小心新托福閱讀中的“絆馬索”

　　在新托福考試中，很多考生最容易忽略的就是閱讀，因為在跟各種英語考試的過招中，絕大部分人會感覺閱讀是自己的強項。然而這種認知不一定準確。在青島新東方的培訓課程當中，發現不少這樣的學員，自認閱讀不錯，實際考出來的分數只有22分左右，甚至會更低。ETS對閱讀高水平（High level）的評定標準是22—30分。而事實上，閱讀如果達不到25分以上，總分想要過百會比較困難，因為這相當于把掙分的壓力轉移到了大部分人比較弱的聽力、口語、寫作上面。由此可見，閱讀取得高分對于獲得百分以上的托福成績是一種保證！

　　那么為什么很多自認為閱讀不錯的考生不一定能在這一部分熠熠生輝呢？ 這是因為新托福閱讀考試存在一些“絆馬索”。

　　“絆馬索”一：細節題考查精確定位。

　　托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，在該題題干中，有的考生會選擇Puget Sound作為關鍵詞回原文定位，因為它是專有名詞，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，托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，因為定位不精確。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后一句話。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是在引號里面的，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，與題干關鍵詞不完全匹配，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，即該段的最后一句話。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，這種思路多適用于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，這種思路多適應于選項比較長的題目。就這個例題而言，根據定位的最后一句話，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，做新托福閱讀的細節題，最重要的一點就是要盡量地去精確定位。 “絆馬索”二：無方向中隱藏方向。

　　新托福閱讀考試中絕大部分題目都是對應具體段落的，這會為考生節省很多時間。但是也不排除有少量題目的范圍比較大或比較模糊，考生在尋找答案時難免一頭霧水，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?

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

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

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

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

　　這個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，因為答案依據的是第三、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項里大家一般都會選擇有連字符的coal-fired作為關鍵詞去定位，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，這就屬于新托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，但是只要我們了解了ETS出題的套路就能把它們輕松搞定。

　　考場如戰場，只有知己知彼方能百戰百勝。了解了ETS在設計題目時所使用的“絆馬索”，我們就可以很好地做到事半功倍。