托福阅读之插入文本题解密

句子插入题是iBT考试阅读中的一种重要题型，目的在于考查我们对句意的理解以及对句子之间的语义逻辑关系的把握，看我们是否理解各句之间的关系。

句子插入题型的识别比较简单，只要看到要求把句子插入到四个小黑方块的某个位置的就是该题型。解这种题型一定要把握好一个原则就是：要插入的题干句子一定是个冗余信息，可有可无，但要插错位置就一定会影响原句子间的逻辑关系。因此，做这类题型不需要对文章全文的通篇把握，只需仔细阅读要插入句子的段落。

我们在这里介绍其中一种方法：

首尾衔接法：

首先，我们需要认真阅读要插入的句子，找出题干句子中的关键词。所谓关键词一般是名词或代词，在句子中做主语或宾语，一般指代插入句子的前面或后面那个句子中的某个相同名词或同义词，即同义词复现原则。然后，我们需要将句子插入该位置，认真阅读题干句子是否和前后句子在语义逻辑上相符合。

看下面一个例子：

Look at the four squares, ■that indicates where the following sentence  could be added to the passage.

题干：Contingencies are events that might affect what you plan to do, but  rarely are out of your control.

Even the best plans are rarely carried out without some problems. Good  managers learn to deal with problems as they come up. ■ They make decisions as  they are needed and adjust plans when necessary. Flexible plans allow for  several contingencies. ■ For example, rain is a contingency that might affect  the success of an outdoor event. ■ Trying to move indoors at the last minute  could be a disaster. ■ Therefore, your plan should include a “rain plan.”

让我们先认真阅读题干句子，不难看出此句中的关键词是contingency   而且，这个句子是对这个词汇的一个解释或定义，再仔细阅读带黑框的文章段落，会注意到在第二个黑框前面的句子中首次提到了contingencies一词，在看第二个黑框后面则是举例说明，如果把句子插在第二个方框的位置，就可以看出，这样即符合了我们所说的同义词复现原则，也符合了“第一次出现→定义→举例说明”的逻辑原则。

我们再看另外一个例子：

 题干：This irritation is caused by viruses or bacteria, exposure to tobacco  smoke, or air pollution.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes in the lungs. ■ It  often appears after a cold or an upper respiratory infection that does not heal  completely. It also may accompany childhood infections such as measles, whooping  cough, and typhoid fever. ■The inflamed bronchial tubes secrete a sticky mucus  called sputum. It is difficult for the tiny hairs on the bronchi to clear out  this sputum. ■ The cough that comes with bronchitis is the body’s attempt to  eliminate it. ■ Other symptoms include discomfort or tightness in the chest, low  fever, sore throat, and sometimes wheezing. Severe cases of bronchitis may lead  to pneumonia.

从这一题不难看出，题干中的关键词irritation(易怒)，虽然没有在文章中找到同样的词汇，但在文章中第一句中很容易找到一个同义词inflammation(发火)，这也同样符合我们所说的同义词复现原则，所以第一个方框就是插入句子的位置。