雅思阅读读题时需要注意的考点

雅思阅读读题时需要注意的考点

朗阁海外考试研究中心

结合近期的雅思阅读考试、剑桥雅思真题集4-9、以及《雅思OG》，笔者在本文中将总结之前的考试规律、展望未来的考试趋势，给众多雅思考生呈现一些雅思阅读考试中常见的考点，让大家对雅思阅读有一个全新的认识，争取在考试中获得高分。

雅思考试是剑桥大学考试委员会（UCLES，全称University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate，又译成剑桥大学认证中心）所给出的一个语言能力测试，其中的阅读测试只是测试考生对字面的阅读理解能力，不会对文章背后的深层内容作仔细的考查。所以在这样一种限制的情况之下，只要付出一定的努力，对考试内容作一个系统总结，一定可以把这种考试的常见考点（即测试规律）概括出来。下面是笔者通过多年的教学经验，总结出来的一些雅思阅读考试的规律：

从大的方面入手，这项考试要做的事情就两件：定位和判断。定位指的是找到每一道题目在文章中精确的对应句；判断指的是将题目在文章中定位后，根据文章的内容细节确定题目的答案。每一位考生面对考题的时候，不管是先读文章，还是先读题目，都要利用这两步来把题目做对。定位时要对雅思阅读中常见的十二种类型的题目顺序有一个非常细致的了解，定位之后的判断要对文章中对应的句子认真阅读，仔细对比题目和文章的对应关系，从而确定题目的答案。任何一位考生要想拿到自己期望的高分都要从这两方面入手。

下面根据笔者的经验，从读题时需要注意的方面入手概述一下在读到哪些内容时要特别注意，因为那些地方非常容易出现考点。

读题目时特别要注意的考点：

1、题目中的数据词

如果题目中出现了“statistical, statistics, cost, fund, large number, percent, percentage”等的时候，文章中相对应的句子会出现相对应的与数据相关的词。下面看几个例子：

例子一：

剑5 TEST 1 Passage 1 Q1 多项选择选项C. It was famous because of the large number of people involved. 题目中出现了数据词“large number”，根据这个词在文章中找与题目意思有关的句子，并且其中有可能包括数据。在文章中第5段找到这么一句话：“He was also helped by six assistants, two of whom died whilst the Dictionary was still in preparation.”根据两句话的意思，“6个助手”不算一个比较大（large number）的数据，所以这个选项是不对的。

例子二：

剑5 TEST 1 Passage 2 Q17 “the expected statistical outcome”，是一个“段落细节”题，让考生找这句话在文章中哪一段出现。题目有一个非常明显的数据词“statistical”，根据猜测，文章中相对应的句子可能会出现数据。文章中D段：“Prior to carrying out the experiment, Milgram explained his idea to a group of 39 psychiatrists and asked them to predict the average percentage of people in an ordinary population who would be willing to administer the highest shock level of 450 volts. ...... The psychiatrists felt that 'most subjects would not go beyond 150 volts' and they further anticipated that only four per cent would go up to 300 volts. Furthermore, they thought that only a lunatic fringe of about one in 1,000 would give the highest shock of 450 volts.”。文章中的数据“only four per cent”和“one in 1,000”对应了题目中的“statistical”，同时，文章中的“predict the average percentage of people”与题目中的“expected statistical outcome”相对应，所以这道题对应的句子应该是这段话。

例子三：

剑7 TEST 2 Passage 2 Q14 “a cost involved in purifying domestic water”，这道题同样是一道“段落细节”题，让考生找出这句话在文章中哪一段出现。题目中的数据词是“cost”，文章中应该会出现一些与“钱和数据”有关的词，在文章中可以非常明显地看到

E段有很多数据：“The costs included: ￡120m for removal of pesticides; ￡16m for removal of nitrates; ￡55m for removal of phosphates and soil; ￡23m for the removal of the bug cryptosporidium from drinking water by water companies.”而判断的时候发现文章中的“drinking water（饮用水）”与题目中的“domestic water（家庭用水）”相对应，所以此题对应的就是文章的E段。

2、题目中的时间词

如果题目中出现了与“最初（previous, original, originally, initial, initially, beginning, before, at first...）”、“最后（at last, later, end, finally, ultimately, eventually...）”和“现在（now, these days, current, currently, our time, with us...）”有关的词，因为题目和文章内容的一致性，所以文章中也会出现相对应的词。

例子一：

剑5 TEST 2 Passage 3 Q28 “In Europe, modem science emerged at the same time as the nation state. At first, the scientific language of choice remained __________.”题目中有一个时间词“at first（最初）”，到文章中找与前面相关的时间词，在文章第5段有这样一句话：“There were several reasons why original science continued to be written in Latin.”清晰地出现了时间词“original”，根据这句话意思，题目应该填“Latin”。

