1.What are the differences between formal language and informallanguage and what is the best way for a nonnative speaker of English to learn the difference?Formal language in general you use to people with authority (teachers, police, judge, church etc), people who are older than you (like your parents and grandparents) and people who you do not know.Informal language you speak to your friends and most likely people younger than you.Formal language shows respect for that person‟s position and acknowledgement that they "potentially" know more or are more experienced than you are.Which kind of English should we speak to someone depends on the relationship between you and that person.学习西方文化勤加练习2.The Internet is transforming the way we live and work. How far doyou think our social lives are influenced by it? Give specific reasonsand examples to support your opinion.A: Since the swift development of Internet, our social lives are influenced by it very much. Because of its high efficiency, immediacy(即时性), interactive(互动性), and entertaining, the Internet have a huge impact on our lives.B: That’s true. For example, we can know what happened at the other side of the ocean immediately. Every one has the right to declare himself on the forum. In other word, the Internet has reinforced the trend of globalization.A: I can even know a net friend I have never seen before. (举例)B: As we all know, many people, especially celebrities are crazy about using blog to show their feeling, their daily life. For young people at our age, we can get closer with our idol by the micro blogs.A: We can keep in touch with the relatives and friends far away by it. For example, my parents like to use QQ to talk with me, which is free.B: Surfing the Internet and finding some information is very convenient. I don’t need to go to the library, take a book out of the bookshelf, write the information down in my notebook and put it back. In addition, we can pay for bills and go shopping online. We don’t need to go to a certain place to pay bills.A: Many multinational companies do video conference on the Internet in order to reduce the time and money spended on the transportation.B: Have you heard that some outstanding professor usually do distance teaching when he or she receives many invitations from different college in the same day?A: Of course.B: As we can see, the Internet makes our lives more convenient and we can spend less time doing same thing.A: In my opinion, for most of the nowadays people, we can not live without the Internet.B: But remember that every coin has its two sides. There are some disadvantages. Compare to the traditional face-to-face communication settings, the Internet shorten the distance between the people but deepen the gap between family members.A: What do you mean?B: For instance, children usually lock the door and fall into the virtual world once they back to home from school. In my own word, the Internet just likes dessert. It tastes good and we usually can not stop eating them, but it is not good for our health. Worst, many students are absorbed in the virtual world so much that they neglect their studying. A: Um…. Internet Security has become the hottest topic recently since the cyber(网络的) crime has become one of the most serious problems in our society. Our personal information, some business or political secret can be exposed easily by hackers. The governments should draftrelevant laws to prevent the crime. (举例)B: Yeah, we should use the Internet correctly, properly. In conclusion, the Internet influences our social lives very much.3.Have you ever been to a circus? What were some of the animals yousaw there? Is it ethical(合乎道德的) to use animals in circuses for entertainment?A Hey! Fred. Have you ever been to a circus?B Yes, I have. When I was a child, I often went to the circus in the zoo with my parents. i can see mainly tigers, dolphins, birds, and lions there A sounds interesting. But can you share some unforgettable experience with me?B loopA So what do you think of this behavior?B Well, I don‟t think it‟s ethical to use animals in circuses for entertainment.A Why?B First of all, the training for those animals in the circus can be quite cruel.A When the animals can‟t behave very well, people will punish thoseanimals.Secondly, the human aren‟t the leader of the nature, so we should respect animals, and treat them fairly. We should think about the animal‟s feeling. Finally, some kinds of animals performing in the circus are in danger, we should protect them instead of using them as a tool of earning money or abusing them.A I can‟t agree with you more. So we should make contributions to the protection of these animals, right?B Yes, but what can we do?A We can reduce the times of going to the circus, and persuade people not to go to the circus.B You‟ve got the point! What‟s more, we can give advices to the leaders of the circus. And talk to the supervisor.A that‟s absolutely right. In addition ,the most important solution is changing people‟s idea toward animals.they are our friendsBA That‟s a good idea! Let‟s do it together tomorrow.B Ok, go ahead!4.With more and more people away from their parents for education andwork, the recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of “empty nesters”. When you graduate, where would youchoose to live or work, the place where your parents are or somewhere away from them?A Hello, where are you from?B I am from shandong province, and you?A I am from JiangxiB Are you missing your parents at home?A Y es, of course!B Me too, so when you graduate would you live and work in the place where you parents are?A I think I will choose to live near them.B Why？