口语对话1-15

1. What are the features of academic writing? In what way is academic writing different from ordinary English?情境：我们是两个学生，在图书馆遇见，寒暄过后聊到一篇论文，开始讨论论文写作方面的经验，当中穿插一下论文写作的特征和与日常英语的区别。

S—Morning!T—Hi, where are you going?S—To the library, borrow some books about academic writing, I am working on a paper about my study, but I don’t know how to write a good academic essay exactly.T—Well, keep faith, I believe you can write an excellent paper. Besides the books, I advise you to read some real academic articles, it can help you understand the formal structure of an essay.S—That’s true. It’s quite different from the other forms of writing such as literature and fiction, it’s more formal and it has its own format, especially no fiction in it, that’s why all the essays should be based on facts, reasoning and evidences.T—You’re right! Academic writing is not creative writing, more like a debate, you must use straightforward language to make a clear and direct argument, each of them should be related to the conclusion.S—Okay, That’s impressive. What else should I pay attention to, I know you have already finished your graduation thesis, do you have some writing skills or tips for me?T—Well, there are some points need attention when you are writing papers. Essays and reports should be written in the third person singular, do not use contractions in your article; this is the difference with daily writing.S—Ok, thank you very much. I’ll keep it in my mind. It’s really glad to talk with you, see you. T—Bye! Keep in touch!2. What is the challenge of writing a good abstract?情境：讨论摘要写作的各自观点。

