雅思阅读之4招阅读秘籍

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阅读是最需要积累的一项语言能力,词汇、句法乃至常见文章写法、思路,没有一段时间循序渐进的积累和能力的提升,阅读的能力——Competence就不会有实质的提高。今天小编给大家带来了雅思阅读之4招阅读秘籍,希望可以帮助到大家,下面小编就和大家分享,来欣赏一下吧。

告诉你这4招阅读秘籍

01“点穴”

正确认识和有效提高词汇量。

即便是土生土长的老外也会遇到生词,莫说很多仓促上阵的考鸭们。

而且考试时间就是金钱,不可能一字一句毫无遗漏地读完。所以我提倡根据考试选材的常见类别进行相应的专题复习,加以一定的技巧,是可以在短期内有效提高单词的。

比如剑 4test3 中的火山一文,除了学习文中的词汇,还可以把滑坡 landslide,海啸 tsunami 等词加以衔接,达到举一反三的效果。若能结合国家地理或者探索频道的相关节目,效果会更好。建议抽取其中一两个段落进行精读,尤其熟悉短语和句型的表达,这样词汇必将更上一层楼。

同时要注意近义词的表达和积累。这在 summary 和是非题中都有体现。题目 往往来个易容之术,殊不知真相就在眼前。比如“下降”一词,就至少有 diminish,dwindle,plunge,plummet,等等,而词的用法和感情色彩有各自不同。前两者表示逐步下降,而后两者强调剧烈,突然的程度。

另一方面,对词性的把握要到位,这一点在 summary 中极为突出。考试中常 考的无外乎动词,名词以及形容词。预先估计出所填词的词性和大意,往往能先发制人。

此法好比武学之中的点穴秘籍,搏击之时拿人要穴,一击中的,可起四两拨千斤之效。关键之时一词语能救人。务必持之以恒,方见成效。

02

“经脉”

语法要疏通

语法无用论是坚决错误的!没有语法的词汇就像是脱缰的野马,散落的珍珠,无法够成一个有力的整体,发挥不了原有的效力。

也不提倡死背语法,而提倡活学活用。常用的语法如通过连接词判断词语乃至句子之间的联系,判断句子的主谓宾,分析从句这都是基本功。

即使找到题目所蕴含的关键词切莫高兴的太早,一定要仔细分析句子结构。往往答案巧妙的隐藏在原文之中,却不是光看表面就找的出来的。

03

“内息”

背景知识要熟悉

俗话说"外练筋骨皮,内练一口气"。内息可谓人体基础之基础。从语言学习的角度看自然指的是背景知识。

还有眼镜蛇毒一文,我因为对相关的国家地理和探索频道节目颇为关注,加上自小受家庭熏陶,对医药和毒物略知一二,自然也就没花多少力气。

津小乔在这里推荐各位烤鸭把喝咖啡和手牵手的时间节省一些出来,把看韩剧的热情投入到品味国家地理,探索频道,以及 bbc 节目中来,结合考试的常见题材加以学习,假以 时日,必有所成。若能持之以恒,必有大成。其中之乐,一言难尽。

04“巧劲”

巧用统筹方法

段落 matching 号称终极杀手,其实也并非无法可治。

比如剑五第 64 页 1 到 4 题,先观察选项,发现 1,2,4 全部指向某一个教育 项目。只要找出教育项目出自哪些段落便可事半功倍。然则这是第一步,会发现有 c,d,e, 三个段落体现了教育项目。在三对三的情况下,我们将 3,4 分别对应到了 c,e;此题无 NB,可大胆将 d 对应 1 段,无须细看文章。

其实,在雅思阅读考试中取得好成绩的真正秘技就在于,不要盲从于所谓速成 的“秘诀”,而应该同时兼顾能力的培养和技巧的训练,在扎实的语言能力基础上,真正获得高分的通行证和留学的语言利器。"无招胜有招",莫过如此。

雅思阅读List of Headings的解决之道

List of Headings应该算得上雅思阅读考试中名副其实的难题了。究其因,有三难:

第一难:陌生。国内的英文考试基本都没有设置这样的题型,虽然小时候语文也考过段落大意,但是都要求自主归纳。而List of Headings有所不同,是别人归纳好的选项要求配对相应的段落。这就更难了,因为不仅要求自己归纳得要对,还要理解别人的归纳,而且还要二者完美对应。这就是为什么剑桥大学地方考试委员会(The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate-UCLES)、英国文化委员会(The British Council)和澳大利亚高校国际开发署(IDP Education Australian)这些机构专门巧妙设计该题型的原因了——面对全球多区域的应试教育,该题型设计旨在考查考生对文章的综合理解能力以及对应能力。

