昂立：考研英语阅读到底有多难？

考研网

（一）阅读A节对比评析

对于广大考研学子来说，英语无疑是他们考研跨栏赛中最大的障碍，而阅读理解又无疑是障碍之首。历年考生的平均得分几乎都在40－50分之间，即使是那些通过国家单科分数线的考生，其得分也往往介于50－70分之间，这与其它同类型考试的考生相比，差距还是挺大的。然而，这并不能说明，参加研究生英语考试的考生水平就低于其它考生，这是因为研究生英语考试可以说是目前同种形式内容的所有英语考试中难度最大的。当然，难归难，要想实现考研梦想，最终还是得拿出一定的分数来。那么，到底如何能提高最终的成绩呢？答案是一切以以阅读理解为核心，解决了阅读理解就意味着成功了大半。
根据2006年考研英语的最新大纲，阅读理解部分由A、B、C三节组成，考查考生理解书面英语的能力。共30小题，每小题2分，共60分。限于篇幅，本人将分3次分别针对三节进行透析。先从A节讲起，它是占分比例最大的题型，难度也很大。那么，它到底难到什么程度呢？为了便于理解，本文把考研英语阅读A节与雅思A类考试的阅读部分作一比较。
作为阅读理解考题，它们的主要测试目的都是相同的，即考生应能：1）理解主旨要义；2）理解文中的具体信息；3）理解文中的概念性含义；4）进行有关的判断、推理和引申；5）根据上下文推测生词的词义；6）理解文章的总体结构以及上下文之间的关系；7）理解作者的意图、观点或态度；8）区分论点和论据。然而，两种考试在这些能力的测试方面，侧重点有所不同。下面就针对两种考试的差异，作一详细对比评析。
一、阅读篇幅
考研阅读A节共4篇文章，每篇文章约400词，总长度约为1600词；每篇文章后，有五道客观选择题，每题有四个选项，只有一个是正确的。考试时，考生的实际阅读量为文章长度和题目阅读量之和，所以考生考试时需阅读约2200－2400个单词。
雅思A类阅读共3篇文章，每篇文章约600－800词，总长度约为2000－2750词；每篇文章有13－14道题，总共38－42题。考试时，考生的实际阅读总量约为3000－3500词。
评析：从以上数字对比来看，雅思阅读的难度要远远大于考研，因为雅思的阅读量比考研要多出约1000词，而且雅思的考试时间限制是60分钟。虽说考研阅读A节并没有明确的时间限制，但从整个卷面来看，考生解答A节的时间不应超过60分钟。所以，从量上看，考研英语阅读比雅思阅读要容易得多。
二、题型设置

考研英语阅读A节是四选一的客观选择题，总共20题，主要包括主旨大意题、观点态度题、事实细节题、词义句义题、推理推断题等题型。1996－2005年十年试题的考题类型分布比例如下：

雅思阅读的考题形式内容比较繁杂，而且每次考试都涉及八九种不同类型题目的考核，总共38－42题。从历年考题来看，雅思考题主要有：
1. Multiple choice questions
2. Short answer questions
3. Completion questions: Completing sentences
4. Completing notes
5. Completing a summary (no word bank)
6. Completing a summary (with word bank)
7. Completing a diagram
8. Completing a flow chart
9. Completing a table
10. Matching a bank of headings to identify paragraphs or parts of text
11. Matching a bank of writers' views/claims/information with the writer  
12. Identification of information in the text: yes/no/not given questions
13. True/False/Not given questions
14. Matching lists/phrases
15. Classification questions。
评析：从考题量上看，雅思的阅读仍然远远大于考研，因为雅思要多出20题的考核。而且考研阅读A节的题目全部是客观选择题，也就是说，即使考生完全看不懂原文或题目，仍然可以瞎蒙一个，至少也有25％的可能性嘛！
三、实际难度
从以上篇幅和题型对比来看，雅思阅读的难度似乎要远远大于考研英语阅读A节。然而，只要是分别参加过这两种考试的考生，他们都会得出一个共同的结论：雅思要容易得多。为什么会这样呢？这是因为雅思阅读尽管阅读量和题量很大，但是其题目设置以主观题为主，而且题目的回答大都以事实信息的考核为主，所以只要考生能基本把握文章结构，定位题目的关键词，并以此关键词为线索，找到文章的相应位置，那么答案往往就在前后，无需进行归纳总结或推理推断。而考研阅读A节尽管阅读量和题量都要少得多，但因为其题型主要比例集中在主旨大意题、观点态度题和推理推断题上，其难度一直以来为考生所畏惧；尽管细节题也占有相当比例，但这当中往往含有很多变相的主旨大意、观点态度题和推理推断题，所以考研阅读题目的总体难度反倒远远大于雅思。

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四、文章选评

下面我们就分别任选一篇雅思和考研的阅读文章，进行对比评析。由于雅思A类阅读的三篇文章的难度是依次递增的，所以本文选择了一篇第三篇的文章，以使以上的结论更具说服力。
雅思文章

READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-39 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
                                  Population viability analysis
Part A
To make political decisions about the extent and type of forestry in a region it is important to understand the consequences of those decisions. One tool for assessing the impact of forestry on the ecosystem is population viability analysis (PVA). This is a tool for predicting the probability that a species will become extinct in a particular region over a specific period. It has been successfully used in the United States to provide input into resource exploitation decisions and assist wildlife managers and there is now enormous potential for using population viability to assist wildlife management in Australia’s forests.
A species becomes extinct when the last individual dies. This observation is a useful starting point for any discussion of extinction as it highlights the role of luck and chance in the extinction process. To make a prediction about extinction we need to understand the processes that can contribute to it and these fall into four broad categories which are discussed below.
Part B

