从What到How的认知过程分析GRE阅读部分

从What到How的认知过程分析GRE阅读部分，快来一起学习吧，下面小编就和大家分享，来欣赏一下吧。

从What到How的认知过程分析GRE阅读部分

一、引子

众所周知在General GRE考试中verbal部分的考试有三种题型：填空、类比反义和阅读。这三个部分的考试对于我们中国学生而言最难的部分就是阅读理解。由于填空和类比反义这两种题型都有很强的解题技巧，通过对技巧的掌握和通过大量的练习，我们中国学生通常都能够在比较短的时间内有所较大的突破，一般说来都能在考试中在这两个部分拿到很高的分数。但是，恰恰是最难的阅读理解部分却没有这么多的技巧可以用，也就是说很难在阅读理解这一部分有什么取巧的地方，再加上GRE阅读这一部分的文章和题目的设置对于我们中国学生来说是比较难的，这就使得它成了阻碍我们获取GRE考试高分的首要障碍。正是因为GRE阅读难，所以很多备考的学生非常盲目地选择了题海战术，认为只要“吃的苦中苦就必能成为人上人”，其实他们忽略了一个更为重要的东西——方法论的问题。我常常对学生讲我们要时刻注意“抬头仰望，低头沉思”，这是因为一个人若不假思索地只知道往前走的话，有时候还真到不了目的地。因为题海战术仅仅只能使你Know it，but you will never understand it. 那么学好GRE阅读的方法论到底是什么呢?非常简单，其实就是本文的题目“从what到how的认知过程来分析GRE阅读”。

二、What is GRE reading comprehension?

那么什么叫做从what到how的认知过程呢?简单点说就是我们要想解决GRE阅读难这个问题必须首先从本质上搞清楚到底什么是GRE阅读，即what is GRE reading comprehension，接着我们才能从what出发一步一步有针对性地进行复习工作，也就是how to do的工作。那么为什么必须从本质上搞清楚了什么是GRE阅读我们才有可能有针对性地进行复习工作呢?这是与我们人类本身的认知过程休戚相关的。我们人类文明的诞生已经有五千多年的历史了，纵观这五千多年的人类文明的发展，我们不难发现人类之所以能够逐步摆脱愚昧无知而走向文明发达，是与人们对人类自我本质的思考有着必然联系的。毫不夸张地说人类的五千年就是思考和探求自身奥秘和宇宙奥秘的五千年。正是如此美国著名的历史学家房龙(Hendrik Willem Van Loon)才会在《人类的历史》(The History of Mankind)的开篇写下了这样的一席话：“We live under the shadow of a gigantic question mark. Who are we? Where do we come from? Whither are we bound? Slowly, but with persistent courage, we have been pushing this question mark further and further towards that distant line, beyond the horizon, where we hope to find our answer.”人类通过探求自身的奥秘获得了发展，同样我们要想在GRE阅读上也取得巨大的突破和发展，我们就不得不对GRE阅读的本质进行一番思索。

那么什么是GRE阅读的本质呢?打开ETS的官方网站，我们可以查到ETS---GRE阅读考试的命题者们对GRE阅读的两点本质性地描述：Reading comprehension questions measure your ability to

•read with understanding, insight, and discrimination;

•analyze a written passage from several perspectives。

也就是说ETS的考官们希望通过GRE阅读考试考查你阅读的理解能力。由此我们可以对什么是GRE阅读给出这样的一种定义：GRE阅读就是通过阅读这一种形式来实现考查你的学习能力和逻辑思辨能力的两种目的的考试方法。给出这样的定义之后，我们立刻就能知道怎样做了，也就是说这时候我们进入到了how to do的阶段。

