为什么托福多念了一个月,分数仍然上不去?
大家好,我是SK2的Rosa,希望能够借由分享重要的观念,帮助同学更快突破盲点,
最近在整理相关文章,假如同学有问题,欢迎寄email给我,我会整理成文章帮助众板友。
教了多年GMAT与托福,常听见同学在顾问时间很疑惑地说,在图书馆苦待了一个月,
结果考出来居然分数一模一样,真是吐血+傻眼!
甚至信心差点没被打垮,开始严重怀疑自己的智商。
相信这是同学心有戚戚焉的感受。念了好久,机经也看了,去考试仍然没十足把握。
原因在于你阅读的方式。
你是在用学了几十年的英文能力阅读、细读,硬是把每个字翻译完在脑海中试图拼凑成
有效的资讯,也难怪你在时间压力下,明明眼睛盯着萤幕上的一行行英文字,但是却有看
没懂,没看进去。所以你很可能在家都做得好好的,平常用纸本写也很ok,但是在考试
有强大时间压力下,却怎么也答不好,都不禁要怀疑自己是否有阅读障碍了!
朋友呀!其实并不是你有阅读障碍,或是你得了不知名的记忆力短缺症,更不是你的英文
能力(试问!我们从小学英文到现在很可能超过十年了,难道还不够吗?),而是你从小养
成的阅读习惯。你习惯读太细,当你试图用短期记忆记下太多资讯时,当然结果会是什么
也记不住、什么也没看懂。
考试时,同学会面临大量的资讯,这时候很重要的能力是筛选、简化资讯。
试想,今天即使考到了满意的分数,但出国后,每天面临一百多页原文的阅读
量,怎么有办法吃得消?
因此,假如你想要出国后,每天花三小时做功课,剩下时间还可以出去和朋友喝一杯、
玩耍,而不是整天闷在房内,与功课奋战,
更重要的是
假如你希望阅读能够破25,
请你现在就具备这样的阅读能力─skim(略读)的能力吧!
我们来谈谈skim,也就是略读的能力。
(以下部分撷取自How to Skim Text这篇文章,对原文有兴趣的朋友可以点此连结:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-skim-text.html)
略读(skim)意即不用每个字都读却能掌握文中要点的能力。
略读需要知道哪些部份该读、哪些不该读。
略读六大技巧:
1. 掌握主旨及目的
在看每个段落时,思考这段的主题是什么?作者有什么态度?理解完每个段落重点后,
思考一下整篇文章的主旨及目的是什么?文章的主旨及目的通常会在第一个段落的第一句
或是最后一句话出现。
了解文章主旨及目的能够帮助你判断哪些例子为不重要的细节,哪些例子跟目的有直接关
联,是重要的资讯。假如没有大方向,略读时很容易打瞌睡、甚至会睡着。
2. 掌握结构
结构意指关联性,句子与句子的关系、段落与段落的关系。让我们来做个小小实验:
Efforts to control Spartina outside its natural environment have included
burning, flooding, shading plants with black canvas or plastic, smothering
the plants with dredged materials or clay, applying herbicide, and mowing
repeatedly. Little success has been reported in New Zealand and England;
Washington State’s management program has tried many of these methods and is
presently using the herbicide glyphosphate to control its spread. Work has
begun to determine the feasibility of using insects as biological controls,
but effective biological controls are considered years away. Even with a
massive effort, it is doubtful that complete eradication of Spartina from
nonnative habitats is possible, for it has become an integral part of these
shorelines and estuaries during the last 100 to 200 years.
请试着抓这个段落的重点,你会怎么读这个段落呢?请把你抓到的重点用纸笔写下来,
或是手边无纸笔的话,请记在脑海中。
以下是我会阅读这个段落的方式,括号内为我脑海中记下的重点:
Efforts to control Spartina outside its natural environment have included
burning, flooding, shading plants with black canvas or plastic, smothering
the plants with dredged materials or clay, applying herbicide, and mowing
repeatedly.(ways to control S) Little success has been reported in
New Zealand and England; Washington State’s management program has tried many
of these methods and is presently using the herbicide glyphosphate to control
its spread. (Little success)Work has begun to determine the
feasibility of using insects as biological controls, but effective biological
controls are considered years away.(看到but,因此会稍微注意一下,
发现在讲同一件事-little success所以不用特别记新资讯) Even with a
massive effort, it is doubtful that complete eradication of Spartina from
nonnative habitats is possible, for it has become an integral part of these
shorelines and estuaries during the last 100 to 200 years.(看到doubtful
,一样在讲little success,所以不用特别记)
看完整个段落,我只记得了methods to control S,little success,
一个是主题,另一个是态度,因为够简化,所以我记得住。因为够简化,所以我可以轻易
抓到整段架构。这就是skim厉害的地方。可以帮助你节省很多时间,更重要的是,他可以
帮你考高分!
