1． 把握中心思想层

2． 概括段落大意层

3． 深入剖析文章层

4． 摘录背诵佳句层

5． 换位思考命题层

       现在以历年真题为例说明如何实施上述的五层递进学习法。在每篇文章的后面，“文章结构与内容”对应上述学习法的1与2，“核心词汇”、“难句分析”与“参考译文”对应上述学习法的3，“佳句摘录”对应上述学习法的4，而“试题详解”对应上述学习法的5。关于“五层递进学习法”的具体内容，请阅读本人博客中的同名文章。

Passage 2

One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon—it’s already here.

While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.

Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

5. According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to.

［A］ withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes

［B］ obtain more convenient services than other people do

［C］ enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper

［D］ cash money wherever he wishes to

6. From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that .

［A］ in the future all the Americans will use credit cards

［B］ credit cards are mainly used in the United States today

［C］ nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash

［D］ it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before

7. The phrase “ring up sales”(Line 2, Para. 2) most probably means “”.

［A］ make an order of goods

［B］ record sales on a cash register

［C］ call the sales manager

［D］ keep track of the goods in stock

8. What is this passage mainly about?

［A］ Approaches to the commercial use of computers.

［B］ Conveniences brought about by computers in business.

［C］ Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.

［D］ Advantages of credit cards in business.

文章结构与内容

文章结构：层层递进型。这种文章各段分别阐述文中核心问题的一个方面，而且各段段首常伴有表示并列或递进的词，文章的中心由综合各段段首得到。本文论述计算机技术在经济领域的广泛应用，三个段落各讨论一个方面。首段貌似谈论信用卡本身的服务，但由二段首句可以看出首段也在谈论计算机带来的便利（conveniences），因为信用卡的使用也是借助于计算机。另外，注意二段与三段段首在结构上的作用。

核心词汇

1. issue 发行，颁布； n. 问题，发行（物），（报刊）期号

2. credit 信用；功劳；学分（同根词incredible难以置信的---cred相信）

3. automatic 自动的，无意识的（同根词automobile汽车---auto自动）

4. available 可以利用的；可得到的

5. withdraw 提取；撤销

6. deposit 存入，付（保证金）；n. 存款，保证金

7. scattered 分散的（动词scatter）

8. cashless 无现金的（反义词cash 现金）

9. on the horizon 即将来临的（horizon 地平线；眼界）

10. convenience 便利，方便；便利设施（形容词convenient）

11. cash register 现金出纳机，现金进出记录机（register 登记，注册）

12. ring up 把…记入现金进出记录机；打电话

13. keep track of 记录，跟上…的进展（track 轨迹，跑道）

14. reorder 再定货（order订购）

15. assignment分配，委派；任务，作业

16. accordingly 相应地，因此

17. identify确定，识别 （名词identity身份）

18. preferred customers 有优先权的顾客

19. promotional 推销的，促进的（动词promote 促进，提升；促销）

20. in stock 有现货的，有库存的（stock 库存，现货；股票）

21. on hand 现有，在手头

22. utility公用事业公司，公用事业设备，公用事业；效用（动词utilize利用）

*             *               *

23. automation 自动化（同根词automatic）

难句分析

1．Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom.

［结构分析］ 第一句中的do much more than的意思是“做的不只是”，说明ring up sales 只是electronic cash registers工作的一部分；第二句中的who sold what, when, and to who是介词including的宾语。

[参考译文] 电子现金出纳机做的不只是简单地记录销售金额。它们可以做众多的记录，包括谁在何时把什么东西卖给了谁。

2．This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving.

［结构分析］介词结构by showing…作方式状语，其中showing后面的which items are being sold 和 how fast they are moving都作showing的宾语。

[参考译文] 这一信息使商家可以通过显示销售商品的种类和销售速度，从而跟踪记录它们的商品清单。

3．At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employers are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns.

