2 托福独立写作备考策略
乍看托福独立写作评分标准,很多同学都会觉得高深头疼,无从下手;但实际上在所有的国外英语考试中,与GRE,SAT和IELTS相比,托福独立写作是题目最简单最好理解且对于文章思维深度要求最低的。只需有一个科学的备考策略,做好计划,按部就班的完成,高分指日可待。
Step 1 输入
任何输出性的技能都是以输入作为前提。巧妇难为无米之炊,没有丰富的词汇和语言积累,好作文永远都是空中楼阁。那输入什么呢?
首先,写作常用短语。背单词对于写作口语这种输出型测试是无意义的。原因很简单:英语单词变化多端,我们经常会看到单词书上一个单词三种词性,十种中文翻译;更可怕的是,因为中英文思维差异,单词书上中文翻译也很难解释英文单词真正的含义。所以很多同学刻苦拿下托福单词甚至更难的SAT或GRE单词,阅读单词量上万,但是真到出手写作文时,还是无从下笔,捉襟见肘。而写作短语则变化较少,并且自带固定搭配,与中文翻译更容易形成一对一的映射,所以背写作常用短语对于造句子才是立竿见影。
比如短语“put a heavy strain on”中文翻译为“施加巨大压力”。有了这个短语,翻译如下句子易如反掌:“移民数量的增加给公共交通施加了巨大压力”;“过多的家庭作业给孩子们施加了巨大的学习压力”。即:“The increasing number of immigrants has put a heavy strain on public transit.”;“Excessive school assignments put a heavy academic strain on students.”有了一定量的短语积累,造句子只需要换头换尾,so easy。
其次:写作常用思路。众所周知,托福独立写作的一大特点就是话题涵盖面极广,按素材能够分出数十种类型,教育,工作,政府,环境,科技,娱乐,交友,成功,电影电视,广告,古今对比都可能化身独立写作题目。面对这些令人眼花缭乱的分类,同学们也无需惊慌,实际上,托福题目可以变,但是总有一些不变应万变的思路,可以轻松套用到很多同类题目中。
比如对于“Do you agree or disagree the following statement? College students should take part-time jobs before they graduate.”即,“大学生是否应该在在校期间做兼职”这道题目,我们可以选择同意,给出第一个理由Through taking part-time jobs, students can better identify where their true interest lies. 通过做兼职,大学生们可以更好地发现自己真正兴趣所在。成段如下:
Through taking part-time jobs, students can better identify where their true interest lies. Personal experience informs me that university students tend to have little knowledge of what the real world is like and what people in each job will do. At this case, if they are forced to make a choice about their future careers without the opportunity to get in touch with the real world, they may finally end up in a job that does not interest them and even bores them. In this sense, it would be best for college students to expose themselves to the world outside schools by taking part-time jobs. Only through this way can students develop a more comprehensive knowledge of what each job is mainly about and therefore make an informed choice about future career.
中文翻译:通过兼职工作,学生可以更好地找出自己真正兴趣所在。个人经验告诉我,大学生往往对现实世界和从事各种工作的人每天都在做什么所知甚少。在这种情况下,如果他们被迫直接选择自己未来的职业而没有机会接触现实,他们可能最终选择一个他们不感兴趣的甚至让他们厌烦的工作。在这个意义上,大学生最好做兼职,接触学校以外的世界。只有这样,他们才会对每种不同的工作有更好的理解,对于未来的职业做出更明智的选择。
我们再仔细观察如下几道题:
“Colleges and universities should offer job preparation before students start to work.”
“People should try different kinds of jobs before they decide their future careers”
“Students should spend a year on traveling or working before they go to colleges or universities.”
“Some universities require students to take courses in various subjects while others require students to specialize in one particular field. Which one do you prefer? ”
题目虽然不尽相同,但是做题目中那件事可以让孩子们知道自己该做什么职业或者该学什么专业都可以作为一个分论点,并且上一段文字也只需微调一下关键词,即可照搬到新的题目中。
所以同学们在平常的积累中,一定要多思考,我们已经背过写过的一些文章和思路是不是也可以跟上一段一样,套用到很多貌似不相关的题目中,这样才能事半功倍,四两拨千斤。做最少的功,达到最好的效果。