閱讀理解A部分是考研英語得分的重點題目，也是考生重點攻克、容易攻克的題目。同學們一定要重視該題。本題得分的最低分數線應為26分。高于此分數則可順利過國家線。如果低于這個分數，想順利通過國家線就有一定難度了。
對于閱讀理解A部分，閱讀方法和做題方法同樣重要。沒有好的閱讀技巧，就很難讀懂考研英語短文，做題就難上加難了。如果能讀懂文章，但缺乏正確的做題技巧，同樣不能合理的分，想取得理想的分數恐怕也很難，所以同學們一定要把兩者很好的結合起來，正確應對閱讀理解考試，才能真正起到事半功倍的效果。
下面，我就近十年英語閱讀理解A部分的考題進行分析，從題材、出題來源、題型、出題類別、各題考試要求、考點、應對策略等給同學們進行認真的講解和指導，以幫助同學們拿到理想的高分。在這里我想建議考研的同學買一本《考研英語閱讀理解高分突破》的輔導書，這書編寫得很好，價錢也較便宜，有利于提高同學們的閱讀理解的水平和能力。
閱讀理解A部分試題主要是考查考生對英語詞匯、短語、句型等習慣表達方式，尤其是對出現在篇章中的語言知識和語言技能的掌握情況。從另一方面來說，它也包含了對英語國家和世界其他國家的政治、經濟、文化、歷史、社會等背景以及科技發(fā)展動態(tài)、熱門話題乃至西方人的思維、交流方式等非語言性知識和學習能力方面的考查。因此，閱讀理解A部分試題是一個綜合性很強的能力測試試題。
閱讀能力一直是各種英語考試考查的重點。在全國碩士研究生入學考試中閱讀理解的A部分占了整個試卷分值的40%，而且其他部分與閱讀理解也密切相關。英譯漢以它為基礎。完形填空只有理解整篇文章的意思才能選對答案。分析典型范文又是寫作的基礎。此外，掌握外語最重要的兩個因素——詞匯量和語感，都是主要通過閱讀獲得的。因此考生要在考研英語中獲得成功，閱讀理解是關鍵。
一、閱讀理解A部分命題的基本指導思想
1.《大綱》對閱讀理解A部分的評價目標
命題小組在設計試題時，一方面要在試題中考查考生是否能夠讀懂不同類型的文字材料(生詞量不超過所讀材料總詞匯量的3%，包括信函、書報和雜志上的文章)，而且還考查考生是否能夠讀懂與本人學習或工作有關的文獻、技術說明、產品介紹等。根據所讀材料，考生應該能夠：(1)理解主旨要旨;(2)理解文中的具體信息;(3)理解文中的概念性含義;(4)進行有關的判斷、推理和引申;(5)根據上下文推測生詞的詞義;(6)理解文章的總體結構以及上下文之間的關系;(7)理解作者的意圖、觀點或態(tài)度;(8)區(qū)分論點和論據。
2. 閱讀理解A部分命題的基本原則
試題質量的優(yōu)劣關系到考試是否達到預期目的，因此命制試題是整個考試的中心環(huán)節(jié)。命題小組在命制試題時必須遵循以下基本原則：
(1)試題應該嚴格按照考試大綱的要求進行命題，即按照考試大綱規(guī)定的評價目標和試卷結構進行命題。命題內容不超過大綱的評價目標，題型和題量也要嚴格按照大綱的規(guī)定。在選取閱讀理解A部分的文章時，要注意文章的選材范圍和難度，力圖讓考生在充分理解文章的基礎上對問題做出正確的回答，同時要使試題具有適當的難度和較高的效度、信度和區(qū)分度。
(2)試題指向性必須清楚、準確、周密，易于理解，不出怪題、偏題。試題應該無科學性錯誤和避免不健康的、帶有各種偏見的語言材料。答案要明確、合理、惟一。
(3)在命制閱讀理解A部分試題時，應該特別注意以下四個方面：第一，必須以考查獲得信息為目的，不以考查語法或詞匯為目的。當然考查考生通過上下文猜測詞義的能力還是必要的。第二，應該避免出只根據一般常識而不用閱讀文章就能得出答案的題目。第三，以考查文章提供的主信息為重點，考查考生挖掘文章中的信息能力為目的，命制考查多種層次、多種范疇信息的題目。第四，考查點對語言材料內容的覆蓋面應該盡可能全面，這是閱讀理解A部分試題命制的最重要的原則。
(4)題干和選項的命制應該遵循的幾個原則如下：
首先，關于題干的命制。第一，題干應僅描述一個單一的問題，最好是一個問句或一個不完全的陳述句。題干和選項皆不宜過長，都要簡潔、清楚，考點明確，盡量減少不必要的詞語。在各選項中共同使用的文字或術語應該反映在題干上。第二，題干和選項中不應含有與所考查內容無關的材料。盡量避免在題干中使用否定詞。一旦在題干中出現了否定詞，應該特別予以強調，如用黑體或者全大寫。第三，題干與正確選項應避免使用相同的修飾詞語，以防給考生提供選擇答案的線索。第四，題干與每一個選項的搭配都應該在邏輯上、形式上、語氣上完整無缺。命制試題時不能只留心題干與正確選項的搭配和表述，而忽視與干擾項的搭配，使考生得到暗示。各選項必須互不包容，否則，他們間的邏輯關系就會暗示正確選項，而使該題失去其應有的效度。
其次，關于備選項的命制。第一，各選項的長度、難度和語言結構應該大致相同。因為如果在命制這類試題時，命題者為使正確項絕對正確，致使其長度或結構異于其他選項，那么這些有異選項往往會成為考生亂猜的對象。第二，各干擾項要有迷惑性，才能起到適當的干擾作用。一方面干擾項不能錯得太明顯，否則形同虛設，反而使考生比較容易利用排除法找到正確答案;另一方面，大部分考生都選擇某一干擾項也不理想。第三，同一個題目的選項的排列應按同一原則、同一邏輯順序、同一規(guī)律和方向進行。例如可以按照時間的先后、數值的大小等規(guī)律排列。各題應該大致按從易到難的順序排列。因為考生在臨場應試時有個逐漸適應的過程。這樣的排列會使他們穩(wěn)定情緒，順利進入正常的心理狀態(tài)。試卷中正確選項字母序號(如[A]，[B]，[C]，[D])出現的次數應該大致相等，這樣可避免某些考生因只猜某一選項而“幸運地”獲取高分的可能性。
最后，關于干擾項的特點。通過對歷年考研真題的分析和研究，我們總結了干擾項的如下特點：第一，看似合理，實則以偏概全、斷章取義。要么利用在文章中沒有提到的生活常識編造選項;要么把文章中的事實和細節(jié)當主旨，把片面的、次要的觀點當成主要觀點。因此考生一定要從文中找依據、找答案，“合理項”不一定就是正確選項。在主旨題和主要觀點題中，應該排除細節(jié)干擾，把握文章的主題。第二，偷梁換柱，張冠李戴。要么對原句中的細微處做了改動，要么截取原文中有的詞語或類似的結構進行編造。要么在備選項中把因說成果、把別人的觀點或作者反對的觀點說成是作者的觀點。因此考生要注意，過于相似的選項不一定正確，除非它的程度、范圍等都與原文完全一致。考生要注意：“原詞越多，對的可能性也就越小”。第三，用常規(guī)含義代替偏用詞義。在英語語言中，許多詞或短語存在多義的現象，考生如果只掌握其常用的基本詞義是不夠的。在閱讀實踐中，更不能用已掌握的常用詞義去代替偏用詞義，從而導致對詞或句意的誤解或費解。命題者在命制詞義句意題時，就通常把要考查的詞或句意的常規(guī)含義作為干擾項以麻痹考生。因此，考生必須根據上下文推測其在特定語境下的含義。第四，過度引申。備選項雖然是從原文中推理引申出來的，但是卻超出了文章允許的范圍。考生切勿過度發(fā)揮，一切以原文為本。
二、閱讀理解A部分文章的選擇
閱讀理解A部分的文章自2002年起改為四篇，每篇由四個至六個段落構成(也有例外，如：2002年第四篇共九段)。每篇的長度控制在400～500個單詞左右。
1. 題材的選取
從歷年試題命制的情況看，主要是西方國家尤其是美、英、加和日本等國廣泛關注的社會話題和熱點問題。其內容包羅萬象，社會生活類文章在命題中占據了絕大部分，帶有普及性質的自然科學和科技方面的文章以及商業(yè)經濟文章基本上每年都會涉及。命題所選文章的題材雖然廣泛，但是按照一般的命題原則，題目的內容應該以不超出短文所給的為限，考生僅憑文章提供的信息就可以做出正確的判斷。但是這并不意味著，寬廣的知識與閱讀理解A部分無關，相反，考生如果平時注意積累這方面的知識，則會大大地提高考試成績。
2001年-2009年歷年題材分配如下：
題材類別
社會生活、倫理類
科普類
商業(yè)經濟類
歷史文教類
合計
14
9
11
8
百分比
34%
21%
26%
19%
備 注
近年來，歷史文教類在減少，而社會生活類、倫理類、科普類和商業(yè)經濟類在增加。目的是改變過去題材單一的局面，有利于考試競爭的公平性。
2. 文章的來源
所選文章多來自較新的英文資料，能很好的反映當代英語語言的特點。
社會生活和文化教育的文章主要來源于：Newsweek(新聞周刊)，Time(時代周刊)，The Washington Post(華盛頓郵報)，USA Today(今日美國)，The Times (泰晤士報)，The Guardian(衛(wèi)報)和wwwusnewscom(美國新聞在線)。
科普類文章主要來源于：National Geographic(國家地理雜志)，Scientific American(科學美國人)，Science(科學雜志)，New Scientists(新科學家)， Discovery(探索雜志)，Nature(自然)。
商業(yè)經濟類文章主要來源于：Business Week(商業(yè)周刊)，The Economist(經濟學家雜志)和Wall Street Journal(華爾街雜志)。
其他：Telegraph(英國電信日報)，Independent(獨立日報)和International Herald Tribune(國際先驅論壇)。
3. 文章的體裁
從歷年命制的試題看，被選取的文章的體裁絕大多數為議論性的、評論性的和報道性的;多為分析論證的文章，很少有純抒發(fā)情感和描寫風景的文學篇章。這同攻讀碩士學位研究生期間將面對的大量概括性強、抽象思維為主的材料有關。簡言之，主要有論說文、說明文和新聞報道。
清楚了解考研文章的體裁特點，有助于考生把握文章結構，理清作者闡述脈絡，從而輕松解題。
議論文的特點是：(1)寫作目的是陳述觀點或表明態(tài)度;(2)文章圍繞一個中心展開，各個段落之間關系緊密，無論是反證還是正面論述，都分別是從不同的角度和側面闡述這一中心;(3)每一段也是圍繞一個中心，段落內部句子之間關系緊密。
說明文的特點是以事實為主，觀點為輔。對于此類文章，細節(jié)題目較多，考生應著重把握具體信息的真?zhèn)�、程度和作者的態(tài)度。
三、各類題型的特點及解答技巧
(一)主旨題
該類題型在歷年題型中出現的頻率極高，每年必出。它考查了考生綜合、概括、歸納和分析問題的能力，要求考生通過對文章的閱讀，迅速把握文章或段落的主題中心。主旨題可分為文章主旨和段落主旨兩種。命題模式如下：
1.文章主旨題
(1)The passage is mainly about .
