
4)
Do you like your university? It’s OK. 1 am not thrilled w ith it b u t I am getting the education that ] w anted.
Jz tp I’m in university and it’s aw esom e! I’ve never had so m uch fun o r learned so m uch about a topic, or m ost im portantly, learned so m uch about myself. I’ve m et so m any great and diverse people an d been in situations th a t Ĩ never thought I'd ev er b e in. I w ouldn’t trade m y years at
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b
university in for anything. Á n 1 w e n t to N ortheastern in Boston: not a good choice for m e
I f f J big com m uter school, not a big
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I "c a m p u s” atm osphere. 1 transferred and ended up at Ithaca C ollege ill llhaca. N Y . u w as great, m ainly b ecau se o f m y program in the com m unications school nnd because there were things going oil around cam pus. »1» *J'
It's the best school w e have in... T his school’s history goes back m any m onths, but
everything is nice and kept in good condition ill addition 10 som e new tilings. Plus Hie teachers are cool and so is the current principal. E verything is cool there.
5)
is there anything you d o n t like aboul v o iirstu d ies? B asically studying, ju s t joking. Som e o f m y studies I ju st have to take for the credits and that ^ets a little tedious som etim es.
6 ) W hich subject Ho you like th e m ost? I like M ath, hor som e reabim m ath com es easy to me. It could be because m y father w as a math teacher.
Ril'lii now m y favorite subject is Physics. I have an absolutely am azing Prof. and I love Ihc clflss.
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I am learning so much!
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7 ) W hich subject do you think w ill be m ost useful 10 von alter you leave university? I suppose m y English c lass will be the m ost useful since Ỉ am p lan n in e on studying further in A ustralia. Piobubly 9 0 % o f vvhut I’ve learned I will never use lliough. 8 ) D o VO11 often get together w ith vour classm ates after classes? I get to gether w ith m y classm ates as m uch as I can after class. G etting to g eth e r w ith them really helps to relieve the p ressu re for me. 9 ; W h at w as your favorite subject in high school? W ell, 1 think m y favorite subject in high school w as art. O ne reason was 1 sat next to the prettiest girl in the class.
S á Ê g riS H isto ry w as alw ays enjoyable for me. M ath w as highly dependent on the teacher, but I typicallv enjoyed physics and chem istry. R eally, it w as teachers m ore than the subject that m ade a subject unpleasant. I lik e scien ce because I think ii is very interesting to learn about new things that we hadn’t even thought o f before.
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♦ IELTS Speaking
10)
♦
W hich school subject d o you ihink is m ost useful for people in adult life? A ny su b ject having in do w ith com m unication w ould he tlic m ost useful w hen you grnduate from school. G eography is also a su b ject th at is nice to know , if you are going to travel. Y ou would w ant to know w hat country you are in an d w hich country is north and w hich is south.
1. learning atm osphere '■£ <J
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13. life skills ± t e ị L ', ì í
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academ ic standards
14. transferable skills tit f t i f - t â ị í ũ
3.
faculty/!. &
15. internship n. ^ ZJ
4. lectu rer n. ifr H'
16. association n. 4jẻj0L,
5. su p p o rtiv e adj.
17. extracurricular activities i Ậ t l t â - ị b
6. academ ic subject #
I S. social and cultural life
7
Ỉ . skip classes
19. develop talents and interests
8. sit an exam Ệ-ÌĨO ^ÌR.
20. tuition fees
9. do badly in an exam # ft!)
21. grant /I.
10. transcript M. A r t # -
22. dorm itory M.
11. d ro ịv o u t iỉ.-tìL^
23. reach one’s full potential
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12. social skills
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2. Working Life I ft-I)
C ould you tell m e w hat you do for a living? I w ork in th e foreign trade departm ent, 1 am in sales, it is m y jo b tc bring foreign investors to the city to o p en up a b usiness here.
f w .m w I w ork for a large E uropean c a r m aker. I w ork on car design. In fact, Ĩ run the design departm ent and I m anage a team o f designers: 20 people w ork under m e. O ne o f m y m ain responsibilities is tu m ake sure that n ew m udel designs ure finished on lim e. I'm also in charge o f design budgets.
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V__________ 2 ) W hat are your resp onsibilities at work? 1 have
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develop a strategy for bringing foreign investm ent to B eijing. I w ork together w ith other
departm ents to basically sell and prom ote B eijing as a good place to.start a business. 3 ) W hat is the m ost interesting part o f your work? T he m ost interesting p art o f m y w ork is m eeting people from other countries. T o m e people are very interesting and 1 am keen 011 learning the custom s and cultures o i'other countries.
1 do like m y jo b , been h ere for 6 years! It’s a sm all office; the w ork environm ent is great; everyone is chill, laid back. [ d on't have to dress up. I can w ear Jeans cverydav if I wanted. I definitely love m y jo b ... it is som ething that I enjoy doing. I m eet so m any cool people daily and I have opportunities to learn m ore about m y self and others. I like d ealing w ith people from different cultures and traveling. I also like tile 30 days paid
\ 4)
holiday.
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Is there anything you d o n ’t like nbouI your job? T he p ay is one thing that I d o n ’t like about m y job. M y boss is another thing that I d o n ’t like about m y jo b . T h e distance to the office is the last thing that I don’t like about m v job.
I m & m I w ork as cl system d eveloper. ĩ m stuck with the sam e client, the sam e users, the sam e program s lo r the last 3 and a h a lf years, so it’s now boring, and not exciting as it w as before. Besides, I haven’t acquired an y n ew know ledge, o r have any new challenges.
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♦ 1E L T S Speaking ♦
5)
Is your jo b very im portant to vou? M y jo b is vrcr>' im portant to me. I f I didn't have niy jo b . I w ouldn’t be sitting here in from o f you, applying for a chance to go overseas.
6} W ould
youlik e to change your jo b ?
I don’t w aul to get stuck at this jo b Hull I mn w orking ili now. I am still yoiinii, so 1 w ant (0 learn as m uch as I can and then I plan o n starling my ow n business. 7 ỳ Do YOU often net to gether w ith y o u r colleagues ( w o rk m ate s) a fter w ork? 1 do g et together w ith m y co lleag u es after w ork as m uch as I can. W hen I get together with them, we can shoot the breeze aild have a few beers. I really look forw ard to getting together w ith them and count on it to m ake m y w eek.
4SiáL, Ằ k S .ã ìT ĩý À & .ỉụ % ỹ ffi f c i f W h a t is y o u r d re a m jo b ? M y dreum jo b is one th at co m b in es traveling, teaching and doing voluntary w ork. So in a sense, the ideal jo b is to teach kids in a foreign country and have the ability to travel to the different p arts o f the w orld/country. I hope it’s achievable. I am d o in g my dream jo b lighl now nưlually, 1 am a children’s literacy tutor. I love to w ork w ith kids and h elping them learn to re a d is tile m ost rew arding experience. It is fun and every session is different and full o f challenges. I w o u ld n ’t w an t to do anything else. I have had m y share o f dead-end, low -w age jo b s and now this is the ultim ate dream job for me! M y dream jo b w ould be: 1. A jo b w ith flexibility o f tim e. 2. A jo b w here I can learn and grow as a professional. 3. A jo b with a n ice environm ent. 4.
A jo b that pays well.
5.
A jo b not so far from hom e.
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A jo b wliere I co u ld Teel security, mul not feel that if the project finishes I have the risk o f loosing it.
7.
A jo b w here I could have b etter benefits lhan 1 have now.
IÍÉ S S & 4 H 0 ĨC
1. w ork ifig 110Urs X Ỷịr H11^1
3. daily routine R
2. m ake a living
4. in charge o f ft i t
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5. p ap erw o rk n. X . 'l?ĩ X V}
21. jo b satisfaction x - f f
6. w ork n in e lo five
22. opportunity to learn # ^ ÍÍL^*
7. flexi-tim e ỹ^.vèX 'f t *!+ w
23. fringe benefit
8. w ork overtim e t v # -
24. w e 11-pa id adj. ề i Ằr Át
9. w ork experience
25. pay rise / I f c x i j
10. adm inistration n. ị
26. paid holiday
11. co lleag u e n, 1*3^
27. sick pay
12. b u sin ess associates "ft"jlL H it#
28. m edical insurance S.^TÍ&Pầr
13. c lie n t/ 2.
29. w orking environm ent
14. retire
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30. com m uting tim e
15. w orkaholic ft.
31. dream jo b a &
16. train ee n. Í ^ iL
32. challenging
17. prom ote V. '^ ĩ ' ỉ
33. prospects ». aiTS-
18. training course
34. rew arding adj. % i i
19. ữ cclan cc
35. engaging adj. i L A ^ .A Ỏ -1
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20. in-job training
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36. pension schem e
37. sense o f iiccornpliyhment ẪẲtiẩịí
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IE L T S Speaking
3. Towns and Cities M &ỉtíciậ 1)
W h e re a b o u t did you g ro w up? I grew up in T ianjin, a city that is southeast o f Reijing. It is c lo se r to the Rea than Beijing, and is also a m unicipal city like Beijing.
2 > Do vou still live there? No, I haven't lived there for m any years. I w ent to school here in B eijing a n d have sim ply settled here and m ade it m y hom etow n. I still go back to T ianjin every once in a w hile. 3 ) W h at's tlib m ost fam ous place in your hom etow n? W ell, there isn’t mu ell in T ianjin that is fam ous, not like Beijing, w here there are so m any fam ous places, but the T V to w er is w here m ost people w ant to go w hen they com e to Tianjin. 4 ) H ow has your hom etow n changed in recent years? I hardly even recognize it, it h as changed so m uch. Just like m ost o f C hina, T ianjin is changing rapidly at an alarm ing rate.
It’s q u ite unitizing, from 1990 (0 2006, my stale has grow n from (Í60,000 residents to 783,000 people. T here
IS
nothing recognizable o f my hom etow n except the historic area.
M y hom etow n has changed d ram atically over the past 20 or so years. D ow ntow n docs not look the sam e and real estate p rices w ent through the roof. All the roads arc u n d er constructions and places th at w ere considered the G hetto w hen I m oved to M iam i in 1999 now have hom es that are over 5500,000. W hile m uch o f the place is the sam e and seem s fam iliar, it docs not feel like hom e. I can drive right by tile house that 1 lived in through Junior High and High School and feel com pletely disconnected from th e place. ĨI isn’t hom e anym ore.. .. a rath er b ittersw eet feeling if you ask me.
V
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5 ) W here do you live now ? I live in B eijing now . I am happy to b e here because the city is really on the m ove and there is a lot u f excitem ent here because o f tilt? next O lym pics. 6)
W hat p art o f the city do you like best? I like the CBD the m ost because there are a lot o f clubs there and also a lot o f hustle and bustle and lhat is w h at 1 am into. I like to bt; w here the crow ds are, (he sam e as m ost young people.
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T he o n e thing I do like: pưople here are nice; there is a good sense o f com m unity. A lso, there is not the traffic problem (hat y o u'd find in larger cities. I love w h ere I live b ecause Ỉ have so m any friends here, I’ve lived here all m y life, 1 like the w eather, and the re are so m any fun things to do. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ J 7 ) Is there anything you d o n ’t like about this city? T he Springtim e w hen the w inds from the G obi desert blow in and the sky turns a hazy orange, is one th in e I d on't like about B eijing. A nother one o f m y least favorite things is havina to fight rush h o u r traffic on the subw ay.
8 ) D n you w ant to live in a big city n r a sm all town? Lju st cou ld n 't go buck to living in u sm all (own. 1 have gotten accustom ed to life in the big city and it w ould be hard to get m e back to those “country roads.”
I like living in a sm all tow n w ith in driving distance o f a city. That w a y I can enjoy the craziness o f the city for a tim e an d then return to the sim plicity o f the sm all tow n life. B ig city It’s hard CO get bored w hen you live in a city that n ev er sleeps, like N Y C , LA , M iami, R om e, Paris. T h ere's m uch to do. Ĩ really love to live in th e sm all city, because there is less traffic and it’s not so crow ded. The sm all city looks so peaceful to m e, but I love to visit the big city also, to go shopping, have fun w ith friends and stay for a couple o f days, b u t not to live there. Í grew up in a sm all tow n, an d could not w ait to gel out... now , as an adult, Pd love to go back.... [ am tired o f all the traffic... all the crim e... all the rushing around like ants.
1. ancic nt adj. iè ■£■ủ-j
10. spectacular adj. ‘ĩ l / v A J I iif t
2. co sm o p o litan adj.
11. historical site ĨĨ1 A.-ỈỈ&
3. cultural atm osplicre x fb & js)
12. public library
4 . to u rist attractio n E fftJIiJfc
13. w cll-prcservcd adj.
5. situ ated adj. & -f"
14. specialty n. -14 A
6. suburb ft. ỒỊ*JẴ
15. p ace o f life ì t é
7. scenery w. i t Ễi
16. lifestyle n. i f c z r d i
8. p opulation n. A tf
17. living standard
9. inhabitant /ỉ.
18. cost o f living i t /£ ỈH if
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19. sense o f com m unity ị s ỉ . VC 'J t f a i # à■)&''£
29. lively iff//.
20. dow ntow n
30. vibrant adj.
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2 1. jo b opportunity
3 1. dvnam ic Cíí//.
22. air quality Ẩ
32. w ell w orth a visit
23. arch itectu re n.
33. holiday resort & M j i i
24. inirastm cture n. ề -S ủ ìi$ .&
34. seaside resort
25. city service
35. art gallery
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26. sightseeing n.
36. concert hall If
27. night-life
37. exhibition ce n te r ỉ ệ - % Ỳ i:->
28. b u stling adj.
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38. opera house
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4. Daily Routine and Leisure Time I D aily r o u tin e H ^ â ĩ ỉ S 1 ) W hnt part o f your day do you like best? M y favorite pari o f the day is late afiem uon, because the day's w ork is com ing to an end, 1 can go hom e, and I have the evening to look forw ard to, and the w eather is generally pleasant a n d cool.
I Late nigln, w hen I can m ess around here for a bit, play a com puter gam e or tw o, then snuggle dow n and read a book or w atch TV until I fall asleep. No w orries, nothing to do. ju st relax and sleep. Ĩ love it. I like the evening after I g et OÍT o f w ork. I can then cook a good m eal, work on m y hobbies, and read as late as I w ant. I am not on a schedule then. W hen I g et up. N o one else in the house is aw ake yet. T hat’s m y q u iet tim e w h en 1 can do what I w ant. For m ost people it w ould be in the evening w hen everyone else goes to bed. but for me I’m exhausted by then.
2 ) W hat is the busiest part o f the day for you? From about 10 o ’clock to noon. T h at is w hen I have lo take care o f m y w ork and things are a bit hectic. 3 ) W hen do you have free tim e? I have free tim e during the evenings and on the w eekends. I guess you could say chat I have it pretty good, because a lot o f people h ere in China d o n ’t have so m uch free tim e. 4 ) W liafs your favorite w ay to relax? I lake a long hut show er and then I ju m p in bed with a good book and som ething to sn ack on. It is a little h a rd on m y figure bin (hen il just m eans lliul I have 1o do a few m ore exercises the next m orning.
I sit in a hot lub with bubble bath C andles li&hl the room arid there is good m usic plaving in ihc I background. Perfect w ay TO end the day. 1 visually listen to m usic o r ju s t play around a n the Internet. I pretty m uch do anything tliut m akes m e forget about m y school w ork.
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♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
S om etim es Ỉ like to drink alone and listen to m usic. T hey say you shouldn't drink alone, but it is probably okay
OI1CC
in a w hile, and
it
is a very relaxing experience.
I love to go lo r a long w alk...listen 10 ja z z in m y little radio, or som e kind o f nice m usic...and then go hom e, put on pyjam as, turn on the heat and have a little som ething that Tastes really good a n d curl up and w atch the M ovie C hannel, w ith all the old m ovies... T he b e st w ay I relax after w ork is to clean up my house! F.ven ju s t tidying m akes
m e feel so
I m uch m ore relaxed. I sort in y se lf out by doing this and for m e it w orks. k
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5 ; D o you do things in your leisure tim e with friends or family? M ostly w ith m y friends. 1 often go out to cat or go shopping w ith m y friends,
and som etim es we
stay in and w atch a m ovie Of play gam es. Som etim es w e ju s t talk together. 6 ) Do y ou have any hobbies 01 interests? I love to road novels, go go-cartine. hiking, w atch m ovies and w rite. I have lots o f different interests.
I go lo the gym a few clays Í1 w eek. It is u great w ay to let o f f stress. It also has a jacuzzi and a steam room so if I h av e ex tra tim e on the w eekends, it is a greal place to relax. [ like to k n it and do o th er form s o f needlew ork. I find it relaxing an d creative. I love taking m y pictures and putting them into album s lo catalog m y fam ily’s
“stories” . It’s the
w ay I express m yself creatively, and it serves the purpose o f capturing and enjoying our m em ories, and preserves them for future generations! Ĩ have to n s o f hobbies, Í knit, crochet, cross-stitch, latch-hook, draw , paint, w rite, play the violin, p iaao an d video gam es, and the list keeps grow ing as 1 iind other things to try. W hat I love about my h o b b ies is (lint they keep m e sane, they’re great stress relievers too
(it's been proven, trust
m e), and it gives m e a sen se o f accom plishm ent and a feeling o f sell-w orth. W e all need those little pick-m e-ups flt som e point in our lives no m atter how fortunate w e are.
W eek en d s 7 ) I low do you { u su a lly ) spend the w eekend? I sleep late, and w atch m ovies, I go out with my friends, or ] w ork on different projects I haven’t had tim e for during the w eek. Som etim es if] am really tired or stressed from the w eek 1 will ju st slay in bed all w eekend.
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' s g & ffi It d ep en d s w h at lim e o f y ear it is. But m ost Saturdavs 1 gu grocery shopping in the m orning and som etim es 1 go shopping a fte r that for things I m ight n eed around the house. If not, then I w ork in the h o u se and clean. O n Sundays, it is w ash day. I wash all the dirty clothes from the week. 1 I usual!V hang1Dill w ith m y sisters o r just go shopping or study. Suturday is m ostly shopping and cleaning the house. Sunday 1 relax, play co m p u ter gam es and go to th e m ovies.
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W hich do vou prefer, S aturday o r Sunday? Saturday, because 1 can go out in the evening and stay out late and I do n 't have to w orry about w aking up early for w ork the n ex t m orning.
9 ) Arc w eekends im portant to you? Very, it’s som e o f the only tim e I can use for m y hobbies o r spond w ith m y family. O n the w eekends I feel free to do exactly w h at [ w ant. 10) Should people be paid overtim e for w orking at the w eekend? D efinitely, w orking overtim e is extra, and it takes aw ay the relaxation tim e so m any people need, so people should be com pensated for it.
S h o p p in g 11) D o you like shopping? No, I actually don't like shopping- 1 hate m aking decisions.
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ii irritates m e to spend all that lim e
looking for w hat I w ant. It irrilales m e even m ore if it’s loo expensive
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f ĩĩỹ m I hate shopping. I don't see how w o m en can find it enjoyable. I buy stu ff J need from eB ay, no people, no w aiting in line to pay, no shop staff, no parking. Í absolutely love shopping! It’s like m y drug. II m akes m e feel good. I Jove fashion so it’s cool to
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see w h at everyone is w earing, show ing and buying.
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12 ) A re there m an y shops n ear w here you live? Yes, b u t o n ly sm all shops, w hich sell all kinds o f curious things, no b is shopping m alls. I think there is g o in g to be ;i shopping cen ter o p ening up soon near w here I live and th a t should be nice. 13)
W ho usually does the shopping in your hom e?
M y m um does the shopping, an d som etim es [ go along too. Som etim es I h av e to go out and do the shopping and Í enjoy haggling w ith the vendors. I look forward to it.
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♦ 1E LT S Sị)Onking ♦
14)
Do you have a regular time to go shopping?
For som e things, y es — for exam ple, m y m um goes food chopping; rwice a w eek, buf ỉ o tíy go shopping for clothes w heii I feel like it. 15 ) W hat things do you usually buy w hen you go shopping? I b u y way too m uch jew elry , and p ecu liar hats that 1 w ill never w ear, and lots o f scarves. It's hard for m e to m ake decisions on w hat to buy w hen it’s anything real bin o r costly. 16) D o you prefer shopping in sm all shops 01 big superm arkets and departm ent stores? I p refer shopping in sm all shops b ecause you can find m ore unusual things and they com e cheaper, too. I like to get to know the ow ners and som etim es they w ill cater to m e a bit.
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5. Holidays and Traveling Til ỈĨIIÍÍc# I ) W hat do you d o in your holidays'? For m ost holidays, I just stay hom e and rest and enjoy m y se lf b u t if it’s a pnrricnlarlv long holiday I like to travel. I f Ỉ stay hom e I can read and play com puter gam es and do w hat 1 like to do. I cun spend lim e w ith m y friends, although often m y relatives w an t m e to visit them as w ell. So there is a lot to do. 2)
Do you think holidays are b eco m in g m ore and m ore im portant? N ot necessarily; h o l id a y s have alw ays been im portant to people. But o f course the harder youL' w ork, tile m ore im portant y o u r holiday becom es to you, because you need that relaxation more.
To be honest. I'm not bi^ ƯI1 holidays. I d o n i really like all o f the pressure and attention that uo with them . T h e honest truth is I do often use holidays as an excuse to get people together (otherw ise som e w on’t). 1 enjoy having fun and spending tim e w ith tile people 1 love, and there arc som e people 1 only gel to see on holidays. Y es, because il gives you tim e (a be wilh your fam ily aiKỈ ữ ien d s. M any young people live aw ay lroin their p arents, so it’s a perfect tim e for them to get together atid have fun.
3 ) Do you like to travel in your holidays o r free time? I f it’s a long holiday, I love to travel, especially to places I have never been to before; it's an adventure and you see so m an y great and beautiful and strange things. I really enjoy traveling because w hen you have a ch an ce o f scenery and a change o f environm ent for a w hile, it helps you io relax and is good fa r y o u r health.
lack oi' funds has been a biy obstacle! O ne day lliough I will travel to the four c o m ers o f the w o rld and beyond, w ith nothing but a knapsack on m y back.... I love traveling. I’ve been 10 T aiw an, Ilo n e K ong and Singapore. I hope to visit E urope w ith ray h u sb an d in the near filturc. V
1
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4 ) W hat kind o f places do you like to travel to? 1 like lo travel to exotic p laces, different countries, and places
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with beautiful naturalscenery.
♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
H ow ever I don’t often have the opportunity ỈO £0 to places like that. So instead Ỉ like to eo to places w here 1 can enjoy m y self w ith m y friends and w here there arc fun things to do together. c z
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I like th e m ountains m yself. N othing m akes m e happier than to b e exploring a new backwoods trail. I love to go around the w orld and explore. Bui if I w ere to choose a region, i t w ould be Europe. E very p art o f Europe interests m e. Specifically, I like to go to R om e, Paris and V atican city. I love ro travel— going to n ew places and seeing things I’ve never seen before. M y favorite p laces to travel to are beaches.
5 ) I lave you ever been to the seaside? Y es, i’ve had several v acations on the seaside. T here is a beach not too far from w here my fam ily lives, so every tim e 1 go to visit m y family, w e spend a lot o f tim e on the beach. 6 ) W hy do som e people take th e ir holidays at the seaside? I guess they like to sw im , lie on the sund, tun, and go sailing on the sea. Plus there arc usually a lot o f nice restaurants near the seaside and it is a good opportunity to enjoy fresh seafood. 7 ) Do you w ant to live n e a r the sea? N o, I d o n ’t like the sea. it’s so salty and deep and th ere are all kinds o f fish a n d other creatures sw im m ing about in it. O n th e o th er hand, the a ừ is often quite clean n ear the se a and the w eather v ery p leasan t com pared to farther inland. So if I w as concerned about m y health I w ould probably choose to live near the sea.
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6. destination n. 0 ủíỉitk,
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♦ IE L T S S p ô ak in o ♦
6. Housing and Accommodation % íì?) 1 ) W h at kind urhousiiig/accoftiinodatiou do you live in? I liv e in ail apartm ent building. M y fam ily ow ns tw o apiim nents right next to each other and Ỉ live in the sm aller apartm ent w ith m y sister. M y m other and father and my father’s parents live in the other. 2 ) H ow do you like it? O h, I like it very m uch; Í liv e quite high up and I have a w onderful view o f the city. And it is very convenient to live n ear m y parentis, as m y m om often cooks for us w hen w e are very busy. 3 ) W hat kind o f decorations does it ( do the ro o m s ) have? T he apartm ent is very n icely furnished, though sim ple. W e have a brand new living room set, a couch an d two chairs, w h ich m y parents picked out. M y sister and I p ick ed o u t the curtains and lam p s and knicknacks, so that it has kind o f a M iddle E astern style. W c decorated our ow n room s w ith all the things w e sav ed from grow ing up. 4 ) W hat kind o f house o r ap artm en t do y ou w ant to live in? 1 w an t to live in a little house in th e country, w ith two floors and a big attic and bascincnt. and w ide g ard en s and orchards around it. I w ould probably have to live in an ap artm en t in tow n most o f the tim e a n d I would like m y ap artm en t to also have two floors.
I w o u ld love to ow n a n ice brickfront tow nhouse close to work. Som ething w ith a deck above a patio, a big kitchen, and plenty o f room to entertain. T hat w ould be so w onderful...
5 ) W hich is y o u r favorite room in your hom e? My favorite room is my ronm , because IT has m y lieil and tilings in ii and n little w indow seat w here you can s it in the sunshine and look uulside. W hen 1 w ant tư get ciway from everything fur a while, I can escap e to m y room surrounded by the things 1 love that rem ind m e o f happy m em ories and if I w ant lo chiỉỉ I c a n play co m p u ter gam es w henever 1 want.
illá ; f t * 1 like the living room because there I can relax on the couch. O f course. M y bedroom , because ] can do w hatever 1 w ant in it. N o noise, but m y ow n. Ị 1 w ould h av e to say that it w o u ld b e m y room . It’s clean, w ell k ep t b u t com fortable an d relaxing. I
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s' It’s m y territory. Ĩ could do w h at ever 1 w an t and it w ouldn't m atter because T he k itchen. It is the h u b o f the h ouse. M ore activity there tlian anyw here cook.
6 ) W hich room docs your fam ily spend m ost oJ'the tim e in? M y fam ily spends m ost o f th eir tim e in the living room . We often w atch D V D s together or we ju st talk about o u r day. A nd i f w e have friends or relatives over, w e w ill all go into the living room to sit and talk an d c a t som e snacks. 7 ) W hat w o u ld you say is the best thing about your hom e? M y favorite thing about m y hom e is the big terrace w e have, it's a very pleasant place ÍU sit in the w arm w eather. T here is a “se c re t” door inside a closet that leads out onto the terrace and w c have a picnic tabic an d chairs out th ere, so you can ju s t go out there under the sky and read a book or look up into the clear blue sky.
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ĩỉm Probably m y com forter set. I didn’t like it much w hen I first bou?*hl it— I originally w anted another design
but it’s grow n on m e in the past few m onths.
It depends, if y o u 're talking about my apartm ent or m y paren t's house. T h eir house, Í like the fam ily room — aw esom e couches and big-scrcen TV . In m y apartm ent, m y bedroom — com lv king-size bed.
V________________________________________________________________________________________ / 8 ) W ould you like to m ove to an o th er place? N ot now , b u t eventually yes, because I think I w ould be bored to live in the sam e place for too long. I w ould m iss m y parents so it w ould be hard to m ove aw ay from hom e, but at the sam e tim e I am anxious to have a life o f m y ow n. Plus I think that living in a big city is very im personal and I w ould like fo live in a different place.
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♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
17. interior design
23. sym m etry n.
18. rent n.
24. furnished adj.
19. cram ped adj.
25. in good condition
20. spacious adj.
26. clean and tidy
21. airy adj. i d ^ ử ^
27. storey n. &
22. co zy adj.
28. plant n.
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iiss 7. Sports and Exercise W hat is y o u r favorite sport? M y favorite sport is definitely soccer. Í love the feeling o f being out there on th e field and ju st ru n n in g w ith the wind.
Soccer! It’s one o f the m ost highly athletic, dem anding, and com petitive sports! Yly favorite spori is basketball. I like w atching it. I'm not really good at any sport, because I'm not athletic. Volleyball! I like serving in V -balỉ. Il is all I can do well. W hen I w as ill high school, I was not pupular. but Ĩ was A L W A Y S called on to serve in V -ball. 11 w as ihe only tim e I w as popular! V 2 ) Wily do you like it so m uch? In soccer the rules are not too co m plicated, but it’s very com petitive and takes a lot o f skill and talent to play w ell. I alw ay s have fun w hen I’m playirm or w atching it on TV .
These sp o its m ake you m ove a lot, thus giving you m ore adrenalin and exercise! ft’s just aw esom e, the thrill, th e rush and then there are the dunks w hich can be so cool! B ecause those are really the onlv sports i excel at. In track I am the best girl long-distance runner and in softball 1 am one o f the better pitchers. T hey are also very fun and get you in shape! I grew up in Huiitinglon B each California* so it was as natural LO m e as breathing.
3 ) W hat is the m ost p o p u lar sport in your country? I th in k it’s basketball. Football also has alw ays been the m ost popular sport in C hina. Badm inton an d p in g p o n g arc close behind. 4 ) D o you like to exercise daily? N o, I d o n ’t. J’m aw fully lazy, i know that 1 n eed to change this habit or I’m afraid it is going to com e hack and hite me in the butt.
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♦ [ELTS Speaking
♦
I do en jo y exercising b u t finding tile tim e is the hard tiling. W alking is very guud and cheap. Sil-ups and push-ups are great too. 1 do them w hen I wake up an d before I LỊO !o sleep. T he push-ups and 25 crunches. It's nol a lot, but if s better than nothing.
5 ) I lo w m uch time do you spend exercising? P robably five or six hours a w eek. I know (hat 1 w ill not m ake the O lym pics at (hat rate, but then again sports is no: m y field. 6 ) W h at arc the advantages o f reg u lar exercise? T h ere’s the obvious advantage th at if you regularly exercise you will stay stronger, m ore fit, and healthier, h u t you also get b etter sleep and it helps calm your busy m ind 7 ) W here do people in C hina usually exercise? Y oung people go to the gym o r go to u playground and play basketball. O lder people will ju st KO o u tsid e their apartm ents an d do T ai Chi. 8 ) W h at forms o f exercise are m ost popular in C hina? B adm inton or p in g p o n g arc very popular here in C hina. B asketball and football are also very popular. 9 ) Do you think prim ary school children should have sports classes at school? Í certain ly think so, b ecau se prim ary school children have a let o f energy and if lliey m ust rem ain co o p ed up at a desk all day, they will not be able lo concentrate because they will w ant Ic go and play.
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27. athlete n. ỈL$JĨI
33. s c ơ r e ( u p o in t/ t í g j u l )
28. am ateur
34. bow ling alley
29. gold m ed al 'Ềr^ậ
35. healtli benefits
30. jersey n.
36. low er blood pressure
31. sports g ear ìế. $ %L$r
37. low er stress
32. referee n. -foỈ'}
38. character building
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8. Interests and Hobbies F ilm L) D o y o u like film s? Y es, I en jo y w atching film s. W hen I w ant to relax, or have som e fun, I like to w atch m ovie. 2 ) W hat kinds o f films do you like best? M y favorite kinds o f film s arc com edies. 1 like m ovies that can m ake m e laugh.
M y favorite kinds o f film s are action films, w ith exciting stories and lots o f special effects. M ostly rom antic com edies, b u t I like som e o f the ones that keep you thinking all the w ay through loo, like A B eautiful M ind, T he F ifth E lem ent and The Sixth Sense. R om ance, com edy, d ram a, som e action but not m uch though, m ystery, horror and suspense. I guess everything hut w esterns an d m ost action, oh and som e classic olcl m ovies are OK too.
3 ) How often do you watch films? I f there is an interesting m ovie playing at the cinem a, I’ll go to see it. It’s nice to go out to see a m ovie w ith my friends som etim es, and g el to see ii on a big screen. 4 ) Do you like to w atch film s alone o r w ith your friends? I ’d rath er w atch films w ith m y friends. W e alw ays have a good tim e together, and afterw ards w e talk a b o u t the m ovie, w h eth er we enjoyed it o r not. 5} Do y o u prefer to w atch film s in (he cinem a o r at hom e? I p refer to w atch m ovies a t the cinem a, because then yon gel to see the m ovie on n b ig screen, with, a better sound system . I think it m ak es the m ovie m ore im pressive, you know.
Í I prefer to w atch m ovies at hom e, because then I can choose any m ovie Ĩ w ant to w atch, and Ĩ can pause it if] need to go get som ething. Ĩ prefer w atching m o v ies al h o m e b ecau se yon can w atch (It your leisure and it is so convenient to pause or go back a few scenes and ju s t stop and continue w atching hours o r clays later. I W hereas in the cinem a, you do h av e a bigger screen but you do not have any control whatso
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D epends, [ f i t ’s a big action film w ith lots u f explosions, [ w ould see it at the cinem a, but others I like to w atch on DVD. T h e re ’s n othing belter than kicking b a c k oil your com fv old couch in front o f the box..
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Do you like to dance? Yes. I like to dance, ’cause ] really enjoy m oving to the m usic.
No, I don’t like TO dance, I d o n 't know how to dance very w ell, and Ĩ feel uncom fortable. I love lo dunce, in fiicl I kike B elly D ance C lasses and I’ve perform ed a co u p le n f tim es...it’s actually quite addictive once you g et used to it! I love 10 dance! Fve been tak in g dance class since Ĩ w as 5 years old. Jazz, rap, ballet and m o d em . J find d ancing very exiting and sensual. It m ost definitely keeps you ill shape. You don’t
2 ) W h at kind o f dancing do C hinese people like? C h in ese people like to do ballroom dancing, but outside oil the street. Young people like to go to discos and dance techno and hip hop. .? ) D oes C hina have anv traditional dances? C hina has a lo t o f traditional dances. T h ere arc as m any traditional d an ces in China as there are ethnic minorities.
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is a style o f celebration tin rice very popular in the countryside o f Don^bei,
C hina. D ancers typicallv u se a red silk ribbon urouncl the Wiiist and sw ing the body in music. In d ifferen t areas Y ang G c arc done in d ifferent styles but all express happiness. E r R e n Z h u a n ( — / v # ) is a local folk dance from N ortheast C hina. I( usually consists o f two p eo p le, a boy and a girl. T hey sin g as w ell as dance, using folded Fans during the dancing portion.
4 ) Is traditional dance still p a p u la r today in C hina? Yes, I think so. M any C hinese young people go to school in order to learn it; it’s part o f our culture. Nơ, I d on't think so. N ow adays, m ore people prefer m odern m usic and dancing styles. 5 ) W hat kinds o f dancing arc popular w ith young people in China? Y oung people arc interested in m any form s o f dancing here in C hina. We like 10 go to clubs and dance to hip-hop and techno m usic.
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10. bring luck and happiness
2.
sense o f rhythm y
11. coordination n W 'ift
3.
folk dance
12. flexibility n. A ỳ£'ìà.
4.
m odern dance
13. stam ina n. tiị ý ĩ
5.
b allet It.
14. build confidence 44
6.
hip-hop
15. positive self-esteem Ể) %
7.
g^Tnnastics n.
16. w ell-being 'ftfcifife'fe fo
8.
ethnic m inorities * yik% JSk
9.
lion d an ce * ^ '^ T
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17. dance studio M %TẬ-
M u sic S f t 1 ) D o you like to listen to m usic? Y es, I do. r u often listen to m usic on m y M P4 w hen I’m traveling from place to place, or w hen I’m at hom e, relaxing. 2)
W hat kinds o f m usic do you like? Ĩ like to listen to love so n g s/ pop m usic/ rock m usic/ traditional C hinese m u s ic /ja z z / hip hop / Latin m usic.
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m / / — say m y favorite genre is H eavy M etal and m y favorite bands are M etaUica an d P an te ra !!
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I Í d o n 't h av e a fnvoriie type. I like a little o f everything, but I do have a favorite band, Don Jovi. I love all kinds o f m usic. I think it’s im portant to he open enough to enjoy all types. Ĩ like RÃB. hip hop, jazz, rock, oldies, classical and alternative. I like ro c k because o f the guitars. I like loud m usic. I like the energy it has and gives off. A lot o f rock I listen to is about ex p erien ces and relationships gone bad. Ĩ like the h e a v y guitars behind 1 th e lyrics it really adds m ore m ea n in g to the songs.
3 ) W hat kinds o f m usic are p o p u lar in China? E verybody has different tastes, but I think love songs and p j p m usic arc the m osl popular kinds o f m usic in China. O ld er classics from A m erica and Europe arc pretty popular h ers too. R ap is also getting to be very popular as w ell. 4 ) I !ave you ever learned to play a m usical instrum ent? Y es, w hen I was in school, I learned to play the violin, but Ĩ don’t play it anym ore, and I think I’ve forgotten how. 5 ) Is m usic an im portant subject at school in C hina? U nfortunately m usic is n o t such a po p u lar subject at school in C hina. M ath and Science are m uch m ore im portant in C hina although m aybe not so popular. 6)
W hat benefits do children gain by studying m usic o r learning to play a m usical instrum ent? Đy learning how to plav a m usic instrum ent, children can learn m any things. T hey can learn self-discipline, determ ination, and how In appreciate m usic better.
T here are benefits indeed. P lay in g an instrum ent m akes you sm arter, it teaches you discipline, it helps It) relieve stress, it can eiv e you a sense o f achievem ent end m ost o f all, it’s fun. And it's proven that people playing an instrum ent since children becom e sm arter, m ore articulate and have a h ig h er chance o f having a successful life.
1. classical m usic
7. spontaneous adj. 1*1$ .0 ^ ,
2. p o p m usic
8. beai/z.4ồ T*
3. folk m usic R .&
9. rhym e n .ỵ k té)
A. rap •ijLpẵ*rj’£
10. musical instruments
5. so o th in g adj.
11. lyrics
6. m e lo d y n.
12. m usic education
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♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
13. band n .& ?À 14 . ore he stra n . Ỹ Ỉ Ề 15. svm phony
17. creative-lhinking Ể>| PA-
18 . enrich
n . % vk f c
16. tem peram ent n
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.
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enlighica
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20. m usic therapy -ặ* fc t ì rx
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T h e te n g r e a te s t C h in e se c la ssic a l m u sic 1. W hite Snow in Early Spring ( P ip a ) ?0& Ố # Ó Ế O 2. A m bush on A ll Sides (P ip a )
(life )
3 F lute and D rum At Sunset ( P ip a ) ỳ lTư
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4. H igli M ountain and Flow ing W ater (G u z h e n g ) Ã J-I 5. T he A utum n M oon o v er the H an P a la c e ( e r h u ) 6. G u an g L ing V erse ( G u q i n ) f~
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( -& Ẹ- )
7. T h ree V ariations o f the Plum Blossom (D iz i)
( s*?-)
8. W ild G eese D escending on the Sandbank (S o n g q in ) -p ỹ ỳ y ề -tâ ( 9. D ialogue betw een Fisher an d W oodcutter ( Q in, X ia o ) 10. E ighteen Tragic Parts o f B arbarian Pipes (G u q i n )
^
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D ra w in g a n d P a in tin g l ê 111 I ) H ave you ev e r learned lo draw ? T o tell you the truth I n ev er really had the tim e to learn to draw . I also really d o n 't have (he talent to spend m y tim e drawing. 2 ) Do you d raw n o w / Yes, I som etim es lik e to draw . N ot only is it a good form o f relaxation, but I enjoy creating beautiful things and using m y im agination. E ven if I can’t draw very w ell I still e n jo y it. 3 ) W hat d o you think are som e o f the benefits o f draw ing, for both children and adults? B oth ch ildren and adults need to use their creativity. D raw ing teach es people lo look a t the w orld differently, m ure carefully and thoroughly, it helps people relax and h av e fun, and it gives you a chance to use y o u r im agination.
Kids get m any benefits from draw ing and painting. A rtistic expression can offer urban children an appreciation o f the b eau ty in the ordinary, like &uit, and expand th eir visual horizons beyond cityscapes to the w id er w orld.
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D raw ing is fun and exciting. T h e benefits o f draw ing lo everv o th er facet o f learning and com m unication are enorm ous. By learning to craw w hat w e see w e also learn to m ake co nnections and w e learn to be able to describe w hat w e otherw ise would not be able to express. W e learn TO solve problem s and to think about areas o f know ledge and ideas that would not otherw ise have occurred to us.
1. art skills í Ạ-ÌỈ.Ể& 2.
nurture
11. still life i f tfn
12. graffiti n. ffcty
V.
3. C hinese painting ẼỊ Õ&
13. realistic adj.
4. w ash painting
14. concentration /I. -ệ" *CÀ
5. ink stone J2iL-6
15. focus n. ■&'£.
6. oil painting
16. brush
7. calligraphy adj. # r k
17. technique n. ị & r)
8. w atercolors
18. observation n.
9. portrait ft. ft' lậ.
19. canvas n '.líiÝ
10. landscape n.
20. R enaissance
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P h o to g ra p h y ĩẫ% í I ) Do you like to take photographs? Yes, I like to lake photographs It’s great fun, and then afterw ards you can alw ays have the photos, and rem em ber the good tim es you’ve had.
I like photography. A s th e y say, a picture is w orth 1\ thousand w ords. T hrough pliotogrnphy, you can find beauty in the m ost unlikely o f places. Photographs are a m eans o f show ing and sharing experiences w ith those close by, o r w ith the w orld. Y ou put a little o f y o u r ow n se lf in every picture. Y e s T like photography. I ju s t started and am doing good. It’s so m uch iim! 2 ) W hen ( = ơ n w hat o c c a sio n s) do you (tike photos? W ell, usually I take photos w hen I go out som ew here, to a park or to the beach or to a party. W hen it’s som ebody’s birthday, Spring Festival, at graduations, o r any other im portant occasion, I take photos. 3 ) W hat kind o f photos d o you like to take? M ostlv, I like to take p ictu res o f nature or o f beautiful scenery. A lso Ĩ like to take silly pictures w ith my friends. W e alw ays laugh a lot arid have a good lim e.
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A n im als and Jiaiurc. 1 hate taking pictures o f people because they are alw ays posing and looking u n real, but anim als and nature, arc so natural and beautiful. I a m in no w ay a professional photographer, blit I like to c arry m y cam era around ju st in case 1 see som ething o f interest, som ething bcautiftil that r d like <0 capture. I also like to take photos of' the people around me. Y ears later, Í look at these photos and (hey help m e to rem em ber Some great tim es in my life.
4 ) is photography a popular hobby in C hina? I think so. W hen C hinese people go out together, they often take photos o f each other, or o f the places they visit. 5)
D o C hinese peuple like to visit photographic exhibitions? Y ou know that 1 don’t really visit photographic exhibitions because they arc a little hard to find here in C hina. There are som e, but the content is really not so interesting.
1.
p h o to grap h y n. tik ỉỷ
6. optical adj.
2.
digital cam era
7.
pixel n. iậ-
3.
d evelop film s
8.
patience w.
4.
k n o w -h o w
9.
im agination
5.
close-up shots
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10. artistic n.
C o llectin g 1 ) Do you collect anything? Sure. Ĩ have a collection o f postcards from different countries.
í£ g $ ím I have a collection o f interesting bags. I have m any different sizes, som e arc clear, som e arc green o r pink or black, m any colors and som e have cool designs on them like dollar signs, aliens, sports team s and 4 -le a f clovers. I think it’s pretty unique. I'm addicted 10 gum , so I’ve started collecting gum w rappers. I have ab o u t 600 T rident w rappers and 900 Orbit. I also co llect anything having to do with penguins, because they are m y favorite anim al. ] have alw ays been attracted to coffee m ugs w ith great prints or logos on them N ol llitỉ ones available in reg u lar shops; I m ean the ones in the souvenir shops in m useum s, national parks, m onum ents and such kind o f places. T hey have such neat looking ones a n d I alw ays get u couple
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o f them wherfcver I go.
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2 ) W hy d o y o u c o lle c t... ( that/those th in g s)? I collect those things because they arc interesting and rare. I like to go over m y co llectio n and see all the cool things I’v e got stored aw ay. 3 ) Is co llectin g a p o p u lar pastim e in C hina? It used to h e b u t not anym ore. A ctually it is a little hard to find things to collect, except for m aybe p ictu res o f C h airm an M ao on flags o r coffee mugs. 4 ) D o a lot o f people in C hina collect tilings and vvhat do they collect? P eople in Chinn ruiilly d o n ’t co llect loo m any things. T hey arc pretty busv w ith the daily run o f things and don’t have the tim e o r the resources to collect things. 5 ) W hat are the benefits o f collecting? (= W hy do people like c o lle c tin g ? ) W ell people like to collect things m ostly as a hobby and hobbies are good to have, because they h elp people to relax an d g et th eir m inds o ff their jobs or problem s they m ay have.
f m & K K Stam p collecting is a hobby th at has been enjoyed by m any people. It is a po p u lar pastim e timl provides m any educational benefits. It’s a great w ay to lcam history and past events. W ell, there is a good potential to learn a lot about our and other countries; that is, hislory. This is one benefit thai I h e a r a lot aboul all Ihe lim e. A nd tins m ay be one o f the best benefits far young collectors
(but you arc n ev er too old to learn!). C oins can be a good w ay for children to learn
about the history o f th eir ow n country and to have som ething that will fit into a pocket lor “ sh ow -and-tell” . T here arc all o f the o th er co in collectors that you can m eet and get to know. A nd they all have their ow n stories to tell.
I. collector /1.
2. antique
3. lake up
4. coin collecting
5. stam p collecting
6. historical value Jh
7 . ed u catio n al benefits 4
8. organizational skills
9. ro c k collecting
10. outdoor exercise f*
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12. w orthw hile
V.
V. ứ i £ f
13. m useum
14. exhibit n.Jjk.vn
15. item ỉỉ.ịh o v
16. curator
17. asset
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* IE L T S Speaking
9. Mass Media (TV, Radio, Newspapers) 7 CíỉfefệỉS Í ) W liat kind o f entertainm ent d o vou prefer, T V or radio? Í definitely p refer to w atch T V b ecau se then you not only get to hear, but to se e, and you rem em ber the story b etter w hen there’s Ỉ1 p icture to go with it.
Som etim es I'll listen to the radio if there is som ething 200d on it. N either, I go to the w ebsite. I don’t h ave tim e for TV or radio and Ĩ can w atch clips on CN N .com . I
2 ) W hat program s do you like to w atch/listen to? 1 like to w atch different soap operas, and if it’s a series, 1 never m iss one.
I like to listen to educational program s; there are so m any things you can learn about nature, language, different countries, and different cultures. T hey’re so interesting. I like docum entaries. A nything factual w here I can learn som ething new and interesting. You d iscover a lot o f new things, and get a scientific explanation to everything. I like ro w atch anim al show s b ecause 1 find anim als and their behaviors arc very intriguing. It’s surprising at tim es how m uch som e anim als seem to m im ic behavior you w ould only expect from a hu m an bcine.
y
3 ) H ow do you think T V /radio broadcasts in C hina could be im proved? ? It w ould be nice to h av e m ore variety in both TV and radio here in C hina. Ĩ! is getting a lot better now and looks to g et even better 4 ) D o you prefer TV new s o r new s on the radio? I prefer new s o n the radio because then ] am not distracted by llie announcer and liis or her presence. I like new s on the radio also because o f the fact that you can get it m ore often, on TV it is lim ited to certain hours o f the day.
I d o n ’t lik e T V news because it isn’t really new s. It is entertainm ent, and it is biased but doesn’t ack n o w led g e the fact. O n radio you can get m ore inform ation, and the bias is usually
c a r WWW.
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ack n o w led g ed . The internet is best. Y ou can go to m ultiple sources to find out w hat you w ant,
and get different points u f view.
5 > D o you read new spapers? Y es, 1 like to read
llieni verv m uch. T hey are a source o f inform ation
for m e and I can keep up w ith
m y favorite sports team through them.
ĩ ĩ m I rarely read new spapers o r m agazines. I prefer getting m y new s online o r via local news. Y es, I still read the new spaper. I m ainly rely on it for local events that arc com ing up, or that have ju st happened recently. T h ere is also a lot o i’other useful inform ation in the paper that m ay not be on the web.
6 ) W hich section o f the n ew sp ap er do von like to read? Why? M y favorite sections o f the n ew spaper arc the sports section and the entertainm ent section. I like to keep up w ith personalities and w hat they arc doinii.
I r e a d the local new s. T h ere is alw ays som ething exciting going on. It’s G o o d to stay informed, especially about tilings happening ill your neighborhood. I jus! like political new s/w orld news. A fter that I go check out the cartoons. The local new s, the com ics, and the spoils. In that order. Ĩ also enjoy doing the pu z/les.
7 ) Do you think the In ternet w ill replace new spapers one day? Yes. I definitely think so. 1 think that as m ore people have access to the Internet and com puters, p ap er will eventually b eco m e a thing o f the past. It’s quicker and easier to update w ebpages on the Internet than to print a w h o le new spaper.
1. m ass m ed ia
9. current affairs u t i
2. ratings n.
10. soap operas j|C4L<&]
3. ep isode/2. 4jc
] 1. documentary
4.
12. variety show
au d ie n c e n.
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5. h o s t w. j L ^ A
13. Lalk show
6. an nouncer n. iậ - â - w
14. quiz show frr-fo M
7. live b roadcast
15. TV adaptation
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8. sitcom n.
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16. com m ercials $ i t r - £ -
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♦ 1E L T S Speaking
17. public service advertisem ent t ì r ì L t -ệr
34. periodical n. ffl-f1]
18. sports new s f a ' i r ifrffin
35. in-dcpth coverage v ^ J r ìm ĩẳ.
19. w eath er forecast
36. dom estic new s lẳ)
20. satellite dish
37. international n ew s ỉál F ;rirr r»fj
21. couch potato 'fcifl.il.
38. com ic strip iềífc>i.ố&
22. reg u lar m edia
39. feeiuro article
23. daily n. p -tli
40. agony aunt ^ X ife 4} 'hVỒ Ĩ®]
24. quarterly ff,
41. scandal n.
25. q uality new spaper f -
42. hum an interest story
26. tabloid n. 'J 'iri
43. tim e lin e ss/Ỉ.
27. b roadsheet /T.
44. highlight n.
28. circulation «. £ 4 f i t
45. opinion poll
29. headline n.
46. objectivity
30. editorial n. i k &
47. w atchdog n.
31. book review
if
S p Jt'ii.
48. bins ?2. 'ÍA^L
32. colum n n. ịỂ. s) 33. classified ads
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49. hearsay fi. ắ*
50. publicity /2. 'Ể iệ5 1. reliable adj. T l f
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10. Nature (Flowers, Birds, Weather, Seasons F lo w e rs 7EJL 1} Do you like flow ers? Y es, I like flow ers. T hey 're so beautiful and varied, and som e have a w onderful scent- too. The w orld w ould be a little m ore boring w ithout their cute faces and lovely scents.
/!Ẽ ĨĨ» Yes. T h ey are pretty and sm ell nice. T h ey cheer me up and m ake the place look nice and cheerful. 1 d on't really like flow ers. T hey die if you don’t lake care o f them and I ’m forgetful. T hey arc pretty though and sm ell nice.
2)
W hat ỈS y o u r favorite flow er? My favorite flowers change w ith the kind o f m ood that I am ill. i n am happy I like carnations; if I feel rom antic I like roses.
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I love lilacs. I’m addicted to their fragrance. I'm partial to daisies. T hey 're so cheerful and happy and not too expensive. T hey last a long tim e— som etim es two w eeks.
3 ) W hat are the o ccasions w hen p eo p le send o r receive flow ers? U sually people send flow ers w hen it’s a special occasion, such as w hen a friend has a birthday, or g raduates ử o m school, or has ÍI new baby, or opens u new business, or gets prom oted or married. 4 ) W hat flow ers have special m eaning in China? Y ou k n o w i f you asked m y m om , she could answ er that question, she is a florist. I n ev er really w as th a t interested in w hich flow er goes on w hich day. I think roses go TO som eone w ho is in love.
P eony is kind o f the national flow er and it represents prosperity and fortune.
1.
chrysanthem um n . t i i i
4. sym bol o f prosperity
2.
peony
5. jasm ine W.3C25
3.
national flow er E3 Í&
6. daisy ft.
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7. carnation n. ĩặ. A $
12. intcgritv /ĩ.i t. A
8. C hina ro se ^ -f-
13. virtue
9. orchid n. ^ ÍẾ .
14. bloom V. '/f'i£
10. sym bolic m eanings 1 1.
15. fragrance ;r.
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represent V.
B ird s ỹ j ) í 1 ) A re there m an y birds near your hom e? Y es, th ere are, but you usually can only hear them sine in the early m orning. T here arc also a lot o f sparrow s Hying around and pigeons on ihe roof on my apartm ent building. 2 ) How d o you reel about birds? 1 think som e birds can be beautiful, and I enjoy listening to Their singing. T hey’re so sm all and sw eet. T hey really help m e to leave this w orld a w hile as i loưk at them flying about so gracefully.
_ _
< ) im m Y eah they can he good com panions b u t my m ain problem w ith them is that they lend to poo all o v er w hen you let them o u t to flv around. T hey can also be loud for no reason at all. T hey arc good pets because they are easy to m aintain. No, actually 1 hate birds... sm all cute birds are okay, as long as they are outside, b u t [ hate birds. Ỉ think Ĩ have a bird phobia. M y h eart starts pounding every tim e I walk by the parrots in the pet store
(they arc not euged o r chained or anything, they just sit oil Iheir little tree freely). Birds
freak m e out.
