自從06年6月新四級開考以來，不論題目難度如何，同學們都普遍感覺時間緊張，這也是切合了四級大綱的考查要求。但是如何在有限的時間內，多做題，做對題，不再感覺自己做題總是那么倉促呢?其實，不論是從試卷的構成，還是從各項題型的特點來看，提高閱讀理解的速度和效率是一個重要途徑。

　　今天筆者想和同學們討論一下本次考試中的快速閱讀部分，這是我們同學最感到頭疼的，至于這種閱讀到底該怎么處理，這里有幾個原則要介紹給大家，只要同學們在平時的訓練過程中把握這樣幾個原則，就一定會有意想不到的效果：

　　一、 文章不多讀，不細讀;

　　二、 選項不多看，不分析;

　　三、 定位到原文，要準確;

　　四、 看到即所選，要核對。

　　下面，筆者就以剛剛結束的四級考試中的快速閱讀為例，探討一下閱讀與解題的方法。

　　第一題： What is the authors profound belief?

　　A. People instinctively seek human nature in different ways.

　　B. People should spend most of their lives in the wild.

　　C. People have quite different perceptions of nature.

　　D. People must make more efforts to study nature.

　　拿到這個題目之后，我們很容易根據題干中的the authors profound belief 很容易定位到文章第一節的最后一句 It is my profound belief that not only do we all need nature， but we all seek nature， whether we know we are doing so or not. 定位準確之后，我們就牢牢把握這一句定位之處，答案就在這里面。但是我們仍然沒有必要對這一句進行仔細閱讀，把握一個原則看到即所選，也就是看到什么選什么，找看到的關鍵詞匯和哪個選項重疊就可以了。我們看到了we need nature， we seek nature， 好了，看選項中，有重合度的，只有A選項一個。B選項講的是lives，wild，沒有重合度;C和D兩個選項雖然有nature，但是C說的是perceptions，D說的是study研究，都與原文的need，seek，不重合。大家千萬不要多花時間去分析原文的意思是什么，每一個選項的意思是什么，那樣只會浪費時間，對于解題沒有意義，也不是我們正確的快速閱讀解題方法。

　　故本題答案為：A

　　第二題： What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?

　　A. Personal freedom.

　　B. Things that are natural.

　　C. Urban surroundings.

　　D. Things that are purchased.

　　題干中的prefer，nowadays，可以幫助我們定位到原文第二節的最后一句上。最后一句很長，但是前半句是列舉，后半句有個that is to say提示我們是總結，那么答案就處在最后半句things that can be bought， rather than things that can be found里面了。這時候我們來重合一下，發現只有D選項中的purchased與定位之處的bought是重合的，其他三個都不重合。

　　故本題答案為：D

　　第三題： What does a study in Sweden show?

　　A. The natural environment can help children learn better.

　　B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.

　　C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.

　　D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.

　　題干關鍵詞很明顯，a study in Sweden， 定位到第四節開頭一句，而題干中的show與第一句中的indicate意思完全相同，更確定了答案就在indicate之后的賓語從句that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability，我們這時候看到了less illness，看到了greater physical ability，這時候與選項重合，發現A和D都與我們看到的內容毫無關系，而B和C中分別出現了ill和physical abilities，這時候需要我們進一步區別B和C兩個選項，稍加觀察我們就會發現，C中的a good playground是原文中沒有提到的，類似于我們傳統閱讀中常見的偷換概念現象。需要說明的是，這樣的選項設置方式在近幾年考試中屢有出現，但是幾乎每套試卷上只會出現一個題目。

　　故本題答案為：B

　　第四題： Children who have chances to explore natural areas ______.

　　A. tend to develop a strong love for science

　　B. are more likely to fantasise about wildlife

　　C. tend to be physically tougher in adulthood

　　D. are less likely to be involved in bullying

　　本題題干中的explore natural areas很明確對應了文章第六節第一句話Most bullying is found in schools where there is a tarmac playgrounds; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore.這句話的后半句重合了我們的題干，也就是定位之處，答案就在后半句里面，我們看到了the least bullying，而選項中提到bullying的，只有D一個。

　　故本題答案為：D

　　第五題： What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?

