六级英语阅读理解考试技巧
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阅读理解
(一)细节题
1.若针对举例子、名人言论、特殊符号后的内容出题，考生只读例子、名人言论、特殊符号前后句内容，即可选出正确答案。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第15题)
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep.Jerome M.Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half?brain sleep“is just the tip of the iceberg(冰山)”.He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.
Q:By “just the tip of the iceberg”(Line 2,Para.8),Siegel suggests that.
A)half?brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
B)the mystery of half?brain sleep is close to being solved
C)most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
D)half?brain sleep is a phenomenon that could exist among other species
答案为D）。根据引号内容很快找到原文相关部分，其后的内容必是对该问的解释。第二句中说加州大学洛杉矶分校的Ferome M.Siegel推测鸟类的半脑睡眠现象只是冰山露出来的一角。第三句说如果我们对其他物种作进一步认真仔细的观察，可能会发现更多的例证，所以D正确。因此考生只要理解第二句、第三句的意思即可选出正确答案。
2.如果只是针对某一段的内容提出问题的话，考生只看该段内容即可答题，而不必看完全文才做答。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第29题)
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states; average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today.But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims.And with so much more money floating in the workers’ compensation system, it’s not surprising that doctors and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.
Q： After 1972 workers’ compensation insurance in the U.S became more favorable to workers so that .
A) the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B) more money was allocated to their compensation system
C) there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
D) the number of workers suing for damages increased
答案为D）。根据题干中的“after 1972”可马上判断出线索在最后一段。这一段的大意是说自1972年后，越来越多的人因工伤索赔而获益，所以越来越多的人就进行索赔，那么也就有医生和律师也来分一杯羹。尤其第二句话提到：索赔获益每增加10个百分点，进行索赔的工人人数就增加了5个百分点，与D）一致。
3.选项中同义词替换的一般是答案，而与原文相同或极其相似的选项一般不是答案项。
［真题例解］
No woman can be too rich or too thin.This saying often attributed to the late Duchess(公爵夫人) of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times.Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.(2002年6月第26题)
Q：In the eyes of the author,an odd phenomenon nowadays is that.
A) the Duchess of Windor is regarded as a woman of virtue
B) looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune
C) being thin is viewed as a much desired quality
D) religious people are not necessarily virtuous
答案为C)。事实细节题。本段第二句话中的“odd spirit”指的就是下面的一句话“Being thin is deemed as such a virtue”。选项C）中的viewed与句中的deemed均指thought之意；desired quality恰恰就是virtue的解释。
Most systems are basically identical.The differences come in hardware—the way the computer accepts the driver’s request for directions and the way it presents the driving instructions.On most systems, a driver enters a desired address, motorway junction or point of interest via a touch screen or disc.But the Lexus screen goes a step further: you can point to any spot on the map screen and get directions to it.(2000年1月第23题)
Q：Despite their varied designs, navigation computers used in cars.
A) are more or less the same price
B) provide directions in much the same way
C) work on more or less the same principles
D) receive instructions from the same satellites
答案是C)。在四个选项中B)“directions”和D)项“instructions”都与原文有关。但据本段第二句话，计算机接受来自司机方向指示的方式及执行驱动指令等硬件方面是不同的，所以B)项和D)项是对原文的曲解。从本段第1句话可知很多系统基本上是相似的，这与C)项的意思一致。
4.选项中有绝对语气词的一般不是正确答案。
这些语气词有：always,the most, never, all, only, no, none, exclusively, hardly等，而选项中含有不十分肯定的语气词一般是正确选项。这些语气词有：
may,often,usually,might,could,more or less, possible, not necessarily等。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第31题)
When school officials in Kalkaska, Michigan, closed classes last week, the media flocked to the story, portraying the town’s 2,305 students as victims of stingy（吝啬的）taxpayers.There is some truth to that; the property?tax rate here is one?third lower than the state average.But shutting their schools also allowed Kalkaska’s educators and the state’s largest teachers’ union, the Michigan Education Association, to make a political point.Their aim was to spur Passage of legislation ? Michigan lawmakers are debating to increase the state’s share of school funding.
Q： We learn from the Passage that schools in Kalkaska, Michigan, are funded .
