Oral Topics
Unit 1 From Competence to Commitment
School education in China is very different from that in America. The differences exist in almost every aspect of it, curricula, classroom instruction, homework, exam, class size, students’ contribution to the class, etc. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Which method do you like more?
Chinese education
1. more-focused
2. more systematic
3. help to build a more solid foundation
American education
1. more student-centered
2. more flexible
3. more accessible
Unit 3 An American Love Affair
Ever since its invention, the automobile has been celebrated by some and meanwhile severely denounced by others. What advantages and disadvantages do cars have? Do you want to have a car of your own?
Advantages:
1)Great contribution to the prosperity of our economy
2)Plenty of conveniences such as moving around freely, travelling to the country over the weekend
3)Free choice of living wherever you like without being compelled to work locally
4)Feeling of independence and freedom
Disadvantages:
1)Pollution
2)Traffic Problems in town
3)Road accidents
4)The soaring cost of petrol and the increased license fees and road tax
Unit 5 Sandwich Generation
The standard traditional Chinese family, with several generations living under the same roof, is disappearing. Some people like it while others don't. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional family pattern? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Advantages:
1. better care of family members
2. satisfaction of emotional needs
Disadvantages:
1. lack of independence and freedom
2. conflicts resulting from the generation gap
Unit 7 The Virtues of Ambition
Ralph Waldo Emerson says that without ambition one starts nothing. Without ambition one finishes nothing. “An average person with average talents and ambition and average education can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals.” Brian Tracy’s words also show to us the significance of ambition in a person’s pursuit. Even for a nation, ambition is an essential stimulus to drive it forward.
However, if ambition is misused and ambitious people tend to use illegal or even brutal means to reach their goals at all costs, their ambition would do harm to others, to community or even to the civilization of human beings.
So, does ambition bring more good than harm? Pick up one side of opinion and defend yourself with details.
Unit 9 Let Computers Be the Bureaucrats
Nowadays a vast network of interconnected computers is having a profound effect on human society. Some futurists warn that computers will someday replace human labor in the production of goods and services and we'll be lost in machine-dominated world. However, there are other people who optimistically predict that it is but those routine jobs that will be taken over by computers. Humans will be freed eventually to do more creative and rewarding jobs. What is your opinion towards the role of computers in the future?
Side One: Computer will take the place of human beings
1. the development and capacity of computers
2. the changes our society has been going through: more machines, less workers.
Side Two: Computer will not take the place of human beings.
1. human being as the creator of computers.
2. some possible fields in which computers will never beat human beings.
Unit 2 Family Business: the Next Generation
Today, a lot of young people want to establish their own business. They want to be bosses themselves. They say there are a lot of good of it. But others feel being a boss is not as good as it sounds. They prefer to work for others. Do you want to be a boss or work for a boss?
Advantages:
1. authority over everything
2. more self-realizing
3. more motivated to work
Disadvantages:
1. heavy mental burden
2. less free time
3. responsibility for accidents if there is any
Unit 4 The No-child Family: Going Against 100,000 Years of Biology
A no-child family turns out to produce both good aspects and bad aspects. What are they respectively? Do you want to have a family with a child or without?
Good aspects of a no-child family:
1. more freedom to enjoy life
2. less economic burden
3. more self-accomplishing
Bad aspects of a no-child family:
1. marriage more easily broken up
2. less emotional satisfaction
3. no dependence when old
Unit 6 Getting Along With Nature
Is humanity the defender or destroyer of nature? Decide which side you want to stand on and argue for your side with the help of the following statements.
Pros:
- To defend nature is to better it. Today's world is undoubtedly much better than a
primeval one, which, to a great extent, attributes to human's activities.
- Humans, superior to other creatures, are bound to defend nature as they know
beforehand the bad results of destroying it.
Cons:
- Humans have greatly abused nature, and the ill consequences of which have been
evidenced by frequent floods and global warming.
- Humanity is doomed to be the destroyer of nature, as every change is made for its own advantage, rather than for other creatures.
Unit 10 Animal Research Is Vital to Medicine
Animals have been widely used for medical researches. A majority of scientists believe that this is the most convenient and most practical way to make progress in medical field. But it has also ever aroused the criticism of the conservatives. They’d like to see animals being protected rather than encroached. Are animal experiments vital to medical research?
Candidate 1:
Disagree: 1.Some intelligent animals are humankind’s friends.
2. It’s cruel to experiment on animals. Vivisection causes great suffering to
animals.
3. In some cases, animals are killed for wrong reasons.
4. Animals should enjoy equal rights to live on the earth.
Candidate 2:
Agree: 1. To find cures for cancer and other serious diseases.
2. To develop vaccines to treat infectious diseases.
3. To test the safety of drugs.
Candidate 3:
Agree: 1. Some extracts from animals like insulin can cure human diseases.
2. Animals can be used to test the safety of cosmetics.
3. Humanity is more superior and more advanced than other creatures.
Unit 12 Rich North, Hungry South
As a member of WTO, China has decided to further open up its door to the world economy. Will the benefits of integration into the global economy outweigh the costs? Here are some hints about the advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
1.make domestic industry more efficient
- spur the development of the legal and regulatory framework necessary for a market economy
- increase foreign direct investment
Disadvantages:
- give rise to short-term dislocations in the transition including higher unemployment and greater income disparities
- increase competitive pressures in some sectors such as agriculture, automobiles and telecommunications
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