【考點掃描】
閱讀理解能力的培養(yǎng)是中學英語學習的一項重要任務,也是中考的一項重要內(nèi)容。中考閱讀理解題主要考查學生的語篇閱讀能力、分析和判斷能力。要求學生能較快地通過閱讀理解短文大意,獲取其中的主要信息,能做出正確判斷,然后根據(jù)試題的要求從A, B, C, D四個選項中選出最佳答案或做出正誤判斷。文章的難易程度和初三課文基本相同,要求閱讀速度為每分鐘40-50個詞。
中考閱讀理解材料的選取一般遵循三個原則:
1. 閱讀文章不少于三篇,閱讀量在1,000個單詞左右;
2. 題材廣泛,包括科普,社會,文化,政治,經(jīng)濟等;
3. 體裁多樣,包括記敘文,說明文,應用文等。
中考閱讀理解考查的主要內(nèi)容是:
1. 考查掌握所讀材料的主旨和大意的能力。
此類考查主旨和大意的題大多數(shù)針對段落(或短文)的主題,主題思想,標題或目的,其主要提問方式是:
(1) Which is the best title of the passage?
(2) Which of the following is this passage about?
(3) In this passage the writer tries to tell us that ____.
(4) The passage tells us that ____.
(5) This passage mainly talks about ____.
2. 考查把握文章的事實和細節(jié)的能力。
此類考查事實和細節(jié)的題目大多數(shù)是針對文章的細節(jié)設(shè)計的,其主要提問方式是:
(1) Which of the following is right?
(2) Which of the following is not mentioned?
(3) Which of the following is Not True in the passage?
(4) Choose the right order of this passage.
(5) From this passage we know ____.
3. 考查根據(jù)上下文猜測生詞的含義的能力。
此類猜測詞義的題目要求考生根據(jù)上下文確定某一特定的詞或短語的準確含義。其主要提問方式是:
(1) The word “” in the passage probably means ____.
(2) The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to ____.
(3) In this story the underlined word “ ” means ____.
(4) Here “it” means ____.
4. 考查對閱讀材料全篇的邏輯關(guān)系的理解,對文章各段,各句之間的邏輯關(guān)系的理解能力。
此類題目主要考查的是句與句之間,段與段之間的邏輯關(guān)系,其主要提問方式是:
(1) Many visitors come to the writer’s city to ____.
(2) Some shops can be built in Dongfeng Square so that they may ____.
(3) Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because ____.
(4) Why did the writer get off the train two stops before Vienna station?
5. 考查依據(jù)短文內(nèi)容和考生應有的常識進行推理和判斷的能力。
此類題目文章中沒有明確的答案,需要考生在理解全文的基礎(chǔ)上進行推理和判斷。其主要提問方式是:
(1) We can guess the writer of the letter may be a ____.
(2) We can infer from the text that ____.
(3) From the letter we’ve learned that it’s very ____ to know something about American social customs.
(4) From the story we can guess ____.
(5) Who would be happy if…?
6. 考查推斷作者意圖和態(tài)度的能力。
(1) How did the writer feel about Vienna station?
(2) The writer writes this text to ____.
(3) The writer believes that ____.
(4) The writer suggests that ____.
【名師解難】
明確了閱讀理解題的考查要點以后,我們現(xiàn)在來研究破解閱讀理解題的方法和技巧。
1.如何獲取段落的主旨和大意?
最有效的辦法是找出主題句。一篇文章(或一段文章)通常都是圍繞一個中心意思展開的,而這個中心意思往往由一個句子來概括。這個能概括文章或段落中心意思的句子叫作主題句。因此,理解一個段落或一篇文章的中心意思首先要學會尋找主題句。主題句一般具有以下三個特點:
(1)表述的意思比較概括,相對其主句來看,這種概括性更為明顯。
(2)句子結(jié)構(gòu)較簡單,多數(shù)都不采用長、難句的形式。
(3)段落中其它的句子必定是用來解釋、支撐或發(fā)展主題句所表述的主題思想。
在一篇短文或一個段落中,大部分主題句的情況有三種:
(1)主題句在段首或篇首。
主題句在段首或篇首的情況相當普遍。一般新聞報道、說明文, 議論文大都采用先總述,后分述的敘事方法。例如:2003年陜西省英語中考試題閱讀材料B篇的第一段:
All living things on the earth need other living things to live. Nothing lives alone. Most animals must live in a group, and even a plant grows close together with others of the same kind. Sometimes one living thing kills another, one eats and the other is eaten. Each kind of life eats another kind of life in order to live, and together they form a food chain(食物鏈)。Some food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.
