最近常常有同學問我這個問題，
“老師，我很不會抓架構，要怎麼練習？”
我想這是很多同學都會有的問題，
因此，決定寫一篇文章與同學分享如何練習抓架構。
首先讓我們來談談架構的重要性，為什麼要會抓架構呢？
一、節省閱讀時間：同學通常會覺得閱讀難在看不完，時間很趕。這其實是因為大部份同學都是使用細讀—也就是每個字都看—的閱讀方式。但是當你會抓架構時，就能夠跳過很多不必要的資訊，自然不需要很多時間理解全文。再者、抓架構的能力不只在考托福時很重要，甚至是你出國必備的能力。試想，出國時，每科功課就要讀好幾百頁的原文書，用抓架構的能力閱讀，可以節省非常多時間。
二、提升答題率：同學常會覺得答案選項都長得很像，很難選。這其實也是因為你讀太細了，容易被文中的細節誤導。當你會抓架構時，你便能夠一眼辨識太詳細的選項，直接跳過，選答案自然變得容易了。
既然抓架構的能力這麼重要，讓我們談談要如何練習抓架構吧！
所謂“架構”包含句子與句子之間的關聯性，段落與段落的關聯性，以及文章整體的核心概念。
當你可以很快讀懂句與句的關聯、分析哪個段落重要、還有看出整篇文章的核心概念，表示抓架構的能力提升了。
以下分享簡單七步驟，練習抓架構的能力。
最好的練習教材不外乎是同學當天做的TPO閱讀，因為這對於考試分數的提升有絕大的幫助。
抓架構的七大步驟：
一、skim整段：所謂skim—略讀—是指每句話只看S.V.O.，甚至以新資訊為主。skim的時候請特別留意轉折詞以及態度字眼，這兩者會告訴你哪個資訊重要。
不會skim嗎？
請看以下這篇文章，了解如何skim。
為什麼GMAT/托福多念了一個月，分數仍然上不去？
以下這個段落你會怎麼skim？
請拿紙筆試試（或是於word檔複製貼上），把你看的訊息畫線，並用紅筆圈出轉折詞以及態度相關的字眼，再與我的比較。
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
我會這樣skim。
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like（比喻算比較關係，因此我用紅字表示） sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse（比喻較難懂，因此我抓後面的資訊collapse比較好理解）. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. （這句話我視為細節，因此不抓S.V.O.）Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
二、分析整段的主旨與細節：你是否能夠很快辨認哪些句子為主旨，哪些為細節？如此考試時，便能夠跳過細節，只記主旨，可以節省很多時間。
哪句話是主旨、哪些句子為細節，請分別用兩種不同顏色的筆表示。
以下這個段落你會怎麼分析？請拿紙筆試試（或是於word檔複製貼上）。
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
這段我會這樣看：
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
整段主旨為several changes。其他句子都在講解哪些changes。
三、在每句話中間放入轉折詞：閱讀難在作者省略了很多句子之間的轉折詞，所以同學常常會一段讀好幾次才懂。當你在閱讀時，能夠自動在每句話中間加入轉折詞，代表你可以很快讀懂句子之間的關聯性，閱讀速度就變快了。
請你練習在每句話中間放入轉折詞。
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
我會這樣看：
But that is not all that changes. That is, During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. First, It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Second, Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). That is, Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also(已經有轉折詞了，就不用另外加) there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. For example, If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
加入了轉折詞後，我便能夠清楚知道作者舉出了四個變化：
more effort to breathe, muscles relaxed, change in resistance, loss of interaction。
但是除非對方考你detail題或是EXCEPT題，才要回來看這些變化，否則都視為細節，不計。整段我只要知道在講several changes就可以了。
四、練習架構式筆記：同學常常會覺得每個段落要重複讀，很浪費時間。其實，只要你習慣做架構式筆記，便不會有這個問題，甚至做summary題時都可以很順。所謂的架構式筆記是指我只看每個段落最重要的地方—通常為第一句話，把它簡化成一個概念，寫在段落旁邊。這樣，每當題目出在同個段落時，你只要參考你的筆記，就能夠清楚整段重點，不只不需要重複讀、選答案時更不會被無關的選項誤導。
整段請你用一個概念表示，寫在段落旁邊。
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
我會這樣看，
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
因此，我會寫several changes.
以上我們在練習看句子與句子之間的關聯性。請於你做的TPO閱讀裡面，用每個段落練習以上這四步驟。
接著，我們來練習看段落與段落之間的關聯性：
五、思考每段落之間的關聯性：段落與段落的關聯性很單純，不是承接，就是對比。假如你看到承接的字眼，如：Also, Even, etc.代表兩段落為承接—意即主題一樣，態度立場也一樣。如果你看到對比的字眼，如：Yet, Despite, etc.代表兩段為對比—即主題雖然一樣，態度立場已改變。
假如是承接，我會用箭頭表示。如果是對比，我會在比較重要的段落前打個星號，表示他更重要。
請閱讀以下兩段落的關聯性，思考為承接還是對比？
During NREM (the phase of sleep in which there is no rapid eye movement) breathing becomes deeper and more regular, but there is also a decrease in the breathing rate, resulting in less air being exchanged overall. This occurs because during NREM sleep the automatic, metabolic system has exclusive control over breathing and the body uses less oxygen and produces less carbon dioxide. Also, during sleep the automatic metabolic system is less responsive to carbon dioxide levels and oxygen levels in the blood. Two things result from these changes in breathing control that occur during sleep. First, there may be a brief cessation or reduction of breathing when falling asleep as the sleeper waxes and wanes between sleep and wakefulness and their differing control mechanisms. Second, once sleep is fully obtained, there is an increase of carbon dioxide and a decrease of oxygen in the blood that persists during NREM.
