Uncommon Vocabulary

See People 4: A character from a story / film / TV programme.

hand down over the generations the outline of the story

fairy-tale be founded on

Grammar Point

Use a mix of past tenses:

The story itself has been retold hundreds of times.

The tale was first read to me by my grandfather.

It was originally written by...

Media 5: A book

Describe a book that you enjoyed reading.

You should say:

When you first read it

What it was about

Why you enjoyed it

Whether this book is popular in your country.

Suggestion

Use a similar story to Media 1: A TV programme; People 4: A character from a story / film / TV programme (e.g. Journey to the West).

Uncommon Vocabulary

See also Part One Topic 7: Reading.

a masterpiece of classic fiction the complete unabridged edition

hardback version paperback version

illustrated edition the narrative style

the plot based on four central characters

Grammar Point

Use a mix of past tenses:

The book has been reprinted hundreds of times; It was originally written hundreds of years ago. When I first read it, I had already seen the TV production of the story.

Media 6: A song or piece of music

Describe a song or a piece of music that you like.

You should say:

What the song or piece of music is

When you first heard it

Why you liked it

Whether it is popular in your country.

Suggestion

It is quite difficult to describe a pop song. An easier choice would be the Chinese national anthem (the National Song).

Uncommon Vocabulary

It was originally composed by...

The lyrics are very patriotic.

It has a very catchy tune (=The song is very memorable).

It is usually performed by a full orchestra.

Grammar Point

Try to use some past tenses:

I used to hear it every day at school.

It was written about 50 years ago.

Media 7: A newspaper or magazine

Describe a newspaper or magazine that you have read.

You should say:

What type of newspaper or magazine it is

How often you read it

What you like about it

Whether it is popular in your country.

Suggestion

It is probably easier to describe a magazine for this topic because magazines usually have more features than newspapers. Choose a general lifestyle or general interest magazine such as Hope, Time, National Geographic or Cosmopolitan.

Uncommon Vocabulary

publish monthly regular feature

editorial comment photo-journalism

film and book reviews

Grammar Point

Try to use some past tenses as well as present tenses:

I first came across this magazine when I was in university.

I have been reading it for about 2 years now.

I used to have a subscription (= It was delivered to my address by post).

Media 8: A website

Describe a website that you have used.

You should say:

What the website is

What you used it for

How you found out about it

Whether you have used other websites similar to this one.

Suggestion

At first this seems like a difficult topic. If you choose a "big" website with many features it is much easier. A good choice would be sina.com or Baidu.com, because they have so many functions.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 912