托福阅读中的大格局

 　　Q: Paragraph 2 suggests which of the following about the importance of population density¹ in the industrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia?

　　A. It was a more important factor than population size.

　　B. It was more influential² than the rate of population growth.

　　C. It was more important in the early stages than it was later.

　　D. It was not a significant factor.

　　Paragraph 2: All had small populations. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Denmark and Norway had fewer than 1 million people, while Sweden and the Netherlands had fewer than 2.5 million inhabitants. All exhibited moderate growth rates in the course of the century (Denmark the highest and Sweden the lowest), but all more than doubled in population by 1900. Density varied³ greatly. The Netherlands had one of the highest population densities⁴ in Europe, whereas Norway and Sweden had the lowest Denmark was in between but closer to the Netherlands.

　　这是来自TPO18里的一道推断题，一般做题思路是先找定位词，然后文本分析，最后选择答案。这道题定位之后会找到最后两句话都跟density有关系，但是要想从这两句话把答案

　　找到，这未免太强人所难。而如果在做题之前，大家对这篇文章的主题以及布局有一个大致的了解就会容易得多。

　　在托福文章里一般每个段落的第一句话就是这个段落的主旨句，所以只要读完每段的第一句，再进行稍微的梳理，这篇文章的大意也就比较清楚了。上面提到的这篇文章总共6段，每段的主题句分别如下：

　　1)While some European countries, such as England and Germany, began to industrialize in the eighteenth century, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden developed later.

　　2)All had small populations.

　　3)Considering human capital as a characteristic of the population, however, all four countries were advantaged by the large percentages of their populations who could read and write.

　　4)Location was an important factor for all four countries.

　　5)The political institutions of the four countries posed no significant barriers to industrialization or economic growth.

　　6)The key factor in the success of these countries (along with high literacy, which contributed to it) was their ability to adapt to the international division of labor⁵ determined⁶ by the early industrializers and to stake out areas of specialization in international markets for which they were especially well suited.

　　整理之后，我们不难发现这篇文章就是在讲荷兰和斯堪的纳维亚国家的工业进程及其发展的原因。其中用两段来探讨了“人”的重要性——虽然人数不多，但是人口素质较高促进了工业化的进程。掌握了这一条线索，那上面的那道题也就迎刃而解：density无足轻重，答案选D。

　　像这种题在托福阅读里面并不是个例，如果同学们要精益求精，争取阅读25分以上，我建议大家先浏览每段的主题句，整理出作者的写作思路，构建一个宏观格局，再从微观细节着手做题。记住，在茫茫的题海中航行时，主题是一座永恒的灯塔照亮我们前行！

1 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

4 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。