八级阅读题型透视

八级阅读题型透视

英语专业八级考试中阅读文章涉及故事、小说、社会科学、自然知识、人文科学等不同的题材，所问的选择题大致包含两大类：细节题，即文章内提到的具体信息；推理题，即所问的内容不能在文章中直接找到，需要从字里行间找出隐含的意义，加以推理论断，最后做出答案。本章将结合具体阅读篇章，来解析这两类问题的解答技巧。

例文1

①One of the surprises of modern biochemistry is the discovery of the incredibly sophisticated devices used by microorganisms to survive in inhospitable environments.It seems anthropomorphic to refer to these survival mechanisms as strategies，yet they so resemble some of the most clever kinds of schemes we can devise that it is hard to find a more appropriate word.Indeed，when the study of life teaches new useful methods，we utilize the knowledge of bionics，the science of designing systems or instruments modeled after organisms.

②An example of a cellular strategy is the mining of iron by bacteria.The element is one of the most plentiful on earth，consisting of about 5percent of rocks.Because of the high atmospheric concentration of oxygen，most iron exists as very insoluble ferricoxides and hydroxides.Therefore，even given the substantial total quantity of the metal，the concentration in soluble form needed by organisms is extremely low，somewhere around one part per hundred million in the oceans.Nevertheless，iron is an essential element for most cellular processes，and a given bacterium can survive only if it somehow manages to extract such atoms from its environment...

③Living systems have a subtle，low-temperature，atom-by-atom method of solving the problem.The bacterium synthesizes and excretes into its surroundings molecules that have an extremely high affinity for binding iron at a very specific site.Such compounds are called chelators（from the Greek word for claw）because of the strength with which they scavenge every available free iron atom.This shifts the equilibrium and leads to the solubilization of the plentiful oxides.The next step in the process is carried out by a transport system in the cell membrane that pumps the complexed metal back into the cell.Within the cytoplasm the chelator retains the iron so that it is unavailable for biochemical reactions.Two different schemes are used to pry the iron loose from the molecular claw.In one of these，the enzymes digest the binding structure.This is a high price to pay，for the cell must synthesize replacement molecules to get more iron.In the other method，the iron is chemically reduced to the ferrous form，which is then released.In either case，the metal atom is free within the cell where it is quickly utilized in making various ferroproteins...

●细节题（Factual questions）

略读完全文后，现在分析一下可能出现的细节题。细节题不外有以下几种：简单事实题、复杂事实题、否定题型和猜谜题。这种题型的正确答案要么在文中可以找到直接出处，要么就是与文中的文字相同的内容。做此类题时一定要注意，其错误选项中的内容也往往是从文章中引用出来的，但其意思却与问题不符。

下面的一个问题是简单事实的演示题：

1.According to the passage，iron is p lentiful_______.

A.in the ocean　　　　　　　　B.in the air

C.in bacteria　　　　　　　　 D.in rocks

有关此题的内容在第二段的开头有具体的表述：The element［iron］is one of the most plentiful on earth，consisting of about 5 percent of rocks.类似这样简单事实题，根本不用采取排除法去掉选项A、B和C。答案很清楚应该是D。

但有时细节题会比上述题目复杂些，要求考生从文章的不同地方收集和综合信息。比如：

2.According to the passage，one method of“prying the iron loosefrom the molecular claw”_______.

A.allows the metal atom to be free within the cell

B.keeps the iron unavailable for biochemical reactions

C.reduces the iron chemically to the ferrous form

D.uses the iron to make various ferroproteins

这个题目比较复杂，因为它要求考生从四个选项中识别出唯一的正确答案，那就是只用一种办法来prying the iron loose。第三段的中间部分告诉考生Two different schemes are used to pry the iron loose from the molecular claw，所以，可以排除B，因为这和正确的答案正好相反，to pry the iron loose方法的目的就是为了使铁元素能方便使用。选项A和D的内容与文章是一致的，但不符合本题的要求，它们表达的是两种方法均可，所以C项是正确的答案，因为它提到的仅是一种办法，符合题意。

有时细节题是以否定的形式出现的，问题往往是问你四个选项中哪一项是不正确的。否定题型很容易识别，问题中会有EXCEPT或NOT这样的单词，全用大写字母标出。请看下面的例子，

3.All of the following information from the passage would be useful to a scientist interested in bionics EXCEPT which choice？

A.A chelator allows bacteria to bind and transport iron into the cytoplasm.

