2011年二级起点第三学期口语考试题目(21st).doc

2011年二级起点第三学期口语考试题目Dec. 2012Task I. Paragraph Reading: (21st)Directions: Read aloud the following paragraphs. Please pay attention to your pronunciation and intonation.1) It was an ordinary evening, no blacker than any other, when a car coming in the other direction went out of control, broke through the guard rail, and hit two other cars before smashing head on into his. According to the newspaper, the driver, who was returning from a wedding, seemed puzzled. “I only had two bottles of beer and a cocktail.” she is reported to have said.2) Ive known this man for years, yet suddenly realized there was a whole chapter of his life hed never mentioned. I asked and discovered hed remained in the hospital seven weeks, and that all that time hed known his wife was dead. It was hard to know where to go from there, for there are questions you cant put to someone in a casual conversation.3) Unfortunately, doing things badly has gone out of style. It used to be a mark of class if a lady or a gentleman sang a little, painted a little, played the violin a little. You didnt have to be good at it; the point was to be fortunate enough to have the leisure time for such pursuits. But in todays competitive world we have to be “experts” even in our hobbies.4) The runners arent nearly so snobbish as the dancers, however. In case you didnt know, “going dancing” no longer means putting on a pretty dress and doing a few turns around the dance floor with your favorite man on Saturday night. “Dancing” means squeezing into tights and leg warmers, then sweating through six hours of warm-ups, five hours of ballet and four hours of jazz classes.5) But, by the 1980s, public support for space exploration was declining. It faded almost entirely after the Challenger space shuttle disaster of 1986, and the U.S. government was under pressure to scale back its space programme. Politicians reacted by demanding cuts in spending, which put the future of many space missions in doubt.6) He pointed to one recent study where college students were given a set of data and were asked to see if they could come up with a mathematical relation. Almost a third did. What they did not know was that they had just solved one of the most famous scientific equations in history: the Third Law of Planetary Motion, an equation that Johannes Kepler came up with in 1618.7) The poems then were submitted anonymously to a panel of professional writers for evaluation. The poetry written by people who thought about writing for money ranked lowest. Those who thought about writing just for pleasure did the best. “Motivation that comes from enjoying the work makes a significant difference,” Amabile said.8) Gratitude is the art of receiving gracefully, of showing appreciation for every kindness, great and small. Most of us do not fail to show our pleasure when we receive hospitality, gifts and obvious benefits, but even here we can perfect our manner of showing gratitude by making it as personal and sincere as possible. 9) Dr. Edward Jenner was busy trying to solve the problem of smallpox. After studying case after case, he still found no possible cure. He had reached an impasse in his thinking. At this point, he changed his tactics. Instead of focusing on people who had smallpox, he switched his attention to people who did not have smallpox. It turned out that dairymaids apparently never got the disease. 10) In one of Sherlock Holmess cases, his assistant, Dr. Watson, pointed out that a certain dog was of no importance to the case because it did not appear to have done anything. Sherlock Holmes took the opposite point of view and maintained that the fact the dog had done nothing was of the utmost significance, for it should have been expected to do something, and on this basis he solved the case.11) It is, above all, in the little things that the grace of gratitude should be most employed. The boy who delivers our paper, the milkman, the mailman, the barber, the waitress at a restaurant, the elevator operator all oblige us in one way or another. By showing our gratitude we make routine relationships human and render monotonous tasks more agreeable.12) NASAs reasons for building the space station are “to develop new materials and technologies that will have immediate, practical applications”. However, for such research to be worthwhile, NASA needs private companies to develop (and help pay for) extraterrestrial research. Unfortunately, the cost of sending anything into orbit is so high that most private companies favour improving techniques on Earth.Topics for Debate (3-4 minutes)1. Do you believe the proverb “where there is a will, there is a way”? Or do you think that the two are all the time connected?Candidate 1: I do believe the proverb “where there is a will, there is a way”.Candidate 2: I dont think that the will and the way are all the time connected.2. Should different cultures integrate or keep their own characteristics?Candidate 1: I think that different cultures should integrate during the trend toward globalization.Candidate 2: I think that diversified cultures make our world more interesting and colorful.3. Do you think the process of growing up is something painful?Candidate 1: I think the process of growing up is something painful.Candidate 2: I think the process of growing up is something valuable and enjoyable.4. Nowadays, drunken drivers are bound to be punished by being sent into jails. What do you think about it?Candidate 1: I think this practice can definitely prohibit drunken driving.Candidate 2: I think this punishment is not strong enough to stop drunken driving.5. Should education be a process of learning that is useful for future life or should it be a sort of enjoyment to the learners?Candidate 1: I think education should be a process of learning that is useful for future life.Candidate 2: I think education should be a sort of enjoyment to the learners.6. Some people say we are living in a world of prejudices, unfavorable judgments toward people or a person because of gender, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race, language, nationality or other personal characteristics. Do you agree?Candidate 1: I think we are living in a world of prejudices.Candidate 2: I think we are living in a world of mutual-respect.7. What do you think is the most important factor that leads you to buy something: price, quality, brand name or style?Candidate 1: As a student, I am not rich. When I go shopping, I may choose price and style over quality and brand name.Candidate 2: When I do shopping, I consider quality and brand name first.8. What do you think people will choose: a low-paid job one likes, or a boring well-