托福阅读插空题的解题技巧

1. 托福阅读插空题的解题技巧 主讲人：吴霜

2. 两种技巧 1. 指代 2. 逻辑关系

3. 指示代词 • 定义： • 插入句开头用一个指示代词代替出前文已经出现过的一些信息，从而达到简化语言的目的。 • 做法： • 利用指代词后面的内容在找前文找指代词所指代的具体内容。

4. 指示代词：this • Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. ■How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? ■Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans. • ■Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. ■In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale. The fossil was officially named Pakicetus in honor of the country where the discovery was made. Pakicetus was found embedded in rocks formed from river deposits that were 52 million years old. The river that formed these deposits was actually not far from an ancient ocean known as the Tethys Sea. • This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages.

5. 指示代词：this • Paragraph 7: ■The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid lands, where grasses are generally the dominant type of natural vegetation. ■The consequences of an excessive number of livestock grazing in an area are the reduction of the vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization of the soil. ■This is usually followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated erosion. ■ • 　　　　　This economic reliance on livestock in certain regions makes large tracts of land susceptible to overgrazing.

6. 指示代词：this • Paragraph 3: ■Exhibitors, however, wanted to maximize their profits, which they could do more readily by projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by charging 25 to 50 cents admission. ■About a year after the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlor in 1894, showmen such as Louis and Auguste Lumiere, Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins, and Orville and Woodville Latham (with the assistance of Edison's former assistant, William Dickson) perfected projection devices. ■These early projection devices were used in vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters, local town halls, makeshift storefront theaters, fairgrounds, and amusement parks to show films to a mass audience. ■ • 　　　　　When this widespread use of projection technology began to hurt his Kinetoscope business, Edison acquired a projector developed by Armat and introduced it as “Edison’s latest marvel, the Vitascope."

7. 指示代词：these Paragraph 5: Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. █By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. █About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. █Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. █It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or—300 million years later—in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite—the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian—will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian. The findings of these geologists inspired others to examine the rock and fossil records in different parts of the world．

8. 指示代词：these Paragraph 6: The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern Nigeria. ■Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara. ■They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“Bantu” means “the people”), which is the parent tongue of a language of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken throughout sub-Sahara Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central and southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone implements. ■Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply rapid demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion. ■ These people had a significant linguistic impact on the continent as well.

9. 指示代词：these Paragraph 2: Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars long ago. ■They appear only in equatorial regions and generally do not form extensive interconnected networks. ■Instead, they are probably the paths taken by huge volumes of water draining from the southern highlands into the northern plains. ■The onrushing water arising from these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-shaped “islands” (resembling the miniature versions seen in the wet sand of our beaches at low tide) that have been found on the plains close to the ends of the outflow channels. ■Judging from the width and depth of the channels, the flow rates must have been truly enormous—perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than the 105 tons per second carried by the great Amazon river. Flooding shaped the outflow channels approximately 3 billion years ago, about the same times as the northern volcanic plains formed. These landscape features differ from runoff channels in a number of ways.

10. 指示代词：those • TPO30-R1 • There is a danger, of course, that play may be misinterpreted or not recognized as play by others, potentially leading to aggression. ■This is especially true when play consists of practicing normal aggressive or predator behaviors.■ Thus, many species have evolved clear signals to delineate playfulness.■ Dogs, for example, will wag their tails, get down their front legs, and stick their behinds in the air to indicate “ what follows is just for play.”■ • With messages such as those, even dogs that are strangers to each other can be playing within a few minutes.

11. 指代：it • Paragraph 3: One interpretation regarding the absence of fossils during this important 100-million-year period is that early animals were soft bodied and simply did not fossilize. ■Fossilization of soft-bodied animals is less likely than fossilization of hard-bodied animals, but it does occur. ■Conditions that promote fossilization of soft-bodied animals include very rapid covering by sediments that create an environment that discourages decomposition. ■In fact, fossil beds containing soft-bodied animals have been known for many years. ■ • It is relatively rare because the fossilization of soft-bodied animals requires a special environment.

