雅思閱讀進階策略
精品階段的學生通常具有大學英語CET4 及以上水平，這個階段的學生往往具備一定的應試能力，也有相應的自信心，但通常距離自己的目標分數還有一定的距離，相當一部分學生的英語學習狀態進入瓶頸階段，不知道接下來該怎麼努力。本文中，將就解決這一問題的策略進行探討，並期待拋磚引玉，與學生和老師們共同研討。
雅思閱讀進階策略
一、關於有效閱讀
人們閱讀時往往停留在剛開始學習閱讀時的狀態，所學得的技巧是如何讀“詞”，瞭解詞義對於理解文章是必需的，但是不夠的。要想進行更有效地閱讀，還必須採取另一個層次的閱讀方式，即閱讀文章的內容和結構，這是由於雅思閱讀考試的考覈目標除了對文章細節的理解能力以外，還有對文章綜合大意的把握能力，換言之，考察學生閱讀文章的方式和理解文章的能力。因此，考生不能僅滿足於詞彙的知曉，還應注意培養閱讀時從大處着眼，高屋建瓴，從文章結構來加強對整體大意理解的能力。
二、瞭解文章結構
瞭解文章結構對提高閱讀效率非常必要，但實力不夠強的考生達到這個目標還需要多加練習。
在劍橋雅思系列文章中，有一種實驗類文章經常會在真題中出現。例如劍V系列的Test 1中的Passage 2, Nature or Nurture, 該文選自Paradigms Lost, 在講述此次試驗的過程中，一步步展示出文章結構，文章寫作思路相當清晰，遵循了‘話題引入 – 介紹試驗宗旨 / 目的— 試驗操作— 預計結果— 公佈結果— 討論/分析 – 展望 / 提出新的課題 ’的線索，如果考生能夠體會到這樣的結構，無疑會使應對後面的問題變得輕鬆。不僅判斷題的信息所在位置變得明確，而且對於考生普遍畏懼的段落標題配對題也會提升正確率。
事實上不僅實驗類文章如此，其他如說明類，議論類都有內在的規律可以遵循，只要考生善於思考，勤於練習，就一定會有收穫。
三、概括句子大意
備考雅思的學生一定會對閱讀文章中出現的長難句留有深刻的印象。由於文章是建立在專業基礎上針對非專業學生的閱讀，所以其學術化，句子偏長也就在所難免了。然而考試時間緊，題目多，壓力大，對於長難句若沒有解決策略，將使考生感覺雪上加霜。
那麼，如何提高對於長難句的理解能力呢?
練習讓長難句減肥，抽取主幹成分的有效信息來概括句子大意是行之有效的方法之一。
通常可以將位於句子不同位置的修飾成分去掉，一般爲定語，狀語，補語以及插入語等，而保留主幹成分的主語，謂語，賓語結構，以簡化句子結構，利於理解。但是需注意，要聯繫上下文，若不能通順，則要將原來句子中的一些修飾成分逐一補回，說明其中的某些修飾成分如定語，狀語是語義表達的核心。
如果在操作過程中出現了對句子成分的模糊或不理解，要儘快補足語法上的欠缺，主要是句子成分方面的知識點。
四、識別文章類型
閱讀真題中出現頻率較高的三種文章類型分別爲描述型，闡釋原因型以及論述結果型。考生要訓練自己在閱讀中辨別所讀文章屬於哪種類型，以更好地瞭解作者的寫作意圖，利於解題。
雅思閱讀材料大集合：學校能擅自給孩子吃藥嗎?
Should schools give children medicine without parental permission?
未經家長允許，學校能給孩子吃藥嗎?
That's the question that has been reverberating in parental circles across China after news emerged that a string of kindergartens were allegedly dispensing antiviral drugs without parents' consent.
這個問題最近在中國的家長圈子裏激起層層漣漪，導火索是中國多所幼兒園被指在未獲得家長允許的情況下向兒童分發抗病毒藥物。
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that four kindergarten programs--two in Xian in western Shaanxi province, one in central Hubei and another in northeastern Jilin--have been shut due to the problem, with some parents saying their children were suffering from leg pains, nosebleeds and genital inflammation after taking the medicine.
據中國官方媒體新華社報道，四所幼兒園因相關問題被關閉，其中兩所位於中國西部 西省西安市、一所位於華中的湖北省，還有一所在東北的吉林省，一些家長說，他們的孩子在服藥後出現腿痛、流鼻血、生殖器腫脹等症狀。
Authorities are investigating the matter, and three people in Jilin have been detained in connection with the allegations, Xinhua said. Five others from schools in Xian have also been detained, Xinhua said.
