新托福口語(yǔ)考試的第三題和第四題都要求考生首先在45秒內(nèi)看完一段100字左右長(zhǎng)度的單一段落閱讀材料。若想拿到第三題和第四題的滿分,除了聽力和口語(yǔ)復(fù)述之外,考生需要強(qiáng)加練習(xí)的就是對(duì)閱讀段落的把握。在有限的時(shí)間之內(nèi)把握閱讀材料的重點(diǎn)信息是個(gè)不小的挑戰(zhàn),尤其是第四題的閱讀材料更是讓許多考生有了不小的挫敗感。那么如何正確把握閱讀材料的重點(diǎn),正是我們本次探討的中心。
一、把握閱讀節(jié)奏,有效閱讀
提高閱讀速度當(dāng)然是最大的武器,但是盲目追求速度快往往導(dǎo)致我們忽略重點(diǎn),影響閱讀質(zhì)量。那么怎樣才能在保證閱讀速度的前提下提高閱讀質(zhì)量呢?我們知道,句子是由詞組成的,但同一句話中的各個(gè)詞的分量不盡相同,有的起著關(guān)鍵的作用。段落是由句子構(gòu)成的,然而同一段落中的各個(gè)句子的分量也是不同的,有的是關(guān)鍵句、核心句,有的則起著輔助說(shuō)明的作用,為闡述中心思想而服務(wù)。這些關(guān)鍵詞、關(guān)鍵句表達(dá)的正是段落的重要信息,抓住了它們就等于抓住了段落的核心,就知道了什么地方應(yīng)該加快速度,什么地方應(yīng)該放慢速度,當(dāng)然也就掌握了閱讀節(jié)奏。也就是說(shuō),對(duì)于關(guān)鍵詞和關(guān)鍵句應(yīng)該慢讀,做到充分理解,牢牢把握;而對(duì)非關(guān)鍵詞和非關(guān)鍵句應(yīng)加快閱讀速度,搶出時(shí)間,用以反復(fù)閱讀重點(diǎn)句或歸納總結(jié)。所以,把握閱讀的節(jié)奏成了有效閱讀的關(guān)鍵。那么接下來(lái),對(duì)新托?谡Z(yǔ)第三題和第四題逐一做出分析和講解,教大家如何把握閱讀的節(jié)奏。
二、把握閱讀節(jié)奏之第三題
第三題屬于校園場(chǎng)景,閱讀材料按內(nèi)容可以劃分成兩種:學(xué)校通告(Announcement)和個(gè)人建議(Letter/Proposal)。兩者雖然在內(nèi)容上不同,但文章結(jié)構(gòu)是一致的。這是一個(gè)好現(xiàn)象,因?yàn)槲覀兛梢酝ㄟ^(guò)固定的文章結(jié)構(gòu)來(lái)快速判斷主旨句的位置。其實(shí),學(xué)校的通告也好,個(gè)人的建議也罷,都符合西方人開門見山的表達(dá)習(xí)慣。換言之,無(wú)論是什么內(nèi)容的材料,主旨句通常出現(xiàn)在前兩句。這給我們提供了很大的便利,因?yàn)槲覀兛梢砸源藖?lái)提高我們的閱讀速度。我們先來(lái)看一則學(xué)校通告的例子:
Required Work Experience
The business studies department at State University will now require all students enrolled in its program to complete one semester of work experience in a local corporation or small business. It is felt that students will benefit from this work experience by developing leadership and organizational skills that would not normally be learned in a classroom or campus setting. Furthermore, the relationship that students establish with the company that they work for may help them to secure permanent employment with that company once they have completed the program and graduated.
