做托福阅读题到底需不需要读文章

　　经历过各种国内的英语考试的同学们应该都非常熟悉以下的做题方法：

　　先读题，提取题目定位信息，根据定位信息去文章中找到答案位置，读懂答案处的信息，对比选项选择答案。

　　那么这个做题的顺序对于托福阅读是否适用呢?

　　根据《托福官方指南》的说明，事实信息题的答案通常出自文章的某一两个句子，并且是在文中相对明确阐述的信息，通常不太涉及到整篇文章的主题的考察。按照这种出题思路，先读题，再去定位到答案，读懂文章信息以及选项的信息，自然是可以选出正确答案的。比如下面这道题目：

　　Paragraph 5: But how is this well-insulated nest ventilated? Its many occupants require over 250 quarts of oxygen (more than 1,200 quarts of air) per day. How can so much oxygen diffuse through the thick walls of the mound? Even the pores in the wall are filled with water, which almost stops the diffusion of gases. The answer lies in the construction of the nest. The interior consists of large central core in which the fungus is grown, below it is a “cellar” of empty space, above it is an “attic” of empty space, and within the ridges on the outer wall of the nest, there are many small tunnels that connect the cellar and the attic. The warm air in the fungus gardens rises through the nest up to the attic. From the attic, the air passes into the tunnels in the ridges and flows back down to the cellar. Gases, mainly oxygen coming in and carbon dioxide going out, easily diffuse into or out of the ridges, since their walls are thin and their surface area is large because they protrude far out from the wall of the mound. Thus air that flows down into the cellar through the ridges is relatively rich in oxygen, and has lost much of its carbon dioxide. It supplies the nest’s inhabitants with fresh oxygen as it rises through the fungus-growing area back up to the attic. [TPO 47 Termite Ingenuity]

　　According to paragraph 5, what does the thinness of the ridge walls make possible?

　　The concentration of cool air in the cellar

　　The construction of exceptionally long tunnels

　　The even distribution of oxygen from attic to cellar

　　The diffusion of gases into and out of the ridges

　　段落特别长，但是如果你读懂了题目在问“ridge walls薄，能够让啥变得可能—墙薄有啥影响”，那么大部分同学应该能够比较轻松找到文中的这句话“Gases, mainly oxygen coming in and carbon dioxide going out, easily diffuse into or out of the ridges, since their walls are thin and their surface area is large because they protrude far out from the wall of the mound.”。

　　而本句话说“因为(since)墙薄，所以空气容易扩散进或者出(Gases, mainly oxygen coming in and carbon dioxide going out, easily diffuse into or out of the ridges)”。那么，答案就选择了D(The diffusion of gases into and out of the ridges)。

　　According to paragraph 5, what does the thinness of the ridge walls make possible?

　　The concentration of cool air in the cellar

　　The construction of exceptionally long tunnels

　　The even distribution of oxygen from attic to cellar

　　The diffusion of gases into and out of the ridges

　　Paragraph 5: But how is this well-insulated nest ventilated? Its many occupants require over 250 quarts of oxygen (more than 1,200 quarts of air) per day. How can so much oxygen diffuse through the thick walls of the mound? Even the pores in the wall are filled with water, which almost stops the diffusion of gases. The answer lies in the construction of the nest. The interior consists of large central core in which the fungus is grown, below it is a “cellar” of empty space, above it is an “attic” of empty space, and within the ridges on the outer wall of the nest, there are many small tunnels that connect the cellar and the attic. The warm air in the fungus gardens rises through the nest up to the attic. From the attic, the air passes into the tunnels in the ridges and flows back down to the cellar. Gases, mainly oxygen coming in and carbon dioxide going out, easily diffuse into or out of the ridges, since their walls are thin and their surface area is large because they protrude far out from the wall of the mound. Thus air that flows down into the cellar through the ridges is relatively rich in oxygen, and has lost much of its carbon dioxide. It supplies the nest’s inhabitants with fresh oxygen as it rises through the fungus-growing area back up to the attic. [TPO 47 Termite Ingenuity]