A) mainly by the state government
B) exclusively by the local government
C) by the National Education Association
D) by both the local and state government
快速阅读本段可知答案在A)、B)、D)选项中，选项A)和选项B)说得过于绝对，D)项用了both…and句型，所以D)为正确答案。但是，如果时间来得及，一定要到原文中验证答案。由本段第一句话中“students as victims of stingy taxpayers”和第二句话中提到的当地的税率较低这一点可知，当地的教育经费一部分来自于地方的税收；再由本段最后一句话中“the state?s share of school funding”可知，州政府也分担教育经费。故验证D）为正确答案。
5.议论文中，那些符合一般常识的选项，富有深刻哲理，符合一般规律的选项常常是正确答案。
［真题例解］(2002年1月第30题)
It is where prices and markets do not operate properly that this benign(良性的) trend begins to stumble, and the genuine problems arise.Markets cannot always keep the environment healthy.If no one owns the resource concerned, no one has an interest in conserving it or fostering it: fish is the best example of this.
Q： The primary solution to environmental problems is.
A) to allow market forces to operate properly
B) to curb consumption of natural resources
C) to limit the growth of the world population
D) to avoid fluctuations in prices
答案为A)。本题题干是问解决环境问题的基本方法是什么，四个选项中D)项“避免价格波动”与题干无关，B)项“限制自然资源的消耗”和C)项“控制世界人口的增长”虽然有利于环境问题的解决，但不是基本解决方法。故A)项为正确答案。由文章最后一段话说：在价格和市场手段不能正常运转的地方便会出现环境、能源等问题，可以推出：环境问题的解决之道便在于让市场、价格手段正常地发挥作用，从而验证A)项正确。
(二)判断词汇和短语题
1.通过连接词关系如and,or等推断所考词汇的含义。
一般来说，用and连接的内容在含义上是相近的，而用or连接的内容往往是相反的，但有时or后面的内容，也是对前面内容的进一步解释和说明。
［真题例解］(2002年6月第34题)
The other side of a state legal apparatus is a state military apparatus.While the one protects the individual from violence,the other sacrifices the individual to violence in the interests of the state.In war the state affirms its supreme power over the individuals within its own borders.War is not simply a trial by combat to settle disputes between states;it is the moment when the state makes its most powerful demands upon its people for their commitment,allegiance,and supreme sacrifice.Times of war test a community’s deepest religious and ethical commitments.
Q：The work“allegiance”(Line 5, Para.3) is closest in meaning to.
A) loyaltyB) objectivC) survivalD) motive
答案为A)。解本题可用同类词关系进行判断。在“allegiance”前后的两个主词分别是commitment和 sacrifice，应能判断出这三个词相对于国家而言是同一类词，再利用排除法，不难选出正确答案A）。
2.通过上下文关系来判断被考词汇的意思。
［真题例解］(1999年1月第27题)
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery.Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic?field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years.The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well?defined rhythm.Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long?term decline preceding each polarity reversal.When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
Q： The word “flip” (Line 5, Para. 2) most probably means “”.
A) declineB. intensifyC. fluctuateD. reverse
答案为D)。 这一题目是根据上下文判断词意的题。flip的意思是“快速翻转”，它所在的句子的意思是“当两极互换——这一过程需要上万年的时间——磁场会很快重新恢复它的强度，新的一轮循环又开始了。”因此在四个选项中： A.decline的意思是“拒绝；变小、变弱”，B.intensify的意思是“(使某物)变得更强烈、加剧”，C.fluctuate的意思是“(价格、数量等)涨落、波动”;D.reverse的意思是“使(某物)反转、倒退、颠倒”，例如：Writing is reversed in a mirror.写出来的字在镜子里是颠倒的。D的意思与flip最接近。
3.选项含义与所考单词含义表面上相近的一般不是答案。
［真题例解］(1999年6月第18题)
We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries.We can no longer afford to be tunnel?visioned in our approach.We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions.We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion.
Q： The word “tunnel?visioned” (Line 2, Para. 4) most probably means “”.
A) narrow?mindedB) blind to the facts
C) short?sightedD) able to see only one aspect
答案是D)。选项A)“眼界狭窄的”和选项C)“目光短浅的”与“tunnel?visioned”含义相近，所以许多考生都误选了A)或C)。
4.定冠词the+被考词汇，则定冠词所指示的对象已在上文出现过。
The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail.Surprisingly,he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident.When the official got it right,they were,on average,17 meters away from the action.
Q：The word“officials”(Line 4,Para 4)most probably refers to .
