【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：本句为经典套句，可以模仿，但句式复杂，同类从句避免运用过多。作为开头，无需用例文中的所有排比句式，建议挑选用，不然显得累赘，不能马上切入主题。）Chinese wedding, as one of the most fantastic parts in （句式不错）Chinese culture, never fails to（双重否定表肯定=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”(二梳白发齐眉) which is followed by the third combing with a wish for many grandchildren(三梳子孙满堂). And it ends up with the fourth combing offers hope for wealth and a happily-ever-after marriage(白头到老). 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.(例文中描述了两种传统婚礼的仪式1.梳头2.撞门游戏。中心段落有些过长，可以不必完全背诵，建议学生参考例文的描写模式。)

　　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.(最后一段列举了鞠躬，交换戒指，交杯酒，龙凤剪纸，双喜剪纸，建议学生可以参考一下这些术语的英语表达)

　　“武装到牙齿”的回答

　　【Question 1】:

　　Do you think people need festivals?

　　分析：建议考生回答“是”。The answer is probably yes.

　　然后给出理由。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：考生可以考虑：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(剪纸), sewing(缝纫) and knitting(编织), 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：由于传统技术本身就是一种文化遗产(cultural heritage)，因此技术其实是对传统的一种继承形式。由于现代科技的发展速度过快，导致人们产生“重科技、轻人文”的思维倾向;很显然，该回答把人们不欣赏传统技术的原因归结为“科技发展 VS 人文传统”的两元对立。于是，在我们阐述原因的同时，就很巧妙地把隐藏在深处的humanities, histories and traditions推到了台前，显示出讲话者的人文关怀。而在谈到年轻人不再关心传统技术的时候，也折射出对于传统文化渐渐式微的一种忧虑之心。