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提高雅思阅读水平要突破的四项能力

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  想让出国读书拿到学位或移民进行得更顺利,必须要有符合要求的雅思语言成绩。一些考生虽然有非常强烈的学习动机和明确的目标,却往往由于对考试技巧理解不到位或运用不当而造成效果不佳,那么对于考生而言,又该应该如何正确理解和运用应考技巧呢?下面是小编给大家带来的提高雅思阅读水平要突破的四项能力,希望能帮到大家!

  提高雅思阅读水平要突破的四项能力

  针对雅思阅读考试的特点,本文中,专家将就以下四项技能做一讨论,希望考生在备考阶段重视以下四点,以达到更有针对性地逐步提高的目的,这四大技能为:

  SKIMMING (浏览)

  SCANNING (跳读)

  PARAPHRASING (同义词释意)

  SMALL WORDS (小词大意思,即一词多意)

  首先,关于SKIMMING (浏览),英文释义为:To skim is to read quickly in order to get the general idea of the passage.快速阅读为了获得文章的大意。浏览的技能很重要,雅思阅读任务量庞大,要在60分钟之内完成3000字左右的阅读,对大部分考生来讲是很具挑战的任务,更何况雅思阅读考试还有40个题目,需要做答,所以掌握SKIMMING的方法至关重要,那么如何在短时间之内迅速掌握文章的大体结构和每段的主要内容呢? 分析发现,根据西方人的思路和写作风格,他们通常会把最为重要的话题先入为主,放在靠前的位置。所以一篇文章最重要的是首段,而每一个段落中最重要的应该是句,或者第二句。除非有的段落开始一读,就发现是描述性的信息或者例子,那么主题句应该优先考虑段落的一句。前者段落结构大概可归为总分,后者为分总,这样一来,就进一步确定了主题句,从而从段落结构和内容上都更容易把握了。

  比如:在page 18/ Cambridge IV 中有这样一个段落 Adults and children are frequently confronted with statements about the alarming rate of loss of tropical rainforests. For example… 很明确这段主题句为句:大人和孩子经常面对热带雨林以惊人速度消失的陈述。第二句话就不用看了,因为举例子……所以说明后面都是细节为了支持主题句。那么学生在阅读的过程中,不妨养成把句当成一个设问句来读,学会自己设问自己解答,这样阅读就变得更加主动了,射入大脑的信息也会更加准确。又比如:Page 71/ CambridgeIV: Volcanoes are the ultimate earth-moving machinery. 粗略的理解:火山是一个使土地动起来的大机械。那么马上把这句话变成设问句,为自己一个为什么。接下来A violent eruption can blow the top few kilometers off a mountain, scatter fine ash practically all over the globe and hurl rock fragments into… 就非常好理解了,一个猛烈的爆发足以把山顶之下几公里的山体都炸飞,足见火山的影响力之大。

  关于SCANNING:定义-To scan is to read quickly in order to locate the specific information.快速阅读为了定位特殊信息。跳读的意义深远,它是个目的性极强的阅读过程,更强调的不是阅读理解,而是阅读做题,即从题干入手找到一些题目中的关键词和定位词,而回原文中跳跃读信息,在出现定位词的附近,停下来,仔细阅读,做出答案。而没有定位词的地方,非常快速的扫描过就可以了。如题目:For how many years did Mount Pinatubo remain inactive?首先我们能确定的就是答案形式一定是数字,表示具体多少年。然后应该对数字本身,或者文字表示的数字最敏感,然后用Mount Pinatubo 成为特殊定位词,快速扫描数字附近的单词,最终很快对应到原文中:In the case of Mount Pinatubo, this took 600 years. 答案为 600 years.这样的阅读,准确高效,是拿下细节题目的关键,一定要重分析,再寻找,否则就是在徒然浪费时间。

  PARAPHRASING,即所谓同义词释义。从雅思阅读的题干入手,从左至右依次划出定位词。除了那些比较特殊的词,比如大写,引号,数字等,最独特的名字就是要优先考虑的,因为题干中的名词到原文中不容易被代换掉,其次就要划出独特的动词,不过动词通常就要变化了,就要被同义词解释了。比如我们在题干中找到动词expect期待、预测的意思,到原文中能遇到原词的几率几乎为零,如果看到它的名词形式expectation就已经相当不错了。通常都被如下这些词替换了:predict, anticipate, guess in advance, forecast, foresee…所以考生在平时的英语学习中,一定要注意英文同义词的积累,名词,动词,形容词都至关重要。