A)the researchers involved in the experiment
B)the inspectors of the football tournament
C)the referees of the football tournament
D)the observers at the site of the experiment
答案是C)。定冠词出现处，一般来说，其所指示的对象已在上文出现过。因此the official暗示，其含义相当的某种人已在上文出现。根据上下文知，official是指上文刚提到的my referees。
(三)推理判断题
1.如果是对某段内容进行推断，那么只需看题干要求的段落即可。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第29题)
You can begin to think of yourself as truly intelligent on the basis of how you choose to feel in the face of trying circumstances.The life struggles are pretty much the same for each of us.Everyone who is involved with other human beings in any social context has similar difficulties.Disagreements,conflicts and compromises are a part of what it means to be human.Similarly, money,growing old,sickness,deaths natural disasters and accidents are all events which present problems to virtually all human beings.But some people are able to make it,to avoid immobilizing depression and unhappiness despite such occurrences,while others collapse or have an N.B.D.Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don’t measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know;also,the most rare.
Q：In the last paragraph,the author tells us that.
A)difficulties are but part of everyone’s life
B)depression and unhappiness are unavoidable in life
C)everybody should learn to avoid trying circumstances
D)good feelings can contribute to eventual academic excellence
答案为A)。根据题干要求，我们只用在最后一段寻找答案。根据文章末段第四、五两句可知A）正确。
2.选项词语过于绝对化，一般不是正确答案。
I recently visited a great little college in New York where the campus has doubled its minority population in the last six years.I talked with an African American who has been a professor there for a long time,and she remembers that when she first joined the community,there were fewer than a handful of minorities on campus.Now ,all of us feel the university is better because of the diversity.
Q：It can be inferred form the Passage that
A)meritocracy can never be realized without diversity
B)American political circles will not accept diversity
C)it is unlikely that diversity will occur in the U.S media
D)minorities can only enter the fields where no debate is heard about diversity
答案是A)。文中通过一位美国黑人教授之口，传达出多样性的好处的信息，因此可以推断出是多样化使不拘一格使用人才成为可能，与A)项意义吻合。若单从选项本身判断，B)和C)句意过于绝对，因此排除，这样使判断范围缩小，有利于选择答案。
3.合乎常理或符合一般常识的选项大多是答案项，而与原文相同或对原文做字面解释的则不是答案。
［真题例解］(2002年1月第39题)
These findings do not imply that urbanism makes little or no difference.If neighbors are strangers to one another, they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young trouble makers.Moreover, as Wirth suggested, there may be a link between a community’s population size and its social heterogeneity(多样性).For instance, sociologists have found much evidence that the size of a community is associated with bad behavior including gambling, drugs, etc.Large?city urbanites are also more likely than their small?town counterparts to have a cosmopolitan （见多识广者的) outlook, to display less responsibility to traditional kinship roles, to vote for leftist political candidates, and to be tolerant of nontraditional religious groups, unpopular political groups, and so?called undesirables. Everything considered, heterogeneity and unusual behavior seem to be outcomes of large population size.
Q：It can be inferred from the Passage that the bigger a community is,.
A) the better its quality of life
B) the more similar its interests
C) the more tolerant and open?minded it is
D) the likelier it is to display psychological symptoms of stress
答案是C)。比较四个选项，城市越大，生活质量并不一定越好，兴趣并不一定更相似，并不一定更能显示心理压力，所以A)、B)、D)项均可排除。而C)项则合乎常理。因此将选项与常识联系后，很快就会找到正确答案。
(四)主旨题
1.只读首尾段，极可能在这些段落中发现答案。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第40题)
If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough.What level of consumption can the earth support? When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?
Q： It can be inferred from the Passage that .
A) human spiritual needs should match material affluence
B) whether high consumption should be encouraged is still an issue
C) how to keep consumption at a reasonable level remains a problem
D) there is never an end to satisfying people’s material needs
答案为C）。本文在前六段对过分消费的生活提出了批评，但在第七段同时指出过分消费的反面——贫穷绝不是问题的答案。接着在最后一段提出：太多和太少都会对环境造成破坏。那么要拥有多少才能满足？地球能承受什么样的消费水平？什么时候人们才能不再贪得无厌？由此可以得出结论：问题是什么样的消费水平才是合理的。
2.阅读时，注意高频率出现的单词或多次出现的同一类词，这些词可能就是蕴含中心思想的关键词。
［真题例解］(1999年1月第26题)
There are some phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, someday is not one of them.It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergoes—dramatic polarity reversal—a period when north pole becomes south pole and south pole becomes north pole.But how is the field generated and why is it so unstable?
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery.Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic?field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years.The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well?defined rhythm.Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long?term decline preceding each polarity reversal.When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
The results have caused a stir among geophysicists.The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface.By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago.How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated.Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts.But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right.In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study.If the results prove to be valid geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth’s inner physics.It certainly points the direction for future research.
Q：Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the Passage?
