文章講解：

首先，Blurb。

一篇文章的引言部分非常重要。我一定會在課上強調(diào)大家在開始讀文章之前研讀blurb。盡管不是每篇文章的blurb都一定會有有效信息，但Blurb就相當于一篇文章的標題，我們總能夠通過文章標題，大體預測文章的內(nèi)容。

這篇文章的blurb就在一開始告訴了我們?nèi)宋镪P系以及故事背景：

This passage is from James Baldwin,?Another Country. ?1990 by Gloria Baldwin Karefa-Smart. Originally published in 1962.?Eric, an?actor, and?Vivaldo, a?writer, are watching?Vivaldo’s girlfriend,?Ida,?sing with a band?that?her brother,?the Kid, once played with.

接下里我們展開故事閱讀。

這篇文章分段較散，那么我們就自行20行左右作為一個小層次，一步一步的讀故事。

line?1-21

She was not announced; there was merely a brief huddle with the piano-player; and then she stepped up to the mike. The piano-player began the first few bars, but the crowd did not take the hint.

“Let’s try it again,” said Ida, in a loud, clear voice.

At this, heads turned to look at her; she looked calmly down on them. The only sign of her?agitation was in her hands, which were tightly, restlessly clasped before her—she was wringing her hands, but she was not crying.?

Somebody said, in a loud whisper, “Dig, man, that’s the Kid’s kid sister.”

There were beads of sweat on her forehead and on her nose, and one leg moved out, trembling, moved back. The piano-player began again, she grabbed the mike like a drowning woman, and abruptly closed her eyes:

? ??You

? ? Made me leave my happy home.

? ? You took my love and now you’ve gone,

? ? Since I fell for you.

【

她沒有報幕，舞臺上人也不多，她就直接上臺了。剛開始，鋼琴手彈了幾個音，但是觀眾并沒有太在意。

她清了清嗓子，吸引了一些觀眾的注意。她表面看起來很淡定，但是她緊握的雙手表明她心里其實非常的緊張。

有人認出了她：“誒，那不是他姐么~”

她額頭鼻尖冒汗，腿都緊張在抖。但是當音樂響起，她抓住麥克風。閉上眼睛，開始唱歌。

】

人物+場景描寫，推動故事情節(jié)發(fā)展。

bar

agitation

接下來：

line 22-50

She was not a singer yet. And if she were to be judged solely on the basis of her voice, low, rough- textured, of no very great range, she never would be. Yet, she had something which made Eric look up and caused the room to fall silent; and Vivaldo stared at Ida as though he had never seen her before. What she lacked in vocal power and, at the moment, in skill, she compensated for by a quality so mysteriously and implacably?egocentric that no one has ever been able to name it. This quality involves a sense of the self so profound and so powerful that it does not so much leap barriers as reduce them to atoms—while still leaving them standing, mightily, where they were; and this awful sense is private, unknowable, not to be articulated, having, literally, to do with something else; it transforms and lays waste and gives life, and kills.

She finished her first?number?and the applause was stunned and sporadic. She looked over at Vivaldo with a small, childish shrug. And this gesture somehow revealed to Eric how desperately one could love her, how desperately Vivaldo was in love with her. The drummer went into a?down-on-the-levee-type song, which turned out to be a song Eric had never heard before:

? ? betty told Dupree

? ? She wanted a diamond ring.

? ? And Dupree said, betty,

? ? I’ll get you most any old thing.

【

她的嗓音其實并不能算是一個好歌手。但是技術(shù)上的不足，她用一種專屬的個人風格做了很好的彌補。（然后后面的line 31-38應該是這篇文章當中最難讀的部分，后面的第2題也考到了。的確是常錯題。不過結(jié)構(gòu)大于內(nèi)容，等到了那一題我們再回來看。不要因為局部的難讀而丟失了整個故事的完整性。）

一曲終了，觀眾反應一般。她也沒有覺得很尷尬。（后面加入了一些Eric的心理描寫。心理描寫一般體現(xiàn)人物性格，但是因為這里篇幅不多，考場上的閱讀過程當中很有可能會被一筆帶過。但是也不影響整體故事的抓取，所以我們繼續(xù)往下抓故事。）

很快，隨著鼓聲，她又唱了一首歌。

】

進一步的場景描寫。

implacably??/?m?pl?k?bli/?

number?

down-on-the-levee-type song

line?51-63

?“My God,” muttered Vivaldo, “she’s been working.” 【場景切換】

His tone unconsciously implied that he had not been, and held an unconscious resentment. And this threw Eric in on himself. Neither had he been working—for a long time; he had merely been keeping his hand in. He looked at Vivaldo’s white, passionate face and wondered if Vivaldo were now thinking that he had not been working because of Ida: who had not, however, allowed?him?to distract her. There she was, up on the stand, and unless all the signs were false, and no matter how hard or long the road might be, she was on her way. She had started.?

【

她男朋友都震驚了?！€真下功夫了啊~’

然后讓這倆哥們覺得有點自慚形穢。

】

主要是Eric的心理描寫

threw Eric in on himself

To?apply?or?devote?someone,?something,?or?oneself?to?some?activity?or?endeavor.

自我代入，反觀自己

keeping his hand in?

to?remain?involved?in?something,?perhaps?only?a?token?involvement.?

e.g. I?want?to?keep?my?hand?in?things?even?after?I?retire.?

e.g. I?always?have?to?keep?my?hand?in?so?I?will?feel?a?part?of?things.

