Do You Want to Be Rich?[ 摘自爱爱英语学习网站 http://www.aiaienglish.com ]

回答这个问题是时若避开"为什么"这个关键，而仅用判断性的一句"想"或"不想" 搪塞敷衍，或勉强挤出几句兜圈子的话，这样的回答是不足的。其不足首先表现在量的层面上：考试要求中规定至少要说八句话。若用这一套路，无论如何也说不满八句，或者说不满有质量的八句。一些学生在答完后自觉不够，便东拼西凑，所言与主题牵强附会，结果自然不能如意。其次体现在说话的质量上：对于质量的要求虽然难以量化，但内容连贯、叙述清晰、表达得体应是最起码的要求。这个问题虽然是有关个人的喜好，但与之紧密相连的却是你对于钱及其作用的基本态度，因而不妨在这方面略作引伸。具体而言，即对所问及的问题增加一个"为什么"的回答。其实，回答这样的问题，如做口头作文，亦如回答别人的采访，既要求有思路，也要求语言畅达。学习口语的学生们应以话题作为契机，自由地阐发自己的想法，而不要按图索骥、直来直去。为了满足学生的要求，笔者将学生在回答这一问题时比较集中的想法用英文写出来，以供大家在实践时参考。

肯定回答：

富有是好事。钱能提供给人更多的机会，并使生活舒适。然而，常言道：钱是个坏主子，好帮佣。使用不当，钱会毁了人的一生。不过，我一旦要是有了钱，是绝不会为它所累的，我会让它为我服务。

Well, personally I would like to be rich because money can open doors and make life more comfortable. It can provide you with many things and many enjoyable experiences and opportunities. There is a saying that money is a good servant, but a bad master. If it controls you, it can really ruin your life. I'm sure that if I were rich, however, I would not let money ruin my life. I would determine how to use the wealth to better my life and I would not be corrupted by haying a great deal of money. I think that if money becomes one's master then one might begin to use it in destructive ways, by gambling or cheating people in business because of greed. But I would not allow that to happen. I would use the money in appropriate ways and not let it control me. I would make the best use of money to have a comfortable life and to share may good fortune with others.

同是这个意思,也可以如此表述:

Of course I want to be rich. Money can open many doors for you. You can have varied experiences, a comfortable life, and much enjoyment by being wealthy. There are some people who say that money is a good servant but a bad master. I think it is possible to use money to fulfill my own needs and also use it to help others, and in this way, I would not be mastered by it. I would not let it control me by selfishly using it all for myself. Money is a bad master. It can cause some people to seek illegal or improper means to get more money since having a little bit of it will only make them more greedy. They will never be satisfied with what they have. If I had a certain amount of money, I would be satisfied with that. I would never use illegal or harmful ways to get more. Also, some people use their money to obtain things that are destructive to them, but I would use the money for things that are beneficial to myself and others around me.

同样的意思,可以用不同的话加以表现. 单句如此,一段话更能如此。 现在将这段话的意思用另一种言语形式表述如下：

Well, personally I would like to be rich because money gives you the opportunity to try many things that would otherwise be out of reach. Experiences like traveling around the world or studying for a long time require enough money to be independent without holding a job. So, if you have a great deal of money to begin with, you can spend your time on things other than work. Or if you choose to pursue a career, you can do so without worrying about what your salary might be. Sometimes this is more rewarding because you can do whatever you choose without monetary concerns. I know that many people say that money is a good servant but a bad master. I believe, however, that it's possible to keep perspective e4ven if you have a great amount of money, and that you can be sure to use money to help yourself and others. I would make sure that I would use my wealth for good reasons, such as helping others around me and improving my own life, and would be careful to avoid becoming too greedy. I think that as long as I am aware that I could become corrupted by having too much money, it will never happen. Only if I were to forget how destructive money can be, would that be a potential problem.

然后将表达该意思的核心句型拎出来操练一下：

1. Money can open many doors for you.
Money makes a pot boil.
Money is a good servant.
Money makes dogs dance.
Money has no legs, but it runs.
Money never goes out of season.
Money makes the world go around.
Money is a universal language and can speak any tongue.
Money provides you with many things and many opportunities that you can enjoy.
2. Money is a bad master.
Money can ruin your life.
Money is the root of all evil.
Money is round and rolls away.
Money makes and money mars.
Money is a source of trouble and woe.
Money is often lost for want of more money.
Money makes not few true friends and many real enemies.
Money can cause people to seek illegal or improper means to get more money.

