雅思应试策略之学术类阅读

　　一、简介

　　IELTS学术类考试的对象为将要以英语为媒介进行大学本科或研究生水平学习或培训的学生。英国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰等国家的大学欢迎或要求申请人员考IELTS.IELTS学术类阅读的考虑用时、题量、量型等与普通培训类大致相同。所考的三篇文章取材于杂志、期刊、书籍和报纸，题材广泛，涵盖人文、社科、技术等领域，但并不要求考生对文章内容有专业性的了解，主要测试的是大学阶段需用到的阅读技巧。

　　学术类考试的三篇文章中，至少有一篇包含有详细的逻辑论证，可能有一篇文章附带有图解、统计表、曲线图等各式图表。

　　二、阅读步骤

　　在阅读步骤方面，学术类阅读与普通培训类阅读基本相似，但因学术类文章篇幅较长、词汇量较大、句子结构较为复杂，阅读过程中，除了应用普遍的策略以外，还需注意以下几个方面：

　　1、因人而异，调整阅读速度

　　考试过程中的阅读速度主要由考生对题材的熟悉程度和文章本身的难易程度决定。60分钟做三篇文章，平均每篇文章用时20分钟，但从文章本身的难易程度看，一般是前易后难，另一方面，考生对于自身很熟悉或一般人常接触的主题，阅读起来速度较快，而对于那些信息众多、题材不熟悉或句法比较复杂的文章就需多花一点时间。为了科学安排时间，考生可以在拿到试卷的时候，迅速浏览一下每篇文章的开头和结尾，若觉得比较顺手，则可看得快一些，反之，则更仔细一点。

　　考生阅读能力较强，或文章本身难度不大，篇幅不长，或考生对此题材较熟悉的时候，可以采取迅速浏览全文，抓住文章主题，仔细分析问题，原文寻找答案的步骤来进行。假如文章篇幅很长，或者考生在浏览了几段文章以后觉得抓不住主题，对文章大意难以把握的情况下，考生可以采取看一段话，做一道题的方式。这种方式的缺陷在于做题的时候对于文章全局性的把握不一定很理想，那些推断性的，涉及段与段之间关系的题目显得比较棘手。但在时间相当紧张的时候，这样做可以大体保证做对事实性的细节题。事实上，IELTS阅读考试绝大部分的题目都是属于这种题型。另外，看一段话做一道题也可以相对缓解某种程度的紧张焦虑感。

　　2、如何运用扫描法定位特定信息

　　对于主旨题和细节题的一般做题思路可以参考普通培训类的应试策略。这里我们介绍如何迅速定位细节。

　　考生可以先阅读问题，抓住题干中的核心词，并作上标记，然后到原文中寻找相应的位置。在篇幅比较长的文章中要想迅速找到对应位置，关键是对文章中细节的排列方式，也即作品组织结构的了解和把握。连接文中上下句的词汇，即所谓的信号词，往往表示句子间的关系，有助于考生把握各细节间的相互关系。这些词主要有：

　　A、表示顺承和递进关系

　　例词：also, apart from, besides, moreover, furthermore

　　例句：The Victorian style of heavily ornamented interiors prevailed in middle-class homes in England and the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. Moreover, in both countries, techniques of mass production promoted the use of reproductions in many different styles.

　　B、表示对比与转折关系

　　例词：but, however, though, although, yet, nevertheless, on the other hand

　　例句：Education is the passport to modern life, and a pre-condition of national prosperity. But more than a quarter of the worlds adults cannot read or write, and more than 100 million young children are deprived of even a primary school education.

　　C、表示相似关系

　　例词：like, as, likewise, similar to, in the same way

　　例句：Like other ways of generating electricity, wind power does not leave the environment entirely unharmed.

　　D、表示时间先后关系

　　例词：now, later, before, after, since, when, first, second, next, at last, eventually, finally

　　例句：As the volunteers began to fall asleep, the electrodes detected the slow rolling eye movements which could be seen easily through their eyelids. Soon after, the volunteers fell deeper into sleep and their eyes became still.

　　E、表示排列次序

　　例词：another, the secondeven morethe most the best the least

　　例句：This situation is compounded by yet another factor.

　　F、表示因果关系

　　例词：as, because, for, since, owing to, thanks to, which in turn, lead to, as a result, result in, consequently, therefore, thus, hence

　　例句：As they became independent, most developing countries enthusiastically embraced education.

　　G、表示举例或说明关系

　　例词：that is to say, in other words, i. E. Such as, for example, for instance

　　例句：More recent developments such as those seen on California wind farms have dramatically changed the economic picture for wind energy.

　　如果考生在一段时间的训练以后，对于这些信号词比较熟悉了的话，那么就可以在浏览全文的时候，顺手把这些词做上标记，并注意这些词所出现的场合。这样做不仅有助于阅读速度的提高，也有助于细节定位的时候有的放矢。

　　3、如何根据上下文推断生词的含义

　　IELTS阅读测试中，词汇并不作为一个单独的考点。阅读过程中，碰到不懂的单词，跳过去即可。如果该单词影响到大意的理解或在考题中出现，则可以根据词根词缀的知识以及从上下文加以推断。例如：It is incongruous that the number of British institutions offering MBA courses should have grown by 254 per cent during a period when the economy has been sliding into deeper recession。这一句话中，incongruous可能不认识，但可以根据congruous中的con-一般表示共同，gr很象agree这一点猜测congruous可能当同意，合适讲，in-是一个否定性的前缀，那么合起来incongruous就是不合适，不适宜的意思。记住一些常用的词根词缀可以猜测单词含义，扩展词汇量，但更重要的是通过上下文来推断。本句话中it为形式主语，表词incongruous描述或说明the number of British institutions offering MBA courses should have grown by 254 per cent during a period when the economy has been sliding into deeper recession这一现象。从这句话的意思以及should have grown这一用法可以推断incongruous应该是不协调的意思。

