如何巧用信号词搞定托福阅读

作者：北美趣西经
快速阅读的诀窍是：强迫自己接受一个观点：“做托福阅读题就是一个不断寻找BUT 的过程”；
那么我们就开始强迫自己接受这个理论吧!这样既能做的快，又能做准题目，实现在短期内阅读从15分到28分的实质性飞跃！
通 过训练批判性思维从而实现快速阅读托福文章，以及准确做出题目是非常有效的方法。因为批判性思维（Critical Thinking) 是最根本的英文文章的写作技术之一，只有充分理解并且掌握批判性思维方式才能真正理解作者所要表达的意思。也只有掌握批判性思维才能真正又快又准的解决雅
思阅读中的难题，对于CT 的训练是远比那些华而不实的技巧和没有任何实际意思的阅读预测要务实而高效的多。

接下来我将用TPO 41-48中的最新文章节选和题目，来说明我的理论。（理论谈不上，扯扯淡吧）

例 子1：比如Playing is a serious business. Children
engrossed in a make-believe world, fox cubs play-fighting or kittens teaming a
ball of string aren’t just having fun. Play may look like a carefree and
exuberant way to pass the time before the hard work of adulthood comes along,
but there’s much more to it than that. 每当你读到 are
not just having fun ...., seems to ....应该很自然的想到后面的but ,
并且与前面构成明显的对比。
例子二： 接下来带领大家一起来通过训练CT 来快速进行阅读理解：
The Truth about the
Environment
For many environmentalists, the world seems to be （出现seems to
//looks like// maybe 都是为了后面的indeed//but //however 的转折来铺垫的）getting worse. （总分结构的写法，作者会延续这个中心句的思路一直写下去，来证明中心句；当然如果有转折的话，就需要把重点放到BUT 后面来进行。 ）They have developed
a hit-list of our main fears: that natural resources are running out; that the
population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat; that species are
becoming extinct in vast numbers, and that the planet's air and water are
becoming ever more polluted.（ 后面的细节的细节的例子都是用来证明前面的内容的，所以只要不出现BUT的强转折，就需要在心里面有期待：anticipation， 就是后面的句子细节都是延续的，这样就会读的快起来！！）
But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. （出现了第一个转折，是和第一段中的seems to be 这样的转折的前奏的铺垫）
First, energy and other natural resources have become more abundant, not less
so,（一个小的CT 来验证观点） since the book
'The Limits to Growth' was published in 1972 by a group of scientists. Second,
more food is now produced per head of the world's population than at any time
in history. Fewer people are starving. Third, although species are indeed
becoming extinct, （Although也是CT的具体体现，又是一个批判性思维的句子）only about 0.7% of them are expected to disappear in the next 50
years, not 25-50%,（小的CT) as has so often been
predicted. And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to
have been exggerated, or are transient - associated with the early phases of
industrialisation and therefore best cured not by restricting economic growth,（又是一个CT，需要了解BUT后面的重点） but by
accelerating it. One form of pollution - the release of greenhouse gases that
causes global warming - does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend
well into our future, (批判性思维的句型CT） but
its total impact is unlikely to pose a devastating problem. A bigger problem
may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it.
总之这一段就是一个大的批判性思维的中心句，然后再结合三个小的CT 而快速构成的阅读段落。
Yet (轻微转折，小的CT） opinion
polls suggest that many people nurture the belief that environmental standards
are declining and four factors seem to cause this disjunction between
perception and reality.
（中心句直接泼出来中心句，给出是四个方面导致现实和理解的不同，接下来就是要展开四个factors 的s 的）
One is the lopsidedness built into scientific research.
Scientific funcing goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise
policy,（ 前面是maybe ,后面是转折，又是轻微的CT) but it will also create an impression that many more
potential problems exist than is the case.
Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the
mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling in. Understandably,
perhaps, they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the
World Wide Fund for Nature issued a press release entitled: 'Two thirds of the
world's forests lost forever'. (前后对比的CT) The truth turns out to be nearer 20%.