B.Iron is one of the most plentiful elements on earth

C.Iron must be removed from the chelator before it is usable in the cell.

D.Bacteria must extract iron from their environment in order to survive.

对于此类题型的问题，常常使用的是排除法。但因为是否定题型，所以错误的选项就是你所要选择的。在这个问题中，所选择的答案不会对bionic science有用。文章第一段的段末，解释了that bionics is the science of designing systems or instruments modeled after organisms，选项A，C和D都描述了organisms，这些对科学家都是有帮助的。只有B项的内容和organisms无关，所以它应该是这道否定题型的正确答案。

还有一种细节题，犹如猜谜一样，比较难做。请看下面的例子：

4.According to the passage，which of the following statements explain why organisms must develop strategies to mine iron？

Ⅰ.It is needed in substantial quantities.

Ⅱ.It is not readily available in soluble form.

Ⅲ.It is found in about 5percent of rocks.

　　A.Ⅲonly　　　　　　　　　　B.Ⅱonly

　　C.ⅠandⅢonly　　　　　　　 D.Ⅰ，ⅡandⅢ

这类问题比较令人头疼，回答时应巧用排除法予以解题。此处，考生不仅要排除英语字母，诸如A，B，C，还要学会排除罗马大写数字，诸如Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ。对于这类题目，考生常常吃不准到底是选择一个罗马数字，还是两个，或是全部三个数字。首先从罗马数字所代表的内容开始排除明显错误的内容。Ⅰ的错误很明显，因为文章的第二段中提到铁物质在地球上是substantial而不是说通过bacteria提炼需要substantial铁矿，因此C和D也是错误的。现在余下来的则需要在罗马数字Ⅱ和Ⅲ之间作出选择，因为选择题中没有这两类内容放在一起。尽管Ⅲ给出的内容符合文章的意思，但是它没有说出理由为什么非要用bacteria来开矿，所以现在可以排除选项A。余下来的罗马数字Ⅱ和选项B表明了必须要用bacteria来开矿，因为in soluble form的矿几乎是没有的。

●推理题（Inference questions）

细节题和推论题有时并没有明显的界限，但是在推论题中，其答案的内容与文中相关的文字及内容一定是以不同的形式出现的，或者是文章的隐含意义。请看以下例题：

5.It can be inferred from the passage that when the chelator binds the iron，the iron_______.

A.becomes soluble　　　　　　　B.is in a usable form

C.is no longer an oxide　　　　D.becomes a chelator

为了回答这个问题，我们回到文章中第三段的前部分：The bacterium synthesizes and excretes into its surroundings molecules that have an extremely high affinity for binding iron at a very specific site.Such compounds are called chelators（from the Greek word for claw）because of the strength with which they scavenge every available free iron atom.This shifts the equilibrium and leads to the solubilization of the plentiful oxides.这样，我们就可以马上排除D项，因为文中没有提及（the bound）iron becomes a chelator。我们也可以排除C项，因为文章所描写的是iron oxides。接着在文章中我们读到尽管铁物质在细菌中，在从chelator中移出来之前也是没有用的。因此B项也是不对的。只有A项才是正确的。短语solubilizations of the plentiful（iron）oxides暗示了，在这种情况下铁物质是可以变为可溶性soluble的。

另一种推论题问的是有关文章中的单词或词组的含义。考生常常会遇到一种命题，它要求识别一个可能你从来都没见到过的单词的含义，或者是你可能学到过，可是并不熟练，或者是你还记得该单词的某种释义，但是并没学过其在文章中的新释义。在这种情况下，你就要充分利用文中给出的线索，帮助你识别出最佳答案。请看下例：

6.In the context of the passage，the word anthropomorphic means______.

A.contradictory and irrational

B.anthropologically sound

C.ascribing human qualities to something nonhuman

D.deriving from plants

先要找到这个生词的出处，它在文章的开头部分：It seems anthropomorphic to refer to these survival mechanism as strategies，yet they so resemble some of the most clever kinds of schemes we can devise that it is hard to find a more appropriate word.如果你知道希腊词根anthro-表示human的话，你就马上可以去除A和D两项。但是假设你并不知道这个意思，那就试着将选项的内容逐个替换到文中，看哪一个最合适。如果你来解释此句内容的话，你可能会说：Although it seems“anthropomorphic”to call these things“strategies，”they seem so similar to what we do that it’s hard to find a better way to say it.deriving from plants与句子的含义不符，应予以排除选项D。文中提到的保存下来的mechanism和what we do相似，为什么要说它是contradictory和irrational呢？所以选项A也是错误的。

