第一部分
口試第一部分通常被認為是整個考試的導(dǎo)入部分??脊僭谶@一部分中會詢問一些和考生本身有關(guān)的問題,通過較為簡單的提問來達到讓考生放松情緒的目的,以便在整個考試過程中能夠正常發(fā)揮他們的語言水平。問題數(shù)量大約為4-8個,涉及3-6方面的話題。08年的主要涉及話題有:工作,學(xué)習(xí),家庭,購物,城市交通,家鄉(xiāng),日?;顒?,興趣愛好,住房,個人計劃等。盡管話題簡單,但如果我們以通常和朋友隨意交談的平實的內(nèi)容作為答案,從考試角度來衡量可能不是最佳答案。值得考生注意的是考官和提問內(nèi)容是有其特殊目的性的,他們要通過短短的十幾分鐘來評估考生的語言能力,所以為考官提供足夠的語言供他們判斷尤為重要。也就是,我們在第一部分要提供夠“雅思”的答案來給考官留下一個深刻的好印象,因為兩個問題之后考官憑經(jīng)驗已經(jīng)在心中給你打了個分,接下來的問題都只是在證明這個分數(shù)。
給考生的建議是每個問題提供三至五句切題的答案。那我們該怎樣來準備這一部分呢,好答案的標準又是什么呢?首先,在準備期間,請考生收集一下近幾個月Part1高頻的考題,或者在老師的帶領(lǐng)下,逐一進行演練,會發(fā)現(xiàn)題目幾乎就集中在幾個方面,萬變不離其宗。接下來就是對高頻考題進行構(gòu)思準備了,請口語能力一般的考生務(wù)必準備,不可忽略。只有提前準備才能在考試中少犯錯。我們通過下面的例子進行說明怎樣構(gòu)思好答案。
Question: Do you take any sports?
Answer one: Yes. I like to play badminton.
Answer two: Of course. I often play badminton. Many people here like to play this good sport. It is quite popular in China. China has some good badminton players. Lin Dan is one of my favorite players.
Answer three: Yes. I often take an active part in many kinds of sports games, such as swimming, playing basketball and badminton, among which, playing badminton is always my greatest passion. I often invite some of my energetic friends to play badminton after class in the school grounds or in Suzhou Park. Taking sports regularly can strengthen our bodies and avoid diseases, and prepare us well for the study afterwards.
很明顯,Answer one 如果是純粹的生活對話是可以接受的,但是就考試來講答案太不充分。Answer two 基本回答了提問,也給出了相關(guān)的信息。但仔細一看,發(fā)現(xiàn)所有的句子都是簡單句,而且部分信息與所問問題不相及,整個答案顯得松散無章。Answer three 是一個值得肯定的答案?;卮鹆藛栴}且信息充分,語言也很連貫流暢。不難看出,好的答案包含了不止一方面的信息:What, Who, When, Where, Why, How。這六個方面通常是我們構(gòu)思一個好答案的切入口,從這些方面進行Brainstorming(頭腦風(fēng)暴)肯定不會無話可講,適當(dāng)擴充了答案,而且加入了親身經(jīng)歷會使答案與眾不同吸引考官,答案一定不能千篇一律,準備的時候要注意個性化!最后語言方面要避免書面化,使用過于復(fù)雜句式和生僻詞匯只會暴露你提前準備過,官方嚴格規(guī)定背誦答案不滿6分。一個簡潔明了的答案絕對比一個復(fù)雜難懂的答案好。但要指出的是,簡單的答案并不等于短答案,答案太短會使整個面試有太多的停頓,而考官也要大傷腦筋多想問題,你面臨的問題也就會更多。自然的語言和神態(tài),口語小詞的穿插,充分的答案才能使你表現(xiàn)優(yōu)秀!
