4月9日托福独立口语小范围预测及参考答案
Task 1
1. If your friend has unexpectedly received a large amount of money, what would you suggest him/her to do with the money and why? Please include details and examples in your explanation.
Personally, I would advice my friend to make some wise investment, to begin with, the inflation in my home country is pretty serious, it doesn't make any sense to deposit the money in the bank. He should invest the money into buying some gold, real estate, cuz the real estate in my country maintains such a strong momentum, I bet he can make more money out of this. Additionally, he can also invest the money to assist lots of start-ups, and he should invest in several start-ups in different industries so as to avoid risk.
2. Describe the most important decision you have ever made in your life and why it is important. Please include details and examples in your explanation.
I would say the most important decision that I have made is to study abroad. I knew back in then that I would have lots of challenges, like cultural barrier, languages problems and stuff, however, I still think it is the right decision. I made lots of new friends who are from different cultural backgrounds, and by exchanging ideas with them, I learned their culture, language, customs, and even way of living, and I think that is very cool. For example, I learned they had different perspective on lots of issues, like, they respect more about a person's privacy, and people enjoy more personal freedom than people in my country.
3. What kind of strategy do you use to handle an overwhelming amount of work.
Well, personally, I will prioritize my schedule and focus on the most urgent things that I need to finish. 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 think I will probably try to find the most efficient and creative approach to deal with the work, and even ask help from others. For instance, one time my economics professor asked me to help her to collect some data on her research. Later, I realize that it was so overwhelming that I could not finish it by myself, so I asked my friend's help. Finally, he helped me to finished this assignment.
4. Talk about a subject you enjoy learning in school.
Well, English is the subject that I like most. I have great motivation to learn English, to begin with, I find English not very difficult to learn, and actually it is pretty easy to pick up. Unlike other subjects like math, physics, which are pretty abstract and boring to learn. It is very cool to be able to speak a foreign language, and I can make friends with people who are from distinctive cultural backgrounds, thus I got a chance to talk to foreigners 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, and I bet I can learn from them enormously.
5. Describe what your life would be like if you were not allowed to use the cell phone for a month. Explain why. Please include details and examples in your explanation.
Well, honestly I think my life will be totally different. I actually depend on cell phone to connect with my friends. You know, I use lots of social network apps like wechat, twitter, and facebook to update what is going on with my life and send messages to my friends. Without the cell phone, I cannot even get hold of my friends and families. Additionally, as a college student, I am very busy with school work, like prepare for exam, do group projects, and write papers. I shop online for a lots of things just so I can save some time. I buy daily necessities, like outfits, snacks and electronic appliances on line. So I guess it will be a lot inconvenient without cell phone.
6. Which of the following activities do you prefer to do with friends. 1. taking a walk 2. going to a movie 3. traveling to another city
I would say I like to travel with my friends. Since lots of cities in my home country are very unique and distinctive. Just taking a walk or going to movie with friends are just too boring, and they are not special enough for us to remember when we look back the day we spend together. By traveling with my friend to other cities, we got a chance to talk to the locals and get to know their culture, customs and way of living. By interacting with them we can broaden our horizon and have new perspective on different things. These experience will benefit us enormously in or future life, plus, we can also connect more with each other while traveling together.
7. Describe a celebration, public event or moment that is most impressive to you. Explain why it was important to you.
I would say my most memorable celebration is my 18th birthday party, my best friend Alex helped me to organize the party. I can still recall that it was in a Mexican restaurant called Siesta, and the food there was really great, like the taco, tortilla chips with some chili sauce and guacamole, and it was so fresh. Additionally, the place was decorated like a tropic jungle with lots of exotic plantations, I felt like I was in a tropic forest when I was dinning there. Most important of all, I felt like I am so lucky to have lots of friends celebrating my birthday, and I am so grateful to them, actually, that occasion in this restaurant brought me and my friends closer.
8. When you and your friend have disagreement, what would you do to solve the disagreement. Please include details and examples in your explanation.
