托福口语：根据Task模拟提纲

 　　Characteristics: Speaking Task 1

　　第一题和第二题除了都是关于一些familiar topics以外，它们另一个共通之处就是涉及到人或事物的characteristics。比如在Speaking Task 1里面，you will be asked to describe an important book. 具体题目见下：

　　Talk about a book you have read that was important to you for some reason.

　　Explain why the book was important to you. Give specific details and examples to explain your answer.

　　Preparation Time: 15 seconds

　　Response Time: 45 seconds

　　针对这样的题目，你谈什么样的书其实并不重要。关键在于你说出了这本书之后，给出怎样的合理解释，即题目要求中的specific details and examples，而这些东西就是我们所说的characteristics。换言之，你把这本书的三大特性描述出来，就等于给出了相应的细节和例证。请看下面的列表：

　　The reasons why the book was important

　　Reason 1 = Characteristic 1: It gave me a lot of practical guidance

　　Reason 2 = Characteristic 2: It had a lot of illustrations to help me understand

　　Reason 3 = Characteristic 3: There was an interesting theoretical framework in the book

　　在三大理由(或三大特性)中，我们分别给其中的核心要点加了斜体和下划线，这就是考生们必须在15秒钟的准备时间内记下的最简单的笔记。没有这三点，想要在后面的45秒钟回答时间内进行良好的发挥，是一件异常困难的事情。

　　09年中国大陆地区的第一场考试发生在2009年1月10日。其中第一题的大意是：When it comes to choosing friends, which characteristic do you think is the most important: honesty, loyalty¹ or sense of humor? 回答这个问题有两种策略：一个是老实人的办法，一个是聪明人的招数。我们先看题目在问什么，很明显，题目要求我们从三种特性中选出一种，是在择友过程中最重要的。老实人的办法就是老老实实地选一个，比如honesty(诚实)，然后根据honesty再来展开三个论据(或举例或抽象描述)：

　　Honesty is the most important characteristic in choosing friends

　　Reason 1: True friends should never lie to each other

　　Reason 2: Being honest to your friends is the best way to maintain a long-term relationship

　　Reason 3: A dishonest person will eventually hurt you and your family

　　显然，此类针对honesty而扩展的抽象论证并非每一个考生力所能及的事情，因为这种老实人的办法往往难度较高，只适合那些语言功底扎实和思路敏捷的人。虽然这种策略比较容易拿高分，其风险也是较大的。

　　那么聪明人的招数是什么呢?聪明人通常不按常理出牌，他们会寻觅一种捷径，以非常讨巧的方式来满足题目的要求。聪明人看到题目本身就含有三大特性，他们一见机遇就赶紧抓住：

　　Plan B

　　These three characteristics are equally important when choosing friends

　　Characteristic 1: Honesty – Only people who are honest to one another can become real friends.

　　Characteristic 2: Loyalty – A faithful friend can lend you a helping² hand when you are in trouble.

　　Characteristic 3: Humor – A person with a great sense of humor is often friendly and easy-going.

　　明眼人一看就知道，后一种策略的难度大大地降低了，因为每一个特性只要展开一个论据就行了，是一种取巧的方法。可能有人会问，这算不算off topic呢?考官会不会认为你没有回答到位呢?答案是否定的，因为三大特性同样重要的情况当然会存在，所以依次展开也无可厚非。其实从另一个角度看，聪明人有时也会碰到麻烦，比如其中讲某个特性的单词不认识(比如loyalty)，导致无法在这上面展开，这时候只有退而求其次，讲其中的两大特性很重要(honesty and sense of humor are both very important)。

　　综上所述，Speaking Task 1的特性描述是极为关键的一种训练方法。建议大家备考时，特别针对Person, Place, Thing, Event这四种出题的可能性来列出一些常见的characteristics，其中关于人的特性尤其重要，因为在新托福口语考试中不止一次地考到Describe a good parent, Describe a good leader, Describe a good teacher之类的题目，要求都是描述人物的各种特性，希望考生们多多准备。

　　最后我给出三道Speaking Task 1的模拟题，大家可以列一个简要的回答提纲。

　　Choose one of your favorite methods of relaxing and explain why you like it best.

　　Please include specific details in your explanation.

　　Preparation Time: 15 seconds

　　Response Time: 45 seconds

　　What is the most important quality that a good neighbor should have?

　　Please give specific reasons to support your idea.

　　Preparation Time: 15 seconds

　　Response Time: 45 seconds

　　What is the best way for you to make friends?

　　Please give specific reasons to support your idea.

　　Preparation Time: 15 seconds

　　Response Time: 45 seconds

1 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。