英语高级口语教程

Lesson 1

Does Television Play a Positive or

Negative Role in the Modern Society?

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Do the Advantages of Television Outweigh the Disadvantages?

Television is now playing a very important part in our life. But television, like other things, has both advantages and disadvantages. Do the former outweigh the latter?

In the first place, television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but

also a comparatively cheap one. For a family of four, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sit comfortably at home, with almost unlimited entertainment available, than to go out in search of amusement elsewhere. They do not have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre, the cinema, or the opera, only to discover, perhaps, that the show is disappointing.

All they have to do is press a button, and they can see plays, films, operas, and shows

of every kind, not to mention political discussions and the latest exciting football match. Some people, however, maintain that this is precisely where the danger lies. The television viewer takes no initiative. He makes no choice and exercises no judgment. He is completely passive and has everything presented to him without any effort on his part.

Television, it is often said, keeps one informed about current events, allows one to

follow the latest developments in science and politics, and offers an endless series of programmes which are both instructive and entertaining. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into one's sitting-room. It could be argued that the radio performs this service just as well; but on television everything is much more living, much more real. Yet here again there is a danger. We get so used to looking at it, so dependent on its flickering pictures, that it begins to dominate our lives.

There are many other arguments for and against television. The poor quality of its

programmes is often criticized. But it is undoubtedly a great comfort to many lonely elderly people. And does it corrupt or instruct our children? I think we must realize that television in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the uses to which it is put that determine its value to society.

II . Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoint while reading.

1. Why Watch Television?

Matthew: Television is undoubtedly a great invention, but one of the main you've criticisms

of it is that people just aren't selective enough. Lesley, got a television; how

do you pick out the sorts of programmes you want to watch?

me, rather than you turning it on a seven o'clock and you leaving it on until

half-past eleven when the programmes finish.

Matthew: Do you think of television though as a great time-waster?

Lesley: Un ...I think it can be a time-waster and it depends on how particular people are

about what they want to see...Mm, it can just be a sort of total amusement for someone

and totally consuming without really considering what it is they're watching.

Matthew: Aha, but how do you prevent it coming into your life and taking over your evenings

and at the same time perhaps get . . . get out of the television some of the sort

of best things...best programmes that...that undoubtedly are on television?

Lesley: Well, I suppose one of the problems is ...will depend on what a person's life style

is, and that if he has other outside interests which are equally important to him

as television, he will then, you know, mm . . . be more careful about which programmes

he wants to watch because he has time which he wants to use for other things.

Matthew: Do you think though that... that in . . . in a sense television has killed people's

own er...sort of , creativity or their ability to entertain themselves because if

they're bored all they do is just turn on the television?

Lesley: Yes, I think that is a danger, and I think that. .in fact is what is happening to

a lot of people who use it as their ... their main...um field of amusement and ...

because they don't have other outside interests and even when people come round

they'll leave the television on and not be, you know, particularly interested in

talking to them, you know the television will be the main thing in the room.

Matthew: Peter, have you got a television?

Peter: I have, in fact I've got two televisions.

Matthew: Do you watch them a lot?

Peter: Er ... no I...I watch very seldom er ... In fact, I find that I watch television

most when I'm most busy, when I'm working hardest and I need some sort of passive

way of relaxing, something which requires nothing of me, then I watch television

a lot. When I've got more energy left...um ...in my own private time, in my free

time, then I find I do more different things. I do things like um reading, or going

out, or working on anything . . . my hobbies.

Matthew: Do you think though that people can live a perfectly happy life if they haven't

got a television?

Peter: Oh yes, I think people who don't have a television or people who entertainment.

Don't watch television can be expected to be more happy. You can assume I think

if they never watch television they are happier people than the people who watch

a lot of television, because I think that television goes with the kind of life

which leaves you with nothing to spare, nothing left, you have to be given potted,

passive entertainment.

Matthew: But in that case you ...you seem as though you're completely against television,

is that true?

Peter: No, it's not. I...I have a television in fact, I have two as I said, but er I ...

I ...I think there's a dilemma, a difficult situation. Television in itself is very

good; a . . . a lot of the information and a lot of the programmes are very instructive,

they introduce you to things you may never have thought of before or never have

heard about before. But in watching, it makes you very passive; you sit for hour

after hour and you get very receptive and very unquestioning and it seems to me

the important thing in life is to be active, to . . . to do things, to think things

and to be as creative as possible, and television prevents this.

2. Children and Television

Housewife: What do I think of television? Um, um, well, um, it keeps the family at home,

the kids don't go out at night so much now, they come straight in from school

most of them, they run in and straight, well the television's on when they come

in, I watch it myself during the afternoon. Er, well it's company really and,

er, well, then the kids come home, they eat their tea, I have no trouble with

them eating their tea because they just ...

well, they don't even look at what they eat, they just sit down and, erm, they

eat it and they like the programmes and, and it keeps them quiet while I' m cooking

the tea for their dad when he comes home an hour later and tea is ready when the

news is on when he comes in, and, er and the news is on or perhaps the football

match or something, er, they have to be quiet then, they're not very interested

in that themselves, they like the cartoons and things but, em, yeah, well, I think

television's great, er, we get on much better in the house now, um, well, we've

got things to talk about, erm, you know, if I miss a programme, er, if I'm cooking

or something in the kitchen, I miss a bit of what's going on, I mean I have the

door open so I can hear, but if I miss a bit then they will tell me, and then

perhaps later or perhaps the next day we'll have a chat about it, you know. It

gives us something to talk about really. Um, I don't think it hurts the kids,

I don't think it's a problem, you know, like, er, it stops them, makes their eyes

go funny or something, I don't think it’s a problem like that. I don't think

it's a problem at all. They've... they've learned a lot from television, I think,

they're always piping up with questions and learning a lot from the television.

