华中师范大学英语期末考试口语topic.docx

1. What is happiness? What are the personality factors in happy people and unhappy people?范：Well, I guess everybody got his/her certain definition about happiness and that definition vary from person to person. It depends on whats your expectation about life and what do you think about it. Do you think so?王：Yes, I agree. Happiness means different things to different people. If you are optimistic about your life; youll see happiness anywhere and anytime. I think to me happiness would be plenty of money and plenty of time, which means I am free to do whatever I want.李: Sure they are important in life. But I would rather take prominent social status. Money and time cant guarantee you a real happiness sometimes. It is social status that brings you a real happiness to somewhere deep in your heart. 周：For me, happiness is closely tied to my studies, my work and my family. When I made great progress in my studies, when I made contributions to the society through my work, when all the members in my family live in harmony, sharing good and sad times, I am happy. 范：Well, generally, my definition is a little bit different form you guys. To me, happiness means quite simple. Something likes getting praise, winning a game, chatting with my friends. These all makes me feel happy. And as you all know that I got a nice guy, being with him is my biggest happiness.王：Yes, you are right. We think we are happy sometimes, not so happy at other times. We can even, at times, be euphoric! But what makes happiness? What are the personality factors in happy people and unhappy people?李：I think, firstly, a happy person must be satisfied with themselves which means that they like themselves as they are, and theyre happy with what they have. Happy people may not like everything about their lives-they may be a little bit overweight, or may not have the best job, or may not live in a big, fancy house, but they dont need to change those things to be happy.周：Yes, I quite agree with you! They think more about the things they are satisfied with, not the changes they want to make. This feeling of happiness comes from the inside, not from something outside. On the other hand, unhappy people are often dissatisfied with themselves. They feel that something must change so they can be happy.范：Yeah! They think if they lose some weight or get a better job or a nicer house they will be happy. They are always looking for something outside themselves to make them happy. But the problem is-they never find it! No matter what they get, theyre still dissatisfied and unhappy.王：OK, optimistic is also very important. An optimistic person often looks at the positive side of life, not the negative. Now, we all have problems, whether were happy or not. But when happy people have problems, they assume that things will improve. They dont worry a lot and think about all the bad things that can happen. Instead, they have a positive attitude.李：However, unhappy people are the opposite. They are not optimistic and dont have a positive attitude. When they have a problem, they think about how bad everything is and assume that itll get worse. So they make themselves even more unhappy when they think about all the bad things that might happen.周：Good！Whats more, happy people should have good relationships with other people. They try to have close, loving relationships with friends and family. Studies show that close, loving relationships are one of the most important factors in achieving happiness. So happy people dont spend all their time building their careers or trying to make money. 范： They also spend time building relationships with friends and family. On the other hand, unhappy people dont have as many close relationships. Right?王：Yes. They may have trouble making friends. Or they may spend all their time working and then find that theyre very lonely and unhappy. 李：But for whatever reason, they dont have close relationships and this makes them unhappy.周：I know. Well, if you want to be happier, dont assume that having a lot of money and position. There are other, more important factors. 2. Whats your point of view on womens role and position in the modern society? 范：Today our topic is womens role and position in the modern society. Wang Kai, as the only boy in our group, I want to ask you a question. Whats your point of view on womens role and position in the modern society?王：Well, its really very hard to say. Im afraid if I say something wrong, you will hate me. But to be honest, I prefer women staying at home and taking care of children and husband, so men can work better outside.李：Ok, you are right, we all hate you now. Nowadays, women are playing all increasingly important part in society. In many countries, more and more women are not only acting as workers, farmers, scientists, they are also taking an active part in politics. We can say that almost all jobs which men can do are now clone perfectly by women.周：Yes，with the changes in their social role, womans position in the family has been improved as well. Husband and wife are now equal in the family. They cope with problems of daily life together, and share happiness with each other. 范：Surly, you cannot see the traditional pattern that men go out working to support the family while women stayed at home taking care of the husband and the children. Nor can you see women busy with dishes, whereas men sitting comfortably in armchairs, reading newspapers.