托福閱讀句子簡化題解題策略

朱甄雯

句子簡化題在每次托福閱讀考試中的題量雖然不多，但卻令很多考生感到頭疼，因為解答該題型常涉及對長難句的理解。下面本文就來分析一下這一題型的特點和解題思路。

選項特征

句子簡化題的題干為：“Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence？ Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.”由此，考生可以總結出該類題型的正確和錯誤選項的特征。題干指出，正確選項應包含高亮部分的句子（以下簡稱“原句”）的主要信息（essential information）。換句話說，正確選項并不一定要表達原句的所有信息，只要表達出主要信息即可。題干還指出了兩類錯誤選項：一類是在很大程度上改變了原句意思的選項，這種選項的意思通常與原句意思相矛盾；另一類是遺漏了原句主要信息的選項。考生準確理解正確選項與錯誤選項的特征對解題會有很大幫助。

解題思路

句子簡化題可以分為兩類：一類是原句不長的題目，一類是原句較長并且結構復雜的題目。針對這兩類題目考生可以采取不同的解題思路來解答。

1. 原句不長：同義替換助解題

如果句子簡化題的原句不長，此時選項一般是原句的同義替換。考生可以先找出原句中的主要信息，然后再與選項進行對比，對原句主要信息進行同義替換的選項為正確答案。請看下面這道題。

例1 原句：These people （指陪審團成員） are selected at random from the adult population in the same district served by the court concerned. （《新托福考試專項進階——中級閱讀》）

A. The adult population in the same area randomly selects the people on the court.

B. The people on a jury are randomly chosen from the same jurisdiction.

C. The jury is made up of the entire adult population in the same jurisdiction.

D. There is a random selection of courts by the adult population.

解析：這道題目的原句不長，考生便可采用同義替換的原則來解題。考生首先可分析出原句的主要信息有兩個：第一個是are selected at random，即“（陪審團成員）是隨機被挑選出來的”，第二個是in the same district，即“同一區域內”。正確選項應包含這兩個主要信息。考生可以發現，選項B中的are randomly chosen可以和第一個主要信息對應，而選項B中的from the same jurisdiction則和第二個主要信息對應，由此考生可以判斷出選項B為正確答案。有些考生可能會有疑問：該選項缺少原句中的adult，可以選嗎？這就涉及上文提到的正確選項的特征——包含主要信息而非全部信息。所以，這一點不影響選項B成為正確答案。

2. 原句較長且復雜：邏輯關系助解題

當句子簡化題的原句較長且復雜時，這類原句通常包含一個或幾個重要的邏輯關系（比如因果、并列、轉折關系等）。對于這類題目，考生應首先確定原句中的主要邏輯關系；然后看選項，排除與原句邏輯關系不一致的選項；最后再看剩下的選項哪個與原句的主要信息相符，相符者即為正確答案。

下面我們來看具體的例題。

例2 原句：He refused to develop projection technology， reasoning that if he made and sold projectors， then exhibitors would purchase only one machine—a projector—from him instead of several. （《新托福考試官方指南》Reading Practice Set 3： Early Cinema）

A. Edison was more interested in developing a variety of machines than in developing a technology based on only one.

B. Edison refused to work on projection technology because he did not think exhibitors would replace their projectors with newer machines.

C. Edison did not want to develop projection technology because it limited the number of machines he could sell.

D. Edison would not develop projection technology unless exhibitors agreed to purchase more than one projector from him.

解析：該題的原句較長且復雜，考生應從原句的邏輯關系入手。由原句的reasoning that考生可知，原句的主要邏輯關系是因果關系。然后考生再看選項，只有選項B和C是因果關系，因此考生可以先排除選項A和D。接下來考生可以比較選項B、C的主句是否與原句意思相符。考生可以發現選項B的主句以及選項C的主句跟原句主句意思基本一致。此時考生只能再比較從句了。原句的從句意思是“要是他制作和銷售放映機的話，展映方將只會從他手里購得一臺放映機而不是多臺機器”。換句話說就是“發展放映技術會限制他的機器銷售量”，只有選項C的從句符合這個意思，所以正確答案是選項C。

例3 原句：The extreme seriousness of desertification results from the vast areas of land and the tremendous numbers of people affected， as well as from the great difficulty of reversing or even slowing the process. （《新托福考試官方指南》Reading Practice Set 2： Desert Formation）

A. Desertification is a significant problem because it is so hard to reverse and affects large areas of land and great numbers of people.

B. Slowing down the process of desertification is difficult because of population growth that has spread over large areas of land.

C. The spread of deserts is considered a very serious problem that can be solved only if large numbers of people in various countries are involved in the effort.

D. Desertification is extremely hard to reverse unless the population is reduced in the vast areas affected.

解析：該題的原句較長，考生應先從邏輯關系入手。句中的results from表明原句的主要邏輯關系為因果關系。接下來考生再看選項。選項C和D的邏輯關系詞分別為only if和unless，都屬于條件關系，因此這兩個選項可先排除。接著，考生再將選項A、B與原句對比。原句陳述的結果是“沙漠化極其嚴重”，而原因是“影響的區域與人口太大，以及逆轉或放慢沙漠化的速度難度巨大”，而選項B的主句“Slowing down the process of desertification is difficult”代表的是結果，與原句表示結果的句子意思不相同，故選項B是錯誤的。由此考生可以選出正確答案就是選項A。

例4 原句：Apprentices were considered part of the family， and masters were responsible not only for teaching their apprentices a trade but also for providing them some education and for supervising their moral behavior. （《新托福考試官方指南》Reading Practice Set 5： Artisans and Industrialization）

A. Masters demanded moral behavior from apprentices but often treated them irresponsibly.

B. The responsibilities of the master to the apprentice went beyond the teaching of a trade.

C. Masters preferred to maintain the trade within the family by supervising and educating the younger family members.

D. Masters who trained members of their own family as apprentices demanded excellence from them.

解析：原句的主要邏輯關系是并列關系，而選項A中的but是轉折關系，所以考生可以先排除選項A。由于選項B、C和D是簡單句，并沒有邏輯關系詞，因此考生只能對比原句與選項的主要信息了。原句的主要信息有兩點：一是“（學徒）被看成是家庭成員的一部分”（were considered part of the family）；二是“師傅有責任……”（masters were responsible not only for … but also for … and for …），即教學徒手藝以及教育他們。再對照選項來看，選項B陳述的是師傅的責任，意思是“師傅對學徒的責任要超出教手藝的范圍”，與原句的意思相符。而選項C和D都是說“師傅將家庭成員當成學徒”，與原文意思有很大出入。所以本題正確答案為選項B。