关键词阅读

第二节　关键词阅读

关键词阅读( key word reading)是指略过非实质词语而只阅读句子的核心部分及某些修饰核心部分的形容词和副词(即一个句子的关键词)的阅读技巧。

关键词阅读通常用于快速了解文章大意和主要细节。由于省去了很多非关键词，阅读速度快了许多，但同时理解的准确度也受到了影响(通常在50%至70%) 。

如下面这个例子(划线的为关键词) :

Key word reading is a new technique． Although it is faster than most of the careful reading techniques，the reader must expect a decrease in comprehension．In some situations，it is worth the loss，depending on the reader's purpose and the type of material being read．

若把这些词和在一起，即为:

Key word reading new technique faster than careful reading decrease comprehension worth loss depending purpose type material

以下三类词的作用不容忽视:

名词表主题

When it comes to the slowing economy，Ellen Spero isn't biting her nails just yet． But the 47- year- old manicurist isn't cutting，filing or polishing as many nails as she'd like to，either． Most of her clients spend $ 12 to $ 50 weekly，but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up． Spero blames the softening economy． “I'm a good economic indicator” ，she says． “I provide a service that people can do without when they're concerned about saving some dollars． ”So Spero is downscaling，shopping at middle brow Dillard's department store near her suburban Cleveland home， instead of Neiman Marcus． “I don't know whether other clients are going to abandon me，too， ”she says．

文中的这些名词为考生提供了一条主线，即使没完全读懂，但通过这些名词考生也可以确定这是一篇与经济有关的文章，每句话都没离开这个主题。可以设想一下，如果把其中的任何一句删去，然后让考生选择后补上，在遵循以“经济”为线索的前提下都是很容易解决的。也就是说这些名词表明了这篇文章的主题。

动词表变化

All of this caused a crisis of confidence． Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted． They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing， and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well． The mid 1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America's industrial decline．Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas．

动词是各种变化最明显的体现，它可以表明文中所述情况的变化，作者态度的变化以及情感的变化等。本段文字中，先不看其它文字，只看这些关键的动词“caused ” 、 “stopped ” 、 “began to believe ” 、 “begin to fall” 、 “decline”就可以表明这是一种由好到坏或由坏到好的变化，再结合其他部分可以更加肯定这一点，因为文中所述正是关于美国经济引发的一场信任危机，以及这场危机给人们带来的情感及经济方面的变化。

形容词表态度

Even before Alan Greenspan's admission that America's red- hot economy is cooling，lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves．From car dealerships to Gap outlets，sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending． For retailers，who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas， the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time． Already，experts say，holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year's pace． But don't sound any alarms just yet． Consumers seem only mildly concerned，not panicked，and many say they remain optimistic about the economy's long term prospects even as they do some modest belt tightening．

在阅读理解部分经常会遇到表明作者态度的题，同样，如果能明确把握作者的态度对解题也是很关键的，而形容词是最能体现作者态度的关键词。以此段为例，前半部分都是关于美国经济不景气的描述，如果只看到这些，一定会认为下文也应该是一些消极方面的描述。但其实本段的关键在后面，消费者的“only mildly concerned”和“not panicked”以及最明显的一个形容词“optimistic”都与前面的情况形成鲜明的对比，表明了作者的态度。如果在此段后设题进行选择，考生就不得不考虑这些因素了。

在平时仅仅为扩大阅读量或作为娱乐而阅读(如读报、看简易读物等)时，我们可以运用这一技巧，但在考试时完全运用这一技巧是不可取的。但通过这一技巧的训练，我们可以快速判断哪些词是关键词，哪些词是非关键词，在阅读时关键词应该作为注意力的重点，而非关键词是没有必要去推敲的，有些还可忽略不计。也就是说，在考试时我们可以，也应该部分地运用关键词阅读这一技巧。

记住:句子中的词，其作用和地位是不同的，只有学会区分关键词和非关键词，阅读起来才能既轻松又快速有效。

练习

Ⅰ． Underline the key words in each of the following．

1． In some large businesses，employees are practically strangers to each other and often do not discuss problems or ideas．

2． It is fairly obvious，however，that many Americans have become less obliged(尽义务的) than they formerly were to marriage，to family，and to institutions in general．

3． Life changed when people discovered new things，such as metals． Sometimes，these discoveries made life better，sometimes，worse． People invented new ways to store food，and to build． But people also invented more effective ways of warfare．

Ⅱ． Read the following passage and then answer the questions． Try to apply( partly) key word reading technique．

English is a language particularly rich in synonyms，that is，different words which stand for the same thing． This is partly because of the convention，particularly in written English，that one should avoid repeating the same word over and over again． So instead of repeating“enough”one may substitute“sufficient” ，in stead of repeating“everlasting”one may use“never- ending” ． No two words are exactly identical，however． It is usually possible to find some differences between them or in some context in which one is appropriate but not the other． Such differences can take several forms． It may be a difference in regional variety． “Autumn”and“fall” ，for example，both refer to the same season，but one is used in British English，the other in American English． Similarly ，“snack”and “bagging”both refer to a light meal， but the former is standard English and the latter is a regional variety from the north of England． There may be stylistic differences．“Salt”and“sodium chloride”are synonymous，but the former is an everyday expression，and the latter is technical． Similarly ，“recalcitrant”is a formal equivalent of“disobedient” ． There may also be differences in the emotional associations of words． “Youths”and “youngsters”are synonymous，but youths sound less pleasant than youngsters． The emotional associations which a word brings to mind will often differ from person to person，so are to some degree unpredictable． Thus，calling someone a“republican”may suggest he has praiseworthy qualities to those in England who wish to abolish the monarchy，but may connote(含有) objectionable characteristics to those who support it．

1． Synonyms are____________．

A) exactly the same words

B) different words of different meanings

C) different words representing the same thing

D) words with exactly the same meanings

2． The partial reason for using synonyms in English is__________．

A) the people　　B) the convention 　　C) the region　　D) emotion

3． The difference between“autumn”and“fall”is in__________．

A) stylistic differenceB) emotional associations

C) regional varietyD) personal preference

4． Which of the following is NOT the possible difference between synonyms?

A) regional variety　　　　　B) personal habits

C) emotional associations　　D) stylistic difference

5． According to the passage，which of the following statements is NOT true?

A ) “Snack”is standard English for a light meal．

B ) “Youngsters”sound more pleasant than“youths” ．

C ) “Sodium chloride”is the technical term for“salt” ．

D ) “Recalcitrant”is an informal expression of“disobedient” ．

Answers:

C　B　C　B　D