(2)What is the main point the author makes in the passage?
(3)Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?
(4)What is the main topic for this passage?
(5)The proper subject of this article is .
(6)The best title for this passage might be .
(7)What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as .
(8)The passage was written to explain .
2.段落主旨題
(1)From the first (2nd, 3rd, 4th，etc) paragraph, we learn that .
(2)From the last (1st, 2nd，etc) paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that .
(3)We learn from the first (last，etc)paragraph that .
3.隱蔽的文章主旨題
(1)From the passage we learn (infer) that .
(2)What can be inferred from the passage?
(3)What the author tries to suggest may be interpreted as .
Example
Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as “steering the economy to a soft landing” or “a touch on the brakes”, makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link between interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rear-view mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 23% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 25% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit rates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.
It is also less than most forecasters had predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that America’s inflation rate would average 35% in 1995. In fact, it fell to 26% in August, and is expected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America.
Economists have been particularly surprised by favourable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially America’s, have little productive slack. America’s capacity utilisation, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this year, and its jobless rate (56% in August) has fallen below most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment—the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.
Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have up-ended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.(1997年 Passage 5)
From the passage we learn that .
[A] there is a definite relationship between inflation and interest rates
[B] economy will always follow certain models
[C] the economic situation is better than expected
[D] economists had foreseen the present economic situation
題干問的是從整個文章可以推斷出下面哪個說法，實際上是在變相地問全文的中心思想是什么。全文都在論述目前的經濟形勢比預想的要好很多([C]選項)。第一段和第二段提到經濟運行難以預測，然而近來經濟形勢卻比往年都好。第三段首句又提到“它(指平均通貨膨脹率)比多數預測者預測的數字要低”，接著通過具體數據對此觀點加以說明。第四段首句也指出“經濟學家對英美兩國有利的通脹率特別感到詫異”。
4. 主旨題的特點
無論是在段落中還是在文章中，是明顯還是隱蔽，主旨的提出主要有四種情況。
(1)首段或首句開門見山指出中心或討論的問題。
Example
The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia—where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part—other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.(1997年 Passage 1)
From the second paragraph we learn that .
[A] the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries
[B] physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia
[C] changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the law
[D] it takes time to realize the significance of the law’s passage
該段是典型的首句主旨題。以首句為段落主題句，其他各句都圍繞此句展開論述。正確答案為[D]選項�？忌魧ink in理解有困難，還可以從段落總結歸納出主旨大意。
(2)文章中間或段落中間給出中心。
Example
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979～1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?
The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.
Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. For each dollar of GDP (in constant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 025%～05% of GDP. That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies—to which heavy industry has shifted—have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.
One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. The Economist’s commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%. (2002年 Text 3)
We can draw a conclusion from the text that .
[A] oil-price shocks are less shocking now
[B] inflation seems irrelevant to oil-price shocks
[C] energy conservation can keep down the oil prices
[D] the price rise of crude leads to the shrinking of heavy industry
文章前面兩段描述出一種現象，指出最近石油價格大幅上漲;接著在文章中間部分提出文章主旨“這次油價上漲不會造成經濟衰退的原因”，并在以后各段分別論述這些原因。正確答案為[A]選項。這里涉及的閱讀技巧是當有but,however,yet,while之類的轉折連詞出現時，該篇/段/意群/句的中心往往是這些詞后面的部分。
(3)文章末段或段落末句對全文或全段進行總結歸納，得出中心思想。
Example
Scattered around the globe are more than 100 small regions of isolated volcanic activity known to geologists as hot spots. Unlike most of the world’s volcanoes, they are not always found at the boundaries of the great drifting plates that make up the earth’s surface; on the contrary, many of them lie deep in the interior of a plate. Most of the hot spots move only slowly, and in some cases the movement of the plates past them has left trails of dead volcanoes. The hot spots and their volcanic trails are milestones that mark the passage of the plates.
That the plates are moving is now beyond dispute. Africa and South America, for example, are moving away from each other as new material is injected into the sea floor between them. The complementary coastlines and certain geological features that seem to span the ocean are reminders of where the two continents were once joined. The relative motion of the plates carrying these continents has been constructed in detail, but the motion of one plate with respect to another cannot readily be translated into motion with respect to the earth’s interior. It is not possible to determine whether both continents are moving in opposite directions or whether one continent is stationary and the other is drifting away from it. Hot spots, anchored in the deeper layers of the earth, provide the measuring instruments needed to resolve the question. From an analysis of the hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has not moved during the past 30 million years.
The significance of hot spots is not confined to their role as a frame of reference. It now appears that they also have an important influence on the geophysical processes that propel the plates across the globe. When a continental plate comes to rest over a hot spot, the material rising from deeper layers creates a broad dome. As the dome grows, it develops deep fissures (cracks); in at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the hot spot initiates the formation of a new ocean. Thus just as earlier theories have explained the mobility of the continents, so hot spots may explain their mutability (inconstancy).(1998年 Passage 5)
The passage is mainly about .
[A] the features of volcanic activities
[B] the importance of the theory about drifting plates
[C] the significance of hot spots in geophysical studies
[D] the process of the formation of volcanoes
文章總共三段，第一段對熱點下定義：熱點及其火山痕跡是板塊移動的標志。第二段和第三段主要論述熱點理論的作用。全文主旨句是第三段的前兩句，它們承上啟下，指出熱點不僅有參照作用，還對推動板塊移動的地質物理學過程提供了解釋。正確答案為[C]選項。
(4)文章或段落中不明確給出中心，考生要根據各段中心或各句的內容進行總結，自己推出主旨。
Example
A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world’s best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.
It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea’s LG Electronics in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America’s machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.
All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America’s industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.
How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. “American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted,” according to Richard Cavanaugh, executive dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity,” says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, D.C. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as “a golden age of business management in the United States.”(2000年 Passage 1)
What can be inferred from the passage?
[A] It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pride.
[B] Intense competition may contribute to economic progress.
[C] The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation.
[D] A long history of success may pave the way for further development.
答案：B
解析：文章的主題既不在首段，也不在末段，需要考生綜合各段內容得出。從全文看，文章敘述了美國經濟從繁榮到衰敗再到繁榮的過程，且特別強調競爭給美國帶來90年代的經濟復蘇。[B]選項“激烈的競爭可能促進經濟的發(fā)展”正合全文大意。
5. 主旨題的解題技巧
根據上述這四種情況，制定如下解題對策：
第一，因為考生需要讀完全文才能把握文章主題，所以在解答此類題時，考生不要急于去找答案，不論它出現在什么位置都把它作為最后一道題來做。在做完另外幾道題后，無疑會有助于考生加深對整個文章的理解。
第二，看到文章主旨型題目，考生要著重理解首段或末段，同樣，段落主旨題也要重視首末句。這是英語文章中出現中心思想最頻繁的位置。
第三，文章主旨出現在中間的比較少見。這樣的主旨句一般兼起承上啟下的作用。遇到文章中前后段意思轉折時，考生應該提高警惕，它往往是主旨所在。段落中情況也類似。
第四，如果文章中沒有明確的主題句，主題思想要通過各段的主要內容進行歸納。這時考生就要著重看各段的首末句。試題中的Title 題也屬于該種情況�？忌仨毻ㄗx全文，才能得出答案。
解題中還有一些具體實用的解題技巧：
首先，關于主題句的判斷方法。第一，段落主題句的判斷要看該段的第二句或第三句。如果它們是對第一句進行闡述，那么第一句就是主題句;如果是對第二句進行闡述，那第二句就是主題句;主題句也可能出現在末句。當最后一句是對全段進行總結時，該句就是主題句。對于主題句在句中的情況，當段落中出現轉折時，該句很可能是主題句。文章主旨所在段落的判斷與此相同。第二，作者有意識地反復重復的觀點通常是主旨。第三，首段出現疑問句時，該問題就是全文探討的內容，對該問題的解答就是文章主旨。第四，作者提出文章主旨時，常常伴有文字提示，如therefore，thus，but，however，in short 等等。
其次，選項特點。正確選項特點：(1)不出現細節(jié)信息;(2)不含過分肯定或絕對意義的詞。干擾項特點：(1)一般以偏概全，只是文章的細枝末節(jié)，不能涵蓋全文內容;(2)出現細節(jié)性的名詞信息;(3)過于籠統。
(二)作者觀點題和態(tài)度題
在一篇文章中，不管作者對某一觀點是支持、反對還是中立，是同情、冷漠還是失望，是批評還是贊揚，主觀還是客觀，都表達了作者一定的觀點和態(tài)度。只是這些觀點態(tài)度的提出有的直截了當，有的隱含在字里行間，有的通過所用詞語的褒貶來體現，有的則需要通讀全文，把握主旨才能領會。一般情況下，所選的文章不帶有強烈的感情色彩，因此不會引起太大的爭議和分歧。
此類題型可細分為作者態(tài)度題(表明作者的好惡)和作者觀點題(表明作者對某事物的觀點)。題干中的關鍵詞或詞組有attitude，opinion，tone等等。其命題模式如下。
1. 作者態(tài)度題
(1)What is the tone (mood) of the passage?