Well, actually, people argue with each other about random and trivial stuff, like what food to eat, which movie to watch, stuff like that. I usually analyze the situation, and try to understand the real cause of the disagreement. For example, I once argued about which movie to watch, and I wanted to watch action movie, however, my friend preferred comedy. After that, I get angry and really annoyed, but later, I realized the real cause of my anger was not about which movie to watch, and the real cause was that I have lots assignment due next week, and I couldn't stand that pressure, so I apologized to my friend, and we are still friends now.
9. Talk about two schools which you attended and their differences.
Well, the first school that I attended in the US is called XXXXX, it's located in a very small town with a population less than 20 thousand. The professor seems to know everyone, because the class size is very small. so everyone got a chance to discuss with the professor about academic problems. The second university I went to is university of XXXX, this university is in decent size with a big campus, there is about 30000 students and faculties altogether. I like the second one because it's a big athletic university and I am big college sports fan. I follow Mizzou basketball and football very closely.
10. 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?
Personally, I would say auditing class is the best way 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, because in a big class one cannot interact with their peers and professors.
11. A friend of yours always gets up late in the morning and misses his morning classes. The professor has told him that this behavior will affect his grade. What advice would you give him and why?
Personally, I would suggest him sleep early, actually he should go to bed before 10 o'clock, and then he can take a good rest, hence the next day he can go to the class refreshed. Additionally, I would say he should talk to the professor and ask him or her if it is possible for him to make up the absence in another way, like doing an extra credit assignment and I bet if he is sincere enough, the professor will understand his tough situation and might say yes to him, so eventually he can keep a higher GPA.
12. What are the benefits of talking to older family members?
Actually, by talking to older family members, there are lots of benefits not only to ourselves, but also to seniors. To begin with, senior have richer life experience than young people, including good and bad ones. By learning from their experience, we can avoid previous mistakes. Also, it teaches me to be a humble and modest person so I can hunker down and be successful. Plus, seniors get lonely easily, and by interacting with them, they will feel a sense of belonging to the family and that there are someone out there who care about them.
13. 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, 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.
14. 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, and these kind of food are very greasy, it is bad for students' cardiovascular system. 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.
15. Police officer, transportation worker, building designer, which do you think is the most important 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 job in these three professions.
16. Talk about one of your family member who has similar traits as you. Describe that trait.
I would say my dad has the 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 me to study abroad despite of the challenges that I might face, like language barriers and cultural shocks. When I was studying in America, he gave me lots of encouragement and motivation.
17. 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.
18. 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 me to build up some muscles and be athletic, it is also good for my 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.
19. Describe a family member who has a different personality from you and explain why?
I would say my dad has a totally different personality from 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. However, my dad is a quite conservative person, he would never do something that will make him stand out, and frankly, he is kind of pessimistic and sometimes cynical about the world, specifically, he would complain about negative things in life instead of thinking on the bright side.
20. Your community center now offers classes on the weekends for free, which of the following class you will choose to take, give reason to explain your choice. 1) A financial course to help you manage money 2) car maintenance and repair 3)Review of Latin-American music
I would say I like to take a financial course, cuz, it is very important for someone to be financially independent and manage their money efficiently, by going to a financial course one can learn lots of stuff, like when it is the right time to invest in stocks, or to buy gold, also, I can even understand the overall economic condition of the country. Recently, a friend told me that he signed up an on line cours on how to make wise investment in stock market, and he followed the instructions, and it turned out that he made a very good call by buying the stock from a company, which was recommended in the class, and made a big killing in it.
Task 2
1. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? People should dress according to the latest fashion.
Well, I don't think people should dress according to the latest fashion. To begin with, people are pretty busy with their own stuff, like students I am overwhelmed by different kinds of assignment like presentations, problem sets, papers and sometime they have to stay up late to cram for exams. Actually, following the fashion can be very time consuming. Additionally, it costs of a lot of money. For example, a designer outfit can you as much as a few hundred dollar, and I don't think working professionals can afford that.
