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托福阅读解题遭遇生词怎么办

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托福阅读解题遭遇生词不要慌, 这些推断方法顺利猜词义,今天小编给大家带来了托福阅读解题遭遇生词不要慌,希望能够帮助到大家,下面小编就和大家分享,来欣赏一下吧。

托福阅读解题遭遇生词不要慌 这些推断方法顺利猜词义

1、根据同义、反义关系猜词

如果该词前或后出现的内容提示它们是反义关系。(表示相反概念的词语如下rather than,instead,unlike,contrast,on the contrary.)

例如:

the main conflict in the novel is between a mother who places a highvalue on hard work and honor and a son who repudiates his mother's valuesinstead preferring the easier path to fortune and celebrity

the word repudiates in the passage in closest in meaning to __

A、refuses to accept B、lives up to C、tries to understand D、makes the best of

假如repudiates我们不认识,从后面的小词 instead 这个词判定儿子和妈妈价值观念是相反的,由此信息看四个选项,你会发现只有A选项带有否定的意味

2、根据句意或段落文章的上、下文猜测

(1)、后面的句子或短词单词在解释前面的词。(常见的标志词:contribute to,be responsible for,account for,since ,therefore ,for,because,in which等)

his big break came with the novel so big(1924) ,which wasawarded the pulitzer in literature.

the word break in this sentence could best be replaced by ___

A、rupture B、revelation C、opportunity D、rest

which was awarded the pulitzer in literature告诉我们一定考查的是正态度,所以答案不可能是AD,所以应该选C、opportunity 是一种有利的状态或合适的时机。

(2)后面的和此词为并列关系。(并列关系词如下:and not only ..but also as…as and both … andeither… or neither… nor.)

托福阅读:我们都是柯南,详解推断题

推断题,顾名思义,就是要做一定的推理,于是,同学们沸腾了,推理啊!谁不会啊!毛利小五郎上身!神探夏洛克附体!我就是柯南!五花八门,无奇不有,无孔不入,似乎每个选项都很有道理!于是,陷入死循环,等到再遇到这样的题型,只能凭感觉,看到哪个选项顺眼,就选择哪个选项。然后,你就错了。

那么,今天我们从一个最简单的角度来攻破推断题,即反向推理。

反向推理,指当事物A和事物B特征相反,现在已知事物A特征,问B特征时,那么B等于A的反向特征。而其中,最为明显的在于时间前后的推理。我们先看一道非常简单的真题。

【Paragraph 1】The story of the westward movement of population in the United States is, in the main, the story of the expansion of American agriculture—of the development of new areas for the raising of livestock and the cultivation of wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton. After 1815 improved transportation enabled more and more western farmers to escape a self-sufficient way of life and enter a national market economy. During periods when commodity prices were high, the rate of westward migration increased spectacularly. "Old America seemed to be breaking up and moving westward," observed an English visitor in 1817,during the first great wave of migration. Emigration to the West reached a peak in the 1830's. Whereas in 1810 only a seventh of the American people lived west of the Appalachian Mountains, by 1840 more than a third lived there.

1.What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about western farmers prior to 1815?

A.They had limited their crop production to wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton.

B. They were able to sell their produce at high prices.

C. They had not been successful in raising cattle.

D. They did not operate in a national market economy.

本题中有非常明显的信息可以帮助我们定位,即年份数字“1815”,定位到原文After 1815 improved transportation enabled more and more western farmers to escape a self-sufficient way of life and enter a national market economy. 在1815年之后,改进的交通方式使得越来越多的西部弄明逃开了自给自足的生活方式,进入了国家市场经济。这是讲在1815年之后的事情,而题干中问的是“prior to 1815”,即在1815年之前,那么根据反向推理原理,直接对1815年之后的事情取反,即“在1815年之前,交通方式还未改进,人们是自给自足的生活方式,还未进入国家市场经济”,直接对应D选项。所以本题选择D选项。

