例析英语议论文的批判性阅读教学

魏之宁 魏玉平

摘    要：對英语议论文开展批判性阅读有助于培养学生的批判性思维品质和审辩能力。教学中师生应该研读语篇，审视作者的论点、论据及其论证过程，整合阅读教学策略，开展分析、判断、推论、评价、阐释和探究等批判性阅读活动，实现深度学习。

关键词：英语议论文;批判性阅读;批判性思维

古人云：“疑是思之始、学之端。”在阅读教学中培养学生的批判性思维能力十分重要，因为批判性思维是人们为选择信什么和做什么（知识、信息、观点、理念、理论、质疑、求证、建议、评估等）而进行审视、联想、综合、分析、阐释和评估的高阶思维。

英语议论文是中学生学习语言和文化知识的重要文体。师生通过分析语篇的论点、论据及其内容结构，理解文本所揭示的主题意义，借助与现实生活的关联，习得文化知识，丰富语言知识，发展语言技能，提升思维品质，增强文化意识，提高学习能力。英语议论文批判性阅读，基于师生对语篇的充分解析与研读，分清主次详略，明确先后顺序，梳理因果关系，在与文本的深度对话中对主题意义或核心论点以及相关问题进行有理有据的解释、分析、评价、推论、阐释和交流，从自主质疑到一般认同，从局部分析到整体把握，从信息接收到创新建构，以此提升师生的批判性思维能力。

下面，以“The paradox of choice”为例（例文详见浙江教学月刊社网站www.jxyk.com“资料下载”中的“原文选登”）分析英语议论文的批判性阅读教学。例文节选自社会心理学家巴里·施瓦兹（Barry Schwartz）的论著“The paradox of choice—Why more is less”。 语篇篇幅不长，结构清晰，立论鲜明，论据源自生活，论证充分，思维严谨，语言优美、流畅。

一、猜测核心词汇   解读标题含义

T： English argumentation is an analysis， comment， or presentation of a question or event. Lets refer to the two basic writing methods， the Inductive Method（归纳法） and the Deductive Method（演绎法）.

T： Now， please read the first or last paragraph， try to guess and explain the meaning of the title “The paradox of choice”.

运用恰当的阅读策略，大多数学生在阅读后自主圈定了语篇的结尾——In this age of unlimited variety， rather the opposite is true： “good enough” is the new “best choice”，他们独立审视和思考标题“The paradox of choice”并提出自己的见解，如 “选择的疑惑”“选择的策略”“反论选择”“选择的困惑”等。

T： Which is the closest explanation after we refer to the definition of paradox？ Please think it over.

之后，教师呈现不同词典对paradox一词的解释：a statement containing two opposite ideas that make it seem impossible or unlikely， although it is probably true;A paradox is a statement in which it seems that if one part of it is true， the other part of it cannot be true.

师生讨论和辨析后得出了对标题的正确解读：“选择的悖论”或“对选择的反论”。

【简析】Paradox是语篇的核心词汇，也是难点词汇。通过对英语释义的解读与辨析，学生能够自主判断标题的意义，表达个人观点。在学生读前进行阅读策略指导是颇为必要的，因为有效使用学习策略有助于提高学生学习英语的效果和效率，帮助学生发展自主学习的习惯和能力。此环节旨在渗透文法指导，运用恰当的阅读策略，帮助学生排除困难，自主阅读、猜测、辨析、解读和判断文本的核心概念和标题含义。

二、梳理语篇布局  概述文本要义

T： Please read through the passage， discuss in groups and analyze the layout of the argumentative writing.

学生通读语篇，在10分钟内借助小组互动讨论，分析语篇布局，培养质疑意识。其后，有三个小组认为语篇由以下三部分组成：

Part 1. Para 1—the current situation

Part 2. Paras 2-5—analysis of causes

Part 3. Para 6—tips or suggestions

一个小组认为语篇由以下两部分组成：

Part 1. Paras 1-5—the causes of this paradox of choice

Part 2. Para 6—the solutions to it

此时，教师引导学生总结议论文的构成要素：

1.论点（是什么）：thesis， argument or point of discussion.

2.论据（为什么）：grounds of argument.

