雅思阅读：利用话语分析得高分

　　话语分析的概念最早由美国语言学家Zellig Harris于1952年提出，自20世纪60年代以来日益受到国际语言学界的高度重视。话语分析是指将一个具有语用和语义连贯的语篇看作一个意义单位，考虑到语境、文化、社会认知等方面的因素，对其内在的语法结构、逻辑联系、衔接手段进行破解和分析的语言研究方法。话语分析是英语阅读教学中的重要手段，它能够结合语境、篇章结构、体裁特征等因素引导学生以较快的速度理解和掌握英语文章的主要内容，获取文章的最大信息量。而在语言测试领域，通过话语分析把握文章中出现的词汇衔接手段、信息重心及文章层次结构对于阅读答题起着非常关键的作用。在雅思阅读考试中，话语分析的能力也是剑桥考试官方要考查的阅读技能之一。而且根据国际语言学和测试学的发展趋势，可以预期话语分析将会成为雅思阅读命题最重要的设计思想和模式。本文就雅思阅读中话语分析的功能作以下两个方面的简要论述。

　　一.语篇中句际、段际之间的衔接和连贯分析及相关答题思路。

　　衔接和连贯是篇章语言学研究中的两个基本概念，也是话语分析的重要课题。语篇无论是口头表达还是书面表达，都必须衔接合理，符合逻辑，语义连贯。而语篇的连贯是依靠语篇衔接关系建立起来的。实现语篇连贯的衔接机制有显性和隐性之分，其中显性衔接是实现语篇连贯的主要手段，其具体方法包括：语法机制，词汇衔接和逻辑联系语。学术类雅思阅读文章的特点之一是结构严谨，逻辑性强，论述层次清晰，其语篇的连贯多由显性衔接机制来完成。具体的显性衔接手段包括：指称，替代，省略，连接，词汇衔接，时间关联，地点关联，时和体，平行结构等。雅思阅读文章中语义衔接手段运用较多的是连接，指称，词汇衔接和平行结构。连接是指由连接成分把两个或多个句子，或者段落连接起来的现象。指称是指一个项目的意义要靠另一个项目来解释的现象。词汇衔接是指由词汇之间的语义关系以及同一语义场的词汇搭配所建立起来的衔接关系。平行结构是指相同类型的语句结构形成的衔接关系。雅思阅读考试直观上是主要考查对具体细节信息的把握，其实在命题设计上常常体现出篇章语言、功能语法等当代语言学研究的主要成果，语篇连贯的衔接机制就是雅思阅读一个主要的语言知识考查范畴，体现在文章的语义衔接位置通常都会设有考点。以下就词汇衔接，平行结构，以及指称与考点的联系各举一例进行说明。

　　例一.词汇衔接

　　Life for the descendants of the Thule people is still harsh. Nunavut is 1.9 million square kilometers of rock and ice, and a handful of islands around the North Pole. Its currently home to 2,500 people, all but a handful of them indigenous Inuit. Over the past 40 years, most have abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in the territorys 28 isolated communities, but they still rely heavily on nature to provide food and clothing. Provisions available in local shops have to be flown into Nunavut on one of the most costly air networks in the world, or brought by supply ship during the few ice-free weeks of summer. It would cost a family around ￡7,000 a year to replace meat they obtained themselves through hunting with imported meat. Economic opportunities are scarce, and for many people state benefits are their only income.

　　这是一道List of Headings题，要求在选项中找出能表达以上这段文字主题的段落标题。List of Headings题解题的原则就是找出段落的主题句，然后与标题选项一一对应，确定正确答案。但是在实际解题过程中，因为严格的时间限制，一般都不会去确定主题句，而是直接以最有可能成为主题句的段落的首、次、中、尾四个句子分别与标题选项一一对应来确定正确答案。但是在段落没有主题句的情况下，利用这个方法就无法确定正确选项。必须根据段落中的其它线索来答题。以上这个段落虽然没有主题句，但是在其行文中有非常明显的词汇衔接关系。文中的food and clothing，provisions，supply，meat，benefits是同一语义场的词汇同现，与选项iii的essential supplies对应。而与该组词紧密相连的provide，available，brought，obtained则是一组近义词，其引导的信息与选项iii的alternative sources对应。因此这段文字是通过同一语义场的词汇同现和近义词两种词汇衔接手段来实现句际之间的衔接，从而形成了意义上的连贯性，并构成了与标题选项iii相对应的段落主题。