因此,我们来做个小小总结,当你在看一个句子时,试着在脑海中用一个关键字表达他的
重点。当你发现下一句话重点仍然不变,那么就不需要重复记。假如下一句话,重点不一
样了,那么就可以用转折词再记第二个重点。这样在脑海内,虽然看了整个段落,却仍然
只记了两个重点,便能做到有效的简化资讯。
3. 找寻作者的论点
当你看到带有态度的字眼(attitude word)时,这些字会告诉你作者的想法。由于每篇文章
都有自己的立场,只要是作者的态度、论点便会是重要的资讯,往往也会是考题所在。
当你看到作者论点时,一样也可以做简化资讯的动作。假如你发现他给了两个例子,都是
在支持他的论点,那么你只需要记得他的论点,而不用特别记例子。而当你看到他用了转
折词,如Furthermore, but,你便知道他要给下一个论点,或是他的态度、立场转变了,
这时候就可以再记下一个论点。
4. 看段落的第一句话抓重点
英文的逻辑是先给结论,因此,每个段落都会围绕着第一句话,用给例子的方式继续延伸
。假如能够养成看段落先看第一句话,再去思考其它句跟第一句的关系,就能够简化资讯
。有个很简单的方法可以测试你目前对于抓重点的掌握程度,当你看完一个段落时,是否
有办法浮现清楚的重点及态度呢?没有的话,代表你仍然再使用细读,那么请继续练习。
5. 不要读完整的句子
在读每句话时,要懂得筛选资讯,分辨主要/次要资讯。而要如何判断什么是主要/次要的
资讯呢?同学通常是看完整句话了,才有办法判断,这样并没有节省到时间。请你要使用
句子结构来帮助你判断,假如是一句话里面的主要子句(S. V. O.),当然会是重要资讯,
假如是修饰语,如介系词词组、形容词、复词、附属子句,便有极高可能会是次要资讯,
可跳过。 我们一样用刚刚的段落来做个小小实验,请抓一下每句话的重点,你是每个字
都看呢?还是只看SVO?
Efforts to control Spartina outside its natural environment have included
burning, flooding, shading plants with black canvas or plastic, smothering the
plants with dredged materials or clay, applying herbicide, and mowing
repeatedly. Little success has been reported in New Zealand and England;
Washington State’s management program has tried many of these methods and is
presently using the herbicide glyphosphate to control its spread. Work has
begun to determine the feasibility of using insects as biological controls,
but effective biological controls are considered years away. Even with a
massive effort, it is doubtful that complete eradication of Spartina from
nonnative habitats is possible, for it has become an integral part of these
shorelines and estuaries during the last 100 to 200 years.
黄色部分为我读的地方:
Efforts to control Spartina outside its natural environment have
included burning, flooding, shading plants with black canvas or plastic,
smothering the plants with dredged materials or clay, applying herbicide, and
mowing repeatedly. Little success has been reported in New Zealand
and England; Washington State’s management program has tried many of these
methods and is presently using the herbicide glyphosphate to control its
spread. Work has begun to determine the feasibility of using insects as
biological controls, but effective biological controls are
considered years away. Even with a massive effort, it is
doubtful that complete eradication of Spartina from
nonnative habitats is possible, for it has become an integral part
of these shorelines and estuaries during the last 100 to 200 years.
(通常看到for是介系词词组不用看,但这里的for是指原因,因果关系是重要的
关系,所以要看。)
这样是否觉得简化资讯不难呢?其实对于一般不习惯skim的同学来说,这是说来容易,
做来难,因此,还是得常练习,试着去习惯这种阅读方法,才能上手喔!
6. 跳过细节
同学通常对于细节格外执著,会觉得如果不记细节,很不安心,怕会考出来。事实上,
考题通常都不外乎是考你态度及转折词出现处的重要资讯,或是考你结构、关联性。
要知道,没有论点的例子、细节是单一、琐碎的资讯,并没有很大的用处,不会是作者写
文章的目的、更不会是重要的资讯,因此不用特别记,只要有印象这个例子在讲的是哪个
论点就可以了。假如出现细节题,再用关键字定位(Scan),便可以很快地找到答案。
看完了skim的六大技巧,这能力还是要靠同学常常练习、养成每天阅读的习惯,才有办法
拥有良好的略读能力。因此,同学在每天努力念书准备考试之余,请不忘检视自己是否有
效地调整阅读习惯,才能在分数上见效喔!:D
感谢你耐心的看完,如果觉得有帮助,请帮忙推一下!
假如你觉得不够尽兴,还有其它阅读问题,欢迎你看以前整理过的十大阅读问题:
http://sk2toefl.blogspot.tw/2011/05/blog-post.html
最后,祝大家养成良好的阅读习惯,快快考好托福喔!