Professional Documents
Culture Documents
- mainly determined by how parents treat their children, have a great impact
on, form one’s personality, feel loved / secure and valued / frightened.
Questions 4: What are the main factors that contribute to shaping one’s
personality?
Question 5: When you hire someone for a job, will you care to look at his
personality?
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CHAPTER 2: FAMILY
no privacy, a lot of conflicts, the older generation doesn’t agree with the
younger generation, too much noise
Question 2: What do you think is the best way to keep with friends and family
when you’re away from home? Why?
phone calls, using the Internet, e-mail and instant messenger services, social
media networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
a place to return to, the place where one can find joy and happiness, feel safe
and warm, a parent is a child’s first teacher.
obey parents, respect or honor them, love them, follow their instructions, take
care of them, provide them in sickness and old age, do not speak evil of them.
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CHAPTER 3: HOMETOWN / NEIGHBORHOOD / ACCOMMODATION
respectful, concerned about others’ comfort, respect others, not disturb others
with loud noise.
Q3: When you buy a house, what is the most important thing to consider?
Q4: In the future, what kind of accommodation would you like to live in?
Q5: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living with friends?
advantages: share bills and the rent, share responsibility for chores, enrich
social life.
disadvantages: non-stop parties, his / her friends stay overnight, tension may
occur when they go clubbing a lot, put up with their bad habits.
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CHAPTER 4: TRAVEL / VACATION / TOURISM
robbery, street crimes, traffic accidents, insect and mosquito bites, diseases
(malaria)
useful information, opportunities for adventure and discovery, enrich our lives:
see different social norms and different parts of the world, refreshing and
revitalizing.
Q4: Do you prefer to travel alone or with friends? What are some advantages
of it?
travelling alone: complete freedom, have more flexibility, plenty of time for
quiet thinking and self-reflection, easier to meet new people and make friends with
the locals.
passport and visa, do some research, familiarize ourselves with local conditions
and laws, enough cash to cover emergencies and any unexpected delays, prepare
some medicine / camera and guidebooks / maps.
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CHAPTER 5: PLACES
a wide range of activities, local / native culture, friendly / helpful, tasty food,
nice weather, beautiful scenery (mountainous cities, rice fields, long coasts)
Q2: What is your feeling when you see old architecture and historical
buildings disappearing rapidly?
Q5: What do you think could be done to make museums more enjoyable?
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CHAPTER 6: TRANSPORT
advantages: good for the environment, low cost / much cheaper than private
transportation, better accessibility, not to worry about parking, more comfortable
(relax, read something while riding)
Q2: Do you think getting to work is easier or more difficult than it used to be?
easier, more public transportation, not transfer much, more bus lines.
Q4: Do you think cars are safer than they used to be?
Q5: How has transportation in your town changed over the last twenty-five
years?
air transport, low-cost airlines with online booking facilities, motorcycles are
presently the primary mode of transport,
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CHAPTER 7: YOUR COUNTRY AND CULTURE
Q1: What things do you like most about your own culture?
laws and regulations to protect citizens’ lives, enforce the traffic laws, reduce
traffic accidents.
Q3: What are the benefits that people returning home from abroad bring to
your country?
Q4: What is the best way to make sure that children grow up knowing about
their cultural past?
recommend children to read books, take them to cultural and historical places,
tell them traditional stories.
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CHAPTER 8: COMMUNICATION
contact friends and family anywhere and any time, not miss important calls, use
for emergencies or in need of help, take photos to capture memories, connect to the
internet and check emails.
Q2: How did people contact each other before the telephone was invented?
busy with cell phones even when important events are going on, limit face-to-
face time with friends and family
Q5: What difficulties may arise when people communicate without being able
to see each other, by telephone or e-mail for example?