选项B的内容是为了误导那些粗心的人，因为这里有一个相同的词根anthro-，你可能会上当，但因为anthropology的意义是“人类学”，它跟文中提到的微生物没有关系。只有选项C的内容才是正确的。

请大家注意，这里正确选项的内容是最长的。不能说是百分之一百，但在考题中常常会有这种情况出现，最长的选项很有可能就是正确的选项，因为命题者一定要完整地正确地表述生词的意思。如果在没有把握的情况下，选择最长的选项作为答案有可能会碰上运气。有关词组的问题也是如此。以上经验仅供参考，你可以在平时练习时试试该经验是否有用。

有关段落，甚至整篇文章的主旨题的题型也是如此。考生的任务就是寻找能最好归纳段落或文章的主要内容。请看下例：

7.The main point of the second paragrap h is that______.

A.iron is an essential element for bacteria

B.iron is one of the most plentiful elements on earth

C.bacteria use incredibly sophisticated survival mechanisms

D.bacteria must extract iron from the environment to survive

考生需要马上阅读第二段的内容。因为选项C的内容在段落中没有被提及，可以马上排除它。虽然B项的内容在段落中提及，但它并不是正确的答案，因为文中只用一句带过，而且太抽象。选项A比较像是正确的答案，但它没有选项D来得完整，这个答案提到了跟铁物质有关的生存策略。

现在谈谈故事类文章的题型，看看它和上述提供信息文章的题型有何相似及相异之处。考试中的故事性文章通常仅涉及少数的人物，受到篇幅的限制，所说的故事不可能是完整的，有时可能连一个独立的情节都不能提供。文章中常常会有对话，文章中没有被提到的人物可能也会在题目中讨论到。

与上述有关提供信息的文章一样，也会有细节题，问及文章中出现过的具体内容。比如故事中的人物是谁？他的年龄有多大？人物间的关系如何？他们的外貌怎样？也会有有关文章情节构思的题目，如事件的顺序？到底发生了何事？

推论题型的题目也与前文相似，有词汇及词组含义的问题；也会问及人物的观点及情感。回答这些问题的线索在文章中可以找到，但并不容易，作者不会直截了当地告诉读者。接下来分析的文章是故事性的，不要忘了一边读，一边标些习惯常用的符号。

例文2

①“My aunt will be down presently，Mr.Nuttel，”said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen；“in the meantime you must put up with me.”

②Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something that should duly flatter the niece of the moment without undulydiscounting the aunt that was to come.Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much toward helping the nerve cure that he was supposed to be undergoing.

③“I know how it will be，”his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to his rural retreat；“you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul，and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping.I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there.Some of them，as far as I can remember，were quite nice.”

④Framton wondered whether Mrs.Sappleton，the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction，came into the nice division.

⑤“Do you know many people round here？”asked the niece，when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.”

“Hardly a soul，”said Framton.“My sister was staying here，at the rectory，you know，some four years ago，and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.”

He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.

⑥Then you know practically nothing about my aunt？”pursued the self-possessed young lady.

⑦Only her name and address，”admitted the caller.He was wondering whether Mrs.Sappleton was in the married or widowed state.An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.

⑧“Her great tragedy happened just three years ago，”said the child；“that would be since your sister’s time.”

⑨“How tragedy？”asked Framton；somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place.

⑩“You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on anOctober afternoon，”said the niece，indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.

“It is quite warm for the time of the year，”said Framton；“but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy？”

“Out through that window，three years ago to a day，her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting.They never came back.In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog.It had been that dreadful wet summer，you know，and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning.Their bodies were never recovered.That was the dreadful part of it.”Here the child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human.“Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day，they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them，and walk in at the window just as they used to do.That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk.Poor dear aunt，she has often told me how they went out，her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm，and Ronnie，her younger brother，singing，‘Bertie，why do you bound？’as he always did to tease her，because she said it got on her nerves.Do you know，sometimes on still，quiet evening like this，I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window-”

She broke off with a little shudder.It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance.

“I hope Vera has been amusing you，”she said.

“She has been very interesting，”said Framton.

