首末端首末句

(一)出题人命题思路破解

文章本无意，源自出题人。也就是说，一篇文章包括前期的选取加工处理改造，最后设计出题，均源自出题人。文章千奇百怪，形式千变万化，但是出题人的出题思路和考查目的却是万变不离其宗。因此，学习阅读理解的过程其实就是破解出题人思路的过程。换位思考尤为重要。也就是说，假如我们自己是出题人，又会考查学生什么样的阅读能力，然后通过什么形式来考查学生?

笔者认为，阅读理解最好的训练方法是自己拿一篇文章自己出五个问题。通过出题就一定可以理解出题人的出题用意和出题思路。不难发现，我们会按照以下思路考查学生。

第一、文章中心思想是什么;第二、文章作者态度是什么;第三、某一个单词、词组或者句子本身是什么意思;第四、作者说某句话的意思是什么;第五、某一问题出现的原因是什么;第六、作者列举某一例子的目的是什么或者为了说明什么问题;第七、从某一段落或文章中能推断出什么来;第八、下面哪个选项是正确的或是不正确的;第九、作者的写作手法是什么;第十、文章节选于哪里;第十一、文章下文会继续提到什么;第十二、作者暗示什么;第十三、读懂前后句关系。

(二)阅读理解常考点

通过对历年来考题的有效解析，我们总结出以下十个阅读理解常考点：

首末端首末句

(1)文章首段首末句往往出“主旨大意题”。因为，英语文章的开始往往会采取开门见山的形式提出文章的中心思想。有些时候会在首段末句出现转折词but、however、yet，则转折后所要表述的内容往往是文章的中心思想，因此通常成为出题人出题点。

【真题回放2010-Text1】

Of all the changes that have taken place in English-language newspapers during the past quarter-century, perhaps the most far-reaching has been the inexorable decline in the scope and seriousness of their arts coverage.

What would be the best title for the text?

[A] Newspapers of the Good Old Days

[B] The Lost Horizon in Newspapers

[C] Mournful Decline of Journalism

[D] Prominent Critics in Memory

(2)末端首末句，通常会对全文的说明和论证进行总结，由此也会成为考查点通常会用一些总括性的标志词如：all in all、in short、to conclude、in consequence、in summary、in a word、as a result、therefore、accordingly、thus等引导。

【真题回放2008-Text2】

① This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. ② Entirely new business models are emerging; three main ones were identified by the report’s authors. ③ There is the so-called big deal, where institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. ④ There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organizations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. ⑤ Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. ⑥ All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers.

30. Which of the following best summarizes the text?

[A] The Internet is posing a threat to publishers.

[B] A new mode of publication is emerging.

[C] Authors welcome the new channel for publication.

[D] Publication is rendered easier by online service.

转折

一些明显的转折词包括but、however、yet(谓语句首)、 though、on the contrary; Although/ While/ In spite of/ Despite---,----;等，转折词前后的意思一般来说都是相反的，而作者往往偏重转折处后面的内容。因此，在阅读过程中看到转折词，考生最好能做上标志以方便做题时候的查找。

【真题回放2008-Text3】

The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing.

35. The text intends to tell us that

[A] the change of human height follows a cyclic pattern.

[B] human height is becoming even more predictable.

[C] Americans have reached their genetic growth limit.

[D] the genetic pattern of Americans has altered.

对比和类比处

作者也经常把两个事物、两种观点进行对比，从而论证自己观点的正确性。表示对比的一些标志性词语有in contrast、in comparison、compared with 等。特别需要指出的是，只要文章第一段中出现对照或对比的内容，往往将在下文中进行具体的议论，并在文章最后得出结论，这通常是出题点。

【真题回放2008-Text1】

① While still catching-up to men in some spheres of modern life, women appear to be way ahead in at least one undesirable category.② “Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men,” according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York’s Veteran’s Administration Hospital.

21. Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?

[A] Women are biologically more vulnerable to stress.

[B] Women are still suffering much stress caused by men.

[C] Women are more experienced than men in coping with stress.

[D] Men and women show different inclinations when faced with stress.

举例处

(1)举例子：句子的作用是为了支持论证作者的观点，这些例子往往与作者的观点和结论有很大的关联，具有重大的意义，因此也成为了考试出题点。这种题目在文章中的线索非常明显，一般都带有如下的标志性词汇：for example、for instance、take … as an example、as、such as、like 等。举例子作用通常有三个：第一、证明论点，论点在前;第二、引出话题或得出结论，话题和结论在后;第三、通过对比突出强调事物的某一方面。

【真题回放2011-Text3】

① If that happens, passionate consumers would try to persuade others to boycott products, putting the reputation of the target company at risk. ② In such a case, the company’s response may not be sufficiently quick or thoughtful, and the learning curve has been steep. ③ Toyota Motor, for example, alleviated some of the damage from its recall crisis earlier this year with a relatively quick and well-orchestrated social-media response campaign, which included efforts to engage with consumers directly on sites such as Twitter and the social-news site Digg.

34. Toyota Motor’s experience is cited as an example of

[A] responding effectively to hijacked media.

[B] persuading customers into boycotting products.

[C] cooperating with supportive consumers.

[D] taking advantage of hijacked media.

(2)列举：所谓列举是指通过一些表示顺承关系的词语逐项列出一些事实或者观点，标志性的词汇包括First、Second、Third…; Firstly、Secondly、Thirdly… Finally; First of all,、Then、In addition、Further、Furthermore、Besides、Moreover… 针对这一考点的题目通常考查文章细节，有时候也涉及对文章内容的推理判断。出题形式最多的往往是“是非判断题”。

【真题回放2009-Text3】

The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. `Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts church in the decade after 1629,There were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. There men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.

38. The early ministers and political leaders in Massachusetts Bay__________.

[A] were famous in the New World for their writings

[B] gained increasing importance in religious affairs

[C] abandoned high positions before coming to the New World

[D] created a new intellectual atmosphere in New England

因果关系处

因果句通常是作者进行分析或者得出结论的地方。英语句子存在前因后果和前果后因，考生一定要弄清楚谁导致谁。出题者为了考查考生的阅读能力和逻辑分析能力，经常会把含有因果关系进行颠倒，将“因变成了果、果变成了因”，考生需要注意辨别实际的因果关系，防止混淆。表示因果关系的词语有：

(1)原因because、because of、so、for、since、as、result from、originate from、derive from; base、basis、reason,、above all、after all等。

【真题回放2007-Text2】

① The defining term of intelligence in humans still seems to be the IQ score, even though IQ tests are not given as often as they used to be. ② The test comes primarily in two forms: the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (both come in adult and children’s version)。 ③ Generally costing several hundred dollars, they are usually given only by psychologists, although variations of them populate bookstores and the World Wide Web. ④ Superhigh scores like vos Savant’s are no longer possible, because scoring is now based on a statistical population distribution among age peers, rather than simply dividing the mental age by the chronological age and multiplying by 100. ⑤ Other standardized tests, such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)， capture the main aspects of IQ tests.

28. People nowadays can no longer achieve IQ scores as high as vos Savant’s because

[A] the scores are obtained through different computational procedures.

[B] creativity rather than analytical skills is emphasized now.

[C] vos Savant’s case is an extreme one that will not repeat.

[D] the defining characteristic of IQ tests has changed.

(2)结果：thus, therefore, consequently, in consequence, as a result; lead to, attribute to, result, consequence, result in, cause等。