綺玉子的英文學習部落格與GRE/GMAT葵花寶典

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綺玉子的英文學習部落格與GRE/GMAT葵花寶典

綺玉子的性感美女相簿與英文學習部落格終於誕生了!
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/rochefort&list=1
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/rochefort

用英文學英文的GRE/GMAT葵花寶典(130餘頁）
筆者今年2月初次考GRE,成績如下:

Quantitative score = 800 (94%)
Verbal score = 620 (88%)
Writing score = 5.5 (87%)

整份 **用英文學英文的筆記講義**, 可適用於GRE/GMAT/TOEIC/TOEFL的準備資料, 有意取閱者請電洽 Lucia x0932186860 或是 James x26403251 x26601302.

rochefort2010@gmail.com

以下為例字詞句: raconteur and rapport

raconteur
[D] A raconteur is a good story teller, a good narrator, or a good conversationalist.
[D] A raconteur is someone who excels in telling anecdotes.
[X] Although Clinton is a well-known raconteur on overseas flights, it turned out that Bush was the charmer on that trip, introducing everyone all around, taking a shine to a couple of Clinton’s aides and generally making folks feel at ease.
Michael Duffy, TIME, December 26, 2006, When Opposites Attract

rapport
[D] If a couple of people or groups have a rapport, they have a good relationship in which they are able to understand each other's ideas or feelings very well.
[N] Synonyms are 'harmony', 'affinity', 'bond', 'connection', and 'empathy'.
[X] The chief in command took the plunge to establish a rapport with the Indian people.
[X] The success largely depends on good rapport between interview and interviewee.
[X] Intellectual rapport is key to a grad student's development.
[X] The football star has good rapport with his teammates.
[X] In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another.


GRE/GMAT葵花寶典

前言大綱

筆者希望能在傳承此份筆記講義之前，分享過去準備報考GRE/GMAT的一些心得，以供廣大讀者們參考指教。首先，GRE/GMAT均有三大部份，其中一部份為英文寫作，其二為英文檢測，最後部份是數量測試。由於數量測試範圍僅限於高中程度，絕大多數學生無須多花時間加強，所以此份講義只針對英文檢測與寫作兩個部份著墨。

本份筆記講義與坊間考試用書最大的差異之處在於「GRE/GMAT葵花寶典」是一本用英文來學英文的筆記講義。「GRE/GMAT葵花寶典」分為兩個部份，第一部份注重英文辭彙，第二部份則注重英文寫作，以純正字彙辭薻來造句作文，以自然語法來貫通英文邏輯，這兩部份相輔相成缺一不可。

第一部份的英文辭彙一共大約四百個常考單字，每一個單字均有完整的英文解釋定義，並附同義詞或反義詞注解，另外還有數條活用例句。讀者可以將每一個單字了解本意，聯想他詞，熟悉語法，活記活用，以達到融會貫通之功效。讀者在學習過程中可以感覺到這四百個常考單字擴大到近一千個以上單字片語。這些單字片語可以視之為準備GRE/GMAT的精華辭彙。希望讀者熟唸這長達七十餘頁的單字例句來輔助學習正確英文用語以及寫作邏輯。

第二部份的英文範例包含許多優良文章，內容涵蓋幾個指標方向，舉例如下：
Tradition versus innovation;
The proper role of government in a policy setting;
Competition versus cooperation;
Purposes of art, literature, education, science, or technology;
Nature versus nurture;
Will computers replace teachers or other human workers?
How do we define human progress?
How do we define success (in terms of wealth, special talent, or intellectual capability)?

另外，筆者在此簡短討論高分GRE/GMAT解析文章的基本要素。無論issue或是argument作文題目，讀者都應當使用正確辭彙與文法，活用變化長短句型，自然清楚的表達陳述或是反證立論。讀者練寫issue文章時，應該著重於個人論點的闡述與解釋，以達到立論明確、邏輯清晰的基本目標。對於正確用語（字彙與句型），讀者可以活用「俯衝探究」（DIVE）的原則：

DIVE =
Definition 字彙定義（有時要對兩個類似字彙做定義上的區分）
Information 資訊分析（明白剖析作文題目所蘊含的資訊、假設與隱意）
Vocabulary 字詞活用（有些關鍵字詞的運用可幫助達到前後呼應之效）
Example 範例運用（每一論點應該以生活上或歷史上的例子來作加強）