第二难:浓缩。本题型之所以算雅思阅读中的一大难题,很大的原因就是因为浓缩性很强。有时候甚至选项中短短的两三个单词被用以概括满满当当的一大段或者好几段话,段落中根本找不到选项中的词,甚至连同义替换的影子都没有。比如:

Cambridge 6 General Training Test A Section 3 The Water Crisis

List of Headings

i. American water withdrawal

ii. Economic pricing

iii. What the future holds

iv. Successful measures taken by some

v. The role of research

vi. The thirsty sectors

vii. Ways of reducing waste

viii. Interdependence of natural resources

ix. The demands of development

x. The consequences for agriculture

B. Agriculture consumes about 70% of the world’s fresh water, so improvements ... At present, average efficiency in the use of irrigated water in agriculture may... After agriculture, industry is the second biggest user of water and, in terms of value added per litre used, is sixty times more productive than agriculture. However, some industrial processes... Though new processes have greatly reduced consumption, there is still plenty of room for big savings in industrial uses of water.

这篇文章的List of Headings虽然年代有点久远,然而拿给同学做练习,也并不是做得很理想。大家可以看到这边所有的选项单词数都在四个单词之内,浓缩率相当之高。其中的Paragraph B很多人都选不对答案,很多人都选择了x.The consequences for agriculture, 因为整段话看起来都是在讲农业agriculture。他们自以为看懂了,实际上还是停留在“自以为”的阶段上。实际上就算只看本段首末,首两句告诉我们农业用水量非常大,尤其是灌溉;最后一句话也告诉我们在工业上用水还是存在很大节省的空间的(there is still plenty of room for big savings in industrial uses of water)。怎么也都不能选择x这个选项,因为该选项以偏概全了。可是剩下的选项分明都不对劲啊,连选项中的单词都没出现在段落中。这就是这道题的难点了,vi. The thirsty sectors很渴的区域?什么意思?农业用水量巨大、工业耗水量不小,这二者是不是很渴的区域呢?用水量很大不就是很渴吗?很需要水吗?但是很多同学刚看到这个选项根本就想不到这一点,更想不到B段能与该选项对应。

第三难:陷阱。雅思选择配对类题型的共性就是干扰项多,迷惑性大。如上文第二点浓缩中所举的例子中的i. American water withdrawal选项,就在该文章第一个段落中出现:

A. Per capita water usage has been on an upward trend for manyyears. As countries industrialize and their citizens become more prosperous, their individual water usage increases rapidly. Annual per capita water withdrawals in the USA, for example, are about 1,700 cubic metres, four times the level in China and fifty times the level in Ethiopia…

本道题有部分同学在讲解List of Headings解题方式和做题注意事项之前误把i. American water withdrawal当作正解,只因选项里的每个单词在段落中都有完美的印证。然而,认真看,美国人均用水量只是for example而已!试问例子又怎么能作大意使用呢?本段全段都在讨论人均用水量变大,其中提到了原因——工业化industrialize以及人民生活越来越美好their citizens become more prosperous。所以正解理应为ix. The demands of development发展的需要。

II. How to deal with it?

1. Paragraph first or headings first?

既然List of Headings这么难,那到底应该怎么处理它比较妥当呢?烤鸭坊间有两种传闻:一种说,既然考查的是段落大意,那么,就应该先不理会选项(省得先入为主、被迷惑),直接从文章入手,看段落,自己心里有个大意之后再对照选项,选出合适的heading;另一种观点则相反,觉得反正最终都要跟选项进行对应,还不如一开始就先看选项,划出定位词,然后再看段落,在看段落的过程中结合选项中的词,进行对比,选出恰当的答案。