A Because there are more and more people away from their parents for education and work, the recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of “empty nesters”, the old people in the home are quite lonely, and the elderly often can‟t get treated well in the home for the aged.B In my opinion, I will choose to live somewhere away from them. As we all know, there are more job opportunities in big cities like Beijing and shanghai, what‟s more, there are more activities for entertainment ther e, such as concerts. I think I will enjoy the life in bigger city. And I can take my parents to the place I live when I earn enough money in the future. In addition, my parents themselves also want me to live in big cities for abetter development.……………………………………A In conclusion, no matter what choice you will choose, don‟t regret it. Go ahead, and create the life belongs to yourself, right?B Y es, I can‟t agree with you anymore! I …m very happy talking with you today!A Me too.5.In China, one‟s educati onal level and competitiveness are decided byhis or her ability to pass various examinations. As a college student, what do you study for, the ability to pass exams, or the ability to learn?A Hello, FRED, the final exams are coming, every student is preparing for it. But do you think we college students study just to pass exams?B No, I don’t think so. Exam s are just a way to test yourself. We should set goals for ourselves to learn more useful knowledge and the ability to learn it by ourselves. In my opinion, we study for the ability to learn.A I think so, there are much knowledge we need to learn, which we can’t handle in a short time. But if we cover the ability to learn, we can learn the new things more easily.B I can’t agree any more. What’ more, th rough the process of gaining the ability to learn, we improve our qualities, and become more quick-witted.A So, we shouldn’t regard the exams as the final goal of study, we should have a long-term sight.B Yes, but in china the main way to evaluate a student is examing, so some students are pushed to study the strategies by which you can easily pass the exams. Some students even lose the interests of studying.A Yeah, that’s really sad to hear that. But our country is tr ying to change the current situation; we should have a faith in the bright future for the young generation.B And as for us, we should behave as models for them, by studying hard, and study for the ability to learn.A I’m happy to talk with you today!B Me too.6.Every year, many students in China go abroad, believing that overseasstudy will be very rewarding. But some people are against studying abroad. What‟s your opinion?A: How is everything going recently?B: oh, quite well. I‟m preparing for a speech of whether we should study abroad or not. And can you give me some advice?A: No problem, in fact, I am concerned about it recently, too. In my opinion, studying abroad is a chance to gain more experience and knowledge. What about you?B: I am against studying abroad. I addmit that studying abroad is a chance to gain more experience and knowledge. But since the swift development of China while most of the Western countries are suffered from the financial crisis and experience the recession, staying in China may be better.A: Well, although the financial crisis has revealed a lot of problems in capitalist(资本主义的) society, there are still a lot of advantage we should learn. For example, food security has become a hot topic in China since Sanlu Incident broke out. But why these kind incidentsdidn’t happen in other countries? Obviously, their supervision mechanisms(机制) are more comprehensive and rigorous(严格). Improving various management mechanism is the responsibility of next generation.B: Failure is the mother of success. Accumulate experience and learn from mistakes are the key to the final success.A: What’s more, studying abroad is an opportunity for global training and experience outside China. And studying abroad also provide working chance which offer higher status and better prospects then domestic(国内的civil) companies.B: I don’t quite agree with you. The best immediate and long-term career development is likely to be found in one of the world’s fastest-growing-economy that is right at home China. And you know? We shouldn’t encourage students to go abroad. First, the high cost may not be afforded by every student. Second, many Chinese talents stay abroad after graduated from college, which may cause Chinese brain drain.A: So you think many Chinese talents will stay abroad and work for multinational corporations?Now let me ask you a question. If the academic and working condition in China are better than other countries, why do they prefer to stay abroad? I have some friends who study abroad. I found that theyprefer to study abroad for the open academic atmosphere. They can discuss freely, even debate with their teachers about their questions. B: Since the combination between Chinese and Western College is getting tighter, the academic atmosphere in China is also more inclusive(包容的) than in the past decade. As a result, students stay in China can also experience the open academic atmosphere. Besides, there are more foreign students come to China and study. Chinese traditional culture is much diversified(多元化), which is very attractive for them. It shows that studying in China will also be a great experience. So why our Chinese students eager to study abroad so much? I have to say directly that many Chinese students studying abroad don’t know their own cultural at all but they are eager to learn foreign culture. I don’t mean that foreign cultural isn’t worth learning. But since the Internet reinforce the trend of globalization, we can search the Internet and learn from foreign countries easily. We can do distance learning by the Internet. So studying abroad isn’t so necessary.A: Well, I think we will never reach a consensus. Just like every coin has its two sides, studying abroad also has its advantages and disadvantages.7.In this increasingly internationalized world, festivals and traditionsalso become universal. More often than not, you can see western festivals like Christmas being celebrated in China. What‟s your thought on it?A: Christmas is the most important festival in western countries. More Chinese celebrate Christmas now. However, do Chinese know the meaning behind the Christmas? I wonder it. It is not just a holiday when people go shopping and send gifts crazily, eat big meal, and decorate a Christmas tree. Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday. Since I grown up in church, I know the real meaning of this holiday. But most of the Chinese just celebrate it for fun. In my opinion, not only Chinese but also billions of people around the world should know the meaning first before they celebrate it.B: I can totally understand your feeling, but I have different opinion on Chinese celebrating Christmas. As a member of global village, we should respect their culture. Not knowing the meaning behind the holiday doesn’t mean we don’t respect them. Since this is a internationalized world, holiday also become a treasure of people all over the world. So we can also celebrate it with them. Don’t you think billions of people celebrate Christmas is another way of cultural of diffusion?A: What do you mean?B: Actually, not all of the Chinese don’t know the meaning behind it. Just as you, you know it vry well and you are christian. It means you know a part of western culture.A: I admitted that. Not only Christmas but also other holiday, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving are celebrated people around the world. And Chinese traditional festivals are also celebrated by foreigns now. There are many festivities in New York, San Francisco and LA on the Spring Festival. Although there are usually hold in China town, many foreigners celebrate it with the local Chinese. They know more about our culture by the Spring Festival. Festival and traditions are really the symbol of culture. They are people’s treasure which we should not only respect but also inherit.B: So celebrating the holiday from other countries is an irresistible trend of globalization, including celebrating Christmas.8.What do you think is the worst (man-made or natural) disaster? Howcould we prepare ourselves for it?A: have you ever heard that the earthquake in Japan made people lose their lives?B: wow, that's incredible, the earthquake is so terrible!A:Yes, the worst disaster on the earth. It's unpredictable and destructive.B:so do you know how can we prepare ourselves for it?A: we need to improve building structures and prepare our houses.B: i agree with you, these are particularly necessary for those who live in areas where earthquake are common.A:and what's more,to prepare ourselves, if possible, we cab have earthquake survival supplies including a radio receiver, a torch extra batteries.B:Do you mean first aid supplies? I suppose we need to have warm clothing and a tent as well.A: and keep a fire extinguisher handy, at home, at work, and in our own car.B then how about family members? Don't we need to have some earthquake emergency plans?A:of course. Everyone should agree on a meeting point outside of an area, perhaps in a town several miles away.B:what should i do if I want to communicate with my family if there's an earthquake?A: well, It dosen't matter, you can call to check in with a relative who lives more than a hundred mils away.B:seems like a sensible arrangement! These precautions can make a great difference in saving lives and preventing the loss of homes.A: absolutely! So don't forget to put them into practice.B: surely we will.9.There is a growing concern over cloning in modern society. Are youfor or against it? State your reasons.A:Against:Cloning is a radical challenge to the most fundamental laws of biology, so it's reasonable to be concerned that it might be a preface to activities that will threaten human society and dignity.Yet much of the moral opposition seems also to grow out of an automatic, unthinking disgust.This refusal to consider the issue logically makes it hard for even trained scientists and other experts to see the matter clearly.While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a convincing case that it would do any real harm, either.Conservative spiritual leaders have claimed that cloning a human constitutes a gross attack on human dignity.That would surely be true if a cloned individual were treated as a lesserbeing, with fewer rights or lower status.B:But why suppose that the laws that protect our rights and dignity would not be applicable to cloned persons?A:A leading lawyer has suggested that cloning would violate the "right to a unique genetic identity".B:Where did he come up with such a right?A:It makes perfect sense to say that adult persons have a right not to be cloned without their voluntary , informed consent .B:But if such consent were given, whose "right" to genetic identity would be violated?A:Many of the vivid warnings of science fiction concerning the prospect of human cloning turn out, upon reflection , to be wildly mprobable .B:There's the fear, for instance, that parents might clone a child for the sake of having " surplus parts" in case the original child needs an organ transplant.A:But parents of identical twins don't view one child as an organ farm for the other.Why should cloned children's parents be any different?B:Another disturbing thought is that cloning will lead to efforts to breed individuals with genetic qualities perceived as desirable (math geniuses, soccer players, etc.).Such ideas are offensive, not only because of an unthinking disgust, but also because of the horrors carried out by the Nazis in the name of improving their race.But there's a vast difference between the breeding programs as practiced by some groups (where the urge to breed certain types of people leads to efforts to destroy other types) and the much more harmless forms already practiced in democratic societies (where, say, lawyers freely choose to have sexual relations with other lawyers). Banks stocked with the frozen sperm of geniuses already exist, but they haven't created a master race because few women are queuing up to get pregnant this way.A:Why should we think it would be different if human cloning becomes available?A:So who will likely take advantage