雅思口语Part2之描述一本“有用”的书

2020年9-12月新一季的雅思口语题库中，一道新题难倒了众多“烤鸭”们——描述一本“有用”的书。书本是人们生活中再日常不过的物品了，但在考场上，它却成为了同学们“最熟悉的陌生人”。“最近没读什么书...”，“有用的书？漫画算吗”，“除了能让我发笑，真想不出还有什么益处了”，“中文表达我都想不出来，更别提英文了”... 这些是很多考生遇上此题的心声。别慌，稳住！今天，我们就来看看，如何在考官面前就一本书侃侃而谈。

Describe a book that you found useful

you should say:

what it is

when you read it

why you think it is useful

and explain how you felt about it

步，审题。首先，明确话题范围，这是一道物品类话题，我们可以从题目疑问词中找寻话题开展的角度；其次，明确时态，“found”表明该题会提到过去的时间点，那么在陈述如何接触到这本书时，就要用过去时态，而陈述这本书如何有用则是在叙述客观事实，用现在时态；最后，明确关键词。本题的关键词为“useful”（有用的），即陈述这本书的好处，它有用在哪里或给你什么样的启迪。结合题目，本道题的答题思路可分为三步：描述书本基本信息，你如何与它“结缘”，为什么对你有用和阅读感受。

1. What? - - 开门见山

Part2 话题开头可直接点题，向考官介绍这本书的基本信息，可以从 Name, Author, Type,Content 几个角度思考.

选题( (type ) - - 可以说哪些书？

精神慰藉的书（mentally-lifted books）

小说：novel/ Literary Fiction

( *Action and Adventure, *Classics, * Detective and Mystery).

名著：classic literature

纪实类文学:documentary literature

科幻类：sci-fi

传记： biography

自传：autobiography

诗集：poetry collection

漫画：Comic Book or Graphic Novel

实用性质的书：（material/utilitarian needs）

自助式书籍：Self-help book

菜谱：recipe/cookbook

心理学：books concerning psychology

美学：books related aesthetics

百科：encyclopedia

工具书：tool book

手册：handbook

畅销书：bestseller

学习书：study book

教材：textbook, coursebook

这么一看，“有用的”书还挺多！有了选题后，如何开展话题论述呢？

Sample Answer:

I would like to introduce a book I read named Positive Psychology written by a Chinese writer although I just forgot his name. Well, It's a self-help book which talks about the idea of how people can treat and cure themselves through some effective mental therapies in the busy world like, the technique of suggestion so as to boost our morale when we’re in low spirits.

2. When and How ? - - 自然过渡，创造情境

介绍完这本书的基本情况后，我们开始论述如何与它“结缘”。这一部分，我们可以从几个方面思考：你什么时候知道这本书/开始阅读这本书的？（When&Where）;是朋友介绍还是自己偶然看到的？（Who）；你为什么被它吸引以及你对它的印象如何？（How）

Useful expressions:

朋友推荐 be recommended by friends

偶然 Accidentally/by Accidence

网络排行榜 online book charts

夺人眼球的标题 bold/eye-catching headlines

有趣的封面 fancy/vivid cover

有说服力的标语 persuading slogans

Sample Answer:

I happened to catch sight of this book in a bookstore when I was hanging out with my friends.We usually enjoyed great time roaming in the book sea. Accidentally, it attracted me with some thought-provoking words on the cover, saying “positive emotions should also be studied as much as negative ones” and I got curious about that immediately. That really hit me, I mean, we tend to concentrate a lot more on why people are depressed or anxious, but very little research was done to explore our positive moods and that's why I decided to have a look.

3. Why useful? + Feeling - - 分点说明，有理有据

一本书的有用之处体现在哪些方面呢？阅读中外名著可以帮助我们了解历史和各国文化，提升文学素养（to cultivate one’s literary taste）;阅读小说可以拓宽眼界(open up one’s eyes)，启发人心,令人深思(inspiring/thought-provoking);阅读百科全书或科学性文本可以拓宽知识面（informative），甚至颠覆读者以往的认知(mind-boggling);看动漫或绘本能释放压力，娱乐性满满（enjoyable and entertaining）等。

喜欢一本书的原因也有很多，例如书的整体文风（writing style），独特视角（unique perspective of seeing things），接地气的建议（providing very practical advice and suggestions 等，它们都会直接影响我们的阅读体验。

Sample Answer:

It was such a real page-turner(好看到停不下来) and I finished reading it in a week. Actually,there are several reasons why I’m into it. First, the author’s writing style is easy to understand, I mean, he doesn’t employ fancy words to explain some complicated phrases concerning psychology. Instead, the diction is quite down-to-earth and friendly to his readers so you can easily understand his thoughts. In addition, the content is thought-provoking in that the book has influenced our perspective of seeing things to some extent. Rather than trying to figure out how to defeat people’s negative moods, the author encourages us to perceive the world in a positive way and focus more on our daily happiness. Also, readers can actually benefit from the practical suggestions in this book, I mean, there are useful mental therapies conducive to heal people’semotions like music, sport and even food and on a whole, to achieve a sustainable self-fulfillment.