三、How to do的关键步骤：了解GRE阅读的特性

那么how to do的第一步应该是什么呢?孙子兵法告诉我们：“知己知彼，方能百战不殆。”也就是说在知道GRE阅读的定义也就是它的本质之后，我们就应该对其各种特性要有所了解，这样才能使我们的准备工作有相当针对性，达到事半功倍的效果。概括的讲，GRE阅读拥有四个大类的特性：题材选择的特性、写作文体的特性、理解层次上的特性以及其他模式化的特性。我们将在下文中给以一一展开。

(一)题材选择的特性：

GRE阅读文章的选材是十分广泛几乎覆盖美国高等院校开设的所有课程涉及的学科，包括政治、历史、人类学、教育、地理、法律、人物传记、医学、生理学、物理、化学、数学、天文、气象、生物、昆虫、植物、动物、微生物等等。但归纳起来可以分为以下四类：

(1) 文学评论类(文科类)

(2) 社会科学类(文科类)

(3) 生命科学类(理科类)

(4) 其它自然科学类(理科类)

了解题材选择特性的用处：

当然了解如此的分类方法对我们研究GRE阅读是没有什么直接帮助的。但是对GRE阅读题材进行这样的分类，有助于我们分析自己到底对哪类文章特别地发怵，也就是说由于我们每个人所学的专业不同，所从事的工作不同，平时各自的英语阅读爱好取向也不同，这就造成了我们必然对其中某些类的文章感觉读起来不是那么顺畅。面对这样的问题，我们就可以根据这样的分类，有针对性地选择那些自己不是很熟悉的题材来进行短期突破性的大量阅读，增加对此类文章的语感。

(二)写作文体的特性：

GRE文章只有一类文体，那就是议论文，这是因为写这些GRE文章的人都是些思想家、教育家、哲学家或是科学家，所以他们不可能言之无物，写的东西当然是要表达出自己的观点和态度。不过我们可以将其写作手法做进一步的细分，可以分为以下两大类：

(1) Presentation

定义：作者阐释说明自己的观点、方法或主张。

(2) Argumentation

定义：作者对别人的观点、方法或主张进行评论，如果持反对意见，就会进一步给出自己的方法、观点和主张。

了解写作文体特性的用处：

在对GRE阅读的文章和GRE的Issue、Argument作文写作考试进行仔细分析比较之后，我们发现两者之间是有很多的共同点的。比如Presentation的文章其实和写作考试中的Issue文章是比较相近的，同样Argumentation的文章和写作考试中的Argument的文章也是非常类似的。尽管在立场方面GRE阅读文章和GRE写作文章两者之间会存在些差别，比如写作考试中通常会考虑三种确定立场的策略：选择平衡观点、选择有倾向性的观点以及选择一边倒的观点，而在GRE阅读的文章中，其基本上都是采用了有倾向性的观点。也就是说GRE阅读的文章采用的立场基本都是有保留的赞成或者是有保留的反对，GRE阅读的文章以赞成(反对)为主要观点时，会附加上少许的反对(赞成)，体现在文章论证结构上就是绝大部分篇幅为一种倾向。但是尽管二者在这方面有所不同，但是我们发现其实在GRE的Issue写作考试中，采用这种有倾向性的观点的写作立场的使用频率是最高的，因为这种立场的漏洞比较小，而且它将Issue的要求和中国同学想问题的习惯结合为一体。也就是说不管是Issue的写作还是GRE的阅读，他们基本上都是采用了同样的写作立场——大正小负和小负大正。

另外，在论证方法方面GRE的阅读和GRE的写作也是具有很多的相同点，具体来说拥有以下四类相同的论证手法：

1.比较型论证：这种类型的论证过程中一般会出现明显的标志词“more (less)….than…,not….but…., rather than….”来比较A和B两个方面，并且都会分A>B, A

2.因果型论证：Everything has cause and effect，而且因果型的论证可以写成两个层次：因果关系成立的情况(cause effect)和因果关系不成立的情况(cause effect)。并且无论是GRE阅读的因果论证还是GRE写作的因果论证都会使用两种基本而且有效的方法去实现驳论的目的：(1)拆桥法---攻击因果关系不成立，即“A推不出B”;(2)釜底抽薪法：“原因A不成立”。

