全國專業(yè)技術(shù)人員職稱英語考試輔導(dǎo)材料(四)

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第四講 怎樣做閱讀理解題(二)
    一、細(xì)節(jié)題
    大綱對考生掌握的閱讀能力的第二條要求是:了解闡述主旨的事實(shí)和細(xì)節(jié)。也就是說我們在閱讀一篇文章時,除了抓住文章的主旨和大意外,還必須弄清文中的一些重要事實(shí)或細(xì)節(jié),因?yàn)樗鼈兪亲髡叩贸鼋Y(jié)論或闡明論點(diǎn)的依據(jù)。了解這些事實(shí)或細(xì)節(jié)有助于領(lǐng)會并確定文章的主題思想。
    細(xì)節(jié)類題目在職稱英語等級考試的閱讀理解題中占的比例,涉及的內(nèi)容也很廣,因此,我們在復(fù)習(xí)應(yīng)考時,應(yīng)注意在該類題目上多下功夫。細(xì)節(jié)題常出why, when, where, what, who等疑問詞引導(dǎo)的句子提問。解答細(xì)節(jié)題的關(guān)鍵在于從問題中找出問題的關(guān)鍵詞,即能表達(dá)問題所涉及內(nèi)容的中心詞,然后迅速在短文中用查讀的方法找出關(guān)鍵詞在短文中的位置,以及包含所需信息的句子或短語,最后根據(jù)這些句子或短語做出正確的選擇。
    細(xì)節(jié)類題目常見提問形式有:
    What causes……?
    Why does the author mention……?
    How many……?
    where in the passage does the author describe……?
    What time does the writer think is ……?
    The author mentions that……?
    The writer states……?
    等等
    對于這種題型,考生可以首先從問題中找到關(guān)鍵詞,然后以此為線索,運(yùn)用查讀的方法到文章中尋找這一細(xì)節(jié),找到后再把這一部分內(nèi)容仔細(xì)閱讀一遍,從而保證對這一細(xì)節(jié)的正確理解,最后確定正確答案。
    Let Them Watch It
    One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn't or couldn't sleep, I tried everything I could think of : a warm bottle, songs, and gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill off the hours until dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes, focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoed out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's fortyfifth birthday. My wife and I heard no more of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.
    I found in my baby's behaviour a metaphor for the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read, that they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion; let them watch it. If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight it? Let them watch it all they want!
    這是99年試題中的一篇
    短文。短文講的是一個炎熱的夏天,孩子就是不愿意睡覺,作者想盡了各種辦法,又是拿奶瓶,又是唱歌,又是搖晃,就是不管用。實(shí)在沒有辦法,把一個手提電視給他拿了過去,孩子立刻就不鬧了。我們看第36題:
    36. The author brought a TV set into his son's room to
    A)make his son stop crying.
    B) spend the night watching TV.
    C) leave it to his son.
    D) make his son fall asleep as soon as possible.
    題目問的是作者把電視拿到他兒子屋里去的目的是什么。這道題就屬于細(xì)節(jié)性題目。在回答這類題目時,就要到文中找有關(guān)信息。請看第一段第三句: Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me……watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill off the hours until dawn.作者把電視機(jī)拿到他兒子的房間里本不是給他兒子看的,而是準(zhǔn)備讓自己看深夜電影來打發(fā)長夜難熬的時光。所以,選項(xiàng)B為答案。其他三個選項(xiàng)都不是他把電視機(jī)拿到兒子房間里去的初衷。下面我們看推理題。
    二、推理題
    一篇文章往往包含兩方面的內(nèi)容:即字面內(nèi)容和內(nèi)在內(nèi)容。所謂內(nèi)在的內(nèi)容,是指由于種種原因,文章的作者并不直說出其意,而是把要表達(dá)的意思隱藏在字里行間。推理題就是要求考生依據(jù)文章所提供的事實(shí),透過表面的文章信息去推測文章深層的含義。推理能力包括歸納、演繹、分析,綜合、引申等。閱讀理解題中最讓考生頭痛的應(yīng)屬推理題。這類題既有以局部內(nèi)容為基礎(chǔ)的簡單推理,也有以某一段落,甚至整篇文章為基礎(chǔ)判斷作者(或文中某人物)態(tài)度、觀點(diǎn)、意圖、語氣、身份及文章文體等的復(fù)雜推理。
    推理題往往以下列形式出現(xiàn):
    It can be inferred from the passage that……
    In this passage the author implies that……
    We can conclude from the passage that……
    The author's attitude toward……is……
    The author may probably agree with / be in favour of / support /……
    One could conclude from the passage that……
    The paragraph following this passage most probably would discuss……
    請看上面這篇短文的第37題:
    37. The baby's reaction to the TV was
    A)unexpected.
