Christmas cards are destroying forests. Christmas cards are killing¹ human beings. Christmas cards are ruining the world we live in. When you open your post-box and take out many nice Christmas cards, have you ever thought of their cost? Not in term of money, but in terms of environmental destruction. When you're happily reading the cards, perhaps you are totally unaware² that a great many trees have been cut down to make Christmas cards.

Now we don't have to send Christmas cards. It's not vital. Moreover, we should send as few cards as possible to save the environment.

Of course, it can't be denied that sending Christmas cards is a very good form of communication. Through cards, we send best wishes to our relatives and friends. But a coin has two sides; ev-erything, including sending Christmas cards, has both a positive and a negative effect. And it seems that what we gain through Christmas cards isn't well worth the price we pay.

We have to cut down so many trees, waste so much paper just for the sake of Christmas cards. No, it isn't worth doing so. Can't we find any other ways to send our wishes to each other? Of course, we can. A telephone call, an E-mail on the Internet, some small presents made by yourself, or just a few words when you meet your friends, that's enough. I dare say that they bring you much joy and happiness, too.

To me, sending Christmas cards is not only a waste of paper and money, but also a waste of time and energy. Don't you feel tired and bored when you have to deal with so many cards, all ba-sically the same, and spend a lot of time on it? Every time I receive a card, what comes into my mind first is not how nice it is, but what I should write on the card returned to him or her! Trying to find so many different wishes is a really difficult job, isn't it? But does a card with only "Happy New Year and Merry Christmas" and your name on it make any sense? Well, I'm tired of sending Christmas cards. Yet, I'm still obliged to do so for the sake of po-liteness.

Dear friends, sending Christmas cards really does harm to the environment, to human beings and to the world. So why not stop doing so? A Christmas card or a better environment and a cheerful state of mood? I will choose the latter one.

Then, let us say goodbye to Christmas cards.

点评:

Interesting exposure of cards’ negative effect on the environ-ment. But it's a little exaggerated. It should be pointed³ out that “too many” cards are bad for the environment. Also, more alterna-tives should be shown such as the use of recycled paper, or even other non-paper material. Also, many cards are “environmentally friendly”, made from paper from specially⁴ grown trees, rather than important forests. It’s more positive, balanced and helpful to show alternatives. If she says people are killed in the introduction, she should prove it.

However, her overall English usage is very good, and her ideas are well structured.

指导教师： Abraham O’ Farrell

点评：

The topic is a question which needs to be answered in the speech. The introduction uses three sentences to tell the readers the bad effect of postcards, one stronger than the other in the sense of emotion. The beginning calls your attention to the envi-ronmental destruction— trees have been cut down. Then she gives answer to the question in the topic clearly: No. She talks about the advantage and then, the disadvantage. It's not worth the price we pay. And we have other good ways for communication. She goes on to talk about her own feelings: a waste of paper, money, time and energy. The conclusion calls for action. This speech is complete in structure. The language is very exact and concise⁵. She uses illustration, persuasion⁶, quotation⁷ and repetition. If she had used authority (such as the amount of trees cut to make cards, or the amount of money saved), the speech would have been even better. Her own feelings take a lot of space, which makes it seem to be the most important reason for not sending cards. This is not proper.

指导教师：刘玉恩