A) Polarity Reversal: A Fantastic Phenomenon of Nature
B) Measurement of the Earth’s Magnetic?Field Intensity
C) Formation of the Two Poles of the Earth
D) A New Approach to the Study of Geophysics
答案是A)。浏览全文发现一些地质方面的词不断出现，“polarity reversal”差不多在每段都出现，而B)、C)、D)项只是文章涉及的细节，故选A)。
3.单从选项上判断，那些概括全文，含义深刻的选项一般是正确答案，而内容单一、片面的选项应予以排除。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第20题)
A nine?year?old schoolgirl single?handedly cooks up a science?fair experiment that ends up debunking (揭穿……的真相) a widely practiced medical treatment.Emily Rosa’s target was a practice known as therapeutic (治疗的) touch (TT for short),whose advocates manipulate patients’“energy field”to make them feel better and even,say some,to cure them of various ills.Yet Emily’s test shows that these energy fields can’t be detected,even by trained TT practitioners (行医者).Obviously mindful of the publicity value of the situation,Journal editor George Lundberg appeared on TV to declare,“Age does’t matter.It’s good science that matters,and this is good science.”
Emily’s mother Linda Rosa,a registered nurse,has been campaigning against TT for nearly a decade.Linda first thought about TT in the late ’80s,when she learned it was on the approved list for continuing nursing education in Colorado.Its 100,000 trained practitioners (48,000 in the U.S.) don’t even touch their patients.Instead,they waved their hands a few inches from the patient’s body, pushing energy fields around until they’re in “balance.”TT advocates say these manipulations can help heal wounds, relieve pain and reduce fever.The claims are taken seriously enough that TT therapists are frequently hired by leading hospitals, at up to ?70 an hour，to smooth patients’ energy,sometimes during surgery.
Yet Rosa could not find any evidence that it works.To provide such proof,TT therapists would have to sit down for independent testing—something they haven’t been eager to do,even though James Randi has offered more than ? 1 million to anyone who can demonstrate the existence of a human energy field.(He’s had one taker so far.She failed.) A skeptic might conclude that TT practitioners are afraid to lay their beliefs on the line.But who could turn down an innocent fourth?grader? Says Emily:“I think they didn’t take me very seriously because I’m a kid.”
The experiment was straight forward:21 TT therapists stuck their hands,palms up,through a screen.Emily held her own hand over one of theirs—left or right—and the practitioners had to say which hand it was.When the results were recorded,they’d done no better than they would have by simply guessing.If there was an energy field,they couldn’t feel it.
Q：What can we learn from the Passage?
A)Some widely accepted beliefs can be deceiving.
B)Solid evidence weighs more than pure theories.
C)Little children can be as clever as trained TT practitioners.
D)The principle of TT is too profound to understand.
答案是A)。通读全文，对文章大意进行归纳概括，便知A)是正确选项。若单从选项上看，A)项颇有哲理，而B)、C)、D)三项都有点片面单一，经不起推敲。
(五)观点态度题
1.阅读时，首先要判断文章的体裁。议论文中，文章的中心句一般都表明作者态度；说明文中，其体裁客观，作者的态度亦中立；描述性文章中，作者往往不直接提出文章观点，但常带有某种倾向，需考生细心揣摩。
2.综合判断态度题，需要分析文章脉络，理解文章中心思想才能判断出作者的情感态度。
3.要会区分不同的观点，尤其要找出作者的观点。考生要注意文中出现的直接引语和间接引语，这些观点一般是说话人而非作者的观点。作者的观点一般用in my view, in my opinion, personally, I think,I hold等表现。
4.对于选项而言，要分清选项中的褒义词、中性词和贬义词。
表示褒义的词有：positive赞成的，supporting支持的，praising赞扬的，optimistic乐观的，admiring羡慕的，interesting有趣的，humorous幽默的，serious严肃的，polite礼貌的，pleasant愉快的，concerned关切的，sober冷静的，等。
表示中性的词有：indifferent冷淡的，不关心的；impassive冷淡的，不动感情的；uninterested无兴趣的，不感兴趣的；ambivalent情绪矛盾的；neutral中立的；impersonal不带个人感情的；subjective主观的；objective客观的；informative提供信息的；impartial不偏袒的；apathetic漠不关心的。
表示贬义的词有：disgusted感到恶心的，厌恶的；critical批评的；negative否定的，反对的；suspicious怀疑的；tolerant容忍的，忍让的；worried担忧的；pessimistic悲观的；depressed沮丧的；disappointed失望的；ironic讽刺的；sarcastic挖苦的；bitter痛苦的；cynical玩世不恭的；sentimental感伤的；emotional激动的；angry气愤的等。
1.若针对举例子、名人言论、特殊符号后的内容出题，考生只读例子、名人言论、特殊符号前后句内容，即可选出正确答案。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第15题)
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep.Jerome M.Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half?brain sleep“is just the tip of the iceberg(冰山)”.He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.
