首先让我们思考一个问题：我们为什么会看不懂一个句子？

相信不少同学的答案是——我词汇量太差了。

• 但有的同学可能也会遇到这样的问题：这句话我每个单词都眼熟，可放在一起就不知道是什么意思了。

举个例子：Business school officers said the new drive to attract younger students was in part the result of a realization that they had limited their applicant pool by requiring several years' work experience.

From the middle-class family aspect, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders.

有没有发现，即使查阅了里面所有的生词，我们或许也未必能完全准确地理解句子的意思。 但如果这样highlight一下：

Business school officers said 「the new drive (to attract younger students)was in part the result of a realization (that they had limited their applicant pool by requiring several years' work experience).」

From the middle-class family aspect, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity (to exercise more financial responsibility), and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration (of the wholesale shift) (of financial risk) (onto their already overburdened shoulders).

然后再读一遍，这次会不会好理解了一些些？

下面来对一下答案，你的理解到位了吗？（不同颜色对应原句的不同意群）

商学院官员说，吸引年轻学生的新动力部分是由于意识到他们因需要几年的工作经验而限制了申请者的人数。

从中产阶级家庭的角度来看，可以理解的是，许多此类活动看起来远不像是行使更多财务责任的机会，而更像将金融风险大规模转移到他们本已负担过重的肩膀上的可怕的加速过程。

对PTE考试有了解的宝宝们可能会知道，PTE采取的是交叉评分机制。跟雅思单科评分（口语题只给口语供分、听力题只给听力供分）不一样，PTE中相当一部分题型会同时影响两科的分数。

例如口语中特别重要的题型RA（Read Aloud），它不仅给口语贡献30%的分数，同时也给阅读贡献了30%的分数。

考试中RA有6-7道题，每道题的分值取决于题目的长度，评分项目有三个：流利度（fluency），发音（pronunciation）和内容（content）。而「意群」又在其中发挥了什么作用呢？

例如：In the photo /, the wild cat’s huge paws / are clamped / onto the side of the white safari Jeep / in which Chappell was a passenger.

*每个意群内都需要连读，不能停顿。

断句不对也会影响理解

有些同学认为流利度高就是速度快，但如果一开始由于过快地朗读而忘了合理地停顿换气，到后面就很有可能会在不该停顿的地方喘不过气，从而造成卡顿。

而毫无“意群感”像机器人一样一个字一个字地读，也会造成不合理的停顿，影响流利度。

前面我们提到RA这道题除了给口语供分之外，还会给阅读供分，而意群正是影响RA阅读供分的关键之一。

正确划分意群除了能帮助我们提升流利度之外，还有一个作用——告诉机器我们已经读懂了。

在意群内有节奏地朗读、在意群间合理地停顿，都会让机器认为你已经“理解”了这个文本，从而提高RA对于阅读的供分。

RA的意群可以通过下面四个原则来划分：

Australians do speak English, / however, / for some tourists and travellers,/ it can be difficult to understand the slang.

The Japanese tea ceremony is a tour influenced by Buddhism / in whichgreen tea is prepared and served to a small group of guests in a peaceful setting.

The founding fathers established constitutional protections for the press /because they understood / that leaving the watchdog function to partisan politicians wouldn't necessarily serve the public interest.

One of the factors why many individuals are still hesitant to make use of solar power / is because it is expensive.

以上就是关于意群以及如何划分意群的小技巧，希望同学们能够学练结合，带着划分意群的概念来理解阅读和RA的题目。更多问题欢迎留言～希望大家早日拿到理想分数！