　　在推断生词含义的时候，标志词非常有用。我们可以根据标志词所表示的关系类型来对词义加以推断。例如：The extra people can cover the contingencies that you know are going to happen, such as when crises take people away from the workplace。一句中，我们可以从表示举例关系的such as后的crises危机推断contingencies是不测，紧急情况的意思。

　　标点符号的作用也不能忽略。例如：In industrialized countries, absolute illiteracy was largely eradicated half a century ago: they contain only two per cent of the worlds illiterate。我们知道冒号通常表示解释说明，从这一点我们可以判断eradicate应该是消除，消灭的意思。

　　三、题型分析

　　IELTS学术类阅读的题型与普通培训类基本相同。做题的思路以及方法可以参考普通培训类的做法。近来的阅读测试中，True/False/Not Given要占到1/3左右的题量，而考生对此又觉得难以把握，这里我们再给大家归纳一下，并举些例子。

　　总的原则是一定要根据原文，而不要受自己的观点或文中所没有提到的事实的影响。下面我们分别看一看True, False和Not Given的几种类型。

　　1、 True

　　题目的说法在原文中有根据。有时难度主要是体现在对于词、词组以及一句话的理解上。如：

　　文中提到What was taken some years ago as a ticket of certain admission to success is now being exposed to the scrutiny of cost-conscious employers who seek can-dos rather than might-dos。题目为Employers today are looking for proven experience rather than potential ability。答案应为True，因为can-dos就是proven experience might-dos就是potential ability。又如文章里说的In fact, all new staff are required to work towards the NVQs。就等同于题目New staff must register for NVQs，因为are required to和work towards分别是must和register for的同义词。

　　2、False

　　False，即与原文不相符合的情况，分四大类：

　　与原文直接相反。即否定原话。这一类题关键在于定位。

　　题目主语的范围大于原句主语的范围。例如：

　　原句：Under the UK Environmental Protection Act the details declared in the application for Authorization to Operate are included in a Register which is open to the public. Such legislation also exists in many of the other European Community countries.

　　题目：All EC countries have an environmental register which is open to the public.

　　原句：While some big companies may want to train their own specialist team of managers straight from university, this situation is unlikely to change dramatically.

　　题目：Most big companies will prefer to take graduates straight out of university.

　　原文说几个条件均可，或做一个建议，题目说必需是某个条件。

　　原句：One of the best ways of learning to be a good executive director is to be the non-executive director of another company.

　　题目：Many companies now insist that managers take on a non-executive directorship before they can become executive directors.

　　原句：The Eco-Audit scheme also proposes that organizations which are accredited under the scheme should regularly publish an environmental statement containing factual information and data on the environmental performance of each site.

　　题目：The Eco-Audit Scheme insists that members publish data on performance.

　　原文涉及观点或个人意见，而题目则是事实。观点除了可以用I think, I believe或情态动词表示以外，还可以是比较隐含的。事实一般用现在完成时，一般现在时，或一般过去时表达。例如：

　　原句：There is a clear and often expressed need on the part of British and European management for techniques to identify and prioritize the key environmental issues for allocation of resources and action.

　　题目：Allocation of resources within companies for action on environmental issues is governed by legislation.

　　原句：the aim is to start inviting applicants to put themselves forward for assessment leading to full membership.

　　题目：400 applicants have put themselves forward for assessment.

　　原句：Yet comics are now considered to be the most effective medium for such advice, not least because they secure the interest of their target readership.

　　题目：Comics have been proved to the most effective way of giving advice to

　　3、Not Given

　　Not Given，或Not mentioned，即原文没有提及，可大致分为三种情况：

　　 纯粹的没有提及。例如：

　　原句：The Government, under pressure from the European Community, has introduced legislation which, although progressive, often appears to industry to be fragmented and difficult to digest.政府在欧盟在压力下所采用的法律虽然比以前有所进步，但在企业看来，常常是支离破碎，难以理解。

　　题目：European Community directives on environmental management are clear and easily implemented.欧盟关于环境管理方面的指令清晰而易于实施。

　　原文只提到欧盟施加了压力，没有提到该压力的具体内容。又如：

　　原句：It can be argued that major corporations, such as IBM and Rank Xerox, have long tried to give international experience to their senior managers.

　　题目：IBM managers are provided with excellent social facilities.

　　原文只是说努力，至于努力或者试图有没有成果，则没有提到。

　　在主语+谓语+宾语+状语结构中，原文与题目有或至少有一项不一致。例如：

　　原文：The Institute of Managements 1992 survey revealed that eighty-one per cent of managers thought they would be more effective if they received more training.

　　题目：Most managers interviewed felt that their colleagues needed more training.

　　原文里的they指代managers，至于their colleagues需不需要培训，原文未提及。本题属偷换主语。

　　题目涉及的范围小于原文涉及的范围，也即更具体。例如：

　　原文：Tourists in Cyprus come mainly from Europe.

　　题目：The tourists come mainly from the UK.

　　你也许知道到塞普路斯旅游的游客大部分都是英国人，但原文只提到欧洲。题目的论断依据原文是无法得出的。

　　原文：The Eco-Audit scheme also proposes that organizations which are accredited under the scheme should regularly publish an environmental statement.

　　题目：According to the information in the package, Eco-Audit accredited organizations should publish quarterly statements.

　　原文只提到经常，而题目说是一季度一次。