“I hope you don’t mind the open window，”said Mrs.Sappleton briskly；“my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting，and they always come in this way.They’ve been out forsnipe in the marshes today，so they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets.So like you men-folk，isn’t it？”

She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds，and the prospects for duck in the winter.To Framton it was all purely horrible.He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic；he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention，and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond.It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.

先让我们分析一下这篇故事性文章的细节题：

1.According to the passage，Ronnie is______.

A.Mrs.Sappleton’s son　　　　　　B.Vera’s younger brother

C.Mr.Nuttle’s sister　　　　　　 D.Mrs.Sappleton’s brother

要回答这个问题，首先要在文章中找到Ronnie。在阅读这篇文章时，你是否在人名部分做好符号？近第12段的末了Vera提到Ronnie，her younger brother也一起外出打猎，最后掉在泥潭中给淹死了。这就可排除A和C两项。可能在解题一开始时并不清楚Ronnie到底是谁的小兄弟，但读了整句，就可知道，这儿Vera讲的是有关她的Aunt的遭遇，现在可排除B项，最后，只剩下D项，Ronnie应该是Mrs.Sappleton的小兄弟。

下面一题是有点复杂的细节题：

2.Vera’s and Mrs.Sappleton’s accounts of why the window is open differ from each other in what way？

A.Mrs.Sappleton’s explanation is longer.

B.Mrs.Sappleton does not believe the men will return.

C.Vera does not believe the men are dead.

D.Mrs.Sappleton claims the men went out that day.

故事性的文章有情节，便于记忆。可能读完后，还记得Vera说过Mrs.Sappleton不能接受她的亲人已经死去，这样就可去除选项C。当Framton和Mrs.Sappleton交谈时，后者并不专注前者的讲话，而是一直朝窗外看着，这说明她期待她的亲人归来，所以选项B也是不对的。第12段的中间是Vera对这一事件的解释，而第14段后部分是Mrs.Sappleton的解释，没有前者长，因此，选项A也是错的。最后，只剩下D，那一定是正确的答案了。在第14段的末了，她说：They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes today.

第三题是有关具体情节的细节题：

3.According to the passage，when does Framton try to change the subject？

A.In the middle of Vera’s description of the tragedy.

B.When Mrs.Sappleton is discussing the hunting prospects.

C.As soon as Mrs.Sappleton enters the room.

D.When Vera first asks him who he knows in the area.

如果读者找到文章的最后一段的第三句，Framton“made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk”，而且，在此段的开头，Mrs.Sappleton“cheerfully”讲到有关用枪射鸟的事情，这样我们就可立即排除A，C，D三项，留下B是唯一正确的答案。

故事性文章的推论题和前面说明文的推论题是相似的；但是它还有一个特别的类型，那就是推断故事人物的情感与性格。请看下面的例子：

4.Framton’s emotional state during his visit may best be described as______.

A.thoughtless　　　　　　　　　　　B.relaxed

C.uneasy　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.offensive

这种问题需要读者通读文章后，归纳作者所提供的所有线索，最后才能得出结论。就此题而言，文章对Framton的心情提供了以下的线索：他doubts他的拜访是否对他有助，他感到在悲剧的周年纪念日拜访是unfortunate等，这种心情与选项B、D所表达情绪是不符的。A项和C项相比，没有后者更为合适，所以，C项是正确的答案。

在做完测试题后，还有一些其他的策略可供参考，以利于提高阅读部分的分数。

首先，对于每个做错的题目，读者应该问自己，“为什么做错了？”，也可与他人讨论，“为什么书中所提供的答案比你的好？”看看书中解题部分所提供的解释，这样就会知道为什么书中所提供的答案是正确的。研究了答案的解释，读者就可知道命题者出题及解题的思路。不断练习，就会做到熟能生巧，将来在解题时，有的放矢，提高答题正确率。

另外，读者还需研究一下做错题目的类型。是否经常做错推论题？是否发现在找细节题的答案时比较困难？是否故事性文章比说明文更难些？一旦分析了做错题的类型，以后就可集中精力，提高这方面的解题能力。

最后，如果读者答题的正确率只有一半，那以后在做测试题时就不要太考虑时间限制。但要注意，如要解题理想，要花多少时间？比如说，要花上一个小时。这样可为你提供一个机会，树立信心，时间长了，也可以做好题目。在以后的练习中，在保证解题正确率的同时，逐步缩短解题时间，一直缩短到TEM8阅读部分的时间要求，在半小时内完成所有的题目。