托福閱讀如何巧用關鍵詞
要讀懂一個段落我們只需要抓住幾個關鍵詞而已。那么關鍵詞怎么抓呢?一是看邏輯信號詞;二是讀句子的時候一定牢記只看主干!下面我們就以托福TPO25中的文章The Decline of Venetian Shipping為例，說說如何巧抓關鍵詞。
TPO25-2 The Decline of Venetian Shipping：
Paragraph 2 This decline can be seen clearly in the changes that affected Venetian shipping and trade. First， Venic’s intermediary functions in the Adriatic Sea， where it had dominated the business of shipping for other parties， were lost to direct trading. In the fifteenth century there was little problem recruiting sailors to row the galleys (large ships propelled by oars)： guilds (business associations) were required to provide rowers， and through a draft system free citizens served compulsorily when called for. In the early sixteenth century the shortage of rowers was not serious because the demand for galleys was limited by a move to round ships (round-hulled ships with more cargo space)， with required fewer rowers. But the shortage of crews proved to be a greater and greater problem， despite continuous appeal to Venic’s tradition of maritime greatness. Even though sailors’ wages doubled among the northern Italian cities from 1550 to 1590， this did not elicit an increased supply.
以上算得上是托福閱讀中較長的段落了，在快速閱讀這個段落的時候我們要找的關鍵詞是：邏輯信號詞—如段落中所標示的first， but， this… 我們不難發(fā)現這些信號詞所在的句子基本都是解題的信息點。那么在做題定位時不妨多加留意。當然，抓住這些關鍵詞并不難，難在理解。
接下來我們就來看看理解這些句子時的關鍵詞。每段話的首句是必定要讀的。This decline can be seen clearly in the changes that affected Venetian shipping and trade。這是包含了一個定語從句的復雜句。先看到核心詞changes，再看到Venetian shipping and trade。這篇文章接下來具體要寫的內容就展露無遺，也就是威尼斯船業(yè)和貿易的變遷。
First，這當然是開始寫shipping的標志了。Venice’s intermediary functions in the Adriatic Sea， where it had dominated the business of shipping for other parties， were lost to direct trading. 我們一直強調句子要讀主干，那么簡單地看這個句子就是Venice’s functions were lost， 核心詞很顯然是lost，也對應了整篇文章的主題 decline. 接下來兩句寫到了15和16世紀遇到的船員難招的問題。…there was little problem recruiting sailors to row the galleys (large ships propelled by oars)： guilds (business associations) were required to provide rowers， and through a draft system free citizens served compulsorily when called for. 這句話中有冒號的出現，閱讀冒號之前的內容there was little problem;到下一句：the shortage of rowers was not serious because the demand for galleys was limited by a move to round ships (round-hulled ships with more cargo space)， with required fewer rowers. 這句中要看到的核心是not serious;再往后看到But….to be a greater and greater problem. 到這里意思應該已經一目了然了，就是講威尼斯船業(yè)在招聘船員方面所遭遇的變遷：little problem—not serious —greater problem.
剛才我們講了文章閱讀部分要抓關鍵詞，其實我們在閱讀題目和選項時也是需要尋找關鍵詞的。有些題目的選項是比較長的，四個選項看上去也差不多一段話了，所以一定要抓住關鍵詞判斷才行，如否定詞、比較詞和并列詞。這些是快速瀏覽選項的第一步。再次也要看到題干和每個選項中能讓我們快速定位到原文的關鍵詞。我們還是以托福TPO25為例：
TPO25-1 The Surface of Mars
Paragraph 5 As on the Moon， the extent of large impact cratering (i.e. craters too big to have been filled in by erosion since they were formed) serves as an age indicator for the Martian surface. Age estimates ranging from four billion years for Mars’s southern highlands to a few hundred million years in the youngest volcanic areas were obtained in this way。
According to paragraph 5， what have scientists been able to determine from studies of large impact cratering on Mars?
A. Some Martian volcanoes are much older than was once thought。
B. The age of Mars’s surface can vary from area to area。
C. Large impact craters are not reliable indicators of age in areas with high volcanic activity。
D. Some areas of the Martian surface appear to be older than they actually are。
劃出選項中的關鍵詞后，定位到原文迅速瀏覽發(fā)現原文中并無如A和D選項中的比較，C中的否定詞not和原文是明顯相矛盾的，故而選擇B，而B選項對應的恰好是本段末句：Age estimates ranging from four billion years for Mars’s southern highlands to a few hundred million years in the youngest volcanic areas were obtained in this way。
根據以上分析，我們應該明白在閱讀之時何為關鍵詞。簡單地講有定位關鍵詞和判斷關鍵詞。定位關鍵詞包括題干及選項中的名詞，還有就是段落中那些一直向你示好的邏輯信號詞了，不要忘記用它們找到你解題需要的信息。判斷關鍵詞是選項中那些有特色的詞匯，包括否定詞，比較詞或者是句子主干中的動詞等，根據這些詞和原文進行對應，至少有一半的選項可以迅速被排除。