(2)The author’s attitude towards...might be summarized as(seems to be) .
(3)Which of the following can best describe the attitude of the author towards...?
(4)The author is most critical of .
2. 作者觀點題
(1)According to the author, .
(2)In the author’s opinion, .
(3)What is the author’s opinion (idea) about?
(4)The author thinks (believes, suggests, deems, asserts) that .
(5) In the author’s eyes...
態(tài)度題的選項一般是形容詞，按照作者對所闡述問題的態(tài)度進行分類，可以分為：
積極類：objective(客觀的), impartial(公正的)，helpful(有幫助的)，positive(正確的)，supporting(支持的)，admiring(羨慕的)，interesting(引起興趣的)，unbiased(沒有偏見的)，concerned(關心的)，confident(自信的)，impressive(給人印象深刻的)，optimistic(樂觀的)等;
中立類：detached(超然的), factual(實際的), indifferent(無關緊要的)，impassive(冷漠的)，uninterested(不感興趣的)，ambivalent(矛盾的)，apathetic(無動于衷的)，neutral(中立的，不確定的)，impersonal(不帶個人色彩的)等;
消極類：disgusting(令人厭惡的)，critical(批評的)，negative(否定的)，intolerable(不能忍受的)，disappointed(失望的)，subjective(主觀的)，biased(有偏見的)，doubtful(懷疑的)，compromising(折中的)，worried(擔心的)，pessimistic(悲觀的)，hostile(敵對的)等。
歷年作者態(tài)度題：
| 年 份 |
正確選項 |
干擾項 |
| 2007 Text 2 |
[B] skeptical(消極類) |
[A] Supportive（積極類）
[C] Impartial（中立類）
[D] Biased（消極類）
|
| 2006 Text 2 |
[D]is sympathetic to the RSC(積極類) |
[A] is supportive of both sides(積極類)
[B] favors the townsfolk’s view(積極類)
[C] takes a detached attitude(中立類)
|
| 2004 Text 4 |
[A] optimistic（積極類） |
[B] Confused. (消極類)
[C] Carefree. (積極類)
[D] Panicked. (消極類)
|
| 2003 Text 4 |
[B] reserved consent(積極類) |
[A] strong disapproval(消極類)
[C] slight contempt(消極類)
[D] enthusiastic support(積極類)
|
| T2002 Text 3 |
[A] optimistic(積極類) |
[B] sensitive (中立類)
[C] gloomy (消極類)
[D] scared(消極類)
|
| 2001 Passage 4 |
[B] objective (積極類) |
[A] optimistic(積極類)
[C] pessimistic(消極類)
[D] biased(消極類)
|
3. 作者態(tài)度題的解題技巧
第一，某一事物是好是壞。作者對它是支持還是反對，態(tài)度都非常明確，而帶中立色彩的詞最不可能是正確答案。問作者對某事物的態(tài)度時，表示“客觀”的詞多為正確選項，如：objective, impartial, unbiased等;問作者對其提到的人們的觀點的態(tài)度時，答案只能是肯定或否定，支持或反對。如：critical, approval, opposition, supporting等。
第二，既然寫了文章，那么作者的態(tài)度就不可能漠不關心，因此見到indifferent，uninterested這類詞可以首先排除。
第三，注意不要把考生自己的好惡態(tài)度糅進其中，要注意區(qū)分作者本人的態(tài)度和作者引用的觀點的態(tài)度。
第四，當作者的態(tài)度沒有明確提出時，考生要學會根據作者使用的詞語的褒貶性去判斷作者態(tài)度，如：wonderful(y)，successful(y)，positive(ly)，active(ly)，negative(ly), unfortunate(ly), doubtful(ly)等。
Example
Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death probably by a deadly injection or pill—to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I’d go, because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks, ” he says.(1997年 Passage 1)
The author’s attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of .
[A] opposition [B] suspicion [C] approval [D] indifference
作者通過living without the haunting fear of his suffering這一肯定性詞語表達出自己的態(tài)度是[C] approval。
解答態(tài)度觀點題應注意兩點：
第一，區(qū)別作者的態(tài)度與其他人的態(tài)度。問文中某人對某事物的態(tài)度一般歸入事實細節(jié)題。
第二，選項可能不再是態(tài)度明確的肯定或否定的形容詞，而改為帶有程度限制的形容詞。一般帶有絕對化或過于強烈的表示態(tài)度的詞必錯,如strong/complete/entire/enthusiastic等。而有保留的態(tài)度比較客觀，因此常常是正確選項，如reserved(保留的)/qualified (有限制的，有條件的)/tempered (有所控制的)/guarded(慎重的)/consent (贊同)等。
4. 作者觀點題的解題技巧
第一，文章陳述的內容并非都是作者的觀點。作者引用別人的觀點時，是作為支持或抨擊的對象，因此別人的觀點是為了證明作者觀點的論據。
第二，作者觀點一般與文章主旨相關聯。
(三)詞義/句意題
命制的試題中經常有要求考生對詞語和句子做出解釋的題目。兩者都主要側重于考查考生通過上下文去判斷詞義、句意的能力。詞義題的考查有兩種：一是超綱詞含義的推斷，另一個是熟詞僻義或是在特定場合的意思。
1. 詞義句意題命題模式
(1)The phrase (word, sentence) “...” (in line...) most probably means .
(2)By “...”, the wrier (probably ) means .
(3)What does the author probably mean by “...” in... paragraph?
(4)The phrase (word, sentence) suggests .
(5)From the passage,we can infer that the word “...”is .
(6)According to passage, what is “...” ?
(7)When the author says that..., he means .
2. 詞義題的解題技巧
(1)根據上下文進行推理猜測
考生必須明確，不管所考的詞語有多超綱，都能夠通過上下文得出其意思;不管這個詞有多熟悉，都必須通過上下文得出其在特定場合的意思。在克服畏懼心理的同時，也要避免直接用自己熟悉的意義去解釋詞義。對句子的理解也要通過前后關聯的句子進行推測。比如利用前后的比較對照關系、利用文中給出的定義或對它進行的重述、利用所舉的例子進行歸納、利用同義/近義/反義詞、利用特殊標點符號等等。
Example
We live in a society in which the medical and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.(1997年 Passage 3)
The word “pervasive” (Line 1, Paragraph 2) might mean .
[A] widespread [B] overwhelming [C] piercing [D] fashionable
所要解釋的詞pervasive后有冒號，起解釋說明的作用。因此通過冒號后的內容就可以知道該詞的含義。作者在冒號后面列舉了物質在日常生活的各個方面的使用，因此可推知[A]選項“分布廣泛的，普遍的”為正確答案。
(2)對超綱詞含義的推斷
生詞是造成閱讀困難的障礙之一。閱讀短文中的詞匯一般不超過大綱的詞語范圍，但也有5%左右的派生詞和合成詞，2%～3%的超綱詞。對于部分超綱而且專業(yè)性較強的詞，在較早的幾年里命題者還曾給出過其漢語意思，如：1991年Passage 1中的chlorophyll(葉綠素)、carbohydrates(碳水化合物);1992年Passage 2中的inertia(慣性)，Passage 3中的hockey(曲棍球);1993年Passage 1中的babbling(咿呀學語)，Passage 2中的bureaucratic(官僚主義的)，Passage 3中的monopoly(壟斷);1994年Passage 4中的pancreas(胰腺)、genes(基因)，Passage 5中的mold(霉)。但是后來的命題趨勢中取消了這種形式，其意圖在于讓考生更多地去猜測詞語含義。其實很多短文中出現的超綱詞匯并不影響對全文的理解，而且我們可以以下幾種方法去猜測其含義。
�、贅嬙~法：掌握常見的英語詞根、詞綴，通過分析生詞的詞根、前綴、后綴去推測詞義。如：1996年Passage 5中的nonfundamentalist(非原教旨主義 non-非，不;fundament基礎，基本原理;-al 形容詞后綴;-ist…主義者)。
�、谠~性加搭配：先判斷生詞在文章中的詞性，再看它與哪些詞語可以搭配，最后根據自己的常識猜測其大概含義。
�、壅彝x詞、同義解釋或反義詞和反義解釋：在上下文中找出生詞的其他表達法，可能是近(反)義詞、一個解釋或一些暗示。
�、苷彝辉~：上下文中可能有類似生詞出現的句子的平行結構，找出其中和生詞處于同一位置的詞去推測。
考生可以適當記些詞根詞綴，以備不時之需。如：
geo-：前綴，表示“地球”，如：geography：地理學, 地理;geology：地質學 ;geophysic：地球物理學;
hydro-： 前綴，表示“水”，“液體”，如：hydrobiology：水生物學;hydro-cooling：水冷法;hydro-mania：投水狂，自溺;hydroelectric：水電的;
over-：前綴，表示“越過，超過”，如：overcrowdedness：過于擁擠;overestimate：估計過高，過高評價;oversensitive：過于敏感;overplease：使過分高興;overactive：過于活躍。
Example
Moreover, demographers see the continuing shift south and west joined by a related but newer phenomenon: More and more, Americans apparently are looking not just for places with more jobs but with fewer people, too. Some instances—
● Regionally, the Rocky Mountain states reported the most rapid growth rate—371 percent since 1970 in a vast area with only 5 percent of the US population.
● Among states, Nevada and Arizona grew fastest of all: 635 and 531 percent respectively.
Except for Florida and Texas, the top 10 in rate of growth is composed of Western states with 75 million people—about 9 per square mile.(1998年 Passage 4)
The word “demographers” (line 1, paragraph 8) most probably means .