讀者在練寫argument文章時，切忌發表個人論點，隨心所欲的增添個人色彩。這點是issue以及argument作文題目的最大差異之處。讀者在練習argument文章時，應該著重於發現、分析、甚至反證作文題目之中的邏輯謬誤（logical fallacy）。在此筆者列舉幾項常見的邏輯謬誤：

以偏概全
Sometimes a rule or principle that applies to a part may not apply to the whole. For instance, a car accident in the central business district does not necessarily reflect that there is always heavy traffic at high speed. In other words, it is important for the reader to access more information (such as weekly traffic rates) to judge whether heavy traffic or high speed is a major cause of all car accidents.

錯誤的援引類比（將蘋果與柳橙相比）
It is important to compare the likes with the likes. In other words, it is unreasonable to compare apples with oranges. For instance, a man may appeal to a doctor’s authority on a medical issue. But if the issue is about dermatology and the doctor is a neurologist, then the latter’s expert advice would be questionable.

過度的延伸假設
We can identify an unwarranted assumption if the conclusion of an argument rests on an implicit or explicit premise that is false, vague, or ambiguous. A good example is as follows:

“Either restrictions must be placed on freedom of speech or certain subversive elements in society will use it to destroy this country. Because it is inadequate to allow the latter, we must restrict freedom of speech.”

The above conclusion is not sound because:
subversive may or may not in fact find ways to destroy the country;
the author fails to consider an accommodation between the alternative options;
the meaning and scope of freedom of speech has not been defined;
subversives may or may not be a real threat to our way of life.


循環性思維
Circular reasoning entails an assumption or premise that the author tries to prove. The argument may be so long that the reader forgets that the conclusion was stated as a premise. The following sentence serves as an example:

“The death penalty is adequate for traitors because it is right to execute those who betray their own country and so risk the lives of millions.”

The above argument is circular because “right” has the same meaning as “adequate”. In effect, the author is saying that the death penalty is appropriate because it is appropriate.


無有力與實質的論證
It is incumbent on the author to provide evidence or support or substantiate his or her position. To say that a position is true because no one has disproved it is to shift the burden of proof to others. A good example relates to the words “atheistic” and “agnostic”. The former is used to describe someone who does not really believe in God, whereas, the latter is used to describe someone who does not believe it is possible to prove God’s existence.

“Because no one has been able to prove God’s existence, there must not be a God.”

There are a couple of major weaknesses in this argument. Firstly, the fact that God’s existence has yet to be proven does not preclude any future proof of existence. Secondly, if there is a God, one would expect that his existence is independent of any proof by man.


以上對於常見邏輯謬誤的討論，有利於讀者建立清晰英文寫作邏輯，並力求正反兩造剖析釋義。綜合以上各點，讀者應該清楚了解issue以及argument作文題目的差異之處，遵循活用「俯衝探究」（DIVE）的原則多寫多練，運用良好的邏輯觀念深究作文題目當中的謬誤。此外，一篇令人讚賞的英語文章必有一段簡潔有力、陳述整合的結論，以達成畫龍點睛之效。

優良英文寫作的秘訣不外乎是多讀多聽多寫，學習正確語用文法，練習起草文章。筆者在此列舉幾本推薦讀物以供廣大讀者們平時涉獵參考：

1. 美國年代雜誌（TIME）
2. 英國經濟學人（The Economist）
3. 美國紐約時報（New York Times）
4. 美國華盛頓郵報（Washington Post）
5. 英國財經時報（Financial Times）
6. 國家地理雜誌（National Geographic）
7. 簡明新世界歷史（The New Penguin history of the world）
8. 聖經（The Bible）
9. 常春藤名家散文背誦選
10. 名人書信一百篇
11. 名人演講一百篇
12. 高階英漢詞典（Collins Cobuild advanced learner’s dictionary）
13. 英漢漢英成語常用語翻譯辭典（Chinese equivalents to English idioms）

筆者綺玉子（Emily Rochefort rochefort2010@gmail.com）
編寫於公元2008年6月初