也就是做做樣子

最后，line?64-74

【鏡頭又切回Ida】

She and the musicians were beginning to enjoy each other and to?egg each other on?as they bounced through a ballad of?cupidity,?treachery, and death; and Ida had created in the room a new atmosphere and a new excitement. Even the heat seemed less intolerable. The musicians played for her as though she were an old friend come home and their pride in

her restored their pride in themselves.?

The number ended and Ida stepped off the stand, wet and?triumphant, the applause crashing about her ears like?foam. She came to the table, looking at Vivaldo with a smile and a small, questioning frown, and, standing, took a sip of her drink. They called her back. The drummer reached down and lifted her, bodily, onto the stand, and the applause continued.

【

Ida和樂隊的表演漸入佳境，帶熱全場。

】

egg each other on?（有慫恿之意，在這里可以理解為舞臺表演者之間形成了默契）

to urge or encourage (someone) to do something that is usually foolish or dangerou

e.g. He continued to take off his clothes while the crowd?egged?him?on.

題型解析：

1?間接細節(jié)題

其實故事讀明白了，這一題很好選~

選項排除就能做。
A B D里都有很好排除的元素?？赡蹹會有些收到Line 42的干擾，但是回文稍稍確認就可排除。

C的對應在line 25

“把每一題都做成循證題”

2 結(jié)構(gòu)功能題。常錯題。

BD都比較好排。

常錯是A，obstacles和singing career無關。

C服務于上句

What she lacked in vocal power and, at the moment, in skill, she compensated for by a?quality?so mysteriously and?implacably?egocentric that no one has ever been able to name it.?This?quality?involves ... 技術(shù)上的不足，她用“quality”來補。

后文在描述這種“quality”，也就是舞臺表現(xiàn)力。

3 直接細節(jié)，找到定位就能做。對應在line 23

4?間接細節(jié)，看著難，但是選項好排

結(jié)合第5題組合循證，定位在line?55

6?結(jié)構(gòu)功能題

不認識italicize（斜體字）也不影響解題，但是最好能認識。

這一題也常錯。常選A。注意這是一道寫法題，而非內(nèi)容推斷題。

原文

He looked at Vivaldo’s white, passionate face and wondered if Vivaldo were now thinking that he had not been working because of Ida: who had not, however, allowed?him?to distract?her.?

（找到定位一定要讀完整句子。句子才是理解的最小單位。）

這個解析很好，直接用了。

這一題是難。但是十題丟一題，不影響350+

7 可以算送分題。但是還是會有同學選B并覺得很有道理。請自行查閱，并做好“去自我中心化”。同理對應line 7

8 直接細節(jié)題。按照出題層次和第9題，可以直接定位，并不算難題。

當然需要積累rapport和exhilarating（興奮）?

干擾是A。只是個安可返場，沒有讓樂隊再次流行的說法。

以及C，不是推斷題。就算是推斷，也是有過度聯(lián)想。

10 單詞意思題。C有干擾，還是要結(jié)合原文，并加強查閱，做好“去自我中心化”。

背景拓展：

James Baldwin

詹姆斯·鮑德溫，美國黑人作家、散文家、戲劇家和社會評論家。1924出生在紐約市黑人聚居區(qū)，一生著述頗為豐厚，共寫有六部長篇小說、四部劇本和十幾部散文集，其作品涉及的范圍非常廣泛。他的小說《向蒼天呼吁》與賴特的《土生子》和埃利森的《看不見的人》被并列為20世紀四五十年代美國黑人文學的典范。在二戰(zhàn)后的美國黑人文學發(fā)展進程中，鮑德溫起著承上啟下的作用，是一個“真正的必不可少”的作家。

Another Country?is a 1962 novel by?James Baldwin. The novel is primarily set in?Greenwich Village?and?Harlem,?New York City, in the late 1950s. It portrayed many themes that were?taboo?at the time of its release, including?bisexuality,?interracial couples?and?extramarital affairs.

The book uses a?third-person narrator?who is nevertheless closely aware of the characters' emotions.

The first fifth of?Another Country?tells of the downfall of?jazz?drummer Rufus Scott. He begins a relationship with Leona, a white woman from the South, and introduces her to his social circle, including his closest friend, struggling novelist Vivaldo, his more successful mentor Richard, and Richard's wife Cass. Initially, the relationship is frivolous, but it turns more serious as they continue to live together. Rufus becomes habitually physically abusive of Leona, and she is admitted to a mental hospital in the South. Depressed, Rufus returns to Harlem and commits suicide, jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

The rest of the book explores relationships between Rufus' friends, family, and acquaintances in the wake of his death.?Rufus's friends cannot understand the suicide, and experience some guilt over his death. Afterwards, they become closer. Vivaldo begins a relationship with Rufus's sister Ida, which is strained by racial tension and Ida's bitterness after her brother's death.

Eric, an actor and Rufus' first male lover, returns to New York after years living in France, where he met his longtime lover Yves. Eric returns to the novel's social circle but is calmer and more composed than most of the group. Everyone's relationships become strained in the course of the novel. Ida starts having an affair with Ellis, an advertising executive who promises to help with her career as a singer. Cass, who has become lonely due to Richard's writing career, has an affair with Eric after he arrives in New York. At the novel's climax, Cass tells Richard about her affair with Eric, who in turn has a sexual encounter with Vivaldo, who himself learns about Ida's relationship with Ellis.

Ida Scott 是個黑妞，仇視白人，卻找了個白人男朋友。Eric也是個白人，而且沒有愛上Ida，卻愛上了Vivaldo.