答题模式
　　那么在作答的时候考生应注意些什么呢?下面就一个例题来跟大家分享一下，题中对话如下：
　　Man: Hey Lisa, how’s it going?
　　Woman: Hi Mark. Uh, I’m OK, I guess, but my schoolwork is really stressing me out.
　　Man: [sympathetically] Yeah? What’s wrong?
　　Woman: Well, I’ve got a paper to write and two exams to study for. And a bunch of math problems to finish. It’s just so much that I can’t concentrate on any of it. I start concentrating on studying for one of my exams, and then I’m like, how long’s it gonna take to finish that problem set?
　　Man: Wow. Sounds like you’ve got a lot more work than you can handle right now. [Not wanting to sound too pushy] Look, have you talked to some of your professors . . . mean, you know, try to explain the problem. Look, you could probably get an extension on your paper, or on the math assignment . . .
　　Woman: You think? It would give me a little more time to prepare for my exams right now.
　　Man: Well, I mean another thing that you might do . . . I mean have you tried making yourself a schedule? I mean that’s what I do when I’m feeling overwhelmed.
　　Woman: What does that do for you?
　　Man: Well, I mean it helps you to focus your energies. You know, you make yourself a chart that shows the next few days and the time till your stuff is due and . . .
　　Woman: Uh-huh . . . [meaning “I’m listening”]
　　Man: I mean think about what you need to do and when you have to do it by. You know then start filling in your schedule—like, all right 9:00 [nine] to 11:30 [eleven-thirty] A.M., study for exam. 12:00 [twelve] to 3:00 [three], work on problem set. But I mean don’t make the time periods too long. Like, don’t put in eight hours of studying—you know, you’ll get tired, or start worrying about your other work again. But if you keep to your schedule, you know you’ll just have to worry about one thing at a time.
　　Woman: Yeah, that might work. [somewhat noncommittally]
　　听完对话以后，考生会听到考题的要求如下：
　　The students discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Describe the problem and state which solution you prefer and explain why.
　　先就问题来看，考生一定要把考试中提出的问题一一回答完整。问题包括以下几个部分：首先是要简明扼要地描述出对话中所讨论的问题，其中重要的细节要充足以便没有听到对话只听到考生陈述的人能够充分了解这个问题;然后考生需表明自己的态度，即两种解决办法中自己会更倾向于哪种，在表明观点时通常可以用到如”I think it would be better if …”之类的句型引出;最后是过渡到用适当的理由解释自己所选择的解决办法。
　　1、概述问题
　　就本题而言，是两个学生之间的讨论，问题是女生觉得课业太多，没有足够的时间完成(too much schoolwork and not enough time to do it)，算是考生比较熟悉的话题。在概述问题的过程中，像对话中所提到的“a paper”, “two exams”, “math problems”等造成女生课业困扰的具体细节也应当有所提及，这样才能把问题说得清楚，说得全面。由此，在听对话的过程中，为了要能很好地把握住这些细节，take notes的工作自然显得尤为重要。
　　2、表明态度
　　接下来便要表明自己会更支持哪一种解决办法的。男生非常热心地提出两种解决方案：一是建议女生向导师讲明原因，适当延长论文或研究数学问题的期限;二是建议女生自己拟定一个短期的工作计划表，把每天的时间作适当的划分，不同的时间段集中解决不同的问题，做到有条不紊，持之以恒即可。假如更偏向第二种办法，便可以用上面提到的句型对该办法作出肯定：I think it would be better if the woman prepared a schedule.
　　3、说明原因
　　在描述选择该办法的原因时，考生可以利用对话中所提到的信息，也可以采用自己的经历。因为Task 5的内容大都和大学的校园生活息息相关，所以许多考生都可能会遇到自己很熟悉的甚至有过类似经历的问题，这时考生大可以结合自己的亲身经历去阐述。平时遇到这样的问题，自己会采取怎样的办法解决呢?以此题为例，比如选择第二种办法的原因可以是：The problem of too much work to do is something that the woman is going to confront in the future as well, and if she learns how to organize a schedule now, this will help her throughout her academic career. 另外考生还可以从两个方面着手对原因作出解释：一是如上正面说明自己所选办法的好处;二是概括另一解决办法的不足之处。以此题为例，可以说前一种办法有disadvantage：Even though her professors might be willing to give her an extension, they might somehow penalize her for it by grading her assignments more severely. 这样有了思路和内容，阐述起理由来就更连贯，更顺畅了。
　　最后要提醒考生们的是，对于解决办法的选择并没有对错之分，评分的标准不在于考生最后选择了哪种办法，而在于考生是否能恰当充分地阐明自己所作选择的理由。在谈到与自身经历相关的理由时也要随时注意问题的焦点是在解决对话者的问题，自己的经验只能加以借鉴后转化成自己的想法，而并不是由此便谈成自己面临的状况了。