烤鸭们对于雅思口语的评分标准应该并不陌生，在这份官方评分细则中，明确给出了口语评分的四个方面：流利连贯、词汇、语法和发音，而每个方面的评分占比均为25%。我们中国同学在学习英语时，都在背单词这件事情上花费了大量的时间，但令人沮丧的是，每当我们需要在口语表达中使用词汇时，总会觉得词不达意，甚至有的时候这些辛苦记住的词汇，仿佛会失忆般从从头脑中完全消失，以至于像“你中午吃了什么？”这样的简单问题都无法清晰、准确的回答。原因到底出在什么地方呢？接下来，我们就结合雅思口语词汇方面的评分标准来一探究竟。

6分段

首先，我们来看一下口语6分对应的评分标准中，对词汇要求的描述：

1. 有足以详尽讨论各种话题的词汇量，虽然有时使用不当但意思表达清晰

2. 基本上能成功地进行改述

对于第一点，我们可以问自己这样两个问题：

1. Are the words and expressions I use appropriate and accurate?

2. Do I have a good range of vocabulary to cover the topic?

恰当和准确

先来看几个例子：

What is your favourite animal?

My favourite animal is a doggy. Doggy is cute and lovely.

Tell me about a time that you were proud of a friend’s success.

Yeah, I wanna tell you about my homeboy Tank. We call him Tank because he is such a foodie and because he loves to eat. He is very fat. But Tank is my homie and when he said he wanna make some bread selling snacks at the street market, I said why not brother.

How many people are there in your family?

As you know, there are three people in my family....

聪明的烤鸭们能看出以上的回答有什么问题吗？现在来公布答案：虽然它们都用准确的语言回答了问题，但却并没恰当的使用语言。

第一个回答中使用的语言是不是很像儿童英语课堂上的表达，别忘了你们是要去上大学的，考官期望你们能够使用成熟的语言，表明你能胜任在国外的学习生活，而不是在一个全是四五岁小朋友的幼儿园班级里使用的语言。

第二个回答的问题在于使用了像homeboy、foodie、homie这样的俚语，尽管这些都是地道表达，而且也符合上下文的语境，但却用在了错误的场合：别忘了你所处的地方是考场，你面对的是要对你的语言能力进行严肃客观评价的考官。你要对考官表现出足够的尊敬，就像你不会用你和哥们儿、闺蜜的聊天方式去和长辈说话是一个道理。

而第三个回答中出现的问题，是不恰当的使用了“as you know”这样看似不会有什么问题的口语高频短语。问题在于考官不认识你，对你的情况一无所知，当他听你说“as you know”时，心里想的是“我又跟你不熟，我怎么知道”。因此，说“as you know”的前提是考官对你接下来要说的内容很了解。尽管如此，如果对“as you know”稍作改变，就可以变为一个精彩实用的表达：

What languages can you speak?

As I grew up in China, my native language is Chinese. As you may know, I can also speak English, however, I make many mistakes and hope to improve my English skills.

As most people know smoking is bad for your health, but what you may not know is that nicotine can prevent Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

像as you may know，as most people know..., but what you may not know...这样的表达，很容易让考官有一种参与感，而且也让你自己听起来更睿智。另外，如果你想要跟考官分享一些有趣的事实，这些短语会给你帮上大忙。

相信通过上面的举例，烤鸭们对于一些语言使用的误区，以及如何在口语考试中恰当的使用语言有了一个更明确的认识。接下来让我来看看评分标准中提到的语言运用的另一个重要方面：准确。

What kinds of movies do you think young people like?

Many people have different tastes and like different types of movies. Children enjoy storytelling and animated movies that stimulate their imagination and are fun to watch. Teenagers and young adults prefer action, adventure, science fiction, drama and comedy films.

What sort of people do you think make good friends?

A good friend should be trustworthy, honest, non-judgmental and supportive. Of course, they should also be fun to hang out with and ...

