阅读理解之词块解题法

罗赛花

眾所周知，“得阅读者得天下”。阅读能力的高低直接影响着学生运用英语的能力。如何解答阅读理解题，一直是广大师生正在探索的难题之一。本文将探讨如何利用词块进行快速、准确地解题。

一、词块的界定

什么是“词块”？根据对语料库的研究，语言学家发现生活中大约有70%的口语是由经常一起出现的词汇表达构成。这些经常一起出现的词汇表达被称为“多词组合”或“词块”。

词块大多是按照一定的语法规则生成的语言单位，使用时不需要有意识地注意语法结构，它缩短了从理解到产出语言信息的时间。词块教学法的创始人把词块分为四类：聚合词、搭配词、惯用话语、句子框架与引语。

1.聚合词：由多个单词组成的固定短语搭配。例如as a result。

2.搭配词：一起出现频率很高的词语，在语言的长期使用中逐步形成一种共现关系。例如knife and fork， to and fro， back and forth。

3.惯用话语：形式固定或半固定的具有语用功能的词汇组合，它可以是完整的句子，也可以是固定的句子结构，例如：If I had done ...， I would have done ...

4.句子框架与引语：常用于书面语中，作为篇章组织手段，形式和功能基本都是固定或半固定的短语。例如：Firstly ... Secondly ... And finally ...

二、词块在阅读理解解题中的应用

1. 词块与主旨要义题

以框架类词块为主。通过扫读全文，确定主旨要义在文中的位置，然后依据词块，总结归纳。

例一：（2019 年全国I卷阅读理解D 篇）

附文章部分内容如下：

第四段：In one study， Dr. Prinstein examined ...“We found that ... It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment， high status has just the opposite effect on us.”

第五段：Dr. Prinstein has also found that the qualities  ... — sharing， kindness， openness —  ... make you better able to relate and connect with others.

第六段：In analyzing his and other research， Dr. Prinstein came to another conclusion： Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes， but it is also responsible for those outcomes， too ...

35. What is the best title for the text？

A. Be Nice--You Wont Finish Last

B. The Higher the Status， the Better

C. Be the Best--You Can Make It

D. More Self-Control， Less Aggressiveness

解析：全文有六段，通过扫读全文，关注框架类词块，很容易得出全文的主旨出现在后三段，即第四至六段。

（1）One （study）...， other （research）... 词块表明，这两处为并列关系。

（2）also表明第五段与第四段是并列关系，即：We found that ... also found that ...;another表明，第六段与第五段是并列关系，即：found that ... came to another conclusion ...

由以上分析可知，第四至六段为并列关系，且这三段得出的结论基本趋同：待人友善对自己的未来有益。这与A选项的内容（Be Nice -- You Wont Finish Last） 刚好吻合，所以选择A项。

例二：（2016年全国I卷阅读理解D 篇）

第一段：The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups ... Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; ... Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a persons needs.

第二段：Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people ... In these cultures， silence is a call for reflection.

第三段：Other cultures may use silence in other ways， ... For example， ... However， Mexicans may use silence when ... In still another use， persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect， ...

第四段：Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing ...

35. What may be the best title for the text？

A. Sound and Silence

B. What It Means to Be Silent

C. Silence to Native Americans

D. Speech Is Silver; Silence Is Gold

解析：全文分为四段，通过扫读全文，关注词块，很容易得出全文的主旨为首段第一句。

（1）第一段的首句即为本段的中心句，通过接下来的词块some ... other ... 可知。

（2）扫读第二、三段，看首尾句，通过词块many ... other ... / these ... other ... 等可知，第二、三段是并列关系，是对第一段内容的分述，与第一段构成总、分关系。

（3）尾段首句的词块the possible meanings of silence与第一段首句的词块The meaning of silence为词块复现，形成了首尾呼应，从而确认了主旨句为全文首句。

2. 词块与具体信息题

仔细观察题干， 标出关键词块，然后在文中定位该词块，在语境中寻找答案。

例一：（2016年全国I卷阅读理解B 篇）

第三段：“in the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldnt get away from home far enough fast enough to prove we could do it on our own，”says Christine Crosby ...

27. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s？

A. They were unsure of raise more children.

B. They were eager to raise more children.

C. They wanted to live away from their parents.

D. They bad little respect for their grandparent.

解析：观察27题的题干， 标出关键词块in the 1960s，在文中找到其来源段落：第三段。依据其后的表达 ... couldnt get away from home far enough fast enough to prove we could do it on our own（为了证明我们能够独立，离家越快越好，越远越好）可知答案为C选项。

例二：（2019年全国I卷阅读理解C 篇）

第一段：... the market is growing for biometric（生物测量） technologies ... to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present， these technologies are still expensive， though.

