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复述法高效备考雅思口语考试

2014-05-09

新东方英语 2014年5期
关键词:雅思考试语料雅思

中国考生在备考雅思考试时存在一个普遍问题:习惯花时间做听力和阅读真题,却很难坚持张嘴练习口语,最终由于缺乏练习无法拿到理想的口语分数。有些考生抱怨说,没有语言环境和练习伙伴,所以没有动力练口语。其实这不应成为借口。很多口语好的人都没出过国,也没有很多外国朋友,而是靠自己坚持练习,问题的关键在于练习方法。本文笔者给考生介绍的就是一种高效的口语练习方法——复述。所谓复述,是指用自己的语言转述读到或听到的材料,以巩固记忆。它不需要练习伙伴,也不用考生自己想语料,适合考生自学用。那么在备考雅思口语的过程中,应该怎样运用复述这种复习方法呢?下面笔者为考生进行具体讲解。

如何复述网上的资料

雅思口语考试分为三个部分,第一和第三部分要求考生回答考官的问题,第二部分要求考生针对话题卡内容进行1~2分钟即兴陈述。不管是对哪个部分、哪个话题进行练习,考生如果不知道从何说起,都可以先上网查阅与题目主题相关的资料,找到合适的语料,之后再进行复述练习。首先,考生可登录Yahoo Answers、Quora、China Daily、Time、Wikipedia等网站搜索所需资料,也可以用谷歌直接搜索主题词。对于在谷歌检索到的结果,考生最好选择出自英语国家网站或中国正规英语网站的文章,避免用不地道的英语资料。之后,考生可将资料复制下来,并把文中的关键词和地道表达一一划出,然后进行归纳总结。此时划出的关键词可能比较凌乱,考生可以稍微将其整理一下,使之变成一个有逻辑的提纲。如果有必要,考生也可以在提纲中加入自己的想法,比如填上几个关键词,以帮助自己复述用。最后,考生对照提纲,用自己的话把资料复述一遍。下面笔者用具体实例来详细说明。

雅思口语第二部分有一个让很多考生不知从何说起的话题——衣服。关于这个话题,历年曾考过介绍a piece of clothing、a traditional Chinese dress、a piece of clothing you wear on a special occasion等。针对这样的考题,考生首先需要准备一段关于传统服饰的素材,比如代表中国女性特色的旗袍就可以用在以上关于衣服的所有话题中。考生可以在谷歌上直接搜索qipao,可以找到下面这个网站链接:http://www.chinavista.com/experience/qipao/qipao.html。该网站上关于旗袍的介绍如下。

The cheongsam is a female dress with distinctive Chinese features and enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of high fashion.

The name “cheongsam,” meaning simply “long dress,” entered the English vocabulary from the dialect of Chinas Guangdong Province (Cantonese). In other parts of the country including Beijing, however, it is known as qipao and has a history behind it.

When the early Manchu rulers came to China proper, they organized certain people, mainly Manchus, into “banners” (qi) and called them “banner people” (qiren), who then became loosely known as the Manchus. The Manchu women wore normally a one-piece dress which, likewise, came to be called a qipao or “banner dress.” Although the 1911 Revolution toppled the rule of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, the female dress survived the political change and, with later improvements, has become the traditional dress for Chinese women.

Easy to slip on and comfortable to wear, the cheongsam fits well the female Chinese figure. Its neck is high and closed, and its sleeves may be either short, medium or full length, depending on season and taste. The dress is buttoned on the right side, with a loose chest, a fitted waist, and slits up from the sides, all of which combine to set off the beauty of the female shape.

Another beauty of the cheongsam is that, made of different materials and to varying lengths, it can be worn either on casual or formal occasions. In either case, it creates an impression of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness. No wonder it is so much liked by women not only of China but of other countries as well.

这篇文章对旗袍的介绍清晰简练,考生很容易就能划出其中可用于考题的内容(如下划线所示),例如a fitted waist (收腰)、set off the beauty of the female shape (显身材)、sleeves (袖子)等。但考生如果不查资料的话,光靠自己想是无法表达得如此地道和准确的。不过,网络上的这段介绍毕竟是书面语,文章长度和结构都不是基于雅思口语考题的,所以考生需要根据雅思口语考试的要求对这篇文章稍作整理。具体整理步骤如下。

第一步:还原考题

Describe an item of clothing.

You should say:

what the item is

what it looks like

on what occasions people wear it

and explain why it is so important.

