托福机经2015.11.08口语

Task 1

If a foreign friend is going to visit your hometown and doesn't' t know what to pack. what suggestions do you have for him?

Sample response

If a foreign friend is going to visit my hometown, I'd definitely suggest him to pack two things. One of them is a map. I live in Shanghai. It's a metropolitan city where one can easily get lost. For instance, there are 17 different subway lines that stretch out all around the city. When my cousin who' s born and raised in the US came to Shanghai for the first time, he took the wrong subway line and ended up in a place out of nowhere and since he had no map and couldn't speak Chinese very well, he couldn't' t ask for help. So a map is a necessity when you visit a place for the very first time. Besides that, a smart phone would be a smart thing to pack too. A smart phone nowadays can solve all kinds of problems. For instance, last time when I went to Europe, I used Google translator on my phone to talk to local people. It was very convenient and a lot of fun as well.

Task 2

Some teachers let students choose topics that interest them on research papers. Others assign topics on research papers. Which one do you prefer?

Sample response

I think it' s better if teachers let students choose topics that interest them on research papers for the following reasons. First of all, students will be much more motivated when writing about something they actually like. Take myself as an example, my second-grade English teacher Miss May once assigned a research paper for us and she allowed us to write about whatever that interested us, so I decided to write about my favorite musical Cats. I worked very hard for it and I had more than enough motivation because I had fun learning about and writing about this musical. I gave up sleeping in during weekends and pulled all-nighters to work on this paper and I enjoyed every second of it. Secondly, students learn more when they write about things that interest them. Sometimes when teachers assign topics on research papers, students are forced to write about things they take absolutely no interest in and they end up copying some random article on the internet. And that' s completely a waste of time and won' t help the students In any way.

Task 3

【提议】：学生建议学校应该为student musicians 创建一个同好网站。因为可以让兴趣相投的人创造更方便的交流平台。还有方便发布举办音乐会的消息与音乐相关的新闻事件。

【学生议论】：女生同意

理由一：她曾和朋友组织过乐队但一直没有鼓手，如果那时有这样一个平台那一定会很容易就找到一个。

理由二：她有的时候去看校园演唱会发现观众并不多因为大家缺少接受相应的渠道，这个网站可以及时告知大家最近与音乐有关的新闻消息。

Sample response

The student suggests that the university should create a special website for student musicians due to two reasons. The first reason is that it will be easier to get in touch with people who share the same interests with them. The second reason is that it will be a convenient way to post information about concerts and events. In the conversation, the woman agrees with the suggestion. In the first reason, she mentions that she started a band with some of her friends and they always practice together, but they’re missing a good drummer in the band. If there was a website like this, it would be much easier for them to find a drummer for their band. As for the second reason, the woman points out that there are few people there when she goes to campus concerts and stuff because people don’t know about these events, this website could help people stay updated about music-related events on campus.

Task 4

【名词解释】：讲的signal redundancy ，动物会用不同方式来传递相同信息以告知同类。

【教授举例】：教授举了一个鹿群的例子当一只鹿脱离族群去一边吃草如果这时碰见了捕食者它就会提起身子警告同伴，如果同伴没注意这个信号它就会发出一些声音那么同伴听到这个就知道捕食者来了要赶快逃命。

Sample response

In the lecture, the professor talks about the concept of signal redundancy which means animals will send the same message with different types of finals to inform other animals of the same species. He offers us an example to illustrate it. Deer sometimes graze together and once in a while one of the deer will go off and eat on its own. When this deer sees a predator like a lion coming, it will raise its tail as a signal to alert the other deer so that they have a chance to run away from the area. But when the other deer miss this signal, this particular deer will instead stomp on the ground to make noise. And when other deer hear this noise, they will run away to a safer area.

Task 5

【学生困难】：女的打篮球把腿弄伤了，但是马上就要有个篮球比赛要参加

【解决方案】：

方案一：带伤参赛

评价：可以得到及时治疗，但会错过复习课影响考试。

方案二：退赛养伤

评价：虽然可以听到复习课的重要内容，但可能会加重腿伤。

Sample response

The woman’s problem is that she got injured while playing basketball but she has an important game coming up. There are two possible solutions for him. The first one is to join the game anyway. And second solution is to take a rest and give herself some time to recover. If I were in her shoes, I’d go for the second solution because with the proper treatment she will be able to recover pretty soon and I’m sure there are a lot of other opportunities for her in the future. I personally don’t recommend the other solution because it will definitely make her injury worse and may even cause long-term muscle injury. It’s just not worth it to give up her health for this one game. That’s why in this case I think the second solution is a much smart option.

Task 6

In the lecture, the professor talks about two advantages fire brought for early humans. The first one is that it increased the efficiency of hunting. Fire made it possible for them to make better stone tools. For instance, they used to heat stones to a high temperature which then chipped the stones into sharp blades. These tools helped early humans hunt much more effectively than before. The second advantage is that it improved the early human’s diet. For instance, humans used to eat raw vegetables and they were difficult to digest. But if they cooked these potatoes on fire, they could take in much more calories and their life quality was improved by fire too.