1.       Talk about an important news event that happened recently in your country .Describe the event and explain why it was important. 

Recently, there was a news about a little girl run over by a van and within 7 minutes,18 people walked by without giving a hand. Finally she was saved by a scavenger. The news is very important because it shows that our society is apathetic. People aren’t willing to help others and they fear to help others.  This is pathetic. This news sparked an awful lot of discussions on the Internet and increased the public awareness of an issue that we are gradually losing our virtue.  Our virtue has been sapped by our apathy. What should we do to save the society and save ourselves?

2.       Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:  Your friends are the most important influence in your life. Use details and examples to explain your opinion

I agree with the statement friends are the most important influence in my life. Firstly, I learned how to be sociable from friends. When I first entered a company, I was a loner. I didn’t understand the basic social rules. One of my friends, Lillian, gave me a lot of advice about how to behave in front of the boss and what to say in front of colleagues. Secondly, friends are my good-listeners. Many times I felt helpless and painful because of some frustrations, I went to my friends. They would sit in front of me, listening to my complaints or swear words and then comforted me. These are the things that neither my parents or other relatives can give me.

3.       The woman expresses her opinion about the university’s plan. Briefly summarize the plan. Then sate her opinion about the plan and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.

The university is planning to send daily e-mail to all students so that they can get information about campus events and activities every day. The woman thinks it’s a great idea. First of all, the woman thinks the weekly newspaper is not up-to-date. She reads it every Monday, but she’ll forget a concert on Thursday or a film on Wednesday. She also says that the email can serve as an reminder so if any event gets cancelled, people will know and won’t waste time going. Second of all, the woman says everyone checks email once a day and if they include cafeteria menu in the email every day, people definitely will read it.

4.       Explain how the example from the lecture illustrates the technique of questioning awareness of effect.

By asking a student a question that draws attention to the negative effect of the student’s behavior, teachers can lead the student to discontinue the disruptive behavior. This is called questioning awareness effect. The professor once taught kids and he had a rule that students should raise hands and wait to be called name to answer questions. But some kids had trouble following this rule. For example a student named Sarah didn’t raise hand to answer questions, which is frustrating for other kids. One day, when she called out, the professor asked her a question: “Sarah, Do you realized when you called out answers without raising hands, you are not being fair to other students.” The professor didn’t stop to wait for her answer but continued teaching the class. So he drew Sarah’s attention to the negative effect of her behavior by asking this question. After that, she didn’t call out answer and started to raise her hand like everyone else.

5.       Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.

The woman has been rehearsing for a play. But there is a guy named Bill who can’t remember his lines. The woman is not sure whether he will be ready for the opening night. There are two solutions discussed in the conversation. The first one is to replace him with another actor who can play the part. But the woman worries that removing Bill will hurt his feelings. The second solution is to spend time with Bill, work with him to help him remember lines. But the woman has other parts of the production to take care of. Personally, I recommend the woman to try the second solution first to see if Bill will improve under her help. Maybe Bill’s got some real problems remembering some lines or maybe he is just nervous and forgetful on the stage. So find problems first and then decide whether to replace him or not.

6.       Using points and examples from the talk, describe two changes that occurred after machines began to be used for manufacturing goods.

The first change is that the center of production moved from homes to factories. Take the production of clock as an example, traditionally people had made clocks by hand at home. But when steam-powered machines were invented and used to weave clock, the clock production became more quickly and efficiently. So the making of clocks shifted from home-made business to factory production. Another change is that cities started forming around factories. For example, if a clock factory was built in a small village, the factory would hire a lot of rural workers. So the workers started to congregate in the village. As a result,the village got bigger and bigger and eventually grew to a city.