1、英语阅读技巧,ENGLISH READING SKILLS,英语阅读技巧内涵,1 Facts 事实,2 Main Idea 主旨,3 Sequence 顺序,4 Context 语境,5 Conclusion 结论,6 Inference 推论,Part One,FACTS,who,what,where,when,how,why,Facts vs Opinions,A fact is anything that can be validated or proved. If a statement can be proved right or wrong by verifiable measur
2、ement or testing, it is a fact.,Facts are all around you. The beach is made of sand. That is a fact. Water is wet. That is another fact.,Statements of fact,Statements of fact present information without interpreting it. They imply neither judgment nor evaluation. Unlike statements of opinion, statem
3、ents of fact can be verified in records, tests, or historical or scientific documents. eg: British Columbia receives 47 inches of rain yearly.The temperature in the oven is 35. My friend Jim is a resident of Beijing. He died in 1520. E. T. has grossed more money than any other film in history. Its s
4、unny outside. For each of these statements, you can verify the accuracy by going to source books, measurements, or even personal experience. Thus , these are statements of fact.,What are opinions?,An opinion cannot be validated. If no validation can be arrived at, if no right or wrong can be establi
5、shed, the statement is an opinion.,eg: Cats are more loving than dogs. Its better when eaten hot.,Statements of Opinion,Keep in mind that an opinion is not necessarily incorrect, but it hasnt been proved. An opinion may seem true, but if it hasnt yet been proved, it is an opinion. Statements of opin
6、ion express an authors impressions, beliefs, and judgments about something. Those opinions cannot be judged true or false, right or wrong because they are that authors individual impressions about something. This truth gives rise to the familiar statement. “You have the right to your own opinion.” e
7、g: Fishing relaxes you better than sleeping. Toronto is the best city to visit in North America. These sentences present statements of opinion about real things, but they are still unverifiable opinions.,Remember These Guidelines,In last nights class, Dr. Joan Kaywell spoke on methods of teaching En
8、glish. (fact or opinion?)1. Statements dealing with persons, places, objects, occurrences, or processes that exist or did exist, and that can have their truth or falsity proved, are facts.,Facts or opinions?,Three-hundred twenty-seven teachers from forty-nine schools attended the school-board meetin
9、g. Its sunny outside. 2.Statements whose truth or falsity can be proved or disproved are statements of fact even when they could be in error and proved false. A fact, then, is not always accurate or correct.,Not enough people care about the political situation to ensure any change. (fact or opinion?
10、),The remark may be true, but it is opinion because it cannot be proved by objective means. Statements of opinion are often presented in an authoritative voicedont be confused. If it cannot be proved, it is still opinion no matter how definite it sounds. 3. Statements that deal with evaluations, att
11、itudes, or probabilities are statements of opinion because they cannot be proved true of false.,Eventually, consumption of water will be strictly regulated by the federal government. (fact or opinion?),4. Statements about future events are opinion even when those events seem very probable. 5. Statem
12、ents of fact often use more concrete words referring to things, events, or measurable characteristics. Words such as blue, rock, bottle, ten years, 130 pounds are all concrete words.,6. Statements of opinion may rely on abstract words. Abstract words refer to things that cant be touched or measured,
13、 such as faith, love, hope, courage, patriotism, health. Because these words cannot be specifically defined and limited, people use them to mean different degrees of the same things, or often to mean something completely different. As we all know, the word love may mean one thing to one person but n
14、ot necessarily the same thing to another.,7. Watch for clue words and phrases in statements of opinion. Frequently you can spot value-judgment words such as good, bad, unattractive, necessary, quality; or opinion phrases such as I believe, it appears, we suggest in your reading. These words and phra
15、ses should tip you off to the strong probability that opinion, not fact, is present.,Use an F to identify statements of fact, an O to identify statements of opinion.,1. The drinking age in Florida is twenty one 2. I think the drinking age in California is twenty-one. 3. The only good reason for goin
16、g to college is to learn. 4. Forty-eight percent of immigrants changed their names when they came to this country. 5. Bill Cosby is a positive role model for television watchers. 6. Florida gets considerably hotter in July than California does, and thats why people move from Florida to California. 7
17、. My daughter once secretly kept a kitten hidden in her bedroom for nearly three weeks.,Use an F to identify statements of fact, an O to identify statements of opinion,8. Hitchhiking is a frequent method of traveling for college students. 9. The best way to eat cold chicken is to dip it in mayonnais
18、e. 10. An expensive suit, pair of shoes, shirt, and tie are not always appropriate for work. 11. Pollution of various sorts affects everyone in some way. 12. Marigolds are usually gold-orange and are enjoyed by everyone. 13.She is having a fiftieth birthday January 31 and will be emotionally upset.