3.论证（怎么做）：demonstration or proof.

由此可以看出，三部分的语篇布局更为合理。

然后，教师要求学生再读文本，5分钟内用一句话概述语篇信息。部分学生表述如下：

S1： Larger and larger selection makes poorer and poorer decisions， which leads to peoples dissatisfaction.

S2： Its really very difficult for us to face far too many options， and there has never been more choices， so it is a big question.

S3： This paradox of choice is caused by too much more selection with rapid development of technology in the modern age， which makes us puzzled in making a good choice.

T： Well done！ Which do you prefer and how do you like it？

S4： I like the third one， for its beyond the essay. Quite wise！

【简析】文本阅读是学生的个性化行为。在分析语篇布局环节，教师在学生有不同结论时有意识地渗透有关语篇布局的基本知识，帮助学生形成语篇意识，借助生生互动和师生互动，提炼、总结、归纳议论文的构成三要素，习得语篇结构化知识。学生再读文本，对语篇中的某些论点进行概述。在三个学生的综合语言输出后，教师要求学生对已呈现的个体表述进行评价，让课堂评价不流于形式，将日常课堂评价上升到“作为学习的评价”，在学习中评价，在评价中学习，做到 “以评促学”。

三、阐述段落论点   探究语篇知识

T： What conclusion can you draw after digesting the three topic sentences in the grounds of argument？

教师分别列出论据部分的三个段落主题句，要求学生咀嚼、思辨和阐述自己的理解或观点。

1. First， a large selection almost makes you fall apart.

2. Second， a broader selection leads to poorer decisions.

3. Finally， a large selection leads to dissatisfaction.

T： Lets turn to the grounds of argument and pay attention to the effectiveness and the cause of the paradox of choice. The author sums up his thesis with three sentences and provides supporting details about his argument afterward.

T： How do you paraphrase or restate the three topic sentences in the passage？

S1： Much more choice almost makes you at a loss or confused.

S2： Many more options bring about your worse decisions.

S3： Far too many options make you feel dissatisfied.

T： Quite well done！ Paraphrasing goes well with certain situations or context. And how do you like the way of expressing？

S1： I like it for it is easy for us to comprehend the proofs clearly.

S2： In order of the effects on peoples decisions， the author is very wise to list them， and we should learn and follow it.

T： The author presents relevant evidence that supports his argument and convinces the readers. Lets turn to the essay and analyze the cohesive devices and logic coherence.

每一篇好的文本都有其明確的主题，主题之下又有其对应的若干下级意义，这些下级意义与主题之间必然存在一定的逻辑关系，如从因到果、从主到次、从整体到部分、从抽象到具体、从现象到本质、从具体到一般等，语篇的这种内在逻辑关系就是结构化知识[1]。基于此，教师引领学生从语法衔接和词汇衔接两方面对语篇的内容结构进行探究。

T： How does the author express his idea or opinion grammatically？ Now， please scan the passage and try to find the Grammatical Cohesion（语法衔接） in it.

约5分钟后，师生在文中找寻、发现、归类，得出以下结论。

1. 表示转折或对比：in contrast， but， instead， rather the opposite

2. 表示时间、程序或重要程度：first， second， finally， afterward， in the past， nowadays， today， never， the next day， on day two， in this age of unlimited variety， before， and so on， when， without a second thought， the more … the more ...

3. 表示因果关系：so， and therefore

4. 表示概括或结论：also， and vice versa

T： Linking words in grammatical cohesion play an important part in manner of English writing and we should follow the style in our writing practice and try to express ourselves clearly.

T： Now， as to the title “The paradox of choice”， lets read through the passage and sum up how the author expresses most choice diffe-

rently in Lexical Cohesion（词汇衔接）.

Ss： “A large selection”“a broader selection”“large selection”“far too many options”“option floods”“with such a wide range”“this extremely complicated variety”“200 options”“in this age of unlimited variety”“There has never been more choice.”

T： Here， restatement（重述） is used a lot in order to avoid repetition（重复） and for emphasis（强调）.

