2015年6月13/14日托福独立口语小范围预测
Task 1
1. Computer technology has influenced student’s study in various ways. Give examples to illustrate the advantage that a computer helps in your study.
Well, I cannot agree more that computer has made our study much easier and more efficiently. Actually, when I do research, I can just type in the key words of the topic that I am researching, and then the next moment I know, there are millions of sources showing up on the screen, and I can use whichever I need to. It is so instant and convenient, and most of the sources are free. Additionally, I can use lots of software on the computer to help to study more efficiently, like, recently, I am preparing the TOEFL exam, I can just use a dictionary on the computer to check the unfamiliar words, it's far more effective than using a traditional dictionary.
2. Describe an event or celebration you attend recently. Why people have a good time together?
Well, last week, a bunch of my colleagues and I went fishing in a state park. We drove to the park around 6 o'clock in the afternoon. and then set up the fishing pole and began to fish. it was very quiet and the air was very fresh, the water was super crystal. it was very enjoyable. we were very lucky that today and scored lots of fish. and then we set up the grill and baked the fish on the grill. it was very delicious. Everybody there had a wonderful time.
3. Which of the following brings you more pleasure? Spend time with friends, study by yourself or doing sports? Explain why in details.
Personally, I would say I like to play sports, cuz there are actually lots of benefits, to begin with, one can socialize with their peers and make new friends. I also learned the importance of cooperation and responsibility when I am playing team sports, me and my teammate struggle together for a common goal, offer each other motivation along the way, and I feel that I care something bigger than myself during the game, and I think this is very meaningful. Additionally, I have to deal with disappointment when losing the game, and on other occasions I feel really confident and proud of myself when our team is winning the game.
4. Describe an important day in your life.
The most important day in my life was my college graduation day. I graduated from a prestigious university in the Unites States, but it was challenging for me. Four years before I graduated from college, the first time I set foot on the land of America, I felt so isolated and had tremendous language barriers. However, during my four years in college, I not only improved my English language proficiency, but also kept a high GPA and was on the dean's list every year. But, I know that this day does not come easily, it symbolizes the time and effort I put to get my diploma.
5. What do you think is the most important advancement over the past 20 years in your country? Use reasons and specific examples to explain why you think that is important.
I would say the most important advancement of my country in the higher education. For the past 20 years, the central government invested lots of money for university to renovate their facilities, like recreation center, library, and even dining halls. If you get a chance to go the recreation centers in a university, you are very likely to see lots of advanced equipment and facilities, some of which might have sauna and spa service, and apart from that the frequent exchanges of scholars with other famous professors and researchers around the world have helped improve Chinese scholars overall capability, and they can publish lots of papers in world class journals and have an impact in their field.
6. What the some important effects of worldwide availability of internet on modern people's life? Use specific details and examples to support your response.
Well, internet does have a big impact on people's lives, to begin with, it is a very convenient and fun way to buy stuff on-line, with just a click of the button, the next moment you know, your order is delivered right at your door. It is also easy to compare the prices offered by different on-line stores, the only thing you need to remember is that always to shop in a reputable on-line store. Plus, by signing up on a social network like facebook, MSN, and wechat, which is so popular in China, you can get to know more people. By sending text messages to your friends and family members whenever you want to, I think internet has brought people closer than ever, it makes communication so instant.
7. Which of the following volunteer work would you choose and why?
1. Working as a home tutor 2. Helping adults 3. Helping old people
If I were given a chance to do some volunteer, I would help the seniors. Now there are more and more retirees in my country, and the nursing homes and senior center are not doing a very good job to help the seniors. There are quite a few things that I can do to help the seniors, I can read them newspapers, to help them get access to what is happening around the world. I also could assist them to tidy up their rooms so they might have a very good mood every day. Apart from that, I can just talk with them, seniors get lonely easily, and by interacting with them, they will feel a sense of belong to the community and that there are someone out there who care about them. With all the above reasons and more, I would volunteer to help seniors.
8. If you were to do a project, which of the following would you choose? 1. A recycle program 2. Teaching children about vegetable growing 3. Teaching children about healthy eating.
