Part One

Being Busy
When was the last time you were busy?
Last time I was busy was about one year ago when I was preparing for my high school entrance exam/college entrance exam, I got a lot of pressure from my family and teachers, also I really want to get good grades so I can go to a good school, I was pretty busy during that period of time. 

Do you like having a busy life?
I’m not sure of that, I want to work hard and I think I’m ambitious, but I want to enjoy life too, I don’t want to be a workaholic, good amount of work and being able to enjoy life are what I want. 

How do you handle stress?
First thing I usually try is coming up with a sensible plan, when things are under control then I won’t feel stressed out anymore, also watching movies and listening to my favorite music can help me relax effectively. 

Do you think you will be busy in the next few years?
I think so, I’m going to study in Australia/England/the States/Canada soon, first I need to study hard to keep improving my English so I won’t have too many problems living and studying there, second I’m going to experience totally different academic system and culture, there are just so much for me to do, I’m sure I’ll be busy. 

Sunshine
Do you like going outside on sunny days?
Definitely, I love going out on sunny days, whatever I do is enjoyable, I can take a walk with my dog, enjoy a picnic in the park, or play tennis with my friends, I love sunshine.

Is the sunshine very important to people?
Definitely very important, I can’t imagine this world without sunshine, Sunshine can cheer people up, help people look on the bright side of things, stay positive towards life, also getting some sunshine is good for us, make us look energetic and healthy.

Patience
Is it important to be patient?
Yes, I think there are so many things that require patience in our society, no matter we are talking about work or personal life, we all like patient people coz thy make us relaxed and comfortable. 

How to develop people’s patience?
One way that usually works for me is I put myself in the other person’s shoes, think about his or her difficulties or problems, it usually helps me be more patient. 

Have ever you lost your patience before?
I did lose my patience once, even I always think I’m a very patient person, last year my dad and I were waiting for my grandpa at the airport, his plane got delayed due to weather problems, we were waiting at the airport for four hours, in the end we decided to give up and go home.

Yes, many times, unfortunately I’m not a detail-oriented person, when things are too repetitive or too easy, it’s kind of challenging for me to be patient.

News
What are the different ways people get news?
People get news from different channels these days, newspaper, magazines, radio, or internet, generally speaking, older people prefer reading newspaper or watching TV, younger people like reading online. 

What types of news do you like? 
I’m more interested in science and politics. 
I’m more interested in sports and entertainment. 

Are old people and young people interested in the same kinds of news?
I don’t think so, older people usually focus on something more practical, like politics and finance, I’m sure some young people are interested in these areas too, but generally speaking they are interested in something more fun, like sports or entertainment. 

Which do you prefer reading magazines or newspapers?
I like reading magazines more coz it’s more interesting, magazines usually have more pictures, more interesting stories and articles, sometimes even reading advertisements can be enjoyable. 

What are some methods that newspapers use to attract readers?
First I think they usually use interesting photos to attract people’s attention, also distinctive or funny headlines help a lot too. 

Work
What’s your father’s occupation? /what does your father do for a living?
My father has his own company and he has been in furniture business for over 20 years. 
My father has his own restaurant and he has been in this industry for over 20 years.

What’s your mother’s occupation? /what does your mother do for a living?
My mother is a primary school teacher, she teaches math. 
My mother is a freelance photographer. 

What’s your dream job?/What job are you interested in？
I always want to be a psychologist and help other people through counseling, so I’m going to choose psychology as my major in college. 

Have you ever worked?/Did you have a part-time job before?
Unfortunately I never worked, we always have a lot of homework to do and usually our parents encourage us to concentrate on study

Names
What names are popular to give to babies in your country?
I don’t think we have popular names for babies to use like western counties, we do have some popular Chinese characters that parents prefer, like tian, means sky, yu means universe. 

How do people in your country usually choose names for their babies?
I think a lot of families ask the elders’ opinion, like grandparents of the family, and some parents look for right Chinese characters in dictionaries, also there are some superstitious people find fortunetellers to choose names for their babies, they think right names can bring good luck to their babies.

Do any other people in your family have the same name as you?
Not really, Chinese people usually don’t share names with other family members, This is quite different from western culture.

Mobile Phones
Is your cell phone important to you in your daily life?
Very important and I use it all the time, I feel kind of restless if I don’t have my cell phone with me, I use it to call or text my friends and family, listen to my favorite music, play games, searching for useful information online, I can hardly manage without my cell phone with me.

How did you get your first mobile phone?
My parents bought my first cell phone when I was about to leave for my boarding school, that was about two years ago, they wanted to keep in touch with me so I could call or text them when I needed help. 

Is there anything you dislike about using cell phones?
There are two things I don’t like about using cell phones, one is the noise, some people have really loud ringtones, or they just talk too loudly over the phone, it can be annoying. The other thing is I get random messages from strangers sometimes, they always want to sell me something that I don’t need, or tell me I won some lottery, I find this quite disturbing.

