2021年1-4月份的题目着实有点意思，除了上周发送的《奇装异服的人》，《拜访但不想住的家》也是一道让人挠头的话题。
Describe a home that you enjoyed visiting but didn’t want to live in
You should say:
Where it is
What it is like
Why you enjoyed visiting it
And explain why you would not like to live there
不过，只要你找到了这道题的关键词并做对了拆分，这道题其实也是简单的。很多同学在看到题目的瞬间，目光就会被“enjoyed visiting but didn’t want to live in”给吸引，然后满脑子都开始思考为什么还会有“既喜欢又不想住”这种事情的存在。
但是，我会建议大家先把话题定语部分放一放，我们先把重点挪向话题关键词：“Home”。整道题都是围绕这个词而展开，这也就意味着我们需要先明确“Home”的维度拆分方向。因为“Home=Accommodation+People”, 所以我们只需要分别考虑它们各自所包含的维度即可。如果你不太清楚“Accommodation”有包括哪些维度的话，你可以把“Accommodation等同于object”，因为房子在某种程度上也是一个物品，它是被公司开发出来的。
Accommodation 维度拆分：
Location/ appearance (size/color/shape/ material/ decoration/ style)/ popularity/ history/ owner/ architect/ price/ quality/ quantity etc.
People 维度拆分：
Hobby/ occupation/ personality/ appearance/ how you know (about)/ age/ life experience/ relationship/ where from (home address/ nationality/ hometown)
education background/ family background/ social status/ marital status/ social network/ zodiac sign/ wealth/ sexuality/ habit/ language/ health/ popularity/ achievement/ name/ gender/ outlook etc.
借助于以上维度，我们将完全整篇话题的思考。
01
Where it is
“Where”类型问题作为地点类的必考题，我们必须要清楚它的拓展格式：
Step one：绝对位置 （位于东南西北中具体哪个方位）
Step two: 相对位置 （距离你家或者某一个地标建筑的远近）
Step three: 怎么过去（交通+路上花费时间）
Image
Example one：
A home that comes to mind is my cousin's house. She has lived there for as long as I remember. When I was young, I enjoyed visiting her home very much. It is a strange-looking house on the top of a mountain. Even though my town is small, it is still far from my home and about a 30-min walk away.
Example two：
A home that comes to mind is my friend’s flat. It is in the city center, so it is close to all the amenities 便利设施. Even though it is a bit far from my home, It is only 10 stops on the subway.
02
What it is like
对于房子的描述可能会稍显难度，如果你找不到描述的重点，我们不如先从“appearance”所包含的角度着手分别进行分析。
Size 大小
描述家的大小，你可以具体到几层楼、几个房间以及不同大小给你带来的感受。
Example one：
It is a small flat, just right for a single person. It has a small but cozy bedroom and a small but stylish 时尚的 living room.
Example two：
It is a big house with a huge home cinema and a private gym. It also has a big terrace 阳台 and a garden which gives my friend enough space to relax and unwind 放松.
Color 颜色
颜色可分为亮色和暗色, 每一类色系给人不一样的感觉。
Example one：
My friend decorated it with bold 大胆的 yellow color. Even though some people would hate this color in their house, he thinks it cheers him up.
Example two：
My friend decorated it with dark colors. He thinks it is a perfect choice to make his home more sophisticated and elegant.
Decoration 装饰物
装饰物里包括了家具、电器、灯饰等。这个家里可能充满着各种现代化的生活设备；也有可能什么都没有，只有一些简单的家具。
Example one：
My friend likes a simple life so he has a minimal 极简的 home. He doesn’t have fancy mod cons 现代化的生活设备 or lots of furniture as it would feel cluttered 杂乱的. However, he has a huge garden full of vegetables and fruits that he grows himself.
Example two：
My friend’s home has all the up-to-date mod cons and they all can be linked to the mobile phone, so he can control them from anywhere. In the house, he has a voice recognition system 语音识别系统, so he changes the temperature of the air conditioning or change the TV channel just through using his commands.
He also has an incredible bathroom with a top of the range 高级的 power shower and his living room has the most comfortable sofa with a built-in 内置的 massage function.
Material 材料
材料相对有难度，不过我会推荐你环保材料。对于欧美考官而言，他们多数都会对环保类的内容感兴趣。当然你也可以在材料有其他选择，比如北方的冰屋。
Example ：
As my friend is an eco-warrior 环保主义者, he lives in an environmentally-friendly house. His house is only made of natural materials, like bamboo and mud. It is completely sustainable in that he grows all his own food. It looks amazing and blends into 融入于 nature.
Style 风格
简而言之，“风格=颜色+装饰物”。
Example ：
My friend lives in a Mediterranean style house. It is painted bright white and blue and it has lots of rustic furniture. It is light and airy and there is a terrace that goes all around the house. There are many olive trees in the garden and lots of beautiful artwork everywhere.
清楚各角度的拓展方向后，我们就可以按自己的想法对房子进行描述。你可以从“颜色+大小”出发来描述这个“Home”, 你也可以从“材料+装饰物”的角度着手进行阐述，总之，描述重点取决于你。你想突出哪个角度就突出哪个角度。
Example ：size+decoration
I haven't been there for a while but from what I remember the house is a bit run down 破败的 and shabby 破旧的, as it was built about 50 years ago. It isn't very big compared to other houses in my hometown.