of cloning?B:Perhaps a couple whose child is dying.This might seem psychologically suspect, but a cloned child born to such suspect parents stands no greater or lesser chance of being loved, or rejected, than a child created the normal way.Infertile couples are also likely to seek out cloning.That such couples have other options ( artificially bringing egg and sperm together, or adopting a child) is not an argument for denying them the right to clone.Or consider an example raised by Judge Richard Posner: a couple in which the husband has some unfortunate genetic defect . Currently, if this couple wants a genetically related child, they have four not altogether pleasant options.They can reproduce naturally and resign themselves to the risk of passing on the disease to the child.They can go to a sperm bank and take a chance on unknown genes. They can bring egg and sperm together artificially and dispose of any affected baby before placing it in the mother, or before birth—though that might be objectionable, too.Or, they can get a male relative of the father to be a sperm donor, if such a relative exists.This is one case where even people bothered by creating a child under the lens of a microscope might not see cloning as the worst option.A:Even if human cloning offers no obvious benefits to mankind, why ban it?In a democracy we don't usually pass laws against something before there is actual or probable evidence of harm.Before we go any further, it might make sense to require a temporary pause on research into human cloning in order to make a systematic enquiry into the grave questions it raises.When research into cloning is resumed , human cloning should remain a research activity for an extended period.And if it is ever attempted, it should—and no doubt will—take place only under careful examination and layers of legal administration . Most important, human cloning should be governed by the same laws that now protect human rights.A world that is not safe for cloned humans would be a world that is not safe for the rest of us.10.W ould you sign a premarital agreement with your future husband orwife? Why or why not? Give examples or reasons to support your opinion.A: Yes, I will. Because divorce rate is getting higher and financial disputeis usually the critical problem, to sign a premarital agreement can avoid getting trouble in the process of divorce.B: Why are you so pessimistic about your future marriage? Why don’t you think you and your future husband will be the prince and princess in the fairy tales , living happily? For me, to sign a prenuptial agreement is unnecessary. It may take the romance out of the marriage.A: Yeah, I know. But as a precaution. For example, recently the Hong Kong property billionaire’s son has to hand over 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars to his ex-wife, because he dismissed his father advise of signing a prenuptial agreement in 2000. It must be an action Samathur Li most regret.B: Well, maybe I should think deeply about it after knowing the news. Oh! You are right! Signing a prenup will be necessary for nowaday couples. I have read a news that Americans are taking a cautious approach to marriage and are seeking more prenuptial agreements before walking down the aisle. It said that it is not just the wealthy and famous who are looking to safeguard their assets when a marriage crumbles. More middle-class couples are opting for prenups, which can also include adultery clauses, protection of retirement benefits and even custody of the dog, accroding to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawers. A: There is a odd phenomenon occuring worldwide. Many couples get married because of money, car and house. Have you ever seen a TVprogram named “Fei Cheng Wu Rao”?B: Of course. Many single men and women go to that program and want to find their Mrs. Right or Mr. Right. However, the most important standard is usually having a car and a house.A: That’s right. Many couples’ marriage are based on material instead of the emotion, their love. As a result, divorce rate has become higher and higher, and signing a prenup in oreder to avoid some financial problem is necessary.B: Yeah. It is a planning tool. Given that half of marriages end in divorce it makes sense to plan. It is reported an increase in prenups in the last five years, more than half said more women are seeking the legal agreements. More women are working now than in previous decades and they are earning higher salaries. In our historically male-dominated culture women didn't control money and now they need to plan as much as the men. More women have more assets these days and have more control over funds.B: In addition, a prenup can save a couple from a terrible marriage. A couple should make sure how much each of them should pay for the housing loan. Besides, a couple can make an agreement on some problems, such as parents supporting, whether to live with their parents after getting married. Having a baby or not usually cause quarrel between a newly-married couple. So making an agreement on whetherhaving a baby or not has a positive affect on a happy marriage. What’s more, who should teach the child or children is also improtent. For instance, my parents had made a parol agreement before I born. So even if my father thinks my mom is too strict with me sometimes, he has never speak for me. Because it is clear that the power of teaching is mastered by my mother in the agreement. So far, they have never argue about this topic.A: And just like what you said at the beginning, signing a prenup may take the romance out of the prenup. But If the couple live happily and never think about divorce such a awful word, how can it have a negative affect on the happy marriage? On the other hand, you can regard the prenuptial agreement as a safeguard of the happy marriage in the future. If you really think it will take the romance out fo the marriage, you can sign it and then store it in the drawer and never look at it again.。
