託福閱讀句子簡化題例子解析
面對託福閱讀部分來說，對於考試的題型，無論是題型特點還是解題技巧，我們都是需要我們掌握的，今天我們就通過實例來進行詳細的解析，幫助大家更好地來備考。
託福閱讀句子簡化題例子解析
句子簡化題是託福閱讀必考題目，每篇一題，主要考察考生對複雜句子的主幹信息的把握。所謂主幹信息，要分清主句和從句，尤其是主句的語法主幹：即主語謂語和賓語。除此以外，還有注意常考的幾種信息類型，如反面或負面信息，表示比較或對比的信息等等。做到這些還不夠。此題的正確選項特點是：對原句的主幹信息進行同義替換，即用詞彙或語法手段替換原句的主幹信息。因此，如果你發現有的選項包括和原句長相非常相似的詞彙，千萬當心!
來看下面的例子：
Since the laws of physics, not some arbitrary decision, have determined the general form of applied-art objects, they follow basic patterns, so much so that functional forms can vary only within certain limits.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
○Functional applied-art objects cannot vary much from the basic patterns determined by the laws of physics.
○The function of applied-art objects is determined by basic patterns in the laws of physics.
○Since functional applied-art objects vary only within certain limits, arbitrary decisions cannot have determined their general form.
○The general form of applied-art objects is limited by some arbitrary decision that is not determined by the laws of physics.
原句的主要信息點包括：因果關係since, 否定信息not, 強調信息only。選項C和這幾個信息正好完全對應。答案卻是A! 因爲C把原文的因果關係完全顛倒過來了!
從這個題目我們可以洞察命題者的思路：設計C選項時故意保留原文的某些詞彙不變，造成一種假象，吸引大家的眼球，以迷惑麻痹意志不堅定的童鞋!
託福閱讀題文章怎麼理解?
託福閱讀文章原型大都選自美國大學生使用的教材或者學術期刊，文章的選材範圍極其廣泛，涉及有自然科學包括：天文學、地質學、生物學、氣象學等;人文科學包括：藝術美學、考古學、語言學、文學等;社會科學包括：政治學、經濟學、教育學、人類學等學科。從選材範圍可知道：託福閱讀的文章內容不僅對同學們的知識存儲量有一定的要求，同時對於我們的理解能力有一定的要求。
首先託福閱讀分四個階段：
第一階段：不關心句子的意義，只關心語言符號，比如：貓坐在帽子上飛;黑色的太陽
第二階段：獲取主題和重點信息，即大的框架結構
第三階段：能找出觀點理論並確定觀點的支撐細節;能分析整體框架。
第四階段：針對某個特定主題，在很多相關資料中尋找需要的信息。
爲什麼需要這四個閱讀階段呢?是由閱讀的三個特徵來決定的：
1. 多書面語：詞彙句式複雜
2. 論證嚴密：觀點闡述嚴密，邏輯環環相扣
3. 結構複雜：多觀點結構
下面通過一個段落具體講解。3分鐘來讀以下段落：
Dinosaurs rapidly became extinct about 65million years ago as part of a mass extinction known as the K-T event, because it is associated with a geological signature known as the K-T boundary, usually a thin band of sedimentation found in various parts of the world (K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous, derived from the German name Kreidezeit).S1 Many explanations have been proposed for why dinosaurs became extinct. S2 For example, some have blamed dinosaur extinction on the development of flowering plants, which were supposedly more difficult to digest and could have caused constipation or indigestion—except that flowering plants first evolved in the Early Cretaceous, about 60 million years before the dinosaurs died out.S3 In fact, several scientists have suggested that the duck bill dinosaurs and homed dinosaurs, with their complex battery of grinding teeth, evolved to exploit this new resource of rapidly growing flowering plants.S4 Othershave blamed extinction on competition from the mammals, which alleged lyate all the dinosaur eggs—except that mammals and dinosaurs appeared at the same time in the Late Triassic, about 190 million years ago, and there is no reason to believe that mammals suddenly acquired a taste for dinosaur egg safter 120 million years of coexistence. S5Some explanations (such as the one stating that dinosaurs all died of diseases) fail because there is no way to scientifically test them, and they cannot move beyond the realm of speculation and guesswork.S6
全段一共241個字，6句話，平均每句話都40個字左右。
拿第一句話Dinosaurs rapidly became extinct about 65 million years ago as part of a mass extinction known as the K-T event, because it is associated with a geological signature known as the K-T boundary, usually a thin band of sedimentation found in various parts of the world (K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous, derived from the German name Kreidezeit)爲例子，這句話出現了K-T boundary，sedimentation，Cretaceous等詞，不是常見詞彙，而且這句話中包含了原因狀語從句(becauseit is associated...)，非謂語(known as.../found in...),同位語(usually a thin band of sedimentation...)，插入語(K is the tradition abb...)，所以總結一下，就是生詞多，句式複雜。
第二點觀點闡述嚴密，邏輯環環相扣。這一段第一句話的意思是恐龍滅絕了，緊接着第二句話說到Many explanations have been proposed 。第一個explanation是把恐龍的滅絕歸咎於開花植物的發展，但是(except)開花植物在恐龍滅絕前6千萬年前就已經進化了，進而否定了恐龍因爲開花植物而滅絕這一解釋。後面in fact這一句話更加證實了恐龍不是因爲開花植物而滅絕。第二個explanation是因爲哺乳動物吃恐龍蛋導致恐龍滅絕，但是(expect)在其滅絕前，恐龍和哺乳動物共處了1.2億年，進而否定了恐龍因爲哺乳動物而滅絕。最後一句話Some explanations fail既做了總結，又表達出態度：一些原因不能解釋恐龍滅絕，呼應開頭。
第三點結構複雜，多觀點結構。第一句話Dinosaurs rapidly became extinct 呼應主題，交代背景。緊接着Many explanations...，for example後面來列舉解釋恐龍滅絕的原因。some.....原因解釋1，破折號後面except表示轉折，否定前面的原因;in fact 表示遞進關係，進一步解釋說明前面一句話的意思---否定恐龍滅絕是因爲開花植物。others...原因解釋2，破折號後面except表示轉折，否定原因2。最後一句話Some explanations fail總結上文，明確表達出態度。整段是分(rs......)——總(explanations fail)結構。
託福閱讀考試的兩大陷阱
陷阱一：細節題考查精確定位
託福閱讀中的細節題其實不難，但前提是定位的點要對，比如下面這個例題：
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.
