学术英语阅读方法

1、AcademicReadingcomprehensionReading-comprehensionquestionscanbequitedeceptive.Ononehand,theanswertothequestionidsomewhereinthepassage.Ontheotherhand,answerscanbecraftedtoseemrightbuttheyare,infact,wrong.Thispassagewillteachyouthebestwaytoapproachthereadingpassagesonthetest.1.ReadingAthoughitmightsee

2、mlikereading-comprehensionquestionsshouldn'beveryhard,butthesequestionswouldbemadedifficultbyexploitingsomecommonassumptions.Thereadingskillyou'llneedtouseorreading-comprehensionquestionsarequitedifferentfromtheonesyouuseinyoureverydaylife.Thebiggestchallengewillprobablybethelimitedtimeyouha

3、vetoanswerthequiestions.Foronthing,readingpassagesareintentionallychoosedtobecomplicatedandareconcernedwithunfamiliarand,insomecases,intimidatingtopics,hopingthatyouhaveatoughtimeabsorbingtheentiretyofpassageintheshortamountoftimetheygiveyou.inmanycases,thatisexactlywhathappens:testtakersspendtoomuc

4、htimetryingtounderstandwhatthey'readandnotenoughtimeworkingontherquestions.Youwerealsohopedtobeoveranalyzingthetext.Thisleverofcriticalthinkingiswhollyapproporiateformosttypesofacademicreading,butitonlyleadstotrouble.Thewaytocrackthereadingportionistoreadlessintothepassages,notmore.Althoughitmay

5、soundcounterintuitive,insomewaysthepassageitselfistheleastimprotantpartofreading-comprehensionquestions.Thisisforsimplereason-youdon'tgetanypointsforreadingthepassage,andtheonlywaytodowellistoamassasmanypointsaspossible.Readingcomprehension:thebasicapprach1. Attackthepassagthisstepwillvaryslight

6、lybasedonthelengthofthepassageyou'redealingwith,butineachcase,thegoalistoreadless,notmore.2. SizeupthequestionReading-comprehensionquestioncanaskyoutodoavarietyofthings.Makesureyouknowwhatthequestion'saskingyoutodo.3. FindandparaphrasetheansweThisisthekey.Alwaysreturntothepassagetofindyouran

7、swers;neveransweritfrommemory!4. Useprocessofeliminationtoselecttherightanswer.ATTACKTHEPASSAGEYoushouldneverreadapassagejustforthesakeofreadingit;thatis,youshouldalwayshaveagoalinmindbeforeyoustartreading.Mostofthetimeyou'bereadingwiththegoalofansweringaparticularquestion,butforyourintitialread

8、ing,you'reconcernedonlywithdiccoveringthefolloing:1. Themainidea/purposeWhatistheauthorwritingaboutandwhy?2. ThestructureHowisthepassageorganized”3. ThetoneHowdoesthewriterfeelaboutthetopic?Fortunately,youcanoftenfigurethesethingsoutwithjustacursoryinitialreading.Additionally,youcanalsoexpecttha

9、tyouwillseemanypassagedtypesthatarefairlysimilarintheirtoneandorganization.UnderstandingstructreinwritingWhilethereadingpassagesmaynotrepresentsomeofthemostengagingwritingyou'vencountered,itisimprotanttokeepinmindtheauthor'basicgoal.Nonfictionwriterswanttheirwritingtobeunderstood;ifyoucan

10、9;followtheirargumentsortheirprogressionofideas,they'vefailedintheirjobsaswriters.Whenyou'reeadingorskimmingapassage,agoodgraspofthestructuralelementsinwritingwillaidyourunderstanding.First,payattentiontothestructureofeachparagraph.Themostimportantinformationisprobalygoingtobefoundatthebegin

11、ningandendoftheparagraph.If,whilereadingapassage,youeyesstarttoglazeover,restassuredyou'renotonlyone.Goodauthorsknowthisandmakesuretoputkeypointswheretheyarelikelytostandout.So,focusonthebeginningandendofeachparagraph.Second,lookfortriggerwords.Writersusethesewordsassignpoststodirectyourreading.