在托福阅读考试当中,时间上的反向推理题还有很多很多,难度也可能会更高,比如,我们再来一道题。

【Paragraph 1】It was not until the Cambrian period, beginning about 600 million years ago, that a great proliferation of macroscopic species occurred on Earth and produced a fossil record that allows us to track the rise and fall of biodiversity. Since the Cambrian period, biodiversity has generally risen, but there have been some notable exceptions. Biodiversity collapsed dramatically during at least five periods because of mass extinctions around the globe. The five major mass extinctions receive most of the attention, but they are only one end of a spectrum of extinction events. Collectively, more species went extinct during smaller events that were less dramatic but more frequent. The best known of the five major extinction events, the one that saw the demise of the dinosaurs, is the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction.

2. Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about life on Earth before the Cambrian period?

A. Biodiversity levels were steady, as indicated by the fossil record.

B. Levels of biodiversity could not be tracked.

C. The most dramatic extinction episode occurred.

D. Few microscopic species existed.

本题中我们可以根据专业词汇“Cambrian period”定位到It was not until the Cambrian period, beginning about 600 million years ago, that a great proliferation of macroscopic species occurred on Earth and produced a fossil record that allows us to track the rise and fall of biodiversity. 直到六亿年前的寒武纪时期,肉眼可见的生物才在地球上大量出现并产生可以让我们了解物种多样性兴衰的化石。可是题干中用的是“before the Cambrian period”,即寒武纪之前,那么只要将原文中寒武纪之后的内容取反,即“在寒武纪之前,肉眼可见的生物还没有大量出现,我们还不能了解物种的多样性”,对应B选项。

所以,当问题或原句信息中出现了明确的在某种时间前后发生的事件时,大家要注意作者已经在给出一定的提示了,我们可以通过前后的信息进行推断。

从这个角度看来,其实,阅读的推断题,很可爱对吗?只要我们了解它的出题原理和作者的出题意图,明确原文中句子间的逻辑关系,其实推断题并不是为难广大考生的绊脚石,而是帮助我们取得阅读高分、提升阅读理解能力的好工具!

托福阅读:推断套路千千万,看完这篇斩一半

推断题Inference Question,又叫推理题,是许多同学最烦恼的阅读题型。往往阅读已达25分以上的同学,最后的几道错题中就有推断题的身影。曾遇到一个分数已经29的高分学员,二刷托福的最后阶段,还是每每在推断题上栽跟头。

原因呢,就在于推断题逻辑的“模糊”——比起大部分题型,比如细节题简单粗暴、非黑即白的逻辑,推断题的态度要显得暧昧许多。但首先我们要确定的是,虽然很难在原文中找到直接的同义改写,但文中一定会有依据。一旦依据不足,那做的就不是推断题,而是“脑补题“了。问我们:“What can we infer about X”,实际上是问“作者对X有什么潜台词?”

潜台词里套路多,所以我们首先把题目分为两类。一类是(1)“题干定位“型,一类可以叫作(2)“选项定位型“。读完题干就可以区分。举个简单的例子:

现在城市中养猫的人群正在兴起,逐渐改变了以往狗多猫少的情况。其中原因有很多,首先,比起养狗,养猫更加方便。猫咪几乎没有体味,不需要遛,也不需要经常洗澡:猫会自己“洗澡”。与狗不同,它们的唾液有很强的清洁力。此外,猫比狗需求的陪伴更少,这很适合生活忙碌的白领人群。现代宠物行业培养了许多适宜家养的猫咪品种。比如美国短毛猫,脾气较为温顺,尤其是银虎斑,性格乖巧,适合作为家养宠物。

根据这段原文出两道推断题。(1)关于美国短毛猫,我们可以推断出什么结论?(2)关于养猫,我们可以推断出什么结论?那么第一题就是“题干定位题”,因为“美国短毛猫”可以确定定位区间——原文的最后一句话。而第二题,我们却显然无法根据题干来定位,因为整段文字都是讲养猫的。所以第二题我们采取的策略是根据选项去定位。我们可以叫它“选项定位型”。

区分了两种类型,就可以分别看看它们的套路了!