这两种做法都有道理,在实际授课过程中也确实都有同学在运用,而且都有高手作代表。然而,个人还是更倾向于第二种做法(即从选项入手,再看文章),毕竟先看段落的话,不是所有同学都能迅速、准确地理解段落的内容的。而利用选项中的词去找段落中的对应词还算是有针对性,只不过我还是要将方法稍微改良一下。因为通常一篇雅思阅读文章都不会只有List of Headings这一种题型,而与之搭配的多为细节题(Multiple choice, TRUE /FALSE / NOT GIVEN, Sentence completion, Short-answer questions, Matching, Diagrams, 或者细节加主旨都考的Summary)。朗阁海外考试研究中心分析认为,做题的时候,先做细节题型后做主旨类的题型,会使得做题效率大大提升。因为细节做完之后或许可以直接推出该段的段落主旨;而先做主旨题,因为本身题目难度较大,极容易犯错误,就算主旨题做对,知道了该段的大意,也未必可以直接做出细节题。因为一段话中主旨只有一个,而细节却可以有N个。试想一下,以小见大容易还是以大推小容易?别忘了,在我们雅思阅读判断题中,以小见大多为TRUE, 以大推小通常为NOT GIVEN!这里的“大”指的是文章的大方向——主旨题,“小”则指各种细节题。举个例子,如果我们先知道以下的细节:这房间里的空调很旧;这房间里的地毯很脏;这房间里的空气很糟…… 我们一定可以推出这样的大意:大家对这房间的感觉都不太好。对吧?相反,如果我们先知道大意——大家对这个房间的评价不好,我们可以直接推出大家是不满意空调还是地毯还是空气还是别的什么东西吗?恐怕很难。

所以,笔者个人推荐先做其他题型,再来完成List of Headings!但是,我会先请同学们把headings,即备选选项都看一遍,划下相关核心词,划掉例子中选过的答案(范例中选过的选项其他段不会再选),然后去做文中除List of Headings之外的题型。在做其余题型的过程中,但凡出现选项中的相关重要词汇(含同义转换)就及时回Heading去对应、排除或确定,并不是说绝对都把Headings放在最后完成。

2. Features of Correct Answers

要想做对题,我们得弄清楚什么样的答案才是正确答案,这样才能有的放矢。因为List of Headings考查的是段落大意,所以正确答案必须同时具备以下两个特征:

(1). 选项中的所有关键词都应该在段落中出现

请注意,这里说的是所有关键词都要出现,而不是只出现其中的部分关键词。只出现部分关键词,另一些关键词缺失或是偷梁换柱都是干扰项的特征。当然,“出现”并不是一定要原词出现,也可以同义转换(如farming与agriculture),也可以只是体现到位(如farming与growing plants)等。

(2). 选项中的关键词必须是该段的重点词

就算选项里的所有定位词段落当中都有,也不能保证正确答案一定就是该选项,还必须保证该选项所提及的内容是整个段落讲解的核心内容。也就是说,必须具有概括性。因为如果只是段落中的细节,如举例,是绝对不能作为一个段落的Heading的。只见树木不见森林,也是错误选项的一大特征。

3. Topic Sentences

大多段落都有分明的结构关系:总分(演绎)、分总(归纳)或是总分总。所以段落的中心句一般都在段落的开头或者是结尾。当然,偶尔也有在段中或者没有中心句需要整段总体把握的情况发生。

那么怎么判断一个句子是不是中心句呢?朗阁海外考试研究中心的老师建议大家可以根据以下的一些信号词快速辨别中心句的位置:

(1). 转折、让步类信号词

转折:but, however, yet, nevertheless, nonetheless, in fact, actually, unfortunately, fortunately;

让步:despite, in spite of, although, even though, though, albeit

(2). 总结类信号词

in brief, in summary/ conclusion, as already stated/ mentioned/ talked/ said/ discussed…, to sum up, above all,

(3). 结果类信号词

as a result, consequently, therefore, hence, thus, in short, in a/ one word, for this season, resulting, so, as a consequence, lead to, result in, attribute to, contribute to, give rise to, bring about, generate, produce, breed, be responsible for等。

这三类信号词出现时,中心句基本都在该信号词后面。

(2). 举例信号词

for example, for instance, e.g., such as, like, take sth. for example

(3). 并列、递进类信号词

and, as well, also, besides, apart from, in addition, what’s more, furthermore, moreover

这两类信号词出现的时候,中心句一般都在这些信号词之前。

(4). 下定义信号词

be, be known as, be termed as, be called, be considered as, be regarded as, denote, be defined as, definition, so-called, be referred to as

(5). 强调类信号词

especially valuable, the most substantial issue, pay particular/ special attention to, a primary/ great/ serious concern, a key feature, important to note…, we have to emphasize here…

