2015年11月8日托福独立口语小范围预测及参考答案
Task 1
1. Which of the following do you think is the best way to get to know a new school, joining a one-day campus tour, spending a weekend on a campus playing field or auditing the lectures?
Auditing class is the best to know the university better, since faculty members are an indispensable part of the university. Their knowledge，teaching skills and even the way they teach the class represent the university. The values they uphold in the class are the ones that are cherished by the university. Plus, when auditing class, one can tell if there are lots of class discussions or not, also, they get to know the size of the class. These are important factors when choosing a university since nobody wants to attend a school, whose class size are too big.
2. Your school is going to help the community. Which of the following would you prefer? 1) clean litters and trash 2)plant trees and flowers 3)teach children knowledge about the environment.
Personally, I would like to teach children knowledge about environment. To begin with, it helps to cultivate kids' environment awareness at an early age, so when they grow up, they will definitely do something to protect the environment, and preserve natural resource, like they will turn off the faucet after using the water and not waste any water, categorize the trash, not litter around. Plus, it is the younger generations' responsibility to protect the environment, and make the world a better place for people to live in. Additionally, kids are very interesting to be around, and it is great fun to interact with them, since they are very naive and adorable, therefore one can forget about their pressure in life and study.
3. What food should your school cafeteria to add to attract more people.
Currently, the cafeteria just offers junk food, like French fries, fried chickens, and hash brown, and stuff. To attract more students, I would suggest the cafeteria add some healthy food like vegetables, you know, like salad, tomatoes, and broccoli. Also, students need to absorb enough nutrient needed for the day to concentrate on the class, I would suggest cafeteria offer some sea food, like salmon, tuna, shrimp and stuff like that. They are high in protein, low in carbs. These food are actually easy to cook, they can just steam them, and offer the seafood with some limes or lemon juice.
4. Police officer, transportation, building designer, which do you think is the most to a city.
I would say police is the most important job to a city, though they do not really get paid that much, what they do is very essential to the community. They prevent lawbreaking behaviors, like robbery, burglary, and even speeding, they hunt down criminals and preserve the safety of the community. Plus, you can call police officers for help, like when you neighbor is very noisy and you feel like you are disturbed, they also help to address common complaints like that. That is basically why I think police is the most important out these three professions.
5. Talk about one of your family member who has similar traits as you. Describe that trait.
I would say my dad has same personality as me. I am very passionate and optimistic person, and I like constantly taking challenges in my life and doing something that I have never experienced before, like studying abroad. I would say my dad is also the kind of person who likes to take challenges. For example, he encouraged to study abroad despite of the challenges that I might face, like languages barriers and cultural shocks. When I was studying in America, he gave me lots of encouragement and motivation.
6. Which one you will learn: play a piano, swim, and repair a car.
Personally, I would say I like to learn to play a piano. It is very relaxing to play the piano, actually, it can be a great way to release my destructive emotions, like anger, sorrow and even rage. At the same time, I can make friends with people who have the same interest, and talking to them can be great fun. Additionally, there are not a lot of people who can play instrument, if I can learn a piano, I will be very popular among my friends, thus I will stand out. Lastly, it takes lots of practice to be a master in a kind of instrument. In this process, I can develop willpower, perseverance, and persistence. These qualities will be valuable asset for me in the future.
7. Science club, hiking club, which one are you interested in?
Personally, I would like to choose to join the science lab. To begin with, I bet there will be field trip to research centers and science labs. By going to the lab, I got a chance to use the lab equipment and apply theory in practice. It is very helpful for me to understand some theories since most of the time the things we learn in classrooms are very theoretical, and hard to understand. Also, by doing activities in the lab, I can be more creative and imaginative. Possibly, We can come up with lots of idea with regard of the theories, and make contribution to the technological advancement, and then it might be applied in the real world, thus benefits the entire human race.
8. Imagine the situation where you can't use computer or have no access to internet for a month. How will your life be different? Use details and examples to explain.
