口语是一种利用语言表达思想、进行口头交际的能力。《高等学校英语专业基础阶段英语教学大纲》要求加强培养及培训学生语言知识的转换能力。意思是学生通过读和听获得知识、信息和语言，经过思维，在原有知识及语言的基础上对所获得的内容和语言加工和重组，赋予新的内容，然后输出，从而完成交际的全过程。
《英语口语教程》（Oral Workshop）问世于20世纪90年代初，是由北京外国语大学吴祯福教授主持编写，也是目前我国英语教学界具有相当的影响力的一套教材，至今已经累计销售数百万册。这套优秀的教材哺育了一届又一届的英语学习者，为我们国家的改革开放培养了大量的英语专业人才，成为国内主要高等学校英语专业的指定口语教材。实践证明，这是一套非常富有生命力的教材。
Lesson 28 Are Cars Doing More Harm Than Good? Text Cars Only Bring Peogle Trouble Today any Chinese can enjoy the luxury of owning a private car--if he can afford it, that is. And to be able to afford...
Lesson 27 Is the Prospect of Growing Old a Bleak One? Text The Prospect of Growing OId Is Horrifying My father has an organic brain disease. It's Parkinson's disease, and in his case it has led to the...
Lesson 26 Does Divorce Represent Social Progress? Text Divorces-a New Social Phenomenon in China Divorce used to be very rare in our country. In old times it was not necessary for a man to divorce his...
Lesson 25 Do Advertisements Play a Positive or Negative Role in Our Society? Text People Change Their Attitudes towards Ads One night, when television began broadcasting a boring TV show, I said to my...
Lesson 24 Does Fashion Contribute Anything to Society? Text Make np, Dress up, Warm up, Brighten'up When 43-year-old Wang I.ongzhu stepped out of a beauty parlour in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Provin...
Lesson 23 Is It Necessary to Keep the "Iron Rice Bowl"? Text Living Without the "Iron Rice Bowl" Since 1987, reform of the Chinese labour system has stepped out of the laboratory and into the real wor...
Lesson 22 Should Capital Punishment Be a Major Deterrent to Crime? Text Capital Punishment Is the Only Way to Deter Criminals Perhaps all criminals should be required to carry cards which read: Fragil...
Lesson 21 Should People Be Promoted according to Ability? Text Flattering the Boss Gets You Everywhere In the world of work, flattery will get you everywhere. Employees who flatter their bosses tend to receive better evaluations and move more easily...
Lesson 20 Is Housing Reform Necessary? Text Housing Reform Faces Obstacles Housing reform, acknowledged by economists and politicians at home and abroad as central to China's economic reform, has reac...
Lesson19 Is it Good to Live in a Large Modern City? Text I Hate to Live in a Large Modern City "Avoid the rush-hour" must be the slogan of large cities the world over. If it is, it's a slogan no one t...
Lesson 18 Should Women Be Treated the Same as Men? Text For Women, There Is a Long Way to Go One-third of the people at work in Britain are women. By 1975 they will, by law, be on a footing of equal p...
Lesson 17 Is Romantic Love the Most Important Condition for Marriage? Text Choosing a Spouse If you are young and unmarried, you must have in your mind the image of an ideal husband or wife. Most youn...
Lesson 16 Is Money the Most Important Thing in Life? Text "The Only Thing People Are Interested in Today Is Earning More Money." Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome you...
Lesson 15 Should Smoking Be Prohibited? Text Passive Path to Death for Non-smokers Alice Trillin was 38 and thought she was in excellent health. Then "this completely crazy thing" happened. "I coughed...
Lesson 14 Does the Younger Generation Know Best? Text The Younger Generation Knows Best Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to...