Though these groups are run overwhelmingly by selfless
folk, they nevertheless share many of the characteristics of other lobby
groups.(这句中心句是比较难的，但是也确实是重要的CT句型，翻译是：尽管这些小组是以无私的名义来进行运作的，但是他们同样还是具有其他游说小组的特征，这句话你看懂了吗？） That would matter less if people applied the same degree of
scepticism to environmental lobbying as they do to lobby groups in other
fields. (本句是虚拟语气，意思是： 如果我们对于这些所谓环保组织施加相同程度的怀疑，那么问题就不会这么严重。“ A trade organisation arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls
is instantly seen as self-interested. （这个地方又是明显的CT， 前面是instantly seen 是批判性思维的前奏，后面的YET 是转折的后半部分，是重点） yet a green organisation opposing such a weakening is seen as
altruistic, even if an impartial view of the controls in question might suggest
they are doing more harm than good. ( 前后采用批判性思维写的句子，翻译为： 然而这些绿色环保组织仍然被认为是利他的和无私的，即使有部分的观点建议说这会产生更多的危害（
但是我们坚信是好的，因为是环保组织）
A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media.
People are clearly more cuirous about bad news than good. Newspapers and
broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. （小的批判性思维的表现） That, however, can lead to significant distortions of perception. An
example was America's encounter El Nino in 1997 and 1998. This climatic
phenomenon was accused of wrecking tourism, causing allergies, melting the
ski-slopes and causing 22 deaths. （CT， 后面是重点）However, according to an artical in the Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society, the damage it did was estimated at US$4 billing but the
benefits amounted to some US$19 billion. These came from higher winter
temperatures (which saved an estimated 850 lives, reduced heating costs and
diminished spring floods caused by meltwaters).
The fourth factor is poor individual perception. People
worry that the endless rise in the amount of stuff everyone throws away will
cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste.(注意这句话是典型的批判性思维的句型） Yet, even if America's trash output continues to rise as it has
done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100, all the
rubbish America produces through the entire 21st centurey will still take up
only on 12,000th of the area of the entire United States. 请重视这句话的思维翻译是：即使美国的垃圾的增加速度是持续高的，即使美国的垃圾到了2100 年会翻倍，那么全美国所产生的全部垃圾，也只占到总的21世纪的垃圾的1/12000, 言下之意就是：这样的问题并不严重，这个是不是一个典型的和常识相违背的思路和句型。
So what of global warming? As we know, carbon dioxide
emissions are causing the planet to warm. The best estimates are that the
temperatures will rise by 2-3°C in this century, causing considerable problems,
at a total cost of US$5,000 billion.
(本段开篇的句子，再次说明是CT的批判性思维的句型）Despite the intuition that something drastic needs to be done about
such a costly problem,economic analyses clearly show it will be far more
expensive to cut carbon dioxide emissions radically than to pay the costs of
adaptation ot the increased temperatures. （本句话的意思着实和我们的常识是完全不一致的，是完全违背常识的，翻译过来是：尽管我们知道要为此而付出的昂贵代价的学费的问题是急需关注的，但是经济分析人士认为大量减少二氧化碳的排放，而比为了适应增加的温度所需要支付的费用要高很多） A model by one of the main authors of the United Nations Climate
Change Panel shows how an expected temperature increase of 2.1 degrees in 2100
would only be diminished to an increase of 1.9 degrees. Or to put it another
way, the temperature increase that the planet would have experienced in 2094
would be postponed to 2100. （后面的例子就是顺接前面的观点而进行展开的具体例子）
So this does not prevent global warming, but merely buys
the world six years.（小的转折后面有来一个小的转折） Yet（然而的表达又是转折） the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, for the United
States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the wolrd's single, most
pressing health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and
sanitation. Such measures would avoid 2 million deaths every year, and prevent
half a billion people from becoming seriously ill.
It is crucial that we look at the facts if we want to make
the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly to be overly
optimistic - but more costly still to be too pessimistic.（最后一句话的写作质量是很高的，翻译是： “似乎过于乐观的成本必然是很高的，但是过于悲观却是代价更高的。）这句话同样具有很强的批判性，在现实生活中，的确也是过于悲观所产生的后果，要大大高
于过于乐观，随意一个穷人，普通人，最大的问题是不自信，虽然我们一直都不这样认为？
通过批判性思维训练将极大的提高阅读速度以及更准确的做出托福阅读题目。不会左顾右盼，最终选错。
3，The investigators' findings were
striking.（这是由形容词形式的中心句，作为读者要明白该段落接下来所有的意思都是围绕着“为什么是令人吃惊的结果“，在英文阅读中有三个词表示结果，分别是：result , outcome 和findings） In the late 1970s,the infant mortality rate for the children of
illiterate mothers was around 100deaths per thousand live births.(这是文盲妈妈组) At this point in their lives, thosemothers who later went on to
learn to read had assimilated level of childmortality (105/1000).（这是后来学习阅读的妈妈组） For women educated in primary school,however, the infant mortality
rate was significantly lower, at 80 per thousand （这是本来妈妈就读过小学的组）
到目前为止，还是没有找到任何“striking”的痕迹，那么读者需要思考，这个“striking”到底体现在什么方面？
In 1985, after the National LiteracyCrusade had ended,the
infant mortality figures for those who remained illiterate（仍然是文盲的妈妈组） and for thoseeducated in primary school （本身就读过小学的妈妈组） remained more or less unchanged. For those women wholearnt to read
through the campaign, （然而后来通过训练而读书的妈妈组） the infant mortality rate
was 84 perthousand, an impressive21 points lower than for those women who were still illiterate. （这个地方就是非常明显的下降，所以构成“令人吃惊的”结果。） The children of the newly-literate motherswere also （这个also是更进一步的表明，这个项目的另外一个优点） better nourished thanthose of women who could not read.
