GRE阅读中的“取非”思想解析
在GRE阅读中,虚拟语气的用法是十分常见的,但很多同学却常常忽视了它所代表的含义,那就是见到虚拟语气就要想到“取非”。比如作者如果写到:“如果我能够把韦氏字典都背完,那我GRE阅读肯定没有问题了。”这句话其实想要表达的问题就是“我的GRE阅读有问题”。取非思想如何运用到GRE阅读的解题当中,下面小编将为大家做详细讲解。
GRE阅读中的“取非”思想详解
直接取非
若在文章中看到虚拟语气,考虑直接取非反义理解,迅速把握作者态度。
如下面这句话:
例一:Perhaps, some scientists thought, migrants determine their geographic position on Earth by celestial navigation, almost as human navigators use stars and planets, but this would demand of the animals a fantastic map sense.
这句话看似很长,翻译成为中文的意思是:“有些科学家认为,就像人类采用恒星和行星来定位一样,候鸟或许也是采用天体的导航才得以确定它们所处的地理位置,但这要求这类动物具有令人难以置信的地图感。”中文读过去都让人头疼。其实我们用虚拟语气取非的思想来处理,其要表达的意思就很简单,对前半句话取非,说白了就是前半句话是行不通的,也就是“migrants cannot determine their geographic position on Earth by celestial navigation.”可以知道作者对这种解释持负评价。
我们再来看个例子:
例二:According to natural selection theory, a worker would enhance her fitness—or ability to propagate her genes—by hatching her own eggs in addition to or in place of the queen’s.
这句话也是虚拟语气,我们直接取反理解,作者想要表达的就是 “a worker will not enhance her …”
运用这种取非的思想我们可以迅速的把握作者的态度,以及作者想要表达的真实意思。就不用先翻译成绕口的中文,再拼命的思索其中的含义,可以有效地为考试争取时间。
改进型取非
在题干中看到虚拟语气,大多需要用到取非思想,与之相对应的一种题型是GRE阅读题中常见的一种,叫做“改进型取非题”。看例子之前,先简单解释下什么是“改进型取非题”。很简单,如果题干问“如果一个对象怎样会更好”则是改进型取非题,来看具体的例子:
例:It can be inferred from the passage that the “first theories” of grazer control mentioned in line 3 would have been more convincing if researchers had been able to___. 这是一个典型的改进型取非题题干,问的是第三行第一个理论怎样会更好。
逻辑思路:既然是改进,原文肯定说到了它的不好之处或者有unless的句子,我们把造成不好的原因取非,就是所要的答案了。
按照此思路定位原文三行,看到后面有这样一句话“A low number of algal cells in the presence of a high number of grazers suggested, but did not prove, that the grazers had removed most of the algae.”注意看插入语部分的“but did not prove”,这个就是缺点,取非就是“prove”再看五个选项:
(A) observe high phytoplankton numbers under natural lake conditions
(B) discover negative correlations between algae and zooplankton numbers from their field research
(C) understand the central importance of environmental factors in controlling the growth rates of phytoplankton
(D) make verifiable correlations of cause and effect between zooplankton and phytoplankton numbers
(E) invent laboratory techniques that would have allowed them to bypass their field research concerning grazer control
一眼扫过去就只有一个选项在讲证明,就是D中的verifiable。所以答案选D。很快解完此题。
强对比取非
取非的思路除了可以在虚拟语气中使用,还可以在另一种逻辑关系中使用,就是强对比的关系,也就是GRE阅读题中另一种常考题型“强对比互取非题”,其主要特点是:原文中有强对比的双方,题干只问及其中一方,答案是对另一方叙述的取非;或者题干和原文存在强对比要素,如典型的时间要素,答案也是对原文的叙述取非。
来看个简单的例子,
例:The author suggests that, before the early 1950’s, most historians who studied preindustrial Europe did which of the following?
