我们通常把托福的独立口语任务分为四类：人物类、地点类、物品类和事件类，如果考生们想要在独立任务这一项取得good的成绩，就需要对每一类的话题进行练习和总结，分析其规律，归纳解题思路，以应对无论新旧的各种题目。

在托福独立任务人物类话题当中，我们可以根据描述人物的类型进行大致的分类，每类人物都具备不同的character,所以我们的描述方式和答题思路也会有所不同。

一、家人

在托福口语人物类话题当中，经常会出现这样的题目：

In your opinion, what are some of the qualities of agood parent? Usereasons and specific examples to explain why thesecharacteristics areimportant.

题目要求描述一个好家长应该具备的品质，通过brainstorming, 我们可以想到以下形容词：

amiable 和蔼可亲的

well-educated 受过良好教育的

considerate 体贴的

reasonable 讲道理的

selfless 无私的

diligent 勤劳的

patient 耐心的

encouraging 鼓励的

想到这些词我们已经有了一个良好的开头，下面就是选择两个或三个你认为比较重要，关键是比较好找到细节支持的品质来进行接下来的回答。根据“TST”结构，我们的topicsentence可以这样回答：

In my opinion, encouragement and diligence are twoimportant characteristicsa good parent should have.

接下来只需要找出支持这两点品质的supporting details, 并且在回答的过程中注意transitionalwords的添加，我们的任务就完成了。而找到合适有力的supporting details 却不是一个容易的过程。接下来给大家一个sample:

First of all, encouragement can do a really useful partin children’sdevelopment. For example, when a child is afraid of going to thestage toperform, a good parent will encourage him to get over the fear andgive him awarm hug. The child can get enough courage from this. Also, a goodparent shouldbe diligent. You know, raising a child isn’t an easy job. Soparents should behard-working to do all the housework and clean up all thechaos created by theirbabies. Helping their children to form a good personalityalso costs them a lotof energy.

这样的准备过程同样适用于以下话题：

Describe a person thatyou admire. Explain why you admire this person.Include details and examples tosupport your response.

Describe an elder personthat you respect. This person could be one of yourgrandparents or neighbors.Explain why you admire this person,and how thispersoninfluenced you.

Describe the person towhom you would like to turn for advice when you arein trouble. And explain whyyou would like to turn to this person for advice?

以上话题当中，描述一个令你钦佩的人，你尊敬的一位老人以及当你有困难你会求助的人都可以是你的父母，具备以上关于一个好家长应该具备的品质。而具体哪些品质需要大家灵活地变通一下了。

二、朋友

In your opinion, what aresome important characteristics of a good friend?Use reasons and specificexamples to explain why these characteristics areimportant.

Which do you think is themost important quality of a strong friendship:loyalty, honestyor sense of humor? Explain why? Please include details andexamples in yourresponse.

Describe a special friendin your childhood, why he or she is special toyou? Include reasons and detailsto support your response.

以上的这几个话题要求考生们对朋友所具备的品质和特性有所掌握，当然第二个题目也给出了一些提示：loyal、honest、humorous,都是描述朋友常用的形容词。除了这些，通过brainstorming我们还可以想到：

supportive 支持的

kind-hearted 热心的

reliable 可靠的

sociable 善交际的2015托福考试时间表

creative 有想象力的

candid 直率的

caring 关心人的

generous 慷慨的

sympathetic 有同情心的

thoughtful 体贴的

因此，我们的topic sentence可以说For me, a good friendshould be supportive andhumorous. 或者For me, a true friend ought to bethoughtful and generous.当然，supportive和humorous可以替换成任何描述朋友的形容词。

对于第一个主题句，接下来的supporting details可以这样来发挥：First, friends alwayshave manythings in common, in other words, they like to do the same things orhave similarcharacters. So, it is no surprise that good friends always supportyou when youhave to make choices. Even though having different ideas, a goodfriend canunderstand you and support your choice. Also, a humorous friend canalwaysbrighten you up. If you feel down or upset, it’s lucky to have a friendwho cantell jokes for you or take you to do some funny things.

对于第二个主题句，可以用以下的话来支持它：First of all, athoughtful and considerate friend canmake you feel safe and comfortable. Whenyou get sick or get hurt when playingsports, you will forget about the painand suffering with the caring from yourfriends. A thoughtful friend also willconsider your feeling and well-being whenhe does or says something in front ofsomeone else. Secondly, a good friend canbe very generous when you are introuble or in need. We can see that manysuccessful people got a lot of helpmaterialistically and spiritually from theirfriend. Thus, a generous friendmay be the key when you are heading for yoursuccess.

同样，这些关于朋友的特质和细节也可以适用到其他可能跟朋友有关的话题，例如：

Describe a person who hada positive impact on you. Explain how this personinfluenced your life. Givespecific reasons and details to support yourexplanation.

Describe a person whomyou would like to spend time with. Explain why youwould like to spend timewith this person. Include reasons and details to supportyour response.

Describe a person whomyou would like to talk with often (this person couldbe one of your closefriends, family members or teachers). Explain why you’d liketo talk with thisperson and what you talk about?

描述一个对你产生积极影响的人，一个你喜欢与之共度时间的人，以及一个你愿意与之说话的人，都可以用以上的思路和语言来表达。