12. 指代：they • Modern attitudes to Roman civilization range from the infinitely impressed to the thoroughly disgusted. ■As always, there are the power worshippers, especially among historians, who are predisposed to admire whatever is strong, who feel more attracted to the might of Rome than to the subtlety of Greece. ■At the same time, there is a solid body of opinion that dislikes Rome. ■For many, Rome is at best the imitator and the continuator of Greece on a larger scale. ■Greek civilization had quality; Rome, mere quantity. Greece was original; Rome, derivative. Greece had style; Rome had money. Greece was the inventor; Rome, the research and development division. Such indeed was the opinion of some of the more intellectual Romans. “Had the Greeks held novelty in such disdain as we,” asked Horace in his epistle, “what work of ancient date would now exist?” • They esteem symbols of Roman power, such as the massive Colosseum.

13. 指代：they • 　　TPO 10.3 • Paragraph 6: The development of banking and other financial services contributed to the expansion of trade. By the middle of the sixteenth century, financiers and traders commonly accepted bills of exchange in place of gold or silver for other goods. Bills of exchange, which had their origins in medieval Italy, were promissory notes (written promises to pay a specified amount of money by a certain date) that could be sold to third parties. In this way, they provided credit. ■At mid-century, an Antwerp financier only slightly exaggerated when he claimed, “0ne can no more trade without bills of exchange than sail without water." ■Merchants no longer had to carry gold and silver over long, dangerous journeys. ■An Amsterdam merchant purchasing soap from a merchant in Marseille could go to an exchanger and pay the exchanger the equivalent sum in guilders, the Dutch currency. ■The exchanger would then send a bill of exchange to a colleague in Marseille, authorizing the colleague to pay the Marseille merchant in the merchant's own currency after the actual exchange of goods had taken place. • They could also avoid having to identify and assess the value of a wide variety of coins issued in many different places.

14. 指代：other • What do you remember about your life before you were three? █Few people can remember anything that happened to them in their early years. █Adults' memories of the next few years also tend to be scanty. █Most people remember only a few events—usually ones that were meaningful and distinctive, such as being hospitalized or a sibling’s birth. █ • Other important occasions are school graduations and weddings.

15. 指代：other • Paragraph 2: Speculation on the origin of these Pacific islanders began as soon as outsiders encountered them, in the absence of solid linguistic, archaeological, and biological data, many fanciful and mutually exclusive theories were devised. Pacific islanders are variously thought to have come from North America, South America, Egypt, Israel, and India, as well as Southeast Asia. ■Many older theories implicitly deprecated the navigational abilities and overall cultural creativity of the Pacific islanders. ■For example, British anthropologists G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry assumed that only Egyptians would have been skilled enough to navigate and colonize the Pacific. ■They inferred that the Egyptians even crossed the Pacific to found the great civilizations of the New World (North and South America). ■In 1947 Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a balsa-log raft westward with the winds and currents across the Pacific from South America to prove his theory that Pacific islanders were Native Americans (also called American Indians). • Later theories concentrate on journeys in the other direction.

16. 指代：certain Paragraph 5: Scientists have known for some time that certain plants, called hyperaccumulators, can concentrate minerals at levels a hundredfold or greater than normal. ■A survey of known hyperaccumulators identified that 75 percent of them amassed nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, lead, and cadmium are other minerals of choice. ■Hyperaccumulators run the entire range of the plant world. ■They may be herbs, shrubs, or trees. ■Many members of the mustard family, spurge family, legume family, and grass family are top hyperaccumulators. Many are found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, where accumulation of high concentrations of metals may afford some protection against plant-eating insects and microbial pathogens. Certain minerals are more likely to be accumulated in large quantities than others.

17. 指代：there • Nearly any kind of plant of the forest understory can be part of a deer's diet. Where the forest inhibits the growth of grass and other meadow plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding. What keeps the black-tailed deer alive in the harsher seasons of plant decay and dormancy? One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in urge to migrate. █Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall. █Even with snow on the ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind bring down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder. •   Paragraph 3: █The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country. █The early explorers and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the same breath bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal. • There food is available and accessible throughout the winter.