3.问题解决型论证：这种论证类型的典型特点就是提出一个亟待解决的问题，再给出一系列的答案，并且一般还要提出作者自己的解决方法。最为常用的论证手段是他因法，即逼人的观点是A B，反驳说其实是C B，所以AB之间不存在必然的因果关系。

4.结论型论证：结论型论证的公式为why + if ….then….+position。Why这个部分基本上纯分析，其目的就是为驳论作好准备，挖掘出题目观点成立的可能合理的原因或者说是基础，然后攻击其原因(釜底抽薪)，如果原因(基础)不成立了，其老观点的结论(上层建筑)自然也就不成立了。结论型论证逻辑思维最为缜密、最为成熟。所以这种GRE阅读的论证方法在GRE的Issue写作中得到广泛的应用。

通过这样的分析和比较我们可以得出这样的两个结论：

1.我们一定要把GRE的阅读和GRE的写作联系起来，尤其是要把GRE的阅读和Issue写作联系起来。因为以上的分析我们不难看出它们之间的结构和论证手法方面有着惊人的相似性，所以练好GRE的阅读必然对于你写GRE文章，尤其是写Issue文章有非常大的帮助，反之，掌握了GRE写作，尤其是Issue写作的基本知识对于提高你得阅读能力也是一大捷径!

2.我们可以根据论证的手法把GRE阅读的文章分为相应的四大类，因为不同的论证手法使得相应的GRE阅读的文章会采用相应的比较固定的论述结构，这样我们可以通过分类进行分析、总结和练习，将这四类文章的基本的论述逻辑框架结构掌握，也就能很好地从宏观上把握住一篇GRE阅读的文章。而在逻辑框架结构上把握GRE阅读的文章，尤其是长文章正是我们很多同学的难点之所在，而这一分类法其实就为我们指明了克服这一难点的方向和方法论。

从What到How的认知过程分析GRE阅读部分

(三)阅读理解层次的特性：

GRE阅读理解可分为三个层次：

(1) General Understanding:

主要是解决两个问题：

A. Main Idea or Point

B. Logical Development or Organization

(2) Specific Understanding:

主要是解决两个问题：

A. Specific Details

B. Logical Details(细节中最为重要的东西，也是最需要我们在读文章时思考和掌握的细节)

(3) Evaluating:

主要是解决三个问题：

A. Implication

B. Further application

C. Tone / attitude

GRE阅读理解层次的划分告诉我们这样一件事情，那就是什么叫做读懂了一篇GRE文章，如果你在这三个层次上都把握地很好的话，这篇文章你就可以说读得比较懂了，而且做到了这三个层次的话，我相信你做后面的题目是肯定没有问题的。那么具体而言，怎样才能把握好GRE阅读理解的这三个层次呢?笔者认为关键是做好以下的六点：

(1) 读出what is the focus or what are the key points?

(2) 明白what is the passage about? Or what is the main idea?

(3) Can you separate the main ideas from supporting evidence and ideas?

(4) 读出what are the relationships between main idea and other ideas or evidence?

(5) 读出What words define relationships among ideas?

(6) Can you separate the author’s own altitude towards different ideas?

(四)其他模式化的特性：

GRE阅读文章还有以下几个特点：

(1) 有很强的逻辑性：

A. 表现在文章的布局和题目的设立;

B. 需要重点读透彻段落之间、观点之间、不同人物之间、不同事件之间的内在联系;

C. 实践表明ETS对阅读文章逻辑关系的考查要远远多于对文章内容的考查，所以把握文章的逻辑结构是阅读的重中之重。

(2) 叙述语气的客观性：

在GRE阅读文章中通常没有绝对正确的观点、理论也没有绝对错误的观点、理论，只有绝对的客观。

(3) 文章结构与出题方式的模式化(使得我们可以对其题型进行总结和分析，并对所有的题型给出最佳的解决方法和相应的解题技巧);

