學會推理，讓你的閱讀能力噌噌噌！

“I can’t stop shivering.” Lucy had to speak louder than normal so Gary could hear her over the wind’s caterwaul.“Move closer,” Gary said as he tugged gently at her light jacket. The material felt alarmingly flimsy in his hand. He wondered how much longer they’d have to wait until help would come.“

我止不住地顫抖。”露西提高嗓門說道，這樣加里才能在隆隆風聲聽清她。“靠近點”，加里一邊說一邊輕輕拉起她的薄外套。他覺得手中的布料薄如蟬翼，就要粉碎。他不知道他們還要等多久，救援纔來。

Although you may not realize it, you have made several inferences from the passage above without even trying very much.

儘管你沒有意識到，你已經不知不覺地在對這篇文章進行推理。

For example, you probably concluded from the conversation that Lucy and Gary were cold, and that they may be in serious trouble. However, if you look back, you’ll see that there is not direct statement about temperature in the passage. You have determined the information from several clues.

舉個例子，你可能可以從這段對話中看出露西和加里很冷，並陷入了麻煩。但是，如果你再往回看，你會發現文章中並沒有對氣溫的直接描述。你從文中的線索推斷出溫度低。

What else can you infer from the passage?

你還能從文中推斷出什麼？

Are the two inside or outside? Do you think Lucy has prepared herself for this situation? What might her lack of preparedness say about her personality? What do you think of Gary’s personality?

這兩個人是在室內還是戶外？你認爲露西對這個情況有所準備嗎？她的粗心體現出她的什麼性格？加里的性格又是什麼樣？

Most of the information you believe about Gary and Lucy has come from inference.

你所得到的關於加里和露西的信息大多來自你的推理。

What Is Inference?

什麼是推理？

Inference is what we do when we draw conclusions based on observations and experience.

推理是你通過觀察與經驗做出的結論。

Any time you read, you make inferences about the characters, scenes, and actions. You can do this because you bring a pretty large vocabulary and some life experience with you as you read.

閱讀時，你會對人物性格、場景及動作做出推理。你會這樣做是因爲你在閱讀時動用了自身的龐大詞彙量以及生活經驗。

As you read the passage above, you made inferences about the following:

你在讀上述文章時，你會對下面這些因素進行推理：

Pronoun antecedents: In the last sentence (He wondered . . .), you have most likely inferred that the pronoun “he” refers to Gary.

前指代詞：最後一句中（他不知道……），你認爲代詞“他”指加里。

Meaning of words from context: Can you define the word caterwaul? You have most likely concluded that it means something similar to howl or scream. If you weren’t familiar with the word before reading the passage, you probably made a conclusion because you are familiar enough with the words that came before and after to determine the meaning of this new word. In other words, You determined this from the context of the sentence. You put the clues together to make an educated guess about an unfamiliar word.

通過上下文猜詞義：你知道“caterwaul”是什麼意思嗎？你可能能猜出它指“咆哮”、“尖叫”。如果你在看文章前不認識這個單詞，你能做出這種判斷很可能是因爲你認識足夠多的這個新詞前後的詞。換句話說，你通過上下文，把線索結合起來，對這個不熟悉的詞做出了恰當的猜測。

Determine character traits through words, thoughts, and actions: How would you describe Gary’s personality, based on the few sentences above? Is he a cruel person or a kind person? Is he sensitive or uncaring? What clues have led you to your conclusions?

通過話語、想法、行動判斷人物性格：根據上述短短几句話，你如何描述加里的人物性格？殘酷還是和藹？敏感細膩還是心不在焉？是什麼線索讓你做出結論？

Pick up on clues about setting and mood: Is Gary happy, sleepy, or worried in the passage? You probably think he’s worried, right? So try to identify the clues that left you with this impression.

尋找有關場景及心情的線索：文章中，加里是開心、疲倦還是焦慮？可能你認爲他很焦慮，是嗎？試着找找讓你產生這種印象的線索。

Did you come up with these clues?

你是否找到了這些線索？

Lucy’s coat feels alarming flimsy. 

露西的外套薄如蟬翼，就要粉碎。

He’s waiting for help to come.

他在等待救援。

Pick up on character flaws or weaknesses: What can a reader conclude from the fact that Lucy is wearing a light jacket that seems to be inadequate for the situation at hand? Not much, to be fair.

尋找性格弱點：通過露西身穿薄外套不能應付當前情況這一事實讀者可以得出什麼結論？實話說，結論並不多。

There is simply not enough information in this short passage to help the reader make a reasonable conclusion about Lucy’s personality. However, your brain is doing something interesting as you read. It stores clues.

這篇短文不能提供足夠的信息讓讀者對露西的性格下結論，但是，你在閱讀時，你的大腦也在做一些有趣的工作，它儲存線索。

As you read long passages, you pick up on subtle hints and store them in your memory. You accumulate these clues and add them together to make further inferences as you read.

你閱讀長篇大論時，你會得到細微的線索，你會把這些線索記住，在閱讀過程中累計這些線索，做出推斷。

Why Does Inference Matter?

爲什麼推理很重要?

Inference is an important ingredient for reading comprehension, but it is impossible to isolate inference as a factor alone. You can’t make inferences if you don’t possess other reading skills, like a strong vocabulary, an understanding of paragraph structure, and a knowledge of the parts of of your reading skills work in unison as you practice reading. And the more you read, the more you build your reading skills.

推理是閱讀理解的一個重要因素，但卻不能把推理單獨歸類爲一種因素。如果你沒有其他閱讀技巧，你無法推理，這些技巧包含豐富的詞彙量，對段落結構的理解，以及對詞性的理解。你所有的閱讀技巧在你訓練閱讀時都是一個整體，你讀得越多，你掌握的閱讀技巧也越多。

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