托福阅读备考之代词的应用

 　　代词，往往是我们英语学习中最容易忽视的一类单词，因为它们本身并没有太多色彩，太多意义。但是代词的正确使用会让我们的英语表达更加地道，在英语写作方面，它们也让我们的句子结构更加紧凑。

　　在托福阅读中，指代题虽然题量不大，但是除了指代题之外，事实信息题、句子插入题以及推断题的很多考点就是清楚地知道代词的指代。如果我们准确领悟代词的指代，很多题目都可以迎刃而解。

　　下面将从指代题、事实信息题和推断题入手，逐一分析代词指代的重要性。

　　1、指代题

　　例题1：

　　Paragraph 3: At the upper timberline the trees begin to become twisted and deformed¹. This is particularly true for trees in the middle and upper latitudes³, which tend to attain⁴ greater heights on ridges⁵, whereas in the tropics the trees reach their greater heights in the valleys. This is because middle- and upper- latitude² timberlines are strongly influenced by the duration and depth of the snow cover. As the snow is deeper and lasts longer in the valleys, trees tend to attain greater heights on the ridges, even though they are more exposed to high-velocity winds and poor, thin soils there. In the tropics, the valleys appear to be more favorable because they are less prone⁶ to dry out, they have less frost, and they have deeper soils.

　　The word they in the passage refers to

　　○valleys

　　○trees

　　○heights

　　○ridges

　　首先，在考察指代题时，代词“they”在题干中打上阴影，并且原文中代词“they”也打上了阴影，所以指代题不需要定位。

　　其次，在解答指代题时，我们只需要看两句话，一是代词所在的这句，二是前面一句。以这道题为例，我们这句话是由since引导的原因状语从句，主句的主语是trees, 然后trees所在的这句话又接了个even though引导的让步状语从句，而从句中的主语是代词，很明显它指代的就是主句中的主语，所以答案是“trees”。所以我们得出了一条规律：在主从复合句中，主语应该是一致的。

　　例题2：

　　Paragraph 6: Workers were united in resenting the industrial system and their loss of status, but they were divided by ethnic⁷ and racial antagonisms⁸, gender⁹, conflicting religious perspectives, occupational differences, political party loyalties¹⁰, and disagreements over tactics. For them, the factory and industrialism were not agents of opportunity but reminders¹¹ of their loss of independence and a measure of control over their lives. As United States society became more specialized¹² and differentiated¹³, greater extremes of wealth began to appear. And as the new markets created fortunes for the few, the factory system lowered the wages of workers by dividing labor¹⁴ into smaller, less skilled tasks.

　　The word them in the passage refers to

　　○workers

　　○political party loyalties

　　○disagreements over tactics

　　○agents of opportunity

　　拿到这道题，我们发现代词“them”在这句话的句首，for them对他们来说，所以这道题的指代在上一句中。我们不难发现，上一句话中出现了大量的名词短语的并列，而选项中B和C在原文中是以并列形式出现的，表明重要性一致，所以优先排除这两个选项，那么上句话中唯一提到的名词又在选项中出现的，只有A。

　　提醒广大托儿们，当两个选项在文中是以并列或列举形式出现，那么我们首先先排除这两个选项。

　　2、事实信息题

　　例题1：

　　Paragraph 3: The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death of injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted¹⁵ in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals.

　　According to paragraph 3, scholars explained chips in the painted figures of animals by proposing that

　　○Upper Paleolithic artists used marks to record the animals they had seen

　　○the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals for hunting

　　○the artists had removed rough spots on the cave walls

　　○Upper Paleolithic people used the paintings to increase their luck at hunting

　　事实信息题主要考察的就是准确定位和同义转换的能力，所以只需要带着题干中的信息到文章定位，阅读相关的一两句话，找到同义改写，即能选出答案。但是对众多考生来说，准确定位不难，但是到底我们应该阅读定位信息的什么地方，前面还是后面，亦或是该句本身？

　　首先，题干中的名词：chips是解题关键，到文中定位到第七行倒数第二个单词，我们发现这句话的主语是this theory, 所以chips想要提出的理论，应该在上句话中。往前看一句，我们发现该句的主语是another explanation, 很明显这是段落的分论点二，所以答案就是这一句，画动物的理由是improve their luck at hunting, 选项D最好地表达了这个概念。

　　3、推断题

　　推断题一直都被很多学生“嫌弃”，因为它太难了，正确率总是提不上来，要不就是不知道怎么推断，要不就是过度臆想，反正就是想不通答案的来源。而今天朗阁海外考试研究中心的专家们将从代词指代的角度帮助大家解决推断题。

　　例题1：

　　Paragraph 1: When it comes to physiology¹⁶, the leatherback turtle is, in some ways, more like a reptilian¹⁷ whale than a turtle. It swims farther into the cold of the northern and southern oceans than any other sea turtle, and it deals with the chilly¹⁸ waters in a way unique among reptiles¹⁹.

　　What can be inferred about whales from paragraph 1?

　　○They are considered by some to be reptiles.

　　○Their bodies are built in a way that helps them manage extremely cold temperatures.

　　○They are distantly related to leatherback turtles.

　　○They can swim farther than leatherback turtles.

　　首先：题干中出现“infer”、“imply”和“indicate”表明它是推断题，顾名思义，推断题的答案文中没有明确给出，但是答案一定基于原文，一定是原文的合理推断，不能妄自联想和猜想。我们通过题干中的唯一名词“whale”定位，发现它在第二行，我们很快也发现这句话的主语是：leatherback turtle, whale只是和它有类比关系，他们很相像，因为文中出现了“the leatherback turtle is more like a reptilian whale.” 紧接着我们看到下一句：it swims farther into the cold of the northern and southern oceans, 这句话中出现代词it, 很明显指代的是上句话中：leatherback turtle, 但是turtle和whale是类比关系，所以turtle能做的事，whale也可以，所以答案和在冰冷的海水中可以游得很远有关，所以答案是B。

　　通过上述三个题型的讲解，我们不难发现很多托福阅读的题型的解题方法都离不开代词的指代，这就要求我们以后在阅读文章时，多问问自己这些代词的指代，加以时日的练习，我们一定能在托福阅读的题型解法上有突飞猛进的进步。

1 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

2 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

3 latitudes   

纬度

参考例句：

• Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
• It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。

4 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

5 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

6 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 antagonisms   

对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fundamental antagonisms in such an arrangement were obvious. 在这样一种安排中，基本矛盾很明显。
• The antagonisms between the two empires and systems were mortal. 这两个帝国和两种制度之间，有着不共戴天的仇恨。

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

12 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

13 differentiated   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• The development of mouse kidney tubules requires two kinds of differentiated cells. 小鼠肾小管的发育需要有两种分化的细胞。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

14 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。

15 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

16 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

17 reptilian   

adj.（像）爬行动物的；（像）爬虫的；卑躬屈节的；卑鄙的n.两栖动物；卑劣的人

参考例句：

• The chick is ugly and almost reptilian in its appearance. 这只小鸡长得很丑，看起来几乎像个爬行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Being from Orion do Zetas contain DNA from the Reptilian race? 齐塔人是从猎户座而来，DNA来自爬虫族吗？ 来自互联网

18 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

19 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》