我們拿到一段材料通常第一件事是看標(biāo)題,因?yàn)槟悄軒椭覀兛焖僬莆詹牧系闹髦,所以我們知道本題的主旨與work experience有關(guān),接下來(lái)就剩細(xì)節(jié)了。通過(guò)剛才講過(guò)的方法,我們知道主旨句一定在前兩句,所以我們稍微放慢速度閱讀前兩句。通過(guò)題目一開始的旁白我們已經(jīng)知道這是一篇學(xué)校通告,所以為了提升速度,我們快速跳過(guò)一些“虛詞”,包括學(xué)校名稱、院系、以及表示“要求”、“建議”等意思的詞。因?yàn)檫@些詞在大部分的學(xué)校通告材料中出現(xiàn)且無(wú)實(shí)際意義,所以我們可以快速略過(guò)。那本題中,我們只需要仔細(xì)閱讀第一行require后面的內(nèi)容就可以了。這時(shí)我們的工作量就又減少了,速度也就提升了。通過(guò)閱讀我們發(fā)現(xiàn),本題的主旨就在第一句,所以趕緊記下來(lái)關(guān)鍵詞(動(dòng)詞、名詞優(yōu)先),保證主旨句有分。
下面我們?cè)賮?lái)看一個(gè)個(gè)人建議的例子:
University Should Pave Running Trails
The university has about three miles of unpaved dirt running trails that pass through the forest near campus. I think these trails should be paved with cement. One reason for paving the trails would be to increase their safety. When it rains, the dirt turns to mud and becomes very slippery, so the runners who use them can slip and fall. Pavement would solve this problem. Also, paving would make the trails look nicer, which would encourage students to use them. Bumps in the trial would be smoothed out and weeds would be paved over, making the trail more attractive to runners.
Sincerely Sally Jacobs
個(gè)人建議的閱讀材料更容易判斷主旨句,我們只需要快速找到第一人稱I或We出現(xiàn)的一句就OK了。根據(jù)技巧,我們找到本題的主旨就是I think these trails should be paved with cement。但是為了答案更具體更完整,我們應(yīng)該把句中的these指代的內(nèi)容找出來(lái),根據(jù)指代原則,我們從第一句找到了unpaved dirt running trails。所以,本題的主旨就是The student suggests that the unpaved dirt running trails should be paved with cement。這樣就可以快速搞定主旨句了。
然而,光找主旨是不夠的,我們還需要找出除了主旨之外的重點(diǎn)。這個(gè)重點(diǎn)通常包括學(xué)校做法或個(gè)人建議的原因、目的、功能、作用等,而且大部分情況下都是兩點(diǎn)。我們?cè)趺茨芸焖贉?zhǔn)確地定位到這兩點(diǎn)呢?很簡(jiǎn)單,通過(guò)表示列舉和增補(bǔ)關(guān)系的連接詞,或起到連接性作用的短語(yǔ)等,包括:First, one reason, on one hand, in addition, additionally, also, furthermore, moreover, what’s more, another reason/purpose/benefit等。我們應(yīng)該首先快速定位這些詞,這樣能幫我們立即找到兩點(diǎn)原因。就拿剛才的例子來(lái)說(shuō),我們能迅速地發(fā)現(xiàn)One reason for paving the trails would be to increase their safety和Also, paving would make the trails look nicer, which would encourage students to use them。做到這,我們的任務(wù)基本就完成了。接下來(lái)我們稍微放慢速度閱讀這兩句,記下關(guān)鍵詞。如果還剩其他的句子,都只是起輔助作用的內(nèi)容,快速閱讀即可。如果還剩時(shí)間,我們應(yīng)該把所找的重點(diǎn)再反復(fù)閱讀,加深理解。
當(dāng)然,閱讀材料并不是絕對(duì)的固定結(jié)構(gòu)。有時(shí)我們?cè)谖闹邪l(fā)現(xiàn)不了上述提到的連接詞的時(shí)候,只能逐句閱讀,抓緊記下一點(diǎn)原因之后,快速閱讀剩余句子,先判斷一下是否與已記下的內(nèi)容雷同,如果沒(méi)有不同的點(diǎn)可以記,我們只能判斷本題只有一個(gè)原因了。比如下列一段材料:
Housing Renovations Planned
Over the last ten years, the number of Central College students living on campus in dormitories has decreased by twenty percent. In an effort to counteract the trend, the college has announced a plan to renovate its on-campus housing. The renovations will take two years, and they will include improvements to the bathrooms, lighting, and heating in the dormitories. “A lot of people are moving off campus because the dorms aren’t in great shape,” explained the college president. “By renovating the dorms, we can make them more appealing than off-campus housing, and more students will choose to remain on campus.”