第二步:整理提纲

1 是什么

① qipao, traditional female dress with distinctive Chinese features; ② cheongsam, Cantonese, long dress; ③ Qing Dynasty, Manchu rulers

2 外观如何

① fits well the female Chinese figure; ② fitted waist, sets off the beauty of the female shape; ③ different materials

3 什么场合穿

① casual or formal occasions; ② celebrations and weddings

4 为何受欢迎

simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness

雅思口语第二部分只需要1~2分钟的陈述,因此不需要太长的提纲,考生只要选出自己觉得最方便记忆的几个点就行,比如像旗袍的历史发展和细节特征考生就不必过多赘述。在整理过程中,考生也可以加入一些自己的想法,比如人们现在主要在庆典和婚礼(celebrations and weddings)的时候穿旗袍。下面就是对照整理的提纲组织的口语表达。

Id like to tell you something about the qipao, which is a kind of traditional female dress with distinctive Chinese features. It is also known as the cheongsam, which means “long dress” in Cantonese. It became popular in the Qing Dynasty when the Manchu rulers came to China proper.

The biggest feature of the qipao is that it fits well the female Chinese figure. For example, it usually has a fitted waist, which sets off the beauty of the female shape. As far as I know, many different kinds of material can be used for qipaos, such as silk or cotton.

The qipao can be worn either on casual or formal occasions. Nowadays, it is more commonly seen on important occasions like celebrations and weddings. During a wedding, the bride usually wears a qipao to mark the most important day of her life.

I think that the main reason why people are so fond of the qipao is that it creates an impression of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness. It is now becoming more and more popular in the international world of high fashion.

以上这段表达在结合材料的同时加入了考生自己的想法,可谓逻辑清晰、句型连贯、词汇贴切,最重要的是语言表达自然流畅。考生通过查资料,不仅节约了绞尽脑汁想语料的时间,而且使自己的语言表达更准确、地道。

除了网上的资料以外,考生也可以用雅思相关参考书上的范例来作为复述材料。判断参考书上的范例能否为己所用的标准是看其内容是否容易记住。下面笔者就以《雅思口语》(新东方教育科技集团雅思研究院著)中的一篇口语表达为例来讲解如何复述参考书上的范例。这篇范例的主题是智能手机,主要介绍了作者喜欢智能手机的理由,具体如下。

Okay, I would really love to own a smartphone. I think they are amazing, because they are so tiny and they can do so many things! I really like the way they look—so slim and light. But the incredible thing is what they can do. A smartphone is kind of three things in one—a phone, an iPod and a computer. So it is really useful, because you can do all the things you normally do with a phone, like texting and calling people, but you can also listen to your favorite music: mostly when Im on the bus or walking somewhere, like to school. And I would use it to share music with my friends. I think I could even use it to download films and music videos. You can also use them to store your photos and other stuff. Actually, you can use it to take your own photos as well. There is no keyboard, so you just touch the screen to type and send text messages. I really want to get one because all my friends have them and I think they are so useful. But I probably have to wait until my parents buy me one. I love new technology—Im always interested in the latest things.

看完这篇范文后,考生可以整理出以下提纲:

1 是什么

smartphone

2 外观如何

tiny, slim and light

3 有何功能(此处可以加些自己上网的活动)

① listen to favourite music, share music with friends;

② download films and videos; ③ store photos and other stuff

4 为什么喜欢

① touch the screen to type; ② new technology (谈论对新技术的喜爱)

整理完提纲后,考生就可以对照提纲来组织自己的口语表达了。因为版面有限,笔者在此就不再提供复述后的例文了。

考生在运用复述的方法备考雅思口语的过程中需要注意以下四个问题。

1 如果复述材料有配套音频,考生可以边听边记笔记。这样能同时练习听力和单词拼写。

2 有条件的话,考生最好录下自己的复述。复述完之后听录音,纠正复述中的语法错误,改掉不符合英文表达习惯的“嗯”“哼”“呃”等口头语,并检查句型还有什么能改进的地方。

3 复述至少两到三遍,复述最后一遍时考生要注意语音语调的抑扬顿挫,适当配合肢体语言,完全模拟考场情境,就像对面坐着考官一样。

4 考生在考前应该练习复述最近常考的口语机经题,每天练两个题,直到能流利表达为止。第二天考生给自己一分钟时间,看能否快速回忆起昨天练过的题目,在纸上写下几个要点,然后再讲述一遍。

雅思口语考试是非常实用的交流能力的测试,不是光靠背模板句就能应对的。考生只有从根本上提升英语交流能力才能拿高分。大多数参加雅思考试的考生都是准备出国留学的,所以雅思的备考其实不光只是为了一个分数,更是为了在海外更好地生存和学习。其实,在国外学习得是否吃力,能否交到朋友、积极生活,很大程度上是由英语的听、说、读、写能力决定的。因此,即使在通过雅思考试后,考生也要坚持日常听说练习,每天只需用半小时的时间。考生可以按照以下步骤进行练习:①选择材料:国外电台节目或《新概念英语2》《新概念英语3》的课文,选择材料时以能听懂60%以上的内容为准;②听一遍材料,不用记笔记;③一句话口头总结材料的内容,比如谁在什么时间什么地方做了什么;④精听材料,记下关键词,听不懂的地方多听几遍,并尝试自己拼写出来;⑤比较记录的信息和原文是否匹配,并复述原文,至少两遍;⑥大声朗读原文,并注意模仿录音中的语音语调。

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