托福综合写作话题应该如何应对?写作是新托福考试四项中相对来说比较好容易得分的一项,但是事实证明大部分考生并不能考出满意的成绩,究其原因应该是综合写作失分严重,而导致综合写作难以提分的原因主要是听力细节信息的提取不够准确或完整。所以,怎么才能快速高效地提高综合写作听力信息提取的能力?
这个问题一直是托福综合写作的难点和重点。其实,最根本的方法是提高听力的能力。提高听力能力不仅对综合写作有很大益处,对于托福听力而言也有很大帮助。然而,这个方法需要考生有足够的备考时间,有足够的听力练习。对于一些时间紧张的同学而言,这个方法就显得不够现实。
当然,另一种方法:根据阅读材料的内容猜测听力信息,也是综合写作教学中经常被采用的方法。这个方法简单,但是对于听力细节信息的获取肯定是不够准确的,所以不够靠谱。个人认为,了解相关话题的词汇和背景知识对于考生们把握听力信息是极为重要的。很多学生在考前的备考某种程度上是存在一定的误区的,他们认为TPO 从头到尾刷一遍就可以了,事实上刷题是有必要的,但是刷题的重点是要总结和归纳,找出考试规律和考点。
下面,我将以综合写作中的生态类话题为例跟大家分析一下新托福综合写作备考中话题词汇和背景知识的重要性和运用,相信能够帮助考生们在有效的时间内科学地突破它们。
生态类话题真题
在TPO 的题目中,有代表性的生态类话题分布在TPO 14,TPO 18,TPO 20,TPO 21,TPO 23 和TPO 26,它们分别研究的是:树木回收性砍伐的好处、佛罗里达榧树的保护、大火给森林带来的损害、转基因树的好处、雪松数量减少、斑马贝的入侵。例如(阅读--- 听力):
TPO 14:回收性砍伐的好处
1. make room for the growth of the new trees---deprive the soil of the nutrients produced during the process of decomposition
2.minimize the danger of insect infestation---some insects are great contributors to the health of the forest
3. provide usable wood by industries and create additional jobs for local people---transportation of these woods is expensive and the jobs provided are temporary
TPO 18:佛罗里达榧树减少的解决方案
1.reestablish Torreya in the same location
with the coolest and dampest microclimate---the microclimate is strongly influenced by either global warming or the drained wetlands
2.move Torreya to an entirely different location---Torreya will threaten other rendangered species
3.preserve Torreya in research center---the research center can not ensure a large and genetically-diverse population of the Torreyatrees, which means the trees are not capableof resisting the disease
TPO 20:Let it burn policy 带来的危害
1. damage the trees as well as the vegetation---there appears to be a biggerdiversity for the plants
2.bring negative effects to the wildlife---small animals like the rabbits and hares are more likely to inhabit in the ideal place
3.do harm to the local tourism, negatively contributing to the economy---only if it happens every year would it be a problem for tourism
从上面的考察点结合阅读与听力的内容,我们给考生们总结了生态类话题的考点设置:
从单词的层面上
物种名称词汇( 植物):plant / cedar / plankton / Terroya tree / wild berry / organism / black locust tree
物种名称词汇(动物):wildlife / insect / beetle / bear / mussel / hare / rabbit / shellfish
涉及栖息地词汇:habitat / dwell / inhabit / habitat / bottom / wetland
生物链涉及词汇:food chain / plankton eater/ predator / parasite / disease / infestation / infest / pest-resistant / resist / dominate / reproduce / germinate / nutrient
关于物种入侵:wipe out / crowd out / be aggressive / invade / invasion / colonize / compete for
表示物种数量的下降:decline / descend / shrink / extinct / endangered / minimize / devastate / destroy
科学技术层面的单词:genetic modification / genetictechnology / genetically –diverse / geneticallymodified / uniform / gene / pesticide
常出现在综合写作阅读和听力部分的考点
生物减少原因:
Environment: temperature / climate change / global warming
Technology: genetically-modified plants /pest-unresistant / uniform in genes
Invasion: compete for nutrient/ infestation / parasite / predator
生物保护方法:
Environment: temperature / climate change / relocation
Technology: research center
防止生物扩散的方法:
Biological introduction: predator
Human activities: capture (financially beneficial) / chemical control (poison / pesticide)
以上的总结并不能完全对应目前新托福综合写作的生态话题考点,更要注意一些新的考点,尤其是TPO 套题中所没有涉及的。但是,从分析中可以看到,以上的信息点是必须要在备考中引起注意的,这些总结的背景知识对听力内容的获取还是很有帮助的。因此,在备考过程中要善于总结要点,不能总是题海战术,既耽误了时间也耗尽了耐心。