5新托福阅读部分的“方便”品

新托福阅读部分的“方便”品吴 鹏“方便”语出法华经方便品：“吾从成佛以来，种种因缘、种种譬喻，广演言教，无数方便，引导众生令离所执。 ”本文这里的所谓方便，理正为方，言巧称便，就是根据形势的变化（这里主要指针对新托福考试的变化） ，选择随机应变的教化机智，即学习方法。新托福考试将于 2006 年 8 月在中国大陆地区推出。这一消息牵动着千万考生的心。许多考生对于新托福考试的形式感到十分的陌生，由此也对新托福考试产生了相当的恐惧心理。本文将深度剖析新托福考试中阅读部分的特点，目的在于一方面帮助考生全面而深刻地了解新托福阅读部分的考试特点，另一方面帮助考生透彻地分析新托福阅读部分考试的规律。一、新托福考试阅读部分的六大变化1. 新托福考试阅读部分中的四个主要按键及功能在新托福考试阅读部分，阅读文章出现在电脑屏幕的右边（这和 GRE 机考形式恰好相反，因为在 GRE 机考阅读部分，阅读文章出现在电脑屏幕的左边） ，而相应的题目出现在电脑屏幕的左边。因为文章很长，所以需要借助于滚动条的滚动，才能看到全文。在阅读部分，考生可以通过点击 Next button 向前浏览所有的问题，也可以通过点击 Back button回视前面的问题，并返回到文章的最开头。托福阅读部分还拥有一个 review 功能的按键，通过点击 Review button 考生将会在 Review Screen 看到所有的问题，和看到这些问题的状态-answered, not answered, not yet seen。最后，新托福的阅读部分还有一个 Help button，考生点击这个按键之后，将会得到 a list of topics for which helpful explanations are available。2. 新托福考试阅读部分的文章长度、题目数量及考试时间均有变化原有形式的托福考试，其阅读部分的时间为 55 分钟，需要完成 5 篇文章，每篇文章的长度在 350 字左右，每篇文章后面的题目数量在 10 道左右，也就是说题目的总数量为 50道。而新托福考试阅读部分的具体安排见下表：READING SECTIONReading Text Time Allowed Length of Passage Number of QuestionsPassage 1 20 minutes 600-750 12-14Passage 2 20 minutes 600-750 12-14Passage 3 20 minutes 600-750 12-14Passage 4 they could even pursue their quarry into the free northern regions. Young men were the most successful in traveling the Railroad, though sometimes women and children would also manage to escape. Strength and speed were critical. Slaves would occasionally employ disguises, trying to pass themselves as messengers on errands, or even, in the case of the lighterskinned slaves, as whites. Holidays and weekends were the best times to escape, or any other circumstance that permitted a head start on the authorities.这是文章的第 2 段到第 5 段。其中第 2 段的首句中的 the Railroad consisted of an informal arrangement of “stationmasters” and “conductors”内容指出文章的第 2 段论述的中心在于介绍 Railroad 的组成或者构成；第 3 段的首句 Perhaps the most famous of Railroad workers was Harriet Tubman.表明文章的第 3 段是承接 2 段的中心举出其成员组成中的典型例子；第 4 段的首句 The conditions faced by runaways were severe.清晰地指出第 4 段论述的中心在于逃跑途中的艰辛条件；而第 5 段的首句 The risks faced by fugitives were formidable Recapture was unthinkable.也同样清晰地表明了第 5 段论述的中心是论述这些逃跑人员所面临的巨大风险。其逻辑框架图如下：第 2 段topic: Railroad 的组成和构成第 3 段 topic: 给出 Railroad 的人员组成的典型例子全文的topic:underground railroad 的历史画面重现第 4 段topic: 论述了逃跑途中的艰辛条件第 5 段 topic: 论述了逃跑人员面临的各种风险3. Conclusion 部分的分析性阅读要点：(1) Conclusion 通常为阅读文章的最后一段，也可能是文章末段的末句或者末两句，关注末段的首句，因为它会给出末段论述的方向；(2) Conclusion 对全文所起的作用有三点：一是 summarizes the most important points expressed in the passage 但是不能给出任何新的重要观点；二是给出作者的态度方面的总结；三是给出一些延伸性的叙述。总之 conclusion 所起作用必然为上述三点之一；(3) 加入 conclusion 线索补充完善逻辑性文框架图。Activities on the Railroad reached a peak in the last few decades before the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.The great political tension created by the institution of slavery was already tearing the country apart. Whites in the South generally felt that slavery was an indispensable part of their culture. Their economy certainly depended on it, and moreover, they resented being dictated to from the North and from Washington. Those in the North, on the other hand, could only see the brutality in slavery, and the hypocrisy it meant in a country claiming to be founded on the principle of freedom and equality for all mankind. Though terribly destructive, the Civil War ultimately settled the question, and with the ratification of the 13th amendment to the U.S. Construction on December 18, 1865, it became law what “neither slavery nor involuntary servitudeshall exist in the United States.”这是文章的第 6 段也是全文的最后一段。通过第 6 段的首句引出了这一段论述的方向：向着与 Railroad 关的 American Civil War 方向进一步做出延伸性的叙述，即给出了American Civil War 爆发的原因及相应结果第 2 段topic: Railroad 的组成和构成第 3 段 topic: 给出 Railroad 的人员组成的典型例子全文的topic:underground railroad 的历史画面重现第 4 段topic: 论述了逃跑途中的艰辛条件第 5 段 topic: 论述了逃跑人员面临的各种风险第 6 段延伸性地讲述了 American Civil War 的爆发原因及结果小结：前面 3 点的分析能够帮助我们很好的做到对主题、逻辑结构、重要支持论点的分析和理解从而帮助我们顺利完成 Identifying the main idea、Summarizing the most important points、Organization information 三种题型的解答。4. 分析阅读文章的 purpose 和 logical development：读完全文还应该思考一下下面的两个问题：一是作者写这篇文章的目的是三种中的哪一种呢？是 Exposition: to present you with information on specific topic. These passage contain mostly facts.或者是 Resolve: to find solution for some sort of dilemma. Usually there is a debate or question that needs an answer.抑或是 Convince: to persuade you of the validity of a certain viewpoint or idea. They give an opinion and support that opinion with evidence。而上面的这篇文章的写作目的显然是 Exposition；二是文章的作者使用了 5 种常见逻辑行文结构的哪种或哪几种呢？这 5 种常见的逻辑行文结构为：Classification (General if the grade (or steepness) of the hill is reduced, the climb will be easier.例子类型属于 situation that explains the idea；For example, to lift the flag to the top of the flagpole, the rope is passed over the pulley at the top of the pole and one end is attached to the flag. Then, when downward effort is applied to the other end of the rope, the flag is pulled upward.例子类型属于 description that explains the idea；Imagine using a bottle opener. The openers tip is the fulcrum. The load-the edge of the bottle cap-is between the fulcrum and the effort.例子类型属于 description that explains the idea；Thus, lifting a load of three tons with three pulleys requires the same initial effort as lifting one ton with one pulley; however, the point on the rope receiving the initial effort will need to travel three times as far. 例子类型属于 Statistics or equations；If one block is fixed and another is free and supporting the load, there results a mechanical advantage, or change in the magnitude of force. 例子类型属于 situation that explains the idea。三、结束语谈到这里，我们已经将新托福考试阅读部分的特点做了详尽地剖析，同时也比较深刻和全面地分析了如何做到