托福阅读考试小技巧之利用抽象时间因子解题

抽象时间包括对过去和现在的笼统表达，命题人主要围绕过去与现在的对比来出题。表示过去的常见表达包括in earlier times、 XXX years/centuries ago、in the past、at that time等。表示现在的常见表达包括now、nowadays、today，at present in modern times等。下面就和南京托福培训班老师一起来看看抽象时间是如何帮助我们预测出题点及答案的。
 
托福阅读考试小技巧之利用抽象时间因子解题
 
以TPO3的“Architecture”这篇文章的第七题为例。
 
例3: In paragraph 4， what does the luthor imply about modern buildings.
 
A.They occupy much less space than buildings constructed one hundred years.
 
B.They are not very different from the building of a few generations ago.
 
C.They weigh less in relation to their size than buildings constructed one hundred.
 
D.They take a long time to build as a result of their complex construction methods.
 
解析根据题干内容，考生只能用关键词组 modern buildings回到原文第四段定位：
 
Even development in architecture has been the result of major technological changes. Materials and methods of construction are integral parts of the design of architecture structures. In earlier times it was necessary to design structural systems suitable for the materials that were available.Such as wood， stone， brick. Today technology has progressed to the point where it is possible to invent new building materials suit the type of structure desired. Enormous changes in materials and techniques of construction within the last few generations have made it possible to enclose space with much greater ease and speed and with a minimum of material Progress in this area can be measured by the difference in weight between buildings built now and those of comparable size built one hundred years ago.
 
考生如果认真阅读本段落，可以发现本段并没有出现 modern buildings这个词组，即使出现了，要在这样一个较长的段落里面快速找到 modern buildings也不是件容易的事情。那么考生该如何在原文定位到题目的答案范围呢?由于关键词的modern buildings里面含有时间词modem，因此考生可以在通读时特别关注含有时间的句子。由于这是第四段，属于学术性文章的主体段落，其结构要点句应该是首句和末句，因此考生可以首先阅读该段的首句和末句。
 
考生可以发现，这段的末句“ Progress in this area can be measured by the difference in weight between buildings built now and those of comparable size built one hundred years ago”里面有明显的基于时间的对比点，讲的是科技的进步表现为现在的建筑和一百年前大小相同的建筑在重量上的差异。考生可以发现题干中的 modern buildings对应的是这一句话中的 buildings built now，考生可以推测正确选项里应该会涉及重量的差异和“百年前”的表达，通过比对原文与选项考生不难发现，选项C就是我们要找的正确答案。
 
通过以上几个例子我们不难发现ETS基于对比点的出题思路是显而易见的。学会寻找对比点、敏锐感知矛盾处就等于切中了ETS出题的脉搏，为自己的阅读插上自信的翅膀，在考试的天空中自由翱翔！