全国大学四、六级考试

Editor's notes: The following is the second part of the tape script of the June 2002 CET-SET test, whose topic was "Going on Tour". In the first part, in July 10's paper, Professor Yang Zhizhong talked about the examinees' performance in the first section of the speaking test. In this issue, he will go on explaining other test taking skills. The three examinees, Zhou Yi (A), Chen Xiaodong (B) and Liu Qiong (C), got scores of A, B and A, respectively.

Examiner: Would you please begin? And Chen Xiaodong, Zhou Yi, please put your cards aside. Listen to what Liu Qiong has to say.

C: OK. Mm there are four scenic spots on my picture. Mm the first one is the WestLake. Er you know, Hangzhou is very beautiful city and the beauty the beautifulest thing in Hangzhou, the most beautiful thing is the WestLake. Er here I can er tell you an idiom in Chinese, that is er "there is paradise in the sky, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou on the ground." So you can see you can say you can see from this idiom that how people like Hangzhou because it is really a beautiful place. Er and the second picture is Guilin scenery. Yeah. I hear I can also mention an idiom that is "the scenery in Guilin is the first in the world." Maybe er maybe er it is some something somehow exaggerated, but er Guilin is really very beautiful I know from my oral English teacher. He is Canadian and he has been to Guilin this mm this Labour Labour Holiday. And and he told me that er it is it was really nice to be there. Yeah, the third one is er Mountain Taishan. Yeah. Mm I myself have been to Mountain Tai this er last summer vacation. And I feel it is a magnificent mountain. But there is one only one drawback, that is, because it is too famous, so I think it is overcultivated somehow. Yeah. The fourth one is the Beidaihe seaside resort. I think it is a place that many many leaders of our country often go there. So I think it is a very good place for you to spend when er in summer.

(1. The answer pretty much covers everything, the most important aspects of the four scenic spots.

2. The use of some well-known sayings is appropriate.

3. The mention of the Canadian teacher is somewhat irrelevant.

4. Repetition is unavoidable, and often necessary in verbal communication, but too much repetition is really undesirable for forming good speech habits.)

Examiner: Now Zhou Yi, please.

A: OK. Mm there are four pictures in my paper and first is Great Wall, second is PalaceMuseum. There is some (the examinee doesn't know what the picture is) and the last is Temple of Heaven. Both of these sites are in Beijing. And you know Beijing is a place where many kings lived. And mm they attract they are attracting many people from home and abroad every year. And I think mm for my for myself as a Chinese, (cough), sorry, (When someone coughs or sneezes while speaking, it is best to say "Excuse me.") because these places show the prosperity and humanity of our China, mm I think if I go to these places, it can mm make me look back into the history and mm look and make me prepare better for my er future study. And I think if I visit these places, I can I can just moti motivate myself to study even harder to make our country more much stronger.

(It's worth noting that C, though unable to identify the third picture, has given essential reasons for visiting those places, with emphasis on their cultural and historical significance.)

Examiner: OK. Now Chen Xiaodong, it's your turn.

B: On my picture er there are four modern cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Dalian. Mm er first picture is Beijing. Er as we all know Beijing is our capital. And on the picture er there is an ancient things I do not know what it is. Mm mm but er compared with the other three cities, I think Beijing er has more mm er Beijing is more er more ancient than the other three. Mm how to say, mm...I, can ask a question, er your question is er among the er four things er I should choose one that is most attractive and base my reasons on it or I should give every er each picture my reason.

Examiner: I think it just depends. It's not necessary to worry.

B: Oh, I see, I see. Then I turn to the next picture Shanghai. Mm on the picture er it's there are many er modern buildings. Mm and I think it's during the APEC, and I think er er Shanghai is er getting er more and more ...mm... how to say...

Examiner: All right.

B: I'm too nervous.

(1. Apparently B was a bit nervous. He hasn't said anything substantial, and he was even at a loss as to how to begin. This shouldn't have happened because the other two have just said their say. If he had listened carefully, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed.

2. B has twice used the expression "how to say". This is an often used Chinese-English expression and is not good English. In its place, one could use "well", "let me see", or "let's see.")

Coming up: The third part of the tape script

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Yang Zhizhong is a professor of English at NanjingUniversity.