王：OK. OK. Dont get excited. I am just joking. In modern society, the women and men have equal position in the family according to the marriage law. Women can also choose to work outside. In my opinion, a woman living in modern society is happier than a woman living in the last century.李：I totally agree with you, because the women is not confined to the house and free enough to do what she likes to do. Thus, they can enjoy a more colorful and meaningful life.周：Yeah, Woman is not in the last century to stay at home doing the housework, they can go out to look for a job and a lot of jobs are tend to be women. For example, nurses and preschool education are tend to be women.范：So, women in the modern life plays a very important role, they are not only the traditional with children, but also independent in work.王：In spite of these changes, the liberation of women has not been completely realized. A number of men still regard women as inferior. Some women are still faced with inequality when they are looking for jobs. Thats really the problem we should solve immediately.李：Becausethestatusofwomeninoldsocietyisvery low, and in general, they were inferior to men. Women were to remain ignorant and to obey-first, their fathers; after marriage, their husbands; during widowhood, their sons. The major role of women, considered the private property of men, was to please their husbands and to bear children.周：And as time goes on, the society is developing constantly in all fields. Womens role in society of China also has been undergoing great changes. However, the effect of ancient thoughts hasnt completely disappeared.范：So, some people still think that a “good mother” is one who gives up work to stay at home with her children. So there exist some problems. Especially in some rural areas, women are still in a lower position.王：They have to obey their husbands and are almost illiterate. Therefore, women still have a long way to go towards a completely equal society.李：No, I dont agree with this view. As far as I am concerned, a good mother doesnt have to quit her job and devote all of herself to her children and family. They can make both work and home dont delay, I believe they have the ability to handle work of the relationship of the family.周：All in all, womens role in society of China is being made various and significant, which is certainly the trend of the whole worlds development3. Who do you think is better at learning a new language, an adult or a child? What makes them learn a new language differently?范：Today our topic is learning a new language. Who do you think is better at learning a new language, an adult or a child?王： I think that a child can learn a new language easier than an adult.李： I have the opposite opinion with him. I think that an adult can learn better than a child at learning a new language.周： Each coin has two sides. In my opinion, Both children and adults have their own advantages and disadvantages.范： Ok, different people have different opinions. So let us make a discussion about it. As we all know, language need more listening and practice. When child make mistakes, they dont worry about being laughed by others. So you think a child is better at learning English. Right?王: Yes, it is easier for child to speak. Children have a stronger curiosity than adults. It makes them good at discovering and finding the features which is not obvious. They are sensitive to things around. Everything in the world is new for them .it is easy for them to accept new thing like new language. 李：Ok. In my opinion, not only studying English or others are both need a good method to learn. Through several years of studying, the adults are well informed. Compared with the child, they are more adept at finding the best way to learn language, instead of putting all sorts of things together.周：The adults have more experience than children. They are good at learning grammar, meaning, and vocabulary and so on. The adults are familiar with reading skills, so adults can learn faster than the children.范： Memory is an important factor for people to learn language. I believe we all know that memory would not stay a place and wait for us. It is gradually declining with the age. So the memory of children must be better than adults.李： Survey on the physiological structure indicates that the brain of adults has already matured. So children have stronger Plasticity than adults. Thus they can accept new things more quickly.周： Well, linguists believe that the children can learn language easily and well. Its because of the critical period of language development. The critical period is a theory that explains why it is easier for children to learn languages than for adults.范：Yes，I know that. They got this theory from the study of animals. A songbird learns to sing the first few months after its born by listening to its parents song and repeating it. The bird can only learn to do this when it is a baby. An adult bird cannot learn to sing.王： That said, there is evidence for a critical period for learning to speak with a native accent. Somehow children can hear the different sounds better, and their mouth muscles can hear the different sounds better, and their mouth muscles can make the new sounds李： In many cases, a child will speak a new language with no foreign