第二部分
當(dāng)考試進行到第二部分,即考生詳細描述或談?wù)撝付ㄔ掝},考生將拿到一張cue card(話題卡),要求就卡片上的話題展開一至兩分鐘的描述,并將有一分鐘的準備時間,可以記筆記??ㄆ瑔栴}一般由一個標題加上三個細節(jié)問題構(gòu)成。
卡片問題主要為對某個具體事物進行描述,08年高頻話題有:
08年最I(lǐng)n口語話題排行榜第一名當(dāng)屬地點題,這一類考題不僅數(shù)量龐大,極為頻繁,而且正趨向多樣化。除了傳統(tǒng)考題,如:garden,meseum,city,park,a studying or working place,a hotel以外,又出現(xiàn)一些較為“另類”的題目:a place that has good water resource, a place that makes you happy, a place that has been polluted, a swimming pool, etc.
人物題,該大類也呈現(xiàn)出多元化和越來越細化的特征,原來可能只需要你談an old person,現(xiàn)在卻要求描述an interesting old person.原來只是描述a family member,現(xiàn)在可能要解釋how a family member influences you, a helpful person, a teenager,種種情況不一而足。
物品題(a lost item/a movie/ a TV program/ a magazine, etc)
事件題(a late experience/ an unforgettable event/ a great change in life/ a success, etc.)
在卡片的結(jié)尾,考生一般要對自己描述的內(nèi)容說明感受和觀點。如:
Explain why you like…
Explain why you want to…
Explain how you feel when you…
口語第二部分考試的形式和內(nèi)容與中國考生所熟悉的傳統(tǒng)口語考試的對話內(nèi)容區(qū)別很大。大部分學(xué)生由于平時缺乏針對性的描述訓(xùn)練,拿到這樣的話題往往無所適從,或只言片語便無法繼續(xù)下去。我們常說考雅思不能打無準備之戰(zhàn),而考生準備的關(guān)鍵就是要了解怎樣利用給我們的信息來擴充答案,并運用筆記關(guān)鍵詞的方法來提醒自己回答內(nèi)容。
在一分鐘的時間里,我們無法去組織句子,給考生的建議是,首先確定通篇的總體時態(tài),這往往是考生忽略卻最常犯的低級錯誤——時態(tài)混亂,然后再考慮話題的套用(在真實考試當(dāng)中只需把提前準備的內(nèi)容適當(dāng)變化即可套用不同的topics,只有提前準備才能少犯錯),最后,構(gòu)思文章的框架,使論述顯得有邏輯,同時適當(dāng)記錄關(guān)鍵詞。我以下面的卡片為例:
Describe a Gift
Describe a special gift you have received which makes you feel special.You should say:
What the gift is
Who gave it to you
Why the person gave it to you
And explain why the gift means so much to you.
在一分鐘的準備時間里,我首先確定總體時態(tài)應(yīng)該為一般過去時,然后腦中搜索已事先準備的關(guān)于一件物品的topic,進行聯(lián)想套用,接下來的任務(wù)就是布置文章的框架和記錄關(guān)鍵詞,我們可以將所講的內(nèi)容分為三個部分:
*介紹句(開頭句---Introducing Sentence)
*主題內(nèi)容(細節(jié)內(nèi)容---Main Body)
*解釋說明(總結(jié)--- Conclusion)
The gift I am going to talk about is very special to me. It is a doll I used to play with for quite a long time. (Introduction)
My parents gave it to me when I was five as a birthday present. I considerd it as special because it was a very high-tech doll at that time and I was very proud of it. It would cry if I hit it or accidentally dropped it. However,when I put a kind of dummy into its mouth, it would immediately stopped crying. Next time I let go of the dummy it would laugh happily. Sometimes it could make some noises like a real baby. It brought a lot of fun into my childhood. At that time, not many kids had this kind of dolls and I liked to show it to my friends in the kindergarten. It made me a star among the children. Of course sometimes we would play with the doll together. It was the first gift that my parents bought me and it meant a lot to me. Although it could not cry or langh any more, I still keep it. (Main body)