(6). 解释类信号词

what I mean is that…, this means, meaning, that is, namely, in other words

这三类信号词出现时,中心词基本都在这些信号词所在的本句话中,中心内容也围绕该词展开。

4. Three-step Cracking Strategy

通过以上中心句的判断方法,朗阁海外考试研究中心的老师建议大家做List of Headings题时可以根据以下三个步骤去判断:

(1). 段落的一二两句

段落的一二两句是中心句出现频率最高的地方,而之所以要看一二句而不是只看第一句是因为有时候第二句会来个急转折,使得整个段落的重心一下子压在第二句话之后。就算不转折,看第二句话也可以帮助判断第一句话是否就是中心句。比如:

Cambridge 9 Test 1 Passage 2 Paragraph 2

In discussing whether we are alone, most SETI scientists adopt two ground rules. First, UFOs…

就算后面的信息不看,我们也可以知道第一句话肯定就是中心句了。因为第二句话在延续第一句话的内容展开。

(2). 段落最后一句

如果一二两句看完了对段落大意还是没有什么头绪,那么就建议大家再看段落最后一句话,末句也是很有可能总结全段内容的。比如:

Cambridge 9 Test 2 Passage 3 Paragraph 1

… Briefly, an iconoclast is a person who does something that others say can’t be done.

(3). 段落剩余的句子

如果看了开头一二两句加上最后一句都没有办法选出合适的段落Heading,这时候就只好把剩余的句子都浏览一遍了。目前,较多考试的真题都需要大家整段浏览,才能得到正确答案。

不过,需要注意的是,既然我们在文章开头建议大家先做别的题型再来解决List of Headings,那么在做Headings的时候一般我们别的题型都已经基本完成了,只剩大意题。既然只要大意,那不管看哪个段落哪个句子,记住,只要看句子主干就可以了。这样会节省不少时间哦!

5. Sample Analysis

说了这么多,我们现在就来实践一下,比如:

Cambridge 8 Test 1 Passage 2 Air Traffic Control In The USA

List of Headings

i. Disobeying FAA regulations 违反FAA的规定

ii. Aviation disaster prompts action 空难促使行动

iii. Two coincidental developments 二种巧合的发展

iv. Setting altitude zones 设定空中(海拔)区域

v. An oversimplified view 一种过于简单的观点

vi. Controlling pilots’ licences 控制宇航员的执照

vii. Defining airspace categories 界定空中区域的类别

viii. Setting rules to weather conditions 根据天气状况设立规则

ix. Taking off safely 安全起飞

x. First steps towards ATC 航空交通管制的第一步

14. Paragraph A

Example

Paragraph B x

15. Paragraph C

16. Paragraph D

17. Paragraph E

18. Paragraph F

19. Paragraph G

本题中的Headings选项很短,选项中的每个词基本都是重要的定位词。建议大家把每个选项的意思读透(参考翻译见上文),这样的话做后面题型的时候不至于把前面所划的定位词全给忘了。而上文中Paragraph B已经选了x这个选项,所以直接可以把该选项剔除掉。

然后像我们前文提过的,大家不必急着看段落做List of Headings!可以直接到文章后面去看另一个题型——TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN,先完成20-26的判断题。因为20-26的判断题也是考查本篇文章,也都要出现在文中各个段落。那么做完了20-26题,是不是会对段落的大意起到一定的作用呢?让我们一同来见证一下:

Question 20. The FAA was created as a result of the introduction of the jet engine.

对应答案句:

Paragraph A An accident that occurred in the skies over the Grand Canyon in 1956 resulted in the establishment of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate and oversee …

分析:本题考查的是FAA诞生的原因,原文说的是因为空难才导致了美国空中管制,而题目说的是因为喷射式发动机的出现才有了FAA,明显不对。

那做完了这一题,有没有觉得前面看过的Headings其中一个选项完美重叠本题内容——ii 空难导致行动,这边的行动指的当然是空中管制了。答案是不是基本就敲定了?如果不放心,也可以再快速浏览下A段剩余的句子(其实也就剩下一句了),也能找到答案。

大家怀疑是巧合吗?那我们再来看几道题吧!

Question 23. Some improvements were made in radio communication during World War II.

对应答案句:

Paragraph C. In the 1940s, ATC centres could and did take advantage of the newly developed radar and improved radio communication brought about by the Second World War, but the system remained rudimentary.

