雅思阅读高分解题技巧之配对题(下)
上述准备工作完成之后,就可以开始略读文章来解题了。为了确保用最短的时间解题,考生应当熟悉略读的方法。一般说来,找出段落的中心句,基本上就能把握文章的大意。但是,文章的写法千变万化,如果把握西方人的写作方法,就可以比较容易地把中心句找出来。下面我们来看一下中心句出现的几种类型:
a.中心句在第一句
绝大多数的英语文章均采用演绎法 (deductive method) 来写,也就是先出中心句,然后再写支持细节 (supporting details) 。这个时候,判断的标准就是看第二句话是否是支持细节。支持细节经常会有以下特征:
a)有举例信号词: For example, for instance, sometimes, often 等。
b)有专有名词,如人名、地名等。
c)有直接引语。
d)数字。
例 8 The role of governments in environmental management is difficult but inescapable. Sometimes, the state tries to manage the resources it owns, and does so badly. …. (剑 3, Test 2, Passage 2 )
Answer: Governments and management of the environment
在上述例子中, sometimes 是信号词,标志着前面是主旨句,后面是支持细节。因此只要根据第一句就能选出正确答案。
b.中心句在第二句或后半句
这种情况往往是由于第一句是让步句、过渡句或者是介绍句导致的。让步句的常见信号词有: although/though, while, in spite of/ despite 等(重心在后半句);过渡句常见的信号词有: not only…but also… (重心在后半句)。介绍句的情况不多,前半段用于介绍一个概念,而后半句才是真正的重点。
例 9 An intellectual breakthrough, brilliant though it may be, does not automatically ensure that the transition is made from theory to practice. Despite the fact that rockets had been used sporadically for several hundred years, they remained a relatively minor artefact of civilisation until the twentieth century. … (剑 3, Test 1, Passage 1 )
Answer: undeveloped for centuries
在这个例子中,第一句话是承上启下用于引出主题,而第二句话用了一个 Despite the fact that 结构做出让步,那么中心句自然就是后半句了。
例 10 While the Inuit may actually starve in hunting and trapping are curtailed by climate change, there has certainly been an impact on people’s health.(剑 6, Test 1, Passage 3 )
Answer: negative effects on well-being
让步关系词 While 放在句首通常表示“尽管”的意思,因此这句话的重心在后半句,即气候变化对人们健康的影响。
c.中心句在转折信号词后
这种情况通常是由于作者之前陈述的观点是不正确的,因此作者推翻之前的结论,而新的结论就在转折词之后。这类转折词有 however, but 和 instead 等。
例 11 Merely restricting tourism cannot be the solution to the imbalance, because… Instead, communities in fragile regions must achieve greater control over tourism ventures in their regions, in order to balance their needs and aspirations with the demands of tourism. (剑 5, Test 4, Passage 1 )
Answer: How local communities can balance their own needs with the demands of wilderness tourism
这个段落的中心句埋藏位置很深,一定要跳跃中间三节支持细节才能找到中心句所在的段落。在最后一段中, instead 后面的内容即是作者的观点。
个别段落的第一句话与作者观点直接相反,这时可以直接推断出主题句。这类句子有以下两种情况:一、过去完成时或作者特别强调是过去的内容;二、作者引用人们的观点。
例 12 In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries… However, public infrastructure did not keep pace with urban sprawl, causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher. (剑 6 , Test 2, Passage 1 )
Answer: Increases in travelling time
第一句话使用了过去完成时,很明显作者暗示这是曾经的情况,现在的情况一定是与之相反。因此正确选项就是把第一句的意思反过来,不难选出。即便考生没有发现第一句的“奥秘”,继续往下找即可找到转折点 however ,后面的内容则是直接交代了主题。
d.中心句在分散在段落中( A+B )
有些段落的段落大意仅根据一句话并不能判断出来,需要抓住文章中的两句甚至几句中心句。这种段落往往会有并列结构,如 also, in addition, furthermore 等。
例 13 Agriculture consumes about 70% of the world’s fresh water, so improvements in irrigation can make the greatest impact. … After agriculture, industry is the second biggest user of water… (剑 6, G 类 Test A, Section 3 )
Answer: The thirsty sectors
这段话中间有个并列关系词 second ,那么答案自然就是前后两层意思的相加了。
有时 but 也有可能成为并列关系词:
例14 The farms on the delta plains and fishing and aquaculture in the lagoons account for much of Egypt’s food supply. But by the time the sediment has come to rest in the fields and lagoons it is laden with municipal, industrial and agriculture waste from the Cairo region, which is home to more than 40 million people. (剑 5, Test 3, Passage 2 )
Answer: The threat to food production
第一句话是写尼罗河三角洲平原农场的重要性, but 之后是说垃圾的到来。两句话意思相加,便知道大意是垃圾对食物生产的影响。
e.中心句在段落末句
这种情况在雅思阅读中并不多见,因为西方人写文章时较少使用归纳法 (inductive method) 。如果一个段落开头就开始举例,中间也没有任何表达作者主旨的内容, 那么就要考虑末句了。
例15 From this point of view, ‘scientific method’ may more usefully be thought of as a way of writing up research rather than a way of carrying it out.(剑 3, Test 1, passage 3 )
Answer: How research is done and how it is reported
该段落较长,但前面基本上都是在说细节。最后一句话 from this point of view 之后对文章的内容进行总结,因此就是中心句。
例16 These fracture zones, where the collisions occur, are where earthquakes happen. And very often, volcanoes. (剑 4, Test 3, Passage 2 )
Answer: Causes of volcanic eruption
乍一看本段好像是在写地球的构造,但是看到最后一段,读者才会明白作者这样写的用意,即通过对地球构造的介绍来引出火山爆发的原因。
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