我們可以發(fā)現(xiàn),本段沒(méi)有上述鏈接詞,也沒(méi)有明顯的分層,通過(guò)閱讀我們發(fā)現(xiàn)文章一再地提到學(xué)生搬出校園以及翻修宿舍的目的是為了吸引學(xué)生住校。所以我們能肯定本題的原因就是“吸引學(xué)生住校”。所以,通過(guò)有快有慢、有重點(diǎn)有技巧的閱讀,我們就絕不會(huì)落下得分點(diǎn)。
三、把握閱讀節(jié)奏之第四題
第四題屬于學(xué)術(shù)場(chǎng)景,閱讀材料是關(guān)于一個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)名詞的解釋。這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)名詞或是某種現(xiàn)象,亦或是某種做法,專業(yè)涉及心理學(xué)、商業(yè)、社會(huì)學(xué)、藝術(shù)等。與第三題不同的是,本題的閱讀段落并沒(méi)有第三題那么固定,所以在找得分點(diǎn)方面給我們?cè)黾恿穗y度,閱讀速度也因此會(huì)受到影響。不過(guò)主旨句(也就是對(duì)專有名詞的解釋)總歸有它的特點(diǎn),我們大致可以把主旨句分為三種情況。
第一種情況是要解釋的學(xué)術(shù)名詞首次完整在段落中出現(xiàn)的一句話就是主旨句,就是對(duì)這個(gè)名詞的解釋。所以我們拿到閱讀段落的時(shí)候應(yīng)該首先快速掃描學(xué)術(shù)名詞,第一次出現(xiàn)這個(gè)名詞的那一句就是對(duì)這個(gè)詞的解釋。比如下面一個(gè)例子:
The Establishing Shot
Film directors use different types of camera shots for specific purposes. An establishing shot is an image shown briefly at the beginning of a scene, usually taken from far away. That is used to provide context for the rest of the scene. One purpose of the establishing shot is to communicate back ground information to the viewer, such as setting--where and when the rest of the scene will occur. It also establishes the mood feeling of the scene. Due to the context that the establishing shot provides, the characters and events that are shown next are better understood by the viewer.
本段落要解釋的名詞是establishing shot,所以我們快速在文中找這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)名詞首次完整出現(xiàn)的句子。很快我們就能定位第二句符合這個(gè)規(guī)則,那么接下來(lái)就要放慢速度閱讀理解這句話的意思。通過(guò)閱讀我們能判定這就話就是主旨句,所以應(yīng)該快速記下相應(yīng)的筆記。
當(dāng)然,很多時(shí)候我們發(fā)現(xiàn)主旨句并不是這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)名詞第一次出現(xiàn)的句子;相反地,它們第一次出現(xiàn)的句子是一個(gè)概括性的,導(dǎo)入性的句子,那么這個(gè)時(shí)候我們就應(yīng)該判斷這屬于第二種情況,就是主旨句出現(xiàn)在導(dǎo)入性句子的后面,比如:
Entertainment Merchandising
An effective, widely used marketing practice in the entertainment industry is entertainment merchandising. Entertainment merchandising is a form of marketing in which the brand or image from one product is also used to sell another. The practice of entertainment merchandising often occurs in connection with movies and television shows, especially those associated with children. For example, the success of a popular children’s television show may result in the marketing of toys that are designed to look like characters in the show. Or the situation may be reversed when a children’s television show is written to include characters that are based on already-popular toys.
我們通過(guò)第一種方法能快速定位到第一句是這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)名詞首次完整出現(xiàn)的句子,但是通過(guò)閱讀我們發(fā)現(xiàn)這句話并沒(méi)有解釋什么是entertainment merchandising, 而是說(shuō)有一種做法叫做entertainment merchandising, 所以我們知道了這句話只起一個(gè)導(dǎo)入性的作用。那么接下來(lái)我們就抓緊看下一句,通常下一句就是對(duì)這個(gè)名詞的解釋。而通過(guò)閱讀我們發(fā)現(xiàn)第二句就正好解釋了這個(gè)詞的意思,所以應(yīng)該快速記下筆記。
當(dāng)然,有時(shí)候除了上述情況,我們還能碰到第三種情況:我們找到的學(xué)術(shù)名詞第一次出現(xiàn)的一句話既不是主旨句也不是導(dǎo)入性的句子,而是一個(gè)總結(jié)性的句子。這些句子的標(biāo)志語(yǔ)往往是this is known/seen/referred to as xxx, this is what we call xxx, these behaviors are xxx等。比如下面這個(gè)例子:
Comfort Zone Bias
Psychologists have found that when people make important decision, they often choose to stay in their “Comfort Zone”; that is, they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations, rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones. This tendency is often referred to as the comfort zone bias. When people are reasonably content, they often decide not to pursue a new opportunity, even if it attracts them and offers more advantages. Psychologists believe that the comfort zone bias exists not only because we have a natural preference for what we already know, but also because we want to avoid taking risks.
