结构化阅读法阅读GRE文

结构化阅读法阅读GRE文

                                                                                             把握段落逻辑结构

江苏朗阁外语培训中心北美研究生部部长张晓予

考生们在使用结构化阅读法阅读GRE文章的时候，首先需要通过阅读文章开头以及各段首句来判断文章的结构套路。在这之后，就要进入做题的过程。GRE阅读题和雅思以及托福不同。托福考试的细节题几乎全部在原文中按照顺序出现，雅思阅读考试除了配对类题型以外的大部分细节题也都是在题型内部具有顺序性的特点的，因此定位起来会比较方便。只需要找出每道题目题干中的定位词信息，再回到文章中按照题目顺序加以扫读搜寻就可以。但是GRE阅读的考题却没有顺序性可言。因此，在解决题目时，除了需要先行了解作者写作意图，整理全文的逻辑框架以外，为了要能够准确定位到题目出现的位置，把握段落内部的逻辑结构也是必不可少的步骤。下面，笔者就将整理出GRE阅读考试中的文章段落中 常见的几种逻辑结构，并且对其中可能出现的考题进行分析。

GRE阅读文章中的段落的逻辑结构，可以分为以下5种：

1. 并列(Juxtaposition/ Parallelism)

并列型的段落通常是在对某一事物进行举例说明或者对多个等价事物分别进行列举。这样的段落中，常会在首句描述一个事物，之后出现for example、for instance等表示举例说明的连接词，或者是In addition, Moreover, also, another, furthermore等表示并列的连接词。在阅读这类段落时考生需要把握的重点是并列所属的大主题，并且明确发生并列的几个信息分别出现的位置。这类段落经常会涉及细节信息题、修辞目的题(即in order to题)和列举题等题型。例如下面这一段：

Iwould like to make an outrageoussuggestion that would at one stroke providefunds for archaeology and reduce the amountof illegal digging. Iwould propose that scientificarchaeological expeditions and governmentalauthorities sell excavated artifacts on the openmarket. Such sales would provide substantialfunds for the excavation and preservation ofarchaeological sites and the publication of results.At the same time, they would break the illegalexcavator's grip on the market, thereby decreasingthe inducement to engage in illegal activities.

段落的句话即是总全段的并列大主题，而后文信息是对该大主题信息的列举说明。所以此段可以被看作是一个并列型的段落。如果题目当中问道，作者建议sell excavated artifacts on the open market(蓝色的字)的目的是什么，则可以去到段首的大主题中找到答案信息。

2. 因果(Causation)

因果型的段落通常是在说明某事物的原因或者结果，所以因果关系词在因果段落中通常会比较明显。因果型的段落中，常会在首句阐释出两个事物之间因果关系，用到A causes/correlates with B等说法;在后文中也有可能会出现并列因果parallel causation。在阅读这类段落时考生需要把握的重点是因果关系的双方。这类段落经常会涉及细节信息题、考察把握数量因果关系的正负相关的推论题等题型。例如下面这一段：

Proponents of theory A dispute the assumption thata school of thousands of fish is highly visible.Experiments have shown that any fish can be seen,even in very clear water, only within a sphere of 200meters in diameter. When fish are in a compact group,the spheres of visibility overlap. Thus the chance of apredator finding the school is only slightly greaterthan the chance of the predator finding a single fishswimming alone. Schooling is advantageous to theindividual fish because a predator's chance of findingany particular fish swimming in the school is muchsmaller than its chance of finding at least one of thesame group of fish if the fish were dispersedthroughout an area.

整个段落都在论述原因用以解释首句中描述的事实，并且，段落中也明显出现了因果关系段落中常见的关联词。考题中很有可能会出现问到首句中A理论的支持者们反驳句中提到的assumption的原因。考生可以从thus前面的解释中找到答案。

3. 机制(Mechanism)

机制型的段落常在说明型的文章中出现，在以议论文题为主的GRE阅读考试中，通常出现在议论文中的背景介绍等相关段落里。机制型的段落以描述过程process、procedure为主，所以段落的展开常伴随着连续动词serial causation。在阅读这类段落时考生需要把握的重点是段落首末句中对于所描述的过程的概括性陈述。这类段落经常会涉及细节信息题、涉及连续动作取非的推论题等题型。例如下面这一段：

The problem confronting terrestrial snakes is bestillustrated by what happens to sea snakes whenremoved from their supportive medium. Because thevertical pressure gradients within the blood vesselsare counteracted by similar pressure gradients in thesurrounding water, the distribution of bloodthroughout the body of sea snakes remains aboutthe same regardless of their orientation in space,provided they remain in the ocean. When removedfrom the water and tilted at various angles with thehead up, however, blood pressure at their midpointdrops significantly, and at brain level falls to zero.That many terrestrial snakes in similar spatialorientations do not experience this kind of circulatoryfailure suggests that certain adaptations enable themto regulate blood pressure more effectively inthoseorientations.

在这段中，虽然标了蓝色的because比较容易让人误认为这个段落是因果关系段落，但是我们会发现，标记了红色的这些连续性动词能够体现出整个段落的论述结构。全段都是为了叙述句话里提到的过程。

4. 对比与比较(Contrast & Comparison)

对比与比较的段落是GRE考试中比较常见的一种段落类型，分为时间对比和对象对比两类。这种段落旨在阐述不同事物之间的不同特征，段落中常常会出现明显的对比标志词比如but， however， on the contrary，on the other hand等等。在阅读这类段落时考生需要把握的重点是对比双方的反义描述。这类段落经常会涉及对比取非的推论题等题型。例如下面这一段：

It was once believed that the brain wasindependent of metabolic processes occurringelsewhere in the body. In recent studies, however,we have discovered that the production and releasein brain neurons of the neurotransmitter serotonin(neurotransmitters are compounds that neurons useto transmit signals to other cells) depend directly onthe food that the body processes.

本段中出现了明显的时间对比的特征。首句说到过去的情况，之后用了however这样的关系词引出recent的情况。过去和 近的观点中的反义信息是关于大脑是独立于代谢的还是依赖于身体处理的食物的。考生抓住这样的反义信息就可以很容易把握作者论述的重点了。

5. 让步转折(Concession[Refutation])

让步转折的段落也是GRE考试中比较常见的段落类型。这种段落旨在阐述某个事物的相对立方面的特种，段落中也会出现明显的转折标志词比如but， however等。但是这类段落与对比比较段落的不同点在于，这种段落中必须包含让步的成分，所以除了上述转折标志词之外，段落中还会出现although，though，admittedly，granted that等让步关系词。在阅读这类段落时考生需要把握的重点是被让步的和被强调的双方面。这类段落经常会涉及细节信息题、取非的推论题等题型。例如下面这一段：

The United States government's definition ismore practical: services are the residual categorythat includes everything that is not agriculture orindustry. Under this definition, services includesactivities as diverse as engineering and driving abus. However, besides lacking a strong conceptualframework, this definition fails to recognize thedistinction between service industries and serviceoccupations. It categorizes workers based on theircompany's final product rather than on the actualwork the employees perform. Thus, the manyservice workers employed by manufacturers–bookkeepersor janitors, for example—wouldfall under the industrial rather than the servicescategory. Such ambiguities reveal the arbitrarinessof this definition and suggest that, althoughpractical for government purposes, it does notaccurately reflect the composition of the currentUnited States economy.

上面的段落是针对United States government's definition of service的正反两方面进行论述的，标为蓝色的字样显示出被让步掉的是一些优点，而标为红色的字体显示出被强调的是该定义的缺点。考生如果能够明确掌握段落的重点信息，即后半段信息，则可以理解文章段落的重点所在。