新多益長篇閱讀應試實戰技巧

2018/04/24
提供新多益閱讀技巧分享!長篇應試實戰攻略篇

2018年開始,新版的多益考試題型在聽力及閱讀部份,都有小幅度的變更及更新,不僅調整各大題的題數分配,也因應時代的變化以及通訊、社群媒體的應用而加入新題型。

今天我們就來針對閱讀的題型,尤其是第三部份的長篇閱讀,提供大家一些考試技巧,並加入一些題型做些應用練習,讓大家在應試時,可以更有效率的找出正確答案吧!

首先大家最熟悉的閱讀技巧,應該就屬Skim和Scan了吧?可是這兩個技巧到底要什麼時候用,以及該怎麼用,你真的了解嗎?首先我們先將這兩個技巧的定義釐清,再來加以應用練習:

Skim- Read (something) quickly so as to note only the important points.

簡單來說Skim就是瀏覽,重點還是要看過全篇,只是用比一般閱讀速度稍快的方式去閱讀,不求甚解,只求知道整體大略的重點;在你開始瀏覽前,你可能完全不知道這篇文章或段落在說些什麼,但瀏覽完畢後,你就應該可以搖搖羽扇,神秘地笑著說聲:「略懂,略懂」。

然而在應用Skim這個技巧前,還有個小小的技巧:知己知彼,百戰百勝---你得先大略知道英文文章的寫作架構,循著脈落重點來瀏覽

大部分的英文寫作習慣裡,作者都會開門見山的將他所想表達的意見或主旨做定調,通過舉證或是說明後,再於後方做一次結論;然而多益考試裡的閱讀文章,絕大多數都是經過精心編輯的,因此文章段落的架構不僅會維持這個「主旨-舉證說明-結論」的架構,在文句的鋪陳上必定會因篇幅的限制而更加簡短精鍊。若能把握這個架構原則,每次瀏覽時,在每個文章段落的頭尾句,要加重瀏覽的質量,可以更有效率的達到理解文章重點的目的

我們就用下面這個閱讀文章來做個瀏覽技巧的練習:

The new economy has created great business opportunities as well as great turmoil. Not since the Industrial Revolution have the stakes of dealing with change been so high. Most traditional organizations have accepted, in theory at least, that they must make major changes. Even large new companies recognize that they need to manage the changes associated with rapid entrepreneurial growth. Despite some individual successes, however, this remains difficult, and few companies manage the process as well as they would like. Most companies have begun by installing new technology, downsizing, restructuring, or trying to change corporate culture, and most have had low success rates. About 70 percent of all change initiatives fail.
---主旨:經濟情勢改變,公司必須要做出新的改變來因應,但可能成功也可能失敗。

The reason for most of these failures is that in their rush to change their organizations, managers become mesmerized by all the different, and sometimes conflicting, advice they receive about why companies should change, what they should try to accomplish, and how they should do it. The result is that they lose focus and fail to consider what would work best for their own company. To improve the odds of success, it is imperative that executives understand the nature and process of corporate change much better.
---主旨:探討失敗的主因,以及想增加成功機會的要素

Most companies use a mix of both hard and soft change strategies. Hard change results in drastic layoffs, downsizing, and restructuring. Soft change is based on internal organizational changes and the gradual development of a new corporate culture through individual and organization learning. Both strategies may be successful, but it is difficult to combine them effectively. Companies that are able to do this can reap significant payoffs in productivity and profitability.
---主旨:想要成功的改變,必須要綜合軟硬體雙重策略

有沒有發現,若依架構原則來瀏覽,其實只要重點瀏覽加粗字體的原文文句後,你不僅可以知道:
1. 每段文章的重點主旨(已附於每段落後)
2. 透過每段主旨,即可綜合成整篇文章的主旨───
因應經濟型態轉變,公司需同時合併變更軟硬體的策略,才能成功轉型,永續經營。

所謂外行的看熱鬧,內行的看門道;若只知道瀏覽這項技巧,還是得將整篇文章共三大段二十幾行字給看過一遍,但若加上架構原則來瀏覽,其實你只要先看過大約七句,就可以成為「略懂略懂」達人囉!是不是省時又省力呀?

這項技巧通常可以幫助你應付篇幅較長、字數較多的文章,以及遇到下列題型時快速歸納出答案:

主旨題---在第一輪的瀏覽結束時,你應該就可以直接作答:
What is the article mainly about?
(A) Corporate marketing plans
(B) New developments in technology
(C) Ways for companies to increase profits
(D) How companies try to adapt to new conditions

推論題---在第一輪的瀏覽結束時,看到這題你肯定知道答案會在第二段,但因為推論題並非細問某一個在文句中的細節,而是需要你看完部分內容後,加以推斷後才能作答的,若第一輪的瀏覽你沒能太細看段落內容,此時可以再重點式的將第二段內容細看些:
According to the article, why do so many attempts to change fail?
(A) Soft change and hard change are different.
(B) Executives are interested only in profits.
(C) The best methods are often not clear.
(D) Employees usually resist change.

Scan- Look at all parts of (something) carefully in order to detect some feature.

而Scan則是掃描,重點是找答案,有時你甚至不需要讀懂句意,也可以將答案找出來。有點像是拿著放大鏡在沙堆裡找東西,前提是你要知道自己要找的是什麼,那麼再多沙子,也遮蓋不了你要找的那一項寶貝;也就是說,在使用Scan這個技巧之前,你心中要很清楚,現在題目要求你找的答案是什麼。

我們可以使用相同的文章來做掃描的技巧練習,這項技巧通常用來應付下列類型的題目較為管用:

同義字題---通常這類型的題目就是直接跳到指定的文章位置,根據上下文的句意來做代換,先找到manage就對了:
The word "manage" in paragraph 1, line 6, is closest in meaning to
(A) correct
(B) attract
(C) handle
(D) regulate

細節題---關鍵字是soft change,所以直接到第三段找到關於這個詞的定義解釋,就可以做答了:
What is soft change based on?
(A) Changes in the corporate culture
(B) Reductions in company size
(C) Relocating businesses
(D) Financial markets

在多益閱讀這個部份,最常見的失分通病就是時間掌控不佳。在第一、二部分花了太多時間琢磨文法和單字,偏偏第三部份的多篇閱讀,又是CP值最低的區域:題目篇幅長,需要耗費較長時間閱讀,每個題組卻只有4-5題,不讀完又不能作答。此時的心情像是熱鍋上的螞蟻,卻又必須冷靜的過關斬將,當真不是件容易的事呀!此時眼睛是眼睛,腦袋是腦袋,看進去的東西已經沒辦法吸收了,時間又一分一秒的流逝中,該怎麼辦呢?

若有朝一日你發現自己正處在這樣的困境中時,就強烈建議你使用「弱水三千,只取一瓢飲」的策略了!也就是放棄想要讀完全篇,將所有題目完成的想法,只選擇可以用scan這項技巧來作答的題型吧!這樣你至少還有機會將原本做不完的題目完成50%,且命中率相對提高許多喔!

現在快拿起你手邊的模擬考題,打鐵趁熱練習一下skim與scan的技巧吧!

持續關注我們的文章,一起學習更多實用英文喔!