19、14. Time spent in the sun, tanning, causes cancer but not in everyone. 15. A tune-up will cost you 26 at the corner station and will make your car run better. 16. Christmas is characterized as a time when people feel better, but for many it is the reverse.,Try It!,Read this story. It has facts about
20、 what people used to think a long time ago.,The Earth and the Sun,Long ago a man was thinking about the sky. He had been watching the sun for days. He began to see it in a new way.”The earth is going around the sun,” he said. At that time most people thought the sun went around the earth. They thoug
21、ht the earth was the biggest and best thing in the sky.,The man said,”I must write a book. It might make people angry. But I must tell the truth.” The man did write a book. But he never saw it printed. He dies in 1543. The book was printed later that year.,People were angry when they read the book.
22、They wanted to think that everything went around the earth. But today people know that the man was right.,Try to find the facts in the story.,Fact 1 The man had been watching the _ for days. (moon, earth, sun),Fact 2 The man dies in the year _ (1543, 1453, 1457),Fact 3 The man said, “I must write a
23、_(letter, story, book),sun,1543,book,Teach your students:,* To find facts you must know what to look for. For Fact 1 you must look for a thing the man watched. For Fact 2 you must look for a date. For Fact 3 you must look for what the man said. Read the story again. Draw a line under the words sun,
24、1543, and book. They are the right answers for Facts 1, 2, and 3.,* To find the facts, read the story very carefully. If your Ss cannot remember the facts, read the story again.,Try It!,Remembering Things,What if you go to a store but forget your shopping list? You may not know what to buy. Here is
25、a way to remember things without a list. Stand in a room in your home. Look at the things in the room.Then think of the things you need to buy. There may be a yellow chair in the room. It can help you remember bananas. A white pillow can help you remember milk. When you get to the store, think about
26、 the things in the room. You should be able to remember what to buy. You may even be able to go shopping without a list,Use Your Head,To remember things without a list, A. go shopping.B. stand in a room. C. sit in a chair.,A white pillow can help you rememberA. cookies. B. butter. C. milk.,B,C,Part
27、Two,MAIN IDEA,The main idea is the point a writer tries to make. You will learn about main ideas.What do you think of when you say home? There is a fence around this house. The house also has a big front porch. The home is the main idea. The fence and the porch are details. They help make this house
28、 look like a home.,What Is a Main Idea?,The main idea of a story tells what the whole story is about. Each story has a main idea. It is usually one sentence somewhere in each story.,Why do stories have sentences other than the main idea sentence? The other sentences are details. They tell you more a
29、bout the main idea. They also make the story more fun to read.,The example below may help you think about main ideas. All the details add up to the main idea.,details + details + details = main idea3 + 4 + 5 = 12,The 3, 4, and 5 are like details. They add up to the main idea. The main idea is like t
30、he 12. It is bigger than the details. It is made up of many smaller parts. Always one or two sentences can stand for the main idea.,Main Idea,details,details,details,details,How to recognize the main idea: You may recognize the main idea in a paragraph or a passage in several ways.,1. The significan
31、ce of its content or the force with which it is expressed. eg: No event has had greater influence on this nation than the tragic death of John F. Kennedy. 2. Summation of the passages content. eg: These statements all prove that use of the death penalty is not a deterrent in any way to crimes of vio
32、lence. 3. An idea expressed as a well-said, formal-sounding statement and a complete thought. eg: Air pollution in our big cities has become the number one urban health problem.,4. If the passage seems to have only one general point, it includes the main idea. If it has two or more seemingly equal g
33、eneral points, the relation between them includes the main idea.,First general point:We have a major shortage of large- denomination paper currency in this country. Second general point:Drug dealers are hoarding large-denomination bills. Main idea: Because drug dealers are hoarding large-denominatio
34、n bills, we have a shortage of these bills in circulation in the United States.,The Topic, the Topic Sentence, and the Main Idea,1. The topic is the subject that the passage is about in the most general sense. It may be expressed in a word or a phrase. War, civil rights, water safety, pain: these ar
