13级第三学期经管期中口语考试题

2013级经管学院《学术英语交流与写作》期中口语考试话题
Directions: Every 5 students form a group to discuss one of the following topics. Each group is allotted 15 minutes, and each group member is supposed to express personal opinions concerning the topic and exchange ideas with other members. Each person is allotted roughly equal length of time.
1. If on-line shopping is the trend of commerce, why there are still so many big shopping malls in downtown areas? Try to discuss the survival and development strategies of traditional type of stores and on-line stores.
2. To stimulate sale volume, many banks issue credit cards among college students, most of whom are still pure consumers. Try to discuss and analyze the pros and cons credit cards brought about to college students.
3. In China, many public universities charge students’ tuition. In some other countries, including some not so rich country, college education is free of charge. Do you think charge of tuition in college is justifiable because of the need of national economic development concern? Do you think the government should promote education equality with no concern of economic limitations? What are the pros and cons of free college education and non-free college education?
4. In the previous years, many local governments pursue GDP as a standard benchmark to measure the degree of economic development. Is GDP the most important index in the assessment of economic situation? If yes, why? If not, why not ?
5. Would you say that smoggy weather is a necessary evil of our economic development? What practical measures do you think the ordinary people can take to curb the deterioration of our environment?
6. How has the mobile phone influenced modern people’s lives? What are its pros and cons?
7. The information age sees more and more traditional bookshops losing their customers to the competition from e-book businesses, when mobile phones or Pad can store hundreds of e-books in their memories, and downloading e-book is offered free of charge. Do you think the declining trend of traditional bookshops is irreversible? What can they do to survive in booming age of telecommunication?
8. In recent years, Northern China has frequently experienced thick haze of smog which has raised great concerns for health problems. The public are pressuring the government for solutions. What do you think is the cause of the problem? Please discuss with your partners about the relationship between economy and environment protection.
9. While many Chinese are celebrating the success of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s massive US IPO and enjoying the convenience of online consumption brought by web, there are also concerns about the future of manufacturing industry of China. How do you understand the situation?
10. Recently the Beijing municipal government has suggested a price rise on the city’s subway because the system is overcrowded. It aims to reduce the number of passengers and make more room for each person taking the subway. While the idea sounds reasonable, it met with scorn from the public. What is your opinion on that? If you are the policy-maker, what would you do?。