托福口语校园对话题阅读部分的变化趋势
备考托福的同学对于口语校园对话题(改革后的task2)一般是爱恨交加的。喜欢它的同学会认为这是四道口语题中相对容易拿分的题型,阅读文章内容难度以及听力对话都还比较容易理解。不喜欢它的同学会认为基于对一些场景信息不了解、不熟悉,以及听力中男女学生语速偏快等原因,不理解阅读文章主旨以及听得一头雾水。
所以针对校园对话题,除了积累场景知识和听力速记能力的培养外,对于阅读文章的理解就至关重要。只有看懂了文章,才可以预判接下来的听力对话内容。在45秒的阅读时间里,快速找到关键信息就需要掌握对于文章结构的把握能力。今天我们就来聊聊阅读的结构,以及最近今年几场考试的一些变化趋势。
常规结构:文章主题+ 2个理由或者2个补充细节
阅读的主题的位置一般会出现在文章的标题或者开头段。接着会就这个主题来解释为什么学校会这样做(比如通知类)。紧接着通过2点理由/补充来进行说明,这也是大部分的文章类型。
案例TPO25
Split Graduation
Traditionally, the university holds one ceremony for all graduating students, during which students are awarded their diplomas. Beginning this year, however, the university will hold two graduation ceremonies. Under the new arrangement, half the graduating students will participate in the first ceremony, and the other half will participate in a second ceremony to be held the following day. Administrators cite two reasons for the change. First, the number of students has increased in recent years, and since diplomas are awarded individually, the single ceremony has become uncomfortably long. Also, the hall where the ceremony is held is too small to accommodate the growing audience of friends and family members.
通过结构,我们可以快速知道文章主旨是拆分毕业典礼,从原先一场变为两场。理由是
1. 学生人数增多导致典礼时间过长,礼堂太小容纳不下如此多的来宾观众。
但是,在分析最近的校园对话文章的时候,我们发现一些改变在悄然出现。
Gap Year Program
Starting next year, Springdale University will allow new students to postpone their enrollment for one year after being accepted. Students who decide to take this extra year before starting their regular academic studies will be expected to participate in internships or in a program of community service or research, either in this country or abroad. According to admissions director Dana Smith." This program will give students more time to explore potential careers(理由) before they begin their studies." To allow interested students to take this opportunity, some funding has been set aside(补充信息) to support students who submit detailed plans and demonstrate financial need.
University to Create a Career Skills Requirement
Beginning next year, the university will introduce a new requirement for graduation: all students must complete a two-day career skills workshop. The workshop is intended to benefit students by providing them with valuable information and skills necessary to find a job after graduation(理由). The workshop will include seminars on resume writing and job interviewing, among others. For students' convenience. the course will be offered twice yearly(补充信息)-once at the beginning of the summer, on the weekend after final exams end, and once at the end of the summer, on the weekend before classes begin.
上面两题大家可以发现,一篇通告的主体意思说完之后,不是两个原因或者两个补充,而可能是一个原因加一个补充信息。
再看一道比较特殊的结构:
Individual Final Presentation
Dear students,
Originally, I was planning to have you all work in groups to do the final presentations for our class. However, some students have expressed concern that assigning the same grade to everyone in a group may be unfair because some students may contribute more work to the project than others(理由1). So I’ve given it some thought and have decided that the group presentations will be replaced by individual presentations. Also, since research and public speaking skills are essential for a successful business career, creating an entire presentation individually will better enable each of you to practice and develop theses skills(理由2).
See you in class,
Professor Smith
大家会发现这篇结构更加特殊,把个理由提前说,然后引出新的改变内容,再接着罗列第二个理由。
总之,万变不离其宗。这个宗就是基于对文章的彻底理解。不论ETS出题如何灵活变化,只要有充足的词汇量、快速的阅读能力再加上一些技巧训练,新类型还是翻不出同学们的手掌心的!更多关于托福考试的个性化问题敬请咨询新航道官网