2015年12月5日托福口语真题及答案解析

 　　2015年12月5日托福口语真题及答案解析

　　Task 1

　　Which one of the following jobs deserves a highersalary? Teacher, policeman or nurse?

　　Personally speaking, I think policemen should getpaid more money than the others for two reasons.Firstly, policemen face higher risks when at work.Police officers today are confronted with all sorts ofproblems, from petty theft to horrifying¹ homicides.When we read newspapers or watch TV today, we cansee police officers get hurt or even get killed in a lotof extreme cases. Just last month, 3 French policemen were fatally wounded in the terroristattack. So it's only fair and naturally policemen get paid more. Plus, policemen usually work waymuch harder. My neighbor used to be a policeman before he retired². It seemed like he wasalways at work. He always arrived home late and sometimes he was on call for 48 hours in arow. That's why I think policemen deserve a higher salary.

　　Task 2

　　Should students be required to do volunteer work?

　　I think students should be required to do volunteer for the following reasons. Firstly, it'simportant for students to learn to give back to the community at an early age. I first startedvolunteering when I was only 8 years old, I remember it was right before Christmas and myparents signed us up for volunteering in the soup kitchen in my neighborhood. I was theyoungest volunteer there that day and I used a big ladle to serve hot soup to the homeless.That was kind of a milestone³ in my life because that was when I understood the importance ofsharing what we have with the less fortunate and I also realized how good it feels when weknow we are capable of helping⁴ others. Today volunteer work has become a big part of who Iam and I think all students should learn the meaning of volunteering from an early stage of life.Plus, it's a good chance for students to sharpen their communication skills. In volunteerwork, more often than not, you will have to work with others in a group, that's a goodopportunity for students to learn to be great listeners while getting their own voices heard atthe same time.

　　Task 3

　　The university is planning to move the theater off-campus due to two reasons. The firstreason is that the theater now is way too small to accommodate the increasing number ofstudents. And the second reason is that much better facilities can be offered in the new theater.In the conversation, the student disagrees with the plan. His first reason is that the location ofthe theater is extremely important for students. Most of them are reluctant to go downtownbecause it's so inconvenient⁵. As for the second reason, the student points out that studentsare already used to deal with the equipment they have now, they're not trained to cope withfancier facilities, and it may not work out that well as expected in the end.

　　Task 4

　　In the lecture, the professor talks about the concept of information cascade⁶ which meanspeople tend to follow others and make the same choice as them in spite of their own opinionswhen having to make a decision. He offers us an example to illustrate⁷ it. Once he went to acity he had never been to and he had to make a decision about where to have dinner. At firsthe wanted to go to an Italian place which was highly recommended by his guide book. But henoticed that one of the French restaurants was full of customers, so he decided⁸ to give it a try.Unfortunately it was not a very good experience, the food was worse than he expected and therestaurant couldn't be compared to the Italian restaurant he wanted to go at first. It was full ofcustomers probably because they all thought it was good because others chose to go there.

　　Task 5

　　The woman's problem is that she got injured last week and she can't perform in the dance.There are two possible solutions. The first one is to dance anyway and the second solution is tofind someone to replace her. If I were in her shoes, I would go for the second solutionbecause Beck is a great dancer, even though she's not in the class and there's little time tolearn, I'm sure she can grasp the moves pretty quickly. I personally don't recommend theother solution because the choreography will look weird⁹ and it may compromise the wholeperformance. That's why in this case, I think the second solution is a better option.

　　Task 6

　　In the lecture, the professor talks about fish's abilities to avoid predators¹⁰. He offers us toexamples to illustrate it. The first example is about zebrafish. Zebrafish have small hair cellsunder their membrane¹¹ to help them detect predators in water. They can sense where thepredator is by the water flow. The second example is about trout¹². Trout can stay still inflowing water. They can keep breathing while hiding under water. That's how the professoruses these two examples to illustrate it.

1 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 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。

5 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

6 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

7 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

12 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。