词·清平乐
禁庭春昼，莺羽披新绣。
百草巧求花下斗，只赌珠玑满斗。
日晚却理残妆，御前闲舞霓裳。谁道腰肢窈窕，折旋笑得君王。
阅读理解的做题方法及八套阅读理解共三十二篇文章附详尽的解析
一、阅读应试的基本方法步骤
阅读基本方法有3种，一是略读，二是精读(scrutinizing)，三是寻读。略读是一种快速阅读方法，在非常短的时间内浏览全文获得文章的中心思想和主要事实。精读则是仔细阅读每句话，理解分析其含义，弄清句与句之间的逻辑关系，进而理解整个段落的意思。而寻读则是通过目光扫视，迅速确定你所期望得到的信息的位置。考试中3种基本方法可以用在不同的情况。通过略读，我们可以了解材料的结构安排和主要信息，利用精读我们可以针对考题中的某些信息或难点做具体细致的解析，而寻读则在解题过程中起着一个定位的作用。
不少考生常常提出这样一个问题：做阅读理解题是先读文章还是先读后面的问题呢？我们认为，答案因人而异。英语水平较高，阅读速度较快的考生可以先通读短文，一边阅读一边思考文章的主旨大意, 理解文章的细节, 基本理解原文之后再看考题及选项并做出选择，遇上个别无把握的题时再回头查阅短文的相关部分，仔细推敲定夺，以求准确无误得高分。但这种方法只适合那些有能力获取优异成绩的考生，其优点是对文章有一个总的概念和印象，缺点是，费时间，对文章的细节记不清楚。对于大多数考生来说，考试的时间较为紧迫，我们建议使用以下几个步骤：
第一步：略读短文把握方向
用尽量短的时间扫视短文，特别留意每段的第一句和最后一段的最后一句。因为各段的主题句往往在句首，而文章的最后一句很可能是概括总结。略读的目的是掌握短文的主旨大意，做到对全文的内容心中大致有数，有一个思考的方向。
第二步：浏览问题，有的放矢
浏览5个问题，揣测出题者出此题的目的并侧重阅读短文相关部分。由于对所问问题及文章主旨都已有所了解，在阅读时自然会知道哪些地方得细读哪些地方可一带而过甚至跳过不读。所有问题都是根据文章内容提出的，基本反应并覆盖了文章内容的主干。先阅读问题再阅读全文，这种方法的优点是：可在较短的时间内有针对性地阅读相关内容，便于给相关问题定位，有的放矢，事半功倍。
第三步：分析判断确定答案
在完成上面两步的基础上，对5个问题逐一解答。需要注意的是：要是文章内容涉及你所熟悉的题材和知识范畴，在选项时绝对不能单凭自己的主观判断解决问题。因为文章考的是你对该篇的阅读理解能力，而不是你的某种知识，因此选项不能脱离文章的题意。对于英语水平相对较低，阅读速度较慢的考生来说，我们建议不妨直接从第二步开始：先浏览所有5道题的题目，对文章所涉及的内容有个粗略的估计或了解，然后逐一解答。先寻读文章的相关部分，然后选择正确答案。如遇到有关文章主旨大意或需要推理的题，可先放一放，等做完其他题再做这类题。先难后易，各个击破。
另外，在阅读过程中，不妨在自己认为比较重要的某些句子或词语（主题句，关键词）下面划线，标上符号，这样有助于突出重点，活跃思维，同时也便于阅读，节省时间，使阅读更加积极。并且对于记忆力稍差的考生而言，记住几个重要句子和信息要比记住全文容易得多了。所以，我们建议对阅读文章中的主要句子和关键词标出记号并重点阅读。
考生应具备的阅读理解能力包括：考生应能综合运用英语语言知识和阅读技能来理解英语书面材料，能以每分钟60－70词的速度阅读各种题材和体裁；掌握所读材料的主旨和大意；
抓住用以阐述主旨的事实和相关细节；能根据上下文判断某些陌生词或短语的意义；能够根据所读材料进行一定的判断、推理；并且能够领会作者的意图和态度。根据所读材料，考生应能：
l）理解主旨要义；
2）理解文中的具体信息；
3）理解文中的概念性含义；
4）进行有关的判断、推理和引申；
5）根据上下文推测生词的词义；
6）理解文章的总体结构以及单句之间、段落之间的关系；
7）理解作者的意图、观点或态度；
8）能够对文章的结构和作者的态度等做出简单的分析和判断。
阅读理解部分主要测试考生英语的阅读、理解、分析、判断能力。短文内容涉及政治、经济、历史、地理、文化、科技、人文、时事等。一般以论说文为主，也有一些实用文体，如信函、表格数据等。
第二节阅读理解常见问题分析
阅读理解在高考中占了40分的大比重，加上书面表达（山东)和完型填空的35分，正好是高考总分的一半，是决定考试成败的一大题型，很多考生在这上面下了很大的功夫，但是还是不能收到很好的效果。那么，问题究竟出在哪儿呢？我们认为，主要有以下4个方面的问题：1. 读不懂; 2. 速度慢; 3. 归纳能力差；4. 准确度低。
1. 读不懂怎么办？
这是一个不少考生提出的普遍问题。我们认为，对于读不懂的问题，首先要检查原因，搞清楚不懂的是什么。是词汇量不够、不认识文中的生词，还是搞不清文章的结构？或是缺乏相关的背景知识，读了文章之后不知所云？然后根据自己的情况对症下药，解决好阅读理解中的问题。
1) 突破词汇量
对于第一种情况比较容易解决，一句话，努力扩大词汇量。高考英语大纲规定，考生应能掌握3,000左右的词汇以及相关词组。这3,000词汇是最低要求，必须死记硬背。此外，对词汇的掌握多多益善。因为据调查，阅读材料中生词一旦超过5%，就会造成阅读障碍。因此，要解决看不懂的问题，首要问题是攻克词汇关。当然，词汇量再大也没准会在考试阅读中碰到个别超纲词，总有看不懂的时候。在这种情况下，如果不影响对短文的理解和做题，就不必理会，目光一掠而过。但是如果是关键词，我们就必须通过上下文或其他手段猜测该词在文中的具体含义。
2) 闯过语法结构关
读不懂的第二种情况是语法功夫欠佳，需要在语法结构上下功夫。关于语法结构问题，高考英语大纲规定，考生应能熟练地运用基本的语法知识。大纲没有专门列出对语法知识的具体要求，其目的是鼓励考生用听、说、读、写的实践代替单纯的语法知识学习，以求考生在交际中能更准确、自如地运用语法知识。因此考生应当根据自己的情况，对英语语法知识进行系统地梳理，灵活运用。我们知道，高考阅读文章最明显的一个特征就是句子的结构复杂，而且比较长。因此，考生在考试阅读中读不懂，其关键问题是不知道如何对付长句，找不到句子的核心部分。所以，一定要学会解析长句，闯过难句理解这一关。关于长句的阅读训练，可采取层层抽丝拨茧法。其具体方法是：第一，对于有多个从句的长句，应该先找到主句的主体部分即主、谓、宾，然后再找从句的主体部分。一层一层进行，先把同一层次的看完，再进行下一层次的内容。第二，对于有很长插入成分的长句，先不要理会插入语，等把主句的意思看完再来分析插入语的意思和作用。第三，对于有分词状语或独立主格结构的
长句，应该先分辨主句和从属部分，分清主次，不要错把从属部分当成了主句。当然，在实际的阅读过程中，可能会碰到以上三种情况都有的复杂句子，这个时候我们必须从前往后，抓住独立的谓语从而区别出主句和分词状语，再层层抽丝拨茧，找出从句，插入语到最后再去考虑。如果插入语是从句的就放在从句中分析，如果是主句的就放在主句中考虑。
3) 掌握相关背景知识
读不懂的第三种情况，单词全懂，语法都会，可就是读了文章之后不知所云。这种情况最令人头痛。这不仅仅是英语方面的问题，同时还涉及语言文化、风俗习惯、社会常识、逻辑分析等综合因素。这种情况凡是学外语的人或多或少都不可避免会遇到。举一简单的例子，英语中的很多成语、谚语都是一目了然的词语，可对中国读者来说却很费解。譬如下面几例：
1. Everything in the room is at sixes and sevens. 房间里的一切东西都乱七八糟。
2. It rains cats and dogs.大雨滂沱。
3. Don′t cross the bridge till you get to it. 不必担心过早。（不必自寻烦恼。）
几个句子中用的都是连小学生也学过的词语句法，但是高三学生生也不一定都看得懂。为什么呢？这就涉及语言文化、风俗习惯等问题。英语用sixes and sevens来表示杂乱的概念，而汉语则用“乱七八糟”；英语用cats and dogs表示滂沱大雨，汉语没有相应的习惯说法，只能舍去猫狗的形象；第三句英语看似不合逻辑：直到你到了桥边，不要跨过去。这是什么话啊，但学英语觉得硬着头皮去适应英语的语言文化、风俗习惯、不合逻辑的逻辑！就像汉语中的“救火”、“养病”、“吃食堂”之类，从字面上看，毫无逻辑可言，但非要这么说不可。由此可见，平时在阅读中广读博览、拓宽知识面，对于高考阅读是大有裨益的。阅读题材也仅仅限于一般性的题材，关键在于弄清楚自己不懂的真正原因何在，有的放矢地准备复习备考，这样才能获取满意的考试成绩。
