2012雅思口语常考话题十篇(附答案)（8）
Describe a book you recently read.
You should say
what book it was
when you read it
why you read it
and explain what you liked and （possibly） disliked about the book.
what book it was
As you may know, many Chinese people love complex love stories and the is perhaps the most popular and well-developed of them.
when you read it
I have read the whole novel from the beginning to the end only once 3 months ago, but I like it and I felt myself loss when I finished that novel. I lingered at the last few chapters for long enough to get myself back to a normal life.
why you read it
It tells us the difference between Chinese literature and Western literature. At the end of each chapter, there is always a line which says 'if the reader wants to know what happens next, please read the next chapter‘。 The line suggests that these chapters were each written separately over a period of time, thus, it functions as a reminder for readers to wait for the next chapter. These were the most developed stages of Chinese fiction writing.
And explain what you liked about the book
Moreover, the reason for the novel's outstanding reputation and distinguishable status is that the novel is 'the direct way to learn about Chinese culture. You cannot read Laozi or Confucius to understand Chinese society and Chinese people, while the book is the shortcut’。 Therefore, the language used for this classical work is between formal and colloquial. In addition, the work was completed during Qing dynasty which is the last feudal empire in Chinese history, thus, the language is classical but also quite close to modern Chinese; it is intelligible for Chinese readers without any footnotes. Furthermore, exaggerated expressions are frequently used in the original text to show the author's irony towards the society.
Another sample answer:
what book it was
Dream of the Red Mansions, written in the 18th century, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguishable classical novels of Chinese literature. The story has been made into numerous mini series and TV operas.
when you read it
I have read it （the Chinese version） several times, and have it handy in my palm in case I want to read it. I think I read it the first time when I was in middle school and it was kind of difficult （yes because of the huge number of characters and the sub-plots and so on）。 But then it got easier and easier. You have to read it and know the stories and the poems because they are so frequently quoted.
why you read it
I deeply love the romance between the characters, that's why I read it that often. I don't know much about the English version but it'd be definitely difficult to translate this novel into any other languages. I wonder how one can translate the puns which expressed some deeper meaning, or probably the best way is to skip it or giving some footnotes （which will ruin the novel）。
And explain what you liked about the book
The main character is Baoyu （寶玉）， and his love interest is his cousin Daiyu （黛玉）， who is the daughter of his aunt （father's sister）。 Baoyu finally marries another cousin Baochai （寶釵）。 Baoyu, before he comes to this world, was a rock/jade, and Daiyu a plant. The rock used to water the plant. So Daiyu has to pay back the debt to Baoyu with all her tears in this life. （How romantic.） The poems I like best are the two which foretell their fates in Baoyu's dream.
And the scene before Daiyu dies, when she buries the fallen flowers, is very very very famous, called “黛玉葬花”.
And there's another famous poem called 紅豆詞， which has been made into a song. Just the other day I was listening to it at a fashion boutique.
2012雅思口语常考话题十篇(附答案)（8）的延伸阅读——雅思口语考试七大黄金准则
1. 中心是否切题：
考察考生所表达的口语内容是否完整、准确地回答了题目的要求。考察重点在于考生是否能够准确理解题意和准确迎合题意两个层次。
2. 意思是否明白：
考察考生所表达的口语内容是否能够被明白地理解，还是表面上很流利，而实际上语义含糊、不知所云。
3. 结构是否严密：
考察考生是否有能力将口语用严密的结构和逻辑表达出来，还是缺乏层次，信马由缰。
4. 表达是否连贯：
考察考生口语的语流是否有停顿，这包括思维停顿和表达停顿两方面的原因或表现。但此标准并未对考生的口语表达速度作硬性的要求
5. 发音是否清楚：
考察考生的发音是否能够做到纯正、清晰。起码理解起来并不因为口音的问题存在障碍。
6. 语法是否正确：
考察考生是否能够熟练的使用较复杂的句子结构表达思想，同时尽量避免错误。
7. 词汇是否熟练：
考察考生是否可以掌握足够的英语词汇进行表达，考察重点在熟练度和准确度两个方面。但此标准并未对考生的用词难度作硬性的要求。
最后，两全其美网校城祝各位考生取得好成绩。 | 