12、Whenyouseesamedirectionwordssuchasforexampel,inaddition,and,orfurthermore,youknowtheauthorisgoingtobesupportinganearlierstetement.Ifyoualreadyunderstandthepointoftheparagraph,feelfreetoskimthroughtheselines.However,oppositedirectionwordslikealthough,butyetandhoweversignifyanimportantshift.Writersuse

13、wordslikethistodirectthereader'sattentiontoimportantchangeorrevelationintheprogressionofideas.Thesewordsthatpointsdirectiontoyoucalled“triggerwords”.Finally,theconclusionofthepieceofferstheauthoronelastchancetogethistoherpointacross.Alwaysreadthelastparagraph.Doesthepiecewrapthingsupnicelyoristh

14、eresomedoubt?Doestheauthorsuggestfurtheravenuesofinquiry?Thewaythepassageendscanhelpyoutounderstandwhattheauthor'nsainpointorprimatypurposeinwritingthepassagewas.Payingattentiontostructuralcluesliketheonesmentionedherecanhelpyoubeamoreeffectivereader.Follwingtheseprinciplesinyourownwritingwouldn

15、'hurteither.TpeseofPassagePassagescovertopicinthescience,socialsciences,andhumanities.Butregardlessofthetopic,thepassageitselfwillconformtothestandardsof"good'academicwriting-meaningthattheauthorswillgenerallywriteinastylethat'scharacterizbyclearorganization,strongtopicsentencesantr

16、ansitions,andsummaryinformationroconcludingthoughts.Youshouldexpecttoseethefollowingtypesofpassages:1. Expositiorypassagedthispassagetype,theauthor'spurposeistoinformorexplainsomething,whetheritbeanewfinding,aviewpoint,atrend,oranoccurrence.Inthistypeofpassage,thetoneisgenerallyneutral.2. Argume

17、ntativepassagederetheauthor'spurposeistoconvincethereaderofthevalidityofacertainbelieforperspective.Argumentativepassagesusuallyhavestrongertonesandarestructuredaroundprovidingsupportfortheauthor'sconclusion.3. EvaluatingpassageSomepassageswillpresentanideaorperspective,thetonecanbestrongorn

18、eutral.Ofcourse,othertypesofpassagesmaycropup,butingeneralyoushouldexpectonesthatfitintothecategoriesabove.Nowlet'slookatsomepassagesandpracticefindingtheirmainidea,tone,andstructure.ApprochaingpassagesWhenyoucameacrossapassage,readthefirstlineofeachparagraphandthenskimtherestofit,payingparticul

19、arattentiontoany“triggerwords”(samedirectionwordsandespeciallydifferentdirectionwords).Whenyougettothelastparagraph,readthefirstline,skimtherest,andthenreadthelastlineoftheentirepassge.Drill:Scientistsresearchingtheagingprocessareincreasinglyinvestingatingtheroleoftelomeres,portionsofDNAontheendsofc

20、hromesomesfoundineverycell.Unliketherestofthechromosome,telomeresdonotcontaingenes,thestrandsofDNAthatcodeforparticularenzymesandproteins.Telomeresprimarilyserveaprotectiveroleincell,playingtwokeyrolesinmaintaininghealthycells.First,telomerespreventimportantgeneticmaterialfrombeinglostduringcellrepl

21、ication,functioningasa"capofsortsonetheendofeachchtomosome.Second,telomeresservesasabiologicalmarkertahtethechromosomeis“complete”;whitoutatelomeresisfairlywellunderstood,sceinteistsareinterestedinanotherfacetoftelomeres.TelomerescontainbetweenontotwothousandcopiesofaparticularDNAsequenceisloop

22、pedoff.Whentelomeresbecometooshort,thecellbecomesimpaired,inabletodivide,andpronetomalfunction.Cellswithcriticallyshorttelomereseventuallydie,leadingmanyresearcherstocomparetelomerestobiologicalclocksorfuses,countingdowntothedeathofacell.Althoughtheroleoftelomersincellularagingandmalfunctioniswelldo