2. 阅读速度慢怎么办？
不少考生没有掌握阅读的基本方法技巧，一遇到生词，便停顿下来，这样一来，阅读速度自然就慢，同时也不容易在通篇理解的基础上理解整句、整段或整篇的意思。还有的考生一看到生词或不熟悉的短语时，就返回句首甚至段首重读；另外，有的考生喜欢逐词逐句的将文章在大脑中翻译，通过译成母语来帮助自己理解，这些都是阅读速度慢的原因，考生应注意快速阅读文章的要领，文章无需句句必读。
另一方面，词汇语法方面的薄弱会影响阅读的理解，因此大大影响阅读的速度。一场考试下来，很多考生感到考试中阅读时间不够用。有人甚至说，下来慢慢做，做对这些题几乎都不成问题。这说明什么问题呢？英语作为一种工具，熟能生巧。考试中的速度与平时的训练密切相关。平时阅读速度慢，考试只会更慢。相反，平日用得多，勤学苦练，考试中的速度自然而然也就上去了。
以近两年的高考阅读为例，2007年5篇文章连题目在内总共1532个英语词汇，按国家要求的每分钟70个词的较高的阅读速度，也要22分钟才能读完，还不算选项做题的时间。高考英语考题并不难，难的是速度要求高，。很多考生都深有体会。
因此我们建议，考生在复习准备的时候，应该以阅读为中心，掌握必要的阅读方法技巧，通过阅读带动完型填空和书面表达和写作。阅读复习准备包括三个方面，一是精读，尽量仔细地阅读文章的内容，不漏掉其中的任何词句，不放过任何一种没搞清楚的语法现象，把握文章的主题和细节，注意文章里面的作者的论点和说明论点的论据。二是快读，在精读的基础上要加快阅读速度，达到每分钟60－80个词。这种阅读只抓要点、信息、针对提问准确地寻找答案，与提问无关的内容统统掠过不管。三是调整校正，也就是在精读与快读之间寻求一个平衡，摸索出一套适应自己的阅读做题速度——也就是考试中应把握的速度。
3. 准确度低怎么办？
阅读理解题中另一令考生畏难的问题是阅读的准确度低。有的考生甚至提出这样一个问
题：在做阅读题的过程中，有时候一些看不太懂的文章错误比较少，全看懂了的文章反而出错较多，这是这么回事？
我们认为，要解决阅读准确度低的问题，首先要弄清楚所谓“懂”与“不懂”之间的关系。“懂”与“不懂”是一相对的概念，懂的是全文的中心思想、细节数据还是大致意思？是全部词汇的字面意思还是其蕴含意义？且举一例，高考语文的阅读部分，几乎没有看不懂的考生，但又有多少人能拿满分呢？另一方面，高考阅读题有的文章容易一点，但题目的干扰性比较大，有的文章难，题目相对容易一点，这也是一个重要原因。全都看懂了的而做题出的错误多，很可能是因为题目的干扰性大，考生只从字面意义上懂一个大概，很难辨别题目干扰上的一些陷阱，这种情况也就是通常所说的文章易读题难做。与此相反，另一类阅读题（特别是有关学术探讨研究类）读起来很费劲，所出的题却多半是宏观性的试题，可以通过总结归纳推理判断解决，可能你觉得有一些细节没有理解，但是整个文章的思路清楚了，照样可以回答问题，这种现象也常有发生。但决不可能靠瞎蒙解决问题。要解决阅读的准确度低的问题，归根到底关键是要两方面的工作：首先，要把阅读的重点放在准确理解的基础上；其次，善于动脑筋，理解思路要与出题者的思路保持一致，也就是要思考对路，因为理解准确的内容不一定要考，关键在于把握住题意，对于考的是什么要做到心中有数。
在此我们提出“三主一问”的方针供考生作为阅读理解的解题思路。所谓“三主”（主题、主线、主谓）即抓文章的主题思想、布局结构的主线以及各关键句子的主谓结构；“一问”即根据文章后面所设问题而思索：此题的考点在哪里？一篇文章要是抓住了全文的主题思想，领会了贯穿全文的结构线路，把握了关键句的主谓结构，针对问题找信息、答案，阅读中准确度低的问题也就比较容易解决了。
另外一点也很重要：做完题之后的错误分析。每做完一套阅读题。不要只看做对了多少，做错了多少，重要的是仔细对照答案，分析失误的原因，然后针对所犯错误提出相应的改进措施，进行有针对性地阅读训练。只有平时阅读过关，考试中才能做到胸有成竹，立于不败之地。
4. 碰到不认识的生词怎么办？
考生最害怕在阅读中碰到生词，而在阅读时，遇到生僻的单词是不可避免的。如果一见到生词就不知所措，就必然会影响到对文章的理解。如果遇到这种情况，可以根据情况用不同的方法来解决问题。要是不认识的生词对理解文章的关系不大，就可以跳过去不管它；譬如这样一例：Some birds can swim on the water. A few, like the penguin and puffin, can also swim under water. 我们只需知道penguin和puffin是两种鸟就行了，不必将它们的具体名称弄个一清二楚。
阅读中经常会遇到一些专有名词（包括人名、地名、组织机构名称等），一般都可以不作计较，必要的时候，用X、Y的字母代替它们就行了。，文章出现了若干复杂的人名、职务名：Colorado governor Richard Lamm, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O′Connor, C. Everett Koop，而且后面的提问与其中的一个人有关，我们分别记为Mr. L, Mr. R, Mr. O, Mr. K 即可，这样便省去了不必要的纠缠。
当然，如果遇到的生词影响到了你对文章的理解，特别是作为考点出现在问题里，就要试着根据上下文、构词法或从句中认识的词中去猜测生词的意思，尽可能通过邻近你所熟悉的词的关系来了解该词在句中的作用和词义。如阅读出现的"Anthropology"一词，要求你明白。虽说超纲了，但根据构词法和上下文其含义已经解释得十分清楚："Anthropology" derives from the Greek words anthropos "human" and logos "the study of. " 由此我们得知"Anthropology"一词源于希腊词语anthropos（人类）和logos（…研究）。要是还没有把握，再多看一句就更万无一失了：By its very name, anthropology encompasses the study of all humankind. （用这一名称，“人类学”包括了对整个人类
的研究。）
第三节阅读理解的应试技巧与策略
从考试角度考虑，阅读理解的关键要抓两点：一是准确无误，二是答题迅速。因此高考阅读需要解决的一个根本问题就是如何在有限的时间内高效率地完成阅读题。换言之，怎样才能做的又好又快——这就少不了快速阅读的方法技巧。常见的快读方法有计时阅读（Timed Reading）、略读（Skimming）、寻读（Scanning）、意群阅读(Sense Group Reading) 等。我们在此向大家一一介绍这些方法技巧。
1. 计时阅读
计时阅读是提高阅读速度最有效的方法之一。其具体的方法是：先记下起读时间（starting time），阅读完毕记，读完时间（finishing time），即可计算出本次阅读速度。以下面一道阅读样题为例：
Elephants who paint aren′t new. Paintings by Ruby, an Asian elephant who lived at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona, sold for up to $5,000 in the late 1980s, said Dick George, a consultant with the zoo.
"Ruby was about seven months old when she first came to the zoo," said George. "She lived with a goat and some chickens, but she didn′t have an elephant companion for a number of years. She spent a lot of time drawing in the dirt with a stick to make her days more stimulating. Her keeper bought her some art supplies. ” George said, “Ruby was excited about painting right from the beginning. ”