A  Early attempts to predict population viability were based on demographic
uncertainty Whether an individual survives from one year to the next
will largely be a matter of chance. Some pairs may produce several young
in a single year while others may produce none in that same year. Small
populations will fluctuate enormously because of the random nature of
birth and death and these chance fluctuations can cause species extinctions
even if, on average, the population size should increase. Taking only this
uncertainty of ability to reproduce into account, extinction is unlikely if
the number of individuals in a population is above about 50 and the
population is growing.
B  Small populations cannot avoid a certain amount of inbreeding. This is
particularly true if there is a very small number of one sex. For example,
if there are only 20 individuals of a species and only one is a male, all
future individuals in the species must be descended from that one male.
For most animal species such individuals are less likely to survive and
reproduce. Inbreeding increases the chance of extinction.
C  Variation within a species is the raw material upon which natural selection
acts. Without genetic variability a species lacks the capacity to evolve and
cannot adapt to changes in its environment or to new predators and new
diseases. The loss of genetic diversity associated with reductions in
population size will contribute to the likelihood of extinction.
D  Recent research has shown that other factors need to be considered.
Australia’s environment fluctuates enormously from year to year. These
fluctuations add yet another degree of uncertainty to the survival of many
species. Catastrophes such as fire, flood, drought or epidemic may reduce
population sizes to a small fraction of their average level. When allowance
is made for these two additional elements of uncertainty the population
size necessary to be confident of persistence for a few hundred years may
increase to several thousand.
Part C

Beside these processes we need to bear in mind the distribution of a population. A species that occurs in five isolated places each containing 20 individuals will not have the same probability of extinction as a species with a single population of 100 individuals in a single locality.
Where logging occurs (that is, the cutting down of forests for timber) forest-dependent creatures in that area will be forced to leave. Ground-dwelling herbivores may return within a decade. However, arboreal marsupials (that is animals which live in trees) may not recover to pre-logging densities for over a century. As more forests are logged, animal population sizes will be reduced further. Regardless of the theory or model that we choose, a reduction in population size decreases the genetic diversity of a population and increases the probability of extinction because of any or all of the processes listed above. It is therefore a scientific fact that increasing the area that is loaded in any region will increase the probability that forest-dependent animals will become extinct.
Questions 28-31
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Part A of Reading Passage 3? In boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

28 Scientists are interested in the effect of forestry on native animals.
29 PVA has been used in Australia for many years.
30 A species is said to be extinct when only one individual exists.
31 Extinction is a naturally occurring phenomenon.
Questions 32-35
These questions are based on Part B of Reading Passage 3.
In paragraphs A to D the author describes four processes which may contribute to the extinction of a species. Match the list of processes (i-vi) to the paragraphs. Write the appropriate number (i-vi) in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.
NB There are more processes than paragraphs so you will not use all of them.

Questions 36-38
Based on your reading of Part C, complete the sentences below with words taken from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 36-38 on your answer sheet.
While the population of a species may be on the increase, there is always a
chance that small isolated groups ... (36) ...
Survival of a species depends on a balance between the size of a population
and its ... (37) ...
The likelihood that animals which live in forests will become extinct is
increased when ... (38) ...
Question 39
Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 39 on your answer sheet.
39 An alternative heading for the passage could be:
A The protection of native flora and fauna
B Influential factors in assessing survival probability
C An economic rationale for the logging of forests
D Preventive measures for the extinction of a species

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考研文章
American no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing. The Degradation of language and Music and why we should like, care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.
But the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing our own thing”, has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.
Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive-there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.
Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms-he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English “on paper plates instead of china”. A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.
36. According to Mc Whorter, the decline of formal English __________.
A. is inevitable in radical education reforms.
B. is but all too natural in language development.
C. has caused the controversy over the counter-culture.
D. brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s.
37. The word “talking” (Linge6, paragraph3) denotes __________.
A. modesty.  B. personality.  C. liveliness.  D. informality.
38. To which of the following statements would Mc Whorter most likely agree?
A. Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.
B. Black English can be more expressive than standard English.
C. Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.
D. Of all the varieties, standard English Can best convey complex ideas.
39. The description of Russians’ love of memorizing poetry shows the author’s __________.
A. interest in their language.          B. appreciation of their efforts.
C. admiration for their memory.       D. contempt for their old-fashionedness.
40. According to the last paragraph, “paper plates” is to “china” as __________.
A. “temporary” is to “permanent”.       B. “radical” is to “conservative”.
C. “functional” is to “artistic”.          D. “humble” is to “noble”.
下面我们列表对两篇文章进行对比分析：
                                                 表一


由表一可以看出，雅思的阅读量和题量都是考研的两倍还要多，所以从表面上看，雅思阅读似乎要难得多。然而，我们再看看下表：
                                                 表二


由表二不难看出，雅思题目的事实细节题量占绝对多数，而考研则不多。再加上雅思的文章在结构上有标题和小标题等因素，这无论是在实际信息提示和视觉效果上，都大大利于考生对文章的理解。所以，雅思的阅读实际上要比考研的容易，只是在时间控制上要比考研难些。
当然，说考研英语阅读难并不意味着就束手无策了。因为不管是哪种类型的英语考试，也不管阅读理解的文章和题目相差有多大，考生始终都得先看文章，把握文章的脉络，理解文章的概要，方能进一步解题。本人将在下期继续和大家分享文章解读的方法经验，请大家时刻关注Channel Only的最新动向。
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