在考研英語中,通常是得閱讀者得天下。在最后沖刺階段,考生若能抓住閱讀理解這個(gè)重要板塊,進(jìn)行有效復(fù)習(xí),將會(huì)在考試中取得不錯(cuò)的成績(jī)。下文筆者就結(jié)合自己多年來的教學(xué)經(jīng)驗(yàn),對(duì)沖刺復(fù)習(xí)階段以及考試中需要注意的方面進(jìn)行總結(jié)。考生可以針對(duì)這些方面做自我檢查,找出不足之處,多加練習(xí)。(編注:本文談?wù)摰拈喿x理解主要是指?jìng)鹘y(tǒng)閱讀部分)
控制做題時(shí)間
在沖刺階段的復(fù)習(xí)中,考生應(yīng)盡量把閱讀理解部分的做題時(shí)間控制在60~70分鐘。閱讀理解的做題時(shí)間一旦超過80分鐘,必然占用寫作、新題型、翻譯和完形填空等題型的做題時(shí)間,致使考生做不完整張?jiān)嚲怼?/p>
判斷題目類型
許多考生做題往往不知道對(duì)題目題型作分類,這樣一來必然無法利用與題型緊密相關(guān)的解題技巧進(jìn)行解題。只有準(zhǔn)確判斷出題目類型,考生才能根據(jù)相關(guān)的答題技巧快速而準(zhǔn)確地答題。根據(jù)考研英語大綱對(duì)閱讀能力的考查要求,考研閱讀理解主要有如下題型。
1. 主旨題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“理解主旨要義”的要求,提問方式有:Which of the following is the best title of the text?/Which of the following is the text mainly about?
2. 一般細(xì)節(jié)題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“理解文中的具體信息”的要求,提問方式有:Which of the following is true?/The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be _______.
3. 推斷題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“進(jìn)行有關(guān)判斷、推理和引申”的要求,提問方式有:What can we infer from the last paragraph?/We can conclude from the last paragraph that _______.
4. 詞匯題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“根據(jù)上下文推測(cè)生詞的詞義”的要求,提問方式有:The word “talking” (Line 6, Paragraph 3) denotes _______./“The industry” (Line 4, Para. 3) refers to _______.
5. 態(tài)度題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“理解作者的意圖、觀點(diǎn)或態(tài)度”的要求,提問方式有:According to Paragraph 1, what is the author’s attitude toward the AAAS’s report?
6. 論點(diǎn)論據(jù)題。該題型對(duì)應(yīng)大綱中“區(qū)分論點(diǎn)和論據(jù)”的要求,提問方式有:The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions _______./Toyota Motor’s experience is cited as an example of _______.
在沖刺復(fù)習(xí)期間,考生可以對(duì)這些題型做專項(xiàng)訓(xùn)練,熟悉題型特征,做完題后總結(jié)做題方法和技巧,從而確保在考場(chǎng)上準(zhǔn)確快速答題。
找準(zhǔn)題干關(guān)鍵詞
許多考生到了沖刺階段,做題的準(zhǔn)確率依然不高,究其原因在于“帶著題干中的關(guān)鍵詞回原文定位”這一步出現(xiàn)了問題。也就是說,許多考生會(huì)依據(jù)自己對(duì)題干內(nèi)容的理解來定位原文,而忽視利用“題干中出現(xiàn)的關(guān)鍵詞”和“題文同序原則”(即題目出現(xiàn)的先后順序和答案信息在原文中出現(xiàn)的順序大體一致)回原文定位答案信息。考生如果單純根據(jù)題干的意思回原文定位,很容易由于理解偏差而造成定位不準(zhǔn),從而導(dǎo)致做題準(zhǔn)確率不高。
題干中出現(xiàn)的關(guān)鍵詞就像我們開車時(shí)在導(dǎo)航中輸入的路標(biāo)詞,它可以幫助我們準(zhǔn)確定位文章中的答案信息,找到題目的出處。考研英語閱讀理解中常見關(guān)鍵詞主要包括人名、地名、數(shù)字、年份、大寫字母縮寫、引號(hào)里的單詞等。另外,從詞性來看,副詞、形容詞、名詞更常被用作題干關(guān)鍵詞。下面舉例說明,題干中加粗的單詞(詞組)即題干關(guān)鍵詞。
(1) According to the author, one of the driving forces behind Mamp;A wave is _______.
