雅思口语话题：History

　　Do you like to learn about history?

　　Do you think history is important?

　　What historical event do you find most interesting?

　　Do you think the Internet is a good place to learn about history?

　　说到历史，我们并不陌生，因为几乎每个人从小就学习历史。According to Wikipedia, History is the study of the past, particularly how it relates to humans. 也就是说，历史是对过去的研究，尤其是和人相关的研究。

　　历史在人类社会的发展过程中，起到至关重要的作用。它告诉我们我们是谁，我们来自哪;它让我们穿越时间和空间去思考过去发生了什么，我们从中能学到什么;它使我们更好的了解这个世界。The history plays a vital role in the development of society. It gives us an insight into who we are and where we come from; it helps us stretch our perspective across time and space to think about what happened in the past and what we can learn from the past; it provides us with a chance to understand the world.

　　1. Do you like to learn about history?

　　这是一道喜欢或者不喜欢类的题目，首先我们来学习一下表达‘喜欢’的语言，题目中的like可以替换成be interested in; be into; be fond of; 或者用I find something interesting.不喜欢除了用dislike以外，还可以替换成hate; loathe; be fed up with; be sick of.

　　关于这道题，通常情况下，我们会回答喜欢，或者不喜欢。注意，答案尽量以Yes, I do.的形式出现，而不是单独的yes。同时也可以替换成Yes, very much so; Yes, definitely; Yes, absolutely等表达。同样，否定的答案，可以用Not really; Not exactly; 或者是，No, it’s not my kind of thing来代替。

　　若该题目的答案是喜欢，那么我们需要在表明倾向后加以解释，通常是给出原因或例子。除了以上所讲到的历史的作用外，喜欢了解历史的原因还可以是：The historical events are very interesting(历史事件非常有趣);It can make us wise(使人明智)等。

　　若回答不喜欢，则也须讲明原因，或者讲明不喜欢的地方在哪。这里推荐给考生一个加分的表达：to have a love-hate relationship with something,意思是说对某物或是某件事情既爱又恨。回想我们不喜欢历史的原因，可能更多的是因为我们不喜欢以背诵为主的历史考试，而非我们对历史事件真的不感兴趣。(I’m more interested in historical stories rather than in details of names, dates and places.)

　　范例1: Yes, very much so. I’d say history is my real love. You know, it’s easy for me to get lost while reading historical books or watching some documentaries. I find history very interesting, mainly because it helps me stretch my perspective across time and space to think about what happened in the past and how our ancestors experienced things.

　　范例2: Well, to be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with history, generally because I’m much into the stories and the insights it gives me into the past, but I’m really struggling in the history exams which are usually centered around dates, names and places.

　　2. Do you think history is important?

　　关于这道题目，相信我们大多数考生都会给出肯定的回答：历史是重要的。其原因可以是以下几点：

　　It allows people to understand how culture, politics, economy, society and values developed. (它使得人们了解文化，政治，经济，社会以及价值是如何发展的)

　　History not only deals with the past but also with how the past led to the present. (历史不仅是关于过去，还关于过去如何导致了现在)

　　It tells us what happened in the past, so that we avoid repeating mistakes. (他告诉我们过去发生了什么，以帮助我们避免重复错误)

　　范例：Yes, I think so. History not only deals with the past, but also with how the past led to the present. So it allows people to understand how culture, politics, society and values developed. More importantly, since it tells us what happened in the past, we could avoid repeating mistakes.

　　3. Do you think you can learn history from films or TV programs?

　　了解历史的方式有很多，比如看电影，读书，看纪录片，参观历史景点，上历史课等。(There are many ways to learn about history, such as watching films, reading books, watching documentaries, visiting historical sites, and attending history classes. )。至于哪一种才是了解历史最好的方式(the best way to learn history)，每个人心中的答案各不相同。

　　这道题目是问，我们是否可以通过看电影或者电视节目这种方式来了解历史。目前，我们的电影类型有很多，比如comedy(喜剧)，action movies(动作片)，science fiction films(科幻片)，martial arts films(功夫片)，romance films(爱情片)，war movies(战争片)等等，至于电视节目，种类更是繁多，常见的有reality shows(真人秀)，talent search(选人才节目)，talk shows(谈话类节目)，variety shows(文艺晚会)，sitcoms(情景喜剧)等等。这些影片或者电视节目多多少少的涉及了一些历史，然而它们的主要目的还是以娱乐和教育为主(entertaining and educational)，以讲述历史为目的还要属documentaries(纪录片)。

　　回到题目，这是一道是非疑问类的题目，我们的答案可以是肯定的，否定的或者不一定的。然而通过上面的分析，这道题目回答No或It depends可能更容易一些。原因可能是有些电影或是电视节目会根据剧情需要对历史进行改编(Some historical events might be rewritten by editors to satisfy the plot)，每部电影或者电视节目会站在各自不同的角度看待历史，我们容易受电影或节目中人物和剧情的影响(They may show the history from different perspectives, so that we are easy to be influenced by the characters and plots.)，因此我们并不总是能够从电影和电视节目中了解到历史，然而记录片除外，因为其涉及的内容主要是历史或科学(Documentaries mainly deal with history or science)。因此，从纪录片中，我们比较容易了解真正的历史。

　　范例：It depends. It depends on what the movie or program is. I mean, we usually watch some movies and TV programs in which some historical events are rewritten to satisfy the plots. In this case, I don’t think we can learn the real history. However, we may learn some from documentaries, which are particularly deal with historical issues or science.

　　4. Do you think the Internet is a good place to learn about history?

　　同样，这也是一道是非疑问类的题目，无论我们的答案是肯定的还是否定的，都需要有充分的支持。例如，这道题目你可以回答‘是’(Yes, I think so; Yes I guess so; Yes sort of)，然后在给出理由，可以是网络资源充分，且免费，查阅方便等等(give a convenient access to information on almost everything)。所以你经常到什么样的网站上去浏览什么样的历史知识。

　　除此之外，你还可以给出否定的答案(No, I don’t think so; No, I don’t think it’s necessarily the case.)，然后给出原因，可能是因为网络信息并不总是可靠或者客观(not always reliable or objective),也可能是因为网络当中充斥着大量的误导或虚假或歪曲的信息(be awash with some misleading or false or distorted information)，还有可能是因为网络上信息量过于庞大导致很难找到真正有用可靠的信息(With so much information in the website, people may find it difficult to search for the useful and reliable information which they really need)。因此我们应当慎重使用网络信息(be careful in using the information on the internet)

　　范例1：Yes, I guess so. It’s mainly because the Internet gives us a convenient access to information on almost everything we need. So I usually go to some news and education websites to read some information about history or other things.

　　范例2: Well, I don’t think it’s necessarily the case, mainly because the stuff on the Internet is not always reliable or objective. You know, everyone can publish their own ideas on the websites so the Internet might be awash with a huge amount of misleading, false or distorted things. In addition, with so much information in the website, people may find it difficult to search for the useful and reliable information which they really need. So yeah, that’s basically why I suppose not.