  SMALL WORDS,一词多意。在雅思阅读的教学过程中,笔者经常会发现很多学生对每一个单词都能说出单独的意思,但如果要求他们对一句话进行综合理解,整体翻译,就发现局部语塞,洋泾浜中文或语义不通,漏洞百出,不能成文,究其原因,就是学生对单词的学习不够全方位,不够充分,没有注意到一词多义,而只停留在背单词书个或者第二个意思的阶段。例如:Many studies have shown that children harbour misconceptions about ‘pure’, curriculum science.很多学生会把从句中的harbour 翻译成港口,然后揣测:孩子港口一个错误的观点……就不知所云。其实这就错在了对harbour的正确理解上。首先确定在语境中harbour为动词,所以名词港口的意思这里就不能适用。然后孩子和错误观点之间能匹配的动词,应该为“怀着,持有……观点”。所以harbour可以等于have, hold若干。这就要求学生在学习英语的过程中,一定要注意单词的词性,根据词性再记住这个词性下至少两重意思,多对应参考书翻译句子,进行综合理解,这样才能达到单词活用的效果。这样的例子数不胜数,比如coin,名词“硬币”,动词“铸造,合并”; plant,,名词“植物和工厂”;discipline,名词“纪律和学科”;novel,名词“小说”,形容词“新颖的”; edge名词“边缘和优势”。阅读中对单词的要求也只是认知词汇,即看到条件反射认识即可,然后在上下文的语境中确定词性,选取意思,完成理解。要想对单词反应的更为敏感,还应该增加广泛的阅读量。

  如果在备考阶段能就上述四个方面对雅思阅读进行系统有素的训练,就不至于一味焦虑,没有方向,当然,考生也必须了解自身的特点,进行针对性的练习,才能达到更好的效果。更重要的是,这些方法并不仅只是为了应对雅思考试,而是阅读的一些基本技能要求,对国外留学应对大量的写作论文任务,收集并研读资料,撰写自己建设性的报告,都是必须的阅读方法。

  雅思阅读之是非判断题解析

  1. 关于“False”和“Not Given”的解释 (An Explanation of “False” and “Not Given”)

  Students generally find this type of exercise rather difficult. One reason is that they are used to doing true and false exercises where the false covers false and not given. Then when they come to do true, false or not given, they cannot make the distinction between the three different types of contradiction and not given. It is therefore important that students are able to understand what false means in true, false and not given. There are three types of contradictions:

  学生通常发现这种题型很难。其中的原因之一是这些学生习惯于做true和false题目,其中的false涵盖了false和not given两种情况。所以当学生在做true, false和 not given的题目时他们无法区分三个不同种类的矛盾对立状况和”not given”的区别。因此,学生要理解”false”的含义。总共有三种矛盾对立状况:

  statements which are the opposite of the original text.

  命题与原文内容对立(相反)。

  statements which are the opposite of the original text, because they are negative.

  命题与原文对立(相反),因为命题否定原文内容。

  statements where the information is not the opposite or negative, but the information in the statement contradicts that given in the text.

  命题信息既不对立(相反)也不否定,但是和原文内容矛盾。

  Look at the examples below relating to the text and exercises:

  Example 1

  原文:Hurricanes have winds of at least 74 miles per hour.

  题目:Hurricanes are winds with the speed of up to 74 miles per hour.

  分析:由于原文中的核心内容是“at least 74 miles per hour”,而题目中是“up to 74 miles per hour”。因此,这就是False的种情况:命题与原文内容对立(相反)。

  Example 2

  原文:As forecasting improved communities were no longer surprised by hurricanes and could take measures to evacuate ahead of the storm. While destruction still continues, the number of deaths in hurricanes has dropped significantly.

  题目:The destruction caused by hurricanes has ceased due to improvements in forecasting.

  分析:原文的核心内容是“While destruction still continues”,而题目中的内容是“The destruction caused by hurricanes has ceased”。因此,这就是False的第二种情况:命题否定原文内容。

  Example 3

  原文:In 1609, a fleet of ships carrying settlers from England to Virginia USA was struck by a hurricane. Some of the ships were damaged and part of the fleet grounded on Bermuda, an isolated nation in the Atlantic. These passengers became the first people to live on Bermuda.

