閱讀測驗是很多考生畏懼的英文題型之一，其實閱讀測驗的解題並不難，因為外國人寫文章都愛用破題法，只要看第一段即可知道文章大概在講什麼內容。此篇文章的第一段中，有提到“Robert Spring”，所以文章一定跟“Robert Spring”這個人有關。只要耐心看完整篇文章，從文章中找線索，多讀、多練習，一定可以提升閱讀能力！
Robert Spring, a 19th century forger, was so good at his
profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling
false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in
1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first
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he prospered by selling his small but genuine collection of early US
autographs. Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began
imitating signatures of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the
chance of detection, he sent his forgeries to England and Canada for
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sale and circulation.
Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can’t
approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don’t
have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make
their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged
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paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with
chemicals.
In Spring’s time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of
the Southern states, so Spring invented a respectable maiden lady
known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General
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“Stonewall” Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny’s financial
problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts
belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to
satisfy the demand. All this activity, which did not prevent Spring
from dying in poverty, left sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of
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separating his forgeries from the originals.
( ) 1. Why did Spring sell his false autographs in England?
(A) There was a greater demand there than in America.
(B) There was less chance of being detected there.
(C) Britain was Spring’s birthplace.
(D) The prices were higher there.
( ) 2. Why do forgers usually have a good collection of old books?
(A) Old books are useful material for making forgeries.
(B) They need to get knowledge from the books.
(C) Reading helps them to relax.
(D) Collecting old books is a good hobby.
( ) 3. According to the passage, to whom are the forgeries usually sold?
(A) Sharp-eyed experts. (B) Book dealers.
(C) People who aren’t experts. (D) Owners of old books.
( ) 4. Which of the following descriptions of Spring’s later life is true?
(A) He died as a poor person. (B) He had one daughter.
(C) He turned into an honest man. (D) He was caught by the police.
英銘老師：閱讀測驗是很多考生畏懼的英文題型之一，其實閱題測驗的的解題並不難，因為外國人寫文章都愛用破題法，只要看第一段即可知道文章大概在講什麼內容。例如在此篇文章的第一段中，有提到“Robert Spring”，所以文章一定跟“Robert Spring”這個人有關。
第1題：為什麼Spring在英國賣假簽名？根據文章的第8行至第10行，可得知為了減少被發現的機會，他將贗品送到英國和加拿大去銷售和流通。因此答案是(B)。
補充：
lessen v. 變小(少)、減輕 (often)
The medicine can lessen the pain immediately.
這種藥可以立刻減輕痛苦。
detection n. 發現、偵查 (always)
Early detection helped the doctor to save Mr. Rodriguez's life.
幸好提早發現，醫生才能救了Rodriguez先生一命。
Insufficient evidence on the scene makes the detection difficult.
因為現場的證據不足，使得偵查變得困難。
更多完整內容 請至國考專門店 英銘國考英文周刊-No.57-閱讀測驗篇
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