3 ) How d o C hinese people feel about birds? Just go to a park and you will see that C hinese people really like birds. T hey love to keep them as pets and fill th eir houses w ith them . 4 ) Do any birds have any p articu lar significance in C hina? The P hoenix, w hich alth o u g h ib m ythological, is a bird that has particu lar significance in China, ft is a sign o f good form ne an d blessing. 5 ) Do you think birds should he protected? W ell. 1 think birds, like any O th er anim al, n e e d to be protected if ihev becom e an endangered species. T h ey really have a haixl tim e protecting them selves and if they w ere gone, som ething special w ould be m issing from life. 6)
How can ihey b e p rotected? Wc can p ro tect birds by raising aw areness about their situation, and by not buying endangered species, or destroying their habitats. W e also need to keep an eye on the environm ent, w hich is their
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habitat. 7 ) Do C hinese people like raising ( k e ep in g ) pel birds? Y es, m an y people like to keep birds as pels. T hey like listening to the birds sing, and som e birds can even be taught how to talk. Birds arc great pets. T hey arc so cute and sw eet. 8 ) Is bird-w atching p opular in C hina? If p eo p le have th e tim e and the m oney and can gel to a location lliat has a li>t o f birds, then people w ill do it, but unfortunately that is not the case here in China.
ỉM H s M ra c 1. m agpie
10. elegance
2. sparrow n .jfc#-
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3. crow n. ẺỊ Wj
12. control pests ÍỀ 'M
4. m andarin duck
13. poo 1». ill*-®.
5. parrot n.
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6. phoenix tu
15. cage /?. ẼỊ &
7. peacock
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9. longevity
W e a th e r 5^ ^ 1 ) Wli.it is the clim ate like in your hom etow n? Ĩ live in CluiTigqing and Ihư w eath er there is very wel in w inter and extrem ely hot in sum m er. T he clim ate in m y hom etow n is generally hot and sunny/ hot and rainy, especially during the noon/ very dry and dusty/ cold an d cloudy. 2 ) D oes it rain m uch here ill B eijing? N o, it d o esn ’t and that is getting to be a problem here w ith the Ihreat o f drought conditions ap p earin g on th e horizon. W e really need the rain and som etim es 1 spend days ju s t liupiiig the sky w ill p o u r dow n w h at \vc so desperately need. 3 ) D o you like rainy dttvs o r sunny days? I lik e su n n y days better than rainy days. Rainy days m ake me Teel sad, and m ake m e feel like noi going outside.
ac&fM W ell 1 suppose that it d epends. If I have lo w ork or have a lot to do that day, then Pd prefer it be sunny outside. ĩf Ĩ d o n ’t have anything to do and I’m o ff w ork, w hich is rare, then I don’t m in d V
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♦ I b L I S S peaking •
/■ the rain. W hen it rains and I don’t have anyihing to do and I can ju st curl up on the couch, watch m ovies, read a book, or nap then, Rainy days don’t bother m e. So, I suppose it depends on my m ood and how busy I am that p articu lar day. I like sunny days R ainy days arc boring and som etim es they can m ake you sad. s 4)
W hen ( in w hat m o n th /seaso n ) docs it rain m ost in your hom etow n? M y hom etow n is C hongqing and it rains m ostly in sum m er, buckets o f rain a t a time. It is really refreshing w hen it com es dow n, and the sound o f the rain is m agical.
5 ) Do you th in k rain is goad? O f course, rain is good. C rops couldn't grow w ithout it, and then w e w ould all starve to death.
6)
D ocs rain ever affect transportation in your hom etow n? If it rains very heavily, then there are often traffic ja m s, because nobody w ants to w alk or ride bicycles. They all take taxis o r cars, and this causes traffic jams.
IE 1
ag reeab le w eather j t A .ỐÍỊ - k . \
8. depressing adj. ill A
2
hum id adj. iSLffltfj
9. drizzle
3. stifling adj. 4. breezy adj.
Í ij f k
^
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10. show er ft. r+rfv Ớ0
11. typhoon /ỉ. ử R
5 . sco rch ing adj. 3L f t ỔỘ
12. suniiy days h . N.Í
6. freezing a d j . ' Ậ <!•;
13. dust storm í i x
7. chilly
14. tem perature
ẤtiỲỳ
S easons P it 1)
W hich season do you like best? W hy? M y favorite season is spring, because flow ers begin to bloom and (lie w eather stalls to w arm up.
M y favorite season IS sum m er, because I like hot w eather and lots o f sunshine. M y favorite season is fall, because Ĩ like cooler w eather, and then the leaves on the trees Sturt to change color. It’s really beautiful. M y favorite season is w in ter, because Ĩ liks culd w eulher, and I alw ays hope it will snow.
1 I like spring b ecause it is starting to get w arm and isn’t too cold o r too hot. 1 d o n ’t like the others because w inter is to o cold, su m m er is too hor and autum n is starting 10 get cold.
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ills 2)
W hat d o people d o in th is season? In sp rin g , b ecause people have holidays, they often like to visit their hom etow ns or other beautiful p laces.
í ĩ i m
I
111 su m m er, because lilt? w e a th e r is so w arm , som e people like lo go CO the b each , or go outside. O ther people w ould rather stay indoors w ith their air-con on. In autum n, b ecau se tilt? w e a th e r starts to get cooler, people usually like to travel. In w inter, if you live som ew here w here the w eather gets very cold, people like to ice skate, or ski. If you don’t Like cold w eather, you Slav inside and keep w arm . V____________________________________________________________________________________________ ; 3)
Do you think die seasons h av e ch anged in recent years, com pared to the past? N ow adays, there are m an y ch an g es in Ihe seasons. Som etim es tlie sum m ers are unusually hot, or the w inters unusually w arm , or the rains com e too early o r too late.
ặ s líiS H Ì Ỉ & ítìÌ D T : ] . crisp adj. f* ^
4. w rap up w arm % ủv f
2.
w arm adj.
5. still an d quiet
3.
suiuiy adj. HÍỒHỪ
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t w
11. Social Issues (Transport, Noise) t t ồ N M B icycle 1) Are b icycles popular in your city? R icycles are generally popular in C hina, prohably because th e y are cheap transportation and von can g et good exercise from riding them . 2 ) Do you o ttcn ride a bicycle? Y es, I often ride a bicycle, if I'm not going too far, or if I ju st w ant the exercise.
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No, I d o n ’t ride a bicvclc. T h e traílì c is too dangerous and I’m scared o f getting hit by a car. W ow! I do not think I have been o n a bicycle for 10 years, I w onder if I can still ride one. I used to rid e m y bicycle w hen I w as 18 alm ost everyday, but now 1 k eep it in m y garage because I now only drive m y car. even if not going very far.
3)
W hat do you think arc tilt* advantages and disadvantage* o f bicycles com pared 10 cars o r public transport? W ell, for one thing, traveling in cars and public transport is m uch quicker, and can be m ore convenient. But w hen you ride bicycles, you don’t get stuck in traffic and you can get som e good e x e rc is e .
M Í& & M B enefits o f Bike C om m uting F itn e ss B iking lels you incorporate low stress aerobic exercise into your daily com m ute.
Time B icycles are the fastest transportation on w heels in urban settings. C om pared ÍƠ driving a car, urban bicycle trips o f three m iles o r less can actually decrease yoiir travel tim e. P a r k in g Forget about p ark in g headaches. R iding a bicycle lets you park m uch closer to your destination than a car. B ike rack s arc free. A year-long bike locker can be rented for less than a m onth's w orth o f parking an auto in a garage. In ex p en siv e!
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4)
Do you th in k bicycles arc suitable for present society? N ot alw ay s, because it takes too long to travel from place to place and this m akes bicycles not so practical. O n the olher hand bikes arc very suitable for present society seein g w e have reached the halfw ay m ark in oil consum ption. M aybe one d a y soon w e will all b e riding bikes.
S fr¥ iS llí& * « IỈE 1. electric b ik e tfli
6. bicycle lane ft
4'
2. folding bike
7. environm entally-friendly
3. m ountain b ik e iỉjJ è iẠ
8. grciỉn adj. 5ặ.Ếj2Lo ik V]
4 . pedal n.
9. less polluting ^ Ạ rit ' ỷ /7 Ik
5. tyre n . Ạ .iíế
T r a n s p o r t 3S 3 1 ) W hat m eans o f transport do you usually use? Ĩ don’t have a car, so I usually use public transport, like buses, or taxis, o r the m etro. It’s quite convenient for me. 2 ) W hat’s your favorite m eans o f transport? M y favorite w ay to travel is by plane, because it's quick and convenient,
even i f ii is expensive. Ĩ
love tn fly ahove it all and forget about traffic jam s. 3 ) How do you like to travel for long trips? liy plane, because then it d o esn ’t take m e so loug lo get to m y destination.
I don't w ant to w aste m y
valuable tim e ju s t g etting there. I have m ore im portani things to do. 4 ) W hat's the traffic like h ere in Beijing? It’s not so bad; because o f the subw ay, it usually d o c sn i take long to get from place to place.
' m &
m
T h e drivers are rude; they look at you and w ill ju st run vou over. It’s one o f the w orst cities to Jive in because o f the traffic it has.
People generally
give them
selv es at least an h o u r extra tim e to arrive on time. T h e co m m u ter traffic in the m om ine; starts at 7a.m . nnrl does not end until 10a.m. and then the aftern o o n traffic starts about 5p.m . and does not end until 8p.m .. A nd forget about it on Friday aftern oo n s, especially in sum m er.
V
B eijing really does look like a giant ca r park, doesn’t it? ___________
y
5 ) I Low do you think the public transport could be im proved? W ell, here in R eijing I Ihink th ey ju st need to add a few m ore subw ay lines and add some more ring
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roads and have m ore buses available, in order lo im prove public transport.
1 th in k higher fuel p rices are going to help. H aving an on-line carpool database lo get people from their hom es to public transport nodes, or having secure cycle lockers at railw ay stations an d bus stops m ight help too. I have recently returned from a holiday in Sw itzerland. It is nice to go there occasionally 10 rem ind m y se lf o f how things should be done. In over a w e e k I d id n 't see one traffic jam . Cities w ere all rcữ esh in g ly free o f cars. Yet the Sw iss have a better standard o f living than w e do. The secret? W ell there isn't one really— it's ju st that the governm ent accepts that a com prehensive n etw ork o f public transport is v ital to the efficient running o f the state. T herefore, all trains are electric; all run at reg u lar tim es generally at least hourly 7 days u w eek. B us stations are alw ays located next to railw ay stations. Buses alw ays connect w ith trains and w ith each other. T im etables arc alw ays available. Trains and trolley buses dom inate Lranspurt in the cities. E verything runs w ith absolute precision
(the lack o f traffic ja m s helps facilitate This).
C onnections are g u aranteed....! co u ld go on really, bui I m ight start crying. A ll it takes is the political w ill to d o som ething and it could he done
b u t as it is I suspect that politicians don't
ca re so it isn’t going to change. Learn to enjoy sitting in traffic ja m s— appreciate the freedom tliat a c a r brings VOII— Qiul 10 the people silting in the bus behind you. Increased frequency o f buses an d trains, m ake transport
m ore accessible to people with
disabilities and those on low incom es.
1. bus fare Ạ Ì Ĩ
13. vehicle n.
2. light railw ay & ị ĩ
14. m o to rcy cle t y ị b Ạ
3. public transport
15. speeding;!, á ẫ iả .
4. bus lane & 5c. ft] lit
16. speed lim it ft] ìầFỈM ']
5. priority n.
17. m otorw ay n. Ệì ÌẾ
6. cy cle lane M í Ạ i Ì
18. pavem ent n.
1 . couch n. k .
19. parkina m etre
8. congestion
20. taxi rank ứ íH Ạ i ơ
9. traffic ja m
21. c a rp a rk
10. car pool
22. packed adj.
i J . commute
V.
J i F 'fi
23. rush hour
l l . traffic lights
~ kW M
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I
NoLse 1 ) Do you m ind noises? ( D o any noises b o lh e r y o u ? ) Y es, 1 c a n ’t stand certain noises, like construction work going on in tnv apartm ent.
N o t really, som ehow I d o n 't seem to notice noise. I could sleep through an earthquake. W hen I tall asleep I am dead to the w orld. V
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2 ) W hat type o f noise do yon com e across here in your daily life? W here I live you can hear a lot o f noise from the construction and the traffic. A t night I can alm ost literally feel the hum o f all o f the T V s and people talking in the area. People say that 1am
very
sensitive to noise. 3 ) H ow do you ĩeel i f you w ork in a noisy environm ent? I feel irritable and I can ’t concentrate. I need to w ork in a quiet, orderly environm ent. 4 ) Are there any sounds that you like? Í like tile sound o f rain falling, and o f m usic, and o f birds singing. 1 also like the sound o f inv m other’s voice calling me to dinner. T his is o n e o f m y favorite sounds.
It m
m
I love the sound o f the w aves. I also love to hear babies laughing, it's so cute. W hen you w alk on the sn o w and it crunches under your feet. T he sound o f the ocean w av es b reaking on ilie shore. To me it’s one o f the w orld’s inosl relaxing sounds— nature’s lullaby.
5)
Are there any sounds you d o n ’t like? I hate Hie sound o f snoring, o r o f babies crying, or Ilf people talking very loudly. 1 also really dislike the sound o f p so p ic com plaining, this is one o f m y pet peeves.
scraping a fork against a glass/china plate the sound o f people ch ew in g th e ừ food up w ith their m outh w ide open fin g er nails scratching a chalk board w et rubber shoes on a liardw ood floor
6)
Arc cities becom ing noisier? I suppose they m ight be, sin ce cities are getting larger. But I think that w e arc all becom ing a little
~ kW M
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♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
d e a f from th e noise in the city and w e don’t even know it. 7 ) W hat ab o u t n o ise pollution? H ow (Jo C hinese people feel ab o u t this form o f pollution? Is ft a problem in y o u r hom etow n? W ell, i f you have Ỉ .4 billion people cram m ed into only about a fourth o f the country’s space you’re hound to h av e problem s w ith noise. Ill b ie cities noise is just a fact o f life that you have to live with. In m y hom etow n, it d id n ’t use to be a problem , b u t w hen m ore people started getting cars, and construction sites started p opping up all over the place, the noise w en t from bad to worse. M aybe som eday i f 11 get better, although I’ll probably go d e a f before that happens.
1. decibel /r. f t JQ
3. scratch
2. construction sites
4. hearing n. ũ/ f h
V . Í& -V # ]
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12. Food and Restaurants 1 ) W hat k in d s o f food do you particularly like? Ỉ really like spicy food. I am actually w ild about Beijing duck, I could eat it every day. 2 ) Is th ere any food you d o n ’t like? I d on't like sw eet and sour food, b ecause I don’t like m ixing the Iwo. 3 ) W hat kinds o f food are m ost p o p u lar in Chino? O r. w hat kinds o f food do C hinese people like to eat? O f course rice is the m ost popular food in C hina, but that goes w ithout saying. N oodles arc very popular along w ith breads. 4 ) D o you like cooking? Ĩ love to cook, hut not for very m any people, because then it’s ju st too m uch w ork. I think it’s very interesting to com e up w ith m y ow n recipes, and experim ent with different dishes.
Yes! I love cooking, it’s so m u ch fun. I’m nut vury good UI it but I find it fascinating. It's like a hobby to me! Ĩ have tn say 1 dislike cooking I find it a chore. M y husband loves cooking though so he (Joes inosắ o f it w hen lie is not al work. I like to cook because I like to cat. 1 hate the clean up afterw ards though. 1 love cooking and it's good to try ouC new recipes or ju st im prove som e I>r the ones thut you already know and m ake.
5 ) W ho usually docs the cooking in y o u r hom e? I do m ost o f the cooking, but there arc others, like my m other, w ho take turns too. I learned m ost o f m y cooking from m y 1110111. S he is a g reat cook. f>» D o you prefer to cat at hom e o r in restaurants? I p re fe r to eat in a restaurant, because then there’s no w ashing up. The atm osphere and setting are u sually m ore relaxing and pleasant. 7)
Do VCX1 often eat with your fam ily? I eat w ith m y fam ily alm ost every day. E ating together is a special tim e for us, especially in the evenings, b ecau se then w e sp en d tim e together and can talk about o u r day.
~kWJ*4
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♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
s &
m
I cat d in n er w ith m y fam ily alm ost every night. I f I miss dinner one night, it’s alw ays for a
Rood
reason: studying late al the library, w orking out lale at the gym , or having d in n er with friends. But w e have d in n er together pretty m uch every night, and it has alw ays been this way. I live alone. So Í alw ays eat solo. V
y
8 ) Do you think it’s im portant for people to cat w ith their fam ily? I think it'gives people tim e to spend w ith their family, w hen they ca n eat good food and enjoy each o th er’s com pany. It is alm ost the only tim e w hen you have all o f the fam ily together, so it is a good tiling COdo. 9 ) Do you often
CO
to restaurants to eat?
N ot often, but every now and again. I f I had m ore m oney, I w ould be eating n u t every night. ĩt w ould save tim e on cooking and w ashing dishes and shopping. 10) W hat kind o f restaurants do you like? For me, llie m ost im portant pari about the restaurant is the food. I like variety, too, so you w ill find m e in ju st about anv restaurant. S'
~
“
"
A
Food w ise, 1 like all kinds o f restaurants
Italian, M exican, C hinese. I tend to prefer sm aller,
non-chain type restaurants o v er the nationw ide, hom ogenized places that advertise all over the television. I think restaurants are m ore about entertainm ent than the food these days. T hey have to have a “ cim m ick ” to get people in the door.
11)
H ow do you think restaurants have changed over the past few years? I think that there arc m ore restaurants in the city. T he food that they serve is m ore varied, and from
m ore countries than before. T h e nice thing that hasn’t changed is the price, it is still pretty cheap to gu uul and cal.
ífc l!ìiS 1 8 ỉftlH Ẵ Ỉ/II 8. stodgy adj. ^
1. cuisine n.% f e 2. recipe It.
9. done to a turn
3. flavour n.
10. past its sell-by date ì± T
4. tasty adj.
] I. raw adj.
5. tender adj.
12. ripe adj.
6. season
13. overcooked adj.
V.
7. greasy adj. ýỉiA&ủị
14. grill V.
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M S ế tí
'
15. roast V*
27. buffet n. ệ)SỈJ$r
16. steam V. ĩ ầ
28. picnic /ỉ. Ỉ*í'-Í?-
IT. stew V.
29. snack / | p ' pc
18. portion lì. tò"
30. fattening <7ếặ. pt 7
19. slice V.
31. ready m eals 'f c l r
20. spoonful ỈL —
32. hom em ade food ỂJ
21. b itter adj.
33. dum pling n. f ê - T
22. crunchy adj.
34. com bo H.
23. salty dự/. RtV;
35. nutritious adj.
24. savory adj. T
36. G M f o o d # i B ^ 4 f e
25. spicy ŨCỘ'.
37. chem ical additive
26. b arbecue V.
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Ĩ)
♦ LELTS Spoaking ♦
13. Relationships (Family, Friends) F a m ily L ife I ) C ould you tell m e about your fam ily? M y father is a m anager at a bank and m y m other is a nurse in a hospital. 1 am an only child, but I have m any cousins that I've grow n up w ith. 2 ) Do you still have your grandparents? 1 only have one grandm other, for m y father's parents died w hen lie w as young, and m y m other’s father passed aw ay recently. 3 ) W hat influence do they have on th eir children or grandchildren? T hey have a big influence on th eir children find grandchildren, especially grandchildren. T hey spend a lot o f tim e w ith their grandchildren, because their parents arc usually w orking during the day. 4 ) H ow are y o u getting o n w ith your parents? 1 i»ct on w ith m y parents w onderfully; they’re easy to talk to. kind, and I trust them com pletely.
r 'ĩẽ & s m I f you asked m e th at w hen I w as in ju n io r high, it w ould be a totally different point o f view , n u t now , I love them ! T here a re tim es w hen I don’t like m y parents and tim es w hen they argue— it tears m e apart— bill they alw ays w ork lliruiigli their problem s arid they care for their children like all parents should. My M om is like one o f m y best friends. She’s really sm art, and I talk to her about everything. She helps me out o f situ atio n s an d gives m e her honest opinions on everything. Ỉ d o n ’t. I am trying to becom e llic person m y m om w ants me to be. she has a list o f things that she thinks I need to becom e, and thai I need to better m y self and all. But no m atter how hard I try she n ev er seem s satisfied. I get aloniỉ w ith my parents greatly... 1 haven’t been the perfect dau g h ter b y any m eans. V
y
5 ) Do you prefer to spend tim e w ith your fam ily or with your friends? In m any w ays, m y fam ily arc m y friends. But at the sam e tim e, I som etim es have m ore fun w ith m y friends because they arc closer to m y age. 6 ) Is fam ily very im portant lo you? M y fam ily is one o f the m ost im portant things in the w orld lo m e. W hen everything goes w rong and nothing is going right, m y fam ily is alw ays right there for me.
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fit
/
Fam ily is im portant to m e because it’s really all w e have in the long run. O nce you grow up and I m ove out and aw ay, you then realize how im portant your family is. Y ou start 10 m iss them and w ish th at you w ere around to no to b-day parties, births, and reunions. Friends can't com plete you like fam ily. Yes absolutely. I have been goiiif' through som e very painful lim es. 1 do not know what I would do w ithout the love, support and strength I have received from them . 1 love them and will alw ays be there i f they need me. Fam ily is 1101 alw ays perfect, but most o f (he lim e they ure there for V you-________________________________________________________________________________________ . 7 ) If you w ere m arried, how m any children w ould you choose to have? I f I w ere m arried. I guess Pd w ant about four or five children. I w ould love TO have a big family, because then fam ily m em bers support and help each other, and my children w on’t he lonely grow ing up.
1. relative n.
10.
2. cousin //. Ậ.JLỈfc'ỉúLíị>
IL. single-parent family
3. family planning i t t í i 'S r
12. paternal adj. X -Ệ:
4.
13. m aternal adj. # ^ 6 0
only-child
m edical care
^ . generation gap 'ft. i&J
14. in-law s -fc %
6.
15. divorce rate
fam ily tree
i-á-
7. lioine life Ỹ>-fầ'X v k
16. childcare H. li/'L
8. fam ily roots % A w
17. adorable adj. 'T & 6-;
9. nursing hom e
-fr'■£/4.
18. understanding and caring
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F rie n d s I ) W hat kind o f people do you like to have as friends? P eople that en jo y being around m e and appreciate doing things w ith me. People w ho 1 can trust and have fun with. 2)
Do y o u like to spend tim e w ith friends? Y es, I love to spend rime w ith friends. Ifs one o f m y favorite tilings to do, because w e have fun to gether and we can learn to understand each other's personalities.
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I like to be with my friends. Bui som etim es 1 need lo spend tim e by myself. 1 think it really .
depends— i f w e need to d o som e thinking, w e really SH O U LD spend som e tim e by ou rselv es, y
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♦ IE L T S Speaking
I even if w e enjoy the co m p an y o f o u r friends a lot.
a
H onestly, I like spend Iim tim e alone. I am the independent kind. V.
I
3 ) Do you have a best friend? N ot really. Í have m any good friends c r close friends, but no best friends. My nature is to be a little o f f to m yself, so I really don't have a best friend.
1 have tw o best friends, T eresa and K atie, and Ỉ have know n them for as long as I can rem em ber. ] a i n ’t rem em b er the first lim e w e m et, but w e are great friends and enjoy sleepovers find talks, th at sort o r tiling. Y es. m y m other is m y best friend. W e becam e close after she was diagnosed w ith breast cancer 7 veins ago. Í have other friends b u t I am not as close tn them . 1 can tell m y m um anything. Y es, 1 do have a best friend that’s ju s t like a sister to me. I’d do anything for her. We live over an hour apart so it’s tough seeing each other, but w e do our best. My best friend and I first inci w ay back in preschool. I rem em ber the first tim e we m et w as at my house. ( I is m om , his older brother, and lie cam e over and [ gave him one o f my toy dinosaurs. To this day he still has that dinosaur and w e arc still the best o f friends. Just to let you know we are both 20 and that ju si show s how long w e’ve been friends.
4)
W hat do you and y o u r friends do together? O ften w e sit around and chat; o r w e play gam es, or w atch m ovies together. S om etim es w e ju s t like lo chill and do nothing. I ihink that is iiiiporliml for friends.
5 ) Is friendship im portant to you9 Frisnds arc very im portant to me, because if som ething's going badly for m e or if 1 have a problem then [ have som eone ] can (ell m y feelings to. A lso, then I’m not Ioncỉly or bored.
I used to place a lot o f im portance on my friendships but have been hurt, let down and I disappointed so m an y tim es by people w ho ] thought w ere friends that now 1 do no! think it is liie be ail and end all o f life. I have a lew friends w ho I have know n all m y life and have built up trust w ith them , they are im portant to m e and 1 m aintain those relationships hill I don’t really w orry about m aking new friends. I think it’s im portant to have friends because they m ake life and ju st about everything else so m uch less lonely. F riends are im portant (o have, because they will be there to offer you advice, information, personal ex p erien ce, an d yes, som etim es even a sm art-aleck rem ark to help you see a different point o f view .
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6 ) W hat are the w ays to m eet potential friends? 1 b eliev e that if you are friendly 10 others, and talkative, and courteous, w herever
5^
find friends.
4
1. acquaintance n.
8. relationship rt.
2. best friend ÌỈH H 'J& ỈẨ .
9. stick up for /Ộ •• •# ^
3. soul m ate &»cL
10. m ake up is* ft?
4. affectionate adj.
11. personality /ỉ. 'ỉi^ỉổ-
5- fall out w ith fflito
12. count on
6. ch eer sb up i t £ A.
13. hang around ĨH Ỉ&
7. interpersonal adj.
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Ẳ
♦ IE L T S Speaking ♦
7 14. Science and Technology (Mobile Phone, Email) M dhiỉe P h o n e 1)
D o you have a m obile phone? Y es, 1 have a m obile phone. I carry it w ith m e everyw here I go, w ell, not everyw here but close to everyw here.
2 ) W hat do vou use it for? S om etim es 1 use it for business reasons, bul m ostly fot personal co n v ersatio n s
OI
text m essaging.
W ith the phone thill Ĩ h av e Í can go online o r even daw nload books unc! then read (hem o ff my phưne. 11 is sư coỏl. 3 ) W ho uses a m obile phone the m ost often in your family? W hy, it’s me! I talk too m uch on the phone* and then m y phone bill is huge. It'S terrible! 4 ) Is a m obile phone im portant in your life? I guess so, for it m akes life a lot easier and m ore convenient, but it’s not like I couldn't live w ithout it i f I had to. O n ce ] w ent for a w hole three days w ithout using my phone, m y boyfriend w as so proud o f me.
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M y cell phone com es in aw fullv handy w hen m y car breaks down in the m iddle o f now here, or if I get lost, o r if som ething happens in m y fam ily and I’m not n ear an y other phone. I’m in m y c a r a LOT. and the cell p h o n e helps im m ensely in those situations. C ell phones arc good lo r em ergencies, like y o u r car breaking dow n. It is a great w ay to get hold o f som eone w hen they aren ’t at home. T hey a re starting 10 replace hom e phones UK). I personally couldn’t care less about ow ning a cell phone. In m y opinion cell phones are dangerous to your h ealth, but on the flip side having a cell phone is good if you're stranded in traffic and need to call your boss to tell him you’re going to be late for w ork.
*¥ $VvSSB£&feline 1. hi-tech /I. i0j# 4 1
7. breakthrough n.
2. ring tone
8. novelty n.
3. bluetooth jft Í*
9. innovation
4. text m essage
t
~'ỹ ih
10. enjoyable adj.
5. picture m essage i H a
11. user-friendly
6. im pact it. $■}*% >
12. portable adj.
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JR rt'j
13. facc-to-facc com m unication iS jsf dã ắ r i i
16. controversial adj. % -ỳ'VẢtí}
14. hum an contact A.-z5 A .4 ll« ]
17. double-edged sw ord
15. status symbol 4
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EmaU ÈÉIi 1 ) Do you often w rite letters? Y es, som etim es [ think [ enjoy w riting letters m ore than I enjoy talk in g to people. 2 ) W ho do you usually w rite lo and w hat do you w rite abuut'.’ I w rite lo m y fam ily, and to m y friends; w e lell each oilier about o u r lives and work,
arid also vve
talk about our opinions and feelings. 3)
W hat do you think is the m ost difficult kind o f letter to w rite? 1 usually have a hard tim e w riting business o r forma] letters, because then I list don’tknow w hat to say, it’s hard to form ulate p ro p er sentences.
3! £ W c R Ĩ find it very difficult to w rite a letter rejecting som eone. It's hard to tell them you don’t wan* to dale (o r m arry ơr w hatever) them and nut hurt their feelings any m ore than you have to. Y ou have to w ord tilings carefully and m ake sure they get the ỊTCÌIU but be subtle. V. 4 ) Do you p refer to w rite letters or em ails? 1 definitely prefer w riting em ails b ecause Í can type quite quickly; w hen I w rite letters m y hand £*ctfi tired and besides, the letter tak es m uch longer to reach the person. .
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liig w ® I personally like em ailing b etter, b ecause it’s easier, less effort, and faster getting there. T hat's w hat I prefer doing w hen il co m es In me sending letters. Rut I w ould rather receive a letter than an em ail, because a letter takes m ure tim e and effort, and it*s a little m ore personal.
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5 ) W hat arc the differences betw een handw ritten letters and em ails? M ost people feel that handw ritten letters are m ore personal, and they feci as if the w riter has taken m ore tim e and thought in w ritin g it. Em ails arc som etim es rather inform al.
1. personal adj.
4. h a n d w ritin g / I . ^ i Ể .
2. w ord V. 48*4$
5. internet connection
3. m ailbox n.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
9 S M D Ĩ g ĩS g lH €
ịầ ^ tỉl 1. S enior citizens -Ỉ' A 2. C hildren iề-í*
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1. A dventurous people 5. L eaders
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26. N ew s reports
27. Public events 28. L ifc-changing m om ents i í Ì Ỉ . A . á . W :ỹ 'f f
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30. A dvice i t - f t 31. Á n uiisatisfoctory p u rchase Ạ I^H>V
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36. Practical skills
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Topic 1
Senior Citizens & K
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e tlie iildesL p e rso n you know . Y o u s h o u ld sa y :
who this person is how y o u k n o w th is p e rso n w h a t k in d o f p e rso n he o r she is a n d e x p la in w h a t y o u th in k u h o u t th is p e rso n .
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The oldest person th at 1 know is m y grandfather. H e is actually very close to m e. W hen 1 w as young, m y father w as aw ay a lot in the arm y and m y grandfather took on the role o f m y father.
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Me is a very kind gentlem an. He is
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sim ple m an in that he liktis lo socialize and drink with
his friends at hom e. He is a carpenter by tra d e , and one tim e I w as able to w ork with him w hen my father ask ed him to pul a floor in our house. O nce w hen I w as going on a train irip, he gave m e a w hole c a rto n o f a special kind o f candy that I liked. W Vt
I really love m y g randfather and I believe that he loves m e. H e has taught m e a lot about ju s t being h ap p y w ith the tilings that I have to do, and also to take tim e
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en jo y life. I think
that I get som e o f my athletic ability from him as he know s kim g fit. I haven’t seen m y grandfather for a few years, but I know that lie is d o in g w ell and Ỉ know that h e will he happy to see m e w hen I go lo visit him . Ĩ believe that he grew up in a pretty rough tim e h ere in C hina. Things w ere a lot m ore difficult than they arc now, hut th ro u g h it all he alw ays m a in ta in e d a h a p p y o u tlo o k o n life. I w ould like to grow up and be like him Ũ1 som e w ays, I w o u ld n't say that he is perfect in any w ay, but then w ho is?
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♦ IC L T S SPEAKING ♦
m aintain a happy outlook on life
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Senior citizens in China 1. W hat do p eo p le in China do in their retirem ent years? A lot o f th em , especially i f they d o n ’t have m oney, don't do a w hole lot and this is a problem here in C hina. S om e o f th e n take care o f their grandchildren and this takes up their tim e. ĩn the w arm er w eath er you will see them outside, playing m a h jo n g and C h in ese chess. • m ahjong
• C hinese chess
2. H ow have the lives o f senior citizens in C hina changed in recent years? T hings arc not as hard for the elderly people in C hina now. T hey have it easier because their ch ildren have pretty good jo b s and so they’re taken care o f w ell. T hey can go to m ore places and can even drive around w ith their adult children, .something they couldn't do in the past. 3.
W ould you like to live w ith the elderly? 1 w ould really love to live w ith the elderly. T h ey have so m uch experience and so m any stories to tell. Y ou can really learn a lot from them . O f cour.su you have to be careful around them too, so as n o t to upset them or cau se problem s for them .
4. W hat chan g es do you think will take place in the future regarding seniors’ lives in China? If C hina continues 10 m ake ihe kind o f progress that ii is m akine, ihen the seniors’ lives will change very m uch. W hen you are richer and have m oney you can do so m any m ore things. Y ou w ill see that old people w ill live longer and have belter lives. O f course in the r u r a l re g io n s and m o u n ta in o u s a re a s , seniors’ lives haven’t ch an g ed that m uch and probably w on’t. • ru ral reg io n s 5.
• m ountainous areas ill Ẽ.
W ho do you think should take responsibility Jbr looking after Ihe elderly? Should they live w ith their children or is it belter for tliem tư live in nursing hom es?
or course,
children should a ssu m e re sp o n sib ility for their parents. But if the parents’ health is
pretty bad and their children (ion’l have Hie tim e lo look a Her them , then they w ould have to find som eone to look afler (hern. H ere in C hina, Ihe parents live for their children, so it is expected That the children w ill live for their parents. • assum e responsibility 6. H ow do you think m odern technology has affected senior citizens in C hina today? Seniors are Iiul so m uch affected by m o d em technology, o th e r th a n m aybe som e form s o f transportation. Jf y o u m ean the Internet or com puters, I think that m ost seniors are not that d T rS n
co n cern ed about them . O ld er values and going at a slow er pace are m ore im portant to them than fa n c y g a d g e ts. • o th er than
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Old and Young 7. W hat arc som e o f the d illcrcn ccs in altitude tow ards life betw een young and o ld people in China? Y oung people w ant to see and experience; all that they a m . Old people are m ore content to just enjoy the sim pler things o f life, like getting together with theii folks or helping w ith the childcare. Young people w ant to travel ab ro ad and m ake a lot o f m oney and b u y a lot o f things, old people are ju st thinking about the day an d w hat they will do that day, even if il is not so g la m o ro u s.
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8. W hat arc som e o f the m ain p roblem s facing the elderly in C hina today? W ell ill the city tile elderly are nol facing the problem s that tlie ones in the country are. H ealth care is a big issue w ith all o f the sick n ess that is so p re v a le n t in today’s society. R etirem ent is difficult because (he sm all p e n sio n s that the old people gel here can hardly sustain them . People here in C hina have to retire early, so there is the feeling o f w orthlessness that they have to face. T here arc som e big problem s facing th e elderly here in China. • prevalent -$ -ìầ
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9. Do Ihe elderly in C hina h av e a lot o f influence oil their children’s and grandchildren’s lives? Oh yes absolutely, the elderly have a lot o f influence in their fam ily’s lives. Y ou see, here in China, the fam ily unit is very im p o rtan t and alw ays has been. O ur culture, as you know , goes back m any years and parents and grandparents have played an im portant role ill this unit. R espect for fathers and m others, grandfathers and grandm others, is instilled in each generation. • instill $U/ff 10. W hat ro le do the elderly play in the family? W ell, (->1(1 people piny llie rnle n f h n h v s itte r for their ựraiuỉcỉiildren. A nother rnle that they play is m oral su pporter for llie fam ily. T h ey have to cheer for the parents w hen they get a good job, cheer for the child w hen he docs good in school, and cheer for the fam ily w hen Ihey m ak e progress together. T hey also have to b e the fam ily co u n selo rs, to listen lu and give ad v ice to younger m em bers o f the fam ily. • b ab y sitter «l&
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11. It seem s that grandparents love their grandchildren m ore than their OW11 sons and daughters. W hy do you think that is? I d on't think grandparents love the grandchildren m ore. T hey ju s t have m ore tim e to play w ith them , m ore patience in guiding them and they don’t feel the responsibility for the total w ell-being o f the
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child 24/7. Plus seeing the ch ildren o f their children brings back m em ories (jfllieir younger years. I think it’s a great tiling. G randparents give children som ething special... special m em ories to cherish and grow up with. Í think that grandparents love their grandchildren 50 m u c h because o f how much they also love their children. 24/7
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S e n io r c itiz e n s find it d iiric u lt to achìpt T hey are called senior citizens, but th eir authority in fam ily and social alTairs is becom ing m ore and m ore ju n io r,” a survey reveals. O lder people are finding th em selv es in a m ore passive position in today’s rapidly developing society, Ihe survey found. In history, C hina h as been a country where authority grow s along w ith your age w hen deciding fam ily and social affairs,” said Z hang X uw u, standing m em ber o f the N ational C om m ittee o f the C hinese People’s Political C onsultative C onference (C P P C C ). H ow ever, about 60 p er cen t o f interview ed people said that their children do not consult them ov er som e decisions, Z hang said. Z hang m ade the rem arks at a press conference organized to release the survey on the lives o f today's senior citizens, according to a report by the H orizon R esearch G roup and the Joym ain Group. T he survey involved a total o f 2,225 people aged over 60 from B eijing, Shanghai, G uangzhou, C hengdu, Shenyang, X i’an an d W uhan. C hina's society started aging several years ago. B y the end o f last year there w ere 142 m illion people over 60 in the w orld’s b iggest developing country, Zhang said. N carl V SO p e r cen t o f the 2,225 interview ed said they arc satisfied w ith their present lives. T h e survey also revealed m anv problem s, how ever. O ne is that the rapid econom ic and social developm ents in C hina, w hich is opening w ider to the outside w orld, arc leaving o ld er people further behind, said Y uan Y uc, president o f the Horizon R esearch G roup. O nly about 4 0 pưr cent o f these people SUV they have frequent talks w ith th eir children. But elderly C hinese say they still show i^reat understanding and su p p o rt to their children. “Y oung people are quite b u sy and h av e serious pressures from their w ork and stu d y , ” has becom e a popular
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co m m en t from p arents w ho w ant lo explain w hy their children have less tim e to share. People o v er 60 have largely failed to benefit from rapidly increasing incom es, so their ability to financially support them selves now is very lim ited, the survey shows. For instance, about 60 p e rc e n t o f senior citizens have 10 depend on other fam ily m em bers to survive. T he su rv ey show s sen io r citizens carc about social issues, including unem ploym ent, the environm ent and econom ic developm ent. H ow ever, they have few opportunities to participate in social activities, Yuan said. T h eir lives are quite dull, and they spend too m uch tim e indoors. T h e survey found that die m ost im portant leisure activity for 85 p e r cent ol senior citizens is watching TV . M ore than 60 p e r cent snv their m ain w ork is housew ork. A : the sam e tim e, seniors know very Little about com puters, m obile phones and digital cam eras. A bout 40 p er cen t o f those interview ed have a m obile phone, but m any o f them do not know how to use it properly. < v ỉ :
ft C hina D aily 17/10/2005 p a g e 3 )
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Topic 2
Children
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a ch ild y o u know . Y o u sh o u ld say h o w you k n n w h im o r h e r u h a l h e o r sh e likes to do w h a t k in d o f p e rso n lie/she is a n d e x p la in how YOU feel a b o u t th is child.
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I w ould like to tell you about my niece, M aoM ao. w ho is seven years old. I stay w ith her and h er fam ily e v ery national holiday and she is alw ays so delighted to see me.
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I helped to ta k e care o f her after she w as bom , so I feel very close to h e r and w e have a
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Rood relationship. W e lik e to ride bikes together through our sm all city and often fly kites. B efore going to sleep at nighl she alw ays asks m e to tell her a story and sing her som e songs. I love this ch ild ve ry m uch because she is alw ays so happy and I can’t help but fee] happy loo w hen Fm w ith her. A lthough she goes to school now and has to study very hard, she still doesn’t w orry about life and is very optim istic. Som e people think that children arc huppy only because Lliey a re n aiv e. Spending tim e w ith M aaM ao h a s helped m e to see that 1 can have H p o sitiv e a ttitu d e tow ards my life and be happy even though Ĩ am
no
longer A
child and have mjmy responsibilities. M auM iio trusts li«r parents 10 tak e care o f her, so she doesn't have to worry. I should trust that things will w ork o u t right also. T hat w ay 1 can be like her, cheerful and happy all the tim e.
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m & m n naive
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P a rt 3
Children, education and play 1. H o w d o you think children benefit from playing w ith toys? J think it’s very im portant that children have toys to play w ith to help stim ulate a good im agination. O f course, it's very im portant to give them the rie;ht toys. T oy w eapons can h av e ail a d v e rse uffcet on children and m ight en courage them to be more violent w hen they grow older. DifTcrcnt toys can help their c o o rd in a tio n a b ilitie s, a rtis tic skills, and even inspire them m usically. Ỉ believe that toys can b e very beneficial for children, ifp rc scn te d in the correct w ay and supervised well, adverse affect ỗ
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coordination abilities iJbìfiliỉíýj 2. W hat do you think about children plaving electronic gam es? Electronic gam es have becom e a m ust have for m any rtf toctoy’s children. T he gam es can be very exciting and are highly entertaining. U nfortunately, if children spend m ost o f their tim e sitting in front o f a com puter or T V playing gam es, then they rarely develop good com m unication skills or learn how to interact w ith others in real life. I enjoyed playing co m p u ter gam es w hen I was young, bill if there’s nol II good balance then it’s not good. I f ] had a child 1 w ould allow him a specific am ount o f tim e to play co m p u ter gam es, and encourage him /her to spend m ore tim e outdoors playing sports w ith o th er people his age. T hat way he will h av e good health and also lean i ho w lo com m unicate and interact w ith h is p e ers, peer 3. W hat d o you think are the differences betw een hom e schooling and studying in school? 1 think there is a very big difference, H om e schooling is m ore p e rso n a liz e d a n d fo cu sed on the individual student’s needs, w hereas personal attention is not available in public schools due to there being m any other students. Studying at hom e gives the student freedom to go faster in those subjects that he en jo y s and to learn m ore about topics that interest him. A lso, studying at hom e provides the o p p o rtu n ity to get m ore prnclical know ledge and experience that you cannot gel from school, p ersonalized an d focused 4 . W hy do you Think learning theoretical m aterial is em phasized m ore than learning practical skills? L earning theoretical m ateria] cun help you to develop practical skills. ] personally feel lhat there needs to be a balance b etw een theoretical m aterial, o r in other w ords, know ledge from textbooks, and having h a n d s-o n e x p e rie n c e and developing m ore practical skills. Both are needed and both arc im portant. Right now , the education system is g e a re d to passing exam s, so theoretical m aterial
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is em phasized an d taught in classes to help the students get high m arks on their exam s. U nfortunately, m ost o f this inform ation is not very useful in finding a good job h ands-on experience 3ty-ị-tíẾ ý)
be geared to/tow ard
5. Do you think the education system in C hina should he reform ed? Y es, I do think th at changes need to happen. T he focus u f today’s education system is on passing exam s, b u t w hen students graduate from high school or university, they find th a t the know ledge they gained in school cannot help them get a good job. I suggest that the courses and subjects studied in school be practical as w ell as in fo rm a tiv e . Personally speaking, experience is the best teacher, and I think th at if the students can get hands-on experience in addition
to studying from
textbooks, it w ill give them a m ore w e ll-ro u n d e d education, in fo rm a tiv e 'l i . È ĩ i t e . ố ặ
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Children and families 6. W ho usually disciplines ch ildren in C hinese fam ilies, the m other o r the father? It all depends on the fam ily. O ften it’s the father figure w ho gives the m ost d isc ip lin e lu the child. H ow ever, fathers now a re b u sier w ith their careers anti are OÍÌCI1 net at hom e, so the m o th er is le ft w ith the jo b o f disciplining th eir child. Every child needs good, healthy discipline in order to have a good character. Fathers have this jo b by nature, though I think it’s im portant th at the m other and fath er w ork together to have a united discipline standard for their child so that he/she can feel loved and protected, discipline 7.
Do you think it’s a good idea for children to aim to he a professional athlete? N o Ĩ think it’s a w aste o f a p erso n ’s energy and talents. But so long as a th le tic s is prom oted by the m edia, children w ill w ant to be sports stars. It’s not a bad jo b , com pared to m any, but m ost w ho try it will not succeed. It takes a special kind o f person to succeed in athletics, athletics
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M y son is six and he is am azing. H e m akes m e sm ile every day. H e is alw ays getting aw ards in school and tries so hard in his T ac K w on D o classes. Last night he broke a board for the first time and it w as aw esom e! H e is ready to fight the w orld if som eone
( even jo k in g ly ) calls m e out o f my
nam e. H e tells m e he loves m e all the tim e and tells m e I am beautiful. H e is so precious! •
I have loved my daughter from the tim e she w as bom . It is the little things chat attach them so close to ou r hearts, lik e w hen out o f the blue they turn to you and say, “ I love you, d ad d y .” O r w hen they are playing in the yard an d p ick som e w ild flow ers o r som ething and run up and say* “T hese are for you, m om m y.” O r ju st w hen th ey sim ply do som ething new for the first tim e o r sm ile at you in a speuial way.
•
I have a seven-m onth-old girl arid she is m y w orld. She doesn’t do a lot a t this aye. Rut w hen she sm iles an d sticks her tongue out, it m akes m e feel such im m ense love for her. I love her reaching for my face and w hen she’s sleeping; I pick her up and she lays h er head on m y shoulders. W hen my daughter started k indergarten, she asked m e to w alk her in and not her m other. 1 teased my w ife and said,
“O h, you’d ju st cry, anyw ay.” W ell, I took her by the hand and lead h e r into the gym w here
she w as to g el in line w ith her class. She w alked aw ay from m e w ithout looking back. She looked so tiny. W hen she g o t in line, she w as facing m y general direction, but n o t looking at me. The expression on her face w as w hal I im agine the rangers w ho landed oil N orm andy showed: fear, but determ ination.
C h ih i M u ru k o -c h a n M aruko is a n ine-vear-old third grade student. She is lazy, disorganized and usually late for school, in strong contrast w ith h e r neat an d tidy older sister w ho m ust share her room w ith her. M aruko, like m any kids, tries to avoid hom ew ork and chores, takes advantage o f h e r doting grandfather and squabbles w ith h er sister. N evertheless, she is a w ell-m eaning child w ho tries to do good. C ra y o n S h in -c h a n K indergarten-aged boy w h o se antics are the basis for the anim e series. It is alw ays stated that h e is five years old, and loves ch o co late biscuits (c a lle d ’C hocobccD and an anim ated superhero nam ed
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‘A ction K am en ’. I le is strangely attracted to older girls and w om en, despite his young age. He shares this trait w ith his father and paternal grandfather, hut this will often result in his m o th e rs brutal punishm ent. Som e o f his strange activities include dressing up as anim als or plants (w ith appropriate c o s tu m e s ) and taking his pants o ff anyw here he feels the urge to. T h e S im psons Dart S im pson is a ten-year-old troublem aker w ho thinks o f h im se lf a s a rebel. Lisa Sim pson is an extrem ely intelligent eight-vcar-old m iddle child w ho is often involved in left-w ing activism and loves p laying the saxophone. M aggie Sim pson is a baby who, for tile m ost part, sim ply sucks on a ! p acifier and d o esn ’t speak.
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a fam o u s p e rso n (s p o rts s ta r , film s ta r , elc.) w h o m y o u a d m ire . Y o u slio u ld say: w h o th e p e rs o n is w h u t (he pi'i'son docs w h y th e p e rs o n is fam o u s a n d e x p la in w hy you a d m ire this p e rso n .
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I adm ire Y ao M ing. I know it sounds com m on, but I think he’s a very interesting person, and I like him. Y ao M ing is a professional basketball player. H e’s w ell over tw o m eters tall, but unlike
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Y ao is fam ous for tw o reasons. T h e first is that he is only the third C hinese player to play in
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the N B A , and the second is that he's the tallest N B A player — and very good. too. It’s not ju st because he’s C hinese that he’s fam ous in C hina, he’s also fam ous ill the U n ited Slates, lor his skill, his g o o d s p o rts m a n s h ip and his w a rm p e rso n a lity . For him , basketball is a passion and a career, blit despite all his fam e, he doesn 't have a l)ig h ead , an d stays cool, boih on court and in front o f the cam era. I guess th at’s w hy I adm ire him , because he’s fam ous, but not a r r o g a n t or proud. l ie plays w ell w ithout p la y in g m e an , and he is still ju st a sim ple m an, even though his face is on p o ste rs and in advertisem ents everyw here. T here are m any stars who becom e fam o u s and
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then fall in love w ith them selves. F a n u is passing, so 1 rc:i.ly like Y ao M ing’s attitude. T o I h im , it doesn’t seem to m atter w hether he’s fam ous or not, a s long as he can keep doing w h at he loves: basketball.
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Part 3 Celebrities in your country 1. W hat kind o f people becom e fam ous these days? It's m ostly m usicians, singers, actors (a n d actresses) and athletes w ho becom e fam ous. T h at’s b ecause th eừ careers arc all about being seen by m any people. T hey w ouldn't have a jo b i f no one w atched, so if they do w hat they do w ell, they will be fam ous Ultformiticallv. Politicians arc also fam ous, b u t only the ones ill top positions, or the ones who interact a lot w ith the press. 2. Is this different from the kind o f achievem ent that m ade people fam ous in the past? In w hat way? W hen com pared to the recent past, not really. Sports and the peiform ing arts have alw ays been the m ore p u b lic professions. Bui 1 think in tim es past, there w ere m ore political and m ilitary leaders w ho w ere Famous HI C hina. 1 think w hat lias m ostly changed is that m ore people h av e access to m uss m edia, so fam e has b eco m e a m ore cultural interest.
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3. ] low do you think people w ill b eco m e fam ous in the future? Probably in the sam e w ays they do today. As lung as there is m ass m edia, athletes and perform ers will becom e fam ous. P oliticians w ill also alw ays be fam ous, because p o w er is som ething people pay attention to. But m aybe the m ost im portant people will still be the least known.
Being In the public eye 4. W hat arc the good things about b ein g fam ous? A rc there any disadvantages? B eing fam ous can be useful. Y ou can use it to do good, or for personal gain. Rut Ĩ think the disadvantages outw eigh the advantages. Y ou c a n never go anyw here in public w ithout having crow ds o f people follow you, and you will alw ays have cam eras in your face. W hatever personal things happen in your life will often b ecom e com m on know ledge to everyone. A nd being famous isolates you from the real w orld, so that you can’t sec w h at's really i»oing on in p eo p le ’s lives.
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5.
H ow d o the m edia in y o u r country treat celebrities? 1 th in k it’s sim ilar lu m ost places. I f som eone becom es fam ous enough, they becunie a ualiộiial hero, at least until they do som ething that offends people. If they do som ething that is not p a trio tic , they w ill q u ick ly lose th eir popularity. I think it’s the sam e as m ost places, patriotic rJẾ ìềJ
6. W hy do you think ordinary people arc interested in the lives o f celebrities? I think it’s b ecause they a re bored and feel unhappy aiwl unsatisfied w ith their ow n lives. They try to com fort them selves by paying attention to things that happen to celebrities, especially the bad things. T hen they can think about som ething other than (heir own problem s an d tilings they don’t like. 7.
Do you think celebrities should appear in advertisem ents? I don’t think so, bin I d o n ’t think tliere’s anything that can be done to change it. C om panies want their product to becom e fam ous, so they pay fam ous people to support it o r becom e associated with it. It’s sim ple psychology. I d o ifl think it’s honest, bưl 1 also don’t think it will change.
8. Som e professional athletes arc v ery w ell-paid. Do you think they deserve 10 be so w ell-paid? No. Sports arc ju st gam es, nothing special. I think it’s really quite p a th e tic actually, but at least they are not doing som ething h arm ful and being paid for it, like being a gangster or a sm uggler. I don’t I * think they deserve it, but m nsl people w ho ure paid w ell don't deserve it either. T hat’s life, pathetic ;1i>Ậ-
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W h y w e lỉki' Ilim ? I h e latest and greatest ad d itio n to the H ouston R ockets has thrilled NĐA tans w ith an offensive and d efensive onslaught. W hether dunking on som eone's head, draining a three-pointer o í ĩ t h e glass, pulling down rebounds, or rejecting shots into another time zo n e, Y ao M ing has skyrocketed during his rookie season in the NBA. W hy is h e fa m o u s? He w as the No. 1 draft pick during th e 2002-03 N B A season and has em erged as one o f the H ouston R ocket’s m ost valuable players. H is instant popularity in the N BA earned him enough fan votes to claim the starting cen ter position on the W estern team during this year’s A ll-Star gam e. D ue to his d o m inance as a defender d o w n low and his 7 r5" fram e, every N B A player and their g ran d m o th er w an t to dunk on him. W hat c a n wo say? H e’s a popular guy.
