托福阅读考试如何利用转折句子解题？

　　在利用题干的关键词回原文定位出现困难时,考生可以换个角度来寻找答案范围,那就是关注原文中出现转折词(如but、 however、although、 in contrast等)的句子,因为出现对比点的地方经常是命题人的出题点。下面南京托福老师就以TPO4的Petroleum resources”这篇文章的一道题目为例来讲解如何寻找对比点。

　　例1: Which of the following can beinferred from paragraph 3 about gushers?

　　A.They make bringing the oil to the surface easier.

　　B.They signal the presence of huge oil reserves.

　　C.They waste more oil than they.

　　D.They are unlikely to occur nowadays.

　　解析根据题干,考生应该以关键词gusher回原文第三段定位题目的答案范围。第三段的内容如下：

　　Oil pools are valuable underground accumulations of oil. and oil fields are regions underlain by one or more oilpools. When an oil pool or field has been discovered. wells are drilled into the ground. Permanent towers, called derricks used to be built to handle the long sections of drilling pipe. Now portable drilling machines are set up and are then dismantled and removed. When the well reaches a pooL,oil usually rises up the well because of its density difference with water beneath it or because of the pressure of expanding gas trapped above it. Although this rise of oil is almost always carefully controlled today spouts of oil, or gushers, were common in the past. Gas pressure gradually dies out, and oil is pumped from the well Water or steam may be pumped down adjacent wells to help push the oil out. At a refinery, the crude oil from underground is separated into natural and various oils. Petrochemicals such as dyes, fertilizer and plastic are also manufactured from the petroleum.

　　在这样一个长段落里找貌不惊人的单词gusher颇费劲。由于托福阅读的文章段落行文逻辑比较固定,因此考生可以根据段落的逻辑要点顺序来进行定位。具体而言,托福文章的段通常是 introduction,考生定位时可先看未句,接着看首句,最后再看段落中间;而在文章的主体段落中定位时,考生应先看首句,接着看末句最后再看段落中间。该题对应的第三段属于主体段落,考生应先关注该段的首句和未句。然而,该段的首句和未句均没有gushers。

　　在这种情况下,考生应看段落中间。考生可以先快速浏览段落中间,会发现有一个句子含有转折词 although,表示此处会出现转折对比,很可能是出题点,因此需要细读这个句子。考生会发现,题干的关键词 gushers恰好就在这一句里。考生不要认为这是偶然,所有的偶然背后都存在着一定的必然。

　　原文中的“Although this rise of oil is almost always carefully controlled today, spouts of oil, or gushers, were common in the past”这句话既含有转折关系,也含有现在与过去的对比,从这句话中考生可以推断出井喷这种现象从过去的常见变成了现在的不常见,而正确选项的内容也应该涉及这一点,由此可以得出本题的正确答案是选项D。