相信大家已经注意到了在上面的两个回答中，都出现了同一类别的词的并列，比如第一个回答中出现了各种电影的名称，而第二个回答中用到了一系列描述人物性格特征的形容词，所谓的准确表达，在某种程度上可以理解为具体的、而不是笼统的回答。“电影”和各类电影的名称、“性格”和描述各种性格的形容词之间，是统称和具体名称的关系，也就是上下义的关系，上义词往往作为话题词和问题词出现，而我们如果可以用丰富的下义词来对问题作出回应，就会使自己的回答变得更加准确、丰满。

当然，除了在名词方面给出下义词，还可以在其它方面给出更多的细节，表达的越具体，对词汇准确度的要求就越高。

What do you do to help yourself concentrate?

Myself, I need to focus and concentrate when I am at home studying English. I usually prepare a small snack and a cup of tea before studying. I have a quiet spot, and I remove all distractions and potential interruptions, by not having my social media window open on the computer, and my cellphone turned off. I am then able to focus and concentrate and find that I can get a lot of work done in the limited time I have allocated for my studying.

这个问题问的是你会做些什么来帮助自己保持专注，回答自然要紧扣做什么来展开，一系列准确的动词短语，使问题得到了充分的回应。

另外一种体现语言准确性的方式是准确使用和程度相关的表达：

I don’t particularly like my job...

I really don’t like watching TV documentaries...

I can’t stand repeating myself and this kind of conversation is very superficial...

What I absolutely hate about my job is the commute...

用英语来表达不喜欢的方式有很多种，如果你每一次说的都是“I don’t like...”, 不仅没有把意思表达的尽可能准确，说的人和听的人也都会觉得很无聊。而当你尝试用上面提到的方式去表达厌恶的不同程度时，是不是立刻就变得准确又生动了呢？

现在，让我们一起来看看开头提到的第二个问题“Do I have a good range of vocabulary to cover the topic?”这个问题和第一个问题“Are the words and expressions I use appropriate and accurate?”是互相关联的，如果你在面对不同话题以及同一话题下的每个具体问题都能够用恰当准确的词汇给予回应，那么就证明你“have a good range of vocabulary to cover the topic”。

改述

虽然我们应该尽力的让自己的表达恰当、准确，但不可避免的是，在回答某个特定问题时，突然发现能够恰如其分表达自己的意思的语言并不在自己的记忆中；或者有些时候，你觉得考官对你提到的事情可能不太了解。遇到这些情形，你就需要用到一个评分标准中提到的一种表达方式：改述，以达到让交流能够有效进行下去的目的。

What is your favourite food?

Well, my favourite food is um... is a kind of snack. It’s like Japanese Sushi and it’s from South Korea...

Or

My favourite food is ah... a kind of dessert. It’s kind of like a pancake and it’s from France...

Do you keep in contact with friends from your childhood?

Yes! I still stay in contact with a couple of my friends from grade school. Although we are now living in different cities, we can talk on WeChat - a Chinese social media network, and enjoy hanging out when we do meet up.

正如上面的例子所展示的那样，当你想说一种事物却不知道名称的时候，借助定义（上义词）和类比的表达方式，就可以在你想说一种事物却不知道名称的时候，依然可以和考官有效的沟通，常用的表达是It’s a kind of...，It’s like...，It’s kind of like...，而对一些你认为考官有可能陌生的事物，也是同样的方式：WeChat - a Chinese social media network来给出解释说明。

7分段

接下来，让我们看看口语7分的评分标准中，对词汇部分的要求是如何描述的：

1. 灵活地使用词汇讨论各种话题

2. 使用一些非常见的词汇及习语，对语体及词汇搭配有所认识，但有时词语选择不甚

恰当

3. 有效地进行改述

可以非常明显的看到，与6分的要求相比，7分对词汇方面提出了更多和更高的要求，除了使用词汇的灵活性和改述的有效性外，对非常见词汇、习语、词语搭配和语体都提出了明确的要求。

词汇灵活性

6分对词汇的要求是“有足以详尽讨论各种话题的词汇量”，而7分要求的是“灵活地使用词汇讨论各种话题”。到底如何表达会让考官觉得你对词汇的使用是灵活的呢？让我们从下面三个方面来寻找答案：

1. 使用话题相关词汇

我们一起来看一个范例回答：

Do you prefer to use your phone or a camera to take photographs?

I like to take my phone. It’s convenient and it’s easy to take. You can put it in your pocket, also a camera is big and easy to break.

