IELTS雅思學術閱讀應試實戰技巧

「略讀」文章

「略讀」(skimming)指迅速讀過段落，並且將注意力放在「內容字」(例如動詞與名詞)，以發現段落的大意。當我們略讀時，我們需留意反覆出現的字詞或概念，因為這些資訊通常與大意有關。「略讀」可以幫我們了解文章的整體內容與組織，幫助我們稍後回答問題時，可以快速找到我們所需要的資訊。

讓我們略讀以下的範例段落：

South-East Asia on Track with Mass Transit Railways

A number of cities, including Toronto and Vancouver, are constructing mass transit railways in an attempt to overcome the inadequate road systems, where simply travelling five blocks can take over an hour. In this article, we take a look at this form of transport in three South-East Asian cities: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

A
Bangkok is a thriving city with a population of over nine million, and a further three million who travel into the city every day. Well-known for the terrible daily traffic jams, the Thai government desperately needed a transport system that would reduce pressure on the already busy roads. In 1992, city administrators embarked upon the Sky Train project, notable for several reasons.

B
First of all, the government was reluctant to invest public funds in the huge project (around $1.7 billion), so private investment had to be found. In the end, a conglomerate including Siemens and the Italian-Thai Construction Company won the contract but in 1997, when the Asian economic crisis hit, the whole enterprise nearly collapsed when nervous investors wanted to pull the plug. A second major issue was the actual construction, which was taking place in the middle of the road and, whilst accidents were rare, a taxi driver was killed when a beam fell from one of the viaducts. Construction was stopped for two months and stricter safety rules were implemented. A further difficulty involved personnel who all had to be trained from scratch.

由標題中的South-East Asia與Mass Transit Railways，我們可以預測文章主要是討論東南亞國家的大眾捷運系統。繼續略讀斜體字部份的文章摘要，我們可以了解文章在討論Bangkok、Kuala Lumpur、Singapore三個城市的捷運系統。此時，我們可以預測文章的結構，應該是依序討論Bangkok、Kuala Lumpur、Singapore三個城市捷運系統的發展。至於段落A與B，在快速略讀之後，我們可以了解，段落A的大意是「Bangkok的捷運系統稱為Sky Train」，段落B的大意則是「Bangkok在興建Sky Train系統時所遭遇到的困難」。
通過「略讀」，我們可以迅速了解文章的組織與段落的大意。接下來，我們可以快速瀏覽問題，以判斷題型與題目所詢問的資訊。根據雅思官方的應考指南，閱讀題型有十一類。在本篇文章裡，我們將示範如何回答「配對標題」(matching headings)、「單選題」(multiple choice)、「簡答題」(short-answer questions)。

配對標題

此題型要求考生替每個段落選擇最適合的標題。既然標題敘述「主旨」或「大意」，我們答題時可以利用「略讀」時所理解的段落大意。然而，正確的標題不一定會跟我們理解的大意一模一樣。請看下列標題：

List of headings

I Training drivers from abroad
ii A series of difficulties
iii A need for government help
iv A badly needed solution
v A project cancelled

我們可以發現，我們略讀段落A時所理解的大意「Bangkok的捷運系統稱為Sky Train」並未出現在標題中。這個時候，我們就需要再讀一次段落A，並且思考哪個標題適當地描述段落A的大意。根據段落中the Thai government desperately needed a transport system的敘述，我們可以判斷段落A的最佳標題是iv (A badly needed solution)。至於段落B的大意，由於我們略讀的理解是「Bangkok在興建Sky Train系統時所遭遇到的困難」，我們就可以直接選ii (A series of difficulties)。

單選題

此題型要求考生從多個選項中，選出最適合完成題目句，或者回答題目問題的選項，請看以下例題：

The Thai government didn’t want to
A use foreign investment for a mass transit railway.
B rely on private investment.
C build a mass transit railway.
D spend public money on a mass transit railway.

當我們回答選擇題時，我們必須利用題目裡的「關鍵字」來尋找我們需要仔細閱讀的段落或文句。在例題中，我們可以根據Thai以及我們「略讀」的理解，判斷我們要閱讀的段落為段落A或B。接下來，我們可以根據government以及「掃讀」(scanning)的方法，快速找到我們需要仔細閱讀的文句。當我們「掃讀」時，我們把注意力放在我們要尋找的字詞或者概念，並且忽略其它無關的資訊。通過「掃讀」，我們可以快速找到段落B的第一句附近是我們需要仔細閱讀的範圍。接下來，我們可以發現題目句中didn't want to與段落B第一句中was reluctant to的意義相同，也就是說它們互為「轉述詞」(paraphrases)。這個時候，我們僅需仔細閱讀緊接在was reluctant to後的文句，也就是invest public funds in the huge project，即可發現D (spend public money on a mass transit railway)為題目的正確答案。同樣地，這兩個文句互為「轉述句」，而且我們可以發現money與fund為「同義字」(synonym)。因此，當我們在詳讀文句以及解題時，「辨識同義字與轉述詞」(identifying synonyms and paraphrases)是一個必備的閱讀技巧。

簡答題

利用「掃讀」與「辨識同義字與轉述詞」，我們也可以回答簡答題。請看以下段落(該段來自一篇討論各國高等教育系統的文章)與例題：

STUDY IN THE UK

Many students are attracted to Britain by its long history of literature, from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Bridget Jones and Harry Potter. Look beyond this, and you’ll find a university system with one of the best reputations in the world. Universities in the UK have a record of achievement in business, law, the sciences, philosophy, linguistics and many other fields. Some UK institutions offer a foundation course (usually three months or one year in length) to prepare international students before they go on to do a full undergraduate or post-graduate degree; applying for one of these courses normally involves taking the IELTS exam.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each question.
1. What type of university preparation course is available in the UK? .......................
 

回答簡答題時，我們需使用文章裡的字詞(注意字數限制)，而不可使用同義字。利用題目裡的關鍵詞university preparation course，我們先利用「掃讀」的方法，找出段落中間Universities in the UK之後，是我們需要詳讀的文句。接下來，利用「辨識同義字與轉述詞」的方法，我們可以發現Some UK institutions offer a foundation course (usually three months or one year in length) to prepare international students包含簡答題的答案(institution轉述university; prepare與preparation表達相同的概念)。因為題目問的是what type of ... course，我們可以找到a foundation course是題目的答案。