今日口语计划： 热点话题素材：互联网

图片陈述

As is vividly illustrated in the picture, the boy has got addicted to the Internet regardless of the thirst, the hunger or even the pain in the head. The boy takes it for granted that he is fortunately woven into a “cobweb”; however, this is not the case. He will be abandoned by the real world in the long run.

At first glance, the picture seems radical and ridiculous. With the fast development of IT industry, it’s indeed extremely convenient for netizens to transfer information in various forms via the Internet. However, taking a serious and rational look at people around us, we have to admit that some people are indulging in the Internet, the virtual world. They are deprived of their precious time, which triggers off many social problems. Because of the distraction of the Internet, people do less exercise and communicate less with family members and friends. Most of their free time is occupied by endless Internet games or other forms of pastimes.

To conclude, the Internet is a double-edged sword. We should make the best use of one edge and try to not get hurt by the other.

问答/陈述

1. Do you often use the Internet?

Yes, the Internet is great. I use the Internet to keep up with current events. The Internet has a lot of high-quality news articles from many different sources. There is a world of knowledge right at your fingertips. I use the Internet for school research, emails, and sometimes for map-navigating and news.

2. What do you use the Internet for?

To check my emails, chat with my friends, go on YouTube and watch videos, play games online, search for photos and other stuff like that. For me, the Internet is where my social life is. I use the Internet to keep in touch with family members and friends. I use it with my job; I also use it to read the local and national news headlines.

3. Do you think the use of the Internet needs to be controlled?

Yes, I do. There are a lot of mischief makers in the world who can use the Internet to do evil things. There are hackers who break into people’s computers via the Internet with the intent of stealing. Hackers also like to break into government or business sites to disrupt their operations.

4. Why do people use the Internet?

People use the Internet for so many reasons. We keep in touch with friends or business contacts through email. Many people go to news sites to keep up with current events. The Internet is also used as entertainment. I like to watch videos and sports highlights. I also like to send instant messages with my friends. I can talk to my friends easily, and I’m able to talk to multiple people at once.

5. What are the benefits of the Internet?

The Internet has enormous benefits. The Internet boosts communication through email, instant messaging, and information broadcasting websites. There is limitless entertainment on the Web including movies, music, videos, and upcoming events in your area. The Internet also provides endless commerce, travel bargains, and advertisements.

6. What are the negative influences of the Internet on children?

While the Internet exhibits its obvious advantages in our daily life, it also has many seriously negative influences on children. To begin with, children, unlike adults, usually adopt an indiscriminate attitude toward what they get from the Internet, most of which promotes violence, pornography, or immoral practices. What’s more, indulgence in Internet games or online chatting not only does harm to their physical health, but also inhibits them from developing feelings of security, compassion and diplomacy in real life. The current social phenomenon should arouse great concern of our whole society.

7. Will e-books replace traditional books?

I hold that e-books will replace traditional books sooner or later, because e-books have various advantages over the traditional ones. To start with, e-books can be downloaded from the Internet directly, most of which are free of charge, while the traditional books in bookstores are much more expensive. What’s more, e-books can be stored more easily on computer and are more convenient for people to carry around. Last but not least, reading e-books has become a fashion, which particularly appeals to young people.

8. Will online education take the place of traditional education?

Yes, I think so. First, online education can be carried out everywhere at any time, while traditional education requires learners to attend classes. Second, materials of online education are in different forms from audio to video, which can be obtained conveniently, while textbooks are the leading form of traditional education. Last but not least, online classes are available for learners to select freely, attracting those who can’t undertake a whole set of traditional classes.

9. Is it wise to make friends online?

As far as I am concerned, I strongly oppose being addicted to making friends online. Firstly, too much attention to online friends distracts your concern to the true friends and families in the real world. By the same time, the communication between you and your friends is becoming less and less. Therefore, you feel lonelier in real life and spend more time on the Internet. Besides, online friends are often disguised. A large number of cases have proved that many criminals make use of the Internet to cheat of money or love. There’s always a gap between the real world and the imaginary one. So, those who are indulging in the Internet should cast their eyesight to the friendship and kinship in real life.