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CHAPTER 9: PEOPLE
the elderly, look after grandchildren, exercise outdoors with friends, take a walk
in the park, browse photo albums for treasured memories.
good listeners, share joys and sorrows, for socializing, friends make our life
interesting and wonderful, receive support and help, supportive, share burden /
ideas / experience in life
Q3: What kind of people do young in your country generally admire now?
advantages: usually very rich, use fame to make money, live in beautiful
houses, not have to worry about paying bills, can afford the best clothes and drive
the latest models of fast cars, spend their holidays in expensive resorts, be invited
to the best parties and meet other celebrities.
be prepared before guests arrive, provide necessary things, make them feel at
home, treat them with respect, enjoy the time while they are here, not take things
so serious, be polite, calm and balanced in talks, not make any fuss, dress up nicely
and comfortably, prepare some good dishes, give some useful and nice gifts, keep
smiling
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CHAPTER 10: ENVIRONMENT
Q1: Are there any ways that you personally can contribute to improving the
environment?
Q2: What are some reasons that rainforests are being destroyed?
wood for making fires, agriculture for both small and large farms, pulp for
making paper, road construction.
Q3: What do you think the consequenes of global warming will be?
- sea level rising: rising global temperatures will speed the melting of flaciers
and ice caps.
Q4: What are the advantages and disadvantages of having nuclear power
stations?
advantages:
- not produce hazardous gases (nuclear power does not produce carbon
dioxide or sulfur dioxide)
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- not be a threat to ecosystem (nuclear power stations do not contribute to
global warming or acid rain)
disadvantages:
Q5: What can we do to stop people from wasting useful sources such as water,
electricity, or gas?
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CHAPTER 11: ANIMAL/ PETS
not really, criticized for eating dog meat, lots of poachers kill wild or
engangered animals.
Q2: Can you name a few endangered wild animals in your country?
- Animals should not be exploited by people and they should have the same
rights as humans.
Q4: What do you think are the benefits of keeping animals in a zoo?
Q5: Do you think pets play in important role in a family? Why or Why not?
important roles, pet owners regard their companion animals as family members,
loyal and affectionate.
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CHAPTER 12: FOOD
controversial issue, harsh criticism, eating dog meat seriously hurts the image
of a country, dogs are special because they’re “pets” and “companion” animals /
the “best friend of humankind”, inhumane.
Q3: Do you think more about nutrition than taste when you buy food?
Q4: Do you thimk traditional foods will retain popularity in your country?
traditional foods, in their original form, not modernized, not processed, not
packaged, simple, basic, nutritious, consume more
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CHAPTER 13: INTEREST / HOBBY / FREE TIME
excessive TV watching => unhealthy for body and mind, a waste of time
engage in activities that we enjoy, boost mental health and overall well-being,
exercise our mind
help build self-esteem, learn to set goals, make decisions, solve all sorts of
problems, develop passion for a future career.
Q5: How has the way people spent their free time changed over the years?
in the past, not many forms of entertainment, visit friends / relatives, now:
shopping, playing sports, watching television, playing video / computer games.
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CHAPTER 14: SPORTS / HEALTH
Q1: What types of sports are most popular in your country? Why?
football, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, swimming, martial arts like judo,
karate, wushu.
keep fit, a healthy diet, to exercise, the right amount of nutrients => improve
dramatically
Q5: Do you think healthcare facilities in your country, such as hospitals, need
to be improved?
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CHAPTER 15: TV/ MOVIES
Q1: Do you think there is too much violence in films? Do you think such
portrayals are harmful to anyone?
violent movies, viewers may behave more aggressively, more prone to hold
attitudes that favour violence and aggression, harmful to youngsters.
Q2: Do you think there should be a limit on the time that children spend
watching television? Why, or Why not?
in the past, restricted, censored, since 2003, all channels, made available via
satellite, cable TV, many translated programmes from Reuters, ESPN, Discovery
channel, BBC plus about 40 original channels, pay for these programmes.
Q5: Why has television become one of the most powerful media today?
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