[A] people in favor of the trend of democracy
[B] advocates of migration between states
[C] scientists engaged in the study of population
[D] conservatives clinging to old patterns of life
根據上下文demographers提到的兩個例證都涉及人口，因此他們應該是 “人口統計研究方面的人”。[C]選項“研究人口的科學家，也就是人口統計學家”是該詞的正確含義。同時，也可運用構詞法的知識， demo=people, graph=write， -er指人。因而猜出它指“記錄人口方面數據的人”。
(3)句意題解題技巧
試題中出現句意題時，考生需要根據上下文的內容聯系去猜測句意;或將所考的句子與它的上下文進行關系對照，找出它與上下文的關系，如轉折、并列、遞進、解釋說明等，然后針對不同的關系，對上下文采取取非、找同義等方法進行解題。
Example
It is also less than most forecasters had predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that America’s inflation rate would average 35% in 1995 In fact, it fell to 26% in August, and is expected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan;over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America.(1997年 Passage 5)
The sentence “This is no flash in the pan” (Line 5, Paragraph 3) means that.
[A] the low inflation rate will last for some time
[B] the inflation rate will soon rise
[C] the inflation will disappear quickly
[D] there is no inflation at present
此題需要根據上下文推測句意。在This is no flash in the pan之前，作者給出近來美國、英國和日本的通貨膨脹率都低于經濟學家預期的數字;之后又指出在過去的幾年，英國和美國的通貨膨脹率始終低于預期的水平。由此可以推斷，該句意思是“并非一時現象，并非是曇花一現”。 [A]選項“低通貨膨脹率將會持續(xù)一段時間”符合題意。
(4)選項特點
正確選項特點：第一，詞義題中，不是熟詞的常規(guī)含義。第二，句意題中，正確選項不含有意義過于絕對化的詞語，而是使用不肯定語氣詞或意義解釋深刻。
Example
The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.(1994年 Passage 1)
In line 8,paragraph 1, “the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes” means .
[A] Americans are never satisfied with their incomes
[B] Americans tend to overstate their incomes
[C] Americans want to have their incomes increased
[D] Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes
[A]、[B]選項都使用了帶有絕對意義的詞語，如never 和overstate因此可直接排除。[C]和[D]意義相近，但是[D]的意義更為深刻，因此可知[D]為答案。而且，此處的income不是常規(guī)詞義“收入”，而是“收入的購買力”，故不可選答案[C]。
干擾項特點：第一，與所考詞匯形似。第二，如果考的是熟詞，含有常規(guī)詞義的一般是錯誤選項。第三，根據命題原則，正確選項不會使用與原文過多相同的字眼，因此，對句子的解釋中含有過多原句中已有的詞和短語的選項一定是錯誤的。
(四)推理引申題
推理引申題主要測試考生理清上下文邏輯關系的能力，要求考生領悟所讀材料中句子之間的邏輯關系，并且根據材料提供的已知信息進行分析、歸納和推理。判斷推理能力對深刻理解一篇文章十分重要，特別是理解作者字里行間的言外之意、作者的觀點、寫作意圖和態(tài)度。命題專家在命制此類試題時通常要求考生對文章或段落進行深層推理和理解，不可能把試題的答案非常直接地暴露于選項中。因此考生應該注意把它與事實細節(jié)題區(qū)別開來，推理引申題必須以事實為依據，但是得出的結果又絕對不是事實本身，即不能“就事論事”。
推理引申題對一些基礎比較薄弱的考生而言是一個難點，考生似乎對文章讀懂了(可稱之為“自我感覺良好”)，然而在解題時卻始終不知如何下手，試題也做得不好。這是考生沒有領會命題專家設置推理引申試題的用意的緣故。事實上推理引申題考查的不僅是考生對字面意義的理解，更要求考生透過文章的字里行間去推測作者未明說而又意欲表達的含義。解此類題，考生應該根據文中的材料進行有關的判斷、推理和引申。
廣義的推理引申題涵蓋的范圍極其廣泛。它既可以就總體信息也可以就具體或特定信息提問�？傮w提問通常包括文章主旨題、作者觀點態(tài)度題;局部提問通常指段落主旨題、猜測詞義/句意題。但是為了突出這四種出現頻率很高且?guī)в械湫托缘念}型，我們下面談到的推理引申題是排除以上情況的狹義概念。
1. 命題模式
狹義的推理引申題題干中常有infer，imply，suggest，deduce，conclude等詞出現，常見的命題模式有：
(1)It can be inferred from the text/the last paragraph/the first sentence that...
(2)We can infer (assume, deduce) that .
(3)Which of the following can (not) be inferred from the passage?
(4)It is implied (indicated, suggested) in the passage/the first paragraph/the second sentence/the example that .
(5)By... the author implies (suggests, indicates )that .
(6)The passage implies in the passage that .
(7)The author suggests(indicates)in the passage that .
(8)It can be concluded from the passage that .
(9)From the passage /the third paragraph/the last sentence/the example that... we can draw the conclusion that .
(10)What conclusion can be drawn from the passage (the first paragraph, the last paragraph)?
引申推理題按照解題思路主要可以分為暗指題、推理題和結論題。
暗指題的特點是要求讀者體味“言外之意”，信息只能從字里行間獲得。對于這類試題，考生首先要分清是明述還是暗指，即言內還是言外;其次，要盡最大可能與命題者達成“共識”，因為命題人事先確定的答案不允許考生的認識有任何偏差;最后，要對文章中的有關事實和觀點進行分析和研究，按照事實發(fā)展的邏輯次序，總結出合情合理的結論。
Example 1
If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the reports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. (1999年 Passage 5)
The author implies that the results of scientific research .
[A] may not be as profitable as they are expected
[B] can be measured in dollars and cents
[C] rely on conformity to a standard pattern
[D] are mostly underestimated by management
原句是個假設條件句，指出“假如科學實驗像科學雜志登載的科學報告顯示的那樣完全按事先的計劃去規(guī)劃和實施，那么，對管理層來說，期待研究能夠產生可以用金錢衡量的結果是完全合理的”。此處正話反說，作者的言外之意是，科學實驗總有不可預測的現象，產生的結果也難以預測，因此不能肯定有效益。[A]選項“可能不像預料的那樣有利可圖”才是作者真正想要表達的含義。
Example 2
Why mention the elementary schools? Because thanks to these schools our early mechanics, especially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, were generally literate and at home in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry.
Acute foreign observers related American adaptiveness and inventiveness to this educational advantage. As a member of a British commission visiting here in 1853 reported, “With a mind prepared by thorough school discipline, the American boy develops rapidly into the skilled workman.”(1996年 Passage 4 )
It is implied that adaptiveness and inventiveness of the early American mechanics .
[A] benefited a lot from their mathematical knowledge
[B] shed light on disciplined school management
[C] was brought about by privileged home training
[D] owed a lot to the technological development
這里第二段的首句指出：敏銳的外國觀察家將美國人的適應能力和創(chuàng)新能力與這個教育優(yōu)勢聯系在一起。this往回復指前述的最后內容，也就是前一段末句談到的“技工們有文化并且熟知算術、幾何學、三角學”，從而可知這種教育優(yōu)勢就是熟練掌握數學。因而作者暗指的意思是[A]選項“它們很大程度上得益于數學”。
推理題與暗指題雖然有許多相似之處，但是其思路與方法更側重于推理，主要測試考生的思維判斷能力，即由已知的事實為依據去獲得未知的信息�？忌忸}時首先要把握推理范圍——大至段落或全文，小至詞語或句子;其次要嚴格遵循邏輯規(guī)律，保持正確的思維過程和嚴密的邏輯;再次可以利用相關部分提供的事實、背景知識和常識去推理。
干擾項的特點：根據文章中某些事實亦可以推導，然而又答非所問。
(1)推斷文章內容的含義和引申意思
Example
Examples of benefits or costs of the current concentration wave are scanty. Yet it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil firms today could re-create the same threats to competition that were feared nearly a century ago in the U. S., when the Standard Oil Trust was broken up. The mergers of telecom companies, such as WorldCom, hardly seem to bring higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. In cars, too, concentration is increasing-witness Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan—but it does not appear that consumers are being hurt.(2001年 Passage 4)
From Paragraph 4 we can infer that .
[A] the increasing concentration is certain to hurt consumers
[B] WorldCom serves as a good example of both benefits and costs
[C] the costs of the globalization process are enormous
[D] the Standard Oil Trust might have threatened competition
命題者設置的難點是第二句中定語從句的理解。原文談到“目前難以預料，數家石油公司的合并是否會再次對競爭造成威脅。100年前美國的標準石油聯合公司(Standard Oil Trust)被解散，就是因為當時人們擔心它會對競爭構成威脅”，由此引申推理可知[D]項“標準石油聯合公司可能曾對競爭形成過威脅”。此外，考生還需要注意，might have threatened是虛擬語氣，表示對過去的推測。
(2)運用數字進行推理
Example
Emerging from the 1980 census is the picture of a nation developing more and more regional competition, as population growth in the Northeast and Midwest reaches a near standstill.
This development—and its strong implication for US politics and economy in years ahead—has enthroned the South as America’s most densely populated region for the first time in the history of the nation’s head counting.
Altogether, the Us population rose in the 1970s by 23.2 million people—numerically the third-largest growth ever recorded in a single decade. Even so, that gain adds up to only 11.4 percent, lowest in American annual records except for the Depression years.
Americans have been migrating south and west in larger numbers since World War Ⅱ, and the pattern still prevails. (1998年 Passage 4)
Discerned from the perplexing picture of population growth the 1980 census provided, America in 1970s .
[A] enjoyed the lowest net growth of population in history
[B] witnessed a southwestern shift of population
[C] underwent an unparalleled period of population growth
[D] brought to a standstill its pattern of migration since World War Ⅱ
這是一道涉及數字的題目，從標志詞1970s可以定位為文章第三段，本段指出：“20世紀70年代，美國人口總共增長了2 320萬——從數字上看，這是有紀錄以來10年期人口增長的第三高峰。即使如此，人口總數也只增加了11.4%，除了大蕭條時期，這是美國年度記錄最低的增長率。”因此，[A]選項和[C]選項與文意不符。接著文章第四段談到人口普查顯示出“第二次世界大戰(zhàn)以來，美國人不斷移居西部和南部，現在這種趨勢依然存在”。因此可以得出[B]選項是正確答案，而[D]選項與該段內容正好相反。
(3)用類比的例子，要求考生進行推理演繹
Example1
There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language-all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept. (1995年 Passage 2)
A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when .