    B) exciting.
    C) awful.
    D) calm.
    該題的下確答案為A.作者在文章中提到,他一打開電視,孩子馬上就安靜下來,再也不鬧了,眼睛直盯在電視上。作者在這里用了“To my surprise”, 顯然孩子對電視的反應(yīng),是作者沒有預(yù)料到的,因此A為正確答案。exciting是“令人興奮的”,“awful”是“可怕的”,也就是極其不好的反應(yīng), calm是“平靜的”,電視一開,那孩子就平靜下來了,但這并不是說他的反應(yīng)是平靜的。下面我們再看第38題:
    38. From the passage we know that the author is
    A) a doctor.
    B) an editor.
    C) a writer.
    D) a teacher.
    該題也屬于推時題。上面我們說過,推理有兩類,一類是簡單推理,另一類是復(fù)雜推理。簡單推理是以表面文字信息為前提,以具體事實(shí)為依據(jù)進(jìn)行推理,做出判斷。這種推理方式比較直接,無須考慮其他前提或?qū)ふ移渌罁?jù),只須在文章的已知信息與表層結(jié)構(gòu)的基礎(chǔ)上進(jìn)行推理。本題就屬于簡單推理題,要求考生推斷作者的職業(yè)。根據(jù)文章最后一段第五局話的信息,我們會很容易地推斷出作者是一位教師。這句話的原文是: We find that our students don't read, that they look down upon reading an
    d scold those of us who teach it. 它的意思是:我們發(fā)現(xiàn)我們的學(xué)生不讀書,瞧不起讀書,而且還罵我們這些教他們讀書的人。由些看來,這里的我們就是指的當(dāng)老師的這些人。
    再看第40題:
    40. What do you think is the author's attitude toweard TV as expressed in the last two sentences?
    A) Angry.
    B) Serious.
    C) Ironical.
    D) Joking.
    該題要求考生根據(jù)短文最后兩句來判斷作者的態(tài)度。通讀上面短文的最后一段,我們注意到作者在談到孩子對待學(xué)習(xí)的態(tài)度時用了這些詞句:he merely spit upon them, he did not feel comfortable. We find that our students don't read, that they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. 意思是:我和夫人曾拿給孩子書,但他根本不看,還往書上吐唾沫。每次我們讀書給他聽,他就顯得濘身不自在。學(xué)校里的情況也是如此。我們的學(xué)生不愿讀書,而且嘲笑我們這些教書的。他們就喜歡看電視。尤其注意作者在最后用了兩個感嘆句子(“Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight it? Let them watch it all they want! 然而,通過與我們孩子的接觸,我得出這樣的結(jié)論:“想看就看,任其自便吧!”既然電視比書本更吸引孩子,我們何必苦苦反對呢?想看就讓他們看個夠好了。)這里作者顯然是在說反話。所以答案為C.
    三、詞匯題
    職稱英語等級考試對考生的閱讀理解能力提出的第三條要求是:根據(jù)上下文判斷某些詞匯和短語的意義。測試這種能力的題目通常稱為詞匯題。需要注意的是,這些詞匯或短語有可能是考生熟悉的,也有可能是考生不熟悉的。其常見提問形式有:
    The phrase “……” in the …… sentence could best be replaced by ……
    In line …… , what does “……” refer to?
    The line …… thatauthor uses the word “……” to indicate……
    The term “……” in the …… paragraph can best be replaced by ……
    The word “……” in the …… sentence refers to ……
    Whinch of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “……” (Para……, Line……)?
