口语拓展之“随大流”or“抒己见”

作者：何园梦  新航道武汉学校英联邦考试院留学预备课程听说并进讲述，英语口译翻译硕士，英语专业八级，高中英语教师资格证，曾任一本院校英语教师。授课逻辑分明，幽默风趣，注重能力与技巧的同时培养，在生动的课堂中让学生学得轻松。

雅思考试P3是很关键的一部分，而到口语考试的最后一部分，针对一些比较难回答的雅思P3话题，同学们很难兼顾逻辑性和speak at length. 比如这个问题：Do you think reading benefits us or not? （IELTS Reading/Books) 同学A的回答是这样的：Yes, I do. Because we can learn lots of things in books. For example, we can learn about different cultures, history and famous people. （译文：是的，因为我们可以在书中学到很多东西。例如，我们可以了解不同的文化、历史和名人。）这个回答还不错，我们可以对比看一下另外一位同学的回答：

学生B：Many people would say that reading really can benefit us in many ways and I totally agree with that. The way I see it, reading can broaden our horizons, enrich our knowledge, and inspire our ways of thinking. Sadly, we don’t read that often nowadays because of mobile phones. （译文：很多人都会说阅读在很多方面对我们有好处，我完全同意。在我看来，阅读可以开阔我们的视野，丰富我们的知识，激发我们的思维方式。遗憾的是，因为手机，我们现在不常阅读。）

我们发现，学生B先抛出社会的主流观点，再给出自己的看法，并分析了当下的现状。显然，后者的回答内容更加丰富，也给自己争取了更多的思考时间。同时，学生A的回答显得不够有深度。

因此，在观点类话题中，我们不要害怕给出自己的看法，可以学习一下学生B的做法：

Step1:提出社会主流的观点（行为）：Many people would say that...

Step2:呈现个人的观点（行为）：The way I see it, ...

   如此，先给出社会主流观点（行为），再呈出个人观点（行为），这样可以不急不徐，娓娓道来，同时也拓展了自己的表达，让自己的表达兼具深度、广度、丰富性。下面我们来练习一下：

   How much time should parents spend with their children every day? (IELTS Parents and Children) 这个问题也似乎不难呀，学生A回答：Well, for me, parents should spend as much time as they can with their kids. They can teach their kids to speak and learn. （译文：对我来说，父母应该花尽可能多的时间和孩子在一起。他们可以教他们的孩子说话和学习。）这样的回答对于P1还可以，对于P3稍稍欠缺深度，也许我们可以沿用上一题的思路，这样回答：

  Some people may say that parents should spend as much time as possible with their children, but I don’t agree with it. I hold the point that parents should spend the right amount of time that their children need. Too much time for the kids may bring too much pressure to them. They may feel a lack of freedom and privacy.（译文：有些人可能会说，父母应该尽可能多与他们的孩子在一起，但我不同意。我认为，父母应该花适量的时间在孩子身上。对孩子们来说，太多的时间可能会给他们带来太多的压力，他们可能会感到缺乏自由和隐私。）

   第二个回答先给出社会大多数人的看法，再表达了个人迥异的看法，其实无论我们“随大流”还是“抒己见”都不会影响最终得分，言之有理即可。如此一来，“随大流”，也就是与社会大多数人观点一致，即为补充理由。而“抒己见”，即为对比论证，更加凸显了个人观点。

  来继续操练一波！

  Is it necessary for everyone to learn swimming? (IELTS 重要的水域） 我们知道，社会上很多人的观点都赞同这一看法，但是同学B认为没有必要，他也运用了上一题的方法，回答如下：Hmmmm, most people would say that swimming is a survival skill that everyone should know. But I don’t think so. I mean, I can’t swim. I tried to learn how to swim before, but I just failed every time. I don’t think keeping torturing myself is a good idea. I’ll just avoid being near the water or be very careful not to fall into the river in the future. （译文：嗯，大多数人会说游泳是每个人都应该掌握的生存技能。但我不这么认为。我不会游泳。我以前试着学游泳，但每次都失败了。我认为继续折磨自己并非一个好主意。我会尽量避免靠近水，或者以后小心不要掉进河里。）

  同学B先说出社会大多数人的看法，再勇敢地直抒胸臆，不走寻常路，他的回答很真实，还很恰当地介绍了自己过去地惨痛经历，很具有说服力。同学B还改述了题目中necessary的说法，说游泳是a survival skill（生存技能），同学们可以拿小本本记一下这样的好的表达。

  再来看一个话题：Do you think it is important to be punctual? （IELTS Punctuality） 针对是否应该准时这个点，广大民众都喜欢准时的人，如果你也是这么想的话，那就和同学B的观点不谋而合了!

