2017年9月雅思口语Part 2 有一道疑似“新题”，叫做Describe an exciting book you have read. 这其实是一道炒冷饭的新题，因为读书这一话题在雅思口语考试中长期出现，只是时常在Part 2 的主标题做一些文章而已，比如之前的老题目Describe a book you want to read again.

　　所谓换汤不换药，有过考试经历的考生也许会对此题不大重视，新考生也可能是随意想一个思路，比如讲一些经典(如四大名著)，或者用其他题目来串联(如名人，电影等)，来备考效率。串题是一个好办法，可是遇到一些经典题目，容易出现许多考生准备相似素材的可能，这样可能会让考官厌烦，甚至被考官怀疑背诵，对于最终成绩会有负面的影响。

　　笔者曾经听一位考官讲过一个词，叫做“Kobed”，翻译成中文意思是“被科比”。喜欢篮球的考生在描述名人时会用Kobe Bryant作为例子，这其实问题不大;可是，有些考生可能会用Kobe这一素材串好多问题，比如:

　　Describe a book you want to read again: “I want to talk about the biography of Kobe…”

　　Describe a well-paid job you want to do: “I want to be a basketball player, just like Kobe”

　　Describe a city you have visited: “Last winter, I went to Los Angeles, because it’s been my dream to watch Kobe’s game…”

　　……

　　这样的重复使用素材的方式，难免会让考官产生审美疲劳。因此考官们彼此会打趣说: “How many times did you get Kobed?” 这个问题值得考生注意。

　　因此，说回读书这个话题，建议同学们适当拓展一些思路，如果能够多读一些书，拓展视野，那是的选择;如果大家时间有限， 或者对于阅读缺乏兴趣，也可以在豆瓣或者亚马逊网站查找最近的畅销书榜单，看看有没有适合你的。

　　笔者近期就找到了这样一本书，叫做Born A Crime. 这本书的作者叫做Trevor Noah, 是一位来自南非的脱口秀演员。2015年底，他成为了美国脱口秀The Daily Show 的主播。笔者作为TDS，特别是其前主播Jon Stewart的铁粉，一直奇此君是何方神圣，所以7月份买了这本Born A Crime.

　　这本书是Trevor Noah的自传，讲述了他在南非成长的经历。学过历史的同学都知道，南非经过一段种族隔离(”Apartheid”)的时代，跨种族婚姻生子都是非法行为。Trevor的父亲是一位来自瑞士的白人，母亲是本地的黑人，因此他正经是”born a crime”了。本书围绕Trevor的成长经历，反映了南非社会的方方面面，包括种族关系，社会治安，教育，宗教，等等。而且作为一位喜剧演员，本书文笔风趣幽默，甚至有些毒舌，可读性很高。

　　以下是这道口语话题的参考答案。

　　Today I want to talk about Born a Crime.

　　It was written by Trevor Noah, a comedian from South Africa who is now the host of The Daily Show. I’ve been a die-hard fan of the show for years because of its former host Jon Stewart, and as a big fan of Jon, I just wonder who is that man that could fill his shoes.

　　So I bought the book via Amazon two month ago. The book has been with me throughout the summer, in subways, in cafes, during classes, you name it. And let me tell you, it was a mind-blowing experience.

　　The book is an autobiography, which told the story of Trevor’s life. He was literally “born a crime”, as it was in the age of Apartheid, when people of difference races cannot marry and have children. As a knot of a Swiss guy and African lady, little Trevor was like a taboo.

　　His mother raised him all by herself, and she did all she could to make the boy live in a satisfying environment, which was extremely hard.

　　That was just a tip of the ice berg of the book. It was a mirror to the transition period of a nation, when people of different colours got to recognize each other and know each other. And there were tons of funny stories in that book, you know, that what’s a comedian is for.

　　Through this book, I got to know a different world, which I couldn’t even thought of before. It was not only about a person’s life, but about the society, religion, races, family, so on so forth. Anyway, that’s why I think it’s an exciting book.

　　Language Points:

　　Die-hard fan: 死忠粉

　　Fill one’s shoes: 取代，代替

　　You name it: 应有尽有，无奇不有

　　Autobiography: 自传

　　Literally: 照字面意思的，不夸张的

　　Knot: 结晶

　　Taboo: 禁忌

　　Transition: 转型

　　So on so forth: 等等