考研英語閱讀中的“觀點態度題”怎麽做？

萬學海文

考研英語閱讀理解觀點態度題主要考查的是考生對作者的意圖、觀點或態度的理解和把握。這種題型要求考生把握作者寫作某篇文章的目的，明白作者對文章所論述的觀點和中心所持的態度。考研英語試卷對這一部分的考查主要表現為情感態度題。該題型常問作者對某事是什麽態度：主觀（subjective）還是客觀（objective)；肯定（positive）還是否定（negative)；讚成（approval）還是反對（opposition）等等。

這種題目對考生而言難度較大，迷惑性也較強，因為命題專家是針對整篇文章設問，考生很難找到具體對應的語言點，所以要把握整篇文章。例如作者在談一件事時是 用反諷的口氣，還是讚成的語氣，此類題所給的答案選項一般是四個形容詞，考生應在審題時就把握好這四個形容詞所表達的意思，然後返回文章去尋找資訊。特別提醒考生要牢記所遇到的構成作者態度題選項的每一個形容詞。做文章作者態度題時，千萬不要把考生自己的態度揉進文章中，同時要注意區分作者本人的態度與作 者引用的觀點態度。

理解作者的意圖、觀點和態度是近幾年考試的熱點題目，考生在做此類題時要把握這樣的判斷原則：既縱觀全文，掌握主題思想有要注意文章的措辭，把握文章的基調或主旨（tenor），又要分清文章的話語範圍（field）及話語方式（mode）。解題的關鍵是要看作者在文中用了什麽樣的口氣。若用褒義詞，顯然是讚成。若用貶義詞，顯然是反對。若是客觀陳述，則是中性的立場，不偏不倚。注意：作者態度常常在轉折詞後表明出來，因此but一詞至關重要（還有類似的yet, however, although, nevertheless等）。

該題型常見的提問形式有：

（1）The tone of the passage can best be described as ____

（2）The tone of the passage would be _____

（3）Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage____

（4）What is the attitude of the author towards____

（5）How does the writer feel about______

（6） The writer is of the opinion that_____

（7）The author seems to be _____

 情感和態度在考研中大致可分為三類：happy/ unhappy; security/insecurity; satisfaction

dissatisfaction, 它們作為標記語反映出作者對某個現象采取的姿態，並從情感的角度評價該現象。因此，考生既要依靠文章的中心思想作為前提，又要注意作者的措辭，尤其是作為修飾語的形容詞。我們以2003年的閱讀Text 4為例具體說明這一點：

Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. As a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people inJapanandSweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives.

59. In contras to theU.S.,JapanandSwedenare funding their medical care     .

[A] more flexibly

[B] more extravagantly

[C] more cautiously

[D] more reasonably

作者用limits, ineffective, painful這些消極的詞語暗示了美國醫療衛生系統的缺憾，通過把握這些詞語，我們就能得出D為正確選項。所以我們對語言的理解是有一定差異的，又如尼克松簽訂1972年公報時，對“一個中國”原則，他手下的修辭專家用了acknowledge 而不用recognize。因為後者是正式的，外交的，打心底裡的承認，而前者是一種模糊，對某種既成事實的有限度接受，但在中文裡出現的就是我們理解的“承認”。

可見考生在平時的單詞理解中要結合不同的語境，不同的文章體裁，綜合地認知寓意，才能透徹地理解作者的意圖。

另外，判斷作者情感態度除了關注作者的措辭，還要可以通過關注作者的舉例角度和講解角度，來判斷文章作者的態度傾向：如果作者的一直論述某事物的積極地向上 的方面，其態度基本上是積極樂觀的；如果作者舉例論證某觀點時，給的例子是正面的，那麽我們同樣可以判斷作者的態度是積極樂觀的；如果作者的論述有好有 壞，舉例有正面有反面，我基本上可以判斷作者的態度是客觀的。同樣，我們通過具體的真題案例進一步解釋這一點。

再例1997年第54題:

It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates,Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group’s on-line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: “We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn’t just something that happened inAustralia. It’s world history.”

The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. InAustralia-- where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part -- other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In theUSandCanada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.

Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death -- probably by a deadly injection or pill -- to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I’d go, because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks,” he says.

54. The author’s attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of ________.

[A] opposition

[B] suspicion

[C] approval

[D] indifference

我們通過閱讀該文，不難發現文章首段記述了安樂死法案通過以及當時在全球引起的反響，首段作者使用“it is world history”， 來表達他對該事件的態度，認為它意義重大；緊接著在第二段，作者首先討論世人對此態度不一，但是作者通過轉折，指出這個潮流不太可能被逆轉了。第三段，作 者用一個肺癌病人為例，該病人認為安樂死法案的通過意味著自己可以平靜地度過最後的時光，不用擔心臨死前要遭受的折磨。很明顯這個事例是認識安樂死法案的 通過是一件好事。那麽文章就作者的態度命題，答案肯定是approval。