纵观整个 2008 年的雅思口语考试，我们可以发现众多精彩纷呈、甚至是惊心动魄的考题或话题：有些成为考试频率最高的主流话题；有些被列为最新的变化和趋势；也有一些被许多考生以及雅思研究者视作高难考题 – 我们将会对此进行案例剖析。
一、最 in 的口语话题
2008 年最流行话题排行榜的第一名应当属于谈论“地点（ place ）”的，这一类的考题不仅数量庞大、极为频繁，而且正趋向多样化。除了传统的考题如 hotel, garden, park, library, museum, city, your workplace 以外，又出现了一些较为“另类”的题目： swimming pool, a place that has good water resource, a place that has been polluted, a place that makes you happy, a place that you would like to introduce to your friends 等等。不过万变不离其宗，我们对待这些特殊话题仍旧可以按照在某种程度上沿着传统话题的回答思路去组织我们的语言。举例来说，在谈论 a place that makes you happy 的时候，你完全可以说 a museum that you enjoy very much ；在讲 a place that has been polluted 的时候，你又为何不能描述 a park in your neighborhood that has become dirty 呢？
排名第二的话题是关于“人物（ people ）”的，该大类也呈现出同样的多元化和越来越细化的特征。原来可能只需要你谈 an old person ，现在却要你讲 an interesting old person ；原来只是描述 a family member ，现在可能要解释 how a family member influences you ，种种情况不一而足。
最 in 的话题还包括“体育类”（比如 sport, game, physical activity, a sport you played when you were young 等）、“事件类”（比如 family event, being late, an event that makes you happy, a recent change in your life 等）、“媒体类”（比如 newspaper, magazine, book, an interesting piece of news, film, TV, performance, website 等）、以及“休闲类”（比如 shop, shopping, café, tourist attraction, music, gifts, holiday 等）。
二、新变化与新趋势
在口语第三部分的深入探讨中，我们注意到了一些最新的动态。其中比较明显的一个趋势就是话题与话题的结合；换言之，考官会把两个甚至两个以上的话题放在一个问题里面进行提问。请看下面的真实例子：
How would you convince an elderly person to learn to use the Internet if he had never used it before and was resistant to modern technology?
问题相当长，其中至少包含了 modern technology (especially computer and the Internet), old people's traditional ideas, computer illiteracy 三个话题，可以说是一道综合性非常强的题目。类似的例子还有：
Are companies responsible for constructing sporting facilities for their staff members?
很明显，该题融合了 corporate responsibility, sporting activity, employees' benefits 三个相关话题。
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第二个变化是出题者开始注重人类生活中碰到的许多困境和难题，并对中国的现实发生了越来越浓厚的兴趣。这提醒我们在考前准备的时候，必须更多地去关心时事，特别是发生在中国的一些特大新闻、争议性话题（如最近的“人肉搜索”）和人民群众关注的焦点问题（如房价居高不下、股市萎靡不振）。 2008 年的这类例子有：
In China , is the water people use now different from that in the past?
Should the Chinese government financially assist the preservation of traditional culture?
In the face of rising divorce rate in China , what measures do you think the government should take to consolidate families?
三、难点案例分析
在深入探讨部分，考官问一些刁钻、冷门、生僻话题的概率颇高，因此在 2008 年也出现了不少特难的案例。我就来举一个例子给大家分析一下。
例一： What is the culture of your country in treating guests? How has this culture changed in recent decades?
谈论 culture 的话题一向都比较难，而讲到中国人的待客之道（ the Chinese culture of treating guests ），更是一个我们平时不太会去思考的话题。要把这个复杂问题回答好，可以采取以下的两个策略，以适应不同水平层次的考生：
一）、对于词汇量较大、口语水平较高的考生，建议从 courtesy 这一概念出发，先提到 the Chinese people have maintained the courtesy of treating guests as part of their traditional culture for thousands of years ，再讲一些 social etiquette in China, such as brewing and offering tea for guests ，最后谈论 the traditional courtesy of treating guests has declined in recent decades because of Western influences ，这样一气呵成地讲下来，可以把该话题说深说透。
二）、对于词汇量较小、口语水平不高的考生，可以采取简约的模糊路线，先大致讲一讲中国人的好客，用一些较为简单的表达形式，比如 friendly, nice, warm-hearted 等，然后从通俗的角度谈一下 Chinese people treat guests like their family members, 甚至可以搬出我们的一些俗语，比如 a helpful neighbor is better than a relative living far away （远亲不如近邻），最后点到 we don't treat guests as well as we did in the past because everyone is so busy with making money 这一残酷的中国现实。
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