摘要
本研究使用Coh-Metrix工具对近年大学英语六级、托福和雅思的163篇阅读语篇进行难度对比分析。研究表明：Coh-Metrix能够使用适合二语学习者的可读性公式对语篇难度进行整体测量,还可通过53个词汇语法和语义特征的计算,从8个维度（叙事性、句法简约性、词汇具体度、指称衔接、深度衔接、动词衔接、连接度、时序性）解析语篇难度。研究发现六级阅读语篇整体上比托福和雅思容易,并在4个维度上与它们存在显著差异。六级阅读语篇的叙事性比托福和/或雅思更强（话题更为人们所熟悉、口语性更强）、连接度更高（显性附加连词、转折连词、比较连词更多）,而词汇具体度更低（词汇更抽象）、指称衔接更少（上下文词汇的重叠更少）。我们认为,这种不一致的情况反映了语篇的复杂性本质,即主题较难的题材可能使用更多的隐性衔接手段对理解进行补偿;并且,词汇具体度和词汇难度之间存在非线性关系。本研究为考试开发、阅读分级和教材编写提供了参考依据。
This paper presents an analysis of the difficulty of CET6, TOEFL and IELTS reading texts with Coh-Metrix tool based on 163 texts. The results show that Coh-Metrix is effective in measuring the overall text difficulty with a readability formula which is suitable for L2 learners. More detailed analysis of text diffi culty is also identifi ed along eight functional dimensions（narrativity, syntactic simplicity, word concreteness, referential cohesion, deep cohesion, verb cohesion, connectivity, and temporality） through calculation of 53 lexico-grammatical and semantic features. It is found that the reading texts of CET6 are easier than TOEFL and IELTS, and they have significant difference along four dimensions. CET6 reading texts exhibit higher narrativity（topics being more familiar and texts more oral） and connectivity（more explicit additive connectives, adversative and contrastive connectives, and comparative connectives）, while lower word concreteness（words being more abstract） and referential cohesion（less word overlap） than TOEFL and/or IELTS. The inconsistency along four dimensions reveals the complexity of text. The study concludes that when subject matter is unfamiliar and diffi cult, authors tend to write the text with more implicit cohesive devices to compensate for comprehension, and there is a curvilinear relationship between word concreteness and word difficulty. The study prepares a relatively objective descriptive frame of reference for test development, reading material grading and text selection for students.
出处
《中国外语》
CSSCI
北大核心
2018年第3期86-95,共10页
Foreign Languages in China