    The phrase “……” (Para ……, Line……) in the context means ……
    The word “……” most nearly means ……
    在做此類題目時我們可以從兩個方面入手:構(gòu)詞法和上下文,以判斷單詞的意義。英語的構(gòu)詞方法主要有以下幾種:
    1)派生法 (derivation)
    前綴 + 詞根
    in correct = incorrect
    不 正確的 不正確的
    2)合成法(composition)
    radio + activity = radioactivity (放射性)
    ice + box = icebox (冰箱)
    3)縮略法 (abbreviation)
    advertisement = ad. (廣告)
    4)拼綴法 (blending)
    smoke + fog = smog (煙霧)
    除了根據(jù)構(gòu)詞法來猜測詞義外,另外一個很重要的方法就是根據(jù)上下文來推斷詞義。一個單詞處于某個具體的語言環(huán)境中的意義可能在其本意的基礎(chǔ)上有較大的延伸。這一點(diǎn)對于職稱英語等級考試的應(yīng)試者來說尤為重要,因?yàn)槁毞Q考試允許考生可以攜帶詞典進(jìn)入考場,有的應(yīng)試者在碰到詞匯題時,認(rèn)為只要查一下詞典可以了,其實(shí)不然,因?yàn)樵搯卧~的詞義有延伸,考生需要把這一延伸的意義確定出來,需要根據(jù)上下文進(jìn)行具體的分析。
    還有一類詞匯題屬于指代性質(zhì)的,要求考生判斷文章中的某個詞所指代的內(nèi)容。從考試大綱所提供的樣題來看,此類題目也不少。一般來講,這類題目的難度不大,只要我們仔細(xì)分析代詞所處的語境,我們就不難判斷出代詞所指代的名詞。請看下面短文:
    Numbers and Mathematics
    It is said that mathematics is the base of all other sciences, and that arithmetic, the science of numbers, is the base of mathematics. Numbers consist of whole numbers which are formed by the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and by combinations of them. Parts of numbers smaller than 1 are somethins expressed in terms of fractions, but in scientific usage they are given as decimals. This is because it is easier to perform the various mathematical operations if decimals are used instead of fractions.
    ……
    這段短文談的是數(shù)字與數(shù)學(xué)的關(guān)系。 我們看下面這道題:
    The word “this” in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to
    A) using fractions in scientific fields.
    B) performing the mathematical operations.
    C) forming a number by the digits.
    D) expressing fractions as decimals.
    本題屬于指代關(guān)系題,一般來講,所代的詞一般在這一句話的前后、兩句中。找到指代的內(nèi)容后,把它放在那個代詞的位置上,看一看這句話是否合理,與前后的內(nèi)容是否一致然后再最后判定它是否為正確答案。根據(jù)這一思路,只有選項(xiàng)D放在this的位置句子才說得通。所以D為正確答案。
    四、小結(jié)
    以上我們向大家介紹了如何做閱讀理解題中細(xì)節(jié)題、推理題及詞匯題的解題技巧和方法。需要提醒大家的是,在解答細(xì)節(jié)題時,要注意從問題中找出問題的關(guān)鍵詞,即能表達(dá)問題所涉及內(nèi)容的中心詞,然后迅速在短文中找出關(guān)鍵詞在短文中的位置,以及包含所需信息的句子或短語,最后根據(jù)這些句子或短語做出正確的選擇。在解答推理題時,要采用我們前面介紹的研讀方法,力求對文章的某一特定的部分具有比較透徹的理解。另外,在研讀的過程中,如果碰到不熟悉的詞,要通過上下文,根據(jù)有關(guān)的背景知識以及構(gòu)詞法猜測生詞的大意。如果碰到長句或難句,要注意利用自己所具有英語語法知識分析句子的結(jié)構(gòu),找出句子的主語、謂語、賓語、狀語、定語等語法萬分,并搞清句子成分之間的修飾與被修飾關(guān)系,從而準(zhǔn)確地把握句子的含義。做詞匯題時,也要運(yùn)用構(gòu)詞法、上下文等線索猜測詞義