her arms around the man’s neck. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled at him. Task2: Talking on a given topic
Direction: Please tell us one incident in which someone was trying to help others despite danger to his own safety.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: The manager of a world-famous hotel wants to recruit a new member as the hotel’s bellboy, offering him a salary of 3000 yuan per month. Many university graduates are competing for the position. As a sophomore in the university, you think that they are applying for a job unworthy for their talents. Try to persuade your partner that you are right. Remember you will initiate the conversation.
Student B: The manager of a world-famous hotel wants to recruit a new member as the hotel’s bellboy, offering him a salary of 3000 yuan per month. Many university graduates are competing for the position. As a sophomore in the university, you think that it is courageous for them to make such a decision and they have made the correct choice. Try to persuade your partner that you are right. Remember your partner will initiate the conversation.
2004:
Task1: Retelling a story ①When she was 22 years old Pat Jones decided that she wanted to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could while she was young. When she finished college at home in Britain, Pat chose to visit Latin America first, so she managed to get a job as an English teacher in a secondary school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish, so she was able to communicate with her students even though they did not know much English. ②A sentence she had once read somewhere stuck in her mind: if you dream in a foreign language, it means that you have really mastered it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and she hoped that someday she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in English. ③One day, Tim, one of the worst students in her class, came up to her and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He said that he had gone to bed early and had slept badly. Pat was quite angry with him, for she did not think that his explanation had anything to do with his homework. But Tim told her that he dreamed all night and his dream was in English. ④“In English!” Pat thought. She was greatly surprised, since Tim was such a bad student. She was also secretly jealous. Her dreams were still not in Spanish, but she decided to encourage her student and asked him to tell her about his dream.
“All the people in my dream spoke English,” Tim said. “And all the signs were in English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English.”
“But that’s wonderful,” said Pat. “What did all the people say to you?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. Miss Jones, That’s why I slept so badly all through the night. I didn’t understand a word they said. It was a nightmare!” Tim answered.
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Describe one of the most unpleasant dreams you’ve ever had. Task3: Role-playing
Student A: Nowadays higher education is getting more and more expensive. To quite a number of families it has become a big financial burden. You try to discuss this problem with student B. You think that parents should pay tuition for their children since college students do not yet have any regular income.
Student B: Nowadays higher education is getting more and more expensive. To quite a number of families it has become a big financial burden. You try to discuss this problem with student A. Your opinion is that it is unfair to put this big burden on parents since college students are already adults. Students themselves should find ways to pay their own tuition.
2006：
Task1: Retelling a story
①A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty glass jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about two inches in diameter.
②He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces between the rocks. The students laughed.
③He asked his students again if the jar was full. They agreed: yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up all the remaining space. ④“Now.” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life.” The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.
⑤If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, or material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important. Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. Talk with your parents. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. “Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand. They will take care of themselves.”
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Describe a lesson you have learned which has enriched your life experience.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: You and your friend are discussing what you are going to do together during this coming summer vacation. Your friend prefers to work in a big company to earn some money. You prefer to do some voluntary work for society. You try to persuade each other by giving various reasons. Remember you will initiate the conversation.
Student B: You and your friend are discussing what you are going to do together during this coming summer vacation. Your friend prefers to do some voluntary work for society. You prefer to work in a big company to earn some money. You try to persuade each other by giving various reasons. Remember your partner will initiate the conversation. 2007:
Task1: Retelling a story
①Anne was a science teacher in a primary school. She loved her job and believed very strongly in practical work as a means of teaching science effectively. ②Once she decided to show her pupils’ parents how well their children were learning. To demonstrate the effectiveness of her methods she invited all the parents to come to the school to see the results of one of the children’s experiments. She scheduled this event for a Saturday evening, so all of the parents would be sure to come.
③The children were studying how plants grow. To see this process for themselves the students had planted four pots of beans. They had put poor soil in one pot to see what effect this would have on the growth of the beans. The other three pots of beans had good soil, but one pot had been placed in a dark room for several days and another pot was not watered for the same length of time. In this way the children were learning the effects of soil, water and sunlight on the growth of plants.
④At the end of the lesson on Friday afternoon, Anne put labels on the four pots. One label said, “The beans in this pot were planted in poor soil.” Another one said, “This pot has been kept in the dark for four days.” The third label read, “These beans have had no water for four days.” And the last one went like this: “These beans have had good soil, plenty of light and regular water.” Then she went home.
⑤She returned to school on Saturday evening, half an hour before the parents were due to come. She was surprised to find a note beside the pots. It said: “We read your notes to the school cleaning staff and decided to help them with your plants, so we watered all the plants, changed the earth in one with poor soil, and left the light on above the one that had been left in the dark for four days. We hope that the plants will now grow better.” Signed “The Boy Scouts”.
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Directions: Talk about an experience you have had in which you tried to help someone but actually caused trouble.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: Nowadays lots of college students take all kinds of tests to get different kinds of certificates. You think it necessary because these certificates are useful in helping the students find good jobs. But your partner doesn’t agree with you. Try to convince him/her. Remember you should start the conversation.
Student B: Nowadays lots of college students take all kind of tests to get different kinds of certificates. You don’t think it necessary because most of these certificates are actually of no use. But your partner doesn’t agree with you. Try to convince him/her. Remember your partner should start the conversation.
2008：
Task1: Retelling a story
It was shortly after one o’clock in the morning and Mr. Fairfax was really tired. He had been driving for over five hours, heading for a small town far away from home. The weather was clear but it was dark and Mr. Fairfax could not find a motel to spend the night. Completely exhausted, he decided to stop by the roadside for a few hours’ sleep at the wheel of his car. He fell asleep almost the moment he closed his eyes. But soon he was awakened by a man tapping on the car window. “I say, you don’t happen to know the time, do you?” the stranger asked.
Mr. Fairfax wound down the window and thrust his head out. “It’s around one o’clock,” he answered. Then he wound up his window and soon fell back into a deep slumber.
Half an hour later, another guy came up and knocked on his window who also inquired about the time. Once again, Mr. Fairfax gathered his thoughts and told him that it was just after one-thirty.
When the same thing happened yet again, Mr. Fairfax became increasingly irritated. Sleep-deprived, he began to raise his voice at the passer-by: “It’s two o’clock, God damn it! And why can’t you get yourself a watch like the rest of us?”
This time when he was winding up the window, Mr. Fairfax figured out how to make sure no one else disturbed him. He found some paper and a pencil and wrote a note that he placed on the windscreen of his car. It said: “I don’t know what time it is!” Amused by his good idea, he happily drifted off back to sleep again.
Not long afterwards, the note was spotted by a policeman on his night patrol. Intent on fulfilling his duty to assist motorists, he tapped on Mr. Fairfax’s car window.
“Well, sir,” the policeman said. “Now it is five past three!”
Task2: Talking on a given topic
Describe a situation in which you tried every means to avoid trouble, but in vain.
Task3: Role-playing
Student A: Today in China, lots of famous people, such as athletes, are admitted to famous universities without taking the college entrance exam. You and your partner are discussing the issue. You think these people deserve a chance since they have
contributed a lot to the country. Your partner does not agree. Try to convince him/her. Remember you should start the conversation.
Student B: Today in China, lots of famous people, such as athletes, are admitted to famous universities without taking the college entrance exam. You and your partner are discussing the issue. You don’t think these people should be given this chance since it is unfair to the other people who work so hard to pass the exam. Your partner does not agree. Try to convince him/her. Remember your partner will start the conversation.