一个简单的思维导图:

今天我们要详细讲解的是题干定位型的推断题。以下是一些用得上的推理逻辑。

1. 反向推理

要有信心的是:只要题干中的关键词是可以定位的,这道题就肯定不难,肯定可以拿下。我们要做的就是紧扣定位区间,从几句话中确定依据,再回头看选项。很快就可以知道哪几个选项的依据不足。我们还是根据上面这个养猫的例子来出几道题,考考大家的逻辑。

1. 关于动物的唾液,我们能推断出什么结论?

A. 猫的唾液比人类的沐浴液更有清洁力。

B. 狗的唾液没有清洁力。

C. 动物的唾液都有清洁力。

D. 因为猫的唾液可以自我清洁,所以猫的一生不需要洗澡。

这道题拿到手,当然是用“唾液“作为关键词去定位。找到定位区间:“猫咪并不需要遛,也不需要经常洗澡:猫会自己“洗澡”。与狗不同,它们的唾液有很强的清洁力。“依据仅有这两句话,其中没有提到“人类的沐浴液”,因此排除A;“猫不需要经常洗澡”和D中的“一生不需要洗澡”矛盾,排除D;C显然不对,因此选择B。

B这个选项,我们叫做反向推理,由“与狗不同,……”这句话推出。这个逻辑非常常见。现在来看一看TPO中的练习题:

It should be obvious that cetaceans – whales, porpoises, and dolphins – are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke and blowhole cannot disguise their affinities with land-dwelling mammals. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about early sea otters?

A.It is not difficult to imagine what they looked like.

B.There were great numbers of them.

C. They lived in the sea only.

D. They did not leave many fossil remains.

这道题是非常经典的题干定位、反向推理。题干中的sea otter, 定位到的区间为unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like.逻辑和上面那道例题非常相似,根据unlike推出sea otter情况与cetacean相反,因此选A。

还有一种更为隐晦的反向推理。比如,托福出分了,妈妈对你说:你和小明、小红都是一个班的,你看看小明这次考得特别好,小红也考得不错!请问根据妈妈的话可以推断出什么?当然是妈妈的潜台词:“你”没有考好。这件事妈妈没有明说,但仍然是反向推理出来的。

那就让我们把这种题目拿下,考出个超级好的成绩,让妈妈无话可说:

A symbiotic relationship is an interaction between two or more species in which one species lives in or on another species. There are three main types of symbiotic relationships: parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. The first and the third can be key factors in the structure of a biological community; that is, all the populations of organisms living together and potentially interacting in a particular area.

Which of the following statements about commensalism can be inferred from paragraph 1?

A. It excludes interactions between more than two species.

B. It makes it less likely for species within a community, to survive.

C. Its significance to the organization of biological communities is small.

D. Its role in the structure of biological populations is a disruptive one.

根据题干的commensalism, 找到定位区间“There are three main types of symbiotic relationships: parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. The first and the third can be key factors in the structure of a biological community”。第一句话罗列了三种关系,第二句话强调了第一种和第三种是key factor,那么没有提到的第二种——也就是题干所问的这一种,就是与之相反的不是key factor。答案呼之欲出:就是C,its significance is small.

再来一题更难的:

With question such as these clearly before them, the scientists aboard the Glomar Challenger processed to the Mediterranean to search for the answers. On August 23, 1970, they recovered a sample. The sample consisted of pebbles of hardened sediment that had once been soft, deep-sea mud, as well as granules of gypsum and fragments of volcanic rock. Not a single pebble was found that might have indicated that the pebbles came from the nearby continent. In the days following, samples of solid gypsum were repeatedly brought on deck as drilling operations penetrated the seafloor. Furthermore, the gypsum was found to possess peculiarities of composition and structure that suggested it had formed on desert flats. Sediment above and below the gypsum layer contained tiny marine fossils, indicating open-ocean conditions. As they drilled into the central and deepest part of the Mediterranean basin, the scientists took solid, shiny, crystalline salt from the core barrel. Interbedded with the salt were thin layers of what appeared to be windblown silt.

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the solid gypsum layer?

