揭开托福写作的真面目

　　托福独立写作题目见多了，你就会发现处处是针对人性的拷问和对价值的权衡。

　　“你是否同意移居其他城市会造成老朋友的丢失”其实是在问，“友谊能否经得起距离的考验”;“你喜欢看教育类节目还是娱乐节目”其实是在呼吁答题者考量“媒体内容对于观众的正负面影响”;而“你是否同意年长的朋友给予的建议更优”其实是在质问“年龄”与“智慧”是否具有正比例关系;甚至，它激起了关于“或许有时人们需要的不是更正确的而是更适合的建议”的思索。

　　我们若是将托福独立写作拟人化，他一定是个眉头紧蹙、竭思苦虑的年轻人，像米开朗琪罗的大卫永眺罗马那样，他心系天下，事无巨细地忧愁着、永远警醒。

　　他曾重重地从理想的云端跌落，被惨败击溃。因此他问：“是不是人就不该怀抱野望，而要更务实地跟随唾手可得的梦想?”

　　他看到一边是经济与科技蒸蒸日上的发达国家，另一边是挣扎在生存危机里的第三、第四世界，感到残酷与荒谬。于是他问：“太空探索是否是种财力的浪费?”

　　他渴望成功，因此他会问：“商业应是敢于冒风险，还是要保守地静待时机?”

　　他想要效益化地利用自己的时间，因此他会问：“大学生应该学习他们感兴趣的专业还是选择将来就业容易的专业?”

　　他困惑、迷茫，对自己没有身份认同感，因此他会问：“人应该特立独行，还是随波逐流?”

　　他深陷迷思，想要事业有成、风光无限、成为人们眼中理性跋扈的金融大亨，却又舍不得诗与远方、水仙花和白月光。对，他就是这样肤浅、幼稚，透过他二元论的狭隘视角将一切极端地分割和归类，非此即彼的处世态度，却又妄图鱼与熊掌兼得。

　　托福独立写作就是这样一个令人怜爱又鄙夷的小孩。

　　而我们要做的便是为他答疑解惑，驱逐彷徨的迷雾。

　　这其中他最喜爱问的，就是“深度VS广度”这一价值观冲突。

　　例如2016年10月22日的考题：Some believe that young people should do various activities while others believe that they should focus on one activity that is important to them. Which one do you think is better and why?

　　又例如官方题库中的一道经典题目：Some universities require students to take classes in many subjects. Other universities require students to specialize in one subject. Which is better?Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

　　笔者认为对这类涉及到“泛OR专”、“广OR深”话题的题目，采用支持“广泛涉猎、综合发展(dabble in multifarious bodies of knowledge in order to develop into a well——rounded person)”的立场是更好驾驭且更符合大众的价值观取向的。

　　那么具体论证段落又该怎样下笔呢?这里向大家推荐一种视角：太过专业反而有碍于解决问题(有点“淹死的都是会游泳的”的意味)。

　　试看以下段落：

　　School is a path to convergence in most cases. You start out broad and end at a point, from kindergarten where you’re learning multiple subjects to a PhD where you’re expected to master the most specific area of one topic.

　　However，as elegantly concluded by Abraham Maslow，“if all you have is a hammer，everything looks like a nail，” a depth of knowledge can narrow one’s focus so much that they approach problem solving in the worst way. Instead of thoroughly breaking down a problem，they make it larger and more complex.

　　(汉译：上学就如同一个万法归宗的过程。始于万象，止于一方——在学前班时我们还学着各种不同的科目，到了修博士时却被要求成为仅一个方面的导师。然而太过局限于一种视角的话反而会陷入盲区，无法顺利解决问题，就像马斯洛说的那样：“如果你只有一把锤子，那一切都会看起来像个钉子”。相反，这样的人会使问题更严峻复杂，而不是彻底瓦解它。)

　　以上文字相当适宜作为开篇段落来回答此类题目。它很自然地概括了由泛至专的教育大环境，起到了短暂的让步作用;而后很快转折，利用名人名言作为起承转合的轴承，读起来逻辑衔接流畅，不会突兀。

　　这里笔者要提醒大家务必要记得Abraham Maslow(one of the most cited American psychologists of the 20th century)!只要遇到物质VS精神的话题，均可以用到他的“马斯洛需求层次理论”(Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)。(譬如能够切入“友谊和人际关系很重要因为人的自我实现取决于它们的前提”这个角度。)

　　当然了，支持泛与专结合的立场也是个相当不错的抉择，对于擅长辩证思维、文笔成熟的考生而言是最能够展示自己写作水平的立场。那么文章的最后是几段这种中立立场的素材，推荐大家学习和积累。

　　Oh，did I mention that 知识的“宽”是breadth而不是width哦。

　　You always need some of each. Possessing only a depth of knowledge would make you an idiot savant，fantastically capable at one thing and helpless in all other matters.

　　Having only a breadth means you know a little about everything, but not enough to be useful at anything. There is a certain amount of depth needed for broad knowledge to be useful.

　　If you are trying to push the boundaries of human knowledge, depth is important. It's why PhDs can be very specific. You need to know nearly everything about a very specific topic. However，breadth is still useful，as it can let you draw on ideas from other areas.

　　Breadth of understanding is an expression of the ability to operate across disciplinary boundaries in a coherent and productive way, with principles drawn from different disciplines. Depth of understanding depends upon mastery of a body of knowledge, but it is not to be confused with knowledge, and is not necessarily commensurate with the number of courses taken in a subject.

　　Depth and breadth of understanding depend upon，and they themselves contribute to, independence of thought; they contribute also to a love of learning.