新華社說，有關當局正在調查此事，吉林已有三人被拘捕。新華社說，西安幼兒園也有五人被拘捕。
The issue came to light Friday, after one parent in Xian found her daughter had brought home a prescription flu pill. Other cases came to light as the news spread.
這起事件在上週五曝光，當時西安一名家長髮現女兒將一片處方感冒藥帶回了家。隨着消息擴散，其他事例也被曝光。
Xinhua says that money appears to be a motivating factor. Some parents believe the schools were trying to ward off sickness to ensure students didn't take sick days, it said. Many private kindergartens and preschools in China charge by the number of days students attend school, so fewer sick days equals more money for the teachers.
新華社報道說，驅使幼兒園這樣做的原因似乎是金錢。報道稱，一些家長認爲，幼兒園的目的是防止孩子生病缺勤。中國許多幼兒園都是按孩子入園的天數收費，因此減少病假缺勤天數就意味着教師能有更多收入。
Others have cited the fact that there is no law prohibiting the practice as a contributing factor.
還有人認爲，沒有法律明文禁止這種行爲也是造成這一結果的因素之一。
'Although their actions were wrong, there is no ban based on law. In other words, it's not illegal for an immoral kindergarten to give children unauthorized medications,' Li Jing, the deputy head of Beijing's private Sunny High Scope Kindergarten told the China Daily.
北京私立的陽光高瞻國際幼兒園教師李靜對《中國日報》說，雖然他們的行爲不對，但法律沒有明文禁止;換句話說，不道德的幼兒園未經允許就給孩子吃藥並不違法。
The drugs given to students are cheap, just a few cents per pill, said Justin Wang, a partner and director in the Shanghai office of consultancy L.E.K. Consulting LLC, and economic incentives were likely high enough to convince teachers to take the risk.
諮詢公司L.E.K. Consulting LLC上海辦事處合夥人兼主管王景燁(Justin Wang)說，幼兒園給孩子吃的藥很便宜，一片才幾分錢，而經濟刺激可能足夠高，讓老師願意冒這個險。
Parents of school-age children say schools in China typically require parental consent before administering medication. However, health practices in China's education system vary drastically from the U.S. Some Chinese schools get parental consent to conduct health checks that involve procedures like blood and urine tests; school health checks in the U.S. are often limited to screenings for eyesight, lice and scoliosis.
學齡兒童的家長說，學校在組織用藥前通常會徵求家長同意。但中國教育系統的衛生保健做法與美國迥異。一些中國學校會在徵得家長同意後進行涉及血液和尿液檢測的體檢，而美國的學校體檢通常僅限於視力、蝨子和脊柱側彎的篩查。
Many parents in China say schools frequently inform them when their children are sick and before performing health checks. Still, schools usually provide only scant information, said Elaine Wang, a mother of two children in local Beijing schools.
很多中國家長說，在孩子生病時和接受體檢前，學校經常會通知他們。有兩個孩子在北京當地上學的Elaine Wang說，但學校通常只提供有限的信息。
'They inform you that there will be a health screening, but they don't say what happens during those screenings,' Ms. Wang said.
Wang說，他們會通知你孩子需要體檢，但不會告訴你體檢過程中具體會發生什麼。
雅思閱讀材料大集合：男士美容保養
LAST NOVEMBER, my female co-workers at The Wall Street Journal discovered that the sole product I used on my face was soap. Their reaction to this mundane revelation wasn't all that nice. They began calling me 'the man who doesn't moisturize.' As in, 'Would you ask the man who doesn't moisturize if I can borrow his stapler?'
去年11月，我在《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)的女同事發現了我用在臉上的唯一產品是香皂。對於這個平淡無奇的發現，她們的反應並不那麼友好。她們開始叫我“不用保溼霜的男人”。比如她們會說，“你能問問那個不用保溼霜的男人，我能借他的訂書機用一下嗎?”
One of our style editors took pity. 'You've never moisturized?' she asked gently. 'I don't remember,' I admitted. Judging by her expression, she graciously decided to assume I had amnesia. 'Well, we'll have to do something about that,' she said. And so began my eye-opening, skin-altering, brain-addling, four-month adventure in the world of male beauty regimens.
