Time & Money—迅速构造托福独立口语题观点
朗阁海外考试研究中心 吴微微
在托福口语的独立题备考过程中，很多考生往往苦于不能短时构造观点，也就是在15秒的准备时间内想出两个合理的观点证明话题。更不用说随后考生还要进行一个完整的45秒的逻辑表达。所以大家通常对口语中的独立题会心生畏惧，怕自己什么也说不出来，时间就这么过去了。本次，笔者主要想给大家介绍从时间和金钱角度来快速构造观点的方法。这种构造观点的方法可能不是最新颖的，但是对托福口语中的很多话题都或多或少适用。很多情况下，能解大家的燃眉之急。下面我们从托福独立题的真题来分析一下如何从以上两种角度来快速地构造逻辑以及具体度。
1. Watch a movie at theatre or watch the movie at home, which one do you prefer?
要在电影院看电影，还是在家看电影之间做选择。从个人感受来想，大家多数可能都会选择去电影院看电影，但是除了说big screen, 或者永远也不知道怎么用英文表示的“热闹”之外，大家就不知道再怎么继续说下去了。其实，不妨从Time & Money方面来考虑，我们是否能把话题说的更具逻辑性和更具体呢？
Time - watch the movie at home. 在家看电影是最省时间的方式了。如果去电影院看电影，家住得远的还要大老远跑到市中心去看。为了看热门电影，还要排长队买票，买完票后还要等好久才能看到电影。从这些经历来看，确实，在家看电影也不错。
I prefer to watch the movie at home because of the matter of time. I mean, watching movies at theatre is time-consuming. Once, when I planned to watch the movie at cinema, I have to reach there at least one hour in advance. What’s more, for those box office movies, I have to wait a long queue to get the ticket and wait until the beginning of the movie.
Money - helps to save money. 在家看省钱。不出家门，就能看到电影。而去电影院看电影，路上要花钱pay for the transport, 买票要花钱fees for tickets, 看电影还要带着点零食和饮料money spend on snacks and beverages, 这样一罗列，确实在家能省好多。
Another reason is the matter of cost. I mean, watching at theatre costs more than at home. To be more specific, I have to pay for the transport and there are fees for tickets. Sometimes, I have to spend money on snacks and beverages. So I think watching at home is a more cost-effective way.
通过以上两个段落，把时间和金钱两个观点整合起来，那我们就可以得到一个完整的独立题的逻辑表达了。
2. Celebrate the birthday in holding a party or celebrate the birthday quietly, which one do you prefer?
要我们在办生日party和一个人默默无闻地过生日之间进行选择。如果大家选择办个party，理由1. 热闹；2. 礼物。那我们如何快速地从时间和成本的角度想呢？
省时间 — 一个人过
I prefer to celebrate the birthday alone because of the problem of time. You know, as a university student, in addition to the academic work, I have joined in lots of school clubs. Every day, I have a tight schedule. What’s more, in order to holding a party, I have to design and decorate the place ahead of time, which will, all cost lots of time.
成本低 — 一个人过
Another reason is that holding a party costs lots of money. I mean, I have to rent a place which can accommodate all my friends. What’s more, the food and decoration can also be a burden for the freshman who does not have income like me. It is better to celebrate quietly.
同样，我们把时间和成本整合起来就可以对我们的话题进行完整描述了。
3. Take a real trip or trip virtually by reading the books and articles, which one do you prefer?
是喜欢真正的旅行，还是喜欢在书本文章中畅游呢？很多同学的第一反应是更喜欢真正的旅行。说到真正的旅行，大家想到的就4个字：身临其境。对于很多托福话题，大家想说的其实并不好说。我们不妨从另一个角度进行构思，看看会不会好说一点。
通过看书来虚拟旅游，必然是省钱，比如说路费、门票、住宿、餐饮等等。
I prefer to virtually take the trip. Because it is a very economical way which can save me lots of money. To be more specific, I do not have to pay for the transport on the road, entrance tickets to the tourist attraction or even the accommodation. Instead, I only need to buy the book from the store or borrow them from the library. It will not cost as much as the real trip.
其次，这种虚拟旅游还很节省时间。如果要去逛逛欧洲、亚洲各个经典地方，我们花半天读读书就好了，照样有风景和图片。另外，平时旅游回来都会特别累，还要花些时间调整一下。这样说来，读书确实比较省时间。
Furthermore, by reading the books or articles, we are able to save lots of time. Say, within half a day, we can finish our trip to Paris and Tokyo by buying the books from the book store or borrowing them from the library. Also, usually, we need an extra week or several days to adjust ourselves after the real trip. But by means of reading, it will not cost us too much time to do the adjustment.
这里，笔者并不想去限制大家的独创观点，只是要说明它是一个能够解大家燃眉之急的方法。它能让考生在短时间内构造自己的观点。当然从这两个方面切入话题，大家也会觉得内容更充实更具体，这也就是笔者写这篇文章的初衷。
