【真题实例】Do you think people’s reading habits have changed in recent years?

【答题思路】此题考的是人们阅读习惯有否变化。如果说不变，一定会演变成一个不知趣的回答；只有说变，才能正中考官的下怀！那么“传统”在这里的作用是什么呢？我们可以同样考虑把传统的阅读习惯（比如读书、看报）和现代的阅读方式（比如浏览网络新闻、看网络小说）做一个今昔对比。

【参考答案】You bet they are! From my point of view, the most significant change is in the way people read. Thirty years ago, most people used to read newspapers and magazines and books as a lifetime habit because they didn’t have a TV or computer. But nowadays, few of us are doing this. Instead, we have got used to surfing the Internet for quick news and downloading mini-novels to our cell phones or iPods. In short, traditional reading habits are being replaced by modern ones that focus on speed and quantity rather than quality.

为了阐明人们阅读方式的改变，我们把30年前的读书、看报、看杂志和如今的网上新闻及手机迷你小说进行了鲜明的对比。（请大家特别关注其中used to和get used to的用法。）最后一句画龙点睛式地指出传统的阅读习惯正在被取代，并一针见血批判了现代人只重速度和数量、而不重质量的阅读习惯。类似的批判风格及批判话语可以用于很多其它考题，比如education, shopping, friendship等等。

特性之三：深度

深度的含义并不仅仅局限于考题本身的深度或难度，它更在于我们如何把一道貌似平凡的考题的深度挖掘出来。以下这道其貌不扬的口语题目就是一个很好的例子：

【真题实例】What kind of skill do you think is the most important for young people?

【答题思路】考官这次问的是对于年轻人来说最重要的技能。这是一道很容易陷入俗套的考题 — 如果你甘愿随大流地去讲什么掌握电脑技能、学好外语、甚至学会开车等，就毫无新意可言，更不用说深度了。相反，如果你从传统的角度入手，会很容易发现该题所蕴含的深度。

【参考答案】Young people today generally don’t have traditional social skills, which may include writing letters, giving a presentation and maintaining friendships. This is understandable because they have grown up in the so-called Information Age. But the importance of these skills can be seen in many aspects of our daily lives. For example, if you know how to give a powerful speech at a meeting or how to write a persuasive letter to your boss, your chances of getting promoted are much higher than those of your colleagues.

该回答彻底抛弃了俗不可耐的“现代必备技能”的窠臼，从传统的角度另辟蹊径，找到了traditional social skills（传统社交技能）这一崭新方向，并成功地开辟了writing letters, giving a presentation, maintaining friendships三条拓展道路。最后以两个生活中的例子证明了这些技能对于现代年轻人的重要性。