我們的一個時尚編輯表示同情。她輕聲問道：“你從沒做過保溼嗎?”我承認：“我不記得了。”從表情來看，她優雅地斷定我有健忘症。她說：“好吧，我們得做點兒什麼。”於是我開始了歷時四個月在男士美容世界裏大開眼界和脫胎換骨的腦補探險旅程。
First, a little background. It isn't that I am unaware of the guy-beauty industrial complex. I know, for instance, that Clinique basically started it all with its pioneering men's skin-care line in 1976--a program it's relaunching this month. According to Jenny Belknap, vice president of global treatment marketing, the relaunch was triggered by the company's discovery that, while women traditionally bought the men's products for their husbands and sons, 'we firmly understand that now men are buying for themselves.' To make the line more male-friendly and less boggling, Clinique is cutting back from 25 products to 19 and shortening product names. Not that men seem all that intimidated by skin care: According to Mintel, a Chicago-based market research group, 63% of guys 25-34 report that they use moisturizer.
首先介紹一點背景。我並非不知道男士美容的產業聯盟。比如我知道倩碧(Clinique)基本上是靠它1976年首創的男士護膚系列發展起來的――本月又即將重新推出。其全球護膚業務營銷副總裁珍妮貝爾納普(Jenny Belknap)表示，這次重新推出是因爲公司發現，雖然過去都是女性爲丈夫和兒子購買男士產品，但“我們堅信，現在男士們都是自己購買”。爲了讓這個系列對男性更加友好而且更容易讓人接受，倩碧把產品數量從25件減到了19件，並且縮短了產品的名字。並不是所有男士都對護膚感到畏懼：據芝加哥市場研究機構英敏特(Mintel)調查，25歲至34歲的男士中，有63%的人稱自己使用保溼霜。
Though I am legitimately hazy regarding my own historic moistness levels, I did go through an exceptionally vain phase in my mid-to-late 20s, a couple of decades ago. I had a Manhattan stylist renowned as the 'King of Blondes' highlight my hair, whose natural color suggests a particularly lackluster mouse. I visited a Mexican spa where a bored local woman rolled me in seaweed as if fashioning a giant joint. I spent wads of money on stress-relieving massages, including one that concluded abruptly when the theretofore silent, aged Asian masseur stopped kneading my right shoulder and shrieked, 'The wing is broken! The wing is broken! It cannot carry the child!'
儘管我對自己臉部的溼度情況一直不清不楚，但幾十年前，在我25到30歲之間那幾年，我的確經歷過花時間 飭的階段。當時被譽爲“金髮之王”(King of Blondes)的一位曼哈頓造型師給我做了頭髮挑染，我本身的自然髮色就像一隻毫無生氣的老鼠。我去了一家墨西哥水療中心，一個百無聊賴的當地女人用海草把我捲起來，就像卷一支巨大的大麻煙。我花了大把錢在緩解壓力的按摩上，包括那次遇見一個上了年紀的亞洲男按摩師。他默默揉捏着我的右肩，突然停下來尖叫道：“翅膀斷了!翅膀斷了!它沒法帶幼仔了!”那次按摩就意外結束了。
I remember at one point growing convinced that my boss was monitoring my under-eye puffiness, but, soon after, I regained my equilibrium. My grooming routine was gradually reduced to: unscented Dove soap, Barbasol shaving foam, interchangeable drugstore shampoos and some despised hair gel that made me feel like one of those oil-coated ducks blinking in the aftermath of the E_on Valdez disaster.
我記得有段時間我堅信老闆在觀察我浮腫的眼袋，但不久後我重新找到了平衡。我的日常梳洗用品逐漸縮減成：無香型多芬(Dove)香皂，Barbasol剃鬚泡沫，各個牌子的超市洗髮水，還有被人鄙視的髮膠，這款髮膠讓我覺得自己是埃克森?瓦爾迪茲號(E_on Valdez)漏油事件發生後，滿身油光閃閃的鴨羣裏的一員。
So, naturally, I was wary when the aforementioned style editor dumped a box of skin-care and grooming product samples on my desk: 'We'll start with these,' she said. 'You'll use four products at night and eight in the morning.' I nervously mentioned that I didn't live in an alternate universe where mornings last 107 hours. 'Just get up earlier,' she said.
