短文理解解题思路及技巧

◆第三章◆　短文理解

四级听力短文的体裁主要有记叙文、说明文和议论文，测试考生对短文的整体理解能力，考点集中在短文主旨、作者具体观点、态度、细节和言外之意的推断等，细节题目占的比重较大。短文篇幅较长，信息量大，题材广泛，要听懂文章大意并不太难，但要记住文章中的具体细节，并在15秒内针对问题选出答案就不那么容易了。因此，若想尽快提高短文听力理解水平，除了要掌握足够的词汇量与丰富的语言知识、具备扎实的语法基础外，还应掌握一些实用的解题技巧。

一、短文理解解题思路及技巧

1．预览选项，预测主题，区分文体

由于短文的3～4个考题都是相互联系的，有较丰富的上下文信息，参照性强，提示多，因此，这些题目本身就是线索，只要运用得当，势必获益匪浅。所以，在听力录音开始之前要尽可能抽时间浏览所有选项，圈划出题目选项的关键词，推断问题的类型或内容；通过纵向、横向比较各题选项，推测短文大意，以便听录音时更有针对性。

2．关注首尾

首尾是短文听力重要的设题处，考查对主旨或讨论话题的把握。西方人说话时喜欢单刀直入、开门见山，所以往往一篇文章的开头就是全文的主题句，即便不是主题句，也会包含很多信息，理解这些信息有利于考生把握整篇文章。而结尾部分通常又是文章的总结句，概括和归纳了全文的中心。

3．警惕转折

考试听力中常会遇到一些转折词，而这些转折词也经常是让考官埋下伏笔的地方。因此在听短文时，要特别注意那些“含有转折含义的词或结构”。因为无论是听力还是阅读，转折的地方永远是考点。

4．注意原因、目的处

短文理解所使用的疑问词除了what，问得最多的问题莫过于why，而what提问也有很多是考查原因的。因此，当短文中出现cause/lead to/contribute to/thanks to/owing to/ question/answer/why/reason等因果标志词时，需重点关注。

另外，短文中涉及目的、目标的地方也是常见的考点，而这类题目的选项多为动词原形或不定式短语。

5．留意重读和强调处

通常文章想要传达重要信息必然会重读，或通过强调句型、助动词以及actually，particularly，only等表示强调的副词等方式进行强调。

6．关注举例、列举处

当听到such as，for example，for instance，the first，the second等一类词语时，应加以留意。此处往往也是出题点。

7．留意比较或对比处

含有形容词、副词的比较级或最高级的地方也是出题重点。例如，as…as，while，whereas，compared with，in contrast等词或短语引出的比较或对比结构的句子往往提供重要信息或者就是答案的出处。

二、短文理解练习

Exercise One

Passage One

1．A）They cannot see the firefighters because of the smoke．

　B）They do not realize the danger they are in．

　C）They cannot hear the firefighters for the noise．

　D）Theymistake the firefighters formonsters．

2．A）He travels all over America to help put out fires．

　B）He often teaches children what to do during a fire．

　C）He teaches Spanish in a San Francisco community．

　D）He provides oxygenmasks to children free of charge．

3．A）He saved the life of his brother choking on food．

　B）He rescued a student from a big fire．

　C）He is very good at public speaking．

　D）He gives informative talks to young children．

4．A）Firefighters play an important role in America．

　B）Kids should learn not to be afraid ofmonsters．

　C）Carelessness can result in tragedies．

　D）Informative speeches can save lives．

Passage Two

5．A）They shared mutual friends in school．

　B）They had known each other since childhood．

　C）They shared many extracurricular activities．

　D）They had many interests in common．

6．A）At a local club．　B）At the sports center．

　C）At Joe’s house．　D）At the boarding school．

7．A）Durable friendships can be very difficult tomaintain．

　B）One has to be respectful of other people in order to win respect．

　C）It is hard for people from different backgrounds to become friends．

　D）Social divisionswill break down if people get to know each other．

Exercise Two

Passage One

1．A）State your problem to the head waiter．

　B）Demand a discount on the dishes ordered．

　C）Ask to see themanager politely but firmly．

　D）Ask the name of the person waiting on you．

2．A）Your problem may not be understood correctly．

　B）You don’t know if you are complaining at the right time．

　C）Your complaintmay not reach the person in charge．

　D）You can’t tell how the person on the line is reacting．

3．A）Demand a prompt response．　B）Provide all the details．

　C）Send it by expressmail．　　　D）Stick to the point．

Passage Two

4．A）She is not good atmaking friends．　B）She is notwell off．

　C）She enjoys company．　　　　　　　　　D）She likes to go to concerts alone．

5．A）Their similar social status．　B）Their interdependence．

C）Their common interest．　D）Their identical character．

6．A）Invite Pat to a live concert．　B）Buy some gifts for Pat’s kids．

　C）Help take care of Pat’s kids．　　D）Pay for Pat’s season tickets．

7．A）It can develop between people with a big different in income．

　B）It can bemaintained among people of different age groups．

　C）It cannot last long without similar family background．

　D）It cannot be sustained when friendsmove far apart．

ExerciseThree

Passage One

1．A）Priority of students’academic achievements．

　B）Equal education opportunities to all children．

　C）Social equality between teachers and students．

　D）Respect for students’individuality．

2．A）Efficient．　B）Complicated．　C）Lengthy．　D）Democratic．

3．A）To help them acquire hands-on experience．

　B）To try to cut down its operational expenses．

　C）To provide part-time jobs for needy students．

　D）To enable them to learn to take responsibility．

Passage Two

4．A）The bestway to work through a fingermaze．

　B）Individual doing better in front of an audience．

　C）Researchers having contributed greatly to psychology．

　D）Improvements on the classification of human behavior．

5．A）When you feel encouraged by the audience．

　B）When you try to figure out a confusing game．

　C）When you already know how to do something．

　D）When you compete with other people in a group．

6．A）Practicing constantly．　B）Working by oneself．

　C）Learning by doing．　D）Using provenmethods．

ExerciseFour

Passage One

1．A）Near the entrance of a park．　B）In his building’s parking lot．

　C）At a parkingmeter．　　　　　　 D）At a street corner．

2．A）It had been taken by the police．　B）It had keenmoved to the next block．

　C）It had been stolen by someone．　　 D）It had been parked at a wrong place．

3．A）At the Greenville center．　B）At a public parking lot．

　C）In a neighboring town．　　　D）In the city garage．

Passage Two

4．A）Famous creative individuals．　B）Themysteriousness of creativity．

　C）A major scientific discovery．　D）Creativity as shown in arts．

5．A）It is something people all engage in．B）It helps people acquire knowledge．

　C）It starts soon after we are born．　　D）It is the source of all artistic work．

6．A）Creative imagination．　B）Logical reasoning．

　C）Natural curiosity．　　　D）Critical thinking．

7．A）It is beyond ordinary people．　B）It is yet to be fully understood．

　C）It is part of everyday life．　　D）It is a unique human trait．