筆者在日常教學中,多以閱讀寫作為主,盡管一項為輸入,一項為輸出,一項是許多學生的得分機會,一向讓考生頭痛不已,但兩者在雅思教學點上卻有著相輔相成的密切關系。在教授閱讀時,筆者常引導學生利用寫作框架觀察閱讀文章結構,更好地把握定位方向;而在寫作課上,分析真題題目也少不了閱讀能力的幫助。

許多學生認為,動輒900-1000字的閱讀文章對于只有150和250字的雅思作文借鑒意義不大,事實上,兩者在主題、構思、句式、用詞等方面有著很大的相似性。本文中,專家將就此一一說明:

1. 主題性

閱讀文章和雅思寫作題目涵蓋的范圍比較廣,具有極強的主題性,其重合話題有:環(huán)境、社會、教育三大方面。閱讀文章的內容能幫助考生更好地理解題目的文化背景,積累觀點素材,在備考過程中,考生可以將這兩項結合起來。

劍四test 2的reading passage 1“Lost for Words”極好的回答了雅思一道較難的文化類考題:what are the reasons for the loss of many cultures and languages? How to solve this problem?”

許多學生因為缺少對這一背景的了解而無從下手,我們完全可以看看這篇閱讀文章提供了哪些素材:

1 “What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are. If it is spoken by children, it is relatively safe?!?/p>

2 “…people reject the language of their parents… It begins with a crisis of confidence, when a small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society…”

3 “Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in schools, all to promote national unity。”

4 “… They cannot refuse to speak English if most commercial activity is in English…”

這些都是十分準確而又全面的回答,說明了許多語言喪失的原因,甚至連語言喪失對于文化的連帶影響也有所涉及:“Language is also intimately bound with culture, so it may be difficult to preserve one without the other?!?/p>

這篇文章在后文也對如何解決這一問題做出了回答:

“ …a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst prediction from coming true…?!痑pprentice’ programs have provided life support t several indigenous languages?!?/p>

值得注意的是,這篇閱讀文章的結構是遵循“背景—原因—解決方式”的架構來安排的,對于寫作結構也有很好的架構作用。

2.流程圖的描述

2010年雅思寫作Task I圖畫題頻現(xiàn),許多學生不太熟悉流程圖,對于如何描述其過程極為擔心。其實分析發(fā)現(xiàn),這樣的句式在說明型的閱讀文章中屢見不鮮,這類閱讀文章常常涉及某個事物的發(fā)展過程或者制作方式,其遣詞造句都是可以進行學習和利用。

劍五Test 2 Reading passage 1是一篇關于對現(xiàn)代塑料的說明文章,其中有一段就是對塑料制作過程的描述,很多句式都可以“拿來我用”。

首先是對這一流程的總體概括“The original patent outlined a three-stage process, in which phenol and formaldehyde were initially combined under vacuum inside a large egg-shaped kettle。” 我們可以根據(jù)這個句式來描寫2009年9月一道關于玻璃瓶子回收過程的題目,如:

“A three-stage process is outlined, in which the used bottles are collected and re-produced in the plant. “