这个段落最要说明的重点就是要通过实验调查结果显示，只有本来是文盲后来扫盲之后的妈妈组，这个项目的意义最大。孩子的出生率和死亡率都得到了很大的改善。但是该题的难点就是很多同学，无法理清这2个段落的内在联系，不具有很强的批判性思维。所以看的很迷茫，从而做错题目。速度也很慢。
ß 1．First it will pass through
sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually
packed.
ß 　　结构：全句有3个谓语动词：will pass，will tear和is。其中主句的是will pass。句子主干是it will passthrough sharp
metal bars。第一个which引导的定语从句修饰的是sharp
metal bars。第二个which引导的定语从句修饰的是the
plastic bags。这是大定语从句里面还有一个小定语从句。句子可以拆分为：
ß 1. First it will pass through sharp metal bars.
ß 2. The metal bars will tear open the plastic bags.
ß 3. Rubbish is usually packed in the bags.
ß 　　翻译：首先，垃圾要通过尖的金属棒，金属棒会把装垃圾的塑料袋弄破。
ß 2．When we talk about someone’s
personality,we mean the ways in which he or she acts, speaks, thinks and feels
that makethat individual different from others.
ß 　　结构：全句有4组谓语动词：talk，mean，acts/speaks/thinks/feels和make。其中主句的是：mean。句首是When引导的时间状语从句。之后which引导的定语从句和that引导的定语从句都是修饰the ways的。句子可以拆分为：
ß 1. We talk about someone’s personality.
ß 2. We mean the ways.
ß 3. He or she acts, speaks, thinks and feels in these
ways.
ß 4. These make that individual different from others.
ß 　　翻译：当我们谈到某个人的个性时，我们指的是他/她在行为，言谈和思考以及感觉等方面的方式。这些方式使这个人区别于他人。
ß 3．Competition is not only good in
itself, itis the means by which other basic American values such as individual
freedom,equality of opportunity and hard work are protected.
ß 　　结构：全句有3个谓语动词：is, is和are protected。其中主句的是：is, is。全句由两个有递进关系的单句构成。其中，which引导的是定语从句，修饰the means。句子可被拆分为：
ß 1. Competition is not only good in itself.
ß 2. It is the means.
ß 3. Other basic American values such as individual
freedom, equality ofopportunity and hard work are protected by these means.
ß 　　翻译：竞争不但本身就是好事，还是其他基本的美国价值观如个人自由，机会平等和勤奋工作等得到保护的手段。
ß 4. The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled,
painfree life equalshappiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining
real happiness.
ß 　　结构：全句有3个谓语动词：hold，equals和reduce。其中主句的是reduces。句子主干为：The way actuallyreduces their
chances of ever attaining real happiness。The way 后面是省略了which/that的定语从句。在这个定语从句中，还有一个that引导的同位语从句，修饰the belief。句子可以拆分为：
ß 1. This way actually reduces their chances of ever
attaining realhappiness.
ß 2. A fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness.
ß 3. People hold to this belief.
ß 　　翻译：人们信奉的充实又无忧无虑的生活就等于幸福的信念实际上降低了他们获得真正的幸福的可能性。
ß 5. Those who oppose the building of flats base their case
primarily on theassumption that everyone prefers an individual home and garden
and on the highcost per unit of accommodation.
ß 　　结构：全句有3个谓语动词：oppose，base和prefers。其中主句的是：base。句子主干为：Those base their case primarily
on theassumption and on the high cost。其中who引导的是定语从句，修饰those。that引导的同位语从句修饰the
assumption。
ß 　　翻译：那些反对建设公寓的人的理由主要是基于大家都喜欢单独的住宅和花园的假设以及每个居住单位的高成本。

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