1.Howtoagreestronglywithanopinion
Icouldntagreemore!
Thatsabsolutelytrue!
Absolutely!
Itakeyourpoint.
Idgoalongwithyouthere.
Imwithyouonthat.
ThatsjustwhatIwasthinking
ThatsexactlywhatIthink
Thatsgoodpoint
ThatsjusthowIseeit.
Thatsexactlymyopinion.
2.Howtohalfagreewithanopinion.
Yes,perhaps.
Well,yes.
Yes,inaway
Mum,possibly
Yes,Iagreeuptoapoint
Well,youvegotapointthere.
Theressomethinginthat,Isuppose
Eguessyoucouldberight
Yes,Isupposeso.
Thatsworththinkingabout.
3.Howtodisagreepolitelywithanopinion
Iamnotsosurereally.
Doyouthinkso?
Well.Itdepends.
Imnotsocertain.
Well.Itdontknow.
Well,Imnotsosureaboutthat.
Mmm,Imnotreallysureyoureright.
Iminclinedtodisagreewiththat.
No,Idontthinksoreally.
4.Howtodisagreestronglywithanopinion
Idisagree.
Idisagreewithyouentirely.
ImafraidIdontagree.
Imafraidyouarewrongthere.
Ireallycantagree.
Iwouldntacceptthatforoneminute.
Youcantreallymeanthat.
Iwouldntgoalongwithyouthere.
Youcantbeserious.
Youmustbejoking.
NotethatyouneedtobeverypolitewhendisagreeingwithsomeoneinEnglish,evensomeoneyouknowquitewell.Withsomeoneyouknowverywell,youcandisagreemoredirectly.
5.Howtopresentbothsidesofanargument
Ontheonehand...ontheotherhand...
Althoughitstruetosaythat...itsalsotruetosaythat...
Lesson1
DoesTelevisionPlayaPositiveorNegativeRoleintheModernSociety?
Text
DotheAdvantagesofTelevisionOutweightheDisadvantages?
Televisionisnowplayingaveryimportantpartinourlife.Buttelevision,likeotherthings,hasbothadvantagesanddisadvantages.Dotheformeroutweighthelatter?
Inthefirstplace,televisionisnotonlyaconvenientsourceofentertainment,butalsoacomparativelycheapone.Forafamilyoffour,forexample,itismoreconvenientaswellascheapertositcomfortablyathome,withalmostunlimitedentertainmentavailable,thantogooutinsearchofamusementelsewhere(1).Theydonothavetopayforexpensiveseatsatthetheatre,thecinema,ortheopera,onlytodiscover,perhaps,thattheshowisdisappointing(2).Alltheyhavetodoispressabutton,andtheycanseeplays,films,operas,andshowsofeverykind,nottomentionpoliticaldiscussionsandthelatestexcitingfootballmatch.Somepeople,however,maintainthatthisispreciselywherethedangerlies.Thetelevisionviewertakesnoinitiative(3).Hemakesnochoiceandexercisesnojudgmenttohimwithoutanyeffortonhispart.
Television,itisoftensaid,keepsoneinformedaboutcurrentevents,allowsonetofollowthelatestdevelopmentsinscienceandpolitics,andoffersandendlessseriesofprogrammeswhicharebothinstructiveandentertaining.Themostdistantcountriesandthestrangestcustomsarebroughtrightintoonessitting-room.(4)Itcouldbearguedthattheradioperformsthisservicejustaswell;butontelevisioneverythingismuchmoreliving,muchmorereal.Yethereagainthereisadanger.Wegetsousedtolookingatit,sodependentonitsflickeringpictures(5),thatitbeginstodominateourlives.
Therearemanyotherargumentsforandagainsttelevision.Thepoorqualityofitsprogrammesisoftencriticized.Butitisundoubtedlyagreatcomporttomanylonelyelderlypeople.anddoesitcorruptorinstructourchildren?Ithinkwemustrealizethattelevisioninitselfisneithergoodnorhad.Itistheusestowhichitisputthatdetermineitsvaluetosociety.