(2) From paragraph 4 we can infer that _______.
(3) The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be _______.
(4) Which of the following best defines the word “aggressive” (Line 4, Paragraph 7)?
(5) What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have bad dreams?
在這里筆者提醒考生,對(duì)題干中出現(xiàn)的形容詞和副詞要多加注意,它們往往能起到縮小被修飾詞的定位范圍的作用。例如,students的定位范圍通常比較大,但是good students的定位范圍則比較小;have bad dreams定位范圍通常比較大,而sometimes have bad dreams的定位范圍則比較小,更有利于考生回原文準(zhǔn)確定位。
讀原文,劃重點(diǎn)
對(duì)于考試時(shí)是否有必要通讀文章這一問題,筆者認(rèn)為讀文章是有必要的,但讀文章不代表每個(gè)單詞都讀而且還要譯成中文。考生讀文章要分清哪些句子該作標(biāo)記并細(xì)讀,因?yàn)檫@些句子往往是考查的重點(diǎn)。下面筆者推薦三個(gè)需要細(xì)讀并且做標(biāo)記之處,并舉例分析。
1. 轉(zhuǎn)折處(此為必考點(diǎn))。轉(zhuǎn)折標(biāo)志詞主要包括but、however、yet (放句首)、although、though、while、even if、even though、despite、in spite of、on the contrary等。這些詞通過對(duì)比來引出相反信息或通過比較來突出事物的某個(gè)方面。
例1:①The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has nothing left to lose by going to war with the state. ②But there should be consequences. ③Permission to run a nuclear plant is a public trust. ④Entergy runs 11 other reactors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. ⑤Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. ⑥But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company’s application, it should keep in mind what promises from Entergy are worth. (2012年考研英語真題Text 2原文)
30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.
[A] Entergy’s business elsewhere might be affected
[B] the authority of the NRC will be defied
[C] Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application
[D] Vermont’s reputation might be damaged
分析:該題目屬于推斷題,考查的正是but前后內(nèi)容對(duì)比從而引出相反信息這一點(diǎn)。段落中,第五句話提到the company (指Entergy)想要在普利茅斯地區(qū)申請(qǐng)繼續(xù)運(yùn)營(yíng)核電站,第六句通過but引出相反信息,言外之意是NRC最終可能不會(huì)讓其申請(qǐng)通過,由此可以推斷出Entergy的業(yè)務(wù)可能會(huì)受到影響。所以答案選擇選項(xiàng)A。考生注意:對(duì)于轉(zhuǎn)折詞,考研英語閱讀理解部分傾向于考查通過對(duì)比引起相反信息,即轉(zhuǎn)折詞前后內(nèi)容意思相反。
2. 結(jié)論處(此為必考點(diǎn))。結(jié)論標(biāo)志詞主要包括say/believe/think/maintain/hold/argue that、show/reveal/indicate/demonstrate/illustrate that、above all、after all、find out、this means、conclude、conclusion、 in fact等。這些詞主要是做總結(jié)性判斷。
例2:①The idea seems promising, and Rosenberg is a perceptive observer. ②Her critique of the lameness of many public-health campaigns is spot-on: They fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology. ③“Dare to be different, please don’t smoke!” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducing smoking among teenagers—teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. ④Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. (2012年考研英語真題Text 1原文)
