“脑电波”

高考英语阅读理解，记叙文是座上客，而说明文，与其比肩。相比记叙文，说明文在操作“跳读定位”时，有时会超过一个段落，多时连续好几段。一般来讲，说明文都是说明某个人物或者事物的本质特征、清晰地展现所说明的人和事物。说明的方法有多种，如列举、诠释、类比、图示等。但不管是何种方法，阅读说明文的关键是：抓住所说明对象的特点。只此一句，已足矣。

说明文

（一）题材：介绍姓氏由来和意义

一般来说，说明文具有明显的解释说明层次感，对应考题则多显跳跃，整合较多，这时使用定位来阅读文章稍微有点难度，因为有时问题采用的转述使得原词未被重现。对于说明文，分清说明的层次十分必要，这样可以帮助你尽量减少阅读量。说明的层次包括两个方面：一是宏观结构层次，说明文主要有“总分总”、“分总”和“总分”三种，容易判断；二是微观逻辑层次，比如哪两段是举例，哪一段是诠释等等，考试中判断起来也不难，但好多人缺乏这种习惯。对于高考英语阅读理解来讲，由于其篇幅相对并不长，一般只要能分清宏观层次，微观层次也就可以判断出来。总之分清说明层次，才能有效保证你在说明文面前能够顺利“蹦蹦跳跳”进行阅读。请见下文：

（2010 年高考江苏卷）Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is“What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.

Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook（ 小溪）；some one who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter ― a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter ―a person who made pots and pans.

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.

Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added s or son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the Mac Donnells and the Mc Donnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.

1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?

A. Places where people lived.

B. People’s characters.

C. Talents that people possessed.

D. People’s occupations.

2. According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably.

A. owned or drove a cart

B. made things with metals

C. made kitchen tools or contains

D. built houses and furniture

3. Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named.

A. Beatrice Smith

B. Leonard Carter

C. George Longstreet

D. Donald Greenwood

4. The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s .

A. later generations

B. friends and relatives

C. colleagues and partners

D. later sponsors

第1 题：这种题目对一般考生来讲都只能阅读全文。但观察每段的起始句，不难发现其宏观结构层次为“总分”式，微观逻辑层次也十分明了：文章第一段和第二段为发问开头，第三段和第四段主要讲的first names（given names），接下来到结尾统统都是讲family names（last names/ surnames）。这样一来，这第1 题我们就只需要从第五段开始找答案。然后对应四个选项分别定位，A 项places 和D 项occupations在文中均有非常明显的说明，C 项talents 综合第七段和第八段亦有说明，只有B 项“性格”毫无说明，文中仅涉及人物体格和发肤颜色。这样解答该题仅涉及第5~8 段，而且由于层次清晰，用词简单，完全可以快速扫读。

第2 题：根据ancestor 和Potter 去文中定位，可以在第六段扫读到“Potter―― a person who made pots and pans”，再根据第七段对the Baker family 等的举例说明，锁定答案为C 项，这种可以直接确定答案的考题，无需再去看其他选项。

第3 题：刚刚从第1 题， 我们已经了解到surnames 和地点有关的情况，故该题可以根据a leafy forest（脑海中要伴有woods 等类似词义的想象）去定位，结果在第五段我们发现live near a leafy forest的家庭一般姓Greenwood，这样基本确定答案为D，这时可以将Donald 代入文中given names 区（第3、4 两段）验证。

第4 题：对于词义猜测题，一般只需根据所猜词附近前后一两句来判断。对于此题，文章最后一段“English-speaking people added s or son”， 再对应Johnson 和John 稍作判别，即可选定答案为A.

（二）题材：药品说明

这也是一篇说明文，有些广告，部分应用文等，在某种程度上也可以纳入说明文范畴，所以说明文在高考英语阅读理解中几乎三分天下。一些科技类的说明文，由于涉及一些术语和研究机构或者专有名词，会显得有点难。下面这篇文章是一则药品说明，这种有黑体字分类的说明文层次感非常清楚，外强中干，采用QPQ 的阅读顺序，可以迅速解题。

（2010 年高考湖南卷）

LIPITOR

ABOUT LIPITOR

Lipitor is a prescription medicine．Along with diet and exercise，it lowers “bad” cholesterol（ 胆固醇）in your blood．It can also raise“ good'’ cholesterol.

Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack in patients with several common risk factors，including family history of early heart disease，high blood pressure，age and smoking.

WHO IS LIPITOR FOR?

Who can take LIPITOR：

People who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and exercise

Adults and children over l0

Who should NOT take LIPITOR：

Women who are pregnant，may be pregnant，or may become pregnant. Lipitor may harm your unborn baby.

women who are breast-feeding．Lipitor can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.

