【真題實例】Do you think people’s reading habits have changed in recent years?

【答題思路】此題考的是人們閱讀習(xí)慣有否變化。如果說不變，一定會演變成一個不知趣的回答；只有說變，才能正中考官的下懷！那么“傳統(tǒng)”在這里的作用是什么呢？我們可以同樣考慮把傳統(tǒng)的閱讀習(xí)慣（比如讀書、看報）和現(xiàn)代的閱讀方式（比如瀏覽網(wǎng)絡(luò)新聞、看網(wǎng)絡(luò)小說）做一個今昔對比。

【參考答案】You bet they are! From my point of view, the most significant change is in the way people read. Thirty years ago, most people used to read newspapers and magazines and books as a lifetime habit because they didn’t have a TV or computer. But nowadays, few of us are doing this. Instead, we have got used to surfing the Internet for quick news and downloading mini-novels to our cell phones or iPods. In short, traditional reading habits are being replaced by modern ones that focus on speed and quantity rather than quality.

為了闡明人們閱讀方式的改變，我們把30年前的讀書、看報、看雜志和如今的網(wǎng)上新聞及手機迷你小說進行了鮮明的對比。（請大家特別關(guān)注其中used to和get used to的用法。）最后一句畫龍點睛式地指出傳統(tǒng)的閱讀習(xí)慣正在被取代，并一針見血批判了現(xiàn)代人只重速度和數(shù)量、而不重質(zhì)量的閱讀習(xí)慣。類似的批判風(fēng)格及批判話語可以用于很多其它考題，比如education, shopping, friendship等等。

特性之三：深度

深度的含義并不僅僅局限于考題本身的深度或難度，它更在于我們?nèi)绾伟岩坏烂菜破椒驳目碱}的深度挖掘出來。以下這道其貌不揚的口語題目就是一個很好的例子：

【真題實例】What kind of skill do you think is the most important for young people?

【答題思路】考官這次問的是對于年輕人來說最重要的技能。這是一道很容易陷入俗套的考題 — 如果你甘愿隨大流地去講什么掌握電腦技能、學(xué)好外語、甚至學(xué)會開車等，就毫無新意可言，更不用說深度了。相反，如果你從傳統(tǒng)的角度入手，會很容易發(fā)現(xiàn)該題所蘊含的深度。

【參考答案】Young people today generally don’t have traditional social skills, which may include writing letters, giving a presentation and maintaining friendships. This is understandable because they have grown up in the so-called Information Age. But the importance of these skills can be seen in many aspects of our daily lives. For example, if you know how to give a powerful speech at a meeting or how to write a persuasive letter to your boss, your chances of getting promoted are much higher than those of your colleagues.

該回答徹底拋棄了俗不可耐的“現(xiàn)代必備技能”的窠臼，從傳統(tǒng)的角度另辟蹊徑，找到了traditional social skills（傳統(tǒng)社交技能）這一嶄新方向，并成功地開辟了writing letters, giving a presentation, maintaining friendships三條拓展道路。最后以兩個生活中的例子證明了這些技能對于現(xiàn)代年輕人的重要性。