Well, personally, I would say it will not be difficult for me to do that. Cuz, honestly, I am not a fun of watching TV, since most of the time, I am pretty busy with my school assignment, like presentations, group projects and research papers, and stuff. Additionally, I am not someone who spends lots of time surfing the internet, and chatting with friends on social networks, on the contrary, I am an outdoor person. For example, I like climbing mountains, jogging in the park and doing all kinds of sports outdoors. Therefore, my life will be pretty much the same without internet.
9. Which of the following professions should be paid a higher salary: nurse, police officer or teacher. Choose one and explain why.
I would say police is the most important job to a city, though they do not really get paid that much, what they do is very essential to the community and they should be paid a higher salary for what they do. They prevent lawbreaking behaviors, like robbery, burglary, and even speeding, they hunt down criminals and preserve the safety of the community. Plus, you can call police officers for help, like when you neighbor is very noisy and you feel like you are disturbed, they also help to address common complaints like that. That is basically why I think police officer should be paid more among these three professions.
10. One of your friends will give a public presentation. What suggestion do you have to make it successful?
I would suggest my friend write up a nice script so that he will know what he is going to present, and after that he should ask his professor to revise it; and this ensures that the material he is going to deliver is of the first class. Then he needs to practice the speech in front a mirror, see his body language and facial expression, which are very important to convey his emotions. Plus, by doing this, he can find any problem and make some changes accordingly. Mostly importantly, he should make eye contact with the audience and be confident, take a deep breath and calm down, and help him to avoid stage fright.
11. When you have lots of assignment and projects to do, what approach would you use in order to finish them in time?
I will firstly, management my time efficiently, focus on the schoolwork, and prioritize my schedule. For example, I got an upcoming exam next week, and a paper due next month; of course, I would concentrate on preparing for the exam. Additionally, I will organize a study group and discuss with each other so that I might find different solutions to the same problem, and since everyone has their shared responsibilities, we can finish the assignment more efficiently and supervise one another. Also, we can be motivated because everyone around me is studying, so I am aware that if I don't focus on the schoolwork, I will probably fail the exam.
12. One of your friends has been offered a job in a town far away from home. Do you think your friend should take this job?
Personally, I don't suggest him take the job for the following reasons. To begin with, one should live closely with families. Spending some quality time with families once in a while is very important, and living close to his parents can help to do that more conveniently, and his parents can attend him in a timely manner if there is some kind of emergency. On top of that, one tends to have more personal connections in the place where they grow up. These connections will undoubtedly be very helpful for one's career. However, working in a distant place that you are not familiar with, it is pretty hard to be successful.
13. Which of the following would you rather be? Lawyer, veterinarian or restaurant owner. Explain your answer in details.
I would say I like to be a restaurant owner, doing business is like my childhood dream, it is a great profession and it brings me great personal satisfaction and monetary value, but I am aware that these reward does not come easily, cuz whenever you are making important decisions there are both opportunities and risks. Frankly, I like the excitement of doing business, and I am not the kind of person who just wants to live a risk-free life, I would say I like the thrill when you make a fortune or suffer a great loss. Apart from that, by operating a restaurant, I can provide people with nice food, and hopefully I can make people happy, and they feel like as if they were dining in their own home.
I would say my dream job is to be a lawyer; actually my dream to an attorney can be dated back to my childhood. Lawyer is a noble profession with big monetary reward, but I think there is more than that, I can leverage the law to help the underprivileged and unlucky ones in the society, like those who got ripped off by employers, got taken advantaged by unfair institutions. This is a very important profession since policemen and law enforcement officials might neglect when they are dealing with people, and lawyers can help people to uphold justice when they are treated unfairly, and I think it is a noble cause indeed, being a lawyer, one can realize their value to society by helping these people out.
14. What aspect does your school need to improve? Include reasons and details to support your response.
Personally, I would say my school should improve its facilities. To begin with, they should build an indoor swimming pool. Students are usually busy with various kinds of assignments like, presentations, papers, and even group project. Actually, swimming is a kind of aerobics that can help them to release their pressure from study, and they will feel refreshed and energetic after swimming. Plus, the university can hold extramural swimming competition, thus it can attract lots of students, and strengthen university's reputation accordingly. After that, the university will have a larger enrollment, and generate more revenue; the administration can use the money to make the university better.
