Tài liệu Cracking the Toefl IBT 2009 edition part 37 doc

Describe the problem and state which of the two solutions you prefer and why, Srate the problem State the solutions State your preference Reason #1 Detail for reason #1 Re

W: | don't know | think I'd be afraid that something would

happen to my car | don't use it all the time, so it would be

unattended for a lot of time

M: | guess | didn't think of that | have an idea Maybe you

could find a garage for the car It probably wouldn't cost

any more than you pay now for a parking tag

W: Maybe But 'd have to find a garage close enough to

campus that I could walk to

The students discuss two possible solutions to the problem

Describe the problem and state which of the two solutions you

prefer and why,

Srate the problem

State the solutions

State your preference

Reason #1

Detail for reason #1

Reason #2

Detail for reason #2

Template #6: Summarize Question

“The final task on the TOEFL also asks you to summarize a lecture The template

is somewhat different, however, because you have to link the points of a lecture to

the main idea of the talk Also, it may be a little more difficult than tasks three or

four because you have only one chance to figure out the main idea Thus, while lis-

ening, try to identify the main idea Don’t try to catch all of the details provided;

you need only enough details so that you can talk for a minute

Here's an example

Listen to a lecture given in a sociology class

Cracking the Speaking Section 363

364 | Cracking the TOEFL i8T

Now oftentimes, when we think of the Internet, we think of it as the ultimate expression of free speech There is no regulation

of content on the Internet People and organizations can put anything they want on the Web Also, the Internet allows access to

a huge amount of information You can find almost anything you want there, but social scientists have argued that the Internet is actually responsible for a new type of censorship In most cases, censorship involves a suppression of ideas But the Internet censors material in a different way

According to these sociologists, the censorship found on the

Internet is subtle, but just as bad as any form of censorship

Basically, the Internet censors viewpoints by having too much information That's right Because the Internet contains information from companies, organizations, individuals, and even the

government, any one viewpoint or idea can easily be buried under the tide, meaning that no one is exposed to it Another way the Internet increases censorship is that because it is so vast, information becomes harder to find Popular search engines direct users to the most popular websites and very seldom do people take the time to look at any more than the first two or three sites

listed Thus, these search engines are practicing an electronic form

of censorship—unpopular ideas are hidden and inaccessible to the average user

Using points and examples from the talk, explain how the Internet has contributed to censorship

For this task, make sure you state the main idea right away Ifyou focus too much

‘on the details, you'll lose points Use the following template, with the key terms shown in boldface

The professor argues that the Internet

State main idea actually promotes censorship, rather than

fights it

‘The first reason given by the professor is Reason #1 that the Internet ha 60 much information

onit,

The Internet contains information from

Detail for reason #1 a wide variety of sources, including the

government and companies

Link between reason #1 and | 119 censors inform ta amount of information means that some TT

main idea 4 views will never be heard

Furthermore, the Internet makes it harder

For example, the professor states that Detail for reason #2 search engines only show the most popular

websites

This contributes to censorship by leading users to a very small number of websites and hiding the other sites from them,

Link between reason #2 and

main idea

Now it’s your turn, Read the following excerpt, and respond to it using the tem-

plate; give yourself 20 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to respond

Listen to a talk in an anthropology class

All cultures partake in certain rituals and ceremonies Although

these rituals and ceremonies may sometimes seem hard to

decipher, the essence of these actions is representation—the

motions and the items used in the ceremony or ritual stand in for, or

symbolize, something else Usually, the members of the ritual are

trying to control or affect something that lies outside their power,

such as the weather or the gods, so they must use symbols to

stand in for it

For example, the Dieri people of central Australia use a very

symbolic rainmaking ceremony First, the rainmakers are bled

Their blood drips into a hole in the ground, which represents rain

dropping from the sky Next, the rainmakers take two rounded

stones, which stand for clouds, and carry them some distance

away They then place the stones high up in a tree, which

symbolizes the height of the clouds in the sky Or, for another

‘example, there is the fairly common ceremony in which a victim

is chosen to symbolize all the sins and wrongdoings of a culture

The victim is then cleansed, either through a ritual bath or through

death, in order to wash away the sins of the people In fact, this

Cracking the Speaking Section

366 | rocking the TOEFLiBT

is where the term “scapegoat” comes from, because one culture

used a goat as its ceremonial symbol

Using points and examples from the talk, explain how the Participants and items in a ritual represent other things

