SSAT阅读部分，体裁广泛，但是其中比较难的就是诗歌鉴赏类的文章了。有的诗歌直抒胸臆，有些诗歌就比较含蓄。我觉得诗歌本身是一个矛盾的结合体：诗人用简短的语言阐述想法，但同时也加大了读诗人理解的难度。我们先看一篇简单的：
Langston Hughes'
Mother to Son
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin',honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
本篇作者是美国诗人兰斯顿·休斯Langston Hughes，一位杰出的黑人诗人、小说家和剧作家。我自己在读的时候，觉得带有浓浓的节奏感，这是诗人写诗的风格—从黑人的音乐和民歌中汲取营养，把爵士乐的节奏融入于自由诗中，因而他的诗开阔，舒展，节奏热情得像爵士乐那样强烈。
我们说万事开头难。诗歌阅读的开头就是要看懂一些古英语的写法。跟我们现在用的是有差别的。本篇中的ain't, I'se, climbin', reachin' , landin's, turnin', goin'，比如文中使用的ain’t, 表示否定的意思，有时用于代替 am not，aren't，isn't，haven't 和 hasn't。ain’t在一些习语当中也经常出现：
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
未损勿修，能用莫换。
另外，像I'se就是 I shall的缩写。
还有，像climbin', reachin' , landin's, turnin', goin' 都是用 ’ 代替了我们常用的climbing, reaching , landing's, turning, going 的形式。像这样的情况还有很多，比如
thy = your
yon = over their
thee = you（古英语thou的宾格）等等。
回到正题上来，这篇写的是妈妈给孩子的忠告。下面做个简单的导读：
1. 先表个态
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
你看，生活对我来说都没有水晶梯（意思我的生活也很难的。）
2. 之后开始说怎么怎么难
It's had tacks钉子in it,
And splinters, 碎石
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet地毯 on the floor --
Bare. 贫瘠
3. 然后开始转折，虽然难，但是还是要往前走，
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
4. 接着从自己的角度切换到孩子身上，开始进行教育（大部分爸妈都用过这一招。我记得小时候，我妈经常跟我说：“我在你这个年纪已经怎么怎么样了。你看看你！”( ˇ?ˇ )此处略去一万字。。。）：
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps停下脚步
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
以下出题感受一下：
Don't you fall now –
For I'se still goin',honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
According to the passage, the son must continue climbing because
A. he made bad choices
B. there is light just ahead
C. everyone faces challenges
D. his mother is still fighting
E. eventually things will improve
解析：
诗歌结尾处说了
Don't you fall now –
For I'se still goin',honey,
这里的for表示的就是因为的意思。因为我还在往前走，所以你不能跌倒。所以答案选D。这题充分体现了应试类阅读理解的特点，就是文章会告诉你答案，你只需要找到它。另外，因果关系也是阅读考试十分常见的考点。
总之读下来，这首教育孩子的诗套路满满，却都是情理之中的。
最后给大家留一首，读读看~
Dirge in Woods
BY GEORGE MEREDITH
A wind sways the pines,
And below
Not a breath of wild air;
Still as the mosses that glow
On the flooring and over the lines
Of the roots here and there.
The pine-tree drops its dead;
They are quiet, as under the sea.
Overhead, overhead
Rushes life in a race,
As the clouds the clouds chase;
And we go,
And we drop like the fruits of the tree,
Even we,
Even so.
这是一首感情基调很低的诗歌，主要想表达：Death is an inevitable part of life.
文：冯婉芹 沃邦
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