精準定位，巧抓細節(jié)

精準定位，不必多讀

筆者在課堂上反復強調(diào)過一個“反常識”的觀點：讀得越多，錯的可能性越大。這句話可以解讀為“精準定位，不必多讀”，具體意思是說，考生在解題時，回原文精準定位到答案范圍之后，只在原文的答案范圍內(nèi)精讀即可，不必多讀其上下文。這樣做的原因是考生閱讀的信息越多，接受的干擾信息就越多。下面列舉兩道真題實例，供考生體會。

例1 Come on—Everybodys doing it. That whispered message， half invitation and half forcing， is what most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good—drinking， drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club， Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure can also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure， in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the world. （選自2012年考研英語閱讀真題Text 1）

21. According to the first paragraph， peer pressure often emerges as _____.

A. a supplement to the social cure

B. a stimulus to group dynamics

C. an obstacle to school progress

D. a cause of undesirable behaviors

解析：這道題有很清晰的定位點（first paragraph），考查的是考生在原文中找尋信息的速度和精確性。考生只需要兩個步驟就可以完成題目。第一步，尋找包含答案信息的原文句子。題干中的peer pressure和often是考生回原文尋找答案信息的線索，考生需要找到兩者都出現(xiàn)的句子。考生很快可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，例題所給原文中的劃線句子即為包含答案信息的原文句子。第二步，將題干與劃線句子對比，進行同義替換：劃線句子中的it對應的是題干中的peer pressure，劃線句子中的usually對應的是題干中的often，劃線句子中的“l(fā)eads to no good—drinking， drugs and casual sex”對應的則是選項中的a cause of undesirable behaviors，其中l(wèi)eads to與a cause of相對應，no good與undesirable相對應，“drinking， drugs and casual sex”與behaviors相對應。由此考生可以推斷出選項D為正確答案。

需要特別強調(diào)的是，這道題切不可誤認為是 “but之后為答案”類型的題目，如今就轉折詞之后的內(nèi)容出題的現(xiàn)象已經(jīng)變少了。

例2 We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II， at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days， it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and at length about the events they covered. Theirs was a serious business， and even those reviewers who wore their learning lightly， like George Bernard Shaw and Ernest Newman， could be trusted to know what they were about. These men believed in journalism as a calling， and were proud to be published in the daily press. “So few authors have brains enough or literary gift enough to keep their own end up in journalism，” Newman wrote， “that I am tempted to define ‘journalism as ‘a(chǎn) term of contempt applied by writers who are not read to writers who are.” （選自2010年考研英語閱讀真題Text 1）

22. Newspaper reviews in England before World War II are characterized by _____.

A. free themes B. casual style

C. elaborate layout D. radical viewpoints

解析：這道題是2010年考研英語閱讀的難題之一。但事實上它并不難，只是很多考生做題的思路存在偏差導致難度加大。大部分考生都是采用常規(guī)的解題思路：根據(jù)題干中的newspaper reviews、in England和World War II回原文將答案信息定位至例題所給原文的劃線句子。但是上述句子很長，因此解題難度很大。其實，題干中還有第四個信息點很多考生沒有注意到，那就是characterize這個單詞。Characterize這個單詞表明這道題目是讓考生查找到newspaper reviews的特點。此時，考生就應該想到尋找newspaper reviews的修飾語，因為修飾語就是用于說明中心詞的特點。本題中，newspaper reviews的修飾語只有一個單詞unfocused，該詞說明了newspaper reviews的特點，能解出這道題的也只有這個單詞，由此考生可以找到該詞的同義替換詞組，即選項A （free themes）。

在這道題的解題過程中，筆者并沒有翻譯句子，只是根據(jù)詞組結構精確定位到一個表示特征的單詞，將它作為答題依據(jù)。考生可以觀察歷年考研英語閱讀題目，一般一篇400余詞的文章，涉及答案信息的單詞不會超過10%。所以，考研閱讀的核心不是通讀全文，也不是去翻譯，而是尋找信息。

利用并列結構解題

在閱讀理解題目中，包含答案信息的原文句子可能是由and連接的并列結構。此時，考生要將and當成切割點使用，把其前面、后面的內(nèi)容看成是各自獨立的部分，分開考慮。在答題時，只要選項與其中的一部分內(nèi)容是同義替換，那該選項就是正確答案。下面列舉兩道真題實例。

例1 For the past several years， the Sunday newspaper supplement Parade has featured a column called “Ask Marilyn.” People are invited to query Marilyn vos Savant， who at age 10 had tested at a mental level of someone about 23 years old； that gave her an IQ of 228—the highest score ever recorded. IQ tests ask you to complete verbal and visual analogies， to envision paper after it has been folded and cut， and to deduce numerical sequences， among other similar tasks. So it is a bit confusing when vos Savant fields such queries from the average Joe （whose IQ is 100） as， whats the difference between love and fondness？ Or what is the nature of luck and coincidence？ Its not obvious how the capacity to visualize objects and to figure out numerical patterns suits one to answer questions that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers. （選自2007年考研英語閱讀真題Text 2）