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P e rs o n a lity & ta le n t S in ce stepping into th e N B A as the No. I pick in last year’s draft, Yui> M ing h a s put to rest much of the speculation concerning h is skills as a pro basketball player. B efore the big m an jo in e d the R ockels and helped transform them into a team w orthy o f p la y o ff contention, fans and critics o f the young superstar questioned his ability to com pete in a league with dom inant giants including ShaquiJlc O ’N eal and D avid Robinson. A fter b ein g p u t to the test, Y ao m anaged to pass w ith flying colors by averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and ] .8 blocked shots per gam e. In addition to his trad em ark shot-blocking and in-the-key scoring abilities, Y ao is equally as im pressive as a sharpshooter from behind the three-point line. You w o n 't see the big guy shy aw ay from dropping three-point bom bs from the outside. W hether serving up facials on his com petition w hile inside the key o r nailing treys from afar, the 7 '5 ” giant is an offensive threat from all areas o f the court. A nd his abilities a s a dom inant defender are equally as im pressive. W hether on o r o ff th e court, Y a o h as proven to be a team plnver in every a sp e c t o f his gam e. W hile developing his skills as the star cen ter for the Shanghai Sharks during his earlier years in the C hinese B asketball A ssociation ( C B A ) , Y ao learned the true value o f team w ork. T he C hinese players w ere trained to locus on playing as a unit, instead o f concentrating their efforts on th eir solo gam e. A s a m atter o f fact, personal player statistics w eren 't even tracked in the CQA during its first few seasons. A c c o m p lish m e n ts & fam e D uring his earlier career in the C h in ese Basketball A ssociation, Y a o dazzled fans at the center position w h ile playing for tliL* Sliaiighui Sharks. It w as during ưũs period lliat his skills as a dom inant force w ere recognized and Y ao w as invited to play for the C hinese national team . T he invitation to represent his country in the 2000 S um m er O lym pics in A ustralia allow ed Y ao to display his rem arkable talent to basketball enthusiasts around tile w orld. T his exposure to the U.S. m arket introduced tile 7 '5 " C hinese sensation to NBA fans and talent scouts. At this point in tim e. Y ao M ing-m ania w as beginning to unfold. U pon entering the N B A in 2002 as the N o. 1 draft pick, Yao becam e only th e third C hinese p lay er ill N BA history to piny in the league, follow ing in the footsteps o f fellow countrym en W ang Zhizhi and M engkc tìatcer. His grow ing popularity h as left m any com panies salivating at the chance to use him for endorsem ents and advertising. V arious businesses ranging frmn softw are firm s to athletic apparel com panies arc in com petition to snatch up the young basketball sta r in an effort to gain recognition in m arkets outside o f N orth A m erica. L ooking to capitalize on Y ao’s im m ense popularity in C hina, A m erican businesses see him as a w ay to prom ote their products and services ill the grow ing C hinese m arket, hom e to 1.3 billion people. Yao has alread y been featured in television com m ercials for com panies including A pple and Visa, and has endorsem ent deals w ith the likes o f G atorade, N ike, and U .S. co m p u ter gam e com panv Sorrent. He has also signed a high-profile endorsem ent deal in A sia for telecom com pany China
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ữAsBL' U n ico m Ltd. In addition lo all this hoopla, Y ao has appeared on the covers o f m ajor sports m agazines including Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Slum. C o o ln ess fa c to r I f y o u 'v e seen Y ao in the latest TV com m ercials lor A pple and/or V isa, you’d notice that he seem s ju st as com fortable on screen as he is on the court. A lthough Y ao’s lines in these ads arc very m inim al, due to the fact that h e's still tiying to get a tight grasp o f the E nglish language, his onscreen ch arm is enough to m ake these com m ercials m em orable. His potential as a product endorser and com m ercial phenom enon has led m any m arketing experts lo believe that a com bination o f Y ao’s charism a and athletic ability could help m arket him as the next M ichael Jordan or T iger W oods o f the advertising w orld. O f course, m uch oi' this speculation hinders on the assum ption that Yao continues to evolve as a su p erstar in the N B A . H is appeal to the m assive audience in C hina and his grow ing popularity in the U.S. and C anada have led advertisers to b elieve that Y ao M ing m ay be the next bigeesl phenom enon in the sports w orld. B ui before w e ju m p tư any conclusions, le fs w ait and see how M ing fares in his second season in the N BA .
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Pil like to describe m y cousin Liu Y ing to you, w ho, in my opinion, is very adventurous.
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D uring the lim e she was studying at university, she w as alw ays a c tiv e in s p o r ts and often o rg a n iz e d e x c u rsio n s w ith fellow students to go m o u n ta in
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sw im m ing in rivers and so on. She even b a c k p a c k e d in T ib e t for tw o w eeks w ith only 400 R M B in h e r pocket. A fter she graduated w ith a degree in m edicine, she decided th a t instead o f jo in in g a large hospital, w hich w ould have guaranteed h e r a high salary, she jo in e d a v o lu n te e r g ro u p to Y unnan to help treat sick villagers. She olien has to travel 10 rem ote m ountain villages and is alw ays in d an g er o f having an accident, being caught in terrible w eather, or catching the illness herself. I feel very proud o f m y cousin for taking these risks because it show s Jial she is selfless and cares m ore about those arưunđ her. M any people arc concerned about those who need help
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b u t seldom sacrifice their ow n tim e, energy, and m oney to re a c h o u t tn them . M y cousin lias sacrificed her o w n career to help others, and I believe her m em ory will live on in the hearts o f those she helps. D aring to be different definitely m akes my cousin adventurous. 1
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Part 3 Challenging Activities 1. Arc adventurous activities p o p u lar in China? Y es, as m ore and m ore people in C hina are looking for new and different w ays to spend their free time. The C hinese youth w ish lo challenge them selves, w hich often leads them 10 extrem e sports like sn o w b o a rd in g , r o l l c r b l u d i n g , rock clim bing and tr ic k B M X . T he problem they face is that adventurous activities and extrem e sports arc nol alw ays available, or if they arc, they're loo expensive for the average C hinese to participate. If m ore facilities and opportunities w ere available then I believe these activities w ould g ro w in p o p u la rity , snow boarding
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2. W hy do you think people like adventurous activities? I think it's for the ru s h and ex citem ent that com es from challenging y o u rse lf and pu sh in g y o u rse lf to th e lim its. O ur lives are set in a routine o f w ork or study. G oing on an adventure or doing an activity requires risks, tests our strength and capabilities, and gives us a th rill and Feeling of trillin p li a s w e conquer nature, c o n q u e r o u r fe a rs and realize o u r ow n strength. rush — p u sh y o u rse lf to the lim its t e ỂỊ
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thrill 3. W hul d o you think are the advantages and possible disadvantages o f experiential training? T h e advantages and d isadvantages all depend on the individual. T w o people may do the sam e tiling b u t co m e aw ay from it w ith different view s on the experience. Som e o f !he advantages are greater sclf-confidcncc, m ore aw areness o f your capabilities and lim its, an d greater p h y sical d e x te rity . On th e o th er hand, if you d o n ’t ta k e p r o p e r p re c a u tio n s you can have serious accidents o r c au se som eone to gel hurt. S om e people can be overly confident and take too great o f a risk w h ic h can en d tragically.
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Children’s development: Challenges 4. H ow d o YOU think parents could bring up Iheir children (o be m ure indepenilciii? P arents should give children m ore opportunities to m ake m istakes. If children a re too sh e lte re d , protected, o r p a m p e re d , then they will not have the chance to be independent. Parents need 10 encourage th eir children to be responsible I f a parent does not give children the opportunity to do tilings them selves, even if they can 't do them very well, then they will never learn. Everyone has to start som ew here and w e ’re 1101 born know ing how to take care o f ourselves. T his inform ation should be taught to children in an environm ent w here it's okay to m ake m istakes, and w hich encourages children to learn from them and to try new things, shelter f i t i ? 5.
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Do children have m ore freedom today to do w hat they warn than before? T h at's hard to say. In general 1 w ould say yes they do. H ow ever ill certain areas, such as education and dccidinc their career, I think it’s the sam e. Children today have m ore things than before and definitely m ore opportunities to experience things that w ere not available in the past. So in a way. yes, they do have m ore freedom . But I think that proper education on how to w isely use that freedom is sadly m issing. C hildren have m ore freedom bill are not responsible so they often m isuse it.
6. Do children today face m ore challenges than before? In a w a y yes, thcv do. T o d ay ’s society is m ore dem anding and the pressure is greater lhan ever. E very p aren t w ants iheir child to be the best and often they push their child too hard. Children today d o not have lim e to b e a child, but instead have the challenge, difficultV and pressure 0 Í’getting high grades, having to go to m any classes, and getting into good schools. T he challenges children face and ex perience today are very different from the past, blit it’s Iwrd for m e personally to say if they urii greuler than before.
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to he held b a c k .” That m otto has helped take her around the w orld and w ill soon m ake her a m in o r celebrity. Jeans traveled to Peru this past su m m er w ith G lobal Explorers, a nonprofit organization that specializes in international im m ersion experiences for students. T he trip paired students w ith visual disabilities w ith able-budied counterparts and w as led bv athlete Krik W cihcnm ayer, the first blind person to scale M t. Everest. It w as an experience the m ost visually gifted individual w ould have trouble describing. O n the final day o f tile trip, Jeans filially m ade il safelv across rocky terrain and ancient trails to som e o f the m ost fam ous ru in s m the w orld. A s she reached the top o f M achu Picchu. Jeans w as overw helm ed by h e r surroundings. U sing her other sensations — hearing, touching and sm elling — and relying on the visual descriptions o f her sighted clim bing partner, Jeans w as able lo form ulate a m ental picture o f the an cien t Incan city, nestled in the m ountainside. She said it w as certainly a trip w orth taking. “M achu Picchu was w onderful,” Je a n s said. “ II w as truly an am azing thing to be a pari or.” But Peril w asn 't die first adventure for Jeans, a graduate o f W ichita W est H ich School in W ichita, K an. S he has been scuba diving, rock clim bing and parasailing. For h er 18th birthday this pasi July she w en t skydiving for the firsi time. lean s w as b o m w ith Leber’s congenita] am aurosis, an inherited degenerative retinal disorder characterized by a severe loss o f vision at birth. Som e may think that the daring nclivillus she liiis undertaken m ight b e d ifficult for som eone w ith vision loss, but Jeans doesn’t believe so — and n either do those w ho h av e m et her. “The m ost difficult thing is overcom ing stereotypes, and there arc n lot o f stereotypes out th e re,” Jeans said.
“A lot o f people have never m et som eone w ho is blind and don’t understand that b ein g
blind is ju s t a p art o f life.” V
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Topic s
Leaders
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a le a d e r w ho y o u a d m ire (fo r exam ple., in s p o rts , b u sin ess o r politics). Y ou s h o u ld say : w h o th is p e rso n is w h a t th is p e rso n d id (h a s d o n e ) th a t you a d m ire h o w you k n o w this p e rso n o r know aboil! th is p e rso n a n d e x p la in h o w th is le a d e r ’s q u a litie s im p re sse d von.
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O ne lead er that i adm ire is Bill G ales. W eil, w hat do Ỉ ad m ire about B ill? H e’s really rich! N o, ju st kidding. B ut that is one o f the reasons llial I adm ire him. I think Unit if you are going U) mnke m oney and Unit is your goal then he is th e best role m odel. I (is is a success s to ry that you don’t see too often. O f course
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[ use his softw are an d I know tliat it is I10Í the greatest, but you know what, it is the first Lind th at says som ething lo tne. I also adm ire him for not staying in school ju st to stay in school. O nce he saw what he w an ted to do. he didn’t w ait around until graduation, but instead g ra b b e d th e opiMM'tunitv while he coulil and to o k o ff wiili il. A nother thing ilìai Í adm ire about him is that he is not c o n te n t w ith w hat he has a c c o m p lish e d , hilt is still looking for ways to get his product to the w orld. N o w Ĩ know that he has enem ies and people that say this and that about him , but so has every other v isio n a ry I ih at has stood o u t from the crow d. I hear now that lie is giving a lot o f his m oney ÍO c h a rita b le o rg a n iz a tio n s and this ju st m akes m e w an t to sav,
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Part 3 Being a leader 1. W ould you like 10 be a leader? I w ould like to because I know that beinii a leader requires som ething great o f people. Being a lead er will help to b rin tf o u t th e b e s t in so m eo n e, and I w ant my best qualities to be a p p a r e n t in m y life. I w ish to have ch ildren som e day, and I know that raising children w ill require the best leadership. Also, my p arents ex p ect rue to gel a good jo b , and a high position m eans having m any others w orking under your a u th o rity . I believe this w orld needs m ore leaders and a higher standard o f leadership. bring out the best in som eone :U- f t
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2. W hy don’t som e people w a n t to be leaders? T he an sw er In this question lias becom e very clear to me recently as Í m ust deal w ith it every day. To be a good leader, one m ust be a good follow er, and there are very few people w ho can and w ish to follow . It is very hard to take orders from others w hen you arc excited about your future and w hen you have m any personal dream s. But w e have to learn from others to be able to lead them , and th at is the hardest part to learn. 3. VVliy do w e need leaders? W e need leaders because w ithout them , life w ould he ch ao s. [ know w hen Ĩ w as a child, if mv m other (lid Iiol teach m e lessons, 1 w ould have caused m any terrible problem s. M anv people lire ig n o ra n t w hen they are yuung, but m anv are ju s l as ignorant w hen lliey are older. We can see w hen a sociely is lack in g in leadership, how quickly il falls. B eing cl good leader is a p rice less quality, chaos Ỉ& ÍL ignorant JL-fa tVO
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Leadership Qualities 4. W hat arc the qualities o f a leader? ( o r w hat abilities arc needed to be a le a d e r? ) I would say a leader n eed s a lot o f d e d ic a tio n and passion for w hat he is doing. H e m ust be able to convey this in his w ork. Me needs p atience to handle people. This leader m ust also understand those he leads, and like I said above, he m ust understand w hat it is like to follow . A leader should be a
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passion iẨtỶS" 5. Is it p o ssib le to be a good sp eak er in front o f others .and to he a good leader but at the sam e time not be a good person al the personal level? Yes. o f course, bvcry d a y I w atch a little TV and som etim es w hen I have free time I will w atch m ovies. E very person lhat I se e on TV know s w hat he is doing and acts his p a n . But m aybe, inside, he is not a t all the ch aracter 1 see him as. M y boss at w ork m ay lead m e a n d m y w orkm ates, and treat us w ell, but docs he tre a t his fam ily w ell? Do I know for su re that he treats people on the street w ell? No. I rio not know. 6.
W hat are som e differences betw een current leaders and leaders o f the past? T h e leaders o f th e past a re as v a rie d as they arc today. B ut ] think before, there w as m ore to being a leader. A long tim e ago people could not treat each other badly w ithout suffering them selves or being tried by the law. B ut these days I often see very bad o c c u rre n c e s betw een bosses and their w orkers, o r even g o vernm ents and their people. In m any w ays, things should be (lone as they w ere before. varied ' f 1^] Ố\J
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Training Future Leaders 7. How do people becom e leaders? By p e rs e v e ra n c e and w illp o w e r 1 think. ] also believe that a person w ho w ants to be a good leader m ust be focused but not stressed. He should know w hat he w ants and give his ail for it. But he should never stop caring for those around him , because who w ould w ant to follow som eone who show s no interest in o r u p p r c d a tio n o f others? I certainly w ouldn’t, perseverance ề i Ỷ1
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8. W hat can parents do to encourage the developm ent o f leadership abilities in their children? Re a good exam ple. T ry th eir b est to understand and not o rd er children around. N ever sp o il them b u t re w a r d them for hard w ork. The parents should never stop learning from their children. A child w ho feels ig n o re d by his p arents will never grow to full m a tu rity , spoi I M\ ‘ẲL
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9. How do you think leaders o f the future will be different to current lenders'.’ I think they will grow loss pow erful. T he m ore independence p eo p le have, the m ure (hey see their ow n potential, and the h ard er it will be for them to accept th eir leaders, h ach person in C hina is
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pushed to succeed, to re a c h th e ir full p o te n tia l, and 1 think it will be very hard for them to live their life follow ing rules and orders. 1 think m any C hinese w ill realize that they could be anything, and w ill b e d isc o n te n te d w ith living to serve their leaders, reach th eir full potential
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W arren Dennis, w idely know n as a m odem leadership guru, has identified six personal qualities. I n te g rity I E S Integrity m e a n s alignm ent o f w ords and actions w ith in n er values. It m eans sticking to these values even w hen an alternative path m ay he easier o r m ore advantageous. A leader w ith integrity can be trusted and will be adm ired for sticking to strong values. T h ey also act a s a pow erful m odel for people to copy, thus building an entire organization w ith pow erful and effective cultural values. D ed icatio n D edication m ean s spending w h atev er tim e and energy on a task is required to g d the jo b done, rath er than giving it w h atev er tim e you have available. T h e w ork o f m o st leadership positions is not som ething to do ’i f lime". It m eans giving y o u r w hole s e lf to the task, dedicating y o u rse lf to success and 10 leading others w ith vou. M a g n a n im ity A m agnanim ous person gives credit w here it is due. It also m ean s b ein g gracious in defcal and allow ing others w ho are d efeated to retain their dignity. M agnanim ity in leadership includes crediting the people w ith success a n d accepting petsooal responsibility for failures. H u m ility W 3 L H um ility is the opposite o f arrogance and narcissism . It m eans recogniziim th at y o u arc noi inherently su perior to others and consequently thal they a rc not inferior ÍO vou. l! d o c s not mean dim inishing yourself, n o r d o es it m ean exalting yourself. Ilum blc leaders d o n o t debase them selves, neither falsely n o r d u e io lo w self-esteem . Tliey sim ply I recognize all people a s eq u al in v alu e an d know that th eir position does not m ak e t h a n a g ad .
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O p e n n e s s 5 F lí[« ừ iS O p en n ess m ean s being able to listen to ideas that are outside one's current mental m odels, being able
10 suspend judgem ent until a fter one has heard som eone else's Ideas. A n open lead er listens to th eir people w ithout trying to shut them dow n early, w hich at least dem onstrates care and builds trust, o p e n n e ss also treats other ideas as p o ten tially better than one's ow n ideas. In the uncertain w orld o f new territory, being able to openly co n sid e r alternatives is an im portant skill. C re a tiv ity 'frJ ia A C reativity m eans thinking differently, being able to get outside the box and take a new and different viewpoint, oil tilings. For a leader to be able to see a new future tow ards w hich they will lead their follow ers, creativity provides Uie ability to think differently and see things that others have not seen, thus giving reason for follow ers to follow.
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Topic 6
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e o n e o f y o u r n e ig h b o u rs. Y o u shnnlrl sa y : how lo n g you h av e k n o w n Ihis n e ig h b o u r w h a t s o rt o f p e rso n th e y a re how o fte n y o u see th em a n d e x p la in w h a t k in d o f re la tio n sh ip you h a v e w ith th em .
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I w ould like to talk to you about a neighbor that lives next d o o r CO me.
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I ju s l m o v ed in to a new apartm ent so I didn’t know anyone. But this neighbour is an old w om an and she w as very friendly w hen I first m et her. She saw m e m o v e in all m y things and I think she felt sorry for m e o r som ething because she o ffered to b u y m e som e v eg etab les at the m arket. She said that she gets them very cheap ami dial I w ould have In pay a lot in the store. At first I told her not to buy anything for m e as I didn't w ant to bofiiei her hut she insisted and kept a s s u rin g m e that she w anted lo buy vegetables for me. So finally 1 agreed. 1 w as so surprised w hen she show ed u p at my d o o r laler as I was arranging m y new apartm ent. She had nil a rm fu l o f unions! S he told m e that they arc very healthy, so 1 I L*avc liar
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I think she is a v e ry m o th e rly ty p e o f p e rso n and it m akes me feel good that even though I live aw ay from m y fam ily, I have a c a rin g person like h er as a neighbour.
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Neighbours 1. Do vou think neighbours arc im portant? 1 think neighbours a re very im portant because they are som e o f the people that you are around every day. I f you ever have a problem you m ay need to ask a neighbour for help, since they arc right nearby. If you are new in a place, you can alw ays ask a neighbour w here to find som ething. And they arc also right there i f you are in danger and know ing they are there m ight m ake you stronger or less afraid. 2. W hat arc the qualities o f a good neighbour? 1 think the m ost im portant q uality o f a good neighbour is friendliness. F or exam ple, saying “H ello” w h en you see each other is a good quality. 1 often speak to m y neighbours and try to be friendly because one day I m ight be lonely and sad, and if I have been friendly to m y neighbours they w ill be friendly to me and c h eer m e up. ] also like for my neighbours to be patient and honest. If 1 m ake noise and disturb them I w ould like them r o t to get angry but to just tell m e that the noise is bothering them . I also think, neighbors should be polite and not disturb each other unnecessarily. 3. N ow th at m ost peuple w atch a lot o f T V , how do you think this has affected relationships w ith n eighbours? I th in k T V w atching has had a very bad effect on relationships betw een neighbours. In the old days p eo p le w ould go out for a w alk in the evening or sit outside their houses. T hey w ould m ake friends and k eep up w ith w hat was happening in their neighborhood. But now, m any people ju st plop dow n in front o f the T V in the evening and arc ‘ couch p o ta to e s.’ H aving this kind o f habit keeps people from b ein g able to b u ild close re la tio n sh ip s w ith their neighbours and even m em bers o f their ow n family. p lo p # i i —
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
4. Do you think it's im portant to teach children how to have good relations w ith neighbours? 1 think it is im portant for ch ildren to be polite to neighbours, u your children offend your n eighbours then it is hard for you to have a good relationship w ith your neighbours because ihey w ill b e upset bv w hat y o u r children have done. O ne thing that is im portant For children to learn in life is how to re la te to others. It is actually a godu opportunity for them to learn this in their interactions w ith the people they live close tư. relate to JKlfcf 5. H ow has the relationship betw een neighbours changed over the last 20 years? 1 think that 20 years ago people cared m ore about each other. 1 think that neighbours saw them selves as a kind o f group to help each other. Hut now w ith so m uch violence and dishonesty in the w orld today, I Ihink m a n y people are afraid to t»et involved w ith others. T hey don’t know if they m ight be taken advantage o f o r get in trouble in som e way. H ow ever, I think that inside, people w ant to find friends and they want to love. A s M other T heresa said,
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Community 6. W hat are som e OÍ the qualities oi'fl good com m unity? I Lliink the m ost im portant quality o f a good com m unity is to bii unified. T hat doesn’t m ean that every single person h as to think exactly the sam e thing, because that is not possible. But I think they should all have the sam e id eals. In o ther w ords, in be c o m p a ssio n a te and c o n c e rn e d a b o u t each other, to w an t to be honest and tru s tw o rth y . I know this sounds id ealistic, but i f you only w ant to better y o u rself and live to m ake y o urself rich or m ore com fortable, you soon find that nothing m akes you happy anym ore. But i f you can in c o rp o ra te giving into y o u r lifesty le then you do not lose the JUV o f living. ideal ,*3j
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7. In C hina, are there any facilities for im proving relations betw een neighbours? W ell, there are som e but not very m any. Ill the old days, the people in C hina sim ply had time, and this helped to facilitate relations betw een neighbours, sp e n d in g tim e really m eans the m ost in alm ost any relationship. If you spend tim e to talk o r listen, thill goes far to b u ild good n eig h b o rly re la tio n s. O f course having a place to go to m ix and m ingle w ith p eo p le y o u r ow n a g e also helps, you can see these facilities s p rin g in g up here in China.
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ĩn s tr u c tio n s ST E P I : W elcom e new neighbours with an introductory note or a friendly chat. STKP 2: M aintain the area around your hom e so that it’s neat and attractive. STEP 3: Dc conscientious about noises that might disturb your neighbors, such as vacuum cleaners, m usic, loud talk an d b ark in g clogs. STEP 4: End parties a t a reasonable hour. W hile you're al it, invite your neighbours to com e, loo. STEP 5: R eturn anything th at you borrow from your neighbor, such as tools or appliances, as soon as possible. E xpress y o u r gratitude w hen you do so. ST E P 6: R eplace anything th a t belongs 10 y o u r neighbor that you, your children, or your pets break or soil. STEP 7: R espect your neighbor’s privacy. STEP 8; O ffer to collect m ail, w uler plants and w alch Lius pels w hile yuur neighbuurs are aw ay on a trip. STEP 9: l-earn from n eig h b o u rs w ith cultural backgrounds different Iroin your own. STEP 10: Invite your n eighbour o v e r for a leisurely cup o f coffee to discuss any problem s you m av have, o r to share good new s. S l b P Ili'ITirovv ÍI house p arty once a year on a w eekend or holiday to socialize w ith your neighbours.
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Ok, 1 w ill tell y o u about a building in m y hom etow n. H arbin. In a square in dow ntow n Harbin* there is an old R ussian O rth o d o x church. It’s called the Sophia Church, probably nam ed after a saint Sophia.
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A nyw ay, it’s in a nice square about 100 m eters long and 50 m eters w ide. T he church is about 30 o r 4 0 m eters high, not very big. it is m ade o f red brick, and the architecture, as I said before, is in the old R ussian style. I f you’ve ever seen pictures o f the fam ous church in M oscow — 1 cannot rem em ber its nam e— you’ll know w hat it looks like. O f course it’s sm aller and less fan cy . T h ere is only one large d o m ed ruuf, and there are m aybe 5 o r 6 bell to w e rs, Í think there are m ore pigeons inside than people. T hey charge 51 lot o f m oney to see the inside. I never w ent inside, so I don’t know w hat it looks like.
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I heard that the church w as once going 10 be d em o lish ed , but it w as built so strong, Uie w orkers gave u p an d left it there. Nov; it is a very fam ous to u r is t a ttra c tio n , and visitors from around China a n d the w orld go to see it and take pictures.
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♦ lE L T S SPFAKING ♦
I think it's im portant b e c a u se it is a h isto ric a l re lic , and a little peaceful place ill the busiest i part o f the city. It’s also p art o f the city’s im age. H arbin IS an interesting m ixture o f both old an d new. N o m utter how m an y s k y s c ra p e rs and tall apartm ent buildings are built, it still has an old a n d frie n d ly f la v o r , like a visit to your grandparent’s hom e I hope the church slays there.
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Part 3 Old Buildings 1. H o w do people in C hina feel ab o u t p rotecting historic buildings? I think people are b eginning to u n derstand the principle that old buildings art; som etim es— Ỉ don't say alw ay s— treasu res to be preserved. Today, m ost pcoplu agree th a t if a buikhn .2 is an im portant p a n o f history, then it sh o u ld be w ell taken care of. But I think w hat’s m issing is the protection o f the b u ild in g ’s atm osphere. It's not enough to ju st keep the b rick s and m ortar from falling apart; you also have to be carefal you d o n ’t ruin its appeal to visitors by having it o v e rly
“ to u ris ty " . The
Forbidden C ity here in B eijing is a good exam ple. It’s an am azing place, but it’s really boring now. b ecau se it has no atm osphere. It’s so crow ded w ith sellers, tourists, to u r guides, and sh o p ven d o rs, that you feel like you are ju s t in a shopping street* not ail ancient seat o f im p e r iu ] p o w e r, overly “ to u risty ” i i d * Í ? Jk shop vendors / i ft!
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2. Is it im p o rtan t to p reserve old buildings? W ell... som etim es. S om e old buildings are good to keep as r e m in d e r s o f th e p a s t, as long as they rem ind people w hat w as right o r w rong, n o t ju st that th e y existed. Som e old buildings arc ju st w asted space. If th e b u ild in g is a sym bol o f som ething good or im portant to rem em ber about the p ast, then it should be kept. I f it's ugly or in a place w here som ething m ore useful to the people co u ld be built, an d it is not very unique or special, then I w ould say it's better to get rid o f it. rem in d er o f the past ì t / v í n 3pitLiÌ-ẩrử\Ị Í ' ^ 3. Do you think an are a can b enefit from having an interesting historic attraction? V'or sure. M ost historically im portant places are tourist attractions. T hat can be sood, as tourism
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b en efits tho local econom y. A lso, attractions can g iv j locals som ething to be proud of. and a reason to live an d w ork there. If th e historic building— or natural w onder— is not a m ajo r focus, or is too riegleưíed und uul o f lo u d i w ith the. present, then such historic places lend I kind o f dignity to ail area. T h ey show the past and present are well in te g ra te d , w hich suggests a vision a n d plan fu r th e f u tu r e . o u t o f touch ỈHL&
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A. W hal do you think will happen to historic buildings ill the future? I think there will be less o f them , but the ones that rem ain will be w e ll-p re se rv e d . I think a lot o f old buildings will becom e like little islands o f the pusl in
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w hat I think will happen here in Beijing. J really don’t know how historic buildings in otfier places around C hina will h o ld u p . Probably a lot o f them will lose their uniqueness and beauty lo over-tourism . O thers will sim ply fall apart and no one will even rem em ber what they w ere or w hat im portance they held. T hat’s w hai tim e does, w ell-preserved /\ậ-'fcsù'ỉtfỏ\J
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H o u s in g 5. C om pare old houses and m o d e m houses. W hich do people prefer to live in? T hat's easy. N early everyone w an ts to live in a new house. W hatever appeal old houses have 10 the artistic or n o stalg ic m ind, that appeal is not as strong as ru n n in g w a te r, electricity, centra] heating, and a w e ll-fu n c tio n in g m an iig i’in c n t. Ifs m ostly the older general ion, or m y parent's generation, that prefers old houses to new . A m ong mv ow n (generation, if w e can, nearly all o f us will choose to live in a m odem apartm ent. nostalgic
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running w ater ấ J M 6. How has housing ill C hina changed, com pared to your parents* tim e? H ousing today m eans tall apartm ent buildings if you live in a city. Ill the countryside, I think it’s m osily unchanged; only the objects inside o f the houses are different. But ilie conveniences w idely available ill m odem urban housing arc m any: better electricity, p lu m b in g sy stem s an d heating M any o f these w ere rare before, p lu m b in g system s 'i M t 'i f ’it i Ặ 7. W h at changes do you think w ill o ccu r in the future? I f the cu rren t trend continues, re sid e n tia l c o n tra c to rs w ill keep building the sam e style o f buildings, until som e creativ ity enters ilie business. M odem housing in C hina is all the sa m e : tall, id e n tic a l apartm ent buildings around a central garden or courtyard, som etim es w ith a sm aller b u ild in g a d ja c e n t o r built into the foundation o f a Few o f the taller buildings. It will probably be
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♦ IELTS SPEAKIMG ♦ _ j& ri X
m any y ears before this trend is re v e rs e d . T hat's too bad, because a lot o f w hat is being built today is w asting space and m aterials. Rut I’m hopeful that it will change, even if it takes aw hile, resid en tial contractors ít& -ĨC .Ế L 1Í
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8. W h at factors J o people consider w hen deciding w here to live? Scenery, convenient transport, availability o f stores and restaurants, noise o r poJluiion levels nearby; the list goes on and on. Then o f co u rse, there are ihe actual attributes o f the apartm ent com plex they choose, w hether il has hot w ater an d central heating, and w hat ventilation system is used. But ill the en d , the co st o f living is the biggest factor. I f one’s incom e is high enough, then he can afford to be choosy about the o th er factors, choosy
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9. H ow do you think the clim ate o f a p lace effects the w ay buildings arc constructed ( the d csieri)? [ don’t th in k clim ate affects it that m uch. T he outer design o f a building can be pretty m uch the sam e, w hether it’s in a te m p e ra te , cold, o r hot clim ate. It’s m ore the structure o f a building that m atters. B uildings th a t are fu rth er north are generally built w ith m ore in su la tio n an d flouble-paneri glass. A lthough, if the architect is really good, be will design a buildina lhat is in harm ony w ith its surrounding nature, and one w hich m akes use o f m aterials mid the sun’s light la keep the building naturally tem perate. T h is is also good for the environm ent, as it uses less sn erg v to keep ii cool or w arm . tem perate ĨỈL fa
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T h e B eijing N ational Stadium , also know n as the bird’s nest, will be the m ain track and field stadium for the 2008 S um m er O lym pics and w ill be host 10 the O pening and C losing cerem onies. T h e stadium is conceived as a large collective v essel,
w hich
m akes
a
distinctive
and
unm istakable im pression both w hen it is seen from n distance and from close up. It m eets all llie functional and technical requirem ents o f an O lym pic
N ational
com m unicating
the
S tadium , insistent
but
w ithout
sam eness
of
technocratic architecture d om inated by large
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f sp an s and digital screens. T he structural eleinenls m utually support each other and converge into a grid-like form ation alm ost like a b ird ’s nest w ith its interw oven Iwigs. The spatial ellec t o f liie stadium is novel an d radical and yet sim ple and o f an alm ost arch aic im m ediacy, thus creating a unique historical landm ark for Lhe 2008 O lym pics. The N ational A quatics C entre, know n as
“T he W ater C u b e",
will b e one o f the m ost dram atic and exciting venues to feature sp orting events for the B eijing O lym pics in 2008. B eing one o f the three lan d m ark buildings for the 2008 B eijing O lym pic G am es, the C entre is located inside the B eijing O lym pic Park. C overing a total floor space o f 50,000 square m eters, it has 17,000 seats. Ir w ill be a venue for sw im m ing, diving, synchronized sw im m ing and vvater-polo gam es during the p erio d o f the O lym pic G am es. A fter the g am es, the cen ter w ill becom e a recreational w ater park open to Ihe public. T h e building’s structural design is based on the natural form ation o f soap bubbles. T o brine the design k> life* Uic individual bubbles are incorporated into a plastic film and tailo red like a sew ing pattern. A n entire section is picccd together and then put into place w ithin the structure. T here are interior and exterior film s, w hich arc inflated once in situ. T h ey will be continuously pum ped thereafter. In C hinese culture, w ater is an im portant natural elem ent. It creates a calm ing atm osphere and inspires happiness. T ak in g full consideration o f the functions o f w ater in recreation and bodybuilding, designers have explored m any ways for people o f different
groups to appreciate
its function. M any creative designs have been em ployed in the creation o f the sw im m in g pools at the C entre. O ther high-tech facilities including optical devices used 10 define positions o f athletes, and m ultiple-angle, three-dim ensional
screening system s arc provided
to help
com petitions.
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íilSsl Topic 8
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Your Childhood Room
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a ro o m you lived in w h en you w e re a child. Y ou s h o u ld say: w h a t it looked like w h a t w as in it w h a i y o u did in th e room e x p la in w h a t y o u lik ed a b o u t th e ro o m .
M y favorite room w as the study room in m y house. It had been a lan d in g , but w e m ade it into a study and th a t is w here I used to do m y schoolw ork o r any kitxl o f project. i f IF-]
The room w as not so big, about 5 square m eters. It had a bookcase, a table w ith four chairs,
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a filing c a b in e t, an en tertainm ent center w ith a T V , a large w indow , and a door leading to
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o u r balcony. Because o f the w indow and door there w as p len ty o f lig h t a n d fre s h a ir.
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w hich m ade ii a very nice place to work. D uring tile school year tliai w ould be m y study room ; during vacation and after Í finished high school, Í w ould use ii for reading and other projects. T h ere w as also a com puter ill the room w hich I often ustJtl Id go online and do research. Som etim es Ĩ w ould also chat w ilh m y friends o n the com puter. ] liked this room because it w as quiet and very Runny. T h ere w as a large m an g o tr e e outside the w indow that w as very nice to look at. 1 alw ays felt very relaxed and calm when I used that room . I also lik ed to practice on my keyboard in that roam .
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKỈMG ♦
landing # # t is
plenty o f light and fresh air ỉt t í L Ỉ L Ẵ . , 'Ế - l / '/ H i
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P a rt 3
Rooms and Individuality 1. Do you think children should have th eir ow n room s? Ỉ think that il is gnod for children to have a chance to share room s w ith (lther siblings. O nce they I»et a little older m any ch ild ren like lo have their ow n room s and learn how to take care o f them . I think it’s good for them to have a chance to have both their own room and a shared room . T hey lcam m any good things from e ach situation, sibling 2.
How d o children benefit from sharing a room w ith others? T hey learn how to g et a lo n g w ith llic people they share a room with* and they learn to share tlieừ luys, w h ich is very im portant later in life. T hey learn 10 share responsibility in keeping the room clean and neat. T hey have som eone to play w ith and don't have to be lonely; som eone w ho can be a close friend. 1 think that it is m ore beneficial for children to share a room than to be by them selves.
3.
Do you think people h av e enough privacy today? Privacy is often very im portant. To ilio.se people w ho like privacy, it seem s they can never have enough and they will alw ay s w ant m ore. O thers w ould rather exchange privacy for m ore protection. T hey d o n ’t m ind h av in g less p rivacy if they know that in exchange they d o n ’t have to w orry about theft o r being in danger.
4 . W hat do you think o f p eo p le w ho d ecorate their houses in a very fla m b o y a n t m anner? I think th at they w ant to m a k e a s ta te m e n t o f their status w hen they decorate in a colourful and sh o w y w av. T his m ay not alw ays be so, as som e people m ay ju s t like that d e c o r. O ften the decoration is LO show th eir artistic tastes. Because it is difficult to m ake a colourful d éco r match w ell, having u well arran g ed ÍU1LỈ well decorated luiusc show s u lot o f taste on the p a r t of the ow ner. flam boyant r f Ạ m akc a statem ent
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show y PẨ 5. H ave th e room s in houses changed m uch com pared to the room s o f your parents' youth? The la y o u t o f houses and room s arc pretty standard and slay alm ost the sam e. O ne thing that does change is the m aterial that the furniture is m ade out of. W hen my paren ts w ere voting almost
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everything w as m ad e oul o f wood* and som etim es m etal. T here w a s rare ly an y th in g plastic. 'lo d a y m uch o f o u r ftim iiurc is m udc out o f plastic, metal and other n u in -n iaid e m a te ria ls , layout Ý Ậ
m an-m ade m aterial
6. H ow d o vou think the clim ate o f a p la te affects the w ay buildings are c o n stru c te d ( the d e sig n )? W ell, in m y view clim ate has quite a lot to do w ith the w ay w e d e s ig n and builc? our houses. For instance, in places w h ere it snow s a lot, you find houses built w ith 31 steep r o o f s o that the snow can’t settle on and d am ag e it. Bui in w arm clim ates the houses are o fte n b u ilt w ith a v e ra n d a h to keep the sun out o f the room s and to provide a cool p lace to s i t verandah pn & 7. Mow do you think loom s w ill change? in the future? I think that in llie future, room s w ill change to use m ore natural m a te ria ls. T here is a great dem and for g e n u in e w ooden f u r n itu r e and il is very stylish to use fu rn itu re thnt iooks like the ium .iture used in the past, i th in k it’s a íĩood change. O ther than íhat I c a n ’t see that n iu c h o f a change in room s really. genuine w ooden furniture ậ?Ạ-jí£-íl-
P l a c e s f o r P u b l ic U s e 8. W hat kinds o f public places docs your hom etow n have? In the place w here I grew up th ere w ere quite a few sm all parks and places to s tro ll a r o u n d . ITiyre w ere not m any playgrounds lo r children to play in, but m y siblings and I liked lo run a n d J. ■'lay gam es. W e w ere very h ap p y to play in the o p e n a r e a in front o f o u r a p a rtm e n t T here w as a lso a nearby Held w here w e could play football and a track to run around, stroll around -tii-ỹ
open area
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9. Do you think it’s im portant to have facilities such as public parks and playgrounds? I think that il is im portant to have places that are safe and clean for children to play in. I t s good to have large open areas w h ere both children and grow n-ups c an gpl
exercise outdoors in
2 s ife
en vironm ent, i f n othing b u t skyscrapers arc being built then o f course children a re co in g JO sufifar Dt is m o re im portant to have parks and playgrounds than som e o f the other facilities th ai a rc being built now adays. 10. C o m p are public facilities (su c h as p ark s) in C hina today to those o f the past. In th e old davs th ere w ere not m any parks or public facilities, and the o n es thai W£S*C amciimd w o re often s m a ll a n d u n k e m p t. The plam s w ere not taken care o f and th e ground w as often dftity and litte re d . T oday m ore c iĩo rts a rc pul into keeping the parks cle a n a n d the area free ifrcim Oiitto. lih e p lan ts arc w ell lakcn care o f and em phasis is pul on m aking the paries ỉonk preỉty. sm all and unkem pt
dirty and littered
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♦ IELTS SPEAKiMG
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11. Ill y o iư opinion, how will public facilities change in the future? I think that tbeie w ill be larger and nicer parks m ade in the future. 1 think the pnrks will be* w m h available to m ore people an d easier to reach. I also ihink that there will be m ore playgrounds and b etter equipm ent. You know in the fiitiire there m ight even he transportation to and from the playgrounds th at would include free refreshm ents.
A # 3 t© tc W h a t Is Y o u r F a v o rite R iiom in th e H ouse a n d W h y ? Ĩ love the sunroom . I luive a panoram ic view o f the m ountains, and can see all the H m m fi
birds and squirrels ill th e trees outside. ! also grow m ost o f m y plants in that room . 11
g iv es m e a sense o f being ouldours, w hich is very soothing for me. M y bedroom , ju s t because it is the only place that is totally m ine. It really reflects w ho I am , w hat I am all about and w hat 1 like. M y bedroom alw ays gives m e a sense o f peace and it is the p erfect place for m e to go w henever I need to be alone 01' ju s t w a n t to relax. E veiything Ĩ could possibly n eed is there and there is really no reason to leave. M y study/office;w hat ev er you w ant to call it, it is w ay cooler than my bedroom . I JTi have records
(a ll R olling S lo n e s) hanging on one o f the w alls. On another wall,
photocopies o f all o f m y sketches/artw ork. O n another w all, I have a large collection o f com ics from llie Sunday new spaper stapled to a large corkboard. I can sum the rest up in one w ord: sixties ( b ean b ag d ia ir, lava lam p. F orm ica Table}. it’s a totally aw esom e place to hang out, daydream , lake a nap in the bcanbag ch air
(w h ich is actually pretty c o m f y \ and m y favorite, draw . Som etim es. I
even use the room for w liat it’s intended for— doing hom ew ork. T he kitchen, b ecause liiaL is w here 1 can be creative and please m v fam ily. I love a m
&
big airy k itchen w ith lots o f room 10 m ove around. W hen w e have parties, people
seem to congregate in the kitchen too. I guess I like it because I like to cook. M y daughter seem s o b sessed w ith the baUiroom. II' 1 d o n 't keep the door closed m y 2 1 ỈỀ |uj ten-m outh-old d aughter is alw ays in the bathroom beside the toilet. I alw ays know’ that w hen it gets really quiet, that is w here 1 will find her. Y esterday she pulled all the toilet paper off the roll and quite m errily sat b eneath the huge pile. Fortunately I found her ju s t in tim e, w ith her m outh liill o f paper! Ĩ really need to rem em ber to close tlic door.
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♦ ie l t s s p e a k ik g ♦
T o p ic s Topic 9
9 - 11 )
A Leisure Centre Í4CIÍ]{ỈỀ !^rị ‘iừ
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e a le isu re c e n tre y o u o fte n Ị»u lu. Y ou s h o u ld say : w h a t it is a n d w hen y o u go th e r e w h a t fa c ilities it has w h a t y o u do th e re a n d ex p lain w hy y o u like th is p lace.
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O ne leisure cen tre thai 1 really enjoyed going to w as located in T ianjin. It w as in T eda actually. It w as in a hotel and it w as quite nice.
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O ne o f the facilities that Ĩ enjoyed using w as the sw im m ing pool. Tt w as indoors and heated and very relaxing. T h ere w as also a bo w lin g alley, w hich along w ith bow ling had som e nice s h u flle b o a rd ta b le s that w ere clean and not loo busy. The restau ran t w as quite nice w ith good food am i w onderful service. I loved to go to the K a ra o k e b a r that they had there and sing to m y h e a r t’s c o n te n t. 1 even practiced som e Bnglish songs like, “ Sounds o f Silence" and
“M y H eart will go o n ” from the m ovie Titanic, if Í felt tired a lte r studying or w orking
ill! WLiek, I w ould go to Ihe m a ssag e cen ter and after ju st an hour there I felt o n to p o f the w o rld . T hen o f course there w as the J a c u z z i and the sm itui— to ju st lav back and let the heat and the w ater take aw ay the pressures and tension o u t o f th is w o rld . Som e niehts at Ithe restaurant, th ey w ould have flo o r sh o w s w ith dancing and singing,
in
w anted to go o u t 1
jand m eet som eone, o r ju st enjoy a drink. I w ould go to the disco that they had there and I boogie to th e n e e h o u rs o r the m orning.
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m ầ im b o w lin g alley
Jacuzzi
shuffle board tables 'ỷ 'ỉk
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out o f this w orld
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Part 3 Healthy lifestyle 1. How do C hinese people like to relax? I think that one o f the m o st com m on w ays that C hinese people like tơ relax is to go out 10 a restaurant w ith their friends o r fam ily and enjoy a good m eal together. A nother w ay to relax lor them is to sim ply go out for a w alk and enjoy the evening or m orning atm osphere. It's an excellent Wily to reliev e stre ss. C hinese also like to read books and the youth enjoy going to Intcm cl cafes an d playing com puters gam es, relieve stress 'd i& 2. D o you think m ost C hinese people lead a healthy lifestyle now adays? T o be h o n est it seem s to m e th at we do n 't lead a very healthy lifestyle. W e work a lol, are u n d e r s tre s s and often have 10 travel on crow ded buses or subw ays. Som etim es the C hinese m en in p articu lar drink a little loo m uch and end up with h e a lth p ro b le m s. The w ay that w e cat is not so good, w ith m any foods being fried with a lot o f oil. under stress $ £1 £ B . ý)
health problem f&ip: w
3. W hat do C hinese people think about daily exercise? Is it considered im portant? ĩ f you ev er go by a h ealth club and see all the so p h istic a te d m a c h in e ry there, one oi the m ost outstanding things you w ill notice is that i( is alm ost em pty. M ost C hinese people ju s t don’t use that equipm ent, they don’t consider it very im portant. N ow 0 Ỉ*course things are changing a bit and you do see som e C hinese people o u t jogging o r w o rk in g o u t, but it is a slow change. W ith the younger g en eratio n exercise is changing, as you will see lots o f young guys out on the basketball court fo r h o u r s o n en d . sophisticated
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w ork out
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Leisure and Work 4. Do you think em ployers should provide recreational facilities for their em ployees? It w ould be a good idea to do this. Ĩ! w ould increase p ro d u c tiv ity because it w o u ld increase sta m in a and m cnlỉil a le rtn e s s . Exercise is good far you and som etim es p eo p le w o rk in g ju st get
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♦ Iriưrs S P EA K IN G
♦
w e a ry sitting at their desks for hours at a tim e. Thư em ployers d o n 't have to provide facilities but ir w ould b e In th e ir b e st in te re s ts to d o so and help to lift the s p ir its o f their em ployees. productivity 4 _ ý) stam ina
fi ,
be in one’s best interests to do sth. J lift one’s spirits
m ental alertn ess -ỈĨỈỀi w eary â ìL & â ặ ,
5. Should em ployees be paid overtim e for w orking on the w eekend? W ell if they didn’t get paid there m ight be a m ini revolution. T he w eekends arc very special tu m ost people and to have to w ork is a sacrifice as it is, and not to get paid w ould a d d in su lt to in ju ry . On the other side o f the coin, if the reason that they are w orking is they didn't get the w ork done during lilt w eek, then they should com e ill o r th e ir o w n a c c o rd 10 finish this work* and the com pany shouldn't have to pav for this. add insult to injury 'íố p - l i # i t
o f one’s own accord É]
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6. H ow do you th in k a person can find a balance betw een the tim e spent at w ork and the tim e spent on leisure? T hey say,
“AH w ork and no play m akes Jack a dull boy.” W ell the sam e holds true in reverse: all
play and no w ork m akes Jack a very poor boy. E ach has to be in its ow n place, a tim e to work and a lim e to enjoy life. Even if you enjoy your w ork you should pull y o u rself aw a y from it in order to have the proper b alance in your life. Som etim es you ju s t have to stop w h atev er you arc doing, w hether w ork o r play, and do the opposite 10 have a healthy life. M any people these days are literally dying o f o v er w ork, w hile o th er people arc w andering around day a lte r day w ith nothing to do. It is a tough thing to do, b u t you have to discipline you rself to w ork and then play.
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Welcome to the Christchurch City Council Leisure Centres Christchurch City Council would like 10 welcome you to our Leisure Centres. The Centres offer a fantastic range of recreation and fitness activities from spoils training through to family recreation. Leisure for life—experience it! 11 is the philosophy and vision (hat we, ill Christchurch City Council, live by. It is about leisure throughout your life, leisure for all ages and it is about getting out and participating at all levels. The benefits of leisure are extensive and these arc foremost in our minds when we arc looking at designing programmes for the facilities. Being active gives us more L*nerj?y, reduces stress and makes us feel gcod. It’s easy to be active at our facilities and 'YC would like u> encourage you to find more about our classes and cenưes by reading through this website.
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Welcome to Pioneer Leisure Centre Pioneer Leisure Centre is a suburban centre that was transformed ill 1999 into a modem recreation and aquatic facility. The centre features u fun leisures pool wuli a wave machine, sọa, sauna aud sleum rcHĩTTi «11 poclsũkĩ, along with n separate 25m, 5 lane lap pool. The fitness centre is well equipped with a side rage of cardio and weight gear, with an aerobic studio and circuit room. There are 2 squash courts available lor hire. IIS well as II large indoor sports stadium rhm can enter for sports Training, major competitions and large display 01 trade show events. Each term a fanla&iic variety Ilf ptipulur exercise and ruurenlion classes for bilbies Through to ỉidiills ore avnilablc. such ft3 Jnzz dance, swimsmart (learn to s^'im), basketball, prc school gymnastics, gymnastics, aquafit, aerobics, pilates. yoga and much 11101c.
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Lai Chi A ccording 10 C hinese legend a m an nam ed Z hang Sanfeng founded the art o f T ai Chi ab o u t eight hundred years a£0 after observing the m ovem ents o f a snake and a m agpie in com bat. Z hang created, a w ondrous style o f m artial art that focused on the p ow erful elem ent o f softness. T oday Z hang’s principles and m ethods o f (m ining hnvc been handed dow n as Tai Chi. W h a t Is T a l C hi? Tai Chi involves a series o f gentle m ovem ents and techniques that are perform ed in w hat appears tơ be slow m otion. Tai Chi is practised by 20% o f the w orld's population and is fast becom ing the m ost popular exercise in the w orld trxlav. Tai Chi is excellent for strengthening llie hotly nn m any levels. T h e slow paced, gentle m o v em en ts help ihe body strengthen bone m ass and connective tissue and im prove the natural functions o f (he internal organs. R egular T ai Chi practice reduces stress, increases breathing capacity and im proves balance and co-ordination. W h o C a n Do It? B ecause o f its gentle nature Tai Chi is accessible to people o f all ages an d physical abilities. M any people w ith m obility problem s and ailment!? practice Tai Chi as therapy. Tai Chi is particularly sillied to older adults an d Ihose new k) exercise, its gentle and supple m ovem ents prom ote goưd health and toial w ell-being. A b o u t T h is S tyle C onventionul forms o fT u i C hi consist o f 80 ur m ore m ovem ents, rh ese form s lake a con sid erab le am ount o f tim e to Icam and perforin. C hina’s Physical C ulture & Spoils C om m ission created a
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"S im p lified T ai C h i” based o r the contem porary Y ang Style w hich traces its
o rigins back to M aster Zhang. C hristchurch City C ouncil Tai Chi C la ssis are the revised form which involves 13 techniques w ithin 24 m oves.
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Topic 10
A Hotel lỉtìY
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a h o tel you sta y e d a t o r h a v e seen. Y o u sh o u ld say: w h a t th e n a m e o f th e h o tel w as w h e re ỈÍ w as w h a t facilities it h a d a n d e x p la in y o u r im p re ssio n s o f this hotel. T here w as a very nice hotel that I used to fre q u e n t called the V ictory Hotel. It w as lo cated in T anggu, Tianjin on the w ay to T E D A . It w as close to a m arket so if you felt like m aking y o u rse lf som ething to eat instead o f going to the cafeteria, then you could ju st ta k e a stro ll, buv w hat you w ant and 90 b ack to y n u r room and eat it.
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Each loom at the hotel h ad a nice kitchen that contained a stove and o th er basic utilities needed for a h o m e y kitchen. T he hotel also had ex cellen t sw im m ing facilities. T he
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perfection in the w inter. This w as otic o f m v favorite places in the entire hotel T h e hotel I also had a very good h o w ling alley. T his w as another L)f my favorile places to liaiiR o u t. On o n e floor there w as even a disco and a sp«. T his hotel had v irtu a lly everything. A lthough I n ev er got a v ery good look at the c a ii'tc rh i I w as alw ays lold that it served £ 0txl fond and th a t all o f the w a ite rs and w aitresses w ere very kind and helpful. ] personally liked th is hotel and enjoyed slaying there. All o f the m aid s a n d c le a n in g s ta f f 1 w ere very cheerful an d the* hole] c a r rie d nn ilir o f joy anci happiness. Ĩ w ould reco m m en d this hotel to eveiyone. even m ure than Tile H ilton or H oliday Iiui.
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Part 3 Tourism *.
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1. is tourism an im portant industry in C hina? Tn m y opinion tourism is very b ie in C hina. I believe that it is very im portant to the C hinese econom y. If it w eren’t for tourism , C hina w ould have to look for o th er w ays 10 bring m oney into the country. T ourism not only helps to bring ill m oney, bill, also helps lo influence and m o d e rn iz e C hina, m odernize 2. H ow has tourism contributed to the developm ent o f your hom etow n ( n r the p lace w here von live now , 01 C h in a )? T ourism h as helped bv m aking people m ore a w a r e o f the value o f old buildings and fam ous places. B ecause o f the attraction o f these places th e re is m o r e o f a n e ffo rt to p re s e rv e and im prove them . T h ere is also m ore developm ent lo m ake tourists and travelers m ore com fortable. T he hotels and hostels are im proving th eir standards, and the restaurants arc learning to c a t e r to w esterners, aw are 0f È
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3. H as tourism had a n y had effects on y o u r hom etow n ( o r the place w here vou live n o w )? B ecause o f LỈ1B rapid d ev elopm ent and Ihe expansion o f cities, tourism will force m any people to m ove om o f their old, low er-priced hom es. T hese people w ill have to find new , often m ore expensive apartm ents an d houses. '1 his m ay bu* difficult for them and they m ay not be able to afford the new housing. A lso, the construction w orkers w ho build new buildings and roads will be out o f w ork w h en they arc com pleted. T h is will cause a rise in unem ploym ent.
