意群是由好几个单词组成的,孩子阅读英语,如果能像上面这样,按照意群阅读,那么孩子阅读的效率,就会大大提高。孩子一眼看下去,即能捕捉“一连串”单词的意思,这样的阅读效率,是孩子“津津有味”阅读原版书的基本条件。
我教过一个优秀生,小学六年级,曾把我讲读的《哈利波特与魔法石》认真学过三遍。孩子在小升初的暑假,开始独立阅读 Roald Dahl 的《查理的巧克力工厂(Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)》,孩子可以像下面这样,按照意群,读懂一个有 66 字之多的英文长句:
Her body was swelling up / and changing shape / at such a rate / that within a minute / it had turned into nothing less than enormous round blue ball, a gigantic blueberry ball , in fact, and all that remained of Violet Beauregarde herself / was a tiny pair of legs / and a tiny pair of arms / sticking out of / the great round fruit / and a little head on top