Part 1

Punctuality

 

How do you remind yourself to be on time?

 

参考答案:

Well, as for me, what I usually do is to set a time clock in my smartphone for each of my appointments so that I will be reminded with a ring 2 hours earlier before I go for my appointment.

 

Why do some people tend to be late all the time?

 

参考答案:

Well, some people seem to be late all the time just because they simply don’t take their appointments seriously, which means they do not have to take any severe consequences for their lateness.

 

Do you think it is important to be punctual?

 

参考答案:

Well, yes, it is absolutely crucial to be punctual because not only does it show your respect for other people and their time, but more importantly, it demonstrates your good sense of time management.

 

What do you normally do when you are waiting for someone?

 

参考答案:

Well, I generally play with my smartphone while waiting for someone. For instance, I would probably read some latest news, listen to some music or even chat with my friends to kill time.

 

Do you think people these days are as punctual as they used to be in the past?

 

参考答案:

Well, I guess probably not.

You know, with so many amazing functions in our smartphones, most people tend to spend so much time either watching movies or playing games on it. As a result, they unconsciously lose control of their time, so we end up being late for our appointments.

 

 

Part 2

 

Describe your favorite season of the year

You should say:

What season it is;

What the weather is usually like during the season;

What you can do during the season;

And explain how the season influences your feelings.

 

提示:

此话题属于“物品”类话题, 此题所要描述的物品是虚拟的;其次,我们使用的主要时态应该是“Present Tense”, 描述基本事实;接着,我们看前三个“basic information”:最喜欢的季节是哪一个?这个季节的天气如何? 这个季节你都能做什么?针对这三点,我们需要思考:它们之间是否存在某种 logical connection?比如, 这个季节的天气特点是不是决定了在这个季节你能玩什么, 不能玩什么等等;再比如, 在进行有效拓展时, 是不是可以用对比的方式将多个不同季节的天气进行对比,从而重点强调自己喜欢季节的天气特点等等;

 

到最后解释,说明的部分,我们需要说明这个季节对我们的影响, 这里大家可以关注这个influence可以是积极方面的, 也可以是消极方面的, 但由于它是你最喜欢的季节, 主要焦点还是须谈论积极的方面。

 

参考答案:

Well, summer is definitely the best season for me because I can always enjoy so many different kinds of leisure activities such as swimming, boating, jogging and fishing as I believe doing outdoor sports is the best way to keep me fit.

 

Summer usually arrives when it comes to the end of June and lasts for about 2 months in my city which is Xi’an. Admittedly, it's probably not a pleasant season for most people as it can be unbearably scorching outside. Therefore, people prefer to stay inside as much as they could to avoid the heat. Meanwhile, they always try to spend more time in a place which is air-conditioned when they have to be outside. 

 

Hot as it is in summer, I still love it so much. As I mentioned earlier, I can do a variety of fun activities. What's more, I always take advantage of my summer vacation to travel a bit as taking a short trip is the best way to relax and refresh me.

 

However, summer is also the season which influences me the most because I seem to get annoyed easily or even irritated when it gets too hot, which means I might lose my temper over small things, especially when I'm faced with confrontation. Therefore, I often try to relax a little bit by travelling.

 

重点词汇及表达:

①leisure : 名词, 形容词;休闲 空闲;空闲的  业余的  

Eg:People often wonder what those celebrities enjoy doing in their leisure time. 

 

②admittedly : 副词; 公认的  不可否认的

Eg:Admittedly, Peter is the best candidate so he will attend the annual conference in Beijing on behalf of his company.

 

③unbearably : 副词; 无法忍受的

Eg:Since Mary is a girl who grew up in a place which is full of sunshine, winter seems unbearably cold for her.

 

④irritated : 形容词; 易怒的  恼怒的

Eg: Profess Lee does not get irritated easily unless someone challenges his authority in his professional field.

 

 

Part 3

 

What is your least favorite season of the year and why?

 

参考答案:

Well, my least favorite season is winter as it is unbearably cold in the place where I live, which means I have to wear a lot of clothes whenever I need to go outside. And that is actually the second reason why I do not fancy winter. Wearing too many clothes is such a heavy burden to me. 

 

重点词汇及表达:

①fancy: 动词;喜欢  喜爱

Eg:I find that many people around me really fancy Italian food as I see them often visiting that Italian restaurant near our company.  

 

②burden: 名词; 负担  累赘

Eg:With the scholarship he has been granted by school, his parents’ financial burden must be greatly reduced.

 

Is there anything you dislike about your favorite season?

 

参考答案:

Yes, there is, and the only thing I dislike about summer is that it can rain out of sudden. For instance, when you as well as your family are enjoying a wonderful picnic outside at a park under splendid weather, but suddenly, a storm came from nowhere, which mercilessly destroyed your time with your loved ones.

 

重点词汇及表达:

①splendid: 形容词;美好的  精彩的

Eg:Whenever he goes into his album looking at all the photos he used to take while he was in London, he would naturally remember all the splendid moments he had. 

 

②mercilessly: 副词; 无情地  残忍地

Eg:His custody of his child has been mercilessly deprived of by the court.

 

Why do some people still go swimming in cold winter?

 

参考答案:

Well, there must be a number of reasons why people choose to swim in freezing winter.

However, I believe the top reason is for their personal health. In my country, the majority of swimmers in winter are elderly people, which means they pay more attention to health condition, and swimming in winter has been proved to be quite helpful to enhance their immune system. On top of that, it also boosts their digestive system, which ensures that they can get sufficient nutrition from food they eat every day.

 

重点词汇及表达:

①immune: 形容词;免疫的  免除的 不受影响的

Eg:With all the new changes in office, I dare to say that nobody can be totally immune.

 

②sufficient: 形容词; 足够的   充裕的

Eg:According to one latest research, children under 3 years old must get sufficient sleep for about 10 hours for their brain to develop healthily.

 

What do people in your country do under cloudy weather?

 

参考答案:

Well, that's a really tricky question to answer. You know, with a huge population of 1.3 billion, different people must do different things when it is cloudy.

Lucky for me, I live in a city called Kunming where the climate is pretty stable, meaning the weather and the temperature don't change too much throughout the whole year. Therefore, when it comes to cloudy weather, most people still go outside and enjoy activities with their friends or families.

 

重点词汇及表达:

①tricky: 形容词;难搞的 棘手的  狡猾的

Eg:He is very experienced politician so he can handle all the tricky questions raised by those reporters.

 

②stable : 形容词; 稳定的 固定的

Eg:She feels rather unwilling to take the job with new challenges as her current job is a stable one.