英语四级口试试题

Topic One Men and women’s prejudices (综合第一单元) Section Two Please have a group discussion on the following topic: Topic for Group Discussion In today’s China, the boundary between the traditional social roles played by men and those played by women is becoming increasingly blurred. Please identify some driving factors behind this dramatic change. Tips 1. What’s the division of labor like in your family? work outside home, bread-earner/breadwinner, live a harmonious life, housewife, mode of life, family commitment, cooking meals, do the laundry, challenging, overlapping roles, socializing 2. Many people hold the view that men are different from women in many ways. What’s your opinion about it? genetics, gender, upbringing, think differently, act differently , early training reinforce male/female characteristics, dress differently and behave differently, strong, weak, breadwinners, homemakers; rational, emotional, courage, clear-thinking, intellect, nurturing, caring, supportive, masculinity, femininity 3. How to be a good father? taking care of children, making regular payments, take care of children physically, emotionally and academically, burn midnight oil, fault-finding, motivate, considerate, read your mind, give constructive suggestions, blame harshly, complain bitterly, tell bedtime stories, consult teachers, give presents, establish an intimacy with, affection, discipline, reward, access limitations and capabilities. 4. Some people say women are born to be homemakers. Do you agree or disagree? Why? housewife-women’s traditional role, well-paid, poorly-paid, meagerly-paid, duel roles, make ends meet, making family budgets, making purchasing decisions, attending wedding ceremonies, eat out, pay for monthly bills on electricity, gas, water, telephone, and internet, inferior member of family. 5. Do you think a “househusband” is an easy job? homemaker, breadwinner, full-time job, part-time job, an odd job, devote to, be preoccupied with, deposit money in commercial banks, invest in stock markets, run business, main source of income, domestic title, working spouse, receive recognition for, 6. In business world, there are more male top managers than female ones. How would you explain this phenomenon? male-dominated, female-dominated, sex discrimination, professional, amateur, work overtime, CEOs, business travels, leadership, human resource management, management accounting, marketing expertise, style of leadership, business vision, multinational companies, financial crisis, mobilize resources, mergers and acquisitions, stress of work, physical challenge, IQ, equal pay with men, reach the top, work performance, office politics, status symbols, characteristics of authority, give promotion to. Discussion Topic Tips：the glass ceiling effect; occupational sex segregation, masculinism, feminism, women liberation movement, information technology, service sectors, home office/SoHo, labor saving devices, role model, entrepreneur, top management, CEO, migrating workers, self-esteem, self-dependence, computers, internet，women liberation movement, equal in social positions, reforming and opening to the outside world , living standards, life style, the rising of life expenses, the emergence of the internet Topic Two Culture (综合教程第二单元) Discussion Topic Today, many people are keen on Western style of life, they prefer Western food, they wear western-style modern clothing, they like celebrating Western festivals and feel Spring Festival boring…… Some people are worried that we are losing our identity, it is urgent for us to adhere to our traditional culture; while some others think it is normal as culture is constantly undergoing change. What is your opinion? Tips: What do you think is culture? Referenceanswer:Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another. Culture is the way a person speaks, the way they dress, the way they act, and the food they eat, all of their social norms. Culture is tradition, things that a particular family or nationality do. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems. Culture, in anthropology, the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems. Culture involves at least three components: what people think, what they do, and the material products they produce. This means not only such material things as cities, organizations and schools, but also non-material things such as ideas, customs, family patterns, languages. Putting it simply, culture refers to the entire way of life of a society. Culture distinguishes one human group from others. It also distinguishes humans from other animals and each culture is unique. As cultures are diverse, it is natural that with difference in cultures and differences in languages, difficulties often arise in communicating between cultures and across cultures. Understanding is not always easy. 2.Have you ever been to a place with a culture that is different from yours? Can you tell any cultural differences between people? ways of greeting；expressing gratitude “thank you”; ways people dress, different foods, ways of cooking food; table manners；responses to praises；signs and gestures; symbols; education；politics, values, customs, individualism vs collectivism；religion… 3.If you are invited by an American friend for a dinner party, what etiquette should you observe? (Please refer to P37 dialogue sample 2. arriving time; what to do if you can’t make it; gift 4.Some people write articles to generalize cultural differences. What do you think of these generalizations? Do they do more good than harm or vice versa for you to learn about that culture? ( Please refer to passage B) 5. Do you think that Chinese culture is superior to other cultures in the world? no such thing as superior and inferior culture, doubt this belief, not equally treated , analyze all the cultures in the world objectively, advantages and disadvantages, no one is superior or inferior to others , equally valuable in its own right. How might cultural awareness or cultural blindness promote or affect your communication? different cultural backgrounds, misunderstanding , conflict and dispute, universal issue , arouses concern , barriers , cultural differences, tiny cultural differences can create, tremendous barriers to communication, effectively, know and accept a person’s culture, awareness of cultural differences does not necessarily mean that one can easily overcome