　　通过一道题目(当然有更多的例子，这里不一一列举)，我们不严谨地得出一个结论：看题直接定位的方法至少对于某些题目是管用的。那么你可能要问了，直接定位不读文章对于哪些题目不太适用呢?我这里同样给出一个例子：

　　Paragraph 1：The arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing, developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the most characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period. This came about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts were regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts of the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven in height. Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful illustrations. Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks(markets) where books were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed by the calligrapher and decorator. [TPO 34 Islamic Art and the Book]

　　Paragraph 1 makes all of the following points about Islamic books EXCEPT:

　　Books were an important form of artistic expression.

　　A wide variety of books with different styles and topics became available.

　　They were sold primarily near mosques.

　　Most books were intended for sale on the open market.

　　答案是C。选项与文章对应的部分我已经用不同颜色标记在文中了，C选项跟文章的信息是不符的。

　　这道题目的定位信息“Islamic books”对应的是整个段落的中心(整段都在讲The arts of the Islamic book的发展)，所以直接找寻“Islamic books”或者根据选项来反向寻找排除都是非常麻烦、且比较难以找到的。那么这样的题目如何做会更好呢?

　　这个段落虽然很长，但是在吴迪老师的眼里，其实整段就讲了三件事：

　　What (The arts of the Islamic book在某个时间段发展起来)：

　　The arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing, developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the most characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period.

　　Why(The arts of the Islamic book发展的原因：paper + rounded script)：

　　This came about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts were regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts of the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven in height.

　　How(The arts of the Islamic book是如何发展的—具体的发展细节)：

　　有关生产者：Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their courts.

　　书籍主题范围变广(注意before vs after)：Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful illustrations.

　　生产书籍的目的(most + some)：Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks(markets) where books were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed by the calligrapher and decorator.

　　如果你看懂了我上面所写的内容(说明你目前的词汇和句子理解基础还不错)，可能会眼前一亮，发现整段虽然很长，但是内容其实非常有逻辑，阅读起来负担其实没有想象得重，且梳理清楚逻辑后整段的内容就非常容易记得住，选择正确段落对应的题目(以及每篇文章最后一道summary题目)自然不在话下。而且这种“逻辑阅读法”也是大家之后可能要面对的更加难的阅读考试中(SAT、ACT、GRE、GMAT等)、以及后续的学校生活中阅读学术文章的时候同样适用的方法。

　　所以，最后总结一下吴迪老师的对于托福阅读的做题步骤的建议：

　　对于基础不太好且备考时间比较短，同时对于分数要求不是特别高的学员，以下步骤更可能会帮你考到你目前水平的比较高阅读分值：

　　读文章的标题，尝试预测文章的内容;

　　尝试阅读首段段，因为这里通常会有文章的主旨出现，以后每一段读首句，这里通常是段落中心句;

　　读题，通过题目的定位信息去段落中快速扫读寻找定位信息(无论是按照什么样的扫读方式，找到位置即可);

　　理解文章定位处的信息，尝试预判答案;

　　根据文章信息匹配选项选择。

　　对于基础比较好，且想要获得稳定高分的学员(比如考场上状态再差也不会低于29分)，以下步骤可能更能满足你的要求：

　　读文章的标题，预测文章的内容;

　　先读段落，识别出文章的主旨句和每段的中心句(如果存在的话)，以及段落的层次(各种逻辑关系，比如并列、因果、对比、转折、举例等);

　　再审题，根据题目所问，再找到文章答案的位置，仔细阅读，对比选项选择。

　　而段落层次的分析能力提升是一个熟能生巧的过程，大部分的段落的结构都是类似的。当然，我们的课程中会有更深入的讲解和练习，期待跟大家在课程中见面啦。