雅思阅读考试真题的四大特点

　　分析发现，雅思阅读考试A类文章大多选自国外人文类、经济类和科学类的知名报纸、杂志或政府各部门(UK及世界各国)的社会发展报告。如：经济学家杂志(Economist)，金融时报(Financial Times)，卫报(Guardian)，美国国家地理杂志(National Geographic)，New Scientist，Science，Popular Science和 Nature等。

　　G类文章从09年5月份开始，考察的内容导向有所变化，从原来的以“培训”为导向逐步转变为以“工作”为导向。这一背景材料的转变值得引起考生的关注。以下是摘录自雅思考试官方网站的相关内容：

　　‘From 1 May 2009,we are making a small but important change to the General Training Reading paper.

　　Currently, Section2 of the General Training Reading paper focuses on the training context. From 1May 2009, this section will focus on the work context (e.g. applying for jobs,company policies, pay and conditions, workplace facilities, staff development etc).

　　The General Training module¹ is increasingly recognised by employers, professional bodies and immigration authorities. This change will ensure that the module will more closely meet the needs of candidates who take IELTS for employment or immigration purposes.

　　The other sections of the General Training Reading paper will remain unchanged.’

　　在了解了以上雅思阅读考试的题源出处之后，考生平时进行泛读的时候，可以多选择上面提到的报刊杂志的内容作为材料。这样可以在帮助考生扩大相关背景知识的同时，使得考生能够了解雅思阅读文章的行文风格和常见结构。

　　G类的考生在平常准备考试的过程中一定要重视这个自09年5月1日起开始的‘small but important’的变化。重点补充一些工作类型的文章，例如申请工作、公司政策、工作环境等等。并且有条件的话，多做一些关于商务英语和职场英语方面的训练。

　　当然，这里老师要向考生说明的是，如一些考试文章在上述网站上搜索起来有困难，考生可以在维基百科上搜索相关的词条内容。拿澳洲考拉举例，这是我们雅思考试中考过的有关澳洲的较有特色的动物。很多考生对于这个名字不陌生，但是具体细节谈论起来，相关的知识就比较匮乏了。那么现在只要在搜索框内输入‘Koala’则会出现很多相关内容，以下仅为部分摘录：

　　The koala is found in coastal² regions of eastern and southern Australia, from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape³ York Peninsula. Populations also extend for considerable distances inland in regions with enough moisture to support suitable woodlands.The koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.

　　通过此段，考生可以大致了解考拉的分布主要在澳洲东部及南部沿海地区，从阿德莱德到约克角半岛南部。而在塔斯马尼亚及西澳地区则没有发现考拉。

　　A baby koala is referred to as a joey and is hairless, blind, and earless. At birth the joey,only a quarter of an inch long, crawls into the downward-facing pouch⁴ on the mother's belly⁵ (which is closed by a drawstring-like muscle that the mother can tighten⁶ at will) and attaches itself to one of the two teats.

　　这一段主要介绍考拉宝宝的主要情况，出生时候只有四分之一英寸长，生活在妈妈的育儿袋里。

　　The koala lives almost entirely⁷ on eucalypt leaves. This is likely to be an evolutionary⁸ adaptation that takes advantage of an otherwise unfilled ecological⁹ niche,since eucalypt leaves are low in protein, high in indigestible substances, and contain phenolic and terpene compounds that are toxic¹⁰ to most species. Like wombats¹¹ and sloths¹², the koala has a very low metabolic¹³ rate for a mammal and rests motionless for about 16 to 18 hours a day, sleeping most of that time.

　　本段讲到考拉的饮食几乎完全依赖桉树叶生存，并且考拉的新陈代谢非常慢，一天可以16-18个小时不动。

1 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

4 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

5 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

6 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 wombats   

n.袋熊( wombat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Wombats:Not big difference. 袋熊：没有很大的区别。 来自互联网
• Wombats wanted to wiggle along the ground. 袋熊想在地面上扭动前进。 来自互联网

12 sloths   

懒散( sloth的名词复数 )； 懒惰； 树獭； （经济）停滞。

参考例句：

• Mummies of pleistocene ground sloths, with original skin, hair, tendons and claws have been found. 还发现了保存原有皮肤，毛发，腱和爪的更新世时期地面树懒的木乃伊。
• He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths. 犰狳和树懒化石让他获得了灵感。

13 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。