18. 逻辑关系词 • 因果 • 转折 • 让步 • 递进 • 并列 • 条件 • 总分（举例&总结）

19. 1. 因果： 因：because, because of, for , since, as, in that, now that， result from，as a result of 例句：now that 既然 Now that the problem has been identified, appropriate action can be taken. 现在既已找出问题的症结，即可采取适当行动 Now that you've seen the house, I'll show you the grounds. 屋子你已看过了，我领你参观一下庭园。 The days are closing in now that it is September. 已是九月了，白天正变得越来越短。 例句：as a result of 由于...的结果，起因 She died as a result of her injuries. 她由于受伤而死亡。 He was made king as a result of various intrigues. 由于搞了各种各样的阴谋，他当上了国王。 Her heart was slightly damaged as a result of her long illness. 久病使她的心脏受到一些损伤。

20. 1. 因果： 果：lead to ,contribute to, so that, so, thus, therefore, consequently, result in，hence 例句：contribute to有助于，促成 Smoking is a major factor contribute to cancer. 吸烟是致癌的一个重要因素。

21. 因果 • Paragraph 6: ■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant. • 　　 Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water.

22. 因果 • ■Another task for the Glomar Challenger’s scientists was to try to determine the origin of the domelike masses buried deep beneath the Mediterranean seafloor. ■These structures had been detected years earlier by echo-sounding instruments, but they had never been penetrated in the course of drilling. ■Were they salt domes such as are common along the United States Gulf Coast, and if so, why should there have been so much solid crystalline salt beneath the floor of the Mediterranean? ■ • Thus, scientists had information about the shape of the domes butnot about their chemical composition and origin.

23. 因果 • Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. █This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. █But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. █Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing. █ • 　　　Therefore, if the paintings were connected with hunting, some other explanation is needed.

24. 2. 转折： but, however, yet(然而), whereas, rather than, instead of, unlike, in fact, actually弱转，on the contary, contrary to，conversely 例题1： █Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. █The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. █We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community’s resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery. █ In fact, damage to the environment by humans is often much more severe than damage by natural events and processes.

25. 例题2： 　　　　Paragraph 5: The reaction of farmers to the inevitable depletion of the Ogallala varies. Many have been attempting to conserve water by irrigating less frequently or by switching to crops that require less water. █Others, however, have adopted the philosophy that it is best to use the water while it is still economically profitable to do so and to concentrate on high-value crops such as cotton. █The incentive of the farmers who wish to conserve water is reduced by their knowledge that many of their neighbors are profiting by using great amounts of water, and in the process are drawing down the entire region’s water . █ 　　Paragrapsuppliesh 6: In the face of the upcoming water supply crisis, a number of grandiose schemes have been developed to transport vast quantities of water by canal or pipeline from the Mississippi, the Missouri, or the Arkansas rivers. █Unfortunately, the cost of water obtained through any of these schemes would increase pumping costs at least tenfold, making the cost of irrigated agricultural products from the region uncompetitive on the national and international markets. 　　But even if uncooperative farmers were to join in the conservation efforts, this would only delay the depletion of the aquifer.

26. 3. 递进 still, also, indeed, furthermore(进一步), moreover(而且，此外), even(甚至，更), besides, additionally, in addition, what's more 例题1： 　　Paragraph 4: Trade between the West and the settled and prosperous Chinese dynasties introduced new forms and different technologies. One of the most far-reaching examples is the impact of the fine ninth-century AD. Chinese porcelain wares imported into the Arab world. ■So admired were these pieces that they encouraged the development of earthenware made in imitation of porcelain and instigated research into the method of their manufacture. ■From the Middle East the Chinese acquired a blue pigment—a purified form of cobalt oxide unobtainable at that time in China—that contained only a low level of manganese. Cobalt ores found in China have a high manganese content, which produces a more muted blue-gray color. ■In the seventeenth century, the trading activities of the Dutch East India Company resulted in vast quantities of decorated Chinese porcelain being brought to Europe, which stimulated and influenced the work of a wide variety of wares, notably Delft. ■The Chinese themselves adapted many specific vessel forms from the West, such as bottles with long spouts, and designed a range of decorative patterns especially for the European market. 　　　　Foreign trade was also responsible for certain innovations in coloring.