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　　例二.平行结构

　　Prior to carrying out the experiment, Milgram explained his idea to a group of 39 psychiatrists and asked them to predict the average percentage of people in an ordinary population who would be willing to administer the highest shock level of 450 volts. The overwhelming consensus was that virtually all the teacher-subjects would refuse to obey the experimenter. The psychiatrists felt that most subjects would not go beyond 150 volts and they further anticipated that only four per cent would go up to 300 volts. Furthermore, they thought that only a lunatic fringe of about one in 1,000 would give the highest shock of 450 volts. What were the actual results? Well, over 60 per cent of the teacher-subjects continued to obey Milgram up to the 450-volt limit!

　　Q22. Before the experiment took place the psychiatrists

　　A. believed that a shock of 150 volts was too dangerous.

　　B. failed to agree on how the teacher-subjects would respond to instructions.

　　C. underestimated the teacher-subjects willingness to comply with experimental procedure.

　　D. thought that many of the teacher-subjects would administer a shock of 450 volts.

　　这是一道单选题，从命题的测试目的角度来看，是观点、态度分析类的题目。题干各个选项均含有表示观点、态度的提示词。与此题相对应的原文段落在语义衔接上是通过近义词和平行的及物性结构来实现，即：predict/felt that/anticipated that/thought that。其形成的连贯语义为答案的引出作了重要的铺陈。原文接着以提问的方式给出了一个反面的结果，对应选项C的表示负向意义的观点态度提示词underestimated所引导的内容。与此相类似的平行结构的语义衔接在剑桥真题文章中多次出现，并且基本上都设有考点，反映了命题者对把握语义衔接和连贯的阅读能力的重视。

　　例三.指称

　　Ones first inclination might be to argue that there must be some sort of built-in animal aggression instinct that was activated by the experiment, and that Milgrams teacher-subjects were just following a genetic need to discharge this pent-up primal urge onto the pupil by administering the electrical shock. A modern hard-core sociobiologist might even go so far as to claim that this aggressive instinct evolved as an advantageous trait, having been of survival value to our ancestors in their struggle against the hardships of life on the plains and in the caves.

　　Q24. Some people may believe that the teacher-subjects behavior could be explained as a positive survival mechanism.

　　这是一道对错无判断题，以题干中的positive和 survival mechanism作为定位词，分别对应原文的this aggressive instinct evolved as an advantageous trait, having been of survival value 这一句中的advantageous 和survival value，因此可以判定题干的核心意思和原文的对应信息是同义转述。但是我们还需要确定题干中的teacher-subjects behavior和原文的对比信息this aggressive instinct在语义上是否对等。而要确定这一点，就必须要理解在原文中this aggressive instinct正是借助指称的衔接手段指代上文中的关于teacher-subjects behavior的具体描述，即：teacher-subjects were just following a genetic need to discharge this pent-up primal urge onto the pupil by administering the electrical shock。据此才可以判定题干的意思与原文完全一致，答案应为TRUE。

　　二.语篇的逻辑推理及其解题功能。

　　形成语篇的根本是逻辑，理解语篇的根本也是逻辑，一切语篇无不深藏着思维的逻辑。英语是综合型为主，向分析型过渡的语言，其语篇的逻辑性既依赖于有着丰富衔接手段的显性连贯，也有赖于隐性的思维结构的一致性和连贯性。雅思阅读文章句际和段际的逻辑关系通常使用显性的逻辑连接词或其它的过渡词语来表达，在阅读答题时应注重这些词在语篇中的限制和导向功能，以提高语篇的正确解读效率。雅思阅读命题还有一个特点，即题干中出现的逻辑连接词往往会在原文中相关位置重现，给定位和确定答案提供了重要的线索。这样的考题就是为了检验考生能否在阅读时利用这些线索，看懂句子之间和各成分之间的关系，明白作者的思路和观点。而对于依靠隐性思维结构的一致和连贯来体现逻辑关系的语句，则要求在阅读答题时，要注重对相关部分上下文语义照应的分析和理解。以下就答题中基于显性连贯和隐性思维结构的逻辑推理各举一例进行说明。

　　例一.剑桥6/Test4/Reading Passage3

　　Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. There is no bullying at this school has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue.