[A] he has given up his smoking habit
[B] he has made great efforts in his work
[C] he is keen on learning anything new
[D] he has tried to determine where he is on his journey
本文指出看待人的成長有兩個觀點：一是視為結果，一是視為過程。第一段具體講到第一種觀點的詳細內容。它是大部分人都持有的觀點，看重外在結果因為其可以量化，可以通過具體事例反映出來，如：工人得到升遷、學生成績提高和外國人學會了一門新的語言。第二段講第二種觀點的詳細內容：成長是人在遇到新的經歷和意外險阻時表現出來的態(tài)度和情感，而不是實在的結果。問的是根據第一種觀點，以下哪一種是成長表現。通過文中類比的例子可知只有[A]選項是實在的結果。
結論題與推理題在解題思路和方法上有許多相似之處，但是推理題偏重于推理過程，而結論題偏重于歸納過程。解答結論題時一定要根據題目要求，就短文有關內容做出合乎邏輯的、可靠的結論。有時為了克服片面性，可以擴大閱讀范圍，否則獲得信息的范圍太窄，結論便欠妥。因此，解答此類試題既要以事實為依據，也要依據自己的常識和經驗;既要重視文章主題，也要重視發(fā)展或印證主題的細節(jié);而尤為重要的是把握作者的寫作意圖。注意過于概括、過于全面或過于細節(jié)化的選項，往往屬于干擾項。
(1)先了解全文，把握主題
考生可以通過首尾段、文章結構、或歸納整理各段信息迅速了解主題。然后再通過主題與細節(jié)的關系進行合乎理性的歸納。
Example
The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely unattractive. As a result, the support for ambition as a healthy impulse, a quality to be admired and fixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States. This does not mean that ambition is at an end, that people no longer feel its stirrings and promptings, but only that, no longer openly honored, it is less openly professed. Consequences follow from this, of course, some of which are that ambition is driven underground, or made sly. Such, then, is the way things stand: on the left angry critics, on the right stupid supporters, and in the middle, as usual, the majority of earnest people trying to get on in life. (2000年 Passage 5)
From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained .
[A] secretly and vigorously
[B] openly and enthusiastically
[C] easily and momentarily
[D] verbally and spiritually
該段談到人們對雄心的攻擊遠多于對它的維護，因此本應是一種健康公開的品質得不到很多支持。第四句和第五句指出了不公開表達雄心帶來的不良后果，由此可以推出人們不應該隱瞞自己的雄心。此外，縱觀全文，作者提倡的是正確對待雄心，坦言自己的抱負。因此[B]選項“公開而熱情地”是作者提倡的對待雄心的正確態(tài)度。
(2)把握作者的寫作意圖
Example
No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science: exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word “amateur” does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialisation in the nineteenth century, with its consequent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustrated in terms of the development of geology in the United Kingdom. (2001年 Passage 1)
The author writes of the development of geology to demonstrate.
[A] the process of specialisation and professionalisation
[B] the hardship of amateurs in scientific study
[C] the change of policies in scientific publications
[D] the discrimination of professionals against amateurs
前一段談到，業(yè)余研究者進入專業(yè)領域很難的趨勢在某些科學領域尤為突出，英國地質學的發(fā)展就說明了這一問題。后一段通過對19世紀英國地質學及其出版物的變化、研究方式的變化、非專業(yè)人員研究過程的困難等的陳述，說明專業(yè)人員和業(yè)余人員之間的分化越來越明顯。因此可引申推理出作者的寫作目的正是描述[A]選項 “職業(yè)化和專業(yè)化形成的過程”。
2推理引申題的解答技巧
(1)推理引申題的劃分
推理引申題按照難易可以分為：簡單推理題和復雜推理題。第一，簡單的推理題。雖然在原文中不能直接找到答案，但是有間接的暗示和線索。它們與答案之間的關系比較清楚，聯系起來后便可以得出答案。而且答案與其他選項差別也較大。第二，復雜的推理題。在原文中找不到明確的解題線索，考生只能根據隱藏在詞句后面的含義，根據作者說話的語氣，反復分析，才能找到答案，而且干擾項的干擾較強�？忌趲讉�選項中猶豫不定，不知選哪個好。后一種推理題是近幾年命題的趨勢。
Example
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses’ convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. “Who is that?” the new arrival asked St. Peter. “Oh, that’s God,” came the reply, “but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor.” (2002年Text 1)
The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are .
[A] impolite to new arrivals
[B] very conscious of their godlike role
[C] entitled to some privileges
[D] very busy even during lunch hours
考生要根據全文的主旨以及作者的語氣，從那個關于醫(yī)生的笑話里推理醫(yī)生和上帝有相似的特點：醫(yī)生無禮、傲慢，自以為像上帝一樣。接著再推測護士對醫(yī)生的看法是：非常在乎自己上帝般的角色。這種推理是一個比較復雜的過程。[B]選項為正確答案。
(2)推理引申題選項特點及其解答技巧
正確項的特點：①不是文中明確說明的內容，因為即使符合原文，沒有引申推理就不是正確選項;②如果四個選項全能憑常識判斷，其中含義深刻的是正確選項，有時惟一不是常識項的是正確選項。
干擾項的特點：①只是原文的簡單復述，而非推斷出來的結論，把直接表達當成間接推理;②看似從原文推斷出來的結論，然而實際上與原文不符，例如把原文的原因變成了選項中的結果，把原文的手段變成了選項中的目的;③根據常識判斷是正確的，然而不是在文章事實或上下文邏輯基礎上推理而得出的觀點，因此，考生要注意不能根據自己的主觀想法或生活經驗去推理，因為命題者考查的是考生揣摩作者意圖的能力;④雖然以文章提供的事實或內在邏輯為推理依據，但推理過頭，概括過度;⑤有部分選項的內容純屬編造。
根據推理引申試題的特點，考生在解答時要注意以下兩點：
首先，考生在瀏覽全文時，一要留意那些似乎話中有話的間接表達句。它們往往采用說半句、打比喻、反過來講的方式，留有讓考生自己作結論或推理的余地。二要留意含義深刻或結構復雜的句子。考生對作者表達的意思不能一下子看透，它們往往是命題點所在。
Example
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.(2002年 Passage 1)
It can be inferred from the text that public services
[A] have benefited many people
[B] are the focus of public attention
[C] are an inappropriate subject for humor
[D] have often been the laughing stock
該段末句“如果拿公共服務行業(yè)作為替罪羊(scapegoats)去進行評論，你就會處于安全境地”讓人讀了不是很明白，禁不住要去推想到底為什么公共服務行業(yè)這么特殊呢?聯系上文，前面的內容說的是“開玩笑取樂要看聽眾是不是自己同行業(yè)的人，如果不是就有可能招人反感”。一番推理之后，才明白這句話的另外一層未說明的含義，即選項[D]反映的內容：公共服務行業(yè)是大家經常談論的共同笑料。
其次，根據題干的關鍵詞迅速搜索定位以便確定推理依據的范圍，利用語法、詞匯、語境線索，了解單句的含義，弄清上下文的邏輯關系，然后按題意進行推理。題目可能要求考生對某句話或數句話進行正確理解或釋義，也可能從某句話或某段話中推測出一兩件事實。
Example
In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.(2002年 Passage 3)
It can be inferred from the text that the retail price of petrol will go up dramatically if .
[A] price of crude rises
[B] commodity prices rise
[C] consumption rises
[D] oil taxes rise
題干中的關鍵詞是“the retail price of petrol”。根據它定位到文章段落，文章先給出事實：原油價格占汽油零售價格的一小部分，其大部分是稅收。在歐洲國家這個比例更是高達五分之四，因此原油價格的變動對汽油價格影響不大。據此可以推出二者的潛在關系：影響汽油價格的主要因素是稅收;稅收漲，油價也大幅度地漲。
3. 特殊的引申推理題型
(1)針對作者思路的推斷
主要是猜測上下文可能出現的信息：首先，考生應該在分析概括文章的寫作結構基礎上進行推理。如：文章是按事物分類的敘述，而所選材料是其中一類，那么上下文就可能是對其他類別的敘述。其次，如果要求考生猜測短文之后的內容，就應該特別注意其結尾部分;如果要求考生猜測之前的內容，就應該特別注意短文的開始部分。其命題模式如下：
It can be assumed that the paragraph, preceding (following) the passage most probably discusses .
The paragraph preceding (following) this one is probably about .
此類題型到目前為止還未在研究生考試中的閱讀部分出現，但是我們不能排除它是將來的一種新題型。
(2)推斷文章來源的類型
要求考生在讀懂全文的基礎上判斷本篇文章選自何種書、雜志或文章的一部分。這種題目往往在文章中有所暗示�？忌部筛鶕恼碌膶懽鹘Y構、行文風格去推斷其文體。此類題的例題模式如下：
This passage appears to be a digest of .
The passage is most likely a part of a .
Example
Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/evolution are in the publisher’s pipelines. A few have already appeared. The goal of all will be to try to explain to a confused and often unenlightened citizenry that there are not two equally valid scientific theories for the origin and evolution of universe and life. Cosmology, geology, and biology have provided a consistent, unified, and constantly improving account of what happened. “Scientific” creationism, which is being pushed by some for “equal time” in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of evolution are given, is based on religion, not science. Virtually all scientists and the majority of nonfundamentalist religious leaders have come to regard “scientific” creationism as bad science and bad religion.
The first four chapters of Kitcher’s book give a very brief introduction to evolution. At appropriate places, he introduces the criticisms of the creationists and provides answers. In the last three chapters, he takes off his gloves and gives the creationists a good beating. He describes their programmes and tactics, and, for those unfamiliar with the ways of creationists, the extent of their deception and distortion may come as an unpleasant surprise. When their basic motivation is religious, one might have expected more Christian behavior.
Kitcher is a philosopher, and this may account, in part, for the clarity and effectiveness of his arguments. The non-specialist will be able to obtain at least a notion of the sorts of data and argument that support evolutionary theory. The final chapters on the creationists will be extremely clear to all. On the dust jacket of this fine book, Stephen Jay Gould says: “This book stands for reason itself.” And so it does—and all would be well were reason the only judge in the creationism/evolution debate.(1996年 Passage 5)
This passage appears to be a digest of .
