【楔子】
一般来讲,搞定阅读首要任务是背会基本单词,熟悉长句。但是,这里,必须要将哲学在英语阅读的地位提出来
我们应该都注意到了,考研英语阅读文章的体裁大部分都是说明文和议论文。而这种体裁的文章,都是逻辑非常严密的文章。
命题专家组不但选文是逻辑性强的,考察重点也是逻辑性较强的。我们经常遇到的“看懂了文章,却做不对题目”正是由于我们仅仅看懂了文章的字面意思,没有去认真体会文章的逻辑关系。另外,考研作文长久以来的“三段式”也是直接考察逻辑思维的。结构一般是这样的:
主题(本质)段: 拿出主题X的句子+定义X的句子
展开段: 正推1+逻辑证明正推1; 正推2+逻辑证明正推2。
总结段: 对主题用辨证逻辑来下结论。
考研阅读的逻辑结构形式与这个大都差不多。注意,是逻辑顺序决定了这样的结构。
【基础】
能够比较连贯地看懂文章。如果觉得困惑,可参考鄙人的《从三难例句“枪挑”长句难句》
【预备知识】
(这些预备知识开始只需知道即可,不必细究)
1、 思考方法
“X 是什么意思?”(就此一问题而言,X 可以是指一个概念、一个句子或一个问题。)
“X 有什么根据?”(就此一问题而言,X 可以是指一个断言或理论。)
考研阅读一般会在首句给出文章主题X,要养成认出X马上就问自己以上两个问题的习惯。比如首句是“人是自私的吗?”,那么显然,自私就是X,作者一般会对X做概念解释,然后通过正面证明自己观点和反驳相反观点的一系列逻辑推理来得出结论。至于究竟在哲学上应该如何下定义和推理,这里不必细究,只要知道有这个过程就好了。因为命题专家组就是要考察我们的逻辑思维能力。
2、必要条件和充分条件
当我们说甲是乙的必要条件(necessary condition)时,意思是说没有甲,乙便不可能存在。
当我们说甲是乙的足够(或充份)条件(sufficient condition)时,意思是说若甲存在,则乙亦必定存在。换句话说,没有可能有甲而没乙。
有四条边是一个正方形的必要条件。廉洁是成为好的公务员的必要条件。 氧气是人类生存的必要条件。 拥有十个椰子是拥有多过三个椰子的充分条件。 绝对零度是物质份子活动停顿的充分条件。
以上的主题分别是“四条边、廉洁、氧气、有10个椰子、绝对0度”,文章之后必然会对其充分条件“正方形、好的公务员、人类生存”或者必要条件“有>三个椰子、物质分子活动停顿”进行详细阐述。
预备知识就先这么多好了,多了大家都不愿意看了。
【实战演练1】
2004年研究生入学考试英语试题 阅读TEX1 题号:41~45
Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site’s “personal search agent”.[本文的主题词在第二句P.S.A个人搜索工具。看到主题X应该怎么做?问自己X是什么、X作用根据] It’s an interactive feature that lets visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and salary, then E-mails them when a matching position is posted in the database.[很好,符合我们的思维,作者马上对X做了定义] Redmon chose the keywords legal, intellectual property, and Washington, D.C. Three weeks later, he got his first notification of an opening. “I struck gold,’ says Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a position as in-house counsel for a company. [更好,这几句是对X能够作用举例论证。逻辑性非常强]
【本段小结一下:主题+主题定义+主题根据。出题点不可能问主题是什么(都告诉我们了还考什么啊!一定是考紧跟其后的主题定义或者主题根据,又由于主题定义作者给的非常清楚明白,因此,重点出题点可能在主题根据)】
With thousands of career-related sites on the Internet, finding promising openings can be time-consuming and inefficient. Search agents reduce the need for repeated visits to the databases.[讲了PSA的优势1:省时高效] But [刚才是PSA的优势,看到转折词,应该提醒自己了,要说劣势了]although a search agent worked for Redmon, career experts see drawbacks.[很好,和我们预期的一样,连专家都说有缺点了] Narrowing your criteria[讲劣势1,之后显然是“拉虎皮做大旗”,用专家的话来证明其劣势], for example, may work against you: “Every time you answer a question you eliminate a possibility.” says one expert.