　　A. Find more effective drugs for them.

　　B. Provide more green spaces for them.

　　C. Place them under more personal care.

　　D. Engage them in more meaningful activities.

　　本題題干中的縮寫ADHD在文中第三節和第八節都提到了，但是大家要明白在出題過程中有個順序出題原則，可以幫助我們自然段定位。第四題的定位之處在第六節，本題的ADHD不可能對應第三節，我們應該到第八節中去尋找。第八節第一句就出現了這個關鍵詞。答案定位在第二行Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children.中。我們看到了benefits，還看到了contact with nature，選項A說的是drugs藥物，C說的是personal care關懷，D說的是meaningful activities有意義的活動，都與我們看到的無關。而B選項中的provide green spaces就是一個簡單的同意轉換，和我們所看到的contact with nature是一樣的內容。

　　故本題答案為：B

　　第六題： In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?

　　A. They look on life optimistically.

　　B. they enjoy a life of better quality.

　　C. They are able to live longer.

　　D. They become good-humoured.

　　當我們的目光從第八節往下掃的時候，就看到了第九節中出現了old people是與本題題干中的elderly people相對應，在這個句子中，我們看到了is in quality rather than quantity of years這個部分，中間有quality和quantity，當然，這中間有個否定轉折關系rather than而不是，說明quality是要強調的內容，quantity不是強調內容。但是我們又發現了，這個思考過程根本就是多余的，四個選項中涉及到這兩個詞語的只有B選項中有quality;quantity根本沒有涉及。所以，不要多想，不要思考。

　　故本題答案為：B

　　第七題： Dr William Bird suggest in his study that ______.

　　A. humanity and nature are complementary to each other

　　B. wild places may induce impulsive behaviour in people

　　C. access to nature contributes to the reduction of violence

　　D. it takes a long time to restore nature once damaged

　　本題題干中Dr William Bird是個明顯的關鍵詞，它的位置出現在第十一節的開頭，位置也很明顯，我們定位到William Bird說的話中：A natural environment can reduce violent behavior because its restorative process helps reduce anger and impulsive behavior. 在這個句子里，我們看到了reduce violent behavior，看到了reduce anger and impulsive behavior。選項中A和D兩個明顯沒有涉及，答案就在B和C中了。B中出現了impulsive behavior，和我們看到的內容重合，C中出現了reduction of violence 也與我們看到的內容重合，這種現象是命題者在故意設置一點點障礙，就如我在第三題中提到的那樣。遇到這種情況我們不要害怕，只需要稍微比較B和C兩個選項的區別，這時候發現B中的induce是誘導，導致的意思，純粹是從詞形上來迷惑我們，因為它比較類似我們看到的那個單詞reduce。

　　故本題答案：C

　　最后三題完成句子，是我們同學覺得好做，但是最不容易得分的部分。在文章中很容易找定位點，但是同學們找到定位點的時候通常不加思考，只是被找到答案的興奮所圍繞，或者是由于前面做題的速度較慢，此處已無時間去思考。就導致我們忽略一個很重要的問題：出題者在命題時會進行同意轉化。也就是說，出題者會改變句子的結構，導致文中找到的單詞或短語放在這兒之后，意思是正確的，但是形式不對，依然要被扣掉一部分分數，那就有點遺憾了。對于完成句子，大家要注意這樣幾點：

　　一、句子要看全，看清與原文表述的區別;

　　二、尤其注意介詞和動詞不定式的互換;

　　三、尤其注意形容詞和副詞形式的互換;

　　四、語言簡潔，答案不要超過五個單詞。

　　下面我們就來看一下這三個題目。

　　第八題： It is extremely harmful to think that humanity and the world can be ______.

　　本題題干定位在第12節，第二句講了the error，該句最后一部分提到了humanity and the world，原句為that humanity and the natural world are separable things is profoundly damaging，我們看到了separable things，這個結構放在原文是正確的，但是由于句式有一點小小的改變，我們也可以用形容詞形式separate做表語。

　　故本題答案為：separate 或者separable things

　　第九題： The author believes that we would not be so civilized without ______.