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W hen p eo p le are traveling aw ay from hom e, what choices do they have for places to stay? ( W hat kinds o f hotels does C hina h a v e ? ) T h ere are m any very n ice hotels all around C hina. A lm ost every" c ity w ill have at least one o f the m ore w ell-know n in tern a tio n al
hotels. There are also local h o tels that are cheaper and
econom icul. T hen there are husk*Is and clorins w here you can stay for a very low price for a longer tim e. international hotel
hostels 4 3 # # r ;
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5. How have hotels changed ( im p ro v e d ) in recent years ( or, com pared to the p a s t)? I th in k the standard o f hotels has risen in general. T he standard hotel has nicer facilities and often m ore options as fur us room s and prices 120. T hey are now pul ill m ore convenient places and also w ell-distributed around the city. Hotel service has also gotten m uch better as em ployees are aw are o f how im portant it is to treat guests w ell. 6. W hat facilities should a ( g o o d ) hotel have? I think a good hotel should have everything that people need to stay lor a w hile, u should have a restaurant o r som e place w here the people staying there could eet food easily. It should have a few
pluces for r e c r e a tio n and e x e rc ise , such as a gym , sw im m ing pool, and sports equipm ent room . It should also have a business ce n te r w ith I n te r n e t access, international phone service, fax, printer, photocopier, and com puter. recreation and ex ercise
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7. W hat could be done to im prove the environm ent (e .g ., Iluỉ n p p e a ra n c e ) in som e hotels? T h e hotels should be n icely and tastefully decorated. T hey should have a sim ple, efficient layout that docs no! confuse the guests. T h e ưutsidtí should be clean and the outside appearance should m atch the inside decor. It also w ould be an im provem ent to m ake sure that there are plenty o f plants and trees. nicely and tastefully decorated
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8.
W hat kind o f people ( w hat kind o f personal q u a litie s) are best suited to work in a hotel? T h e m o st im portant qualities for w orking in a hotel are friendliness and consideration. W hen the stu ff o f a hotel is friendly and considerate the guesls are w ell taken care o f and happy. It is also im portant for the s ta ff to he neat and clean. This will help them to m ake their w ork are a a n d the hotel clean fur tile guests.
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9.
W hat can hotel service people ( hotel e m p lo y e e s) do to help tourists? T he m ost im portant tiling is for the hotel em ployees to be able to understand the tourists and guests. E fforts should be m ade to m ake sure that m ust o f the hotel personnel have at least a basic know ledge o f English. It is also nice to have a few people who speak o th e r co m m o n languages or languages that are spoken by people w ho frequent the hotel. It is good to also be able to give d irections lo nearby to u r is t sp o ts or have a service to help tourists g e t to m ore distant ones, to u rist spot
A -íK A iẫ iL — ịĩi Ẻ w w w .answ ers.com Stars arc often used as sym bols for classification purposes. In particular, a set o f one to five stars is em ployed to categorize hotels.
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—
low budget hotel: inexpensive; m ay not have m aid service or room service.
** (tw o s ta rs )
—
b u d eet hotel; slightly m ore expensive; usually has daily m aid service,
**” (th re e s ta rs)
m iddle class hotel; m oderately priced; has daily m aid service, room service, and m ay have dry-cleaning, Internet access, and a sw im m ing pool.
**** (fo u r s ta rs )
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g o lf courses o r I*vcti a sm all private airp o rt)
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r 1. Hotel w as absolutely incredibly beautifiil, tra n q u il gardens and the cuisine w as awesome. The room s w ere stu n n in g too— very w ell decorated and very clean and m odern. T he sta ff are,
w ithout exception, polite and lielpftil w ithout being pusliy. Mv overall im pression o f the hotel an d s ta ff w as nothing hut excellent. T he only draw back is that Ihc hotel is quite far o ff the city center and b earing in m ind the traffic conditions during w eekdays, it can ta k e w ell over an hour to reach dow ntow n i f y o u r w ork requires so.
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U pon arrival, until d eparture the sta ff w ere piofessional and c o u rte o u s. In particular, (lie gil ls af the T o u r D esk w ere very efficient a n d booked som e last m inute excursions for us \vilhout any
problems. O ur room w as com fortable, attractive and clean w ith no detail overlooked. The lobby and th e ad ja c e n t bar area w ere stunning and the C hinese garden extrem ely w ell kept and attractive. The prices for food and drinks were very expensive... but this w as a five star establishm ent. tranquiI
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Topic 11 - s
A Library I^HSÍừ
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e a lib r a r y th a t y o u o fte n go to. Y ou s h o u ld say: w h a t lib r a r y it is w h e re it is A vliat liie lib r a r y looks like w h a t you d o I h e re a n d e x p la in w hy y o u like this lib ra ry .
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The firsi tim e I w ent ihere I needed a lot o f help lu find books b u t now I feel like it is my second home. W hen I go to the library I feel like I am leaving a lot o f m y w orries and cares behind, even i f I have to go there to research or study. I think that is because I know I can alw ays find a quiet, private place to read or do m y w ork. A nd i f I w an t to ư avel to a different place o r a different lim e, I can do that af the library b y finding a hook or com puter that wifi * tak e m e into another w orld.
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[ am particularly interested in this library because it has a lot to oiler. B esides having a good stock o f books, it also provides otTice e q u ip m e n t such as a good copy m achine, a hook b in d e r, m any com puters and printers, and m uch m ore. A nd it has very good service too. If you need a book in another library it will obtain that book for you by e ith e r shipping it from the other library o r p u rchasing the book.
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Part 3 Libraries 1. W hat kind o f people go to libraries m ost often?
I think people o f all ag es use the library. H ow ever, f think students use the libraries more often than older people,
r often
see young children in the library, but I think university students use the library
the m ost frequently. In m y opinion, the older generation use libraries ihe least. Som e arc too busy and others have no in terest ill books. 2. W hy do you think a library is u good place lo r reading? I think that th e atm osphere in th e library is c o n d u c iv e to reading because nu m b er one, it is one o f th e quietest places you can GO. A lso if you start reading som ething and you find you are nut
interested in it, it is one o f the best places to find another book. N ow adays m any people read from com puters, it is very co nvenient therefore to be able to access m aterials oil (he Internet at Che library. be conducive to
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3. E ven tliouuli il m ight co st a lot to m aintain a library, do you think ihe governm ent should open m ore public libraries? O n the one hand 1 think that il is very w orthw hile to have plenty o f libraries. O n the other hand, w ith the w ay technology is im proving practically each day, it m ay be w iser to invest in m aking com puters m ore accessible to m ore people. It is possible to go to an Internet café and go online, but m uch o f this tim e is spent o n w orthless com puter gam es and w atching m ovies, bstablishing com puter libraries and teaching people how to use them beneficially m ight be a good idea. 4. Du yo u lliiiik public libraries should be iree o f charge? It w ould be nice if lib raries w ere free, but usually you have to pay a fee or put dow n som e kind o f d e p o sit. I d o n ’t think th is is too unreasonable as people often do not a p p re c ia te things they get totally for free. I f people know tliev can g et their deposits back if they do not dam age anv books, then it m akes them m ore careful. O f course the governm ent should su b sid ize libraries so tlial people du not have 10 pay e x o rb ita n l costs. deposit ap p reciate
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5. How do you think libraries will change in (he Future? I can picture a future w h ere com puter technology w ill enable us to have easy access to all the resources a library provides. People m ay not even have to read. T hey could ju s t listen to texts. It
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m a y sound like fa n ta sy , b u t w ith all the progress in technology I think it is very possible, fan tasy
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Improvement 6. W hat k in d o f skills do you think library sta ff should have? 1 think library sta ff should alw ay s be very w ell inform ed as to w here things arc located in the library. T his will enable them to help people to save tim e in finding w h at they need, w hich is a very' b ig help in our busy tim es. Ĩ think th ey should also he very c o u rte o u s as people w ho are using the library can often be under a lot o f pressure and often need a lot o f help. L ibrary sta ff should also be efficient and have o rg a n iz a tio n a l skills. T hey m av have lo take care o f a let o f details and it w ould m ake things very difficult for those using the library if item s w ere lost or difiicult to find. Last but not least library sta ff should be patient. T hey m ay be faced w ith a m y ria d o f requests each day and those using the library will be unhappy i f the sta ff are frustrated, im polite or upset, courteous
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organizational skill 7. W hat can be done CO m ak e libraries m ure attractive? I am interested in in te r io r d e c o ra tin g and one thing I w ould recom m end for libraries is to in c o r p o r a te m ore n e u tra l c o lo rs into the d éc o r. I believe That now adays libraries are decorated to use m axim um space and reflect m axim um light. B row ns and other m u te d c o lo rs can create a w arm atm osphere. C om fortable and attractive scats can also m ake the environm ent m ore inviting. A lso I am in favor o f having w orks o f a rt in libraries. N or necessarily o rig in a ls but good quality copies o f fam ous w orks are attractive as w ell as e d u c a tio n a l. in terior decorating I*Ị
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décor 8. H ow has the Internet affected the popularity o flib raric s? C ertainly the Internet provides easy access to sources o f inform ation, although their v alid ity should be su sp ect. H ow ever, there is n o th in g on the Internet that replaces picking up an actual book and reading it. R eading a boưk is a ta c tile experience. Bcxjkb can btĩ carried everyw here and read at any lim e. A lthough I use the Internet for a num ber o f things, I have in m y personal library ubout 300 re fe re n c e b o o k s and Í find things in them that I do nut find on the internet. I a u g m e n t this library w ith books from the public library. va 1idity j t ' l ả , A\ ÌỞL*lâ
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British Library T he B ritish L ib ra ry
( B L ) is the national library o f the U nited Kingdom . It is
based in London and is one o f the w orld’s m ost significant research libraries, holding o v e r 150 m illion items. T he L ibrary's collections include around 25 m illion books, along w ith substantial additional collections o f m anuscripts and historical item s dating back as tar as 300 BC. A s o f M arch 2(X)4 the Library held 11.2 trillio n m onographs and received m ore than 41,500 regular serials. A s a legal deposit library, the BL receives copies o f all books produced in the U nited K ingdom and the R epublic o f Ireland, including all foreign hooks distributed in the UK. Ĩ1 also purchases m any item s w hich are only printed abroad. T he British L ibrary adds som e 3 m illion item s every year. T h e N ew Y o rk P u b lic L ib r a r y Libraries arc the m em ory o f hum ankind, irreplaceable repositories o f docum ents o f hum an thought and action. The N ew Y ork Public Library is such a m em ory bank par excellence, one o f the great know ledge institutions o f the w orld, its m yriad collections ranking w ith those o f the British Library, the Library o f Congress* and the B ib lio th è que N atiouale de F iance. V irtually all o f tile Library's m any collections and services arc freely available to all coiners. In fact, the L ibrary has but one criterion for adm ission: curiosity. T he N ew Y ork Public L ibrary
com prises sim ult-
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^ T h e N ew YoEk P u b lic L ibrary
aneouslv a set o f scholarly research collections and a netw ork of com m unity libraries, am i its intellectuiil arid cultural range is both global and local, while singularly attuned to N ew York City. T hat com bination lends to the L ibrary an extraordinary rich n ess..T h e research collections
(fo r reference only, and organized as T he R esearch L ibraries,
w ith fo u r m ajo r c e n te rs ) resem ble the holdings o f Che great national and university libraries, and the co m m u n ity circulating libraries
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m unicipal libraries. A ll these ^features, taken together, m ake T h e N ew York Public L ibrary a unique and com plex institution, w onderful to use but not alw ays easy to grasp. A useful w ay 10 understand the Library is
to consider its beginnings and subsequent evolution, li has been very much Ỉ1 creature o f time and place, b earing the im print o f its origins but alw ays, like any living organism , coping w ith struggles and problem s w hile adapting to an ever changing environm ent.
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I T h e L ibrary oilers hundreds o f fre e p r o g ra m s and m any e x h ib its each y e a J w hich are attended b v } thousands o f people. For adults, these include c o n c e rts , a u th o r re a d in g s, n im s, plays, lectu res, m u sicals, and o p e ra s . S p ecial e x h ib its highlight p h o to g ra p h y , a r tw o r k , c ra fts , and new books. T h e new ly refurnished a u d itn riiim seats 263 people and includes w h e e lc h a ir seatin g . T he Centra! C hildren's R oom an d T een C entral p resent program s and exhibits fur children anil teenagers thronghoul the year. T hese include film s, p u p p e t show s, s to ry h o u rs , and ta lk s by p o p u la r a u th o rs . l’be library uflers la p to p d o c k in g , giving users the opportunity 10 connect laptop com puters to the Internet and to connect to m any o f the e le c tro n ic in fo rm a tio n re s o u rc e s available ai the library.
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S Ỉ F Ỉ H I & ừ ầ ỉ ( T o p ic s 1 2 -1 4 ) Topic 12
A Film
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- xnamtt CUE CARO D e sc rib e a film th a t you h av e re c e n tly seen. Y o u sh o u ld sa y : w h a t th e film w as w h en a n d w h e re you s a w
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w h a t th e film w as iib o u t a n d e x p la in h o w you felt a b o u t th is film .
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A film tlmt I saw recently w as culled The R a m o n o f the Christ. I was in m y hom etow n o f C hongqing w h en I saw it w hen it first ca m e o u t a few years ago.
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T h e film w as about the last 24 hours o f Jesu s' life on earth. II show ed w hen he w as in the
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garden before he w as captured and brought before a trial all lhc w ay up to w hen he w as crucified and ro se up again from out o f the grave. It w as actually quite m o v in g bưcaustĩ the director, M el G ibson, actually pul his own m oney into m aking the picture, so he w as able to ju st do it th e w a y th a t he w a n te d it clone. T his m ovie caused quite an u p r o a r w hen it w as re le a se d as som e people really loved it and others hated it. It w as in the new s for a lone tim e w ith a lot o f debating going on over it. ll ended lip m aking quite a bit o f m oney for M el G ibson. Everything about it w as very beautiful, from the c in e m a to g ra p h y to the 'actual sc e n e ry . The a c tin g w as to p n o tc h . I think the m ain actor deserved an A c a d e m y A w a rd but anyw ay I enjoyed it very m uch. O ne o f the hardest scenes fo r m e to w atch in the m ovie w as w here Jesus gets w hipped before he is crucified. It w as so re a listic ; I had to hide m y eyes.
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m & im c o m e oil! -Lafe
cinem atography
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Part 3 Films 1. W hat kinds o f film s are m ost p opular in C hina? W ell H ollyw ood b lo c k b u s te rs are very popular here, film s like T itanic and Saving P rivate Ryan A lso H o ag K o n a film s a re very p o p u lar because the stars are w ell know n here. R u n g lu film s arc p opular because this art form o rig in a te d here. O f course love sto rie s arc very popular as well as C hinese h isto ric a l film s. H ollyw ood blockbuster K ong fu film
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originate >lẻ.ẳ£ 2. Do old people and young people like to w atch tlie sam e kinds o f film s? ( C o m p are Uie d iffe ren ces.) W ell I think (hill old p eo p le like lo w atch stories about their country since they w ere 50 in v o lv ed in this tim e period. They also like to w atch v a rie ty show s that show the native singing and dancing from d ifferent parts o f C hina. Y oung people on the other hand
go fo r the foreign film s, as 1 already
m entioned. T here are som e film s that both young and old like to w atch such as C hinese historical m ovies. be involved ill
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3. W hat do you think people can lcam from w atching film s?
(O r should film s be considered as
en tertainm ent only?) Oh I think th at people can learn so m uch from films. You know there is ail old saying that goes “A w ise man learns ử o m his m istakes, but a w iser lcam s from the m istakes o f oth ers.” Just by w atching a m ovie and seeing w hat a character docs ỉn c e rta in c irc u m s ta n c e s can help you to know what lo either do or not do. Y ou can feel w hat the characters feel if the actors arc really sood. You can see sights that von m ight not b e able 10 see if if w e re not fo r m ovies, so definitely von can learn from w atching films. in certain circum stances
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4.
T o w hat ex ten t du you think film s reflect real life? W ell that is a b ig argum ent that h as been a r o u n d for a long tim e: D oes art im ita te life or docs life im itate art? I believe th a t e ach re fle c ts on the other. Som etim es film s o b s e rv e life and c o m m e n t o n it and som etim es life observes film and im itates it. Film is a p o w e rfu l m e d iu m and b rin g s m a n y p a r ts o f life to the' p u b lic fo r o b se rv a tio n . be around
com m ent on
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observe life 5.
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D o you think th a t film stars deserve the large incom es that som e o f them receive? A bsolutely not! I think film acto rs’ salaries have just gotten w ay o u t of* h a n d . I know that som e o f them are very good actors an d do th e jo b that they have to do w ell, but w hen I think o f all that m oney and w hat else co u ld b e done w ith it I ju st can’t seem to ju s tify it. W hen you pay people this m uch m oney it absolutely m ak es them la r g e r th a n life and reality can becom e a little b lu rre d . w ay out o f hand %Lý)
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C ensorship 6. W hat do you think about c e n so rsh ip ? I believe in it. I Ihiuk that som e o f the stu ff that is available to the public is ju st pure garbage. No! censoring w ould be lik e allow ing liarbagui to be strew n around your living room
I believe in
fre e d o m o f sp eech and having the right to say w hat you think, but 1 believe that also goes along w ith a sen se o f re sp o n sib ility o f w ho w ould be around TO h e ar it. Som e tilings arc ju st not filfo r all a u d ien ces. I think that m aybe censorship can go too f a r but if you h a v e a good
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7. S hould film s he classified b efo re release? O f co u rse this goes along w ith my previous answ er. A lthough rejilly willi today’s film s som e o f them could b e classified as ju n k one and garbage two. 1 hope lluii you don’t think that ] am being too negative o n tills subject but re a listic a lly sp e a k in g expanding these ru lin g s or 1’lỉissiH endons w ould not b e a bad id e a 1 think that th e rating system is too sim plistic a id m a iy m o re g u id e lin e s and w ays to classify m ovies a r e long o v e rd u e , realistically speaking 1% £
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lỉ 1. ỉ really enjoyed the m ovie from start to finish. 2. ...really has it all. It m ak es you lauqh, m oves you, m akes you cheer, m akes you casp and lets vou feel sm art. 3. He seem ed uotnpltíltílv natural in the role and brought II depth and reillness to the character. 4. She brought a special q uality to the character, and m any, m any m en and boys w ill w alk out o f the th eater in love w ith her. 5.
I’m afraid Pm not elo q u e n t enough to describe ju st how m uch I loved this m ovie. W hile not perfect, the sum total o f the parts created a great, m em orable experience.
6.
I truly think this is the best com ic book m ovie ever m ade and I'm not exaggerating. It w as very funny at points, it w as verv heart rending at other points. D ram atic, intense a n d exciting.
7.
T h e director displays an am azing vision. B elieve it o r not, the actin g is superb and the dialogue is rich.
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Topic 13
An Outdoor Activity
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a n o u td o o r activity th a t you like doing. Y ou s h o u ld sa y : w h a t th is a c tiv ity is w h en y o u d o it w h e re y o u d o it a n d e x p la in w h y y o u like it.
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1 really enjoy running. N oi the fast sp rin tin g kind o f run, but rather the m ore d ra w n -o u t jo g g in g kind o f run.
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I usually like to run w hen
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I extrem ely dislike running on a tr a c k or in w ide open spaces, because it m akes m e feel like I’m not getting anyw here. 1 think that the best place 10 run is on a sm aller, not-so-busy street in a nice re sid e n tia l a re a . But if there isn’t a place like that It) run near m y house, I’ll ru.il anyw here— even on a track.
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O ne reason th at 1 enjoy running is it’s faster than w alking and cheaper than taking buses or taxis. A lso, running is good for your health; the m ore you run the stronger your legs, back und lungs get. I also like the ru s h lhat y o u get w hen you push y o u rse lf farther than you’ve ever gone before, w here you feel like collapsing and keep on running until you don’t even tccl y o u r legs anym ore and it’s ju st m echanical.
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Part 3 O utdoor Aclivities ]. W ould you say people spend m ore tim e outdoors today than they did, say;
20 y e a rs ago?
i d o n ’t really think so. N o w w ith so m any m odern conveniences there’s Jess need lo w o rk outdoors. T h ere arc so m any offices and indoor jo b s now that it’s alm ost considered “ low class" to do m anual labor o r w ork outside. M ost m iddle-class w orking people do not get sufficient am ounts o f exercise, and as a resu lt a r c w eak and m ore p ro n e to sickness, he prone to $ Ỷ 2. A re there any o utdoor activities that m any people used to do but w hich m ost people don’t do now ? O ne o f the m ain ones that I can think o f is w alking. People still w alk, blit not in the sam e proportion lluit tliev used lư years ago. W alking used lo be Ihe m ain sw irce u f travel, unless you cuuid affo rd a horse, donkey, o r m ule. But n o w w ith cars, buses, and the Internet, people do a lot less w alking to get to w ork, the store, o r w h erever they need to go 3. W hat arc (he m ost p o p u lar o u td o or activities in C hina? M any C hinese enjoy p laying badm inton, riding bicycles, perform ing T ai C hi, and w alking. Som e sports Ihiil have b een adopted from other cultures are also popular, such as basketball, tennis, and liack spoils. O ne outdoor activity Uiai m usl C hinese both old and young Like is table tennis, il is a national sport here in C h in a so it’s nou really surprising that so m any people enjoy playing it. 4. Do old and young tKiople like doing the sam e kinds o f activities outdoors? ll really depends oil the people playing sports, because som e o ld people are very fit and can keep up w ith the y ounger o n es quiliỉ w ell. Bui lor the most part old people gen erally do n 't e x e rt th e m selv e s phvsically us m uch as Hie y ounger ones do. T hev'd m uch rath er take a w alk o r play badm inton than clim b a m ountain o r play a fu il-c o u rt gam e o f basketball, ex ert oncscl f
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Working O utdoors 5. W hat do you think a re som e o f the differences betw een w orking outdoors, com pared to say, w orking in an office? I f you’re alw ays indoors then you’ll get w eak and sick easier; w hereas i f you w ork outside then you 're g etting fresh a ir an d sunshine, w hich are two things th a t everyone needs to Slay healthy. I f
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you’re w orking outdoors, then you'll probably he lìiuclì m ore physically lit and a whole lot stronger than i f you’re sitting at your d esk all day. O f course if you d o n ’t have a balanced life then you're bound to have c o m p lic a tio n s, and if you don't spend at least a lew hours on your com puter every day you m ight not be able to sleep at night, com plication S L lifffi’&L 6. Do p eo p le in China p refer to w ork indoors or outdoors? M ost C hinese prefer w orking inside o ver w orking outside. T hey've had to w ork outdoors for so m any years that it’s a relief TO w ork inside. I think thai a c o m m o n m e n ta lity is that if you w ork outdoors you’re low class an d can't J o anything else. T his m ight bt’ true ill som e cases, but I’m not sure (hat it’s true with everyone, a com m on m entality — # 7. I f you liatl to chouse ail uuldours jo b . w hat w ould you choose lu do? I w ould probably choose a jo b w here you have to exert y o u rse lf physically. M avbc Fd w ork on a farm o r som e jo b like that, although r d like to learn c a r p e n tr y . O h, Í know YỎ w ork at a zoo cleaning the m onkey eatỉes. A nd w hen r d have tim e o fT l’d go to lliti elephant cage and feed them peanuts, carpentry
O utdoor Environment 8. H ow do you think clim ate an d the environm ent affect w hat activities people do outdoors? I f it’s really cold then you can ’t do som e o f the things that you can w hen it’s really hot. I f you try lo play basketball the ball w on't b o u n c e so w ell because the cold m akes it flat. T hat’s w hy they have indoor basketball courts; they keep it w arm so that the ball can bounce and Uic* team s can play w ithout freezing. In the cold clim ates vou can skate, ski and snow board, and in hot clim ates you can surf, sw im , and play football o r basketball, bounce & M . 9. D o you think the a ir q uality in y o u r hom etow n has im proved or w orsened in recent years? Im provem ent as far a s air pollution is concerned is an im possibility, i f the air h as steadily gotten w orse a t an alarm ing rate. O ver the past tew years m ore people have gotten cars, m ore factories have been constructed, and the air h a s ju s t gotten worse. The sad thing is lhat it’s slow ly killing US all, and in a m atter o f years w e'll all have b ro n c h itis, or m aybe tu b e rc u lo sis— not a very pleasant thought i f you a sk me. b ro n ch itis
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10. Do you think it will be easy for the governm ent to solve environm ental problem s? It won’t ju st be hard, it’ll b e alm ost im possible. A s far as a ir pollution, the governm ent is fighting a
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losing battle: every tim e they pass new regulations o r set die standards h ig h er som ething nasty happens. L ike w hen the R ussians w ere conducting the safety tests at the C hernobyl N uclear Pow er Plant, it blew up in their faces. But they should definitely try to do their best to solve these problems. 1 \ . H ow (Jo you think the environm ent in your hom etow n should be changed? [f w e had m ore trees and plants around the city then the air w ould he n lot fresher. T here needs to be som e kind o f quality control Dll vehicles tliut are going around liie citv, som e o f those farm tractors are blow ing out black sm oke that su ffo ca tes anybody w ho’s nearby. T he sad thing is that people in m y hom etow n are so accustom ed 1o the environm ent being bad that they don’t really care about changing it; they just w an t to do w hat's easiest, even if it m eans ruining their health and slow ly killing them selves. suffocate 'ĩ t s . 'fir
W h a t's Y o u r F a v o rite O u td o o r A ctiv ity ? 1. W ell I don’t know if it will b e at boredom b u t for m e 1 go fishing w hen I can. It’s relaxing, I can clear my m ind and get fresh air. I can sit there for hours ju st holding That rod, doesn't m atter i f 1 don't catch anything but it’s a bonus if 1 do. ] let the fish go and start all over again.
2. I play tennis. It is a good sport. Y ou
3. K ayaking!! 1 w as about 9 wheti
can play in a public place and there are
I fried it in the ocean. I ’ve been
ch eap rackets too. Y ou exercise, m eet
hooked ever since, although
people, m aintain your shape, and relax.
prefer W hitewater kayaking now.
I
4. Scuba diving...you could see a
5. B ackpacking, m ost definitely. Being one with
w hole 11CW, different w orld dow n
nature is the best feeling in the world. Y ou’re aw ay from all the hustle that you’re faced w ith everv day. It ju st gives you a break and refreshes
jo in eroup activities that support
everything that seem s to overw helm you during
I cleaning the environm ent.
the average w ork w eek.
6. We like lo get together to barbecue and play gam es.
G am es
like
T aboo,
C ranium
G u esstu res are som e o f our favorites.
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Topic 14
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Favorite Time of the Year
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CU E CARD D e s c rib e y o u r fa v o rite se aso n o r tim e o f th e y e a r. Y o u s h o u ld say: w h e n this tim e is w h a t th e w e a th e r is like ill th is tim e w h a t y ou usu ally d o a t th is tim e a n d e x p la in w hy it is y o u r fa v o rite tim e o f th e y e a r.
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I think Itiy favorite liine o f the year is spring. T he m ain reason I like il is because it's nut tut) cold and not to hot. In sonic places I’ve lived, such as H angzhou and Shanghai, it rains most o f ih e sprinu. But I w as m ainly thinking o f w hen 1 lived in Kunm ing, it’s so beautiful all spring. The sky is blue and Ihc w eather is n ice and w arm . The flow ers start to bloom and the leaves on the trees turn sreen. Since K unm ing has m any parks, m y fam ily and I w ould often go for picn ics in the parks w here w e w ould p la y b a d m in to n , eat. rest, and look a t all the plants and flow ers. O ur favorite park w as the K unm ing B otanical G arden. It had so m any different kinds o f plants, trees, flow ers, ferns, you n am e it. A nother thing I like ir> do during springtim e is to get up early a n d clim b m ountains. T here w as one m ountain near our house called C hang C hong Shan, it w asn’t sa high b u t there w ere no steps, only a few ro u g h tra ils . A n o th er thing I like about spring is that’s w hen all the anim als are born. T hat’s w hen you can sec aJJ o f the liule baby squirrels, dogs, cals, Siiakes, mid spiders. T he air alw ays seem s fresher in the spring, the sky is bluer, the grass greener, a n d the people friendlier — 01 a t least 1 think 80.
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Part 3 S easo n s 1. H ow do the different seasons affect the lifestyles o f C hinese people? In places like G uangzhou, Shenzhen, o r X iam en w here it’s alw ays hot there aren’t m any e x tre m e w e a th e r c h a n g e s to w orry abcnil Rut ill other places ill C hina sucli as B eijing, Shanghai, Tibet, o r H arbin the w eath er changes so d ra s tic a lly from sum m er lo w inter that it affects lifestyles. During th e w inter the w eath er m ny eo below z e ro , nnd in the sum m er it m ay gel a s lull a s 4fl° C elsius. Thu! m eans you have TO have d ifferen t kinds o f clothes tor each season. A lso, in the w inter you m ight need heating and in th e su m m er you’ll m ost likely have to use a fan or an a ir conditioner; one lricnd o f m ine uses both. extrem e w eather ch an g es %L A'ij Ớ-J
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2. H ow do different seasons affect the w ay people feel? O ne o f the things that w eath er affects is the kind o f food you cat. 1 d o n 't know about other people, but w hen it’s really hot I d o n ’t usually feel like eating a lot. just som e fruit or quick and easy food, like sandw iches, co ld noodles, o r M cD onald's, w hereas in the w inter 1 usually feel like e a tin g lots o f tilling hot food, such as sưups, n e e , noodles, and oilier tilings like that. A lso w hen it’s hot Ỉ ju s t feel like sleeping, bur in the w in ter Tin natunillv colder, so I hnve to m ove around to kuep warm .
W eather IClimate 3. How does the clim ale o f a place affect the kind o f buildings that are built there? W ell, if the clim ate is hot then the builders will construct the buildings to stay as cool as possible. But if you’re in a cold clim ate then you m ight find d o u b le in su la tio n on the w indow s, or the houses will be built lu r e ta in lic a t as m uch as possible. It’s quite com m on to see a house w ith a bunch o f open p o rc h e s a n d v e ra n d a s in a hot clim ate. A nd probablv every room w ill have u hole for an a ir c o n d itio n in g v en t. Bui co ld er clim ates will m ost likely have central heating, double insulation retain h e a t
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4. D o you think fighting global clim ate change is a governm ental responsibility o r the responsibility o f individuals? As the saying goes, m n n y h a n d s m a k e li^ h t w o rk . If the governm ents and individuals work together on the clim ate problem s, there will be m any changes and m ore pro g ress will he made, o r CWw>
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co u rse m o re responsibility should fall on the shoulders o f Ihe govem ineut because (hey havtt tile m ean s to do m ore than the average citizen. But that shouldn’t stop ordinary people from doing their part. M any hands m ake light work.
Vacations / Holidays / Tourism 5. W liat arc the m ajo r public holidays and festivals in C hina? T here is o f course Spring Festival, till! L a n te rn F e stiv a l, and the D ra y o n B o at F estiv al. T here’s G ra v e S w eeping D ay, L abor Day, the M oon Festival, and N ational D ay H oliday. I think that’s ab o u t it. the L antern Festival s c 'if
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D ragon Ront Festival til 6. W hat do people in C hina do w hen they have holidays? M ost o f the tim e they w ill party w ith their triends, but it really depends on Ihe holiday. T ak e G rave Sw eeping D ay for instance. C hinese usually burn fake m oney, clean graves, und place flow ers on them . O r at the D ragon B o at Festival they either w atch the races or participate in one. But at Spring Festival everyone w ill party an d eat and drink all night. 7. W hy do C hinese people like the sp rin g Festival? T he Spring Festival is a tim e for jam ily, a tim e for everyone to get together and parly, eat, give presents and en jo y each o th er's com pany. It’s in a sense like C hristinas, at least as far as the partying and gift giving is concerned. It’s the celebration o f a new year, giving thnnks for the last one and hoping and w ishing that the next year will be prosperous. A lso, it’s a tim e o f f from school and w ork to relax w ithout having to w orry about m eeting a deadline. 8. How can people benefit from visiting new places? T h e m ore extensive and co m prehensive your know ledge o f o th er peoples and cultures is, the easier it'll be íòr you to re la te lo them . Y ou’ll have m ore in com m on w ith ihem and will belter understand them . I f you never leave y o u r hom e, your understanding o f other people w ill be very m inim al. Y o iill m ost likely be n a rro w -m in d e d and b ig o te d . A lthough this isn't alw ays the ease, m ost o f them are this way. relate i t A , fa v k tti
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narrow -m inded •o* 9. W hen m any people visit a particular place, w h at e f f e c t can that have on this place? A n A m erican ửitíiid o f m ine once told m e that about 150 years ago som e people found gold m C alifornia and people cam e b v the thousands tn lonk for it in the water. B ecause there w e re so m any p eo p le ami they all ncjctlcd food, shelter, and supplies, som e o f the m ore in d u s trio u s p io n e e rs
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sturled building h o ld s, restaurants, and stores. N ow , m ore than 100 years later, these tow ns arc som e o f the biggest and m ost th riv in g cities on the w est coast. W hat I’m trying to say here is that if there a re enough people they can g reatly change a place either for b e tte r o r for w orse, industrious pioneers 'ĩfj % ố-ỉ
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Spring. B verything starts to com e back to life again. T he grass turns green, trees grow back their leaves, flow ers grow and bloom , the w eather is nice and th s tem perature is perfect! ĨI ju s t doesn’t gel anv b elter than that! A bsolutely love the sum m er! I am a teacher, so I get the sum m er off. I spend the entire sum m er sw im m ing, lying in the sun, shopping, and relaxing.
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The fall is the prettiest, and I love the crisp cool air, sw eater w eather, blankets, I love 1ÍÌC w ay the leaves crunch under your feet, and the w ay the air sm ells w hen people arc starting to light
their fireplaces. B ut then com es w inter... I love the fall because the leas'es are changing and falling. I ts so beautiful. A nd it's nice and cool. I w ish it w as fall all y ear around. T here’s so m uch to do because it's not too cold but not too hot. The fairs all com e into tow n w here I live. Y ou can actually go for w alk s at the lake w ith out feeling like you are noing to die. Y ou can g o out and play w ith your kids ami dogs. It’s ju s t a fun and beautiful season. A utum n. B ecause o f the trees turning colors, traveling at that tim e o f year is aw esom e. Í get som e beautiful pictures then. It is co o ler out and I like planting flow ers that w ill last until m id-January. 1 w ill be skating m ore, cam ping, nnd h ik in g because o f cooler w eather. And I can Him o ff the a/c ami sm ell the air from outside, sleep better and listen to all the crickets and birds do their thing. W inter. It’s cold and grey and you can go i'or a w alk in the frost and w rap up w arm w ith your cnats and scarves, and snow is fantastic. T he air is so fresh in the w inter. A nd then you can CO inside the house w ith a m u g o f tea a n d w atch the SHOW falling outside the w indow o r w atch a m ovie. The trees look so great in the w inter, too, and everything is so still and quiet at night.
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a w a lk y o u ta k e re g u la rly Y o u sh o u ld sa y : w h e re a n d w h en you w alk w ho y o u w alk w ith w h a t you see on th is w alk 31ltd cxpliiiii w hy you w alk.
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every Sunday, th ere in the carlv m orning, and back in the early afternoon. It w as the best w alk ever, in the m ornings, since it w as a Sunday, the streets w ere em pty, so it w as a really pcaccliil tim e. In the sum m er, 1 w ould get to see the s u n rise over the c ity hall; and in the w inter, I got to w alk in m y favorite kind o f w eather, cold p re -d a w n darkness. E very tim e, I w ould w e a r m y iP o d and listen to m usic that fit the m ood o f the w alk and w eather. T hen, in the afternoon, sin ce N anjing is such n big to u r is t d ra w , ] w ould w alk by m any, many happy people OI1 vacation seein g the sights in town. It m ade m e really pleased to w alk by Vi\\ these people, because they w ere alw ays really excited to be in N anjing, and m any had their sm all kids, w h o w ere alw ays laughing and playing.
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Part 3 Walking and Health 1. D o m any people in C hina go for w alks9 Y eah, lols o f C hinese people go for w alks. A ny tim e 1 w alk by a park late at night,
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people taking Í1 stroll and looking pretty content. Ĩ think they do it for the sam e reason people w orldw ide w ho live in b ig cities walk: il feels good to get outside w hen they have been stuck inside all day. A lso, w alking in parks gives people a taste o f nature in a c o n c re te w orld, it feels good to w ->£
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2. H im (lei you think w alking is beneficial to health? W alking does lots o f things for y o u r health. First, and perhaps m ost obvious, is the physical benefits. W alking is exercise, w hich is im portant for everyone. Just as im portant is the good w alking does for your m ind. For m e at least, w h en I can w alk som ew here, it gives m e a good opportunity to think about things and not feci stuck inside.
I get to feel the sun and the fresh air.
3. D o you think that playing sports is better for your health than w alking? W alking and playing sports are both good for your body. T hey both im prove your physical health, though sport does a b etter jo b at lhat. W hen playing sports, you arc m ere active and your heart rate increases, so your body has to w ork harder, w hich m akes the exercise m ure beneficial. Bill, w alking does a Jot o f good for y o u r m ental health. It provides a great escape J'rom the w orking w orld, and gives the m ind a ẹood opportunity to just w ander. So if m easuring just physical health, sports arc belter for your body, but if you look at m ental as w ell, they are equally good for your health.
Walk and Leisure 4. U o y o u think people in tile past w alked m ore than people today, or less? I th in k that yes, people in the past did m ore w alking. People today have m any m ore d is tr a c tio n s th at occupy tim e that w as o n ce spent w alking. T hey yư un the Internet, ưr w atch TV , or pliiy vidtru gam es. In the past, th ere w as less to do, so people w alked a lot m ore. W hether it w as w alking som ew h ere o r w alking ju st to w alk, I think they did it a lot more, distraction
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5. W hat is the relationship betw een standard o f living and (he am ount o f w alking people do? I think that it is not really the standard o f living that affects how m uch people w alk. A s long as you are talking about w alking for pleasure, I think the m ain v a ria b le is how people value their tim e. For
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instance, rich, busy people and poor people that have to w ork really hard to s c ra p e by probably don’t have that m ilch tim e to w alk. Blit people that value life m ore than m oney probably w alk more often because they w an t lu enjoy them selves every once in a w hile. If you are talking about all kinds o f w alking, though, rich people w alk less, obviously, because they can affo rd other m odes o f transportation. variable
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6. I low do you think, the g o vernm ent could encourage people to w alk m ore? In m y opinion, the best w ay to get people to walk m ore w ould be lo build m ore places w here people w ould enjoy w alking. Parks or nice tre e -lin e d s tre e ts w ould be a good w ay to start. People are m uch m ore likely to w a lk in places that are nice EIS opposed to places that feci g rim y . O ther than that, I think m ost C hinese cities are pretty w alker-friendly. Lots and lots o f people w alk, and that is a really g oo d thing. tree-lined street
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W ell, obviously, m any postal w orkers m ust w alk their routes in o rd er to deliv er the mail. A s far as other jo b s w here people w alk a lot, though, I can’t think o f many: D ifferent kinds o f deliverym en and w aiters and w aitresses are the two best exam ples o f these kinds o f jo b s. O th er than that. I don’t think com panies need em ployees lo walk. It’s m ore efficient for them to e ith e r stay in one place or to get around b y other m o d es o f transportation.
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W a lk in g fo r H ealth “ I h av e tw o d o c to rs , m 3r le ft leg a n d ra y l i g h t ” G eorge T revelyan, 1913 W a lk in g is th e n e a r e s t a c tiv ity to p e rfe c t e x e rc ise .” Professor J. M orris anil Dr. A tlrianne H ardm an. 1997 T here’s no doubt abuul it. w alking is good for you. It’s good for your heart, it’s good for your lungs, it’s good for the m uscle and bone grow th o f your children and it’s u;ood for your feeling o f w ell-being! W hether you w ant ỈO w alk lo im prove y o u r general health, to keep fit. to control vour w eight, o r p erh ap s to recover from a period o f ill-health, w alking can help. It is ‘SAt&cthing that can be done w ith children or older fam ily m em bers, it need cost you nothing, and can tit in with any lifestyle, incom e bracket, culture or dom estic circum stance. V
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H e a lth B en efits o f W a lk in g S tudies sh o w that w alking can: • R educe the risk o f co ro n ary heart disease and stroke • L o w er blood pressure • R educe high cholesterol and im prove blond lipid profile ! • R educe body fat • Increase bone density, h cn cc h clpine to prevent osteoporosis • Reduce the risk o f non-insulin-dependanl diabetes • I lelp to control body w eig h t • Help flexibility and co-ordination, hence reducing the risk o f falls W a lk in g f o r M e n ta l H e a lth W alking has been show n to im prove self-esteem , relieve sym ptom s o f depression tind anxiety, and im prove m ood. W alking, particularly in pleasant surroundings, and w ith other people, offers m any opportunities for relaxation and social contact. E n v iro n m e n ta l B en efits M otor vehicles create a substantial am ount o f air pollution. In fact, transportation is responsible for neat ly 80 percent o f carbon m onoxide and 50 percent o f nitrogen oxide em issions in tile U.S. N ut surprisingly, m any m etropolitan areas do not m eet the air quality
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A m endm ents. A lthough individual cars are m uch cleaner today than they w ere in earlier years, if total traffic continues to gl ow , overall air quality will d eteriorate. M oreover, cars and trucks bum m illions o f barrels o f oil. a non-icnew able energy source, every day. K eep it S tead y A steady routine is the m ost im portant factor in getting the m ost out o f your exercise program . W a lkin g for 30 m inutes, 5 tim es a w eek is recom m ended. Use th ese tip s to k eep vou on track: •
D uring your w alks, you should he able to m aintain a conversation. If you’re breathing to o lightly, increase your pace. I f y o u c a irt catch your breath, slow it dow n.
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W alk nround the locnl nrea nfler lunch or dedicate 15 m inutes to w alking up and dow n stairs. C lim bing is an excellent w ay to strengthen your heart.
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At night, Irade a liall hour o f T V for cl brisk stroll around the block. T ake a friend w ith you i'or com pany or get the w hole fam ily involved.
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Topic 16
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a s p o rtin g event th a t you en jo y e d w atch in g . Y o u sh o u ld say: w h a t th e ev e n t H as w h e re you w a tc h e d it w h o w a tc h e d th is ev en t w ith von a n d e x p la in w hy y o u en jo y ed w a tc h in g th is event.
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A few years ag o m y father took me to a basketball gam e that w as being played at a university.
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The team s w ere the Shanghai Sharks and another university team . I can’t rem em ber w hat the team 's nam e w as but they w ere all dressed in purple and looked quite funny. The gam e w as quite short and only had 2 h alv es (in ste ad o f 4 q u a r te r s ) . I can’t rem em ber svho w on. but it w as abvious that th e S harks w ere p la y in g v e ry soft o n the other team . At lialftim e som e o f the Shark team m em bers started throw ing sig n e d je rs e y s into the crow d, I think th ere w ere about 10 in all. Ĩ really w anted one hut w e w ere so far back thcit they never reached us. A friend o f m ine g o t one though and I got to try it on.
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T he a tm o s p h e re in the stadium w as so exciting. Everyone w as shouting, w histling, c h e e rin g , and ju st m aking noise. I w as cheering for the Sharks an d m y dad w as w histling so loudly th at p eo p le started looking at us. 1 w as kind o f em barrassed, but he didn't care. A fter the game w e sto p p ed ai a sn a ck sh o p and got som e drinks and a snack. I don’t think r u ev er forget that gam e.
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Part 3 Sports in General 1. W iiai are the benefits o f sport ( o r e x e rc ise )? E xercise keeps you healthy. I t ’s b e e n p ro v e n íh ỉit people w ho exercise m ore get sick less. W hen you exercise it helps b u ild y o u r s tr e n g th lo fiyhl sick n ess. I have a friend w ho has a bad back and i f he doesn't run, pluv basketball, or ex ercise in som e way then his back will go out and he’ll have to stay in bed until it is better. It’s been proven that
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2. W hat kinds o f sports facilities exist in y our com m unity? I live n ear a university and m y friends and 1 often go there to exercise. It has fo o tb all fields, tra c k s , b a d m in to n , v o lley b all, and te n n is c o u rts , and other kinds o f exercise equipm ent. T here is also a w eig h t ro o m an d ta e k w o n d o lessons. So 1 think that m y com m unity h as quite a good a s s o rtm e n t o f spoils facilities available. fnothall field
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3. D o m en and w om en play tile sam e k in d o f sports? It reallv d epends on the parson, b ecause I know som e girls w ho are a lot m ore athletic than most guys are. But fo r th e m o s t p a r t, girls generally d o n ’t p la y m ost o f the r o u g h e r , ag g re ssiv e sports. A n A m erican friend o f m in e lold IT115 that m any o f the m en there lik e to p la y A m erican football and even though som e girls w ill jo in the gam e, m ost o f them will ju s t sit on the side and w atch or do som ething else for the m osl pari rough
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5. Do you think children should be encouraged from a young age to participate in com petitive sports ( o r team s p o rts )? I don’t really think that it’s good if children are taught at a young age to be com petitive i f you can teach the child bow to p lay com petitive sports without stressing that w inning is the only w ay that you can have fun then I guess it’s okay. But personally I think thiifs a hit u n re a listic because everyone w ants to w in, and if kids don’t w in their natural reaction is to cry or get mad. This doesn't really help them in life. W hen th ey grow up they’ll find that you d o n 't always w in th e firs t tim e a ro u n d , you ju st have to keep trying and keep going ơn w ith your life, unrealistic
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Live Sports Events 6. Do you prefer to w atch sports events on T V at hom e or 10 w atch them live? ( W h y ? ) I prefer w atching sports on T V , because som etim es you’re w atching a gam e that looks like it’ll be lo ad s o f fun bill i( tu rn s mil lo be super boring w here your team gels c re a m e d and you feel like crying. I f you are a t the s ta d iu m w atching the gam e there's nothing you can (iu but cry, blit i f you nrc at hom e you can ju s t change the channel TO som ething fun. W atching sports at hom e is also m ore eco n o m ical, you can be w atching 3 o r 4 gam es lo r ju st a few m ao an hour. loads o f
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7. W hat arc the ad v antages an d disadvantages o f going to sec a live sports event, such as a football m atch, com pared to w atching the evenl at hom e on T V ? L ik e 1 sa id b elt)re, i f vou go lo a spurts event you have to stay and w atch llie w hole tiling, w h e re a s if y o u stav at hom e you can chance the channel o r turn off* the T V . Also you can see the gam e close u p w h ereas if you’re in the stadium then you’ll sec a faraw ay view o f the gam e. O ne advantage o f g o in g to a sports event is th at you can experience the excitem ent o f the gam e. T he gam e is so m uch m o re alive and real than if you w ere ju s t w atching it. You feel like i f you yell louder then your team m ight actually have a g reater chance o f winning. A lso if som eone decides to s tre a k at halftim e then you w on’t have to w o rry ab o u t the sports channel sw itching to the a n c h o rs w ho talk about the gam e. L ike 1 said before
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8. D oes the ticket p rice to live sporting events affect decisions to attend? Yes, 1 think the p rice is an extrem ely big d ec id in g fa c to r. T ake the W orld M aster's Cup in Shanghai, for instance. If the a d m issio n fe e w as only iOO R M B , m ore than h a lf o f Shanghainese co u ld ’ve attended the gam e. deciding factor
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9. W h at about the 2008 O lym pic G am es ill B eijing — w hat do you think w ould be a reasonable price for adm ission tickets? I’m not really sure, I hav en 't thought about it that m uch, but I'd p refer i f they w ere free so then m aybe I’d be able to go. M y best guess is that they will probably £0 for at least a few hundred yuan a ticket. People from all o v e r the W orld and C hina will be com ing to B eijing and they will have m oney, so I d o n ’t think p rice will be a huge problem .
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( A P ) —T h e H ouston R ockets hope Friday night w as the start o f a new era against
j the San A ntonio Spurs. Y ao M ing scored 22 points and the R ockets bent the Spurs 9 7 - 7 8 for their first victorv in San A ntonio in over nine years. I Sail A ntonio had w on 17 straight hom e gam es against the R ockets a n d seven in a row overall. H ouston's last rontl win against th e Spurs w as a 103-94 decision on A pril 20, 1997. M anu G inobili had 23 points for the Spurs, w ho finished w ith a season-low point total. Tony Parker followed w ith 21 and T im D uncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds. “M y team m ates did a great jo b . a huge jo b in the second half,” Y ao said. “T hey show ed a lot o f energy. T hey put the life into the g am e.” Purkcr said his team did ju s t the opposite. “W e w ere definitely Hat, had no energy,” he said,
“and they ju s t cam e out very strong, played m ore
physical and m ade shots." Y a c ’s perform ance w asn’t on p ar w ith his recent gam es, the last four o f w hich he scored m ore than 30 points, b u t he did enough to lead the Rockets. He scored 14 o f his 22 points in llie first quarter but had four fouls about m idw ay through the third. He sat out the rest o f the period and played ju st about 4 m inutes in the final quarter, w hen he picked up his fifth foul. T h e R ockets took a 3 0 -2 1 lead into the second quarter, w ith Y ao scoring 14 points in the first. T hey extended the advantage w ith a n 8 - 0 run in the second. The Spurs m issed five straight shots during the second-quarter surge. A t th e e n d o f the third pericxl a visibly angry D uncan w as given a technical for com plaining about h is third foul in the quarter. T he R ockets led 7 4 -5 9 after three. T h e R ockels w ere again w ithout T m cy M cG nidy, who has m issed six gnm es becau se o f buck spasm s. T he R ockels are 2 - 4 w ithout him in the lineup.
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o f th e g re a te s t show s on e a r th and il attracts so m any people from so m any countries.
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Topic 17
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I have spent m ost o f iny tim e learning C hinese and C hinese culture, but I did have an interesting experience about a year and a h a lf ago that in sp ire d m e to learn about C osta R ican culture
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O ne o f my friends spent a sem ester abroad in C osta R ica in early 2005, and Ỉ spent tw o w eeks
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at the beginning o f the Slimmer visiting him there. P r i o r to visiting, I knew alm ost nothing about the culture, but staying there, even tor such a short lim e, really o p en e d m y eyes.
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the phrases m ost often used in C osta Rica are a g o o d illu s tra tio n o f their culture: p u ra vicfa and trurujuih. P u n t VÙỈU translates as "pure life” and trunquiio m eans “culm ” . B oth arc used in situations w h ere the level o f stress is rising. W hen Costa Ricans say this phrase, they are tellinạ lliem selves o r others “ Don’t w orrv. C h ill o u t." It’s an extrem ely la id -b a c k , relaxed culture. T heir m ain goal in life is to be happy. W orkdays tend to be shorter, and sin ce the country is so sm all and borders hoili the A tlantic and Pacific O ceans, it is really easy to go to th e beach, so m any do ju st that. W hen 1 was there, it was routine to see people c;ettinẹ up around 6 am , ữ,ct to the beach and su rf for tw o or three hours, w ork from hom e and cat, then go back to the beach. II w as greul lo see ti culture w illi such a different o u tlo o k on life
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chill out laid-back outlook on life a gcod illustration
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Part 3 Learning about Other Cultures 1. Do you think it’s im portant to know about other cultures? I do think it's extrem ely im portant lu leani about other cultures. Not only can you find out interesting tilings, bill il m ak es it easier to interact w ith those people if you ever com e in contact w ith them . A lso, it m akes ll a lot easier to do business w ith those cultures, it’s im portant to be educated about the w orld and not just s h u t y o u rs e lf Into your own country, shut o n e se lf into H it] Ẻ £, 2. How can w e benefit from learning about o th er cultures? Several w ays lhat people c a n benefit From other cultures arc in business, personal relationships, and ju st in self-im provem ent. In business, ii is necessary to know a little bit about w h atev er culture you plan to w ork w ith. For instance, I think in M uslim cultures, shaking hands w ith your left hand is considered extrem ely rude. I f you d idn't know that, it could hurt your chances o f doing business. A lso, it's im portant ju st to im prove y o u rself by learning as m uch as you can. and culture is a good subject. 3. W hat do you think is the best w ay to learn about an o th er culture? O bviously, tile besl way 10 learn about a culture is to £0 there and experience it. If you can giỉt a feel for the culture f irs th a n d , it will be a lot easier to pick things up. But 1 also believe that you can learn a ton about other cu ltu res ju st by reading books about them . R eading about people's experiences in foreign lands is the n e x t best th in g lo being there. firsthand j l
next best thing '$■ ^ f * ./ í -kyứ-J ^ 'i r f
4. D o you think that learning foreign languages can help us understand foreign cultures? Fin not sure th at ju st learning the language is a good w ay to learn about a culture, but most places w h ere you w ould learn a language w ould help you learn about the culture, so indirectly, yes. The language alone isn’t g reat fur understanding culture. For instance, G erm an is a really h a rsh language, but G erm ans aren’t harsh people. You really need to study m ore than the language if you w ant to g e t to know a culture.
5. Do you think it's b etter to go overseas to study a foreign language or to study il in your home
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country? I think it is b etter to study a language in its native country. W hen jyou do that* you arc en g u lfe d in Hie language and forced to en counter il outside o f Hie classroom . O therw ise, your only e x p o s u re lo the language is w hen you’re studying o r in the dassroư in. I know firsthand that w hen learning a foreign language in your hom e country, it is easy to lose w hat you have learned. exposure
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G lo b a liz a tio n 6. W hat is your understanding o f the term “globalization *? G lobalization, in my m ind, is the idea that the w orld is becom ing sm aller, so societies can internet and cxchanec culture m ore easily and m ore efficiently. U nfortunately, because som e countries are richer and have m ore influence than others, certain cultures get spread around m ore than others. On the w hole, how ever, globalization is a good thing because it is not only culture that g ets spread, but tilings like inform ation and m edicine that can help people 7. Do you think globalization is 11 good thing? Yes, globalization has its problem s, b u t for the most part, it is good for m ost people involved. Som e people have different opinions because they are really concerned w ith the loss o f culture, but for m e, the benefits o u tw eig h the draw backs. People have access to m ore inform ation, so diseases can be better treated, food can be m ade m ore efficiently, and goods tbat m ake people’s lives easier are now available. 8. Do you think it’s easier to learn about other cultures today than it w as before,; Y es, o f course it is. All you have to do is lo look a t art from lung ago about foreign cultures and you call see tile lack o f know ledge people had. T oday, w ith the Internet and tile num ber o f books available, it is alm ost im possible to be ignorant. It is so easy to learn about anything you w ant.