3. Television Is Doing Irreparable Harm

"Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television?" How often we hear statements like this Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occupy our spare time.

We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used

to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements

to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the goggle box. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme.

We have even given up sitting at table and hading a leisurely evening meal, exchanging

the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do-anything, providing it doesn't interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.

Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework

undone and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set. It doesn't matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence-so long as they are quiet.

There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day,

television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in pre -literate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand

experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.

4. Television Is Good for People

TV may be a vital factor in holding a family together where there are, for example, economic problems and husband and wife seem at breaking point. The dangerous influence is surely no more than what all of us are exposed to every day. . . in advertising, in the press.

Primary and secondary education have improved out of all recognition since the arrival

of TV in the home and this is not only because of programmes designed for schools. Through TV a child can extend his knowledge and it provides vital food for his imagination.

5. Television Is to Blame

TV passes on to children the corrupting values of a corrupt society. It's only a matter

birth to in front of the TV on Saturday night.

You can blame TV for the fact that children take longer to learn to read these days

and barely see the point any more of acquiring the skill. In my opinion watching TV should be strictly confined to "treats".

Lesson 2

Are Pets Good for Mankind?

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Pets Are Good for You

The basic meaning of "pet" is an animal we keep for emotional rather than economic reasons. A pet animal is kept as a companion, and we all need companions to keep us feeling happy. But pets offer us more than mere companionship; they invite us to love and be loved. Many owners feel their pets understand them, for animals are quick to sense anger and sorrow. Often a cat or dog can comfort us at times when human words don't help. We feel loved, too, by the way pets depend on us for a home, for food and drink. Dogs especially, look up to their owners, which makes them feel important and needed.

A pet can be something different to each member of the family, another baby to the mother,

a sister or brother to an only child, a grandchild to the elderly, but for all of us pets provide pleasure and companionship. It has even been suggested that tiny pets should be sent as companions to astronauts on space ships, to help reduce the stress and loneliness of space flights.

In this Plastic Age, when most of us live in large cities, pets are particularly

important for children. A pet in the family keeps people in touch with the more natural, animal world. Seeing an animal give birth brings understanding of the naturalness of childbirth, and seeing a pet die helps a child to cope with sorrow. Learning to care for a pet helps a child to grow up into a loving adult who feels responsible towards those dependent on him. Rightly we teach children to be good to their pets. They should learn, too, that pets are good for us human beings.

II . Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

1. An Unmatchable Cat

I was sick that winter. It was inconvenient because my big room was due to be whitewashed.

the top of the hill, always seemed as if it might slide off into the corn fields below. This tiny room had a door, always open, and windows, always open, in spite of the windy cold of a July whose skies were an unending light clear blue. The sky, full of sunshine; the fields, sunlit.

But cold, very cold. The cat, a bluish grey Persian, arrived purring on my bed, and

settled down to share my sickness, my food, my pillow, my sleep. When I woke in the mornings my face turned to half-frozen sheets; the outside of the fur blanket on the bed was cold; the smell of fresh whitewash from next door was cold and clean; the wind lifting and laying the dust outside the door was cold-but in the curve of my arm, a light purring warmth, the cat, my friend.

At the back of the house a wooden tub was set into the earth, outside the bathroom, to catch the bathwater. No pipes carrying water to taps on that farm; water was fetched by ox-drawn cart when it was needed, from the well about two miles away. Through the months of the dry season the only water for the garden was the dirty bathwater. The cat fell into this tub when it was full of hot water.

She screamed, was pulled out into a cold wind, washed in permanganate, for the tub was

filthy, and held leaves and dust as well as soapy water, was dried and put into my bed to warm. But she grew burning hot with fever. She had pneumonia. We gave her what medicine we had in the house, but that was before antibiotics, and so she died. For a week she lay in my arm purring, purring, in a rough, trembling little voice that became weaker, then was silent;

Licked my hand, opened huge green eyes when I called her name and begged her to live;

closed them, died, and was thrown into the deep old well-over a hundred feet deep it was-which had gone dry, because the underground water streams had changed their course one year. That was it. Never again. And for years I matched cats in friends' houses, cats in shops, cats on farms, cats in the street, cats on walls, cats in memory, with that gentle, blue-grey purring creature which for me was the cat, the Cat, never to be replaced.

And besides, for some years my life did not include extras, unnecessaries, ornaments.

Cats had no place in an existence spent always moving from place to place, room to room.

A cat needs a place as much as it needs a person to make its own.

And so it was not until twenty-five years later my life had room for a cat.

2. Mother Pays More Attention to

Pet Dog Than to Her Young Boy

Dear Ann Landers: I hope you will publish your answer to this letter because there is a family out there that needs help-fast!

My friend (I'll call her Krista) married a nice guy in 1978. He's a sales rep on the read most of the time. Krista and Cal had a son five years ago. A nice family unit. About a month after Junior was born, Cal gave Krista a purebred beagle. She went crazy about the dog and treated him better than the baby.

he thought nobody was looking.

