• Describe a piece of important news you get from text You should say:
• When and where this happend
• What was the news about
• Why was this news important to you
• And explain how you feel about hearing the news

I’d like to describe a piece of important news brought by a text message. It happened three months ago, and I remember it was a weekend because I didn’t have class and was in my dorm watching shows. Suddenly, I heard a sound which was a text alert from my cellphone.

It was just one of those junk messages I receive every day, but this time, the content of it was really important. The text was about a new policy on passport renewal. According to the message, Chinese citizens would be able to have their expired passports renewed in any city of China. After seeing this, I double-checked it on the internet, and the news was true!

This news was really important to me because at that time, my passport had just expired, and I was planning a trip to Thailand with my roommates. So it means that I needed to go back to my hometown to get it renewed, but it was a lot of trouble for me to find the time for it; not to mention the money I’d have to spend on an air ticket! With this new policy, I could get it done here in Shanghai. I believe a lot of people like me would be overjoyed to hear this news.

Obviously, I felt happy about it because I didn’t need to fly back to my hometown and it saved me a lot of money. But I guess my mom wouldn’t be so happy because she hasn’t seen me for about 6 months now. if she had known that I was coming back, but then wasn’t, she’d have been so disappointed.

PART 3

1.What are the differences between writing and speaking?

When we are speaking about something, the spoken language is more informal and we could show ourselves more clearly by the help of expression and body language. When we write about something, the written language is more formal and logical.

2.Have people changed the ways they communicate with each other?

I think so. By using mobile phones and the Internet, people could choose more convenient ways to communicate with their family and friends, for example, people can make video calls and send emails. In the past, people can just send letters and it would take months to get reply.

3.Do technological advances have a negative impact on communication?

It*s hard to say. Technological advances do facilitate our life and make it more convenient for people to communicate. While, because of the advanced communication technologies, people spend less time on face to face communicating and pay less attention to people around them.

4.What kinds of messages cannot be texted?

I think the confidential information should not be texted through the Internet. As the insecurity of the Internet, nothing is safe online. The confidential information, for example, private photos and military information should not be texted online.

5.Is it a good thing if heads of state sit around and exchange ideas face to face?

It may promote the relationships and reduce misunderstandings between countries if heads of states sit around and talk to each other face to face. While, some decisions should be discussed with person in charge of different departments and it may take some time to consider. So maybe that’s not a good idea for some important decisions.

6.What are the advantages of hand writing and recording things via social media?

Recording things by hand writing is safer and there’s no need to worry about hackers. While, we could share pictures and videos with friends on social media, even they are in other countries. Social media can make us closer to our friends.