Oral English Practice
Time: 2012/4/24 Part I Warm-up
In modern society, we have to make contact with a lot of different people every day, our friends, acquaintances, relatives, lovers, clients, colleagues and so on.It is hard to imagine living without any interaction with others.Indeed, the contact with people has become so important that some new academic subjects have emerged in order to improve people’s understanding of human relationships and interpersonal skills.According to the dictionary, interpersonal skills are a set of skills that enables one to get along with others, in other words, the ability to communicate with others in a society appropriate and meaningful way.Communication skills are more specific about individual behaviors.They include cooperating, sharing, listening, participating, and leading as well as respecting others.
Question:
Can you characterize the ideal interpersonal relationship?
Which do you think is the most important character in mutual communication?
What can we learn from interpersonal relationship? Do you think it can be applied to state relations? Why?
Part II Read the following paage and make a brief comment on it.Simply saying \"thank you\" may benefit both the recipient and the person who expre gratitude, according to the results of studies conducted by researchers at Florida State University in Tallahaee.
The studies, published in the latest iue of Psychological Science, found that saying \"thank you\" strengthens relationships by causing the person expreing thanks to feel more responsible for the recipient\'s welfare.To understand how expreing gratitude helps strengthen relationships, the researchers conducted three different studies.
In one study, 137 college students completed a survey regarding how often they expreed gratitude to a friend or partner.Results showed that gratitude was positively linked with the person\'s perception of the \"communal\" strength.
In another study involving 218 college students, expreing gratitude found the expreer\'s perception of the relationship\'s strength over time was boosted.
In the third study, 75 men and women were randomly aigned to one of four groups.Over a three-week period, one group expreed gratitude to a friend; another thought grateful thoughts about a friend, while a third
thought about daily activities and a fourth had positive interactions with a friend.
Those who expreed gratitude reported stronger relationships at the end of study than those in the other groups.
Gratitude, when expreed, boosted communal strength, according to the study\'s lead author, Nathaniel Lambert, a research aociate at the University.
He said the findings make sense because \"when you expre gratitude to someone, you are focusing on the good things that person has done for you,\" he said.\"It makes you see them in a more positive light and helps you to focus on their good traits.\"
Lambert said his research team tested the idea that: \"The person doing the thanking comes to perceive the relationship as more communal, to see the person as more worthwhile to make a sacrifice for, to go the extra mile to help out\".
Although the studies only looked at the people expreing gratitude, Lambert speculated that, \"those who are being thanked will often feel an urge to reciprocate.They will want to expre their gratitude back.It can become kind of an upward spiral.\"
Part III Learn the following words by yourself and think for a while, making a speech on interpersonal relationship in no le than two minutes.The topic should be concerned with two or more than two aspects of the following relationship.(For instance, you can talk about how to get on well with both your intimate and colleague.)
人在江湖，哪能没个伴，哪能不结识什么人呢，人与人之间有N多种关系，各种各样的关系英语都怎么说？buddy哥们儿
We became great buddies.
我们成了非常好的朋友。
Hey, no way, buddy.
嘿，没门儿，老兄。
colleague同事/同僚
A colleague recently returned from a \"holiday \" with lips like a baboon .
一个同事最近“休假”回来，嘴唇变得像狒狒一样。
confidante闺蜜/红颜知己（女性)
I hope this way know more friends , but also hoping to find confidante .
所以希望通过这种方式认识更多的朋友，更希望能找到一位红颜知己。
intimate至交
Good artists are usually too embarraed to show their work to anyone unle you are intimate with them , since their work is their soul .
作品对于好的艺术家来说等于是他们的灵魂，而且通常因为害羞而不好意思对人展示他们的作品，除非你和他们是至交。
mentor导师/指导者
Strangely , my mother was my mentor .
说来奇怪，我母亲是我的导师。
sworn brother结拜兄弟
He is my sworn brother , his busine is mine .
我跟他是拜把兄弟，他的事就是我的事。
superior上司
He offended superior and then was fired .
他得罪了上司，于是被解雇了
bo老板
I heard your company had a new bo .
我听说你们公司来了一位新老板。
partner搭档
If only some handsome boy invited me to be his partner at the ball .
要是有个英俊的小伙子邀请我做他的舞会搭档就好了。
couple情侣
During the past year the couple organized all the plans for their wedding .
在过去的一年里，这对夫妇为他们的婚礼做了众多的计划。
companion同伴
I think it is worthwhile having such a companion .
我认为有这样一个伙伴是值得的。
pen pal笔友
I \'m writing a letter to my pen pal .
我正在给我的笔友写信。
comrade-in-arms战友
The sight of the old comrade-in-arms carried me back to my days in the army .见到老战友使我回想起自己在部队中的日子。
fellow-apprentice师兄弟
Your fellow apprentice has achieved a new level .
你的师兄已经达到一个新层次。
bosom friend知心朋友
A bosom friend is one you trust and you will tell all the secrets to him .知己是你信任而且愿意把所有秘密给他讲的人。