這是一個典型的細節題，在該題題幹中，有的考生會選擇Puget Sound作爲關鍵詞回原文定位，因爲它是專有名詞，在文中會比較顯眼。但是如果一旦選擇了這個地名，勢必會定位在該段的第一句話，託福細節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，因爲定位不精確。其實正確的關鍵詞應該是white-tailed deer，這個用連字符連接的詞在文章中也是比較醒目的，按該詞定位應是該段最後一句話。所以根據它的意思應該選D項。其中A項與原句意思不符，B和C都與定位句信息無關。我們再來看另外一個否定事實細節題的例子：
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.
這個題大家都會選擇用climax communities去定位，但在定位過程中會出現很多問題。首先考生要學會跳躍式定位，即根據文章中特殊的標點符號以及最醒目的詞來搜索我們真正需要的關鍵詞。文中的particular是加了陰影的，succession是在引號裏面的，都非常醒目，通過看這兩個詞我們會發現它們附近沒有我們需要的東西;再比較突出的就是數字及破折號，在500的上方有a climax community，但它是單數，與題幹關鍵詞不完全匹配，細節題講究的是精確定位，所以我們應該選擇500斜下方的Climax communities，即該段的最後一句話。否定事實細節題的出題思路有兩種：一是無中生有，即根據定位點的內容，四個選項只有一個沒有提到，這種思路多適用於選項比較簡短的題目;二是張冠李戴，即根據定位點的內容表述，只有一個選項與之矛盾，這種思路多適應於選項比較長的題目。就這個例題而言，根據定位的最後一句話，從表述上來說跟它相關的只有C和D兩個選項，D項的意思與原句相符，而C項與原句矛盾，所以正確答案是C。綜上所述，做新託福閱讀的細節題，最重要的一點就是要儘量地去精確定位。
陷阱二：無方向中隱藏方向。
新託福閱讀考試中絕大部分題目都是對應具體段落的，這會爲考生節省很多時間。但是也不排除有少量題目的範圍比較大或比較模糊，考生在尋找答案時難免一頭霧水，費時費力。其實這些看似沒有明確定位方向的題目都是暗藏玄機的。下面我們就來看一個例子：
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?
rely largely on coal-fired power plants.
contain remote areas where the winds rarely die down.
1 percent of the electricity in these states is produced by wind farms.
farms in these states are being expanded to meet the power needs of the United States.
這個題目的題干涉及到三個段落，而事實上考生根本不需要去看第一段的內容，因爲答案依據的是第三、四段的信息，但是這兩個段落如果都看的話內容也不少，從應試的角度來說太費時間。正確的做法應該是從選項中挖掘一下方向。A項裏大家一般都會選擇有連字符的coal-fired作爲關鍵詞去定位，B項沒有比較顯眼的詞就只能選名詞短語remote areas，C項選1 percent， D項選the United States。選完關鍵詞我們不難發現除了B項不大好定位以外，其他三個選項的關鍵詞都很醒目。經過定位，A項應該去比對第3段的第一句話，意思明顯矛盾;B項不好找，可以暫且跳過;C項和D項的關鍵詞在這兩段都找不到，這就屬於新託福閱讀中推理題的錯誤答案設計方法之一 ——無中生有。所以雖然我們沒有去驗證B項的說法是否正確，但經過排除也只能選B了。這樣的做題方法就會省時省力，且答案也是正確的。在考試中，這種情況往往會影響考生的心情，進而影響水平的發揮，但是隻要我們瞭解了ETS出題的套路就能把它們輕鬆搞定。
