托福閱讀第二關：先拆後建
文／ 林麗菊
拆解文章架構 指標字詞帶你找答案
繼上一篇討論「掃讀和略讀」技巧後，這次是搞定閱讀的第二關：「先拆後建」。每篇文章都包含作者表達目的的結構，即使是長篇文章，也是以數個符合結構的文章段落所組成。因此，事先分析及理解段落的結構最能夠增強閱讀能力。以下介紹兩種主要的文章組成類型：
時間或流程順序型
內容依據時間順序或以事先規畫好的順序來發展段落，較常以「過去→現在→未來」或「之前→當時→之後」時間軸呈現，藉由掃讀或略讀先找出時間或順序軸線，較容易掌握重點。
A. 閱讀思考問題：
- What is the topic discussed?（探討主題為何？）
- What year or date is mentioned?（有哪些時間點？）
- What is the time order? Chronological or reverse chronological?（時間軸順序為何？是正向還是逆向時間軸？）
- What is the timeline? How many timelines is mentioned?（提到幾個時間表？）
- What are the features in each timeline?（每個時間表的特色為何？）
B. 相關指標字詞：
first, second, third, before, after, when, later, until, at last, next, prior to, earlier 或表示時間的字詞。
There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth….
The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped the planet after the impact. This sediment layer is enriched in the rare metal iridium and other elements that are relatively abundant in a meteorite but 20 very rare in the crust of Earth.
Even diluted by the terrestrial material excavated from the crater, this component of meteorites is easily identified. By 1990 geologists had located the impact site itself in the Yucatán region of Mexico. The crater, now deeply buried in sediment, was originally about 200 kilometers in diameter.
（題目來源／ http://bit.ly/1WIzNCb）
此段說明「隕石對地球的衝擊，特別是生物進化階段」，其中在第一段最後提到twice。因此，整體結構是由兩個時間點組成（發生在何處及其衝擊後果），一是1980，另一是1990。
比較對照型
通常以比較或對照來呈現文章結構。作者的目的就是要讓讀者瞭解主題的相似之處與相異之處。
A. 閱讀思考問題：
- What is being compared?（究竟在比較什麼？）
- What is the basis for the comparison?（比較的基準或標準為何？）
- In what ways do they have in common?（有何共同相似之處？或共同特色？）
- In what ways do they different?（有何相異之處？）
- What is the author´s attitudes towards the comparison in the conclusion?（作者對於此一比較是否做出任何結論？作者態度為何？）
- How is the comparison organized?（這些比較的內容如何組織？呈現的邏輯為何？）
B. 相關指標字詞：
- 表示比較相似之處：similar to, in the same way,parallels, alike, like, similarity, similarly
- 表示對照相異之處：dissimilar, on the other hand,but, however, bigger than, smaller than, contrast to,difference, conversely, another, while, on the contrary
Today, by means of the careful selection of dog parents, humans have created many different breeds of dog. Each breed has its own role within human society. Here are three examples of “a dog´s life＂in the human world. Many hospitals let trained dogs in to bring love and cheer to patients as animal carers. They visit children who are fighting deadly diseases and help both children and adults stay strong during long hospital stays. Another role is beagles as working dogs working in airports for the government. They are good for this type of work because of its powerful nose, and ability to track smells. They alert officers to illegal fruits, vegetables, and other foods in luggage or in mail. While some dogs are working hard, others are free to spend their days resting and playing. Many pet dogs around the world are treated like children. They have their own rooms and even have their own clothes. Many of these pampered pets spend their days playing or learning to be obedient.
（題目來源／改寫自 Reading Explorer 2, by National Geographic Learning）
從這一段的 three examples， 可以知道要解釋狗在人類世界扮演的三種不同角色（animal carers, working dogs, and pampered dogs）。因此，有其比較或對照（如使用while）的型態及特色。當然，文章結構不僅這幾種類型，下次還會再討論拆解更多類型文章，希望大家藉著這些小技巧，越來越享受閱讀的樂趣。
About 林麗菊
現職：國立中正大學語言中心副教授
學歷：美國加州大學聖塔芭芭拉分校教育博士
專長：社會語言學、教育研究法、學術英文教學、字彙與閱讀教學