Do you usually use your mobile phone to call people or to send text messages?
Most of time I like calling people, I feel it’s much more convenient than sending messages, which can take too much time. But I don’t usually call people early in the morning, late at night, or on a Saturday or Sunday morning, I feel sending text messages will be more appropriate and polite. 

Accommodation
Do you live in a house or a flat, how long have you lived there? 
My family and I live in a house, we’ve been living in there for a long time, my mom said we moved in about 10 years ago. 

What are the benefits(or advantages)of living in a flat/house?
People who live in a house can have more space of themselves, like a front or back yard, which is more spacious. Living in a smaller flat can save more energy and money, usually they use less gas or electricity to heat the apartment in winter or cool it down in summer. 

What facilities does your location offer?
We have a lot of facilities in our neighborhood, there is a nice gym with an outdoor swimming pool near our place, a few banks with ATMs, a post office, a supermarket, also we have a 24-hour hospital.

Is the public transportation system good in the area where you live?
Compared to Shanghai it’s not that great, first we don’t have subway system coz it’s a small town, bus system is ok and most of time is punctual, usually we don’t have much trouble finding taxis.

Hometown
What would you like to recommend to visitors in your hometown?
I think the best season to visit my hometown is spring or summer, I recommend visitors taking a walk in our bamboo forest, also trying the delicious bamboo shoots and seafood, those are our local specialties. 

Has your hometown changed much in the past 10 years?
Definitely there are some changes, like the town is better managed, you can see more tall buildings and cars, my parents say the environment is not as good as 10 years ago, but generally speaking, it’s still a lovely small town.

Part Two

Describe an intelligent person you know 智者
You should say: who this person is; when and where you (first) met them (him or her); what kind of person he or she is; and explain why you think this person is intelligent.
Intro: An intelligent person that I would like to describe is my friend Trisha.

When: Trisha used to be my junior high school classmate, I first met her in our orientation class, she sat very close to me, we started chatting and became good friends since then.

What: Trisha is a very intelligent girl, she was one of the top students in our class, especially good at math and physics, she always actively participated in class and sure she always got good grades. Also she is a wise and sensible girl, more mature than me, so every time I was disturbed by something and I wasn’t sure what to do, I would find her for help and listen to her opinions, and I could always depend on her to give me practical and sensible advice.

Why: Trisha is not only intelligent academically, she is also smart with a lot of other things. I always feel grateful that I have a friend like Trisha, our friendship gave me more than she knew, I can’t remember how many times that she helped me with my math homework after class, how many times she gave me advice on my personal issues, after spending years of time together, I become a better student, more mature and confident than before, also I’m more optimistic and positive towards life, learnt to be supportive to my friends like Trisha, she taught me what a real friend is.

Conclusion: And………. THAT’s an intelligent person I know that I WANTED to describe.

Describe a person you enjoy talking with 你喜欢交谈的人
You should say: how often you speak with this person; when you usually talk with him/her; what topics you usually speak about; and explain why you enjoy speaking to him or her.

Intro: Someone I enjoy talking with that I’d like to describe is my friend Trisha.

How: Trisha used to be my junior high school classmate, also we live not far from each other, we used to be inseparable, now even we are not in the same class anymore, we still meet 2 or 3 times a week.

When: when we were classmates in junior high, we spent a lot of time together, like eating together in the school cafeteria, doing homework, watching movies, now even we don’t study in the same school anymore, we still try to spend more time together, like chatting over the phone or meeting up for dinner and movies.

What: Trisha and I have a lot in common, we share same interests like movies, music and travel, we always enjoy hanging out and chatting together.

Why: Trisha is a very funny girl with a great sense of humor, I love spending time with her because she makes me laugh. Every time I feel blue or stressed out she can always cheer me up and make me feel better, also she is mature, wise and honest, every time I’m disturbed by something and I don’t know what to do, I always want to hear her opinions, and I can always depend on her to give me practical and sensible advice.

Conclusion: And……………. THAT’s a person I enjoy talking with that I WANTED to describe.

Describe a place (that you visited) far away from your home 离家远行
You should say: what features the place had; why you went there; how you traveled to the place; and explain how you felt about the place.
Intro: a place far away from my home that I’d like to describe is Sanya. 

What: Sanya lies at the southern tip of China, this beautiful costal city has been one of the most popular tourist destinations for many years, it’s famous for its blue ocean water, white beach, various types of seafood and tropical fruit.

Why：I went to Sanya by air, we left from Hongqiao airport and took us about 3 and half hours to get there from Shanghai.

How: Sanya is a lovely costal city, the city was clean and air was fresh when we were there, all the coconut trees and other tropical plants gave me an exotic atmosphere, local people were friendly and hospitable, our hotel was comfortable and they provided really good service, everyday we had different activities like snorkeling, scuba diving and beach volleyball, I couldn’t have had a better time with all the sunshine, blue ocean water and white beach.

Conclusion: that’s a place far away from my home that I wanted to describe.