撰寫日期：2023年6月9日
11+和13+考試都是在英國中學Year 7和Year 9一個普遍的入學考試。
作為這兩個普遍的入學點，好處就是位置通常都會多，不好處就是競爭會大，這是無可避免的。
因此要脫穎而出，容許學生犯錯的空間便很少。
以下四種答題技巧都可以讓你在這個劇烈競爭的環境當中脫穎而出，順利能夠拿到Offer，而這四種技巧都已經在我們Leo Tuition的英文課程當中得到了驗證，順利能夠幫助到學生的。
1. 在文章上尋找答案
我們由淺入深，第一種技巧就是如何在文章中找尋答案。
學生對於這種技巧應該是熟悉的，因為香港很多時候閱讀理解都會用到這種技巧。
我以前在香港讀書的時候就是要找關鍵字，然後在文章中找類似的關鍵字，就能夠順利在文章中找尋到答案。
其中所需的技能是“檢索和記錄信息或識別關鍵細節”。
對於某些問題，甚至需要在文章中找到正確的句子並重複信息的情況就可以了，以下是兩個例子：
Texas in general is a paradise for bats because of all its tasty insects.
Q: The Congress Avenue Bridge attracts bats to Austin. What else attracts bats to Texas?
Many campaigned to have the bat colony eradicated. It was frightening. Back then, we thought they'd attack us by pulling out our hair or that they'd carry disease.
Q: According to Harriet, why did some people in Austin dislike bats? Write two reasons.
更具挑戰性的問題要求學生在文章兩個不同部分的相關信息拼湊在一起，例如以下兩個例子：
The howl pierced the darkening sky and made Innis Munro stop dead in his tracks. He pulled his hood down, [and] listened intently. The only sound was his beating heart. That was a wolf, he thought.
But it couldn't have been. There were no wolves on the island of Nin, no wolves in Scotland any more, not for almost 300 years. It was just a trick of the wind. He pressed on but kept his hood down. The afternoon light of early March was fading fast, snow was falling, and he was still a good half mile from home.
Q: How far from home was Innis when he first heard the wolf howl?
By day, the Congress Avenue Bridge in the city of Austin could hardly look more normal: a grey, dreary city-centre road bridge. By night, it plays host to one of the most amazing shows nature has to offer. The underside of the bridge is home to more than a million bats, and every evening in summer they all come swarming out at once, rising up into the city sky like a tornado before spreading out in all directions like plumes of smoke. Standing on the bridge, you might even feel the wind from their wings as they pass by.
Austin is the capital city of the state of Texas in the USA, but it is also the bat capital of North America.
Q: In which American state is the Congress Avenue Bridge found?
如果你在香港已經本身有閱讀理解的練習以上的問題，對你來說應該不太難。
如果以上的問題你覺得已經有點難度的話那麼代表你和英國水平的閱讀理解已經有一段明顯的距離，需要多下苦功。
2 - 理解和解釋單詞的含義
第二種技巧就比較開始入正題了。
英國的閱讀理解通常都不是簡單粗暴直接的，而是要你理解和解釋，最常見的就是問單詞的含義。
這樣可以測試學生如何真正理解正在使用的單詞和短語。在這種情況下，測試的是學生的一般詞彙量，例如在這些例子中：
No, this large number of bats is quite new. A few bats had lived under the bridge for years. It was headline news when they suddenly began moving in by the thousands after engineers rebuilt the Congress Avenue Bridge in 1980 - they had no idea that they were creating such an ideal bat home. So, when these bats first came, they were seen as uninvited guests. Many campaigned to have the bat colony eradicated.
Q: Find and copy one word which means 'a group of bats living together'.
It's true that bats easily outnumber humans in Texas, but they're vulnerable because they live in very large groups.
Q: Harriet describes bats as vulnerable. Which of the following [four terms] is closest in meaning to vulnerable - foolish, at risk, frightening or tormented?