例子二：

剑9 TEST 3 Passage 3 Q32 “a reference to what Shannon initially intended to achieve in his research”，是一道“段落细节”题，是整个雅思考题中最难的题目。根据定位词“Shannon”和时间词“initially”，在文章C段第一句（This all seems light years away from the down-to-earth uses Shannon originally had for his work, which began when he was a 22-year-old graduate engineering student at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1939.）里看到了定位词“Shannon”和时间词“originally”，再仔细读句子的意思，两句话的意思对应得很紧密。所以此题应该选择C段。

例子三：

剑9 TEST 1 Passage 1 Q10 “What was the name finally used to refer to the first colour Perkin invented”，题目中的时间词是“finally”，而文章第8段中相对应句子是“Perkin originally named his dye Tyrian Purple, but it later became commonly known as mauve (from the French for the plant used to make the colour violet)”，题目中“finally”的时间对应词是“later”。

3、题目中的并列、因果、转折词

还是因为题目和文章意思的一致性，题目中的逻辑关系在文章中一般也会出现，出现最多的是“并列关系”、“因果关系”和“转折关系”。

1）并列关系词：and, as well as, first...second..., either...or..., neither...nor...

例子一：

剑九 TEST 1 Passage 1 Q4 “Perkin was still young when he made the discovery that made him rich and famous.”，题目中出现了并列关系“rich and famous”，根据定位词“Perkin、young、discovery”，在文章中找到的对应句子是第3段中的：“Perkin's scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann's attention and, within two years, he became Hofmann's youngest assistant. Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune.”，文章中出现了并列关系：“fame and fortune”，根据同义替换关系，“fame”对应“famous”、“fortune”对应“rich”。这是一道判断题，所以这道题应该选择“TRUE”。

例子二：

剑7 TEST 4 Passage 1 Q13 “In addition, over two thousand years ago kites were used in China as weapons, as well as for sending 13”，题目中的并列关系是“as well as”，这个短语的意思相当于“and”，所以根据顺序原则，在文章中第8段最后一句话中找到了并列关系“and”，文章的原句是：“other ancient civilisations certainly knew about kites; as early as 1250 BC, the Chinese were using them to deliver messages and dump flaming

debris on their foes.”，题目中的时间词“over two thousand years ago”也和文章中的“early as 1250 BC（早在公元前1250年）”形成了很好的时间对应关系，另外就是动词的同义替换：题目中的“sending”和文章中的“deliver（递送）”相对应。所以第13题应该填“messages”。

例子三：

剑5 TEST 2 Passage 3 Q30&31 “In Britain, moreover, scientists worried that English had neither the 30 nor the 31 to express their ideas.”题目中出现了一组否定并列关系词“neither...nor...”，所以文章中也会出现类似的并列关系，通过填空题的顺序原则和题目中的定位词“In Britain”，在文章第7段找到了否定并列关系句：“English was not well equipped to deal with scientific argument. First, it lacked the necessary technical vocabulary. Second, it lacked the grammatical resources required to represent the world in an objective and impersonal way, ...”，文章中的并列关系是“first..., second...”，而表示否定意思的词“lack（缺少）”正好与题目中的“neither...nor...”对应。

2）因果关系词：because, because of, since, as, for, due to, account for, reasoning, explain, attribute to

例子一：

剑7 TEST 1 Passage 1 Q11 “Radar is an inaccurate term when referring to bats because are not used in their navigation system.”，题目中出现了“因果”关系词“because”，文章中也会出现相应的“因果”关系。根据填空题的顺序原则，在文章最后一段话发现了相应的因果关系句“It is technically incorrect to talk about bat 'radar', since they do not use radio waves.”，通过仔细读文章中句子的意思，会发现非常明显的意思对应关系，而且出现了因果关系词“since”，所以第11个空填“radio waves”。

例子二：

剑7 TEST 1 Passage 2 Q22 判断题：“Feeding increasing populations is possible due primarily to improved irrigation systems.”题目本身的因果关系在文章中的对应关系

是第二段的句子：“Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation systems that make possible the growth of 40% of the world's food.”。题目中的“due...to...”与文章中的“because of”相对应，在意思上也有非常紧密的联系，所以这道题选择“YES”。

3）转折关系词：

但是、然而类：but, however, nevertheless(nonetheless), whereas, yet;

虽然、尽管类：although, even though, even if, despite, in spite of, while;

相反类：conversely, by(in) contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand

例子一：

剑5 TEST 2 Passage 3 Q33&34 “Although English was then overtaken by 33, it developed again in the 19th century as a direct result of the 34”，题目中有明显的转折关系“although”，所以根据顺序原则和定位词“19th century”，找到文章最后一段话：“It (German) is estimated that by the end of the 18th century 401 German scientific journals had been established as opposed to 96 in France and 50 in England. However, in the 19th century scientific English again enjoyed substantial lexical growth as the industrial revolution created the need for new technical vocabulary,...”，题目中“although”后面“33题”所在句子的内容正好和文章中“however”之前的部分相对应；而“34题”所在句子与文章中“however”之后的部分相对应，根据意思的对应关系，33题应该填“German”，34题应该填“industrial revolution”。