(4) 考点内容固定、范围集中(使得我们可以对其考点进行总结，然后在读文章时就对考点给以关注并且做上相应的符号)：

A. 事物、观点、理论、方法的缺陷;

B. 事物、人物之间的异同点;

C. 比较级等等。

(5) 作者态度有规律性：

A. 对旧观点、传统观点、大多数人的观点永远持负态度，对有创新意义的新观点、新想法永远持正态度，即喜新厌旧。所以，看到用old, many years ago, frequently, traditionally等词汇所限定的观点、事物，读者立刻可断定作者是对此持负态度的;而看到用new, recently, novel等词汇所限定的观点、事物，读者立刻可断定作者是对此持正态度的。

B. 对于用政治倾向来评价文学作品的观点，作者一贯反对。

C. 作者总是倾向于弱势群体，向来都是维护黑人、印第安人、妇女的权益，向来肯定女权主义者，并且总是认为妇女解放运动还不够彻底，力度还不够，女权主义者应该还能做得更好。

D. 对某些特定理论，作者常常持有特定的态度：

a. 对达尔文的进化论，一贯反对，所以只要出现生物进化论、环境适应性选择、趋同性等类似观点，作者一贯批评、挖苦、打击;

b. 对马克思主义也是一贯持有负态度;

c. 对弗洛伊德的理论也是持负态度的;

d. 在生命自然科学类文章：表现为关注科学：对环境问题(温室效应，厄尔尼诺，汽车尾气)非常关注并盼望解决;

e. 对新观点新材料以正评价为主，有时会提到缺陷，但不影响主态度。

新GRE考试阅读逻辑题练习

1. Armtech, a temporary-employment agency, previously gave its employees 2.5 paid vacation days after each 700 hours worked. Armtech's new policy is to give its employees 5.0 paid vacation days after each 1,200 hours worked. Therefore, this new policy is more generous to Armtech employees in giving them more vacation days per hour worked than the old policy did.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Most current Armtech employees approve of the company's new vacation policy.

(B) A few Armtech employees leave the company before having worked 700 hours.

(C) Most Armtech employees were not aware that the company planned to change its vacation policy until after it had already done so.

(D) A significant portion of Armtech employees stay with the company long enough to work for 1,200 hours.

(E) Armtech's new vacation policy closely matches the vacation policies of competing temporary employment agencies.

2 The global population of frogs has declined in recent years while the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth has increased. Since the genetic material in frog eggs is harmed when exposed to ultraviolet radi-ation, and since the eggs themselves are not protected by shells or leathery coverings but are gelatinous, the frog population decline is probably due, at least in part, to the ultraviolet radiation increase.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the argument?

(A) Even in those regions where there has been no significant increase in ultraviolet radiation, only a small proportion of the frog eggs that are laid ever hatch.

(B) In areas where there has been the least decline in frog populations, populations of species of insects that frogs eat have decreased.

(C) The eggs of frog species whose populations are declining tend to have higher concentrations of damaging pesticides than do the eggs of frog species whose populations have not declined.

(D) In many places where turtles, which lay eggs with tough, leathery coverings, share habitats with frogs, turtle populations are also in decline.

(E) Populations of frog species that hide their eggs beneath rocks or under sand have declined considerably less than have populations of frog species that do not cover their eggs.

3 To improve productivity, manufacturing companies have recently begun restructuring work to produce more goods with fewer assembly-line workers, and the companies have laid off many workers as a consequence. The workers laid off have been those with the least seniority(time on the job), generally the younger workers.

The statements above, if true, most strongly support which of the following as a conclusion?

(A) The products manufactured by the companies are not undergoing design changes while the manufacturing jobs are being restructured.

(B) When assembly-line workers have made sug-gestions for improvements in manufacturing processes, some suggestions have been implemented, but many have not.

(C) Assembly-line workers now need increased reading and mathematical skills to do their jobs.

