雅思口语话题卡*一问的那些事

 雅思口语话题卡(Cue Card)部分，即口语的第二部分，是很多考生在考试中最为紧张的一个部分。考生在这一部分有一分钟的准备时间，可以笔头记录一些自己的想法，并且要单独对话题描述1到2分钟。因为话题卡千变万化，话题因季度而层出不穷，这一特点也让很多考生在真实考场中战战兢兢，不知道说什么为好。1分钟匆匆过去，有的考生连该说什么话题都可能还没有构思好。归根结底，朗阁海外考试研究中心的专家认为这和话题卡的最后一问紧密相关。本文主要想和大家探讨一下话题卡最后一问的那些事，它和话题构思，以及基本信息构思的关系，以及我们应该如何进行最后一问的备考准备。

一、话题构思忽略最后一问

在看到话题时，大家慌的是什么呢？

看到话题的时候，考生无意识地会去想到话题卡的最后一问。因为大家知道，问题通常会是这样的：Describe a gift that took you long time to choose. 读完题，大家最先想到的是为什么我会花很长时间去选呢？Describe a small but successful company. 要如何去描述一个公司是很成功的，这个问题又让很多考生陷入绝境。Describe a film that you would like to watch again. 这个话题又要如何去描述我为什么要再看一遍这部电影？

带着最后一问去构思想法，非但觉得最后一问难以作答，而且连该说什么也感觉相当困难。1分钟的宝贵准备时间就这样偷偷地溜走，什么想法也没留下。这是很多考生在构思话题时的常态。事实上，建议大家在话题构思上应尽量避免最后一问的影响，抓住中心词，就地取材。对于话题Describe a gift that took you long time to choose. 我们可以立即抽取中心词gift, 从而构思礼物的可能物件，可以是一本书，或是一张CD, 抑或是一个背包。当要我们描述Describe a film that you would like to watch again的时候，很快我们可以看到中心词film, 选材可以是经典电影如Avatar, 也可以是前几个月上映的Speed & Furious, 当然也可以是最近比较火的印度电影My god, 这些都可以作为大家在描述电影时的可用话题。不管怎样，先把话题构思出来，这个才是重中之重。至于该怎么说，后面我们可以再慢慢来。

二、基本信息充实最后一问

同样，在第二部分的准备过程中，每个考生最先研读的必然是话题。由于准备时间有限，有些考生也只读了话题，没有再继续看四个相关的问题。而话题通常是与最后一问紧密联系在一起的。为了避免跑题，或是考生看着题目没有想法的时候，大家会在简单描述后，很快进入最后一问解答。例如，在选好电影Avatar后，考生是这样描述的：The film I would share with you is called Avatar. It is an America film. I would like to watch it again mainly because……这样的表述，相信很多真正实践过的考生才会明白，要单单解释一分多钟的原因是相当困难的。因此，在平时练习的过程中，大家就要养成描述基本信息的习惯，基本信息加上最后一问，这样结合，才更方便大家不紧不慢地说一定的时长。

同样是电影Avatar，我们可以加上很多电影的介绍，让考官更了解大家想要介绍的话题的内容。The film I would share with you is called Avatar. It is a scientific film, which was released in the year 2009. I could still memorize that I watched it in the local cinema for the first time. Also, I went there with my parents after dinner. It lasts for a long period, almost three hours.

在Describe a gift that took you long time to choose中，除了对礼物以及最后一问why would it take you a long time to choose解释外，如果对基本信息进行一定的描述，这样不仅可以充实表达内容，更能够使话题更为生动。以背包为例：The gift is a backpack. I bought it in South Korea when I went on traveling during the summer holiday. I planned to send it to my friend who was going abroad next month. For the backpack, it was bought in a retail store. I spent approximately two hours in it.

三、最后一问回答的可行方案

最后一问通常需要每个考生对话题进行一定深入的解释，这个也可以说是话题卡的主要内容。同时，对于很多考生来说，这个也是雅思第二部分的难度所在。当把基本信息补充完毕，解释最后一问迫在眉睫时，很多考生就开始支支吾吾，流利度较之前基本信息的描述大打折扣。因此，当很多考生回忆雅思三个部分最困难的是哪个部分的时候，很多同学会说是话题卡部分，最后一问总是让大家觉得很难解释清楚。这里，朗阁海外考试研究中心的老师将向大家介绍对最后一问进行有效解释的三种可行方案。

1. 话题对比解释最后一问

首先要介绍的是进行话题对比来解释最后一问。当问题中出现程度词如most, very, 以及抽象时间如long time这样一类词的时候，建议大家可以使用对比的方式来解释最后一问。例如在话题Describe a gift that took you long time to choose中，我们需要解释why would it take you a long time to choose, 很多考生纳闷什么才是长时间，一周挺长的，说一个月是否更好呢？但是如果说一周一个月那又怎么解释呢？感觉这样说比较奇怪，但是只有这样才能够显示是一长段时间。事实上，如果我们能够将话题进行对比解释，这样大家就更能够确定自己的表达逻辑的正确性了。

It real took me a long period to choose, approximately one hour in the retail store. Actually, it usual merely takes me twenty or thirty minutes in the shop to purchase a gift for other people. I will not be bothered too much by the styles and colors. However, I hope that I could choose him a perfect gift with limited budget. In the retail store, there were numerous choices. So I was confused on styles of the bags as well as their cost. Consequently, when I chose an ideal one, it was almost one hour or more later.