Q:By “just the tip of the iceberg”(Line 2,Para.8),Siegel suggests that.
A)half?brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
B)the mystery of half?brain sleep is close to being solved
C)most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
D)half?brain sleep is a phenomenon that could exist among other species
答案为D）。根据引号内容很快找到原文相关部分，其后的内容必是对该问的解释。第二句中说加州大学洛杉矶分校的Ferome M.Siegel推测鸟类的半脑睡眠现象只是冰山露出来的一角。第三句说如果我们对其他物种作进一步认真仔细的观察，可能会发现更多的例证，所以D正确。因此考生只要理解第二句、第三句的意思即可选出正确答案。
2.如果只是针对某一段的内容提出问题的话，考生只看该段内容即可答题，而不必看完全文才做答。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第29题)
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states; average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today.But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims.And with so much more money floating in the workers’ compensation system, it’s not surprising that doctors and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.
Q： After 1972 workers’ compensation insurance in the U.S became more favorable to workers so that .
A) the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B) more money was allocated to their compensation system
C) there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
D) the number of workers suing for damages increased
答案为D）。根据题干中的“after 1972”可马上判断出线索在最后一段。这一段的大意是说自1972年后，越来越多的人因工伤索赔而获益，所以越来越多的人就进行索赔，那么也就有医生和律师也来分一杯羹。尤其第二句话提到：索赔获益每增加10个百分点，进行索赔的工人人数就增加了5个百分点，与D）一致。
3.选项中同义词替换的一般是答案，而与原文相同或极其相似的选项一般不是答案项。
［真题例解］
No woman can be too rich or too thin.This saying often attributed to the late Duchess(公爵夫人) of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times.Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.(2002年6月第26题)
Q：In the eyes of the author,an odd phenomenon nowadays is that.
A) the Duchess of Windor is regarded as a woman of virtue
B) looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune
C) being thin is viewed as a much desired quality
D) religious people are not necessarily virtuous
答案为C)。事实细节题。本段第二句话中的“odd spirit”指的就是下面的一句话“Being thin is deemed as such a virtue”。选项C）中的viewed与句中的deemed均指thought之意；desired quality恰恰就是virtue的解释。
Most systems are basically identical.The differences come in hardware—the way the computer accepts the driver’s request for directions and the way it presents the driving instructions.On most systems, a driver enters a desired address, motorway junction or point of interest via a touch screen or disc.But the Lexus screen goes a step further: you can point to any spot on the map screen and get directions to it.(2000年1月第23题)
Q：Despite their varied designs, navigation computers used in cars.
A) are more or less the same price
B) provide directions in much the same way
C) work on more or less the same principles
D) receive instructions from the same satellites
答案是C)。在四个选项中B)“directions”和D)项“instructions”都与原文有关。但据本段第二句话，计算机接受来自司机方向指示的方式及执行驱动指令等硬件方面是不同的，所以B)项和D)项是对原文的曲解。从本段第1句话可知很多系统基本上是相似的，这与C)项的意思一致。
4.选项中有绝对语气词的一般不是正确答案。
这些语气词有：always,the most, never, all, only, no, none, exclusively, hardly等，而选项中含有不十分肯定的语气词一般是正确选项。这些语气词有：
may,often,usually,might,could,more or less, possible, not necessarily等。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第31题)
When school officials in Kalkaska, Michigan, closed classes last week, the media flocked to the story, portraying the town’s 2,305 students as victims of stingy（吝啬的）taxpayers.There is some truth to that; the property?tax rate here is one?third lower than the state average.But shutting their schools also allowed Kalkaska’s educators and the state’s largest teachers’ union, the Michigan Education Association, to make a political point.Their aim was to spur Passage of legislation ? Michigan lawmakers are debating to increase the state’s share of school funding.
Q： We learn from the Passage that schools in Kalkaska, Michigan, are funded .