Two months ago, Junior began urinating in unexpected and inappropriate places. First, into his mother's shoe, then in her purse, next her jewel box. After he was punished for ruining the jewel box, he found some scissors and cut his mother's string of pearls.

At first Krista attributed the urinating to Junior's laziness. I told her if it were

laziness, he would just wet his pants and not seek special places.

Last Christmas Day, it snowed heavily. I called Krista to chat. She sounded breathless. I asked her what she had been doing. "I've been playing outside in the snow with the dog," was her reply. I asked where Junior was. She replied, "Upstairs, watching television, I guess." What do you see here, Ann'? Sign me-A Worried Friend.

3. Dogs Have a Sense of Humour

The question of whether dogs have a sense of humour is often fiercely argued. My own opinion is that some have and some haven't. Dachshunds have, but not Bernards or Great Danes. Apparently a dog has to be small to be fond of joke. You never find a Great Dane trying to be a comedian.

But it is fatal to let any dog know that he is funny, for he immediately loses his head

and starts overdoing it. As an` example of this I would point to Rudolph, a dachshund I once owned, whose slogan was "Anything for a laugh". Dachshunds are always the worst offenders in this respect because of their peculiar shape. It is only natural that when a dog finds that his mere appearance makes the viewing public laugh, he should imagine that Nature intended him to be a comedian.

I had a cottage at the time outside an English village, not far from a farm. Where they

kept ducks, and one day the farmer called on me to say his ducks were disappearing and suspicion had fallen on my Rudolph. Why? I asked, and he said because mine was the only dog in the neighbourhood except his own Towser, and Towser had been so carefully trained that he would not touch a duck if you brought it to him with orange sauce over it.

I was very annoyed. I said he only had to gaze into Rudolph's truthful brown eyes to

see how baseless were his suspicions. Had he not, I asked, heard of foxes? How much more likely that a fox was the Bad Guy in the story. He was beginning to look doubtful and seemed about to make an apology, when Rudolph, who had been listening with the greatest interest and at a certain point had left the room, came trotting in with a duck in his mouth.

Yes, dachshunds overplay their sense of humour, and I suppose other dogs have their faults, but they seem unimportant compared with their virtues.

4. Man and Animal

In ancient Egypt, people believed that the cat was a god. When a cat died its owners showed their sadness by the strange habit of shaving their eyebrows off( More recently, in the last century in fact, the famous English writer Charles Dickens had a cat who was

cat wanted to say "Stop writing !" to his master, he often put out Dickens' candle with his paw!

When animals become pets, the result, after a number of generations, is a smaller animal

with a smaller brain. Rabbits, for example, which live as pets in a garden, are much less intelligent than their wild cousins. Of course, man doesn't always keep animals for pleasure. Many animals have to work for their masters.

There was once a farm in Namibia, Africa, which had 80 goats. Instead of a goatherd, there was a female baboon. She took her goats to the hills every day and brought them back at night. She always knew exactly which goats were hers-which is more than many humans could do!

5. Do Animals Communicate?

When we think of communication, we normally think of using words-talking face-to-face, writing messages and so on. But in fact we communicate far more in other ways. Our eyes and facial expressions usually tell the truth even when our words do not.

Then there are gestures, often unconscious: raising the eyebrows, rubbing the nose, shrugging the shoulders, tapping the fingers, nodding and shaking the head.

There is also the even more subtle "body language" of posture: are you sitting-or

standing-with arms or legs crossed? Is that person standing with hands in pockets, held in front of the body or hidden behind? Even the way we dress and the colours we wear communicate things to others.

So, do animals communicate? Not in words, although a parrot might be trained to repeat words and phrases which it doesn't understand. But, as we have learnt, there is more to communication than words.

Take dogs for example. They bare their teeth to warn, wag their tails to welcome and

stand firm, with hair erect, to challenge. These signals are surely the canine equivalent of the human body-language of facial expression, gesture and posture.

Colour can be an important means of communication for animals. Many birds and fish change colour, for example, to attract partners during the mating season. And mating itself is commonly preceded by a special dance in which both partners participate.

6. She's All for the Birds !

Twice a week, 58-year-old Mrs. Winifred Cass shops in the market for her main supplies, "topping up" daily by calling at local shops on her way home from work. But she's not buying family groceries!

She returns home laden with heavy bags of mixed hen corn, pigeon corn, peanuts and large packets of bird food to feed her larger "family", the wild birds of needs. And she's been doing this for 16 years.

Daily, she feeds the birds which frequent her garden, the area around the shop where

she works part-time, and several patches of waste-ground near her home. Then, twice every

pedal the 20-minute ride up to the city centre.

"In the morning, birds on my own roof at home hang almost upside down trying to see me through the windows." She laughed. In severe conditions last winter, I had as many as four robins in my garden at the same time, though they're well known to be territorial birds.

"It's amazing how many different kinds of birds I see in the city itself . In Park Square,

as well as the usual starlings, pigeons and sparrows, there are blue tits, great tits, thrushes, doves, and sometimes even seagulls."

It all started when Winifred was working at a cafe. She used to throw out stale bread and buns, and developed such an interest in the wild birds which accepted her offerings that she started taking food along to those in City Square as well.