在话题Describe a time you got up early中，首先我们也可以通过时间对比来解释自己的早起经历。多早才算是早，对比一下就可以了。

That was a memorable experience that I got up real early, much more early then my daily life. Usually, I am the kind of person who will get up at seven o’clock to take the class. But that day, in order to catch the plane, I got up at half past three. Luckily, we caught the plane in time. When I was on the place, I still did not feel sleepy. Instead, I was so excited that I would go out to a new place with my best friends. And I am quite looking forward to that.

同样在最近的流行话题中还有Describe an age or stage you enjoy most in your life, 要说清楚最享受可不容易，既然题目是最高级的话，那我们可以找出两个方面进行对比，这样不就可以说清楚了吗？

I enjoy the period in the senior high school most. The main reason is that nowadays in the university, every people in more independent. Students are all busy with themselves and I seldom felt the sense of community. Also, the classroom is not fixed. I do not have a fixed seat or desk mate as well. Actually, it will be a little bit lonely. But when I was in high school, I’ve got a whole class and I belong to the community. Every day, we got the chance to talk with each other and discuss the problems together. Compared with childhood, life is more flexible and without lots of restrictions from my parents in the senior high school. So that is why I enjoy the period most.

2. 个人经历论证最后一问

当话题涉及身边的人或者事的时候，解释最后一问，个人经历应该说是最有效的。事实证明个人经历也是在紧张的考试环境中，很多考生最先能够想到的一个方面。

如在话题Describe a person who speaks foreign language well, 以自己的韩国邻居为例，就可以做出如下的解释：

My neighbor, as a Korean, speaks Chinese well. I still remember that two weeks ago, she went to our community to take part in a voluntary activity. As it was in the summer holiday, I also got the chance to join in the activity. During the process, I noticed that she spoke Chinese smoothly with the other people. Surprisingly, I also heard that she used some famous Chinese saying. Those are the main reasons why I though she is real good at Chinese.

在描述Describe a person who dresses well中，个人经历同样适用：

She is a real good dresser. Not only she dresses herself well, but also she will often offer us with good matching suggestions. Last month, I bought myself a dress with simple color. Even though it was a new one, it looks as common as my usual one. Until one day, we met together and she recommended me with a purple belt, it suddenly made my dress stood out. I was so pleased to have such a fashionable friend.

3. 论点列举说明最后一问

论点列举法是大多数考生能够想到的，用来解释最后一问的方法，也就是分几个分论点来说明最后一问。对于一些可以从多方面来说明的话题，大家不妨用分论点来列举。如Describe a small but successful company, 最后一问需要大家解释为什么说这个公司是一个成功的公司。那我们就可以用几个分论点。

比如说明一家成功的婚庆公司，可以用以下几个点来说明：

1. The time when we got to the company, there are several couples consulting there. It was so popular that even during the time for dinner, it was very crowded.

2. According to the consultant, the wedding design company owns a wide range of customers, not only the business limited to the local area, but also to the nearby cities.

3. It is real successful that I can see many posts online praising the company with good service and high quality videos.

当需要我们说明a funny child时，分点列举也是完全可行的，考生们也可以积累一些平时在上网的时候看到的有趣素材。以下描述的是微博上分享的一位东北小姑娘质问妈妈为什么要抱别人家的小孩，小姑娘非常搞笑，我们可以列出下面两点来说明她为什么是一个让我哈哈大笑的小孩。

1. The main reason that I suppose she is real funny is that in the video; she acted as an adult to complain to her mother on why would she hug other child. When she complains, she looked like a lecturer with vivid gestures and rich facial expressions. Those made me laugh a lot.

2. Also, I finished watching the video that lasted for almost six minutes. The girl was so amazing and talkative compared to others kids. Every word she uttered sounded interesting because they were full of strong northern accent of China. Plus, it sounds quite convincing.

四、总结

本文主要针对雅思口语cue card的最后一问进行论述，希望考生们对话题卡的最后一问重视起来，最后一问才是整个话题卡最核心的内容。当然，也希望大家在备考或者正式考试的过程中能够注意到：话题构思的时候可以事先忽略最后一问，让自己尽快能够有观点。正式描述的时候切勿直接进入最后一问的回答，这样很有可能会影响表达的长度和流利度，一定的基本信息将会是大家增加流利度并且增加表达时长的好方法。最后，最后一问的问法比较开放，同样解释的方法也是多样的，大家可以尝试使用多种方法进行解释，让自己最后一问的回答更加丰富多彩。