新托福閱讀考試中絕大部分題目都是對(duì)應(yīng)具體段落的，這會(huì)為考生節(jié)省很多時(shí)間。但是也不排除有少量題目的范圍比較大或比較模糊，考生在尋找答案時(shí)難免一頭霧水，費(fèi)時(shí)費(fèi)力。其實(shí)這些看似沒有明確定位方向的題目都是暗藏玄機(jī)的。下面我們就來看一個(gè)例子：
Wind power has a significant cost advantage over nuclear power and has become competitive with coal-fired power plants in many places. With new technological advances and mass production, projected cost declines should make wind power one of the world’s cheapest ways to produce electricity. In the long run, electricity from large wind farms in remote areas might be used to make hydrogen gas from water during periods when there is less than peak demand for electricity. The hydrogen gas could then be fed into a storage system and used to generate electricity when additional or backup power is needed.
Wind power is most economical in areas with steady winds. In areas where the wind dies down, backup electricity from a utility company or from an energy storage system becomes necessary. Backup power could also be provided by linking wind farms with a solar cell, with conventional or pumped-storage hydropower, or with efficient natural-gas-burning turbines. Some drawbacks to wind farms include visual pollution and noise, although these can be overcome by improving their design and locating them in isolated areas.
Based on the information in paragraph 3 and paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas mentioned at the end of paragraph 1?
A.They rely largely on coal-fired power plants.
B.They contain remote areas where the winds rarely die down.
C.Over 1 percent of the electricity in these states is produced by wind farms.
D.Wind farms in these states are being expanded to meet the power needs of the United States.
這個(gè)題目的題干涉及到三個(gè)段落，而事實(shí)上考生根本不需要去看第一段的內(nèi)容，因?yàn)榇鸢敢罁?jù)的是第三、四段的信息，但是這兩個(gè)段落如果都看的話內(nèi)容也不少，從應(yīng)試的角度來說太費(fèi)時(shí)間。正確的做法應(yīng)該是從選項(xiàng)中挖掘一下方向。A項(xiàng)里大家一般都會(huì)選擇有連字符的coal-fired作為關(guān)鍵詞去定位，B項(xiàng)沒有比較顯眼的詞就只能選名詞短語remote areas，C項(xiàng)選1 percent， D項(xiàng)選the United States。選完關(guān)鍵詞我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn)除了B項(xiàng)不大好定位以外，其他三個(gè)選項(xiàng)的關(guān)鍵詞都很醒目。經(jīng)過定位，A項(xiàng)應(yīng)該去比對(duì)第3段的第一句話，意思明顯矛盾;B項(xiàng)不好找，可以暫且跳過;C項(xiàng)和D項(xiàng)的關(guān)鍵詞在這兩段都找不到，這就屬于新托福閱讀中推理題的錯(cuò)誤答案設(shè)計(jì)方法之一 —— 無中生有。所以雖然我們沒有去驗(yàn)證B項(xiàng)的說法是否正確，但經(jīng)過排除也只能選B了。這樣的做題方法就會(huì)省時(shí)省力，且答案也是正確的。在考試中，這種情況往往會(huì)影響考生的心情，進(jìn)而影響水平的發(fā)揮，但是只要我們了解了ETS出題的套路就能把它們輕松搞定。
考場(chǎng)如戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)，只有知己知彼方能百戰(zhàn)百勝。了解了ETS在設(shè)計(jì)題目時(shí)所使用的“絆馬索”，我們就可以很好地做到事半功倍。