经验交流:GRE阅读提高5步走V
四、重点练习与分析重点练习我认为是应该在熟悉做阅读的整套方法之后的强化训练,要求考生大量做题,在做题中进一步体会这些方法的运用。做练习最好能有所针对,就自己的弱点、问题而练习、分析,消除弱点是最好的提高办法。在寄托天下网站有个GRE阅读专版,在那里常有网友向我提问他们的弱点怎么解决,考生比较普遍的弱点我进行过一个小结,主要集中在以下两个方面:做题速度慢;原文读过什么也记不住,读了后面忘前面。我想在这里就针对这两个最常见的问题,提出一些建议。
1."做题速度慢"的解决方案
多数考生做题速度慢的原因都是一样的,就是花在读原文上的时间太长了。GRE阅读的原文通常又长又难,如果要读懂原文然后凭借印象来做题是需要考生有非常深厚的英文功底的,而这种功底我们绝大多数考生都不具备,所以我们只能用考完题干再定位回原文读懂某个具体的句子来做题。
那么,我们在遇到一篇新的阅读时先读一遍原文是要达到什么目的呢?
1)做对主旨题和作者态度题;2)关注、标记一些常考考点为定位所用。
故读原文后能达到这两个要求就足够了,如果除达到这两个要求之外又多读了句子,或在某些句子、某些词上多逗留了时间,都是致使做题速度慢花的无用功。
我们在这里先给出一些可以略读的固定内容,大家不妨花一点时间记一下这些非常不重要的东西,以便今后不用在它们上面浪费更多时间。
I 已知大意的具体叙述可以略读,重复、进一步的解释、反之亦然的叙述部分可以略读。
II 目的已知,具体内容可以略读,就是知道了叙述目的,可以略读其内容。
III 作者将要或者已经摒弃的论据、论证可以略读,这样的观点一般都是为后面作者支持的观点做铺垫。
VI一句话的重心如果在后面,前面的可以略读。
2."读完原文没有任何印象"的解决方案
我的观点是,记不住还有一个原因就是想记住的太多了,每句话都一样的去读,一样的去记,其结果就是都没记住,都和没读似的。不妨试着先只挑自己觉得最重要的话来记,比如TS(Topic Sentence),每段首句、一些重要考点……其余的没有余力先放过去,体会一下记住这些句子对做题和定位是不是比以前全文都努力记效果要好一点。下一步就是反过来推,根据你做过的题目来推原文应该记住什么,或者什么你记住了但是没用,经常小结一下需要记的东西,其实GRE阅读应该记忆和值得记忆的东西非常有规律,很好总结的。长此以往,就可以形成读原文和记忆的重点了。一个很简单的道理,你有10分力,如果花到10个点上,每个只有1分,如果只花到3个点上,每个都能有3.333333的力,自然对这3个点理解更深,记忆更清晰,把握的更好了。
最后,我想推荐一些文章,读者可以试着快速的读并分析一下这些文章,看看他们什么地方值得关注,什么地方应该略读,详略得当读原文需要不断的练习和总结,方能达到炉火纯青的境界:92年2月GRE考试题section6长,GRE No.8第三套section5短,GRE No.6第三套section2长,1994年10月GRE考试题section6短。如果读者还想了解这些文章的分析,请参阅《GRE阅读全攻略同步练习》练习9、10。
五、有针对的大量练习
GRE阅读需要考生具备的基本技能有:一定的词汇量,对句子基本的理解,熟悉考点和题型,智能读原文,选答案有方法、有技巧……这些技能都需要读者在大量的练习和总结中逐渐培养,下面就针对性练习给出我个人的一点建议。
1.分阶段逐一解决问题
1)解决阅读词汇问题
2)了解长难句
3)熟悉文章结构的判断
4)对固定考点及题型进行强化记忆
5)了解并熟练快速定位与原文改写的原则
2.卡时间强化练习
3. 考前分析、总结,集中解决弱点
考前的分析和总结是必须要进行的一个训练,之所以要进行这个训练,一方面是在考前客观的了解一下自己的实力,另一方面就是这种训练能够帮助考生发现自己的弱点,在考前进行必要的弥补。笔者想借此机会给大家做个文章分析示范,希望对各位有所启发:
例文 笔记栏
In large part as a consequence of the feminist move-ment, historians have focused a great deal of attentionin recent years on determining more accurately the statusof women in various periods. Although much has been(5) accomplished for the modern period, premodern cultureshave proved more difficult: sources are restricted innumber, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, andoften contradictory. Thus it is not particularly surprisingthat some earlier scholarship concerning such cultures(10) has so far gone unchallenged. An example is JohannBachofen's 1861 treatise on Amazons, women-ruledsocieties of questionable existence contemporary withancient Greece.Starting from the premise that mythology and legend(15) preserve at least a nucleus of historical fact, Bachofenargued that women were dominant in many ancient soci-eties. His work was based on a comprehensive survey ofreferences in the ancient sources to Amazonian andother societies with matrilineal customs-societies in(20) which descent and property rights are traced through thefemale line. Some support for his theory can be found inevidence such as that drawn from Herofotus, the Greek"historian" of the fifth century B. C.,who speaks of anmazonian society, the Sauromatae, where the women(25) hunted and fought in wars. A woman in this society wasnot allowed to marry until she had killed a person inbattle.Nonetheless, this assumption that the first recorders of ancient myths have preserved facts is problematic. If one(30) begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons, itbecomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of suchsocieties were meant not so much to represent observedhistorical fact-real Amazonian societies-but rather tooffer "moral lessons" on the supposed outcome of(35) women's rule in their own society. The Amazons, wereoften characterized, for example, as the equivalents ofgiants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes.Their customs were presented not as those of a respect-able society, but as the very antitheses of ordinary Greek(40) practices.Thus, I would argue, the purpose of accounts of theAmazons for their male Greek recorders was didactic, toteach both male and female Greeks that all-femalegroups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society,(45) are destructive and dangerous. Myths about the Ama-zons were used as arguments for the male-dominatedstatus quo, in which