A) mainly by the state government
B) exclusively by the local government
C) by the National Education Association
D) by both the local and state government
快速阅读本段可知答案在A)、B)、D)选项中，选项A)和选项B)说得过于绝对，D)项用了both…and句型，所以D)为正确答案。但是，如果时间来得及，一定要到原文中验证答案。由本段第一句话中“students as victims of stingy taxpayers”和第二句话中提到的当地的税率较低这一点可知，当地的教育经费一部分来自于地方的税收；再由本段最后一句话中“the state?s share of school funding”可知，州政府也分担教育经费。故验证D）为正确答案。
5.议论文中，那些符合一般常识的选项，富有深刻哲理，符合一般规律的选项常常是正确答案。
［真题例解］(2002年1月第30题)
It is where prices and markets do not operate properly that this benign(良性的) trend begins to stumble, and the genuine problems arise.Markets cannot always keep the environment healthy.If no one owns the resource concerned, no one has an interest in conserving it or fostering it: fish is the best example of this.
Q： The primary solution to environmental problems is.
A) to allow market forces to operate properly
B) to curb consumption of natural resources
C) to limit the growth of the world population
D) to avoid fluctuations in prices
答案为A)。本题题干是问解决环境问题的基本方法是什么，四个选项中D)项“避免价格波动”与题干无关，B)项“限制自然资源的消耗”和C)项“控制世界人口的增长”虽然有利于环境问题的解决，但不是基本解决方法。故A)项为正确答案。由文章最后一段话说：在价格和市场手段不能正常运转的地方便会出现环境、能源等问题，可以推出：环境问题的解决之道便在于让市场、价格手段正常地发挥作用，从而验证A)项正确。
(二)判断词汇和短语题
1.通过连接词关系如and,or等推断所考词汇的含义。
一般来说，用and连接的内容在含义上是相近的，而用or连接的内容往往是相反的，但有时or后面的内容，也是对前面内容的进一步解释和说明。
［真题例解］(2002年6月第34题)
The other side of a state legal apparatus is a state military apparatus.While the one protects the individual from violence,the other sacrifices the individual to violence in the interests of the state.In war the state affirms its supreme power over the individuals within its own borders.War is not simply a trial by combat to settle disputes between states;it is the moment when the state makes its most powerful demands upon its people for their commitment,allegiance,and supreme sacrifice.Times of war test a community’s deepest religious and ethical commitments.
Q：The work“allegiance”(Line 5, Para.3) is closest in meaning to.
A) loyaltyB) objectivC) survivalD) motive
答案为A)。解本题可用同类词关系进行判断。在“allegiance”前后的两个主词分别是commitment和 sacrifice，应能判断出这三个词相对于国家而言是同一类词，再利用排除法，不难选出正确答案A）。
2.通过上下文关系来判断被考词汇的意思。
［真题例解］(1999年1月第27题)
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery.Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic?field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years.The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well?defined rhythm.Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long?term decline preceding each polarity reversal.When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
Q： The word “flip” (Line 5, Para. 2) most probably means “”.
A) declineB. intensifyC. fluctuateD. reverse
答案为D)。 这一题目是根据上下文判断词意的题。flip的意思是“快速翻转”，它所在的句子的意思是“当两极互换——这一过程需要上万年的时间——磁场会很快重新恢复它的强度，新的一轮循环又开始了。”因此在四个选项中： A.decline的意思是“拒绝；变小、变弱”，B.intensify的意思是“(使某物)变得更强烈、加剧”，C.fluctuate的意思是“(价格、数量等)涨落、波动”;D.reverse的意思是“使(某物)反转、倒退、颠倒”，例如：Writing is reversed in a mirror.写出来的字在镜子里是颠倒的。D的意思与flip最接近。
3.选项含义与所考单词含义表面上相近的一般不是答案。
［真题例解］(1999年6月第18题)
We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries.We can no longer afford to be tunnel?visioned in our approach.We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions.We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion.
Q： The word “tunnel?visioned” (Line 2, Para. 4) most probably means “”.
A) narrow?mindedB) blind to the facts
C) short?sightedD) able to see only one aspect
答案是D)。选项A)“眼界狭窄的”和选项C)“目光短浅的”与“tunnel?visioned”含义相近，所以许多考生都误选了A)或C)。
4.定冠词the+被考词汇，则定冠词所指示的对象已在上文出现过。
The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail.Surprisingly,he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident.When the official got it right,they were,on average,17 meters away from the action.
Q：The word“officials”(Line 4,Para 4)most probably refers to .
A)the researchers involved in the experiment
B)the inspectors of the football tournament
C)the referees of the football tournament
D)the observers at the site of the experiment
答案是C)。定冠词出现处，一般来说，其所指示的对象已在上文出现过。因此the official暗示，其含义相当的某种人已在上文出现。根据上下文知，official是指上文刚提到的my referees。
(三)推理判断题
1.如果是对某段内容进行推断，那么只需看题干要求的段落即可。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第29题)
You can begin to think of yourself as truly intelligent on the basis of how you choose to feel in the face of trying circumstances.The life struggles are pretty much the same for each of us.Everyone who is involved with other human beings in any social context has similar difficulties.Disagreements,conflicts and compromises are a part of what it means to be human.Similarly, money,growing old,sickness,deaths natural disasters and accidents are all events which present problems to virtually all human beings.But some people are able to make it,to avoid immobilizing depression and unhappiness despite such occurrences,while others collapse or have an N.B.D.Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don’t measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know;also,the most rare.