所以很自然的，在上文中提到的時尚編輯把一盒護膚和梳洗產品小樣扔到我桌上時，我非常謹慎。她說：“我們先從這些開始。晚上你要用四種產品，早晨用八種。”我緊張地提到我並不是生活在早晨有107小時的另一個宇宙。她說：“那就起早點。”
In the shower the next day, I washed my hair with my new Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo, a pricey Italian product designed to rehabilitate messed-up hair, and immediately felt like some dapper Milanese guy who eats oddly shaped pizzas and whose apartment is full of strange, half-size appliances. Next, I used Clark's Botanicals Face Wash (a soothing, mild, herbal goop) and shaved my face with what appeared to be pink icing, but was really a premium rose-scented cream from the storied British company Geo. F. Trumper. Next came a spray toner, an antiaging serum and the pivotal moisturizer (mine came from the Jack Black brand). Then I did a few jumping jacks to maintain my stamina and applied an age-combatting smidge of La Mer Eye Concentrate under each peeper using the complementary wand. (Wands? Arguably manly in wake of Harry Potter phenomenon? Discuss.)
第二天早晨洗澡時，我用新的Davines Love Smoothing洗髮水洗了頭髮，這是一款價格昂貴的意大利產品，專門修復受損頭髮。洗了以後我立刻覺得自己像是一個衣冠楚楚的米蘭人，吃着奇形怪狀的披薩，公寓裏全是奇怪的小型家電。接着我用Clark's植物潔面乳(一種舒緩溫和的草藥黏液)洗臉， 然後用一種看似像粉色糖霜但實際上來自知名英國公司Geo. F. Trumper的高級玫瑰香剃鬚膏刮鬍子。接下來是爽膚水噴霧和抗衰老乳液，還有關鍵的保溼霜(我用的牌子是Jack Black)。接着我做了幾組開合跳保持活力，然後用附送的魔法棒在每隻眼睛的下眼瞼塗了點 La Mer抗衰老眼霜精華。(魔法棒?哈利?波特(Harry Potter)現象後應該算是男子氣的裝備了吧?可以討論一下。)
Finally, I groomed my hair with Baxter of California Soft Water Pomade, which gave my hair the texture of a mink pelt, but was still a bit greasy for my taste.
最後，我在頭髮上抹了點Baxter of California軟水發膏，讓我的頭髮有了光華毛皮的質地，但對我來說還是有點油。
I walked to the subway feeling fresh and tingly and evangelical about the value of taking time to value oneself. I also felt a little like Patrick Bateman, the murderous skin care devotee from 'American Psycho,' but was too busy caressing my curiously soft face to brood on that. Upon reaching the subway 15 minutes later, I realized that, in my heady self-absorption, I'd forgotten my wallet. I felt less evangelical running home again.
我走到地鐵站，覺得很清爽，對於花時間珍惜自己的價值也感到很興奮。我還覺得自己有點像帕特里克?貝特曼(Patrick Bateman)，就是《美國精神病人》(American Psycho)裏熱衷護膚的殺人狂，但我忙着撫摸我那異常柔軟的臉，無暇去思考這些。15分鐘後到達地鐵站時，我意識到，自我陶醉讓我忘記了拿錢包。再折回家時我的熱情就沒那麼高漲了。
By day three, the tingliness had given way to a burning sensation around my jaw. Was this my choice: To feel youthful but on fire versus old and content? The culprit turned out to be the rose shaving cream, which the style editor replaced with Proraso Shaving Foam for 'pelli sensibili' (sensitive skin). After carefully testing this amazing product, I can honestly tell you that it's fun to say 'pelli sensibili' repeatedly in a heavy Italian accent.
到第三天，那種興奮感消失了，取而代之的是下巴周圍的灼燒感。我需要做出選擇：是覺得年輕但有刺痛感還是覺得老而滿足?罪魁禍首原來是那支玫瑰剃鬚膏，時尚編輯把它換成了敏感肌膚(pelli sensibili)適用的Proraso剃鬚膏。小心翼翼地對這款不可思議的產品進行試用後，我可以老實告訴你，用濃重的意大利口音重複說“pelli sensibili”很有意思。
And so it went. As I continued my regimen, either my skin improved visibly or my colleagues formed a vast conspiracy that required them to gush about my face. I asked non-coworker friends if they noticed anything different about me, but they were stumped and resistant to broad hints. Still I could swear that, in a certain group photo taken at a steakhouse about seven weeks into my program, I look like a cast member of a teen drama on the CW Network: weirdly lineless, buoyant, possibly a vampire.
