Hometown话题

1、策略：在没听懂考官的问题的情况下应该怎样反映？

Where is the whereabouts of your hometown? (whereabouts= location)

如果没不知道whereabouts的意思，可以问考官：I’m not sure if I catch/got/that word. Could you say that again? Could you repeat it for me? Could you explain/rephrase/change the word “whereabouts” to another word?

2、Can you tell me something about your hometown?

可以从几个方面来谈：weather, food(unique: spicy, salty…), population, architecture, history, dialect, 最好是说家乡的特产specialty.

e.g.: It’s a very nice city. Its scenery is great.(there’re lots of mountains around it….) by the sea/lake, costal area, surrounded by mountains

The city has a strong identity of its own.

It has a striking combination of ancient and modern architecture.

People are very friendly.

西方人在这个话题上比较喜欢讨论nightlife(bar/pub/club, social life, restaurant, theatre, cinema…)

3、Do you think your hometown a good place for young people to live?

⑴ Education方面：there’re many colleges and universities there. Youths can get the best education ever.

⑵ Job Opportunity方面

⑶ Entertainment/Nightlife方面

⑷ Modern life style方面：fast/slow pace of life, cost of living, living standard/standard of living, quality of life…

4、How can you make comparison between Beijing and your hometown?(讲义P2)

可以从表格里的几个方面进行讨论：

Nicer weather	Better nightlife	Cheaper restaurants	Bigger hotels
Better sightseeing	Older neighborhoods	Better public transportation	Friendlier people

⑴ Weather: the air is dry/humid, the climate is windy/mild, extremely hot/cold, extreme climate(very hot in summer, very cold in winter)

⑵ Cheaper restaurants: 多用detail information来论证，用具体实例和数字来论证。E.g.: If you go to a restaurant in Beijing, it’ll cost you 100 Yuan. But if you go to a similar restaurant in Dalian, it’ll be just 2/3 of the price in Beijing.

⑶ Better public transportation:

   What kind of public transportation of people around you?

   e.g.: taxi, bus, (underground) subway, light railway,…

   What can be done to improve the public transportation?

   e.g.: enforce the management, develop the underground subway, improve the city road systems and encourage people to use the public transportation…

* make it more accessible to disabled people(people with disabilities) , old people and people on low-income; maintain the road system/ keep the roads in good condition…

（主讲：孙涛 整理：cecilewang）