冲击波英语专八系列：听力部分之新闻

I 把握节奏
新闻听力部分依据篇幅与题量的不同有15~30秒的间隙不等。如何充分利用这一宝贵时间是答题关键。听力与语法、阅读不同。做语法、阅读题时可以读完再回读，但听力的内容是一次性获得的，因此在听下一篇新闻之前先浏览一下该篇的题目和选项是做到有的放矢的第一步。其间考生应该定气凝神审题，这样就能在接下来的“听”的过程中有所侧重，提高答题的准确率。听新闻前有一段20秒钟左右的该部分答题要求（Directions）的录音，考生如能充分利用这段时间对第一题进行审题，就可节省第一题的答题时间，节余时间留作第二题的审题时间，依此类推，能有效防止做题时手忙脚乱。如果前一题实在做得很没把握，切忌顾此失彼，埋头于前一题，而应该立刻调整状态全力以赴做下一题。

II 捕捉导语
新闻报道形式以消息为主，其点睛之笔在于导语。导语一般位于新闻的最前面，是一个句子或几个句子，通常由最重要的事实构成，概括全篇，开门见山。所以听懂了导语就等于听懂了整篇新闻的一半。但导语的结构较复杂，对它的理解和把握往往是考生最头痛的问题。下面我们就结合历年考题谈谈如何把握新闻导语。

1. 综合式导语
综合式导语又称概括式导语，其特点是概括、叙述新闻事实的轮廓，开篇就交代事件的要领部分。综合式导语在八级新闻听力里较常见，如2004年第一篇新闻的导语：A new data shows that the global AIDS pandemic will cause a sharp drop in life expectancy in dozens of countries, in some cases declines of almost three decades;

2006年第二篇新闻的导语：Shanghai plans to build a vast underground network of malls, restaurants and parking lots, to make up for a lack of space above ground, according to a recent government report; 2007年第三篇新闻的导语：The United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Charter on Monday with speakers addressing the UN General Assembly;

2009年第二篇新闻的导语：At least 80 people have died in a derailment of a luxury train in Eastern India which some government offi cials say could have been caused by terrorist sabotage;

2010年第一篇新闻的导语：Japan will start its rapid push to market abroad its mobile technology, especially the nation’s popular wallet phone, a government official said Tuesday.

2011年第三篇新闻的导语：The Mexican economy went of a cliff in the second three months of 2009, with the Gross Domestic Product dropping 10.3% from the same period last year, according to government fi gures.

2012年第二篇新闻的开篇导语：Pediatricians from a US university have taken a look at one measure of children’s well-being in Egypt, the Philippines, and India: the extent to which children are subject to corporal punishment and abuse.

对于上述综合式导语的理解可以直接决定考生对这些新闻的整体把握。

2. 要点式导语
要点式导语语言精练，集中叙述事件的某一重点部分或高潮部分，而不是把时间、地点、人物、事件等新闻要素一并介绍。例如2005年第一篇新闻的导语：Scientists in Brazil claim they’ve come up with a new way of treating burns. 这句导语只交代了巴西科学家发明了一种治疗烧伤的新方法，而新方法到底新在哪里，只有听下去才能有所了解。

又如2007年第二篇新闻的导语：Twenty of the world’s top economies promised to help Iraq lower its debt and to help restart global trade talks after a two-day meeting in Mexico on Monday. 这句导语的
要点是指出了G20墨西哥会议后的工作重点，其后才交代了其他议题。

再如2009年第一篇新闻的导语：Last week, a United Nations’ report said humans are very likely the cause of most of the temperature increases in the last fi fty years. 这句导语交代了人类是导致全球变暖的主因，论据及与之前相关报告的对比都在后文中才逐一提到。

另如2010年第二篇新闻的导语：Zimbabwe’s infl ation rate has soared in the past three months and is now at eleven point two million percent, the highest in the world, according to the country’s central statistical offi ce. 这句导语给出的要点信息就是津巴布韦的通胀率异常高，为世界之最，而相关政府措施，通胀带来的影响以及通胀原因等则在后文中才有所论述。要点式导语也是八级新闻听力中一种常见的导语形式，此类导语虽然不会在一句话内给出事件的详细信息，但把握此类导语对于理解新闻正文中的细节信息来说也是不无裨益的。

3. 延缓式导语
延缓式导语的风格与一般导语有很大的区别。一般的导语都是开门见山，直接点题，而延缓式导语则起笔迂回，真正的导语不在第一句出现。例如2003年第三篇新闻的起始段为：Canada, for the seventh consecutive year, ranks as the best place to live in the world. But if you are a woman, you are better off in Scandinavia, says the UN Human Development Report 2000, released yesterday.该篇第一句只是为真正的导语（第二句）做铺垫，目的是为了吸引读者的注意力，更好地引出下文。

又如2008年第二篇新闻起始并未给出该新闻的主旨：Much of the world was watching on television when the commander of the Apollo-eleven mission, Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon in July 1969. The pictures of that historic footstep and everything else about that and subsequent Apollo moon landings were recorded on magnetic tape at three NASA ground tracking stations around the world. 直到新闻的中间部分才提到记录了阿波罗号登月整个过程的原始资料下落不明的主题：In late 1969, the space agency began transferring them and tens of thousands of tapes from other space missions to a nearby US Government archives warehouse. NASA says it asked for them back in the 1970s, but now does not know where they are.