Every time I see it, I remember the happy time playing with it and the smile on my parents’faces. It recalls a lot of old and sweet memories, and I think this gift is really special to me and to my family. (Conclusion)
由于篇幅有限,對于第二部分的問題解決方法這里只能稍作分析。當(dāng)然,要想達到好的效果,不僅需要掌握適當(dāng)?shù)姆椒?,同時也需要通過大量的聯(lián)系進行鞏固,并結(jié)合不同的話題,做好充分的準備工作。
第三部分
第一部分和第二部分通常要求考生說明一些事實,談?wù)撍麄兊纳钜约八麄兯煜さ姆秶?,但第三部分要求考生就一些自己并不熟悉或從來沒有思考過的話題進行討論。第三部分在學(xué)術(shù)上表述為Two-way Discussion,然而實際上主要由考生回答考官的提問,所謂的two-way體現(xiàn)得并不明顯。雖然理論上該部分的問題由第二部分的描述內(nèi)容派生而來,但這些問題靈活性大且有深度,例如:Part2要求描述一位影響你一生的老師,那Part3中就會延伸到你對教育的看法。有的考生會感覺頭腦一片空白,無話可說,對于尚未習(xí)慣用第二語言來表達自己想法或者缺乏這種能力的年齡較小的考生來說,要完成這一任務(wù)有一定困難。同時,在該部分,考官所考察的語言技能也有所不同??忌粌H需要有觀點和想法,能夠運用生活中的實例來支持這些觀點和想法,更為重要的是,還必須有效、快速地用恰當(dāng)?shù)恼Z言將他們組織起來,讓自己的想法被考官所理解。通過下面的例子,來給大家做個具體的分析。
拿到一個問題,我們的首要工作,就是產(chǎn)生觀點。
Sample Part Three Question
Do you think that education has changed much in your country over the past 20 years? 對于很多年齡較小的考生來說,這個問題很有挑戰(zhàn)性——他們從來沒有20年前受教育的經(jīng)歷,又如何來進行比較呢?然而,如果考生不拘泥于自身的觀點和經(jīng)歷,而更多地考慮周圍的真實世界(如第一和第二部分那樣),問題就變得簡單了。如果能夠運用自己身邊人的經(jīng)驗,比如家人,他們將發(fā)現(xiàn)家人的經(jīng)驗會為他們提供很多回答這一問題的素材。還有一點要說明的是,問題的回答并非一定是非??隙ê痛_切的,考生完全可以運用假設(shè)和討論的語氣,增加和考官的討論和互動性。
如下表格:
Student
Parents
went to university
went to high school, finished middle school
new buildings
old buildings
computers
a radio
Some foreign teachers
only Chinese teachers
Colorful textbooks
black and white text books
boring books, boring teachers
boring books, boring teachers
lots of tests
lots of tests
現(xiàn)在,我們就有了足夠的觀點來回答這個問題了。
口語在某種程度上其實和寫作有著相似之處:我們需要組織我們的語言,即展開話題,說明觀點,并且運用事實來支持和證明這些觀點。當(dāng)考官問完問題后,考生所要做的是表明自己已經(jīng)聽懂了這一問題,并正準備進行回答,即展開話題:
Yes, I think education has changed a lot in China. / No, I don’t think education has changed much at all. / Well, it’s a tough question. I haven’t thought much about that before but I guess it has changed somewhat.
接下來,我們需要進入回答的主體部分,即表達觀點并說明原因:
One reason why I think education has changed is that today there are university towns around the main cities with lots of universities in them. For example, I went to a university in Nanjing and there were lots of other universities in our area.
Another difference is that in the past there were no foreign teachers or university programs in China. Now there are a lot. My university has several MBA joint venture programs and lots of foreign teachers teaching languages, history and culture.
On the other hand, some things have not changed: textbooks are still very boring and the teaching style of many teachers is still quite uninteresting.
最后,我們用一句話來收尾:
So that’s why I think education has changed in China.
開頭——主體——結(jié)尾,這三部分組成了整個問題較為完整的回答。在回答的過程中,一些關(guān)聯(lián)詞的使用非常重要,可以顯出邏輯和條理性,考生們應(yīng)該引起足夠重視。
以上的分析希望能夠給廣大“烤鴨”一些啟發(fā)和幫助。
更多信息請查看考試口語