2. Do you agree with the following statement: social networking websites are good for us? Please use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Well, yes definitely, personally I am a big internet fan, and I think on-line social networks is a very good to socialize with friends and family members, and even get connected with professionals. My first reason is that it is instant and easy to use, social network like facebook, MSN, and professional social network-Linkedin. With wifi access and a tablet or smart phone, I can connect with people in no time. Additionally, before the invention of on-line social network, we have to call someone through the phone or visit them in person and it is very costly in terms of both money and time, cuz we have to physically be somewhere in order to talk to them face to face, with on-line social network, it also helps us to expand our social networking.
3. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Happiness comes when we help others rather than ourselves? Explain why. Please include details and examples in your explanation.
Personally, I totally agree with this idea and happiness does come when we give others a helping hand. To begin with, sometimes, we can become very good friends after helping each other out, and by making friends with new people we will be better connected. Actually, research shows that people are generally happier if they are better connected with others. Additionally, one can get a strong sense of achievement when helping others out, and people should be compassionate about others instead of just thinking about themselves, otherwise they are too selfish, and selfish people are not happy.
4. Some people spend their vacation visiting just one place. Others prefer to spend their vacation visiting several different places and spending a shorter amount o time in each. Which do you prefer and why.
Personally, I would like to travel around in different place instead of just staying in one place. I am the kind of person who likes new and exciting things and exploration. If I stay in one place, I will get extremely bored, you know, the scenery of one place is just repetitive, and there is nothing new. On top of that, by traveling around to different places, I can be exposed to different cultural elements. When traveling around different places, 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.
5. Is it better to grow up in a large family or a small family? Explain why. Please include details and examples in your explanation.
Personally, I prefer to live in a small family since you don't have to deal with too complicated relationships with lots of family members. For example, if there are lots of members in the family, one has to go the birthday party of every single person in the family and that can be really tiring. Also, a big family is very crowded and noisy. It is very inconvenient because one might have to wait for their turn to use the bathroom. You know, it is much easier for a smaller family to agree on big decision. Plus, in a small family, it is very quiet and peaceful, one does not have a lot of triviality to deal with, and it also provides the kids a quiet environment to study.
6. 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.
7. Some students like to choose university with a high reputation but no scholarship, others prefer to choose a university with scholarship but less reputable. Which one do you like to choose?
Well, personally, I would prefer to study in a less well known university with a scholarship. To begin with, the university tuition can be really expensive, and getting scholarship can help me to relieve my financial pressure. Consequently, I can concentrate on my study. Additionally, most of the time, one needs to be research assistant or teaching assistant upon receiving the scholarship. These teaching and research experience will be very helpful for my future, like when I plan to apply for a graduate school and even future jobs, and I will get a better to achieve my dreams in the future.
8. When going on a vacation, some people prefer to stay in a hotel, while others prefer to camp outside in a tent. Which do you prefer?
Personally, I would choose to camp outside in a tent. The only reason for me to go on a vacation is to get away from the busy streets and concrete jungles, and get a chance to be close to mother nature, by camping outside, I got a chance to appreciate the beautiful starry sky at night, and enjoy the tranquility, I don't have the chance to enjoy that moment when living in the city. Also, camping outside makes it easier for me to do some hiking, like walking on the trail, and do some fishing and BBQ.
9. When things at home such as furniture are broken, do you prefer to have them repaired in a shop or fix them by yourself?
Well, personally I prefer to get service in a shop. To begin with, most of the time, it is pretty tough to fix broken furniture, and it can be really time consuming. Like, for me, I am a college student who is busy with all kinds of assignments, like papers, presentations, and group projects and stuff, scarcely do I have time to fix things, and frankly speaking sometime, it is impossible for me to fix something without the help of professionals, like when my car breaks down, I don't even know what goes wrong and I don't have the tools, with which to fix that. So, based on these reasons, I will seek professionals for help.
