第一段:What accounts for the great outburst of major inventions in early America-breakthroughs such as the telegraph , the steamboat and the weaving machine?那么這篇文章的中心,我們就一目了然了。
2、冒號(hào)
冒號(hào)前后是從抽象到具體的過程,后面進(jìn)一步補(bǔ)充說明前面的內(nèi)容。所以我們往往可以分句冒號(hào)后面的東西來準(zhǔn)確理解冒號(hào)之前的內(nèi)容。1997年題目 問劃線單詞的意思,原文如下:We live in a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. 那么我們根據(jù)冒號(hào)之后的解釋,可以很輕易的從[A] widespread [B] overwhelming [C] piercing [D] fashionable 中選出正確答案 [A]。
如果句子中間有兩個(gè)破折號(hào),如In Australia-where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part-other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia。
分號(hào)前后是并列關(guān)系,如果句中有一個(gè)分號(hào),則表明分號(hào)前后語(yǔ)義相同,如1997年閱讀中有道題目問69.The sentence"This is no flash in the pan" (Line 5, Paragraph 3) means that ________。回到原文中:This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America。
那么根據(jù)分號(hào)前后語(yǔ)義相同我們很容易選出正確答案為[A] the low inflation rate will last for some time。
如果句中出現(xiàn)兩個(gè)或以上的分號(hào),則表明分號(hào)前后的東西在結(jié)構(gòu)上是并列的。如96年第四篇中Among the many shaping factors, I would single out the country's excellent elementary schools; a labor force that welcomed the new technology; the practice of giving premiums to inventors ; and above all the American genius for nonverbal , "spatial" thinking about things technological。
5、引號(hào)
引號(hào)有三種作用①引用,②強(qiáng)調(diào),③諷刺
尤其需要注意的是第三種表示諷刺的作用,因?yàn)樗凳局髡卟⒉徽J(rèn)同的態(tài)度。比如"Scientific" creationism, which is being pushed by some for"equal time" in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of evolution are given, is based on religion, not science。這句話中creationism前面的Scientific加了引號(hào),就表明作者認(rèn)為創(chuàng)始論其實(shí)是不科學(xué)的。那么題 目"Creationism" in the passage refers to ________. [A] evolution in its true sense as to the origin of the universe[B] a notion of the creation of religion [C] the scientific explanation of the earth formation [D] the deceptive theory about the origin of the universe中正確答案就顯然為[D]了。
逗號(hào)主要是用于分割并列成分。在考研閱讀中,如果逗號(hào)之前人名、地名、機(jī)構(gòu)名稱等專有名詞,逗號(hào)之后或者兩個(gè)逗號(hào)之間內(nèi)容為對(duì)這些內(nèi)容的身份、 地位等等的解釋說明成分時(shí),通常與解題無關(guān),可以跳過不看。比如In order to "change lives for the better" and reduce "dependency,"George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the "upfront work search" scheme。中,Chancellor of the Exchequer就可以跳過不讀。
7、括號(hào)
括號(hào)也表示解釋說明,跟破折號(hào)一樣既可以解釋前面的名詞也可以解釋前面的句子,需要根據(jù)括號(hào)的位置去判斷。例如:Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions.像這樣括號(hào)在句號(hào)的里面,解釋的就是離其最近的名詞。像Anyway, the townsfolk can't understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they'll do better.)這個(gè)例句中,括號(hào)在句號(hào)的外面,解釋的就是前面的一句話。