09托福考前必看 之valentine's day

千分之七

又快考托福了，我想大家正在忙碌的准备吧！今天看见朋友拿着一本词汇书狂背，让我想起了去年我也曾为这个考试奋斗过。我自觉性非常差，基础也一般，实在是没能力自己复习，后来我爸给我报了一个托福班，在那儿才算是真的学了些东西，考的不高，但是过了我就挺知足的了。在这儿想跟大家分享一下我们老师说的一些技巧，希望对大家复习有帮助。当时我最犯怵的就是写作，经常前言不搭后语，也不知道从哪些方面着手准备，想背些句子都不知道背什么。秦苏珊的老师告诉我们一定不要忽视考试日期附近的节日，尤其是西方节日，写作、阅读之类的很可能会出这方面的题，最近的valentine's day也许就会成为一个出题热点，所以最好先对情人节有些了解：
    There are varying opini##被过滤## as to the origin of  Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries.
　　Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine".
　　Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.
　　Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.
　　In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised.
　　The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.   
    其实我们还可以多看一些有主题的小故事，改一改就可以用在写作里了：
    Perfectly Paired Puns
    As Valentine's Day approached, I tried to think of an unusual gift for my husband. When I discovered that his favorite red-plaid pants had a broken zipper, I thought I had the "perfect Valentine." I had the pants repaired, and gift-wrapped them. On the package I put a huge red heart on which I printed: "My Heart Pants for You." I was the surprised one, however, when I saw the same heart taped to our formerly empty, but now overflowing, wood box. On it he had written: "Wood You Be My Valentine?"
作文的内容可以通过平时看文章积累，可是修改就必须找别人了，大家互相修改的效果其实并不好，建议大家还是找专业托福老师修改。在论坛里看见秦苏珊英语班在办托福写作挑战赛，几个题目任选一个，望到网上的文章会由专家老师进行点评。详情见： http://www.susanchyn.com.cn/
能得到专家点评，又不花钱，何乐而不为呢。
     
我个人认为，作文还是要多看多积累，取材应该是比较贴近生活的，从中多吸收一些西方思想，有对话的小故事同时可以锻炼口语，算是个比较实用的方法吧。