A. It did not contain any marine fossil.

B. It had formed in open-ocean conditions.

C. It had once been soft, deep-sea mud.

D. It contained sediment from nearby deserts.

这题拿到手,还是找定位区间:“the gypsum was found to possess peculiarities of composition and structure that suggested it had formed on desert flats. Sediment above and below the gypsum layer contained tiny marine fossils, indicating open-ocean conditions.”第一句话说gypsum的内在结构说明它是在沙漠形成的;第二句话讲了gypsum上下两层的情况:富含marine fossils。从第二句话中,我们倾向于推出中间的gypsum曾并没有marine fossils,逻辑和上题一样。第一句话给了我们佐证:gypsum本身应当从沙漠来,当然没有海洋沉淀。答案:A。

反向推理的逻辑大致如此。其中还有一种较为特殊的“时间推理”,我们也可以看一看。

2. 时间推理

时间推理的逻辑非常简单。大致就是:小明在2017年去了美国读大学——可以推出2017年以前小明没有去美国读大学。通过时间先后来反推,其实也属于反向推理中的一种。一道简单的TPO:

The story of the westward movement of population in the United States is, in the main, the story of the expansion of American agriculture—of the development of new areas for the raising of livestock and the cultivation of wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton. After 1815 improved transportation enabled more and more western farmers to escape a self-sufficient way of life and enter a national market economy. During periods when commodity prices were high, the rate of westward migration increased spectacularly.

What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about western farmers prior to 1815?

A. They had limited their crop production to wheat, corn, tobacco,

and cotton.

B. They were able to sell their product

at high prices.

C. They had not been successful in raising cattle.

D. They did not operate in a national market economy.

答案选C。你选对了吗?

再来看一看时间推理更进一步的题会出成什么样:

This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map “A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland”, map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?

A. Canals were built primarily in the south of England rather than in other regions.

B. Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented.

C. Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process.

D. Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata.

这道题目跪了无数人。其实这题看似信息杂乱,但题目中的canal building是可以定位的:文中的前3句话。第一句话就是题眼所在:在steam locomotive出现之前,canal building was at its height。你是否理解了at its height?它表示“达到了顶峰“。

所以选B,毫无疑问。A信息不足,而C和D都和原文有不同程度的出入。

再来练一道题:

Oil pools are valuable underground accumulations of oil, and oil fields are regions underlain by one or more oil pools. When an oil pool or field has been discovered, wells are drilled into the ground. Permanent towers, called derricks, used to be built to handle the long sections of drilling pipe. Now portable drilling machines are set up and are then dismantled and removed. When the well reaches a pool, oil usually rises up the well because of its density difference with water beneath it or because of the pressure of expanding gas trapped above it. Although this rise of oil is almost always carefully controlled today, spouts of oil, or gushers, were common in the past. Gas pressure gradually dies out, and oil is pumped from the well. Water or steam may be pumped down adjacent wells to help push the oil out. At a refinery, the crude oil from underground is separated into natural gas, gasoline, kerosene, and various oils. Petrochemicals such as dyes, fertilizer, and plastic are also manufactured from the petroleum.

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about gushers?

A. They make bringing the oil to the surface easier.

B. They signal the presence of huge oil reserves.

C. They waste more oil than they collect.

D. They are unlikely to occur nowadays.

这道题同样绊倒了许多同学。现在我们再来根据推理逻辑做一遍,就会觉得它并不难。Gusher可以定位到这句话:“Although this rise of oil is almost always carefully controlled today, spouts of oil, or gushers, were common in the past.“如此有限的一句话,只能推出D这个结论,其他三个选项,字面看起来虽然很有道理:gusher就是井喷,可以说有A、B、C说的石油到达地表更易、标志着巨大油储量、废油比集油多等特征。但是,它们都没有依据,根本不需要仔细研究。所以先确定依据,再看选项,可以大大节省时间。

3. 从属推理

最后来讲一讲比较罕见、也较难的逻辑:从属推理。先来举个栗子:

新东方的同学们都非常好学。比如小明,他虽然有学校的课业压力,但丝毫不放松托福的学习,不仅能很快完成作业,还能主动提问、积累词汇,最后取得了很好的托福成绩。

根据小明我们能推断出什么?

