常春藤解析英語 58 A Reader's Struggle　閱讀障礙知多少

A Reader's Struggle　閱讀障礙知多少

by Zoe Catsiff

Many individuals struggle with a life-long condition known as dyslexia. These individuals have difficulty reading, writing, and spelling accurately. They may reverse words or confuse letters that have similar shapes, such as q and b. However, dyslexia has nothing to do with one's level of intelligence, nor does it come from visual or hearing damage. Instead, it is the result of a neurological disorder that interferes with the brain's ability to process language, and it can affect people across the entire spectrum of intellectual ability.

The term "dyslexia" was coined by Rudolph Berlin, a doctor in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1887. He used the word to describe a young patient who had difficulty reading and writing despite showing an above-average level of intelligence. Another doctor, neurologist Samuel T. Orton, began studying dyslexia in 1925 and pioneered a basic treatment for dyslexia that is still in use today. Neurologists and psychologists have continued to study the condition in the years since. Currently, the most popular, well-researched theory is that dyslexia results from the brain's difficulty connecting spoken language with writing.

In the United States, researchers estimate that five to nine percent of school-aged children have dyslexia. Although there is no cure for dyslexia, dyslexic people can learn to read and write through therapy and education. Despite having to struggle harder to learn to read than other students, and often feeling stupid or frustrated, dyslexic people can overcome their condition and go on to lead successful lives. Today, there are many doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other professionals who have learned to live with dyslexia.

單字小鋪

1. individual n. 個(gè)人 & a. 個(gè)人的

2. dyslexia n. 閱讀障礙

3. accurately adv. 正確地

4. reverse vt. 使顛倒 & a. 顛倒的

5. intelligence n. 智力

6. neurological a. 神經(jīng)學(xué)的

7. disorder n. 失調(diào)

8. process vt. 處理 & n. 過程

9. spectrum n. 范圍

10. intellectual a. 智力的

11. above-average丗丗中上的

12. neurologist n. 神經(jīng)學(xué)家

13. dyslexic a. 有閱讀困難的

14. therapy n. 治療，療法

15. professional n. 專家 & a. 專業(yè)的

詞組小鋪

1. such as...　　諸如∕像……

2. be in use　　在使用中

3. connect A with/and B　　連結(jié) A 與 B

4. lead a/an + adj. + life　　過著……的生活

= live a/an + adj. + life

文法一點(diǎn)靈

..., nor does it come from visual or hearing damage.

注意:

本句使用 nor 引導(dǎo)的否定簡應(yīng)句，有關(guān)簡應(yīng)句的用法如下：

a. 肯定簡應(yīng)句中用 so 或 too，使用 so 時(shí)其后須采倒裝句構(gòu)。

例: Milly is going to the party, and so am I.

(米莉會(huì)去那場派對(duì)，我也會(huì)。)

b. 否定簡應(yīng)句中則用 neither、nor 或 either。neither 為副詞，故其前須置 and;而 nor 為連接詞，其前不必置 and，且使用 neither 或 nor 之后必須接倒裝句;而 either 則置于句尾使用，其前要有否定副詞 not，再置逗點(diǎn)。

例: Our classroom is not big, nor does it get enough sunlight.

(我們班的教室不大，也沒有充足的采光。)

精解字詞詞組

1. have difficulty + V-ing　　(做)……有困難

= have trouble/problems/a hard time + V-ing

例: Stella usually has difficulty getting her car started in the morning.

(史黛拉每天早上總是很難發(fā)動(dòng)車子。)

2. confuse vt. 混淆，使困惑

be confused about...　　 對(duì)……感到困惑

例: Sandy is often confused about proper English usage.

(珊蒂常常搞不懂正確的英文用法。)

3. have nothing/something/little to do with...

和……無關(guān)∕有關(guān)∕有一點(diǎn)關(guān)系

例: Winona's coughing because she has a cold. It has nothing to do with her smoking.

(薇諾娜是因?yàn)楦忻安趴人缘?，與她抽煙無關(guān)。)

4. interfere with...　　妨礙……

interfere in...　　干預(yù)∕插手……

例: The company's financial problems are interfering with its plan for expansion.

(該公司的財(cái)務(wù)問題妨礙了它擴(kuò)大經(jīng)營的計(jì)劃。)

例: In many cases, the police cannot interfere in family disputes.

(警方許多時(shí)候無法插手管家庭糾紛。)

5. coin vt. 創(chuàng)造(新字)

例: The game was invented in England, but Americans coined the name "baseball."

(棒球這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)起源自英國，但『棒球』這個(gè)詞則是美國人發(fā)明的。)

6. pioneer vt. 倡導(dǎo);開辟 & n. 先驅(qū)

例: Marie Curie pioneered the use of X-ray machines.

(瑪麗?凱莉首倡X光機(jī)的使用。)

7. result from...　　起因于……

result in...　　導(dǎo)致∕造成……

例: Her acne results from on-the-job stress.

(她的粉刺起因于工作上的壓力。)

例: The disruption of the Internet resulted in widespread confusion.

(因特網(wǎng)的中斷造成到處一片混亂。)

8. estimate + that 子句　　估計(jì)……

例: Rescuers estimated that a dozen cars were involved in the accident.

(救難人員估計(jì)有十二部車卷入那場車禍中。)

9. overcome vt. 克服

例: How did you overcome your financial hardships?

(你是如何克服經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)的?)

中文翻譯

許多人終其一生都在和閱讀障礙的病癥搏斗。這些人無法正確地閱讀、書寫和拼字。他們會(huì)將句子的單字前后顛倒，或?qū)?q 和 b 這類形狀相似的字母搞混。然而，閱讀障礙和一個(gè)人的智力無關(guān)，也和視力、聽力受損不相干，而是和神經(jīng)失調(diào)妨礙腦部處理語言能力有關(guān)，而這會(huì)影響一個(gè)人整個(gè)腦部運(yùn)作的能力。

dyslexia 一詞是德國斯圖加特的 Berlin 醫(yī)師于 1887 年所創(chuàng)。他用這個(gè)字來形容一名有閱讀和寫作障礙的年輕患者，盡管該病患的智力屬于中上。另一位神經(jīng)病理學(xué)家 Orton 醫(yī)師則于 1925 年開始研究該疾病，并開創(chuàng)一種至今仍在使用的基礎(chǔ)療程。從那之后，神經(jīng)科和心理學(xué)專家就不斷在研究該病癥。目前最普遍且具有完整研究報(bào)告的理論是，閱讀障礙乃起因于腦部的言語區(qū)和寫作區(qū)連結(jié)出現(xiàn)障礙。

美國研究人員估計(jì)有百分之五到九的學(xué)童有閱讀障礙。雖然閱讀障礙無法根治，患者卻能透過療法和教育學(xué)習(xí)閱讀和寫作。盡管在學(xué)習(xí)閱讀的道路上要比其它學(xué)生更吃力，而且常常覺得自己很笨或感到沮喪，閱讀障礙的患者仍能克服先天條件，迎向成功的人生?，F(xiàn)今，有許多醫(yī)師、律師、教師和其它專業(yè)人士已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)和閱讀障礙為伍。