文/长沙新航道雅思培训助教：曹欣
1. Describe a famous person in your country
I guess I could begin to say something about who this person is, and I think I would have to choose the superstar Jackie Chan from Hong Kong. He is a world-renowned martial arts film star as well as being a successful director. In fact he was probably the first Chinese actor to achieve blockbuster success in Hollywood. In addition to acting, he pursed a successful career in the Hong Kong music industry, releasing a number of popular original albums beginning in 1984. He also founded the Jackie Chan charitable organization in 1988 which offers scholarships to Hong Kong youths. I have always been a big fan of his movies and personal achievements, so if I had the chance to meet one of my childhood idols, Jackie Chan, it would be a dream come true. And finally, if I had a chance to meet him, I would probably ask him to teach me a few special Kung Fu tricks and I would possibly invite him out for dinner at a classy restaurant or something like that.
2. Describe a film/movie once you watched
Today, I'd like to talk about Armageddon(世界末日)，which is one of my favorite movies of all times. This is an American disaster film released in 1998 and it starred famous Hollywood actors Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck.Even thought this movie had mixed reviews from critics, I really liked its story line and in fact, it became the highest-grossing film of that year. Armageddon tells the story of a possible scenario in the future, which is the approach of a large asteroid to earth and that could end all living organisms in the planet, including human beings. In the movie, NASA discovers such asteroid and sends a group of oil drillers to the asteroid with the intention of destroying it by setting a nuclear bomb in the heart of the asteroid., this was evidently a mission to save mankind, and they ended up having success after many struggles and sacrifices. I first saw this movie with my friends at the theater after it was released. I really lost count of how many times I've watched it afterwards, but the truth is that I have memorized almost the entire script. I like this movie very much because it has a combination of reality, humor, romance and suspense.
3. Describe an advertisement
I’m going to talk about an advertisement for Coca-Cola, which is one of the biggest brands in the world. I have seen Coke advertised everywhere, on posters and TV commercials. The advertisement once I have watched shows a picture of Santa Claus smiling and holding a bottle of Coke. I think the aim is to target children and associate the brand with Christmas time. The advertisement is interesting because the company is deliberately trying to influence and attract children. The marketers are trying to capture young customers. They are presenting the drink as something special, a gift for Christmas. However, Coca-Cola is not necessarily a healthy drink for children. It contains a lot of sugar. Maybe this kind of advertising manipulates children and encourages them to pester their parents.
4. Describe a wild animal
I'm going to describe the “robin”（更知鸟）which is a wild bird that is common in the Europe and East Asian, especially in UK and China. The robin is a small bird with brown and white feathers and an area of bright red color on its face and on the front of its body. The area of red color makes robins very easy to distinguish from other birds. Robins are common garden birds. In China, many parks have gardens, and you can often see this bird sitting in a tree. They make their nests in trees and go looking for food. You might also see a robin if you go for a walk in the countryside or in a forest. Specially, robins have a special place in British culture. They are considered to be Christmas birds which always bring luck to people. So robins are often used on Christmas cards. Many people leave food in their places for robins and other small birds to eat.
5. Describe a polite occasion.
I am going to describe my grandmother's funeral held last year, which was a polite occasion. My grandmother passed away during the previous year. She had been ill for a long time and at 95 years old. It was not unexpected. The funeral was held in a big public hall which could accommodate 100 people. People invited to attend the funeral must wear formal clothes, like black suits or shirts with white ties. It also followed a prescribed routine as other traditional funerals. At first, information about my grandmother's personal experiences was introduced by the most respected elder and all of us were touched by her kindness. We all burst into tears as we realized that she was gone. And then the family members laid wreaths to the deceased and we should stand in silence for one to two minutes to mourn grandmother's death. The whole process was serious and heavy. After that, we all bowed three times to say goodbye to my grandmother. Funeral is a polite and formal occasion because it shows our respect to the death. In our minds, grandmother's image will be as fresh as ever.
