歷年考研英語試題命題特點(diǎn)及規(guī)律(閱讀理解A部分)

　　(五)因果句常考

　　(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(biāo)志詞。沒有標(biāo)志詞的就需要考生通過上下文推出二者的因果關(guān)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(dá)用“物質(zhì)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(dāng)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(jīng)濟(jì)快速增長”和“冬季的到來”是第二段提到的進(jìn)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(yīng)”才是最主要的原因。正確答案為[B]選項。

　　(六)段首段尾常考

　　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(diǎn)、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(nèi)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�？记冶乜嫉囊粋�考點(diǎn)。有時一個自然段的主題句可能出現(xiàn)在段末，因此考點(diǎn)也相應(yīng)轉(zhuǎn)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(jīng)歷和共同的問題。接著作者又對此進(jìn)行了解釋，即：你的幽默必須與聽眾有關(guān)，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(diǎn)。作者在第三句得出結(jié)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(yīng)，作者對未來派的觀點(diǎn)和態(tài)度躍然紙上，即未來派詩歌很難被歸于文學(xué)作品，只能是一種暫時的現(xiàn)象。正確答案為[D]選項。

　　此外，首段有問句出現(xiàn)的，該句也通常會成為命題點(diǎn)。命題形式是主旨題。因此見到首段的問句，應(yīng)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(nèi)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(nèi)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(xiàn)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(nèi)容上設(shè)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(jīng)跑了再關(guān)上馬廄的門”這一比喻句的真實含義。通過上文的內(nèi)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(fù)指處�？�

　　考點(diǎn)是復(fù)指代詞或與復(fù)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(zhuǎn)向隱蔽。考生在遇到此類題時應(yīng)該記住，題目的答案所在位置必定在復(fù)指詞的上文中。因此，只需返回原文，在復(fù)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(yuǎn)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”。