The elephants at the art academies in the Southeast Asia are taught to hold a paintbrush with the tip of their trunks. Initially, the keeper guides the elephant′ s trunk over the canvas (画布) and offers rewards for good performance.
"It only takes a few hours to a day to teach them," said Mia Fineman, an art historian whose book When Elephants Paint is an illustrated history of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project. 188
1. Ruby was an Asian elephant_____.
A. who was sold for a price as high as $ 5,000
B. ho was famous for being the first painting elephant
C. hose paintings sold for as high as $5,000
D. ho started painting in the late 1980s.
2. Why did Ruby start painting according to Dick George?
A. Because she was seven years old.
B. Because she was the first to come to the zoo.
C. Because she learned a lot from the goat and the chickens.
D. Because she had no elephant partners to play with.
13. How did Ruby paint at the very beginning?
A. She used a stick to draw in the dirt.
B. She spent much time in the dirt.
C. She stimulated herself every day.
D. She painted with her keeper′ s art supplies.
3. To encourage the elephants to paint well, the keeper_____.
A. bought them a lot of art supplies
B. made them excited at the beginning
C. taught them to hold a paintbrush with their trunks
D. reinforced the desired behaviors with rewards
4. When Elephants Paint is a book_____.
A. on the history of arts
B. about the painting elephants in Asia
C. explaining how to teach elephants to paint
D. chiefly theorizing about elephant art
全文正文为188个词，5个问题209个词，总共397词。按每分钟70个词的速度，限时在5分半钟内完成阅读，再加上3分钟选择答案的时间，总共8分钟完成此题。
要是限时不能完成怎么办？不要延长时间。无论如何，需要养成快速阅读的习惯。可考虑适当降低阅读材料的难度，从一些简单的阅读题开始训练，以后逐渐加大阅读的难度。这样坚持一段时间，速度也就随之上去了。
由于快速阅读时精力高度集中，因此阅读时间不宜太长，一次半小时就行了。因为时间一长容易产生疲劳，精力分散，起不到强化训练的作用。每次练习后应及时总结，发现问题随手记下。这样长期坚持下去，必能收到明显的效果。
2. 略读法
略读又称浏览或掠读，就是迅速地阅读，以求抓住文章的梗概。略读的目的是为获得大意或者总体印象而进行阅读。略读作为一种快速阅读技巧对我们来说并不陌生。这就像我们看报纸时，几版、十几版的页面不可能一字不漏地往下看，只能用最快的速度找出主题，略掉一些无关紧要的细节或与主题不甚相干的部分，知道其中的大概内容即可。这种方法要求我们不要把眼睛盯在具体的每个单词上，而是要看篇章中的主题句或者是从篇章的结构着手，利用自己的推理能力，对文章的信息进行分析，从而归纳总结出主题。善于略读的人会有选择地阅读，跳过一些无关的句子、段落甚至是整页的内容，只看自己感兴趣的东西。训练有素的略读者的阅读速度可以达到每分钟1000个词以上。略读的关键在于一个“略”字，注意力应该集中在大意，而不是细节上。试以下文为例：
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me here and there.
I have sought love, first because it brings ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what at last I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberated in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I
cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life, I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
使用略读法，我们的目光只去捕捉以下关键的字眼：
第一段：Three passions,. . . , have governed my life: (l)the longing for love, (2)the search for knowledge, (3) unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind;
第二段：I have sought love because (l) it brings ecstasy… ; (2) it relieve s loneliness…; (3) I have seen…. the vision of the heaven;
第三段：With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to (l) understand …; (2) to know why the stars shine…. And I have tried to apprehend ….
第四段：Love and knowledge…led upward towa rd the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. …I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
第五段：This has been my life, …and would gladly live it again.
