英語測試中閱讀理解部分是最讓考生緊張而又擔(dān)心的部分。它量大,難度較高。因此,閱讀理解題發(fā)揮如何決定著考生得分的高低。許多考生在做閱讀理解部分時,最大感受就是時間緊、答案選項迷惑性大,因而很難及時而又準(zhǔn)確地選出答案。如何在沒有足夠時間進(jìn)行深入閱讀或文章太難而看不懂的情況下進(jìn)行答題,我們在總結(jié)、歸納歷年四、六級真題特點是基礎(chǔ)上,向考生介紹一些緊急情況下的應(yīng)試技巧。
一、閱讀理解題答案項特征
通過研究歷屆四、六級閱讀理解題,我們發(fā)現(xiàn),在所列出的四個選項中,也有一些普遍性規(guī)律可循。如果考生了解、熟悉并掌握了這些規(guī)律,他(她)們就可以找到做題時的"第六感覺",達(dá)到所謂超常發(fā)揮的水平。如果考生來不及看文章,萬般無奈下憑這些規(guī)律可以選中不少正確選項。
(一)答案項中有絕對語氣詞的一般不是正確答案項。這些語氣詞有: must, always, never, the most, all, only, have to, any, no, very,completely, none, hardly等。
例(1) One of the great changes brought about by the knowledge society is that _____ .(1995年6月六級題22)
A. the difference between the employee and the employer has become
insignificant.
B. people's traditional concepts about work no longer hold true.
C. most people have to take part-time jobs.
D. people have to change their jobs from time to time.
(分析:四個選項中,C、D兩項中都含有"have to",語氣太絕對化,一般被排除?忌谑O聝身椫羞M(jìn)行選擇,就大大降低了難度。)
例(2)The main idea of this passage is that _____ .(1991年6月六級題40)
A.better use of green space facilities should be made so as to
improve the quality of our life.
B. attention must be directed to the improvement of recreative
possibilities.
C. the urban environment is providing more recreation activities
than it did many years ago.
D. priority must be given to the development of obligatory
activities.
(分析:B、D兩項中均有must be,語氣太絕對化,故一般被排除?忌Y(jié)合短文內(nèi)容在剩下兩項中進(jìn)行選擇,命中率就極高了。)
(二)選項中含有不十分肯定的語氣詞一般是正確答案項。這些語氣詞有: can, could, may, should, usually, might, most(大多數(shù)),more or less, relatively, be likely to, possible, whether or, not necessarily 等。
例(1)It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes .(1999年6月四級題30)
A.Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
B. in many countries success often depends on one's social status
C. American businesses are more democratic than those in other
countries
D. businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those
in America
(分析:選項B中often 一詞,語氣委婉,不十分肯定,故為答案。而其它三項中所表達(dá)出的語氣都明顯絕對化。)
例(2) According to the passage the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that ——.
A. society can't provide enough jobs for properly trained college
graduates
B. high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college
education?
C. too many students have to earn their own living
D. college administrators encourage students to drop out
(分析:答案項C中有have to, 語氣太絕對化,故被排除。而A項中can't 的語氣則不十分絕對化,故為答案。)
(三)選項中照抄原文的一般不是答案項,而同義替換的一般是選項。
例(1)According to Dr. David, Americans .(1993年6月六級題32)
A.a(chǎn)re ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life
B. often neglect the unsequences of sleep deficit
C. do not know how to relax themselves properly
D. can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep
(分析:答案項中A、D兩項基本上是原文中句子的原現(xiàn),故被排除。B項中有often 一詞,語氣委婉,不十肯定,故為答案。)
例(2)According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?(1996年1月六級題35)
A.Future man will be made of silicon instead of flesh and blood
B. Some day it will be difficult to tell a computer from a man
C. The reasoning power of computers has already surpassed that of man
D. Future intelligent life may not necessarily be made of organic
matter. (分析:A項句子基本上是原文詞句,C項中有already一詞,語氣太絕對化,故A、C兩項被排除。剩下B、D兩項,而D項中有不十分肯定語氣詞may not,故選D。)
(四)較全面、有針對性地表達(dá)文章中心思想的,選項一般是答案項。
例(1)which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage? (1996年1月六級題25)
