2011年6月英语四级听力：把阅读能力转化为听力

      对于大多数四级考生来讲，他们的阅读能力要远远好于听力能力。因为即使让词汇量只有2000左右、掌握了基本语法的中学生来看着四级听力文字材料（注意，不是听着录音）做四级听力题，他们也能很快的作对80%以上的题目，而这正是很多同学在四级听力方面的奋斗目标。因此，如果大家能听懂难度与高考阅读相当的英文材料，四级听力得高分将不在话下。例如，四级听力中难度很大的一篇文章的文字材料和题目如下：

Passage one

    The water clock was an ancient clock. It could be used on cloudy days, at night, and indoors. Such clocks were probably first used in Egypt about 2,000 B. C. They were also used for many years in Arabia, India, China, and all of Europe.

    The simplest water clock needed just two parts--a small bowl and a large bowl. The small bowl had a tiny hole in the bottom; the large bowl was divided into equal parts and marked by lines. Water was poured into small bowl, and it fell slowly down into the large bowl in tiny drops. Usually it took an hour for the water to rise from one line to the next in the large bowl.

    A beautiful water clock was made in Persia over a thousand years ago. It was presented as a gift to the Emperor of France. This water clock could be heard as well as seen. The dial of the clock was made up of twelve doors, each representing an hour. Every hour a door opened, and the proper number of metal balls dropped onto a thin brass plate to strike the hour. At twelve o'clock, twelve tiny horsemen came out and shut all the doors. This was probably one of the first striking clocks.

    Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.

    11. When was the first water clock probably made?

    (A) 4,000 years ago.       (C) 2,000 years ago.

    (B) 3,000 years ago.       (D) 1,000 years ago.

    12. What do we know about the structure of the simplest water clock?

    (A) The small bowl was put above the large bowl.

    (B) The large bowl was put above the small bowl.

    (C) The small bowl was put inside the large bowl.

    (D) The large bowl consisted of two equal parts.

    13. What did the striking water clock use to strike hours?

    (A) Horsemen.           (C) Drops of water.

    (B) Brass doors.           (D) Metal balls.

    看着文字材料，我们很容易把题目全部作对。客观的讲，这篇文字材料的语言难度远远低于近年来高考英语阅读的难度。

    尽管听力和阅读能力有很大的差别，例如，听是通过耳朵把语言刺激送到大脑中形成记忆，阅读是通过眼睛把刺激送到大脑里面形成记忆，两者使用的器官不同，信息在大脑中的存储部位也不同（参见Scientific American, Sept. 1992）。但是，听和读都是语言信息的输入形式，通过反复的听力训练，会在大脑中管听和读的细胞间建立起连接，进而形成音形一体化的英语知识，从而大幅度提高听力能力。实践表明，在具备一定的阅读能力的基础上再提高听力能力的难度要远远小于英语阅读能力很低的人提高听力的难度。同时，我们也不要期求能够听懂自己看都看不懂的材料，因为只有英美国家的文盲才能部分的做到这一点。

    那么，为什么很多考生听不懂他们自己能够一看就懂的英语材料呢？