關(guān)于“顏色”的話題,一直在雅思口語考題中占有一席之地。關(guān)于色彩,其實(shí)對考生們來講都不陌生,因?yàn)樾W(xué)英語就已經(jīng)教授了關(guān)于眾多顏色的表達(dá)。相信幾乎每一位考生都可以很輕松的說出“black, white, yellow, red, green, grey, brown, blue”等等顏色。但是,對于色彩的表現(xiàn)和對顏色的深刻理解又是相當(dāng)一部分考生們所缺乏的。面對當(dāng)前的雅思口語關(guān)于“色彩”的考題,考生們大多變得如那些“深色”一樣黯淡,很難如那些“亮色”一樣精彩,讓考官們眼前一亮。在這篇文章中,朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家將以文化傳統(tǒng)為角度,具體剖析關(guān)于“色彩”與“文化”的聯(lián)系,供廣大考生們參考。
縱觀當(dāng)前的考查范圍,可以說“色彩”幾乎貫穿了整個(gè)口語考題的三個(gè)部分。在part 1中,有個(gè)topic關(guān)于顏色,著眼于考察考生們“最喜愛的顏色”,“偏愛深色還是淺色”以及“一些顏色在中國是否有著特殊的意義”等。而在part 2中,有個(gè)地點(diǎn)類話題“Describe a place you went to that was full of color”,要求考生描述一個(gè)多彩的地方,是一個(gè)典型的色彩與地點(diǎn)結(jié)合的考題。
下面,我們以“最喜愛的顏色”為例,剖析一下當(dāng)前考生的狀況。
Question:
What is your favorite color?
Possible answer from students:
Well, as for my favorite color, I think it is blue. Because I like blue sky, and the color of blue always reminds of the blue ocean and sky. You know, I really enjoy walking in the long and soft beaches and feeling the sea breeze.
解析:該考生的答案為“藍(lán)色”,顯然該考生是以大海的顏色為思路拓展展開的。當(dāng)然,該聯(lián)想是非常合理和常見的,但是,這樣的答案也是顯得較為“經(jīng)典老套”的,很難讓考官眼前一亮。其實(shí),關(guān)于顏色的聯(lián)想不僅僅局限在“大海”,考生們完全可以做出更深層次的聯(lián)想,例如:文化、傳統(tǒng)、服飾、性格、時(shí)尚、藝術(shù)等領(lǐng)域。下面,讓我們一起參考一下以下的brainstorm圖解,來探索一下關(guān)于色彩的聯(lián)想:
根據(jù)上述圖解,我們可以得出,在“顏色”的聯(lián)想中,我們將文化和各地傳統(tǒng)方面的因素納入考慮。其實(shí),不同的文化中,相同的顏色往往意味著不同的含義。例如上述答案中提到的“藍(lán)色”。中國人面對藍(lán)色肯定感覺是心馳神往般的舒暢。實(shí)際上,藍(lán)色在英語有憂郁的含義,如美國有“藍(lán)色星期一”(blue Monday),指心情不好的星期一。blue sky在英語中意思是“沒有價(jià)值”,所以,把“藍(lán)天”牌臺燈翻譯成Blue Sky Lamp, 意思便是“沒用的臺燈”,這樣的臺燈怎能銷得出去呢?另外,埃及人和比利時(shí)人視藍(lán)色為倒霉的顏色。所以,上述考生的答案雖然客觀陳述了天空和大海的顏色,但是因?yàn)榭脊賹?/span>“藍(lán)色”的西式理解是截然不同的,非常有可能引起不認(rèn)同感和偏差感。
除此以外,關(guān)于一些“在中國有著特殊含義的顏色”,最先讓人們能想到的可能就是“紅色”,因?yàn)榧t色吉利喜慶,代表著熱情紅火。在中國一些婚宴場合,紅色是非常多見的。但考慮到文化差異,紅色在西方往往又有著截然不同的含義,西方人對紅色的理解為血腥、暴力,警告等等。
除此以外,我們繼續(xù)關(guān)注一下part 2關(guān)于“色彩”與“地點(diǎn)”的聯(lián)系。在描述一個(gè)多彩的地方話題時(shí),難點(diǎn)往往在于將如何去闡述這個(gè)地方“多彩”的原因。其實(shí),在解答這個(gè)問題的時(shí)候,往往也可以往“文化傳統(tǒng)”方面去考慮。以下,筆者將結(jié)合自己曾經(jīng)做志愿者的經(jīng)歷,以中東一個(gè)名叫Bahrain的為例,給各位展示“多彩”的古堡。
Describe a place you went to that was full of color
You should say:
Where it was
Why you went there
What you did there
And explain why you think this place was made so colorful.
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Simple Answer:
If I have to say a few words on a place I went to that was full of color, what comes to my mind first is a place called Manama, the capital city of a middle-east country named the kingdom of Bahrain.
As far as I can recall, about 3 years ago, I joined a volunteer group and went there to do some volunteer job. Definitely, besides the job, I visited a lot of fantastic places and took thousands of pictures. A place, which impressed me most, is a fort. You know, forts can be commonly found in Arabic cities, but the forts in Manama are so unique. Because they are built in various colors, like dark yellow, white, light blue and even purple. That was so amazing that attracts millions of people from all over the word every year. One of my local friends told me that why should these fort been built in different colors is closely connected to local cultures. You know, different religions are mixed up in this mid east land.
I think I was deeply attracted by the amazing colorful forts there and even curious about its mysterious culture there.
本篇文章以“顏色”為角度切入,分析了當(dāng)前考生們在本考題的答題情況,以“文化”為視角建議廣大考生們注意“顏色”和“文化差異”方面的聯(lián)系,以給出全新的思維方式讓考官們眼前一亮。當(dāng)然,正如上述“頭腦風(fēng)暴”圖解中演示的,關(guān)于“色彩”的聯(lián)想除了“文化傳統(tǒng)”以外,還有許許多多其他的聯(lián)想,考生們也可根據(jù)自己的思路進(jìn)一步拓展。最后,祝所有考生們考試順利。