这样一来，大大减轻了阅读的负担，一篇近300词的文章，阅读其中的100个词就能概括全部的内容。略读归纳起来也就两句话：去粗取精，不失要点。
3. 寻读法
所谓“寻读”，就是通过目光扫视，以最快的速度从一篇文章中披沙拣金，迅速寻找出你所期望得到的某一具体情况、数据等。以日常生活为例。假如你要买一台价格适中、性能良好的计算机，你可浏览有关计算机广告。各种广告林林总总，品牌不同、功能各异、价格不等。你便可先从价格上考虑，通过寻读，找出几个你准备买的型号，然后从性能、信誉上进行比较，最选中你想买的那一台。同理，寻读法也常见于阅读考试的细节题中。这种方法的特点是有的放矢，为我所用。譬如根据提问查找某一人名、地名，某一件事发生的年月或其他类似的情况。工程硕士阅读理解的细节题寻读技巧利要是用得当，往往会省时省事，答案迅速而准确。以下面的一篇阅读为例，这是一篇天气预报，总计328个词。
Questions 1-2 are based on the following weather forecast:
Weather Forecast
The following forecast shows for the listed cities the projected weather conditions and the expected range of temperatures from the afternoon high to the evening low.
Atlanta: Mostly fair. 88-70 T Minneapolis : Mostly cloudy. 68-50 T Boston: Partly cloudy. 78-61 T New Orleans: Mostly fair. 92-73 T
Philadelphia ; Hazy and warm. 90-68 T Chicago: Thunderstorm likely.
82-67 °F
Cleveland: Mostly cloudy. 84-68 T Phoenix: Sunny and warm. 99-66 T
Pittsburg: Partly cloudy. 81-64 °F Dallas; Thunderstorms likely.
91-75 T
Denver : Rain likely. 63-43 T St. Louis: Thunderstorms likely. 86-70 T Houston: Partly cloudy. 90-78 T San Francisco; Mostly fair. 73-60 T Kansas City: Thunderstorms likely.
Seattle: Mostly fair. 74-50 T
73-63 °F
Las Vegas:Sunny and warm. 93-56
Toronto ; Rain likely. 83-68 T
T
Los Angeles: Mostly sunny.
Washington D. C. Partly cloudy. 88-72 T
88-60 °F
Miami; Partly cloudy. 88-79 T
1. According to the forecast, _____.
A. Kansas City will be warmer than Toronto
B. temperatures will be the lowest in Seattle and Minneapolis
C. the weather will be fine in most of the listed cities
D. more than half of the listed cities are cloudy or rain likely
2. Among the following four cities, the difference between the afternoon high and the evening low is smallest in _____.
A. Kansas City
B. Miami
C. Atlanta
D. Seattle
3. Which of the following cities is closest to Miami in weather conditions?
A. Boston
B. Atlanta
C. Washington
D. C. D. Houston
4. The difference between the afternoon high and the evening low is greatest in
_____.
A. Seattle
B. Los Angeles
C. Las Vegas
D. Phoenix
5. The differences between the afternoon high and the evening low are the same
in _____.
A. Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis
B. Atlanta, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Seattle
C. Cleveland, Dallas, St. Louis, and Washington
D. C.
D. Pittsburg, Miami, Houston, and Boston
通过寻读，我们很快就可以把目光定在全文最后一段的最后一句上：“Straitfold, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice”。题干问的是Straitfold以什么最感到自豪，“independent voice” 也即是“独立的声音”。将几个选项进行对比，稍加思索我们就不难找到正确答案：nonconformist image (不随大众的形象)，所以选项B是正确答案。
4. 意群阅读法
所谓“意群”也即是有意义的语法结构（英语称作sense groups），通常为词组、短语。顾名思义，“意群阅读法”也就是按词组、短语在文中的组合意义整体阅读，而不是单个的词汇阅读。我们知道，词是语句的基本组成单位，意群是语句的基本构成单元。单个词并无多大意义，只有组合起来，在上下文关系中形成特殊的意群，才能获得特殊的、确定的意义。以前面“寻读”中的一句为例：Straitfold, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice，我们要是按9个单词汇一个个地读作Straitfold, says, Friedman, takes, pride, in, its, independent, voice，不但速度慢，而且形不成一个完整的意思。与此相反，要是我们将其分为4个意群来读：Straitfold, / says Friedman,/ takes pride in /its independent voice/，阅读效率就高多了。
由此可见，意群阅读是提高阅读效率、把握文章整体的关键。因此，我们在阅读文章的时候，目光不应当停留在每个单词上，而应当放在中心词上，把目光集中在意群的中心，从一个意群中心词到另一个意群中心词，这样的意群整体扫描是提高阅读速度的行之有效之法。
汉语常常用“一目十行”来形容某人读书速度快。英语的阅读训练有素者同样能达到这一
境界。但对于一般的普通读者来说，能做到“一目数词”也相当不错了——这大大超出了大纲所规定的每分钟60个词的阅读速度。我们发现，阅读速度慢的人的阅读模式类似小学低年级学生读课本，看一个字读一个字，然后再想这个字的意思。这样的阅读方法眼睛再快也跟不上国家对高考阅读要求的速度。因此，要提高阅读速度，就得根除逐字阅读的坏习惯。而按意群阅读，既能提高目光的效率，又有利于整体思维，连词成句。下面读者不妨自己做这样一个比较，先按逐字阅读的习惯方法阅读以下段落，看看要用多少时间。
Many small cultural groups live in places far away from modern cities. Some of these tribes have never had any communication outside of their small geographical areas. When they do contact the outside world, their lives usually change. Learning how to change without losing the best of their own cultures is a problem for them. How can primitive cultures learn to live in a technological world？How can they do this without becoming lost？（75词）
然后再用意群阅读法阅读下面同一段落，看看共花多少时间。为了便于阅读，我们用分隔号“／”把句中的一个个意群隔开。
Many small cultural groups／live in places／far away from modern cities. ／Some of these tribes have never had／any communication／outside of their small geographical areas. ／When they do contact／the outside world,／their lives usually change. ／Learning how to change／without losing the best／of their own cultures／is a problem for them. ／How can primitive cultures／learn to live／in a technological world？／How can they do this／without becoming lost？（18个意群）显而易见，采用“意群阅读法”能一眼同时看到三个词或五个词，甚至更多的词。这样就大大节省了阅读的时间，起到事半功倍的作用。
5. 识别信号词
所谓“信号词”(Signal Words) 是指一些在阅读中起着信号提示的词语。这些词语预示着将要读到的内容与上下文存在什么样的关系，或具有什么样的逻辑意思。因为我们知道，文章的句子不是无序地排列，而是按照一定关系，有目的、有规律地组织起来的。注意信号词能使我们了解作者的思路，理顺该句与上下文之间的逻辑关系，从而提高阅读理解的效率和准确率。请看下面这一段落：
In that mill, I learned the process of making paper. First, the logs are put in the shredder. Then, they are cut into small chips and mixed with water and acid. Next, they are heated and crushed to a heavy pulp to be cleaned. It is also chemically bleached to whiten it. After this, it is passed through rollers to flatten it. Then, sheets of wet paper are produced. Finally, the water is removed from the sheets which are pressed, dried and refined until the finished paper is produced.