State main idea

Reason #1

Detail for reason #1

Link between reason #1 and main idea

Reason #2

Detail for reason #2

Link between reason #2 and main idea

Step 2: Learn the Appropriate Vocabulary

‘Throughout this lesson, certain words and phrases have appeared in bold These

words and phrases are particularly important on the Speaking section of the

TOEFL Go through this chapter and any other passages in the book and study the types of vocabulary words used

For the Speaking section, you'll need to use three major categories of words ‘They are as follows:

+ Words that indicate preference This category includes words such as favorite, best, most, better, superior, and favorable, These are types

of words that are helpful when explaining your opinion or prefer- ence You'll also use these words on one of your Writing tasks This category would also include the opposites of the above words, such as worse, less, inferior, worst, and least Try to find other examples of preference words in this book

+ Words that describe This category of words is useful when describ- ing someone else's speech or conversation, These are the words that were discussed in the “Basic Principles” section Make sure to review them frequently

+ Transition words Be certain to familiarize yourself with the words in

this category See page 339 for a refresher

Step 3: Listen to Spoken English

This book has shown you how to construct responses, but you'll have to continue

practicing by speaking aloud One of the best ways of increasing your speaking

ability is to listen to spoken English as often as possible If you don't live in an

English-speaking country, you can still hear English spoken in movies or on the

Internet

Cracking the Speaking Section 367

368 | Cracking the TOEFL BT

Speaking Summary

All right, only one more section to crack before you're ready

to take the TOEFL! Ler’s review what you should do on the Speaking tasks

© Know what the graders want: Remember that graders are looking for the following: delivery, language use, and topic development All three are important to your score Even if you speak perfect English, if you don’t answer the ques- tion correctly, your score will suffer

© Don’t try to be perfect: You don't need to speak English as if you were a native speaker

“The graders are concerned only with how easy it

is to understand what you say Its acceptable to have errors in your speech

© Speak smoothly and confidently, even if you make mistakes

© Connect your ideas with transitions,

© Use the templates: It is very easy to lose track

of what you are saying, and 60 seconds is not much time, so it’s hard to recover if you get sidetracked Practice the templates so you know exactly how your responses will be structured.

Let's go over those templates again:

+ Personal preference: state your preference

and list 3 reasons with details,

+ Choose an option: choose whichever op-

tion you have more to say about, state it,

and present your reasons and details,

+ Summarize an opinion: repeat the speak-

er’ opinions and reasons but restate them

in your own words,

+ Summarize/contrast: compare the points

in the reading and the lecture and say why

they are similar or different

+ Summarize/preference: state the problem

and the possible solutions, say which you

prefer, and then give reasons and details

why you think that one is better

+ Summarize a passage or lecture: listen

carefully and state the main idea of the

lecture Restate the points of the lecture

in your own words and explain the reasons

and details given in the lecture

© Practice, practice, practice: ‘There is no substi-

tute for practice Keep working on your speak-

ing ability Have an English-speaking friend

listen to you as you speak, if possible,

Practice your speaking skills with the drills in the next

chapter, and then we'll tackle cracking che Writing section,

Almost done!

Chapter 13 Speaking Practice

Drills

Now we're ready co practice the Speaking section If possible, record or ask a friend to record your responses

so you can review them later, Remember to use the

templates we covered in the previous chapter

372 | Cracking the TOEFL iBT

“Throughout the Speaking section on the actual test, you will be instructed to lis- ten carefully with a screen that looks like the one below

“TOEFL Sp#aking

Please listen carefully

Now get ready to answer the question

You will also see photogeaphs of relevant scenes with each question Some exam- ples are included here with the question templates.

1, PERSONAL PREFERENCE QUESTION (TEMPLATE #1)

Listen to Track 4 on the accompanying audio CD, After the narrator reads the question, the track is finished, so you should pause the CD Here's the question

er

If you had an entire month to do whatever you would like to do, what would it be?

Include details and examples to support your selection

0)

os

Speaking Practice Drils | 373