於是我繼續用這些東西。隨着護膚的持續，要麼我的皮膚有了明顯改善，要麼就是我的同事串通好了對我的臉進行議論。我問非同事的朋友有沒有注意到我有什麼異樣，但他們都很爲難，不願意給出提示。不過我仍然可以斷定，護膚計劃進行七週左右，在某家牛排餐廳所拍的某張合照裏，我看起來肯定像是哥倫比亞及華納兄弟聯合電視網(CW network)某部青春偶像劇裏的演員：皺紋出奇的少，光彩照人，像極了吸血鬼。
By week 12, long after my co-workers had acclimatized to the undocumented miracle that was my face, I was bored by my regimen's demands and losing my motivation. I decided to tempt fate by subbing out my original, conventional moisturizer for Clinique's new Oil-Control Mattifying Moisturizer. Life so seldom offers opportunities to be 'mattified' that it seemed worth the risk. But, although the product left my skin powder-dry and Botox-taut, I was still feeling restless.
到第12周，在同事們早就習慣我臉上潛移默化的奇蹟後，我對護膚計劃的要求產生了厭倦，失去了動力。我決定冒險把倩碧新型控油保溼霜換成原來的傳統保溼霜。生活提供“被控油”的機會太少了，所以我似乎值得冒這個險。不過，雖然這款產品讓我的皮膚乾爽緊繃，但我仍然覺得不安。
The style editor decided we needed to seriously up the ante and helped me book a facial with celebrity youthifier Tracie Martyn, who's rejuvenated Brad Pitt, Alan Rickman and Madonna. When I arrived at Ms. Martyn's Fifth Avenue penthouse studio, I was taken aback by the estrogen-y décor, which is entirely lavender and white with gauzy curtains that should properly be billowing in a strong breeze. A Borzoi would not be out of place. I was told that I'd been squeezed in between Diane von Furstenberg and a businessman who'd just run a marathon.
時尚編輯認爲我們需要下更大的血本，她幫我預定了明星煥膚專家特蕾西?馬丁(Tracie Martyn)的面部護理。馬丁爲布拉德?皮特(Brad Pitt)、艾倫?裏克曼(Alan Rickman)和麥當娜(Madonna)做過青春煥膚。到達馬丁在第五大道的頂層公寓工作室時，我因爲其充滿女性氣質的裝潢而吃了一驚，裏面全是淡紫色和白色，薄紗窗 在微風襲來時應該會搖曳生姿。再養一隻波索犬(Borzoi)也不會顯得突兀。我得知自己被安排在黛安?馮?芙絲汀寶(Diane von Furstenberg)和一位剛跑過馬拉松的商人之間。
'About 20% of my clientele is male,' Ms. Martyn, a hypnotically placid Brit, told me once she had me on her table. As she applied potions with darting little swipes, tightened my jawline with a tool that emits electricity, and exposed me to red light that she said once healed astronaut wounds, she mentioned a male 60-something lawyer who visits her every week. She started cooing excitedly as my face responded--brilliantly, it seemed--to the electricity: 'Oh, it's looking very good.'
馬丁是一個異常平和的英國人。我一躺上化妝臺就聽她告訴我說：“約有20%的客戶是男性。” 她迅速地給我擦上藥水，用釋放電流的一個工具緊實我的下巴輪廓，然後讓我照射她聲稱曾經用於修復宇航員傷口的紅光。她提到一位60多歲、每週都來的男律師。隨着我的臉對電流有了反應――看上去很亮澤――她開始興奮地嚷道：“噢，看起來非常棒。”
Back at the office, I stared at my face in the bathroom mirror, searching for evidence that it was more chiseled. One cheekbone looked pointier, but I couldn't be sure.
回到辦公室，我在衛生間的鏡子前觀察自己的臉，尋找輪廓更分明的證據。一邊的顴骨更尖了，但我不能確定。
Confession: In the end, I abandoned all the products in my regime, except for the Italian shampoo, the 'pelli sensibili' shave foam and a truly addictive cleanser from Tracie Martyn that I added post-facial. Turns out that I'm just not vain enough to fuss with wands in the pursuit of advanced male beauty. I still moisturize occasionally--if only to ward off ridicule.
告白：最後我放棄了護膚計劃中的所有產品，除了那款意大利洗髮水、敏感肌膚適用的剃鬚泡沫和特雷西?馬丁的一款我在做面部護理前用過的潔面乳，這款潔面乳讓我用了還想用。事實上我只是沒有足夠的閒工夫費那麼多講究去追求高級男性美。我仍舊還是會偶爾做做保溼――即使只是爲了避免別人的嘲笑。
