托福口语观点题(task 1)里的 “use specific details and examples to explain your answer” 一直是大部分考生的痛点。看到题,有想法,也能给出一些理由,但就是不知道怎么去展开给出细节和例子。然后也不知道考试要求里所谓的 “细节” 和 “例子” 到底是哪种。困惑之余又无从下手。
今天就和大家说说看,我们可以怎么利用模仿托福口语 task 2,来学习添加细节和例子。
为什么利用托福口语task 2的对话材料来练呢?(而不是用其他更为广泛的口语资源比如TED Talk,interview videos,vlogs等?)
最直接的原因:官方材料。
用出题人的材料去准备出题人出的题,对于一个考试来说是最好的。你可以会说:可是task 1和task 2题型不同呀?对的,题型不同,但是这两个内容本质上没有太大区别,只是考察能力不同而已:一个需要你讲自己的观点,另外一个需要你总结别人的观点。稍微接触和了解过task 2的对话材料结构都知道,就是”观点 + 2个理由”,和task 1的答题要求结构是一样的。
除此以外,这两题都是有时间限制的:Task 1是需要在规定时间内回答,task 2的材料也是有时间范围的。也就是说,展开和解释都是需要比较高效。如果去参考和模仿TED Talk或者interview videos里的例子,可能对生活中自己的口语展开能力有帮助,但却很难在托福口语观点题里面用,因为我们考试时这道题一共就只有45秒的时间。而task 2对话长度是有限制的,平均1分钟左右,短时间要讲两个理由加上解释,展开就需要很高效,无论是内容上还是表达上。
所以 Task 2 对话材料里有哪些常见的展开方式呢?
01 ·个人例子
这种展开方式大家应该是很熟悉了。
个人例子可以是自己的,比如:
理由:Well, students often need to borrow the bikes for longer periods of time, sometimes a whole day.
展开:like, to do stuff off-campus,for instance, my friends and Ion the weekends, sometimes we like to ride bikes to the state park outside of town and do some hiking there. And it basically takes a whole day. It's nighttime by the time when we get back. (from 33-2)
也可以是别人的(朋友 / 同学 / 亲戚 …),比如:
理由:Thing is: depending on someone else makes me nervous.
展开:My roommatehad to do a project like this and the other girl didn't show up to meetings, didn't do any research. My roommate had to do everything herself. It hurt her grade. I don't want the same thing to happen to me.(from 41-2)
当然,如果用个人例子,有好处也有坏处。好处就是不需要完全真实,所以准备好一定的思路和内容,临时用这样的形式发挥出来还是很方便的。坏处就是,如果讲的是以前发生的事情,需要兼顾过去式,一旦把控不好,很可能语法一堆错影响分数。
那有没有什么方法可以避免呢?
当然有的,如果你觉得自己的口语语法还没有特别熟悉,说话的时候总是顾不来动词的时态,在给出个人例子的时候,可以用 “假设” 的角度来描述。
比如刚才 41-2 的这个展开,我们就可以改成:
IfI have to do a project like this and the group members don’t show up to meetings, don’t do any research, I probably will have to do everything myself. It’ll hurt my grade. I don't want this kind of stuff to happen.
这样的“假设”方式有给到一定的细节,能传达到原来的例子意思,也避免了类似动词过去式或者第三人称单数等易错口语语法点。可以是一种准备的选择。
*当然能力提升的角度上,如果有足够备考时间,还是建议大家多说多练提升口语语法准确度啦 :)
02 · 列举展开
列举就是对某个事物做细化,是练习展开入门最好用的一种了,在task 2里出现频率也是最高的。
可以是列举包含的内容,比如:
理由:Because it's not gonna solve the problem.
展开:Students arebusyat night,I mean,we have jobs, families, clubs, social events.Most of us already have something to do every single night of the week. It’s just hard to fit anything into my schedule during the week.(from 4-2)
这里就给出了“busy”的的内容,有可能是因为工作,有可能是因为家庭,有可能是因为活动等而很忙没法空出时间。这样既具体又让人切身联想。
也可以是列举场景,比如:
理由:I can't imagine top students being too thrilled about some of the conditions on this campus.
展开:Like,the science laboratory having such old outdated equipment, and the library needing more books, and the student center being so small. I think that the 2 million could be spent in better places if the university is really serious about achieving its goal.(from 13-2)
这里就对 conditions 做了一个具体的列举,听的人马上就知道他们学校现在实验室器材很旧,图书馆里的书还不够,学生中心又很小,画面感就很强烈了,难怪尖子生对他们学校不感冒。而且短短三个并列结构,给出了这么多的信息,就很高效阿。
也可以是列举问句,比如:
理由:I think people like us will be really good at this.
展开:I remember when I was first shown around the campus, there were some questions that the guide couldn’t really answer from experience,likewhich are the noisier dorms? Or which ones are quietest? Which student cafeteria would he recommend?The stuff he didn't have first-hand knowledge about.(from 22-2)
Neat。多好用。
03 · 对比解释
对比解释也是展开中很常看到,而且对task 1来说这种方式挺合适的,因为新政之后观点题就是 personal choice,要选就肯定有对比嘛。
其实就是描述一方优势加描述另一方劣势,比如:
理由:It’s really good for students in that program.