26. Which of the following may be required in an intelligence test？

A. Answering philosophical questions.

B. Folding or cutting paper into different shapes.

C. Telling the differences between certain concepts.

D. Choosing words or graphs similar to the given ones.

解析：考生可以將題干中的intelligence test和require作為定位詞回原文查找含有答案信息的句子，由此考生可以定位到例題所給原文的劃線句子。這個句子含有and連接的并列結構，有如下三個并列成分：to complete verbal and visual analogies、to envision paper after it has been folded and cut、to deduce numerical sequences。也就是說，智商測試要求被測試者完成三項任務：完成文字和圖像上的類比、想象出紙張被折疊和剪切之后的形狀以及推斷數(shù)字的順序。選項中只需要與其中一項任務是同義替換即可。閱讀選項，考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項D的內(nèi)容choosing words or graphs similar to the given ones是對第一個并列成分to complete verbal and visual analogies的同義替換，由此考生得出本題的正確答案為選項D。

例2 But on the general effectiveness of the social cure， Rosenberg is less persuasive. Join the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as its presented here is that it doesnt work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed. （選自2012年考研英語閱讀真題Text 1）

23. In the authors view， Rosenbergs book fails to ____.

A.adequately probe social and biological factors

B.effectively evade the flaws of the social cure

C.illustrate the functions of state funding

D.produce a long-lasting social effect

解析：考生首先可根據(jù)題干中的authors view、Rosenbergs book和fails to這三個關鍵詞（組）將答案信息定位至例題所給原文的劃線部分。考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，這個劃線句子用and連接了兩個并列成分：too much irrelevant detail和not enough exploration of the social and biological factors。正確選項只需與其中一個并列成分存在同義替換關系即可。通過比對選項與劃線句子，考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項A為正確答案。其中，題干中的Rosenbergs book對應的是原文的Join the Club，題干中的fails to對應原文中的not，選項adequately probe social and biological factors對應的則是and之后的并列成分enough exploration of the social and biological factors。

利用“選項與原文并列成分中的一部分內(nèi)容同義替換即可”這個思路，考生可以減少精讀的內(nèi)容，并能精確定位到答案信息的核心部分。

利用時態(tài)解題

從理論上講，英語中有16種時態(tài)，有些題目考生可以根據(jù)時態(tài)的不同迅速定位到含有答案信息的原文句子。以下面一道題為例。

例 Of all the components of a good nights sleep， dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams， a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. A century ago， Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears； by the late 1970s， neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just “mental noise” —the random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the minds emotional thermostat， regulating moods while the brain is “off-line.” And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control， to help us sleep and feel better. “Its your dream，” says Rosalind Cartwright， chair of psychology at Chicagos Medical Center. “If you dont like it， change it.” （選自2005年考研英語閱讀真題Text 3）

31. Researchers have come to believe that dreams ____.

A. can be modified in their courses

B. are susceptible to emotional changes

C. reflect our innermost desires and fears

D. are a random outcome of neural repairs

解析：這道題根據(jù)上述段落出題。這一段講述了三個不同時代的研究者對夢的解釋：一個世紀之前的弗洛伊德、20世紀70年代晚期的神經(jīng)學家和當下的研究者。考生解答該題時，首先需要通過題干中的時態(tài)判斷題目具體問的是哪個時代的研究者觀點。題干使用了現(xiàn)在完成時have come to believe，暗示了題干的研究者應該是指當代的研究者，由此考生可以將答案范圍縮小到本段的后半部分，即now之后的部分。根據(jù)劃定答案范圍中的句子“And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control， to help us sleep and feel better”（其中，一個主要權威人士聲稱，這些強有力的精神活動不僅可以得到控制，而且可以通過有意識的控制來幫助我們改善睡眠，使我們感覺更舒適），考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項A符合這個意思，是正確答案。

綜上所述，筆者提醒考生在考研英語閱讀理解備考和實戰(zhàn)過程中注意以下三點。

第一，在做閱讀理解題時，考生并非“讀得越多，選得越對”，正確的觀念應該是“讀得越精，選得越對”。考生應充分利用題干的信息精準定位到含有答案信息的原文句子，然后通過精讀這些句子來選擇答案。

第二，考生千萬別把大量的時間放在翻譯原文句子上。筆者在培訓的過程中發(fā)現(xiàn)，很多考生力求把定位到的原文句子翻譯出來，其實這樣做對解題意義不大，考生只需要把重要信息提煉出來就能解題了。

第三，考生除了要學會定位，還需要掌握好詞匯。定位法可以幫助考生節(jié)省做題時間，但是考生如果要透徹理解定位到的句子并準確替換出正確答案，就必須有扎實的詞匯基礎。所以在備考階段，考生需要鞏固自己的單詞量，以求達到技巧和實力并行。

王雙林，北京新東方學校國內(nèi)考試部教師，教授考研閱讀等課程。本科畢業(yè)于上海外國語大學，碩士與博士研究生階段就讀于中國人民大學。