T—Long time no see, Are you all right? You look very tired.S—Yeah, I am fine. Just stayed up late on my paper last night, all I left is the abstract, but it seems harder than I thought it would be.T—Take it easy. You know the primary purpose of an abstract is to guide readers, a good way to write an abstract is to answer the question: what is the problem, why is it important and what is the main result? That’s all; there is no need to be worried about.S—you’re right! Professor Z has told us that a good abstract must state the argument clearly in afew sentences and make others who don’t know the subject will still be able to understand the main idea. Do you know how to shorten an abstract to satisfy such word limit?T—well, the key is to avoid copying sentences directly from the article. You should read the paper carefully, underline the important places, list the main points and summarize information in a new way; the most important thing is to provide logical connections between them.S—Okay, That’s impressive. What else should I pay attention to, I know your article was published; do you have some writing skills or tips for me?T—Well, there are some points need attention when you are writing abstract. You should write it in the third person singular. Also, do not use contractions and make sure all the important matters are included. That’s enough; I believe you can make it.S—Ok, thank you very much. I’ll keep it in my mind. It’s really glad to talk with you, see you. T—Bye! Keep in touch!3. What are some challenges when giving a presentation of your research?S—Hello, are u all right? You look tired.T—Yeah, I am fine. Just worry about the conference tomorrow, I was invited to give a speech at that time. You know this is my first time to give a presentation on an international conference, I am a little nervous.S—Really? That’s great. But you need to be relaxed before that, take it as a great opportunity to communicate with others in your research field. I believe you can make it.T—That is so nice of you, thank you. I know you have attended many important international conferences, do you have any specific advice for me?S—Well, speaking of the mood, it’s natural for speaker to feel nervous. However, you should learn how to control your feeling. Try to get relaxed by breathing deeply. Remember that nobody is born to be a good speaker.T—Yeah, you’re right! Maybe I should begin my speech with an anecdote or a joke, that will ease the tension and make me more relaxed.S—Yes, I think that would be all right. Oh, one more thing to note is the rate of your speech, cut it in half of your normal rate, slow down, make every word clearly and distinctly. In fact, no one will ask you to repeat yourself. This is a basic manner of oral presentation.T—OK, I’ll keep these in my mind. Speaking of manner, it reminds me that I need to prepare a dark suit and get prepared to my notes in case to keep my eyes on the notes. Anyway, thank you very much.S—You’re welcome. Good luck!4. If you are invited to speak at a conference but can not attend how would you turn down theinvitation?S—Tony, yesterday I got an invitation from the International Conference on Economic and Management, you know I sent a paper to the committee, now they asked me whether I could present a talk at the conference in August 10.T—Wow! Congratulations! I believe you can make it. Besides it’s a great opportunity to meet many famous researchers in your field, that’s awesome! But you seem not that happy, is there anything wrong?S—Well, I am looking forward to their reply. But the date is not right. I must attend my graduation ceremony on the same day, I don’t think I can make it.T—I am so sorry to hear that. You just got bad luck, I believe you can get another chance. But before you feel regret, I must warm you that you’d better write a refusal letter as soon as possible.S—You are absolutely right! I should inform them the situation here, that will allow them to find another solution. Do you know what I should write in a refusal letter, except the apology.T—In my opinion, the first thing you need to do is expressing thanks for being invited, then telling them the true reasons for declining the invitation, I think closing the letter with good wishes is the suitable way.S—Ok, I’ll do that right now. It’s so nice of you, I am glad to talk with you, thank you very much.5. How can you judge whether the text you find on line is reliable?T: Hi Sophie, what are you doing?S: I am surfing the Internet, searching for some information about environmental pollution to make my PPT.T: Talking about searching information online, how can you judge whether the text you find online is reliable? Nowadays people often search information through baidu, but it is only a searching engine, how can we trust the text we found is reliable?S: Yeah, baidu is just a searching engine, and it only helps you find the websites related to your keyword, you have to find out the useful and reliable information by yourself.T: And most of the time, the outcome is just the experience of other people, and different people hold different ideas, so you don’t know which one you should trust on.S: You are totally right, if you need to find information with authority, you need to search in specific website. If you are searching thesis or dissertation, you can check in cnki.T: Okay, I know. All we need to know is that there’s no shortcut to success, you need to analysis the information you got and then use them.S: That’s the right attitude towards learning, you can not just copy information from the network to your PPT. You need to select the useful information.T: Nice talking to you. I know you are going to make a wonderful PPT. come on!S: thank you , see you.6. What is culture shock? What causes culture shock? How to overcome it?S—Tony, I have a good news to tell you, today I got the offer from my dream college, the University of Chicago. I am so excited to study in a new place.T—Wow! Congratulations! I am happy for you that your dream comes true. You always study hard, I know it was been hard, but you never gave up. You deserved it!S—Thank you! In fact, I would never succeed without your help. After hearing the news, actually I was a little afraid and nervous, you know this is my first time to go abroad, I am kind of worrying about the “culture shock” thing.T—Take it easy. As I know, it is common to experience culture shock when living in a foreign country, especially in a new culture that totally different from your own country, I think the best way is to welcome it, I believe you can adapt very well.S—Well, you’re right. Although we have different habits, values and customs, I will try my best to get used to it. Besides it’s a good way to learn new things and make new friends.T—It’s good for you to think like that. Although the culture shock is inevitable, there are some ways to overcome it quickly. Try to communicate with the local people, learn the way they think, that will make you understand why they are different to us.S—Yes! Keep an open mind, I’ll remember that. Maybe I could introduce them the knowledge of China, increase their interest in Chinese Culture. That will be helpful to the cross-cultural communication.T—Yeah, wish you good luck in the future. Waiting for you good news from USA!7. How can you remain true to your own culture while respecting others? And how can you balance the two?S—Tony, I have a good news to tell you, today I got the offer from my dream college, the University of Chicago. I am so excited to study in a new place.T—Wow! Congratulations! I am happy for you that your dream comes true. You always study hard, I know it was been hard, but you never gave up. You deserved it!S—Thank you! In fact, I would never succeed without you help. After hearing the news, actually I was a little afraid and nervous, you know this is my first time to go abroad, I am kind of worryabout whether I can fit their culture.T—Take it easy. Different people from different country have different habits, values and customs.I know it is hard to get used to it in a short time, but it is inevitable, the best way is to welcome it, remain true to your own culture and respect others.S—Well, you’re right. Keep an open mind, try to communicate with the others, learn the way they think, maybe that will made me understood why they are different to us. Besides it’s a good way to learn new thing and make new friends.T—It’s good for you to think like that. At least, it’s a good way to introduce them the knowledge of China; increase their interest in Chinese Culture. That will be helpful to the cross-cultural communication.S—Yep! Thank you. It’s so nice of you, I am glad to talk with you.Question 8：What gifts should we avoid giving to American people?情境：T和S是好朋友，然后Tony下周要去纽约开会，顺便拜访网友，就问Sohpie一些送礼方面的禁忌！T：Hi, S ophie, next week I’ll fly to New York to attend an international conference. And when the meeting is close, I’ll have the opportunity to me et my net friend who happens to live in New York.S: Really?? What a small world! Is this your first time to meet a foreign net friend? That will be fantastic.T: Yes. Now I am thinking about choosing a gift for her, do you have any great idea? And do you know what gifts should we avoid giving to American people?S: Yeah. I once read an article about taboo gifts; it says you should avoid giving presents with even numbers to American friends because Americans reckon even numbers as unlucky numbers.T: Okay, then what else should I pay attention to? You know that I am choosing a present for a female. May I buy her perfume or cosmetics or something else?S: You remind me of another taboo, which is “don’t choose perfume, cosmetics or clothes as presents to the one who you don’t know well”. Because you get to know your foreign net friend through the internet and you are not so intimate with her, it is not appropriate to sent her those kinds of gifts.T: Thank you. Now I know what should be chosen as a gift, I decide to purchase some local special products for her. With your advice, I won’t make any embarrassing thing.Question 9: What should an applicant pay attention to when writing a job application letter in English?情境：我们是两个学生，在路上遇到，寒暄过后聊起了暑期实习的事情，由此引入主题写求职申请应该注意的事项。