Q：In the last paragraph,the author tells us that.
A)difficulties are but part of everyone’s life
B)depression and unhappiness are unavoidable in life
C)everybody should learn to avoid trying circumstances
D)good feelings can contribute to eventual academic excellence
答案为A)。根据题干要求，我们只用在最后一段寻找答案。根据文章末段第四、五两句可知A）正确。
2.选项词语过于绝对化，一般不是正确答案。
I recently visited a great little college in New York where the campus has doubled its minority population in the last six years.I talked with an African American who has been a professor there for a long time,and she remembers that when she first joined the community,there were fewer than a handful of minorities on campus.Now ,all of us feel the university is better because of the diversity.
Q：It can be inferred form the Passage that
A)meritocracy can never be realized without diversity
B)American political circles will not accept diversity
C)it is unlikely that diversity will occur in the U.S media
D)minorities can only enter the fields where no debate is heard about diversity
答案是A)。文中通过一位美国黑人教授之口，传达出多样性的好处的信息，因此可以推断出是多样化使不拘一格使用人才成为可能，与A)项意义吻合。若单从选项本身判断，B)和C)句意过于绝对，因此排除，这样使判断范围缩小，有利于选择答案。
3.合乎常理或符合一般常识的选项大多是答案项，而与原文相同或对原文做字面解释的则不是答案。
［真题例解］(2002年1月第39题)
These findings do not imply that urbanism makes little or no difference.If neighbors are strangers to one another, they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young trouble makers.Moreover, as Wirth suggested, there may be a link between a community’s population size and its social heterogeneity(多样性).For instance, sociologists have found much evidence that the size of a community is associated with bad behavior including gambling, drugs, etc.Large?city urbanites are also more likely than their small?town counterparts to have a cosmopolitan （见多识广者的) outlook, to display less responsibility to traditional kinship roles, to vote for leftist political candidates, and to be tolerant of nontraditional religious groups, unpopular political groups, and so?called undesirables. Everything considered, heterogeneity and unusual behavior seem to be outcomes of large population size.
Q：It can be inferred from the Passage that the bigger a community is,.
A) the better its quality of life
B) the more similar its interests
C) the more tolerant and open?minded it is
D) the likelier it is to display psychological symptoms of stress
答案是C)。比较四个选项，城市越大，生活质量并不一定越好，兴趣并不一定更相似，并不一定更能显示心理压力，所以A)、B)、D)项均可排除。而C)项则合乎常理。因此将选项与常识联系后，很快就会找到正确答案。
(四)主旨题
1.只读首尾段，极可能在这些段落中发现答案。
［真题例解］(2002年12月第40题)
If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough.What level of consumption can the earth support? When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction?
Q： It can be inferred from the Passage that .
A) human spiritual needs should match material affluence
B) whether high consumption should be encouraged is still an issue
C) how to keep consumption at a reasonable level remains a problem
D) there is never an end to satisfying people’s material needs
答案为C）。本文在前六段对过分消费的生活提出了批评，但在第七段同时指出过分消费的反面——贫穷绝不是问题的答案。接着在最后一段提出：太多和太少都会对环境造成破坏。那么要拥有多少才能满足？地球能承受什么样的消费水平？什么时候人们才能不再贪得无厌？由此可以得出结论：问题是什么样的消费水平才是合理的。
2.阅读时，注意高频率出现的单词或多次出现的同一类词，这些词可能就是蕴含中心思想的关键词。
［真题例解］(1999年1月第26题)
There are some phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, someday is not one of them.It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergoes—dramatic polarity reversal—a period when north pole becomes south pole and south pole becomes north pole.But how is the field generated and why is it so unstable?
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery.Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic?field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years.The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well?defined rhythm.Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long?term decline preceding each polarity reversal.When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
The results have caused a stir among geophysicists.The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface.By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago.How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated.Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts.But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right.In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study.If the results prove to be valid geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth’s inner physics.It certainly points the direction for future research.
Q：Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the Passage?