It has two floors and there are 7 rooms inside. I don't think it has ever been redecorated so it looks very dated. All the furniture inside has a very traditional Chinese style and there are no up-to-date mod cons.
Example ：size+color
My friend’s home is very big and spacious. There are 3 floors and 10 bedrooms. I always joke with him that his home is more like a hotel. As he doesn’t have an extended family, most of the rooms are vacant.
Another big feature of his home is that each room has a bright bold color, so my friend likes to sleep in different rooms depending on his mood. If he is happy, he stays in the yellow room, but if he wants to calm down, he uses the room on the top floor which is decorated in dove grey.
03
Why you enjoyed visiting it
至于你为什么喜欢去拜访，它可能和“accommodation”的维度有关。比如：从“location”着手，这个房子位于环境优美的山区或者繁华的市中心等。
Example ：
I enjoyed visiting my friend’s home, as it is surrounded by nature and you can enjoy a laid back 悠闲的 lifestyle in this place without too much noise. I remember in the past when I visited his home, I always forgot all the stress from my studies and I felt recharged when I left.
你喜欢去拜访的原因也有可能和“people”的维度有关。比如，从“hobby“着手，里面住着的人可能非常擅长做饭；从 “education background”着手，房子里住着的人可能受教育水平很高，可以帮你答疑解惑；从“personality”着手，房子里住着的人可能非常平易近人或者擅长鼓励人；从“appearance”着手，房子里住着的人可能很帅或者很美等。
Example one：
As an only child, I really liked to go to my cousin’s home. Whenever I stayed with her, I never got bored or felt alone. She always helped me with my homework. Sometimes she would also cook delicious food for me.
Example two： I liked visiting it because my friend’s grandma was really good at cooking. She was a very hospitable old lady and had worked in a restaurant for 40 years. She could cook various kinds of cuisines including western dishes.
When I went there, she always prepared a big, slap-up 大而又奢侈的 meal for me. In return, I also took some nice gifts for her. She liked me visiting their home.
Example three：
I liked visiting it because my cousin is a walking encyclopedia 活字典 and I could always gain lots of knowledge from her from Chinese history to Western culture. I never got bored when talking to her.
At the same time, my cousin is very good at encouraging and inspiring people. She gave me lots of confidence and because of her, I participated in various kinds of competitions and even won many prizes.
04
Why you would not like to live there
最后一小问的思考逻辑和第三小问完全一致。
你不想住在那的原因可能和“accommodation”的维度有关。比如：从“location”着手，这个房子的位置令人尴尬或者恐怖，例如森林里或者坟墓边等。
Example ：
Even though I love visiting my cousin, I definitely wouldn’t like to live there, as her home is a bit scary especially at night. As her home is on the mountain, there are some cemeteries 坟墓 close by.
I always had nightmares when I slept over and thought there were ghosts in the room. For this reason, i always preferred visiting in the day.
你不想住的原因也有可能和“people”的维度有关。比如，从“habit“着手，里面住着的人非常爱干净或者过于自律；从“personality”着手，里住着的人可能不太容易相处等。
Example one：
Even though I liked visiting my friend’s home, I wouldn't want to live there, as his family has a very self-disciplined lifestyle. They usually get up at the crack of dawn 早起 and have breakfast together at 6 am. As I am a night owl and I always struggle to get up early, I always felt sorry and embarrassed when I came down and they were waiting for me.
At the same time, his mum is a bit of a neat freak 洁癖 who likes to keep everything clean and tidy. As I am totally the opposite, I would find it difficult to live there for more than a few days.
Example two：
Although I always felt happy visiting my cousin’s home, I wouldn't want to live there, as I have never liked her grandmother. She can be very mean and she always looked down on me, as my family weren't as wealthy as her family. She used to talk about me behind my back. Because of this, I only visited my cousin when her grandma wasn't at home .
看完四小问的拆分，你有想好自己要说啥了不？
参考答案：【拜访但不想住的家】
Where it is
A home that comes to mind is my cousin's house. She has lived there for as long as I remember. When I was young, I enjoyed visiting her home very much. It is a strange-looking house on the top of a mountain, Nowadays it is a bit run down and shabby.
What it is like
I haven't been there for a while but from what I remember the house isn't very big compared to other houses in my hometown. It has two floors and there are 7 rooms inside.
I don't think it has ever been redecorated so it looks very dated. All the furniture inside has a very traditional Chinese style and there are no up-to-date mod cons.
Why you visited it
As an only child, I really liked to go to my cousin’s home. Whenever I stayed with her, I never got bored or felt alone. She always helped me with my homework. Sometimes she would also cook delicious food for me.
And explain why you would not like to live there
Even though I love visiting my cousin, I definitely wouldn’t like to live there, as her home is a bit scary especially at night. As her home is on the mountain, there are some cemeteries close by.
I always had nightmares when I slept over and thought there were ghosts in the room. For this reason, i always preferred visiting in the day.