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cross-cultural com m unication
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p o sitive effects
cultural difference
intellectual grow th 4? y; ỉềi i ị
cultural identity
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broaden horizons
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Is T h e r e a S p ecific F o re ig n C u ltu re W h ic h F a sc in a te s Y o u ? H m m m ...all cu ltures interest m e because they are all different. I've been blessed enough to travel [0 three different countries besides m y ow n w hich w ere France, Sw itzerland and Italy. W hile all three w ere clown right gorgeous and had som ething different CO offer, 1 fell in love with Italy so m uch th a t I am going there tor a y ear after graduation. W e visited three cities... I R om e, A ssisi, and F lorence...it w as like a dream . It had everything r v c ev er w anted. Italy has been I the birthplace o f m any things for thousands o f years so there is a lot o f history, art, and culture. And the people are ju s t fantastic...or in general they arc at least. A friend and I stopped in som e sort o f deli in Assisi to ỉ»et a san dw ich...w e ended up talking to the o w n er and his dau g h ter for hours...he did not speak m uch E nglish and w e d id n ’t have a clue about the Italian language so it w as ail experience. I had so m uch ftin and I can ’t w ait to go back! ] love Egyptian culture. I ju st think it's so fascinating and so w onderful. I w ant to go to Egvpt one day. T hen I also love A sian cultures, their custom s, fashion, and art is pretty am azing. A nd 1 think M ayan culture w as very im pressive in know ledge and architecture. So basically I’m fascinated by m any cultures. G reek, Rom an, C eltic and Latin A m erican cultures are very w arm and interesting too. J have m e t several people from India, and they have such gracious m anners, and the ones I have m et w ere very intelligent. I also find Hindu art and stories fascinating, as I am a polytheist m yself. Ĩ also think the m odem India, w ith its rapid developm ent in the high tech w orld, is interesting and deserves attention. I'm a big Japanese fan! I utterly love it. it’s totally w here I w ant lo go to o r e duy. Ĩ think the people an d culture are am azing. It'S ju s t very attractive to me. O n e tiling I don’t like though is the w haling. Dut o therw ise I think the W est could learn a lot from Lhe Japanese. I sue Jiipjin us II blond o fh ig h ly Iiilviinued technology m eets environm entalism because although it is so technologically advanced there is a respect for nature there. A lso there isn’t really C hristianity or Islam there, there is Shintoism and B uddhism , both o f w hich I have zero problem w ith ut all. Tile
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language is com plex and h ard to learn ( for a foreigner) but I w ant to learn. C rim e is rare and violent I crim e isn 't really existent there. 1 think Japan is rated second in the w orld for the least am ount o f m urder. U nlike the W est, sex isn’t advertised so in-your-face there, and they uphold traditions, w hich is v ery im portant. The people arc polite, friendly, respectable, honourable.,.
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T o p ic s 1 8 -2 0 ) Topic 18 -
Clothing and Fashion IMtíliíilMluí
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e Mil ite m o f c lo th in g th a t you re c e n tly b o u g h t. Y ou sh o u ld sa y : w h a t it is w h e n a n d w h e re you b o u g h t it w h a t it lo o k s like a n d tv p h iin w hy y o u lim i^lit it. T he last item o f clothing that Ĩ bought w as a p a ir o f boots. I bought them w hen 1 w ent to the Silk M arket o n m y d a y off. ffi)Ễ
T hey arc black, tall, iind soft. T h ey also look very sm art. T his p a ir caught my eye because
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Part 3 Buying Clothes 1. W hat type o f clothes do you like? 1 m ostly like older styles, such as those during the 60s. J aJso like new er styles like som e kinds o f p u n k clothes. I like skirts and drosses best. Loose types o f clothing arc m ost com fortable.
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loose 2. H ow do people choose w h a t style o f clothing to buy? M any people buy clothing b ecause it’s a new style or it’s a colour That they like. O ften people will b u y som ething because it looks like w hat a favorite m ovie star o r singer w ears. O ther people buy clothes that suit them , or iliac they will w ear m ost often. O th er people ju st buy clothes because thev are fu n ctio n al, functional 3. Do you think ihe brand o f clothing is im portant? Personally I don't really care about the b r a n d o f clothing as long as w hat I buy is good q u ality . Fam ous brands are usually too expensive for m e so 1 will rarely buy lliein. O ften I can find inexpensive brands that arc ju s t as good a quality and very nice. O f course here in C hina you can get b r a n d n a m e clothes a t a very cheap price. brand
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g o o d quo lily -kf 'A ìề 4. W h y do som e people buy brand-nam e clothes? M an y people buv brand n am e clothing because they like Ike style. H ow ever, som e p eo p le sim ply w ant th eir cloth.es to last a long tim e, so they buy u certain brand o f clothing that is know n for its good quality. O ther people buy brand nam e clothing because thev feel it m akes them look m o re stylish and hip. Som e p eo p le ju s t like to have that nam e on their clothing. I think it m ig h t m ake them iccl im portant, hip
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5. C o m p are the m aterials and fashions o f today’s clothing w ith those o f the past. In m y opinion, older fashions changed m ore slow ly and gradually from one to another. T h ey fad ed into each other. Fashions o f today change d ra s tic a lly in a very short period o f tim e. O Ế cn certain clo th es will only be in slv lc for one y ear o r .so before another, verv different stvle is in. O f course th ere are m ore choices to choose now. fade ì í ỉ $ ị $ t $ L.
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drastically 6. Do m en and w om en have the sam e shopping habits w hen they buy clothes? N o, they have v ery different s h o p p in g h a b its. O ften m en will shop less an d only because thev need n e w clothes. T hey often do not buy m uch, and they w ill spend less m oney on w hat thev buy A ctually 1 think lhal they d r e a d shopping and probably w ould rather go to the dentist. W om en buy clothes m ore often and u sually p ay m ore for their clothing. O ften they w ill buy new clothes because they w ant to be in style. 1 think w om en also don’t m ind spending m oney a s long as it’s their boyfriend's o r h usband’s. shopping habits
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7. S om etim es factory w orkers and very often school students have to w ear uniform s. W hat do you th in k o f this? T think it helps reduce com petition in the w ork or school area. W hen the w orkers or students do n 't feel that lliey have lo k e e p u p w ith som eone elsc’s clothes o r style, they are able to c o n c e n tra te on w ork or study. The bad sid e to ii is that i f the uniform is uncom fortable o r docs no! look very sm art o r stylish, it m akes w ork o r school unpleasant for som e people. A lso it can m ake people fee] that they have no in d iv id u a lity and are ju st like everyone else, keep up w ith SR Ji
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Fashion 8. H ow m uch do overseas fashion trends influence C hina? O verseas fashion treads, esp ecially the K orean styles, greatly affect the styles in C hina. For young people, dressing like Hie young people tin oversells is very im portant. O licn a style will com e into China a bit later than it does lo (lit* rest o f tilt* w estern w orld, but w hen it c a tc h e s o n in C hina it spreads very quickly. W hen you (ravel 10 cities such as Shunehni o r D alian you can really see the influence o f foreign fashion here in C hina, especially 4 f #1
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9. Do you think it is g o ad th at people in C hina follow foreign fashion trends? I think m any C hinese feel belter about them selves if they dress m ore fashionably. E specially for young people, the w ay th ey dress is like their status, though dress is very im portant ill ail levels o f
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society. W ith T V an d fashion m odels and m ore m oney here ill C hina, it is a lot easiur tp follow th ese trends.
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£ỉĩìmtí) W h a t Is Y o u r F a v o u rite Item <>r C lo th in g ? 1.
Y ears ago, I m oved into a new house, and som eone had Jett behind an old red and black flannel shirt. I am w earing il now. Ii is Ion big. full o f holes, but so w arm and com fy Ỉ use it as n robe, a coat, a blanket on the couch. H andy old shirt!
2.
M y houded sw eatshirt...I live in liiis thing, mail. Sleep, eat, and go to school in it. M ost com fortable thing ever...
3.
M ine isn’t clothing. It’s jew elry . A dolphin necklace 1 have had since I w as 14. It turned out to be my good luck charm so I w ear it ever}' day.
4.
I like everything com fortable and stylish, but not too vulgar o f course. Ỉ carefiillv pick m y clothes und outfiLs, but ut the sam e I don’t wunt to look like I spent hours putting it all together. 1 love skinny je a n s, tiirtlenecks. hoodies (n o t Ihli oversize o n e s ), cute jac k ets, tw eed coats.
5.
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1. baggy jean s, baggier sw eatshirts, gleam ing w hite sneakers A. Punk 2. A long dress w ith a high collar and slit skirt, traditionally w orn by R. H ip-hop
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E. M ao suit 5. brightly-colored hair, chains and pins an d tom clothing. (£ F P 2 7 2 )
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C L 'E C A R D D e sc rib e a w ild a n im a l in C h in a .
Y oii should says w h a t ihti a n im a l is w h a t it looks lik e w h e re it lives a n d e x p la in how you feel a b o u t th is an im a l.
m d escribe
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entinn^ered anim al in northeastern C hina. It’s called tlie M a n c h u ria n o r
S ib e ria n tig e r.
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M anchurian tigers arc very im pressive anim als. Like all tigers, they have orange and black strip e s and a w hite u n d e rsid e , and pow erful claw s and teeth. T he largest are n early 1.5 m eters tall, an d can w eigh betw een 300 and 400 kilos o f m uscle! T hey’re the largest o f the eat family, and llie
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effective and dangerous hunters. T hey're found all over Siberia and
in a few places in northeastern China. They usually hunt and live alone, and only m eet other tigers during the H inting senson I think there are less than 50 o f them in the w ild in C hina. T here are m ore kept in ca p tiv ity , in zoos o r special parks. T here is one w ildlife p ark in H arbin lhal is fam ous for its m any M anchurian tigers. M ost C hinese ad m ire the tiger as a sym bol o f strength and fiercen ess. T ig ers have had a pluce in C hinese culture for thousands o f years. T liev are found in C hinese literature new and old, artd are d ie subject o f m any fam ous paintings. But 1 d o n ’t think m uny C hinese know thilt this special b r e e d o f ligers is nil b u t w ip ed o u t in flic w ild. Ĩ hope m ore e ffo rts vrill be m ade in the future to protect the tiger’s environm ent. W ithout the forests they Jive and hunt in, M anchurian tigers can only exist in captivity.
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Part 3 Pets 1. D o m any people in C hina like to have a pet? [ think the num ber o f C hinese w ho like pets is less Ilian half' the total population. M any C hinese are afraid o f com m on pels. T think it’s very funny, blit som e arc really scared o f anim als, even very tiny and harm less ones. This m ay be b ecause o f som ething ill their childhood, I don’t know . T here are m any people in C hina w ho like pets, bul not (he m ajority, for sure. 2. W hat kinds o f pets arc m ost p o p u lar in C hina? D ogs and cats arc by far the m ost com m on. I think the single m ost com m on p e t is either the P e k in g ese dog o r the P u g d o g I think they arc both quite ugly, but som etim es they're so ugly they’re cute. A lot o f p eo p le also keep guard dogs to protect their property. Pekingese dog . í líL i t
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3. W hat are som e o f the advantages and disadvantages o f having a pet? A p e t can b e a good friend: som etim es the best friend. Pets arc also ereat playm ates for children. 1 Uliiik it’s very good for kids to have a p et w hen grow ing up. T he disadvantages are that pets are ex pensive to feed and care for, and require a lot o f tim e, depending on th e kind o f pet. 4. L)o you think there should be law s lo p ro tect the w elfare ul'p t’Ls und farm anim als? Ĩ don’t really know . I guess there should be law s, but w e really shouldn’t need them . People should be responsible enough in treat p e ts and farm nnimnls well. Rut since rnmiy people, are too selfish to care, w e m ust have som e law s. But the law s shouldn’t becom e so im portant that they nearly equal law s protecting the w elfare o f h u m an beings.
Protection of Wild Animals 5. Are (here any w ild an im als in Chinn fiuit ure not (bund in any other country? Y es. T h e g ia n t p a n d a and the T ib e ta n a n te lo p e . T here arc probably also som e birds and other anim als that are only found here, b u t 1 don’t know anything about them . It’s sad, but ihe anim als that are found only in C hina are the ones th at are the m ost endangered. I think th a t's the sam e lor other countries* though.
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6. H u w do C hinese [jeupie feel about tbe protection o f w ild anim als? M an y C hinese arc only n o w beginning to Icara abuul the im portance o f protecting w ild anim als, as w ell as the environm ent they live in. T he new generations arc being taught to resp ect w ild anim als. B ut p eo p le never even see them except on TV , so they only have a vague idea o f the need to protect them . I adm ire the m any brave people who have m ade sacrifices to p ro tec t w ild anim als, like the K ekexili m ountain patrol. T here w as a recent m ovie m ad e about Ihem. 7.
W hat do you think arc som e o f the benefits lo hum ans o f protecting w ild anim als? I'm not sure w hat benefits there arc. but [ know that everything in nature is there tor a reason. If one species dies out, it can u p set the balance o f nature and do a lot o f dam age in
th e long ru n . W ild
anim als d o n ’t alw ays directly affect people, but often, they ÍÌ11 a special role in the balance th at w e are also part of, an d affect other species o r plants that w e are directly dependent on. So w e should protect Ihem, b ecau se w e may be protecting ourselves w ithout know ing it. in the Jong run
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8. W hat is the purpose o f having zoos? Zoos are really a c o m p ro m ise . I think. T hey are a w ay for people who live in the city, especially children, lo see wild, anim als. But Lthink that unless llie zoos are the best quality, they shouldn't be operated, as it’s cruel to keep w ild anim als in sm all cages or dirty surroundings. H igh standard zoos can be good, as th ey educate the eeneial public about the w orld around them , lìu t L still think it w ould be better i f people could learn about anim als straight fi'onri nauire, not seeing them in 700S. com prom ise -£ Pj* 9. I low do you think zo o s in C hina could be im proved? M any zoos ill C hina are poorly equipped, due to lack o f funding. Zoos arc n o t so popular or com m on. I think th at th ey could be im proved by m ore cooperation w ith other zoos in the w est that are w ell-operated and have good techniques and facilities w e can learn from.
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C hinese children arc very fam iliar w ith the legend o f a m agical m onkey called “Sunw ukong" (M o n k e y K in g ), w ho helps the w eak w ith kindness, and fights evil with ju stice. But the real m onkeys arc fighting m ankind for (heir own survival. T here arc three species o f G olden M onkeys w ho all live in the forests o f C hina, w ith som e species in the m ountains. G olden m onkeys live in huge groups into th e hundreds. T hey seem lo huve li hierarchical society, like baboons, and in h ab it the bam boo ju n g les, coniferous forests, an d rhododendron thickets found in the high m ountains o f central and w estern China. T his area is snow bound in the w inter. T o adapt to the cold, golden m onkeys have d eveloped robust bodies and long thick fur, particularly over their shoulders. G olden m onkeys are rare a n d o bscure, a n d th e v re ju s t beginning to be studied. T h ey are highly endangered, so it’s a race to study them before they disappear. The m onkeys arc killed for their beautiful fire-orange fur and also their hones, w hich are believed by A sians to hold special m edicinal Ịxrvvers. State-run nature reserves w ere set up, but illegal hunting continued because the m onkey’s b rain is considered a delicacy in so m e local cuisines. 'ITie T ibetan aniclope is a m edium -sized bovid w hich is a b o u t 1.2 m etres ( 4 Teel) in height. It is n ativ e to the T ib etan plateau including C h in a 's T ib et A u to n o m o u s Region, Q inghai p rovince, and X injiang province. T h e T ibetan a n te lo p e is alsn know n com m only by its Tibetan n a m e “c h im .” T h e coat is g rey to reddish-brow n, w ith a w h ite underside. T h e m ales liavô long, curved-back h o rn s w hich m e a su re about 50 cm (20 in ch e s) in length. I Chirus are gregarious, so m etim es congregating in h erd s hun d red s strong. C h iru s live on the high m ountain steppes and sem i-d esert a re a s o f the T ibetan plateau such a s K ckcxili, w here they feed on
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v arious forb and grass species. T he average life span is about eight years. C hirus a re listed as endangered by the W orld C onservation U nion ancl the U nited States Fish and I W ildlife Service due to com m ercial poaching for their underw ool, com petition w ith local dom esticated herds, and the developm ent o f their rangeland for gold m ining. T he Chim*s wool, know n as shahtoosh. is w arm , soft and fine. T he w ool can only be obtained by killing the anim al; C hiru num bers have d ropped accordingly from nearly a m illion (ebLimuted) at the turn o f the 20th century to less than 75,000 today. T h e c ilim has been selected as one n f llie five official m ascots for the 2008 Sum m er O lym pics in B eijing, C hina. T h e m ascot, nam ed “Y ingying," is one o f the “ Five Frieudlies" o f the 2008 O lym pics and represents the blessing o f health.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
Topic 20
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T h e m ost useful piece o f equipm ent is m y com puter. J use it for both m y w ork and for re c re a tio n . it is a la p to p , so I can take it w ith m e w herever 1 go. 1 usually keep it on the d r e s s e r at the end o f m y bed, though w hen 1 use it, I am usually on my bed or in m y arm chair. f f iiầ
I use it for m y research , and to read assignm ents that I have been given. I Lilsu use it fur my
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w ork and w riting, it is im portant to me because 1 have all o f m y m ost im portant inform ation on it. i n didn’t have it my life w ould he so m uch m ore difficult because Ĩ w ould have m any problem s finding all the different tilings Í need to do my w ork. Í also use il to listen to music so I w ould h av e a hard lim e listening to m usic if I didn't have it. O ften m y m other will ask m e to type som ething up for her and 1 like to use my laptop for that because I'm a c c u sto m e d to using the keyboard on it. T hen I can type faster because 1 don t have to get
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used to n new keyboard, and 1 m ake less m istakes.
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Part 3 Electrical Appliances 1. H ave com puters (th e item s you chose to talk a b o u t) changed m uch over the years? Y es, com puters have changed so m uch since they first c a m e out. T he first com puter took up a w hole, huge room . T oday, com puters are so sm all you can put them easily into a s h o u ld e r bag. Som e are even sm all enough to fit into your pocket, com e out l«Ị-fr
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2. W h at kinds o f electrical appliances are used most? 1 USB com puters every day and they arc used in alm ost every area o f my life. I also use printers often to print o u t the inform ation th at I have put together on my com puter and give il lo som eone else. In m y kitchen there are also som e electrical appliances that 1 use every day like to a s te rs , m icrow aves, and refrigerators. A co ffee m a k e r is an appliance not used m uch here in C hina, but probably is used m ore in the U.S. and Europe, toaster
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3. Do you think w e can live w ithout electrical appliances? I think it is possible for people to live w ithout electrical appliances. H ow ever, p eo p le are so used 10 having them and living w ith them that 1 think it w ould be very difficult, especially if the change is very sudden. I think th at it’s not good for people to be so dependent on m achines to do things for them. I think thal people should Icam how 10 live and do things w ithout m achines a n d appliances so that if there is ev e r a tim e w hen they don’t have them , it will he easier in adjust. 4. D o you think science and technology will one day com pletely elim inate traditional skills and equipm ent?
I think that it is very possible, but ] don’t think that this is good. Right now it’s very hard to keep up w ith technology so w hat w ould it be like if it w as all replaced? It is alm ost hard to fa th o m . W ell you k n o w i f w e ev er run out o f oil it seem s to inc that a lot o f the technology w ould change, keep up w ith flLfc.
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5. H ow do you think electrical appliances w ill develop in the future? [ think w e will have electrical appliances that w ill do m any o f th e jobs and duties that require less thinking. Jobs like cooking, cleaning, and repairing m ay soon be ta k e n o v e r by m achines an d very iiild lig c n t appliances. W e m ay S00I1 have appliances that can have dinner on the table bv the tim e a m other and father huve co m e hom e from w ork and the child hiis com e hom e from school. W e m ay
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♦ iE L T S SPEAKING ♦
have appliances that w ill clean th e house and in u k t1 tilt beds, ÍĨX th e s in k and paint the w alls. ta k e over & tf'l, 'ịậ. 'ĩ;
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Office Equipment 6. W hat arc some o f the different form s o f electronic com m unication that people use in offices toddy? T he m ost com m on form o f com m unication in the office is em ail. Even betw een people next to o r near each other It is becom ing m ore com m on to ju s t type OUI an em ail o r m em o . A nother very com m on form o f com m unication is the phone. N o m atter w here som eone is they w ill alm o st alw ays have an ofiice phone o r a cell phone.
7. W hat are th e effects o f using such electronic form s o f com m unication? O ne o f the m ain effects o f using electronic com m unication is that the com m unications becom e less personal. T h ere is a feeling o f ju st com m unicating w ith m achines and not talking to a hum an. O f course, ii is m uch m ore convenient to be able to send an em ail to som eone rath er than going to w here they arc CO ask them o r lei] them som ething. It is also m uch qu ick er to call som eone than 10 find them and talk to them personally.
Inventions 8.
Do you think people rely too m uch on m achines now adays? I think that m any people rely too ercaily on m achines. T hey seem to forget th at there arc people around them . It is easy to b eco m e com pletely absorbed in com puters o r p h o n es or P D A s o r M P3 players. People will m ore often turn to their m achines for entertainm ent rather than spending tim e w ith others 1)1 gelling exercise. P D A (P erso n al Digital A ssistant
9. W hat arc the advantages that w e get from using m odern hom e and office equipm ent? T here are som e advantages to using m odern hom e and ofl’ice equipm ent. O ne o f the m ain ones is th at m ore things get done and often w e can com plete projects and assignm ents very quickly. W e are also able to do things that w e w ouldn’t have been able la do before. Like w orking at hom e. Also, because w e are able to finish things quickly w e have m o te lim e for uther activities thal w e wish to do. 1U. W hat do you think is the m ost useful ihing that m an has ev e r discovered? I think th at the m ost im portant discovery w as electricity. W iihoul electricity w e w ould not have any o f ihe m odem eq u ip m en t that we h av e today. W e w ould be unable to have phones, com puters, lights, TVs. refrigenilors, o r m usic players. Electricity runs alm ost cvcrvlhina in our houses and % em *,
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Consum er Reviews of Domestic Appliances C a n o n IX Ư S 700
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By J o h n H u tc h iso n from S cotland UK on 20th Feb 2006 T im e D igital C am era O w ned
6 - 1 2 M onths
Im age Q uality
10/10
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B attery Life
7/10
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G o o d P o in ts B est outdoor cam era I‘v© had. and excellent indoor m id range to about 30 feet.
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feature excellent for all the detail and ironing out the laugh lines afterw ards. Superb quality pics. B ad P o in ts U nless on cunlimml slioot o r video m ode, seem s to take ju st a w ee bit too lone to focus, and the “m o m e n t” can be lost. G e n e r a l C o m m e n ts T h e C anon Lxus 700 is Í1 su p er digital cam era. ỈI is lightw eight, and takes excellent pictures. T he o n ly problem found so far is taking longish distance pictures inside gloom y buildings e.g. churches, a n d g rad u atio n hulls, w here the liglu is sort u f "ill betw een". I do m anage to clean up pictures and enhance them , bul it does lake a bit o f doing. It is ea sy to use to start, but som e features require a bit o f practice. Fra still learning how to use all the features. Each new one en h an ces the previous pictures.
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Philips Juicer By A irS crcw from W inchester on 9th Oct 2006 G o o d P oints G o o d ju ice. B ad P o in ts A ssem bly. D isassem bly. CLEA N IN G !!! G e n e ra l C o m m e n ts W e have had the Philips I Ỉ R 1861 Pro Ju ice r for around 9 m onths. M y w ife used it daily for som e w eeks. It has n o t been US.CÒ for m onths now , and I consider w c arc food and health conscious people. 1 tried to use il m y se lf a few tim es in this last w eek, to take advantage o f the quantity o f apples in the garden. I am far from im pressed. The assem bly is fiissy and illogical. T h e c u tte r refuses to he disabled by hand, an d needs 2 screw drivers (o r spoon han d les) to lever it out. C leaning is a nightm are. It takes a lull 10 m inutes to disassem ble, em pty and then w ash and rinse every piece. T h e design team should be shot, o r even better, b e m ade rn clean one every day Tor a m onth. A nd ] say (his as an en g in eer w ho does n o t know som ething about functional design. \
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t l t à ỉ H i l ỉ l t S H T o p ic s 2 1 - 2 6 ) Topic 21 -
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e a n im p o rta n t le tte r th a t y o u receiv ed . Y o u sh o u ld say: w h o w ro te it w h e n yon rec eiv e d it w h a t llie If tie r w as a b u u l a n d e x p la in w hy it w a s im p o rta n t.
A very im portant leiter that I received actually cam e from m y doctor believe it or not. ] know tlial sounds a little strange coining from a young person like me. Y ou see at the tim e I w as in school and w as w orking very hard and neglecting to take care o f myself. Í w as so w orried and stressed o v er m y stu d ies that, well, n u m b e r one I w asn't eating very w ell. T hen on to p ui' liial. Ỉ was spending so m uch lime in the library thal I w asn’t goine outside and getting any exercise. I noticed that I w as starting to get sick easily and k in d a ru n -d o w n . It was really getting bad, even m y friends noticed m y lack o f strength and cn cray and otic o f them w as so c o n c e rn e d a b o u t m e that he w rote and m entioned this la iny p arents, and m y m om asked one o f her friends who is a doctor to give m e som e advice.
IP I H'J
W ell this d o cto r w h o I didn’t even know w rote m e a long letter and told m e tla t o u t that I
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reallv needed to have m ore balance in m y life and m ake sure that I w as getting all o f the things that Ỉ alread y said I w as m issing.
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______________
♦ IE L T S SHAKING ♦
So out ÍO the b íid m in to n c o u rt 1 w ent w hether I felt like Ì1 or not, eating a Good henlthv breakfast in th e m orning, slow ing dow n and taking som e lim e w ith m y friends and then before 1 knew it ] felt so m uch better. I f this doctor hadn't taken the tim e to w rite me. 1 ju st don’t know w hat w ould have happened to me. I think m y life w ould be different and 1 might not even be silting here talking w ith you.
num ber one
be concerned about
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P a rt 3 L e tte r s 1.
W hat are the different kinds o f letters that the post office delivers? W ell there are b ills and tilings that you have to pay. T hen there is a lot o f ju n k m ail and a d v e rtise m e n ts. The nice thinu is w hen
VOII
get a personal letter from one o f your friends. I
suppose there w ould be som e c re d it c a r d ap p lic a tio n s and m aybe J1 h a n k sta te m e n t. B irth d ỉiy c a rd s and C h ris tm a s c a r d s com e through the m ail, too. a batik statem ent
bills junk mail
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birthday cards É. EĨ ' 5 ' ^
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advertiseineuts r
C hristm as cards I k v i M - f
credit card applications i' t Jfl Ỷ ’t* ifc 2. W hat can people do if th ey receiv e unw anted advertising in the m ail? The b est thing that they could do is sim ply drop il in the w astebasket. I suppose i f they w anted to they could save them and tie them to gether and take them to the recycling center to m ake a little m oney. T hey co u ld
jiL s t
pill them in a corner and let them s ta c k u p and see if th eir friends arc
interested in them . I f they have a pet thev could use advertisem ents to line the inside o f a bird cage o r litter box, so it could d o its b u sin e ss there, stack up
do its business
3. W hy do people w rite letters 10 new spapers? 1 think il is because people read new spapers and m aybe som ething that they read affects them and they have som ething to sav about it. o r course not everyone dues this because som e people arc quieter in nature and w ould feel like w riting and having it printed w ould be em barrassing. I really think that it depends on the n atu re o f th e person and w hat affects them . I don't know if I would do
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som ething like th at unless a n article really got to m e. get to sb. 4. D o you think it is b etter to apply for a jo b by letter o r by em ail? ( W liy?/W hy n o t? ) W ell, it really d epends Dll the com pany, but a lul n f com panies do ilieir business bv em ail and so they m ight p refer that. I f the com pany w anted a h a r d copy letter, w ell o f course I w ould oblige them. 1 think because I am applying for the job. I w ould do w h atev er is convenient for the com pany, h ard copy UUK.W
oblige
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5. W hal (Jư you ihink is the m o st difficull kind o f letter to w rite? 1 find it very difficult to w rite a letter re je c tin g som eone. It’s hard lo tell Ihem you don’t w ant to date o r w h atev er them find not hurt their feelings any m ore than vou have to. Y ou have to w o rd th in g s c a re fu lly and m ake sure they get the point, but be su b tle, rej ec L-in i t
sub t Le
ỏ'j
w ord things carcfiilly
Emails 6. VVhai arc the ad v an tag es an d disadvantages o f em ails com pared to handw ritten letters? W ell o f course an obvious advantage is speed, getting it there quickly. A nother advantage w ould be y o u don’l need a paper, w hich w ould sav e o n the e n v iro n m e n t, along w ith not needing a pen w hich again saves the environm ent. As to the disadvantages, w ell, a handw ritten letter has a m ore p e rso n a l to u c h , it show s that you look vour tim e to sit dow n and gather all o f the w ritin g m aterials and also took tim e lo g o to the post office or pill il ill the m ailbox la i»el il lo the person on (he other end. save ( o n ) tile en v iro n m en t
personal touch Ỷ A -Ể L #
7. Do you prefer to w rite letters o r em ails? ( W h y ?) I really only w rite em ails now. I haven’t w ritten a letter in so long, it is kinda hard to rem em ber w hen. As long as [ have a co m puter and the Net is there Í w ill alw ays prefer w riting em ails. Tilings arc ju st m oving too q uickly for me to take the tim e and energy tu w rite a Id le r. Ill a w ay I w ould have to change m y w hole w a y o f thinking to w rite a letter. Ir m ight be lun to try it and see w hat it is like. 8. Do senior citizens in C hina w rite em ails? ( WhyVAVhy n o t? ) W ell, unless they are very unusual senior cilizens they don’t w rite em ails. You know that having a com puter and m ore im porturil know ing how to operate one is ju st not som ething that the older generation has a lot o f experience in. h i our culture and m aybe even in the W est, 1 don’t know , sen io r citizens like to y e t a ro u n d in their ow n n e ig h b o rh o o d s and m ix a n d m in g le w ith their friends there, so die need to w rite em ails and use a com puter is not really there. I su p p o se th a t if an
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^
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* IE L T S SPtAKING *
o ld er person has a business, then they m ight w rite som e em ails, but m o re Hum likely they w ould h av e a secretary dư it for them . ỉict around '&?))
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9. W hat effects, if any. do you think the use o f em ails m ight have on traditional C hinese culture? W ell, a s I w as saying em ails h av e h ad a big effect oil C hinese cu ltu re already. W e younger people w ant to re a c h o u t to not ju s t the ones lhar arc in our neighborhood or even in o u r city but to those (hat are all over the w orld. Y ou know , for a long tim e C hina w as closed to the W est and W estern culture, now that it has opened its doors there have been m any changes, and w riting em ails is one of (hem. E m ailing is m ore than ju st w riting;
ir really is a w ay o f life, and this w ay o f life w asn’t
available h ere in C hina before. reach o u t to Ạ-ẠL Ở 10.
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Do you think h andw riting will still h e an im portant skill in the future? W ell in C h in a right n o w the w ritten characters arc im portant for m any things, such as billboards and small business signs. Bill now that com puters are being m ade w ith C hinese ch arac ter inputs, the actual w riting out o f them is no longer necessarv. Ĩ think th e re Mill c o m e a tim e in the future w h e n w riting the ch aracters by hand w ill be a lost a rt, sad to say, as w riting characters by hand is an a rt form here in C hina. C om puterization is m oving in and ta k in g o v e r, so fo r th e s a k e o f speed w e w ill see the slow er m ethods o f com m unicating— such as handw ritten characters
becom e a lost art
and a c a s u a lty o f m odem tim es. there will com e a tim e w hen
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First Class Mall
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Prices start at 32p for letters and sm all item s
Prices Sian at 23p lor Letters and sm all item s
w eighing up to lOUg.
w eighing up to 1UOg.
M ost m ail delivered the next w orking day.
D elivered by the third w orking day after posting.
Ọ uick and easy to use.
Easy to use and affordable.
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M .5ÍÍ lim a it
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' P rovides p ro o f o f posting, signature on arrival
A irm ail can be sent virtually anyw here in the
! an d online confirm ation o f delivery.
w orld.
I Just 6 8 p p lu s First o r Second C lass postage.
Prices stare from as little as 44p, econom ical.
M ost First C lass R ecorded item s arrive by the
Y our mail is delivered in ju s t three 10 five days,
next w orking day.
depending on destination, and possibly quicker.
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G uaranteed next dav delivery before Ip m — or your m oney back. I’riccs start at ju s t £ 4 .1 0 . 9 9 % o f the UK covered.
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♦ IE L T S S P E W S a ♦
Topic 22 - ,
Books Vj$fl
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a b o o k th a t you en jo y e d re a d in g . Y ou sh o u ld say: w h a t th e title is w h a t it is a b o u t w h y y o u re a d it a n d e x p la in w h a t effect th e book h a d o n you.
Jằ®
I am fond o f reading S elected W orks o f J a c k London. It is a collection o f the w riter's w orks including three novels an d forty short stories. It is m ostly about d ifferent characters in the K londike region o f A laska during the G n ld R ush, but also tells about people’s struggles in different situations. I w as given the book as a present, and 1 w as im m ediately fascinated by the raw , beautiful but very real w orld the w riter experienced and w rote about. O ne story in particular, The Sen Wnff\ is about 11 mnn w ho wus born into a com fortable life nnd is suddenly thrust into 0 dangerous, h a rs h and p itiless environm ent aboard a seal h u n tin g ship under a cruel, d e sp o tic yet c h a ris m a tic an d in trig u in g captain. He is faced w ith a m o ra l d ilem m a: w hether h e should light lo survive w ithout regard fur others, o r hold on to values he grew up w ith in easy circum stances, such a s a ltru is m and s e lf sacrifice. In the end he finds strength to stand against the m erciless cuplain. W hen I first read the book I w a s m ost im pressed w ith the exciting action and im a g e ry in the stories, but as I grew older and read them again the m ost striking features !o me w ere instead the deeper qualities o f ch aracter hard to find and to define. It caused m e to look further into people, both ill books and ill real life, for the qualities thill mildc them truly interesting and I enduring.
_________
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i l i s ? fij& tS N G o ld Rush f i & f t
charism atic i) ^ A . ^ y j </]
harsh f i f t h tí'}
intriguing â Ị A ố \ỉ
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Part 3 Reading in China 1. D u C hinese p eo p le lik e tp rend? Like m ost countries it d ep en d s on individual preference, but I w ould say it is not so p o p u lar an activity as in countries w h ere the pace ol’ life is slow er. M ost readers in C hina are students w ho have to rend technical subjects. But rending is becom ing m ore com m on especially am o n g the young. I im agine th at as books find a w ider audience, reading w ill becom e m ore com m on. 2. D o young and old people like to read the sam e books? No. T h e interests o f young and old vary greatly. Y oung people m ostly like fa n ta sy and fictio n best. O lder people often prefer serious o r historical w orks, fict i011 b v t
fantasy i f Ẳ3 'J ' i)L
3. W h al kinds o f books are m ost popular in China? I think m a rtia l a r t s s to rie s arc favorites. Som e C hinese classics arc fam ous and w idely read as w ell. O f course, know ing w h at is the favorite o f m any people is difficult, m artial arts stories 4
C om pare reading habits today 10 those o f the past. T oday education is w idely available so m any people can read. A lso, these days, printing is faster than it once w as so m any books o f different kinds can bu printed. In the pasl few er people could read and Ihere w ere few er books so people enjoyed and appreciated reading more. M odem inventions luive also m ade m ore tim e for reading.
5. H ow d o vou lliink reading habits will change in the future? Ỉ am not sure. M aybe reading w ill becom e m ore w idespread. M aybe it will becom e less com m on as new technology, su ch as virtual reality, becom es m ore readily available. O f course people w ho like to rend sim ply b ecause Ihiiy c a r gel along w ith Ihuir thoughts will continue to read.
Children and reading 6. D o y o u think it's a good id ea to teach children to read w hen they are very young?
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♦ LELTS SPHAKINư ♦
Y es. T h ey can learn m ore. A lso they m ay be able to enjoy a new pastim e. M any children, instead o f p lay in g gam es w hich develop social skills o r doing things w hich prom ote t»ood values such as read in g good books, play co m o u ter cam cs and w atch TV . w hich often causes an tỉ-so c ỉa l b e h a v io r anti-social behavior J k .i£ -4 t4 r A 7. W hat do children like to read? C hildren especially en jo y reading stories. T hey also like reading books about nature. I f a book, has pictures, children w ill really enjoy it. M any children like reading stories w ith silly them es often b ecause they w ere n ev er given anything else. I f parents o r teachers introduce Iheir children lơ ii w ider v ariety o f choices, ch ildren will enjoy a broader range o f books. 8. Do parents read stories to their ch ild ren in China? Som e do and som e do not. M y parents read to m e w hen I w as a child, they w ere teachers. Som e o f m y friends’ parents did not read to them . In poor fam ilies the parents m ay not be able to read at all. O f co u rse w ith th eir p aren ts being so busy, to even have the rime to read is a real challenge in this day and age. 9. H ow CỈO you think these stories influence children? C hildren are very m uch affected by the stories their parents read to them . T hese stories arc som etim es the first education a child receives. I ca n rem em ber m any o f the stories my parents first read to m e. V alues found in ch ild ren ’s books w ill often affect the young readers. B ecause their parents are reading lilt; stories, the children will listen more. 1C. W hy do you think people som etim es idealize characters in stories? People need CO have heroes th ey can look up to and learn from. Role m odels arc very im portant in life, as m any teachers can tell us. C hildren often im itate w hat their heroes or older people do. Idealistic characters in stories have a great effect on individuals; even w hole societies have changed to im itate a fam ous ch aracter in a story.
A
ịm n ìc literature X . -r
absorbing
dram a A M
nonfiution Af-
short story
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?ì
I A A J ji fl-j
poetry
biography
picture storybooks
autobiography Ồ4Ị-
illustration 'lti/0
bcst-scllcr
fable
intriguing iỉL ĩị
folktale
m oral
bedtim e story l & 'n i & i
ÍL-
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H T ® Ã S I Í 1 'I ® ] Ỉ Ế w w w .ansvvers.com The novel is usually grouped with three other pre-m odem C hinese w orks o f fiction, collectively know n as the Four G reat C lassical N ovels. O f these, D ream o f the R ed C ham ber is often taken lo bu the zenith o f classical C hinese fiction. Tile novel is conjectured to he sem i-autobiograpliical. m irroring the fortunes o f C ao X ueqiirs ow n family. Ỉ1 w as also intended to be
cl
m em orial to the w om en Cat) knew in liis youth: friends, relatives
and servunls, as the au th o r detailed h ira se irin the first chapter The novel is a detailed, episodic record o f the lives o f the extended Jia family, m ade up o f tw o clans (th e N ing-guo and R ong-gtio h o u ses) w ho occupy tw o large fam ily com pounds in the capital, Beijing.. O riginally extrem ely w eallhv, w ith a fem ale m em ber w ho w as m ade an Im periul C oncubine, the fam ily eventually fell into disfavour w ith the E m peror, and had their m ansions raided an d confiscated. T h e novel is rem arkable not only in its huge cast o f characters— over 400 in all, m ost o f w hom arc fem ale— and its psychological scope, but also in its precise and detailed observations o f the life and social structures o f 18th-century C hina. The D eer a n d the C auìảron is the last novel w ritten by Jinyong, one o f the m ost influential m odern C hincsc-langiiagc novelists. H e is w idely regarded as tile lines! C hinese w uxia ( “m artial arts and chivalry” ) w riter. T his story centers on a w illy, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist nam ed Wei X iaobao, bom in a Y ungzhou brothel. T hrough a series o f adventures— or m isadventures— the teenage scam p m akes his w ay from the southern playground o fY a n g z h o u to Beijing, the seat o f M anchurian im perial pow er. There, he is kidnapped and taken to the palace <the Forbidden C ity ) w here he im personates a eunuch. X iaobao bum bles his w ay into a fateful encounter w ith the young Kangxi E m peror and they develop an unlikely friendship. B y sheer luck and clever but underhanded strategies, he m anages to accoin|3lish a n um ber o f seem ingly im possible achievem ents. X iaobao plays a m ajo r role in d isposing th s cruel and pow er-hungry O boi, rescuing K angxi’s father, E m peror Shunzhi, reuniting the father and son, destroying the M ystic D ragons Sect, w eakening the uprising raised by renegade general VVu Sangui, and reaching a border treaty w ith R ussian regent Sophia A lekseyevna and F edor Golovin. For his num erous accom plishm ents, he is rew arded w ith im m ense w ealth and ever-rising titles o f nobility by K ang Xi. In the m ean lim e, he also earns respect from the H eaven and E arth Society, one o f the anti-Q ing resistance organizations, for his work against w u Sangui and o th er foreign enem ies, and also his help in rescuing people o f the resistance who w ere captured by officials. Like all conflicting identities, X iaoboo’s separate lives com e to an explosive end. K ang Xi reveals
•S E *
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♦ IE L T S SPKAKING ♦
rliat he k n ew X iao b ao ’s relationship w ith the H eaven an d E arth S ociety, and forces X iaobao to I choose betw een him and the society. In the finale o f the novel, X iaobao realizes that he w ould never be able to reconcile betw een the tw o opposing causes, and his divided friendships are tearing him apart. He chooses, instead, lo w alk out oil it all— taking his seven beautiful w ives for a life o f peace I
and tranquility aw ay from the K an g Xi and society. -- --- — -
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Topic 23
Furniture
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e ail ite m o f f u r n itu r e th a t y o u use often. Y ou s h o u ld say: w h a t it is w h e re it is w h a t it looks like a n d e x p k ỉin how o r w hy y o u use it.
A piece o ffiim itu re I use often is a sm all folding c h a ir. It’s m ade o f green c a n v a s and because it is a folding chair, [ can easily p u t it a w a y and o u t o f siglii w hen I'm not using it. It’s convenient for m e because m y room is sm all and I don’t have space for a lot o f fiim iture. 1 also d o n 't like c lu tte r, so by pưlling the chair aw ay after I use it, m y room looks a little tidier. M y bedroom is the only one place in the house that I have to m y self so Ĩ spend a lot o f tim e there either studying or w orking. I’m in m y lost y ear o f university, so I have m any w riting assignm ents and individual research to do. ] do m ost o f m y w riting on m y laptop so it’s convenient and com fortable to sit in m y ch air w ith m y co m p u ter on my lap either typing or reading or both. A s I said the c h a ir is m ade o f can v as and o f course the f r a mo is a lu m in u m so it’s lig h tw e ig h t and ea sy to put aw ay and take o u t w h en ever I need it. Surprisingly it is very com fortable for a folding c h air, and that was tile inosi im portant Jactor for m e vvlien I chose it. It w as also inexpensive. It’s not a very beautiful p iece o f furniture, but it has definitely been one o f the m ost practical things Tvc bought in a long tim e.
~ kW M
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♦ IE L T S SPFAKINQ ♦
folding chair
clutter ;& iL
can v as #{,■'$’
fram e 4íl ậỉ
pul sth. aw ay
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Part 3 Buying Furniture 1. W hen c in w h at situ a tio n s ) do people in China buy furniture? M ost people buy furniture at a few m ain points in their lives. N aturally w hen people arc getting m arried is one o f those tim es. A nother tim e is vvhen they buy a new flat. 2. H ow do people decide w hat furniture li> buy for the hom e or office? W hat factors do they consider? W ell, they will co n sid er w hat kind o f furniture is needed. T hey will also look at w hich room it will go in and how m uch space they have. The w om en especially w ill think about co lo r and style and w h at design looks best to rhem. Pd say price is probably the deciding point. T hey m ight like som ething very m uch, but i f it’s too expensive they w on't be able to buy it. 3. In C hinese fam ilies, w ho usually d ecides w hat furniture to buy for the hom e? I think it v a rie s fro m fa m ily to fam ily. N ow adays, couples are m aking m ore decisions together. In m v fam ily, m y parents even ask m e w h at 1 think o r like. In the past, often the m en m ade decisions that concerned money, but som e o f th o se things are changing now. vary from ... to... @
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4. D o people in C hina p refer traditional o r m odem styles o f furniture? T h at also depends on th e people and the fam ilies. I don't think there is any se t p re fe re n c e . From m y ex perience though, Ì w ould say m any younger couples p refer m odern furniture. I think it goes along w ith o th er trends in o u r counừy. W hat 1 m ean is that m odern or foreign fashions arc often m ore p o p u lar and interesting, especially for young people?. M aybtf I'm different in this
W J1 V
(hough
b ecause I think m any p ieces o f traditional furniture in our country a rc very beautiful. T hey arc also often m ade b etter than the m odern things, se t preference ®
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5. H av e there been any recent changes in the kinds o f furniture that people ( in C h in a ) use? W ell, as T said a lot o f foreien influence has com e into C hina and this is affectin g w hat people bay, including furniture. A v ery p o p u lar furniture store ri^ht now in C hina is IK EA , this is a store from S w eden and its style o f furniture is a big change from tile recent and distant past. 1 think that if people h av e the m oney they m ay return to die quality furniture from years gone by O ver all, though, the predom inant style o f furniture thill people ill C hina list? is m odern. — M *. ệB Ẽ Ẽ ếr
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Furniture Design 6. W hat factors should a furniture d esig n er consider w hen designing u piece o f furniture? T h e use o f the p articular p iece w ould be the first consideration. A designer w ould also have lo think o f th e m a rk e t he is targeting. T his w ould usually indicntc the cost o f the finished product. This in t u r n w ill influence w hat m aterials he can use w ithin that p ric e ra n g e , in tu rn
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7. W hat are ihc* qualities o f a good furniture designer? I’d say he needs to he a r tis tic ỉintl im a g in a tiv e. A! the sam e tim e a designer also has to have quite a bit o f p ra c tic a l sen se It's generally no use to design som ething that is beautiful hut im possible to construct. O r m aybe the d esig n er can figure oul how to build it, bul it ends lip so expensive that no one can afford it. In any design field, there arc people w ho design som ething m ore for art’s sake; they don’t really expect anyone to buy it o r they hope to find a collector 10 buy ii as a piece o f art m ore than as som ething useful. artistic and im aginative # :k ỉề Ỷ7 iEif* i i 0-J
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Housing 8. W hat kinds o f h o u sin g are there in C hina? T here arc m any k in d s o f housing ju st a s in other countries. T here arc flats and houses and also villas, but of course m ost people can’t afford anything other than flats. T hat is at least the case in the cities. In the rural areas, there are m any people w ho live in houses, but these arc usually very sim ple houses and these people are u sually farm ers. 9. H ow do people decide on the kind o fh o u sin g they choose to live in? In reality 1 don’t th in k m ost people have a lor o f choices. U nless they are very rich, and these people are few in num ber com pared li) Lhtí general population. M ost decide oil flats hecause iliat is ỉill they can afford. U sually p eo p le will Iry to choose som ething
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U nfortunately even in Hull there is not m uch choice and m anv people still have to spend a lot o f tim e traveling to and from w ork. 10. For m ost C hinese p eople, w hat is ail ideal house? I think if m o st C hinese people could choose any house they w anted, they w ould choose a private individual house rath er than a flat. T hey’d also w ant som ething w ith a garden w here they could have flow ers and trees an d even grow som e vegetables. T hey w ould also w an t som ething big enough that they could have m em bers o f their fam ily live w ith them o r at least a place they could stay if they cam e for a visit. 1 1. H ow has housing changed in C hina? N ow adays people live in ilats mid OÍỈƯI1 these are in lall buildings if in big cities. In the past most
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lived in houses e v e r i f they w ere sm all. Som e cities had courtyard houses w here niaiiY family m em bers lived together, 11rid there was a garden in the m iddle w here they could enjoy the outdoors together. Y ou’ve probably heard o f these. T hey arc interesting !o foreigners. 12. H ow will housing change in th e future? I can im agine there will be m ore flats in the big cities that will be ill taller buildings ami w ith m ore m odern facilities and equipm ent built into Ihcni. 1 hope though that som e designers w ill do som ething to see that there are m ore park areas in betw een the buildings. I think city planners are m aking a b ig m istake by cram m ing in so m uch concrete. M o re green areas w ould be an im portant change to m ak e in the filturc.
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PaniỊier your overnight guests w ith one o f the m ost com fortable
sofa b ed s ev er era fled. T h is luxurious 92w\V x 3 9 " D x 3 9 vH sofa has a so Cl, pillow -top design an d transform s into a full-size bed w ith just one click o f a button. 640 pooktìl ưoils provide superior support for both sitting and sleeping. S tain-resistant m icrofibcr fabric cleans up easily w ith m ild soap and w ater. A ssem bly is required.
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e a n u n io rg e lu ib lt' a d v e rtis e m e n t th a t you saw o r h e a rd . Y o u s h o u ld say : w h e re y o u s a w o r h e a rd it w h a t k in d o f a d v e rtis e m e n t it w as w h a t th e c o n te n ts rtf Hie a d v e rtis e m e n t w ere a n d e x p la in w h y th is a d v e rtis e m e n t is so u n fo rg e tta b le .
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W hile w aiting for m y boyfriend to p ic k m e u p from w ork. I w as w atching advertisem ents on the T V in the lobby. T h at night i saw an advertisem ent that has forever s tu c k in m y m in d . It w as a c o m m e rc ia l for N ike shoes w ith M ichael Jordan. In it h e Sciiil, “ I’ve m issed m ore
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than nine thousand shots in my career, i’ve lost alm ost three hundred gam es. Tw enty-six tim es ĨVC been trusted tơ take (ho gam e w inning shot but m issed. I’ve failed over an d over and over again in m y life, and that is w hy I succeed.” [ co u ld n 't get thai com m ercial out o f m y m ind, not: because 1 thought buying N ike shoes w ould m ake m e ns successful us M ichael Jordan, but b ecau se o f h is unflinching d e te rm in a tio n and perseverance. Life is full o f challenges and difficulties that test our level o f c o m m itm e n t. I believe having determ ination d ivides (he w inners from the losers. Successful people arc no! ones w ho have never failed, but those w ho kcp! trying. A s sim ple as this m ay sound, it is the one in g re d ie n t that separates th e w inners from the losers. The one skill th at w inners acquire is an understanding that grow th is only possible if you have the courage to change w hat you have been doing, if it is n o t achieving the result you desire. Som etim es success is learn in g how to fall and recognizing that from th a t fall you will learn to grow. A nd grow th is w hat a fulfil ling life is all about.
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The influence of advertisements 1. I low do advertisem ents attract attention? It all depends on w hat group o f people the advertisem ent is aim ed for. Y oung people look i f it's cool, Ilip, or fashionable; w hereas older people tend to be m ore practical-m inded, so those in charge o f advertising need to h av e a c lear idea o f w ho they w ill be ta rg e tin g w ith their advertisem ent, and plan acc o rd in g ly . If the advertisem ent is g e a re d lo (he yo u n g et generation, then show ing how the product can help k id s bư m ore attractive, confident, ưr successful is good. Catchy m usic also helps attract attention and helps listeners rem em ber it. I f you're trying lo reach the older generation with your advertisem ent, explaining how the product will give them better health, or help them relax, o r he happier m ay ap p eal to them . Iiip 9+
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2. D o young and old people h av e the sam e attitudes tow ards advertisem ents? D efinitely net. E very individual has his own unique allilucltj luwurd udverliscuienl&i and llie advantages and disadvantages that advertising brings. B oth old and young people a r c in c lin e d to believe and chink that ad v ertisem ents tend to be m isle a d in g , dishonest, p h o n y , shallow , and at tim es annoying, especially w hen they’re not well m ade o r d o rk y . O n the other hand, if done well, they can be very creative, hum orous, a rtis tic , and enjoyable tn w atch. Those, how ever, are the exception, rath er than the n o rm , be inclined lo
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3. Do you think advertisem ents arc a good or bad influence on children? I.o o k in g a t today's children, I w ould have to say advertisem ents have p re d o m in a te ly had a negative influence on their lives and character. A ds create a d is c o n te n tm e n t w ith w hat children have and a desire to ow n m ore and to hữ like everyone else. A dvertisem ents usually (end Co be unrealistic and give a false im pression o f how the children should be o r w liat will happen w hen they buv the product. predom inately
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4. Do you think advertisem ents actually influence people to buy tilings? A nd H ow ? W hen seen a lot, ad v ertisem ents m ake products m ore fam iliar and in g r a i n e d in people’s m ind, so w h en they w ant to buy som ething, lliey will take a brand dial they recognize. In Chinn, ỊKĩoplc want to b e like the W est and so they buy w hat they se e on TV that the W estern people have. T hey think Thai if they have this W estern product, they will be as cool as this person, w hich is totally b iz a r r e to m y m ind. ingrained
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Government control 5. D ocs the C hinese governm ent control advertisem ents in any w ay? O f course. A ll T V m edia is controlled in som e w ay by the governm ent, so advertisem ents m ust be as w ell. T h e governm ent prevents advertisem ents from having inappropriate co n ten t or content that is n o t in lin e w ith governm ent policy. T hat is com m on in every country. Tm sure that if the advertisem ent is w ith in n orm al b o u n d s, then the governm ent w ouldn’t have m uch to say about it. in line w ith
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6. D o you think there should be controls on advertising*? Y es, I du. Som e things should not be advertised, such as cigarettes, w hich are harm ful to people’s health. M ost people arc aw are o f th eir existence, so they don’t need to be prom oted m ore. Children especially should not be show n advertisem ents that m ake harm ful things look cool or interesting. A dvertisem ents that have age-in ap p ro p riate content should also he banned. 7. Do you think that advertisem ents for products that harm the health, such ns cig arettes, should be allow ed? N ow you UI'<J getting into freedom o f choice and w hether il w ould be belter to ju s t p r o h ib it som ething ử o m being advertised to g et people to stop using the product, but unfortunately this ju s t doesn't w ork, as prohibition in the States lound out. The best thing w ould be for the products ju s t to not be m a n u fa c tu re d , b u t this d o esn ’t w ork either because then they w ould be produced illegally, b ecom ing m ore dangerous prohibit
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8. C an you think o f any exam ple o i false advertising? The biggest exam ple that co m es to m y m ind is M cD onald's advertisem ents, tv e r y tim e I go to M cD onald’s, 1 see pictures o f happy, thin people w ith big sm iles and perfect teeth holding ham burgers and c a r to n s o f French fries that arc at least three tim es bigger than the real products. This ad vertisem ent clearly ignores three g la rin g facts. For one, i f you car at M cD onalds a lot, you w ill not look like the people in the advertisem ent. T w o, (he ham burger a n d French fries are nowhere n ear th e size pictured. T hree, i f you stand sm iling holding a burger, nobody will think you
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9. W h a t kinds o f products are m ost often ( m ost easily) prom oted by false advertising? W ell, m ost products arc really prom oted by false advertising. I hate to sound so cy n ic a l but 1 have a friend in the advertising business, and a \c\ o f so-called experts advertising their product know absolutely nothing about it. In the field n fb e a u ty care Ịirođucts, this happens a lot. The poor w om en sitting at hom e w ith n o th in g to do except w atch TV are so su sce p tib le lo this kind o f advertising, cynical
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♦ I E L T S S P E A K IN G ♦
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f~ í t ề i ệ i ấ ( advertising slo g a n s) pj' tó
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“T h e toughest jo b y o u ’ll ev er love."
