一、换句话说别看了
“换句话说、也就是说”意味着后面的内容与前面一致或是对前面的解释,因此只用看前面的内容即可。
常见的表达有:that is (to say),i.e.,namely,put another way,in other words等。如:
“The state has no obligation to provide a health-care system itself, but to ensure that such a system is provided. Put another way, basic health-care is now recognized as a ‘public good’, rather than a ‘private good’ that one is expected to buy for oneself.”
(剑桥雅思真题4, Test 4, Reading Passage 3) 略掉“Put another way”后面的内容,只看前面。
二、论据不看
为了论证观点,文章中经常会大量出现各式各样的论据,但它们并不是文章的重点。故概览文章时,论据可以先忽略不看。而常见的“论据”形式有:
➡含“举例”的句子:for example / instance,e.g.,such as,like等;
➡ 含“数据”的句子:百分比(%,percentage),描述统计结果的数字;
➡引用名人/言论(直接/间接引语)的句子:特别是“引号(‘’)”中的内容;
➡ 以some,a few,others等表达“某些”的单词为开头的句子。
三、借“标点符号”排除干扰
➡ 冒号(“:”) / 一个破折号(“-”) ,引出解释,看前面。如:
“冒号”:
“In 1890 he proposed that evolution was irreversible: that ‘an organism is unable to return, even partially, to a previous stage already realized in the ranks of its ancestors’.”
(剑桥雅思真题10, Test 4, Reading Passage 3)
“一个破折号”:
“...plyometrics focuses on increasing power – the rate at which an athlete can expend energy.”
(剑桥雅思真题4, Test 4, Reading Passage 1)
➡两个破折号 / 括号:信息插入或解释,不用看。如:
“两个破折号”:
“For the so-called power events – that require a relatively brief, explosive release of energy, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump – times and distances have improved ten to twenty per cent.”
(剑桥雅思真题4, Test 4, Reading Passage 1)
“括号”:
“This is not to say that infants recognize the reflection as their own image (a later development).”
(剑桥雅思真题9, Test 4, Reading Passage 2)
看到这里,烤鸭们是否有点感觉了呢?现在,我们就以一个完整的段落,来演示一下这些信号词是如何帮助大家节省阅读时间的吧:
(剑桥雅思真题4, Test 4, Reading Passage 1):
Since the early years of the twentieth century, when the International Athletic Federation began keeping records, there has been a steady improvement in how fast athletes run, how high they jump and how far they are able to hurl massive objects, themselves included, through space. For the so-called power events - that require a relatively brief, explosive release of energy, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump - times and distances have improved ten to twenty per cent(数据). In the endurance events(具体到某类运动,类似“某些”的用法) the results have been more dramatic. At the 1908 Olympics. John Hayes of the U.S. team ran a marathon in a time of 2:55:18(数据). In 1999, Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi set a new world record of 2:05:42(数据), almost thirty per cent(数据) faster. (虽然段落原本有点长,但借助各类小信号,我们能快速地把文段删减一大半,最终只剩下句话,那么自然,阅览的时间也就跟着缩了一大半。)
有了这些信号,我们就能更快速地掌握各段落大意,了解文章结构,不仅读文章快了,找答案时也能更有目的性,能避免在与题目不相干的段落里浪费时间,答题准确率自然也会有所提升。那么,这些信号,今天你掌握了吗?
(P.S. “信号”虽然能很大程度上协助阅读,但语言本身是灵活的,任何“信号”都只是一个参考方向,并非时刻。最重要的,还是要大家多练多积累,提升自身综合理解能力。)
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