I would chose to attend a recycle program simply because our environment is jeopardizing dramatically in recent years, and recycling is a great way to help to deal with that. One of the major reasons that there is rampant littering in the city is that there are not enough trash cans on the streets. Garbage bins should be provided so that people can categorize their trash. As known to all, some of the trash are recyclable like soda cans, paper and glass, and not only can the trash be reused, but also there will be less littering, thus that will make the environment much better.
9. Which of the following extracurricular activities would you recommend children to take? Plying sports, playing music, or visiting art galleries? Explain why.
Actually, there are lots extracurricular activities one can do. I would suggest children play sports. They can choose to go the gym, actually, here are lots of facilities in it, like a very nice swimming pool, basketball court, badminton court and stuff like that. There are lots of benefit to play sports, to begin with, it helps to keep fit and be athletic and develop one's agility and strength at the same time, so the kids do not look awkward. Additionally, one can socialize with their peers and make new friends. Also, when playing sports with old friends, one can connect more with them emotionally, and that helps to sustain your friendship forever.
10. Your suggestions on how to save our planet since we are facing serious environment problems.
Firstly, we should cut down the usage of cars and other vehicles, thus the car exhaust can be reduced. The decision makers should invest more money to improve public transportation, like adding more bus routes, making public transportation more accessible; developing express local trains and repave bumpy roads. Secondly, the government should put forward some policies to punish factories who discharge lots of waste into the air, for example, they can impose a heavy tax on these factories. Plus, we can subsidize the environment conscious companies that use renewable energies like natural gas, wind power and nuclear power.
11. If a foreign visitor comes to your country, what food will you introduce to him/her? Explain why.
Personally, I would recommend the huoguo, and its direct translation is hot pot. It can be cooked in a very easy way. Firstly, you need to throw in some species and other kinds of condiments, than boil the water, after that you can throw anything you like ranging from vegetables to seafood, like broccoli, potatoes, shrimp, tuna scallop and stuff like, and it is a pretty healthy way to eat. On top that, eating hot pot around a big round tables symbolizes a sense of reunion , lots of people have hot pot as their Spring Festival dinner. I mean, it doesn't have to be on Spring Festival, you can also have it when eating out with friends.
12. Describe a time you learned a new subject./ Describe a difficulty which you have overcome with the help of your family, friends or classmates. Explain how they helped
When I was in junior high, I had to learn English for the first time, and it was really hard for me to pick up at first. The words, grammar and sentence patterns are just so different from Chinese. But with the help of my English teacher, I gradually learnt some basic words and useful phrases, and I started practicing English with foreigners whenever I got a chance, the more I acquire, the more I am willing to learn and I put more effort and I am determined to be really good in English. Now, after so many years, I am still a big fan of the English language, and I cannot live a single day without it.
Task 2
1. Some students prefer to write their course papers a day or two before the paper is due. Other students prefer to start working on their papers much sooner, spending a little time each day to complete the paper. Which do you prefer? Explain why.
I prefer to finish the paper sooner rather than later, to begin with, to finish lots of paper, you might spend a long time to find relevant references, figure out the data and the models you need to apply in the paper, starting to work on the paper early can make sure you have sufficient time to finish it on time. Plus, If you chose to work on the paper a day or two before it is due, you might have some scheduling problems, and be bombarded with other kinds of assignment, like group projects, presentations and stuff.
2. Some students prefer to go to universities or colleges in their hometown. Others prefer to go to universities or colleges in new cities or towns. Which do you prefer and why? Include details and examples in your explanation.
Personally, I prefer to study in a new city. I think it is very boring to stay in your city, where you have been living for almost 20 years, they people you will meet are still those you met during primary school and high school. However, to be able to study in another city, you get a chance to learn their local cultures, appreciate the natural beauty, and above all meet more exciting people, and by interacting with local people and making new friend in that city during college, you can broaden your horizon and enrich you life experience.
3. If you have a chance to learn something new, which of the following would you like to learn? Flying an airplane, playing a sport or playing an musical instrument.
