托福阅读文章结构分类

托福阅读文章结构分类

托福考试作为一门专业衡量语言能力的测试，无论是阅读还是听力，所涉及的篇章都是属于学术性的，尤其是阅读这一部分，根据ETS在《新托福考试官方指南》中所说，阅读文章均摘录于大学教科书，一般是对某一学科或主题的介绍性内容，主要目的是评估考生对"学术性文章"的理解程度。而从ETS十大题型的设置来看，阅读考试考察的是由最基本的词汇到句子，再到文章逻辑关系以及段落理解，最后还通过小结题和图表题考察对全文的掌握。对于很多考生来说，最后一大题也就是文章小结和表格题最为头疼，因为所要看的内容实在太多，在有限的时间限制之下实在是毫无头绪，只能乱选一气。但其实只要我们搞清楚托福阅读文章常见的结构，完全可以在很短时间内抓住文章脉络拿下最后一道大题。

所有的阅读文章，无论文章背景是什么，结构无非会分为以下几种，《新托福考试官方指南》上把托福文章结构类型大致分为四类：classification【分类】，comparison/contrast【比较】，cause/effect【因果】，problem/solution【问题与解决方法】。

Classification指的是文章对某一个大的话题进行分类讨论，这类文章结构非常清晰，能够让我们一目了然。以TPO17的《Symbiotic Relationships》为例，文章讨论的大的话题是symbiotic relationship【共生关系】，然后再第一段就直接写明有3种symbioticrelationships，然后接下来分段论述3种共生关系分别有什么样的特点：paragrph2-3-- parasitism【寄生】, paragraph4--commensalism【片利共生】, paragraph5--mutualism【互利共生】,最后再用很简短的一句话稍作总结。这样的结构对于我们做小结题非常有利，因为summary通常就是把所分的几个小类分别用一个选项概括出来，比如这篇文章的最后一题3个正确选项：Parasitic relationships involve the interplay of aggression by the parasite and resistance and adaptation by the host对应文章第二段讲述parasitism部分的内容;Mutualism is unique among symbiotic relationships in that it benefits both partners involved in the relationship对应文章第五段讲述mutualism部分内容;The rarity of commensal relationships stems from the difficulty of findingrelationships that benefit one species without affecting the other对应文章第4段讲述commensalism部分内容。把握住了文章的3种共生关系的主要特点，最后一题也就手到擒来了。 同样属于分类结构的文章还有TPO13的《Types of Social Groups》、TPO16的《Planets of Our Solar Systems》、TPO20的《Fossil Preservation》等等，读文章时注意在笔记上几下各个类型的主要特点，在面对最后一题时即便时间有限也可以从容不迫。

Comparison/contrast指的是文章中含有两种相关事物，将这两种事物在各个方面进行了一系列的比较，其实整体结构类似于上面所说的分类。比较典型的文章例如TPO12的《Water in the desert》，文中主要介绍了沙漠中的水，将其中的河流分为两大类：

Endogenous Rivers【内流河】和Exogenous Rivers【外流河】，然后分别论述这两大类的主要特征—内流河起源于沙漠内部，往往来源于地下水，容易干涸;外流河只是途经沙漠，往往是一些比较大的河流等等。在碰到这种类型的文章时，往往最后会出到表格题，需要总结两个比较对象的特征。表格题区别于小结题的一大特点是，选项中包含的细节比较多，不同于小结题的选项高度概括，表格题本质上其实是基于全文的细节题，需要看的内容比较多，所以在前面看文章时需要记好笔记，将文章主要行文结构弄清楚，这两类事物本质区别是什么?分别是在哪些段落讲述了各自的特征?确定好大的框架，最后做题时进行定位不至于慌乱。类似的文章还有官方指南的《Applied Arts and Fine Arts》，《Artisan and Industrialization》，《Nineteenth-Century Politics In the United States》 ，《Early Cinema》以及TPO7的《Ancient Rome and Greece》，TPO30的《The Pace of Evolutionary Change》等等。

Cause/effect又称现象解释型文章，所指的是一篇文章讨论的话题是一个现象，就这个现象的形成原因或是产生的结果花了大量篇幅进行介绍。最为典型的一篇文章就是官方指南《Desert Formation》，文章主要就是在介绍沙漠化形成的各种原因：植被减少，气候干燥，人类活动等等，最后文章小结也就是将这些原因当中比较重要的几点总结出来，所以概括时主要关注每个段落的topic sentence即可。 官方指南《Green Icebergs》，《The Expression of Emotions》以及TPO16的《Trade and Ancient Middle East》等都属于此类文章。

