一些托??忌J(rèn)為,寫作是相對(duì)簡(jiǎn)單的拉分項(xiàng),至少也是不需要花太多時(shí)間的平分項(xiàng)。實(shí)際上,考生在大作文上容易拿到相對(duì)穩(wěn)定的得分,而在綜合寫作部分,考生時(shí)常因?yàn)槁犃烷喿x等方面的原因使得得分限制在limited的分階。因此,朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家,根據(jù)綜合寫作的考試形式和評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn),在本文中為各位考生解析考點(diǎn)并給出應(yīng)對(duì)方案。
一、解題技巧
1. 考試基本介紹
綜合寫作是托福寫作考試的第一部分。該部分要求考生在3分鐘內(nèi)閱讀一段學(xué)術(shù)短文章,然后再聽一段長(zhǎng)度在2分鐘左右的針對(duì)于同一學(xué)術(shù)話題但從不同視角討論的聽力材料。考試要求根據(jù)閱讀和聽力材料是如何一一對(duì)應(yīng)的為內(nèi)容寫一篇150字至225字的學(xué)術(shù)短文章。文章中不應(yīng)體現(xiàn)作者的主觀意見。
2. 閱讀與聽力練習(xí)
托福綜合寫作的聽力和閱讀是整個(gè)考試的核心部分。這里筆者建議考生多加練習(xí)。在開始的一段時(shí)間里專攻聽力和閱讀的主旨把握,也就是寫main idea。練習(xí)的時(shí)間需要保持在2周左右,然后第三周則開始練習(xí)閱讀聽力的改寫。具體練習(xí)形式如下:
Reading: Additionally,water treated with fluoride is much purer than untreated water.
Listening: Whilefluoride does purify water, it can still lead to harmful side effects if takenin large amounts since it is a toxic chemical.
組合信息:
Although the writer ofthe reading passage thinks _______________________, the professor claims _______________________________________.
寫完后好請(qǐng)老師批改,從詞語選用和句式選擇上均可以在原文的基礎(chǔ)上進(jìn)行相應(yīng)的改寫。如上文可以組合成:
Although the writer ofthe reading passage thinks that fluoride water must be clearer than commonwater, the professor claims that it indeed purer in treated water, butdetrimental side effect may also come into bodies if people over take it.
3. 筆記
許多考生認(rèn)為,在寫作的過程中,閱讀會(huì)重新出現(xiàn),因此沒有必要記筆記。事實(shí)上,筆者想強(qiáng)調(diào),筆記不僅需要認(rèn)真記錄,而且需要作為聽力內(nèi)容的重要依據(jù)。閱讀筆記有以下幾點(diǎn)好處:一是理順閱讀文章中的邏輯思路,對(duì)閱讀內(nèi)容保持熟悉度;二是為聽力內(nèi)容做個(gè)鋪墊,通常情況下聽力內(nèi)容以反對(duì)或者加強(qiáng)閱讀材料為主,因此我們可以猜測(cè)聽力的內(nèi)容;三是形成聽力和閱讀的對(duì)應(yīng)框架以便對(duì)照行文。
4. 應(yīng)對(duì)技巧
寫作部分考試的開始首先是3分鐘的閱讀時(shí)間,此部分需要考生做一個(gè)2次閱讀的步驟。第一步先抓取主要觀點(diǎn)也就是MAIN ARGUE和3個(gè)TS句,這個(gè)步驟大約在45秒內(nèi)可以完成。同時(shí)做好框架的筆記結(jié)構(gòu),找到文章的論點(diǎn)是什么,從哪幾個(gè)方面入手等信息。第二遍再讀細(xì)節(jié),找出關(guān)鍵詞,將論據(jù)用一些符號(hào)聯(lián)系起來。這樣閱讀部分的完成時(shí)間一般在2分鐘30秒之內(nèi)。如果還有剩余時(shí)間,考生可以思考一下聽力可能從哪幾個(gè)方面來進(jìn)行反駁。這樣建立一個(gè)假想的聽力體系,我們?cè)诼犅犃Φ倪^程中就能夠?qū)μ?hào)入座,大大提高正確率和關(guān)鍵詞的提取速度,以及定位的準(zhǔn)確度。
二、場(chǎng)景分類
事實(shí)上,考生頭疼的是如何進(jìn)行更有效率的備考。朗閣專家認(rèn)為,沒有聽力和閱讀的正確性,綜合寫作的高分就完全成為奢望。在這一點(diǎn)上,朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家們認(rèn)為,考生受到限制和分?jǐn)?shù)不夠高的原因在于話題難度,因?yàn)樵摬糠值膶W(xué)術(shù)話題中涉及了人類學(xué)、生物、物理、商業(yè)、考古學(xué)、文學(xué)、藝術(shù)等多類專業(yè)性話題??忌鷤兘?jīng)常都會(huì)因?yàn)橐洃泴懽鲉卧~、閱讀單詞、聽力單詞和口語單詞而覺得時(shí)間不夠。不僅工作量大,而且記憶難度也大,所以后就放棄了記單詞,一味刷題。其實(shí)在備考的過程中,如果考生能夠根據(jù)現(xiàn)有聽力材料中出現(xiàn)的單詞對(duì)癥下藥,于聽力閱讀練習(xí)中增加單詞記憶,這樣就會(huì)比單純背單詞起到更好的效果。下面,筆者以一篇TPO 13的聽力閱讀文章為例,挑選篇章中適合記憶以及在聽力考試中出現(xiàn)頻率較高的詞匯作為范例,來引導(dǎo)考生的提詞能力。
