来源:环球教育
小编:长安 42很多考生反映,上了考场,看着满屏的英语心里直发毛,读不下去,脑袋直想撞屏;或是读着读着就被卡住了;还有人读了后句忘前句。如果有以上三种症状出现,那么表明该考生在英文阅读方面,有一个根本性的问题没有解决,那就是句子逻辑。
仔细读这个句子:These questions are political in the sense that the debate over them will be less an exploration of abstract matters in spirit of disinterested inquiry than an academic power struggle in which the careers and professional fortunes of many women scholars-only now entering the academic profession in substantial numbers-will be at stake, and with them the chances for a distinctive contribution to humanistic understanding, a contribution that might be an important influence against sexism in our society.
以上这个例句,即使考生认识所有单词,在阅读过程中也有可能卡住,甚至迷失。这就是接下来环球教育老师要讲的逻辑问题。想攻破托福阅读,第一步要解决的就是语言逻辑。逻辑正确,意思才会正确,才能做进一步的推理分析和归纳总结。
首先,要明白,逻辑就是语序,就是你看到文字时大脑里的反应和期待。看到中文,作为母语,你会很熟悉她的语序,自然能反应出她接下来要说什么,所以整个阅读过程很通畅。而英文,语序和中文不太一样,所以问题就出现了。
1.中英文大语序是相同的,都是主谓宾。
中文说,我喜欢你。老美也会说,我喜欢你。而日本人会说:我你喜欢。日语的大逻辑是:主宾谓。
2.中英文唯一的逻辑差异是:英文定语后置,层层向前修饰。
这是造成一切英文阅读困难的根本原因。什么是定语?定语是起限定作用的。限定谁?限定所修饰的名词。并不是所有的名词都符合条件,只有限定范围内的名词才够格。比如,给我拿件T恤来。衣橱里有很多T恤,拿哪个?拿那个带有梅西签名的T恤。 Give me the T-shirt with the signature of Messi. 这叫定语后置,限定名词T恤的范围。
托福真题例句:例1:America is falling into the step with the trend toward smaller families which had appeared all through western world.
这句话翻译成中文就是:美国正坠入整个西方世界都出现的小家庭趋势的脚步中。中文的定语都在"脚步"前面;而英语的定语都在"the step"后面。从逻辑走向来看,中文的逻辑都是一条线往下去的,不回头,顺着读很舒服。而英文的逻辑在修饰的地方需要往回找,确定修饰所指对象。所以,这句话读下来的正确感觉应该是这样的:美国正坠入脚步,什么样的脚步?伴随一种趋势的脚步,什么样的趋势?朝向小家庭的趋势, 什么样的小家庭?已经出现在整个西方世界的小家庭。所以英文是需要逻辑往回找,层层向前修饰。
例2:The fact that artisans, who were considered low-level class in 1900s, were regarded as artists today were due to the movement of art in 1940s.
英文阅读感觉示范:事实,什么样的事实?工匠怎么了的事实。什么样的工匠?在1900s被看做下等阶层的工匠。然后句子后面出现were regarded as artists today,这是工匠的谓语,连起来意思即为"在1900s被看做下等阶层的工匠今天被看成艺术家"。句子后面又出现"were due to the movement of art in 1940s",这是fact的谓语,连起来整句话的意思是"在1900s被看做下等阶层的工匠今天被看成艺术家这样的事实是归因于1940s的艺术运动。"
3.中文,主谓紧密相连;英文,主谓分隔千里。
主谓被后置定语分离。后置定语是一切问题的根源。如例2:The fact that artisans, who were considered low-level class in 1900s, were regarded as artists today were due to the movement of art in 1940s.
例3:But sculpture as a high art, practiced by artists who knew both the artistic theory of their Renaissance-Baroque-Rococo predecessors and the various technical procedures of modeling, casting, and carving rich three-dimensional forms, was not known among Americans in 1776.
这句话主要想讲的是:雕塑在1776年是不为美国人所知的。主谓被分隔了两行多。当考生看到was not known among Americans,会问:什么东西不被美国人所知?很多考生认为是前面紧挨的three-dimensional forms,认为是"3D形式不被美国人所知"。这就是受母语影响。因为在中文里,主谓紧密相连,谓语前面就应该是主语。但在英文里,谓语前面往往是主语的修饰语,真正的主语还在前面,所以要继续向前找。真正的主语是sculpture。
4.中文:并列紧密相连;英文:并列分隔千里。
后置定语分离并列结构。后置定语是一切问题的根源。例4:The sex ratio will be favored by natural selection that can maximize the number of offspring that an individual will produce and the number of genes transmitted.
思考:and the number of genes transmitted和谁并列?
上面的句子简化处理:The sex ratio will be favored by natural selection that can maximize the number of offspring and the number of genes transmitted.
答案:and the number of genes transmitted 和 the number of offspring并列。最后,我们再看一下开头的句子:These questions are political in the sense that the debate over them will be less an exploration of abstract matters in spirit of disinterested inquiry than an academic power struggle in which the careers and professional fortunes of many women scholars-only now entering the academic profession in substantial numbers-will be at stake, and with them the chances for a distinctive contribution to humanistic understanding, a contribution that might be an important influence against sexism in our society.
英文阅读的感觉应该是这样的:这些问题在这个意义上看是政治的问题。什么意义?对这些问题的讨论不是本着公正的精神关于抽象问题的探索,而更多是学术权力的争斗。什么样的学术权力争斗?许多女性学者(只有最近她们才大量涌入学术界)的职业生涯和职业财富将处在危险中的学术权力争斗。And with them和谁并列?顺读,后面意思是:对人类理解做出独特贡献的机会和反抗社会性别歧视的一个重要影响的贡献机会。这样的机会chance只能和职业生涯career和职业财富fortune并列。这句话难在最后省略了谓语will be at stake. 即这种机会chance伴随着前面的职业生涯career和职业财富fortune将也处于危险中be at stake。整句话意思为:给女性学者带来这样危险的学术权力争斗的角度来看,这些问题是政治性的问题。
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