這個(gè)段落中我們能快速定位到第四行,也就是第二句‘This tendency is often referred to as the comfort zone bias’是學(xué)術(shù)名詞comfort zone bias首次完整出現(xiàn)的一句,但是我們知道這一句并不是解釋,而是總結(jié)說(shuō)“這種趨勢(shì)”叫做comfort zone bias,這時(shí)我們就要去前面找“這種趨勢(shì)”究竟是哪種趨勢(shì)。所以我們往前讀一句,發(fā)現(xiàn)when people make important decision, they often choose to stay in their “Comfort Zone”; that is, they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations, rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones就是本文的主旨句。
研究總結(jié)了大量的真題,發(fā)現(xiàn)第四題的閱讀基本都適用這三種情況,所以考生們可以按照這種方法提高閱讀速度。接下來(lái),找完主旨句,我們就需要判斷還有沒(méi)有其他得分點(diǎn)需要記。與第三題的閱讀不同,第四題的閱讀不一定都有兩個(gè)原因或目的這樣的細(xì)節(jié)可以記,所以考生要自己判斷是否有這樣的內(nèi)容。比如剛才我們舉過(guò)的establishing shot的例子,文章中有很明顯的標(biāo)志詞one purpose和also,所以我們立即就能決定記下這兩個(gè)點(diǎn)。而像另外兩篇文章,我們并不能立即發(fā)現(xiàn)有特點(diǎn)的細(xì)節(jié),所以考生只能快速閱讀剩下的句子。在這里我們需要注意的是,第四題如果想拿高分,對(duì)閱讀文章的精確概括十分重要。除了主旨句應(yīng)該記哪些內(nèi)容而不記哪些內(nèi)容十分考驗(yàn)考生的能力,所以關(guān)于第四題的閱讀材料筆記內(nèi)容老師會(huì)另外討論,不在這里詳細(xì)解釋了。
而關(guān)于主旨句的記錄,許多同學(xué)不確定在找出主旨句之后應(yīng)該記哪些詞不記哪些詞。我們先來(lái)看看兩個(gè)例子。
1. An establishing shot is an image shown briefly at the beginning of a scene, usually taken from far away.
本句是文章的主旨句,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)它其實(shí)不算長(zhǎng),所以這種情況我們直接記全句。記全句的好處就是在你看不懂的前提下保證你在復(fù)述的時(shí)候拿到一定的分?jǐn)?shù)。
2. Psychologists have found that when people make important decision, they often choose to stay in their “Comfort Zone”; that is, they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations, rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones. This tendency is often referred to as the comfort zone bias.
這個(gè)例子里主旨句太長(zhǎng),我們不可能全都記下來(lái),所以只需要記有用的內(nèi)容,一些“虛詞”和重復(fù)的內(nèi)容都可以省略。比如,Psychologists have found that只是起一個(gè)導(dǎo)入的作用,真正重要的是心理學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)了什么,所以這幾個(gè)詞是空話,是廢話,所以我們不記。接下來(lái),文章對(duì)they often choose to stay in their “Comfort Zone”做出了解釋,也就是they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations, rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones,所以這兩句意思一樣,我們只記后一句更具體的解釋,所以目前我們需要記的就是when people make important decision, they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations, rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones。學(xué)過(guò)語(yǔ)法和邏輯的同學(xué)知道,rather than表示這個(gè)詞組之前的內(nèi)容重要而之后的內(nèi)容不重要,所以我們沒(méi)有時(shí)間的話就可以省略rather than entering into new, unfamiliar ones這些內(nèi)容。這么一來(lái),我們最終需要記錄的就只剩下when people make important decision, they prefer remaining in comfortable, familiar situations,我們的任務(wù)就簡(jiǎn)單多了,復(fù)述起來(lái)也不浪費(fèi)時(shí)間了。
以上我們討論的這些技巧都需要考生們多做練習(xí),只有不斷練習(xí)這些技巧才能真正提高閱讀速度,把握文章重點(diǎn),在考試時(shí)才能沉著冷靜地記錄好閱讀文章的內(nèi)容,復(fù)述時(shí)才能省時(shí)省事還能確保高分。
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