【Cue Card 2】:


【回答】: I am a firm believer of a saying” Culture is one of the very few things that can make people get obsessed with forever”. Indeed, it is like a fashion, like a trademark, like a time. It is Cambridge made me know about UK. It is Disney made me know about USA. It is Louis Vuitton made me know about France. Talking about interesting culture, I think the most impressive one is Chinese culture.（注意：本句為經典套句，可以模仿，但句式復雜，同類從句避免運用過多。作為開頭，無需用例文中的所有排比句式，建議挑選用，不然顯得累贅，不能馬上切入主題。）Chinese wedding, as one of the most fantastic parts in （句式不錯）Chinese culture, never fails to（雙重否定表肯定=can always ）draw any attention anytime. Here I would like to tell you about two typical customs involved in Chinese wedding: the hair combing ceremony and door-game playing.

　　Although it is not always performed today, it is a lovely ritual that got special meaning. Anyway, I would do it when I get married. The night before the wedding, the bride is supposed to bathe and then take a seat in front of lit candles. Her hair is combed four times by her mother. It is considered to be fortunate in life. The first combing symbolizes “from beginning to end”(一梳梳到底). The second means “harmony form youth though old”(二梳白發齊眉) which is followed by the third combing with a wish for many grandchildren(三梳子孫滿堂). And it ends up with the fourth combing offers hope for wealth and a happily-ever-after marriage(白頭到老). Isn’t it sweet?

　　Another ceremony I wanna talk about here is what we called” Door game”. Say, when groom picks up(接) the bride, and he will be blocked at the front door by bride’s relatives or friends, and the bridesmaids will play door game with the groom and his groomsmen. Bridesmaids will try to stop him from entering by asking tough questions. It is supposed to be a way to test if he really cares about her. They may also do other tricks to delay the bride’s leaving. The groom will try to get through the door by presenting “lucky money”, money wrapped in red envelopes, to the bridesmaid. Finally, the groom has to give the bride a piggy back(give sb a piggy back背某人) to the limo waiting outside.(例文中描述了兩種傳統婚禮的儀式1.梳頭2.撞門游戲。中心段落有些過長，可以不必完全背誦，建議學生參考例文的描寫模式。)

　　Certainly, there are still millions of other cool customs, such as bed setting, 12-course traditional Chinese wedding banquet, bowing procedure, rings exchanging, arm-crossed drinking, paper cutting of dragon and phoenix, double happiness…all of these make Chinese wedding really special.(最后一段列舉了鞠躬，交換戒指，交杯酒，龍鳳剪紙，雙喜剪紙，建議學生可以參考一下這些術語的英語表達)

　　“武裝到牙齒”的回答

　　【Question 1】:

　　Do you think people need festivals?

　　分析：建議考生回答“是”。The answer is probably yes.

　　然后給出理由。Tell why it is so by giving some specific reasons.

　　【回答】: Absolutely. For one thing, people need to take some time off their normal duties and relax. There is always a holiday atmosphere during these times and that’s important. Also it gives an opportunity for people to socialize. And it’s a time for get together. Family reunion, in my opinion, is one of the most charming and exciting things about festivals. It strengthens family bonds.

　　【Question 2】:

　　Are there any traditional skills in your country?

　　思路拓展：考生可以考慮：What are they?

　　Do you think people try to learn these skills?

　　【回答】: Well, yes. We have all kinds of skills such as woodcarving(木雕), sculpturing(雕塑), paper cutting(剪紙), sewing(縫紉) and knitting(編織), cooking local food and so on. But less and less people nowadays are showing interest in traditional skills. I think the reason is that modern science and technology is developing with a faster pace than ever before. So many high-tech products and devices are available for modern consumers that they tend to think science and technology is what life is all about, and they tend to care less and less about the humanities, histories and traditions.

　　分析：由于傳統技術本身就是一種文化遺產(cultural heritage)，因此技術其實是對傳統的一種繼承形式。由于現代科技的發展速度過快，導致人們產生“重科技、輕人文”的思維傾向;很顯然，該回答把人們不欣賞傳統技術的原因歸結為“科技發展 VS 人文傳統”的兩元對立。于是，在我們闡述原因的同時，就很巧妙地把隱藏在深處的humanities, histories and traditions推到了臺前，顯示出講話者的人文關懷。而在談到年輕人不再關心傳統技術的時候，也折射出對于傳統文化漸漸式微的一種憂慮之心。