新编英语泛读教程 | A Freshman English Reader
| HOME sectionA sectionB sectionC Key to the Exercises | unit ６The African-Americans |
| Reading Skill: Recognizing the Pattern of Details |
| Word Pretest |
| Detailed Study of Text A |
| Reading Skill Questions |
| Vocabulary Building |
| Synonyms |
Reading Skill——Recognizing the Pattern of Details
Details are the proof or explanation of the main idea of a reading passage. It is important to notice and retain the necessary details that support the main idea. In processing his data, a writer usually follows certain' patterns by which the main idea is developed. If you can recognize these organizational patterns, you will be able to make sense of what otherwise can seem like a big muddle of details.
There are many ways of organizing details. But writers do tend to present materials through the use of certain recognizable patterns. The most common organizational patterns are the following:
Space Relationship. Details may be organized according to a space relationship. They usually move in an order, such as left to right, up to down, north to south, or vice versa. Words like right, left, up, down, above, below indicate position or location.
Time Sequence. Details are presented in the order in which they took place in time. This pattern is used frequently in describing the steps in a process or reporting historical events. Signal words or phrases such as at first, after that, finally, once, earlier, now, eventually may help you identify the pattern.
Example or Illustration. This pattern uses specific cases to move from the general to the particular. The most frequently used signal words or phrases in the pattern include for example, for instance, such as, m this case, to illustrate, that is, in other words.
Comparison and Contrast. Details are organized to emphasize the similarities or differences between two or more items. Comparison points out similarities; contrast points out differences. The following signal words or phrases are most frequently used in the pattern: m comparison, like, similarly, likewise, to compare, in contrast, on the other hand, however, nevertheless.
Cause and Effect. This pattern is used to explain why and how something happened. The purpose is to show how two or more events are related. It starts with a cause and gives its effects. Or vice versa, it may give an effect or result and then tell what caused it. Signal words or phrases frequently used in this pattern include: because, for, due to, therefore, as a result, consequently, the reason.
Addition. This pattern (sometimes called enumeration) is one of the simplest. Supporting details are organized into a list of points, first one point, then another, then another. The purpose is to present facts. The following signal words are useful in finding items or facts in the list: first, second, third, one, another, moreover, furthermore, finally.
You can find these common patterns in textbooks, essays, speeches, advertising, course lectures, conversation with friends, even in your own thinking. They are simply logical patterns by logical thinkers. The patterns often combine and overlap. Understanding organizational patterns helps you remember important details.
Unit6 The African-Americans
Lead-in Questions of the Unit
Question 1. How much do you know about the civil right movement?
Question 2. How many famous people do you know who have devoted their lives to the cause of eliminating the racial discremination?
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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview. For each italicized word or expression, choose the best meaning below. 1. They preach peace while preparing for war.
Martin Luther King was an American civil rights leader who worked to bring about social, political, and economic equality for African-Americans by peaceful means. During the 1950s and 1960s, his struggle for racial justice won the support of millions of persons, both black and white. A Baptist minister, he preached "nonviolent resistance." He won the 1964 Nobel peace prize for leading the black struggle for equality through nonviolent means. ◆Reading Skill -- Recognizing the Pattern of Details In spite of his great emphasis on nonviolence, King often became the target of violence. He was stabbed in New York City and stoned in Chicago. His home in Montgomery, Alabama, was bombed. Finally, violence took away his life at the age of thirty-nine. A hidden rifleman shot and killed him on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee Pattern (s): Pattern(s): ◆ Reading Comprehension _ _ 1. Martin Luther King won the Nobel peace prize for leading the black struggle for equality through violent means.
◆ Vocabulary Building 1. intended, esp. by fate, for some special purpose (A: 12)
②Semantic Variations 1. minister (A: 4) ③Stems
migr 1. 2. 3. 4: Read each of the following sentences, and write down the meaning of the italicized word in the space provided. 1. Through many experiments, Darwin evolved a new theory of evolution. ◆Cloze literature work novel explore achievement While teaching at Howard University, Toni Morrison began to write fiction. After leaving teaching she as an editor at Random House, first in Syracuse, New York, then in New York City. Her first The Bluest Eye was published in 1970, and she immediate attention as a promising writer. This was followed by the novel Sula (1973). Morrison's next novel, Song of Solomon (1977), was by critics as a major literary . It tells the story of a character named Milkman Dead, who in his for his family's lost fortune discovers instead his family history. Tar Baby (1981) was equally well received. Beloved (1987; Pulitzer Prize, 1988) is regarded by many as Morrison's most successful novel. It is the of Sethe, a mother who kills her daughter Beloved rather than have her grow up as a slave. The book many complex themes, including black Americans' relationship to slavery. The novel Jazz (1992) and the nonfiction book Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992) were also well In 1993 Morrison won the Nobel Prize in .
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