On one occasion, an old lady sitting in the square remarked that the birds could do

with a more nutritious diet. So Winifred began buying corn for them.

"In the end, I was carrying so much weight and tramping so far that my feet and arms really ached? she said. "I tried using wheeled shoppers, but with the weight of all that corn they were breaking within weeks! So I splashed out and bought this tricycle."

Winifred has come across other wild-life on her travels, too. "I stop to feed families

of hedgehogs which I found at the side of the railway near the park," she said.

Despite her love of birds, she'd never want to keep one because she can't bear seeing them caged.

Disaster struck recently when a car reversed into her parked trike, damaging its wheels. But two local business men, hearing of her activities, decided kindly to help by replacing the wheels for her.

So now the "Bird Woman of Leeds" is back in action again, doing the job she loves best-caring for the host of feathered friends who have come to rely on her.

7. Too Many Pets in France

In France a campaign has been launched to warn against the danger of a threatening over-population . . . of pets ! The country is the second most densely populated country in the world as far as domestic animals are concerned. At the moment it is inhabited by more than 8% million dogs and almost as many cats. Every second family in Paris owns one or more pets, which cause problems of hygiene that cannot be solved. In the year 2000 France will have more than 15 million dogs if no drastic measures are taken to stop this increase.

The French organization for the protection of animals has appealed to the owners to

have their dogs and cats of both sexes sterilized, because the animals themselves are in danger of becoming the first victims. Every summer, when the holiday-exodus begins, thousands of dogs and cats are abandoned, because their owners, unable to take them along, do not want to or cannot find homes where their pets will be looked after during their absence. Only one of three of these stray animals can be adopted, the other two must be killed.

A great number of pet-owners, however, object to sterilization on grounds of

"inadmissible cruelty".

8. Pets Eat Better Than People!

"My mouth watered as I imagined the lovely soup I could make from some bones in the butcher's window. There was a lot of meat on them, too. So I went in and bought some. `Certainly, one pound of bones for your dog, madam, " said the butcher brightly. My next stop was at the fish shop, where I asked for some cheap fish. "For your cat ? " asked the assistant. As you may have guessed, neither bones nor fish were for pets-they were for me, a pensioner. But it made me think that many animals eat better meals than people!

9. A Birthday Present for a Dog!

"We have a friend who works in a Dog Parlour where they sell coats for dogs. A customer, choosing a coat, tried to describe her dog and the saleswoman suggested she bring the dog in so that they could fit him. Horrified, the customer replied that she couldn't do that as it was for the dog's birthday present and she didn't want him to see it! "

Lesson 3

Should the Brain Drain Be Stopped by Restrictions?

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Brain Drain

It is said that Shanghai's musicians abroad could form a world class symphony orchestra. But the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra once failed to find a qualified conductor for a whole year!

A similar situation exists in science, medicine and sports circles.

Stopping the outflow of talent depends on creating a sound domestic environment rather than simply setting up barriers for those who wish to go abroad.

A handful of people go abroad to seek a comfortable life. But most Chinese intellectuals

emigrate because they cannot bring their talent into full play in their motherland.

Many conductors trained by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music have gone abroad either because they cannot find jobs in symphony orchestras due to the competition for places, or because they cannot develop themselves in orchestras where promotion comes only by way of seniority.

We face a keen shortage of talent, but one batch of gifted people after another have

gone abroad". The situation is grim.

It is impossible to improve the conditions for all intellectuals by a wide margin. But it is possible for governments at all levels to create a better environment for their development.

The outflow of talent is a loss to our nation as well as a pressure forcing us to optimize the environment for the talented.

II. Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

l. Give Students More Leeway

Ten years ago, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau issued four passports each day. Now the staff must work long hours to process more than 1, 000 a day.

People's Daily reports that more than 70,000 Chinese students and scholars are now studying abroad with still more ready to go.

While many people are worried about the brain drain problem, the article said that

whatever the motives of students who leave, there is no doubt that they cherish a deep feeling towards the motherland.

It has been suggested that people who fail to return on time should be granted "temporary leave from their posts" to encourage them to return at any time.

Among those who joined the recent rush abroad, more than half went to further their

studies and keep up with the latest academic achievements. According to a survey conducted among some 7, 000 scientific researchers in Shanghai, 82 percent believed that their experiences abroad were "fruitful". Half said they had made headway in their work.

Meanwhile, they said they continued to follow with great concern the development of

their country's economic reforms. A scholar with a doctorate from New York University had written over 100, 000 words of suggestions to the Chinese central government, the article reported.

Loneliness was found to be the worst enemy of the students living away from their families and homeland.

The brain drain from developing to developed countries is an international phenomenon.

In China, backward management and unreasonable distribution systems, together with poor living and working conditions, have led to the departure of many intellectuals.

"After my graduation from university, I have spent four years in my office reading a

newspaper with a cup of tea every day I want to go abroad to start a new life, " said a 25-year-old technical worker who was waiting for a visa from the Japanese Consulate.

Some students and scholars had stayed in foreign countries beyond their time limit for one reason or another. For this they had been labelled unpatriotic.

But People's Daily called for more trust and understanding of those students.

A scholar studying and working at an American university said he would return to China

as soon as his daughter finished secondary school in the US.

A young scholar at a Shanghai research institute said he could not manage to conduct research with a meagre State allocation of 2, 000 yuan a year. In America, he can get $ 24, 000 a year for use in research, so he decided to stay on after getting his degree.

