直+細+巧 三字箴言掃托福閱讀障礙
“直”的原則
所謂“直”，是指托福閱讀出題思路直接，所有題目的答案幾乎都可以在文章中找到非常明顯的對應點。這一特點告訴考生，在解題時，考生一定要根據(jù)原文內容來解題，避免“小題大做”，人為地把題目想象得太復雜，否則就是自己給自己找麻煩。就拿考生最熟悉的細節(jié)題來說，托福閱讀細節(jié)題的解題要點有兩個要點：一是根據(jù)題干關鍵詞回原文定位答案范圍;二是將題目選項與原文語句相對照，正確選項往往是原文語句的同義替換。因此，考生在解題時，一定要對照選項與原文語句之間的異同，找出與原文語句意思最相似的選項，也就找到了正確答案。
“細”的原則
所謂“細”，是指考生在利用題干關鍵詞回原文定位答案范圍時一定要細心。我們知道，考生在解答托福閱讀題時，最常用到的解題方法就是利用題干中出現(xiàn)的關鍵詞回原文定位答案范圍，然后根據(jù)定位到的內容選出正確答案。由于題干中有些關鍵詞(尤其是專有名詞)在原文中不止出現(xiàn)一次，因而考生一定要細心，找出原文中所有含該關鍵詞的句子，然后再從中選擇與題干要求最接近的句子來定位答案范圍，進而選出正確答案。很多考生由于沒有注意到這一點，導致定位錯誤，進而與正確答案失之交臂，實在是非?？上?。
以TPO (托福在線考試練習)的一道例題為例。
The question of ecosystem stability is complicated, however. The first problem is that ecologists do not all agree what “stability” means. Stability can be defined as simply lack of change. In that case, the climax community would be considered the most stable, since, by definition, it changes the least over time. Alternatively, stability can be defined as the speed with which an ecosystem returns to a particular form following a major disturbance, such as a fire. This kind of stability is also called resilience. In that case, climax communities would be the most fragile and the least stable, since they can require hundreds of years to return to the climax state. (TPO3“The Long-Term Stability of Ecosystems”的第四段)
6. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is true of climax communities?
A. They are more resilient than pioneer communities.
B. They can be considered both the most and the least stable communities.
C. They are stable because they recover quickly after major disturbances.
D. They are the most resilient communities because they change the least over time.
解析：這道題是一道細節(jié)題，考生可利用題干中的關鍵詞climax communities將答案范圍定位到原文第四段。定位時，考生可能會根據(jù)該段第四句話“In that case, the climax community would be considered the most stable, since, by definition, it changes the least over time”而認為選項C是正確答案。事實上，考生如果細心的話，會發(fā)現(xiàn)climax community在該段共出現(xiàn)了不止一次，第二次出現(xiàn)在該段最后一句話中，且形式也是復數(shù)，與題干表述一致，而最后一句話的意思恰恰與第四句話的意思相反。所以，根據(jù)精確定位的原則，考生應該依據(jù)該段的最后一句話選出本題的答案，即選項B。
“巧”的原則
所謂“巧”，是指考生在回原文定位答案范圍時應該選擇最恰當?shù)念}干關鍵詞，并從托福閱讀考試的特點出發(fā)，巧妙而又精確地定位答案范圍。“巧”的原則具體體現(xiàn)在以下幾個方面：
①用于定位的題干關鍵詞一般包括人名、地名、數(shù)字、關鍵名詞或動詞等，考生在回原文定位答案范圍時，可同時利用多個關鍵詞進行定位，原文中包含題干絕大多數(shù)關鍵詞的部分最有可能是答案所在;②在利用關鍵詞回原文定位時，考生可根據(jù)原文中出現(xiàn)的特殊標點符號(如破折號、連字符、引號、括號等)、數(shù)字、專有名詞等這些比較明顯的提示進行跳讀，題干的關鍵詞以及題目的答案范圍往往就出現(xiàn)在這些有明顯提示信息的表達附近;③由于閱讀部分的考查點經常與轉折、比較、否定、因果等邏輯密切相關，因而考生在定位答案范圍時可根據(jù)這些重要的考點來進行精確定位。結合這三點，考生便能又快又準地找到出題人設計答案所依據(jù)的句子，最后再按照“直”的原則選擇答案。
實戰(zhàn)演練
考生在解答托福閱讀題目時，應將上文所述三字箴言結合起來使用，做到“直”來“直”去、“細”中有“巧”、“巧”中有“細”。下面就以《新托?？荚嚬俜街改稀烽喿x部分Practice Set 5 里面的第8題為例，來講解如何使用這三字箴言來解題。
Paragraph 5: In this newly emerging economic order, workers sometimes organized to protect their rights and traditional ways of life. Craft workers such as carpenters, printers, and tailors formed unions, and in 1834 individual unions came together in the National Trades’ Union. The labor movement gathered some momentum in the decade before the Panic of 1837, but in the depression that followed, labor’s strength collapsed. During hard times, few workers were willing to strike* or engage in collective action. And skilled craft workers, who spearheaded the union movement, did not feel a particularly strong bond with semiskilled factory workers and unskilled laborers. More than a decade of agitation did finally bring a workday shortened to 10 hours to most industries by the 1850’s, and the courts also recognized workers’ right to strike, but these gains had little immediate impact.
8. Which of the following statements about the labor movement of the 1800’s is supported by paragraph 5?
A. It was most successful during times of economic crisis.
B. Its primary purpose was to benefit unskilled laborers.
C. It was slow to improve conditions for workers.
D. It helped workers of all skill levels form a strong bond with each other.
解析：針對這一道題，考生首先要做的是選定題干關鍵詞，回原文定位答案范圍。這里考生可以同時結合“細”和“巧”這兩點來幫助定位?？忌梢?ldquo;巧”選題干中的數(shù)字1800’s作為定位關鍵詞;由于1800’s是一個籠統(tǒng)的時間范圍，是指19世紀，因此考生在定位答案范圍時要注意“細”的原則，關注原文第五段所有在19世紀范圍內的表時間的詞。原文第五段出現(xiàn)了三個在19世紀范圍內的時間點——1834、1837和1850’s。
因此，題目的答案范圍就包含在含有這些詞的句子中。到此，考生可以開始第二步了，即研究答案范圍中的句子和題目選項，選出正確答案。通讀含有上述三個時間詞的三個句子，考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，后面兩個句子都包含轉折關系詞but。根據(jù)上面講述的“巧”的原則，考生要特別關注這兩個含有轉折詞的句子，答案往往就是對最后出現(xiàn)的這個轉折詞后面內容的同義替換?？忌鷷⒁獾剑詈笠粋€but后面的句子是“these gains had little immediate impact”，表明“工人運動所取得的成果十分有限”。然后根據(jù)“直”的原則，考生會發(fā)現(xiàn)，選項C中的句子正是對這一句話的同義替換，因而此題的正確答案是選項C。
從這道題的解題步驟來看，考生只要選關鍵詞和回原文定位時堅持“細”中有“巧”、“巧”中有“細”的原則，在選定答案的過程中堅持“直”來“直”去的立場，就能迅速、準確地解答托福閱讀題。
