1、协同进步见仁见智More young Chinese are prepared for something special during the Christmas holiday season.Meanwhile,businesses like hotels,restaurants,shopping centers,entertainment places and travel services are fighting to outdo each other for a slice of the festival cake.At the beginning of December,near
2、ly all star-level hotels were already promoting various Christmas Eve events to attract customers.Tickets for Christmas celebrations at Beijings star hotels can range from 800 yuan to 2000 yuan per person.Although the tickets seem pricey,they have had a good response.“About 90 percent have been book
3、ed by Chinese,” said Tian Zhenwen,a manager of Beijing Hotel,a five-star hotel in the downtown area.The highest price,so far,is a VIP ticket of 2558 yuan at the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel,not far from Beijing Hotel.The price includes a one-night stay in luxury suite,a grand dinner and Christmas performan
4、ces.In General,the cost of the Christmas dinner in hotel is about 400 yuan.“Most of the ticket cost covers the performances,decorations and advertisements,” said a public relations manager of Tianlun.Shopping centers are also trying to get a share.“Market promotions for the festival season(Christmas
5、 through Spring Festival)start at the beginning of December,” said Sun Yulian,of the marketing department at Beijing Laitai Flowers and Plants.For Laitai,Christmas really is a season to be merry.Nearly all their goods have a Christmas themetrees,cards,candles,flowers,toys the list goes on.It has bee
6、n expected that goods sold during the holiday season account for a third of annual profits of many businesses.Travel services,of course,do not want to be left behind.And overseas travel is particularly popular this year.“I want to experience the true Christmas atmosphere in the west,” said Wang Yunl
7、i,24,an office worker in Beijing.Wang has booked a trip to Europe for the Christmas season.According to Jiang Peng,a manager of China International Travel service,more new trips are available this year and the discount prices are attracting more Chinese customers.【问题导入】 随着人们物质生活水平的提高，传统的中国节日在人们心中魅力不
8、在，许多人开始转向“过洋节”。在北京、上海等大城市，过洋节的消费惊人，一个晚上花费动辄数千元。人们对此褒贬不一。有些人认为这不符合中国国情;也有些人认为无可厚非。你是如何看待中国人“过洋节”及节日期间的高消费呢？What do you think of Chinese celebrating western festivals and the high expense for them?A middle school teacher:I think it is a waste to spend too much money on celebrating Christmas.Just think
9、 about those living in remote mountainous region or rural areas.Why not help them have enough food and clothing with the money?A young office worker:Wow！Its great to celebrate such a Christmas Eve in a star-hotel.Its romantic and impressive.I am planning to experience the true Christmas atmosphere i
10、n a foreign country.An university professor:We should promote our traditional festivals and enrich the ways of observing them.If our festivals are not popular any longer,whatre the characteristics of our nation?A businessman:We cannot blame those celebrating foreign festivals this way.Its their righ
11、t to spend money.Life should be colorful.My view:_读书做人【话题链接】 “自古圣贤皆寂寞”。凡是在学术上、文学上取得了杰出成就的人都能耐得住寂寞，他们不追名逐利，生活简朴，踏踏实实做学问、搞创作。Everyone chases success,but not all of us want to be famous.South African writer,John Maxwell Coetzee is well-known for keeping to himself.When the 63-year-old man was named the
12、 2003 Nobel Prize winner for literature,reporters were warned that they would find him“particularly difficult to catch”.Coetzee lives in Australia but spends part of the year teaching at the University of Chicago. He seemed shocked by the news that he won the US $1.3 million prize.“I wasnt even awar
13、e they were due to make the announcement,”he said.His love of privacy leads to doubts as to whether Coetzee will attend the prize-giving in Stockholm,Sweden,on December 10.But despite being described as difficult to track down,the critics agree that his writing is easy to get to know.Born in Cape To
14、wn,South Africa,to an English-speaking family,Coetzee made his breakthrough in 1980 with the novel“Waiting for the Barbarians”.He took his place among the worlds leading writers with two Booker prize victories,Britains highest honor for novels.He first won in 1983 for the“Life and Times of Michael K
15、”,and this second title came in 1999 for “Disgrace”.A major theme in his work is South Africas former apartheid（种族隔离）system,which divided whites from blacks.Dealing with the problems of violence,crime and racial division that still exist in the country,his books have enabled ordinary people to under
16、stand apartheid from within.“I have always been more interested in the past than the future,” he said in a rare interview.“The past casts its shadow over the present.I hope I have made one or two people think twice about whether they want to forget the past completely.”In fact this purity in his wri
17、ting seems to be mirrored in his personal life.Coetzee is a vegetarian,a cyclist rather than a motorist and doesnt drink alcohol.But what he has contributed to literature,culture and the people of South Africa is far greater than the things he has given up.“In looking at weakness and failure in life,”the Nobel Prize judging panel said,“Coetzees work expresses the divine spark（闪光点）in man.”【问题导入】 据报道，中国每年发表的学术论文数量居世界第一位，可是真正有价值的、能在世界上引起广泛关注的却很少。关键的原因就是许多专家、学者不能像南非作家John Maxwell Coetzee 那样耐得住寂寞。【想一想】 What do you think we should do to build the practical academic atmosphere?版权所有：高考资源网()