(D) Some of the innovations in assembly-line processes and procedures that were made to increase productivity have instead proved to be counterproductive.

(E) The manufacturing companies are increasing the average age of their assembly-line workforce while still seeking to increase production.

4.During the nineteenth century, Britain's urban popu-lation increased as its rural population diminished. A historian theorizes that, rather than industrialization's being the cause, this change resulted from a series of migrations to urban areas, each occasioned by a depression in the agrarian economy. To test this hypoth-esis, the historian will compare economic data with population census data.

The historian's hypothesis would be most strongly supported if which of the following were found to be true?

(A) The periods of greatest growth in the industrial economy were associated with a relatively rapid decline in the rural population.

(B) The periods of greatest weakness in the agrarian economy were associated with relatively slow growth in the population as a whole.

(C) Periods when the agrarian economy was compar-atively strong and the industrial economy com-paratively weak were associated with a particu-larly rapid decline in the rural population.

(D) Periods when the agrarian and industrial econo-mies were both strong were associated with particularly rapid growth in the urban popula-tion.

(E) The periods of greatest strength in the agrarian economy were associated with relatively slow growth in the urban population.

5 Politician：Each year, small businesses create more jobs than do large established businesses. Therefore, in order to reduce unemployment in the long term, we should provide incentives for starting small businesses rather than for expanding established large businesses.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the politician's argument?

(A) In general, people employed by small businesses report higher job satisfaction than do people employed by large businesses.

(B) Among the currently unemployed are many people with sufficient job skills to perform the jobs that small businesses would create.

(C) Providing an effective incentive for starting a business generally costs significantly less than providing an effective incentive for expanding a large business.

(D) A high proportion of small businesses fail within three years of starting because of their owners' inexperience.

(E) The average large business contributes more money to politicians’ campaign funds than the average small business does.

6 In the workplace, influenza is typically spread by infected individuals to others with whom they work in close quarters. A new medication that suppresses the symptoms of influenza therefore will actually increase the number of influenza cases, because this medication will allow people who would otherwise be home in bed to return to work while infected.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously chal-lenges the prediction?

(A) Coughing, a symptom of influenza that the new medication suppresses, is a primary mechanism in the spread of this illness.

(B) Some medications that are used to suppress symptoms of influenza are also used by many people to treat symptoms that are caused not by influenza but by other illnesses.

(C) Many workers who now remain at home when infected with influenza do so because the symptoms of influenza prevent them from per-forming their jobs effectively.

(D) Most adults who are immunized against influ-enza in order to avoid being infected are over

65 years old and retired and thus do not work outside the home.

(E) Symptoms of an illness are often the body's means of curing itself of the illness, and there-fore suppression of symptoms can prolong the illness that causes them.

7 Editorial：Critics of nuclear power complain about the allegedly serious harm that might result from continued operation of existing nuclear power plants. But such concerns do not justify closing these plants;after all, their operation has caused no more harm than that caused by pollution generated by coal-and oil-burning power plants, the most important other sources of energy.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Existing nuclear power plants should be closed only if it can be conclusively demonstrated that their continued operation is likely to cause harm more serious than the harm their operation has already caused.

(B) Closing existing nuclear power plants would require greatly increased reliance on coal-and oil-burning power plants.

(C) The harm that has resulted from operation of existing coal-and oil-burning power plants has been significant.

(D) The harm that a nuclear power plant is likely to cause as it continues to operate can be reliably predicted from the past history of nuclear power plants.

(E) The only harm that has resulted from operation of existing coal-and oil-burning power plants has resulted from the pollution generated by these plants.

8 Drug manufacturer: Although our company requires that patients who use our new drug also pur-chase from us nonreusable kits for weekly blood testing, the expense of those kits is an entirely necessary one: weekly blood testing must be done to monitor the drug's potential side effects, which can be very dangerous.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weak-ens the manufacturer's argument?

