推荐几本适合提高青少年英语口语的杂志

之前分享过几个可以积累口语素材的网站，除了这些开放搜索的资源以外，其实青少年杂志也是个很好的选择。读到了几本杂志，觉得都能够很好帮助准备托福口语的话题，顺道分享下。

讲到用杂志充实自己的口语语料库和学习语言表达，很多人第一反应是想到 The New York Times，The Economist，The Wall Street Journal 等（不要误会，这些杂志都很好）。

但在托福口语这个方面要能实际用上他们不是容易的。首先，托福口语中大部分独立话题都是和校园生活有关系，但是这类杂志的话题更偏向时事，不一定能直接用上，得自己去找，特别是对考话题不熟悉的考生，这个方式就不是很高效；其次，不少句子是以"写"的方式输出，在"说"上是略拗口的，更不用说这类杂志用词用句都不算简单（不口头）。

那青少年杂志有什么不同呢？

话题合适

很多青少年杂志（特别是 Grade 9 - 12 的）都有很多和考试相关的话题，不管是和学习有关的（比如学习习惯，课堂上要不要举办活动等），还是生活上的（比如学生有没有必要学一些基本技能等）。

比如有一篇讲的是 “Should parents track their children"。 里面提到如果父母总是无时无刻需要知道孩子在哪在做什么，不是很好，因为：

【1】孩子容易觉得自己没有自由（It takes away from a child’s sense of freedom）；

【2】会觉得自己没有隐私而且可能接下来自己其他方面也会被监视（Young people may feel these apps invade their privacy and that the next steps will be parents and guardians monitoring their texts and social media.）；

【3】父母也会越来越不信任自己的孩子，小孩也学不会对自己负责（Parents can become dependent on apps and not learn to trust their children. Children need to have true freedom so that they can learn responsibility.）。

这些思路在大部分“父母/孩子关系”的题目中都可以用，比如：2021 KCT Speaking 006

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Parents should control the access their children have to social media. 2021 KCT Speaking 107

It is the policy of many universities that parents of university students cannot have access to their child's grades without their child's permission. Do you agree or disagree with this policy? Use details and examples to explain your opinion. 

正反观点

青少年杂志很多都有一个 debate 的版面（帮助青少年在这个阶段学会客观思考事物）。因此一个话题里可以看到两个不同的立场，以及这个立场的理由。对于托福独立口语这种开放选择的题目来说，是培养思路的很好方式。

比如 "Should your school day start later" 里面就有给到两个不同立场：

早课不好：

【1】容易得不到足够睡眠

【2】影响学习，分数不会高

【3】甚至影响情绪，会抑郁

晚课不好：

【1】校巴不好安排

【2】对家长送小孩也有挑战

【3】小孩放学做作业时间也会变晚又或者 "Should idleness be encouraged?" 里面，支持（Yes）和不支持（No）两个方面都探讨了一下：

语言表达

Grade 9 - 12 的表达用来模仿正好，规范之余又不会过于书面。看个例子吧。托福口语里有个重复了5次的考题是这样的：2021 KCT Speaking 213

Some high schools require students to pass a physical fitness exam, in which they are tested on their ability to perform certain physical activities, such as running and swimming, in order to graduate. Do you think this is a good idea? Explain why or why not. Support your opinion with specific details and examples. 

"Should Phys Ed Be an Elective?" 就是一篇很好的素材，不管是展开的方式，还是用词用句。

应该是选修

"[观点] I believe phys ed should be an elective because [理由] when it's mandatory for all students, the class is often too big for anyone to get an effective workout. [展开解释] Once you subtract the time it takes an entire class of students to get changed into their gym clothes, listen to instructions, and then wait their turn to participate [列举] you have nowhere near a full hour left for exercise. In fact, students are physically active in phys ed for just 16 minutes [具体时长]— and that's not counting the kids who don't participate. If phys ed were an elective like art, photograph, or music [比较], only students who wanted to take it would sign up.[总结] Smaller classes of motivated students would mean participants got more time and opportunities to play, and would be more likely to get an actual workout."

去掉全班学生换衣服，听指令，和等着参加的时间

subtract the time it takes an entire class of students to

一小时里就没多少时间可以运动了

you have nowhere near a full hour left for exercise能真的去运动

get an actual workout / get an effective workout 

应该是必修

"[观点] I need phys ed class. [理由] It helps me loosen up during the day and shift my focus away from my schoolwork. Beyond stress release, [理由] physical education classes have a wide range of benefits. [展开benefits] Phys ed is a place to learn skills such as cooperation and teamwork [列举], and boost self-confidence. You also develop your coordination and motor skills. Even if you aren’t exercising for the full recommended 60 minutes, having mandatory physical education class gets you in the habit of making time for exercise each day, so you’ll be more likely to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle in the future. Additionally, [理由] phys ed classes teach students important information about their bodies and nutrition that they might not learn in any other class. [总结] Most students need help establishing healthy habits, and if phys ed were optional, many students would miss out."帮我放松
help me loosen up during the day没运动够60分钟
if you aren't exercising for the full recommended 60 minutes

转移注意力

shift one's focus away from the schoolwork让你形成每天运动的习惯

get you in the habit of making time for exercise each day 追求一个更健康积极的生活

pursue a healthy and active lifestyle养成健康习惯

establish healthy habits错过

miss out

推荐杂志

课上我们的素材和表达主要来源于 The Week Junior 和 Choices，其他两本也是不错的材料，有兴趣的同学可以自己去看看。

如果还没接触过的同学，四本都可以。

反正就是，素材有以后，练起来就对了。