每拿到一篇英文article，你是习惯一词一句的读呢，还是快速浏览先把握大意呢？当然各有好坏：
如果想从更高水平挑战自己，我们不妨做个尝试：每段只读第一句，学习使用“上帝视角”来审视文章，迅速建立逻辑，反思作者的写作思路。
你可能会说了，本来读着就够呛，跳着读就更看不懂了，就算硬着头皮上也很有可能理解错嘛，漏掉关键转折怎么办？那这就要说到non-fiction的写作逻辑，也就是套路，只要你坚信作者每起一段的时候肯定会写关键句，也就大差不差了。
不过尺度有待把握，不能总是线性思维，也不能overthinking（我们知道阅读理解最怕想太多），所以还需不断试验和验证。有点像侦探游戏，按照线索推断嫌疑人的作案动机和过程。
最后的最后，我们索性用GRE阅读来验证是否有效果！
今天这篇文章讨论的是德国政治，因为需要一些背景知识，所以稍显费力，甚至有些犯怵。不过通过“段首读”这个方法，你会发现掌握核心精髓也就是分分钟的事儿。
标题：Cool Germany
副标题：Germany is becoming more open and diverse. With the right leadership, it could be a model for the West.
第一段首：Since the fall of the Berlin Wall the Ampelmannchen, the jaunty, behatted "little traffic-light man" of communist East Germany, has escaped his dictatorial roots to become a kooky icon of Germany's trendy capital.
第二段首：At first blush that seems a preposterous suggestion.
第三段首：But take the long view, and the Ampelmannchen captures how Germany is changing.
第四段首：The biggest change comes from Mrs Merkel's "open door" policy towards refugees, which brought in 1.2m new migrants in 2015-2016.
第五段首：This is shaking up a society that has long prized stability, opening cultural divides between those...
第六段首：The outcome will determine the future of Europe's biggest economy.
第七段首：At home, the new Germany has shed its post-reunification economic woes and it booming, but it is also aging fast; the largest age group is the 50-to-54s.
第八段首：Abroad, the new Germany could also become a different sort of power.
第九段首：Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is expanding German horizons.
第十段首：All of which makes the character of Mrs Merkel's successor pivotal.
第十一段首：With the right leadership, there is little doubt about the country's capability.
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标题：Cool Germany
副标题：Germany is becoming more open and diverse. With the right leadership, it could be a model for the West. (看来是很正面的评价)
第一段首：Since the fall of the Berlin Wall the Ampelmannchen, the jaunty, behatted "little traffic-light man" of communist East Germany, has escaped his dictatorial roots to become a kooky icon of Germany's trendy capital. （hmmm，一堆不常用的词汇和陌生的背景知识。不过既然是背景介绍，我们抓重点就okay啦：德国统一后...the Ampelmannchen...become a icon of Germany，）
第二段首：At first blush that seems a preposterous suggestion. (尴尬，完全不知所云。没关系，"that" 提醒你是承上启下，那么回到上一段末尾，立马看到 "Germany is entering a new era. It is becoming more diverse, open, informal and hip"...但是preposterous是什么意思呢？先放一放，不过at first blush提醒我们，后面肯定会有转折)
第三段首：But take the long view, and the Ampelmannchen captures how Germany is changing. (果然转折就来了❤️ 但是这个转折似乎有点生硬？文章到此，我们回过头看副标题，都是在交代德国正在转变这个背景。揣摩一下，后面讨论the right leadership应该才是作者讨论的重点)
第四段首：The biggest change comes from Mrs Merkel's "open door" policy towards refugees, which brought in 1.2m new migrants in 2015-2016.
第五段首：This is shaking up a society that has long prized stability, opening cultural divides between those...(结合第四段，默克尔的难民政策撼动了这个长期以来比较和谐稳定的国家，造成了一些文化分歧，从而也就更diverse)
第六段首：The outcome will determine the future of Europe's biggest economy. (撼动的结果将决定欧洲第一大经济体德国的命运。再次联想到副标题，我们肯定想往好的方向发展，那么现在是不是到了讨论solution的阶段？)
第七段首：At home, the new Germany has shed its post-reunification economic woes and it booming, but it is also aging fast; the largest age group is the 50-to-54s. （国内的现状是：统一后经济增长，但是老龄化加剧）
第八段首：Abroad, the new Germany could also become a different sort of power.(国外地位。could also，暗示德国国内已经做的不错，在国际上还可以做的更好)
第九段首：Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is expanding German horizons. (Meanwhile在情绪上承上启下，暗示难民政策也有积极意义)
第十段首：All of which makes the character of Mrs Merkel's successor pivotal. (事在人为，《经济学人》作为think tank给出意见，最终也还要看未来领导人的性情)
第十一段首：With the right leadership, there is little doubt about the country's capability. (再次点题，看好德国)
Takeaways:
- Ampelmannchen是大名鼎鼎的德国行人交通号志“小绿人”，统一之前东德使用的小绿人是带了帽子的男性，西德则是我们常见的中性标志。