分析:本题定位很简单,考查的是在二战期间无线电通讯技术是否有取得一些进展。原文对应句说的是在二十世纪四十年代,空中管制中心可以利用新开发的雷达技术和第二次世界大战改进过了的无线电交流技术,但是该系统依然很落后。由此可见,二战期间无线电通讯技术应该是有了一些长进。所以该题答案为TRUE。

这题做完之后,大家观察下前面看过的Headings, iii选项中有个developments与题目中的improvements是近义词吧?当然做Headings不能这么粗略地选择,但是我们心里有了怀疑对象,那就再尝试拿选项中的其他内容去段落中进行对照,选项中的two coincidental developments两个偶然/巧合的发展,段落总共就两句话:第一句讲了23题中考查到的雷达和无线电交流技术的进步,第二句则提到了由此导致的空中管制系统以及喷射式发动机的出现,而且还点出了this was fortuitous这是很偶然的。就算同学看不懂fortuitous这个词,应该也可以猜出15题正解确实是iii了。

Questions 24-26

Question 24 Class F airspace is airspace which is below 365m and not near airports.

Question 25 All aircraft in Class E airspace must use IFR.

Question 26 A pilot entering Class C airspace is flying over an average-sized city.

这三道题对应的段落都是G段,做完了这三题,考生会发现G段出现最多的词就是Class,放眼望去,基本都是这个词。是不是呢?class这个词有类别的意思,跟我们前面看过的heading选项vii中的categories是同义词,而且段落中的Class A, Class C, Class D, Class E等等是不是反映了题目中的categories这个复数呢?那答案十有八九就是它了。不放心的话首句再看一下:Controlled airspace is divided into several different types, designated by letters of the alphabet. 答案再确定不过了,是不是一箭双雕?做出了判断,同时就能推测出段落大意了。

而Question 24中又跨段考查信息,涉及到Paragraph E段的内容。做完了判断题,大家会发现E段主要对应24题中Class F的离机场远近及离地面的高度问题,尤其是段中出现了好几个高度区间,如“… from 365m above the ground and higher…”, “…extends down to 215m above the ground…”以及“…below 365m…”特别引人注目。所以认识选项iv中“altitude zones”——海拔区域的同学应该都会注意到这个选项与E段存在的联系。谨慎一下,再与文中首末句做下对比,就没什么太大异议了。

那么现在,有没有发现我们已经利用两种题型之间的联系,在做判断题的同时做出了好几题List of Headings呢?Paragraph A, C, E, G我们都不需要另外再花什么时间去做了对不对?

可是还剩下Paragraph D and F, 怎么办?请记住,不可能所有题目都是有关联的。遇到与其他题目都毫无关联的题目也是很正常的,我们需要利用前面提过的“Three-step Strategy三步法”另作处理。

首先,我们先看D段的一二两句:”Many people think that ATC consists of a row of controllers sitting in front of their radar screens at the nation’s airports, telling arriving and departing traffic what to do. This is a very incomplete part of the picture. …”很明显这两句话一句说观点,一句在点评,而且这个点评还不是很积极。出现了incomplete这个否定词,这样一来,与我们选项v. An oversimplified view是不是极为吻合?

至于F段,也是很典型的总分结构。一二两句也道出了主要大意——“The FAA then recognized two types of operating environments. In good meteorological conditions, flying would be permitted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which suggests a strong reliance on visual cues to maintain an acceptable level of safety. …”operating environments航行的环境除了指天气还能指什么呢?果然,第二句话就开始讲meteorological conditions气象条件。当然,看不懂meteorological conditions的同学就只能多费些功夫,把段落剩下的信息再分析分析了。在段中还是有”on a clear day”这样的信息与前两句紧密相连的。应该也不难选出viii. Setting rules to weather conditions这个选项了。

III. Categories of ‘List of Headings’

List of Headings从形式上来说,主要分为两种:1. 单段Heading(我也把它称作Paragraph Heading), 如前文例子——Cambridge 8 Test 1 Passage 2, 也就是每一道题目都只针对一个段落;2. 多段Heading, 也就是Section Heading, 某些section里不止有一个段落,如Cambridge 7 Test 2 Passage 3 Makete Integrated Rural Transport Project。这篇文章中的A, B, C, D, F段都不止一段,而E段则只有一段。