Or

I like to take my phone. It’s convenient because it is portable and pocket-sized. A camera, on the other hand, is large, clumsy and fragile.

虽然两个回答的长度和内容都差不多，但大家应该已经注意到，第二个回答由于使用了一些关联度和准确度很高的词汇，比第一个回答更加简洁、准确，这样去回答问题，考官肯定会给你的词汇丰富度打高分。

再来看一个例子：

Where can you go to see the stars where you live?

Although you cannot see the stars with your naked eyes at night, there is an observatory up on the hills near my hometown. The air is relatively clear there, so you can go up to the big white-domed building and use their telescope to look at the stars and constellations. You can easily see the Milky Way, and there are also some of the zodiac signs like Taurus the Bull, and Pisces the Fish.

充分使用话题相关词汇，使答案和问题具有很高的匹配性，而不是对什么问题都是用通用表达泛泛而谈，才是让考官给你的词汇丰富度打高分的关键。

2. 替换表达

Do you keep in contact with friends from your childhood?

As I have moved away from my hometown, I have lost touch with many of my friends. However, I stay in contact with a couple of my friends from grade school. Although we are now living in different cities, we can talk on WeChat - a Chinese social media network, and enjoy hanging out when we do meet up.

Do you think punishment is necessary for teachers and parents to help children learn the difference between right and wrong?

I strongly believe children’s ability to tell right from wrong comes with good parenting, rather than harsh punishments. Teachers and parents should firstly provide good role modelling in their own behaviour. After that, if sanctions are needed, the punishment should not be of a physical nature, as that merely sends the message that it is acceptable for larger people to hit smaller ones - an outcome which may well result in the child starting bullying others. Nor should the punishment be in any way cruel. Rather, teachers and parents can use a variety of methods to discipline their young charges, such as detention, withdrawal of privileges and time-out...

通过分析对比以上两个问题和回答，我们可以看出Part 1中的问题比较简单，通常只需要对问题中出现的表达进行同义替换，以体现对语言灵活使用的能力。而在回答相对复杂

抽象的part 3的问题时，替换不仅体现在同义之间（learn the difference between right and wrong → ability to tell right from wrong，punishment → sanction，children → young charges）、还体现在限定修饰（punishment → harsh，of a physical nature，in any way cruel ）和上下义之间（punishment → detention，withdrawal of privileges，time-out）。

3. 词性的改变

Child

When I was a child, we were very poor.

In my childhood, I spent a lot of time doing homework.

My handwriting is very childish，but it is easy to read.

Efficiency

The subway in Zhengzhou used to be very efficient, but now there are too many passengers.

Studying at the same time as watching TV is very inefficient.

My boss measure our working efficiency every week.

虽然child，efficient很普通，但是childhood，childish，inefficient，efficiency却是可以帮你加分的高分词汇，因为你向考官展示了对不同词性的单词运用自如的能力，而且这种灵活使用还能使自己的表达变得更加精准，而这就是考官最想看见的结果。

改述有效性

Do you think it’s difficult to learn a new language?

Leaning a new language can be very stressful and difficult, as Chinese is a tone language whereas English and other European languages are not...

Do you prefer to have a lot of friends or just a few close friends?

I do like to get out, socialise and have many acquaintances. However, I prefer a few close friends. Close friends mean more to me...

6分的要求是“基本上能成功地进行改述”，而7分的要求是“有效地进行改述”，通过以上的两个例子，大家不难看出什么才是有效的改述。简单来说，就是改述的原因不再是对准确的表达陌生、不得已而为之，而是通过对问题的主动改述，不仅避免了重复，还在句式（to learning a new language → leaning a new language）、语态（is → can be）、词语搭配（difficult → very stressful and difficult, have a lot of friends → get out, socialise and have many acquaintances）等多个方面展现出了对语言准确、灵活的使用能力。

非常见词汇

我们在上面提到了回答中的词性改变体现了对词汇灵活运用的能力，其实它的好处还不仅如此，让我们来开看如下的例子：

Do people in your country prefer old or new buildings?