He pressed on but kept his hood down. The afternoon light of early March was fading fast, snow was falling, and he was still a good half mile from home.
Q: What does pressed on mean in the text?
It was the unmistakable silhouette of a wolf.
Q: Which of the following [words] is closest in meaning to unmistakable - unlikely, unfamiliar, possible or definite?
3 - 仔細閱讀並弄清楚發生了什麼
第三種技巧比第二種技巧又高了一個層次，就是開始要你做一些推論。
這些問題旨在表明學生可以“從課文中做出推論，或者用課文中的證據解釋和證明推論”。
這似乎是最難的閱讀技巧，有時需要展示一點生活知識或“字裡行間的閱讀”，而不是字面意思。
這正正是很多學生覺得困難的地方。
這三個例子確實需要讀者設身處地地想一想：
Priya woke with a start, her heart beating fast. Something had disturbed her but she wasn't sure what. Abby was still sleeping quietly beside her, and the night-light glowed, but now she could see things inside the tent, and she realised that the moon must have risen. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but then she heard something rustling outside.
Q: How can you tell Priya was nervous? Write two ways.
Priya was surprised, and now she was completely awake. They had only seen a couple of cars all day, and now two had come past together.
Q: Why did Priya find it surprising to hear two vehicles drive by?
Very quietly, so as not to wake Abby, she unfastened the zip of the tent. She pulled back the gap and realised she could see the whole valley, blue and black and silver in the moonlight. Directly opposite, on the far side of the valley, she saw two pairs of headlights, not moving.
Q: How can you tell that the moonlight was very bright?
可以再給大家兩個例子，因為無論你怎麼看，答案實際上根本沒有在文章中寫出來，學生如果只是用之前的基礎技巧，根本是沒有可能答得出答案。
它依賴於孩子理解“它擊中了她”是一個抽象的陳述，而不是字面描述，並解釋瞭如果有人在半夜醒來會有什麼反應。
"Then it hit her"
Q: What is "it"?
"You'd better not be making this up."
Q: Why does Abby say this to Priya?
4 - 快速閱讀並快速做出決定
第四種技能和頭三種有些許分別，但對文章的仔細分析揭示了它對任何學生來說都是多麼重要。
不論你在英國考的英文考試是那一種類型，你都需要有快速閱讀，並且快速做出決定的能力。
就以最近英國小學六年級學生應考的SATS作為例子。
給學生們三篇課文，分別是 623、817 和 612 個字，總共 2,052 個字。
英國教育部沒有列出平均 11 歲兒童的預期閱讀速度，但美國教育研究大致表明，每分鐘 150 個單詞是該年齡段默讀的良好目標。所以這些段落只讀一遍就需要 14 分鐘。
Leo sir 建議這就是家長應該給孩子設定的目標。
繼續以今年的SATS作為例子，38 道題包含另外 1,142 個單詞，每個聰明的學生都記得每道題都讀兩遍的建議，這樣又佔了 15 分鐘。
再把以上的數據重新算一下，你就會得出他們平均每條問題有 49 秒的時間來瀏覽相關段落，找出答案並寫下來。
你的孩子能夠做到嗎？
如果你的孩子能夠做到，恭喜你。
如果你的孩子暫時未能夠做到，那麼我們可以協助你。
我們的11+/13+考試精讀班都會集中教授這些答題技巧。
如果想更集中地改善閱讀理解並且多加練習，可以參加我們專門的閱讀理解課程。
所有的課程資料，課程大綱，上課時間和費用，都已經在我們的網站上 http://www.leoedu.co.uk
網站是全自動運作，註冊，報名和付款都在網站上進行，付款成功後自動就會收到上課的Zoom link。
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【家長五星推薦: 一站式英國升學服務為你接通英國！】
LEO EDUCATION 英國教育中心
香港海外分部地址：灣仔軒尼斯道333號 (會展站步行10分鐘)
立即預約Leo Sir在香港作諮詢，詳談英國學校申請和英國教育規劃！馬上報名啦！
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