在這次轟轟烈烈的改革中，閱讀部分的選詞填空難度系數(shù)有所增加。主要體現(xiàn)在單詞的難度（virtually;deals;currently），已經(jīng)文章的難度。這次文章選自2006年9月25號(hào)華盛頓日?qǐng)?bào)出版的Newsweek雜志，作者是Julie Scelfo和Barbara Kantrowitz。這篇文章的主題是science and gender gap（科學(xué)和性別代溝），文章選取了前兩段的內(nèi)容。
　　選詞填空歷年是四級(jí)中最難的環(huán)節(jié)，也是考生最容易放棄的環(huán)節(jié)。比如當(dāng)拿到一道題目后，先把所有的單詞進(jìn)行名詞、形容詞、動(dòng)詞、副詞分類。然后確定每個(gè)空填寫(xiě)的應(yīng)該是名詞還是副詞。
　　比如在本次考試中，名詞：circumstance；confidence;deals;hope;site； 動(dòng)詞：covers;exposing;honoring;hope;形容詞：current;different; exposing; fast;rare;realistic;副詞：presently；virtually
　　比方說(shuō)第一個(gè)空：he _______ of some of the most important discoveries in modern science
　　明顯是填寫(xiě)著一個(gè)名詞，根據(jù)上下文，后面寫(xiě)著：是一些現(xiàn)在科學(xué)的重要發(fā)現(xiàn)，所以這里只有site是合適的。
　　再不比方說(shuō)第二個(gè)空A generation ago, female faces were______and, even today, visitors walking…
　　明顯填寫(xiě)一個(gè)形容詞，根據(jù)上下文講的是那段時(shí)間女性科學(xué)家很少，所以這里只能填寫(xiě)rare.
　　這樣的技巧每次都在寒假班和暑假班的新東方授課中出現(xiàn)過(guò)，相信上過(guò)新東方的讀者們能有所感覺(jué)。
　　最后，無(wú)論考過(guò)還是沒(méi)過(guò)，都希望你在未來(lái)的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)中，能有所突破。

　　原文：
　　Science and the Gender Gap
　　by Julie Scelfo and Barbara KantrowitzSeptember 25, 2006
　　To get a sense of how women have progressed in science, take a quick tour of the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley. This is a storied place, the site of some of the most important discoveries in modern science--starting with Ernest Lawrence's invention of the cyclotron in 1931. A generation ago, female faces were rare and, even today, visitors walking through the first floor of LeConte Hall will see a full corridor of exhibits honoring the many distinguished physicists who made history here, virtually all of them white males.
　　But climb up to the third floor and you'll see a different display. There, among the photos of current faculty members and students, are portraits of the current chair of the department, Marjorie Shapiro, and four other women whose research covers everything from the mechanics of the universe to the smallest particles of matter. A sixth woman was hired just two weeks ago. Although they're still only about 10 percent of the physics faculty, women are clearly a presence here. And the real hope may be in the smaller photos to the right: graduate and undergraduate students, about 20 percent of them female. Every year Berkeley sends freshly minted female physics doctorates to the country's top universities. That makes Shapiro optimistic, but also realistic. "I believe things are getting better," she says, "but they're not getting better as fast as I would like."