10级第二学期第二次口语话题参考答案

1. The Media

1) Which do you like better, radio or television? Why?

To speak frankly, I like watching TV. First, there are a great variety of programs on TV. People can learn the latest news around the world --- that’s why people say “to stay at home and still you can get to know the world.” There are various entertainment programs, such as films, TV series, talk shows, variety shows, MTVs, etc.; such programs can entertain people, and help people to kill the leasure time so that people will not feel bored in such periods. On TV, there are also many educational and scientific programs, from which we can learn a lot.

In addition, there are programs on attractions and places of interests, by means of which, people can “stay at home and travel around the world.” Comparatively, radios do have some advantages: they are portable; you can listen to radio while walking or even working, but TV does outweigh radio in many ways. Of course, TV is not without problems: spending too much time in front of TV distracts you from your studies or work, and it is harmful to your eyes. So, I’d like to say, it’s really helpful and beneficial to watch TV, but don’t be addicted to it.

2) Do you often watch TV? What TV programs do you like watching?

Or: Do you often listen to the radio? What kind of radio programs do you listen to? What do you think of them?

Reference:

There are different types of media today. Radio and TV are the two common media for us. They connect us to the outside world. They tell us what is happening and shorten the distance between us and the outside world. I like listening to English news, Special English of VOA is my favorite. I keep on it for several months. It’s very helpful for my English learning. In addition, I often listen to some sports news and music on the radio. These radio programs make me funny and relaxed. Of course, compared with TV, radio is portable, I can carry it with me whereverI go . I like it very much.

3) Can you imagine a life without TV or radio? What role does radio or TV play in your life?

Reference:I can’t imagine a life without TV since I enjoy watching television so much. It really plays an important role in my life. Whenever I feel distressed, bored or unhappy,I will turn on the television to watch my favourite programs to help relax myself. However, to watch TV, you have to stay in the same room as a television, and you can’t watch it during driving or jogging, do you? Besides,TV watching takes up too much time; I no longer have enough time to develop other interests. Maybe these are the only disadvantages of television.

2. Love and Marriage

1) What factors do you think are important in making a boyfriend or girlfriend?Is romantic love the most important condition for marriage? Why?

Reference:From my point of view, there are some important factors in making a boyfriend or girlfriend. First, I think, being an honest, sincere, kind- hearted person can leave a favorable impression on others and in turn you can achieve others’ trust and respect. Then, Cultivating common interests is also significant. For instance, you two can share views about such topics like economy, politics, work related as well as personal issues. In this way, you can improve your deep understanding about the life and the other’s characters. Besides, showing my caring attitude is necessary to make a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It does not mean mothering him but help him or her out of difficult times and become his or her support.

A successful marriage requires a combination of many factors, such as love, tolerance, understanding, mutual trust, support, etc. Romantic love is just one small part of love which even is not necessarily the most important part of a successful marriage. Romantic love only can keep their love more exciting,but can not keep a marriage fit and stable for along period of time.For instance,maybe it is romantic to buy flowers and have a candlelit dinner. However, it is wasteful to do so in marriage. As is known to all of us, marriage is practical. Actually, the frustrations and reality of daily life can take a roll on marriage and their romantic feeling disappears right away. For example, lack of money can bring a lot of quarrellings for a marriage; couples withdifferenteducations levels are not likely to have something in common. Those frustrations can not be resolved only by romantic love. By then responsibility and mutual trust between couples actually weigh more than romantic love.To sum up, accidental or dramatic romantic situation can not support a marriage

2) Some people contend that college students should not make boyfriends or girlfriends when they study on campus; while others hold that college students should be encouraged to date on campus. What is your point of view on campus date of college students? Why?

College students are a distinct group of people whose behavior and words always become the focus of publicattention. When people comment on campus date of college students, people show quite different views on the phenomenon. Some people argue that college students should not make boyfriends or girlfriends while others hold an opposite point of view. In fact, we could not find a correct answer to the problem, because every coin has two sides. The reasons to favor campus date are as follows:

College students are at the right age, they have a mental and physical need and interest to know the opposite sex.Besides, dating on campus can make students become mature earlier, because they have to learn how to cooperate with others, how to care about others. What’s more, if students can coordinate their study and date well, they are likely to study harder and excel(优秀) in school courses. In addition, beautiful campus provides best environment for students to date the opposite sex.

We also have some reasons to oppose campus date:

First, campus date will distract students’ attention from academic studies if they could not handle it appropriately. Second, most students are not psychologically mature enough. Failure in love could result in mental hurt to them. Third, the rate

of successful campus dates is very low. Most “couples” in college end their love story before or upon graduation. Futhermore, campus date needs financial support, which will certainly increase the economic burden on their parents.