  题目:The first people to live on Bermuda were settlers who chose to live there as alternative to England.

  分析:通过原文和题目比较我们发现:没有明显的对立和否定的词汇出现。而是通过句式结构的转换产生了题目和文章信息的矛盾。因此,这就是False的第三种情况。

  那么,not given是如何判断呢?我们再来看一个例子:

  Example 4

  原文:The Mayans also showed their respect for hurricanes by building their major settlements away from the hurricane-prone coast-line.

  题目:The Mayans lost many of their major settlements because of hurricanes.

  分析:尽管题目和原文中有对应的词出现:The Mayans和major settlements,但是题目中的因果关系在文章中并没有体现。也没于出现有关“lost”的相应表述。因此我们可以判断此题为not given。

  2. What is the keyword? 什么是关键词

  Select ONE keyword from each of the following:

  从以下的句子中划出一个关键词:

  Networking is not a modern idea.

  People fall into two basic categories.

  All teachers are cynics.

  The first piece of Hesse’s art has little effect on visitors to the gallery.

  The New Forest has already been made into a National Park.

  Suggested answers:

  参考答案:

  not

  two

  all

  little or perhaps first

  already

  The suggested answers I’ve given may not seem that obvious to the students who would possibly consider keywords such as 'modern' or 'New Forest' as more significant. However, the keywords shown have a greater significance in terms of the meaning of the whole statement and illustrate a number of traps in the test. For instance:

  我所给出的参考答案又有可能对学生来说不是那么明显。学生有可能认为诸如”modern”或”New Forest” 这一类关键词更重要一些。但是,根据整个题目的意义来说,参考答案所给出的关键词更加重要,而且体现了考试出题的陷阱。请看以下例子的分析:

  not makes the statement negative as opposed to possibly being positive in the text

  two determines a specific number of categories which may differ in the text.

  all determines that every teacher is a cynic and not a proportion of.

  little has a negative connotation as opposed to 'a little' another one to watch out for is 'few' and 'a few'

  already shows that the New Forest was made into a National Park in the past and is not a future proposal i.e. an indication of past, present or future time.

  These examples hence illustrate the importance of looking out for: negativity, a specific number, the whole or a proportion of, positive and negative connotation and reference to time. Other ones to watch out for include:

  这些例子搜寻以下关键词的重要性:否定词,具体的数字,限定范围的词,具有肯定或否定意义的词和时间指示词。其他的需要搜寻的关键词包括:

  Modals e.g. words like must, should, have to (varying degrees of obligation or certainty)

  情态动词(表示不同程度的义务和确定性)

  Adverbs of frequency e.g. sometimes, always

  频率副词,如sometimes, always

  Words such as most, some, all

  诸如most, some, all等限定词

  3. 同义转换能力 (Paraphrasing Ability)

  A paraphrase is a restatement of a paragraph, sentence, or word.

  我们通过对一道TRUE/YES考题的分析来掌握同义转换能力。

  EXAMPLE

  The original sentence (文章原句):

  “Until recently, criminologists could not afford to analyze DNA evidence for all homicide cases.”

  An effective paraphrase of this sentence(题目中的同义转换):

  “Crime labs now can use DNA for all murder cases.”

  NOTE: This paraphrase utilizes synonyms to replace key words. Some are very close (DNA vs. DNA evidence and homicide vs. murder), while others take more liberties (criminologists vs. crime labs and could not vs. now can). The essential meaning has been retained, however, despite these significant changes.

  通过上述的分析,总结出以下四种同义词转换技巧:

  replace a Phrase with a Word (or a Word with a Phrase) 单词词组转换

  Until recently 转换成了now,criminologists转换成了Crime labs

  Start the Sentence Differently 句型结构转换

  原句采用了Until recently……criminologists could not的结构, 而在题目中的运用了Crime labs now can……的结构

  Replace a Word with a Synonym 同义词转换

  同义词转换包含了词汇转换的内容,但更注重的是对于单词本身的替换。

  上面例子中最明显的同义词替换就是homicide和murder。另外analyze和use的替换也属于这种情况。

  Change Passive into Active Voice/Negative Slant to Positive 主动被动转换/ 否定肯定转换

  这种转换方式和句型结构的转换有相似的地方,但更注重表达方式的理解。如”until recently……could not afford to analyze……” 转换成了”……now can use……”

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