Problem/solution解决方法类文章指的是文章一开头就抛出一个问题，而主题内容是在就这个问题进行探讨给出答案。此类文章最明显的特征就是在开头段背景引入部分会引入问题，然后下面给出几种可能的解释。例如TPO17《Europe's Early Sea Trade with Asia》这篇文章，开头段讲东西方人都想要彼此进行贸易，但是苦于陆上交通被阻隔掉了，因此需要海上贸易，可是又存在一系列的问题。接着文章就具体描述存在的问题以及是如何克服掉这些阻碍的：航船的改变，导航仪的改进，海上行为规则的制定等等。主要问题介绍完了整篇文章也就差不多了，而最后的小结题总结出来的三个选项也是跟这些主要问题相关。与此类似的，TPO1的《The Origins of Theater》研究的问题是究竟戏院的起源是什么以及为什么它会发展起来，TPO6的《Infantile Amnesia》讨论的问题是婴儿为什么记不得自己三岁之前的事情，TPO18《The Mystery of Yawning》探究的是人为什么会打哈欠。类似的文章还是比较多的，做小结题时需要概括的就是给出的几种主要答案。

在平时做题过程中，考生需要学会对所做的每一篇文章进行总结，快速识别对应的文章类型，可以帮助我们在最短的时间内抓住文章的主要内容，从而提高最后一题的正确率。

托福阅读文中隐藏的考点内容

托福阅读的考点内容比较复杂，其中也经出现一些隐藏的知识点，这对于我们的复习增加了不小的难度。为大家汇总了一些比较常见的隐藏知识点，供大家参考。

一、列举和并列句

列举指的是： First, Second, Third,等逐条列出。

并列句是指： A ， B and C ，即逐项列出。

它们共同的特征是列出二点或三点以上的条目。

该类型语言点常考的题型是“细节性问题”，主要有两种：

1. Which 题型

该题型只要求从并列的三顶中选一项作为答案，其它条目与题目无关。在这种情况下，往往题目的答案出自最后一个选项 。

2 . EXCEPT 题型

该题型俗称“三缺一”题型，即题目 4 个选项中有三个符合文章内容，剩下一个不符合，题目便是要求选出这个不符合文章内容的选项。例如： All of the following are mentioned as types of evidence concerning handedness EXCEPT ?

这种题型只适合于考并列、列举句，这是因为它要求其三个选项一定是文章中出现的，也就是并列或列举之处。利用这一特点.我们在读文章的时候就可多留意，如看到并列、列举句，可预想其有可能被考到;如发现题目中有“三缺一”题型，则应到并列、列举处找答案。

二、否定及转折句

否定句是指带有 NO 或 NOT ， NEVER 等否定词的句子，而转折句则指带有 HOWEVER ， BUT 或 RATHER 等关联词引导的句子，它们可以用下面的句型说明： A is not B ， as C ， but is D 。对于以上的句型常出“推断性问题”。

三、举例句

句中由 as 或 such as ， for example 等引导的短语或句子为举例句，常考“推断性问题”和“细节性问题”。上面句型中的 as C 为插入的举例句。

四、数字与年代

文中的数字、年代、日期等常常是出题者经常会做文章的考题点。

五、最高级及绝对性词汇

文章中若出现 must ， all ， only ， anyone ， always ， never 等绝对性词汇或 first ， most beautiful 等最高级词汇，往往是考题要点，一般出“细节性题目”。

这是因为它们都有一个共同的特点，那就是概念绝对 ， 答案唯一 ，无论是出题还是做题，不会产出歧义和疑问，因此很容易出题，答案绝对正确。

相反地，如果文章中出现相对性的词汇、例如 Some of the people chose red hats,some chose green hats,and others blue ones. 其中 some 为相对性词汇，如果我们出这样一道题： What color hats did some people choose? 那么就没有唯一正确的答案，因为有可能为 red,green 或 blue ，给评卷带来困难。

六、比较级及比喻

如果文中含有 more than 或 as ， like 【 a fly 】等句型，则为比较级或比喻句结构，往往也是考题点，一般出“推断性题目”。

七、同位语及插入语

文章中带有由 that is ， i.e. ， or 等词汇引导的名词词组，放在一个名词后面，为同位语;插入语是指副词、不定式、分词、从句等结构故在句首，句中或句尾，不做句子成分，但修饰整个句子、表达作者感情的语法结构。 这些用逗号隔开的持殊结构往往也是考查的重点，一般会出“细节性题目”。

八、因果句

句中若有如下结构或词汇的称为因果句：

【1】 因果连词： because ， since ， for ， as ， therefore ， so ， consequently 等

【2】 表示因果的动词： cause ， result in ， originate from 等。

新托福阅读背景知识分享

托福阅读复习中，除了大量的真题练习之外，大家可以多了解一些相关的背景知识，这样能够帮助我们更好地来阅读文章内容。那么总结往年的托福阅读考试，具体的哪些背景知识属于高频内容，是大家复习的重点呢?为大家整理了相关的内容，供大家参考。

The spread of jazz.

