英语口语话题_

（以下部分可与《“魔鬼”英语口语2》第四矩阵参看） 第四矩阵 I. 永恒话题 Universal Topics 1. 天气The weather 文化提示 Notes on culture British people are famous for talking about the weather. This maybe because in the UK the weather is very changeable; the weather can change very much from day to day. One day may be clear, sunny and warm, the next cloudy and rainy, then the next sunny again. Even in the same day the weather can change very much. So, the weather provides an easy way to start a conversation with someone. Just comment on how the weather is today, or how it was yesterday, and you can start a conversation with anyone. 英国人以谈论天气闻名。这也许是因为在英国天气非常多变，每一天的天气都会迥然不同。今天也许很晴朗，阳光灿烂，风和日丽，明天却阴霾多雨，然后后天又太阳朗照。即使在同一天里天气也变化非常大。所以，天气给人们提供了和人对话的便捷开端。只是点评一下今天天气如何、昨天天气怎样，就可以和人开始会话了。 2. 生命Life issues 文化提示 Notes on culture Life involves many challenges, problems, decisions, times of happiness and times of sadness, that we experience and discuss with others. In countries like the USA and the UK, many people feel stress, worrying about such things as whether their job is secure or whether they can pay all of their bills. Also, because people may have to work a lot, they may not be able to spend much time with their family. People will often talk about these things, and also gossip about each other! 生活涉及到许多挑战，问题，抉择，幸福与伤痛时刻，这些我们都会经历并与他人谈及。在英美这样的国家，人们会感受到压力，为比如工作是否稳定、能否支付所有的账单等等的事情担忧。而且，因为人们必须卖力工作， 他们也许不能与家人共度多少时光。人们会经常谈论这些事情，也会说些别人的闲话！ 3. 爱情Love 文化提示 Notes on culture In Western countries adults generally have the freedom to choose the kind of relationships that they have. For example, it is common for people to choose to live together, but not get married, and many people have children even if they are not married. Also, homosexual and lesbian relationships are openly acceptable and same-sex marriage is allowed in some countries. Divorce is also common, and many people marry again, and so some families have step-relations. But many Western countries are also very multi-cultural, with many different religions and traditions, so people can have very different attitudes about relationships and marriage. 在西方国家成年人通常有选择任何男女关系的自由。比如说，人们住在一起但不结婚是很普遍的事情，很多人可以不结婚就有小孩。而且，男、女同性恋关系已被公开接受，某些国家已经允许同性婚姻。离婚也很常见，许多人再婚，所以很多家庭属于继父母与继子女关系。但很多西方家庭也很文化多元化，有不同的宗教与传统，所以对于男女关系与婚姻，人们可能可以拥有迥然不同的态度。 4. 青春Youth culture 文化提示 Notes on culture Adolescence is a time of great changes – biologically, psychologically, and socially. Adolescents are becoming adults, with more independence from their parents, and more personal freedom. Peer groups often become more important, and different kinds of social identity and lifestyle may be explored. There are many different subgroups which can be identified by what kinds of clothes the people wear or what kind of music they like. Also, there is a lot of slang language, which changes, to some extent, with each generation. 青春期是一个从生理上，心理上，从社会意义上大变样的时期。青少年开始长大成人，更加独立于父母，有更多个人自由。同龄群体变得更加重要，他们会探究不同的社会身份识别与生活方式。你可以根据他们不同的穿着、他们喜欢的不同的音乐来识别他们许多不同的小团伙/派别。还有很多行话，某种程度上随着一代一代人在变化。 5. 健康Health 文化提示 Notes on culture Health is a concern for everyone, and people often talk about it. News stories about health are common in newspapers, magazines and on TV programs. These often give advice on how to live a more healthy life-style, or discuss the findings of research on health issues. If someone is worried about their health, they should first go to their local Medical Clinic, and speak to a nurse or a doctor. Help can also be obtained from local support groups. Contact information can be obtained from, for example, Yellow Pages or the internet. 健康是人人关注的问题，人们经常谈论。关于健康的新闻在报纸、杂志和电视节目中比比皆是。这些新闻故事会提示怎样有更健康的生活方式，或者讨论健康问题方面的新科研发现。如果有人担心自己的健康，他们应该首先去本地的医疗门诊跟护士或医生谈一谈。也可以从当地扶助组织获得帮助，联系方式可以从黄页或网络获取。 6. 文学艺术Art & Literature 文化提示 Notes on culture All children will study some art and literature at school. Some people do not maintain an interest in studying these subjects later, but most people have an interest in some kind of art or literature. For example, even if someone doesn’t like reading they may enjoy TV or movies, and so may know famous stories from TV or movie adaptations. Also, many people may do some kind of art or craft as a hobby, even if they think that they are not very good at it! 所有的孩子在学校都学习艺术和文学。有些人此后将对学习这些学科兴味索然，但大多数的人会对某种文学、艺术感兴趣。比如，既是一个人不喜欢阅读，他有可能喜欢看电视或电影，也就有可能从电视或电影改编中了解一些名著。而且，即使知道自己并不怎么擅长，好多人也许会会把某种艺术或手工当作业余爱好。 7. 科学与历史Science & History 文化提示 Notes on culture Science and History are taught in all schools, so, like with art and literature, many people will have some knowledge or awareness about these subjects. Although few people may have a detailed knowledge or interest in these subjects, the media often reports on the latest research findings and theories in science, history and archeology. Some topics, such as new scientific discoveries, or controversial applications of science (such as genetic engineering) create a lot of debate, and TV documentaries about these topics are common. So, they can be common topics for conversation. 