作者通过表示先后顺序的信号词first, then, next, after this, then 和finally, 有条不紊地描述出造纸工艺的整个过程。
信号词的类别
信号词可以归纳为下面几种：
l）表示递进的信号词：
after all, also, again, and then, as well as, further more, additionally, in addition, in other words, moreover, to repeat等；
2）预示有相同或类似内容的信号词：
and, also, moreover, further, likewise, in addition, besides, similarly, as well as, the same as等；
3）预示有不同或相反内容出现的信号词：
but, however, while, whereas, on the other hand, on the contrary, as apposed to, to the opposite, otherwise等；
4）表示因果关系的信号词：
as, for, since, because, as a result, consequently, thus, so, therefore, for this reason, so that, thereby等；
5）表示条件性的信号词：
if, in case, assuming that, on condition that, on the supposition that, provided that等；
6) 表示总结性内容的信号词：
in short, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, as a result, in sum, to sum up, by and large, to conclude等；
7) 表示先后关系顺序的信号词：
before, after, another, first, next, then, last, finally, afterwards, later on, since then, eventually, in the end, at last等；
8) 表示解释、举例说明关系的信号词：
for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate, evidently, obviously, in other words, that is to say, the same as等；
9) 表示目的的信号词：
in order to, in order that, so that, so as to, for the purpose that等。
下面一例考试的一段文字录音稿就有带有各类不同功能的信号词。
If you′re in your 20s, you own your first car, your career is more or less launched, and you′re starting to look forward to owning a home. But you′re worried, too. Perhaps you′ve got some debt. You probably don′t have much in the way of savings. And with all your expenses, it doesn′t look like you′ll be able to improve that situation soon.
If you wonder how to cut corners, there′s an obvious place to look—at your spending habits.
Do you buy a soda each weekend? Waste $1 a day for 40 years and, when you′re set to retire, you′ll find your account is short by $190,000. Grab a calculator and you′ 11 discover that, over 40 years, going out to dinner twice a month at $40 each time amounts to half a million. Even a pack-a-day cigarette habit will lighten your retirement account by $330,000. And the same with cable TV and those cool earrings. They will probably amount toas much as one million.
So, the first clue to accumulating wealth is this: focus on your spending habits.
要是我们能把握住其中的黑体字信号词，那么将有助于全文的理解，提高做题的效率。
6. 猜测不认识的词语
在阅读文章的过程中，考生面临最大的问题是遇到不认识的单词或短语，或者认识的单词在文章中有了新的含义。如果这些词或短语不影响对文章主要内容的理解，考生便可以将它们略过，不中断阅读。如果这些词语的意思对正确理解文章很重要，就必须根据上下文的联系，根据构词法或其他方法对它们的意义进行猜测，使之不影响对整篇文章的理解。猜测词义通常可采用以下几种方法。
1) 利用上下文确定词义
通过上下文来猜测词意是阅读考试中最常用的重要手段之一，联系上下文可以帮助我们
理解句子，确定词义。下面我们通过一些实例来简要说明如何通过上下文来确定词义。
例1：He is successful as a businessman because of his dynamic personality. He seems to have unlimited energy.
对于dynamic一词大家可能不熟悉，下文的He seems to have unlimited energy…（他似乎有用不完的劲）就是对dynamic词义的解释。这样，我们便知道该词意为“有干劲的”。
例2：Sociology is the term used to describe the scientific study of human society。
假定sociology是一个不认识的词，系动词be后面就给出了明确的定义。这样，我们便知道该词意思为“社会学”。
例3：A first-year college or university student is commonly a ′freshman′, and ′sophomore′, ′junior′and ′senior′ designate the second—third—and fourth—year student.
要是对sophomore, junior 和senior几个术语不熟悉，通过后面的对应解释词语the second—third—and fourth—year student我们便不难知道它们分别是指二、三、四年级的大学生。
例4：The tired soldiers trudged through knee-deep mud for hours before they found a dry place to sleep.
通过后面的through knee-deep mud（没膝深的泥浆），我们知道trudged一词的意思为与行走这一动作有关，在泥浆中行走，也就是“跋涉”。
例5：When it comes to manufactured goods there is actually more diversity in this country than Europe has ever known. The variety of goods carried by our stores is the first thing that impresses any visitor from abroad。
第二句中的variety与第一句中的diversity 同义，这样，我们便不难知道diversity的大意是“种类”或“品种”。
下面我们联系上下文，试确定以下各句中斜体字的含义。
1. The woman and the children were skilful in boats too, but there were usually several of them in a large boat called umiak.
2. The doctor said that if a person ate even one leaf of the hemlock plant, he would die, because the plant is a deadly poison.
3. Although dogs and cats often have large families, rabbits are famous for the size of their litters, which sometimes number more than twelve bunnies at one time.
4. Mark became hysterical when his basketball team won, and he did not calm down for several days.
5. With mud from head to toe, flowers still clutched in his hand, John looked so ludicrous that we couldn′t help laughing.
6. A bee collects nectar not in its own stomach but in a kind of shopping bag (called the honey sac) similar to the one ants have.
7. Several generations ago, the world seemed to run in an orderly way. Now, however, everything is in a state of turmoil.
8. After the first time someone tried to rob him, the banker became flustered easily, and in his confusion he would make many careless errors.
9. Jane was intrigued by the behavior of animals; she could sit for hours
observing a bird making a nest or an ant carrying a leaf.
10. Some chimps are very independent and appear to be the superior members of
a group; others seem to be ruled by the leaders and are quite submissive.
通过上串下联，我们不难确定上述各句中斜体字的含义如下：
1. umiak n. 一种大船
2. hemlock n. 一种有毒植物（毒芹）
3. litter n. 一窝bunnies小兔子
4. hysterical a. 歇斯底里，异常兴奋
5. ludicrous a. . 滑稽可笑的
6. nectar n. 花蜜honey sac蜜胃
7. turmoil n. 混乱
8. flustered a. 慌乱的
9. intrigued a. 感兴趣
10. submissive a. 顺从的
2) 利用构词法确定词义
掌握英语构词法，是提高阅读速度的技巧之一。在很多情况下，通过构词分析，便能理解不认识生词的含义，不至于中断阅读。因此，考生应当有效地利用自己所熟悉的词缀（包括前缀和后缀）和词根，通过构词法来是确定生词的含义。
例1：Many cancers have been arrested with the use of chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy 是由chemo（意为chemical）和therapy (意为treatment），整个单词意思就是“化学疗法”。
例2：They overestimate the interviewee′s ability and asked turn many difficult questions.
overestimate ＝over (过分、过度)＋estimate (估计)。因此overestimate的词义可猜测为“过高估计”。
例3：The murderer had developed a poison which could not be tasted or smelled when mixed with food. Because it was imperceptible,he was able to murder a number of people without being caught.
句中的imperceptible 一词由前缀im-（非，不）＋词根percept（感知、觉察）＋后缀-ible（能……的）构成。几部分组合在一起，也就是“难以觉察的”之意。
例4：Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena. (2003工程硕士英语第62题)
其中的dispassioned为超纲词，我们可根据构词法dis + passion + ed知其大概意思：除掉激情的，也即是“冷静的”。
3) 利用语法知识确定词义
在很多情况下，各种语法知识可以帮助我们来判断词性、词义。
例1：This set of books is for children. The first book of the sequence, which is one of the most popular series of children′s stories, is a group of stories about the inhabitants of a village.
