第三章 论说文

方法介绍——结构式阅读

我们没有必要将议论文和说明文分家，统称为论说文即可。这是我们在高考中最常遇到的一种文章体裁。它文字难度大，有深度，是同学们最头疼的一类文章。在高考中，做一篇阅读一般是8分钟左右，这对于应用文和记叙文时间还算够用，而往往一遇到论说文，很多同学都会感受到时间的压力。所以在应对论说文时，我们要调整阅读方法。

请同学们思考一个问题：假设我们拿到一篇论说文，后面只有一道主旨题，那大家准备怎么来读文章呢？现在给大家两分钟时间先思考一下这个问题，然后再看后文。我在教学过程中问过很多同学这个问题，回答归结起来无非以下几种：1.读文章第一句话；2.读文章第一段；3.读文章的第一段和最后一段；4.读文章的首段末端以及各段首句。大家讲的都好像很有套路，但真正开始做一道题，很多同学是不会按自己讲的套路去做的。这就说明理论与实践是脱节的，尤其是当以上说的这些部分读不太懂的时候，很多同学就选择了一种阅读模式，就是赶紧把文章从头读到尾。这样的阅读方法一定是低效的，而且解题正确率很难得到保证。那么在考场上究竟应该怎么读文章呢？我们采取的策略是读文章结构，这就是我们将要介绍的“结构式阅读”。

Passage 1

2000全国C

Decision-thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think，but also what others think you think what you think they think you think.The mental process（过程）is similar.Naturally，this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are，by any standards，good thinkers.

The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory.In particular，he showed that all games fall into two classes；there are what he called games of‘perfect information’，games like chess where the players can’t hide anything or play tricks；they don’t win by chance，but by means of logic and skills.Then there are games of“imperfect information”，like poker，in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.

One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information.Quite the reverse Business，life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information.Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors（因素），best poker players.But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance，and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess，not poker.

59.The subject discussed in this text is____.

A.the process of reaching decisions B.the difference between poker and chess

C.the secret of making good business plans D.the value of information in winning games

通过这道题我们要介绍结构式阅读的一些基本概念，首先要对英文文章的整体结构有一个了解。英文文章一般是总—分的叙述模式，这是由英语思维方式决定的，英语表达一般习惯将重点放在前面，所以我们读文章时也要重点读前面。我们现在想象一个三角形，这就是一篇英文文章的基本结构。在这个正三角的尖顶是文章最为重要的地方，我们称之为文章的开篇。在写作开篇的时候，每个作者、每篇文章都不尽相同，但也有规律性的特点可以把握。我们接下来就介绍一种非常常见的开篇方法：“直叙型”开篇。道理很简单，就是作者写作的时候开门见山把文章的主题交代出来，一般是在文章第一句，少数情况会在首段末句。

上面这篇文章就是一个典型的直叙型开篇，它的首段首句就是文章的主题。这里用到了这样一个句型结构：A is B。这种句型叫做判断句，A是文章主题对象所在。对应到这句话中，我们抓住Decision-thinking is not unlike poker即可，因为后面的破折号在解释说明前面的内容，相对而言不是很重要。于是我们知道decision-thinking是这篇文章的主题对象，对应答案为A选项。其他选项都是在利用文章当中出现的一些细节来进行干扰。如果不能够把握住文章重点所在，就容易上当。

Passage 2

2007北京D

The Best of Friends

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families.But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents，which is the opposite of the popularly held image（印象）of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.“We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families，”said one member of the research team.“They’re expected to be rebellious（叛逆的）and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds；they want a car and material goods，and they worry about whether school is serving them well.There’s more negotiation（商议）and discussion between parents and children，and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process.They don’t want to rock the boat.”

So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.“My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me，”says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall.“I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing.As long as they know what I’m doing，they’re fine with it，”Susan Crome，who is now 21，agrees.“Looking back on the last 10 years，there was a lot of what you could call negotiation.For example，as long as I’d done all my homework，I could go out on a Saturday night.But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”

Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected.It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts.A researcher comments，“Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings.But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled.The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”

71.What is the passage mainly about?