雅思阅读考试大多数还是考查单段heading的,不过单段和多段headings这两种形式做题思路并无太大分别。单段Heading建议大家就按上文提到的三步骤去做,而多段因为除首段外,还需要照顾到其他段落的内容,则建议大家每部分首段以三步骤去完成,而其余段落则看开头两句,二者相加即是答案。

IV. The Summing-up

从难度上来说,List of Headings题算是比较费时也考验大家理解能力的一个题型。其干扰项很有迷惑性,而且因为该题型答案不会重复,故选过的答案大家就会划掉。那么一旦选错,就可能导致接连错误的现象发生。所以,朗阁海外考试研究中心的老师建议各位考生,在答案还未完全确定之前,切莫轻易划除任何选项。任何有可能的选项都应该先写在旁边以待检验。

雅思阅读模拟题:THE GAP of INGENUITY 2

THE GAP of INGENUITY 2

Ingenuity, as I define it here, consists not only of ideas for new technologies like computers or drought-resistant crops but, more fundamentally, of ideas for better institutions and social arrangements, like efficient markets and competent governments.

How much and what kinds of ingenuity a society requires depends on a range of factors, including the society's goals and the circumstances within which it must achieve those goals——whether it has a young population or an aging one, an abundance of natural resources or a scarcity of them, an easy climate or a punishing one, whatever the case may be.

How much and what kinds of ingenuity a society supplies also depends on many factors, such as the nature of human inventiveness and understanding, the rewards an economy gives to the producers of useful knowledge, and the strength of political opposition to social and institutional reforms.

A good supply of the right kind of ingenuity is essential, but it isn't, of course, enough by itself. We know that the creation of wealth, for example, depends not only on an adequate supply of useful ideas but also on the availability of other, more conventional factors of production, like capital and labor. Similarly, prosperity, stability and justice usually depend on the resolution, or at least the containment, of major political struggles over wealth and power. Yet within our economics ingenuity often supplants labor, and growth in the stock of physical plant is usually accompanied by growth in the stock of ingenuity. And in our political systems, we need great ingenuity to set up institutions that successfully manage struggles over wealth and power. Clearly, our economic and political processes are intimately entangled with the production and use of ingenuity.

The past century’s countless incremental changes in our societies around the planet, in our technologies and our interactions with our surrounding natural environments have accumulated to create a qualitatively new world. Because these changes have accumulated slowly, It’s often hard for us to recognize how profound and sweeping they've. They include far larger and denser populations; much higher per capita consumption of natural resources; and far better and more widely available technologies for the movement of people, materials, and especially information.

In combination, these changes have sharply increased the density, intensity, and pace of our inter actions with each other; they have greatly increased the burden we place on our natural environment; and they have helped shift power from national and international institutions to individuals and subgroups, such as political special interests and ethnic factions.

As a result, people in all walks of life-from our political and business leaders to all of us in our day-to-day——must cope with much more complex, urgent, and often unpredictable circumstances. The management of our relationship with this new world requires immense and ever-increasing amounts of social and technical ingenuity. As we strive to maintain or increase our prosperity and improve the quality of our lives, we must make far more sophisticated decisions, and in less time, than ever before.

When we enhance the performance of any system, from our cars to the planet's network of financial institutions, we tend to make it more complex. Many of the natural systems critical to our well-being, like the global climate and the oceans, are extraordinarily complex to begin with. We often can't predict or manage the behavior of complex systems with much precision, because they are often very sensitive to the smallest of changes and perturbations, and their behavior can flip from one mode to another suddenly and dramatically. In general, as the human-made and natural systems we depend upon become more complex, and as our demands on them increase, the institutions and technologies we use to manage them must become more complex too, which further boosts our need for ingenuity.

The good news, though, is that the last century's stunning changes in our societies and technologies have not just increased our need for ingenuity; they have also produced a huge increase in its supply. The growth and urbanization of human populations have combined with astonishing new communication and transportation technologies to expand interactions among people and produce larger, more integrated, and more efficient markets. These changes have, in turn, vastly accelerated the generation and delivery of useful ideas.

But—and this is the critical "but"——we should not jump to the conclusion that the supply of ingenuity always increases in lockstep with our ingenuity requirement: While it's true that necessity is often the mother of invention, we can't always rely on the right kind of ingenuity appearing when and where we need it. In many cases, the complexity and speed of operation of today's vital economic, social, arid ecological systems exceed the human brains grasp. Very few of us have more than a rudimentary understanding of how these systems work. They remain fraught with countless "unknown unknowns," which makes it hard to supply the ingenuity we need to solve problems associated with these systems.