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“ B eyond P etroleum ” “ Like nothing else on E arth” “T h e w o rld 's local bank'*
— H um m er ,*L lẩ H i ; ’A Ạ Ệ — íĩS fìc r
“B ecause life is n o t a sp ectato r sp o rt”
— Rechok ií, ỹ ìS
“ Her kiss. H er sm ile. Her perfum e."
— Chanel Net. 5
“B uy it. S ell it. Love it."
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“ St. A ugustine founded it. B eckct died for it. C haucer w rote about it. C rom w ell shot a! it. H itler bom bed it. Tim e is destroying it. W ill you save it? — C anterbury C athedral & l ẩ 4 ) t # ÍẾ f * Ũ t
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Topic 25 - s
A Childhood Present
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e a p re se n t you re ce iv e d w hen you w ere a ch ild Y ou sh o u ld say: w h a t th e p re se n t w as w h o gave it to you h o w th e p re s e n t w as used a n d e x p la in how y o u felt w h en you g o t th is p re se n t.
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The m ost m e m o ra b le girt I received w as w hen I w as seven years old, on m y birthday, m y parents bought m e a bike.
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T hey painted it p in k for m e to m atch the pink tassels that w ere hanging o ff the h a n d le b a rs I learned to ride m y bike in Ihe park near our house, and after I learned how to ride I w ould often ride around in the park w hile M1V brother an d sister w ere playing. W hen m y younger brother got his ow n bike w e w ould ride along the street together.
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W hen I first saw the bicvclc I w as very excited, and I thought it was very pretty. I was so happy lo g et il tluu my father luưk me out lo learn to ride il the sam e day. A fter ] learned to ride it, I enjoyed it so m uch that Í w ould ride il w henever I could. 1 didn’t mind having to pJay by m y se lf if 1 could ride m v bike. 1 loved the feeling o f the w ind on m y face and through ray hair, and seeing the ground speed under m y w heels. It w as so refreshing w hen 1 w as hot and sw eat}' to have the cool b re e z e blow ing all the time.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
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Part 3 Giving gifts in China 1. Do C hinese people often give gifts? Y es, w e do. N ot as m uch as w estern cultures, but w e receive gifts on o u r birthday and at C hinese N ew Y ear. S om etim es i f w e visit som eone that w e don ‘1 sec very often, they inichi get a sm all gift. O f course, w hen som eone gets m arried, people will give them gifis. 2.
W hat kinds o f presents do C hinese people give? I think the lĩiosl p o p u lar g iũ is Hie C hinese ‘ hong liaiv o r ‘ reel envelope1. M oney is put ill these red envelopes and given at birthdays, w eddings, and C hinese N ew Y ear. People w ill som etim es buy o th er gifts for these occasions. If it is for a child, they m ight give a toy o r stu ffe d a n im a l. S om etim es food is given as a gift, eith er having been cooked by the giver, or store-bought, stuffed anim al
3.
O n w hat occasions do C hinese people send gifts? People send Kills m ostly
o il
birthdays o r C hinese N ew Year. T h ese are the traditional lim es for
gift-giving, but as m any W estern holidays and traditions arc slow ly becom ing m ore popular in C hina, it is quite acceptable to give your friends a gift at C hristinas, or your sw eetheart a gift on V alentine’s Day. Even T hough som e people m ay not know w hy different festivals are celebrated, they still en jo y the chance to show the people they care about how they feel. 4.
If von w ere going TO eive a present to a child, w hat w ould von ẹivc
them ?
W ell, i f it w ere a boy. I w ould g et him a L ego set. T he reason vvhv 1 w ould choose a Lego set is that it is very fun. and at the sam e tim e, it encourages creativity. If it w ere a girl, 1 w ould give h er Í1 glass doll. I w ould give this to h er because m ost liitle girls like dolls, and if it w ere glass she w ould take b etter care o f it and treasure it m ore because it could break easily. Lego set “ ifc % " ti&tyíỊLỈk.ậ? 5. Do people cive the sam e kinds o f gifts to both bays and girls? I think som e people give both boys and girls the sam e kinds o f gifts because they don't know w hat to give, so they ju s t get them tlie sam e tiling. O ther Ịỉeople m ay do this i f tw o children are siblings and the person d o esn ’t w an t them to fight over differiMil toys, and if they
friends or
have llie sam e
thing, they will be happv. O r p e o p le m ay n o t k n o w that girls and boys lik e dilTerent things, so they d o n ’t think about w h eth er lliL* gili they are ưetlinís is suitable for thill child.
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Importance of g ifts 6. Arc expensive gifts alw ays b etter than cheap gifts? N o, definitely noi. A ajft doesn't have lo be expensive in o rd er lo show care for the person receiving it. O ften a very expensive gili can show that they w ere just buying som ething but not really thinking about w h at w ould m ean the m ost to the receiver. T his isn’t alw ays the case, but I think that ÍÌ chenp gift can m ean ju s t as m uch o r even m ore than an expensive id ft can. 7. Do you think it is n ecessary for friends to give presents to each other? No. it’s not necessary. It’s nice w hen friends give each other gifts, but there are other things you can do to show your friend your care. I f som eone is your friend, you shouldn’t expect that they will alw ays get vou gifts. T rue friendship is caring about the other, not looking for h ew m uch he can give you.
W h a t is th e b e st gift you e v e r rec eiv e d w h en y o u w e re a c h ild ? A m echanical pencil on m y lOlh birthday. B ack then w c couldn’t afford such pencils, but my brothers saved up to buy il for m e. A lthough it’s nothing m uch now , it w as really m eaningful Tor me as I alw ays envied o th ers w ho had one. M y father also got rue a pencil box, so everything fit fine. 1 w as so happy then. A w eek later, som eone stole it in school, and it w as n ev er found. I never knew w ho did it. A friend o f m ine m ade m e a CD and burned 15 songs to it. She w rote in the cover each song’s nam e and w hy the songs rem inded her o f me. She had several different kinds o f songs, including “ H ero” hy M ariah Carev. II w as by far the greatest present I have ever received and som ething ] will never forget. i rem em ber g etting a fluffy, floppy, stuffed dog
( I nam ed him R o lf) that had a radio built
into him. I think m y p arents gut him m Radio Shuck. I could cuddle w ith him at night w hile listening to B arry M aniiow
( i t w as the 1 9 7 0 s!). J w as 7 years old, and thought I w as so cool. T he I
batteries corroded in thư rad io a year later, and the radio hild to bej pulled oui. Bui the dog had a zipper w here the radio u sed to be. M y m om w as a health nut back then, alw ays handing m e vitam ins. Little did she know that R o lf w as a very healthy dog w ith literally oodles o f vitam ins stuck up in him! 4 •
M y favorite g ifts are: M y father reading aloud to us in the evening, because it gave us a love o f books and inquiring
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m inds. •
A hook— Black Bemitv that m y G randm a gave m e w hen I w as five; she had received it lor C hristm as in 1904. She w rote ray nam e in it, too, underneath the original inscription.
•
A rt supplies, because it gave m e a chance to experim ent w ith draw ing ami painting, and begin a p assion for creativity. M y favorite gili w as a book m ade by m y father titled A ll A bout H eather. M y dad insists he expresses h im self best through w riting, so he gave m e a book containing several short stories
ab o u t my life. ĨI starts w ith m y birth. Me explains how nervous h e w as. how he got to take m y first picture, and w hat my m other said w hen she saw m e for Ihe first tim e. M y father gave this book to me on m y 16th birthday, and I still have a d ifficult tim e sitting dow n to read it because o f the tears that com e. It gives m e such roots an d such a feeling o f la v e and com pleteness. N ow the book is in my new husband's hands. A lthough not m uch o f a reader, he picks it up every now and then to learn the sto ry o f me.
B H oliday gifts can he tricky for both gift givers and gifl receivers. G ood gifts are often Ihe result o f careful planning and consideration, b u t it takes only a slight oversight or m iscalculation for die best intentions to end lip Ỉ1S an aw k w ard , unw anted fiili. M y paternal grandm other is know n in our fam ily for giving goofv gifts, and it’s becom e a jo k e in our fam ily. The w orst ạ iít I ever received from her w as a pair o f bell-bottom overalls with a huge orange button on the front pocket. I nter in the year w hen m y aunt and cousins w ere talking and laughing about the gifts w e'd received, 1 learned that the eotnpanv that m ade the overalls had gone out o f business before Ĩ w as even born, and not only that but Ihcy had IxMongcd to one o f m y aunts as a teenager. S he purchased them w ith her babysitting m oney! Last y e ar o u r youngest cousin (sh e w as 8 ) received an angel C hristm as ornam ent w ith a m issing arm. O ur grandm other thoughtfully included a note explaining that the ornam ent w as so pretty that she decided lo buy il anyw ay. The O ne-A rm ed Angel has b eco m e a new tradition in our fam ily. T he anc;el is now being passed around the w om en ill the fam ily w ith a book/journal (lint has Ihứ original note pasted inside to track h er travels. T his year I passed h e r on lo another cousin. 1 even buill h e r a prosthetic arm!
2
W orst C hristm as gift: A p a ir o f w hite plastic hands reaching up from a w ooden base. Purpose: to
"h o ld ” all your rem ote controls. Tile w ord ugly is not slrong enough lo describe
th e gift w hich w ould n o t fit in anyone’s d eco r except perhaps the M o n ste rs.
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Topic 26
News Reports
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a n ew s r e p o r t th a t you h a v e re c e n tly h e a ril o r re a d a b o u t. Y ou s h o u ld say : w h a t th e s to r y w as h o w y o u h e a r d a b o u t this sto ry w h e n y o u h e a r d th e new s a n d e x p la in y o u r re a c tio n w h c u you h e a r d th e new s.
Ju st today i read a story online about a Beijing vice m ayor getting fired for taking bribes involving construction in the le a d -lip to the 2008 O lym pic G am es. I found the story on the International H erald T ribune w ebsite. I found the story because it is o n e o f the w ebsites I c h e c k o u t every day, trying 10 sta y in fo rm e d o f w orld events. I w as happy w hen I h eard the new s. From w hat I’ve seen, C hina has a m assiv e p ro b le m w ith c o rru p tio n , an d I think it’s about tim e they started doing som ething about it. It seem s like there is an en orm ous am ount o f m oney w asted every year because officials are either taking bribes o r sk im m in g off th e top, and it docs a m ajor am o u n t o f dam age to the C hinese people. If the governm ent halts this trend, Ĩ think it w ill be a great thing for us. M oney w ill be spent in places w here it can do som e cood ra th e r than lin in g th e p o c k e ts o f people w ho don’t need it. T here have been quite a few stories o f this nature lately, and it show s an extrem ely p o sitiv e d e v e lo p m en t. I'm not sure if th e governm ent is g o in g a fte r all the co rrupted officials o r ju st som e (if ihem , hut either w ay, it is a s te p in th e rig h t d ire c tio n .
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Part 3 Mass Media 1. How do m ost |)eople in C hina get their new s? M ost C hinese people g e t th eir new s from various new spapers. Everyday, I see people reading new spapers on the bus, on the subw ay, or on the street. A lso m any people get their new s from the Internet an d TV . 2. Arc m ost people in C hina m ore interested in local news or international new s? I think m ost C hinese people are m ore concerned w ith local new s and d o m estic new s, w hich l‘d im agine is ÍỈ1C sam e acro ss th e w orld. U nless there are huge slories goiiiy, on elsew here, lucaỉ new s has m ore o r an im pact on the average citizen. Also, it is easier to understand new s th at is about areas that you know as o p p o se d to som e tow n in a country you m ight not even have heard of. as opposed to ị ũ t ị 'T"
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3. C om pare new spapers and T V as sources o f news. I Hunk if you are looking LO g e t a general idea about llie day’s new s, TV is a perfect way. You can get the basics from TV . I f you w ant to get in-depth inform ation, how ever, new spapers arc the w ay to go. T hey can dedicate m ore tim e to each individual story, so you can learn m ore about điiĩereiìt subjects. 4. I lo w do you think th e new s m edia will change in the future? N ew s in the future. Í think, will com e from m any m ore directions. W ith the creation o f blogs, m ore people are able to r e p o r t o n m any different things, so you will see a lot m ore new s and a lot m ore analysis. I don’t think there is any way that new spapers will b e able to com pete w ith this. If people have to choose betw een getting m ore new s for Frew online and lu pay, they are going to chuose tu go online. blog {w eb lo g )
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5. A re young and old people interested in the sam e new s content? I think this question p artially depends on how old young people arc. I f they arc in their tw en ties, I
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think for llie m ust part, the new s they ure interested in is the strnie. Y ounger peoplti do seem to bo m ore interested in things like celebrities and pop culture than older people, but 1 think they stay p retty educated about the m ore im portant new s. O lder people are less concerned with liie pop cu ltu re new s, and are m o re concerned w ith the new s that m atters m ore to the w orld and their country.
Children and Reading 6. D o you think i f s a good idea to teach children 10 read before they start school? Yes,
I th in k
it’s im portant to try to teach children how to read at as early an age as possible. The
earlier they know how to read, the sooner they can start learning other things. Also, if you leach them early, ii may instill a d esire in them to keep learning throughout Iheir lives, w hich w ould be extrem ely valuable. I know m y p aren ts started me reading very young, and to d ay Ĩ think 1 am b e tte r ulT because o f it. b etter o f f
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7. W hat kindb o f things do ch ild ren like to read? Ĩ think kids all o v er the w o rld like to read books tliat are eith er based in the sam e w orld they are in (s c h o o l) o r in a w orld that isn’t like this one al all
( fantasy/H arry P o tte r). E verything else, I think,
fails to hold th eir attention. U nless il has a good, eniertaining slory, kids w ill not b e interested, and I think these kinds o f bưuks kids call either iden tify w ith or can get .w ra p p e d u p in. identify w ith i k }^1
get w rapped up in íiè á l s
•
8. D o you Ihiuk (he Internet will influence the w ay people read in the future? ( H o w ? ) Y es, 1 think ihe internet will have an im pact, though I’m not sure w h at that w ill be. I im agine that som etim e, som eone will invent som ething that is the size o f a book, so people can dow nload books onto it, and il will be easier to read IỈ1L111 a Computer screen. Then, from there, through tile Internet, it will be extrem ely easy for p eo p le to read any book they lỉuukl pnssibly im agine. Also. Ỉ (liink the In iem ei w ill give people the ability to read stu ff that they are interested ill. T here is so m uch content th a: people will be able to find anything, so people's tastes w ill get highly specific.
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T O P 1« D O M E S T IC S T O R IE S 1. E ffo rtstp A chieve Social H arm ony 2. New Five-year G uidelines 3. B ashing C orruption 4. Rural D evelopm ent K ey to M odernization 5. G reen GDP 6. Innovation N ation 7. Food Safety C oncern ft. Q inghai-Tibet R ailw ay 9. C loser C ross-strait T ies 10. R estrictions on Foreign Journalists Eased 3. B ash in g C o rru p tio n Shanghai’s Party Secretary .C hen L iangyu w as dism issed on S eptem ber 24 follow ing allegations that h e and o th er c ity officials w ere involved in the m isuse o f the city’s 1Ơ billion yuan social security fund. T he m oney w as allegedly illicitly invested in potentially risky real estate and toll road projects. C hen is the highest level C hinese official to be fired since form er Beijing party secretary C hen X ilong, w ho w as prosecuted and convicted o f graft in 1995. In June, Liu Zhihua, V ice-M ayor o f Beijing, w as rem oved from his post; for alleged involvem ent in corruption. In the w ake o f a series o f sensational corruption scandals involving som e high-ranking officials, the C om m unist Party o f C hina em barked on a reshuffle o f the chiefs o f the Party's anti-grail bodies at the provincial level, w h ich displays its resolve lo halt corruption through strengthened supervision.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
__
_
— — --------
N ew graft busters in three m u n icipalities o f B eijing, Shanghai and T ianjin w ere appointed from I outside the m unicipalities in D ecem ber w ith tw o having a background in the Party's top I anti-corruption body. E arlier this year, disciplinary heads in the six other provinces o f G uangdong, Z hejiang, A nhui, H enan, Shanxi and Fujian w ere “ parachuted” into their new posts. 10.
R e s tric tio n s oil F o re ig n J o u rn a lis ts E ased
C hina's State Council, the country’s cabinet, issued on D ecem ber 1 a decree
granting foreign
jo u rn alists m ore freedom in reporting activities in the run-up lo ihe 2008 O lym pic G am es. U nder tile regulations that are effective from January 1. 2007 to O ctober 1 7 ,2 0 0 8 . foreign journalists w ho are non-residents o f C hina are not required to be accom panied or assisted b y a C hinese official w hen they report in C hina, according to Foreign M inistry Spokesm an Liu Jiancliao. Foreign jo u rn alists w ill also be allow ed to engage in independent reporting in all localities w ithout perm ission from provincial foreign affairs offices. Tliey can also hire C hinese citizens tn assist them I in such reporting. In addition, the C ustom s procedures for vehicles and equipm ent used by foreign jo u rn alists h av e b een sim plified by canceling the requirem ent for
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g i ữ m m t e M T o p ic s 2 7 - 2 8 ) Topic 27
Public Events ^ A ỉír ă !/
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C U E CAKU D e sc rib e ỈỈ local event, v o u h a v e a t te n d ed . Y ou s h o u ld say: w h a t th is e v e n t was w h e n a n d w h e re it Mas xvhat h a p p e n e d in th e ev en t a n d e x p la in w h a t you liked a b o u t this event.
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Som etim e during 2001, w hen Ĩ w as living in K unm ing, som e friends o f m ine in the Bei C hen area invited m e to ỈI s lre t‘1 p a r ly lư prom ote a new h o u sin g c o m p o u n d that som e com pany had ju s t finished building.
Ỉẩ ỉỉ
11 was a very b iz a r r e event. 11 w as hold outside in a little park near the new com pound. It w as a very CHIC little park w ith benches and a sm all playground for little children. I think the event w a s fu n d e d by die ow ners o f Ilie com pound, because they w ere giving aw ay food. T h ere was icc cream , soft drinks, beef, lam b, and pork m eat sticks, and som e other snacks o f w hich I can’t rem em b er the nam es. The only problem , though, w as that you had to stand in a line the length o f the G re a t W all. Som etim es the line w ould move fast, like w hen II bunch o f the m eat w as cooked, but other tim es il ju st seem ed to take forever. I can’t rem em b er so well, but 1 think that you had to be living in the Bei C hen area to attend the party. O h yes, that’s w hat it w as; o u r friend w as living in that area, so we w ere able to go in for free. T h e parly w as so m uch fun, because it w as at night and w c w e re allow ed to stay out later than usual. M y cousin w ho lives abroad w as visiting and w ent w ith us to the party. I don’t I think I’ll e v e r forget that tim e.
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Part 3 Cultural h e r i t a g e 1. Should businesses support local events? I think that businesses should support local events. It not only helps to c r e a te a good im ag e for the business, but show s cu sto m ers that the business is interested in their w elfare. It can also provide good advertising opportunities for th e business. E veryone likes lo do business w ith a coinm unity-m incied business, create a good im age 'é'] Ỉ4,— ^
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2. Should the governm ent p reserve traditional events like tem ple fairs? I th in k the governm ent should preserve this kind o f event. A nd furtherm ore, I think that the best w ay they can support them is to help financially. A lthough i f you only let the governm ent help to support and sponsor these kinds o f events, then com panies like C oca Cola. B udw eiser, and M e D o n ald ’s will have nothing to do. T herefore, 1 think it’s im portant to let everyone help u> organize and fund the events, but the governm ent should definitely preserve and support these kinds o f events.
Community L ife 3. Do you think it’s im portant to take part in local activities? Ĩ personally d o n 't enjoy p articipating in local events, but for som e reason m any people actually do. I’d m uch rather w atch Hie event from a disuince. M aybe this is ju st b e ca u se I ’m lazy, but [ ju st don't refllly feel the need to go out there an d be another nam eless person in a crow d that w on t m iss me at all. 4. Do you think it’s im portant to h av e a sense o f local com m unity spirit? I f a com m unity w ants to prosper, everyone m ust m a k e a c o n c e rte d e ffo rt to put as much into (heir com m unity a s possible. ĩ f you don't take care o f your com m unity then your com m unity can’t take care o f you. W hat I’m trying to say is that if you’re in the habit o f helping others in your eơm m uniíy. then others w ill be m ore inclined to help you. It's also- im portant that you do n 't litter, because if you do then the place will look like a m ess. A nother thing that w ould help is that if parents iintl pet ow ners w ould clean up after th eir kids and pets relieve lliem selves then there w on’t be any e x c re m e n t on the grass, sidew alks, an d benches, make a concerted effort.
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5. W hat are the ad v antages o f being p a n o f a closc-kiiii com m unity? W ell, one o f the advantages is that your com m unity w ill look out for you. I f vou’rc in trouble you’ll gel support from your neighbors, and they’ll be m ore likely to accept w hatever you decide to do. A lso, if you arc ill a close-knit com m unity, m ore people will be your li iend and fam ily over to their house for dinner. Like the saying goes, a m a n is
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6. In w hat w ays di> neighbors co operate and help each other in C hina? T h is is ti tough question, b ecau se Ĩ personally don’t think that (hey CỈƠ. Most o f m y neighbors iire ju s t nosey old b u sy b o d ie s w ho a re alw ays trying lo find out som e new piece o f gossip. A ll the rest arc; our w orking all day and w hen they com e hom e they ju st w ant to w atch T V o r sleep, busybody f t TJ1Ĩ*] -]f
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7. H ow h as tlie sense o f com m unity changed in recent years in C hina? B efore the com m unity w as very strong ill C hina. Yon alw ays did things w ith your neighbors and helped them in w h atev er w ay that you could. A lso, w henever anyone did som ething that w asn’t quite right, everyone k n ew about it, and the person w as very em barrassed. But now everyone is out w orking, and aside from a few old busybodics. no one lias tim e to help or net involved w ith the affairs o f their neighbours.
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I T h e re are m any places ill C hina tliat are very nice, but to my surprise, I w ent to Q ingdao for the first tim e a w h ile ago, and 1 lik ed it a lot!! ^ It’s hard to find sunshine a n d good beaches in C hina, but Q ingdao has them! i have heard so m uch about the place and I finally h ad the pleasure o f going there. A fter I arrived, w hat I found w as bright
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sunshiny blue skies, n ice ocean breeze, an d lots o f very nice sandy beaches. W hat’s nice a b o u t^ Ọ in cd ao is that on certain streets, you can 't even find any m otorcycles o r bicycles because o f certain regulations. The streets arc clean , and the roads and structures arc all very neat and tidy. W hat w e also ran into was the annual beer festival, Ions ư í people having a good time sipping brew and enjoying the festivities! Q ingdao is know n for its beer, and there is nothing b etter than dow ning a eu lp o f ice cold brew a fter a hot nrtcm oon o f pure sw eating! Í love to have a fe u beers here and there, but [ h ad the tim e o f my life going to the Q ingdao B rew ery for a little tour. O ne o i'the ex-plant m anagers w as show ing me around, and let m e tell you, the process w as am azing! So m any people around the w orld enjoy a nice cold one here and there, but how m any people can say thev have tasted the freshest b eer right o ff the bottling Line? W ell, I had the pleasure o f doing that w hile there. T he ex-m anager let m e grab a bottle right after it w as capped o ff the. bottling line! N ow is there a fresher beer out here? If there is, please let m e know! The beer itself is probably no big deal, but to grab som ething right after it is com pleted and before it ends up som ew here in Shanghai, or any w here else in die w orld for th a t m atter, is a w hole different feeling. W e all like to cat freshly cooked food, b u t freshly brew ed b eer right after it is done? ] don’t think thill m an y people can say they have. So if y o u all have tim e, liexl tim e ynu dow n a bottle o f brew , think ab o u t going to tile source and leum a b n m ore about huw it is done. It’s a difficult process that’ll m ake you appreciate every sip you take in the future. ft
A ttending tem ple fairs
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(M ia o I lu i) is high on any D eijing resident's agenda during the sp rin g
Festival. T he tem ple fair b eg an as groups n f vendors did business near tem ples w hen m any pilgrim s cam e lo pay tribute lu tilt; gods during traditional festivals. T he practice grew , gradually turning into u regular event. N ow tem ple fairs arc* an im portant and joyful destination for C hinese people during festivals, m ost especially the S pring Festival or C hinese N ew Y ear. In addition to a great variety o f B eijing snacks and funny gadgets, tem ple fairs offer C hinese traditional folk art perform ances, including stills, lion and dragon dances, drum beating, diabnlo ( kdiit^/hu) playing and other activities. W hat do you ex p ect from a tem ple fair: 1 ) Polk perform ances: stilt-w alking and drum perform ances are regular activities at any tem ple fair; 2 ) Snacks: snacks are displayed in lines o f booths. It’s one w ay to taste th e m any flavours n f d ifferent ethnic groups across China; 3 ) Shops: M ost o f the tem ple fa irs are full o r booths providing sm all, cheap products from tea, pot flowers, paintings, ceram ics, hooks, to birds and toys; 4 ) Snapshot O pportunities: take your cam era w hen you are on a lem ple fair trip in B eijing. It’s a great insight inti) the lives o f B eijing people o f the past and presen L
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Describe a positive change in your lift*. Y o u s h o u ld sa y :
when it happened where it liiippcnwl what the change was and explain how you have benefited from this change Ĩ think The most positive change that I had in m y life, believe it or not, was when I decided 10 b re a k u p with m y girlfriend. Í
Y cu see, going o u t w ith h e r started to take up m ost o f m y tim e and I started neglecting m y studies an d inv o th er friends. M y girlfriend becam e alm ost like ail o b sessio n lo m e. I thought about h er all the tim e, and w hen I w asn’t thinking about her I w as out w ith her. N ow don’t g e t m e w rong, she w as a greal girl, m y girlfriend. If s ju s l that things got w ay out o f balance in m y life. W e had been going out for about three years. I knew h e r from m y high school. W e had gone out for 11 w alk one evening, and I w as really scared to say anyihing ro h e r b ecau se I w as afraid that I w as going to hurt h e r feelings. W ell, after w alking for a w hile, I finally got u p th e n e rv e to say som ething to her. and once it w as o u t in th e open it really w asn ’t so bad. She w as thinking the sam e tiling, a n d said that it w ould be good to ju s t slow things dow n for a w hile and se e w h at w ould happen. B oy w a s I reliev e d , w e had a good laugh o v er tilings and parted as friends. 1N ow although 1 love her an d really do believe that som e day w e m ight be together on a more 1perm anent basis, it feels g o o d to ju s t chill o u t w ith ray friends for a w hile.
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Life Changes 1. W hat kind o f events m ay be life-charm ing events? Like 1 said, breaking up o r ending a relationship w ould be one. H aving an accident or hurting y o u rse lf w hen playing bports sure is life changing. W in n in g tile lo tte ry is another life changing event G etting m arried will change your life, too. w in the lottery Ỷ
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2. D o C hinese ịíeople change jo b s very often? Do you think that’s good? Y es 1 think that C hinese do change their jo b s pretty often, and I think that it is a good thing. Until you really find a jo b th at von feel com fortable w ith, then I lliink it is okay to change jobs. Som e C hinese and people around the w orld have to change jobs because they Ret laid o ff or their com pany gets gobbled u p by som e big corporation, and they are forced to leave. I*et laid o f f i t 3.
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H ow do you think em ployers could encourage em ployees not to change jo b s? O f course they could give a lot o f m oney, but I know Ihat this is not alw ays practical. 1 think that one tiling that w ould really help people slay in a jo b is (hat they arc show n som e appreciation for w hat they do. I read th at a lack o f appreciation is one reason that people go from jo b to jo b and ju st c a n t seem 10 find a hom e. 1 think if em ployers w ould ju st listen to th eir em ployees about th eir need, that w ould be a big help. too.
4. W hy do so ninny people in C hina m ove to a different city o r even go overseas to study or w ork? W ell, Ĩ think thill people arc just looking for Iheir g ro o v e and w here they belong. Now tliut (he opportunity is there to travel, people w ant to take advantage o f it, and see w here their fortunes lie. liiere is a bio w orld
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iherc and som e people w ant to find out if it is their “ c u p o f t e a ” as they
say. 1 hate to use so m any idiom s and I hope that 1 am using them right, but som e people just have the proverbial ' g ra ss is g r e e n e r on th e o th e r side o f th e fe n c e ” syndrom e. T hey think that once they g et there, all their problem s w ill be over.
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W hat do you think are the m ajor challenges o f w orking or studying in another country0 W ell, [ guess that one o f th e biggest ones is that you are going la a different culture, and you are not
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sure h o w vou arc going to lit in. In m ost countries one o f the hardesl things to (leal with is p re ju d ic e . People alw ays seem to have a little suspicion o f foreigners in their country. I think that loneliness w ould be another th in g that w ould he hard for som eone w orking o r stu d y in g overseas. A person w ould be aw ay from fam ily and friends, and that w ould be difficult, p rejudice iĩỉìỉỉL
Young People and Change 6. Arc young people in C hina today m ore m ature than in the past? 1 don’t think so. If a n y th in g , they are m ore im m ature than in the past. In the past* life w as harder here ill C hina, and youne p eo p le had to grow up fast and had to take oil responsibility. N ow w ith the country getting richer and onlv one child per household, they lire actuully preity spoiled, anil their p arents do a lot o t things for them , i f anything 1*7ILx Ắ -
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7. W hat cart young people learn from o ld er people? T hey can leani a lot i f they w ant to. They can learn from the vast am ount o f experience that older people have T hey can learn w hat old people did under circum stances sim ilar to whfit young people go thrưugh. T hey call learn how to raise a fam ily and how lư have a lasting relationship. A lso, they can lcam how to deal w ith difficult situations. 8. Do you think young people can adapt to ch an scs easier than old people? N ot necessarily. Ỉ have seen so m e young people that d id n ’t know how to deal w ith changes at all, and then 1 have seen som e older people w ho ta k e c h a n g e s w ith o u t b re a k in g a sw e a t. O f course I do know , like th e old saying goes ab o u t (caching an old d o e now Tricks, that it is som etim es harder for an older person to change, but they can (Jo it. I think Uiiit a lot o f voung people here ill C hina have a hard lim e w ith changes because they have seen such few changes and like the w ay things are now. take changes w ithout breaking a sw eat
Recent Changes in China 9. D o you think C hina has eonc through a lot o f changes in recent years? I think C hina has gone through som e incredible changes in recent years. C hina is grow ing so quickly am i ĩỉt un alarm in g rate. Even the governm ent is trying CO slow it dow n so th at it doesn’t overheat. E conom ically, socially, C hina is really changing. Since the im plem entation o f the open door policy, one can hardly recognize C hina, as the jo k e goes that the “c r a n e ” is the national bird o f C hina, crane
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10. What are the m ost positive changes0 W ell, o f course, the e c o n o m y is one o f tile m ost positive changes. B ecause o f this change. C hina has
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ii Jo? m ore m oney, so th e C hinese people have a lot m ore m oney too. Jo in in g the W T O has biouelit ab o u t so m e positive changes. People being able to go abroad easier is also a v ery n ic e change. A lso m o re foreigners here in C hina has been a good change for all. 1 1. D o you think there will bư m o re changes in the future? Oh vcs, Ỉ think that C hina is going to keep changing. As C hina takes m ore o f a role on the w orld stage, this is g o in g to have a big effcel on lilt* country. Foreign influence will coniinuo to com e into the country and cause changes like m ore m ixed m arriages and a m ixture o f cultures. But a t th e d ro p
or 11 h a t, w e could also go back to a m ore closed society and that w ould be a b ig change* but
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W h a t h a s b e e n y o u r m o st life c h a n g in g m o m e n t o r e v e n t so f a r ? M eeting my p an n cr. H e has helped m e open up and becom e a better person. Since m eeting him , m y attitude tow ards life and other people has changed dram atically. Sounds corny, b u t it is true. If w e hadivt gotten together, r d be a com pletely different person now . A nd not a better one! A life-changing event for m e w as traveling outside o f the
us for the first tim e.
I realized that
1 really knew n othing about the other side o f the w orld except for w hat I d read or w hat I saw on TV . I’ve traveled to o v er 20 countries now , and il has been rually eye-opening ahnut how filtered our new s is, how unaw are o f w h at’s really going on in the w orld, and how accepting; w e arc o f the pictures o f other cu ltures and people in the w orld that a re painted for US on the nightly new s. The m om ent that changed m y entire life w as the m om ent w hen m y parents got divorced. A t that tim e and SOỨI1 after, I got this feeling that now I’m grow n up, all o f a sudden, and my Oilly aim in life is to keep m y m om happy a n d to face this w orld and its people, w hich w as very challenging. A lthough it’s all fine n ow , that m om ent changed my entire life. W hen I told tlie N avy recru iter that I did not w ant to enlist. U p to that ỊX)int in m y life 1 had been follow ing every o n e's advice. T hat w as m y first m ajo r decision, albeit a bad one upon reflection, bill ii w as my decision none llie less. A fter Unit, I stalled being m ore independent Liild m aking m y ow n choices for good o r bad. In other w ords, I started living m y life instead o f letting
others live it tor me. c
R eading the book
“ H ealing with A llgels” by D oreen V irtue
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n am e). Ĩ1 isn't all about angels by the w ay. A nyw ay, in reading that, I found out that it is very
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♦ IE L T S SPFAK1NG ♦
likely th a t 1 am a star child
( Rend the honk if you w anna know w hat that is). For quite som e lime
p rio r to reading that book, I really felt like although T enjoy m y jo b , it w asn ’t really contributing to society, and that reallv bothered me. I w anted a jo b w here Ĩ could m ake the w orld a better place, but so far Ĩ d o n 't really h av e one. A nyw ay, Ihe book snys that S tar C hildren often don't have a m eaning fill jo b , but a jo b in w hich they com e in contact w ith m any people. T h eir contribution to society is how they arc role m odels and aficct the people w ho surround them . R eading that m ade me feel so much better ab o u t m y se lf and m y life, know ing that it’s the people in m y life that m atter, not w hat I’m doing fo r a jo b . Since then Fve been even m ore positive and carin g and try to set a good exam ple everv day.
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ịiffj$ z ] ề ỉk ịR ( T o p ic s 2 9 - 3 6 ) Topic 29 -
English Class Activities
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CU F, C A R D D e sc rib e a n u n fo rg e tta b le class a ctiv ity th a t you have ta k e n p a r t in a s p a r t o f y o u r E n g lish stu d y . Y ou s h o u ld say: w h a t th is ac tiv ity w as w h en a n d w h e re y o u d id th is ac tiv ity h o w y o u (lid it a n d e x p la in h o w you b e n e fite d fro m th is activ ity . The best foreign language-learning activity I ever had look place ill my sophom ore y ear o f college in m y C hinese class w ith Mr. W ang. E very M onday, w e w ould take about tw enty m inutes o f class, and everyone had to stand up and say w hat they did over the w eekend. The m ini-speeches didn’t have to be long o r dial in v o lv ed ; rather, it w a s ju s t a n opportunity to get everyone up and speaking C hinese. W hat m ade the activity fun, though, w as not really the assignm ent, instead, it was the class that m ade it interesting. T h e fust couple M ondays, the speeches w eren’t anything special. M ust w ere pretty boring, a n d the class had m ore o f a an
“ let’s ju s t get this d o n e ” attitude instead o f
“ I like this activ ity ” attitude. T h e third M onday, liuw ever, lliis all changed. O ne o f the
students stood up and told an extrem ely c re a tiv e story, using a lot o f interesting phrases and som e truly funny vocabulary. A fter this, Inc class all sort o f accepted this as the n ew norm , and every w e e k b ecam e a contest to see w ho could tell the funniest, m ost creative story. As a re su lt, going to c lass on M onday becam e som ething to reallv look forw ard to. m ĩề ĩĩầ
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In addition, the Activity alsn really helped out our language- ability. N o longer w ere we just taking w ords and p hrases out o f the book, w e w ere looking for other places, trying to be the m ost creative. N o t only was it really fun, it also encouraged w orking harder!
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Part 3 Learning English 1. W hy do people learn English in C hina? I b eliev e people learn English ill o rd er lo a d a p t lo the s h rin k in g o f the w orld. Ill tliis d a y a n d age, contact and business from country to country is E X T R E M E L Y easy, and as a result, language has becom e a b a r r i e r that you m ust o v e rc o m e if you w ant to participate. T herefore, learning English for m ost people is a great w ay to be ab le to do business or m ake friends with foreigners. I think it’s really positive. adapt to Ì Ế Ồ
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2. Som e people say that if you are going to work in a C hinese com pany in C hina, then learning English is a w aste o f tim e. D o you agree? Ĩ do not agree at all w ith this statem ent for several reasons. First, how do you know you are alw ays g o in g to be w orking far a C hinese co m pany? I f you can speak E nglish w ell, you m ight be able to gel ỈI b etter jo b in nn international com pany. Secondly, w hy docs líinguage-lcam ing only have to be about business? I f you c a n speak bnglisli, you have expanded the nu m b er o f friends you can possibly m ake. I have m ade friends w ith C hinese people only because they sp o k e English. I think the above statem ent is just an ex cu se g iv en by people w ho don’t w ant to try to learn new things. 3. W hat do you think is the best age for ch ildren (o begin learning English? I b elieve tlial children should start Learning foreign languages as early us possible. If they can, they should try and learn other languages as they arc learning their native language. It has been proven th a t kills can p ick up languages e a sie r than adults. 'I hey are less se t in th e ir w ay s and m ore open to new things. I h av e a cousin w ho has a M exican m other, an A m erican father, and is living in Cairo, Egypt. He is only one y ear old now, but is already picking up Spanish, E nglish, and Arabic.
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4. W ould you say it's b elter to study E nglish overseas than in C hina? I b eliev e llial for m ust p eople, lliis is Mưl possible. E ither it’s too expensive 01 tliey c a n ’t iind the tim e or u w av to live in a foreign country, 30 it s OUÍ o f th e q u e stio n . H ow ever, if they can arrange it, It is definitely easier to learn a foreign language in that country. Being surrounded by people speaking the language you are trying to learn is extrem ely helpful. The best w ay to do it. I think, is to take classes o f a language t-0 build a base, tlicn go. Thai w ay, w hen you get to the country, you aren’t totally o v e rw h e lm e d . out o f the question Ạ ,:f Ề tố *J
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5. Do adults h av e m ore difficulties than children in learning a foreign language? Y es. I believe this w h o le h e a rte d ly . A dults w ho have been speaking one language for a long period o f tim e m ay find m any difficulties in learning a new language. T hey will also easily fall into the patterns o f their native language, m ilking learning hard. Kids, how ever, are still learning their native language, so they don't have e sta b lish e d patterns lo lull b a c k oil. A s a result, new m aterial is a lot easier for them to learn. w holeheartedly
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Language and Cultural Diversity 6
Wliv do people p refer to study Rnglisli over other languages? Ĩ believe that the reason is m ostlv econom ic. E nglish-speaking countries, fo r th e m ost p a r t, m ake up m ost o f the richest co u n tries ill Hie w orld. A s a result, liiauv people w ant to learn E nglish so that they can do business w ith com panies in those rich countries. In addition, English hus kind o f been accepted as one o f v ery few , if not the only, w orldw ide languages. People all over the w orld speak English. Therefore^ people w ho w an t to participate in relationships that sp a n the globe find that English is the m ost com m on language to do this, for the m ost pari ÀÍ'
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7. English is now used as an international language. W hat other languages do you think m ight develop into international languages? English is indeed u sed as an international language. T he only other language I can see achieving this status is Chinese. T he n um ber o f people w ho speak il is great, and the country is grow ing econom ically so q uickly that I think m ore and m ore people w orldw ide arc going 10 choose to learn it. T he biggest b arrier to this, how ever, is that C hinese is w ritten in characters. It m ay be a p ip e d re a m , hut if C hinese ch an ced to p in y in as the w ay to w rite and read, I think it w ould explode all over the world. I, speaking a s som eone trying to learn it, can te stify as to how m uch e asier that
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♦ IE L T S SPEAK1NỠ ♦
mỀÊỂÊỀỀể * w ould m ake learning the language, pipe dream éj 0 -ỹ
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8. Besides English, w h at o th er foreign languages do people study in C hina? Jn China, learning Englisli re ig n s s u p re m e , i im agine that it is by far the m ost p o p u lar language to icam in the coum ry. N o o th er language c o n ic s close, ] think. If 1 had to choose som e other languages for people to learn, 1 w ould guess th a t Japanese and Spanish w ould be the nexA two. Japanese is im portant b ecau se o f the size o f the Japanese econom y. Spanish, because it is so sim ilar to E nglish, is fairly casv to learn, and because m any people w orldw ide speak it. re i 2TÌS suprem e £
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9. C om pare th e future popularity o f C hinese and English us foreign languages to study. English becam e as p opular as it is now because o f the extrem e w ealth and w orldw ide influence o f K nglish-speaking countries (esp ecially the
us). People realized
that one o f the best w ays
10 m ake
m oney w as to do business w ith A m ericans, and in order to do this, they had to learn E nglish. I think that C hina is a p p ro a c h in g this position now. Its econom ic influence Ls spreading extrem ely fast, and people across the w orld arc realizin g that learning C hinese is a great w ay to m ake money. A s a result, in the future, I think C hinese w ill start approaching the popularity o f E nglish, thousji probably n o t ev e r o v e r ta k in g ii. approach
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10. D o you think studying foreign languages can benefit w orld peace? ( I lo w ? ) Yes, 1 do believe that if co u n tries can speak to each other easily, tensions are m uch easier to get rid of. Ju st as im portant, how ever, is studying the culture o f other countries. U nderstanding that other countries m ight act differently o r ta k e offense at different actions is a great w a y to create a m ore easygoing atm osphere. But yes, language is definitely llic first step tow ards creating a m ore peaceful environm ent, take offense i \ 11. W hat difficulties do you think international guests m ight have w hen they study C hinese? T here are m any answ ers to this question. First, reading feels like an im possible task. Forcing y o u rself to m e m o riz e cliaracters rath er than being able to read and figure out the m eanings o f w ords is a huge barrier. It is ex trem ely in tim id a tin g to see the thousands o f characters and realize you h av e (<J memorizes m ost o f them . Secondly, the to n es arc particularly difficult. Learning, a language w here the inflection can indicate w hat kind o f attitude you have, and realizing that it isn’t ju s t whaL you are saying but how you are saying it that afreets the m eaning is really difficult. There are also m any others, like learning n e u tr a l a c c e n ts and proper pronunciation, m em orize ■i'i'fc
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B efore class, I take index cards and w rite nam es o f celebrities on them w ith a magic m arker. In class, I explain to the students th at th ey will have a nam e o f a w ell-know n person stuck to their back. T hey then liuvti lo stand up und circulate around the room , asking each person a m axim um o f 10 ycs-or-no questions ab o u t w ho they m ight be. (i.e. “A m I alive? A m I fem ale? A m I a politician? A m 1 young V" ) Ilo p ciu lly they w ill be ab le to figure om w ho they arc. T he only problem I have encountered is w hen I use m ovie stars. I try to select people w ho m y G erm an students w ould know., but m any don’t frequent the cinema. Í like this gỉHTK3 i\ lot, since il gels lliL’TH Dili o f Iheir souls and m akes them talk lo ÌI large num ber o f people, oiten those w ho th ev w ouldn’t norm ally approach in the first lesson. It also w orks w ell if you're practicing questions. K aren Jocliim sen, M arburg/G erm any ( instructor at the adult ed. c e n ter)
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Topic 30
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CU E CARD D e sc rib e so m e a d v ic e y o u receiv e d (fro m a f r ie n d o r fam ily m e m b e r) w h ich w as useful to you. Y ou sh o u ld say : w h a t th e s itu a tio n w as w h o g av e yo u th e ad v ice w h a t th e a d v ic e w as a n d e x p la in how u seful you th in k the a d v ic e w as.
T h e best piece o f advice I ev e r got cam e from tny Dad. It happened in my ju n io r y e a r o f college. A t that tim e, I w as ju s t starling to think about w hat I w anted to do w ith my life. M y dad helped m e a huge am ount.
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R ather than ju st tell me w hat he thought I should do, though, he told m e a story about his ow n life. Im m ediately after he got out o f college, he took a jo b in F lorida selling re a l e state . H e e n d e d u p doing chat for som ething like seven years. D uring the entire tim e he w as doing it, he w as pretty unhappy. Sure, he had a pretty happy h o m e life and a good fam ily, but his jo b w asn’t re w a rd in g . He took it in o rd er to m ake m oney, n o t lo be happy. EvcntuaLly, he found som ething that interested lúm . W e m oved to O hio, so he c o u ld start a b re w e ry w ith
one o f his friends frum college. T he jo b WHS m uch m ore interesting. H e didn’t com e hom e at the end o f the (Jay relieved lo be dune w ith w ork. He actually enjoyed w hat he did. Í& S
This sắorv taught m e an extrem ely valuable lesson. I shouldn’t just ju m p iulo a jo b because il paid w ell. I should take tim e to find a job that I w ould actually like. M oney shouldn’t be the n u m b e r o n e c o n c e rn . It w as d u e to this advice that 1 m oved here, to C hina
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P a rt 3 A d v ic e G iv in g 1
Have your parents given you m uch advice? Y es, m y parents have given m e Ions o f advice. T hey alw ays do it in a way, though, w here they a re n 't ju s t telling m e w hat to do. Instead, they give me som e o f their w isdom , and let m e do w ith it w hat I w ant. T h is w ay , I can m ake m ore in fo rm e d decisions about im portant stuff, tons o f ^ ỹ
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this w ay i ì # ỏ \ ) ì & 2. W hat kind o f ad v ice do p aren ts give their children? ]‘ve found that it really varies w h a t kind o f advice parents give. M any o f m y friends’ parents arc really o v e rb e a rin g . T h ey try to force them selves into every decision their kids m ake, be it im portant ( like m ew ing) L>r unim portant
(lik e buying a b ik e ). O ther parents are really h a n d s-o ff.
T hey let their kids m ake all Iheir UWI] decisions. T his w ay kids can learn from their ow n m istakes. I think each w ay has its advantages and disadvantages, overbearing -ệ
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3. W hat kind o f advice do friends give each other? Friends seem to give each o th er advice about things that they have experienced before on their ow n. For instance, I’ve lived in C hina, so I can help m y friends decide w hether it’d be a sm art m ove for them . T hese situations are useful, because friends are often o f the sam e age, so they can offer a view point from som eone w ho is going lliruugli Ihe sam e kinds o f situations. M ost o f the tim e, though, friends' advice tends to be about sm all things, like w hat clothes to w ear or w hat stu ff to buy T h ese situations are n ’t really advice, but m ore suggestions or w h at they think. 4. D o you think young people should follow their parents' advice? N o, I don’t think young people should follow all o f their paren ts' advice. 1 think they should listen to w h at th eir parents h av e to say, and use that inform ation to c o m e up w ith their ow n decisions. P arents are there to help kids out w hen they need it. but not to instruct their kids how to live their Lives. If you rely on y o u r p arents too m uch, you m ight eventually end up in a situation w here they arc nul iiroiirid to h elp you, an d you have to m ake a decision about som ething you’ve n ev e r th o u g h t about on your ow n before, coinc up w ith & tft t 'fif- th
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5. ĩn C hina, do children ev e r strongly oppose the advice o f their parents0 I'm n o t 100 sure. B ut in m y lim ited experience, it seems ihat C hinese people rcnllv roly on their p aren ts. T herefore, 1 think that it's rare to see a C hinese person fla t o u t denying w hat tlieir parents su g g est they do. It seem s that they are far m ore likely to ta k e w hat their parents say into c o n s id e ra tio n than to not listen to i t flat out 3LẬX T ề Ó-? 6.
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ỉn C hina, do young people ev er give advice to older people, for exam ple, th e ir parents? I think, yeah, there’s absolutely nothing w ronu w ilh giving advice. Y ou ca n m ake y o u r opinions know n, then w hoever you are talking to can choose w hether or not to listen to it. G iving advice does nothing m ore than try to give the person w ho 15 m aking a decision a little b it m ore inform ation than they had before. T his IS especially so ill the case o f parents and children, because so m any o f parents' decisions affect k id s’ lives, so th e kids should have a say in the d e c isim -m a k in g process.
7. W hich has m ore influence on young people, advice from their parents o r th eir friends? T his is a tough b u t good question. 1 think that w hen Icids are really young, like u n d er tw elve, they rely on their p arents m ore than their friends. W hen they becom e teenugets, though. [ think Llie> listen to a m uch larger p ercen tag e o f th eir friends’ advice. K ids at this age arc really c o n c e rn e d w ith b ein g cool ailii being accepted, and their parents aren’t that
b ig
o f a help
TO
them . T heir friends
know wlmt is cool anil w h a fs 1101. As they gel older, though, I think that people rely on their friends and fam ily pretty eq u ally . By this lim e, 1 think most: people realize the value in everyone’s opinions, so they cunsider w hal everybody says, b e concerned w ith Â
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8. H ave you ever received advice from an expert o r professional ( olher than your p are n ts)? Y eah, I guess 1 h av e, if you consider teachers professional people. M an y a tim e I have asked teachers for advice. For exam ple, w hen ] was thinking about m oving lo C hina, 1 asked m y A sian H um anities professor w liat he thought about the idea. He thought it w ould be a great m ove, and Ì took w h at he said into consideration. O ther than teachers, though, no. I haven't really had the need lo ask experts or professionals for advice. I haven't inudc* cinv biy enough decisions that would require anyone outside o f m y friends an d lamily. m any a tim e £ 'X 9. Ill C hina, is there anyw here w here m em bers o f llie public can g e t advice? Y eah, there are p laces to go for advice. O ne I absolutely know o f is the Internet. A ny tim e I h av e to m ake a decision, I look online for different w ebsites that have review s or suggestions about different things. The Internet is a h u cely valuable resource for things like this. O ther than that, though, I can’t really think o f anyw here people call go for advice.
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W lin t’s th e b e st p iece o f ad v ice you h a v e e v e r rec eiv ed a b o u t su cc eed in g in life? I started college w hen Í w as 28. [ knew il w ould take m e a long tim e
(1 0 v e a rs) to finish
going pari tim e at night, and 1 w as discouraged w hen thinking about being 38 w hen I graduated. The advice I got: H ow old w ill you be in ten years if you IX iN ’T go to college? So, yes, 1 finished
(a t 3 8 ). Ĩ even w en t on to get m y M aster’s, and euess w hat—they did not put m y age on
eith er diplom a! H
N ever date an y o n e you w ork with. M y dad told m e that w hen Ỉ w as in high school, and
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now m any years dow n the road I’ve seen w hat office relationships can do to you and how
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badly they can h im nut, and I am thank fill for that advice. Best advice 1 ev er g o t w as from m y grandfather on my w edding day. H e pulled m e aside
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and told m e he’d been m arried for 53 years, and the one tiling lie learned w as thai the
w om an is the m an o f the family. I
T h e best advice I ever got w as actually m ore like a m otto, but it’s alw ays stuck w ith m e. Som eone once told m e that. "T h e only people that can offend you are those w ho are belter than you . B asically say, don't let stupid people get to you, w hich helps w hen dealing w ith
som e o f the retards in the w orld. T here arc tw o actually, you can attract m ore flies w ith honey than vinegar everyone >, an d don’t shit w here you ear
(b e nice to
(office rom ances don’t w o rk ). I alw ays adhere to
both, and they’ve held m e in good stead. Ijj Mk
T h e best advice 1 ev e r got w as
“ take m y advice but do not do w hat I say. Do w hat you
think y o u should d o in your life...you have to m ake your ow n decisions.” w hich w as from
m y friend.
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Topic 31
An Unsatisfactory Purchase ẠIỂưl^íl-JWiP/Ji'r.))J
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CU E CARD D rs c rib e a n item th a t yon b o u g h t th a t you w e re d issa tisfie d w ith. Y ou sh o u ld say: w h a l th e ite m w as w h en a n d w h e re you b o u g h t it w h y y o u w e re not h a p p y w ith th is p rn d u c t. A n d L'xpluin w h a t y o u did a f te r y o u fo u n d th a t it w a s u n sa tisfa c to ry .