[A] a book review [B] a scientific paper
[C] a magazine feature [D] a newspaper editorial
文章首段以20本關于創(chuàng)造論與進化論之爭的書開始，然后在第二段和第三段專門介紹金切爾著作的結構內容和突出特點，最后引用斯蒂芬·杰·古爾德的對話對此書做出高度評價，因此可以看出這是一篇典型的書評。英語書評的寫作特點是：一般會先給出背景知識，接著介紹該書的主要內容，最后對所介紹的書籍做出一個總體評價。正確答案應該是[A]選項。
(3)判斷文章寫作方法
這種題型在2005年試題中首次出現，體現了閱讀理解選擇題開始從對局部信息的考查轉向對文章組織結構的考查�？忌枰私獠煌愋陀⒄Z文章的特點，開頭、結尾方式及段落的拓展技巧，只有對文章整體組織結構有了清楚的了解，解答此類題型才能得心應手。
Example
Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be ourtaged. Such behaviour is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well.(2005年Text 1)
In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by
[A] posing a contrast. [B] justifying an assumption.
[C] making a comparison. [D] explaining a phenomenon.
第一段先舉例：當知道懶散的同事拿到比自己更多的薪水時，每個人都會很氣憤。接著文章指出，這樣的行為被看作是“人之常情”，它潛在地假定了其他動物沒有這種高度發(fā)達的不滿情緒。轉折but在首段出現非常重要，它往往是主題出現的標志，即前面的內容被推翻，之后的新觀點才是要論證的主題。該段but之后提出主題：研究表明猴子也有類似的情感�？梢姡谝欢沃饕褂昧祟惐日撟C手法，將猴子與人做比較，找出它們的相似之處。因此[C]正確。
[A]選項中的contrast(對照)是比較兩事物的不同點。[B]選項與原文相反，原文是推翻了一個假定而證明。原文提到了發(fā)生在人類身上的一個現象，但文章并未就此提出主題，排除[D]選項。
(五)事實細節(jié)題
在閱讀理解測試中，很大比例的題目是考細節(jié)的。事實上在對歷年試題的分析中發(fā)現，事實細節(jié)題的比例占一半以上。文章中的細節(jié)通常指的是作者為論證文章主題特別是論證段落的大意而使用的具體信息。因為就議論文和說明文而言，作者在闡明準備論述的問題或觀點后，通常會用大量具體的事實細節(jié)去說明或支持它們。這些細節(jié)可以是理由、例子、數字，也可以采用下定義、作比較、對比、打比方等方法去組織。根據具體考查的內容或范圍，事實細節(jié)題可以再細分為因果細節(jié)題、態(tài)度細節(jié)題、觀點細節(jié)題、類比細節(jié)題、綜合細節(jié)題和具體細節(jié)題。
1常見的命題模式
(1)According to the passage/ the author, who (what, where, which, when, why, how, etc.)
(2)Which of the following is true/correct/ false/not included?
(3)All of the following are (not) true, are (not) mentioned except .
(4)The author mentions all of the items listed below/all of the following except .
(5)We learn from the last paragraph(the first three paragraphs, the text) that .
事實細節(jié)的考查內容和形式可以說是五花八門，但是大致可以歸納為以下三種類型：
(1)According 型
題干中多用who，what, where, which, when, why, how等疑問詞引導，利用詞性、同義詞、近義詞或一些意思相似的語句去考查考生對原文表達細節(jié)信息的詞匯、慣用法的正確理解，要求考生在文中尋找重要事實與細節(jié)。考生可以利用題目的關鍵詞去尋找文中對應詞，在對應詞周圍找答案。注意：此類題中，考what 和why 的最多。
(2)隱含的事實和細節(jié)型
測試考生對文章展示的細節(jié)的綜合概括能力;需要在讀懂全文的基礎上，綜合概括作者展示的各種細節(jié)。
Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site’s “personal search agent”. It’s an interactive feature that lets visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and salary, then E-mails them when a matching position is posted in the database. Redmon chose the keywords legal, intellectual property and Washington, D.C. Three weeks later, he got his first notification of an opening. “I struck gold,” says Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a position as in-house counsel for a company.(2004年Passage 1)
How did Redmon find his job?
[A] By searching openings in a job database.
[B] By posting a matching position in a database.
[C] By using a special service of a database.
[D] By E-mailing his resume to a database.
整個全文的主題是介紹“搜索代理”這種網上謀職工具。而第一段圍繞雷德曼通過“個人搜索代理”求職的個人經歷展開論述。根據整個段落的細節(jié)內容和全文的主題可以判斷出[C]選項正確，該選項中的“特殊服務”指的就是“個人搜索代理”這種服務，其他干擾項都不符合文意。
(3)正誤判斷題
此類試題多根據文章的一段或數段提問，考查考生在現實生活中的閱讀技能，即快速、準確尋找所需信息的能力。這種題目因為覆蓋面較廣，搜索定位時間較長，因而難度較大，容易給考生帶來心理壓力。因此考生遇到此類題型時，首先要調整心理狀態(tài)，冷靜地返回到文章中去尋找答案。
這種題原文往往有羅列，因此其解題三步驟如下：首先，讀懂題干和四個選項的內容，提煉和記憶它們的主要意思;其次，帶著問題去閱讀文章，掃描和搜尋信息點，與題目不相關的句子和語段很快掠過，相關信息語言區(qū)域則要放慢速度，細致地對照原文和選項提供的信息;最后，“對號入座”，找到解題范圍后，立刻排除明顯的干擾項，然后“逐個突破”，對余下的選項進行篩選，使選項的范圍越來越小，判斷的準確率越來越高。
正誤判斷題有兩種題型：一正三誤和三正一誤，即要求考生找出四個選項中惟一正確的一個和要求考生判斷哪一個選項與文章不符。
這中間應該特別提到的是后者，又稱except題型。其特點是題干中常常含有否定意義詞匯except，not (mentioned /true), least等，要求考生辨認哪些細節(jié)文章中未提及。解此類題也遵循上面的三個步驟。在對號入座時，可以將原文中提到的內容劃線，表示是排除的內容;無法對號的即是答案。
Example
Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labour, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television licence would need to be doubled and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 per cent more. (1995年Passage 1)
In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising?
[A] Securing greater fame. [B] Providing more jobs.
[C] Enhancing living standards. [D] Reducing newspaper cost.
這是一道典型的except題。先略讀題干和選項，得知題目主要問的是廣告的益處。定位到文章第一段。這一段列舉了廣告的四點益處: a有助于產品以合理價格穩(wěn)定國內市場，以有競爭力的價格進入國際市場;b有利于提高人們的生活標準;c增加了市場需求，擴大了就業(yè);d使許多公共事業(yè)的服務價格低廉。對號入座，發(fā)現只有選項[A]文中未提及。
2. 事實細節(jié)試題的選項特點和解題技巧
(1)正確選項的特點
�、僖话憧梢栽谖恼轮兄苯踊蜷g接找到答案，但是不可能與閱讀材料一模一樣，而是用不同的詞語或句型去表達相同的思想。如：原文用雙重否定，選項用肯定的句式;進行同義詞替換或句子結構的變換;或原文與選項互換反義詞等等。然而這只是詞語和句法上的變化，意思是一致的。模式為：題干+正確選項的信息值=/≈原文中某句的信息值。
�、隗w現中心思想，有很多正確選項剛好在段落主旨句中。
Example
The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpassed might. Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying: “Won’t the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-competitive force?” (2001年 Passage 4)
What is the typical trend of businesses today?
[A] To take in more foreign funds.
[B] To invest more abroad.
[C] To combine and become bigger.
[D] To trade with more countries.
文章的第一段指出當今企業(yè)界出現的一個現象，即整個世界正在經歷一場前所未有的兼并和收購浪潮。這一并購之風從異�；钴S的美國到達歐洲，并以不可比擬的威力影響到新興經濟國家。[C]選項“合并并且變得更加龐大”就是該段首句提到的mergers and acquisitions，即當今企業(yè)發(fā)展的主要趨勢。該段的段落主旨句就是首句。
�、墼诩毠�(jié)的因果關系處常常命題，正確項多為其產生原因或主要原因，也有少量考結果的。
Example
I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers’ demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows, the world’s wealth increases.(2001年 Passage 4)
According to the author, one of the driving forces behind M&A wave is.
[A] the greater customer demands
[B] a surplus supply for the market
[C] a growing productivity
[D] the increase of the world’s wealth
該段剖析了造成并購潮流的數個重要原因，如：交通和通訊成本的日趨下降，貿易和投資壁壘的降低，以及擴大的市場要求擴大業(yè)務去滿足顧客的需要。[A]選項“顧客更大的需要”是上面提到的第三個因素，因此[A]為正確選項。[B]選項“對市場的供給過于充裕”即市場供應過剩，應該是企業(yè)縮小生產的原因。[C]選項“日益增長的生產率”是企業(yè)合并后的結果，而[D]選項“世界財富的增長”又是生產力提高的結果。
(2)干擾項的特點
�、俨糠终_，部分錯誤;②是原文信息，但不是題目要求的內容，如：根據題干中的關鍵詞定位到段落，若選項中出現這個范圍之外其他段落的內容必錯;③符合常識，但不是文章的內容;④與原句的內容極為相似，但在程度上有些變動，如：將文中并非絕對化的內容絕對化，或偷梁換柱改動一些關鍵詞;⑤明顯不是文章的信息，與文中事實相反或不符。
(3)事實細節(jié)試題的解題技巧
�、僦黝}和事實細節(jié)內容是相輔相成的，確定了主題，才能深刻理解細節(jié)材料的作用。同樣，對具體細節(jié)有較為全面的理解，就能夠更好地判明主題�？忌涀∵@一原則：文章的每一詞、句、段都和文章主題相關，不是用來證明主題的論據，就是作者要批判的論據。
�、谖恼碌氖聦嵓毠�(jié)內容不會孤立地出現，它與前后的內容密切相關。文章或段落中的細節(jié)都存在某種內在的聯系，如：因果關系，類比關系，時間、空間先后關系，考生在閱讀中可以利用這些關系將零碎的細節(jié)組成一個有機的整體。
�、劭醇毠�(jié)內容要“跳”出來看，即要對文章的組織結構了如指掌，知道這部分細節(jié)是為什么主題服務的，才能迅速捕捉到所需的信息。
�、芤话愣伎梢栽谖恼轮兄苯踊蜷g接找到答案。遵循“本本主義”，以原文為解題的惟一依據，而不可以自我發(fā)揮或憑感覺做題。如：選項中出現文章未涉及的中心詞可以首先排除。
⑤考生要留意文章或題干中一些細小的地方，如：正確把握文中代詞的所指關系，它們是為了避免上下文重復而使用的。此外還有時態(tài)、語氣等。
Example
If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessened, more time might be spent teaching children surer values. Perhaps selection for the caring professions, especially medicine, could be made less by good grades in chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy. It is surely a mistake to choose our doctors exclusively from A-type stock. B’s are important and should be encouraged.(1995年Text 4)
The selection of medical professionals are currently based on .