READING MATERIALS:
Private collectors(這類名詞性短語的提取效率較低,其他題目不一定用到,可作為非重點(diǎn))have been selling and buying fossils(“化石”,人類學(xué)、考古學(xué)的重點(diǎn)單詞,一定要掌握),the petrified(專業(yè)詞,“石化”,但是有時(shí)在獨(dú)立寫作中也可以表示“驚呆”) remains of ancient organisms(專業(yè)名詞,“有機(jī)物”,生物、化學(xué)、考古學(xué)都可以用到), ever since the eighteen century. In recent years, however, the sale offossils, particularly of dinosaurs and other large vertebrates(“大型脊椎動(dòng)物”,其中可以重點(diǎn)記憶vertebrate, 獨(dú)立寫作寫到身體損傷時(shí)也能用到)has grown into a big business. Rare and important fossils are now beingsold to private ownership for millions of dollars. This is an unfortunatedevelopment for both scientists and the general public.
The public suffersbecause fossils that would otherwise be donated to museums where everyone cansee them are sold to private collectors who do not allow the public to viewtheir collections. Making it harder for the public to see fossils can lead to adecline in public interest in fossils, which would be a pity.
Moreimportantly, scientists are likely to lose access to some of the most importantfossils and thereby miss out(“錯(cuò)失”,此短語需要重點(diǎn)記憶!兩部分作文都通用,且能夠非常到位地表達(dá)意思)on potentially crucial discoveries aboutextinct life forms. Wealthy fossil buyers with a desire to own the rarest andmost important fossils can spend virtuallylimitless amounts of money(“不計(jì)成本”,表示花了相當(dāng)多的錢??梢杂糜讵?dú)立寫作和綜合寫作)to acquire them. Scientists and the museums and universities they work foroften cannot compete successfully for fossils against millionaire fossilbuyers.
Moreover,commercial fossil collectors often destroy valuable scientific evidence associated with(短語,“與…...相關(guān)”,獨(dú)立和綜合寫作均可使用)thefossils they unearth(unearth=discover, 很多同學(xué)會(huì)以為這是沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)). Most commercial fossil collectors are untrained or uninterested incarrying out the careful field work and documentation that reveal the mostabout animal life in the past. For example, scientists have learned about thebiology of nest-building dinosaurs called oviraptors(“產(chǎn)卵管”,不理解這類詞語并不影響考試,并且可以完全照抄在寫作內(nèi)容里,因此可以算作非重點(diǎn)。)by carefully observing the exact position ofoviraptors fossils in the ground and the presence(presence=existence, 替換詞,重點(diǎn)記憶。)of other fossils in the immediatesurroundings. Commercial fossil collectors typically pay no attention to howfossils lie in the ground or to the smaller fossils that may surround biggerones.
