113學測英文--五、閱讀(39-42)

概要

        筆者認為這篇文章是比前一篇短文稍微困難一些。

        綜觀架構，本文是標準的「人物傳記體」(biographical passages/paragraphs)；這種文體亦非常常見。

體裁架構

        這種體裁的架構如下：

        (1). 人物概要(profile and overview)

        (2). 出身與時代背景(origin and background)

        (3). 重要事蹟(feat and important achievements)

        (4). 歷史貢獻(legacy)

        (1). 人物概要

        簡述該人是誰、出身於哪裡、哪個領域的專家、專長為何，以及，最重要的事跡──會出現在結論句，以「一句話總括其人的重要性。」

        (2). 出身與時代背景

        從這個人的出生描述起；通常重點著墨或止於「成長時代」(coming of age)。這個時代其人所經歷「影響其一生」的重要事件。這個事件會跟後來的事蹟有所關連。

        (3). 重要事蹟

        該人最為重要的貢獻；呼應首段的總括性描述(generalizing statement)

        (4). 歷史貢獻

        該人為世人留下的文化遺產、遺跡；作為前後呼應的結論段落。通常會寫到「該人死後，」但他／她的貢獻會延續、持續影響後世。

考點

        首先，我們先整理題目的考點：

        39. Specific information

        第39題考的內容跟第38題【請參考上篇文章35-38，魔鬼氈文章】的考點「重點資訊」相仿。

        40. “the blackened heart” [metaphor]

        考的是「象徵語彙，」考點是「能否從一組相關詞彙歸納出一句話。」

        41. True statement

        考點跟37題相仿。

        42. Inference(s)

        跟39題考點很像，但重點擺在記憶「主要論點」(key points)。

文章重點畫記【圖片】

        第39題的考點似乎散落各處，因此需要先畫出一些重點。

        筆者附上自己的畫記作為參考：

畫記

段落重點

Overview (Para. 1)

Thomas Moran, a painter in the 19^th century; [importance] helps the establishment of American national parks.

        Thesis Statement: His vivid paintings brought the splendor [of the landscapes to the American people], [making these regions] widely recognized and officially established as national parks.

Background (Para. 2

[Origin] He came from northwest English, the blackened heart of the Industrial Revolution; later moved to the States at the age of 7.

        (Why “blackened heart”) the river running thought was “a string of dirty water” (due to dense industrialization)

        (the influence of this background) There was plenty of landscape for him to paint in America

        (Career) Hired as an illustrator at Scribner’s Monthly, a short-story column

        (The major event) Responsible for illustrating The Wonders of Yellowstone, a story by Nathaniel P. Langford; the story was about his expedition to Yellowstone.

        [Conclusive sentence] (Its influence) “Captivated by [the description of the sights], Moran [was eager] to see [. . .] for himself.  

The Major event in his life: his expedition to Yellowstone (Para. 3)

        [Topic sentence] Moran joined the first US government survey of the Yellowstone . . .

        (Its Impact) [Line 3-4] [. . .] the survey results were presented to the Congress. His powerful images [. . .] fired the imagination of Congress members.

        (Consequence) In March 1872, lawmakers officially made Yellowstone a national park, the world’s first.

Moran’s legacy (Para. 4

        [Line 2-3] “Since the painter’s work appeared, Yellowstone National Park has come to be known as a picturesque wonderland. [Echoing Para. 1, conclusive sentence]

        [Legacy lingers] By the time Moran died, he had painted [areas] that would become national parks or monuments.

解析(39)

        我們整理出重點後，就能依序答題；或者，考生可以先掃讀過題目，從題目的線索去抓重點。筆者的習慣是：先抓出：

(1)文章要旨：Moran, a painter; the contributor in helping the establishment of national parks, through his illustration of the landscapes

(2). 各段落重點：一、人物概觀；二、成長背景與主要事件及其影響；三、該事件所帶來的衝擊；四、總收全文，前後呼應：其人遺留的文化資產。

(3). 從題目中找線索。

第39題的選項中有一些幫助劃記的細節：

(A). How national parks around the world were established

        文章中只有聚焦在美國；這點不符。

(B). How the natural features were formed

        「地貌景觀」如何形成；不符合文意

(C). The reason Moran’s family moved to the States

Moran一家搬家的「原因」；本文並未提及。

(D). The reason Moran started painting Yellowstone

                啟發Moran畫黃石地區的風景；於第二段結尾處(Captivated by the [description of the landscapes] . . .)有提到。因此，本題選擇(D)

解析(40)

        本題的重點是找到”Industrial Revolution”；Moran的家鄉，因為重度工業汙染，流淌過的河流變得很髒(“a string of dirty water”)

        選項(B) darkened holes 明顯不相關，直接剔除。

        選項(C) 是倫理性的陳述(ethical statement) ，跟(A) 和(D)描述「髒污」無關；這個選項接著剔除。

        題目問的是”hometown”──問地方的景貌【全文也圍繞「地景風貌」(natural landscapes)這個主題】；跟選項(D) 人文風貌(anthropological landscape)不相關。

        因此，從「文意連貫性」(coherence)的方向切入，僅有選項(A) The place was severely polluted 可以選擇。

解析(41)

        這題問的是「為真的論述」；考驗考生做筆記與抓重點的能力。

選項(A) Its establishment proposed by Langford

◎ Langford是寫The Wonders of Yellowstone──Moran繪製黃石風貌的啟發者

        選項(B) Americans knew little about its beauty before the 1870s

        從 ”His powerful images [. . .] fired the imagination of Congress members”──進而催生黃石國家公園的設立──可以推敲。故，選(B)

        選項(C) The project is about extracting its rich natural resources

        偏離文章主題了，故不選

        選項(D) The only national park established because of Moran’s works

        從第四段”legacy”可以看出：Moran催生更多國家公園的設置。

解析(42)

        第42題考的跟39題考點很像，但重點擺在記憶「主要論點」(key points)，而非特定資訊的細節；這意味著：讀者依然得自行推敲、進行推論，而非直觀地從文章的資訊找到一模一樣的字句。

        選項(A) Scribner’s Monthly was a promotion magazine

        應該是「故事專欄」──讓作家能出版故事的故事編輯雜誌

        選項(B) Moran had visited Yellowstone before starting his career

        不正確：Moran是先進入插畫行業；後來才受到啟發，動身前往當地繪製風景。

        選項(C) “Color photos were not common when Moran started painting Yellowstone”

        推論合理；如果彩色相片盛行，自然不需要彩繪風景的插畫師，也就沒有Moran施展拳腳的餘地了。本題選(C)

        選項(D) Watercolor was the most popular form . . . 本文沒有提及風景畫的形式；無法判斷，故不能選。

結論

        為何要花大篇幅、囉嗦地解析閱讀題目？

        因為閱讀題的重點不在「什麼都記得」──結果「什麼都不記得」──而是在「記得重要的什麼。」

本文的功能在於「輔助考生自行練習畫記。」建立正確的閱讀觀念，掌握畫記的重點，可以幫助考生提升「略讀和掃讀」(Scanning and Skimming)的能力。

而能在考場上穩定發揮平時練習的成果，有效率地分析長文、解構考題，將是搶分的關鍵。

解答

        39 (D)

        40 (A)

        41 (B)

        42 (C)