[A] candidates’ sensitivity [B] academic achievements
[C] competitive spirit [D] surer values
這段文章基本上是虛擬語氣，即所給的細節(jié)和情況都與現在的事實相反。雖然最后兩句是直接陳述語氣，但是卻沒有直接指明[A]和[B]在這里具體代表什么。而試題問的是現在的情況，因此對整段進行綜合分析并且將原句反過來表述而得出,現在的選擇標準就是academic work或good grades。因此[B]為正確答案。
四、其他的�？键c
(一)引語常考
文章中出現的引語基本上都是考點，只是采用不同的題型而已，如推理引申題、句意理解題、作者意圖題等等。特別注意首段引語的三種作用：第一，作為支持作者觀點的論據;第二，作為作者批判的靶子;第三，給出文章大背景。
Example 1
Tight-lipped elders used to say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”
Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things.(1996年 Passage 1)
What do the elders mean when they say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get?”
[A] You’ll certainly get what you want.
[B] It’s no use dreaming.
[C] You should be dissatisfied with what you have.
[D] It’s essential to set a goal for yourself.
此題以引言作為文章首句，作為作者批判的靶子，進而引出真正的觀點，即做事前應該制定計劃。命題目的在于檢查考生能否準確把握what you want和what you get具體化后的含義。原句it’s not...but...結構否定的是“你所想”，肯定的是“你所得”。即，得到什么比想要什么重要。[B]選項為正確答案。
Example 2
No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. “Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?” Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. “You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?” At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul-searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. It’s a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line. (1997年 Passage 4)
Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for .
[A] its raising of the corporate stock price
[B] its self-examination of soul
[C] its neglect of social responsibility
[D] its emphasis on creative freedom
此處引言的作用就是給出文章探討的大背景。要求考生通過該引言推出責備Time Warner的原因。答案為[C]選項。
(二)例子常考
例子經常出現在命題中，而且題型多為作者觀點態(tài)度題。此類題型主要針對文章中所舉之例的作用進行發(fā)問�？忌鷳撟⒁饫拥某霈F無非有兩種情況：一是先提觀點后舉例;二是先舉例后提出觀點。而該觀點就是作者引用例子所要說明或反駁的。因此見到例子后，考生應該迅速查找其上下文，目的必在其中。通過歷年真題分析，發(fā)現先提觀點后舉例的情況占多數。
Example 1
You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served.
Likewise, if you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services.(1996年 Passage 1)
A blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as .
[A] an illustration of how to write an application for a job
[B] an indication of how to secure a good job
[C] a guideline for job description
[D] a principle for job evaluation
舉例是為了說明或駁斥某個觀點，在這篇文章中，例子直接擺在觀點句后，是典型的先提觀點后舉例的形式。作者先表述其觀點：You can make a mental blueprint of a desire... and each of us is continually making these blueprints in general routine of everyday living。接下來作者以請人吃飯的例子來說明a mental blueprint of a desire,并把它與“找工作”的方式聯系起來，指出兩者的相同之處都是要“勾畫一幅欲望藍圖”。因此，[A]選項為正確答案。
Example 2
To take advantage of this tool, some impoverished countries will have to get over their outdated anti-colonial prejudices with respect to foreign investment. Countries that still think foreign investment is an invasion of their sovereignty might well study the history of infrastructure(the basic structural foundations of a society)in the United States. When the United States built its industrial infrastructure, it didn’t have the capital to do so. And that is why America’s Second Wave infrastructure—including roads, harbors, highways, ports and so on—were built with foreign investment. The English, the Germans, the Dutch and the French were investing in Britain’s former colony. They financed them. Immigrant Americans built them. Guess who owns them now? The Americans. I believe the same thing would be true in places like Brazil or anywhere else for that matter. The more foreign capital you have helping you build your Third Wave infrastructure, which today is an electronic infrastructure, the better off you’re going to be. That doesn’t mean lying down and becoming fooled, or letting foreign corporations run uncontrolled. But it does mean recognizing how important they can be in building the energy and telecom infrastructures needed to take full advantage of the Internet. (2001年 Passage 2)
The writer mentioned the case of the United States to justify the policy of .
[A] providing financial support overseas
[B] preventing foreign capital’s control
[C] building industrial infrastructure
[D] accepting foreign investment
此題是典型的先舉例后提出觀點的形式。以美國為例之后，作者提出“哪個國家利用外資多，哪個國家就將變得更富裕”的結論。由結論可以直接得出答案。正確答案為[D]選項。
(三)長難句常考
考點一般集中在長難句上。這些句子的共同點就是同位語、定語和分句很多;主語和謂語之間的距離很遠，還時常伴有插入成分。主要考查句子之間的指代或邏輯關系，以引申推理題、事實細節(jié)題等多種形式出現。理解長難句的要領就是先找出主干，化繁為簡，然后再看各個分句或修飾成分與它的關系。
Example
In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War Ⅱ. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned.(1995年Text 3)
The word “it” (Line 3, Paragraph 2) most probably refers to .
[A] the lack of stable communities
[B] the breakdown of informal information channels
[C] the increased mobility of families
[D] the growing number of people moving from place to place
首先把握整個句子的主干是：the informal flow of information is cut off。前面是as引導的狀語從句，their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships三個名詞短語都是from的賓語。with it介詞結構修飾confidence，表伴隨;按照代詞指代關系中的臨近一致原則和上下文的含義，it應該指代它前面的信息，即“非正式的信息流通被切斷”這句話。正確答案為[B]選項。
(四)轉折處或對比處�？�
在歷年考題中，轉折和對比一直受到命題者的青睞。文章通過however，but，in fact，yet等邏輯詞進行轉折，轉折后的內容常常是作者真正表達的內容。對比常用unlike，different from，until，not so much as等詞語引導，考的是對比雙方的屬性。對轉折題，考生要著重把握作者轉折后的觀點。對于文章中出現的將兩種人或兩種觀點進行對比時，考生要準確把握每一種的特點，避免被張冠李戴的選項迷惑。
Example 1
Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good. (1998年 Passage 1)
The third sentence of paragraph 1 implies that .
[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted
[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things
[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight
該段前兩句指出人們熱衷建壩的事實和熱衷的自然原因;第三句but話鋒一轉，引出作者探討的主題。正確答案為[C]選項。
Example 2
An invisible border divides those arguing for computers in the classroom on the behalf of students’ career prospects and those arguing for computers in the classroom for broader reasons of radical educational reform. Very few writers on the subject have explored this distinction—indeed, contradiction—which goes to the heart of what is wrong with the campaign to put computers in the classroom.(1999年 Passage 3)
The author thinks the present rush to put computers in the classroom is .
[A] far-reaching
[B] dubiously oriented
[C] self-contradictory
[D] radically reformatory
作者將兩種態(tài)度做了對比，指出對于計算機課堂教學，人們在觀點上存在著一條無形的界限：一是以學生的就業(yè)前景為理由，另一種是以激進的教育改革為理由。因此[B]為答案。
(五)因果句�？�
(1)出這類題時，文章中一般都有since，for，because，as，therefore，result in，originate from這些標志詞。沒有標志詞的就需要考生通過上下文推出二者的因果關系。
Example 1
Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don’t realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase “substance abuse” is often used instead of “drug abuse” to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.(1997年 Passage 3)
“Substance abuse”(Line 5, Paragraph 1) is preferable to “drug abuse” in that.
[A] substances can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally used
[B] “drug abuse” is only related to a limited number of drugtakers
[C] alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaine
[D] many substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous
該段最后一句用to明確表達用“物質濫用”代替“藥物濫用”的目的所在，也就是原因。正確答案為[D]選項。
(2)當有多種原因時，主要原因常考。
Example 2
Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979～1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?
The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.(2002年 Text 3)
The main reason for the latest rise of oil price is .
[A] global inflation
[B] reduction in supply
[C] fast growth in economy
[D] Iraq’s suspension of exports
文章第一、二段給出了多種原因。“伊拉克暫停石油出口”、“經濟快速增長”和“冬季的到來”是第二段提到的進一步推動油價上漲的原因，而第一段談到的“石油輸出國組織在3月決定減少原油供應”才是最主要的原因。正確答案為[B]選項。
(六)段首段尾�？�
考研閱讀所選的文章均是議論文和說明文。此類文章的文體要求在首段提出觀點、突出中心，因此第一段就好像是全篇文章的一個總綱，確定了文章的主要內容，而第一句話常常是一個自然段的主題句。首段首句自然就成為常考且必考的一個考點。有時一個自然段的主題句可能出現在段末，因此考點也相應轉向末句。
Example 1
If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.(2002年 Text 1)
To make your humor work, you should .
[A] take advantage of different kinds of audience
[B] make fun of the disorganized people
[C] address different problems to different people
[D] show sympathy for your listeners
本題的答案主要集中在段首和段尾。該段首句指出，如果你想在談話中用幽默使人發(fā)笑，你就必須知道如何辨別共同的經歷和共同的問題。接著作者又對此進行了解釋，即：你的幽默必須與聽眾有關，顯示你是他們中的一員，或你理解他們的處境并贊成他們的觀點。作者在第三句得出結論，即Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different.(針對不同的聽眾，談及不同的問題)由此可知，[C]選項恰好是對該段中心的概括，為正確答案。
Example 2
...With regard to Futurist poetry, however, the case is rather difficult, for whatever Futurist poetry may be-even admitting that the theory on which it is based may be right-it can hardly be classed as Literature.
