托福阅读句子简化题:不以读懂句意为前提的技巧都是耍流氓

2022-06-08 18:06:31

  句子简化题的考察形式非常容易识别,我们会在原文一段话中看到被“高亮”出的一个句子:

  Paragraph 9: The relative amount of these two kinds of water varies greatly from one kind of rock or sediment to another, even though their porosities may be the same. What happens depends on pore size.If the pores are large, the water in them will exist as drops too heavy for surface tension to hold, and it will drain away; but if the pores are small enough, the water in them will exist as thin films, too light to overcome the force of surface tension holding them in place; then the water will be firmly held.

  然后结合这个句子问这样一个问题:

  Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

  如何攻克句子简化题呢?

  首先,既然题目让我们选择与原句句意相同的选项,那就必须要保证能够读懂题目和各个选项句子的意思。切记,看懂才能做题,看不懂句子不要谈提高正确率。

  看懂题目句子,在做这种题的时候可能还会在如下两点出现错误:

  句子太长、信息太多,在判断选项的时候容易被选项拐跑,忘记了原句准确的意思,勿中干扰选项的陷阱。

  对于原句和选项的改写判断错误,错选意思与原句不相符的答案

  问题1:句子太长、信息太多,在判断选项的时候容易被选项拐跑,忘记了原句准确的意思,勿中干扰选项的陷阱。

  这个问题可以通过以下这个方式来解决。读完句子后、判断选项前,我们尝试着把刚看完的这个长长的句子“分层”。所谓的分层,是根据连接词将长句子中的几个分句分别挑出来,单独来看。就好像把一个蛋糕分成小块,吃起来才比较方便。之后,判断每个选项时,也将选项进行分层。我们要将原句的每一块“蛋糕”,和选项的每一块“蛋糕”分别进行比对,来判断该选项是否与原文一致。同时,除了判断每一个分句句意是否对应,也要判断连接分句的连接词是否也能构成对应的改写。

  例题:

  Only the last of these(指代前文running water) was suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to, and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks whether or not the location was desirable for other reasons.

  ○Running water was the best power source for factories since it could keep machines operating continuously, but since it was abundant only in Lancashire and Scotland, most mills and factories that were located elsewhere could not be water driven.

  ○The disadvantage of using waterpower is that streams do not necessarily flow in places that are the most suitable for factories, which explains why so many water-powered grain and textile mills were located in undesirable places.

  ○Since machines could be operated continuously only where running water was abundant, grain and textile mills, as well as other factories, tended to be located only in Lancashire and Scotland.

  ○Running water was the only source of power that was suitable for the continuous operation of machines, but to make use of it, factories had to be located where the water was, regardless of whether such locations made sense otherwise.

  读清楚题目句子的意思之后,根据连接词将它分成三个部分,如下所示。

  Only the last of these(指代前文running water) was suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills,it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to, and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks whether or not the location was desirable for other reasons.

  “准备工作”完成之后,我们来依次判断选项。

  A选项错误:第一部分“Running water was the best power source for factories”的意思,原文三部分都未曾提及。原句橙色部分只说“只有水完全适合机械的持续运转”,但是否只有水适合、或者水最适合factories?factories和machine的持续运作并不等价。其次,原文的蓝色部分也并没有提到A选项后半部分所述的“流水仅仅在Lancashire和Scotland是很丰富的”。

  B选项错误:第二部分“so many water-powered grain and textile mills were located in undesirable places”在原句中并未提到,原句蓝色部分只说“L和S地区的水力能够给grain mills和textile mills提供动力”。

  C选项错误:第一部分上来就错了,原句橙色部分根本没讲“机械只能在水很丰富的地方运行”。

  D选项正确:第一部分对应原句橙色部分,第二部分对应原句紫色部分,妥妥的正确。

  问题2:对于原句和选项的改写判断错误,错选意思与原句不相符的答案

  如果是因为对句意和选项意思把握不够准确而产生的这个问题,请多读读文章,认真背单词,好好翻译翻译句子。

  如果是逻辑不够严谨、不够仔细而导致判断改写出错,“错把冯京当马凉”,请多刷刷题,各种题,都能治。

  一些防不胜防的变态正确选项

  #1 正确答案的逻辑关系与原句的逻辑关系貌似不符(出现几率10.7%)

  有些同学喜欢根据“逻辑”来判断选项的正误,选项有原文的“逻辑关系”(大部分时候其实就是连词),那么选项有可能是正确的。下面的例题对于这种解法提了个醒。

  例题:

  For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them; nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.

  正确答案为:

  Myths sometimes survived in a society’s tradition because of their artistic qualities even after they were no longer deemed religiously beneficial.

  正确选项的因果关系在原文并未直接给出,但是记住,逻辑关系并不一定是通过连接词来表达的,比如result from就可以表示因果关系,经过改写完全可以变成“because … , …”的句子结构。再者,往往很多逻辑关系在初步理解句意的时候是无法非常直观的判断出来。

  本题的句意,不仅描述了myths被保留下来,更是说明保留神话的原因是其艺术价值,所以正确答案的这个因果关系是符合原句意思的。

  再比如这个题目:

  The growth of the electric-power industry was the result of a remarkable series of scientific discoveries and development in electrotechnology during the nineteenth century, but significant changes in what we might now call hydro (water) technology also played their part.

  正确答案:

  Advances in electrotechnology in the nineteenth century and changes in hydro technology were responsible for the growth of the electric-power industry.

