雅思閱讀中的特殊信號詞
特殊的信號詞,就是那些很容易識別的詞,如大寫字母開頭的人名,地名,專有名詞,以及特殊印刷體和黑體,這些詞在英語文章中顯得尤為突出,往往也是題干中關(guān)鍵詞的原詞定位。
例如 ‘the US Congress voted NASA $10 million per year for ten years to conduct a thorough search for the extra-terrestrial life’ 這句話,出現(xiàn)了US Congress, NASA 專有名詞信號詞,極有可能成為定位的訊息。的確,判斷題型中有一題‘the NASA project attracted criticism from some members of Congress.’ 就是根據(jù)這兩個信號詞精確地回到原文定位。
雅思閱讀中的普通信號詞
雅思閱讀作為一項專業(yè)的語言水平測試,當然不能只依靠容易識別的特殊信號詞,文章中的普通信號詞對于解題可謂是功不可沒。
1)表原因的信號詞
例如reason, cause, since, in that, as, because, thanks to, owing to, 解釋說明某一事物或事件,往往會蘊含重要信息。如‘since the lifetime of a planet like ours is several billion years, we can expect that...’ 該句是之后簡答題‘what is the life expectancy of Earth’ 的答案信息來源,如果考生只定位Earth, 那就很有可能失分,因為原句對Earth 做了同義替換的表述,而since這個信號詞則提示了答案所在的地方。
2)表結(jié)論的信號詞
例如 thus, therefore, so, hence, consequently, as a result, 這些詞往往是對前面所論述的總結(jié)歸納,例如 ‘Tortoises therefore represent a remarkable double return’, 該句出現(xiàn)在整篇文章的末段首句,很明顯是對前文的總結(jié)概括,高度濃縮了信息。最后的主旨選擇題,就是對該句的改寫:‘they have made the transition from sea to land more than once’.
3)表轉(zhuǎn)折的信號詞
例如however, but, by comparison, nonetheless, nevertheless,這些詞往往表示文章觀點或方向的重大轉(zhuǎn)變,重點應(yīng)該關(guān)注信號詞后面的內(nèi)容。如‘this definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways’, 前半句指出iconoclasts異于常人,用but轉(zhuǎn)折詞,強調(diào)指出區(qū)別的關(guān)鍵地方。這也是選擇題‘iconoclasts are distinctive because...’ 的出題方向。