When it comes to architecture in China, there seems to be two clear groups of people: traditionalists and modernists. The traditionalists demand that we preserve all the ancient and historical buildings like the Beijng alleways and courtyards. The modernists on the other hand, suggest that modern skyscrapers and high-rise buildings are better suited for our modern way of living. For me personally, I believe that a mix of the two is important, moving forward into the future with cutting edge design, but not forgetting our heritage.

烤鸭们对tradition和modern这两个词应该都不陌生，回答中的traditionalists和modernists只是在词性上稍做变化，立刻由普通词汇变成了词汇7分中提到的less common words，而且在这两个关键词的引领下，给出了富含信息的、能够吸引考官的观点和表达。

除了像traditionalist和modernists这样由常见单词通过词性变化转变而来的less common words, 还有另外一类“常见”的非常见词：

count，distraction，spring

大家对这三个词的意思应该不会感到陌生，它们通常的意思体现在如下的例句中：

The teacher counted（数数）the students as they got on to the bus.

His lessons bore me to distraction（苦恼无聊）.

Janet’s coming over for a couple of weeks next spring（春天）.

而对这三个词在下面三个句子中的意思，可能就没有那么熟悉了：

I’ve always counted （当作）Sophia among my closest friends.

Shopping is one of the distractions（消遣）of city life.

“Where did you spring （突然出现）from?” - I didn’t see you come in!”

由上可见，非常见词不一定只是那些形式上不常见、音节较多的“高级词汇”，也可以是一些看着眼熟的词，但是取其非常用义来使用。因为对这样的词在形式上已经熟悉，大家学习起来相对简单，而且当你能够准确的使用这些常见词的非常见义时，可能会让考官有一种于平淡初见波澜的惊喜的感觉。

习语表达

所谓习语，就是习惯用语的简称，一般是指那些常用在一起，具有特定形式的词组，其蕴含的意义往往不能从词组中单个词的意思推测而得。我们来看两个例子：

Is it (studying IELTS) interesting?

Well, to be honest, not really. There are number of things I would far rather be studying. I guess it is a means to an end, so I have to knuckle down and keep my nose to the grindstone.

Do you prefer to study in the morning or in the afternoon?

I prefer to study in the afternoon. I really am not a morning person and being a bit of a night owl, I often stay up late and burn the midnight oil. So I’m usually very tired in the morning.

从字面上来理解，这四个表达的意思分别是指关节朝下、鼻子始终对着磨石、夜晚的猫头鹰很、晚还立着、烧午夜的油，指关节朝下意味着我们手里拿着东西，引申为开始认真工作的意思；用磨石磨刀时会很长时间保持低头的姿势，因此鼻子会一直对着磨石，引申为长时间工作、埋头苦干的意思；夜晚的猫头鹰，就中文里的夜猫子；很晚还立着，就是很晚还没有躺下，引申为晚睡的意思；而烧午夜的油和我们的开夜车如出一辙。聪明的你应该已经意识到，如果能自然的在自己回答中插入习语，不仅会让自己的表达变得生动有趣，使考官被你的表达吸引，而且构成习语的通常都是短小的口语词汇，读起来也会朗朗上口、更有韵律。

词语搭配

这次，让我来做一些找错练习：

When I study in America, I will broaden my horizon and learn more knowledge.

When it comes to a historical place that I would like to visit, I would like to tell you about Eiffel in Paris. The Eiffel gives me a deep impression...

I love chemistry. It really is my cup of tea.

烤鸭们能找错这两句话中出错的地方吗？现在我们来揭晓答案：

当我们想要表达“学到知识”的时候，可以说“acquire knowledge”，也可以说“gain knowledge”， 但是不能说“learn knowledge”；当想要表达“...给我留下深刻印象”时，可以说“...make (made) a deep impression on me.”，也可以说“...leave (left) a deep impression on me.”，但是give me a deep impression 却是一个错误的说法；而my cup of tea这个表达，只能用于否定句中，比如可以这样说：“Learning English is really not my cup of tea.”。

以上的这些搭配规则，是长久以来预定俗成的语言表达习惯，没有太多道理可讲，就像中文里的量词，为什么马论匹，牛论头而羊论只，解释不清楚。想象一下如果有个人对你说他刚看到一匹牛时你的感受，你就能理解如果你的表达中充斥着自己创造的搭配时考官作何感想了：虽然能理解你的意思，但是就是听着特别的别扭。

现在，让我再来考一考各位烤鸭，看看你们能不能发现下面的句子中有那些词语搭配是不符合语言习惯的：

When you were young, did you help with the housework?