W ell, 1 very m uch enjoy drinking coffee; unfortunately, 1 do not alw ays have very hoi water. a s
T hree m onths ago I d ecided to do som ething about it. [ w ent to the Fu C heng M en m arket to buy a w a te r h e a te r. I chose Uie m ost convenient one: a little pad on w hich you place your cup and it is supposed to heat the liquid inside. It w as being sold for a very reasonable price, ;md I only had tu b ỉirg ỉiin for a short time.
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Í brought it hom e, h u t then forgot about it for about one m onth. O ne day Ĩ w anted to have som e hot cofTec and rem em bered the w ater heater I had bought. So I w ent and found it and p lu g g ed it in . H ow ever. W hen I placed the cup on the pad, it heated the coffee very poorly. In fact, it d idn't ev en m ak e the coffee w arm .
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Ĩ w as very angry, so I threw it aw ay. N ow I have to use a stove to boil the w ater f ir s t I’m sure next tim e I decide to buy such a product as a w ater heater, 1 will look in a m ore re lia b le p lace and probably try to get a tru s te d b ra n d . I will also have to w rite a note to rem in d m y se lf o f m y purchase so that I can discover problem s earlier, and Ihus have tim e to exchange it.
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P a rt 3 S h o p p i n g in C h in a 1. A re the services in big stores and sm all ones the sam e? O f course not. In big stores there are often plenty o f attendants to help you w ith your choice; w hereas in sm all stores, you are left to yourself. A lso, if you do not go to a reliable store, you som etim es cannot ex change your purchase if you find fault w ith it. 2. W hat services should shops provide? T hey should have people there w ho are fam iliar w ith the store and its product to help you find w hat you need. Som e shops should provide s n a c k b a rs in case you get hungry or thirsty w hile shopping. Ĩ also think it w ould ht2 helpful if stores had a d e liv e ry serv ice, so if you w ere busy, you w ould not have to do Hie shopping vourself. M aybe som e shops could provide discounts to frequent custom ers, snack b a r
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3. W hich do you think is m ore im portant in a shop, service or Ihư quality o f (he goods? T h e qualitv o f goods. I think the q uality is most im portant because i f there are n o services, people can take care o f them selves. Services arc sim ply a luxury, an extra, and pretty m uch unnecessary. But if the products a re not o f good quality, then they w ill not m eet the needs o f the custom er. This, in the end, m ay m ake th e custom er search for another shop. 4. W hat arc the advantages and disadvantages o f superm arkets? O ne advantage is th at you c a n find everything you need in the sam e store. A nother is that you call find several brands o i 'the sam e p roduct, and then m ake a belter selection. I do think, how ever, that the disadvantages slightly outw eigh the advantages. For one, a superm arket can be noisy and large, confusing the new shoppers. A lso, prices tend to be higher in big superm arkets. 5. How can superm arkets attract m ore custom ers, or retain custom ers? W ell, I w ould sny by m aking su re lliere are plenty o f different options for each product, different varieties and prices, m aybe aJso advertising sales. O f course if they did that they w ould need to have m ore sales, so that people feel this superm arket is heller Hum the others. Tlitỉ superm arket should lie clean and w ell kept, and em ployees should be reliable. Those at the c h e c k -o u t c o u n te rs should know the product, and also know how to use the m achines w ell so that they do not hold u p the custom ers. check-out counters
hold up
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fisss Products 6. W hat are the ad v antages a n d disadvantages o f m uchilie-m ade and hand-m ade goods?
r have
recently d iscovered the s u p e rio rity o f hand-m ade products, especially in clothes. W hen
som ething is personally m ade, it has a sp ecial
feel, and the quality is m uch finer. M achines do not
liave eyes to culch the d e le c ts. H ow ever, w hen it com es to hand-m ade products, the production process m ay not be s a n ita r y o r those m aking the product m ay not be fully reliable in m aking it correctly. superiority
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7. Do people prefer m achine-m ade or hand-m ade products? 1 would say now adays people prefer the m achine-m ade products. 1 think I m ay he one o f th e orlrl o n es o u t w hen it com es to w anting hand-tailored clothing. B ut it really depends on the products. M aybe those people w ho have a little m ore m oney can afford to choose tilings m ade by hand w hich have been m ade co rrectly and in a clean and satisfactory environm ent, the odd one out iỊặ*
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8. W liat handm ade products do you think will still be popular in the future? In my opinion, it w ould be clothes and som e decorations. T here arc som e things that require the c his sic feeling o f q uality an d uniqueness. M achines often take the creativity out o f an object. W hen som ething is hand-carved, o r hand-sew n, it m akes you feel as though this product is special, and is w o rth m ore. 9. H ow do you feel ab o u t food additives that are in the food you buy? The only good point I know o f to food additives is that they m ake the food look or taste better. O th er thun that, I have to say they m ake m e afraid to cat certain foods. ] w on’t buy foods that I know have u lor o r p re s e rv a tiv e s or M SG . Ỉ think these harm ful chem icals used in food production should be m ade illegal,
r m ean,
thousands o f years ago, m an survived, and even enjoyed his food w ithout
these dam aging additives. preservatives tâ $ M
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10. W hat rights do you think consum ers have? H m m , slightly difficult question. T h e ritfhl o f choice m aybe. I f 1 go inro a superm arket, do I have a ch o ice betw een food loaded w ith preservatives and that naturally grow n w ith o rg a n ic fe rtiliz e rs and nothing added? N o, I do not, and I think the right o f choice should be provided to consum ers, [f 1 w ere 10 be able to choose betw een products with too high a sugar content and those w ith natural healthy sugar, Í w ould feel m uch m ore satisfied, rig h t o f choice
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S u p e r m a rk e ts vs. local shops To m any, superm arkets are an integral part o f m odern life, but should their expansion be at the cost o f local stores? T heS ite.org looks at the pros and cons o f superm arket shopping. A gainst
For T im e
s a v e rs :
Let’s
be
honest,
life
w ithout O v e rk ill: S uperm arket com petitiveness can harm
superm arkets w ould be total hell. G o re are the local food econom ics that sustain our m arket days o f traw ling the high street all day long, and tow ns and villages, the
food producers who
now w e can fit shopping into o u r busy schedules. supply them , and the people w ho depend on them . W e’re not even restricted by o pening hours, w ith T h eir m onopoly on the m arket allow s them to dictate how m uch they pay farm ers, w hile at the
m any superm arkets now open 24 hours. C h o ic e : Superm arkets now offer the choice o f up
sam e tim e seeking out ch e ap e r food from abroad.
to 40,000 products— everything from econom y to E x clu siv e: N ot all consum ers arc in easy reach o f niche products at com petitive p rices; th ey provide a superm arket. H ard a s it m ay be 10 believe, there free car-parking, hom e d eliveries and internet are those w ho have no car, no internet, and w hose shopping. And you can get supposed seasonal shopping budgets are too sm all to qualify for vegetables all y e a r ro u n d T ra n s p o rt
hom e deliveries.
lin k s: T h ere arc bus schem es: a U n so ciab le: The glazed expression o f a super
n um ber o f o utlets o ffer taxi services; and som e m arket check-out girl does not offer the social arc investigating outlets on estates, although the contact and conversation that can be found in a liigli rate o f crim es is putting lliem OỈT.
local shop.
A ffo rd a b le : Superm arkets have reduced the cost L ocal sim ps: W hen superstores open, sm all shops o f som e eroccry shopping and m ade one-tim e close. N ot alw ays, but it does happen, especially luxuries into basics, w hich m eans m any o f us w hen ridiculously over-sized stores open on the w hose
outgoings often
ex ceed
incom ings
on local shop’s doorstep.
payday do not starve. F re sh n e ss: Local m arkets and shops tend to stock fresher local produce rath er than the standardised, sym m etrical and blander vegetables you w ill find in superm arkets.
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Topic 32
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Exhibitions Mjlii.
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CU E CARD D iv sirih r sill a r t rx liih ilin n (lint you visited. Y ou sh o u ld say: w h e n you saw th is ex h ib itio n w h e re th e ex h ib itio n w a s held w h a t w a s on display a n d e x p la in y o u r im p re ssio n o f th e ex h ib itio n .
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W hen I w a s a little girl, I w ent to a m useum n ea r m y hom e that w as exhibiting life -s iz e w ax sc u lp tu re s .
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It w as in a large room o f the m useum . T he w ax figures show ed people from different occupations and d iflcren t poses. Kach looked so real that it a lm o st seem ed as if a real person w as actually standing there and staying perfectly still. For llitĩ first h a ir hour w hen I w as in I the room , I w as sure that one o f the figures w ould begin tò m ove, and that I w ould finally prove th at they w ere really ju st people. T he skill o f the sculptor w as am azin e in how each I one w as perfectly m ade to exhibit the hum an body's te x tu re , p a s tu re and size. I w as especially am azed at the w ax íĩaurc o f the cow boy, it seem ed th at he cam e right out o f an old w estern m ovie w ith his cow boy pants, gun and s p u r r e d b o o ts. T h ere w as also the figure o f Í) w om an at a beach, w ith a sw im suit, tow el, sunglasses and surfboard. T here w as a policem an, his hand held out to stop traffic w ith a w histle in his m outh. T here was a m echanic, w ith his hand resting on the h o o d o f a car that he had ju s t fixed and ihe illusion o f g re a s e sm u d g e s all o v er his hands, face and clothes.
IS ®
I A s a young girl, 1 w as am azed at how som eone could m ake a statue look so real.
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Part 3 Museums 1. D oes C hina have m an y m u seum s? W hai kind? Y es, there tire m any. In the p laces that I’ve been most o f the m useum s are about d in o s a u rs or stars. T h ere are also som e m a rin e , bird and insect m useum s. O ften there’s a little bit o f all o f them m ixed into one m useum . d inosaur
m arine /ậrif-ửO
2. A re m useum s popular in C hina? N ot so popular. T hey arc m o stly for children or students. Som etim es you will see a w hole fam ily go tư a m useum o r perhaps a young couple, but it is quite rare. Som etim es grandparents w ould rake their grandchildren there. 3- H o w could m useum s attract m o te visitors? Ĩ think if the m useum s had m o re in te ra c tiv e ex h ib its, then they w ould be m ore interesting lo r most people. It would also help people lo learn m ore from actually being able to see first-hand w h at is h appening and how different things work. H aving exhibits that change each w eek or so w ould m ake people w ho have alread y been there w ant to go again to see som ething new . A lso people who have not gone yet w ould w an t to go as soon as they can so they d o n ’t m iss som ething, w hereas if it’s alw ays the sam e then lliey w ould p u t it off. thinking lliey cátiĩh il later, interactive exhibits JL
pul OÍT
4. Do you think people should have to pay to visit m useum s? I th in k it’s not a good idea for people to have 10 pay all the tim e. I think it's a good idea for part or m ost o f the m useum to be free, but if people w ant to see certain parts or participate in special things, Ihcn they have to pay. If people have to pay each tim e they go, and especially if it’s expensive, then m any w o n ’t go o r w on’t go very often. T he reason w hy I think this is bad is that I think it's very ed u catio n al to be able to look at and learn from all the tilings in m useum s. 5. H ow w ill m useum s change in the future? I think that m useum s will b eco m e m ore m odernized and m ore accurate. 1 think that they w ill have better and m ore interesting exhibits. T he w ay they are sel up and advertised I think w ill 11Iso
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_ .
♦ LELTS SPEAKING ♦
im prove so that they are m ore ap p ealing to the general public. I think they will also have m ore interesting them es displayed and exhibited.
A rt E d u c a t i o n 6. Do sch o o ls in China have art classes? N o , not really. S om etim es th e y do, but m ost o f the tim e if the students o r th eir parents w ant children tu study art, they m ust uu to special art classes. O r the schools do have art classes, but they aren’t part o f the curriculum , and p arents m ust pay extra to have their children altend these classes. M ore often lhan not, children in C hina d on't take a n classes, atul few children ev er develop an interest in it. 7. Should arts education be part u f llie school curriculum ? Y es, it should. I think art is a v ery im portant subject, because
it not only encourages
self-
e x p ressio n , b u t also is a creativ e art and helps to develop a rtis tic c r e a tiv ity in m any areas o f life, not jList art. A lso, ch ildren vvlio feel they are accom plished a n d are able lo dư so m eth in g m ore Hum study do better in other classes and subjects, because they have a higher self-esteem . C hildren w ho don’t know how 10 do anything o th er than th e ir basic subjects will Teel
in te r io r to (heir p e e rs , and
w ill not perform as w ell in class as they could. self-expression ố artistic creativity 1C ^'S'J ỈẾ f )
feel inferior to iềt X ' :iti»• • • p eers 1^1'ỈPị K
self-esteem 8.
H ow do you think a rt classes affect ch ild developm ent? T hey help to develop a ch ild 's creativity and curiosity. T hey help a child to express h im se lf through the tilings he draw s, notice the things around him and learn from them . A lt also encourages an adm iration for nature and living things, so children w ho have been taught to appreciate art are less likely to do tilings that are harm ful lo llie environm ent, to others, 01 to them selves.
9.
W hat kind o fp a in tin g s d a C hinese people like? H n u n m , thut’s a little hard to answ er. 1 think that C hinese paintings arc very p o p u lar in C hina. Most people here in C hina like paintings in the C hinese style or paintings o f fam iliar scenes here. There arc also quite a few ab stract and realistic paintings and styles that are p ap u la r w ith certain groups o f people.
10. Som e paintings are very expensive, hut people still w ant to buy them . W hy do yell think they do so? ] think that m ost o f the tim e th ey w ant to have a very expensive painting so that they can show it o ff to their friends. O r m aybe they feel
itm akes them look m ore in style or m ore fashionable to have
expensive paintings b y fam ous people. Som e people collect paintings or w orks o f art, so they will get anything they think w ill look n ice w ith their collections.
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11. W hat b en eíìts can you get from painting as a hobbv? I think there arc m an y benefits. For one, it can be very relaxing to paint, esp ecially i f you are outside in nature. A lso it can help lo take your m ind o f f o f any problem or stress that YOU m ielil have from voiir w ork, ft w ill also im prove your creativity and help you to think better.
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UK to lend world treasures to China T h e British M useum w ill try to avoid a diplom atic m inefield later this m onth w hen il lends 272 o f its m ost p recious artefacts LU the Capital M useum o f B eijing ill one o f lh e highest level cultural exchanges betw een the tw o countries. N one o f the item s in th e T reasures o f the W orld’s C ulture collection w ill be C hinese because m any people in Beijing refuse to recognise B ritish claim s to porcelain, ylulues and books they say w ere acquired by im perial force. A ccording to the U nited N ations, 1.64 m illion C hinese artefacts are scattered in 47 m useum s around the w orld. C hinese authorities estim ate that 10 tim es that num ber arc in the hands o f private collectors. For m any C hinese, foreign ow nership is a continued hum iliation. T he exhibition, w hich will run from M arch 18 to June 5. has been hailed by both sides as a breakthrough in relations betw een the w orld's oldest national m useum and one o f the new est o f a host o f giant cultural institutions built in the C hinese capital. A ncient Egyptian tablets, G reek busts and the w orld’s oldest tool w ill be am ong the item s on display in the first m ajor overseas exhibition staged at the new m useum — a gleam ing structure o f glass, steel and stone th at opened in D ecem ber. C urators on both sides say they hope for an im proved clim ate for further cultural exchanges. In the next few years B eijing w ill lend the British M useum a num ber o f item s. T he U K institution will also lend som e C hinese treasures to the palace m useum in the Forbidden City.
“The Land gives me Rice, Rice gives me Life’'
An exhibition of photos taken by rice farmers kick-off this Sunday to promote sustainable agriculture Rice IS the w orld's staple fo o d . C hina's Y unnan province is one o f the hom elands o f rice w here thousands o f varieties o f rice have been farm ed using traditional m ethods spanning tho u san d s o f years. T he w orld's rice crop, o u r environm ent, fan n er’s livelihoods and consum er h ealth are all
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♦ IBITS SPEAKING ♦ threatened by the im m inent introduction o f genetically engineered ( G E ) rice and the use o f Other unsustainable industrialised farm ing p ractices, such as chem ical pesticides. In O c to b e r 2004, G reenpeace C hina organised an 8-day ‘‘T he Road o f R ice
- The Ecological
A griculture T o u r” in Y unnan to celebrate “ B iodiversity for Food S ecurity.’ the them e o f 2004’s W orld Pood Day. Y unnan province is one o f the hom elands o f rice and still claim s one o f the richest diversities o f rice in the w orld. Rice farm ing is intrinsically linked to people’s everyday life and I culture. T he tour show cased the diverse and sustainable rice fanning in the region. D uring the tour rice farm ers w ere given Polaroid cam eras. This w as the first tim e m ost o f the farm ers ever held a cam era, yet pictures taken w ere o f high standard. It w as here that the Y unnan R ice Farm er’s Photo p ro je c t w as horn. Rice F a rrie rs from different parts o fY u m ia n province and different cultures, w ith traditional fa n n in g m ethods learned over generations, w ere given cam eras and invited to docum ent o n e y e a r in the life o f their villages. Fam ous Y unnan p hotographer, M r.G ena Y unsheng, w as hired to oversee the photography and work closely w ith the p hotographer-farm ers for the duration o f the project. Five traditional rice farm ers w ere selected to docum ent one year in the life o f each o f their 5 villages, and 56 im ages w ere selected.
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Topic 33 - s
Being Late
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C U E C Ả IU ) D e s c rib e an (im p o rtan t) occasio n you w e re late fo r. Y o u sh o u ld sa y : w h en th is h a p p e n e d w h a t o cc a sio n you w ere la te fo r w hy y o u w ere late a n d e x p la in w h a t h a p p e n e d as a re su lt o f y o u r lateness.
O ne occasion th at I w as late for w as not that long ago. W hat happened w as that I had som e im portant w o ik to du, and there w as a deadline on this work. At the tim e, in our house w e need fin a n c e s. Som e unexpected tilings cam e up, nncl w e w ere ii little short. Then an opportunity cam e, alm ost like a g o d sen d , a chance w here I could m ake som e extra m oney. O n top o f that, by the g ra c io u sn e ss o f my friends, w ho arc m ore like m y fam ily, they agreed lo lii’.lp m e w ith this p roject that bad a deadline to it. So I w as very happy about that. M eanw hile 1 starlet! taking care o f som e business, but then ] looked at m y w atch and noticed I w as five m in u tes late for getting together w ith m y friends. Ỉ thought,
“here my friends are
w illing t j help m e w ith this project and deadline, and here I atn, five m inutes la te.” B y the tim e Ĩ got there I w as 10 m inutes late, and there they all w ere w aiting for m e. Y ou Isilk about em barrassing. W ell, all I could do w as apologize and thankfully they all accepted m y apology and w e m oved on.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
finances
graciousness
g odsend
thankfully
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Part 3 Being Late 1. W hat arc som e o f the excuses th at people m ake w hen they arc late? W ell,
"th e alarm didn’t go off. the bus w as late or I was caught in traffic.” T hose are ju s t a few o f
th e m ost-heard excuses.
“M y m om is sick, and I have 10 take care o f h e r.” is another.
“I have 10
take m y b ro th er !o school.” w ill ivnrk som etim es. “ I got caught in the rain.” helps in the spring tim e. 2. A re p eo p le in C hina usually punctual w hen they have to be som ew here al a certain tim e? W ell, I w ouldn’t say th at they arc there on tim e every tim e, but they arc getting there. T hey arc starling to have the sam e attitude w ith people in the W est that "tim e is m o n ey ”. It really is a bit o f a hard habit to break, as the style o f life and the culture have not been that o f arriving rieht o n th e d o t. o r course if people really w ant to be punctual, anti it is really im portant to them , then they will do everything they can to g e t there on tim e, on the dot íẵ > £ tfr# J 3. W hat do people in C hina think o f people w ho arc late? A ctually C hinese people arc prcuty generous overall w ith people w ho arc late. T hey arc understanding and don’t m ake a big deal out o f it. On the other hand, if they arc really bothered by people being late, you w ouldn’t know about ii anyw ay, as m ost C hinese people do n 't re v e a l th e ir feelings very easily. O verall they a re pretty easygoing on people w ho are late, m ake a big deal out o f ÍT 'J'ẨỐ
reveal th eir feelings
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4. Do you think it’s im portant to be o n tim e? ( Is punctuality im p o rtan t?) Y es, I think it is very im portant 10 be on tim e. If you arc not on tim e, then you are basically robbing the tim e o f others. It really show s a lack o f respect for others and that you d o n ’t think their rime is im portant. 5. F o r w hat situations is b ein g on tim e im portant? Im m ediately the first thing th at com es to m y m ind is your ow n w edding. If any event is im portant Í w ould say that is, g etting to y o u r w edding. T h ere is a funny saying in the W est. It goes som ething like this, “ He w ould be late to his ow n funeral!” I suppose that is a little extrem e but funny, though no one has ever been late i'or that. A jo b interview w ould be an im portant tim e not to be late. I f you w ant lu m ake a good im pression, an d they say “ lirst im pressions arc the greatest o n es,” then you should try to be there early.
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6.
For w h at situations is being on tim e not very im portant? I f you w ere going to go and m eet your friends for a gam e o f basketball, and you knew they were g o in g to be there for the afternoon, then you w ould not have to get there on the dot b u t w ould have a litlltf leew ay on arriving. If you w ere supposed to Lie hom e for dinner, but you cam e in a little late, that w ould be understandable. I f you w ere tzoimz to your parents for the (Jay, and you cam e a little late, they w ould understand. M ost situations in w hich being late isn’t too im portant w ould involve friends and family, leew ay Ố rfj > áHử,
Time 7.
Do you think m odem technology gives us m ore tim e, or less? D efinitely less! I f anything, m odern technology has sped tim e up
w ith things m oving
faster
everyday. B ecause o f em ail, n o w letters are able to he sent and received and answ ers are expected right aw ay som etim es. W ith transportation, you can get to places faster and do a lot m ore. Things are actually m oving incredibly fust, and that m eans less tim e for all. 8. Did people in the past lead a fastcr-paccd life or a slow er-paced life than today? W ell, I think that th ere is no com parison w ith the life o f the past and today; in the past things definitely w en t a lot slow er. Y ou know that tw o hundred and som e years ago the fastest m eans o f transportation w as on the back o f a horse, and now you can circle the globe in hours. T here was no em ail 01 Internet, so inform ation w ent c re e p in g alone at a leisurely pace.
I think
that m aybe things
w ere m oving so slow ly lhat som e people felt bored with it, but now itseem s tliat people
are bored
w ith this last paced m o d em lilt* that w e Jive, creep
34
9. D o you think the current w o rk in g hours o f m ost people are reasonable? I know thui ill the
us people a re w orking m ore and m ore hours, and
even here in C hina people have
to w ork overtim e. It seem s that y o u r work should get accom plished in the tim e that you have during a nine 10 five day, but so m etim es tliilt doesn’t happen. It seem s to m e that how ever long it takes to get your w ork done w ould be a reasonable am ount o f hours to pul in. I’m sure that people w ould like to w ork few er hours, an d that w ould be nice, but again it depends on w hat their jo b and goals are. 10. Is it reasonable for an em ployer to ask em ployees to w ork overtim e? O f co u rse an em ployer should ask his em ployees to w ork overtim e if it is really needed. Som e people p ro b ab ly think th a t it is not needed, but if it is going to help the com pany, then they should be w illing to do it. Now if som e em ployees are doing their w ork and others aren’t, and all have lo w ork overtim e, then ! w ould sa> that no— th is is not really needed and the problem should be fixed first. A ctually J think that i f the em ployee is co n scien tio u s, ihen he w ould volunteer to work overtim e if needed, conscientious
I
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♦ IE L T S SPFAKING ♦
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I a m A L W A Y S la te . L a te to w o rk , late to d a te s , la te to c h u r c h , la te to
everything,!
I t ’s really b a d b e c a u se I ’m re sp o n sib le fo r a lot o f th in g s (fo r e x a m p le . I ’m
th e c h u rc h p ia n ist a n d a m S T IL L late! ). T h e s tr a n g e tilin g is th a t I ’m n o t a Jazy o r irre s p o n s ib le p e rso n , ju s t n u t p u n c tu a l. Is th e r e an y o n e o u t th e r e H'hu h a s c o n q u e re d tile sa m e p ro b le m a n d c a n te ll m e how ? _____________________________________________________ Y ou are probably focused on y o u rself a lot. T ry to think how it feels to be kepi w aiting all o f the tim e. Set y o u r clock carlv, and don’t procrastinate w ith things that need to be done. Von just have to change y o u r focus, and you will get the hang o f being punctual. O ften being late o riginates from u nderestim ating the am ount o f tim e it w ill Lake you 10 gel som ew here, so ju s t leave an ex tia ten m inutes early. Forget about
“ju s t quickly finishing
som ething u p ” before you leave, and think about how ihe other people w ho gut lo your destination on tim e tccl about having to w ait for you. I
I
G et a w atch. G et a calendar and use it. C heck vour calendar daily to v erily vour schedule for
1
the day. Set your clock forw ard 15 m inutes. C onsider riding w ith a friend that's alw ays
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punctual. G et m arried. Y ou b ein g w ife will nag you enough to q;et you w here you need to be on time. O therw ise, m ove back in w ith M om ...She gol you
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didn’t she?
C onfide in a friend o r significant other that you have this problem and are serious about overcom ing it. II’ they ag ree to help you. keep track o f the tim es you arc latt* and bv how m any m inutes. O nce a w eek m eet w ith your helper, go over how m any tim es you w ere late and the total n um ber o f m inutes you w ere late. T hen you m ust strip and take a spanking from your helper O ne sw at for ev ery m inute late. A fter the first session, your punctuality will increase each wevik until y o u r had habit is broken.
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CUE CARD D e sc rib e a tim e w h en you h e lp e d som eone. Y ou sh o u ld sa y : w h o you h elp ed h o w y o u h e lp e d th em h o w y o u Icit w h en you h elp ed th em a n d e x p la in how th is p e rso n b e n e fited fro m y o u r help.
W ell. I try to help people w h en ever I can, even i f it is in a sm all w ay. 1 try 10 help my parents w ith w ork in the house, and 1 usually h elp w ith the cooking w henever I'm around at the lim e the menl is being m ade, rf 1 pass beggars on the street, 1 often give them som ething, though not alw ays. S om etim es I’m not sure they are real poor people because I’ve heard tlieie are a lot o f fa k e s w ho ju s t prelend to be poor o r sick. * #
O ne tim e in particular, I p assed an old m an w ho w as begging. It w as early in the m orning, an d I was un mv w ay Lo ii class. Som ething inside m e caused m e lo la k e S|ieciul n o te I»r this m an. I started to get so m e m oney out o f m y bag for him w hen it seem ed, as if a little/ voice inside told m e to get som e lbod for him instead. 1 surprised m y se lf at this idea so I hesitated for a m om ent, but I cou ldn't sh a k e th e th o u g h t. So I w ent to the nearby m arket and bought him som e fre s h s tu ffe d b u n s, about five o f them and Ỉ1 cup o f w arm soy m ilk ! T hen I w ent back 10 the m a n and handed it to him , and said som e kind w ords to him . I ihink I he w a s v ery happy to have som e w arm food on a chilly m o rn in g .
!§ ®
H onestly though, I think doing this m ight have m ade m e happier than it did him . I really felt good after helping him .
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P a rt 3 H e lp in g o t h e r s 1. In general, wily do p eo p le help others? 1 think it’s the kindness that exists in m ost hum an hearts, at least a little. M any o f us have needed som e help ourselves from tim e to tim e, and w e know w h a t it feels like to need so m eth in g . We know it feels good to have help from others w hen w e need it, so w e warn to help others in the sam e w ay. A lso, as I m entioned b efore, often it sim ply m akes w h at il feels like to need so inetli ]ng
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US
Y 'A
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in
som e way.
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2. Du you tliink it's im portant (0 lielp people w ho need liL'lp?
o r course it’s im portant. W e have a responsibility to do o u r p a r t w hether it’s in our fam ily, our w orkplace, or am ongst friends. N one o f us are like little islands w ith nothing or no one around us. W e influence each other, an d contribute to the atm osphere and environm ent around us, at least w e should. A nd ju s t as w e w an t others to help us, w e should naturally be w illing to help others, do one’s part
0
3. H ow do you feel after you have helped som eone? U sually I feel very good w hen Pve helped som eone. Even if the help I gave w as difficult for m e or at an inconvenient lim e. Even i f it w as a sa c rific e for me, afterw ards ii seem s that I am happier than w hen I began, and som etim es I even seem to have m ore energy or tim e left for myself. It m ay sound funny, but som etim es it seem s a little like m agic liovv I e n d up with m ore tim e or m ore energy or m ore m oney o r w hatever, after I have Riven som e aw a y to another person, sacrifice ị ú ft-
give aw ay id
en d up 4.
M any people only look out for them selves and never think about helping others. W hat do you think o f th is attitude? I think it s sad. I know it is com m on, but it’s a sad statem ent o f m o d e m life, at least in big cities. I know not everybody is that w ay, but now adays a lot o f people have becom e very selfish. It seem s that so m any people are in such a rush to get rich or get b etter jo b s or into the best schools that they hardly even notice p eo p le w ho need help. M aybe if people w ere not so a b s o rb e d in th e ir o w n w o rld s, they w ould see th e needs m ore and w ould do som ething about it At least I hope so he absorbed in th eir ow n w orlds /JL fill -f* £}
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦ Helping visitors 5. W hat is the m ost im portant w ay for a country to help visitors? P robably the m ost com m on form o f help needed by foreigners is help w ith the lanỵimgc. ĨVe also seen foreigners on the streets w ho seem to be a little lost. Som etim es they’re looking al theừ m aps trying in rind a fam ous tourist spot, su giving directions is an o th er com m on w ay to help foreigners. I’ve done this
ỈI
few lim es, and it w as
a il
interesting chance to talk
10
som eone from another country.
6. Do you think that countries should help other countries in need? Y es. b y all m eans. O u r country has helped other countries m any tim es, such as after the tsu n a m i caused so m uch dam age in T hailand, Indonesia and India. W e also se n t aid
TO the
U nited States after
the severe h u r r ic a n e s a few years ac o . I think w e should look a( the w orld as a very large neighhorlinod> and if w e can try and do as m uch as possible for o u r neighbors, everyone is Ỉ1 lot h ap p ier and friendlier tow ards e ach other, tsunam i
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Helping people in society 7. W hat kinds o f people need help in C hina? I think one o f the biggest groups in o u r society needing help is the farm ers. Il w ould be better if tile w ealth and econom ic p rogress in our country w as m ore evenly distributed. I live in a fairly prosperous fam ily. W e’re not rich but w e do have plenty, and though I'm happy for this,
I feel a little
guilty that others have so m uch less than I do. 8. I low does the governm ent try to help th ese people? I think one o f the m ain w ays is by investing in business in a certain part o f the country so that m ore jo b s are created for the local people. A nother w ay is by providing training, for exam ple in running, in w ays that can increase p ro d u c tiv ity . Also the governm ent should m ak e sure that officials of the provinces are doing their jo b s correctly. T he governm ent is trying to elim inate corruption at the local level. 9. A re there any non-governm ent o rganizations in C hina that help people? Y es, there are. A t first m any o f these w ere foreign, but that is changing now . A lthough there arc still foreign organizations tlial help people, there are also m ore and m ore C hinese c h u rita b le o rg a n iz a tio n s being set up. I ju s t read som e articles about this, charitable organizations Ẻ- ẳ -À iụ Ị 10. W here do these organizations get their m oney from? The foreign organizations got th eir m oney from overseas. Som e o i tlic lim ding is governm ental, but a lot o f il co m es from p riv a te d o n a tio n s. H cic in China, m ore individuals are getting involved in charities. It’s relatively new . but w ith the increased incom e o f people, there is m ore o f a n aw areness
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Why <lo people help others better than they help themselves? •
B ecause it is easier said than d o n e. Y ou are projecting w hat you w ant to do y o u rself L ots o f people help others w hen 90% o f them have the sam e problem s going oil. T hat’s w hy w e look to o u r friends. A lso w c know w h at w e w an t to do, but w e need that extra push from our friends
• Because w e are too close to our ow n situations to see things clearly m ost o f the tim e. T hat is why il is so often helpful to seek outside input. •
It’s easy to give advice, but it lakes discipline to actually do w hat y o u advise people to do. Som etim es it’s easier to be on the outside looking ill.
•
li is easier to (Jo this because w hen w e deal with o u r ow n problem s, w e find it liarcỉ lo be really honest w illi ourselves. So helping a friend is easier since w e have the ability to stand back from the problem hc/shc has a n d view it m ore objectively.
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Topic 35
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Describe a time when you arc very busy. Y ou sh o u ld say : w h e n th is tim e is w h a t you do a l th is tim e liow y o u urrangL* y o u r lim e a n d e x p la in how y o u feel a f te r th is busy tim e is o v e r.
U sually at the end o f the term , m y teachers start giving m e a h n n r h o f hom ew ork to help me p repare for the exam . I have <i classes: C hinese, m ath, science, history, geography and E nglish, and each teacher gives m e so m uch h om ew ork th at b y the end o f the w eek I have a s ta c k o f papers that look the size o f ỈI sm all book. I rnusl com plete all this hom ew ork before Ihti ne.Kl w eek begins or I will face a p e n u lty . So w h at else can 1 do but get busy and start b u rn in g th e c a n d le a t b o th e n d s and b u rn in g th e m id n ig h t oil until the w ork is done. It m eans forget about basketball and w atching T V and even ju s t fooling 11 ro u n d w ith m y friends. ĨI m eans stin g in g eyes an d large y a w n s during the day. It m eans brain o v e rlo a d fur a whiles. N ow how do I feel w h en it is over? W ell, how docs 11 tree f e d after a storm ? H ow docs a branch feel w hen the w eight is gw ie? H ow clues a bird sing after the rain? [ know that I am getting a bit p o etic, but actually it feels quite good to be relieved o f this pressure. Ỉ like to go out in the sunshine and fresh a ir and ju st w alk around to enjoy life for a w hile.
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Part 3 Time Management 1. Do you m anage y o u r tim e effectively? it really depends on w hat I’m doing. If Pm in a lazy m ood. I tend to do w hatever first co m es to m ind, hut w hen I am m ore active, I usually organize w hat I’m supposed to do by im portance. Sadly m o re o fte n th a n n o t 1 forget lo organize 111V tliouiilits an d end up w asting a lot o f precious tim e. B ut Fm w orking on changina all that, m ore often than not i ă 'ị r ( tf - ’SO 2. Do you like m aking d etailed plans? I d o irt usually m ake d etailed plans for the work I’m doing, b u t I really like the outline m ethod, w here you ju st list the m ain points and sub-points o f your p ro je c t T hen you can clearly see w hat you need lu n iT u m p lish and haw realistic your lim e fra m e needs to be. Rut for the most part I don't p a r tic u la r ly like d raw ing detailed plans. accom plish iJ 'flt
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tim e fram e -#! Fit 3. W lial arc the ad v an tag es o f m aking plans? O ne advantage, like I said before, is that you can clearly see w hat it is you need to accom plish and better plan about how m uch tim e you need to accom plish it. A nother advantage is that im portant details arc less likely <0 be left out. Q uite a few tim es I’ve had la eo back illid redo som ething that I w as w orking on ju s t b ecause [ o v e rlo o k e d a sm all but im portant detail, w hich in the end cost m e a lo t o f ex tra tim e, an d som etim es m oney. T hankfully I’ve been gening better at tim e m a n a g e m e n t an d have few er p roblem s than before. overlook 4.
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D o you u se any special lools. such as a com puter, to help you draw Lip plans? Like I said* I’m an extreme!V lazy person, so I usually try to be as sim ple as I can w h en draw ing u p plans. I’ll usually use a sheet o f paper and a pencil to w rite up w hatever it is Fm planning. The only problem is that I often lose the p ap er and have to go hack and rew rite h. This is, in m y op in io n , a huge w aste o f tim e, so I’v e been thinking about using m y co m p u ter to m ake my plans, and hopefully
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♦ I LILTS SPEAKING ♦
save tim e... and paper. 5. Do you keep a diary? i’v e tried on several occasions to start a diary, but 1 usually forget about it after a w eek or so. I think F v e started about seven d iaries in m y life tim e, and the loni’cst one lasted for about 2 momhs. D iariưs ju st d o n i seem lo w ork for m e, so I lliink ril spend m y time doing m ore proíìtaỉìle tilings, like playing my guitar. M avbc som e day I’ll sta ll a diary an d actu ally keep it but for now Ĩ think I’ll ju s t stay aw ay from them .
L e i s u r e T im e 6. C om pare the w ay old people an d yoim g people spend their leisure tim e. M any old people spend their leisure tim e indoors, sitting dow n, reading a bnok or resting; or they m ight go outside for a b r is k w alk in the evening. M any o f them enjoy w atching T V or knitting. Y oung people, on the o th er hand, enjoy a variety o f things. M any do the sam e things I m entioned lhal old people do, but in m y opinion there arc m any m ore options available if you arc young. You can play sports, go clubbing all night, participate in e x tre m e s p o r ts
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7. Do people ĩodav have m o re leisure tim e than before? 1 think that since m odem a p p lia n c e s have c u t dow n the am ount o f unnecessary physical w ork w e need do, th ere is m ore tim e fo r leisure. Y ou do n 't have to gather w ood to m ake a fire, and von don’t have to spend I o r 2 hours lighting your fire. C ell phones and instant m essaging m ake it possible to com m unicate im m ediately w ith vour friends and associates, cutting hack on tim e needed to w ait for telegraphs o r snail m ail replies. T h e only problem is that even though everything is so m uch easier, there a re other c o m p lic a tio n s th at people in the past didn't have, such as traffic ja m s and long lines a t the superm arket. Also ir really depends on the person, because 1 know so m e people w ho never rtisi o r lake tim e off. T hey’re alw ays w orking and never stop. But I also know sonic guys w ho are the total opposite: they m ake every excuse why they can't do w hat’s being asked o f them , and Í im agine that in the past il w as the sam e, appliance 8
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D l>you think leisure rim e is im portant? (.Why? ) Y es, I think that leisure tim e is very im portant. L ike the saying goes,
“all w ork and no play m akes
ja c k a dull b o y .” If y o u ’re w orking nonstop and never take the tim e to le t y o u r h a i r dow n, you'll m os\ likely get stre s s e d o u t and even act sick. If I don't take som e tim e to ju s t relax a bit every w eek, I end up getting sick, and have lo stay ill bed for a few days. So in m y opinion leisure tunc is vital ÍO m ain tain in g health and sa n ity .
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9. H ow h av e leisure activities ch anged in C hina in the past few years? W ell, for one thing, m an y m ore C hinese, m ostly young people, have been sp en d in g a lot m ore time on th eir com puters, eith er p laying gam es, studying, doing research and business, o r any num ber o f things. B efore, if you w anted 10 relax, you ju st w ent for a w alk, read a book, o r p la y e d m a h jo n g w ith friends. Now the possibilities are endless. M any people still relax in the traditional w ays, but m any m ere are finding new and different w ays lo spend their leisure tim e, play m ahjong 'J r / f t # 10. How do you think Icisurc-tim c activities will change in the future? Y ou know w hat? I have absolutely no idea! I m ean, 10 years ago. did you think that m odem technology w ould b e as advanced as it is now? T hey have m p3 and m p4 players, w ho know s, they m ight c am e oul w ith an m p5 next y e ar w here VCIU actually experience w h a t you’re seeing. C om puters arc g etting sm aller and sm aller, som eday yon m ig h t h av e to use a m icroscope to view your com puter screen. M usic players fo r th a t m a tte r are also getting sm aller, slim m er and m ore c o m p a c t. A few years from now you m ight be able to get an mp3 p lay er in a little chip under your skin that’s controlled by y o u r brain. for that m atter
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H o w do y o u te e n s k e e p o rg a n iz e d in school a n d still m a n a g e y o u r tim e w ell? I h a v e a re a lly h a r d tim e w ith th a t a n d re a lly w a n t to g et b e tte r . P lease h e lp m e . T e e n s a n d n d u lts n r e w elco m e t«i a n sw e r.
T ry lo priurili/.e. T ake it easy initially, plan a (lay at a tim e, and m ark your little achievem ents.
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O nce vou have done that, increase llie duration lo 2 days... W ell, it’s o n e th in g to have w ays in m anage your tim e. It’s another to have the discipline to stick with iL I’ve found that ail extrem ely helpful w ay to m anage tim e after school is to get
right into doing and finishing your hom ew ork. That should alw ays be the first thing y o u do
it's
ab o u t m aking priorities a n d sticking w ith them ... but again, that also has a lol to d o w ith y o u r ability Lo stay disciplined to do it.
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A ♦ IE L T S SHEARING ♦
I think (he first thing you should do is to muni Lor w here your time is going now. For u couple I o f w eeks, d on't change anything chat you arc doing but lake note o f w here your tim e is going. I U pdate frequently so you d o n ’t fo rg et w here your tim e w as spent. A t th e end o f tw o w eek s you will now have a good idea about w h ere m ost o f your tim e is being spent. N ow , m ake a list o f y o u r priorities in term s oi w hat m ust be done. H ow m uch o f VOUI tim e are you actually spending oil those priorities? Y ou w ill pro b ab ly notice
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m uch m ore time than necessary is being spent nil things that have nothing to dn w ith school activities. It is y o u r goal to cut out the tim e w asters and devote the saved tim e to m ore productive activity. Until you are really aw are o f w here your tim e is being spent, you c an 't really do a lot about it. G ood luck w ith your schooling. /
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Topic 36
Practical Skills &JTl& tẽ
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C U E C A R I) D e sc rib e a p ra c tic a l skill Hint y o u h av e. Y o u sh o u ld sa y : whilt I his skill is h ow you le a rn e d it w h en y o u u se th is skill a n d e x p lain how th is skill is useful to you.
W ell one skill that 1 have is p la y in g the g u ita r. I learned it w hen I was young. I learned how to play because I bad m any friends that played llie guilar and w hen they played and sang, I knew I ju st liĩKỈ to learn. At first it w as a little difficult because to be quite frank, I really didn’t see m y self as som eone w ho w as m u sic ally inclined. I had to tell m y self that 1 could do it and little by little, a note here and a c h o rd there, I m anaged to p ic k ii up. E ven now I have a long w ay to go with playing but 1 have found it enjoyable not ju st for m yself, for others have said they enjoy it as well. I have had ÍÌ few guitars and although there arc different styles and qualities, to rne it seem s th a t as long as they have s trin g s on them and you can tu n c them they arc fine. I use the guitar to c h c e r m y self u p w hen I am feeling a lin k 1 d o w n iind also use it to teach songs to others. I have never m ade m oney teaching guitar but 1 have m ade 1\ little m oney playing and singing. 1 d o n 't know i f I w ould w ant to pursue this skill as a career but a s long as I still enjoy it, I am going to do it.
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Part 3 Practical Skills 1. C om pare the im portance o l’practioal skills and ucadem ic skills. W ell actually both are m uch needed in society. It seem s to m e th a t practical skills such as know ing how to cook a m eal or clean a house o r take care o f children arc slip p in g , w hereas academ ic skills such as leaching a class o r doing research seem to be on th e rise. T his is not b a d in itse lf because (here need lo b e people w ho are thinking about how things w ork and haw to im prove them , but the skills needed for everyday life shouldn't be looked on as any less im portant than others, slip T S t
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2. H ow can people learn practical skills? A lot o f these skills can be learned at hom e w ith their m other and father and family. Skills such as sew in g , b u d g e tin g o r m a in te n a n c e can be learned from an aunt or uncle, grandfather or grandm other. I f m o re difficult trades w ant to be learned, such as p lu m b e r o r e le c tric ia n o r m aso n , there are v o c a tio n a l sc h o o ls Ihul could leach (.hose. T h e m a in lliiuy lo leam iu g a skill is llie m o tiv a tio n that is involved.
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Children and practical skills 3. W hat practical skills do children learn at school in China? I'm afraid that there are n o t m any. A cadem ics are stressed so highly in schools that they seem to o v e rsh a d o w practical skills. I suppose students probablv learn to listen to their teacher and how to behave and sit for long periods at a tim e and apply them selves. T hev also have to learn how to in te ra c t a m o n g s t th e m se lv e s in a satisfactory way. T hey have to learn bow to get up Oil tim e and be at their school, w hich teaches them responsibility. I guess il w ould help lo define w hal practical skills w e are talking about.
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D o you think children should learn som e practical skills at schoul? 1 think that children should learn practical skills at school. T his w ould help to p r e p a r e th em fo r life o u ts id e o f sch o o l. A lot o f tim es not much thought is put into how to m anage m oney or take ca re o f an apartm ent but 1 th in k these skills w ould be helpful. Life in the w orking w orld can be a lot different than (he s h e lte re d life ol’ schooling, so having som e practical skills such as those learned from a part-tim e jo b w ould be beneficial to a student. prepare them for life outside o f school % $ sheltered life o f schooling
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How useful will these skills be to the children after they leave school? W ell as Í w as saying ill the previous question, these skills w ould be very helpful to children after they leave school. W hen a teenager goes from high school 10 college he has to start m anaging things on his ow n w ithout the security o f m om and dad. E ven m o re so w hen a young adult graduates from college o r university, he w ould also be very g ra te fu l to have som e practical know ledge on how to su rv iv e in th e w o rk in g w o rld . even m ore so
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A d u lt e d u c a t i o n 6. Do you think if s useful for adults to attend classes 10 further their education? Sure, w hy not, if it is so m eth in g that they find useful in their lives and som ethine that they enjoy. Learning is lifelonc and I d o n ’t know if it lias to stop in old age. N ow I know that a lot o f tim es these adults are loưkeiỉ upon as teachers, bul if they feei so inclined vvliv not attend u class lo further th eir education. I f they arc n o t able to keep up w ith the young students then this w ould be a d e trim e n t, but if there are no d is ru p tio n s why not? detrim ent VẦ $
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7. W liat kinds o f courses ex ist in C hina for adults? T here are w onderful ex ercise classes Ỉỉint are available for adults in C hina. I don’t know if you have seen large groups o f older w om en oul on the streets perform ing vvitli various p e rc u ssio n in s tru m e n ts , but these arc classes that help them to w ork together and perforin for audiences. T h ere arc dancing classes available. T here are even tn g lis h classes available for senior citizens in C hina. T here arc Tai C hi classes also available to seniors here. A s tim e goes on and (he country develops there will be m ore classes th at w ill be available for seniors, percussion instrum ents
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ầiẾ^ 8. W hat arc som e reasons w hy adults m ight attend classes?
W ell 1 guess one o f the m ain ones is that they arc w orking and they need to keep up with ihe latest tech n o lo g y that w ill help them to s ta y a b re a s t o f the latest in their Helds. Som etim es they m ighi even be thinking o f sw itc h in g c a r e e rs so they take classes to gel the training 10 do so. O ther tim es they m ight ju st want (o learn som e things ill their spare tim e that will e n h a n c e th e ir life tin a recreatio n al level*. O ther tim es their bosses m ight w an I them to learn som e special skill for the good o f the com pnny. Slay abreast o
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the governm ent, the student o r the com pany ( if
it is n w ork-rululed c o u rs e )? A gain it depends on the course and wliy thev are taking it. I f it is for personal gain or gratification then o f course students should bt? responsible to pay fur it. If the governm ent is offering a course and adults arc interested in it then it is already paid for. I f it is going to m ove the com pim y ahead and bring financial results then o f course the com pany should pay for it. iNow if the com pany can t pay for it an d it interests the individual then it is up to him to get the m oney together to attend the class.
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em p h asis on non-academ ic learning, m ay upset traditionalists, but som e w ill see it a vita! m ove tow ards turning pupils into w ell-rounded m em bers o f the com m unity. W hat do you think? I •
M ost o f w hat is being proposed w as taught to m e by my parents. S tran g ely .en o u g h . I alw ays believed that is the p arents’ role to im parl know ledge o f life to their children. Since apparently one in six children can barely read or w rite, it m ight be m ore useful if they couJd learn that first from the school.
•
The idea o f introducing practical life skills to our children before they get into the rat race is a w holly ju stified one. If o u r children are aw are o f the pit falls regarding loans, credit card s, m ortgages and self-cm ploym cnt, ihen rnavbc o u r financial debt as a nation could be low ered. T oo m any corporations prey on naivety.
•
I w ished that m y son could luive had a different kind o f education w hen he w as younger. I think learning life skills is vital, at hom e and in the classroom . Some* people have high IQs but com pletely lack com m on sense, and have no people skills at all. I think it is im portant tor young people to learn about th eir environm ent, how to handle bank accounts for w hen they leave school, and to go back to basic cooking lessons instead o f studying food technology. Schools arc obsessed w ith league tables and G C SR results, pulling a lot o f pressure on young people.
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♦ IH L T S S P E A K iN G ♦
l i a s J i i W r i R ( T o p ic s 3 7 -4 « ) Topic 37
To Start A Small Business u
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Y o u sh o u ld sa y : w h at th is b u sin e ss w ould he h o w y o u w o u ld s ta rt/o p e n th is business h o w y o u w o u ld ru n th is business a n d e x p la in w hy y o u w ould like to r u n th is k in d o f bu sin ess.
Tvc nlw ays been interested in different kinds o f hiin clcn ifted je w e lry , such «s m n c ra m c . b ead in g , C h in e se K n o t tying, and other kinds o f knotting and stitching w ith cord or wire. So Pm thinking l‘d like to go into business selling and m aking that kind o f jew elry. It w o u ld n 't even have to be a big production, ju st a few people m aking and selling b ra c e le ts, necklaces, and other accesso ries. M aybe if w e becom e popular and m ore people start buying our products w e could even open a sm all shop and take special orders. W e could also have classes, w here w e teach people how to m ake their ow n jew elry . I w as thinking that my cousin could help m e since she is quite good w ith h e r hands; I think she has som e friends w ho are good ut inacnim é so they could help also. We could pul an ad in (he new spaper or on the In ternet and sell o u r w ares that w ay. D uring holidays w e'd travel around C hina and sell o u rje w e lr> at fam ous parks and pluces ttml tourists frequent. W e’d each ju s t m ake the things Ibal w e re best at St) tliat w e get cl bunch o f quality products in a s short an am ount OỈ tim e as possible. T he m ain reason
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a business like tills is because it’s som ething that I enjoy cluing, line!
1 don’t think 1 could w ork at a jo b that I don’t like. Vmm
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Part 3 Small business 1. W hal challenges and difficulties do people face w hen they try to open a sm all business? O ne o f the m ain challenges fo r sm all businesses is ju s t staying open. Most sm all businesses close w ithin a y ear afier they're open, so if (hey get past th at h u r d le the next m ost im portant thing that they’ll have to ta c k le is getting long-term custom ers. D epending on w hat kind o f business they’re starling they’ll also have lo advertise their products and services. G ood advertisem ent is really w hat m akes the difference betw een the success and failure o f their business, hurdle
tackle A H ,
2. W hat arc som e o f the advantages and disadvantages o f sm all businesses com pared to large com panies? O ne advantage o f having a sm all business is that you don’t have tc
be tied d o w n by com pany rules,
regulations, and p ro to c o ls. You are free to operate us you please and don't have to w orry about getting the approval o f the C E O or som e other person higher up on the ladder than you. T here arc som e disadvantages, though, lo having a sm all business. T h e m ain one is lhat if you're not carefiil, tile big businesses w ill put you out o l'b u sin ess by slashing their prices o r advertising heavily. You see, they can afford 10 m ake th eir prices low er than yours sim ply because they have m ore m oney, b e tied dow n íè
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3. H ow can sm all businesses b enefit the people in their com m unity? Sm all businesses a re able to cuter lo (he w h im s and w ishes o f the people that they arc near. T hey get to k n o w Iheir custom ers and can specialize in taking care o f them . Small businesses can even w atch o u t for com m unity m em bers: i f they arc used to seeing them and they notice a change in their routine, the business could rep o rt this lo som eone w ho w ould he concerned about them . H aving a sm all business, like a restaurant for instance, creates a fam ily-like feeling ill the neighborhood, as opposed to going to M cD onald's for instance, w here they d o n ’t k n o w you fro m A dam , w him
not know you from Adam
4. C om pare sm all shops with big ( in tern atio n a l) departm ent stores and superm arkets. I really don’t think there is any com parison. Sm all shops r e ta in a p e rso n a l to u ch and give y o u the feeling that the o w n ers a re m ore than people who ju s t w ant to m ake money. Sm all businesses m ak e you teel that you arc contributing to keep the com m unity going by shopping there, o r course the big
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I
♦ IHLTS SPEAWNG
♦
stores have a lot m ore variety an d are able lo have sales a n d cut th eir prices w hen tliey need to. retain a personal touch
O ther possible questions 5. W hat kinds o f small b u sin ess arc m ost popular in C hina? W ell you see them everyw here and new o nes p o p up alm ost daily, w hat are they? W ell, you guessed it, beauty salons and hairdressers and haircutters. If you walk dow n any given street you w ill see one o r tw o on each com er. People arc m uch m ore interested in style and being ill fashion, so that is why these businesses are so popular. I f you look around you will see so m any new hairdos. 6.
W hy do som e people open their ov\ II business? People want to be nble to say,
“this is m ine.” T hey w ant to be able to do som ething on their own.