35、e all topics, not main ideas. 2. The topic sentence in a paragraph( or the thesis statement in a long passage) includes the main idea. It is the sentence in the passage that best expresses the subject that the entire passage is about. The topic sentence always mentions the topic and then makes a str
36、ong statement or a claim about the topic. Generally, the topic sentence is easily identified because it sticks out by summing up the main idea in the passage. It is a mistake, however, to assume that one of the answer choices on a test will be a word-for-word duplication of a topic sentence.Also rem
37、ember that unfortunately, and contrary to what we used to be taught, the topic sentence is not always the first sentence in the paragraph. It may be the first sentence, but it could be anywhere. It may not even be statedit may be implied.,3. The main idea is always expressed as a complete thought in
38、 a complete sentence. This primary idea of the passage, the main idea, may also be stated in different words and in many locations. The main idea is the important one, no matter how it is expressed.,The importance of summarizing,The very useful skill of summarizing is often helpful in determining th
39、e topic, the topic sentence, or the main idea in a reading selection. Summarizing is a tool for understanding because it focuses on the necessary and eliminates the unnecessary in a passage. These are the six steps in creating a good summary of anything you read.,1. Eliminate unnecessary material. A
40、nything that is trivial should be deleted.,2. Eliminate material which is important but which is redundant. It may be important, but dont keep including it. Once is enough. 3. Use a summary word instead of a list of items. If a writer discusses a series of related things, such as cars, trucks, and b
41、uses, substitute the word vehicles. 4. Use an encompassing word for a series of actions or events. For example, “ Alice got up and took a shower. She got dressed. She got in the car and drove downtown.” can be summarized as “ Alice went to work” :,5. Select a topic sentence for each paragraph. If yo
42、u find a topic sentence, it is usually the authors summary. But less than a third of all expository paragraphs have topic sentences. Fiction seldom includes topic sentences because narrative moves in a time-order sequence and writers feel that topic sentences slow down the narrative. 6. If the passa
43、ge has no topic sentence, create your own.,Three key questions,When you are not sure which is the main idea, it always helps to ask yourself three questions. 1. What is this passage about? (What is the topic?) For example, you might conclude that the topic in a reading selection is cars. 2. What is
44、the purpose in discussing this subject (cars)? You may determine that the purpose is to describe owning a specific model and yeara 1964 Corvette. 3. What is the main idea that the author wants you to know about this specific subject(1964 Corvettes)? “The 1964 Corvettes provide their owners with prid
45、e of ownership unmatched by any other car.” (The main idea),Be aware of answers that may confuse you,Very often, the examination answer choices themselves may trip you up. Misleading answer choices (often intentional) like these are often included. 1. A partial statement of the main idea. 2. A refer
46、ence to the main idea, but not the main idea. 3. A reference to an idea in the passage that is expanded in the answer with information not in the passage. 4. A misinterpretation (often slight) of main-idea information in the passage, giving the feel of truth.,Which of the following best characterize
47、s the main feature of the nursing system at Beth Israel Hospital? A) The doctor gets more active professional support from the primary nurse.,B) Each patient is taken care of by a primary nurse day and night. C) The primary nurse writes care plans for every patient. D) The primary nurse keeps record
48、s of the patients health conditions every day. At Beth Israel each patient is assigned to a primary nurse who visits at length with the patient and constructs a full-scale health account that covers everything from his medical history to his emotional state. Then she writes a care plan centered on t
49、he patients illness but which also includes everything else that is necessary.The primary nurse stays with the patient through his hospitalization, keeping track with his progress and seeking further advice from his doctor. If a patient at Beth Israel is not responding to treatment, it is not uncommon for his nurse to propose another approach to his doctor. What the doctor at Beth Israel had in the primary nurse is a true colleague. The answer is A (1993-6),Practice Exercises: Exercise1,