Oh yes, I helped my mother with the washing up. It helped her to release her pressure.

In my 25th birthday I went to a Japanese restaurant with my friends and colleagues.

A good education is absolutely important in modern society.

答案在文末揭晓。

语体

最后，我们来谈谈语体的问题。还是用我最喜欢的举例子的方式来给大家说明：

Do you enjoy studying?

Well, I don’t really enjoy studying. I would have been lying if I said I did. I find it is a bit of a chore. However...

Do you prefer to take photos yourself or to have other people take photos?

Personally, I prefer to take photos myself. I quite enjoy setting up the camera and trying to get the best photo possible. It’s really challenging sometimes.

What are some different kinds of places to go shopping?

Well, there are a wide range of places to go shopping. One of the most popular types is department stores. I think this is because they stock high-quality products and always offer a money back warranty if you are unsatisfied with your purchase. Another trendy place that people in my country enjoy shopping is at night markets. I guess this might be because it’s a lot of fun and prices are usually cheaper than in the store. So department stores and night markets are the most common.

What are the differences between what men and women shop for?

Well, obviously there are a number of clear differences. Perhaps the most significant one would be that men tend to be more interested in shopping for electronic gadgets, whereas women have a preference to shop for makeup and clothes. In addition, a subsequent contrast could be that women like to shop in expensive malls while men prefer to shop in small retail shops.

所谓语体，简单来说，就是在不同的场合用不同的方式说话。从大的方面划分，主要有正式和非正式两种场合。通过以上的举例，大家应该能够体会到前两个part 1中的问题和后两个part 3中问题的回答在语体方面的不同。

Part 1的问答背景是日常生活，考官在这个部分想了解的是你的日常生活方式，回答起来应该是较为轻松随意的，这部分的回答中可以多使用一些非正式用语，多表达自己的情绪和感受，这样会让交流显得更加自然。大家再看看前两个范例回答中加粗标记的地方，是不是都在表达自己的主观情绪和感受呢？

而在part 3的问答过程中，考官关心的不再是你个人的生活和经历，而是你能否针对有关社会、人群的更为宏观的严肃议题发表看法并展开讨论。这里用到的语体是更偏向于书面语的正式语体， 其特点是复杂语法结构的使用和对抽象概念的描述。所谓的复杂语法结构，主要是由具有语法功能的词项来构成，比如表示推测和可能性的情态动词、长主语、逻辑连接词等。这些特征可以从上面part 3例子中加粗标记的地方很明显的看到。另外，在对复杂问题作出回答时，一个清晰的答题结构非常重要，原因在于清晰的结构一方面保证了陈述的条理性，另一方面也为自己争取了宝贵的思考时间。这种偏向书面语的表达无疑适合对严肃复杂问题进行准确深入的讨论。

通过以上的分析，相信大家对雅思口语评分标准中词汇方面的要求，以及在日常英语学习中词汇积累方面的盲点和误区有了更清楚的认识。能够准确、灵活使用词汇谈论不同方面和层次的话题，是高水平语言能力的显著标志。词汇的积累对于语言能力提高，尤其对是希望在雅思考试中取得高分的同学来说，其重要性再怎么强调都不过分。而口头表达词汇和书面表达词汇、不同语境下口语词汇的差异，也是大家容易忽视，却又十分重要的方面。搞清楚了词汇学习学什么的问题后，请大家不要忽视学习方法的重要性。机械生硬的记忆单词的形式和中文释义，不仅容易遗忘，也无法准确的使用。词汇的积累要和自己的生活结合起来，和自己要表达的意思结合起来，把词汇要放在场景、语境、句型和词语搭配中准确的使用出来并做反复练习，才能真正的掌握词汇。“听到的再说”，也是一个很重要的原则，它能够在最大程度上保证我们习得语言的地道和准确，并因此提高自己说英语的自信心。最后的最后，希望各位烤鸭都能通过自己不懈的努力，终有一日能够手持锋利的词汇之剑，在谈笑间成为一名成功屠鸭的勇士！