People with liver（肝脏）problems

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF LIPITOR

Serious side effects in a small number of people：Muscle（肌肉）problems that can lead to kidney（肾脏）problems，including kidney failure

Liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start Lipitor and while you are taking it．

Call your doctor right away if you have：

Unexplained muscle pain or weakness，especially if you have a fever or feel very fired

Swelling of the face,lips，tongue，and／or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing

Stomach pain

Some common side effects of LIPITOR are：

Muscle pain

Upset stomach

Changes in some blood tests

HOW TO TAKE LIPITOR

DO:

Take Lipitor as prescribed by your doctor.

Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take Lipitor.

Take Lipitor at any time of day, with or without food.

If you miss a dose（一剂），take it as soon as you remember. [But if it has been more than

12 hours since your missed dose，wait．Take the next dose at your regular time.

Don’t:

Do not change or stop your dose before talking to your doctor.

Do not start new medicines before talking to your doctor.

1. What is a major function of Lipitor?

A. To help quit smoking.

B. To control blood pressure.

C. To improve unhealthy diet.

D. To lower "bad" cholesterol.

2. Taking Lipitor is helpful for .

A. breast-feeding women

B. women who are pregnant

C. adults having heart disease

D. teenagers with liver problems．

3. If it has been over 12 hours since you missed a dose, you should

A. change the amount of your next dose

B. eat more when taking your next dose

C. have a dose as soon as you remember

D. take the next dose at your regular time

4. Which of the following is a common side effect of taking Lipitor?

A. Face swelling.

B. Upset stomach.

C. Kidney failure.

D. Muscle weakness.

5. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To teach patients ways for quick recovery.

B. To present a report on a scientific research.

C. To show the importance of a good lifestyle.

D. To give information about a kind of medicine.

第1 题：题干问Lipitor 的一个主要功能，很显然在“ABOUT LIPITOR”区找，但是该区提到Lipitor这种药物数个功能，ABD 都有涉及，C 项似乎也暗含其中，哪个才是主要的呢？如果你在生活中对胆固醇的相关知识有所了解，自然不难选对D 项。另外一方面，从语言上判断，“ABOUT LIPITOR”区其实只讲了Lipitor 这种药物两个功能：lowers “bad”Cholesterol 和lower the risk of heart attack，blood pressure 和smoking 只是heart attack 所附带的因素，从这样一个语言语句结构上来看，AB 两项有“过推”之嫌，而C 项更是超级“过推”，这样从直接性上，我们也可以为这道“细节题”而非“推断题”选定D 项为正确答案。此外，下文“WHO IS LIPITORFOR?”区指这种药物是给“People who cannot lower heir cholesterol enough with diet and exercise”的人服用的，也可以帮助你选对答案。

第2 题：服用Lipitor 对谁有帮助，四个选项皆为名词短语，这种题型可以把它称作“aspects”题，“aspects”题范围广阔，包括“TRUE”型和“NOT TRUE”型题等，适宜用排除法，排除的基准就是按照题干反方向思考。对于此题，我们可以反过来看，Lipitor 对谁没有帮助，结果在“Who should NOT take LIPITOR”区发现ABD 三项都涵盖，故排除，选定C 项。

第3 题：对于这种出现准确数字的细节题，文中必有数字对应。这种数字对应分两种：一、完全对应的重复；二、百分比加起来是100%，分数加起来是1 等类似有关联的变化，比如某一文中提到某一年产量降低了25%，考题中出现75% 字样，两者必定严重相关。此题通过扫读文章，我们可以快速在“HOWTO TAKE LIPITOR” 区之“Do” 分区对应到“12hours”这个关键实词，阅读前后一两句，选对答案D 项。

第4 题：此题四个选项也都是名词短语，亦是“aspects”题，同样用反方向思考来排除。结果发现ACD 三项皆为“serious side effects”，即B 项为正确答案。幸运的是，该题可以直接通过目测就可以选对正确答案，因为“common side effects”下直接列出完全一样的B 项。但对于“aspects”题，反向思考排除乃根本，因为大多数时候选项都是用其他同义的短语来转述，完全一样几率较小。比如此题D 项muscle weakness 的表述和“common side effects”下的muscle pain 就会让一小部分考生可能纠结一番，但其实意义完全不同，特别是在“Call your doctor right away if you have”下muscle pain 也有出现的情况下，有些考生辨别时就可能出现问题。

第5 题：此题比较简单，ABC 三项干扰性很弱，选对D 项不难。（未完待续）