假定我们不认识sequence，利用定语从句which is one of the most popular series of children′s stories, 其中series就与sequence 同义，也就是“丛书”的意思。
例2：For their fishing and hunting the men used a kayak, a small boat for one
person.
利用同位语a small boat for one person我们知道kayak是一种单人小船。
例3：A solar eclipse—when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun—in an unusual and interesting phenomenon that occurs rarely.
通过破折号解释我们知道solar eclipse为“日食”。
例4：Ventilation, as we know, is a system or means of providing fresh air. It plays a very important part in the field of engineering.
通过后面的解释我们知道Ventilation为“通风，流通空气”之意。
例5：The modern age of medicine began with the stethoscope, an instrument for listening to a patient′s heartbeat and breathing.
Stethoscope一词大家都不熟悉，通过后面的同位语解释an instrument for listening to a patient′s heartbeat and breathing，我们便能理解stethoscope的确切词义，即“听诊器”或“听筒”的意思。
4) 根据同义、反义关系确定词义
阅读中，特别是要注意表示反意的信号词：in contrast, on the other hand, rather than, however, yet, although, while, unlike, but, whereas, as opposed to等，利用这些同义、反义关系，可以帮助我们确定词义。
例1：My sister Mane is an optimist, while her boyfriend is one who is always gloomy and expects the worst to happen.
从while的转折关系可知optimist意思是“one who expects the best”, 即“乐观的”。
例2：Mother was tall, fat, and middle aged. The principal of the school was an older woman, almost as plump as Mother, and much shorter.
根据Mother was tall, fat以及后面as plump as的同义关系，我们知道plump为“丰满的”之意。(安通学校提供)
例3：Sally liked to concoct all sorts of stories, but her mother always knew when she was lying.
concoct一词大家不熟悉，根据but的转折关系我们知道在此句中与was lying的含义大体相同，由此可知concoct的大概意思是“编造谎话”。
例4：A gorilla always makes me think of the word aloof—not friendly, of distance from others.
假定我们不认识aloof一词，破折号后的反义关系：“不友好，冷漠” 就解释了aloof一词的含义。
5）利用逻辑推理和常识确定词义
有时候，逻辑推理和自身的生活经验及普通常识能帮助我们确定词义。
例1：Fishes live in water and have fins which help them to swim. Most fishes have slimy skins covered with scales, but in fishes such as eels the scales are very small and can hardly be seen.
凭常识我们不难猜出fins, slimy和scales的确切意思分别是“鳍”、“滑溜的”和“鳞”，对于eels一词，我们只需知道是fish的一种（鳝鱼类）就行了。
例2：Not wanting to disturb the sleeping kitten, I gingerly lifted her from the box and put her on a blanket near the heater.
根据前半句的Not wanting to disturb（不愿打扰），我们便可大致推测出gingerly一词的含义：“小心翼翼地”。
例3：A mercury thermometer is made of a glass tube with a
bulb at one end.
凭常识我们知道温度计下面的bulb是“水银球”。
例4：Most troubles can be avoided, but death and taxes are inevitable.
凭常识我们知道死亡和税收是不可避免的（inevitable）事情。
第四节阅读应试的基本方法步骤
前面我们详细地介绍了阅读理解的基本方法技巧，现在向大家介绍怎样把这些基本方法技巧用于阅读应试。
阅读应试的基本方法有3种，一种是略读，第二种是精读(scrutinizing)，第三种是寻读。前面我们谈到，略读是一种快速阅读方法，在非常短的时间内浏览全文获得文章的中心思想和主要事实。精读则是仔细阅读每句话，理解分析其含义，弄清句与句之间的逻辑关系，进而理解整个段落的意思。而寻读则是通过目光扫视，迅速确定你所期望得到的信息的位置。通过略读，我们可以了解材料的结构安排和主要信息，而精读是针对考题中的某些信息或难点做具体细致的解析，而寻读则在解题过程中起着一个定位的作用。
不少考生常常提出这样一个问题：做阅读理解题是先读文章还是先读后面的问题呢？我们认为，答案因人而异。英语水平较高，阅读速度较快的考生可以先通读短文，一边阅读一边思考文章的主旨大意, 理解文章的细节, 基本理解原文之后再看考题及选项并做出选择，遇上个别无把握的题时再回头查阅短文的相关部分，仔细推敲定夺，以求准确无误得高分。但这种方法只适合那些有能力获取优异成绩的考生，其优点是对文章有一个总的概念和印象，缺点是，费时间，对文章的细节记不清楚。对于大多数考生来说，考试的时间较为紧迫，我们建议使用以下几个步骤：
第一步：略读短文把握方向
用尽量短的时间扫视短文每段的第一句和最后一段的最后一句。因为各段的主题句往往在句首，而文章的最后一句很可能是概括总结。略读的目的是掌握短文的主旨大意，做到对全文的内容心中大致有数，有一个思考的方向。
第二步：浏览问题，有的放矢
浏览题目，揣测出题者出此题的目的并侧重阅读短文相关部分。由于对所问问题及文章主旨都已有所了解，在阅读时自然会知道哪些地方得细读哪些地方可一带而过甚至跳过不读。所有问题都是根据文章内容提出的，基本反应并覆盖了文章内容的主干。先阅读问题再阅读全文可以做到“成竹在胸”。
第三步：分析判断确定答案
有了前两步的定位，第三步就该敲定答案了。这一步是做题的关键，一不小心就会前功尽弃。需要注意的是，一些看似简单的问题，不能掉以轻心；尤其当文章内容涉及常识或你所熟悉的知识范畴时，事实、观点要以文章为准，而不能跟着自己的感觉走。因为这里考的是你的阅读理解能力，而不是你对某种文化、知识的掌握程度，因此选择答案绝对不能脱离文章内容或作者观点，单凭自己的主观判断解决问题。
这种三步到位方法其优点是事半功倍，考生可以抓紧时间，集中精力进行有针对性地阅读、解题。其缺点是有时可能会遗漏关键细节，从而产生理解偏差，答错题。因此做完之后再忙也应抽出一定的时间将答案检查一遍。
对于英语水平相对较低，阅读速度较慢的考生来说不妨直接从第二步开始：先浏览所有五道题的题目，对文章所涉及的内容有个粗略的估计或了解。然后逐一解答。先寻读短文的相关部分，然后选择正确答案。如遇有关文章主旨大意或需要推理的题可先放一放，等做完其他题再做这类题会容易一些。先难后易，各个击破。这种方法能在相对短的时间里做完阅读理解部分，但准确率不高。对于那些如采用上述前两种方法则在规定时间内根本做不完试题，对文章只能一知半解看了后面忘前面，词汇量不足的考生来说不能不说是一种万不得已
的办法。
另外，在阅读过程中，不妨在自己认为比较重要的某些句子或词语（主题句，关键词）下面划线，标上记号，这样有助于突出重点，活跃思维，同时也便于阅读，节省时间，使阅读更加积极。并且对于记忆力稍差的考生而言，记住几个重要句子和信息要比记住全文容易得多了。所以，我们建议对阅读文章中的主要句子和关键词标出记号并重点阅读。
第四节阅读理解应试题型详解
根据命题要求阅读理解考题可分为5类：1. 主旨题；2. 细节题；3. 词汇题；4. 推断题；5. 是非判断题。其中细节题所占比例最大，其次为主旨题、推断题、语义题。是非题判断题视具体情况可列入细节题或推断题类，我们在此就不作专题介绍了。需要特别提醒大家的是：不同的题型应采用不同的阅读方法技巧和解题思路。
1. 主旨大意题
这类考题旨在考查考生对文章主旨大意的理解和概括归纳能力。考题中往往出现下列词汇：subject, topic, theme, title, main idea, purpose等等，这类考题的设问特点可以大致归纳为以下几个方面：
1．就文章的写作目的，或人物或事件提问；
2．就文章的标题提问；
3. 就全文或某段的中心思想或主题提问。
这类题的提问主要有以下几种：
1．What is mainly discussed in this passage?
