托福写作考题解析--喻荟璇

作者：喻荟璇  新航道武汉学校托福写作讲师、SAT数学讲师、A-level化学讲师。澳大利亚墨尔本大学硕士，五年海外留学及工作经历。熟悉托福考试，善于培养学生逻辑思维和语言运用能力，带动学习氛围，课堂生动有趣；亦师亦友，深受学员们喜爱。

2019.03.16 托福综合写作真题

Integrated Writing Task

阅读部分：tiger数量减少三个原因 1、捕猎； 2、和当地居民竞争领地； 3、habitat fragmentation；   听力反驳：这三个问题都可以被解决或重新利用 1、有一种aircraft可以detect这些hunting； 2、当地居民可以利用tiger的价值(value)， 比如让tourist来看老虎； 3、有一个wild life corridors（小黑板）可以连接两个fragment 所以不是问题。

20190316的综合写作算是对考生们高抬贵手，动物类数量增加或减少都是比常见的综合题型。其中除了第三个分论点(habitat fragmentation)稍显陌生，其余两点都可以在TPO的日常练习中找到熟悉的身影。如TPO10, TPO15, TPO17, TPO23和TPO48，都是动物数量上升或下降的题型。

Keywords: animals, population, decline, increase

可以类比下列这些TPO的综合写作。

TPO10 Sea otter population off

阅读部分：pollution假说是对的

• 水样本中chemical pollution level持续上升—对感染的抵抗力下降，life-threatening to them

• other sea mammals also declining-again environment pollution，或者是出现了广泛存在的肉食动物predators,但是它们只吃大点的prey

• pollution假说 可以解释otter数量下降不平均模式——洋流/其他环境因素可能造成污染物浓度不均匀

听力反驳：predator假说是对的

• 污染会导致大量死亡，但没人在海滩上找到otter尸体，所以pollution理论不对。并且predator会直接吃掉otter，所以没有尸体被冲到岸上，predator假说更合理。

• orca更喜欢whales 但whales基本已从该地区消失。为了survive它们可能会改吃otter/seal/sea lion

• orca易接近的地方 otter数量下降更多，orca体型大进不了shallow and rocky location，而恰好这些地方otter数量没有减少

TPO15 Cane toad population spreading

阅读部分：

• National fence to isolate the invaded area

• Captured and destroyed by volunteers

• Disease-causing virus to control the population

听力反驳：

• 幼小的Cane toad和toad eggs一般都在水中，所以建立围栏也防止不了水路的携带；

• 未受训练的volunteers可能会危害到长相类似的濒危natural frogs；

• virus可能会被带到中南美洲危害当地的生态系统。

TPO17 Birds number declines

阅读部分：（原因）

• 人类的population and settlements扩张，减少了栖息地；

• Agricultural activities增多导致了栖息范围的进一步下降；

• Pesticide的使用，进入鸟的食物链且影响繁殖。

听力反驳：

• 城市发展为了other types of birds提供更好更大的栖息地

• 每天用于农业的土地越来越少，由于引进了more productive varieties of crops，因此没必要destroy wildness area

• New and much less toxic pesticides have been developed，并且更多的pest resistant crops（reduce the need for chemical pesticides）

TPO48 frog species have declines

阅读部分：

• Pesticide for crops -attack frogs nerve system VS

• Fungus-thickening the skin- dehydration

• Natural habitat is threatened by human activities

听力反驳：

• Pesticide对于农民来说非常重要，降低crop loss，保持在市场上的竞争力。

• Treatment against fungus需要作用在每一只青蛙上，并且每一代都需要，非常complicated and expensive.

• 实际原因不是excessive water use 而是global warming引起的数量下降。

综上所述，不难发现，有一些观点是动植物数量变化中非常常见的。掌握了以下几个综合写作中的“理由”，可以在考场上信心倍增。

² 农药/杀虫剂（toxic or chemical pesticides）

² 栖息地破坏（habitat decline, environment damage）

² 人类活动（human activities-land use, water use）

² 微生物（fungus, virus, bacteria）

² 捕食关系（prey, predator, hunting）

2019.03.16托福独立写作真题

Independent Writing Task

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?   Taking a lot time to make decisions was a bad quality for people to have, but now, is a good quality for people to have.

题目解析：

虽然这是一道旧题，重复了2016.08.20CN的题，但是仍然难倒了不少考生。有以下三个原因: 1. 话题陌生；2. 题目抽象有深度；3. 题目中有对比并且太。这种题目很容易让人思路枯竭不知如何下笔。首先，立意方面，后半段说对于现在来说，花很长时间做决定是好事。语言比较会推荐学生选择disagree；同时，限定条件是“now”，从常理推段，当今快节奏的社会，提倡效率，因此本文选择disagree。其次，构思方面，一旦遇到抽象的题目，一般建议学生使用“不同情况分析法”把上义词拆分，以帮助学生具体化，能很快从身边熟悉的场景中找素材，并分情况讨论，不至于无话可话。因此，这一题把decisions拆成－危急关头的决定（要不要救人）和难得一遇的决定（要不要投资），都可以引用生活当中的例子来论证；再加一个让步段，即可完成一篇2+1的独立写作了。此外，对于比较有深度或反应社会现象的题目，可以采用“提问式”的开头方式，更能引人深思。请参考如下范文：

Have you been missing some great opportunities, as a result of your delayed decisions? Have you ever had all the information at hand being ready to make a choice but still be hesitant? Despite some voice goes like “It really depends on the context” or “It is the quality of the decision that matters rather than the time”, I still firmly believe that time and tide wait for no man, especially in the current age of opportunity.

In extreme cases, the nature of the environment requires decisions to be made under time pressure. Excessive time can only aggravate the situation. Take my real experience as an example. I was on the street one day. One of the trash bins on the sidewalk was smoking while people were walking by with a glance at it. I was hesitating whether it is necessary to call the firefighting. Suddenly, it lit up and exploded with a loud sound. Everyone on the street was dispersing with scream. What’s worse, the flying lid caused severe injury on an old lady. It enlightened me that “wait and see” is not a good strategy or quality if you are a firefighter, security guard and surgeon in particular. The worst situation could be avoided only if we make the decision and act right away.

On top of that, an opportunity seizer should be a quick decision maker. Some once-in-life opportunities, saying purchasing the last land in a vigorous developing suburb or applying for a promising and decent job, will slip away if you are not a fast shooter. A good example is the stock market in where time is everything. The traders better make decisions rapidly within a few seconds or minutes of seeing a signal whilst some swing traders usually spend a whole day to analyze the statistics and trends and the rock bottom has passed, let alone long term investors. One of my friends, who is the trader in forex, also tell me either overanalyzing or overthinking will grape your money. That is why it is not hard to find the earning traders are sensitive and decisive ones.

Indeed, it requires ample time to consider through the issues that would have significant life implications, which university you will attend or who you are going to marry, for example. But it doesn’t mean that taking much time to decide deserves applause. For most circumstances, delayed decision will only bring people no benefits or loss. Instead of dwelling on why I missed the chance, make a prompt decision and never slip it away until you have followed through.

Bottom line, not to mention whether it is bad, it is definitely not a good quality to taking long time to decide in the modern society as some life-or-death and one-in-a-thousand decisions must be made in a few seconds.

 

（新航道武汉学校 北美考试院 托福写作组 喻荟璇）