【简析】对语篇写作手法，尤其是衔接方法的探究在英语议论文阅读理解过程中是十分必要的。教师引导学生探究、解析文体特征，赏析语篇中精彩语段的表意手段，从语法衔接与词汇衔接两个层面剖析文本的内容结构，一方面，可以帮助学生积累语篇知识，另一方面，有助于学生梳理文脉，对“悖论”进行细致的分析和理解。

四、审视论据信息   推断写作意图

T： Now， lets come to the authors proofs， pay attention to the beginning words such as “First， Second， Finally， So” to find the evidence and evaluate the authors view of point. Why does the author hold the view that more is less？

S1： I quite agree with the authors opinion： Think carefully about what you want before you inspect existing offers. The proof appears in the third paragraph， the experiment on the 24 varie-

ties and 6 ones shows that with a wide range， it is really hard for people to make a decision when they face too many offers. The authors point comes from the experiments， its convincing indeed.

S2： ...

S3： ...

T： Quite right！ You can never make a perfect decision facing so many options. So，“Good enough” is the new “best choice.”

【簡析】美国批判性思维学者理查德·保罗和琳达·埃尔德在《批判性思维指南》一书中指出，批判性思维是为了提高思维能力而分析、评估思维的过程，也就是说它是以提高思维能力为目的而对自己的思维进行的分析与评估[2]。通过定位段首词如“First， Second， Finally， So”，引导学生注意段落之间的逻辑关系，提升学生在有效时间内快速把握篇章结构的能力。审视文中论据的具体信息，求证并推断作者三个例证中的情感态度以及字里行间所隐藏着的真正含义及写作意图，批判性地解读、领会和评估作者的观点、建议或劝告——“为什么多了反而就变成少了呢？”在评价中思辨，自主建立逻辑关联，形成自己的看法或见解，从而提升批判性思维品质。

五、建立生活关联   评价中心论点

T： The last sentence is the authors conclusive suggestion. Comparatively， there goes an old Chinese saying “The more， the better”. It is true in ancient China，especially at wars， but is it really true in life all the time or in any situation？ Lets have a discussion in groups and then present your opinions based on your experiences in life.

G1： We dont think the more is the better. Faced with too many options， its difficult for us to make a good choice or a wise decision.

G2： As the author suggests， you can never make a perfect decision. So， sometimes more choices will make you fall apart. I hold that the more， the worse.

G3： As for the homework in our study life， we hold that the more homework we do， the less efficient it will be， for too much work is repeated and it is really a waste of time and energy. Thats our advice to some of our teachers.

...

T： Yes！ I cant agree more， especially Group 3 is fixed on our study life. I hope all of us can make a wise or perfect decision when we make a choice. Thank you！

【简析】以中国谚语“多多益善”为引子建立生活关联，将文本的中心论点“足够好的就是现在最好的选择”进行验证，与“选择的悖论”进行逻辑对比，进而深刻理解主题意义。此环节将语言、思维、文化融于一体，加深学生对语篇结论的理解，引导学生运用语言技能尝试从不同视角阐释文化内涵，尝试在反思生活的过程中运用所学语言和文化知识，充分辨析、验证和评价作者的观点、见解或建议，拓展生活视野，创造性地表达和交流观点或见解，提升综合语言运用能力，形成和发展思辨意识。

“批判性思维和创造性思维是推动未来知识社会前进的主要动力”[3]。在批判性阅读中培养学生的批判性思维应当成为英语阅读教学的常态。师生以語篇为依托，充分挖掘文本主题所承载的语言和文化信息，探究、批判与审辩活动贯穿始终，方法与策略驱动批判性思维常态和自主学习常态，促进学生积累语篇知识、语言知识和文化知识，重建认知结构，培养思维品质，发展语言技能，优化学习过程。

参考文献：

[1]张秋会，王蔷. 浅析文本解读的五个角度[J].中小学外语教学（中学篇）， 2016（11）：11-16.

[2]张冠群，黄小梅.小学英语审辩式阅读教学的行动与省思[J].课程·教材·教法，2019（4）：75-77.

[3]多拉·蒙维尔.批判性思维和创造性思维——推动知识社会前进的主要动力[J].王爽，译. 全球教育展望，2001（12）：1-4.