如何托福阅读句子简化题

前不久，朋友在微信上给我转了一篇某马托福培训机构的广告推文，题目类似于《如何用一分钟解决一道句子简化题》，我不置可否得回了俩字“呵呵”，心里却在想，一分钟才做完一道句子简化题还要拿出来说事儿，这不是笑话么？这可是我们对基础段学生的要求呢！如何快准狠的句子简化题，速度和准确率并齐才是正道！

在正式介绍解题方法前需要强调一个大前提，准备应战托福考试的同学必须具备基本的句法成分知识和词汇量，否则，谈不上用任何的解题技巧。

好了，切入正题，我们来看看句子简化题的题干说明：

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 

我们从题干中提取出1个重点信息来作为我们该题型的依据，那就是 “essential information”：题目的要求就是让我们在四个选项中选出表达了原文最核心信息的那一个；当然，核心信息不能遗漏，核心意思不能更改。

所以我们在解题过程中有以下三个标准：

1.哪个选项有原文的核心信息；

2. 原文的核心信息在选项中也应该是其核心信息；

3. 原文的次要信息和细节信息可有可无。

借助这三个标准，我们有了句子简化题的一个诀窍：

原句优先只读核心信息，选项优先只读核心信息，两者匹配无误为正确选项的备选项，如果只有一个匹配，那便是正确选项，如果有两个匹配项，那么需要核对其他信息。

那么核心信息如何判断呢？我们把简化题的题目粗略的分成两大类：

1. 有清楚逻辑关系的句子；

2. 没有清楚逻辑关系的句子；

一、有清楚逻辑关系的句子：

要点：1. 因果逻辑中，结果更重要；2. 转折逻辑中，转折后的内容更重要；3. 让步逻辑中，非让步的更重要；4. 并列，对比，比较等平行结构中，使得逻辑成立的两个对象同等重要。先来看个例题。

例题1：

The amount of air exchanged is even lower in REM than NREM because, although breathing is more rapid in REM, it is also more irregular, with brief episodes of shallow breathing or absence of breathing.

分析：在这个句子中有很明显的因果逻辑关系词because，because前是结果，because后是原因，根据我们的原则，结果的内容更重要，优先只读结果“the amount of air exchanged is lower in REM”; 带着这个核心信息去核对选项的核心信息。

A. Because breathing is more shallow and irregular in REM than in NREM, less air is exchanged in REM

A选项也是因果逻辑，结果是核心，“less air is exchanged in REM”，与我们的结果一致；A成为我们的备选项；（不能确定为正确选项是因为其他的内容有待检查）

B. Breathing in NREM is less effective than breathing in REM because of irregular episodes of rapid breathing during NREM.

B选项的因果逻辑中，结果“breathing in NREM is less effective”这个表述与原文的结果不一致；错误；

C. Because breathing is more rapid in NREM sleep than in REM sleep, breathing often becomes shallow.

C选项的因果逻辑中，结果是“breathing often becomes shallow”与原文的结果完全无关；错误；

D. Although REM has brief episodes of shallow breathing or lack of breathing, breathing is more rapid than in NRFM

D选项看到although直接排除，让步转折逻辑和原文的因果逻辑相反。错误；

于是A选项在没有阅读其他信息之前就能确定是我们的正确答案了。

我们来回顾下整个解体过程，这个方法有以下几个好处：

1. 最少化阅读内容，不仅减弱长句带来的心理干扰，也节省了宝贵的时间；

2. 最少化阅读内容，能够让考生更准确把握句子核心，减少掉入选项陷阱的几率。

 再来看一个例题。

例题2：

Inequalities of gender have also existed in pastoralist societies, but they seem to have been softened by the absence of steep hierarchies of wealth in most communities, and also by the requirement that women acquire most of the skills of men, including, often, their military skills.

分析：句子中有个but表示转折，转折后的内容更重要，所以我们的注意力要放在“they（inequalities）have been soften”性别不平等被弱化”这个点上，带着这个核心去核对我们的选项。

A. Despite the fact that wealth is relatively evenly distributed in pastoral societies, gender inequality still exists because only men can acquire military skills and social status.

A选项是个despite引导的让步，所以核心信息在“gender inequality still exists”上，“强调性别不平等存在”，与我们原文的核心不一致，错误；

B. Inequalities of gender existed in pastoralist societies until most communities began to require women to possess the same skills as men and take part in the military.

