对于很多中国考生而言,GMAT阅读的解题思路不明晰,感觉无章可循,要么一篇文章读下来,大脑一片空白,不知文章所云,要么遇到生僻难词,就感觉阅读无法继续进行下去,造成这种现象的原因除了考生自身的英语能力以外,最重要的是考生忽略了对GMAT阅读的技巧把握。为让考生能够避免GMAT阅读的思考误区,本文旨在从GMAT阅读的三大原则出发让考生从多个角度认识GMAT阅读! 原则之一:文章结构须清晰,段落用意要明了 认识文章结构和明晰段落用意是理解文章的一个先决条件,那么我们该如何去对文章的结构进行把握呢?GMAT阅读文章的类型不外乎立论型和驳论型两类,而立论型的文章又可分为现象解析型和问题解决型,驳论文章就是我们非常熟悉的观点评价型文章。了解这一点以后,我们也就非常容易对任何一篇GMAT阅读文章的结构进行把握,譬如,现象解析型的文章,文章中会给出某一现象,然后针对这种现象进行分析,阐述,并最终得出一种观点。下面我们为考生截取了一个文章例子。 But since the mid-1970 s, a different strategy has emerged. In 1977, 34 percent of government clerical workers were represented by a labor organization, compared with 46 percent of government professionals, 44 percent of government blue-collar workers, and 41 percent of government service workers. Since then, however, the biggest increases in public-sector unionization have been among clerical workers. Between 1977 and 1980, the number of unionized government workers in blue-collar and service occupations increased only about 1.5 percent, while in the white-collar occupations the increase was 20 percent and among clerical workers in particular, the increase was 22 percent. What accounts for this upsurge in unionization among clerical workers? First, more women have entered the work force in the past few years, and more of them plan to remain working until retirement age. Consequently, they are probably more concerned than their predecessors were about job security and economic benefits. Also, the women s movement has succeeded in legitimizing the economic and political activism of women on their own behalf, thereby producing a more positive attitude toward unions. The absence of any comparable increase in unionization among private-sector clerical workers, however, identifies the primary catalyst—the structural change in the multi-occupational public-sector unions themselves. Over the past twenty years, the occupational distribution in these unions has been steadily shifting from predominantly blue-collar to predominantly white-collar. Because there are far more women in white-collar jobs, an increase in the proportion of female members has accompanied the occupational shift and has altered union policy-making in favor of organizing women and addressing women s issues. 上文中,作者先阐述一个现象:Since then, however, the biggest increases in public-sector unionization have been among clerical workers. 然后在下一段中,以一个问句开头“What accounts for this upsurge in unionization among clerical workers?”从这里我们可以一眼看出本文的一个重要结构,那就是作者提出现象,并紧接着使用提问方式过渡到下文对这一现象进行分析和阐述,请注意,作者在分析的过程使用了,很多过渡转折词,譬如First, consequently, also, thereby等等。在第二段中,我们可以通过末尾句推断出作者的观点即:由于白领职业女性的增加,女性职员比例在各行业的增加引发了行业职业的转移,同时也导致了工会决策在解决妇女(权益)问题方面对女性更加有利。 原则之二:判断作者之态度,语气词汇不可少 既然GMAT阅读为议论文,那么每一篇文章都会至少提供一个到两个作者的观点,作者往往会通过语气词让读者明白和理解其观点。因此考生在阅读时,应重点注意那些作为判断作者态度的语气词汇,必要时可在纸张上记录下这些关键词汇。一般而言,作者的态度分为两种,一种是表正面的态度,一种是表负面的态度。 1、表正面: Charlie s thorough research provides convincing scientific evidence for the existence of …… For many years, Benjamin s seminal account of the participation of African-Americans in the American Revolution has remained the standard work in the field…… Roger Rosenblatt s book Black Fiction, in attempting to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject, successfully alters the approach taken by most previous studies…… 2、表负面: The manner in which evidence is presented to a jury may influence the jury either to overestimate or to underestimate the value of that evidence….. Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits…… Because they emphasize those aspects that accord with their learned experiences and ignore those aspects that are dissonant with their view of the world…… They overestimated the importance of middle class and white-collar unemployment……. 往往作者在阐述某个观点时,采用先扬后抑或着说是欲擒故纵的手法,这时候作者就会使用一些让步词来实现其论述目的。这种让步词通常包括:do, may, might等等。考生需要注意的是在文章经常会使用改变语气词的手段来蒙蔽你的理解思路,一般而言,作者通常不会使用两种模棱两可,相互矛盾的观点。 原则之三:文章主旨为关键,以主题(TS)领全篇 任何一篇GMAT文章不管看上去多么支离破碎,都会有一个引领全篇的思路,在这里我所讲的文章思路也就是文章主旨,通常文章会给出TS(主题句)作为读者领会文章的线索,TS可以作为文章的明线,而有时候作者又会在文章中穿插暗线。领悟文章主旨会让考生在解题时轻松自如。 As the economic role of multinational, global corporations expands, the international economic environment will be shaped increasingly not by governments or international institutions, but by the interaction between governments and global corporations, especially in the United States, Europe, and Japan. A significant factor in this shifting world economy is the trend toward regional trading blocs of nations, which has a potentially large effect on the evolution of the world trading system. Two examples of this trend are the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Europe 1992, the move by the European Community (EC) to dismantle impediments to the free flow of goods, services, capital, and labor among member states by the end of 1992. However, although numerous political and economic factors were operative in launching the move to integrate the EC s markets, concern about protectionism within the EC does not appear to have been a major consideration. This is in sharp contrast to the FTA. the overwhelming reason for that bilateral initiative was fear of increasing United States protectionism. Nonetheless, although markedly different in origin and nature, both regional developments are highly significant in that they will foster integration in the two largest and richest markets of the world, as well as provoke questions about the future direction of the world trading system. 上述文章第一句话开宗明义,统领全篇:随着全球跨国大企业经济角色的不断扩大,国际经济环境将日益不受各个国家政府或国际机构的影响,而是将不断受到来自政府间和跨国企业间的互动影响。作者紧接着通过对全球两大市场——北美市场(北美自由贸易协定)和欧洲市场(欧盟协议)——进行比较分析,得出两大地区尽管在某些方面差异巨大,但两个地区的区域经济发展显的极为重要,作者紧接着提出两点理由:一,两者在两个市场内将会推进市场体系的一体化;二,经济的一体化将关系到有关世贸制度的未来方向。 在实际阅读时,为了提升阅读的速度,建议考生应避开那些无关紧要的举例,只要考生在GMAT阅读中将上述三原则使用得当,其他一些细支末节也就迎刃而解,阅读文章时如能能根据以上三原则抓住文章的核心,这就意味着基本突破了阅读的瓶颈。百考试题收集整理