《新托福考试官方指南》的267页到281页上,列有“托福写作185题题库”。这185道题大致代表了新托福考试中写作部分的出题思路,因而成为我们复习的重点。但是,如果要把这185道题都写一遍,既费时又费力。那么,有没有比较便捷的备考方法呢?有!这个方法就是我们今天所讲的“一例多用”。所谓“一例多用”,就是用一个例子,解决很多题目。这样就做到了“融会贯通”,达到“练习一道题,解决多道题”的效果。下面向大家做个展示,用一个例子解决20道题目。
1、请看第89题:If you could travel back in time to meet a famous person from history, what person would you like to meet? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. 如果让你见一位历史名人,你会选择谁?
同学们的答案丰富多彩,有选择孔子的,有选择秦始皇的,还有选择武则天、杨贵妃、西施、貂蝉的。其实,这道题我们选择谁都可以,只要符合一个前提:这个人我们熟悉。因为,只有熟悉这个人,我们才能够做到有话可说。好,我们就以孔子为例。于是,我们就写出以下一段文字。
Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Taoism during the Han Dynasty. Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism. It was introduced to Europe by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to Latinise the name as "Confucius." His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius, a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Modern historians do not believe that any specific documents can be said to have been written by Confucius, but for nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics such as the Classic of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals。
有了这段文字之后,我们就可以去联系其他的作文题目了。看一看,这个例子能不能用到别的作文题目中去,从而减少我们的写作备考压力,做到“一例多用”。
2、请看第86题:If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? Why? 如果让你回到过去的某时某地,你回去何时何地?
我们回到春秋时期的鲁国。为什么?因为在那里,我可以见到孔子。于是,上面这段文字,我们就可以用到文章里面去了。
3、请看第91题:If you could ask a famous person one question, what would you ask? Why? 如果让你问名人一个问题,你会问什么?
首先,这个名人是谁?我们选择孔子。问什么问题?“能不能请你介绍一个你自己?”
4、请看第176题:Holidays honor people or events. If you could create a new holiday, what person or event would it honor and how would you want people to celebrate it? 制定一个纪念日,纪念一位名人。
我们纪念孔子。
5、请看第183题:Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made. What have you learned about a country from watching its movies? 通过看电影了解一个国家的什么?
我们通过看一部叫做《孔子》电影,了解了中国的伟人孔子。
6、请看第26题:It has recently been announced that a new movie theater may be built in your neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? 在你家小区里建一家电影院,同不同意?
当然同意,因为可以去看一部电影,叫做《孔子》,里面有我最喜欢的伟人孔子。
7、请看第79题:Your city has decided to build a statue or monument to honor a famous person in your country. Who would you choose? 建立一座雕像来纪念一位名人,纪念谁?
我们纪念孔子。
8、请看第149题:Imagine that you have received some land to use as you wish. How would you use this land? 如果收到一块土地,作什么用?
用来建立孔子的雕像。
9、请看第147题:Your school has received a gift of money. What do you think is the best way for your school to spend this money? 学校收到一笔钱,作什么用?
用来建立孔子的雕像。
10、请看第141题:If you could make one important change in a school that you attended, what change would you make? 改变学校的一个重要方面?
我们改变学校的建筑,建立一座孔子的雕像。
11、请看第52题:What change would make your hometown more appealing to people your age? 改变家乡的什么来吸引同龄人?
建立一座孔子的雕像。
12、请看第165题:You have decided to give several hours of your time each month to improve the community where you live. What is one thing you will do to improve your community? Why? 做什么事情来改善小区?
建立一座孔子的雕像。
13、请看第98题:If you were asked to send one thing representing your country to an international exhibition, what would you choose? Why? 送什么东西去参加国际展览?
送孔子的雕像。
14、请看第28题:A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this visitor go on that day? Why? 老外来中国,带他去哪里?
带他去看孔子的雕像。
15、请看第171题:Imagine that you are preparing for a trip. You plan to be away from your home for a year. In addition to clothing and personal care items, you can take one additional thing. What would you take and why? 出门旅游,带一件随身物品,带什么?
看到这里,有的同学会说:“带孔子的雕像!”……不行,太重了。我们带孔子画像,带孔子纪念章,带《论语》。
16、请看第142题:A gift (such as a camera, a soccer ball, or an animal) can contribute to a child's development. What gift would you give to help a child develop? Why? 送给孩子什么礼物?
我们送孔子画像,送孔子纪念章,送《论语》。
17、请看第19题:If you could study a subject that you have never had the opportunity to study, what would you choose? 学一门没有学过的学科。学什么?
我们学习历史,通过学习历史,学习孔子。
18、请看第38题:Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you agree or disagree? 学习历史对于我们今天没有价值,同意与否?
不同意。我们可以学习历史,学习孔子。
19、请看第96题:People have different ways of escaping the stress and difficulties of modern life. Some read; some exercise; others work in their gardens. What do you think are the best ways of reducing stress? 减压的方法。
我们减压的方法是读书,读孔子的故事。
20、请看第116题:People learn in different ways. Some people learn by doing things; other people learn by reading about things; others learn by listening to people talk about things. Which of these methods of learning is best for you? Use specific examples to support your choice。学习有不同的方式,做事情,阅读或者聆听别人的教诲,你更倾向哪个?
我们阅读,读孔子的故事。
当然,类似的题目还有很多,请同学们练习如下五道题目:146,4,124,1,12。
这样,我们通过“一例多用”,解决了185道题里面的近30道题。从而大大提高了复习托福写作时的效率。同学们在平时做写作练习时,也要经常这么想一想:我以前写过的例子和理由,能不能用到这篇文章里面来。如果能,就痛快地把以前写过的好句子默写到文章里,这样既提高了写作速度,又提高了文章的质量。