第一句即是主題句。這個句子概括了本段的中心意思,“地球上所有的生物要生存都離不開其它的生物”。后面講述了大量的事實,“大部分動物必須成群的生活,甚至一種植物也要和其它同類的植物靠在一起生長。有時一種生物殺死另一種生物,一種生物吃另一種生物,而另一種生物被吃”。在列舉了大量的事實之后,作者指出:如果這些食物鏈中的一個環(huán)節(jié)消失,所有的食物鏈都會斷掉。所有這些事實都是圍繞第一個句子展開的。
在這篇短文之后有一道考查主題的閱讀理解題:
59. Which of the following do you think is the best title for this passage?
A. AnimalsB. Plants C. Food ChainsD. Living Things
根據(jù)主題句的意思,我們可以很容易判斷:這篇短文最好的標題是Food Chains。
(2)主題句在段末或篇末。
用歸納法寫文章時,往往表述細節(jié)的句子在前,概述性的句子在后,并以此結(jié)尾。這種位于段末或篇末的主題句往往是對前面細節(jié)的總結(jié),歸納或結(jié)論。例如2002年陜西省中考試題閱讀材料A的最后一段:
If you buy some well-made clothes, you can save money because they can last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Sometimes some clothes cost more money, but it does not mean that they are always better made, or they always fit better. In other words, some less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.
這段文章前面列舉了兩件事實:如果你買一些制作優(yōu)良的衣服,你會省錢,因為這些衣服能穿得時間長一些。即使他們洗了很多次,仍然看起來很好。有時有些衣服花得錢更多,但并不意味著這些衣服做得更好。最后一句話是對這兩個事實的概括:有些價錢便宜的衣服比價錢貴的衣服更好看,更合身。段末這個句子就是主題句。
(3)無主題句
有時,一篇文章里并沒有明顯的主題句。這時我們應該怎樣來確定文章的主題或中心意思呢?其實這也不難。我們可以首先找出每一段的中心意思,各段的中心意思往往都是圍繞一個中心來展開的,或者說是來說明一個問題的。這個中心或這個問題就是這篇文章的主題或中心意思。請看2004年江西省中考試題閱讀理解A:
Killer bees started in Brazil in 1957. A scientist in Sao Paulo wanted bees to make more honey(蜂蜜). So he put forty-six African bees with some Brazilian bees. The bees bred(繁殖) and made a new kind of bees. But the new bees were a mistake. They didn’t want to make more honey. They wanted to attack. Then, by accident, twenty-six African bees escaped and bred with the Brazilian bees outside.
Scientists could not control(控制) the problem. The bees increased fast. They went from Brazil to Venezuela. Then they went to Central America. Now they are in North America. They travel about 390 miles a year. Each group of bees grows four times a year. This means one million new groups every five years.
Why are people afraid of killer bees? People are afraid for two reasons. First, the bees sting(叮) many more times than usual bees. Killer bees can sting sixty times a minute nonstop for two hours. Second, killer bees attack in groups. Four hundred bee stings can kill a person.
Already several hundred people are dead. Now killer bees are in Texas. In a few years they will reach all over the United States. People can do nothing but wait.
