托福閱讀看不懂,不是你的錯。

2022.5.19  Written by SK2 Rosa


大家好,


我是SK2的Rosa。


最近我在練Ryuichi Sakamoto的Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence這首曲子時,

遇到了有一段節奏我覺得很難彈,光是連視譜都不太確定怎麼彈,

我不禁懷疑自己,“從小學琴,怎麼會看不懂這麼耳熟能詳的曲目節奏呢?”


版本一


沒想到,上課時,我的鋼琴老師告訴我,“這份譜寫得好複雜喔!其實沒這麼難啊!真不懂為什麼要這樣寫。” 後來,我們找到了另一個版本,我發現我瞬間都看得懂在表達什麼了。於是,我理解到了一個道理,“原來我看不懂不是我的音樂程度的問題,而是對方寫法的問題。”


版本二


我也因此發現了業餘與專業最大的不同,在於看事情的角度。身為業餘音樂人的我,遇到比較難彈的譜,我會直覺地認為一定是我的問題,不會去懷疑譜的寫法。但是資深專業的鋼琴老師,看任何一份譜時,因為熟悉旋律與音符的組成,深知同一段旋律可以用不同的方法表達,她便一眼就看出來譜寫得太難了。


同學在看托福閱讀時,一定也會常常覺得, 

“從小就學英文了,怎麼會看不懂區區幾個段落的文章呢?” 
“為什麼要一看再看,是不是自己程度的問題?”
“難道是太久沒碰英文,單字都忘光了嗎?”


我想跟同學分享我的心得 “閱讀看不懂,不是你的錯。”


托福閱讀為了考驗你的閱讀能力,會故意寫得很複雜。

因此,我會建議同學換個方式閱讀。

首先,我們得先了解大部分同學會遇到的問題。


錯誤心態一:讀不懂時,重複讀。


當同學碰到讀不懂的資訊時,常常會重複閱讀。此時,會花費雙倍的時間,而影響作答的節奏,很容易超時。要知道,考試時,你只有讀一遍的時間,即使你重複讀了好多遍,終於讀懂了,對於提升托福閱讀的分數,並無實質的幫助。


錯誤心態二:讀不懂時,改成整段都讀。


小範圍的題目,例如細節題、目的題是不需要讀太多資訊的。當你整段都讀時,不只會浪費許多寶貴的時間,而且會很容易失焦。即使整段都讀懂了,對於作答的幫助不大,而且會容易選到答非所問或是太細節的選項。我認為當你讀不懂時,很可能是你用錯方法閱讀了。當你全部都讀進去,想理解、記得全部資訊時,當然會讀不懂。


以下給同學三個建議:


TIP 1: Focus on SVO, instead of all information. 

我做托福閱讀時,我都會讀比較簡單的部分。我認為托福的SVO就像是大馬路一樣,寫得相當簡單、很好理解。當你讀的都是SVO時,你不容易迷路、不會看不懂。而句子裡的附屬子句和修飾語就像是羊腸小徑,只要看了,便很容易迷失。因此,我建議同學閱讀時,運用skim讀懂每句話的SVO,你會發現托福閱讀瞬間變簡單了。


以TPO 42 R2的文章為例,請同學直接挑戰讀一個段落,把你會讀的地方畫起來。強烈建議同學可以用筆電或iPad截圖起來,自己試試看,再比對我的參考答案喔!


Callisto has not fully differentiated, meaning separated into layers of different density materials. Astronomers can tell that it lacks a dense core from the details of its gravitational pull on the Galileo spacecraft during several very close flybys. This fact surprised scientists, who expected that all the big icy moons would be differentiated. It is much easier for an icy body to differentiate than for a rocky one, since the melting temperature of ice is so low. Only a little heating will soften the ice and get the process started, allowing the rock and metal to sink to the center and the slushy ice to float to the surface. Yet Callisto seems to have frozen solid before the process of differentiation was complete.


我會讀:


Callisto has not fully differentiated, meaning separated into layers of different density materials. Astronomers can tell that it lacks a dense core from the details of its gravitational pull on the Galileo spacecraft during several very close flybys. This fact surprised scientists, who expected that all the big icy moons would be differentiated. It is much easier for an icy body to differentiate than for a rocky one, since the melting temperature of ice is so low. Only a little heating will soften the ice and get the process started, allowing the rock and metal to sink to the center and the slushy ice to float to the surface. Yet Callisto seems to have frozen solid before the process of differentiation was complete.