思路:在题干中看到了1950’s,第一反应就是要回原文定位,发现原文只讲到了”in the early 1950’s”并没有”before”,这显然就是时间上一个取非的关系,我们把in the early 1950’s干的事情取个非,就是之前干的事情。答案就很好选了,在此不举出来了。
这个思路很好理解,比如说“我1995年第一次去北京。”很显然,1995年以前我就没有去过北京。这就是时间状语的取非。其它的强对比关系(如处于相对低于空间的事物通常其特点呈强对比;新事物、新观点和旧事物、传统观点呈强对比;用最高级、唯一性限定的事物和其余所有同类事物的特征呈强对比等),相信考生可以一眼看出,在此就不在一一列举例子了,重点在明白这种取非的思想。
以上就是关于取非思想在GRE阅读中运用的讲解,结合了一些实例,相信会帮助大家更好地理解这种解题思路。希望各位考生都能掌握这种方法,做好GRE阅读题。
TIPS:GRE阅读要学会权衡做题的优先性
很多同学在面对GRE阅读考试时,都会感叹时间不够,常会有考生来不及看完整篇阅读文章。其中做题速度无法达到要求的原因有很多,词汇量,阅读方法,做题技巧无一不是。此外,还有一个很重要的因素:不会取舍,不会衡量做题的优先性。鉴于GRE考试开弓没有回头箭的考试模式,如果在做阅读题时碰到了难度很高,预计会花费大量时间定位解析也难以保证正确率的题目,建议大家直接猜测答案后进入下一题,不要在这些题目上花费太多时间。学会取舍才能保证后续题目的解题时间,从而弥补损失,取得更好的成绩。
GRE阅读中的三大关系
对于考生的意义在于,文章的整体是温和的,文章里面出现的极端的言辞都是要注意的,文章里面的事实都是与我们学术生活共时的,对于过去的追忆和反现实的虚拟状态,都是非常明显的潜在出题点。
尤其是虚拟语气,往往表示应然而非然之状态,很有可能出现负评价,以态度题的方式考察。而一切过分极端的言辞,如绝对的说法,大多数,比较级尤其是强烈比较级,在文章里的出现要注意,还有一种也是强烈的对比的标志,就是以大写字母标注的时间,指明某时之前或之后,我们称之为时间强对比。
ETS公布GRE阅读选项原则
1. 正确选项:
(1)同义变换 。即将原文中的某一句话用另一种说法表达,也就是英文中的paraphrase。如将文章中的"many wind-pollinated species fail to release pollen when wind speeds are low or when humid conditions prevail.”换成选项中的“Pollen is sometimes not released by plants when there is little wind"。
其中包括三种类型:变换同义词,变换句型,变化同根词的词性。以下分别论述,请注意表格中的斜体字。
2.错误选项:
对于GRE阅读文章中更大量的错误选项,ETS也形成了一套固定的规则。以下笔者就用实例来说明错误选项编制的规则:
(1)混偏反无。
1)混: 此类选项的错误可以形象地概括为:“张冠李戴”。 如下例:
文章:"...unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses"
GRE阅读考试题目:The passage suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might cause it to
(A) experience frustration but not serious financial harm
(B) face potentially crippling fixed expenses (本题问大公司如果没有使投标转化为订单将引起什么结果。而这恰恰是小公司的特点。)
(C) have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government
(D) increase its spending with minority subcontractors
(E) revise its procedure for making bids for federal contracts and subcontracts
2)偏: 意即选项中所包含的逻辑范畴与原文不符。包括”以偏概全“ 以及”以全概偏”。请看下文:
Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) was a landmark in the depiction of female characters in Black American literature. Marshall avoided the oppressed and tragic heroine in conflict with White society that had been typical of the protest novels of the early twentieth century. Like her immediate predecessors, Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn Brooks, she focused her novel on an ordinary Black woman’s search for identity within the context of a Black community. But Marshall extended the analysis of Black female characters begun by Hurston and Brooks by depicting her heroine’s development in terms of the relationship between her Barbadian American parents, and by exploring how male and female roles were defined by their immigrant culture, which in turn was influenced by the materialism of White America. By placing characters within a wider cultural context, Marshall attacked racial and sexual stereotypes and paved the way for explorations of race, class, and gender in the novels of the 1970’s.
