High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 60 · A Sentence with More Than One Door
Audio track 60
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
At the beginning of this year, I read English by stopping at each unfamiliar word. If I knew its dictionary meaning, I felt safe; if I did not, the whole sentence seemed closed. Then our class read a short article about a town library extending its hours.
I knew the word “access” as an entrance to a website. In the article, it described whether people could actually use the library: when it was open, how they traveled there, and whether the signs were readable. The neighboring sentences changed the word. The workers' schedules and the town's budget changed the story around it.
I still use a dictionary. Now I also ask who is speaking, what evidence supports a claim, and which conditions are missing. A word becomes clearer when I see what it connects to, and a sentence can open more than one question.
The page in front of me is not the end of learning. It is a door to the next conversation, and I know how to begin reading it.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
今年刚开始时，我读英语总在不认识的词前停住。只要知道词典释义，我就觉得安全；不知道时，整句话仿佛都关上了。后来，班里读了一篇关于镇图书馆延长开放时间的短文。
我以前把 access 理解为‘进入网站的入口’。在那篇文章里，它指人们实际上能否使用图书馆：开放时段是否合适、怎样到达、标牌能否读清。相邻句子改变了这个词在文中的意思；员工的排班和镇上的预算，也改变了围绕它的整个故事。
我现在仍会用词典，但也会问：是谁在说？什么证据支持某个说法？还缺少哪些条件？当我看清词与什么相连，它就更明白了；一句话也可能开启不止一个问题。
眼前这一页不是学习的终点。它是一扇通向下一场对话的门，而我知道该怎样开始读下去了。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- unfamiliar
- 陌生的；过去一遇到就停下。
- dictionary
- 词典；仍可用但不能替代语境。
- extending
- 延长；图书馆增加开放时间。
- access
- 可使用性；文中不只是网站入口。
- neighboring
- 相邻的；句子帮助确定词义。
- workers
- 员工；排班影响开放计划。
- evidence
- 证据；应核查说法依据。
- supports
- 支持；证据与主张相连。
- conditions
- 条件；阅读时留意尚未说明处。
- conversation
- 对话；文章通向更多思考。
Background notes (Chinese)
词典释义是阅读的起点，词在具体文章里的意义还取决于相邻句、人物立场和证据。结课短文回顾了本册强调的语境与判断。