I would definitely choose to play a new sport. I find it very relaxing when I play sports, it helps me to release my tension and depression that I got from both my life and study. Apart from that, playing sports is a very good way to keep healthy and try to be in good shape. It helps you to build up some muscles and be athletic, it is also good for your cardio vascular system. Lastly, I get a chance to meet new friends and broaden my social network when playing a sport, getting to know different people is a very thrilling experience for me.
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the most important teachers for a child.
Personally, I would say parents indeed are the most essential teachers for young children. More specifically, parents are the very first teachers in our psychological development, and they, together with other family members shape our early behaviors, values and even habits. For example, like if your parents are zealous readers of books and newspapers, one is likely to be a big fan of reading, and that will positively influence our intelligence. Also, for other personal idiosyncrasies are also influenced by our parents, like if parents are coffee lovers, the kids also tend to like coffee.
5. Which of the following do you think benefit students more? Going to field trips, tutoring or doing class presentations.
I would say the best way learn is to go on a field trip, and actually I still remember my field trip back in primary school. We went to the zoo, not like watching a video, I got a chance to interact with animals under the instruction of the zoo keeper, they were so lovely. What I am trying to say is that students can discovery stuff that doesn't come across in pictures or videos or even in a classroom. Apart from that, learning through exploration is more fun and effective. There are students who got a hard time reading textbooks, however, going on a field trip, they are totally interested in the stuff they are going to see, thus they concentrate better and can learn more.
6. What kind of job will you choose? A job through which you can get a lot of money or a job through which you can get great personal satisfaction.
I guess it really depends on the scenario, if the job that gives me great personal satisfaction can help me to pay all my utility bills and all other living expenses, I will choose the job that gives me great personal satisfaction. Cuz, one has to work on a profession for a few decades before retirement, a job with high salary might not be the one you really like. One might suffer from constant depression and pressure doing that kind of job and it will be detrimental to both their physical and psychology healthiness. After all, the experience is more valuable than salary.
7. Are you willing to carefully choose the gift which your friends like or choose whatever you like?
Personally, I would carefully choose a gift that my friends like. The reasons are quite obvious, the only reason why we buy gift for our friends is because we want them happy and feel that they are loved and cared by us. Anyone with a clear mind should not randomly choose gifts, otherwise, if we end up choosing a gift that our friends don't like, they might be angry and that will jeopardize our friendship. However, if you choose a gift carefully, the friend will appreciate the time and effort you put in selecting the gift for him or her, and thus one can bond more with their friends.
8. Do you agree or disagree that teachers should encourage students to have class discussion during class? Give specific reasons and details in your response.
Personally, I agree with this. I would say the best way to learn is to participate in class discussion, to begin with, students need to do lots of search and prepare notes for the class discussion. They can learn a lot by actively preparing for this. Additionally, the whole class gets a chance to hear multiple points of view, although some points might not be as thought-provoking, you can learn a lot of stuff beyond the textbooks anyway, and understand how an idea works in real life when people share their personal experiences.
9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The success of a school largely depends on the resources it has such as textbooks and journals.
I don't agree that the success of a school largely depends on the resources it has such as textbooks and journals. I admit that they are contributing factors of a good school, but I think facilities and professors are big part of the success of a school. Firstly, science students depend on lab equipments and facilities to test theories in books, just learning theories without experiment in the lab is too boring and unproductive, so facilities, like research centers are very important. On top of that, professors are the key resource of a university, cuz they are the ones who can motivate the students and develop their skills and make them more creative, thus giving the students a better chance to be successful in the future.
10. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The most important influences that young adults have are from their families.
Personally, I would say families indeed influence young adults a lot. More specifically, parents are the very first teachers in our psychological development, and they, together with other family members shape our early behaviors, values and even habits. For example, like if your parents are zealous readers of books and newspapers, one is likely to be a big fan of reading, and that will positively influence our intelligence. Also, for other personal idiosyncrasies are also influenced by close family members, like if parents are coffee lovers, the kids also tend to like coffee.