A.Negotiation in family. B.Education in family.

C.Harmony in family. D.Teenage trouble in family.

这篇文章的开篇跟上一篇不一样，它不是第一句话就直接把主题告诉读者，而是讲完第一句后进行了转折，在开篇中形成了一个这样的结构：A.But B.这里A是一件事情，后面用句号结束，然后再由but引出另一件事情。这里but表示“但是”的意思。在高考文章中还有两个常用的表示“但是”的词：yet和however。“转折型”开篇请大家注意两点：1.文章的重点在于B；2.A和B形成相反关系。对于这种开篇模式的把握是有几个层次的，如果整个第一段“A.But B.”都能读懂，证明语言功底是不错的，注意把重点放在B即可；如果只能理解B也没有问题，因为这里是文章重点；如果只能理解A呢？其实也可以，理解了A然后取反就是B的内容。如果对应到这篇文章中来：The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families.But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents，which is the opposite of the popularly held image（印象）of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.第一句话比较简单，应该可以理解其含义“关于和谐的证据可能在一些家庭中不明显”，那么这句话要表达的意思是家庭不和谐，那么取反可知But后应该在讲家庭和谐。更简单的一个理解方法就是，But后面的含义就是把之前那句话中的not去掉，所以应理解为“家庭和谐”。由此可知这道题的答案应该是C选项。我们再来理解一下But后面这句话以验证答案，But这句话的含义是：但是五个年轻人当中有四个都与家长相处很好，这是与大众的印象相反的，在大众的印象里年轻人总是在无休止的家庭争吵之后把自己锁在屋子里。可以确认文章的主题就是讲家庭和谐的。

Passage 3

2007上海A

What do you want to be when you grow up？A teacher？A doctor？How about an ice-cream taster？

Yes，there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream.Just ask John Harrison，an“Official Taste Tester”for the past 21 years.Testing helps manufacturers to be sure of a product’s quality.During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream—as well as for developing over 75 flavors.

Some people think that it would be easy to do this job；after all，you just have to like ice cream，right？No—there’s more to the job than that，says Harrison，who has a degree in chemistry.He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this“cool”field.

In a typical morning on the job，Harrison tastes and assesses 60 ice-cream samples.He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12 F.Harrison explains，“You get more flavor from warmer ice cream，which is why some kids like to stir it，creating ice-cream soup.”

While the ice cream warms up，Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance.“Tasting begins with the eyes，”he explains.He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself，“Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor？”Next it’s time to taste！

Continuing to think up new ideas，try out new flavors，and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy—working at once cool job.

68.Which of the following is probably the best title of the passage?

A.Tasting with Eyes B.Flavors of Ice Cream

C.John Harrison’s Life D.One Cool Job

这篇文章的开篇是先提出问题，让读者思考，然后顺理成章就引出了回答。这样的开篇称为“问答型”开篇，文章重点会落在回答的部分。对应到这篇文章：What do you want to be when you grow up？A teacher？A doctor？How about an ice-cream taster？Yes，there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream.在读到问题时，我们可以理解：当你长大之后你想成为什么样的人？当老师？当医生？当冰淇淋品尝师怎么样？读问题的过程中我们要明白一个道理，就是提问的部分不是那么重要，要赶紧去把握回答就能得到工资是什么。所以后面这句：是的，的确有这么一份工作，你只要去品尝冰淇淋就能得到工资。这句话的中心概念是job，这就是文章的主题对象了，只有D选项中出现了job这个主题对象，故答案为D选项。

Passage 4

2005全国II E

At Dallas／Fort Worth Airport，the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight.They dim immediately when it’s sunny and bright when a passing cloud blocks the sun.

A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path.

Buildings are getting smarter—and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water.Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out bypeople in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.

Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years.They are now being used in a wave of buildings designed to save as much energy as possible.They include old ideas，like“green roofs，”where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer，and new ideas，like special coating for windows that lets light in，but keeps heat out.

As technologies such as sensors become cheaper，their uses spread.

The elevators at Seven World Trade Center，which is under construction in New York，use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator，thus saving elevator stops.People who work in the building will enter it by swiping ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor；readouts will then tell them which elevator to use.The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.

More new building materials and technology are in development.A Philadelphia building firm is now working on“smart wrap”that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters the width of a human hair to move it.They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.

Q.What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A.Buildings Are Becoming Smarter B.Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight

C.Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy D.Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials

这篇文章又有不同之处，大家能看出作者第一段说什么吗？作者在讲很具体、很细节的东西，这是在进行举例。作者是出于这样一种考虑，就是在一开始先不直接交代文章主题，而是先给个例子让读者有一个感性的认识，然后再引出主题。例子和主题之间的差异在于，例子具体，而主题语言抽象，也就是说主题是对例子的总结。我们管这种开篇叫做“举例＋总结型”开篇。第一段的大概内容是：在某个机场当中，灯光的强度是由一些能测量阳光强度的感应器所控制的。当外面阳光灿烂的时候，灯光就会调暗。我们再看选项，A选项“建筑物变得越来越智能”，这个选项能总结这个例子，答案就是这个选项了。如果这里看不出来，我们就继续读文章，看到第二段依然在举例，讲了在一栋楼的窗户上安装了由电脑控制的百叶窗，依然指向主题“建筑物变智能”。有的文章比较简单，作者已经在文章中进行了总结，这篇文章就是如此。我们看到第三段第一句：Buildings are getting smarter，这句话总结了上面的两个例子，是文章的主题句，直接对应A选项。如果拿掉文章的第一和第二段，则这篇文章就是直叙型开篇了。

Passage 5

2004湖南D

Do you want to live another 100 years or more？Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality，”said Michael Zey，a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future.“I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate.”

At the conference in San Francisco，Donald Louria，a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past.“There is a great push so that people can live from I20 to 180 years，”he said.“Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”

However，many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years.Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease，they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.

Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live.“It remains to be seen if you pass120，you know；could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life？”said Leonard Poon，director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre.“At present people who could get to that point are not in goodhealth at all.”

Q.What would be the best title for this text?

A.Living Longer or Not B.Science，Technology and Long Living

C.No Limit for Human Life D.Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living

结构式阅读第一点是要读开篇，通过开篇把握文章主题。读完开篇以后我们第二点要读文章接下来的内容，我们管这些叫展开内容。通常在展开内容中每一个段落都是一个相对独立的个体，在每个段落中，我们重点要抓住首句。关于结构式阅读我们要掌握的第三点是读文章的走向，文章的走向只有两种：一种是“顺”，如顺承关系、递进关系、因果关系、举例关系等；另一种是“反”，如转折转系、让步关系等。这三点就构成了我们结构式阅读的基本思想，请大家在实践中注意体会和使用。

这篇文章是问答型开篇：你还想再活100年，甚至更久吗？一些专家说科学的进步有一天将使人类超越现在的生命极限，再活数十年。从开篇而言，我们可以看出对是否能活更久这个问题作者持肯定态度，题干下每个选项都有长寿的概念，没有办法选出答案就继续看文章吧。我们要形成一种意识：不要一味去读文章内容，而要去观察结构特征。可以看出第二段是在举例，那就是一个“顺”的关系，也就是说第二段的内容一定是表明可以活更久。第三段里面有具体的人物，有人说话，可以判断也是在举例，所以内容也应该是能活更久。接下来的一个段落中出现了一个非常重要的词汇however，表明接下来的内容跟前面的关系是“反”的，那么后面两个段落的内容应该表明“不能活更久”。把整个文章结构看清楚以后，这道题的答案就可以确定为A选项。