新托福考試中考生最容易忽略的就是托福閱讀。因為大多考生會(huì )感覺(jué)閱讀是自己的強項，對于強項無(wú)需過(guò)多的重視。然而這種認知不一定準確。自認托福閱讀考試還不錯的，分數只有22分左右，甚至會(huì )更低。那么為什么很多自認為閱讀不錯的考生不一定能在這一部分熠熠生輝呢? 這是因為新托福閱讀考試存在一些陷阱。下面來(lái)一起看看這些陷阱的詳細分析吧。
托福閱讀中的細節題其實(shí)不難，但前提是定位的點(diǎn)要對，比如下面這個(gè)例題：
Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer, a lowland, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer, in earlier times was common in the open prairie country, it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the lower Columbia River.
According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?
A. It is native to lowlands and marshes.
B. It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern Washington than to other types of deer.
C. It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie.
D. It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied.
這是一個(gè)典型的細節題，在該題題干中，有的考生會(huì )選擇Puget Sound作為關(guān)鍵詞回原文定位，因為它是專(zhuān)有名詞，在文中會(huì )比較顯眼。但是如果一旦選擇了這個(gè)地名，勢必會(huì )定位在該段的第一句話(huà)，托福細節題往往是定位在哪句就在哪句找答案，這樣的話(huà)考生是選不出正確答案的，因為定位不精確。其實(shí)正確的關(guān)鍵詞應該是white-tailed deer，這個(gè)用連字符連接的詞在文章中也是比較醒目的，按該詞定位應是該段最后一句話(huà)。所以根據它的意思應該選D項。其中A項與原句意思不符，B和C都與定位句信息無(wú)關(guān)。我們再來(lái)看另外一個(gè)否定事實(shí)細節題的例子：
Plant communities assemble themselves flexibly, and their structure depends on the particular history of the area. Ecologists use the term “succession” to refer to the changes that happen in plant communities and ecosystems over time. The first community in a succession is called a pioneer community, while the long-lived community at the end of succession is called a climax community. Pioneer and successional plant communities are said to change over periods from 1 to 500 years. These changes—in plant numbers and the mix of species—are cumulative. Climax communities themselves change but over periods of time greater than about 500 years.
According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT true of climax communities?
A. They occur at the end of a succession.
B. They last longer than any other type of community.
C. The numbers of plants in them and the mix of species do not change
D. They remain stable for at least 500 years at a time.
這個(gè)題大家都會(huì )選擇用climax communities去定位，但在定位過(guò)程中會(huì )出現很多問(wèn)題。首先考生要學(xué)會(huì )跳躍式定位，即根據文章中特殊的標點(diǎn)符號以及最醒目的詞來(lái)搜索我們真正需要的關(guān)鍵詞。文中的particular是加了陰影的，succession是在引號里面的，都非常醒目，通過(guò)看這兩個(gè)詞我們會(huì )發(fā)現它們附近沒(méi)有我們需要的東西;再比較突出的就是數字及破折號，在500的上方有a climax community，但它是單數，與題干關(guān)鍵詞不完全匹配，細節題講究的是精確定位，所以我們應該選擇500斜下方的Climax communities，即該段的最后一句話(huà)。
否定事實(shí)細節題的出題思路有兩種：一是無(wú)中生有，即根據定位點(diǎn)的內容，四個(gè)選項只有一個(gè)沒(méi)有提到，這種思路多適用于選項比較簡(jiǎn)短的題目;二是張冠李戴，即根據定位點(diǎn)的內容表述，只有一個(gè)選項與之矛盾，這種思路多適應于選項比較長(cháng)的題目。就這個(gè)例題而言，根據定位的最后一句話(huà)，從表述上來(lái)說(shuō)跟它相關(guān)的只有C和D兩個(gè)選項，D項的意思與原句相符，而C項與原句矛盾，所以正確答案是C。綜上所述，做新托福閱讀的細節題，最重要的一點(diǎn)就是要盡量地去精確定位。