考研英语阅读突破——理解文章总体结构

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考研英语阅读，理解文章的总体结构很重要，如果能把握文章上下文之间的联系，就能避免出现对内容的误读导致丢分，也有利于提高阅读速度。今天，中公考研英语名师杨凤芝老师[微博]就带大家学习如何理解文章总体结构。
　　理解文章的总体结构以及上下文之间的关系要求考生做到：第一步，理清“文章思路”，即指考生首先应对文章总体的思路和结构有一个大概的了解，先不要急于去读题目，而是应当将文章从头到尾看一遍，弄清楚文章的中心意思，这一遍阅读的目的并不是要立即找到答题所需要的信息点。在阅读的时候还要有主次之分，文章的第一段是文章的灵魂和核心，也应当是第一遍阅读的重点所在。考生要尽量将第一段的每一句话都理解透彻，因为掌握了第一段，就已经基本了解掌握了整篇文章的内容，至于其他的段落可以加快速度，看得懂就看，看不懂就暂时跳过去，在不懂的地方做出记号，留待以后解决。读完文章并理清思路后就可以接着阅读试题，命题专家在设计考卷时，题目排列的次序与文章的布局基本是相吻合的，也就是说题目所需要的信息点在文章中应当是按顺序出现的，这一点对于基础差的考生相当重要，因为考生完全可以根据每篇文章题目的题干来推测文章大致的内容和思路。
　　第二步，注重了解句与句、段与段之间的关系，特别是文章中的转折关系，学会利用上下文进行必要的判断、推理和引申。只有掌握句段之间的关系，才能摸清作者深层思路上的逻辑关系。从句子与句子，段落与段落之间的过渡可以读出作者整个的思路及论证过程，才能做出正确的推理、判断或引申。
　　【举例说明】针对此题型，我们建议考生把握这样几个原则：
　　一、首段原则，首段原则应用于根据首段内容所设置的题目，它包括两种形式：首句原则和末句原则。
　　1.首句原则
　　回顾近几年的考研阅读题，细心的考生会发现历年考研试卷中都有题目针对首段第一句话设问，为什么会出现这种情况?原因很简单，考研阅读所选的文章均是议论文和说明文，此类文章的文体要求在首段提出观点、突出中心，因此第一段就好像全篇文章的一个总纲，确定了文章的主要内容，而第一句话常常是一个自然段的主题句，首段首句自然就成为常考且必考的一个考点。例如2003年第56题：
　　It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans’ life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minute surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death—and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.
　　What is implied in the first sentence?
　　[A] Americans are better prepared for death than other people.
　　[B] Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.
　　[C] Americans are over_confident of their medical technology.
　　[D] Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.
　　通过对首句的理解，我们得出该题的正确答案为C。
　　2.末句原则，有时一个自然段的主题句也会出现在段末，因此考点也相应转向末句。例如1997年第59题：
　　Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don’t realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase “substance abuse” is often used instead of “drug abuse” to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.
　　“Substance abuse” is preferable to “drug abuse” in that.
　　[A] substance can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally used
　　[B] “drug abuse” is only related to a limited number or drug takers
　　[C] alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaine
　　[D] many substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous
　　考生对末句稍加深入理解即可得知D为正确答案。
　　二、段落原则。段落推断原则考查考生对段落内容的理解，分为两类题型：段落首句推断和段落中句子推断。针对这两种具体题型的原则为：先看首句，如与选项符合即可选择，不必再浪费时间看完整个段落，如首句不能与选项吻合时再将整个段落读完以寻找符合的选项。
　　1. 段落首句推断
　　例如2003年第44题：
　　Straitford president George Friedman says he sees the online world as a kind of mutually reinforcing tool for both information collection and distribution, a spymaster’s dream. Last week his firm was busy vacuuming up data bits from the far corners of the world and predicting a crisis in Ukraine. “As soon as that report runs, we'll suddenly get 500 new Internet sign-ups from Ukraine,” says Friedman, a former political science professor. “And we'll hear back from some of them.” Open-source spying does have its risks, of course, since it can be difficult to tell good information from bad. That’s where Straitford earns its keep.
　　It can be learned from paragraph 4 that.
　　[A] Straitford’s prediction about Ukraine has proved true
　　[B] Straitford’s guarantees the truthfulness of its information
　　[C] Straitford’s business is characterized by unpredictability
　　[D] Straitford is able to provide fairly reliable information
　　首句推断D为正确答案。
　　2.段落中句子推断
　　例如1999年第58题：
　　But it is hardly inevitable that companies on the web will need to resort to push strategies to make money. The examples of Virtual Vineyards, Amazon.com, and other pioneers show that a Web site selling the right kind of products with the right mix of interactivity, hospitality, and security will attract online customers. And the cost of computing power continues to free fall, which is a good sign for any enterprise setting up shop in silicon. People looking back 5 or 10 years from now may well wonder why so few companies took the online plunge.
　　We learn from the last paragraph that .
　　[A]pushing information on the Web is essential to Internet commerce
　　[B]interactivity, hospitality and security are important to online customers
　　[C]leading companies began to take the online plunge decades ago
　　[D]setting up shops in silicon is independent of the cost of computing powe
　　考生是否看出B为正确答案?