23、cumented,newresearchisfocusedonsearchingforalinkbetweencellularagingandaginganddiseaseinhumans.Onestudyhasfoundthatsubjectswithshortertelomeresaremorelikelytodevelopcancersofthelungsandkidneysthanthosewithlongertelomereswereatahigherriskofdevelopingheartdiseaseandalsiappearedmorepronetoinfectiousdes

24、ease.Anotherstudypositedalinkbetweentelomerelinkandlifespan.Inthatstudy,patientswithshortertelomerelinkandlifespan.Inthatstudy,patientswithshortertelomeresdiedabout4or5yeearseaelierthanthosewithtelomeresofgreaterlength.Ofcourse,manyreseachersarehesitanttoconcludethatshortertelomeresareacausativefact

25、orfromthisdata,particularybecausetelomeresaresusceptibletocorruptionfromanumberoffactorsbesidescelldivision.Forexample,scientistshavenotedthattelomeresareespeciallyvulnerabletothebyproductsofthebody'soxidationprocess,bywhichoxygenisconvertedtoenergy.Thebyproductsofthisprocess,calledfreeradicals,

26、cannotonlyharmcellandDNA,butalsoartificiallyshortentelomeres.Futherresearchisnecessarytobetterestablishwhatlink,ifany,existsbetweentelomeresandaging.Onepromisingavenuetoconsideriswhetherlengtheningdamagedtelomereshastooppositeeffectonsubjects,makingthemhealthierandconferinggreaterlongivity.Andwhiles

27、omescientistsoptimisticallybelievethatafullunderstandingoftelomereswilleventuallybestowdominionovertheveryagingprocessitsellf,suchascenarioisbothunlikelyandtechnologicallyfeasibleatthisjuncture.Whenfirstfinish.Askyourself:Mainidea/purose?Structure?Tone?Aquickreadingofthispassageshouldrevealthefollow

28、ing:first,fromthefirstsentenceofthefirstparagraph,welearnthatscenetistsareinterestedintheroletelomeresplayintheprocessesofagingandisease.Skimmingthroughtherestoftheparagraph,weseealotoftechnicaldetails,whichweofcoursedon'twanttocaoncernourselveswith.Wemightnotethataroundlinesfiveandsixtheauthort

29、ellsisthetwoprimaryfunctionsoftelomers.Aroundlinenine,wealsemightnotethetriggerwordwhile,whichshowsthatscientistsareinterestedinpropertiedotherthanthetwoprimaryoneswenotedearlier.Fromthesecondparagraph,weseehtatnewreasearchislookingforalinkbetweencellularagingandhumanaging.Aswequicklyskimthroughther

30、estoftheparagraphweseetriggerwordslikefurhermore,another,ofcourse.Thesewordsallindicatethattheauthorossimplyprovidingmoredetailsandexamples.There'snoneedtotryntoerstandexactlywhattheexamplesareatthispoint.Movingtothefinalsentence,weleatnthatwhiletelomereresearchhaspotential,theauthordoesn'tf

31、eelthatitwillresultinacureforallofourills.Mainidea/purpose:toexplaintheroleofrelomeresintheagingprocessandtheresearchthescinetistsaredoingtobetterinderstandteloeres.Structure:thefirstparagraphprovidesbackgraoundinformationontelomeres;thesecondondetailsthereseachonthem.Tone:mostlyneutral,withsomecaut

32、ionexpressedaboutthepotentialresultsofrelomerereseatch.Dontgetcaughtupinthedetails!Focusonthebigpicture.2.QuestionWhileitmightseemliketherearetonsofdifferentreadingcomprehensiontasks,therearereallyonlytwomajortypesofquestions:1 .”FetchquestionsSomequestionssimplurequireyoutogotothepassageand“fetch&q

33、uot;someinformation.Theinformationyouareaskedtofethmightbeafactfromthereading,themeaningofaword,theauthor'tone,orthemainideaofpassage.2 .ReasoningquestionsOtherquestionsrequirealittlemoreworkthanjustreturningtothepassageandfiguringoutwhattheauthorsays.Reasoningquestionscanaskyouwhyanauthoruesdap

