新托福作文特点浅析及应对策略

自2006年新托福在中国实行以来，其写作单项以综合和独立作文各一篇的考查形式，为传统的学术类写作增添了一点小清新范儿。和老对手IELTS的写作相比，IBT Writing对中国考生而言，可谓是看似熟悉却又几分陌生，几多相似却又暗藏不同。现就对新托福写作两篇作文测试的特点进行几点剖析：

“独立写作”是典型的“四化”

1.遣词造句常态化

对于新托福独立写作的用词要求，一个很明显的倾向就是“准确常见”。因为只有常见的词汇，才能最直观地让读者了解作者的思路，才能最直白地表达作者的所思所想。以官方指南第三版中一篇满分作文的开头段为例：There are certain considerations or factors that everyone takes into account in a relationship. People may look for honesty, altruism, understanding, loyalty, being thoughtful etc! Everyone would more or less wish that the person she\he is dealing with has some of these virtues above. Putting them in an order according to their importance, however, can be very subjective and relative.

上段并没有任何生僻词和句式磅礴的句子，但每个单句的意思都清晰直白，整段的行文也通顺流畅。其实，用词的准确性很大程度上就看这个词的常见度，因为正是某个词能够准确直白地表明某个意思，这个词才会常用。试想在现代中文写作中, 一个心智正常的中国人不会把“去洗手间”写成“出宫”，不会把“吃饭”换成“用膳”，因为“出宫”和“用膳”已经脱离了现代中国人的常态词汇表，因此就不能给人直白清晰的印象了。

这种用词的常态性还体现在新托福题目本身的用词上，请看一道2007.08.25的新托福教育类考题用词：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Schools should not pay much attention to general subjects. Instead, they should help students prepare for specific careers and jobs.而雅思剑桥7 P102中同一考题的出题用词是：Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employer. What in your opinion should be the main function of a university?

又来2009.05.30的新托福考题：Young school children (age five to ten) should be required to study art and music, in addition to math, language, science and history; 类似的一道雅思考题：Schools should teach children the academic subjects which have a relationship with their future careers, so other subjects like music and sports are not important. To what extent do you agree or disagree? 雅思考题只是笼统地说“subjects which have a relationship with their future careers”, 有些烤鸭们可能还会花时间去纠结到底哪些科目跟以后就业相关，而豁达的新托福考题不仅直接列出了科目的明细，还划定了children年龄的范围！

再看一道纠结的广告类雅思考题：The high sales of popular consumer goods reflect the power of advertising but not the real need of the society where such products are sold. To what extent do you agree or disagree? 本道题大部分孩子估计都得读不下三遍才有头绪。看看新托福怎么考“广告的作用VS消费者的决定权”这个点的： Advertisement is a waste of time and money, because customers already know what they want.(20071208) 由上可见，无论从对写作词汇的评判还是出题的词句选取，新托福写作无不体现出老美率真直白的语言个性。

2.话题范围生活化

大打学术旗号的雅思考试会冷不丁地冒出“犯罪类”，“动物类”甚至“国际援助”相关的考题。这些脚踩莲花头戴光环的“道义文明类”考题着实过于文艺范了点。而IBT Writing出题范围却主要集中在探讨生活问题上。有关于是否“子承父业”的：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is better for children to choose the jobs similar to their parents (20100106);纠结是做“普通青年还是文艺青年”的：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? In order to succeed, you should be more like others than be different from everyone else (20100207); 探讨“要钱还是要命”的：A job with more vacation time is better than a job with high salary but less vacation time (20090227); 是“保守还是奔放”的：People should take a secure job immediately when finding one instead of waiting for the job that they find more satisfying (20100612); 八卦“富人高不高兴”的：People who do not have to work because they have enough money are barely happy(20071103).甚至还有更鸡零狗碎的新托福题目：“布置作业”的：Teacher should assign homework for students every day (20080427).这些考题看似非常琐碎， 但的确是地球人都会拉的家常，非常符合美国人重视在实践中求知，而不喜欢探究高深理论的个性。显然，以生活实践作为分析对象，是新托福作文的一大特点，也折射出新托福作文重在考查学生论述实际生活问题能力的侧重点。那些在平时习惯于关注生活,思考生活现象的考生，一定能在新托福作文中占据优势。此外，生活化的新托福写作也提高了同学们的写作幸福指数，就算没有亲身经历体验过，考生也可适当结合周边情况，作为思考论据的来源。

3.例证要求具体化

来看ETS满分范文集中一篇作文的节选：However, job security tends to lead to decreased productivity. In general, employees who are certain that they can never lose their jobs tend to work less efficiently, thereby contributing to an overall reduction of productivity in the company. A common example all over the world is that of civil servants. In Thailand, for example, many government workers are so indolent that it can take days or months for something to be finished that should only take a few days. It is not uncommon to walk into a government office and see employees filing their nails, making personal calls on the telephone, taking three-hour lunches, or surfing the Internet for fun.

上段只是抽象的泛泛而谈，缺乏说服力。而后面所附关于泰国的例子有效地细化了前面的因果推理，增加了文章的可信度。

翻阅很多满分或者高分范文不难发现，新托福作文的论证更加偏重生活实际，而不太喜欢撇开事实去空洞地抽象说理。想拿托福独立写作高分的同学，建议多结合自己生活中经历的事情作为事实论据(当然，如果能以被美国公众所熟知的名人和社会潮流为例，就更好了)，这样容易使作文有真情实感，也容易写具体。下面看一个具体化的实例：

Going abroad for study can cultivate the independence of students. To be specific, students who study abroad have to deal with a wide range of difficulties all by themselves, which will put them at a big advantage in solving problems in future lives. 在这个论述中，显然是过于空洞的大谈道理：“a wide range of difficulties” 到底是哪个困难？ “a big advantage in solving problems”具体是什么优势？ 这些概念都应该再具体化。可以增加例子写成：For example, by overcoming cultural difference between the east and the west, a students is expected to be more capable of adapting new environments when he or she steps into the working lives. 为了更具真情实感，还可以为例子加入主人公， 如：one of my university classmates; 再指明去留学的大学，用括号注明校名缩写；甚至再说说克服了一个什么样的文化差异以及日后参加工作适应了怎样惨绝人寰的新环境等等。总之，你的例子越具体，说服力越强。但千万注意：例子必须要扣题，并加入适当因果连接词，防止写成琐事的机械堆砌。