...
This, though it fulfills the laws and requirements of Futurist poetry, can hardly be classed as Literature...(2000年 Passage 3)
The author believes that Futurist poetry is .
[A] based on reasonable principles
[B] new and acceptable to ordinary people
[C] indicative of a basic change in human nature
[D] more of a transient phenomenon than literature
通過首段末句和末段首句的前后呼應，作者對未來派的觀點和態(tài)度躍然紙上，即未來派詩歌很難被歸于文學作品，只能是一種暫時的現象。正確答案為[D]選項。
此外，首段有問句出現的，該句也通常會成為命題點。命題形式是主旨題。因此見到首段的問句，應該首先考慮它是不是文章所要探討的主要問題。
Example 3
Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.(2001年 Passage 3)
What is the passage mainly about?
[A] Needs of the readers all over the world.
[B] Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers.
[C] Origins of the declining newspaper industry.
[D] Aims of a journalism credibility project.
文章一開頭就給出討論的話題“造成公眾對報紙失望的原因”，接下來的內容亦圍繞它展開。正確答案為[B]選項。
(七)類比比喻常考
議論文和說明文在論證說明事理的時候均很抽象。為了讓讀者更形象地理解一些抽象的內容，文章常采用類比的手法。形象的類比不僅有助于將抽象的道理闡釋清楚，更可以讓讀者加深印象。類比在文中有兩種體現方式，一是明喻，即A像B一樣;二是暗喻，說A是B，由于暗喻更加隱蔽，近年來命題專家越來越趨向于在暗喻內容上設問。
Example
If ambition is to be well regarded, the rewards of ambition—wealth, distinction, control over one’s destiny—must be deemed worthy of the sacrifices made on ambition’s behalf. If the tradition of ambition is to have vitality, it must be widely shared; and it especially must be highly regarded by people who are themselves admired, the educated not least among them. In an odd way, however, it is the educated who have claimed to have given up on ambition as an ideal. What is odd is that they have perhaps most benefited from ambition—if not always their own then that of their parents and grandparents. There is a heavy note of hypocrisy in this, a case of closing the barn door after the horses have escaped—with the educated themselves riding on them.(2000年 Passage 5)
The last sentence of the first paragraph most probably implies that it is .
[A] customary of the educated to discard ambition in words
[B] too late to check ambition once it has been let out
[C] dishonest to deny ambition after the fulfillment of the goal
[D] impractical for the educated to enjoy benefits from ambition
這里要求考生理解“馬已經跑了再關上馬廄的門”這一比喻句的真實含義。通過上文的內容可知，此句用來比喻“那些受過良好教育的人從雄心中收益匪淺，但是他們卻聲稱要放棄以雄心為理想”的虛偽行為，其中horses代表ambition，riding代表ambition帶來的好處。正確答案為[C]選項。
(八)復指處�？�
考點是復指代詞或與復指副詞作用相同的詞。1996以前此類題目大多是直接問考生文章某句中的it或that指代什么。近幾年此類題目的問法開始轉向隱蔽。考生在遇到此類題時應該記住，題目的答案所在位置必定在復指詞的上文中。因此，只需返回原文，在復指詞上方掃描即可找到正確答案。
Example
For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.
The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn’t take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.(1997年 Passage 2)
Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers .
[A] to improve their hard life
[B] in view of their long-distance travel
[C] to add some flavor to their own daily life
[D] out of a charitable impulse
this指代的是上文提到的“陌生人和旅行者很受歡迎。他們帶來了娛樂消遣，還帶來了外面世界的消息”，因此邊遠地區(qū)的家庭款待旅游者的原因就是[C]選項“為自己的日常生活增添情趣”。
五、閱讀技巧
(一)閱讀時采用何種順序
(1)從面到點，先通讀文章后看題，不清楚再回頭去讀有關段落。優(yōu)點：一開始就對文章有一個總的概念和印象。缺點：速度慢，讀起來沒有重點，做題時對文章細節(jié)記不清楚。
(2)從點到面，先看問題后瀏覽文章,帶著問題的記憶去文章中找答案。優(yōu)點：針對性強、速度快，無關的內容可以省略不讀，與問題很可能有關的內容則可重點標出。缺點：開始時沒有對文章的整體把握。
(3)點面交叉，讀一層意思做數道題，閱讀和做題交叉進行。優(yōu)點：速度適中，比較有針對性，對剛讀完的內容印象深。因為全文最重要的部分在首段和各段首句，用這種方法也可以對文章的輪廓有初步的了解。
總結：任何方法都不是絕對的，考生可根據自己的個性與思維習慣以及具體的題目情況靈活處理。像段落主旨題、詞義/句意題、事實細節(jié)題這些局部問題可以采用從點到面的方法，而主旨題、作者態(tài)度/觀點題、引申推理題因為就全文提問或考上下文邏輯關系則需要從面到點。然而命題者出于對難易平衡的考慮，基本上會保證每篇都有一道至兩道全局性問題。所以考生可以考慮點面交叉的方法。
(二)初讀文章時哪些信息可以不讀
(1)有關職務、頭銜、社會地位等補充性說明;
(2)句中破折號后提供的旁支信息;
(3)復雜的難句中除了主、謂、賓以外的其他輔助信息(除非與解題有關);
(4)例子、對名人言論的引用的具體內容可以先不讀，而只讀前面的觀點或總結句。
(三)可以讀哪些信息
(1)讀題干。細心審題是一個重要環(huán)節(jié)，題干中包含解題的關鍵信息。它們能夠幫助考生在瀏覽文章時迅速選定“精讀內容”進行集中消化、整理，同時舍棄與題目無關的信息，排除干擾，從而減少閱讀量和時間，提高解題的正確性。
(2)讀選項。因為命題要求選項部分的語言難度要低于文章語言的難度，所以讀懂選項的語言常常會幫助考生正確理解文章的內容。
(3)讀文章的寫作大綱。先要問自己三個問題：①本文最重要的事物或觀點是什么?②作者談的是主題的哪個或哪些方面?③作者在這方面想說些什么?閱讀要用眼更要用腦去判斷哪些是重要信息，還要在腦子里加工、整理，從而得出全文的提綱。
(4)讀主題句。每個段落都有一個基本點，加在一起烘托出文章的中心思想。各段的基本點常常通過段落主題句表示。主題句的位置是不固定的，可以在開始也可以在結尾，有時也不出現，需要考生自己提煉。主題句與其他句子的區(qū)別是它們的概括性更強，比較籠統、抽象。
(5)讀關鍵詞。注意文章中出現頻率最高的詞和短語。它們有時是相同的重復，有時以不同的形式出現，但是歸根結底都是指同一事物或事情，因些就很可能是本篇短文的中心或關鍵問題或事物。關鍵詞和詞組能夠使句與句、段與段之間的關系更加清楚，提供了要點之間的“橋梁”，給讀者指明了“路子”，是貫穿全文的線索。
考生在瀏覽文章時抓住、抓準這些關鍵信息，就可以迅速理解文章的主要內容、縮短解題時間。
Example
The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes， that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.
An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system.
The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individual are allowed to own productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.
這篇文章中的關鍵短語是American economic system，在文中多次反復出現，剛好它就是全文的寫作對象。抓住了這個關鍵信息再加上“路標”詞，文章的結構一目了然。
文章首句提出了含有寫作對象的主題，即美國經濟體制的特點是通過私有企業(yè)和市場導向起調節(jié)作用。末句thus后面是對主題的進一步闡釋，分析和指出消費者的需求、企業(yè)家對最大利潤的追求和個人對收入取得最大收益的渴望，共同決定著生產什么以及如何使用資源進行生產。第二段說明市場導向型經濟的重要特點之一是價格機制。第三段說明私營經濟的性質和特點是財產私有和同時擁有相關權利。
(6)讀“路標”詞。在閱讀理解中有部分“虛詞”比“實詞”更重要，它們就是一些表示作者思路的過渡詞、短語或句子，有利于作者思想的銜接和轉折。抓住它們，考生就能夠對全文的結構一目了然，就不會出現“詞都認識，就是不知道全文在講什么”的情況。它們就是在閱讀行進過程中起指示作用的“路標”，隨時提醒考生將要讀到什么。
“路標”詞按照功能可以分為：
�、偾斑M型。這一類詞和詞組起的是順接、遞進作用，指示讀者繼續(xù)往下看，其前后可能存在并列、遞進、因果、解釋等關系，往往接下來的可能是作者要強調的重要內容。
如：and, also, more, moreover, more than that, furthermore, likewise, equally important, first, second, in addition to, thus, so, therefore, consequently, accordingly, as a result 等。
�、谵D彎型。這一類標志著前后兩個句子或段落之間的轉折或對比關系，讀者要敏感地意識到后面出現的是與前面截然不同的事物或觀點，從而對作者的思想進行預測。
如：but, yet, while, however, nevertheless, although, though, otherwise, despite, instead, on the contrary, in contrast, notwithstanding等。
�、劢K點型。這一類標志著下面的內容是對前面的概括和總結。
如：to conclude, to sum up, in sum, in conclusion, in short, in brief, on the whole等。
�、芷渌�。表示空間位置(near, far, beside, next to, above, on the side of, across, behind)、目的(for this purpose, so that, in order to)、強調(indeed, in fact, surely, certainly, to be sure, I am certain)、舉例(for example, for instance, in particular)、條件(in that case, that being so, in these circumstance, if, unless)等。
以上都是關于閱讀理解的一些基本知識和技能的總體介紹，但是不能夠光靠這些就可以提高閱讀能力。冰凍三尺非一日之寒，閱讀水平的提高，更多地要靠考生在實際閱讀的積累中去體會和揣摩。因此希望考生在積極備考中務必將歷年真題做熟、做精，深刻體會閱讀理解的各個部分，從而產生質的飛躍。 |
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