A.小明在托福学习上比学校课业上花更多的时间

B.小明的词汇量比较差

C.小明是新东方的学生

D.小明的交作业交得最早

这道题很容易,选C,其他选项都是依据不足,过度推断。C这种逻辑我们就叫它“从属推理”。有点像亚里士多德的三段论,但我们更强调观点和例子之间的从属关系。例子能够满足观点的条件。

严格来讲,要定位一个选项,应当定位到完整的论证结构,而不是单纯的例子部分。就拿上题来说,如果只定位到小明个人的部分,就会遗漏观点句中的依据。前方高能,难题两道:

Even the kind of stability defined as simple lack of change is not always associated with maximum diversity. At least in temperate zones, maximum diversity is often found in mid-successional stages, not in the climax community. Once a redwood forest matures, for example, the kinds of species and the number of individuals growing on the forest floor are reduced. In general, diversity, by itself, does not ensure stability. Mathematical models of ecosystems likewise suggest that diversity does not guarantee ecosystem stability—just the opposite, in fact. A more complicated system is, in general, more likely than a simple system to break down. (A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is more likely to break down than a child’s tricycle.)

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5 about redwood forests?

A. They become less stable as they mature.

B. They support many species when they reach climax.

C. They are found in temperate zones.

D. They have reduced diversity during mid-successional stages.

掌握了从属推理之后,定位出来的区间就不是从“Once a redwood forest...”开始,而是要包含上面的观点句:”At least in temperate zones, maximum diversity is often found in mid-successional stages, not in the climax community.”妥妥的选C。但是这道题要排除A、B、D却并不是那么容易,因为涉及到maturity, diversity 和stability三个变量。我们根据原文意思来画个示意图:

有没有感觉到A、B、D都是要欺骗感情的呢?所以这道题,应该坚决果断地选C,这样就能争取时间。

最后再来一道难题:

After the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in the first century A.D., the presence of administrators, merchants, and troops on British soil, along with the natural flow of ideas and goods from the rest of the empire, had an enormous influence on life in the British Isles. Cultural influences were of three types: the bringing of objects, the transfer of craft workers, and the introduction of massive civil architecture. Many objects were not art in even the broadest sense and comprised utilitarian items of clothing, utensils, and equipment. We should not underestimate the social status associated with such mundane possessions which had not previously been available. The flooding of Britain with red-gloss pottery form Gaul (modern-day France), decorated with scenes from Classical mythology, probably brought many into contact with the styles and artistic concepts of the Greco-Roman world for the first time, whether or not the symbolism was understood. Mass-produced goods were accompanied by fewer more aesthetically impressive objects such as statuettes. Such pieces perhaps first came with officials for their own religious worship; others were then acquired by native leaders as diplomatic gifts or by purchase. Once seen by the natives, such objects created a fashion which rapidly spread through the province.

Paragraph 1 suggests that one benefit for British natives in buying such items as red-gloss pottery made in Gaul was

A. improved quality of utilitarian items

B. Understanding the symbolism of Classical mythology

C. higher social standing

D. Learning to mass-produce pottery for a profit

定位区间:从观点句“We should not underestimate the social status associated with such mundane possessions which had not previously been available”开始,直到”red-gloss pottery”具体的例子展开部分。答案C来自观点句,强调日用品和社会地位之间的关系。你做对了吗?

