托福閱讀細節(jié)題“陷阱”分析

細節(jié)題（factual information question 又稱“事實信息題”）是托福閱讀中極為常見的一種題型，要求考生準確定位原文信息，并核對選項找到答案。與其它一些題型相比，細節(jié)題的考查形式和解題思路相對單純，更接近于中國國內(nèi)英語考試中大多數(shù)的閱讀單選題。但在教學實踐中不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種貌似簡單的題型卻往往滿布“陷阱”，如下例：

e.g. ：Perhaps so much time has passed that there will never be satisfactory answers to the cave images, but their mystique only adds to their importance. Certainly a great art exists, and its existence reveals that ancient human beings were not without intelligence, skill, and sensitivity.

According to paragraph 6, why might the puzzling questions about the paintings never be answered?

(A) Keeping the paintings a mystery will increase their importance. 
　　(B) The artists hid their tools with great intelligence and skill. 
　　(C) Too many years have gone by since the images were painted. 
　　(D) Answering the question is not very important to scholars. 

該題常有不少同學選擇A項，原因是原文中有出現(xiàn)同義語句（mystery替換mystique，increase替換adds to）。但C項同樣符合這點（too many years替換so much time，have gone by替換has passed）。細讀題干不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，該題的考點在于因果關系（why），因此答案所在語句中必然含有相應的連接詞。而原文第一句中便含有so...that...（如此……以至于……），that后的結果部分也符合題干要求（never will be answered替換there will never be answers），因此答案必在此處。核對選項后便可選出C項。

事實上，OG在對該題型講解中便提示Do not select an answer just because it is mentioned in the passage. Your choice should answer the specific question that was asked.（不要僅僅因為一個選項在原文中被提及就選擇它。你的選項應該回答題目提出的特定問題。）因此，考生在做細節(jié)題時務必要注意審題，否則極易犯“答非所問”的錯誤。

但是，僅僅仔細審題并不能保證我們在做細節(jié)題時百發(fā)百中，因為細節(jié)題的選項中也常有玄機。

e.g. It should be obvious that cetaceans — whales, porpoises, and dolphins — are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke and blowhole cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals...

In paragraph 1, what does the author say about the presence of a blowhole in cetaceans? 

(A) It clearly indicates that cetaceans are mammals. 
　　(B) It cannot conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals. 
　　(C) It is the main difference between cetaceans and land-dwellingmammals.
　　(D) It cannot yield clues about the origins of cetaceans.

根據(jù)題干可迅速定位到原文第二句（尾鰭和頭頂鼻孔的存在不能掩蓋它們與陸生哺乳動物的密切關系），但核對選項后發(fā)現(xiàn)，A項（它清晰地指出鯨類是哺乳動物）和B項（它不能掩蓋鯨類是哺乳動物的事實）的意思幾乎完全相同，難以區(qū)分。該題選項有一個明顯的特點：全部以人稱代詞it為主語。

結合題干不難看出，it的指代對象就是the presence of a blowhole。將其代回選項中，A項就變成了“頭頂鼻孔的存在清晰地指出鯨類是哺乳動物”，但這顯然不符合常理，因為頭頂鼻孔絕非哺乳動物的一般特征；而B項“頭頂鼻孔的存在不能掩蓋鯨類是哺乳動物的事實”符合原文（conceal替換disguise）。

從上面兩個例子我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，考生在解答細節(jié)題時，不能單純流于對文章意思的理解，而是要注意題干、原文和選項三者之間的邏輯關系、詞匯同義替換和指代關系等方面，才能選出正確答案。 

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