(A) The expense of purchasing the blood-test kits has not prevented any patients from obtaining them or the drug.

(B) Medical laboratories can perform the blood test-ing at a lower cost to patients or their insurers than the price the manufacturer charges for the kits.

(C) A one-year supply of the drug and the weekly blood-test kits can cost patients or their insurers over $10,000.

(D) Most government and other health insurance programs will not reimburse patients for the full cost of both the drug and the blood-test kits.

(E) Patients who suffer one or more of the danger-ous side effects of the drug can incur heavy expenses for the treatment of those side effects.

9 Virginia and her brother William disagree over when their father was born: Virginia claims it was in 1935 and William claims it was in 1933. The hospital where their father was born has no records for 1933 but has complete records for 1935—records that do not include a birth record for their father. Therefore,he must have been born in 1933.

The argument depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Either Virginia's claim or William's claim is correct.

(B) The records of the hospital where their father was born date back to 1933.

(C) Virginia and William know the day and the month of their father's birth.

(D) There are urgent practical reasons why Virginia and William must know the date of their father's birth.

(E) None of their other relatives knows the year in which Virginia and William's father was born.

10 The town of San Leonardo has recently enacted a law banning smoking in all restaurants within town limits.Since many smokers who normally dine in San Leonardo's restaurants will not want to refrain from smoking during their meals, San Leonardo's restau-rants will undoubtedly lose many patrons and con-siderable income.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to strengthen the argument above?

(A) Most residents of San Leonardo who eat in res-taurants are not smokers.

(B) Most smokers who dine in the company of non-smokers are willing to refrain from smoking during their meals.

(C) If the law banning smoking in restaurants had not been enacted, it is likely that a more stringent law banning smoking in all public places in San Leonardo would have been enacted instead.

(D) Prior to the enactment of the law banning smoking in San Leonardo's restaurant, the town had a law that required most restaurants to have nonsmoking sections.

(E) None of the other communities adjacent to San Leonardo, which have restaurants comparable to those of San Leonardo, has enacted and enforces any antismoking legislation.

11. Children whose biological parents both have Tic Syndrome Z (TSZ), which is characterized by the involuntary contraction of certain muscles, are about four times more likely to develop such contractions than are children whose biological parents do not have TSZ, It is likely, therefore, that predisposition to TSZ is an inherited trait.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion above?

(A) Children whose parents have TSZ are more likely to develop TSZ if they are under unusual stress at school or at home than if they are not under such stress.

(B) Children whose biological parents do not have TSZ are more likely to develop TSZ if they are raised by adoptive parents with TSZ than if they are raised by their biological parents.

(C) Children whose biological parents have TSZ are as likely to develop TSZ if they are raised by adoptive parents who do not have TSZ as if they are raised by their biological parents.

(D) Children whose biological parents have TSZ and who develop TSZ usually avoid developing a severe form of the syndrome if they seek treatment for TSZ shortly after developing the first signs of it.

(E) Children with TSZ whose biological parents do not have TSZ are less likely to have the syn-drome diagnosed when symptoms first appear than are children with TSZ whose biological parents have TSZ.

12. Playing eighteenth-century music on the instruments of that period provides valuable information about how the music originally sounded. Eighteenth-century instruments cannot be played without being restored, however, and restoring such an instrument destroys all of the information that researchers could obtain from it about eighteenth-century instrument-making techniques.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must be true on the basis of them?

(A) Eighteenth-century instruments cannot be used to provide information about the original techniques used in playing such instruments if they have been restored.

(B) Eighteenth-century instruments that have been restored can provide information only about how eighteenth-century music originally sounded

(C) Eighteenth-century instruments are the only source of information about the instrument-making techniques of that period.

(D) An eighteenth-century instrument that has not been restored can provide more information than can one that has been restored.

(E) An eighteenth-century instrument cannot serve as a source of new information about eighteenth-century instrument-making techniques once it can be played

参考答案：DEEEDADBAECE