总结一下,今天我们研究了推断题中的“题干定位型”,即用题干中的关键信息可以确定定位空间的题。

分析了反向推理、时间推理和从属推理这三个逻辑。是不是已经可以拿下这一半的推断题了呢?下次有机会我们再展开“选项定位型”即无法用题干信息定位的推断题。

托福阅读:当心否定事实信息题中的“陷阱”

Negative Factual Information Questions,一般译作否定事实信息题,有时也被称为反向事实信息题、排除列举题或选非题,在阅读十大题型中出错率一直较高。出错的原因,往往被简单归结于“粗心大意”。诚然,在其他题型的解答过程中,同学们往往都是在努力寻找与原文说法最为接近的选项,而遇到否定事实信息题,由于思维惯性,在看到与原文说法基本一致但本该被排除的选项的时候,往往会忘记题目中那个大大的EXCEPT或NOT,导致错选。

但是,只是说不要“粗心大意”并没有什么用,就像在穿越雷区的时候只是说“要当心哦”并没有太多实际的帮助。只有当我们了解到哪里可能埋雷,哪里可能会有陷阱,才更有可能避开危险,安全抵达目的地。而在否定事实信息题的解答过程中,对题型认知不够准确是一些题目错误率居高不下的主要原因。

而且这锅还真得由ETS(即托福考试出题人)来背。在其出版的《托福考试官方指南》中,关于否定事实信息题的介绍如下:

Negative Factual Information Questions

These questions ask you to verify what information is true and what information is NOT true or not included in the passage based on information that is explicitly stated in the passage. To answer this kind of question, first locate the relevant information in the passage. Then verify that three of the four answer choices are true and that the remaining choice is false. Remember, for this type of question, the correct answer is the one that is NOT true.

简单翻译就是,这类题型要求你根据文章中所明确给出的信息判断哪些选项的说法是正确的,哪些是不正确或文章中未提及的。需要先在文章中定位相关信息,然后判断哪三个选项的说法正确而哪个选项是错误的。并且记住,对于这类题型来说,正确答案反而是那个说法不正确的选项。

以上,同学们很容易得出的结论即是,为了答对否定事实信息题,我们需要排除三个与原文说法一致的选项,找到那个说法不一致,或未提及的选项。而在绝大多数时候,这个判断选项的思路是正确的。例如在Spartina这篇文章中,有一道否定事实信息题:

Spartina alterniflora, known as cordgrass, is a deciduous, perennial flowering plant native to the Atlantic coast and the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is the dominant native species of the lower salt marshes along these coasts, where it grows in the intertidal zone (the area covered by water some parts of the dayand exposed others).

According to paragraph 1, each of the following is true of Spartina alrerniflora EXCEPT:

A. It rarely flowers in salt marshes.

B. It grows well in intertidal zones.

C. It iscommonly referred to as cordgrass.

D. It occurs naturally along the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic coast of the United States.

正确答案A中的否定词rarely使得该选项与原文第一句的说法正好相反。

但是,有些题目之所以错误率高,或同学们在答题的时候觉得难,觉得正确答案不好找,往往因为这些题属于所谓的“例外”,即常规思路看似不适用的情况。有许多否定事实信息题,仅从选项的措辞来看,四个选项看似都与原文的某些内容一致。而这是我们在解读官方指南的时候往往会忽略掉的一种可能性,也即是本文标题中所指的“陷阱”。如果没有意识到这种可能性的存在,遇到此类题目的时候,出错的几率自然大大提高。

例如以下这道经典例题,来自Westward Migration这篇文章:

Why were these hundreds of thousands of settlers—most of them farmers, some of them artisans—drawn away from the cleared fields and established cities and villages of the East? Certain characteristics of American society help to explain this remarkable migration. The European ancestors of some Americans had for centuries lived rooted to the same village or piece of land until some religious, political, or economic crisis uprooted them and drove them acrossthe Atlantic. Many of those who experienced this sharp break there after lackedthe ties that had bound them and their ancestors to a single place. Moreover,European society was relatively stratified; occupation and social status were inherited. In American society, however, the class structure was less rigid;some people changed occupations easily and believed it was their duty to improve their social and economic position. As a result, many Americans were an inveterately restless, rootless, and ambitious people. Therefore, these social traits helped to produce the nomadic and daring settlers who kept pushing westward beyond the fringes of settlement. In addition, there were other immigrants who migrated west in search of new homes, material success, and better lives.