10. The impact of social networking websites

Every coin has its two sides. Besides the social and entertaining functions, social networking websites have also brought many problems such as the risk of personal information security among teenagers. Some young people who are addicted to social networking websites isolate themselves in their virtual world and even have difficulty in communicating with people in the real world. In a word, social networking websites pose both opportunities and challenges to our modern life. Only by making reasonable use of them can we benefit considerably.

11. The impact of Internet rumors

With the wide use of the Internet, Internet rumors bring a great influence on netizens and other people. Internet rumors will definitely result in severe consequences if we keep turning a blind eye to them. For one thing, made-up scandals directly infringe on citizens’ rights, affecting their daily life and ruining their public image. For another, the dissemination of such rumors as those about social or natural disasters causes panic and disorder in society. Finally, the spread of rumors on the Internet will undermine the credibility of the Net to a point that people will no longer trust it in the future.

12. Measures to stop Internet rumors

It is imperative that laws and regulations be enacted and enforced to stop Internet rumors, such as introducing a real-name system and calling for stronger supervision of the Internet. Besides, people should be educated to distinguish the right from the wrong.

双人互动

Topic: Is playing computer games good or bad for the young?

A: Nowadays, playing computer games is one of the main recreational activities among the young, which, I think, has very bad effects on their growth.

B: Why do you think so? In my eyes, it is just a way of recreation for the young.  Different people have their different ways of recreation. That the young like playing computer games is just a sign that they can gain fun and refreshment from it.

A: I couldn’t agree with you less. There are so many negative effects on the young caused by computer games. First, it is harmful to their health, physical and mental.  As far as I know, many popular computer games involve pitched battles in a virtual world, which require strong powers of concentration. Therefore, I don’t think it is a way of relaxation but making someone more tired spiritually.

B: I think I’m at odds with you over this point. Many computer games are educational and knowledge-oriented, which are helpful for intellectual development. The games can train students’ responsiveness, broaden their minds, and enlarge their knowledge.

A: It is a one-side view. I’ll tell you the second negative effect. You know the young don’t have enough self-control, so it’s very easy for them to become addicted to computer games.  After madly clinging to computer games, some students will neglect their studies and their grades will decrease dramatically.

B: You should take a balanced point of view; don’t go to the extremes. My point is playing computer games in a proper way will do good to the young.  In the real world, it’s difficult for them to succeed. But it’s relatively easy for them to defeat enemies and get victory in the virtual world. So playing computer games is just a way for the young to find confidence again and continue to “fight” in the real world.

A: I can’t take your point completely. If the young linger in the virtual world for a long time, they will not differentiate between the real world and the virtual world. In short, it is obvious that there are far more disadvantages than advantages in playing computer games. Therefore, the young should abandon this bad hobby.

B: I am still not convinced by your one-sided thoughts. It’s without doubt that playing computer games has positive effects on the young, and teachers and parents should eliminate their bias against playing computer games.

黄金句

1. With the popularity of the Internet, almost every kind of resource can be obtained from it.

随着网络的普及，几乎所有的资源都能够通过网络获得。

2. Admittedly, confronted with so much information, it is not an easy task to mine the latent and valuable information quickly and effectively.

必须承认的是，淹没在海量的信息中，我们很难快速有效地挖掘出潜在的、有价值的信息。

3. People should bear a reasonable mind to the various stuff emerging on the Internet, and select the essence and discard the dross.

人们应该对网络上涌现的东西保持清醒的态度，取其精华，去其糟粕。

4. Indulgence in Internet chatting will keep people away from friends.

沉迷于网络聊天将会使人们远离朋友。

5. It goes without saying that if this tendency continues, the Internet would inevitably become a demon separating people apart instead of an angel connecting them together.

毋庸置疑，如果该趋势继续蔓延，网络将不可避免地成为把人类分隔开来的恶魔而不是将人们联系起来的天使。

6. In previous years, it seemed that it was a fantasy to buy things at home through the Internet. Nowadays, the things we couldn’t imagine have become reality.

在过去，在家里通过网络买东西好像就是个幻想。现如今，我们想都不敢想的事已经成为现实。

7. Internet slang terms are so popular that they have become one part of our daily life.

网络词汇大行其道，已经成为我们生活的一部分。

8. It is necessary to adopt a strict attitude on Internet slang terms in official documents.

在正式文件中，对网络语言的使用采取严格的态度是有必要的。