托福机经：2013年3月16日托福写作考题解析

　　阅读提到人们普遍认为海洋的动物比如dolphin等都很聪明，但是manatee是个例外，理由如下：

　　一：海牛的大脑皮层很平滑，不像灵长类动物如猴子，以及同科海豚等的大脑有褶皱。

　　二：海牛的大脑在整个身体中所占的比例比其他认定聪明的动物小。

　　三：海牛很难训练成海豚那样，能做出各种聪明的动作。

　　听力持反对意见，理由如下：

　　一： 没有什么材料表明动物大脑皮层的褶皱同其聪明程度有关。海牛的大脑皮层虽然平滑，但也有复杂的结构。

　　二： 海牛的身体大，是因为它生存在冰冷的海水中。庞大的身躯能帮助它保持热量。海豚和猴子则没有这种需要。

　　三： 海牛由于自身的条件，很难像海豚那样做轻巧的动作，例如顶皮球，但是它们一样能根据训练者的声音指令做出动作。海牛是可以训练的。

　　托福独立写作题目：Movies and TV programs made in one’s own country are more interesting than those made in other countries.

　　As an avid watcher of movies and TV programs, I like to think that I enjoy a fairly diverse range of cinema and television.  From a young age, I've been watching movies and shows from a variety of countries (though subtitled) and genres.  At the end of the day, though, I still find myself intrigued more by the movies and shows made in my own home country.  I think that they have an inherent allure that, while sometimes can be challenged by foreign media, is very difficult to match.

　　First and foremost is the issue of cultural background.  When you watch a foreign movie or show, it may be gripping for its plot or interesting for its insight into another culture, but there will inevitably be subtle things that go right over your head because you don't have the same cultural starting point as those who created what you're watching.  With the global community being what it is these days, this is of course less of an issue now, but there will still be small culturally-specific things that will escape your notice.  Maybe it's a pop culture reference, or just something inherent to the country's language, but without those little details making it to your conscious mind, the viewing experience will be less rich and ultimately less interesting.

　　Language, which I mentioned above, is the second reason why foreign movies and shows cannot be as interesting as those made in one's own home country.  Unless you have a good understanding of the language spoken, you have to settle for reading subtitles while watching the show or movie.  This is both distracting mentally and prohibitive in terms of experiencing the subtleties of the actors may impart to their lines.  Splitting your attention between reading and watching makes it easy to miss details on the screen, and because you cannot experience the actors' words directly, a lot of nuance is lost and your mind must do its best to fill in the blanks.

　　That's not to say that foreign productions are not worth watching, or that they're even measurably "worse" in terms of the viewing experience.  The difference is ultimately not so much that it prevents them from being subjectively very enjoyable.  But objectively speaking, they are unavoidably less accessible for the reasons mentioned above, and because of that, there is a hard cap on their potential to be interesting.  A good foreign film will still beat out a mediocre domestic production any day of the week, but all else being equal, I think a good domestic movie or show will be more captivating than a good foreign equivalent.