托福阅读句子要点题：把握逻辑关系，稳抓同义替换

托福阅读句子要点题又称托福阅读句子简化题，顾名思义是对长难句的简化筛出句子最精华的要点，一般出题形式是在文章中高亮标示出一个句子，要求考生选择与原文基本信息最接近的选项，这类题目的提问方式一般为：“Which is 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.”

句子简化题的出题思路一般分为两类：一是对长难句的化繁为简，即原句比较长，逻辑关系复杂，选项只保留了原句的主要信息，而省略了原句的次要信息(如同位语、例子)等;二是对相对简单的句子的同义改写，即原句难度不大，逻辑关系简单，选项是原句的同义改写。从做题方法上来说，对于第二种出题思路的题目，考生应该采用通读的办法，在理解原句意思的基础上再答题。而针对第一种出题思路的题目，考生一般把握住原句的几个关键点就可以见微知著，找到破解句子简化题的良方。

对于句子简化题，有一些题目如果句子不长，我们做题的基本原则就是：同义替换。找到原句中的关键词在选项当中进行同义替换。如：

In evolutionary history, the development of language set humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Which sentence 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.

A. Humans evolved as the most powerful species after they are developed language.

B. The creation of human language has its origins in the language of animals.

C. The emergence of language distinguished early humans from other animals.

D. Humans and animals developed completed different systems of communication.

先来看题干：Which sentence 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.

该题要求从选项中选择一个能够表达原文阴影句子核心信息的句子。很多同学采用翻译的方法做题，即首先翻译原句，然后逐个翻译四个选项。这种做法不仅浪费时间，而且对我们读句子的能力要求极高。更好的做法是，首先判断句子的核心信息。这是考题当中为数不多的原句比较简单的句子释义题，原句的核心概念在于强调区分(apart from)。因此找到同义替换，即是C 项当中的distinguished。但是大多数题目的原文不会是一个简单句，多数是带有逻辑关系的复杂句。那么简单的同义替换技巧就无法操作了。如何快速解决这种题型呢?我们主要分两个部分来解析。

其实，我们在读原句的时候并不需要完整的彻底的摄取信息，相反，我们通过快速浏览，只需要关注两个关键点：一是原句当中的表示程度，频率的词，二是原句当中的逻辑关系。并不需要吸收所有信息，只需要快速浏览将所关注的信息点抓住即可，这样便节省了大量的时间。

还可以对比原句与选项，逻辑关系与原文一致者为正确选项，对比原句中出现的例子与选项，不包含例子内容的选项为正确选项。如：

The highlighted sentence: 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.

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. (TPO 14 Pastoralism in Ancient Inner Eurasia)

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.

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.

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

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.

很多考生看到原句中出现的转折逻辑词but，就会想到用逻辑吻合的技巧来解答。由于英语中的转折关系与让步关系可以相互转换，因而很多考生看到选项A出现的despite，会误以为其是正确答案，掉入前面提到的在逻辑转换时题目设置的陷阱中。所以，考生在利用技巧一解题时，遇到逻辑吻合的选项后，一定要对比一下该选项与原句的主句意思是否一致。在本题中，原句主句的重点在but之后，即“they seem to have been softened”，而选项A的主句是“gender inequality still exists”，两者的意思明显不一致，因而A不是正确选项。事实上，如果考生快速浏览原句，会发现后面句子出现了举例的标志词including，所举的例子就是military skills。根据这个例子，考生可以暂且排除A、B、C三个选项。然后再对比选项D与原句的意思是否一致，最后考生可以得出正确答案正是选项D。

最后我们来回顾一下ETS对句子简化题的出题要求，简单来说，托福阅读句子要点题的关键就在于找到原文考查句子和选项各自的关键信息再进行比对。一般来说题目中干扰选项的错误主要体现在两个方面：一是从根本上改变了原句意思，二是漏掉了原句中包含的重要信息。我们在进行托福阅读句子要点题的备考时一定要注意结合方法技巧进行有的放矢的真题训练并做好反思总结，循序渐进提高对这类题型的应对能力。