托福阅读考前点睛系列(九)：小结题

　　在新托福考试当中，阅读是第一个部分，一共会考到3篇或者4篇文章，每篇文章700-800字左右，每篇文章之后会有13-14个题目。很多同学面对这样托福阅读文章，感觉无从下手，甚至有时即使看懂了文章，题目也无法选对，那么应该如何应对这种情况呢?在这个系列中，老给大家就托福阅读的具体解题技巧进行剖析讲解，作为考前冲刺，给大家考试助力，点睛指导!

　　接下来我们来继续来解析一下新托福考试的两个新题型，也是每篇文章的最后一道大题的第一种形式小结题：

　　Prose Summary 小结题

　　小结题是每一篇文章最后的那一道大题，需要从六个选项中选出三个作为正确答案，每一题两分。我们首先来分析一下这个题目的题干要求：

　　An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

　　(一个总结性句子已经给出。通过选择三个选项来完成这个总结，所选的选项需要表达原文最重要的信息。有些选项不属于总结性选项，因为他们表达了没在原文中出现的信息或者是原文中的细节信息。此题两分。)通过分析题干给出的具体信息，我们能够看出，这道题目的关键要求在于选择重要信息，总结性信息。也就意味着，有的选项虽然正确，但是如果它表达的是原文中的细节信息，那么依然不能作为正确答案，这是这道题目中最难的一个点。

　　让我们来看一道例题:

　　13-14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

　　This passage discusses fossils that help to explain the likely origins of cetaceanswhales, porpoises, and dolphins.

 　　Answer Choices

　　1. Recent discoveries of fossils have helped to show the link between land mammals and cetaceans.

　　2. The discovery of Ambulocetus natans provided evidence for a whale that lived both on land and at sea.

　　3. The skeleton of Basilosaurus was found in what had been the Tethys Sea, an area rich in fossil evidence.

　　4. Pakicetus is the oldest fossil whale yet to be found.

　　5. Fossils thought to be transitional forms between walking mammals and swimming whales were found.

　　6. Ambulocetus’ hind legs were used for propulsion in the water.

　　这是每篇文章最后的一个大题，基于全文的基础进行提问，所以，我们可以根据文章的关键句，先来判断这篇文章的主要内容。以下摘选了文章的每个自然段的关键句，我们一起来看一下：

　　THE ORIGINS OF CETACEANS

　　第一自然段：It should be obvious that cetaceans-whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. …

　　第二自然段：Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. …

　　第三自然段：The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans. Although limited to a skull, the Pakicetus fossil provides precious details on the origins of cetaceans. …

　　第四自然段：Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert. …

　　第五自然段：An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans ("the walking whale that swam") lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. …

　　首先，第一自然段综述关于鲸类动物是哺乳动物的事实，到了第二自然段开始揭示鲸类动物起源的具体细节，说到科学家有一些重要发现，到了第三自然段开始交待第一种化石的名称Pakicetus。第四自然段又提到另外一种化石发现，名字为Basilosaurus，最后一自然段提到第三种化石发现Ambulocetus natans，总结来说，这篇文章通过介绍三个化石来揭示了鲸类的起源。