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
我會這樣看，
During NREM (the phase of sleep in which there is no rapid eye movement) breathing becomes deeper and more regular, but there is also a decrease in the breathing rate, resulting in less air being exchanged overall. This occurs because during NREM sleep the automatic, metabolic system has exclusive control over breathing and the body uses less oxygen and produces less carbon dioxide. Also, during sleep the automatic metabolic system is less responsive to carbon dioxide levels and oxygen levels in the blood. Two things result from these changes in breathing control that occur during sleep. First, there may be a brief cessation or reduction of breathing when falling asleep as the sleeper waxes and wanes between sleep and wakefulness and their differing control mechanisms. Second, once sleep is fully obtained, there is an increase of carbon dioxide and a decrease of oxygen in the blood that persists during NREM.
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the "good" side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
第一段在講NREM的change。第二段在講其他changes。通常看到but是對比，但是這裏有but not…，因此，仍然在講other changes。兩段為承接，主題立場相同。
六、抓主旨、目的以及架構：此時，你每個段落旁都寫了一個概念，也注意到了段落間為承接或是對比，請你把你做的架構式筆記（上述第四個步驟）當成是簡短summary，讀完後抓整篇文章的主旨、目的以及架構。
所謂的主旨通常是對方給你的主題。
所謂的目的為作者有什麼態度立場？他為何要講這個主題？
而架構是指整篇文章有哪些段落比較重要？可以幫你預測summary題的正確答案。
我們以這份架構式筆記試試看，讀完後請自行寫主旨、目的以及架構：
Breathing During Sleep
第一段：changes in breathing: most dramatic
第二段：(awake) breathing: 2 systems
第三段：(NREM) *decrease in breathing =>less air
第四段：other changes
第五段：mechanisms which cease functioning
第六段：(REM) changes
看完後，我會這樣記：
主旨：breathing during sleep
目的：explain factors which influence breathing during sleep
架構：cause-and-effect
在觀察架構時，我發現三、四、五、六段都在講asleep發生的變化，因此，我會認為這幾段比較重要，同時，我會預期summary題裡面一定要有NREM還有REM時的變化。
七、paraphrase整篇大意：這個步驟不只能夠訓練你抓架構的能力，更能夠幫助你練習summarize的能力。當你在國外念書，每堂課都會運用到這個能力，對你學業成績以及日常生活是相當關鍵的。請你就第六個步驟寫出來的主旨、目的以及架構，寫成50字左右的summary。
請看示範：
Basically, the author believes that changes in respiratory control are often the most dramatic. First, he analyzes the changes in breathing which occur when we are awake. Then, he mentions the changes occurring in NREM, and REM. For instance, it takes much more effort to breathe when we are asleep. Also, a lot of mechanisms cease functioning in this period.
做個簡單總結，假如你很不會抓架構，請不要怕麻煩，因為這是國外念書非常必備的能力。每天練習這七步驟，不到兩個禮拜，你會意識到自己越來越會抓架構。
STEP 1: skim整段
STEP 2: 分析整段的主旨與細節
STEP 3: 在每句話中間放入轉折詞
STEP 4: 練習架構式筆記
STEP 5: 思考每段落之間的關聯性
STEP 6: 抓主旨、目的以及架構
STEP 7: paraphrase整篇大意
當然，內化抓架構的能力不外乎是大量閱讀。所謂的大量閱讀，不是要你每天看八小時的原文書，而是培養每天閱讀英文的習慣。當你每天習慣用以上方式閱讀一篇700-1000字的英文文章，自然會越來越會抓架構。等你覺得自己能夠內化上述七步驟，離閱讀滿分就不遠囉！更重要的是，你會具備出國唸書的閱讀基本功力。
如果你發現你不會scan,不會skim的話，推薦你兩本書，
第一本教你如何抓S.V.O.，只讀整句話最重要的部分。第二本教你如何skim。
黃玟君的觀念英文閱讀──從看懂句子開始
黃玟君的觀念英文閱讀 2：如何快速看懂文章
當你做完這兩本書裡面的題目時，離能夠自由運用scan, skim的境界就更接近囉！
同時，想要了解如何於托福中運用scan, skim，也可以看以下這兩篇文章，
閱讀滿分的關鍵祕密 Part 1：學會Scan
閱讀滿分的關鍵祕密 Part 2：學會Skim
只要熟悉練習方法以及考試題型，閱讀其實是很好拿分的一科，
能夠自由運用scan, skim以及內化抓架構的能力，要拿到28以上，甚至是30分，是相對容易的喔！
祝同學都能夠取得閱讀高分喔！;D
Cheers,
SK2 Rosa ^ _____ ^
還是不太會抓架構嗎？
歡迎同學免費進班學習如何抓架構
有興趣的同學，請寄信至toeflconsultant@gmail.com報名。
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如：1/8_閱讀課＿試聽
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