In such cases, most work units back in China dismiss those who fail to return on time.

This hurts the feelings of many who are willing to return later, the article said.

China's irrational employment and personnel system prevents some from fully using the skills and knowledge they have acquired abroad.

Ai Xiaobai, with a PhD in Physics, wrote to eleven institutions of higher learning in

China. Two of them refused him and the others did not even answer him. Just before deciding to go back to America, he was hired by a Chinese research institute which knew of him.

2. Personal Progress and Job-hopping

In many parts of the world, personal influence is almost essential in getting ahead. One needs a "godfather? a "sponsor". Here that is not true. Naturally all people use influence sometimes, but one rarely advances far on that basis alone in the United States. Here traits which lead to success are generally considered to be the willingness to work hard (at any kind of job), scholarship or skill, initiative, an agreeable and outgoing personality. In other words even in the realm of personal progress, this is a "do-it-yourself" society. By and large, success is neither inherited nor bestowed. This means, therefore, that our employment practices are different from those in many other countries.

In some nations it is considered disloyal to quit a job; deep reciprocal loyalties exist between employee and employer (recipient and patron? in many cases); lifelong job security and family honor are frequently involved.

This is not true in the United States. "Job-hopping" is part of our constant mobility. We consider it a " right " to be able to better ourselves, to move upward, to jump from company to company if we can keep qualifying for more responsible (and therefore better) jobs.

This interchangeability of personnel seems unreasonable to some members of foreign nations. Where are our roots? How can we be so cold and inhuman? "We act? " some say, as if we were dealing with machines, not humans? They do not understand that a great many Americans like to move about. New jobs present new challenges, new opportunities, new friends, new experiences-often a new part of the country.

The employer may be quite content too. Perhaps he has had the best of that man's thinking; a new person may bring in fresh ideas, improved skills, or new abilities. Then, too, a newcomer will probably start at a lower salary for he will have no seniority. Hopping is so readily accepted here, in fact, that a good man may bounce back and forth among two or three corporations, being welcomed back to his original company more than once through his career, each time at a different level.

3. Residents Go Overseas to Seek Their Fortunes

Shanghai has become a favourite investment spot with foreigners eager to get a financial foothold in China.

And with the development of its export-oriented economy, the city looks set to become an international trade and financial centre on the west bank of the Pacific Ocean.

come to them-they want to go abroad themselves to try their luck.

The Shanghainese have a reputation for being able to find work the world over. Before the founding of New China in 1949, hundreds of thousands of them were trading throughout the world.

In the 1950s and 1960s when the country was pursuing its closed door policy, hundreds of factories, research institutes and universities--involving more than 1 million people-were moved from Shanghai into the inland areas to support the nation's socialist construction. Now, people with Shanghai accents can be found all over the country.

The current policy of developing the export-oriented economy in the coastal areas has stimulated the Shanghai people's desire to head off for foreign parts.

And, according to the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily, the best way for them to do this is to engage in business or provide labour and technical services to other countries.

Shanghai has too many people chasing too few jobs, so this surplus labour force could solve the labour shortages which exist in some other parts of the world.

Workers' monthly wages abroad can be 100 times what they are in China-although the cost of living is likely to be much higher in some countries.

Furthermore, while working overseas, the Chinese workers would get the chance to learn advanced technology and to become entrepreneurs and specialists, thus promoting trade and economic co-operation between China and other countries.

Jiefang Daily suggests local authorities should take the following measures to promote exports of labour:

Set up labour service groups to undertake contractual projects abroad. Shanghai workers have taken part in many overseas projects in the past, such as construction of railways, factories and other buildings. With their high reputation, they would be a force to be reckoned with on the world labour market.

Establish employer-employee introduction offices. Drivers, repairmen, nurses, housemaids, hairdressers, cooks and workers involved in gardening and construction are in great demand in many countries and these offices could provide training and act as a bridge between employers and employees.

Encourage people to look for jobs themselves. As many Shanghai residents have relatives overseas, they could easily get help in finding work abroad.

Promote co-operation between the State and individuals. If local people are encouraged to work abroad, workers with special skills would flow out of the country, thus creating a brain drain. To solve the problem, consideration must be given to both State and private interests. When workers go abroad at their own expense, the enterprises they work for should give them favourable treatment when they return. While working overseas, the workers should help their enterprises open up to the world market.

Shanghai residents have strong aspirations to expand their living space and they are good at trading. But first priority should be given to entrepreneurs who are brave enough to journey out into the world and build success.

magnate Pao Yue Kang and the computer king Wang An were raised in Shanghai. It is expected that a group of new magnates will emerge when Shanghai entrepreneurs enter the world economy.

Now that Shanghai is capable of building 100, 000-ton-class vessels and manufacturing sophisticated precision building machines, powerful generators, colour televisions and bicycles, there is no reason why the city could not create a group of world-class shipping kings, building machine kings and bicycle kings.

With a solid industrial foundation and technical force, Shanghai could also set up factories and shops overseas to compete with foreign counterparts. Shanghai-made brands, very popular at home now, will surely capture a slice of the world market if sales promotion is emphasized.

Shanghai produces quality cloth shoes of good workmanship. But its exports are $ 1. 1 billion annually, only half of Taiwan's total, due to the neglect of sales promotion overseas.