34、articularwordorsentence,whatinferencesyoucandrayfromthepassage,orwhotheauthor'istendedaudiencemaybe.Reasoningquestionmayalsoaskcriticalreasoningtyle"argument"questionsaboutconclusion,premises,andassumptions.Eachofthesequestiontypesmayshowupinanyofthequestionformatsabove.Let'slookat

35、someofthesequestionsonmoredetail.FetchquestionsThesequestionsask,inoneformoranother,“whatdoedthepassagesay?”theyathemoststraightforwardofreadingquestions,andsimplyrequireyoutoreturntothepassageandretriveinformation.Toansweraretrivealquestion,followthesesteps:1. ReadthequestionWhatkindofquestionareyo

36、udealingwith?2. Makethequestionbackintoaquestion)ftenthequestionsare'tquestionsatall;they'rereallyincompletesentences.Tofindananswer,youmustfirsthaveaquestion.Byputtingthequestionintoyourownword,youinteractqualitativelyandactivelywiththequestiontext.Thereisonpossibilityofyoureyesglazingovero

37、ryourbraingoingonautopilot.Tomakethequestionintoaquestion,simplystartwithaquestionword.Nineoutoftentimeswhatorwhywillwork,sincemostquestionsaskeitherwhatwassaidinthepassageorwhyitwassaid.3. Findproof.Thisisthgoldenruleofreadingcomprehension.Youwillalwaysbeabletoprovethecorrectanswerwithsomethinginth

38、epassage.Ifyoucannotputyourfingeronaspecificword,phrase,orsentencethatprovesyouranswerchoice,youcan'pickit.Tohelpwinrsannthepassage,useonrorbothofthefolloingrechniques:a. Fourup/fourdown.Youcan'trustthecorrectanswerwouldbeputtedexactlywheretheysayitwillbe.Iftheyhighlightaportionofthepassage,

39、startreadingfourlinesaboveandreaduntilfourlinesbelowthehighlithedpassage.Thisway,youarealwayslookingatthingsincontext.b. LeadwordAleadwordisanywordinthequestionthatwillbeeasytoskimforinthepassage.Names,numbers,dates,largetechnicaltermsallmakegoodleadwords.Ofcourse,onceyoufindyourleadword,readfourlin

40、esupandfourlinesdown.(foravocab-in-contextquestion,youneedtoreadonlytwolinesupandthreelinesdown).4. AnswerthequestioninyourownwordsTheanswechoicearedesinedtomislieadyou.Ifyoukownhowexactlywhatyou'Poolingfor,youcanprotectyourselffromtheirfintsandtricks.5. Useprocessofelimination.a. ExtremesNomatt

41、erwhatthepassagesays,correctanswercanbephraseinanyway.Corectanswersthataresupposetobedifficulttoarguewith.Thatmeanswhishy-washylanguage(often,many,usually).Extremelanguage(is,all,everyalways)istooeasytoprovewrong,soitalmostalwaysisincorrect.b. ScopeIfyoucan'tputyourfingerontiinthepassagecyonotpi

42、ckit.Theyareverygoodatslippingthingsontoananswerchicethatwerenevermentionedinthepassage.Wathcoutforanswerchoicesthatexpandthescopeofthepassage.c. Halfrighr=allwrong.Answerchoicethatarehalfrightalsomeansthey'rehalfandthusallwrong.Thefirstpartoftheanswerchoicewillususallylookgood,butthesecondpartw

43、illbeincorrect.Makesuretoreadtheentirechoicecarefully.d. Garbledinformation.Somewrongansweschoicesjusttakepartsofthepassageandgarblethem.Theseanswersusuallycontaininformationthat'stakendirectlyformpassageratherthanparaphrasingit.e. Choosethebestanswerorrespondingtothespecificsituation.CorrectanswersareparaphrasesofinformationstatedinthepassageReasoningquestionsReasoningquestionsaskustogoalittlebitbeyondwhatthepassagest