15. What type of music do you enjoy most? Include reasons and details to support your response.
I would say I enjoy rap most, it is a very popular type of music, especially loved by young people. I think there are quite a few reasons why I love this type of music. Firstly, as a college student, I am overwhelmed with different kinds of assignment like presentations, problem sets, papers and sometime I have to stay up late to cram for exams, listening rap is a very good way for me to release pressure from study, and it actually helps to improve my study efficiency. Secondly, By listening to rap, it makes it so easy for me to forget about the pitfalls I have in college life and envisage the bright future.
16. Talk about an activity you enjoyed doing with your family when you were a child, explain you answer in details.
My most memorable experience when I was a kid is to take the vacation on the beach with the whole family. Since, my home town is not far from a coastal city in China. We went there, enjoyed bathing in the sun while appreciating the beautiful scenery alone the seashore, like the blossom and palm trees and stuff. We tried out the sea food like salmon, tuna and even some lobsters, it was from that time that I fell in love with seafood. Apart from that, the most exciting stuff I did when visiting this nice and beautiful city was sea and water activities like snorkeling, wakeboarding and even jet skiing with my dad. Even though I remembered that I got a little sun burnt, it was well worth it.
17. Describe a decision you made. How you made that decision?
I am going to share with you my decision making process on whether to go to study in the US or not. I dwelled upon both the advantages and disadvantages to study for graduate program in the USA. for the advantages I will broaden my horizon, meet amazing people and learn very advanced professional knowledge. the disadvantage will be the cultural shock once I set foot on the land of America. But I will get over that for sure. After careful consideration of both advantages and disadvantages, I think the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages. so I decide to study in the us.
18. Describe your suggestion for your friend who wants to keep healthy.
I would suggest my friend to eat healthy stuff like vegetables, like salad, tomatoes, and broccoli. Also, in order to have enough nutrient needed for the day, I would suggest my friend to have some sea food, like salmon, tuna, shrimp and stuff like that. They are high in protein, low in carbs. These food are actually easy to cook, you can just steam them, and eat the seafood with some limes or lemon. Another suggestion for my friends is that always avoiding fast food and junk food, like French fries, fried chickens, and hash brown, and stuff. With these two suggestion in mind, my friend can develop a very good eating habit.
19. 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.
Task 2
1. Children should be required to help with household tasks as long as they grow old enough to do so. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Personally, I definitely think that children should do household tasks as soon as they are old enough. Lots of important qualities can be developed through such activities as doing housework. Children will learn to be responsible person, and that is a like cornerstone for them to become a better person. On top of that, children will get a sense of achievement when competing the house chores, and their parents might even give them some reward like buy them toys or offer them some pocket money. Through such activities, children will be very determined and motivated when they do bigger projects in their adulthood and be successful.
2. School should require all students to have their own laptops. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Personally, I think students should be required to own laptops. To begin with, students might need to write papers, and they can find reference on the internet easily, cuz they can just type the key words in the search engine, and the next moment they know, the answer shows up on the screen, and they basically can find reference on every topic, like technology, history, and even psychology. Also, they need to use lots of software to finish some assignments and projects, so the use of computer is inevitable. For example, I am an economics major, and I need to use statistical software to analyze data, obviously, I cannot do that without the computer.
3. We learn more from failure than success. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Personally, I couldn't agree more with this statement, indeed, the best lesson one can learn is through failure. Actually, time and experience are the best teacher, and growth can only be achieved when you fail and after some barriers or setbacks in life, one has to analyze the real cause and avoid the risk of making the same mistake again. Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never failed has never tried anything new.” One can only be a better person and make better judgments by learning from every single experience that we have been exposed to, otherwise, we would be the same person as we were yesterday.
