新托福TPO口语参考答案——TPO11

1. Talk about an interesting book you have read. Explain why you
thought the book was interesting. Give specific details and
examples to explain your answer.

Recently, I read an interesting novel named “Keep the aspidistra
flying” which is written by George Orwell. I think it’s very
interesting because in the story the main character’s experience
is similar to mine. The main character wants to be a poet while
I want to be a writer. He abandoned his well-paying job for his
dream and I also quit my job for my dream. He had a time when he
was impoverished and I also experienced a time when I couldn’
t afford a lunch. He lives in a society where money talks and I
live in a society where money is everything. So these similar
experiences make me think the book interesting.

people think that children should be allowed to watch
whatever television programs they choose to. Others think that
parents should exercise control over the television programs
their children watch. Which do you agree with? Explain why.

I think parents should exercise control over the television

programs their children watch. It’s a way of protection, since
many shows are full of violent or horrifying scenes. But children
are not mature enough to bear those scenes so they may feel
terrified. Take myself as an example, When I was 7-year-old, I
was watching TV alone at home. I accidentally ran into a horror
movie and was frightened by the horrible zombies in the movie.
They eat human beings and tear bodies into pieces. I was shocked
by the bloody scenes. From then on, I started to be afraid of
darkness. Every time I walked along the street in the evening,
I would feel a zombie following me. I didn’t get rid of the bad
influence from that movie until high school.

3. The woman expresses her opinion about the university' s plan.
State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding
that opinion.

The college is planning to renovate the dormitories in order to
attract more students to remain on campus. The woman thinks the
plan is a mistake. The woman says that the constructions will
create too much noise and will constantly disturb students who
are now living on campus. So it’s possible that more students

will choose to live off-campus. She also says that the new campus
housing is going to cost more because the college plans to use
the students’ housing fees to pay for the renovations. So students
won’t be able to afford to live on campus. They may still choose
to rent an apartment off-campus. So the college may not achieve
its goal to attract more students to remain on campus.

4. Explain why Henry Darger is considered an Outsider Artist.

According to the reading passage, outsider artists work in
isolation and don’t get formal artistic training and they also
invent their own ways of doing things. Therefore, their work may
look strange and can be very different from other
artists’. According to the professor, Henry Darger lived by
himself, had no friends and thus worked in isolation. Also，He
never received any formal training and his work is very
unique. Darger had a hard time painting figures but he managed
to come up with his own method. He cut out pictures of children
from newspapers and pasted them on the painting. So his painting
looks a little strange. It’s more cluttered and more crowded with
details than other artists’ paintings. Also because the entire

space is painted, Darger’s painting is a lot longer than other
artists’

5. The students discuss a problem and two possible solutions.
Briefly summarize the problem. Then state which of the two
solutions you prefer and explain why.

The man has got a summer research position on campus but he
didn’t apply for a dorm room for the summer. And it’s too late
to apply now. In the conversation, they talk about two possible
solutions. The first one is that the man can stay with his parents
and commute to campus everyday. His parents will be happy to have
him home and many old friends will come back home for the summer
vacation. But it’s a little tiring to drive on the road. The second
solution is to rent an apartment near campus. It saves time and
gas fee. But still the man has to pay for the rent. Well, I would
recommend the man to choose the first solution. Since his parents
are happy to live with him and he can meet many old friends, why
not stay with his parents. Even if it’s tiring to drive, he can
save the money for the rent.

6. Using the points and examples from the lecture, explain what
unity and contrast are, and how they make interior design more
effective.

In the lecture, the professor says an effective design needs to
balance unity and contrast. An easy way to achieve unity is to
bring together similar elements. A common practice is by matching
colors. For example, we can pick green and use light shade green
for the walls ,dark shade green for the sofa, and green for the
rug. When elements match, the room is unified and gives senses
of order and comfort. But too much unity will make a room boring.
So we need contrast to break the unity. Contrast serves to disrupt
unity in a careful and intentional way. In order to create color
contrast, we need to change colors now and then. For example, we
could put light red cushion on the dark green sofa. Contrast makes
things stand out. Green will look greener next to the red. But
too much contrast will make a room feel dizzy and chaotic. So an
effective design must avoid too much unity and too much contrast.