【本段讲了主题的优劣,是辨证的思维方式。小时候说“XXX是坏人”就不是辨证的思维。出题点肯定是优势1或者劣势1了。】
For any job search, you should start with a narrow concept —— what you think you want to do —— then broaden it. “None of these programs do that,” says another expert. [劣势1的主人不再仅仅是PSA,而且是所有工作搜索工具,归纳思想]“There’s no career counseling implicit in all of this.” Instead,[好了,都“辨证”的看了优劣了,估计作者要讲怎样辨证的使用PSA了] the best strategy is to use the agent as a kind of tip service to keep abreast of jobs in a particular database; when you get E-mail, consider it a reminder to check the database again. “I would not rely on agents for finding everything that is added to a database that might interest me,” says the author of a job-searching guide. [太好了。我们的思路和作者几乎一致了。]
【本段的重心在“辨证使用PSA”。出题点可能就这一个。】
Some sites design their agents to tempt job hunters to return. [在“开发PSA-PSA-使用PSA”这个关系里,后两个都讲了,现在讲到开发PSA了]When CareerSite’s agent sends out messages to those who have signed up for its service, for example, it includes only three potential jobs —— those it considers the best matches. There may be more matches in the database; job hunters will have to visit the site again to find them —— and they do. [讲开发者的吸引回访策略1]“On the day after we send our messages, we see a sharp increase in our traffic,” says Seth Peets, vice president of marketing for CareerSite. [又是用别人的话再次论证此策略之成功]
【本段是关系式里的头把交椅“开发者”,因此,必然会对其策略出题。】
Even[强调词] those who aren’t hunting for jobs may find search agents worthwhile. [再次转回使用者,并且扩大使用者的范围。下面一定会论证凭什么扩大这个范围]Some use them to keep a close watch on the demand for their line of work or gather information on compensation to arm themselves when negotiating for a raise. [的确。]Although happily employed, Redmon[Redmon再次闪亮登场!目的就是进一步证明作者的推理无误] maintains his agent at CareerBuilder. “You always keep your eyes open,” he says. Working with a personal search agent means having another set of eyes looking out for you.
【本段是结尾段。但似乎没有结束,这说明此文可能是节选。重心在使用者范围的扩大上。题目一定在“扩大”上做文章。】
41. How did Redmon find his job?
[找到了工作就是主题根据。作者费尽口舌就是为了说明PSA有用。我们可以把自己假想为PSA的推销员,我们的开头语应该说“Redmon就是用了我们的XXX才找到工作的”吧?如果一开始就说A/B/D那些细节步骤的话,听者早跑光了。]
[A] By searching openings in a job database.
[B] By posting a matching position in a database.
【C】 By using a special service of a database.
[D] By E-mailing his resume to a database.
42. Which of the following can be a disadvantage of search agents?
【和我们看文章的时候分析的出题点一样。就是劣势1。A】
【A】 Lack of counseling.
[B] Limited number of visits.
[C] Lower efficiency.
[D] Fewer successful matches.
43. The expression “tip service” (Line 4, Paragraph 3) most probably means
【果然是考如何辨证使用PSA的细节。Tip service是作者话语中的表语,非常重要的。】
[A] advisory.
[B] compensation.
[C] interaction.
【D】 reminder.
44. Why does CareerSite’s agent offer each job hunter only three job options?
【果然考策略。题干是策略,考的策略目的。文章很清楚的。】
[A] To focus on better job matches.
【B】 To attract more returning visits.
[C] To reserve space for more messages.
[D] To increase the rate of success.
45. Which of the following is true according to the text?
【这种题目就是“根据本文,可以推理出什么……”,很直接地考推理!】
[A] Personal search agents are indispensable to job-hunters. [形而上学,明明作者是辨证的。这里怎么这么绝对?注意,如果作者的观点是形而上学的,这个选项就有可能是正确选项]
[B] Some sites keep E-mailing job seekers to trace their demands. [目的?应该关注该段主题句,是为了增大访问量]
【C】 Personal search agents are also helpful to those already employed. [好选项。最后一段都是讲它,再不选更待何时!]
[D] Some agents stop sending information to people once they are employed. [搞反了嘛!]
标准答案:
41. [答案] [C]
[解析] 这是一道细节题,问Redman是怎样找到工作的。依据文章第一段,可知答案为C。
42. [答案] [A]
[解析] 这是一道细节判断题。第三段前三句中,作者借专家之言表达了自己对搜索工具的缺陷的看法:确实职业咨询特征。选项A符合此意,为正确答案。
43. [答案] [D]
[解析] 这是一道词义题。依据第三段的第四句可知,“tip service”只起提示作用(reminder),故答案为D。A. advisory意为“咨询,顾问”,与文章内容不符,因为文章说这种搜索agent缺的正是咨询特征。
44. [答案] [B]
[解析] 这是一道涉及因果关系的细节题。依据第四段首句可知答案为B。
45. [答案] [C]
[解析] 这是一道是非判断题。依据第五段首句可明确得知,C项为正确答案。