這篇短文表面看起來沒有主題句,那么怎樣來確定它的中心意思呢?按照上面的說明,我們先找出每一段的大意:第一段講的是“killer bees”的產(chǎn)生。第二段講的是“killer bees”的急劇增加。第三段講的是人們害怕“killer bees”的原因。第四段講的是“killer bees”已經(jīng)殺死的人數(shù)和將來的狀況。從這幾段的大意可以看出這篇文章自始至終都是圍繞“killer bees”這一中心展開的。換句話說,“killer bees”就是這篇文章的主題。
在這篇短文的后面就出了一道這樣的閱讀理解題:
59. The best title of the passage is ____.
A. How to make more honey B. Killer bees
C. A foolish scientistD. How to feed killer bees
毫無疑問,答案應該是:B。
2.如何根據(jù)上下文猜測詞義?
猜測詞義也是一種英語閱讀能力。英語閱讀理解試題中有不少這樣的題目。
任何一個實詞,只有在一定的上下文中才能表示一個確定的詞義。所謂上下文(context),正如英語辭典所解釋的,其作用就是幫助確定上下文中的詞、短語或句子的意義。據(jù)此,我們可以盡可能地利用上下文來猜測詞義,即從已知推求未知,也就是用我們所熟悉的詞或短語來猜測我們不熟悉的詞的詞義。猜測詞義時,我們可以從三個方面來考慮:1)根據(jù)上下文已知部分進行邏輯上的推理。2)運用語法知識進行語法分析。3)依靠常識和經(jīng)驗做出判斷。根據(jù)上下文猜測詞義的方法有下列幾種:
(1)根據(jù)定義或解釋猜測詞義。例如:甘肅省2002年中考英語試題閱讀材料B:
A bag is useful and the word “bag” is useful. It gives us some interesting phrases(短語). One is “to let the cat out of the bag”. It is the same as “to tell a secret”….
Now when someone lets out (泄漏) a secret, he “l(fā)ets the cat out of the bag”.
短文后面有一個理解題目:
John “l(fā)ets the cat out of the bag” means he ____.
A. makes everyone know a secret B. the woman bought a cat
C. buys a cat in the bagD. sells the cat in the bag
在這篇文章里,“l(fā)et the cat out of the bag”雖然是一個新出現(xiàn)的短語,但緊接著后面就給出解釋It is the same as “to tell a secret”。根據(jù)這一解釋,我們就可判斷出正確答案應為A。
(2)根據(jù)情景和邏輯進行判斷。例如:2004年北京市海淀區(qū)中考試題閱讀材料A。其中第三段是這樣的:
As they go around town, the police help people. Sometimes they find lost children. They take the children home. If the police see a fight, they put an end to it right away. Sometimes people will ask the police how to get to a place in town. The police can always tell the people which way to go. They know all the streets and roads well.
文章后面有這樣一道題:
53. In the text, “put an end to” means “____”.
A. stopB. cutC. killD. fly
根據(jù)文章所提供的情景,如果警察看到有人在打架,他們肯定會去制止。因為制止打架斗毆是警察的職責。根據(jù)這一推理,答案應該是A。
(3)根據(jù)并列、同位關(guān)系猜測詞義。例如:福州市2004年中考英語試題的閱讀材料B:
There is a place on our earth where hot water and steam come up under the ground. It is on a large island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is North Island in New Zealand.
101. What does the word “steam” mean in Chinese?
A. 自來水B. 大氣C. 冰川D. 蒸汽
從語法上看,steam和hot water是并列關(guān)系,我們就可以斷定這兩種東西是相關(guān)的,是同一類物質(zhì)。在所給四個選項中只有“蒸汽”有這種可能。
(4)根據(jù)背景和常識判斷。請看2004年北京市海淀區(qū)中考試題的閱讀材料C:
Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood. When I was a boy of twelve in South Carolina, something happened to me that made me never put any wild creature (living thing) in a cage(籠子).
We lived on the edge of a forest, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way, I would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, being scared, the bird fluttered(撲騰) about the cage, but finally it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my little musician.