B选项的核心也是“Inequalities of gender existed”，错误；

C. Inequalities of gender in pastoralist societies were caused by steep hierarchies of wealth and differences in military training between men and women.

C选项的核心是“Inequalities of gender in pastoralist societies were caused by”，强调性别不平等是由什么导致的，和原文强调“被弱化”不一致，错误；

D. In pastoral societies, gender inequality is comparatively mild because wealth is relatively evenly distributed and women have to learn most of the same skills that men do.

D选项的核心是“gender inequality is comparatively mild”，“mild”是对“soften”的同义替换，核心与原文一致，正确。

二． 没有清楚逻辑关系的句子：

要点：1.去掉所有的状语成分（分词或不定式）或状语从句；2.去掉所有的定语或非限定语从句（限定性定语从句很重要，不可忽略）；3. 提取主谓宾或主系表。 看例题。

例题3：

Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development, Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron.

分析：unlike引导的内容和where引导的定语从句都忽略不读，developing后面的内容做补充说明，也先忽略不读，所以核心内容是“Africans had iron from a relatively early date”，原句想表达的核心信息是非洲人相对较早的拥有了铁。

A. While American iron makers developed the latest furnaces, African iron makers continued using earlier techniques.

A选项的核心是“African iron makers continued using earlier techniques”非洲人一直使用早期的技术，和原文核心无关，错误；

B. Africans produced iron much earlier than Americans, inventing technologically sophisticated heating systems. 

B选项的核心是“Africans produced iron much earlier than Americans”非洲人很早就生产出铁了，表达了原文的核心信息，成为备选项；

C. Iron making developed earlier in Africa than in the Americas because of the ready availability of carbon and iron ore.

C选项because引导的因果逻辑在原文中并没有体现，或者说the ready availability of carbon and iron ore在原文任何地方都没有出现，错误；

D. Both Africa and the Americas developed the capacity for making iron early, but African metallurgy developed at a slower rate.

D选项的核心是“African metallurgy developed at a slower rate”与原文核心不符，错误；

于是B就是我们的正确选项。

最后来一个例题。

例题4：

With "climax," "biome," "super-organism," and various other technical terms for the association of animals and plants at a given locality being criticized, the term "ecosystem" was more and more widely adopted for the whole system of associated organisms together with the physical factors of their environment.

分析：with引导状语部分，所以暂时不读，核心信息在“the term "ecosystem" was more and more widely adopted”来表达“这个term被采纳”。来核对选项的核心信息。

A. Unlike the terms “climax”, “biome”, and “super-organism”, which refer to the particular association of plants and animals at a given location, the term “ecosystem” refers specifically to the physical factors within an environment.

A选项的核心在“the term “ecosystem” refers specifically to”，表示这个term是指什么内容，与原文核心无关，错误；

B. The terms “climax”, “biome”, “super-organism”, and “ecosystem” all refer to the system of plants and animals in an associated environment, but some are more controversial than others.

B选项的核心在“some are more controversial than others”与原文核心无关，错误；

C. When the older terms of ecology became too technical, they were replaced by the more popular and more widely used term “ecosystem”

C选项的核心在“old terms were replaced by ecosystem”，表达了原文的意思，成为备选项；

D. The term “ecosystem” gradually replaced discredited terms for the combination of a physical environment and the plants and animals living together in it.

D选项的核心在“the term replaced discredited terms”，也表达了原文的意思，也成为备选项；

出现两个备选项时，就需要核对次要信息，原文说的是原来的那些terms被criticized批判了，而不是C选项中的became too technical，而D选项的discredited就是criticized的同义替换词，所以D选项才是正确的选项。

以上这个例题出现了两个备选项，于是就有同学说，那还不是要把原句的内容都看完了么？但是我们用最快的速度排除了两个干扰项，即使需要回到原句再核对次要信息，也是有针对性的去核对特定的信息，比如上题中，指需要核对criticized这部分的信息是否和选项中的同义转述一致。

我们来回顾下刚才的解题过程，只匹配原文和选项的核心信息有以下优势：考生只需要判断选项的核心和原文核心是不是一致，是不是有关，而不需要去阅读所有内容去判断原文核心内容是否被正确和完整的表达。因为判断“正确”和“完整”需要考生仔细阅读并完全理解，相对比较耗时，也考验词汇量；但是判断“有无关”“一致否”则需看个大概即可。

当然，所有的技巧都需要自己通过不断的练习来拿捏使用的情况，还需要不断的自我总结来将特定的技巧进行个性化的调整。祝愿所有的考生们都能句子简化题。