Shanghai boasts numerous specialists in the fields of science, technology, culture and education. These experts could earn a good deal of foreign exchange for the State if technical services were offered to countries that badly need skilled workers in high-tech industries.

The city can also directly export technology and software and contract scientific research projects abroad, as it possesses advantages in the fields of laser, optical fibre, microelectronics and biological engineering technology.

Lesson 4

Does Criticism Do More Harm Than Good to People?

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A Young Woman Who Fears Compliments

Marya, a brilliant graduate student in her early twenties who came for consultation, insisted that she could improve only with criticism. Her reasoning was that she knew the good qualities but that she did not know the bad ones. To have more knowledge of her negative qualities, she believed, would add to her self-understanding and thus enable her to see herself more completely. Marya, in effect, refused to acknowledge and to understand her strengths. She had assembled detailed lists of her negative qualities which she used daily to support an extremely negative view of herself. But they were either exaggerated or unreal.

Despite her attractiveness to others, she convinced herself that she was ugly. When her family bought her new and well-designed articles of clothing (she seldom bought any

someone complimented her on what she wore and asked whether it was new, she could honestly answer no. She did not "deserve" to wear new clothes. She could not bear the pain of hearing compliments, of seeing herself as intelligent, pretty, or worthwhile.

As a child, Marya had received little or no criticism from her parents. She was prized by them. Their major disappointment in her apparently was that she often rejected their overtures of kindness and appreciation, not in anger but in embarrassment, as though she were undeserving. This seemingly mild-mannered young woman, exceptionally courteous and considerate to others, held onto her own negative self judgment with tenacity. Finally, friends and interested faculty members quit acceding to her persuasive requests for criticism that they could not honestly give. Instead, they gently but firmly confronted her with her own blindness to what she truly was like.

II . Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

l. Unfair Criticism

Stuart is a typical sixteen-year-old boy who experienced and suffered from the criticism of an alcoholic parent. It seemed to Stuart the only thing his father ever had to say to him was, "You haven't got a brain in your head? Stuart was a sophomore in high school. It was true he was a poor student, or what his dean called an "underachiever".

Even though Stuart knew he was an underachiever, he would have liked to hear his father say, just once, something else when he brought home his report card other than his usual, "You haven't got a brain in your head."

Stuart was determined to prove to his father he did have a brain in his head. Stuart

studied very hard. Some nights it was difficult for him to concentrate on his homework because he could hear his parents bickering in the next room.

"You forgot to pay the mortgage again. The bank is fed up."

"How many times can a person smash up a car? I'm surprised they haven't taken your license away! "

"If you wouldn't drink so much . . . "

Stuart didn't like the bickering, and wondered if his parents might separate. He wondered, too, because his father was so forgetful about paying the bills, if they might lose their home.

He kept telling himself that if he studied hard, maybe, by some miracle, things would get better at home.

Stuart's determination to concentrate on his school work, in spite of the bickering and worries at home, paid off. His next report card showed a marked improvement. There was even a personal note of praise from his dean written on the report card.

Proudly Stuart put the report card on his father's desk. Stuart felt happier than he had felt in a long time. He knew that his father could only be pleased with such a report, but more important, maybe now his father would realize that he was intelligent and would

Stuart could remember when his father used to go to ballgames and movies with him. Who knew? Maybe things would go back to the way they used to be. Stuart would offer to get a part-time job to help pay off some of the bills. He thought that might lessen some of the arguing at home and keep the family from breaking up. He would lat his father know that he was old enough to understand things weren't always easy at the office.

When Stuart's father came home and saw the report, he said without any hesitation, "Well, well, who did the work for you? I know you don't have the brains to do it! "

Stuart was stunned. All that work for nothing! He wouldn't be surprised if his father not only thought he was stupid but hated him, too.

Stuart would not have been as hurt if he had only known his father was tied up in his own miserable feelings. This kept him from recognizing what Stuart had accomplished in school.

2. Uses of Criticism

While some of us have a tendency to disbelieve or to minimize the good things people say about us, others among us have a tendency to hold a protective web around ourselves in defense against criticism. One workshop participant said, "I confuse the issue by getting logical in the face of threatening reactions. Sometimes I act helpless so others will stop the criticism? Early in the workshop experience he had received more negative than positive reactions. While he was fearful of criticism, he found that he had courted it, hoping that he could learn how to handle it and overcome his fear.

We may court negative reactions for other reasons. A therapy group member regarded criticism as more useful than compliments, and criticism is what he often got-not because he asked for it directly, but because of his detached manner, as though he were sitting in judgment of others. Moreover, his tendency to qualify and hedge his opinions and feelings until they had no meaning often brought down the ire of others upon him. He gave the impression of accepting their displeasure stoically, as though it strengthened him. He never openly criticized other members, however.

Still another member, who claimed that "criticism" is the stuff that we grow on? Gave others criticism galore so they could improve and, in his words, "not appear in a negative light in the future." This member came across as using his ostensible concern for the growth of others as an excuse to criticize and attack them.

3. Is It Right to Withhold One's Reactions to Others?

It is not uncommon for us to withhold our reactions to others. We may hold back compliments for fear of embarrassment to them and to ourselves. We may hold back criticism for fear of being disliked or considered unfair, or for fear of hurting another person. Reactions given inconsiderately may indeed hurt others. On the other hand, some of us are inclined to withhold our reactions from others while at the same time we honestly prefer that they not hold back theirs from us.

reactions to our behavior, to something we have done or plan to do, we want them to tell us straight, including the negative with the positive. The second rule may be: If someone else asks us for similar reactions, we are inclined to hold back or gloss over the negative and embroider the positive.