22. Rosenberg holds that public-health advocates should _______.
[A] recruit professional advertisers
[B] learn from advertisers’ experience
[C] stay away from commercial advertisers
[D] recognize the limitations of advertisements
分析:這個(gè)題目屬于一般細(xì)節(jié)題,題干缺少謂語和賓語。不過根據(jù)題干中的holds一詞,這道題也可以看成是態(tài)度題。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞Rosenberg和public-health advocates定位到例文段落中的第四句話,我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn),這句話是一句結(jié)論。把題干信息和第四句話的內(nèi)容對(duì)應(yīng),可以有如下替換:holds = argues、should = ought to。考生需要根據(jù)原文中take a page from advertisers的意思在四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中找一個(gè)與其同義的選項(xiàng)。通過瀏覽四個(gè)選項(xiàng),考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)本題答案是選項(xiàng)B。
3. 原因處(此為選擇性考點(diǎn))。原因標(biāo)志詞主要包括because、in that、if、when。這些詞主要表明引起與被引起的關(guān)系。
例3:Superhigh scores like vos Savant’s are no longer possible, because scoring is now based on a statistical population distribution among age peers, rather than simply dividing the mental age by the chronological age and multiplying by 100. (2007年考研英語真題Text 2原文)
28. People nowadays can no longer achieve IQ scores as high as vos Savant’s because _______.
[A] the scores are obtained through different computational procedures
[B] creativity rather than analytical skills is emphasized now
[C] vos Savant’s case is an extreme one that will not repeat
[D] the defining characteristic of IQ tests has changed
分析:根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞vos Savant’s我們可以將該題的答案信息定位在例文所列的這句話中,這句話就是一個(gè)典型的表原因的句子。把這句話和題干信息對(duì)應(yīng),考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)答案就在“because scoring is now based on a statistical population distribution among age peers …”這句話中。根據(jù)這句話的意思,考生可以得出該題的答案為選項(xiàng)A。
定位答案區(qū)域,分析句子結(jié)構(gòu)
考生做題準(zhǔn)確率不高的一個(gè)原因還在于根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到答案區(qū)域之后,對(duì)答案區(qū)域處的句子不做結(jié)構(gòu)分析就直接做題,致使最終做題準(zhǔn)確率不高。考生都知道英語句子最簡(jiǎn)單的構(gòu)成元素是一個(gè)名詞加一個(gè)動(dòng)詞,即“主語+謂語”。英語句子的加長(zhǎng)原則是在“主語+謂語”基礎(chǔ)上添加較多修飾語,例如定語、狀語和補(bǔ)語,使句子變長(zhǎng)。例如“The Internet is very important”這句話非常簡(jiǎn)單,為了增加做題難度,出題人會(huì)將句子拉長(zhǎng),比如添加插入語、狀語、并列詞語、修飾成分、從句等,使句子變?yōu)槿缦滦问剑骸癐t is widely acknowledged that with the rapid development of market-oriented economy as well as advanced science and technology, the Internet—which has long been regarded as one of the useful tools since 2008—is very important in modern society, a society which is entering the information age.”考生如果不對(duì)上述句子進(jìn)行成分劃分,可能根本看不出句子主干是什么,從而搞不清楚這句話到底表達(dá)的是什么意思,如此一來,必然會(huì)導(dǎo)致理解上的偏差,造成即使找到了答案所在的位置,但仍沒有答對(duì)題。所以,定位之后劃分句子成分非常重要。在沖刺階段,考生要多做劃分長(zhǎng)句的練習(xí),同時(shí)不放松對(duì)語法知識(shí)的復(fù)習(xí),找出語法方面的薄弱環(huán)節(jié),盡力彌補(bǔ)。
識(shí)記閱讀理解中的常見詞匯
考研英語閱讀理解部分的詞匯存在重復(fù)性,這就需要考生對(duì)常考詞匯做有效識(shí)記,特別是對(duì)這些常考詞匯進(jìn)行歸類。通過對(duì)歷年真題總結(jié)歸納,筆者建議考生把常考詞匯歸為法律類、經(jīng)濟(jì)類、文化類、科技類、教育類等。例如與法律相關(guān)的有如下詞匯:legal、lawful、illegal、personal injury claim(s)、tort law、victim等。此外,考生還可以按照同義詞或反義詞將單詞歸類,例如閱讀理解中表示“高估”的詞匯有overrate、overstate、overvalue、overestimate,而反義詞“低估”則包括underrate、understate、undervalue、underestimate等。把常考詞歸納好后,考生可以做一個(gè)背單詞計(jì)劃,每天背一些,注意平時(shí)的點(diǎn)滴積累。