2. 略读法

    略读又称浏览或掠读，就是迅速地阅读，以求抓住文章的梗概。略读的目的是为获得大意或者总体印象而进行阅读。略读作为一种快速阅读技巧对我们来说并不陌生。这就像我们看报纸时，几版、十几版的页面不可能一字不漏地往下看，只能用最快的速度找出主题，略掉一些无关紧要的细节或与主题不甚相干的部分，知道其中的大概内容即可。这种方法要求我们不要把眼睛盯在具体的每个单词上，而是要看篇章中的主题句或者是从篇章的结构着手，利用自己的推理能力，对文章的信息进行分析，从而归纳总结出主题。善于略读的人会有选择地阅读，跳过一些无关的句子、段落甚至是整页的内容，只看自己感兴趣的东西。训练有素的略读者的阅读速度可以达到每分钟1000个词以上。略读的关键在于一个“略”字，注意力应该集中在大意，而不是细节上。试以下文为例：

    Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me here and there.

    I have sought love, first because it brings ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what at last I have found.

    With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux.

    Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberated in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

    This has been my life, I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.

    使用略读法，我们的目光只去捕捉以下关键的字眼：

    第一段：Three passions,. . . , have governed my life: (l)the longing for love, (2)the search for knowledge, (3) unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind;

    第二段：I have sought love because (l) it brings ecstasy… ; (2) it relieves loneliness…; (3) I have seen…. the vision of the heaven;

    第三段：With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to (l) understand …; (2) to know why the stars shine…. And I have tried to apprehend ….

    第四段：Love and knowledge…led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. …I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

    第五段：This has been my life, …and would gladly live it again.

    这样一来，大大减轻了阅读的负担，一篇近300词的文章，阅读其中的100个词就能概括全部的内容。略读归纳起来也就两句话：去粗取精，不失要点。

    3. 寻读法

    所谓“寻读”，就是通过目光扫视，以最快的速度从一篇文章中披沙拣金，迅速寻找出你所期望得到的某一具体情况、数据等。以日常生活为例。假如你要买一台价格适中、性能良好的计算机，你可浏览有关计算机广告。各种广告林林总总，品牌不同、功能各异、价格不等。你便可先从价格上考虑，通过寻读，找出几个你准备买的型号，然后从性能、信誉上进行比较，最选中你想买的那一台。同理，寻读法也常见于阅读考试的细节题中。这种方法的特点是有的放矢，为我所用。譬如根据提问查找某一人名、地名，某一件事发生的年月或其他类似的情况。工程硕士阅读理解的细节题寻读技巧利要是用得当，往往会省时省事，答案迅速而准确。以2003年的阅读试卷中的第4篇为例，这是一篇天气预报，总计328个词。

    Questions 26-30 are based on the following weather forecast:

    Weather Forecast

    The following forecast shows for the listed cities the projected weather conditions and the expected range of temperatures from the afternoon high to the evening low.

    26. According to the forecast, _____.

    A. Kansas City will be warmer than Toronto

    B. temperatures will be the lowest in Seattle and Minneapolis

    C. the weather will be fine in most of the listed cities

    D. more than half of the listed cities are cloudy or rain likely

    27. Among the following four cities, the difference between the afternoon high and the evening low is smallest in _____.

    A. Kansas City

    B. Miami

    C. Atlanta

    D. Seattle

    28. Which of the following cities is closest to Miami in weather conditions?

    A. BostonB. AtlantaC. Washington D. C. D. Houston

    29. The difference between the afternoon high and the evening low is greatest in _____.

    A. SeattleB. Los AngelesC. Las VegasD. Phoenix

    30. The differences between the afternoon high and the evening low are the same in _____.

    A. Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis

    B. Atlanta, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Seattle

    C. Cleveland, Dallas, St. Louis, and Washington D. C.

    D. Pittsburg, Miami, Houston, and Boston

    通过寻读，我们很快就可以把目光定在全文最后一段的最后一句上：“Straitfold, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice”。题干问的是Straitfold以什么最感到自豪，“independent voice” 也即是“独立的声音”。将几个选项进行对比，稍加思索我们就不难找到正确答案：nonconformist image (不随大众的形象)，所以选项B是正确答案。

    4. 意群阅读法

    所谓“意群”也即是有意义的语法结构（英语称作sense groups），通常为词组、短语。顾名思义，“意群阅读法”也就是按词组、短语在文中的组合意义整体阅读，而不是单个的词汇阅读。我们知道，词是语句的基本组成单位，意群是语句的基本构成单元。单个词并无多大意义，只有组合起来，在上下文关系中形成特殊的意群，才能获得特殊的、确定的意义。以前面“寻读”中的一句为例：Straitfold, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice，我们要是按9个单词汇一个个地读作Straitfold, says, Friedman, takes, pride, in, its, independent, voice，不但速度慢，而且形不成一个完整的意思。与此相反，要是我们将其分为4个意群来读：Straitfold, / says Friedman,/ takes pride in /its independent voice/，阅读效率就高多了。