On the second day of the bird’s captivity, my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive (caged) bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was terribly surprised! What had happened! I had taken extremely care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, who happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had happened. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries(毒莓). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
60. An ornithologist is probably a person who ____.
A. studies birdsB. loves creatures
C. majors in habitsD. takes care of trees
ornithologist 這個詞從來沒有見到過,但是通過他的語言我們可以判斷出這是一個對鳥很有研究的人。我很愛鳥,把鳥裝在籠子里,并細心照料,而且鳥的母親也飛過來喂這只鳥,但這只鳥卻死了,我很不理解。到我家來的這個人給我詳細解釋了鳥死的原因,說明這個人非常懂鳥。據(jù)此,我們可以斷定答案應是A。
除了前面提到的方法以外,還有下面一些方法:
(5)根據(jù)同義、反義關(guān)系猜測詞義。
(6)根據(jù)因果關(guān)系猜測詞義。
3.如何確定細節(jié)和事實?
在閱讀理解題目中,有相當一部分是考查細節(jié)和事實的題目。這類題目相對容易一些。這些題目有兩個共同特點:(1)凡屬針對特定細節(jié)的考題,其正確答案大都可以在閱讀材料中找到對應的文字部分作為驗證。這一部分可能是一個詞或短語,也可能是一個句子或相關(guān)的若干句子,但句式、用詞和表達方式不同。(2)干擾項往往是主題思想與細節(jié)混雜,正確答案細節(jié)和非正確答案的細節(jié)混雜,甚至真假混雜。因此,要做好閱讀理解中的確定細節(jié)和事實的題目,一要在文章中找出相應的信息點,二要排除干擾項。請看2003年陜西省中考英語試題閱讀理解題第48小題:
What do plants make food from? They make food from ____.
A. sunlight, water and things in the soil and air
B. water, sunlight and things in the soil
C. water and things in the soil and air
D. water, sunlight and things in the soil
這一小題考查的就是文章的細節(jié)和事實。這一細節(jié)和事實的表述在文章中可以直接找到:Plants are “factories”. They make food from sunlight, water and things in the soil and air.
4.如何進行推斷?
所謂推斷,就是根據(jù)閱讀材料中所提供的信息,推斷出未知的信息。即把有關(guān)的文字作為已知部分,從中推斷出未知部分。據(jù)以推斷的有關(guān)文字可能是詞或句子,也可能是若干句子,甚至是全文。
中考英語試題中的推斷題很多,涉及的面也很廣。其類型主要有以下幾種:
(1)事實推斷:這種推斷常常針對某一個或幾個具體細節(jié),是比較簡單的推斷。進行這種推斷,要首先在文章中找出據(jù)以推斷的有關(guān)文字,然后加以分析,尤其要悟出字里行間的意思。請看2002年南京市中考英語試題閱讀理解第14小題:
According to the passage, which of the following can you most possibly watch on TV?
A. You often play football with your friends after school.
B. Your teacher has got a cold.
C. A tiger in the city zoo has run out and hasn’t been caught.
D. The bike in front of your house is lost.
在閱讀材料中,有這樣一段文字:
Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories about everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news.
根據(jù)這段文字,我們可以推斷:電視報道的新聞故事應是有趣的和不平常的。因此,正確答案應為C。
推斷題還包括以下幾個方面:
(2)指代推斷:確定指代詞的含義和指代對象是閱讀理解題常見的題目。要確定指代詞所指代的對象,關(guān)鍵在于對其所在上下文的正確理解。指代名詞的指代詞,其單復數(shù)形式應與被指代的詞一致,因此數(shù)的形式可作為識別指代對象的第一個輔助標志。
(3)邏輯推斷:這類題目往往是要求根據(jù)文章所提供的背景,人物的表情,動作和語言來推斷出人物的態(tài)度或感覺。
(4)對作者的意圖和態(tài)度的推斷:這一類考題大都要求考生就作者對論述對象持什么樣的態(tài)度做出推斷, 如作者對所陳述的觀點是贊同、反對,還是猶豫不定,對記述或描寫的人、物或事件是贊頌、同情、冷漠,還是厭惡。作者的這種思想傾向和感情色彩不一定直接表述出來,而往往隱含在字里行間。因此,進行這種推斷時,我們既要依靠短文的主題思想作為推理的前提,又要注意作者的措辭,尤其是形容詞一類的修飾語。