GRE阅读题目:The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) comparing the works of three Black American authors
(B) describing common themes in Black American literature
(C) discussing an important work in Black American literature
(D) providing insights about Black American literature in the early twentieth century
(E) providing historical information about the writing of Black American novels in the second half the twentieth century
分析:此文描述并评价了美国黑人文学史上一部优秀的著作。而其中的D,E选项中的“Black American literature”以及“the writing of Black American novels”无疑扩大了原文的逻辑涵盖的范围,即属于“以全概偏”。于是不予选择。
3)反: 即选项中的内容与文章内容相反。
文章:“....Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) was a landmark in the depiction of female characters in Black American literature. Marshall avoided the oppressed and tragic heroine in conflict with White society that had been typical of the protest novels of the early twentieth century. Like her immediate predecessors, Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn Brooks, she focused her novel on an ordinary Black woman’s search for identity within the context of a black community......”
题目:
According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they
(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives
(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century
(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels
(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture
(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women
分析:从文章中得知:“马歇尔已经摆脱了抗议小说所一贯描绘的受压迫并且带有悲剧色彩的女主人公形象”。但是B选项却说道:“马歇尔深深地受到二十世纪早期抗议小说的影响”,明显与原文意思相反。
再如:
It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being
(A) completely different from novels written before 1959
(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century
(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it
(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today
(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s
分析:C选项“与之前的抗议小说类似” 与原文意思相反。而B选项的“深受二十世纪早期小说的影响”从文章无法推测出。
4)无:即 提到文章中未涉及的内容。由于此种选项编制容易,并且ETS一厢情愿地认为此种迷惑手段非常高明。因此,此类错误选项在GRE阅读的错误选项中数量众多。请各位考生紧记:凡基于文章内容无法推测出的选项必然错误。
还是上文:
题目:
According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they
(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives
(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century
(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels
(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture
(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women
分析:从文章中得知:“马歇尔与另外两位的的共同点在于他们都把小说聚焦于一位普通的黑人女性对自己身份的追求,当然故事是以一个黑人社会为背景”。其中的A选项“未研究百人文化对角色生活所带来的影响”文章从未涉及。
再如:
It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being
(A) completely different from novels written before 1959
(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century
(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it
(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today
(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s
分析:D选项“二十世纪50年代末期重要,但是今天过时了”文章从未涉及。
(3) 含有强调性语言(最高级、唯一性和比较级)的选项
ETS会随意地在选项中加入一些极端语言来编制错误选项。集中表现为含有最高级,唯一性以及比较级的词汇。换句话说,含有这三类词汇的选项错误的几率很高。具体说:
1)最高级词汇:best , the most important, the least useful, uttermost, foremost, uppermost, always ,never, often, usually,primarily,primary,exact(ly),complete(ly) . entire(ly) absolute(ly) extremely, unmitigated . unrestrained . unchecked. first等
2)唯一性词汇:only, alone, exclusively, sole(ly), unique(ly)
3)比较级词汇:more useful than, less beneficial than, better , worse than ,as ..as, the same with, similar to 等等。
还是以上两例:
According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they
(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives
(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century
(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels
(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture
(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women
分析:此处的D选项和E选项中的“primarily”以及“exclusively”都属于比较极端的词汇。
It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being
(A) completely different from novels written before 1959
(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century
(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it
(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today
(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s
分析:此处的A选项中的“completely” 也属于比较极端的词汇。
(4) 违反“论据集中”原则:
即此类选项试图使用非定位处的信息回答问题。此类选项极具迷惑性,因为这些错误的选项在文章中确实被提及过,可是由于与问题回答无关因此不予选择。
请看下例:
“No very satisfactory account of the mechanism that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given. The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the(E) mid-ocean ridges and sinking currents under the continents. Theoretically, this convection would carry the continental plates along as though they were on a conveyor belt and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge. This view may be correct: it has the advantage that the currents are driven by(B) temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a (D)back-coupling, in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it, could produce complicated and varying motions.
On the other hand, the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines, and it certainly does not occur along lines broken by frequent offsets or changes in direction, as the ridge is. Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the (C)Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. ”
【题】The author refers to a “conveyor belt” in order to
(A)illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle
(B)show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents
(C)demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
(D)describe the complicated motions made possible by back coupling
(E)account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges
分析:此题为一道举例作用题。其定位为文章中加粗和划线的句子。但是这四个错误的选项都无一例外地通过利用其它的句子编制而成,即出题机构分别使用文章中标号为 A,B,C和D的内容编制出四个错误的选项。因此,不予选择。考生切忌因为文章别的地方曾经出现过类似的内容而犹豫不决。
GRE阅读中的“取非”思想详解