groups composed exclusively ofeither sex were not permitted to segregate themselvespermanently from society. Bachofen was thus misled in(50) his reliance on myths for information about the status ofwomen. The sources that will probably tell contempo-rary historians most about women in the ancient worldare such social documents as grave-stones, wills, andmarriage contracts. Studies of such documents have(55) already begun to show how mistaken we are when wetry to derive our picture of the ancient world exclusivelyfrom literary sources, especially myths. L6-7 L(列举考点)L10 J B(Am)(观点已知,具体例子略读,纪录大写名词);L15 SE(Structural Elements)(B提出的观点)L22 H(记录专有名词)L23 5 c(纪录特殊年代)L24 Sa(记录专有名词)L28 SE(段首转折,否定上文观点)L41 SE(作者观点,purpose of强驱动短语,值得关注)L49 B-(misled反映作者对B持负态度,否定了B的结论)
经验交流:GRE阅读提高5步走V
</p>文章结构分析:第一遍快速读原文,读者首先应该对原文的结构有个大致的把握。这篇文章的结构分析如下:
首段,介绍了一个文化背景。在首段末尾,主人公J B登场;
第2段,先阐述了B的观点(women were dominant in many ancient societies)及作者提出此观点所依据的前提(mythology and legend reserve fact),后用evidence证明之;
第3段,首句Nonetheless为一个强转折词,从前提上否定了B。
第4段,作者提出自己的看法,并从观点上直接否定了B。全文末句,重申对B观点前提的否定。
全文结构组成为:除首段背景外,其余部分为"新观点推翻旧观点"型文章,重在"推翻",即对B观点的驳斥。
重点题目分析:
21.The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) compare competing new approaches to understanding the role of women in ancient societies.
(B) investigate the ramifications of Bachofen's theory about the dominance of women in ancient societies.
(C) explain the burgeoning interest among historians in determining the actual status of women in various societies.
(D) analyze the nature of Amazonian society and uncover similarities between it and the Greek world.
(E) criticize the value of ancient myths in determining the status of women in ancient societies .
此题为主旨题,对选项先竖看,后横看,竖看主要比较各个选项的主动词。compare, investigate, explain, analyze均与原文结构不甚符合,只有选项E的criticize(to find fault with)比较符合原文意图,因此只看E选项的后半部分就可以了,其余选项不用细看。在选项E中,ancient myths是B观点的前提,the status of women in ancient societies是B的主要观点,选项E正确。
22. All of the following are stated by the author as problems connected with the sources for knowledge of premodern cultures EXCEPT
(A) partial completeness.
(B) restricted accessibility.
(C) difficulty of interpretation.
(D) limited quantity.
(E) tendency toward contradiction.
此题为Except题,看到Except,读者应当首先找原文中的列举标记,L6-7 L。定位后,将原文sources are restricted in number, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, and often contradictory与各个选项相比较,restricted in number对应limited quantity,fragmentary对应partial completeness,difficult to interpret对应difficulty of interpretation,contradictory对应tendency toward contradiction,故B为正确答案。
25. It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best characterized as
(A) confused and dismayed.
(B) wary and hostile.
(C) cynical and disinterested.
(D) curious but fearful.
(E) excited but anxious.
此题是态度题,问的是males in Greece对a society ruled by women的态度,此考点正在原文所做标记之列,L45-(原文负态度标记)。原文L45的负态度持有者是male Greek recorders,和题干所问是同一群人。在原文中,males in Greece把那些脱离传统社会的女性群体看作是destructive and dangerous(具有破坏性且危险的)。选项D,选项E应该首先被排除,因为but是反映复杂态度的特征词,选项A的confused and dismayed(困惑且沮丧),选项C中的disinterested(漠不关心)均和原文所述不符,故选项B的wary and hostile(警觉且带有敌意)为正确答案。
26. The author suggests that the main reason for the persisting influence of Bachofen's work is that
(A) feminists have shown little interest in ancient societies.
(B) Bachofen's knowledge of Amazonian culture is unparalleled.
(C) reliable information about the ancient world is difficult to acquire.
(D) ancient societies show the best evidence of women in positions of power.
(E) historians have been primarily interested in the modern period.
我们讲过,对大写名词的提问,在没有明显线索的情况下,常定位于它首次出现处。在文章首段末,Bachofen第一次作为一个例子出现,这个例子所支持的观点就是:由于资料来源的困难和复杂,古代文化的早期学术研究从未被颠覆。选项C正是Bachofen具有持续影响力的原因的表述,故为正确答案。
总结:1)21,25题均考到了文章中字里行间体现出的态度,故对原文中作者的态度、作者描述人物的态度的把握至关重要,态度词是必然考点。
2)26题考到了原文的例子,但是定位都是依据例子所要证明的观点,而非例子本身的内容,故在第一遍读原文的时候,关于例子,只要目的已知,内容可以略读。在定位之后,再读例子也不晚。而有很多时候,作者对例子内容并不涉及,比如这个26题,就是针对例子所支持的观点提问的,这种情形下,如果第一遍读原文详读了例子,就等于无谓的浪费了时间。
经验交流:GRE阅读提高5步走V
</p>3)22题对列举内容的考查可以依靠对原文所标记来判断正误,因此,做标记是选择的得力助手,一定不能省略。如果读者能够按照上述步骤有针对的训练,强化要点并有效的总结分析,相信练习不再会是盲目无效的,提高也指日可待。
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