4. Criticism Is a Kind of Demand on Those Criticized

As children, many of us got a great deal of criticism and, as a result, learned a variety of patterns for coping with it. Marya had apparently received little criticism, but, knowing that she was not perfect and deserved what other children got, developed her own patterns of self judgment and censure. Being judged, whether we are underestimated or overestimated, usually implies a demand, subtle or direct, that we change. If others do not demand change, we may feel the need to demand it of ourselves.

Reactions that are relatively free from attempts to change or discredit us, given by someone who cares for us, and with the intention of letting us know what impressions we are making, may be easier to take. If, however, our usual reaction is to defend ourselves, even mild criticism or impressions given gently without demands that we change may play havoc with our defensive structure and become difficult to handle.

5. How to Handle Criticism

The surgeon reached over and jerked the syringe out of the nurse's hand. "Jane, that's the sloppiest injection I've ever seen!" he snapped. Quickly, his fingers found the vein she had been searching for. Cheeks burning, Jane turned away. Ten years later, Jane's voice still trembles when she relates the experience.

Some of our male co-workers have it easier. They grew up encouraged to play team sports, and they had to handle a coach's yells when they dropped the ball. Now they can see that a goof on the job is like dropping the ball in football; the fumble is embarrassing, but you take it in stride and go on.

But for most women, the path to success was different. As girls, we grew up wanting to be popular; we were praised for what we were, not for what we did. So our reaction to criticism is often, "Someone doesn't like me. I failed to please. I'm a failure."

"I get defensive," says Rhonda, a teacher, "When someone criticizes me, suddenly I'm a little girl again, being scolded, and I want to make excuses. I want to explain that it's not my fault-it's someone else's, or I want to hide and cry."

6. Take a Tactful Approach

How about giving criticism? The old "I-want-to-be-liked" syndrome can make it as hard to give criticism as to take it. Karen thinks she's found the answer.

"Two weeks after I was promoted to first-line supervisor," she remembers, "I had to tell a friend that she was in trouble for not turning in her weekly reports on time. My boss suggested that I tell Judy I didn't want to fix the blame-I just wanted to fix the problem. That was wonderful advice. It allowed me to state the problem objectively to Judy

Criticism in the workplace, whether you're giving it or getting it, is always more effective when you focus on the task rather than on the person. Fixing the problem, not the blame, means that nobody has to feel chewed out or chewed up. We can still feel whole and learn something in the process.

Lesson 5

Is It Good for Students to Have Part-time Jobs?

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School Part-timers

More and more high school students in Beijing are turning their minds to ways of making money.

They are capitalizing on opportunities such as one group of students who went to the front gate of the Children's Centre in the East District of Beijing when a film studio was there conducting auditions.

The group sold the young hopefuls application forms at five fen a piece after getting the forms from the centre for free.

Young entrepreneurs are also capitalizing on high demand commodities not always available away from the big shopping centres. Birthday or greeting cards are an example. One department store estimated that 80 percent of its sales of cards are to students for resale.

Xiao Li, a junior high school student at Fengtai District in the southwest region of the capital, spent 40 yuan buying cards from downtown shops just before the last Spring Festival.

She sold them at her school and schools nearby at prices 15 to 20 percent higher than what she had paid. In a month, she earned 100 yuan, representing a 250 percent return on her initial investment.

A senior high school student who had been selling cards has now become an amateur wholesale dealer. His wholesale price is 8 percent higher than his purchasing price and 10 percent lower than the retail price. Within two months, he had earned several hundred yuan in profits.

Many students have merged their activities to avoid price wars. For example, in an area with few State-owned shops and far from the city centre, student union heads from the schools

than at the downtown shops but lower than at the peddlers' stalls.

Card-selling is just a beginning. Some students turn their eyes to other more profitable ventures.

Take one senior high school sophomore who has developed a flourishing business selling photos of famous people. He even has his own name card that reads: The High School Student Corporation Ltd of Exploitation of New Technology.

The student carries a portfolio of the photos around with him in an album to show his young customers. He offers a wide variety of photos, from American movie star Sylvester Stallone in Rambo pose to Taiwan's famous singer Qi Qin.

"These all depend on my high quality camera, " he boasts and explains how he clipped the pictures from magazines, photographed them and then developed the prints into various sizes. He has sold hundreds.

Another student is now an amateur salesman for a company and earns a three percent commission on each sale.

When he had earned 300 yuan through his own efforts, he said, "I feel that I have really become an adult."

Most of the money the students earn is spent on themselves. They can buy high-priced items like a pair of running shoes which can cost as much as 100 yuan-a month's salary for an average worker. Few parents can afford such luxuries.

Some students find work to help them realize their dreams of a career.

Qian Qian wants to become an actress. In her spare time she attends a class outside school that costs 80 yuan a month in tuition, an amount which her parents cannot afford to pay. So she found a job as a waitress in a coffee house to earn her tuition fee.

Some students get into business for other reasons besides the money.

Zou Yue, a female student, from a fairly wealthy family, took a job because, she said, "Business can cultivate a sense of competition, which is very important for us in the future.

