口语话题参考答案(Unit4).doc

第4单元口语话题参考答案
1. What are the positive and negative things about being famous?
Positive things:
One of the greatest advantages of being famous is that fame generally brings with it lots of fortune. So celebrities usually live a comfortable and even luxurious life.
Being famous opens up many opportunities in life. Many celebrities embark upon the entrepreneurship path as soon as they achieve stardom.
Celebrities get special treatment wherever they go, for example, special seats at theaters or special tables at restaurants.
Celebrities may have greater influence than average people. They get the advantage of voicing their own opinions about the world, and their words may weigh heavier than average people.

Negative things:
Lack of privacy is one of the biggest disadvantages of being a celebrity. Celebrities cannot lead lives of ordinary people because they are constantly watched and followed by paparazzi who have little or no respect for the privacy of celebrities or their family members.
Celebrities experience great pressure owing to their fans’ expectations. Some fans may expect celebrities to be absolutely perfect in every aspect of their lives.
Celebrities are often harassed by phone calls, emails or messages from fans or followers who cross the line and become obsessed.

2. What would you do if you were famous?
If I were famous, I would help my parents pay off the mortgage, and afford a lot of nice things for my family and my friends.
或: If I were famous, I would buy myself a sports car and move my parents into their dream house.
或: If I were famous, I would use my status to better the world and help people in need.

3. What is the difference between becoming famous in the past and now?

It has become much easier for ordinary people to become famous nowadays. In the past, if you wanted to be famous, you might need to be outstanding in the field of entertainment or sports or politics. But now with the development of modern technology, there are a variety of ways to become famous. You can appear on a reality TV program, or you can make yourself a web celebrity overnight by filming yourself singing, dancing or giving a speech, and then putting the photo or the video on the Internet.

4. Would you like to be famous?
I wouldn’t like to be famous because if I were famous, I would have no privacy. I don’t like being watched all the time. I hate to have my every move recorded or photographed by paparazzi.
或: I would like to be famous partly because I would enjoy being the focus of attention, and partly because I would have enough money to do whatever I want.
5. What would you like to be famous for?
I would love to be a famous writer, like Shakespeare. I think it’s a wonderful thing to be able to write a book that people all around the world want to read.
或: I’d like to be a famous politician. If I were a politician, I would try to change the world, to stop all these wars and do something to help poor countries. You know, I think it’s terrible that most politicians don’t seem to worry about things like that.

6. Which famous person would you most like to meet? Why?
I’d most like to meet Oprah Winfrey because she is kind and generous and willing to help people out during tough times. And more importantly because she has struggled with things we all have experienced and she has coped with them with dignity.

7. Can you think of a famous person who has made a life-changing decision? Share the story of this famous person.
A typical example is Bill Gates, the former chief executive of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. Bill Gates enrolled at Harvard University in the fall of 1973, originally thinking of a career in law. He did well there, but he didn’t find it interesting. He spent many long nights in front of the school’s computer and the next day was asleep in class. When the MITS Altair 8800 based on the Intel 8080 CPU was released in 1974, he and his friend Paul Allen saw this as a great opportunity to start their own computer software company. So Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start a business to write software for computers. It was a hard decision but it turned out to be the right choice.

8. Which sporting hero do you admire? Why?
The sporting hero I admire most is Lang Ping, a former player of Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team, nicknamed “Iron Hammer”. She is a beloved sporting hero and one of the most respected people in modern Chinese sports history mainly because of her central role in the success of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team in the 1980s, including the Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympics, World Championship crown in 1982 and World Cup titles in 1981 and 1985.

9. Read the following quotes about dreams: “You can dream, but do not make dreams your master.” “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” Explain the meaning of the two quotes.
We all have dreams in our life. These dreams may be things we want to accomplish, places we want to go, or feats we must attempt. Whatever they are, dreams give us a purpose in life and a meaning to live, and allow us to fight for what we believe in. however, we should not let our dreams control our life and become a slave to them. In fact there are other things we should work for apart from our own dreams, such as our family and our friends. So don’t be afraid to let go our dreams if we have to.

The second quote tells us that we should always strive to attain our dreams in life. Dreams push us to move forward, to struggle, to strive all the time. Without dreams, life is a life without hope; without dreams, we are as lost as a bird which has lost the gift of flight. So follow our dreams and let our ambition fuel us to surpass our limits. Never quit and always think of different ways to win.