TIP 2: Focus on Easy, not Hard.

假如遇到不會的單字,同學可以試著跳過這個單字,找前後文出現的同義詞。事實上,在英文邏輯裡,重要的內容會重複出現多次–簡單說,你會有不只一次機會讀懂。如果這個單字看不懂,我便看旁邊的單字。如果這句話讀不懂,我便會找前後句。即使整段讀不懂,我也會試著從前後段推敲這個段落的功能。反之,假如你不懂的資訊沒有再出現過,便代表該句話很可能是細節、是不重要的雜訊,即使讀不懂,也完全不影響你的理解。最後,當我看到兩個字都懂時,我也都會盡量抓簡單的字,因為這樣在短時間內讓我更好理解。


請同學試著讀讀看以下兩句話,你會讀哪些呢?幫我用筆畫起來。


1. The survival of these craters tells us that an icy object can form and retain impact craters in its surface.


2. Ice on Callisto does not deform or flow like ice in glaciers on Earth.


我會讀:


1. The survival of these craters tells us that an icy object can form and retain impact craters in its surface.


2. Ice on Callisto does not deform or flow like ice in glaciers on Earth.


同學讀的時候都可以盡量抓最簡單的資訊理解。不要怕讀太少。因為如果該句考你細節題時,你再回來找就好了。


TIP 3: Focus on Main, instead of Details.


建議同學練習區分每句話的功能,辨識他是Main還是Detail。當你發現是Detail時,其實本來就不用讀懂。簡單說,只要你加強辨識Main的能力,你會發現再難的段落都難不倒你。


試著區分以下這段的Main跟Detail,把Main的句子畫起來。


From 1996 to 1999, the Galileo spacecraft passed through the Jovian system, providing much information about Jupiter's satellites. Callisto, the outermost of Jupiter's four largest satellites, orbits the planet in seventeen days at a distance from Jupiter of two million kilometers. Like our own Moon, Callisto rotates in the same period as it revolves, so it always keeps the same face toward Jupiter. Its noontime surface temperature is only about ?140ºC, so water ice is stable on its surface year-round. Callisto has a diameter of 4,820 kilometers, almost the same as that of Mercury. Its mass is only one-third as great, which means its density must be only one-third as great as well. This tells us that Callisto has far less of the rocky metallic materials found in the inner planets and must instead be an icy body through much of its interior.


我會讀:


From 1996 to 1999, the Galileo spacecraft passed through the Jovian system, providing much information about Jupiter's satellites. Callisto, the outermost of Jupiter's four largest satellites, orbits the planet in seventeen days at a distance from Jupiter of two million kilometers. Like our own Moon, Callisto rotates in the same period as it revolves, so it always keeps the same face toward Jupiter. Its noontime surface temperature is only about 140ºC, so water ice is stable on its surface year-round. Callisto has a diameter of 4,820 kilometers, almost the same as that of Mercury. Its mass is only one-third as great, which means its density must be only one-third as great as well. This tells us that Callisto has far less of the rocky metallic materials found in the inner planets and must instead be an icy body through much of its interior.

整段只有第一句和最後一句是Main,中間都是Detail。我只需要知道中間都在描述information about Jupiter’s satellites即可。如果考我細節,我再回來閱讀。


Summary:

TIP 1: Focus on SVO, instead of all information. 

TIP 2: Focus on Easy, not Hard.

TIP 3: Focus on Main, instead of Details.


托福閱讀喜歡故意把句子複雜化,當你讀不懂時,不是你的錯。與其自我懷疑,不如換個方式讀。當你會抓SVO、找簡單的資訊閱讀、而且變得很會區分Main跟Detail,有沒有覺得托福閱讀變簡單了呢?祝同學都能夠從準備托福閱讀中,獲得信心!


推薦閱讀:為什麼GMAT/托福多念了一個月,分數仍然上不去?


Warm Regards,

SK2 Rosa ^____^ 


PS. 想學一套有系統的方法,30天內托福一戰破百嗎?推薦同學報名SK2衝刺班,十堂課教你聽說讀寫所有你應知道的事,還有廣受好評的無限次顧問時間與課後資源,顧問親自幫你點出作文與口說的盲點。不論你目標90, 100或是110,我們都非常有信心能夠幫助到你!

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想要培養閱讀習慣的同學,歡迎加入我的粉專,我會固定推薦一些英文詩,相信能夠讓同學把英文融入日常生活!

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