09-10第一学期大学英语口语考试短文

1. Waste

Mankind is wasting things everywhere and every day. Wherever we

turn, we can see that paper, bottles and cans are thrown away; food is wasted just because of its poor taste; clothes are discarded

simply due to their old fashion. Not only are things and money are

wasted, but natural resources are abused as well. Trees are cut down merely f or fuel; wildlife is killed simply for food; oil, coal and minerals are exploited in a bad way. It is time to call for an end to waste.

We must save natural resources and make full use of them; otherwise human beings will be faced with the scarcity of natural resources and suffer from the pollution caused by waste.

2. No Pains, No Gains

The height which great men reach and keep is not attain ed by a sudden flight.

Most of us feel envious of the famous and successful people. We do not understand why they are so popular and honored while we are mere simple common folks. In our misconception,we think that people are prosperous because they are especially gifted or that they are “just lucky”.

All these have taken root in our stubborn minds, and we refuse to believe that most great men have a mind which is the same as, or perhaps even simpler and duller than ours.

Yet, their triumphs are great. Why? Because they are apt to fight difficulties with perseverance and without fatigue, undergo sufferings without minding the wounds; they realize that hardships form the road which they must pass through before reaching their destination. Their endurance is more powerful than that of ours for the simple reason that they submit without complaint to each storm in life.

3. Rome Was Not Built in a Day

The good old proverb, “Rome was not built in a day,” reminds us that great things are never done without much time and labor. It takes us back to Rome, the capital of the greatest empire of the

ancient world and the most brilliant city of ancient times. Indeed, Rome was built through the labors of many a great man who had been striving against difficulties.

As human beings, we are eager to win merits for ourselves. It is,

however, only patience as well as endurance that can help us to succeed in performing great deeds; for difficulties are in fact unavoidable, unless we do not engage in anything at all.

Young people are, however, mostly impatient. Brave as they may be in the beginning, they often give up halfway in the face of what seems to be insurmountable. Most of such a type can hardly expect to succeed.

4. Don’t Give Up

If we would ever accomplish anything in life, let us not forget that

we must persevere. If we would learn our lessons in school, we must be diligent and not give up whenever we come across anything difficult. We will find many of our lessons very hard, but let us consider that the harder they are the better they will be for us if we will persevere and learn them thoroughly.

But there are some among us who are ready to give up when they come to a hard example in mathematics, and say, “I can’t do this.”They never will if they feel so. “I can’t”never does anything worthwhile; but “I’ll try” accomplishes wonders. Let us remember that we will meet with difficulties all through life. They are in the pathway of everyone. If we will only try and keep trying, we will be sure to conquer and overcome every difficulty we meet. If we have a hard lesson today, let us strive to learn it well and then we will be prepared for a harder one tomorrow. And if we learn to master hard lessons in school, it will prepare us to overcome the hard things that we will meet in life when our schooldays are over.

5. Time is a Bank

Each of us has a bank whose name is TIME. Every morning, TIME credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as loss, whatever of this you have failed to invest in good purposes. It carries over no balances. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against

tomorrow. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.

6. The College Experience

Going to college! What a thrill! It’s a trip that has everything great that you have heard about if you make it so. It is also a very serious business. To a great extent,you will be on your own.True, there are an awful lot of people ready to help you, but generally you must take the initiative and seek them out.

Today’s world is full of precious knowledge, whether it be in the arts, literature, a profession, or a vocational skill. College is your chance of a lifetime to explore these areas. Each facet can be as exciting when discovered by you as it was when discovered by the original author or explorer. Let yourself explore beyond your immediate career objectives. A student in auto mechanics in most schools also can take courses in history, philosophy, music, or art. There is no reason a craftsman can’t also be a great thinker, or an explorer in the vast areas of unlimited knowledge. For a rich full life he or she should make the most of the opportunities at hand. Going to college means a lot more than earning a grade. To limit your college experience will be a waste to you and to all of people, past and present, who have invested their pennies, dimes and dollars —often at great personal sacrifice—to make educational opportunities open for you. Putting it bluntly, college is a place to be greedy —take all you can get and then some more. Thus, as you stand on the threshold of your college career, commit yourself and stand by that commitment. From the first day of class, discipline yourself to make learning fun, not a chore, and to get the most from the educational opportunities open to you.

7. Friends

Friends are important. It has often been said that “No man can live

like an island.”As our population increases in size, this is becoming increasingly true. A person will have trouble coping with

society without friends.

Friends should not be confused with acquaintances. Acquaintances

are people whom you may see often. But, you could never share joy and sadness with an acquaintance. Acquaintances are usually with you for what they can get. Maybe, they like to be with you because you are popular. People usually have few friends and many acquaintances.

Friends are always there when you need them. They are dependable and responsible.They share your sorrow and happiness. They are not interested in what they can get from you. They influence your development, maturity and sense of responsibility. They also warn you when you are in danger of doing wrong. Yes, friends are wonderful. It is nice to enjoy the warmth radiating from good friends.

8. Don’t Cover Your Ideas

Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you. You will remember from school other students preventing you from seeing their answers by placing their arms around their exercise books or exam paper. It is the same at work, and people are secretive with ideas. “Don’t tell them because they’ll take credit for it.”

The problem with hoard ing is that you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale.

If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. Somehow the more you give away, the more comes back to you.

Ideas are open knowledge. Don’t claim ownership. They’re not your ideas anyway: they’re someone else’s. They are out there floating by on the ether. You just have to put yourself in a frame of mind to pick them up.

9. Don’t Escape from Problems

Some people who find themselves unable to solve a problem react

by just giving up. But it is not good to escape from problems by

giving up or by making excuses for failures. You may be sure that all young people go through the same difficult process that you are

going through: meeting new situations, developing new skills, and testing their abilities.

If you are unhappy about something, face it. Try to state the problem in a few words, so that you will know exactly what you are up against. Then see if you can “put your finger”on the cause of your unhappiness.

In many cases, we only “think” there is no solution to a particular

problem. But often we can overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.

10. Think Positively

If you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then just never, never, never give up.

The secret of life isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.

Help other people to cope with their problems and your own will be easier to cope with.

Never use the word “impossible”seriously again. Toss it into the verbal wastebasket.

Self-confidence is the first secret of success. So believe yourself! Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.

Joy increases as you give it and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate more joy than you ever believed possible.

How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself, so always think positively.

Plunge head first into life; give it all you’ve got. And life will give all it has to you.