很少有人会否认词汇对于雅思口语的重要性，但同样很少有人能在实际考试中把词汇的重要性表现出来 — 不少考生在备考雅思口语的过程中，就会陷入这样的一个怪圈之中。本文，专家力图在四个方面论证词汇使用的极端重要性，这四方面同时也可被看作是雅思口语词汇的四种用途：
1. 同义词/近义词的转换，以及同义词链的掌握
2. 词性的自由变换，特别是动词、名词、形容词/副词之间的来回变动
3. 词组的使用范围远大于单个单词，尤其是动词词组和形容词词组
4. 形象化、生动化及趣味性的词汇应进入我们的备考词典
能做到以上四点的考生，就单凭词汇上的一枝独秀，也能在口语考试中赢得考官的青睐。下面我们通过真题实例来进行逐一分析。
词汇妙用法一：同义词/近义词 & 同义词链
【真题实例】Can you tell me something about your student life?
【答题思路】虽然这是一个简单到不能再简单的问题，但我们也不能放弃妙用词汇的一次机会。从积极的意义上讲，学生生活一定是exciting, interesting, colorful, impressive, stimulating, fascinating的代名词。问题是：我们是否能在自己的回答中把这么多的同义词/近义词加以利用。
【参考答案】Well, my student life has so many interesting and exciting things to talk about. First, I have made a lot of wonderful friends at school, and we share many hobbies, duties and personal opinions. Then, there are a variety of colorful events on campus – almost every student joins a club, takes part in a social activity, or becomes a member of some organization. These events are not only fascinating for young people who like to explore the world, but are also stimulating in terms of developing our thinking skills and lifestyles.
该回答从两个层面描述学校生活的精彩：一是结识了很多好朋友；二是有各种各样的校园活动。其间点缀的六个同义词/近义词组成了一条既结实、又丰富的同义词链。
词汇妙用法二：三大词性之间的“零换乘”
【真题实例】How can a company encourage its employees?
【答题思路】公司鼓励员工的方式有很多，《剑六》中专门有一篇阅读文章，叫Motivating Employees under Adverse Conditions，有兴趣的考生可以参考一下。其实光动词encourage和motivate，就含有不少词性变换的生机：encourage → encouragement → encouraging; motivate → motivation → motivational。能把这两串词汇用好，就已经非常令人刮目相看了。
【参考答案】For employees to really perform well, a company should think about how to encourage them at the workplace. For example, encouragement can come in the form of a big reward for those high achievers, so that they are motivated to work harder in the future. Also, even a public letter of recognition and praise is very encouraging. Sometimes, this kind of motivation can go a longer way than financial incentives. Finally, promoting a good worker to a higher position with greater responsibilities is an effective motivational exercise.
三种不同的鼓励员工的方法在这里被一一道明：第一是丰厚的物质奖励（a big reward）；第二是公开的表扬信（a public letter of recognition and praise）；第三是职位的晋升（promoting to a higher position）。其间展示的是encourage和motivate这两大动词及其名词、形容词之间毫无障碍的自由切换。
词汇妙用法三：“有权有势”的词组
单个单词能掌控的范围实在是太有限了，真正懂得词汇妙用的考生必须从词组方面着手。像have … in common, prevent … from doing …, be responsible for, be (more/less) likely to …, take … to the next level of … 等动词词组或形容词词组，它们不仅应用范围很广，而且可以控制整个句子的结构及说话的节奏，将其比喻为“有权有势”的贵族词汇一点都不为过。
【真题实例】What are the main differences between living in the city and living in the countryside?
【答题思路】城市生活和乡村生活之间的区别是一个仁者见仁、智者见智的话题。不管你的答题思路是老套的、还是具有新意的、甚至是较为另类的，关键还在于你的用词水平，特别是你运用词组的能力高下。
【参考答案】I hate to say some bad things about the countryside, but I do think that living in the city enables you to enjoy many benefits that are unavailable in the country. First of all, city residents are more likely to take the convenient public transport to work, to school and to shopping, while rural residents often have no choice but to drive their own cars and deal with the terrible traffic, parking problems and even car accidents. In terms of opportunities, the countryside also has the twin disadvantages of not offering enough new jobs and business opportunities.
这里的五个词组中，有动词词组enable … to …（使 … 能 …），have no choice but to …（没有其它选择，只能 …），has the twin disadvantages of …（具有双重缺点）；有形容词词组be more likely to …（更有可能 …）；也有介词词组in terms of …（就 … 来说）。整段回答通过城市与乡村的优缺点对比，来说明两者间的差异。
词汇妙用法四：形象、生动、趣味
英文口语中充满了形象化的表达方法，比如讲成天看电视的人叫couch potato，喜欢乱说话的人叫a big mouth，工作刚上手叫learn the ropes，做了很多无用功叫bark up the wrong tree，装作没听见或置之不理叫turn a deaf ear to，讨人嫌的人叫a pain in the neck，等等。如果能在你的回答中显露一二，考官一定会喜出望外！
【真题实例】Describe an interesting family in your neighborhood.
What kind of family it is
Who are in this family
How did you get to know them
And explain why you think it is interesting.
【答题思路】既然题目要求我们描述一个有趣的家庭，我们不妨多用一些生动趣味的词汇来突出该家庭的特别之处。很多Part 2的描述问题其实都是编故事，因此考生必须具备现场现编的能力。
【参考答案】The most interesting family in my neighborhood is a very large family of eight people. Can you believe that? Four generations living under the same roof! The most senior person in this family is Old John, who is almost 90 and whose potbelly and rosy cheeks bring a lot of fun to our community. His son Little John and his wife Mary are both nice people, and they have four children: Jack, Rose, Terry and Alice. While their second son Terry is a big mouth who is determined to talk your head off, their little daughter Alice is a real pain in the neck because her favorite hobby is play pranks on the neighbors. In contrast, the eldest child Jack is a yes-man, and he takes orders from almost everyone in the family – his father, his wife his younger sister Rose and even his 7-year-old son Raymond, who is a typical “little emperor” of a big family. It is hard to miss this really interesting family because it is always in the spotlight by appearing on the community newspaper every other day or two.
这里以集团军形式出现的形象化表达方式给这个有趣的大家庭增添了无穷的色彩：live under the same roof（同住在一个屋檐下），potbelly（啤酒肚），rosy cheeks（红润的脸颊），a big mouth（爱说是非的大嘴巴），talk your head off（把人给烦死），a real pain in the neck（令人讨厌的主），a yes-man（老好人），little emperor（小皇帝），in the spotlight（备受关注）。因此强烈建议考生在平时多积累这样的生动词藻，以便在考场中随机应变地发挥一下。