以上的句子，包括引申出来的句子，都能被用作主题句，附以几句说明、解释、扩展等 手段，使之成为一个意义完整的表达单位，读者可以尝试着练习一下。由于篇幅有限，笔者无法将它们悉数演绎，试以两个实例供读者参考：

Money is round and rolls away.
Money is round and rolls away. The harder you try to hold on to money, the more likely it is that you'll lose it someday. Money is difficult to keep because most people like to spend money quickly.
Money is a source of trouble and woe.
Money is a source of trouble and woe. Many families have been torn apart by the greed that follows when one member gains more money than another. When a family gains more money, often each member wants to run off with their own share, instead of staying together. Money brings much unhappiness and strife where there used to be peace and harmony.

否定回答：

我不奢望富有，却也不愿贫穷。钱固然重要，但还有比之更重要的东西，如家庭和责任。有人说钱是万恶之首，不过更确切地说，贪爱钱财才是万恶之首。贪钱的人一旦有了钱便会落入歧途，或变得贪婪、趾高气昂。贪财者中有家破人亡者、亦有成为囚徒者。因而钱太多了反会为其所累。

I don't want to become rich, but I do want to have enough money for my basic needs. That's all I need. To me, money is not as important as other things like a job and relationships and family. So, I would be satisfied if I had enough money just for daily necessities. Some people point out that money is the root money itself, that is the root of evil. When people love money, they can be led into illegal actions and bad activities. They can become both greedy and proud as they compare them selves with those who are not rich. I have witnessed the love of money tear apart families, and I have seen a lot of money - worshipers develop into criminals, and I don't want that to happen to me. So for me, just enough money to get by is fine.

这一观点的重点句型：

1. I don't want to become rich, but I do need to have enough money for my basic needs.
I don't want to become rich, but don't want to be poor, either.
I don't want to become rich, but do need to have enough money to get by.
I don't want to become rich, but don't want to be on welfare, either.
I don't want to become rich, but do want to make enough to remain to be financially independent.
I don't want to become rich, but don't want to worry about where my next meal is coming from.
2. When people love money, they could be led into either illegal actions or bad activities.
When people love money, they could gradually lose their humanity.
When people love money, they could become consumed with material lust.
When people love money, they don't have time for the finer things of life.
When people love money, they become the slave of the god of money, and their god will soon destroy them.
When people love money, they have taken the first step on the pass down to destruction.
When people love money, they can depart from the straight and narrow way, and take a pass to destruction.

以下提供两个表示这一观点的实例：

1. I don't want to become rich, but I do need to have enough money for my basic needs. I don't want to be poor or on welfare and I want to make enough money to remain financially independent. I don't want to worry about where my next meal is coming from.

2. When people love money, it is easy for them to be led into illegal actions and destructive activities. They may gradually lose their humanity and become consumed with material lust. They may cease to have time for the finer things in life and instead become a slave to the god of money. They might leave the straight and narrow path of living life well and take the first step on the path to destruction instead.

相当数量的学生在回答这样一个不算太难的问题时暴露出的弱点还是以下几个：过于拘束、过于扣题、缺乏联想等。笔者在这里无奈再唠叨一次：以口头形式学习组织句子或操练其熟练运用能力的练习实乃精读课的内容；口语课所学习的主要不是学习怎样组织句子，而是学习说什么句子、学习怎样的方式来用句子，以及通过什么样的伴随语言行为(paralinguistic features)来加强你说话的表现力。其基本要求是需要具备较强的组句能力。换言之，没有较好的组句能力者不应急于学习口语。开口是一种表达的欲望，这种欲望往往只有在相当数量的有效输入之后才会自然萌发。而在内存不足的情况下，任何不自然的、人为的、过早的启动，其结果无异于拔苗助长：学习者必然是以失去说话的真实性这一口语的基本要求，而去过分死板地按头脑中根深蒂固的汉语的表达模式刻意地强调谴词造句的所谓的精确性。于是，种种条条框框的限制，必然使其陷入一个又一个只能用汉语表达、英文无法对应的"死胡同"，难怪其说话时的表现似背负沉重枷锁的舞者。[ 摘自爱爱英语学习网站 http://www.aiaienglish.com ]

当然，更直接的原因还是平时训练不够。据笔者观察，初学口语者一般都采用背诵，即口头复述书面材料的训练方法。当然，这种训练方法对于语言学习并非没有好处。对于用语法全副武装起来的中国学生来说，他们解读文字的字面意义并不十分困难，其缺乏的倒恰恰是精确地理解和把握文章的风格和作者倾注在其中的情绪的能力。而用正确的方法诵读可以帮助学生将平面的文字还原到它的本来面目，进而立体地领会到原文的风格。不过，这只是提高语言素养的一种手段，或者学习口语的前期准备，而非针对口语学习本身。因为背出来的东西要经过自己的内化才能为你所用。口语学习的重点应放在实践上。虽然实践的内容、方法应根据学生的程度而异，但原则却有共通之处。