In this book, explore a wide range of other factors that will limit our ability to supply the ingenuity required in the coming century. For example, many people believe that new communication technologies strengthen democracy and will make it easier to find solutions to our societies' collective problems, but the story is less clear than it seems. The crush of information in our everyday lives is shortening our attention span, limiting the time we have to reflect on critical matters of public policy, and making policy arguments more superficial.

Modern markets and science are an important part of the story of how we supply ingenuity. Markets are critically important, because they give entrepreneurs an incentive to produce knowledge. As for science, although it seems to face no theoretical limits, at least in the foreseeable future, practical constraints often slow its progress. The cost of scientific research tends to increase as it delves deeper into nature. And science's rate of advance depends on the characteristic of the natural phenomena it investigates, simply because some phenomena are intrinsically harder to understand than others, so the production of useful new knowledge in these areas can be very slow. Consequently, there is often a critical time lag between the recognition between a problem and the delivery of sufficient ingenuity, in the form of technologies, to solve that problem. Progress in the social sciences is especially slow, for reasons we don't yet understand; but we desperately need better social scientific knowledge to build the sophisticated institutions today’s world demands.

Questions:

Complete each sentence with the appropriate answer, A, B, C, or D

Write the correct answer in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

27 The definition of ingenuity

28 The requirement for ingenuity

29 The creation of social wealth

30 The stability of society

A depends on many factors including climate.

B depends on the management and solution of disputes.

C is not only of technological advance, but more of institutional renovation.

D also depends on the availability of some traditional resources.

Question 31-33

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

Write your answers in boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet.

31 What does the author say about the incremental change of the last 100 years?

A It has become a hot scholastic discussion among environmentalists.

B Its significance is often not noticed.

C It has reshaped the natural environments we live in.

D It benefited a much larger population than ever.

32 The combination of changes has made life.

A easier

B faster

C slower

D less sophisticated

33 What does the author say about the natural systems?

A New technologies are being developed to predict change with precision.

B Natural systems are often more sophisticated than other systems.

C Minor alterations may cause natural systems to change dramatically.

D Technological developments have rendered human being more independent of natural systems.

Question 34-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true

NO if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

34 The demand for ingenuity has been growing during the past 100 years.

35 The ingenuity we have may be inappropriate for solving problems at hand.

36 There are very few who can understand the complex systems of the present world.

37 More information will help us to make better decisions.

38 The next generation will blame the current government for their conduct.

39 Science tends to develop faster in certain areas than others.

40 Social science develops especially slowly because it is not as important as natural science.

(转第二页)

文章题目:The Gap of Ingenuity2

篇章结构

体裁:论说文

题目:创新的空白2

结构:(一句话概括每段大意)

A段:创新的定义

B段:一个社会需要多少创造及哪种创造,取决于多种因素

C段:一个社会能提供多少或何种创造,同样取决于多种因素

D段:充足优质的创造非常重要,但是还不够

E段:这些年来发生了很多重大改变,但是整个改变过程比较慢,人们可能没意识到它们有多重要

F段:改变使人们之间的互动变得多了,压力变得大了,环境被破坏了

G段:呼吁人们做出精准的抉择

H段:控制生存体系的制度和科技增强对创意的需求

I段:社会与科技的变革加速了创意时代的解放思想

J段:对于经济、社会、生态系统的未知使人们很难创造充足的创意解决问题

K段:新世纪中限制人们设计创意能力的各种因素

L段:现代市场和科学是创意设计的重要组成成分

参考译文:

创新过程的空白

创造,就像笔者在这里定义的一样,不仅仅指那些关于计算机、抗早作物之类的新科技的构想,更重要的是指那些关于优化制度和社会安排的思想,例如高效市场、法定 政府等。

一个社会需要多少创造及哪种创造,取决于多种因素,包括社会目标和达成这些社会目标时所处的社会环境一一无论它是年轻型社会还是老龄化社会:是自然物资丰富或是物资匮乏;是气候宜人或气候恶劣。