所有的学校都在教授科学和历史，所以，就像对于艺术和文学一样，, 许多人对于这些学科会有一定的了解和认知。虽然很少人对这些学科有细致的了解与兴趣，媒体经常报道科学、历史、考古学领域的科研新发现与新理论。有一些话题，比如新的科学发现，或者有争议的科学应用（比如基因工程），它们引发了大量的争辩，关于此类话题的电视纪录片也很常见。因此，它们是谈话的普遍主题。 8. 环游世界Countries and Travel 文化提示 Notes on culture The world is constantly “becoming smaller”; travel is easier than ever before and the internet lets us instantly communicate with people anywhere on the planet. More people now have vacations in foreign countries, or spend time abroad studying or working, and many countries are now very multi-cultural, with people from all over the world living together in the same communities. So, it’s good to have some interest in learning about other countries and their cultures, trying different kinds of food, watching foreign movies etc. 世界日趋“变小”：旅行变得比以往任何时候都便捷，网络使得我们可以与这个星球上的任何地方的人进行即时沟通。现在更多的人们去国外度假、留学或工作，许多国家是多元文化的，有来自世界各地的人们住在共同的社区。所以，如果有兴趣去了解其他国家与他们的文化、尝试不同的食物、看看外国电影等等，都会是有益的。 9. 城市与乡间Urban & Rural Life 文化提示 Notes on culture The world population is growing quickly, and some very large urban areas have developed and continue to expand as more homes, factories, roads, etc. are built. So, in some countries, a lot of the countryside has been built on. Also, there are many issues connected with urbanization, including over-crowding in some urban areas, poverty and crime, high costs of living, etc. So, these are things which continue to be discussed and debated. 世界人口迅猛增长，随着更多的家居、厂区、马路等等的建起，有一些大的城市地带一直发展并扩张，所以，在一些国家，很多农村被改建，而且，有许多问题与城市化相关联，这包括有些城区的过度拥挤，贫困、犯罪与生活费用太高等等。因此，就有一直被讨论与争辩下去的话题。 10. 战争与和平War & Peace 文化提示 Notes on culture Wars have been fought throughout human history, and there’s no sign yet that world peace will happen. Although the kind of warfare that is possible, and which occurs, has obviously changed with the development of technology and weapons of mass destruction, small scale fighting and civil wars still occur across the world. And now, the worries about nuclear war that characterized the Cold War years, have largely been replaced by worries about terrorist attacks. Many countries, especially places like the USA and the UK, have continued to tighten security procedures because of the terrorist threat. Also, although countries like the USA have been involved in wars, it’s important to remember that not all of its citizens support military action, and many are opposed to war. 人类历史一直在打仗，而且，世界和平的到来也无任何迹象。虽然随着科技的发展和大规模杀伤性武器的扩展，可能发生的与正在发生的战争的种类已经发生了明显的变化，小规模的战争与内战仍然在全世界范围内发生着。现在，对于冷战时期特色化的核战争的担忧，已经很大程度上被对于恐怖袭击的忧心忡忡所取代。许多国家，特别是像美国与英国这样的地方，一直因为恐怖威胁在持续强化安检程序。而且，虽然美国一类的国家参与了战争，但是应该记住，并不是所有的国民都支持战争，而且很多人还反战。 11. 政治Politics 文化提示 Notes on culture Politics is a constant topic of conversation and of discussion in the media. What governments decide to do affects every aspect of our lives, so there is always debate about whether governments have made the right decisions, and about what changes need to be made in society. So, people are always discussing the latest political issues, news-headlines, and, sometimes, scandals. However, as with religion, people may not always want to talk about their political views (for example, how they voted in an election), so be sensitive and tactful when having discussions, and respect other people’s views, even if you don’t agree with them. 政治是谈话与媒体讨论的永久性话题。政府决定要做的事情影响着我们生活的方方面面，所以经常会有关于政府决策是否正确、关于社会应该做哪些改变的辩论，所以人们经常就最新的政治事务、新闻标题、有时是丑闻进行讨论。但是，和对于宗教一样，人们也许并不总是想谈论他们的政治观点（比如，他们在选举中怎么选的），所以，当进行讨论时要敏感，要圆滑，即使你并不赞成，也要尊重他人的 意见 文理分科指导河道管理范围浙江建筑工程概算定额教材专家评审意见党员教师互相批评意见 。 12. 宗教Religion 文化提示 Notes on culture Many countries now have very multi-cultural societies. There are people from many countries, who wear different kinds of clothes, eat different kinds of food, and who follow different religions. For some people their religious beliefs are very important in their lives, for others, not so important. In countries like the UK, it is OK to talk about religion with people, but you should be sensitive. Be sure that the other person feels comfortable talking about religion, and be careful not to cause offense. Always show respect for a person’s beliefs and religious practices, even if you do not agree with them. 当今许多国家社会都是多元文化的，有来自多个国家的人们，穿着多种多样的服装，吃着不同种类的食物，信仰着不同的宗教。对于一些人来说，他们的宗教信仰在生活中很重要，对于另外一些人却并非如此重要。再比如在像英国的一些国家，和人们谈论宗教是可以的，但你必须保持敏感，得确保与你谈话的人谈论宗教没有问题，小心别得罪人。即使你并不认同，也得一直显示你对一个人信仰和宗教行为的尊重。 13. 大自然Nature 文化提示 Notes on culture Many people now live in big towns or cities, where they lead busy lives, and so may not have time to appreciate nature. But many, perhaps most people, enjoy the beauty of nature, so will like to talk about it. 许多人喜欢住在大城镇里，在哪里他们过着忙碌的生活，所以可能没有时间欣赏大自然。但是许多人，也许是大多数人热爱大自然的美，所以会喜欢谈谈大自然。