their effects, knowledge of cross-cultural communication at least provides a means to avoid some of the problems that result from cultural blindness Discussion Topic Tips:constantly undergoing change, not worry about, changes, the Chinese Culture is changing continually, evolved and changed, social scientists, four chief factors: changes in the environment, contact with other cultures, invention, and the further development of the culture itself. China's cultural change from old to new, opening its doors to foreign relations and making scientific, technological, social, and economic advances, not traditional nor even fully modern, combination of both , traditional festivals being celebrated, tributes to ancient styles and artifacts, the integration of traditional sounds in modern music, celebrations of traditional art and design through stores and classes, and special concerts and programs Topic Three Career Planning(21世纪第一单元) Questions What do you think is the best (worst) job in the world? Have you had any planning about your future career? Say something about it. Do you believe in the job-hunting websites like TheLadders.com or Monster.com? Why or why not? The more people change their jobs, the more clearly they know what they really want to do. Is that true? Why or why not? 5． Would you like to take a job you like but low paid or one you don’t like but well paid? 6． Now both at home and abroad, some retirees would like to go back to work. What do you think of the phenomenon? Discussion Topic What factors will you consider when you choose a job? Tips and reference answers: The best job: high paying, interesting, challenging, not far from home, meet different people, enjoyable environment, compatible relationship with the employer, good prospect of promotion, can learn new things, can apply what I learn in the work, etc. The worst job: low paying, dull, exhausting, far from home and friends, no opportunity of promotion, can not apply the knowledge learned at school, etc. 3. Yes, I do. be of great help to me, great sources of information, firstly, the general conditions of the economy, the job market, secondly, provide …with, the information about the vacancies: where they are, what they do, what I can do, how much they offer, etc. thirdly, arrange for the interviews , save us time and efforts. No, I don’t. not believe in the virtual world, more harmful than helpful, so much misleading, deceptive information, the traditional ways, sending resumes, attending recruitment fair, calling in person, the traditional ways are more direct and effective. No, not necessarily. Some people change jobs many times in their lives and never figure out what they really want to do, if they don’t know clearly about their personalities and the work environment and the work culture. So, if you want to know what you like in life, you must have a self assessment at first so that you may have a clear picture of your self: your personalities, interests, values, aptitudes, preferred environments, the education you’ve received, developmental needs, etc. then you may have a clear picture of what you want. Side A: I’d like to take the well-paid job, even if it’s not to my taste. Reasons are as follows: First of all, China is a developing country. Most families are not so rich. Earning money to support families is the most important task for most students in China. Secondly, living is expensive now. The prices of food, clothing, traveling, especially of housing are rapidly increasing now. You know, housing is a big problem. It costs a lot of money. Needless to say, we’ll get married after graduation. And child-rearing and house-keeping follows. It won’t do without money. Such being the case, earning money will be our top priority. Other things, such as personal interest, taste, etc. are secondary considerations, even can be sacrificed. Side B: I choose to take the job I like, though it’s low-paid. On the one hand, we live to be happy. We don’t live for money. Money is a means to achieve our happiness. It shouldn’t be the end of our life. If I do a job I don’t like, I won’t be happy. In this case, more often than not, it will make a mess of my life. On the other hand, if I do a job that I like, things will be different. I may earn less money at first. But in the long run, I’ll earn more. Because I like the job, I will bring my potential into full play. My chance of promotion will be improved. Even in the end I can’t make more money, I still think it’s worthwhile. Just as the saying goes: Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life. Side A: I think it is good for retirees to go back to work. First of all, the retirees can make some extra money to support their families. This can greatly help the needy families. Secondly, the retirees are much more experienced in their respective fields. They can do better jobs than inexperienced workers. So they can more contributions to the country. Finally, when retirees go back to work, they can give instructions to young people, which can benefit young people a lot. Young people can learn job skills, work ethnic, etc. from the retirees, so that they can be skilled workers. Side B: I don’t think it is good for retirees to go back to work. On the one hand, the retirees have worked lifelong. They should have a happy retirement life. They should have more time to enjoy the later part of life. They can spend more time with their family members. They can do the things which they like but can not do in the past. On the other hand, more job opportunities should be made available for young people, which is more important at a time when competition is so strong in the job market in China. Nowadays, more and more young people are joining the workforce, but they can not find jobs. It has become a serious social problem. The retirees going back to work aggravates the situation. Discussion Topic Tips:Self-assessment to know oneself: interests, values, aptitudes, preferred environments, developmental needs, the wages, not live in the vacuum, rising of life expenses, keep increasing. the higher wages, the better, the relationship between the employer and the employee, . A pleasant and enjoyable work atmosphere, location, how long it will take to get to and from work each day, walk or take public transportation, drive, operating hours, business hours, availability, fit with schedule, environment, corporate culture, meshes