从2006年实行新托福以来,基础理解题型就一直是考试最核心的题目类型。这类题型占比例高,考查能力非常重要,也是考生在备考期间最需要练习并熟练掌握的题型。
基础理解类题型中最基本的是词汇题(Vocabulary Questions)。这类题型支持三十分满分的六至七分。此类题型的基本询问模式为:The word X in the passage is closest in meaning to _. 思路为:出题人设置考查单词中,较易的单词考查背诵,一般直接选择对应同义词解题最快最准,不存在猜测的可能;较难的单词考查上下文理解,一般可根据上下文线索或简单的代入法解决问题。具体思路可总结为:简单词靠背,难词考猜测。但要注意,这里的猜测实际为根据上下文有根据的推断。下面为一道难词类题目。
【OG P243】1 The word “despondent ” in the passage is closest in meaning to ____?
○curious ○unhappy ○thoughtful ○uncertain
解题思路为:根据上下文猜测。 原文:Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the word, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? 由于原文or前后为相反式列举,可知despondent为happy的反义词,选择第二个答案。
其次,基础理解题型中占比例最多的题型是事实信息类题目(Factual Information Questions) 。这类题目支持三十分满分的八至九分。此类题型的基本询问模式为: According to the paragraph, which of the following is true of X ? 需要考生选出关于X的正确描述。本题的答案为在原文中出现过的信息本身或其改写,所以需要考生具备寻找的能力;但是并不能因为某个选项在文章中曾被提及,就能将其视为正确选项,因为可能出现答非所问或信息混搭的情形,所有又需要考生具备辨别的能力。
首先我们看一道题目,阐清考生如何提高寻找的能力。
【OG P253】According to paragraph 3, one cause of mountain formation is the _. 我们先明确需要寻找的内容为关键逻辑cause,然后有目的地回原文搜索。原文:Paragraph 3: The Earth's crust is thought to be divided into huge, movable segments, called plates, which float on a soft plastic layer of rock. Some mountains were formed as a result of these plates crashing into each other and forcing up the rock at the plate margins. In this process, sedimentary rocks that originally formed on the seabed may be folded upwards to altitudes of more than 26,000 feet. Other mountains may be raised by earthquakes, which fracture the Earth's crust and can displace enough rock to produce block mountains. A third type of mountain may be formed as a result of volcanic activity which occurs in regions of active fold mountain belts, such as in the Cascade Range of western North America. The Cascades are made up of lavas and volcanic materials. Many of the peaks are extinct volcanoes. 共计找到cause 的三个对应改写 as a result of , by ,as a result of。由此可知答案为 plates crashing, earthquake, volcanic activity 三种中的一个或多个。这道题目给我们的启示是什么呢?托福非常喜欢考查考生寻找的能力,但是这种能力绝不是寻找随便一个细节信息就可以了。往往需要寻找的是包含重要逻辑的信息,如因果、对比、转折等都是托福最常考查的信息。考生在寻找时要先能体会哪些是本题考查的重要信息,然后有目的的寻找才是得分的最快途径。
下面两道题干附上,小试牛刀:【OG P254】According to paragraph 6, which of the following is both a cause and result of erosion? 【OG P82】 According to paragraph 4, how did the early movies differ from previous spectacles that were presented to large audiences?第一题中,需要考生能够首先确定寻找的关键信息为a cause and result of而非erosion;第二题中,需要考生能够首先确定寻找的关键信息为differ from 而非early movies。
接下来,我们回到【OG P253】这道题目,说明考生如何提高辨别的能力。当我们找到原文相关的三个可能答案信息plates crashing, earthquake, volcanic activity后,并不意味着一定能选对答案,因为三个答案都或多或少含有原文的某些原词。请看四个选项:○effect of climatic change on sea level ○slowing down of volcanic activity ○force of Earth's crustal plates hitting each other ○replacement of sedimentary rock with volcanic rock。此时必须要精确核对选项和原文,辨别选项中是否有冗余、混搭、答非所问的情形。可以看出第二个选项为冗余(slowing down原文未提及);第四个选项为混搭(原文非volcanic activity而非volcanic rock)。所以正确答案为第三个选项。由此可见,“找”的能力和“辨”的能力缺一不可。
如上为最基本的两道基础理解题型,此外还有排除题(Negative Factual Information Questions)、句子简化题(Sentence Simplification Questions)等占比不高的题目。需要注意的是,Basic Comprehension 题型考查的并非全部细节,而是文中相对重要的信息,这一点在未来的出题趋势中也会越来越明显。关于2015年托福考试中相关题型,我们有如下展望:首先,基本难度和出题思路不会有变化;其次,由于学员英文水平的逐年提高,想取得高分难度会增加,考生务必需要提高阅读理解的精准性,尽量减少错题,25分以上分数段将是竞争最白热化的阶段;最后,考试中无需也没有时间对全部细节理解、记忆,只需要对段落中的重要信息读懂读透即可。
预祝大家在新的一年中考试成功,取得优异成绩!
(实习编辑:袁梅)