　　三、转折/对比原则
　　议论文和说明文 都强调逻辑的严谨性，而转折和对比常常可以用来测试考生在这一方面的阅读理解能力，所以考生对文中的转折和对比关系应高度重视，只要看到标明转折或对比的关系词如but, however等，就应当立即在原文上进行标记。一般说来转折后的内容多与上文所表达的意思相反，而对比往往是强调其中的一方。
　　1.首段的转折/对比
　　只要首段中出现一对处于对比状况的概念，命题专家通常都会就此设置考题，考生应掌握这一规律，在看到文章首段出现转折对比的内容时，应当立即集中注意力，同时还要明白，第一段出现转折关系时，转折后所表述的一定是文章的中心议题，而在首段出现的对照或对比的内容将在下文中进行具体的议论，并在文章最后得出结论。例如1998年第51题：
　　Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is human kind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
　　The third sentence of paragraph 1 implies that .(转折)
　　[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
　　[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted
　　[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things
　　[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight
　　依据转折关系推出C为正确答案。

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　　2. 文中的转折
　　例如1996年第55题：
　　It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years—yet the BBC’s future is now in doubt.
　　The world famous BBC now faces.
　　[A] the problem of new coverage
　　[B] an uncertain prospect
　　[C] inquiries by the general public
　　[D] shrinkage of audience
　　推理同上题，B为正确答案
　　四、复指原则
　　在历年的考题中，应用复指原则设问的题目较多，复指分为前指(anaphora)和后指(cataphora)。此类题目的考点是复指代词或与复指副词作用相同的词。1994年、1995年时此类题目大多是直接问考生文章某句中的“it”或“that”等代词指代什么。近几年此类题目的问法开始转向隐蔽，但无论题目用何种方式设问，考生都应当记住，此类题目的答案的位置必定在复指词的上文中。因此，此类题目的解答只需返回原文，在复指词上方扫描即可找到正确答案。如果按阅读习惯接着读下面的句子或段落，无论看多少遍也找不到答案。
　　例如1997年第57题：
　　For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world. The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.
　　Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers.
　　[A] to improve their hard life
　　[B] in view of their long-distance travel
　　[C] to add some flavor to their own daily life
　　[D] out of a charitable impulse
　　根据上述原则可推出C为正确答案。
　　五、类比原则
　　议论文和说明文在论证说明事理的时候均很抽象，为了让考生更形象地理解一些抽象的内容，文章常会采用类比的手法。形象的类比不仅有助于将抽象的道理阐释清楚，更可以让读者加深印象。类比在文中有两种体现方式，一是明喻，即A像B一样;二是暗喻，说A是B，由于暗喻更加隐蔽，近年来命题专家也越来越趋向于在暗喻内容上设问。
　　例如1996年第65题：
　　The mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc., like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as an exhibition of his thoughts, in which a new arrangement transmits a new idea.
　　A technologist can be compared to an artist because. (明喻)
　　[A] they are both winners of awards
　　[B] they are both experts in spatial thinking
　　[C] they both abandon verbal description
　　[D] they both use various instruments
　　考生可否推出B为正确答案?
　　六、例证原则
　　让事实说话往往是最有效的论证方式之一，命题专家在设置题目时往往也会针对文中的事例设问，考查考生对局部结构的理解。例证题1994年第一次出现在考研试卷上，共两道题，占4分。但在1995年至1998年间，没有出现过一道例证题，1999年再次出现，一样是两道题，占4分。之后，几乎每年的考题都有一至两道例证题，这就说明考研命题的一大特点，命题规则总是不断重复的。考生们在应用例证原则解题时还应注意常用的例证方式有两种：一是先提出观点，后举例说明;二是先列举事例再做出结论。考生应当学会举一反三，不要被各种原则的变化形式所迷惑。
　　例如1999年第53题：
　　Now the tide appears to be turning. As personal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants, especially in cases where a warning label probably wouldn't have changed anything. In May, Julie Nimmons, president of Schutt Sports in Illinois, successfully fought a lawsuit involving a football player who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet. “We’re really sorry he has become paralyzed, but helmets aren’t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries,” says Nimmons. The jury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason for the athlete’s injury. At the same time, the American Law Institute—a group of judges, lawyers, and academics whose recommendations carry substantial weight—issued new guidelines for tort law stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones. “Important information can get buried in a sea of trivialities,” says a law professor at Cornell Law School who helped draft the new guidelines. If the moderate end of the legal community has its way, the information on products might actually be provided for the benefit of customers and not as protection against legal liability.
　　The case of Schutt helmet demonstrated that .
　　[A]some injury claims were no longer supported by law
　　[B]helmets were not designed to prevent injuries
　　[C]product labels would eventually be discarded
　　[D]some sports games might lose popularity with athletes
　　根据文中事实可知A为正确答案。
　　【学习指导】
　　理解文章的总体结构以及上下文之间的关系旨在考查文中某一句话的内涵。因此在解题时，考生要牢牢抓住这句话本身，弄清楚它的每个单词、每个表达及整个句子所传递的信息，可以借助周边的句子来帮助理解，但不要跑得太远。
　　对大部分考来说，欠缺的不是泛读，而是精读。总的来说，考生们在精读文章的时候要对文章和考点、干扰项等进行详细的分析、总结。 这时要仔细体会文章中精彩的语言，注意词语的内涵、使用、扩展和搭配，代词和名词的指代，对精彩句型的模仿，以及对重要语法现象、长句、难句、文章结构的分析。另外，还要注意分析句子和句子之间的关系，是因果、递近、转折还是什么?尤其要注意文章的第一句和最后一句，以及每段的第一句和最后一句与其它句子的关系，体会每句话在文章中的作用。在阅读过程中，要培养自己对文章主要讨论对象、关键词，作者和专家的观点，以及语气的把握。特别注意作者和专家的观点，专家和专家之间的观点是否相同或相反或互补，以及作者和专家的语气是赞成还是反对，是关注还是乐观等等。如果是真题，还要仔细分析考点和正确、干扰选项的规律、特征。在此过程中，可把文章尽可能的多读几遍，甚至翻译一下，提高对文章中单词、短语、句型等的反应速度，阅读速度自然也就提高了。