  这答案根本没有原文的“but”,但是并不影响这个句子100%复述了题目句子的含义。

  出现几率10%,这个比例并非小数目。这恰巧说明,同意改写确实是阅读中考察的一个重点。而同意改写并非一些古板的规则能够归纳总结,具体情况还是要根据人家给出的句子和选项的意思来判断。

  #2 正确答案并不包含句子主干(出现几率5.4%)or省略部分原句信息(出现几率35.7%)

  纳尼!居然以前老师讲的“对应主干”是不对的?

  其实把这个现象解释成“没有100%通用的方法”,是可以说得通的,毕竟万事没有绝对。但是对于这种题目,“对应主干”的解题步骤可能需要打个折扣。原因在于一个句子的essential information有时候未必通过句子结构能够判断出来,就好像“状语”和“定语”有时候都长一个样子。

  遇到这类题目,使用排除的思路更合适。最后剩下的那个选项与原句部分相符,而其他选项句意都错误,即使它不包含主干,那么也唯有选它了。

  例题:

  In order for the structure to achieve the size and strength necessary to meet its purpose, architecture employs methods of support that, because they are based on physical laws, have changed little since people first discovered them—even while building materials have changed dramatically.

  “据说”句子的主语和谓语在答案中是需要有的,不过答案偏偏是:Unlike building materials, the methods of support used in architecture have not changed over time because they are based on physical laws.

  找谁说理去。

  除了句子“主干”被抛弃,“次要信息”被抛弃的情况会更多,出现几率更大,相信大家在做TPO的时候一定会遇到个把这样的选项,扔掉了部分原句的内容。由于这类选项很多,在这儿就不举例子了。

  #3 句子中会出现指代前文的代词,需要根据前文确认指代内容(出现几率5.4%)

  比如刚才那道running water的题,原句上来就是only the last of these。要想看懂句意,必然结合前文确定指代内容,这样才能选择答案。

  #4 结合前文信息,才能准确理解并判断选项(出现几率3.6%)

  例题:

  In addition to finding an increase of suitable browse, like huckleberry and vine maple, Arthur Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to be substantially more nutritive.

  正确答案为:

  Arthur Einarsen found that deforested feeding grounds provided deer with more and better food.

  很多同学对这个题目中open areas开阔地区和deforested grounds的改写非常费解。其实这个句子的前文讲到了第三个使得鹿群数量增长的原因,这个原因就是森林都被砍伐了。然后这句话说道,open areas的食物不仅多、而且有营养,就是黑尾鹿增加的原因。所以前文提到的森林都被砍伐了的地区deforested grounds就是句子里说到的open areas。极个别的题目,还真没法只看这一句就100%理解并得到答案。

  #5 正确选项和原句句意差别较大(出现几率5.4%)

  例题:

  Over long periods of time, substances whose physical and chemical properties change with the ambient climate at the time can be deposited in a systematic way to provide a continuous record of changes in those properties overtime, sometimes for hundreds or thousands of years.

  正确答案为:

  Changes in systematically deposited substances that are affected by climate can indicate climate variations over time.

  原句所述为“物质的化学和物理性质会随着环境变化,这些物质能够以一定的顺序沉积,从而记录这些性质变化的情况”,而正确答案内容为“沉积的物质中特性的变化能够表明环境的变化”。

  这个正确选项虽未能与原句每部分直接构成明显的改写,但根据原句的意思是能够得出这个答案的。这种情况下,同样也要有排除选项的意识的。我们可以搂一眼下面的错误选项,意思都与原文是不相符的。

  错误选项:

  ○ Because physical and chemical properties of substances are unchanging, they are useful records of climate fluctuations over time.

  ○ For hundreds or thousands of years, people have been observing changes in the chemical and physical properties of substances in order to infer climate change.

  ○ Because it takes long periods of time for the climate to change, systematic changes in the properties of substances are difficult to observe.

  虽然这些变态的情况出现几率不算高,但是大家也需要注意,以免到时候丢分。如果不注意,不要再来问:为什么我会错个别的句子简化题。

  这TM也配当错误选项

  大部分错误选项与原句信息不符、或讲述了一些原句根本没有提到的内容。但是还有一些选项,句意没错,但并不能作为正确答案,原因是这样的。

  例题:

  Continued sedimentation—the process of deposits’ settling on the sea bottom—buries the organic matter and subjects it to higher temperatures and pressures, which convert the organic matter to oil and gas.

  正确选项:

  ○Increase pressure and heat from the weight of the sediment turn the organic remains into petroleum.

  干扰选项:

  ○Deposits of sediments on top of organic matter increase the temperature of and pressure on the matter.

  正确选项不仅对应原句逗号前面整句话的信息,还包含了逗号后面的内容。干扰选项虽然对应逗号前面的部分,但是逗号后面的内容并未包含。相比之下,包含原句的信息更多且句意正确的选项,更应该是正确答案。

  换个角度来讲,正确答案的意思更能够完整表达原句的意思。原句逗号后面的内容虽然是从句,但却是整个过程发生后的结果。干扰选项未将其纳入句中,表达的意思便稍稍欠缺火候。

  貌似应该有总结!

  bibi了这么多,简短的小结一下:

  理解句意非常必要。

  分层分块,再判断选项。

  重要的是判断选项的意思正确与否,什么主干不主干的,逻辑不逻辑的,先放放哈。

  对应原句信息更多,且句意正确的选项,更应该选。

  根据情况,适当结合上下文。


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