展开:My cousin was in the program a few years ago, and she said that it's very different to cook for a lot of people in that kind of atmosphere than to cook for classmates. In class you can take your time,but, cooking for more people, there's more pressure, you're in a rush, people are waiting and it might be easy to make a mistake with all that stress.(from 5-2)
上面这种 compare 的表达结构是比较好把控的,一方优点 + 转折词 + 另一方缺点。
或者也可以不分开单独描述,就是简单提到,比如:
理由:It's a great place to study.
展开:I go there a lot. I'll read a book or bring my laptop computer and work on a paper for class. It's never very noisy.In fact,I actually prefer it to the libraryas a place to study, and a lot of other students do, too. We even study for our final exams there, and you can eat there while you work,something you can't do with the library.(from 24-2)
像上面的这个,“比起图书馆,更喜欢这个地方,因为可以边吃边学习”,主要是描述优点,再点一下比较对象。
不过,用比较的时候要小心一些,因为很容易就变成再重复自己,一定要确保描述的时候不要讲同样的内容。比如:
When you cook a few classmates in class, you will not be in a rush. However, when you cook for more people, you will be in a rush.
这种比较就失去了 “展开” 的意义了,变成重复内容,对分数肯定会有影响。所以注意换表达之余其中一方的解释更具体些。
04 · 具体数字
具体数字这种方式很少单独使用,通常都是结合其他展开方式。通常都是讲到时间,金钱,空间,大小,多少等等的时候用来让自己所描述的内容更具体。
比如:
理由:The problem isn't the size of the hall. It’s that they allow students to invite too many people to come and watch. All they need to do is reduce the number of guests each graduating student gets to invite.
展开:Right now each graduating student can inviteup to ten people. That’s too many. At most schools, students only get to invite likefour or five people. If we just said, “OK, you can only invitesix people.” That’ll still be more than most other schools and the ceremony could stay the way it is.(from 25-2)
如果对话里女生只是提到 “每个人能邀请的人比其他学校允许的都要多”,听的人就没有概念,”多”是多少?但是用了具体的数字来解释,就很清楚了。
又比如结合其他的展开方式:
理由:It’d make things much less expensive.
展开:Because our campus is located outside the city. If you can’t get a friend with a car to give you a ride, there is no other way to get to the airport. And your only choice is to take a taxi and it’s pretty expensive,like thirty or forty dollars, which is a lot especially for students.
中间提到贵,可以用具体的数字来明确 “贵” 是一个什么概念。这样听的人就知道对学生来说,这需要花几十美金,那确实学校需要提供一些免费服务去帮助学生解决问题,在理解的层面上也更简单了。
最后最重要的了,怎么用来展开task 1呢?
我们拿一道真题来试试吧。
2018.09.15
Some students think it’s better for the school to cancel the debate club. Others believe that the school should cancel the hiking club. Which one do you agree with? Please explain your answer in detail and examples.
随便选一个立场。
就 cancel hiking club 吧:
1. 平时能debate的机会毕竟不是常常有;
2. 而且debate培养的技能比较有用;
3. debate也好组织,环境没什么特别要求需要的资金也不多。
好,开始试水。
示范1 · 如果利用个人例子展开
理由:The debate club allows the students to develop a lot of practical skills.
展开:For example, I joined the debate team when I was in high school, and I got to discuss a lot, came up with ideas in a short time and worked together with the other members in the team. It helped improve my communication and cooperation skills.
示范2 · 如果利用列举来展开
理由:The debate club allows the students to develop a lot of practical abilities, 展开:like communication, cooperation and negotiation skills. All these will be really helpful for the students, and probably they’ll have no problem dealing with businesses or talking with their clients in the future when they work.
示范3 · 如果利用对比方式展开
理由:It won’t take the school a lot of energy to manage the debate club.
展开:For example, the school probably only needs to find a space on campus for the debate club. But the hiking club will require the school to rent a bus, help students to prepare all the stuff they need for hiking and take them to the hiking spot. This will be too much for the school.
示范4 · 如果利用具体数字来展开
理由:The debate club doesn’t require the school and the students to spend a lot of time.
展开:For example, it may take the students only two hours to put up a debate activity, but the hiking club requires the students to spend a day because they have to take the bus, travel to the right spot and hike for four hours. This is too time-consuming.
总结
不管是个人例子、列举、比较还是加数字,都是平时口语表达可以马上利用起来让自己的内容更具体的方式。具体的内容不仅仅是符合题目要求,也是一种语言表达的能力。能够让你的回答更容易被理解,更有画面感,更容易被记住,听起来也更真实。
平时练习的时候,好好利用起官方的材料资源,除了刷题以外学会总结,这样备考和提升能力都会更高效。