A) Polarity Reversal: A Fantastic Phenomenon of Nature
B) Measurement of the Earth’s Magnetic?Field Intensity
C) Formation of the Two Poles of the Earth
D) A New Approach to the Study of Geophysics
答案是A)。浏览全文发现一些地质方面的词不断出现，“polarity reversal”差不多在每段都出现，而B)、C)、D)项只是文章涉及的细节，故选A)。
3.单从选项上判断，那些概括全文，含义深刻的选项一般是正确答案，而内容单一、片面的选项应予以排除。
［真题例解］(2001年1月第20题)
A nine?year?old schoolgirl single?handedly cooks up a science?fair experiment that ends up debunking (揭穿……的真相) a widely practiced medical treatment.Emily Rosa’s target was a practice known as therapeutic (治疗的) touch (TT for short),whose advocates manipulate patients’“energy field”to make them feel better and even,say some,to cure them of various ills.Yet Emily’s test shows that these energy fields can’t be detected,even by trained TT practitioners (行医者).Obviously mindful of the publicity value of the situation,Journal editor George Lundberg appeared on TV to declare,“Age does’t matter.It’s good science that matters,and this is good science.”
Emily’s mother Linda Rosa,a registered nurse,has been campaigning against TT for nearly a decade.Linda first thought about TT in the late ’80s,when she learned it was on the approved list for continuing nursing education in Colorado.Its 100,000 trained practitioners (48,000 in the U.S.) don’t even touch their patients.Instead,they waved their hands a few inches from the patient’s body, pushing energy fields around until they’re in “balance.”TT advocates say these manipulations can help heal wounds, relieve pain and reduce fever.The claims are taken seriously enough that TT therapists are frequently hired by leading hospitals, at up to ?70 an hour，to smooth patients’ energy,sometimes during surgery.
Yet Rosa could not find any evidence that it works.To provide such proof,TT therapists would have to sit down for independent testing—something they haven’t been eager to do,even though James Randi has offered more than ? 1 million to anyone who can demonstrate the existence of a human energy field.(He’s had one taker so far.She failed.) A skeptic might conclude that TT practitioners are afraid to lay their beliefs on the line.But who could turn down an innocent fourth?grader? Says Emily:“I think they didn’t take me very seriously because I’m a kid.”
The experiment was straight forward:21 TT therapists stuck their hands,palms up,through a screen.Emily held her own hand over one of theirs—left or right—and the practitioners had to say which hand it was.When the results were recorded,they’d done no better than they would have by simply guessing.If there was an energy field,they couldn’t feel it.
Q：What can we learn from the Passage?
A)Some widely accepted beliefs can be deceiving.
B)Solid evidence weighs more than pure theories.
C)Little children can be as clever as trained TT practitioners.
D)The principle of TT is too profound to understand.
答案是A)。通读全文，对文章大意进行归纳概括，便知A)是正确选项。若单从选项上看，A)项颇有哲理，而B)、C)、D)三项都有点片面单一，经不起推敲。
(五)观点态度题
1.阅读时，首先要判断文章的体裁。议论文中，文章的中心句一般都表明作者态度；说明文中，其体裁客观，作者的态度亦中立；描述性文章中，作者往往不直接提出文章观点，但常带有某种倾向，需考生细心揣摩。
2.综合判断态度题，需要分析文章脉络，理解文章中心思想才能判断出作者的情感态度。
3.要会区分不同的观点，尤其要找出作者的观点。考生要注意文中出现的直接引语和间接引语，这些观点一般是说话人而非作者的观点。作者的观点一般用in my view, in my opinion, personally, I think,I hold等表现。
4.对于选项而言，要分清选项中的褒义词、中性词和贬义词。
表示褒义的词有：positive赞成的，supporting支持的，praising赞扬的，optimistic乐观的，admiring羡慕的，interesting有趣的，humorous幽默的，serious严肃的，polite礼貌的，pleasant愉快的，concerned关切的，sober冷静的，等。
表示中性的词有：indifferent冷淡的，不关心的；impassive冷淡的，不动感情的；uninterested无兴趣的，不感兴趣的；ambivalent情绪矛盾的；neutral中立的；impersonal不带个人感情的；subjective主观的；objective客观的；informative提供信息的；impartial不偏袒的；apathetic漠不关心的。
表示贬义的词有：disgusted感到恶心的，厌恶的；critical批评的；negative否定的，反对的；suspicious怀疑的；tolerant容忍的，忍让的；worried担忧的；pessimistic悲观的；depressed沮丧的；disappointed失望的；ironic讽刺的；sarcastic挖苦的；bitter痛苦的；cynical玩世不恭的；sentimental感伤的；emotional激动的；angry气愤的等。