  同学B答道：Well, everybody would say that it’s essential to be on time for things. And I can’t agree with it more. I believe that being punctual is a kind of social norm that we all should obey in the society. It shows respect to others. People who are always late will leave a bad impression of being lazy and impolite. （译文：嗯，每个人都会说准时是很重要的。我完全同意。我认为守时是一种社会规范，我们都应该在社会上遵守这一点，这是对他人的尊重。总是迟到的人会给人留下懒惰和不礼貌的坏印象。）同学B的回答非常好，用了essential代替important, 说准时是a kind of social norm（一种社会规范/准则），迟到会 leave a bad impression being lazy and impolite.（留下懒和不礼貌的印象）

 总之，同学们可以依据个人观点，自由表达，雅思口语考试没有标准答案，给出对应的理由支撑自己的看法即可。

  给大家整理相关的表达如下：

Step1:提出社会主流的观点（行为）：

Some /Many people would say that...

Well, the whole society is claiming that...

A lot of people would...

I always hear people saying that...

Everybody would say...

Step2:呈现个人的观点（行为）：

同意主流观点

The way I see it,...

I believe that...

And I think it’s totally true.

And I feel just the same way.

不同意主流观点

But I disagree.

I don’t really agree with that.

But I don’t see it that way.

(备注：类似的表达还有很多，大家可以多多积累。）

  以上的方法适用性很广，在留学预备阶段适用的代表性的话题整理如下：

话题	出处	类别
Do you think people’s characters change over time? Why or why not?	Skillful2 U1 Test	Character
Do you need to have the same type of character to be friends with someone? Why or  why not?	Skillful2 U1 Test	Character
Is it good to have the same family home all your life? Why or why not?	Skillful2 U3 Test	Home
Do you think wallscapes look good in the city?	Skillful2 U4	Advertisement
Do you think sight is the most important sense? Why or why not?	Skillful2 U7	Vision
What impact do you think food has on intellect?	Skillful3 U1	Nourishment
Do you think the space around us affects how we feel?	Skillful3 U3 Test	Space
Is it important for humans to explore outer space? Why? / Why not?	Skillful3 U3 Test	Space
Do you agree that people in all kinds of jobs are equally successful if they’re doing what they planned to do?Why or why not?	Skillful3 U5	Success
Is pressure always a negative thing? Why? / Why not?	Skillful3 U6 Test	Pressure
What would life be like if we felt no pressure?	Skillful3 U6 Test	Pressure
What would life be like if we weren’t afraid of anything?	Skillful3 U7 Test	Fear
Do you think today’s technology is an improvement over observation and common sense? Will it ever be?	Skillful4 U3	Technology
Should forest fires be put out quickly or allowed to burn? Discuss pros and cons.	Skillful4 U4	Forest fire
Do you think an aging population will have a positive or negative effect on issues like population growth and global warming? Why?	Skillful4 U10	Population

(备注：这个方法适用于大部分留学预备课程观点类题目，受篇幅限制，只选取了一部分典型口语题目，以上的问题都很具有代表性，大家可以对照以上表格练习起来。)

我们今天所学的方法：先抛出主流观点-再说出个人看法 适用于大部分雅思口语P3题目，亦可简单运用于P1，局部运用于P2，帮助大家在雅思口语的备考中 能够以不变应万变。  

最后，我们来实一场实战！Do you think that technology makes it easier to make new friends? （IELTS Technology)

（参考答案：Well, some say that nowadays you can make friends through social media without leaving your house. But I don’t see it that way. First, those so-called friends are cyber-friends, so you don’t get to see them in reality. Secondly, the friendship you have is weak, one day if you have words with that person, you might delete that person from the internet, and he or she will disappear in your life.

参考译文：嗯，有人说现在你不用离开家就可以通过社交媒体交朋友。但我不这么认为。首先，这些所谓的朋友是网络朋友，所以你在现实中看不到他们。其次，你们的友谊是脆弱的，如果有一天你和那个人吵嘴，你可能会从网上删除那个人，他就会消失在你的生活中。）