T h ey w ant to see som ething grow that they had a direct part in. P eople also w ant to m ake m oney, o f course* and this m ight even be the main reason. 7. W liat qualities does a sm all business o w n er need to have? A sm all business o w n er w ould have to be diligent w ith his business, w anting to m ake sure that things are done right. H e w ould n eed lo have patience, the ability to w ait until the business starts succeedine. H e w ould have to have plenty o f capital to g et liis business o ff th e g ro u n d . A sm all business ow ner w ould also have to have a sense o f hum or, in laugh w hen he feels like crying, g et o f f the ground f t Tib H. How have sm all businesses changed ill recent years in China? T here is a lo t m ore freedom here in C hina to start your ow n business an d m ake it succeed. T here are a lot m ore sm all businesses than in the past. B ecause o f C hina's em ry into the \V T O ; there are a lot m ore products and therefore m ore businesses. A s I m entioned before, style is becom ing m ore p ap u lar so m ore businesses open to keep up with it. 9. How (Jo you think sm all busineses will change in the Cuturii in C hina? I think that people are w orking together m ore and want to get their sm all busin esses going and progressing so that they can branch out and grow . You w ill see sm all businesses flexing th e ir m u scle in the rural areas an d expanding their support base. Y ou will se e sm all businesses affecting life m uch m ore than they do now . Sm all businesses arc the future o f China and w ill continue being so as tim e goes on. flex their m uscle — 10. C om pare ow ning and running a sm all business ÍO being an em ployee in a largu com pany. 1 think that Ĩ am p assionate about this. I feel that ow ning and operating n sm all business is everything good and w o rk in g a s a co g in a w h eel for a large com pany is everything bad. M aybe it's ju st me. but ] like to experim em and try new iliines and w hen you have your ow n business yen can c a t WWW.
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do this. I’ve got to feel like I am m aking a difference* ow ning a sm all business w ould a co g in a wheel
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S ta rt Y our b u s in e s s
Manage Your Rusiness Getting Out
> Get Ready
> Find a Mentoi
>Lead
> W le a Business Plan
> Finance S1ari-Up > 0uy a Business
> Make Dscisior.s
> Sell You." B usiness
> Manage Employees
> T ransler OwnershfD
> Buy a Franchise
> Market and Price
> Licjuidate A ssets
> Name Vour Business
> Market and Sen
> File Bankruptcy
> Choose a structu re
> Understand F a r P ra d ice
> Close O fficially
> Protect Y o u r Ideas
> Pay Taxes
> G et L icenses end Permits
> Get Insurance
> Pick a Location
> Handle Legal Concerns
> Leas© Equipment
> Forecast
> Plan Y o u ' E xi
-■* A ơ\focatc end s ta y Inform ed
> U se TechiKjIogy
> Finance Growth
C H E C K L IS T F O R S T A R T IN G A B U SIN E SS O w ning a business is the dream o f m any A m ericans. Starting that business converts your dream s into reality. H ow ever, there is a gap betw een dream s and reality. Y our dream s can only he achieved with careful planning. A s an entrepreneur, you will need a plan to avoid pitfalls, to achieve your gouls and to build a profitable business. T his checklist is d esiuned to help you gel started. Ii has seven key com ponents: • Identifying Y our R easons • S e lf Analysis • P ersonal Skills an d E xperience • Finding a N iche • M arket A nalysis • Planning Y our Startup I • Finances
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D o Y o u H av e W h a t It T a k es? M any successful entrepreneurs have sim ilar traits and characteristics. L oam w hat these arc and what you
can
do
CO
im prove on y o u r ow n.
• Persistence
• Com mitm ent
■ D esire for im m ediate feedback
• P roblem solving skills
• Inquisitiveness
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Strong drive to achieve
• St rone integrity
• High energy level
• H ighly reliable
• G oal-oriented behavior
• Personal initiative
• Independent
• A bility to consolidate resources
• D em anding
• Strong m anagem ent and organizational skills
• Self-confident
• C om petitive
• C alculated risk-taker
• C hange agent
• C reative
• T olerance for failure
• Innovative
• D esire to w ork hard
• Vision
• Luck
M any entrepreneurs also had a role m odel to
influence them early on, or parents w ho w ere
entrepreneurs. T w o traits necessary for successful entrepreneurs arc creativity and innovation.
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Topic 38
A Large Sum of Money ~)\*Ề'ị£)M '
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II really depends on how m uch m oney a “large a m o u n t” is. If it’s in the trillions I'd probably b u y up m ost o f E urope o r m aybe N orth Am erica. Ỉẵ 1 ầ
I w ould be m y ow n little king and have everyone p a y h o m a g e to me. There w ould be no m ore w ars because I w ouldn’t let them happen. I w ould be fair to all people. W e w ould co m m issio n a lio film n u clear scientists lo try to discover an econom ical, plentiful, and nun-toxic s u b stitu te for g a so lin e a n d diesel. T here w ould be less pollution, because if you w ant ta drive a gas pow ered v ehicle you’d have to pay a fine. A s far as noise pollution, there w ould bo less, because (here w ould be few er things to com plain about. I w ould sp o n so r rock festivals so lliul evervone could p a r ta k e o f the beauties o f music. All m y subjects w ould love me, because they’d know ] am trying m y best not to be like all o f the leaders in the past w ho gave into th eir ow n desires and lusts; instead I w ould give the people w hat they want. I w ould use all the m oney that w ould normalLv be sp en t on w ars 10 help poorer nations, im prove the lives o f w a r-to rn c o u n trie s, and build a big r o lle r c o a s te r tlicin e p a rk . W hen all this is done and w ith w hatever m oney I h av e left 1 would g et the best, m ost expensive guitar on the m arket and hire a super-skilled g u itar player to teach m e all he* knows. I'd really enjoy that.
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Money 1. Is m oney im portant to you? M oney isn’t really th at im portant to m e, blit you niỉtíd m oney to live a n d if you d o n ’t have m oney, then von can’t d o anything. But Tin really against th e idea o f ju st spending your w hole life trying to m ake a bunch o f m oney so that you can die a rich man. M ost o f the people vvhư do that don’t even get to enjoy the m oney they have, and they’re n ev er content w ith w hat they have because they alw ays w ant m ore. 2. Do you think children arc given too m uch pocket m oney in Chinn? it really depends on how m uch they’re getting. Som e kids definitely get w a y m ore than they need, and others don’t get enough. T here arc som e fam ilies w h ere the parents hardly have enough m oney to pay their bills and gel lbođ; 1 d o n ’t think these fam ilies should feel obliged to eive th eir children m oney that they don't have. B u t if th ey do have m oney, then it w ould be nice CO give at least som e spending m oney to th eir children. Wfl y k .
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3. How do you think p aren ts co u ld teach the value o f m oney to their children? If you give your children o n ly LI sm all am ount u f m oney each w eek then they'll have to learn to m ake it last. It m ight take a w hile for them (o learn, and they m ight be broke for Ihe first few m onths, but after a w hile they’ll realize that m o n e y d o e sn ’t grow on tre e s and will respecl its value, o r course there are children w ho alw ays w ant everything they see, and if the parents give it to them then the kids w on’t value m oney at all. m oney doesn 't grow on lrcos ( 4
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Do you thir.k it is im portant to let ch ildren leam m oney skills? I think that’s a w onderful idea. If all kids knew how to do banking, open a savings account and cash checks, th eir piirents w ould have Ỉ1 lot m ore leisure lim e. A nd even if Ihe parents still do the banking, ai least w hen th eir kids grow up they w on’t be totally helpless. Ill fact, they'll h a v e u big ju m p on the other kids th eir age. m oney skills *£
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5. D o y o u think people should be paid extra w hen they w ork overtim e? I f you pay som eone extra to w ork overtim e then you’re, in a sense, giving them an incentive to w ork harder. W hen the w ork day is over, m ost people ju st w ant to go hom e and relax. Som e people are w o rk a h o lic s and dun’i think, anything o f w orking until 3 or 4 in the m orning and getting up at 6 a few hours la te r to s o back to w ork. Hut these people are rare. So if you w ant m ore people to w ork later an overtim e b o n u s is a very good idea. incentive 'M M
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Money and Society 6. W hat kinds o f jo b s have higher pay? W hy? Jobs like designing an d repairing com puter softw are, lawyers, doctors and surgeons, building designers, scientists, an d H ollyw ood actors arc som e better paying jobs. All these jo b s require years o f study, research, and lots o f experience in dial field. 7. W hat occupations do you think w ill get high salary in the future? People w ho arc m ultilingual w ill be highly sought after in the future. A s the world is becom ing m ore international, people w ho speak m ure than 2 languages fluently will be greatly needed. English is the m ain international language right now . but there arc billions o f extrem ely intellectual individuals w ho c a n 't speak o r understand English. T hese people don’t w ant to gel left out o f all the fun and gam es that arc happening in the rest o f the w orld, so they need translators w ho will be able to m ake lliein understood by people o f iliffertJMl races. 8. is pay the m ost im portant factor in a jo b ? The m ost im portant factor is, as m ost fun loving people know , how m uch vacation tim e you get; not only tim e off. but p a id tim e off. A nother im portant thing to keep in m ind is w hat kind o f w ork il is. Som e w ork is ju st boring and nobody likes doiniz it— ex cep t for boring people. But i f you really w ant la excel ill your w ork, pick som ething that you feel com fortable doing, som ething that you’re good at. l'hc w o rk p la c e e n v iro n m e n t is also very im portant. Som e offices are stu ffy and d ra b , w hereas others m ake you feel fresh and alive, paid tim e 0 ff ^ t ị
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9. W hat is the prim ary source o f incom e to r the C hinese governm ent? T h e prim ary source o f g o vernm ent incom e is taxes. T axes arc the w ay that governm ents support all th eir projects around the country. W hether they’re building skyscrapers, roads, or schools in im p o v e rish e d counties, nil this funding com es from taxes. A nother way to put it is th a t you're supporting the governm ent, b ecause you’re the one paying the taxes. W henever you see governm ent
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♦ IC L T S 5PEAKIWG ♦
oíTĩcials on the new s doing som ething o r another, vou can know that you are actually responsible, sin ce it is you w ho m ade it possible for them to do it. im poverished i f 133 ÕÍJ m
10. D o you think the governm ent should let people know how it spends m oney? Y ou know , that would be very nice. I ’ve alw ays w ondered w hat exactly is going on behind those closed doors. N aturally som e things ju s t can’t be talked about because they’re state secrets, and som e things you probably don't w ant to know about; such as how m uch m oney w as spent on this banquet, o r that convention, or how m any liters o f gasoline their vehicles consum e each m onth. B ut [ w ould like to know exactly w h at they’re spending m y m oney on.
If yon h a d as m u c h m o n e y a s Bill G a te s, w h a t w ould yon do vritli it? •
Put som e ill the bank, have a long fam ily holiday abroad, pay o f f loans, buy m y ow n apartm ent and car.
•
I w ould first pay o f f all m y bills, then give som e m oney to ch an ty , then m y husband and I w ould take a nice, long vacation.
•
F d spend it on buying m y se lf a little house and m aking it lovely then w ith w hat’s left I w ould by a few m alam utes. I w ouldn't quit w ork because I w ould die o f boredom and being stuck at hom e, b u t it w ould be nice lo gr> part-tim e, that w ay 1 w ouldn’t have to take on all the stress at work.
•
I’d buy a new car, a house, ẹivc som e m oney to the M ake-a-W ish foundation, and put the rest in stack s so I can m ake m ore m oney to give aw ay. Plus I’d stash som e in a bank on the Cayman. Islands.
•
I w ould go shopping and then donate the rest to a good cause.
•
r d help as m any friends and fam ily as I could. I don’t need much.
•
I’d £0 shopping, hire persona] instructor to shape up my body, travel around the w orld, buy a m am m oth house for m y parents, donate to the poor and needy, and last but not least I w ould invest in m y corporation.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
Topic 39 ->
A Goal You Want tơ Achieve S', ị t
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xmmm C U E C A R I) D e sc rib e s o m e th in g tlia t y o u w o u ld like to su c c e e d ill d o in g in th e n e a r fu tu re . Y ou s h o u ld sa y : w h a t it is how d ifficu lt y o u th in k it will he w h a t y o u s h o u ld d o to p r e p a r e fo r th is a n d e x p la in w h y you w a n t to succeed in d o in g this.
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W ell, w hen it com es to m y business life, m y work and career, I am still c o n te m p la tin g m y options, but right now, the real problem for m e is getting m arried. H is very hard In find ỈI su itable m atch sim ply because 1 cannot pleiise everybody. I m ust think about w hut m y fam ily w ants, w hat the w orld around m e w ould be pleased w ith, and the last person on the list lo w orry about is m e. Il will lake a lot o f searching, a lot o f concentration. In m y life, m y schedule seldom perm its free tim e, m uch less tim e to date, and Ĩ am often too sliy lo b eg in fro m s c ra tc h Í do mil have m any close friends, and those that ] do have are eith er m arried o r do not m ake a very good m atch for m e. A n extra diilicuU y is tlial I am not too gond a t the w hole parents-in-law situation; I w ould find m y self quite u nhappy w ith th is traditional w ay o f living. M any C hinese m ust “p u l u p ” with their husband or w ife, and also th eir parents and relatives, and m ust receive c ritiq u in g or ju d g m en t from all sides. I do not w ant to live this way, and I don’t w ant a partn er that I must I “put u p w ith ”, I w an t to have love in my life.
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I Bill Iradi ions are traditions and I m ust follow som e kind o f pattern. T hus, m y first step m ight be CO ask m v parents and m y aunt and uncle 10 look for ÍI suitíiblư purthẹr for m e, and then w e can begin by w riting each other, and w hen w e feel w e have enough com m on I ground, w e can arrange a m eeting.
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Part 3 S uccess 1. How w ould you define “su ccess”? H m m , there are so m any w ays to define it. 1 believe success is feeling m y life is w orth living, and being a good person to those around inc. If I have a partner. 01 children, or relatives dependant on me, Í would consider ii a success if ! w ere able to provide them with a £00(1 life style and everything thev need. S uccess w ould m ean m y reputation as a good person travels ahead o f m e. It w ould m ean I w ould h av e a goal and hope for life, and would stand out am ongst others. 2.
Do you think most people w ant to succeed in life? I w ould im agine they do. Blit as I said, there arc m any w ays to define success. If is the inborn desire o f a hum an to w an t to be tiie best they could be, to w ant m ore. Everybody w ants life to be w orthw hile, they w ant their husband o r w ife to be proud o f them , they w ant th eir children to adm ire them , ami lliay w aul ỈI MĨII.NI* <>r Ini II IlmiMil It's nil Ilira I a sense o f fulfillinent
3. W hen do people m ost w ant to he successful? W ell I w ould say it’s after they realize that life is a struggle and that they m ust m a k e it on their ow n W hen w e arc y o u n g w e can depend on others and do not feel the need to m ake som ething o f ourselves. It's w hen the p ressure k ic k s in and the understanding com es to US that wo find w c must choose for ourselves w h eth er w e will be happy or sad, a success or a failure. W hen w e grow up and arc m ore m ature, w o begin to have others depend on us, lo o k in g to us, and w e feel the responsibility to do o u r part in the world, m ake it Á
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kick in Tf&'i lb Jỉị 4. W hat kind o f success is m ost im portant to C hinese ỊK-ople? W ell, originally it w as ab o u t being a good provider for on e's fam ily, finding one’s child ren a good husband o r w ife, having enough land !o live o ff Rut now th a t China is m uch m ore o p en , people
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♦ 1 L ỈL T S SPEAKING ♦
begin lu feel success is about m aking enough m oney to never have to w orry about anvihinc. It's also about giving lhat feeling o f relaxed and easy living to their children. G et therrf into the best sch n o 1. buy them a house so they d o n ’t have to work, hand life to them on a silv e r p la tte r . T his is beginning to be the im age o f success, and the people o f this country' arc b o m b a r d e d with advertisem ents, m ovies and pictures o f tile easy life, the licli and fam ous, and lliev Teel this is the only way lo succeed. I m y se lf feel it has its dow nsides, and m ust really consider w h a t! w ant for m y life. live o ff í M ệ i v t * on a silver p latter ( í ĩ Ỉ 'j
bom bard i i 'f y ỊV ý j \
5. D o you think thal successful people arc alw ays happier than unsuccessful people? A gain, this d ep en d s on your idea o f success. B ut w hatever it m ean s to a person, if they arc dissatisfied w ith th e c a r d s tliev a r e d ealt and do not realize they can determ ine their success, then yes, I im agine they are not happy at all. Bui som etim es, those that w e ihink are successful on the outside, o r w hat w e see o f them , arc n o t happy, they do not consider their life w orth the trouble. So no. I do not think "su ccessfu l” people arc alw ays happier than “unsuccessful” people, the cards they are dealt jiMi]
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S uccess and reward 6. How should p aren ts rew ard their children for success, for exam ple, for doing very w ell in exam s at school? 1 believe p arents should give their ch ild the sense that success is their rew ard. T hey should help the children to feel a sense o f pride in their accom plishm ents and not alw ays expect to receive a candy b a r o r a trip lo the am usem ent park for every good deed. It is true that children need encouragem ent, but they should realize that the reason they w orked for the good score on the exam s w as because learning is im portam and w ill help th eir lives lo be better. T hey should not be thinking,
"I am
studying hard and getting a good score because my m other prom ised me new toys or extra m oney.” T hey will never becom e truly successful if they are dependent on that candy bar, o r those new toys. 7. H ow do teachers in China rew ard students for doing w ell? T h ey m ay give the b est student the title o f "class m onitor”. In school vvc alw ays had class m onitors and being the m onitor m eant lliiil w e w ere responsible and trusted people. O ften (he students need good grades and good reputations or connections to assist them later w hen they get out o f school or w ish to get into ti good university o r college. I f a student is exceptional, then a t the end o f the y ea r or sem ester the teacher can w rite a letter o r paper describing the student’s good qualities. Such docum ents m av help to prove students’ w orth or abilities later in life w hen they arc in search o f a job. 8. How do bosses in C hina rew ard em ployees for a jo b well done? It depends, som etim es, it m eans extra m oney, and som etim es it m eans prom otion. But then
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som etim es, the bosses do not rew ard their em ployees, and sim ply dem and Him each w orker be g iv in g th eir best for w h atev er pay is offered. C hinese are naturally hard w orkers, it’s in their blood. So b ecau se o f this, the m entality is, “they are w orking for m e, they cive th e ir b est day in and day out b ecause it's their jo b an d d uty as hum ans." O n top o f that, there arc so m any people w ho can w ork and need w ork, so there is not loo m uch value placed on th e em ployees.
Competition versus cooperation 9. W hich do you think is a b etter attitude for children to have: a strong spirit o f com petition or a strong spirit o f cooperation w ith others? Bolli. O ne can be co m p eten t b u t if they cannot cooperate w ith others, they will m eet w ith failure in their life. No m atter w h ere you go. w hat position you hold in a com pnny, you will have to w ork with others, com m unicate and cooperate w ith them . I f all you are capable o f is com petition, how can anyone else benefit you? W hatever those children choose 10 do, they will desperately need both skills. 10. Do you think that loo m uch com petition could dam age the spirit o f cooperation in society? O f course. Ry th a t Ỉ m ean that com petition can eventually lead to w ar, a s hns happened on a num ber u f o c c a sio n s ill C entral A m erica. If you p mi note com petL liun so m uch in com parison to la i r play and good sportsm anship then the w rong values arc being esp o u sed . C ooperation is based on w orking together to help the w hole. W hen you Foster this spirit (hen you arc contributing to society, fair play
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11.S om e people say that success m eans being num ber one and that being num ber Iwo is valueless. W hat d o you think? T his is really an im m ature w ay to look al life. I really believe that you ju s t have to get up and keep d y in g no m atter w ho is in first or even second place. Just finishing the race has its rew ards. Forget about w hat others are doing and ju st get on w ith life, this is m y philosophy, w hich I try to live by.
A
N ew Y ear's Resolution £ $ £ i ] ề
W h a t’s y o u r N ew Y e a r ’s R eso lu tio n this y e a r? S m ile m ore, try to be less bitter, go on
O n e o f m y resolutions is probably the sam e as mosti
a diet, lose som e w eight an d get m y life
Dcoplc: to loose 15 pounds. 1 am going to accom plish it!
back into perspective and spend m ore
by training for a 50 m ile organized bike ride in A pril lhat
tim e living instead o f sleeping.
[ have done before and am really looking forw ard to!
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♦ IE L T S S P E A K W G ♦
T r y to im prove in certain things
Ị
I am really going to try lo be a heller person. All 1 do is to try 1
like relationships w ith friends,
to have fun and I see m y self saying m ean tilings to people. I
relatives, and boyfriend. M ake
haven’t really talked about anyone in a w hile. B ut, w hen I do
2007 a better y ear th an
the
l i n lulling the im lh about them . Like if som eone asked me 10
previous years! And sleep earlier
tell them the truth about th e w ay they look I have no choice
since I stay up loo late an d try
but to tell them . [ try to be nice about it. 1 haven’t hurt
n o t to be on the co m p u ter L2
anyone’s feelings w ith the w ay 1 say it. W ell, I hope 1 didn't
hours a day. A nd m aybe even
because I'm a real straight-up person w ho w ill tell it like it is.
cut o u t the ju n k food!
So Fin trying 10 be nicer to people than I w as in 2006. It'S going to be kind o f hard to keep my com m ents to m yself; but I will try.
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Topic 40
A Meal - -‘‘lijHiit
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CUL CARD D e sc rib e a m eal y o u w o u ld like to in v ite y o u r frie n d s to. Y ou sh o u ld say : w h o y o u w ould invite w h e re you w ould c a t th is m eal w h a t YOU w ould eat
a n d e x p la in w hy you w ould choose to e a t th is food.
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Í w ould like to invite m y friends to a hot p o t meal.
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I w ould invite m y closest friends, the ones that 1 hang out w ith und huve the m ost in com m on with. ] w ould o f course invite m y girlfriend so that she cculd m eet m y friends. That is im portant to me. I think m y girlfriend should know w hat 1 am like w hen 1 am w ith my friends.
ìế ă
I w ould find a nice restaurant w ith a good atm osphere w here the w aiters arc friendly and the ow ners are w orking to give you the best experience you can have. I w ould not choose a big. m o n s tro u s place w here everything w ould seem so im personal, but instead a restaurant that has n fam ily a m b ia n c e .
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1 w ould o rd er hoi pot w ith lots o f m eat, lam b, pork, beef, fish, tofu...m m m ...l am getting hungry ju s t thinking about it. L w ould also order som e nice vegetables and noodles, and to top it off, som e ice cold beer to w ash it down.
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I really like hot pot because oi’ the atm osphere It creates o f everyone eating tog eth er and pulling things from the pot and d ip p in g it in their favorite sauce, ju s t’relaxing and enjoying the food an d the friendship.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
hot pot
a fam ily am biance —Tfl1rặ ^ ^ ffl
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P a rt 3 D ie t 1. W hat kinds o f fond do C hinese people like to eat? M any C hinese like to eat th eir v egetables cooked. T hey enjoy eating food that is fried, steam ed, and som etim es boiled, bill rarely eat bflked food. T he only tim e they will eat bilked goods is w hen they have cakes from the store. M ost C hinese [bud is c u t in bite-sized pieces before being cooked and served. 2. How im portant is eating a h ealth y diet? I think eating healthy is a very im portant part o f life. If you don't give your body w hat it needs then it w on’t he able to function well. T h is is w hy what you eat is so im portant to how w ell you are able lo do tilings. Fating w ell even im proves study. 3.
A re there m any vegetarians in C hina? 1 believe there arc a fair am ount o f v e g e ta ria n s. M ost C hinese already
eat very
little m eat, so
w ithout even trying they arc alm ost vegetarians. However, I think if they had the chance, m any C hinese w ould eat m ore m eat than they do now. Though as health aw areness increases I believe there will be a rise in the n u m b er o f vegetarians in C hina, vegetarian
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4. Is the food that people eat to d ay in C hina different to the food that people used to eat in the past? I think that in m any w ays it is quite the sam e. I do know that in recent years there has been a rise in the num ber o f Fast-food restaurants. M any people, especially o f the younger generation, enjoy going to these restaurants. T he actual C hinese fond, though, has not seen much change over the years. 5.
H ow do you think the w ay w e cat will change in the future? O u r eatin g habits will o f course affect the w ay w e will live ill the future because o f the effect it has on our health. I f w e eat w ell then w e will have better health as w e get older. I believe, though, that as tim e goes by fast food w ill becom e m ore popular. W e will be entering a tim e in history w here going fast w ill m ean the difference betw een success and Failure, so the food industry w ill change to accom m odate the population’s dem and.
6.
Is fast food popular ill C hina? Y es, fust food is very p opular h ere in China. I believe the m ain reason is because the taste is very different from That o f C hinese food. T h is appeals to the youth o f C hina. A lso the advertisem ents o f m ost last tb o d restaurants portray their food as cool or w estern food.
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E a t in g H a b its 7. W h o do m ost C hinese people u sually cat w ith? C h in ese will usually eat w ith (heir fam ily, classm ates, or colleagues. M ost couples eat together as often as they can. W hen eating out you will often see groups o f friends out together. You can also see fam ilies sharing so m e tim e together over a nice meal. 8. Do you think it’s im portant fo r people to eat w ith their fam ily? I think that w hen you e a t w ith y our fam ily it strengthens the fam ily b o n d s. It helps you get lo know each other better and learn m ore alxnit w hat each arc doiim in their lives. It’s very sad w hen fam ilies don’t see each o th er often. O fien in China m ealtim es are the only lim e a fam ilv spends together, fam ily bonds 9. Do C hinese people often eat out? I think m ost fam ilies rarely cat out. U sually either the m other or the grandm other o f the family will cook and prepare the food. It is m ore com m on for young singles and professionals to cat out. cither alone o r with classm ates o r colleagues. O ften m arried or datiim couples w ill sp en d a dinner together for special occasions o r to get to know each other more. 10. W hai kind o f restaurants do young people in C hina prefer? I think they p refer fast-food or w estern restaurants. O ften it's because it’s considered cool to eat or take people out to these kinds o f restaurants. Or, they enjoy the food because it tastes different from C hinese food. T hey also m ay w ant to accustom them selves to w estern food and culture, because they w ant to bo com fortable around foreigners or they w ould like to travel abroad. 11. How do you think restaurants have changed, over the past few years? B efore, the restaurants did not cater lo foreigners at all. T he m enus were all in C hinese and had no pictures. N ow m ore restaurants, especially in areas w ith m any foreigners, w ill have m enus in E nglish and pictures fo r those w ho are not fam iliar w ith C hinese dishes. 12. How do you think restaurants w ill change in the future? Ĩ think that in the future all o r nearly all restaurants will have food to e ater to different nationalities and food preferences. I think that the standard o f both food and service w ill also im prove. T hey w ill also probably bu m ore sanitary.
A T h e A rt o f C h in ese F o o d a n d D rin k C ooking has occupied a lofty position in C hinese culture throughout history. The g reat C hinese philosopher Lao Zi once said o f the art:
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‘G overning a great nation is m uch like cooking a sm all
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♦ IELTS 3PÈẤK1NG ♦
Chinese
food can be roughly divided into the N orthern cind
Soiitliem styles o f cooking.
In g eneral,
N orthern
dishes are
relatively oily, and the use o f vinegar and garlic tends to be quite popular. W heat, processed into pasta, also plays an im portant role in N orthern cooking; noodles, ravioli-like dum plings, steam ed stuffed buns, fried m eat dum plings, and steam ed bread arc ju s t a few o f the m any flour-based treats enjoyed in the N orth o f C hina. T he best know n regional variations o f N orthern C hinese cuisine include those o f Beijint», T ianjin, and Shuiuiong. R epresentative o f the Southern cooking styles are Sichuan and H unan cuisine, fam ous for their liberal use o f chili peppers. W ithin the w hole o f Southern cooking, Ihe Jiangsu and Z hejiang regions em phasize freshness an d tenderness, w hile G uangdong cuisine tends to be som ew hat sw eet and alw ays full o f vuricly. R ice and ils bi-products, including noodles, CLikưs. and congee, farm the typical foundation for Southern dishes. in C hinese cooking, color, arom a, and flavor share equal im portance in the preparation o f every dish. N orm ally, any o n e entree will com bine three to five colors, selected from ingredients that arc light green, dark green, red, yellow , w hite, black, or caram el-colored. U sually, a m eat and vegetable dish is prepared from one m ain ingredient an d two to three secondary ingredients o f contrasting colors. T hey are then cooked appropriately, incorporating die proper seasonings and sauce to create an aesthetically attractive dish. Color, arom a, and flavor arc not the only principles to be follow ed in C hinese cooking; nutrition is also an im portant concern. T he principle o f the harm onization o r foods can be traced back to llie Sliang dynasty scholar Vi Yin. H e relates the five flavors o f sw eet, sour, hitter, piquant, and salty to the nutritional needs o f the five m ajor organ system s o f the body
(th e heart, liver, spleen/pancreas,
lungs, and k idneys ), find stresses th e ir role in m aintaining good physical health. In fact, m any o f the plants used in C hinese cooking, such as scallions, fresh ginger root, garlic, dried lily buds, tree fungus, and so forth, have properties o f preventing and alleviating various illnesses. T he C hinese have a traditional b e lie f in the m edicinal value o f food, and th at food and m edicine share the sam e origin. T his view co u ld b e considered a forerunner o f nutritional science in C hina. N otable in this theory is the concept that correct proportion o f m eat to vegetable ingredients should be m aintained; nlie-third o f m eal-based dishes should he vegetable ingredients, Hill] one-lhird o f Vtígetuble dishes should he m eat. ĨĨ1 short, the correcl ingredient proportions must be adhered lo in the preparation o f each d ish o r soup in order lo en su re full nutritional value. The C hinese have a num ber o f ru les an d custom s associated w ith eating. For exam ple, m eals must be taken w hile seated; there is a set order o f who m ay be seated first am ong m en, w om en, old and young; an d the m ain courses m ust be eaten w ith chopsticks, and soup w ith a spoon. C hinese hanọuctí; arc arranged on a p er tabic basis, w ith each table usually seating ten to tw elve persons. A tfsfefejir
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typical b an q u et co nsists o f four appetizer dishes, such as cold cut platters or hot hors d’oeuvres; six to eig h t m ain courses; then one savory snack-type dish and a dessert. T h e m ethods o f preparation include stir-frying, stew ing, ste a m in g , deep-frying, flash-frying, and pan-frying. A dish m ay be savory, sw eet, tart, or piqucinL T he main colors OÍ' a dish m ay be red. yellow , green, w hite o r caram el. Food garnishes, such as cut or sculptured tom atoes. C hinese w hite radishes and cucum bers, m ay be used to add to the visual appeal o f a dish. All o f these elem ents contribute to m aking C hinese fnod a true feast for the eyes and nostrils as well as the taste buds.
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* IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
mm Topic 1 A 1. H e has taught m e a lot a b o u t ju s t b ein g happy w ith the things thal 1 have to do and also to take tim e to enjov life. 2.
Things w ere a lot m ore difficult than they are now , but through it all he alw ays m aintained a happy outlook on life.
3. I w ould like to grow up and be like him in som e w ays, I w ouldn't say that lie is perfect ill any way, b u t then w ho is? 4. T h e elderly have a lot o f influence in their fam ily’s lives. 5. A nother role that they play is cheerleader for the family.
Topic 2 ỉ ã í A 1.
] love (his child very m uch because she is alw ays so happy and I
can 't help but feel happy too.
2.
Spending tim e w ith M aoM ao has helped m e to see th a t I can have a positive attitude tow ards my life and be happy even though I am no longer a child and have m any responsibilities.
3. T hat w ay lie w ill have good health an d also learn how to com m unicate and interact w ith his peers. 4. H om e schooling is m ore personalized and focused on Uie individual student's needs, w hereas that personal attention is not available in public schools due to there being m any o th er students. 5. T he fathers now arc busier w ith their careers and arc often not at hom e, so the m other is left with the jo b o f disciplining th eir child.
Topic 3 PJiS A 1. H e’s w ell over two m eters tall, but unlike m ost tall players, he has a lot o f skill, not ju s t a heighl advantage. 2.
D espite all his lam e, he doesn’t have a b ig head, and stays cool.
3.
] think the disadvantages outw eigh the advantages.
4. W hatever personal things happen in your life will often becom e com moil know ledge to everyone. 5. And being fam ous isolates you from th e real w orld, so that you can’t see w hat's really goine on in people’s lives. €5*6'
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Topic 4 A 1. D in in g the tim e she w as studying at university, she was alw ays active in sports and often organized ex cu rsio n s w ith fellow students. 2. S he even backpacked ill T ibet for tw o w eeks with only '100 R M B in her pocket. 3. T he C hinese youth w ish to challenge Ihem selves, w hich often leads them to extrem e sports like snow boarding, rollcrblading, rock clim bing and trick B M X 4. Going on an adventure o r doing an activity requires risks, tests our strength and capabilities, and gives us a thrill and feeling o f trium ph. 5. T he challenges children face and experience today arc very different from the past.
T o p ic 5 4 S Í É À # !
A 1. O nce he saw w hat he w anted to do, he didn’t w ait around until graduation, but instead grabbed the opportunity w hile he could an d took OÍT w ith il 2. Being a leader will help to bring out the best in som eone. 3. Be a good exam ple. T ry your best to understand and not order children around. 4
A leader w ith integrity can h e trusted and w ill be adm ired for sticking to strong values.
5.
C reativity m eans thinking differently, being able to get outside the box and take a new and different view point on things
Topic 6 A 1. She had m ade a special dish from her hom etow n and she brought m e a little bow lful. 2.
I think she is a very m otherly type o f person.
3. It m akes m e feel good th at even though I live aw ay from my fam ily, I have a caring person like her as a neighbour. 4.
I think neighbours are very im portant because they are som e o f the people that you are around every day.
5. O ne thing that is im portant lo r children to learn in life is how tư relate to others. [| is actually a good opportunity fo r them to lcam this in thciir inlerauiions w ith lilt? people iliev live close in
m m Topic 7 A 1.
jt& tt
The church is about 30 or 4 0 m eters high, not very bitỉ. It is m ude o f red brick, and th e architecture. 9
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
as I said before, is in the Old R ussian style. 2. N ow it is a very famous tourist attraction, ami visitors from around C h in a and the w orld go to see it and take pictures. 3. I th in k it's im portant b ecause it is a historical relic, and a little peace fill place in the busiest part o f the city. 4. N o m atter how m any skyscrapers and rail apartm ent buildings arc built, it still has an old and friendly flavor. 5. It will probably be m any years before this trend is reversed.
Topic 8 ẼL^^Íẻ] A 1. T he room w as not so big, about 5 square m eters. 2. B ecau se o f th e w indow an d door there w as plenty o f light and fresh air, w hich m ade it a very nice place to w ork. 3.
T hey learn how to get a lo n g w ith tile people they share a room with, and they learn to sh are their toys, w hich is very im portant later in life.
4. Thu layout o f houses and ro o m s arc pretty standard and slay utm ost the smnc. O ne thing ihnt docs change is the m aterial that the furniture is m ade out of. 5. In the old days there w ere not m any parks or public facilities, and the ones that w ere around w ere often sm all and unkem pt. T h e plants w ere not taken care o f and the "round w as often dirty and littered.
Topic
9
A 1. 1 love to go to the K araoke bar that they had there and sing to m y heart's content. 2. If I felt tired after studying or w orking all w eek, I w ould go lo the m assage cen ter and after ju s t an h o u r there I felt on top o f the w orld. 3.
O ne ol the m ost com m on w ays that C hinese people like to relax is to go out CO a restaurant w ith th eir friends o r fam ily and enjoy a good meal together.
4.
Som etim es the C hinese m en in particular drink a little too m uch and end up w ith health problem s.
5.
B eing active gives us m ore energy, reduces stress and m akes US feel good.
Topic 10 A 1.
m tằ
Lpersonally liked this hotel and enjoyed staying there. All o f the m aids and cleaning sta ff w ere very cheerful an d the hotel carried an air o f jo y and happiness.
2. T ourism not only helps to bring in m oney, b u t also helps to influence and m odernize C hina.
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3.
It should also have a few places for recreation and exercise, such as a gvin, sw im m in g pool, and sports eq u ip m en t room .
4. T h e m ost im portant thing is for the hotel em ployees to be ab le to understand (he tourists and guests. 5. T he room s w ere stunning to o — v e ry w ell decorated and very clean and m odem . The staff arc, w ithout exception, polite and helpful, w ithout being pushy.
Topic 11 EMSti A 1. II is in a very new building that has som e beautiful urban sculptures standing on the grounds around it. 2. Besides having a good slock o f boưks, it also provides office equipm ent such as a good copy m achine. ?>. I think that the atm osphere in the library is conducive to reading because num ber one, it is one o f the quietest places you can go. 4
II m ay sound like fantasy, but w ith all the prepress in technology I think it is very possible.
5.
A lso I am ill favor o f having w orks o f art in libraries. N ot necessarily originals but qood quality copies o f fam ous w orks art* both attractive as w ell as educational.
m m Topic 12 t ì Si A 1. I really enjoyed the m ovie from start to finish. 2. Just by w atching a m ovie an d seeing w hat a character docs in certain circum stances can help you to know w h at U) either do o r not do. 3. Film is a pow erful m edium and brings m any parts o f life to the public for observaiion 4.
I think that the rating system is too sim plistic and m any m ore guidelines and w ays to classify m ovies are long overdue.
5. T his m ovie caused quite an uproar w hen it w as released as som e people really loved it und others haled it.
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♦ IE L T S S H E A K IN G ♦
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Topic 13 A 1. I really enjoy running. N ot the fast sprinting kind o f run, but rather the m ore draw n-out jo g g in g kind o f run. 2. I u su ally like to run w hen the w eath er is w arm but not too hot. 3. I also like the ru sh that you get w hen you push you rself farther than you’ve ever eone before. 4. M ost m iddle-class w o rk in g people do n ot gel sufficient am ounts o f exercise, and as a result are w e a k an d m ore prune to sickness. 5. I f y o u ’re alw ays indoors then you’ll get w eak and sick easier; w h ereas if you w ork outside then y o u ’re getting fresh air and sunshine, w hich arc tw o things that everyone needs to stay healthy.
Topic 14 A 1. T he sky is blue and the w e a th e r is nice and w arm . 2.
A nother th in g T like to (lei d u rin g spring tim e is get up early and clim b m ountains.
3.
T h e air alw ays seem s fresher in Lilts spring, the sky is bluer, the grass greener, and the
people
friendlier. 4. D uring the w inter the w eather m av go below zero, and in the su m m er It m ight se t as hot as 40° Celsius. 5. M ore responsibility should fall on the shoulders o f the governm ent because th e y have the m eans to do m ore than the average citizen.
Topic 15 A
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1. Every tim e, I w ould w ear m y iPod and listen lo m usic that fit the m ood o f the w alk and w eather. 2.
A lso, w alking in parks g iv es people a taste o f nature in a concrete world.
3. W alking docs a lot o f g o o c for your m ental health. It provides a great escape from the w orking w orld, and gives the m ind a good opportunity to ju st w ander. 4. B ut people that value life m ore than m oney probably w alk m ore often because they w ant to enjoy ihem selves every once in a while. 5. In m y opinion, the best w ay to g e t people to w alk m ore w ould be to build m ore places w here people w ould enjoy w alking. Parks an d /o r n ice tree-lined streets w ould be a good w ay to start.
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Topic 16 A 1. T h e atm osphere in the stadium w as so exciting. Everyone w as shouting, whistling., cheering, and ju s t m aking noise. 2. Exercise keeps you healthy. It’s been proven that people w ho exercise get sick less. 3. I f kids don’t w in th eir natural reaction is to cry o r get m ad. T his doesn’t really help them in life. W hen they grow up they’ll find that you don’t alw ays w in tile first tim e round, you ju s t have to keep trying and keep going on w ith your life. 4. T he gam e is so m uch m ore alive and real than if you w ere ju s t w atching it. You feel like if you yell louder then your team m ight actually have a greater chance o f w inning. 5. A lso i f som eone d ecides to streak at halftim e then you w on’t have to w orry about the sports channel sw itching tu llie an ch o rs w ho talk about the gam e.
T o p ic 17
A 1. P rior to visiting, I knew alm ost nothing about the culture, but staying there, even for such a short time, really opened m v eyes. 2. It’s an extrem ely laid back, relaxed culture. Their m ain goal in life is to be happy. 3. It’s im portant CO be educated about the w orld and not jus! shut y o u rse lf inlo your ow n country. 4. R eading about p eo p le’s experiences in foreign lands is the next best thing to being there. 5. Som e people have d ifferen t opinions because they arc really concerned w ith the loss o f culture, but for m e, the benefits outw eigh th e draw backs.
Topic 18 A 1. This pair caught m y ey e because they w ere sim ple and m atched m y clothes and accessories. 2. I chose them b ecause they can he w orn on m any different occasions and still be appropriate. 3
Loose types o f clothing are m ost com fortable. I like to have nice, neat, stylish clothing, too.
4. Fashions o f today change drastically in a very short period o f tim e. O ften certain clothes w ill only he in style for o r e y e a r o r so before another, very different style is ill. 5. I like everything com fortable and .stylish, but not too vulgar o f course. I carefully pick m y clothes and outfits, but at the sam e Ĩ d on't w ant to look like
I spent hours putting it all together.
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♦ IELTS SPỀÂKiN G Topic 19 A
♦
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1.
T h ey usually him l cUid live alo n e, and only m eet oilier tigers during the m ating season.
2.
T ig ers have had a place in C hinese culture lor thousands o f years. T h e y arc lound in C hinese literature new and old, and arc the subject o f m any fam ous paintings.
3.
1 hope m ore efforts will be m ade in the future lo protect the tiger’s living environm ent.
4.
M any C hinese are only now beginning to leain about the im portance o f protecting w ild anim als, as w ell as th e environm ent they liv e in.
5. W ild anim als d o n ’t alw ays d irectly affect people, but often, they fill a special role in llie balance that w e are also part of, and affect o th er species or plants that w e are directly dependent on.
Topic 20 A
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1. C om puters have changed so m uch since they first cam e out. 2. 1 think w c will have electrical appliances that will do m any o f the jobs and duties that require less thinking. 3. O ne o f die m ain effects o f u sin g electronic com m unication is that the com m unications becom e less personal. 4. People will m ore 13lien turn lu their m achines for enusrtainmtml rath er than spending lim e vvilh others o r getting exercise. 5. There are som e advantages to using m o d em hom e and office equipm ent. O ne o f the main ones is th at m ore things gel done and often w e can com plete projects and assignm ents very’ quickly.
Topic 21 i t # A 1. I f this doctor h ad n 't tak en the tim e to w rite m e, I ju st don't know w hat w ould have happened to me. 2. Von huve to svortl tilings cure fully and m ake sure they get thii point, but be subtle. 3. A Iland w ritten letter has a m ore personal touch. 4. E m ailing is m ore than ju s t w riting; it really is a w ay o f life, and rhis w ay o f life w asn't really available here in C hina bcrore. 5. C om puterization is m oving in and taking over, so for tlie sake o f speed w e will see the slow er m ethods o f com m unicating— such as handw ritten characters— becom e a lost art and a casualty o f m odern times.
Topic 22 A l.
It is a collection o f th e w rite rs w orks including three novels and forty short stories.
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ifrnitrirrii 2. Í w as given the book as a present, and I w as im m ediately fascinated by the raw , beautiful but very real w orld the w riter experienced and w rote about. 3. L ike m ost countries il d epends on individual preference, but I w ould say it is n o t so popular an activity as in countries w here the pace o f life is slow er. 4. T h ese stories are som etim es the first education a child receives. 5. People need to have heroes they can luuk up lo and learn from.
T o p ic 2 3
A 1. It’s convenient lor m e because m y room is sm all and 1 don't have space for a lot o f furniture. 2. It’s not a very beautiful piece o f ftim iturc, but it has definitely been one o f the m osl practical things I've bought in a long tim e. 3. A very p opular furniture store light r.ow in C hina is IKF.A, this is a store from Sw eden arid its style o f furniture is a b ig ch an g e from the recent and distant past. 4. I'd say he needs to b e artistic and im aginative. At the sam e tim e a designer also has to have quite a bit o f practical sense. 5. N ow adays people live in flats and often these arc in tall buildings if ill big cities. In the past m ost lived in houses even if they w ere small.
Topic 24 A 1. T hai night I saw an ad v ertisem ent thal has forever stuck in m y m ind. 2. It w as Í1 com m ercial fur N ike shoes w ith M ichael Jordan. 3. I couldn’t g et that com m ercial out o f m y m ind, not because I thought buying N ike shoes w ould m ake m e as successful as M ichael Jordan, but because o f his unflinching determ ination and perseverance. 4
Y oung people look at how appealing the advertisem ent is, i f it’s cool, hip, or fashionable; w hereas older people tend to he m ore practical-m inded.
5.
L ooking a! today’s children, I w ould have to say advertisem ents have predom inately had a negative influence on th eir lives and o n their character. A ds create a discontentm ent w ith w hat children have and a desire to ow n m ore and to be like everyone else.
T o p i c 25
A 1. T h e most m em orable nift I received w as w hen I w as seven years old. 2. W hen I first saw the bicycle 1 w as very excited and I thought it w as very pretty. 3. The reason I would clioosc a Lego set is because it is very fun, and ill Ú10 sam e tim e, it en co u rag es
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creativity. 4. T h e im portance o f the gift d epends on the person w ho is giving it. 5. A gift doesn’t have to be expensive in order to show care for the person receiv in g it.
Topic 26 flrN flua A 1. T here have been quite a few stories o f this nature lately, and it show s an extrem ely positive developm ent. 2. J think m ost C hinese people are m ore concerned w ith local new s and dom estic new s, w hich I’d im agine is the sam e across ứic w orld. 3. U nless there are h u g e stories going on elsew here, local new s has m ore o f an im pact on the average citizen. 4. W ith the creation o f blogs, m ore people are able to report on m any different things, so you will see a lo t m ore new s and a lot m ore analyses. 5. O ld er people are less co ncerned w ith Ihe pop culture new s and are m ore co n cern ed w ith the new s th at m atters m ore to the w orld and their country.
BUS Topic 27 &JÍtỉ§3!j A 1. ĨI w as held outside in a lillle park near the new com pound. 2. T h e party w as so m uch full, b ecause il w as al night and w e w ere allow ed to stay out later than usual. 3. It not only helps 10 create a good im age for the business, but it show s custom ers that they are interested in th eir w elfare. 4. Fd m uch rather w atch the event from a distance. 5. W hat Fm trying to say is that i f y o u ’re in the habit o f helping others in your com m unity, then others will be m ore inclined to help von.
T o p ic 28
A 1. T here is a hi ^ w orld out there and som e people w ant to find out if it is their “cup o f te a” as they say. 2. S om e people ju s t have th e proverbial "grass is greener 0Ĩ1 the other side o f the fen ce ” syndrom e. T hey think that once th e y get there all th eir problem s w ill be over. 3. 1 have seen som e young p eo p le that d id n’t know how to deal w ith changes, al all. and then I have seen som e older people w h o tak e changes w ithout breaking a sweat. 4. 1 chink C hina has gone through som e incredible changes in recent years.
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iliiss 5.
Foreign influence w ill continue to com e into the country and cause clianges like m ore m ixed in arriag es and a m ixture of cultures.
Topic 29 A 1. Ever>- M onday, w e w o u ld ta k e about tw enty m inutes o f class, and everyone had lo slant! up and say w hat they did o v er the w eekend. 2. The third M onday, how ever, this all changed. O ne o f the students stood up and told an extrem ely creative story, u sin g a lot o f interesting phrases and som e truly funny vocabulary. 3. N o longer w ere w c just taking w ords and phrases out o f the book, we w ere looking for other places, trying to be the m ost creative. 4. It m ay be a pipe d ream , but i f C hinese changed to pinvin as the w ay to write and rend the language, I think it would explode all o v er th e world. 5. English becam e as p o p u la r as it is now because o f the extrem e w ealth and w orldw ide influence o f E nglish-speaking countries (especially the
us).
T o p ic 30 Ỉ I iẲ
A I . At thflt tim e, I W113ju s i stariuifc? to Uiink about whal Í w anted lo do w ith m y life. M y dad helped m e a huge am ount. 2
T his story taught m e an extrem ely valuable lesson.
3
Y es, m y parents have given m e tons o f advice. T hey alw ays do it in a way, though, w here they aren ’t ju st telling m e w hat to do.
4
O ther parents are really tmnds-off. T hey let their kids m ake all their own decisions. T his w ay kids can learn from th eir ow n m istakes.
5. If you rely on your p arents too m uch, you m ight eventually end up in a situation w here they arc not around to help you, and you have to m ake a decision about som ething you've never though! about on your ow n b e fo re .
T o p i c 31
A 1. It w as being sold for a very reasonable price and I only had to bargain for a short time. 2. I will look in a m ore reliable place and probably try to get a m isted brand. 3. Som e shops should p rovide snack bars in case you act
hungry or thirsty w hile shopping. I ulsu think
it would be helpful if stores h ad 8 delivery service. 4. O ne advantage is that you can find everything you need in ihc sam e store. A nother is (hat you can find several brands o f the sam e product, an d can m ake a better selection.
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♦ IE L T S SPEAKING ♦
5.
W hen som ething is hand-carved, o r hand-sew n, it m akes you feel as though lliis pio d u ct is special, and is w orth m ore.
T o p ic 3 2
A I
Fach one looked so real th at ii alm ost seem ed as i f a real person w as actually standing there and staying perfectly still.
2. I w as especially am azed at th e w ax figure o f the cow boy. 3. I think i f the m useum s had m ore interactive exhibits then they w ould be m ore interesting for m ost people. 4. I f people have to pay each tim e they go, and especially if it’s expensive, then m any won t £0 or they w on’t go as often. 5. T h e w ay (hey arc set up and advertised I Think w ill also im prove, so thai they are m ore appealing to the g eneral public.
T o p ic 3 3 i ẵ ỉ W ì ị ỉ ỉ ý ĩ
A 1. B y the tim e I got there I w as 10 m inutes late and there they all w ere w aiting for me. 2. All 1 could do was apologize and thankfully they all accepted my apolocy and w e m oved on. 3. “T he alarm didn’t go off, the bus w as late or caught in traffic.” Those are ju s t a few o f the m ost-heard excuses. 4. Ĩ1 really is a bit o f a hard habit to break, as the style o f life and the culture have not been that o f arriving rigliL oil the doi. 5. It really show s quite a lack o f respect lor others th at you don't think their tim e is im portant.
T o p ic 34 Í 5 0 3 5 1
A 1. M any o f US have needed som e help ourselves from tim e to tim e and w e know w hat it feels like to need som ething. 2. W e have a responsibility to do o u r part w hether it’s in our fam ily, our w orkplace o r am ongst friends. 3. It may sound funny, blit so m etim es it seem s a little like m agic how Ị en d up w ith m ore tim e or m ore energy or m ore m oney o r w hatever, after I have given som e aw ay to an o th er person. 4. It seem s so m any people are in such a rush to get rich or I*ct better jo b s or into the best schools that Ihey hardly even notice people w h o n eed help. 5. H ere in C hina m ore individuals arc getting involved in charities.
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Topic 35 —
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A 1. So w hat else can Ĩ do but get busy and start burning the candle a t both ends and burning the m idnight oil until the w ork is done. 2. I f I’m in a lazy m ood I tend to dơ w hatever first com es 10 m ind, but w hen I am m o re active I usually organize w hat I’m supposed to do by im portance. 3. T hen you can clearly see w h at you need to accom plish and how realistic your tim e lram c needs to be. Rut far the m ost part I don’t particularly like draw ing detailed plans. A. O ne advantage, like Í said b efore, is that you can clearly sec w h at a t is you need to accom plish and better plan how m uch tim e you need to accom plish it. A nother advantage is that im portant details arc less likely to be left oul. 5.
So in m y opinion, leisure tim e is vital to m aintaining health and sanity.
Topic 36
m m ỉitỉẺ
A 1. At first it was a little difficult because, to be quite frank, I really didn't see m y self as som eone w ho w as m usically inclined. 2. I use the guitar to c h e e r m y self up w hen Ỉ am feeling a little dow n and also use it to teach songs to others. 3. A cadem ics arc stressed so highly in schools that they seem to overshadow practical skills. 4. 1 think that children should learn practical skills at school. T his w ould help to prepare them for life outside o f school. 5. Life in th e w orking w orld can be a lot different than the sheltered life o f schooling, so having som e practical skills such as those learned from a part-tim e jo b w ould be beneficial to a student.
H Topic 37 fljik A 1. W e could put an ad in the new spaper or on the Internet and sell our w ares that way. 2. W e’d each ju st m ake the things that w e're best a t so th at w e get a bunch o f quality products ill as short an am ount o f tim e as possible. 3. The main reason I’d start a business like this is because it’s som ething thill 1 enjoy doing. 4. Good advertisem ent is really w hat m akes ihc difference betw een die success and failure u f their business. 5. T hey w ant to see som ething grow that they had a direct part in.
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Topic 38 A
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♦ IH L T S SPEAKING ♦
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1. It really depends on how m uch m oney a “large am o u n t” is. 2. I w o u ld sponsor rock festivals so that everyone could partake o f the beauties o f m usic. 3. M oney isn’l really that im portant to m e, but you need m oney to live and i f you do n 't have m oney, then y o u can’t do anything. 4. I f you give your children only a sm all am ount o f m oney each w eek then they’ll have to learn to m ak e it last. 5. T he w orkplace environm ent is also very im portant. Som e offices are stuffy and drab, w hereas others m ak e you feel fresh and alive.
Topic 39 A 1. Ĩ m u st think about w hat m y fam ily w unis, w hat the w orld around m e w ould be pleased w ith, and the last person on the list to w o rry about is me. 2.
I b elieve success is feeling m y life is w orth living, and being a £LX)d person to those around me.
3.
W hen w e grow up and are m ore m ature, w e begin to have others dependent on us, looking to us, an d w e feel the responsibility to do o u r part in (he w orld.
4. Ĩ b elieve parents should give th e ừ child the sense that success is their rew ard. 5. T h is is really an im m ature w ay to look ul life.
Topic 40 — A 1.
I w ould find a nice restaurant w ith a good atm osphere w here the w aiters are friendly.
2.
1 am g etting hungry ju st thinking about it.
3.
I w ould n o t choose a big. m onstrous place w here everything w ould seem so im personal, but instead a restaurant that h as a fam ily am biance.
4.
Ĩ really like hot pot b ecau se o f the utm osphcrc it creates.
5.
I think that w hen you eat w ith your fam ily it strengthens the fam ily bonds.
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