［结构分析］ 第一个句子的主语是these computers，谓语是record，后面有两个以and连接的宾语从句which hours are busiest 和 which employers are the most efficient，作record的宾语；逗号之后的分词结构作全句的状语。注意：preferred作为形容词，意思是“有优先权的”。

[参考译文] 与此同时，这些计算机记录哪些时间段是高峰，哪些员工的工作效率最高，进而对人事和人员作出相应的分配。而且计算机也能识别促销活动所要寻找的那些拥有优先权的顾客。

4．Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

［结构分析］ 本句的主干是Numerous other commercial enterprises…bring better and more efficient services，其中主语和谓语之间有一个很长的补充说明成分：from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors，在开始阅读的时候，可以先跳过去。注意：gas and electric utilities中的utilities的意思是“公用事业公司”。

[参考译文] 众多的其他商业企业，从剧院到杂志出版社，从燃气和电力公用设备公司到牛奶加工厂，都通过计算机的使用给消费者提供更佳、效率更高的服务。

试题详解

5．事实细节题。由一段第二句中的banking services就能判断B为正确答案。有些同学选了C和D。注意：C与原文所说不符，因为原文只说信用卡在很多商家给持卡人带来automatic credit  (自动信用)，这不等于说商家更相信持卡人；D“想在哪里兑现（即取现钱）”都可以，所说范围大于原文的scattered locations（分散地点），当然这个选项也不符合常识。

6．句子理解题。由一段末的cashless society（无现金社会）就能确定C为正确答案。B“现在信用卡主要在美国使用”与原文不符，也不符合常识。如果B选项中的mainly改成widely，就是正确答案。

 7．词义题。由ring up sales所在原文的句子中的register（登记）和下一句中的谓语keep…records可以确定ring up的意思是“登记”，因此B为正确答案。注意，在Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales中，more than连接的前后两部分存在程度差异，但大意是相同的，就是说 ring up sales的意思与more than 前面的register差不多，这样也能确定ring up是“登记”的意思。C为ring up的表面意思，是干扰选项。A和D中的宾语不是问题中的sales，肯定错误。

 8．主旨题。综合各段首句，本文的主题是计算机给商业领域带来的便利。B符合此意，为正确答案。注意各段首句中的提示词汇：二段首句的前半句while computers offer these conveniences to consumers说明一段已经在讨论计算机提供的便利---给消费者提供的便利，而这一句中的they have many advantages for sellers too和三段首句中的numerous other…说明二段和三段讨论计算机给其他方面提供的便利。A和D是干扰选项：A“计算机的商用方法”（即如何用计算机赚钱）与原文的主题---计算机提供的便利不同；D的内容在一段提过，但不是全文的重点；而且，信用卡的便利也是通过计算机实现的，所以说，一段只是主题的一部分。作这类题常常可以利用各段段首检验。

参考译文

目前，一亿一千三百万美国人至少拥有一张银行信用卡。信用卡使其持有者在商店、饭店、宾馆、家中、国内、甚至国外都拥有信用，同时也能提供许多银行服务。越来越多的信用卡可以自动读取，使人们可以在各个分散的地点取钱和存钱，不管当地是否有银行的分支机构。对我们中的许多人来说，一个“不用现金的社会”不是即将出现，而是已经到来了。

    计算机在给消费者提供上述便利的同时，也给商家带来了很多便利。电子现金出纳机做的不只是简单地记录销售金额。它们可以做众多的记录，包括谁在何时把什么东西卖给了谁。这一信息使商家可以通过显示销售商品的种类和销售速度，从而跟踪记录它们的商品清单，然后决定再订哪些货物，或将哪些货物退还给供应商。与此同时，这些计算机记录哪些时间段是高峰，哪些员工的工作效率最高，使商家可以对人事和人员做出相应的分配。而且计算机也能识别促销活动所要寻找的那些拥有优先权的顾客。也正是由于这些原因，厂商也要依赖计算机。用计算机进行分析的营销报告有助于决定哪些产品是目前的重点，哪些将来要研发，哪些要淘汰。计算机可以记录货物的库存情况，现有原材料的多少，甚至是生产过程本身。

众多的其他商业企业，从剧院到杂志出版社，从燃气和电力公用设备公司到牛奶加工厂，都通过计算机的使用给消费者提供更好、更高效的服务。

佳句摘录

For many of us the  “cashless” society is not on the horizon—it is already here.