2．What is the author′s main concern?
3．The main idea of this passage maybe best expressed as__________.
4．The selection informs us that_________.
5.Which sentence contains a statement of the theme?
6．The best title for this passage could be ___________.
7．The article was written to explain ___________.
8．The main purpose of this article is to explain __________.
9．In this passage the author tries to interpret ___________.
10．The topic of the passage is _________.
11．The passage (or paragraph) mainly deals with _________.
在阅读时应该注意文章的主旨句和每段的主题句。文章的中心思想往往是每段的主题句的综合。另外，干扰选项的特点多是以偏概全，只说到文中的某一点而不能全面概括文章的中心思想，或是范围太大，超出了文章的中心内容。所以在做主旨题时，我们先可以略读，找出每段的主题句，然后将主题句综合起来就是文章的中心思想。在选择答案时，根据自己总结的大意，就可以用排除法将干扰选项剔除。请看下面几例。
主旨大意题例1
主题句：It was once thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and/or heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide.
问题：This passage is primarily concerned with______.
A. the greenhouse effect
B. the burning of fossil fuels
C. the potential effect of air pollution
D. the likelihood of a new ice age
主题句的大意是：人们曾认为空气污染仅限于大城市周围，因为这些地方工厂密集，交通拥挤。如今我们知道，虽然这些地方空气污染最厉害，但空气污染实际上是全球范围的。选项A：温室效应；选项B：燃烧化石燃料；选项C：空气污染的潜在影响；选项D：新冰河时期的可能性。通过对主题句的理解，我们可选定正确答案为C。
大意题例2
主题句：The media can impact current events.
问题：The best title for the passage is ______.
A. The 1992 Los Angeles Riots
B. The Impact of Media on Current Events
C. The 1989 San Francisco Earthquake and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots
D. How Media Cover Events
主题句的大意是：媒介可以影响时事。选项A和C均与主题无关；选项B：媒介对时事的影响；选项D：媒介是怎样报道事件的。找准了主题句，我们就可选定正确答案为B.
2. 细节题
文章的作者往往要用具体事实和细节来证明、分析、解释中心思想、段落大义等主旨。细节题测试考生对文中事实和有关细节的理解程度。考生应特别注意有关who, when, where, what, whose, how why 等问题的内容。细节题的常见题干有：
1. What causes……?
2. What is special about …?
3. Why does the writer …. ?
4. It can be seen from this passage that…. . ?
5. Which of the following characterizes …. . ?
6. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
7. Which of the following statement is (NOT) true?
8. The writer mentions all of the following EXCEPT ______.
9. According to the passage who (when, where, what, whose, how)…
10. The reason for … is ________.
11. …. can be attributed to _________.
12. …. in that _________.
13. What does the example of …. illustrate?
14. The example of …in the passage is used to _______.
15. The author state that_______.
16. The author quotes …. in paragraph x because _______.
这类题的题干和正确答案在含义上通常相等于原文中某部分内容，但通常表达方式不同。如：使用不同的语态句式，同义词，反义词（或词组）。也有的细节题需要在理解相关原文内容的基础上做出简单推理和计算。文中的具体事实和细节不是孤立存在的而是前后呼应，相辅相成的。这类考题在试卷中所占比例最大，其出题顺序一般和文章内容的先后顺序一致。干扰选项往往使用原文中的一些表达方式，但其陈述与原文不符或部分不符，或虽与大众常识、流行观点一致，但却与作者观点或原文内容相悖或原文根本未提及。(安通学校提供) 在一般情况下，阅读考试中遇到细节题应先通读或略读全文，了解全文和各段的主旨大意，然后再做题。要先看清考题的题干，特别注意其关键词“Where? When? Which? Who?”，然后找到相应段落，进而找出相应陈述，仔细阅读，并根据上下文思索其真实含义。最后是比较选项，排除干扰项，选择正确答案。
细节题例1
原文：As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to swirl in a counter-clockwise motion.
The counter-clockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by ______.
A. the low-pressure area in the center of the storm
B. the force of waves of water
C. the trade winds
D. the increasing heat
根据原文的As the heat increases，我们知道正确答案为D：反时针方向的旋涡是因为热度加大而造成的。
细节题例2
原文：In a barter economy it would be necessary to determine how many plates were worth one hundred weight of cotton, or how many pens should be exchanged for a ton of coal, which would be a difficult and time-consuming task.
A barter economy is one in which ___.
A. value is decided by weight
B. value is decided by number
C. goods are exchanged and money is not used
D. money is used and goods are not exchanged
根据原文的上下文，我们可猜测出barter economy就是“物物交换经济”，由此可知正确答案为C：货物被交换，而不是用货币。
3. 词汇题
此类题旨在考查考生对某些关键词语或句子在特定的语境中含义的理解能力；通过上下文或构词法猜测判断某些超纲词汇或表达方式的意义的能力。因此考生所掌握的词汇量的大小直接影响这一类题的得分率。这类考题的正确答案往往是相应词语的同义词语，或是对相应语句的解释、复述或概括。其余三个选项，往往是对原相应表达方式的不正确的改写，或故意丢三拉四，或半对半错，或曲解原意。这些干扰项有时会使用较多的原句中的表达方式，给人似是而非的误导。
语义题的常见出题形式有：
1．The phrase……. in paragraph X most probably means__________.
2．1The word ……in Line X Paragraph Y can be best replaced by ____________. 3．According to the author, the word …… means___________.
4．The sentence ……. . in paragraph X refers to__________.
5．According to this passage, the expression…… can be interpreted as___________.
6．What does the author probably mean by …… in the first paragraph?
7．The first two sentences in the second paragraph tell us that _________.
8．From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that ________.
词汇题例1
原文：A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods.
Apparently the word "downpour" in the last paragraph means _____.