    由此可见，意群阅读是提高阅读效率、把握文章整体的关键。因此，我们在阅读文章的时候，目光不应当停留在每个单词上，而应当放在中心词上，把目光集中在意群的中心，从一个意群中心词到另一个意群中心词，这样的意群整体扫描是提高阅读速度的行之有效之法。

    汉语常常用“一目十行”来形容某人读书速度快。英语的阅读训练有素者同样能达到这一境界。但对于一般的普通读者来说，能做到“一目数词”也相当不错了——这大大超出了大纲所规定的每分钟60个词的阅读速度。我们发现，阅读速度慢的人的阅读模式类似小学低年级学生读课本，看一个字读一个字，然后再想这个字的意思。这样的阅读方法眼睛再快也跟不上国家对工程硕士要求的速度。因此，要提高阅读速度，就得根除逐字阅读的坏习惯。而按意群阅读，既能提高目光的效率，又有利于整体思维，连词成句。

    下面读者不妨自己做这样一个比较，先按逐字阅读的习惯方法阅读以下段落，看看要用多少时间。

    Many small cultural groups live in places far away from modern cities. Some of these tribes have never had any communication outside of their small geographical areas. When they do contact the outside world, their lives usually change. Learning how to change without losing the best of their own cultures is a problem for them. How can primitive cultures learn to live in a technological world？How can they do this without becoming lost？（75词）

    然后再用意群阅读法阅读下面同一段落，看看共花多少时间。为了便于阅读，我们用分隔号“／”把句中的一个个意群隔开。

    Many small cultural groups／live in places／far away from modern cities. ／Some of these tribes have never had／any communication／outside of their small geographical areas. ／When they do contact／the outside world,／their lives usually change. ／Learning how to change／without losing the best／of their own cultures／is a problem for them. ／How can primitive cultures／learn to live／in a technological world？／How can they do this／without becoming lost？（18个意群）

    显而易见，采用“意群阅读法”能一眼同时看到三个词或五个词，甚至更多的词。这样就大大节省了阅读的时间，起到事半功倍的作用。

    5. 识别信号词

    所谓“信号词”(Signal Words) 是指一些在阅读中起着信号提示的词语。这些词语预示着将要读到的内容与上下文存在什么样的关系，或具有什么样的逻辑意思。因为我们知道，文章的句子不是无序地排列，而是按照一定关系，有目的、有规律地组织起来的。注意信号词能使我们了解作者的思路，理顺该句与上下文之间的逻辑关系，从而提高阅读理解的效率和准确率。请看下面这一段落：

    In that mill, I learned the process of making paper. First, the logs are put in the shredder. Then, they are cut into small chips and mixed with water and acid. Next, they are heated and crushed to a heavy pulp to be cleaned. It is also chemically bleached to whiten it. After this, it is passed through rollers to flatten it. Then, sheets of wet paper are produced. Finally, the water is removed from the sheets which are pressed, dried and refined until the finished paper is produced.

    作者通过表示先后顺序的信号词first, then, next, after this, then 和finally, 有条不紊地描述出造纸工艺的整个过程。

    信号词的类别

    信号词可以归纳为下面几种：

    l）表示递进的信号词：

    after all, also, again, and then, as well as, further more, additionally, in addition, in other words, moreover, to repeat等；

    2）预示有相同或类似内容的信号词：

    and, also, moreover, further, likewise, in addition, besides, similarly, as well as, the same as等；

    3）预示有不同或相反内容出现的信号词：

    but, however, while, whereas, on the other hand, on the contrary, as apposed to, to the opposite, otherwise等；

    4）表示因果关系的信号词：

    as, for, since, because, as a result, consequently, thus, so, therefore, for this reason, so that, thereby等；

    5）表示条件性的信号词：

    if, in case, assuming that, on condition that, on the supposition that, provided that等；

    6) 表示总结性内容的信号词：

    in short, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, as a result, in sum, to sum up, by and large, to conclude等；

    7) 表示先后关系顺序的信号词：

    before, after, another, first, next, then, last, finally, afterwards, later on, since then, eventually, in the end, at last等；

    8) 表示解释、举例说明关系的信号词：

    for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate, evidently, obviously, in other words, that is to say, the same as等；

    9) 表示目的的信号词：

    in order to, in order that, so that, so as to, for the purpose that等。

    下面一例考试的一段文字录音稿就有带有各类不同功能的信号词。

    If you´re in your 20s, you own your first car, your career is more or less launched, and you´re starting to look forward to own­ing a home. But you´re worried, too. Perhaps you´ve got some debt. You probably don´t have much in the way of savings. And with all your expenses, it doesn´t look like you´ll be able to improve that situation soon.

    If you wonder how to cut corners, there´s an obvious place to look—at your spending habits.

    Do you buy a soda each weekend? Waste $1 a day for 40 years and, when you´re set to retire, you´ll find your account is short by $190,000. Grab a calculator and you´ 11 discover that, over 40 years, going out to dinner twice a month at $40 each time amounts to half a million. Even a pack-a-day cigarette habit will lighten your retirement account by $330,000. And the same with cable TV and those cool earrings. They will probably amount toas much as one million.

    So, the first clue to accumulating wealth is this: focus on your spending habits.

    要是我们能把握住其中的黑体字信号词，那么将有助于全文的理解，提高做题的效率。