在聽力材料的處理上,朗閣專家建議考生做題后,再精聽?zhēng)妆椋M量把a(bǔ)rgue的點(diǎn)都寫清楚,然后把關(guān)鍵詞重點(diǎn)標(biāo)注。如有沒聽清楚的,再對(duì)照聽力原文,后把聽力原文里有用的詞語摳出來。
LISTENING MATERIALS:
First of all, thepublic is likely to have greater exposure(表示“暴露”,綜合寫作中非常常見的詞,且考生容易誤解) to fossils as a result ofcommercial fossil trade, not less exposure. Commercial fossil hunting makes alot of fossils available for purchase, and as a result, even low-level publicinstitutions like public schools and libraries can now routinely(表示“例行公事地”,雖然對(duì)閱讀和聽力的內(nèi)容把握沒有大的影響,但可用于獨(dú)立寫作) buy interesting fossils and display them for the public.
As for the idea thatscientists will lose access to(聽力中非常容易錯(cuò)過的內(nèi)容) really important fossils, that’s notrealistic either. Before anyone can put a value on a fossil, it needs to be scientifically identified(“科學(xué)鑒定”,科學(xué)、生物、人類學(xué)、地理等多類話題都會(huì)用到), right? Well, the only people who canidentify, who can really tell what a given fossil is or isn’t, are scientists,by performing detailed examinations and tests on the fossils themselves. So,even if a fossil is destined to go to a private collector, it has to passthrough the hands of scientific experts first. This way, the scientific community(“科學(xué)組織”,其他同義詞等在考試中經(jīng)常會(huì)出現(xiàn),諸如association, organization和institution等) is not going to miss out on anythingimportant that’s out there.
Finally, whateverdamage commercial fossil collectors sometimes do, if it weren’t for them, manyfossils would simply go undiscovered because there aren’t that many fossilcollecting operations(有的時(shí)候在文章中表示“操作”,有的時(shí)候在醫(yī)學(xué)類話題中還表示“手術(shù)”,考生通常會(huì)反應(yīng)不過來,可以引起重視) that are run by universities and other scientific institutions. Isn’t it betterfor science to at least have more fossils being found even if we don’t have allthe scientific data we’d like to have about their location and surroundingsthan it is to have many fossils go completely undiscovered?
按照以上挑選單詞的方法,不管是在做TPO還是其他的綜合寫作練習(xí),考生都能夠從文段中總結(jié)出一些單詞和短語作為記憶的內(nèi)容。持之以恒下去,就算不去記憶專門的單詞,對(duì)話題和單詞的熟悉度也會(huì)有顯著的提高。
三、準(zhǔn)備模板
除了聽懂和看懂材料外,如何行文是相當(dāng)關(guān)鍵的部分。準(zhǔn)備一套有特點(diǎn)的模板,是拔高分?jǐn)?shù)的關(guān)鍵。這里朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家們提醒各位考生,模板的形成是非常有必要的,考生們可以自由選擇或者混搭形成自己風(fēng)格的模板,切勿照搬現(xiàn)有模板,改造模板才是出路。接下來,筆者示范一些模板的改造:
The reading passageexplores the issue of… The professor’s lecture deals with the same issue.However, he/she thinks that…, which contradicts what the reading states. And inthe lecture, he/she uses three specific points to support his/her idea.
以上模板稍顯啰嗦,有湊字?jǐn)?shù)嫌疑,許多考生都會(huì)照搬。如果我們稍作修改,則會(huì)簡(jiǎn)潔且具有考生的個(gè)人風(fēng)格,如:
The reading passage states the author’sopinion by… The professor concerns the same topic but delivers a controversialstate, which is… .
這樣,就不會(huì)與其他考生的作文雷同。當(dāng)然,朗閣名師提醒考生一定不能把文章的重心放在模板上而忽視了對(duì)聽力閱讀材料的改寫和重組。寫作考試依舊重點(diǎn)考察考生的組織和表述能力。