延缓式导语的迂回风格在这篇新闻中得到集中体现。遇到这种情况考生要沉住气，边听边在头脑中梳理新闻的主题内容。

4. 对比式导语
这类导语以对比形式作开场白，把此时的情形与另一时间的情形作对比，以突出整篇文章的主题思想。

例如2005年第二篇新闻的开篇第一句Once a source of high-pitched business activity, Japan’s karaoke industry has slowed down.就是典型的对比式导语，主句讲到日本的卡拉OK业发展减慢，这与前半句卡拉OK原本是快速发展的行业形成鲜明对照。这样的对比就顺利引出新闻的主体部分，即卡拉OK业员工想用新的办法来招揽顾客，包括应用高科技的卡拉OK机。

III 紧扣题眼
听力考试需要考生高度集中注意力，注意力分散导致的结果就是丢了西瓜，捡了芝麻，抓到的零散信息既不切题也不能拼凑出一篇新闻的完整信息。所以细辨题眼，使所获信息切题是得分的关键。题眼就是题目及题目选项中出现的关键词。前文的考点分析中我们已将各类考题归类，以便让考生熟悉各类问题的特点。细辨题眼，找出切题信息是应对细节题的最佳策略。只有快速、准确地找到题眼，考生在听的过程中才会更关注与题眼相关的信息内容，提高得分率。

例如2003年第三篇的每一题都需要我们细辨题眼：
According to the UN Human Development Report, which is the best place for women in the world?
A. Canada. B. The US. C. Australia. D. Scandinavia.

该题题眼毫无疑问是women，所以我们要关注的是妇女的发展。该题最大的干扰项是加拿大，如果没有抓住题眼，一听到新闻中提到Canada，紧接着又是the best place to live in the world，就很有可能选A。但只要抓住题眼，我们就会把注意力转到后面一句话，即But if you are a woman, you are better off in Scandinavia... 由此可见，对妇女来说，Scandinavia 才是最佳选择，而非Canada，所以答案是D。

______is in the 12th place in overall ranking.
A. Britain B. France C. Finland D. Switzerland

很显然，这一题的题眼是12th，虽然新闻中没有直接给出排名第12的国家，我们通过Finland is in the eleventh place, followed by France 这一细节，就可判定答案是B（法国）。

According to the UN report, the least developed country is ______.
A. Ethiopia B. Mali C. Sierra Leon D. Central African Republic

本题的题眼是least，需要我们找出妇女发展方面最落后的国家，根据from the bottom up, are war-devastated Sierra Leon... ,我们可以断定发展最落后的是C（塞拉利昂）。

再如2006年第3篇的第1题：
According to the news, what makes this credit card different from conventional ones is ______.
A. that it can hear the owner’s voice
B. that it can remember a password
C. that it can identify the owner’s voice
D. that it can remember the owner’s PIN

本题的题眼是different from conventional，这里考的是最新发明的信用卡与传统信用卡的区别，选项B 和选项D 都是传统信用卡的功能，从新闻首句A credit card that only works when it hears its owner’s voice has been developed by US scientist.可以判断出答案为C。

又如2009年第1篇的第1题：
Which of the following is the main cause of global warming?
A. Fossil fuel.              B. Greenhouse gases.
C. Increased dryness.  D. Violent storm patterns.
本题的题眼是main cause而不是global warming，选项C和D与气候变暖带来的变化有关，而非原因。根据The scientists say there is greater than a 90% chance that greenhouse gases are the main cause of rising temperatures and sea levels.可知选项B才是确切答案。

又如2010年第2篇的第1题：
Which of the following is mentioned as the government’s measure to control infl ation?
A. Foreign investment. B. Donor support.
C. Price control. D. Bank prediction.
本题的题眼是government’s measure, 根据Offi cial fi gures stated Monday show infl ation has surged from the rate of two point two million percent recorded in May despite the government’s price controls. 可知尽管政府进行了价格控制，通胀率还是一再飙升，因此正确答案为C，而其他三个选项都与政府职能无关。

再如2011年第3篇新闻的第二题：
Drop in remittances from abroad is mainly due to ______.
A. declining oil production
B. the outbreak of the H1N1 fl u
C. the declining GDP in Mexico
D. the economic downturn in the U.S.
本题的题眼是remittances。根据新闻中提供的细节信息 “Remittances from Mexicans working abroad, most of them in the United States, also have fallen victim to the economic downturn. Fewer jobs in the United States mean fewer opportunities for Mexicans to fi nd work and send money home.” 可知美国的经济衰退导致旅美墨西哥人的工作机会大大减少，自然寄回本国的资金也会相应减少，答案为D。