解析托福口语第五题的特殊性

2022-05-21 10:17:21

  

  一、结构分析

  第五题属于综合口语部分,将听力与口语相结合,考察考生日常校园生活的方方面面。ETS官方在设计题目时,考虑充分,对于第五题和第六题,由于没有阅读文本,考生难以通过阅读进行预测,对听力部分做到心中有数,所以此两题的听力结构基本固定,便于考生抓重点、组织答案。

  对于第五题来讲,难度与第三题相当,甚至可以说更为简单化,听力内容基本一致,围绕学生在校园生活中出现的问题进行了讨论,给出均有缺陷的两条建议。听力的开头部分基本都是在阐述问题所在,紧接着会提出*个解决办法,并对其进行详解,提出不足之处,然后会引出接下来的第二个解决办法,加以阐释,并点明不足。听力结构如此清晰,烤鸭们也不必担心抓不住重点。

  例如TPO 10 Question 5:

  1. Student A:

  Is there a problem with the electricity?

  2. Student B:

  Yeah, this storm’s smacked up power all over the city. And they are saying it might be several hours before we have electricity again.

  3. Student A:

  Oh no! I have a history paper due tomorrow, and I’ve been writing it on my laptop computer and the battery is running low. I’m going to need electricity soon.

  4. Student B:

  Well, you know, Jefferson City still got electricity, and there is a library there where you can plug in your laptop. You could go over there and work on your paper. It’s only about a 20-minute drive.

  5. Student A:

  That’s a good idea. Of course I’d have to pack up all my stuff and it is raining outside.

  6. Student B:

  Yeah, that’s true. Well, why don’t you just ask the professor for an extension? You know, tomorrow when you go to class, just ask him if he’d give you an extra day to get the paper done. I’m pretty sure he’d agree, you know, with this storm and all.

  7. Student A:

  Yeah, that’d sure be a lot easier. But then he did tell us when he gave us the assignment that he wouldn’t grant any extensions.

  8. Student B:

  You don’t think he’d grant an extension in this case?

  9. Student A:

  I’m not sure. It’s a little risky. He might just say that we shouldn’t have waited until the last minute.

  10. Student B:

  Yeah, but maybe if other students had the same problem, you might be able to convince him.

  11. Student A:

  Yeah, I mean it’s not our fault the electricity went out, hm...

  该题中,1和2两句话为两人见面的寒暄和回应,问题是在第3句话中提出来的,即The woman needs electricity immediately to finish her paper. 第4句为对方提出的*个solution并加以解释,紧接着第5句就对该solution提出了质疑,即不足之处。因此对方在第6句中就详细阐述了第二个solution, 7-11句均是围绕第二个解决方案的不足进行的讨论。

  大多数第五题的结构都是如此,前两句都是见面的寒暄,会为问题的提出设下铺垫,问题基本都在第三句或第四句中正式提出,随后即是对两个解决办法的讨论。烤鸭们只要能熟悉本题听力结构,即可在做笔记时轻松抓住题点,易分清主次,逻辑更为清晰,回答时也不会出现思维混乱的情况;同时,对于结构的清晰掌握,也可在一定程度上弥补听力能力的不足。

  二、回答精要

  第五题在整个综合口语部分是比较特殊的,其特殊性在于其答案整理上。综合口语部分,除第五题之外,基本全部的回答都是基于原文的阅读文本和/或听力文本,其实主要考察的是一种summarize的能力,分清主次,逻辑清晰,表达清楚,即为最佳答案。

  但是第五题却更像是综合口语与独立口语的结合,问题如下:

  Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.

  简单来讲,就是要求考生简短总结听力内容,即问题和两个解决办法,同时给出自己的观点,并给予解释。我们可以将该题分为两个部分,一个是对于听力部分的总结,而另一个就是自我观点陈述。*点,与综合口语剩下的题目要求无异,考察summarize的能力,而第二点,基本就是独立口语的变形,考察表达及辩证能力。

  所以烤鸭们需要注意的是,在回答此题时,这两点所占比重基本要一致。许多同学在归纳第五题答案时,往往会将听力部分的全部内容都涵盖在了最后的答案中,而自我观点的陈述只是一两句话,这其实是未能理解该题的考察要点,回答上出现了偏差。对于此问题,笔者曾于ETS官方组织的研讨会上咨询过ETS官方人员,得到的回答是,听力部分的总结和自我理由的陈述都是重点,若以回答时间来论,则可采取各占一半,即30秒的方式进行回答。

  因此,烤鸭们在组织答案时,需严格把控对于听力部分的概括,考官真正想要听到的其实只有问题以及两个解决方案的简单陈述,也就是说,听力中对于问题的前后铺垫,和对于两个解决方案的详细阐述(包括不足之处)均不用在答案中体现出来。一定要留足够的时间进行自我理由的陈述。我们以TPO 10的第五题为例,这11句话概括完毕只需要三句话:

  The woman is in badly need of electricity to finish her history paper but the power is off in her city and her laptop’s battery is running low. The man suggests her to go to another library or to ask her professor for extension.

  总而言之,第五题的回答方式在整个综合口语部分还是很特殊的,希望烤鸭们看完本文后会对托福口语的第五题有一个全新的、正确的认识,能够准确抓住考官的考察点,在最后的考试当中取得高分!


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