4. Life is better now than the past. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Personally, I cannot agree more with that. To begin with, advanced technology has made lots of things unthinkable in the past possible, like now it takes only less than one hour to travel over 300 miles by express train. In the past, it might take you a whole day. Now, with the express train, we can save lots of valuable time. Plus, with increasing income, more people have access to nutritional food, like, salmon, tuna, shrimp and stuff like that. They are high in protein, low in carbs. Plus, the Food and Drug Administration follow closely on the food safety issues, and it is very costly for relevant companies to have some loopholes in their food production.
5. Do you like to buy new books or used books. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
I would say I prefer buying used books. As a college students, professors sometimes require students to buy textbooks, and most of the time, the textbooks can be really expensive, you might easily spend over $100 on a single books. That is a lot for a college kid. Additionally, most of the time used books are not that crappy, you can use it, and take notes on it and highlight the important part, it has no impact on your study at all. So based on these reasons, I find it more reasonable to buy used books at a cheaper price.
6. Agree or disagree: Zoos are useful than harmful to animals.
Personally, I couldn't agree more that zoos help to protect animals rather than harm them. To begin with, some animals that might live in really harsh environment, like the Arctic region, Sahara deserts, and even in extremely dry areas. However, the zoo can be a very good place to shelter such animals, and they can live in a clean and comfortable environment with abundant food to feed themselves. Additionally, by keeping animals in the zoos, citizens, especially the younger generation will get a chance to closely observe them, thus they will know the animals better, hopefully, this can raise their awareness to protect endangered species.
7. 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.
8. Which one of the following activities do you prefer to do by yourself rather than with a group of people?1.study 2.exercise3.shopping. Please include specific details.
I would say I like to study alone, first and foremost, I think that I waste lots of time when I study in groups with my fellow students, and we will talk about random stuff before we discuss the real problem that we have in our study. Also, I am the kind of person who needs a quiet atmosphere to concentrate on studying, and I get easily distracted when talking to others. Thus, I would like to study alone simply because it is more efficient.
9. Do you agree or disagree the following statement and give reasons: Parents should not allow their children to participate any form of sport (football, basketball, ice hockey.) in order to protect their health and from any form of injuries.
Personally, I don't agree with that. I think kids should have their own freedom in choosing the kind of sports they like, including football, ice hockey and stuff. To begin with, most of the sports can lead to injuries, and it should not be decided by the parents which sports is more likely to cause injury, and plus lots of injuries can be prevented by proper protection, like chest protectors and nice shoes and stuff. Additionally, kids can cultivate their competitiveness and build up a strong body, since the above mentioned sports are pretty intensive, and require lots of running back and forth.
10. Some teachers like to give class assignments in person, others like to give assignments by email. Which do you think is better? Explain why.
Personally, I prefer teachers to give assignments in person. Cuz, to begin with, sometime, students are overwhelmed with all kinds of activities in school, they might forget to check their email, thus, they probably would miss the deadline of the assignment. Additionally, I think professors can convey the format and requirement of the assignment more clearly when explaining in person than simply sending students emails, like sometimes you can explain things more clearly when using facial expression and body movements rather than just words. So based on these reasons and more, I find giving assignments in person more appealing.
11. Some people think that it's more important to spend time with families, others think they should focus on work and study. Which do you prefer?
Personally, I think families are more important than work and study. To begin with, the people who really care about you most are your family members, your parents, sisters, and brothers, and the family members are the first group people you deal with; and when you are depressed or suffering from setbacks in life, it is your family who supports you. Lots of times, it is the encouragement and love from one's family that makes someone stronger in life. The people who are not be able to be their parents when they got sick or are dying only regret that they should have spent more time with them, instead of closing business deals and stuff.
12. Which one do you prefer, shopping in a large store or shopping in a small store?
I prefer to shop in a small store, to begin with, in a small store, you might get customized products that are tailed to your taste and preference. Also, generally the best food comes from small stores instead of supermarkets, like the pizza sold in a small store tastes like home-make. However, the products in a supermarket or department store come in bulk, and it is manufactured by machines. On top of that, in a department store, usually it is very crowded and packed with customers, you have to wait in line to check out, it is a waste of time, and it is difficult to find the stuff you want to buy since there are some many sections, and lots of stacks of products in a section.