第二段：Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device（装置）that gets around this problem： a smart keyboard.

28. Why do the researchers develop the smart keyboard？

A. To reduce pressure on keys.

B. To improve accuracy in typing.

C. To replace the password system.

D. To cut the cost of e-space protection.

解析：观察28题的题干， 标出关键词块smart keyboard，在文中直接定位：第二段的首句。依據语境中的表达 ... they have come up with a low-cost device（装置）that gets around this problem…可推知答案为D选项：To cut the cost of e-space protection（为了降低电子空间保护成本）。

3. 词块与推理判断题

带着题干中的关键词块，去文章中寻找意义近似的表达。找到后，理解相关语境，然后对语境中的词块发散理解，推断出该题的答案。

例一：（2017年全国I卷阅读理解C 篇）

第一段：Some of the worlds most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO（ United Nations Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization） recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music， its significance， and its potential as a unifying（联合）voice across cultures.

28.Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day？

A. To remember the birth of jazz.

B. To protect cultural diversity.

C. To encourage people to study music.

D. To recognize the value of jazz.

解析：找出题干中的关键词块April 30和International Jazz Day，然后去文章中定位，第一段首句和第二句出现了类似的词块：the first annual International Jazz Day， set April 30 as a day。然后，理解語境中的词块to raise awareness of jazz music， its significance， and its potential as a unifying （联合） voice across cultures（为了提高人们对爵士乐及其意义的认识，以及对爵士乐作为跨文化的联合声音的潜力的认识）， 该词块为不定式结构，作目的状语，其意义与D 选项  To recognize the value of jazz（认识爵士乐的价值）的意义相同。

例二：（2018年全国I卷阅读理解D篇）

第二段：To figure out how much power these devices are using， Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life ...

33. Why did Babbitts team conduct the research？

A. To reduce the cost of minerals.

B. To test the life cycle of a product.

C. To update consumers on new technology.

D. To find out electricity consumption of the devices.

解析：找出题干中的关键词块，Babbitts team，然后去文章中定位，寻找意义近似的表达。第二段首句出现了类似的词块：Callie Babbitt and her colleagues。接着，理解语境中的词块To figure out how much power these devices are using，该词块为不定式结构，在句首作目的状语;而且，figure out与find out为近义词块，how much power these devices are using（这些设备使用了多少能量）与electricity consumption of the devices（设备耗电量）为同义词块，由此可推断出答案为D项。

4. 词块与意图观点态度题

带着题干的关键词块去文章中定位，然后，理解语境中的相关词块，推断出答案。

例一：（2017年全国Ⅲ卷阅读理解C 篇）

末段：The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. ... The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

31. What is the authors attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project？

A. Doubtful.    B. Positive.    C. Disapproving.    D. Uncaring

解析：用题干中的the Yellowstone wolf project去文中定位，在最后一段的最后一句找到，The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment ...;由其中的词块a valuable experiment可知，作者对此是持肯定态度的，故选B项。

例二：（2017年全国I卷阅读理解A 篇）

○Support Pacific Science Center

Since 1962 Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion（热情）for discovery and lifelong learning in science， math and technology. Today Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. Its an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals， corporations， and other social organizations. Visit pacificsciencecenter.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.

23.What is the purpose of the last part of the text？

A. To encourage donations.

B. To advertise coming events.

C. To introduce special exhibits.

D. To tell about the Centers history.

解析：由段落標题词块Support Pacific Science Center（支持太平洋科学中心）和本段最后两句中的词块we cannot achieve without generous support（没有慷慨的支持，我们无法取得成功）和find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center（找到支持太平洋科学中心的各种方法）可知，本段的写作目的是To encourage donations（鼓励捐赠），故选A项。

例三：（2018年全国I卷阅读理解D 篇）

首段：We may think were a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new， but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices（装置）well after they go out of style. Thats bad news for the environment- and our wallets-as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.

32. What does the author think of new devices？

A. They are environment-friendly.

B. They are no better than the old.

C. They cost more to use at home.

D. They go out of style quickly.

解析：根据文章首段的词块keep using our old devices well（继续使用旧设备）， Thats bad news for the environment（对环境来说是个坏消息），as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones（因为这些过时的设备比新设备消耗更多的能源），可知旧设备对环境不友好，由此推断“新设备对环境友好”，故选A项。

教无定法，贵在得法。词块解题法是阅读理解解题方式的一种尝试，它能帮助应试者准确审题，快速寻踪，正确答题，是一种行之有效的方式，值得尝试。

（注： 本文为湖南省教育科学规划课题阶段性成果，课题名称：“基于主题词块思维训练的高中生英语读写能力培养的研究与实践”，课题批准号：XJK18CJC100）

责任编辑 蒋小青