In the 1940's and 1950's, the sophisticated forms of bebop and cool jazz began to gain wide acceptance among intellectuals and college students. Jazz concerts became popular. Groups of jazz stars made a series of international tourscalled Jazz at the Philharmonic. The international growth of jazz resulted in many successful overseas tours by U.S. bands and combos.

The introduction of the 331/3 rpm long-playing 【LP】 record, which was first produced commercially in 1948, also helped spread the popularity of jazz. For 30 years, jazz recordings had been limited to 78 rpm records that restrictedperformances to about 3 minutes in length. The LP allowed recorded performances to run many minutes. The LP also permitted a number of shorter performances to be issued on a single record.

During the 1950's, musicians in other countries began to improve greatly as jazz performers as they were exposed to performances by American musicians through recordings and concerts. Sweden, France, Germany, Japan, and othercountries developed players and composers whose work compared favorably with that of the leading Americans. The first foreign jazz musicians to influence Americans were Belgian-born guitarist Jingo Reinhardt in the late 1930's, andGeorge Shearing, a blind, English-born pianist who immigrated to the United States in 1947.

In 1954, the first large American jazz festival was held at Newport, Rhode Island. Since then, annual festivals also have been held in Monterey, California; New York City; Chicago; Nice, France; Monteux, Switzerland; Warsaw, Poland;Berlin, Germany; and many other locations throughout the world. These festivals have featured almost all of the most popular jazz musicians and have introduced many extended concert works.

托福阅读真题练习

托福阅读真题练习：美国历史的文本+题目+答案

托福阅读文本：

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.

Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.

During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women's organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women's history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffé College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later generations of historians.

Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth century, most of the writing about women conformed to the "great women" theory of history, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on "great men." To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women's right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published.

托福阅读题目：

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

【A】 The role of literature in earlyAmerican histories

【B】 The place ofAmerican women in written histories

【C】 The keen sense of history shown byAmerican women

【D】 The "great women" approach to history used by American historians

2. The word "contemporary" in line 6 means that the history was

【A】 informative

【B】 written at that time

【C】 thoughtful

【D】 faultfinding

3. In the first paragraph, Bradstreet, Warren, and Adams are mentioned to show that

【A】 a woman's status was changed by marriage

【B】 even the contributions of outstanding women were ignored

【C】 only three women were able to get their writing published

【D】 poetry produced by women was more readily accepted than other writing by women

4. The word "celebratory" in line 12 means that the writings referred to were

【A】 related to parties

【B】 religious

【C】 serious

【D】 full of praise

5. The word "they" in line 12 refers to

【A】 efforts

【B】 authors

【C】 counterparts

【D】 sources

6. In the second paragraph, what weakness in nineteenth-century histories does the author pointout?

【A】 They put too much emphasis on daily activities

【B】 They left out discussion of the influence of money on politics.

【C】 The sources of the information they were based on were not necessarily accurate.

【D】 They were printed on poor-quality paper.

7. On the basis of information in the third paragraph, which of the following would most likely

have been collected by nineteenth-century feminist organizations?

【A】 Newspaper accounts of presidential election results

【B】 Biographies of John Adams

【C】 Letters from a mother to a daughter advising her how to handle a family problem

【D】 Books about famous graduates of the country's first college

8. What use was made of the nineteenth-century women's history materials in the SchlesingerLibrary and the Sophia Smith Collection?

【A】 They were combined and published in a multivolume encyclopedia

【B】 They formed the basis of college courses in the nineteenth century.

【C】 They provided valuable information for twentieth-century historical researchers.

【D】 They were shared among women's colleges throughout the United States.

9. In the last paragraph, the author mentions all of the following as possible roles ofnineteenth-century "great women" EXCEPT

【A】 authors

【B】 reformers

【C】 activists for women's rights

【D】 politicians

10. The word "representative" in line 29 is closest in meaning to

【A】 typical

【B】 satisfied

【C】 supportive

【D】 distinctive

托福阅读答案：

BBBDB CCCDA