13. Some people like to spend their vacation in countryside. Others like vacationing in the cities. Which do you prefer and explain why.
Personally, I would choose to go on a vacation in the country. The only reason for me to go on a vacation is to get away from the busy streets and concrete jungles n the city, and get a chance to be close to mother nature. By traveling in the country, I might find a nice spot to go camping and appreciate the beautiful starry sky at night, and enjoy the tranquility, I don't have the chance to enjoy that kind of moment when living in the city. Also, traveling in the country makes it easier for me to do some hiking, like walking on the trail, and do some fishing and BBQ.
14. While traveling, some people prefer to go to new places, others prefer to visit familiar places. Which do you think it better? Explain why.
Personally, I would to choose to travel to new places instead of familiar places. I am the kind of person who likes new and exciting things and exploration. Just visiting a familiar place is not fun, and actually it is pretty boring. On top of that, traveling around in different places makes me a well-rounded person. When travelling, I got a chance to talk to locals and get to know their culture, customs and way of living. By interacting with them I can broaden my horizon and have new perspective on things.
15. Some people believe that the high school should teach music and art as other basic science. Some people think that providing music and art education for high school students is not necessary. What is your opinion and why?
Personally, I think high school students should learn art and music. Actually, it can be very rewarding to learn some art, like kids might understand how to appreciate delicate artwork, such as, porcelain vase, water color painting, sculpture. Plus, art is the expression of the humanity. Without it, we would have no hope, no aspirations, no joy, just nothing meaningful and enlightening, and one can never underestimate the value of art and music, actually, If you try any form of art, you will get a break from the stresses of life, work and study!
16. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: people will read fewer books in the future than they do today.
Personally, I agree that people tend to read fewer books in the future. To begin with, people especially city dwellers seem to be busier than ever before. Professionals and students alike are under constant pressure; sales people are busy closing deals with their clients, and students have endless assignments to finish. All these combined leaves them no time to read books. Additionally, in the past, books are the major source for knowledge. However, in sharp contrast, people nowadays tend to retain information through all kinds of media, like internet, TV, so on and so forth. It seems that books no longer play a big role in people's lives.
17. It is appropriate that students disagree with their instructor.
Personally, teachers and students have totally different background, experience, and positions, thus they might have their own unique and distinctive perspective. It is normal and okay for them to hold two different opinions, otherwise, it will be very boring and monotonous, and there is no clash of idea, which might be detrimental to students. Students might subject themselves to conformity instead of expressing their ideas. Actually, students should be inclusive, rather than being exclusive to different opinions and ideas since sometimes only a few people hold the truth. Students should be exposed to all kinds of opinions, and it is proper for them to disagree with their instructors.
18. Some universities expect students to choose their major when they enter university. Others let students wait until the second or third year. Which do you think is better and why?
Personally, I prefer to let students wait until second or third year to choose their major. To begin with, students struggle to blend in the university culture for the first year, since high school and university are too different. In high school, students get proper guidance and instruction on everything, however, in a university, students are responsible for themselves and the professors might not even know their names, therefore, it's a bad idea to deal with too many things at the same time. Unfortunately, if they choose their major after 2 to 3 years, students get a chance to be exposed to classes in different field, and they can take their time and pick up a major that they like. Eventually, they have enough motivation because of their interest.
19. When traveling, do you prefer to stay at one place for a long time or spend less time but visit more places? Explain you answer in details.
Personally, I prefer to stay at one place for a long time. As for me, the purpose of traveling around is to experience the local cultures and customs, appreciate the natural beauty there. You might have to take your time and interact with the locals, taking photos, and it is quite impossible for one to achieve that if they just leave the place the time they arrive. Additionally, traveling between places waste lots of precious time, which can be otherwise used to experience and understand one single place. Also, it saves you the trouble to plan a complicated itinerary and you don't have to worry about getting stuck on your way to the next destination.