A student who once sold cards said young people are encouraged to be independent. "But how?" he asked. "You can never be independent unless you can support yourself financially. "

He felt after-school work enhanced a young person's social development, too.

Practical experience in the workforce has been stipulated by the State Commission of Education as a compulsory programme. This is now closely related with economic benefits fits among high school students.

One student, sent by her school to work as a shop assistant at a temple fair, earned five yuan a day for a seven-hour shift behind the counter.

"I had a sore throat after working for a few days, but I had to hold on, " she said. "I wanted to earn the-money and also prove that I was an able girl. " These temporary job stints give high school students an insight into what work and incomes are all about.

A job at a State-owned cinema may only earn a worker 40 or 50 yuan a month. But a job with a self-employed trader, may earn the assistant 8 or 10 yuan a day. A writer may get

pool may earn at least 200 yuan a month.

II. Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

1. Jobs Attracting Drop-outs

At quitting time, a throng of very young workers walked tiredly out of the gate of the Lihua Print works, a township enterprise in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Guangdong Province. Fifty percent were only 13 years old on the average, while the oldest were no more than 17.

The teen-agers had to work 14 or 15 hours a day. They started at 7 a. m. every day and had to work until noon. After a one-hour lunch break they worked to 6 p.m. and then had another one-hour rest. Then they went to supper and went back to work again for three or four hours.

Although life was very hard, none of them left. They earned 100 yuan a month. "I have much more money than my father, who is a middle school teacher? A girl said proudly.

In Linxia, the capital of Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, dozens of mosques were erected, attracting both tourists and pedlars. At the stands that sold beef, vegetables, fruits and books, children were doing business. The oldest were no more than 16 and the youngest about six. One child weighed a kilogram of apples on his balance scale. When he lifted it, the pan of the balance touched his feet. He staggered among the bustling crowds of tourists crying out for business.

Since the Spring Festival of 1988, more than 1, 000 primary and middle school students at Yulin prefecture in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have left home to work in factories in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Dongwan County in Guangdong Province.

Twelve students from the Xingchang Middle School in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, quit school. They left a letter that said: "Dear teacher: We are grown up. Since you taught us to be independent and self supporting, we are beginning now." These children, whose parents are all well educated, were good students in their class.

Not far away from Xi'an, an ancient capital in Shanxi Province, there was a cave dwelling in which more than 30 youths were living. They were all boys between the ages of 11 and

18. "we came out to find a new life," said one boy. But life was not as beautiful as they had dreamed. They had no job and no money. Eventually, they gathered there.

In Guangzhou 77 percent of the juvenile delinquents under 18 were found to be truants.

China News Service reported that it's very difficult for well-known professors in the universities in Guangzhou to enroll their students. When a medical college planned to enroll 33 students, only 26 people applied.

In March, 1988, a post-graduate majoring in mechanical engineering in Shanghai Jiaotong University, who came from a remote rural area, asked for permission to quit school. He said

for it. But he did not go back home; he became a businessman in Shanghai.

"After three years of study, we will finally get our master's degree and 86.50 yuan as a monthly salary. That can not buy two sweaters. Knowledge is too cheap, "said a graduate student who had quit school.

In 1988, when the State Commission of Education decided to try a new method of job assignment in some universities, letting the graduates choose their own jobs, and vice-versa, it unexpectedly disrupted the education process itself. Every college student and graduate was busy looking for jobs. They had no time to study.

"We have no iron rice bowls. The earlier we find a job the better," said a student.

A wave of quitting school and going into business has swept the campuses of many universities and colleges in China.

After the chaotic 10-year-long "cultural revolution"? China had a shortage of 60 million engineers. Now it seems there is a second crisis. Only 11. 8 out of every 10, 000 people are receiving a higher education, 429. 1 studying in high school and 1, 324. 7 in primary school. More and more illiterates are living in the society.

2. Those Who Do Not Want to Go to College

According to the August lOth issue of The Youth , out of 30, 000 school graduates in Shanghai who could take the college entrance examination this year only 23,000 sat for it. What happened to all the others? Allowing for 2, 000 who were exempted from the examination and went straight to college for their brilliance or for whatever reasons, we still have 5, 000 unaccounted for. In other words, more than 16% of school graduates who got good marks and were qualified to take the entrance examination gave up the chance of going to college. This is certainly a new phenomenon ever since 1977 when competitive entrance examination was restored, but the question is, "Is this going to be a growing tendency?"

To answer this question we have to look into the reasons why the students gave up the examination. Did they give up out of their own free will or were they under some sort of coercion? A simple clear-cut answer, I am afraid, is impossible to find. Different groups of students give up the examinations for different reasons.

Those from the key schools (and they are mostly brilliant students), give up for the simple reason that they want to go abroad. Once they become college students, they are bound by certain regulations which make it very difficult, if not impossible, for them to leave the country. Then there are those who think there is not much point in going to college anyway because you can hardly ever get an ideal job after you graduate. The pay is low and more often than not the job is outside your field so you get the frustrated feeling of having wasted four precious years of your life in college. Besides, there is always the danger of your being assigned to a post in another part of the country, so why not be practical and look for a well-paid job straight after middle school?

Graduates from ordinary middle schools gave up their chances because they lacked self-confidence. "Why try when I stand very little chance?" Not only the poorer students

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