According to paragraph 2, all of the following are reasons why Americans migrated westward EXCEPT

A. the desire to move from one place to the next

B. the hope of improving their socioeconomic status

C. the opportunity to change jobs

D. the need to escape religious or political crises

本题正确答案D选项来自原文中的这句话The European ancestors of some Americans had for centuries lived rooted to the same village or piece of land until some religious, political, or economic crisis uprooted them and drove them across the Atlantic. 很多同学在答题的过程中只记得看到了“因为宗教或政治而迁徙”这个内容,从而认为D选项与原文说法一致,就想当然的按照惯例排除了这个选项导致错选。但只要稍微细心,就能够意识到这是部分美国人的欧洲祖先迁移到美国的原因,而不是美国人西迁的原因,反而是可以直选的正确答案。

而另一道来自Role of Play in Development这篇文章的例题:

Play is not without considerable costs to the individual animal. Play is usually veryactive, involving movement in space and, at times, noise making. Therefore, it results in the loss of fuel or energy that might better be used for growth orfor building up fat stores in a young animal. Another potential cost of this activity is greater exposure to predators since play is attention-getting behavior. Great activities also increase the risk of injury in slipping or falling.

According to paragraph 3, each of the following is a cost to animals that engage in play EXCEPT

A. exposure to predators

B. abuildup of fat stores

C. a lossof fuel that could be used for growth

D. riskof injury from slipping or falling

正确答案B选项看似在文章中有直接对应的内容“building up fat stores”,但仔细阅读会发现,失去用以形成脂肪的能量才是玩耍的代价之一,而脂肪本身的积累并不是。甚至这里的B和C选项可视作一对矛盾选项,非此即彼,必有一为正确答案。

同样,在Industrialization in the Netherlands and Scandinavia这篇文章中有一道题:

The political institutions of the four countries posed no significant barriers to industrialization or economic growth. The nineteenth century passed relatively peacefully for these countries, with progressive democratization taking place in all of them. They were reasonably well governed, without notable corruptionor grandiose state projects, although in all of them the government gave some aid to railways, and in Sweden the state built the main lines. As small countries dependent on foreign markets, they followed a liberal trade policy in the main, though a protectionist movement developed in Sweden. In Denmark and Sweden agricultural reforms took place gradually from the late eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth, resulting in a new class of peasant land owners with a definite market orientation.

According to paragraph 5, each of the following contributed positively to theindustrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia EXCEPT

A. Generally liberal trade policies

B. Huge projects undertaken by the state

C. Relatively uncorrupt governments

D. Relatively little social or political disruption

正确答案B选项也似乎与原文中的“grandiose state projects”一致,但联系前半句话中的without就会意识到正好与问题中的EXCEPT对应,这个答案也是可以直选出来的。而这道题的B和C选项也是原文中的并列结构,被处理成了正好矛盾的选项。

还有更多例题这里就不一一列举了,而我们可以得出的结论是:否定事实信息题的四个选项,需要被排除的那三个一定与原文说法一致,而需要被选出来的那个正确答案,由于选取的只是部分内容,1)可能直接与原文矛盾,2)可能属于完全未提及,甚至3)看似在原文中能够找到对应,实际内容也符合题目,可以做直选。而意识到正确选项的这三种可能性,意识到否定事实信息题的四个选项在原文中都可能有对应,能帮助避免只凭借部分信息就认定选项对错的这种“粗心大意”,也往往比仅仅采用排除法解题更有效率。

但是再仔细想想,任何题型的正确答案,不就应该是符合题目要求的选项吗。从这个角度来看,并不存在所谓的“例外”,无非是题目和选项的措辞,使得否定事实信息题的正确答案也可能与原文的某些内容一致,刚好能够回答问题。

说到底,仔细读题目,仔细读原文,仔细读选项,句子要看完整,不要看一半就想当然,等等这些最基本的要求,是在练习和考试中都要始终如一地坚定贯彻执行的。所谓的技巧,无非是对于各种规律和套路的总结。对于前人的经验,从来不是去盲目相信或生搬硬套,而是在反复验证的过程中,去完善和优化,并最终成为自己可以熟练运用的能力。


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