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托福听力指南:如何搞定“比较”和“递进”结构的讲座题

2016-10-09

新东方英语 2016年10期
关键词:出题录音讲座

周怡臻

在本刊2016年9月号的文章里,笔者和考生们讨论了“总—分”结构讲座的解题技巧,想必大家在练习中也已经体会到把握好结构对解题的益处。而这一期,笔者将继续为考生介绍其他两种类型:比较结构、递进结构。

比较结构

在每次托福听力考试中,比较结构的讲座大概会出现一篇。在录音一开始时,往往就会出现对比和分类这样的特殊语言现象,因此这种结构非常容易识别。这类结构涉及的话题可能是两种诗歌风格的比较、两种土拨鼠生活习性的差异、用两种天文观测方法观察宇宙时的优劣,抑或是公司的两种运营管理模式的对比等。然后,录音针对比较对象的各个方面进行更加深入细致的区分和探讨,通常针对每一个层面和维度都会考查一道题目。最后,讲座结尾往往会用一两句话来概括录音内容。此类讲座属于中等难度,逻辑感非常强,但是因为录音中教授的讲述常常会在两种事物间来回切换,所以考生稍不留神可能会将两种事物的对应关系搞错。

了解了比较结构的特征后,考生要熟悉针对这种结构考官会如何出题,即这种结构的出题点是什么。根据笔者的观察,比较结构主要有以下两种出题思路:比较原则和重复原则。本文笔者就用TOEFL Practice Online (托福在线考试练习,简称TPO)第19套题的第二篇讲述两种天文观测方法的天文学讲座为例,为考生具体分析一下如何针对讲座比较结构的出题点来解答题目。

1. 比较原则。如果考生在录音中听到像on the one hand、on the flip side这样的关联词或像now、by comparison、in contrast、unlike、while、“the more …, the more …”这样的比较用词,那么可以判断出这段录音就是以比较结构的形式展开的。录音中加以比较的事物、属性等就成为考生做笔记的重点。考生做笔记时,应按照这样的布局来写:分列左右两栏,相关的事物、属性等细节记录在对应比较物下方。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:According to the professor, why are radio waves particularly useful for astronomical observations? Click on 2 answers.

A. Some astronomical bodies emit radio waves but not visible light.

B. Radio waves provide more information about star composition than visible light waves do.

C. Radio waves can be detected with simple equipment.

D. Radio waves can pass through particles in space.

解析 在讲座录音中,当教授结束了光波的讨论后,转而涉及无线电波,他说道:“Now, radio waves are electromagnetic radiation that we cant see. Nearly all astronomical objects in space emit radio waves, whether nearby stars, or objects in faraway galaxies, they all give off radio waves. And unlike visible light waves, these radio waves can get through the various gases and dusts in space, and through our own earths atmosphere comparatively easily.”在这段录音中,考生可以发现,通过now和unlike两个词,教授把无线电波和光波作了比较,很显然这段话突出了无线电波(属于电磁辐射)的两个特点,所以正确答案为选项A和选项D。

2. 重复原则。其实,没有哪一种方式能够比重复某个信息更能证明这个信息的重要性了。所以如果一个概念在录音中从头到尾都在出现,那么这个概念毫无疑问一定是全文的主旨。而如果这个词只是反复出现在某个局部或某个特殊的位置,那么尤其要引起考生的注意。因为这个词很有可能就是出题点。对考生来说,如果这个词是生词,那么只需记录这个词的大致发音就行。做题时,考生只要能把自己记录下来的单词发音和题干或选项中的单词正确匹配在一起就能正常答题。虽然考生不理解这个词的实际意思,但并不影响选出正确选项。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:What does the professor imply is an advantage of optical astronomy over radio astronomy?

A. It allows far more precise observations.

B. It is better for making observations within our own galaxy.

C. It requires less sophisticated equipment.

D. It is not affected by the weather.

解析 在讲座录音中,当教授谈到射电天文学的弱点时,说道:“Well, the thing is, with radio astronomy, you cant just set up a telescope in your backyard and observe stars. One problem is that radio waves from these far away objects, even though they can get through, are extremely faint. So we need to use radio telescopes, specially designed to receive these waves and then, well, we can use computers to create pictures based on the information we receive.”考生可以发现,短短几句话中,radio这个词重复出现了三次,很显然,这段内容主要涉及的是射电天文学方面的内容,说的是它的研究需要很复杂的设备,不如光学天文学那么简单,所以光学天文学的优点是选项C。

递进结构

递进结构的讲座比较容易识别,有时甚至可以仅通过电脑屏幕上的图片看出来。由于是机考,在播放录音资料时,电脑屏幕上会显示相应的背景图片。考生可以根据背景图片判断是不是递进结构。因为递进结构的讲座会融入大量的师生讨论,所以图片中的教室布局往往是师生围坐在一起研讨,而不像前两类讲座中学生集体面向教室前方听教授一人讲课。现在递进结构的出现频率比前几年有所增多,每次考试会有一至两篇是这种结构。形式是通过教授和某个学生的互动展开,而一旦有其他学生介入,讨论方向的不确定性就很大。但后文的讨论一定与前文有关联,而且往往是基于前文的某个问题结论再度发问。因此这类录音的话题范围非常小,但可以发展得非常深。诸如一个画家艺术风格受到的影响,一个与火星上有液态水的假说相矛盾的关于太阳的假说,郁金香买卖的历史教训对于网络泡沫的借鉴作用等,都会成为这类录音的选材。考查的题目则会覆盖任何一段讨论中教授或学生给出的事实或观点。此类录音难度很高,逻辑感相对较弱,因此学生最难把握的就是此类录音。