　　Q33. The writer thinks that the declaration There is no bullying at this school

　　A. is no longer true in many schools.

　　B. was not in fact made by many schools.

　　C. reflected the schools lack of concern.

　　D. reflected a lack of knowledge and resources.

　　这是一道单选题，也是观点、态度分析类的题目。这一类型的题目对应的原文答案信息区域往往有观点态度提示词或明显的逻辑连接词。本题的选项C/D结构一致，是典型的twins选项，应重点考虑。以题干中引号内的词作为定位词，定位于原文中以上这段文字。原文这三句话使用了显性的衔接手段，即表示因果的逻辑连接词as a consequence，来达到语义的连贯和逻辑性，表明了the declaration There is no bullying at this school是结果，其原因是第一句话中的not much was known/little help was available，对应选项D的lack of knowledge and resources。雅思阅读考试在文章逻辑衔接处设题的情况非常普遍，考生应对此高度重视。

　　例二.剑桥6/Test4/Reading Passage1

　　But the sales push rarely stops in the office. The flashy brochures and pamphlets left by the sales reps are often followed up with meals at expensive restaurants, meetings in warm and sunny places, and an inundation of promotional gadgets. Rarely do patients watch a doctor write with a pen that isnt emblazoned with a drugs name, or see a nurse use a tablet not bearing a pharmaceutical companys logo. Millions of dollars are spent by pharmaceutical companies on promotional products like coffee mugs, shirts, umbrellas, and golf balls. Money well spent? Its hard to tell.

　　Q11. Evidence of drug promotion is clearly visible in the healthcare environment.

　　这是一道对错无判断题，根据雅思判断题的命题特点，题干定位词应为healthcare environment，考点为visible。该题定位有一定的难度，因为定位词不仅在原文中作了转述替换，而且其转述的形式并不是我们所熟悉的同义，近义，具体化，结构重组等，而是同一语义场的词汇同现的对应。根据判断题的顺序性原则，可以粗略定位在原文中的以上这段文字，在这段文字的第三个句子中出现了patients/doctor/drugs/nurse这一组同一语义场的词，对应题干定位词healthcare environment。考点visible对应该句的watch/see。但是这个句子并没有明确提到题干中的evidence of drug promotion。这里就需要通过上下文的语义照应进行分析和推理。该句和前后的句子之间并没有明显的衔接手段，但是上下文都提到了用于促销的礼品：promotional gadgets/promotional products like coffee mugs, shirts, umbrellas, and golf balls，根据思维结构的一致性和连贯性，题干对应句中的pen emblazoned with a drugs name/tablet bearing a pharmaceutical companys logo都应该是指用于促销的礼品，对应题干的evidence of drug promotion。因此该题判定为YES。在解答这一类题目时，我们只有把着眼点放在作者对文章的内容组织形式上，放在对上下文思维结构的逻辑关系的理解和推理上，才有可能正确答题。

　　阅读的本质是读者与作者之间的一种信息交流，阅读理解中的话语分析的思维模式是基于阅读理解的本质特征，旨在最大限度调动读者的主观能动作用。雅思阅读在命题的设计上也深刻体现了这一对文章内容结构的破解、分析、推理，主动构建语篇意义的能力。考生在复习备考阶段，除了要巩固基本语法和词汇的基础，还应当在精读和模拟练习中有意识的培养和加强语篇结构分析的能力，注意把握句际、段际之间的衔接及逻辑思维的连贯。这种能力的加强必将有助于提高实际考试中定位和分析确定答案的效率。