托福閱讀考試的考察重點(diǎn)介紹

托福閱讀中的細(xì)節(jié)題其實(shí)不難，但前提是定位的點(diǎn)要對(duì)，比如下面這個(gè)例題：

Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer, a lowland, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer, in earlier times was common in the open prairie country, it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the lower Columbia River.

According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?

A. It is native to lowlands and marshes.

B. It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern Washington than to other types of deer.

C. It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie.

D. It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied.

這是一個(gè)典型的細(xì)節(jié)題，在該題題干中，有的考生會(huì)選擇Puget Sound作為關(guān)鍵詞回原文定位，因?yàn)樗菍Ｓ忻~，在文中會(huì)比較顯眼。但是如果一旦選擇了這個(gè)地名，勢(shì)必會(huì)定位在該段的第一句話，托福細(xì)節(jié)題往往是定位在哪句就在哪句找答案，這樣的話考生是選不出正確答案的，因?yàn)槎ㄎ徊痪_。其實(shí)正確的關(guān)鍵詞應(yīng)該是white-tailed deer，這個(gè)用連字符連接的詞在文章中也是比較醒目的，按該詞定位應(yīng)是該段最后一句話。所以根據(jù)它的意思應(yīng)該選D項(xiàng)。其中A項(xiàng)與原句意思不符，B和C都與定位句信息無(wú)關(guān)。我們?cè)賮?lái)看另外一個(gè)否定事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題的例子：

Plant communities assemble themselves flexibly, and their structure depends on the particular history of the area. Ecologists use the term “succession” to refer to the changes that happen in plant communities and ecosystems over time. The first community in a succession is called a pioneer community, while the long-lived community at the end of succession is called a climax community. Pioneer and successional plant communities are said to change over periods from 1 to 500 years. These changes—in plant numbers and the mix of species—are cumulative. Climax communities themselves change but over periods of time greater than about 500 years.

According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT true of climax communities?

A. They occur at the end of a succession.

B. They last longer than any other type of community.

C. The numbers of plants in them and the mix of species do not change

D. They remain stable for at least 500 years at a time.

這個(gè)題大家都會(huì)選擇用climax communities去定位，但在定位過(guò)程中會(huì)出現(xiàn)很多問(wèn)題。首先考生要學(xué)會(huì)跳躍式定位，即根據(jù)文章中特殊的標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)以及最醒目的詞來(lái)搜索我們真正需要的關(guān)鍵詞。文中的particular是加了陰影的，succession是在引號(hào)里面的，都非常醒目，通過(guò)看這兩個(gè)詞我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它們附近沒(méi)有我們需要的東西;再比較突出的就是數(shù)字及破折號(hào)，在500的上方有a climax community，但它是單數(shù)，與題干關(guān)鍵詞不完全匹配，細(xì)節(jié)題講究的是精確定位，所以我們應(yīng)該選擇500斜下方的Climax communities，即該段的最后一句話。否定事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題的出題思路有兩種：一是無(wú)中生有，即根據(jù)定位點(diǎn)的內(nèi)容，四個(gè)選項(xiàng)只有一個(gè)沒(méi)有提到，這種思路多適用于選項(xiàng)比較簡(jiǎn)短的題目;二是張冠李戴，即根據(jù)定位點(diǎn)的內(nèi)容表述，只有一個(gè)選項(xiàng)與之矛盾，這種思路多適應(yīng)于選項(xiàng)比較長(zhǎng)的題目。就這個(gè)例題而言，根據(jù)定位的最后一句話，從表述上來(lái)說(shuō)跟它相關(guān)的只有C和D兩個(gè)選項(xiàng)，D項(xiàng)的意思與原句相符，而C項(xiàng)與原句矛盾，所以正確答案是C。綜上所述，做新托福閱讀的細(xì)節(jié)題，最重要的一點(diǎn)就是要盡量地去精確定位。

重點(diǎn)二：無(wú)方向中隱藏方向。

新托福閱讀考試中絕大部分題目都是對(duì)應(yīng)具體段落的，這會(huì)為考生節(jié)省很多時(shí)間。但是也不排除有少量題目的范圍比較大或比較模糊，考生在尋找答案時(shí)難免一頭霧水，費(fèi)時(shí)費(fèi)力。其實(shí)這些看似沒(méi)有明確定位方向的題目都是暗藏玄機(jī)的。下面我們就來(lái)看一個(gè)例子：

Wind power has a significant cost advantage over nuclear power and has become competitive with coal-fired power plants in many places. With new technological advances and mass production, projected cost declines should make wind power one of the world’s cheapest ways to produce electricity. In the long run, electricity from large wind farms in remote areas might be used to make hydrogen gas from water during periods when there is less than peak demand for electricity. The hydrogen gas could then be fed into a storage system and used to generate electricity when additional or backup power is needed.

Wind power is most economical in areas with steady winds. In areas where the wind dies down, backup electricity from a utility company or from an energy storage system becomes necessary. Backup power could also be provided by linking wind farms with a solar cell, with conventional or pumped-storage hydropower, or with efficient natural-gas-burning turbines. Some drawbacks to wind farms include visual pollution and noise, although these can be overcome by improving their design and locating them in isolated areas.

Based on the information in paragraph 3 and paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas mentioned at the end of paragraph 1?

A.They rely largely on coal-fired power plants.

B.They contain remote areas where the winds rarely die down.

C.Over 1 percent of the electricity in these states is produced by wind farms.

D.Wind farms in these states are being expanded to meet the power needs of the United States.

這個(gè)題目的題干涉及到三個(gè)段落，而事實(shí)上考生根本不需要去看第一段的內(nèi)容，因?yàn)榇鸢敢罁?jù)的是第三、四段的信息，但是這兩個(gè)段落如果都看的話內(nèi)容也不少，從應(yīng)試的角度來(lái)說(shuō)太費(fèi)時(shí)間。正確的做法應(yīng)該是從選項(xiàng)中挖掘一下方向。A項(xiàng)里大家一般都會(huì)選擇有連字符的coal-fired作為關(guān)鍵詞去定位，B項(xiàng)沒(méi)有比較顯眼的詞就只能選名詞短語(yǔ)remote areas，C項(xiàng)選1 percent，D項(xiàng)選the United States。選完關(guān)鍵詞我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn)除了B項(xiàng)不大好定位以外，其他三個(gè)選項(xiàng)的關(guān)鍵詞都很醒目。經(jīng)過(guò)定位，A項(xiàng)應(yīng)該去比對(duì)第3段的第一句話，意思明顯矛盾;B項(xiàng)不好找，可以暫且跳過(guò);C項(xiàng)和D項(xiàng)的關(guān)鍵詞在這兩段都找不到，這就屬于新托福閱讀中推理題的錯(cuò)誤答案設(shè)計(jì)方法之一 ——無(wú)中生有。所以雖然我們沒(méi)有去驗(yàn)證B項(xiàng)的說(shuō)法是否正確，但經(jīng)過(guò)排除也只能選B了。這樣的做題方法就會(huì)省時(shí)省力，且答案也是正確的。在考試中，這種情況往往會(huì)影響考生的心情，進(jìn)而影響水平的發(fā)揮，但是只要我們了解了ETS出題的套路就能把它們輕松搞定。