了解完递进结构的特征,考生要熟悉针对这种结构考官会如何出题。递进结构主要有以下几种出题思路:问答原则、转折原则、因果原则、强调原则等。本文笔者用TOEFL Practice Online上第25套题最后一篇讲述小狼幼崽玩耍的生物学讲座为例,和考生具体分析一下如何针对讲座递进结构的出题点来解答题目。

1. 问答原则。托福听力的对话部分都是以问答的形式,层层深入,铺陈开来的,所以每一个问题及它对应的回答都有可能被考查,因此无论是问还是答都必须加以记录。而讲座中一旦出现对话内容,考生也应明确这部分是考查的对象。考查时往往设置重听题,尤其是出现设问句和反问句时。重听题就是在题目中将录音某部分的内容再放一遍,让考生重新去听,之后考生根据自己重新听到的内容来解题。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:What does the student mean when she says this:

A. She is not familiar with the play behavior of wolf pups.

B. She doubts that wolf pups fight as much as the other students implies.

C. She is not sure that she correctly understood the reading assignment.

D. She disagrees with the other students opinion about play behavior.

解析 在讲座录音中,当男同学回答教授问题时,女同学介入:“Oh, I dont know about that. I mean, some of the things a young animal does while playing are totally different from the things they will do as an adult.”考生可以明显感觉出她并不同意男同学的结论,所以选项D为正确答案。

2. 转折原则。像but、however、nevertheless、in fact、actually、as a matter of fact这些表转折的词一般会让我们想到一个词——欲扬先抑。在听录音时,当听到这些词时,考生要重点记录的是这些词后面的信息,因为其后的信息才是说话人真正想要表达的想法。另外有一些具有让步意义的词,类似although、it was believed、used to be,则更具迷惑性,因为其后面直接引出的往往是说话人想要反驳的观点。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:Which statement best expresses the professors opinion of the play-as-preparation hypothesis?

A. It is well supported by available evidence.

B. It may apply only to certain species of animals.

C. It does not explain some important aspects of play.

D. It is particularly useful explaining human behavior.

解析 在讲座录音中,教授对“玩耍是一种准备工作”(play-as-preparation)这种假设表态时这样说道:“So, this self-handicapping, it is important to take this into account before just deciding to go with that first explanation. In fact, there really isnt much in the way of solid experimental evidence to support the play-as-preparation hypothesis.”很显然,转折词in fact之后的内容成为考生选择选项C的重要依据。

3. 因果原则。像because、therefore、since、as、so、hence、thus、lead to、result from、consequently这些词会导出两个信息之间的因果关系,所以考生在做录音记录时应当对这些词的前后信息都加以重视,并标上逻辑箭头,用来提醒自己,防止本末倒置。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:The professor discusses a study on the relationship between brain growth and play. What does that study conclude?

A. Patterns of brain growth are similar in animals that play and animals that do not play.

B. Excessive brain growth can sometimes limit an animals behavioral vocabulary.

C. Animals that do not play have less-developed brains than animals that play.

D. Animals without well-developed brains are seldom observed playing.

解析 在讲座录音中,该题对应的录音是教授回答女生问题时说的内容:“Actually, thats something the flexibility hypothesis explains very well. Since play fighting includes variations in speed and intensity, and quick role reversals involved with self-handicapping, an animal thats play fighting is constantly responding to changes. So its learning to be flexible.”很明显,通过以上因果关系,我们知道,玩耍包含身体各机能的快速反应,所以脑子更灵活,反之如果没有机会玩耍,那么结果就会是选项C (发展比较慢)。

4. 强调原则。当我们要强调某个信息时,最常见的方式是直接用指示性的话语来提醒听众,比如说使用这样的一类词:significant、worth our attention、crucial point。当然,也可以用提高音量、放慢语速甚至稍加停顿的方式来达到同样的效果。此时,考生要记录的内容应该是这些词对应的实意信息,并加上重点符号。下面我们通过具体例题来讲解。

例:One of the students brings up the example of play fighting among wolf pups. What does this example lead him to believe?

A. That wolves are especially violent animals.

B. That the play-as-preparation hypothesis is probably correct.

C. That wolves seldom engage in self-handicapping.

D. That the results of a recent study are probably not reliable.

解析 在讲座录音中,本题所对应的录音中男生提出自己的观点:“In other words, they play in order to practice survival skills, like movements used in hunting and fighting. That hypothesis makes a lot of sense, like, maybe the most sense of all the theories we read about … It just seems obvious why those wolf pups play like that. It gives them practice with skills that will make them better hunters or fighters as adults.”其中包含了非常具有强调意味的字眼,而且都是正面态度,所以凭此考生可选出正确答案是选项B。

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