with my style. As the saying goes: Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life. Topic Four Interpersonal relationship(21世纪第3单元) Questions Do you have any good ideas of making a good first impression on others? Have you ever met any people who are difficult to get along with in study or life? How do you deal with the problem? What do you think are the key elements of friendship? What is your understanding of the old saying—“A friend in need is a friend indeed. ”? How do you get along with your roommates? How do you face the problem of “generation gap” between you and your parents? Discussion Topic Friends play an important role in our daily life. Work in group to talk about how to build lifelong friendship. Tips: appearance, smile, respect, creates a mental image of his or her personality in one’s minds, image , create a positive role in the minds of the new people, act as if, meet a good friend, adjust unconsciously, start to smile, open up one’s body-language to a very friendly and warm position and reduce any nervousness or weirdness in one’s your tone of voice and body-language, not overdo it, keep you body language open, friendly and open, make relaxed eye contact – don’t stare – when talking or listening, be positive, a better way to convey a positive attitude in a first meeting can then be to read the mood of person(s) before you start talking –by just watching them - and then match it for a short while. The words are only 7 percent of your communication. 93 percent is in your tone of voice and your body-language. 2. neutral attitude, assertive opinion, avoid confrontation, approval, Everybody might have met such kind of people. Try to control yourself, just be neutral with this kind of people. To visualize yourself being indifferent towards them. You don’t need their approval, and you don’t need to get angry with them. Take a deep breath and tell yourself I’m not going to let this person get under my skin. 3. character, appearance, home, lifestyle, living condition, common interest, common desire, future plan, etc..  A life without a friend is a life without a sun. Friendship is one of the most important things in everyone's life. Friends are who changes your life just by being a part of it, who makes you believe that there really is good in the world, who convinces you that there really is an unlock door just waiting for you to open it. When you’re down, friends lift you up. When you lose your way, friends guide you and cheer you on. So cherish your friend. 4. harmonious friendship, encourage, cheer up, indispensable, relationship, improve, smile, generosity, warmth As we all know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. A harmonious friendship is as necessary as the air around us. Friends bring the distance between people nearer. Friends encourage us to cheer up when we face failure or distress. All in all, friendship is an indispensable part of our life. Owing to the importance of harmonious relationships, we should think about how we can do to improve our friendships. I think that the quality of generosity is what good friends need. What else? Smiles, like food, can bring warmth to others. The reason why smiles have such a large effect is that they demonstrate our friendliness. 5. talk, have a talk with, communicate with, pleasant communication, improve the relation between, keep a harmonious relation with, understand each other, mutual understanding, considerate and frank There is definitely a “generation gap” between parents and child which is unavoidable and due to different ages and living conditions throughout life. But parents and the child could keep on a harmonious relation by pleasant communication and mutual understanding… / 6. kind, pleasant, friendship, communicate, understanding, make friends with, avoid offense, study together, help each other Discussion Topic Tips:a lot of friends and expect one’s friendships to last a lifetime, lifelong friendships are not always what everybody can get, misunderstand, for one thing, be near at hand, independence and privacy, sometimes you just say “no” to him or her because it is not convenient for you, unfortunately, not all your friends understand this type of independence, help you no matter what the circumstances are, may not always drop everything to satisfy each of your needs, This may make you angry with them and your friendship could fade, always show understanding and respect for each other Topic five Emotional intelligence (EI) （21世纪第五单元） 1. What do you know about Emotional Intelligence? Talk briefly about it. (Part 1 Lead-in p.38) Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability, capacity, skill; or, in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Different models have been proposed for the definition of EI and there is disagreement about how the term should be used. Despite these disagreements, which are often highly technical, the ability-EI and trait-EI models enjoy support in the literature and have successful applications in various domains. 2. What are important elements of emotional intelligence or EQ? (Part 1 Lead-in p.38) Self awareness Mood management Self-motivation Empathy Managing relations 3. How can you raise your emotional intelligence or EQ? Develop self awareness; Develop awareness for others emotions; Learn to quickly reduce stress Develop the art of empathy; Develop a positive outlook to life 4. Why do some deal with stress better? (Part 4 Listening & Writing p.43) relaxation, meditation, relaxed breathing, and doing things like hobbies and interests ;a good toolbox of coping skills tend to deal with stress better ;the ability to manage stress is something that’s learned.;balancing your life, getting a balance in your sleep and eating, your daily activities and your work. 5. What does likeability mean? Please explain why Bill Clinton is likeable. (Part 6 Home Listening &Watching p.45) refers to your ability to be liked by others;emotionally intelligent;has tremendous empathy; aware of one’s emotional state;your emotional state when he is with you;pulls us in consistency in their ability to produce positive experiences for other people, emotionally. 6. Please introduce some effective ways to reduce stresses in your study. Manage Time Wisely: Get Organized;Create a Good Study Environment;Know Your Learning Style;Develop Optimism;Get Enough Sleep;Learn Study Skills;Use Stress Manage