10. Between the following two places, where would you choose to live?
1. big and new place but far from your workplace and/or university
2. small and old place but near your workplace and/or university
Personally, I'd like to live in a bigger place that is far away from my workplace. Actually, a bigger place far away from my workplace is more likely to be in the suburb than otherwise, and I am the kind of person who like peace and tranquility. I want to get away from the noise and pollution, and I hate the hustle and bustle of the city. Working in the downtown areas all day along is boring, and I want to escape from these concrete jungle and live far away. You know since my workplace is located in the downtown areas, I just want to get away from that place and find somewhere that is far away.
11. Some people like to listen to audio books, others like to read paper books. Which do you prefer and why?
Well, personally, I prefer to read paper books. It is true that one can listen to audio books practically everywhere. You can listen on the bus, or in bed before you fall asleep. However, I still prefer to read book myself since I can get more involved when reading myself. What I am trying to say is that the person who reads the audio book sometimes doesn't tell the story the way that I like. I mean I might not like the tone of their voice, and sometimes I find that I zone out and miss important parts of the book when I listen to audio books.
12. Some people think that the best way to learn is to attend lectures. Others think that it is better to learn on their own. Which do you prefer and why?
Well, personally, I prefer to attend lectures. Actually, studying alone can be boring and I am the kind of person who likes to interact with others when learning. By attending lectures, I get a chance to hear multiple points of view, although some points might not be as thought-provoking, I can learn a lot of stuff beyond the textbooks anyway, and understand how an idea works in real life when other students share their personal experiences. Additionally, the professor who holds the lecture can make difficult and abstract concepts and ideas easy to understand, one might not be able to understand some materials when studying alone.
13. Some people like surprise visits from their friends, others prefer to be informed of such visits. Which one do you prefer?
Well, personally, I prefer to have scheduled visits from my friend. To begin with, surprise visits have its obvious drawback, and tht is I might not be available to offer my friend a warm reception simply because, as a college student, sometimes, I am overwhelmed with all kinds of assignment, like presentations, group projects and stuff. On the other hand, I can get fully prepared for my friend if he or she gives me notice ahead of time. I like arrange the room and board, and even we can make a plan to travel together, and thus I can guarantee that my friend will enjoy his or her stay at my place.
14. Science club, hiking club, which one are you interested in?
Personally, I would like to choose to join the science club. 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.
15. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: protecting the environment is just as important as developing the economy?
Personally, I don't agree with that. Instead, I think protecting the environment is more important than developing the economy. Recently, there are rampant environment related diseases, like the lung problems caused by the haze and fog in big cities, problems. Plus, the global warming, pollution, and extinction are running wild on earth too. Also, we have to think of the future of our lives and the lives of the next generation. Actually, if the economy falls, there is still a big chance for it to pick up. However, if we don't protect the environment, and cherish the mother earth, it will be gone forever.
16. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: employees should be prohibited to listen to music at work.
Well, personally, I think it's a very bad idea to prohibit music in workplace. Actually, listening to music is a very good way for people to release their negative emotions, like sadness, or sorrow, or even anger. Employees might forget about the pressure in life and thus have a higher efficiency in the workplace. Additionally, music keeps people refreshed and spurs creativity and innovation. So, that is why it is a common practice for high-tech to allow the play of music in their office, just so that they can create a relaxing environment and be more creative, and thus make more breakthroughs in their field.
17. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? 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 a 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.
18. 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.
19. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? 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.
20. Agree or disagree: 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 impossible things 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.
21. 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 book. 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.
22. 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 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.
23. Do you prefer to live alone or live with others.
Personally, I prefer to live alone. Actually, I am a very private person, most of the time, I keep things to myself. I would get distracted if I chose to live with others who I might not be familiar with. Actually, I am highly efficient when I do things without the disturbance of others, like when I study I feel more comfortable when nobody is around me. Plus, someone you are living with might have totally different habits and schedule when it comes to when to study or sleep or even watch TV. It would be really disruptive when one wants to study while the other prefers to watch TV.
24. 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 stay with their parents when they got sick only regret that they should have spent more time with them, instead of closing business deals and stuff.