一个社会能提供多少或何种创造,同样取决于众多因素,例如人类创造和理解的本性、 有用知识的制造者所获得的经济回报、以及社会制度改革的政治反对派的力量等。

充足优质的创造非常重要,当然这还不够。例如,我们知道财富的创造不仅取决于充足 的、有价值的创意,还需要更多其他传统生产因素,如资本和劳动力。同样,繁荣、稳定、公正通常取决于对财富和权力的重大政治斗争的决议,或者至少是针对它们的遏制政策。然而目前,我们的经济创意常常将劳动力排挤在外,随着创意的增长,机器设备实体通常也随之增长。在现有的政治体系中,我们需要更多的创意来建设社会制度,从而成功地管控财富和权力斗争。很明显,我们的经济政治进程正紧密地与这些创意产物 结合在一起。

过去的一个世纪中,在我们的整个社会范围、科技领域和我们与周围自然环境的互动中产生的不计其数并不断增加的变化,己经积累到了足以创造一个高品质的新世界。由于这些变化是慢慢积累起来的,所以我们通常很难认识到它们所影响的深度与广度。这些变化波及了更广泛、更密集的人群,它们使得人均自然资源消耗变得更高,并提供了更有效、更广泛的交通运输技术,尤其是信息传播技术。

总的来说,这些变化已经大大增加了我们彼此互动的深度、强度和速度:但也显著增加 了人类对自然环境造成的负担;同时也促使人类社会将权力从国家和国际组织转移到 个人和群体组织中,例如特殊政治利益和民族派别。

因此,来自不同领域的人们——从政治经济领袖到我们日常生活中的普通人——必须 应对更为复杂、紧迫、甚至不可预料的社会环境。我们需要大量的、不断增长的社会和 技术创新来处理我们与新世界的关系。当人类努力保持或增强社会繁荣、提高生活质量时,我们必须在比以往更短的时间内做出更精确的决策。

从汽车到环球金融网络,我们再提升任何一个体系的效能时,都会不由自主地把它复杂化。人类赖以生存的自然环境体系通常也是相当复杂的,例如全球气候和海洋。由于这些复杂体系对微小扰动极其敏感,系统表现可以从一种模式急剧切换到另一种模式,所以人类很难精确预测它们的各种变化。通常,当我们赖以生存的人造体系和自然体系越来越复杂时,当我们对这些生存体系的要求越来越多时,我们用来控制这些体系的制度和科技也会越来越复杂,而这则会进一步增强我们对创意的需求。

好消息是,在社会与技术发生巨大变革的上个世纪中,我们不进增加了对创意的需求, 也创造出了大量的创意.随着人口的增加、城市化进程的加速,新的通讯和物流技术也迅速增长,这大大拓展了人与人之间的交流,并催生了更广泛、更综合、更高效的市场: 反过来,这些变化在很大程度上也加速了这个创意时代的思潮解放。

但是——用批判的眼光来看——我们不能直接得出结论说,我们的创意能一直跟上需求的脚步:虽然说需求是创造之母,但我们不能总指望在我们有需要的时候,恰好就有相应的创造产生。今天,在许多情况中,经济、社会、生态系统运转的复杂性和速度, 都远远超出了人类大脑的应变范围。大部分人对这些系统的运转原理都知之甚少,人们仍然充满了数不胜数的“未知的未知”,这些未知使得人们很难创造出充足的创意来解决生活体系中的种.种问题。

本书中,笔者研究分析了那些可能在新世纪中制约我们设计创意能力的各种因素。例如,许多人认为新的信息技术增强了社会民主性,并使得人们解决社会群体事件变得更容易,但事实似乎并非如此.日常生活中的信息拥塞反而分散了我们的注意力,减少了 人们对公共政治等重要事件的思考时间,并使得政治观点更加表面化。

现代市场和科学是我们创意设计的重要组成部分。市场的重要性在于,它为企业家创造 知识提供了经济动力。对于科学来说,尽管似乎没什么理论限制,但在实践环节上的制约会减缓科学的实现进程,至少在今后一段时间内都会如此。随着科学研究的深入, 其成本也在逐渐上升。同时,科学的进步速率取决于人们研究的自然现象的特征,有些现象或领域就是比其他的现象或领域难,所以这些领域中的知识进步会非常缓慢。因此,在人们发现问题到提供解决问题的创意或技术之间,通常会有一段很长的滞后期。由于某些未知的原因,社会科学的进步尤其缓慢:但我们迫切需要更好的社会科学理论,以 建立起符合现代世界需求的庞大制度体系。


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