27. 4. 让步 although，though, even though(if), even, despite, in spite of, nevertheless, anyway, as while(虽然，尽管，即使），still（尽管如此） Paragraph 1: It has long been accepted that the Americas were colonized by a migration of peoples from Asia, slowly traveling across a land bridge called Beringia (now the Bering Strait between northeastern Asia and Alaska) during the last Ice Age. ■The first water craft theory about the migration was that around 11,000-12,000 years ago there was an ice-free corridor stretching from eastern Beringia to the areas of North America south of the great northern glaciers. It was the midcontinental corridor between two massive ice sheets-the Laurentide to the west-that enabled the southward migration. ■But belief in this ice-free corridor began to crumble when paleoecologist Glen MacDonald demonstrated that some of the most important radiocarbon dates used to support the existence of an ice-free corridor were incorrect. ■He persuasively argued that such an ice-free corridor did not exist until much later, when the continental ice began its final retreat. ■ 　　Moreover, other evidence suggests that even if an ice-free corridor did exist, it would have lacked the resources needed for human colonization.

28. 5. 条件 if, suppose, supposing,in case (of), so long as, unless, only if, when 例题1: 　　Paragraph 2: Continued sedimentation—the process of deposits’ settling on the sea bottom—buries the organic matter and subjects it to higher temperatures and pressures, which convert the organic matter to oil and gas. █As muddy sediments are pressed together, the gas and small droplets of oil may be squeezed out of the mud and may move into sandy layers nearby. █Over long periods of time (millions of years), accumulations of gas and oil can collect in the sandy layers. █Both oil and gas are less dense than water, so they generally tend to rise upward through water-saturated rock and sediment. █ 　Unless something acts to halt this migration, these natural resources will eventually reach the surface.

29. 例题2: 　　Paragraph 4: Helping this group of teachers to revise their thinking about classroom events became central. ■This process took time and patience and effective trainers. ■The researchers estimate that the initial training of the teachers to view events objectively took between 20 and 30 hours, with the same number of hours again being required to practice the skills of reflection. 　　Paragraph 5: ■Wildman and Niles identify three principles that facilitate reflective practice in a teaching situation. ■The first is support from administrators in an education system, enabling teachers to understand the requirements of reflective practice and how it relates to teaching students. The second is the availability of sufficient time and space. The teachers in the program described how they found it difficult to put aside the immediate demands of others in order to give themselves the time they needed to develop their reflective skills. The third is the development of a collaborative environment with support from other teachers. Support and encouragement were also required to help teachers in the program cope with aspects of their professional life with which they were not comfortable. Wildman and Niles make a summary comment: “Perhaps the most important thing we learned is the idea of the teacher-as-reflective-practitioner will not happen simply because it is a good or even compelling idea.” However, changing teachers’ thinking about reflection will not succeed unless there is support for reflection in the teaching environment.

30. 6. 总分 （举例&总结） 举例：for example, for instance, such as, including 总结：in sum, in general, overall, to sum up, on the whole, generally 例题： 　　Paragraph 5: Above the tree line there is a zone that is generally called alpine tundra. █Immediately adjacent to the timberline, the tundra consists of a fairly complete cover of low-lying shrubs, herbs, and grasses, while higher up the number and diversity of species decrease until there is much bare ground with occasional mosses and lichens and some prostrate cushion plants. █Some plants can even survive in favorable microhabitats above the snow line. The highest plants in the world occur at around 6,100 meters on Makalu in the Himalayas. █At this great height, rocks, warmed by the sun, melt small snowdrifts. █ 　　This explains how, for example, alpine cushion plants have been found growing at an altitude of 6,180 meters.

31. 7. 并列 and, as well as, likewise(同样的), while(与此同时), or, meanwhile(同时), neither...nor..., either...or..., not only...but also... more...than

32. THANKS