A.Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
B. Music can't be passed on to future generations unless it's recorded.
C. Folk songs can't be spread for unless they are printed on music sheet.
D. the development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
(分析:根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容可以看出,A、B、C三項的內(nèi)容都只是從某一個方面闡述了一種觀點,而D項句子所表達(dá)的意思就較全面,高度囊括了全篇短文的主旨。)
例(2)The first paragraph is mainly about . (1991年6月六級題22) A.the teenagers' criticism of their parents
B. misunderstandings between teenagers and their parents
C. the dominance of the parents over their children
D. the teenagers' ability to deal with crisis
(分析:短文意思是講年青人有時批評、責(zé)備其父母,認(rèn)為父母對他們間誤解負(fù)大部分責(zé)任是自然的事。而B項意思是年青人和父母間的誤解;C項意思是父母對他們孩子的統(tǒng)治;D項指年輕人處理危機的能力。根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容,可以明確看出,B、C、D三項內(nèi)容都是從三個方面來論述短文觀點的,而A項則較全面地、有針對性地表達(dá)了文章的中心意思,故為答案。)
(五)選項中表達(dá)意義較具體的、膚淺的(字面意思)一般不是答案項,而概括性的、抽象的、含義深刻的是答案項。
例(1)The population in the 21st century, according to the writer .
A. will be smaller than a few years ago
B. will not be as small as people expect
C. will prove to be a threat to the world
D. will not constitute as serious a problem as expected
(分析:選項A、B中都有small一詞,該詞在文中出現(xiàn)過,因而總覺膚淺,是字面之意。C項明顯與文章不符,而D項表達(dá)的意義比small要深刻得多。)
例(2)From the passage it can be seen that employeeship helps one . (1990年1月六級題)
A.to be more successful in his career
B. to solve technical problems
C. to be more specialized in his field
D. to develop his professional skill
(分析:題意是"從文中看出員工素質(zhì)有助于人們 ...。" B項題即"解決技術(shù)問題";C項意即"深化專業(yè)";D項"發(fā)展職業(yè)技能"。這三項表達(dá)的意思都比較具體,而A項則概括地有深度,包括了B、C、D三項內(nèi)容。)
(六)選項中較符合常識的,易明白的一般不是選項;而似乎不太合理,一時較難理解的往往是正確選項。
例(1)Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by .(1999年1月四級題31)
A. stressing their high quality
B. unlinking him of their low price
C. maintaining a balance between quality and price
D. appealing to his buying motives
(分析:題干問的是"廣告會通過什么辦法能勸說顧客買那些沒用的產(chǎn)品?"A項意思是通過強調(diào)質(zhì)量,B項意思是使顧客意識到其產(chǎn)品價格低,C項意思是既考慮到質(zhì)量又考慮到價格。這三項所表達(dá)的意思都是我們在看廣告時能感受到的,生活中天天見到。故這樣的選項一般不是答案。而D項意思是迎合了顧客購物心理,乍一看還不太明白,不好理解。而這樣的選項往往是正確答案。)
例(2)Raising children, in the author's opinion, is . (1998年6月四級題32)
A.a(chǎn) moral duty
B. a thankless job
C. a rewarding task
D. a source of inevitable pain
(分析:題目問的是,"依作者觀點,撫養(yǎng)孩子是 "。 依據(jù)我們?nèi)粘I钏勊姡瑩狃B(yǎng)孩子就是A. "一種道德責(zé)任" B."不求回報的工作"。我們都覺得撫養(yǎng)孩子是人生義務(wù),是天經(jīng)地 義的。這兩項太熟悉了,因而一般不是答案。而C項"求回報的事",似乎不太合人情味、合乎常識。但這樣的選項就是答案。D項有inevitable 一詞,語氣太絕對化,故排除掉。) 此外,在作者態(tài)度題中,象中立態(tài)度(neutral)一般不是選項,既有肯定、贊揚性、褒義的(如positive等),又有否定、批評、貶義的如(critical, neglect等)。一般否定性、貶義的是正確選項。如果沒有肯定性、贊揚性選項,則批語性、否定性為正確選項,其它的為干擾項。在四個選項中,忽然有一個選項特別長或特別短,則此選項往往是正確選項。在兩個選項中,如果除個別字外,其他部分完全一樣,其中往往有一個是正確選項。"None of the above"往往是用作干擾項。而尤為請考生注意的是,新聞記者理解四個選項中,正確答案項為D的頻繁比較高,其次為B項。