A. heavy rainfall
B. dangerous waves
C. the progress of water to the hurricane center
D. the energy produced by the hurricane
根据上下文brings 6 to 12-inch….resulting in sudden floods可知道此处的downpour为倾盆大雨，因此正确答案为A。
词汇题例2
原文：Therefore, they are continually discontented. By their remarks, they sour the pleasures of society, offend many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere.
The phrase “sour the pleasures of society” most nearly means _____.
A. have a good taste to the pleasures of society
B. aren′t content with the pleasures of society
C. feel happy with the pleasures of society
D. enjoy the pleasures of society
根据下文的offend many people, and make themselves disagreeable我们知道sour一词在此处为贬意词，因此可选择B：对社会的愉悦感到不满意。
词汇题例3
原文：There are no large worthwhile reserves of potential farmland remaining, and good fertile land is continually being changed into industrial use. Moreover, erosion of the soil takes a constant toll.
“Erosion” in the last sentence of the second paragraph probably means _____.
A. “washing away”
B. “taking away”
C. “digging up”
D. “picking up”
根据上下文可知erosion为“侵蚀”之意，所以正确答案为A.
解词汇题除了需要扎实的词汇基本功之外，前一节中所讲的利用上下文、利用构词法、利用语法知识、根据同／反义关系、利用逻辑／常识猜测词义都不失为解题的好办法。尤其是上下文和构词法，这两个方法是解词汇题的最常用的法宝。
请看下面这段文字：
The vertebrates can be divided into five groups: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
FISH. These live in water. Most of them have a body covered in scales. They breathe with gills in the neck and their shape is often pointed so that they can move easily through the water. The tail is flattened from side to side to push against the water as they swim. Most fish lay eggs and do not look after their young.
AMPHIBIANS. These can live on land or in the water. Their bodies are often smooth and their skin is damp. They breathe with lungs or through their skins but some also breathe with their mouth. They have two pairs of limbs and lay their eggs in water. These eggs hatch to produce a larva or tadpole which looks very different from the parents. The tadpole grows and then changes to look like the parent.
REPTILES. These live on land or in the water. Their bodies are covered with scales. They breathe with lungs and have two pairs of legs (except the snakes and some lizards). They lay their eggs in warm places on land and the eggs hatch to produce a small animal just like the parent.
BIRDS. These live on land. Some can swim on the water. A few, like the penguin and puffin, can also swim under water. Their bodies are covered with feathers.
Birds breathe with lungs and have two pairs of limbs. The front limbs are the wings used for flying. They lay eggs and keep them warm with their bodies until they hatch. Then they look after the young chicks until they can
fend for themselves.
MAMMALS. This group includes Man. Mammals can live on land or in the water. The whale and the dolphin live in the sea. The bats have wings and can fly. All mammals breathe with lungs and often have bodies covered with hair. They have two pairs of limbs. They produce live young (there are two exceptions: the duck—billed platypus and the spiny ant-eater, who both lay eggs) and feed them with milk that the mother makes in her special glands. The parent animals look after their young until they are old enough to look after themselves.
其中的斜体字词语vertebrates脊椎动物,amphibians两栖动物, reptiles爬行动物,mammals哺乳动物, scales鳞, gills鳃,flattened扁平的,larva幼虫, tadpole蝌蚪, lizards蜥蜴,penguin企鹅，puffin海雀,chicks雏鸟, fend照料, dolphin海豚, platypus 鸭嘴兽, ant-eater食蚁兽, glands 腺等，都是超纲词和专业术语，但通过上下文，我们都能理解其大致意思。
另外，掌握一些必要的词根、词缀，对词加深的理解，扩大词汇量都大有裨益。下面是常用的一些英语词根及其例词，考生不妨接着往后面补充添加自己所熟悉的例词。
ambula = walk例词：ambulance; ambulant
ann=year例词：annual; anniversary
audi = hearing 例词：audience; audible
auto = self例词：automation; autobiography;
bio=life例词：biology; biography
capit=head例词：capital; decapitate
ced, cess = go; move例词：unprecedented;process
chron=time例词：chronology; synchronal
cide = kill; cut例词：suicide; bactericide
confid= trust例词：confide; confidential
cred = trust; belief例词：credit; credulous
cur = run; move例词：current; incursion
dic/dict = say; speak例词：indicate; dictate
duce/duct = lead; take 例词：introduce; conduct
equ = same; equal例词：equality; equator
fact = make; do例词：manufacture; factory
fer = carry; bring例词：ferry; transfer
frag = break例词：fragile, fragment
gen = produce例词：genetics; generate
ject= throw例词：eject;injection
mit/miss = send例词：emit; vomit
port = carry例词：porter; passport
pose = put; place例词：propose; dispose
simil = like 例词：similarity; simile, similar
spec(t) = see; look at 例词：inspect; expect; retrospect
tarn = hold例词：maintain, attain, retain
tract = draw 例词：attract; tractor; distract
vent = come 例词：advent; convent; contravention
vert /vers = turn 例词：version; convert; subvert
vid /vis=see 例词：visit; vision; invisible
volv = roll例词：evolve; revolution
4. 正误判断题
正误判断题常用提问方式
1. Which of the following statements is (not) true?
2. Which of the following is (not) mentioned in the article?
3. Which of the following does not explain. . . ?
4. Which of the following statements is wrong according to the author?
5. Which of the following is not listed as . . . ?
6. All of the following fire true except. . .
7. The author mentions al 1 Of the items listed below except. . .
8. The author(passage)does not tell us . . .
正误判断题答题策略
1 正确理解4个判断选项，分辨出其间的差异；
2 确定各个判断句在原文中的大致位置，将其与原文进行比较；
3 避免以偏概全，同样也须避免极端；
4 最后对照原文通过比较鉴别，选出正确答案。
正误判断例1
原文：In addition to genetics, they say, intelligence depends on an adequate diet, a good home environment, parental attention, and education
Which of the following statements is not true?
A. The whole world is raced with the problem of the increasing population.
B. Some scientists argued that birth control can affect the level of intelligence.
C. Genetics is one of the main factors to intelligence.
D. Food, family attention and education have nothing to do with intelligence.
对照原文，通过比较鉴别，我们可知正确答案为C：遗传基因是影响智力的主要原因之一。
A和B与原文无关，D太极端，因此只有C符合题意。
正误判断例2
原文：Hydroponics was once a complicated and expensive business, now it is well out of the experimental stage.
Which of the following statements is not true of hydroponics?
A. Hydroponics is still too complicated and expensive for practical use.
B. Hydroponics is considered a revolutionary method of agriculture.
C. Hydroponics has created wonders in agriculture.
D. Hydroponics has already been employed in food production.
根据now it is well out of the experimental stage早就走出了试验阶段，可知正确答案为D：水栽法已经用于食物生产。
5. 推断、引申题
在一篇文章中，作者有时没有将某一个问题、观点直接或正面陈述出来，而是隐含在字里行间，这就要求考生对所隐含的意义作推断。这类考题要求考生在深刻理解原文的基础上