3) Late marriage is becoming a trend in large modern cities. What are the reasons

behind it? Do advantages of late marriage outweigh disadvantages? Why?

In large modern cities, young people prefer late marriage to early marriage, the reasons are as follows:

Young people get married late because that will leave them enough time to accumulate a considerable sum of money for a better material life.

Buying a large house is very essential to the newly-weds. Young people like to postpone the date of marriage so that they could live in a spacious room.

Late marriage will leave the couple-to-be longer time to understand each other. Young people who marry late are likely to be socially and physically mature, which is helpful to a stable marriage.

Late marriage will make young people free from house chores. They devote their time and energy to their career development.

I think advantages of late marriage outweigh disadvantages. But some people argue that early marriage will make young people free from household chores earlier, which will be beneficial to the development of their career on the whole. Moreover, early marriage will bring about a more intelligent child.

4) Why is mixed marriage popular in such big cities as Shanghai and Beijing? What are the possible difficulties for cross-culture marriage?

Reference: In my opinion, there are several reasons behind this phenomenon. First, with the increasing communication between China and the outside world, more and more foreigners come to China to look for new opportunities and challenges. Most of them choose to work and live in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. It is said that there are around 500,000 foreigners inhabited in Beijing. Therefore, it is quite natural for them to socialize with or even fall in love with local people. And it is not unusual for them to marry Chinese. Second, people in big cities are quite open-minded. They are more familiar with foreign culture and are more likely to accept mixed marriage. Third, many foreigners have great interest in Chinese culture and Chinese people. Out of this interest, they are happy to find a Chinese wife or husband.

The couple of a cross-cultural marriage may encounter a lot of difficulties, such as language barrier, culture difference, and difference in value and beliefs, etc. First, as a couple from different countries, they speak different languages, and may have great difficulty in understanding each other. Second, people from different cultural background may have total different understanding about the same thing. For example, Chinese people prefer to live with their parents while westerners prefer not. Third, husband and wife in a mixed marriage may have different eating habits. For example, the Chinese husband may like to eat hot and spicy Sichuan food, whereas the American wife may feel happier to eat bread and sandwich. Fourth, the couple in a mixed marriage may have different understanding about how to raise and educate

their children. For example, Chinese people attach great importance to their children's performance at school. They spend a lot of time and money tutoring their children to make sure that the kids can get a high score in exam. American people, on the other hand, seem to be more relaxed with the kids' academic performance. Last but not least, their children will encounter problems too. Children of mixed marriages are not likely to be accepted in certain areas in a community. They often have a hard time fitting in.

5) If you were Gail’s parents, would you accept the marriage between Gail and

Mark? Give your reasons.

Reference: I would accept the marriage between them on the condition that they were sure that there is true love between them, but it doesn’t mean parents should not warn young people of possible dangers. At first, no one can deny that true love is the key ingredient of successful marriage. Secondly my viewpoints are sometimes different from that of young people.I have to admit that I am not always right. What’more，different people have different evaluation on one person. So what should be done is to trust them. Thirdly, I love my child. I hope she has a successful marriage without being annoyed by some unexpected troubles. Hence, I would not take a it-is-none-of-my-business attitude. I would remind my daughter of as many potential problems as I can anticipate according to my past experience.

6) Would you mind marrying a person from a different culture or nation? Why or why not?

Reference 1

Well, I wouldn’t say so. Marrying a foreigner has a number of advantages. We can learn each other’s language, celebrate more holidays and trad itions, learn new customs, habits and foods. We can gain richer experience by travelling in each other’s home country and our children will be more open-minded. I think the key to a successful intercultural marriage lies in the couple actively learning about the other side in order to bridge the differences. If each partner is involved in learning, and is attracted to each other's language, holidays and customs, I believe it won’t be difficult for a mixed couple to live a happy and harmonious married life.

Reference 2

Yes, I do. To start with, I must admit that I harbor strong reservations about mixed marriage. People from different nations grow up in different social and cultural background. They may have entirely different lifestyles, observe different traditions and think in very different ways. It is not always easy for a mixed couple to communicate with each other. Besides, they maybe not interested in learning each other’s language, in new holidays and traditions. They may not want to adapt to different customs, habits and foods. Furthermore, a mixed couple always has to face some public concern. In fact, many people cannot accept a cross-culture marriage, especially the old citizens. And some people still have prejudice on foreigners. If this is the case, the couples in a cross-culture marriage may have to endure some gossip, and their children may have to endure some pressure. If they can’t deal with these problems, they may beak up in the end.