　　本題定位在第14節：Without the wild world we are not more but less civilized. 本題簡單，沒有在題干上設置難度，直接引用原文即可。

　　故本題答案為：the wild world

　　第十題：The five suggestions the author gives at the end of the passage are meant to encourage people to seek ______ with the natural world.

　　本題題干定位在最后的黑體字部分，Five ways to find harmony with the natural world.

　　原文中的find被本題題干的seek取代，但是屬于簡單的同意轉化。直接引用原文即可。

　　故本題答案為：harmony

　　總的來說，本次快速閱讀難度平穩，適合大綱的要求。同學們要把握快速閱讀的核心在于尋找，而不在于理解，就不會停留在思考之中，就會消除時間的緊迫感。

　　快速閱讀原文如下。

　　A Grassroots Remedy

　　Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end， we walk the dog， play golf， go fishing， sit in the garden， drink outside rather than inside the pub， have a picnic， live in the suburbs， go to the seaside， buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular leisure activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when Joggers jog， they dont run the streets. Every one of them instinctively heads to the park or the river. It is my profound belief that not only do we all need nature， but we all seek nature， whether we know we are doing so or not.

　　But despite this， our children are growing up nature-deprived. I spent my boyhood climbing trees on Streetham Common， South London. These days， children are robbed of these ancient freedoms， due to problems like crime， traffic， the loss of the open spaces and old new perceptions about what is best for children， that is to say， things that can be bought， rather than things that can be found.

　　The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US： families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . Those whose accommodation had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.

　　A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and grater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment， academic levels were raised across the entire school.

　　Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds， children create a hierarchybased on physical abilities， with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes， the children got much move into fantasy play， and the social hierarchy was new based on imagination and creativity.

　　Most bullyingis found in schools where there is a tarmacplaygrounds; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School in Streetham， with its harsh tarmac， where I used to hang about in corners fantasizing about wildlife.

　　But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces， for health and safety reasons， for fear that might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So， instead， the damage is done to the children themselves; not to their bodies but to their souls.

　　One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD， now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However， we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.

　　The life of old people is measurably better when they have access to nature. The increasing emphasis for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important things in finding that quality.

　　In wider and more difficult areas of life， there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behavior are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.

　　Dr William Bird， researcher form the Royal Society fro the Protection of Birds， states in his study， A natural environment can reduce violent behavior because its restorative process helps reduce anger and impulsive behavior. Wild places need encouraging for this reason， no matter how small their contribution.

　　We tend to look on nature conservation as some kind of favour that human beings are granting to the natural world. The error here is far too deep： not only do humans needs nature for themselves， but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is profoundly damaging.

　　Human beings are a species of mammals . For seven million years they lived on the planet as part of nature. Our ancestral selves miss the natural world and long for contact with nonhuman life. Anyone who has patted a dog， stroked a cat， sat under a tree with a pint of beer， given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day， understands that.

　　We nee the wild world. It is essential to our well-being， our health， our happiness， without the wild world we are not more but less civilized. Without other living things around us we are less than human.

　　Five ways to find harmony with the natural world

　　Walk： Break the rhythm of permanently being under a roof. Get off a stop earlier， make a circuit of the park at lunchtime， walk the child to and from school， get a dog， feel yourself moving in moving air， look， listen， absorb.

　　Sit： Take a moment， every now and then， to be still in an open space. In the garden， anywhere thats not in the office， anywhere out of the house， away from the routine. Sit under a tree， look at water， feel refreshed， ever so slightly renewed.

　　Drink： The best way to enjoy the natural world is by yourself; the second best way is in company. Take a drink outside with a good person， a good gathering： talk with the sun and the wind with birdsong for background.

　　Learn： Expand your boundaries. Learn five species of birds， five butterflies， five trees， five bird songs. That way， you see and hear more： and your mind responds gratefully to the greater amount of wildness in your life.

　　Travel： The places you always wanted to visit： by the seaside， in the country， in the hills. Take a weekend break， a day-trip， get out there and do it： for the scenery， for the way through the woods， for the birds， for the bees. Go somewhere special and bring specialness home. It lasts forever， after all.