托福阅读如何化长为短？

　　众所周知，托福阅读的最大特点之 -- 就是“长”-- 句子长、文章长、题目长。许多“托儿”们看到阅读文章和题目就十分头痛，毕竟托福要求的单词量就已经令人望而生畏，再加上每篇文章的长度在700词左右，短短20分钟内做完一篇并且保证13-14道题目的正确率，这样一来对于大多数考生而言便是很高的要求。那么，面对长度这一难关，我们要怎样有效化解呢?下面请让我来为大家细细道来。

　　1. 长句子

　　俗话说得好，世上本没有长难句，修饰成分多了便有了长难句。面对一个难以理解的长句子，我们首先去反应一个问题，这个句子的生词多不多?如果有较多不认识的生词，那么先从单词的查漏补缺开始做起。然而本文的重点不是单词的记忆，而是面对单词基本都认识，句子还是不理解或者读不下去的问题该怎么办。那么，问题的关键在于句子的语法结构你是否能够明析，能否快速判断出句子的主干和细节。接下来我们用一个例子加以说明。

　　A few art collectors Tames Bowdoin of Boston, William Byrd of Virginia, and the Aliens and Hamiltons of Philadelphia introduced European art traditions to those colonists privileged to visit their galleries,especially aspiring artists,and established in their respective communities the idea of the value of art and the need for institutions devoted to its encouragement.

　　这个句子的单词难度比较适中，但是句子本身的难度并不小。原因在于句子结构比较复杂，我们来对它进行庖丁解牛。

　　A few art collectors introduced European art traditions to those colonistsand established in their respective communities the idea and the need.

　　红色部分划出了这个句子的核心主干(即主谓宾)，间隔很大，支离破碎。注意后半部分嵌入了倒装句established in their respective communities the idea and the need，establish是及物动词，后面却加了介词in，说明此处有倒装，还原正常语序应是established the idea and the need in their respective communities。倒装出现的意义在于idea和need在原句中的后置定语(即蓝色划线部分)太长，为了防止头重脚轻。

　　原句中绿色部分是人名的并列，也是本句主语art collectors的同位语。紫色部分是colonists的非谓语动词后置定语，黄色部分是插入语用来进一步解释art collectors。

　　综上所述，本句运用了多种语法结构(并列，倒装，同位语，后置定语，插入语)把主干部分分割得支离破碎，如果对这些语法结构不熟悉的同学肯定会一下子摸不着头脑。而如果能够尽最大努力把握其用法，那么对阅读的速度和正确率的提升都有很大帮助。

　　翻译：几位艺术收藏家(此处省略几位艺术家名字)将欧洲艺术传统介绍给那些被特许参观他们画廊的殖民者，尤其是有抱负的艺术家们，并在他们各自的社区建立了艺术具有价值的观念和致力于鼓励其发展的机构的需要。

　　2. 长文章

　　说完句子结构，下面来说说段落和文章结构的重要性。面对比较长的段落和文章，要在短时间内快速抓住重点信息，做对题目，那么对文章的行文套路要有非常清晰的把握。下面以一篇OG真题文章Nineteenth-Century Politics in the United States的段落为例来讲解。

　　In some ways the social makeup of the two parties was similar. To be competitive in winning votes, Whigs and Democrats both had to have significant support among farmers, the largest group in society, and workers. Neither party could win an election by appealing exclusively to the rich or the poor. The Whigs, however, enjoyed disproportionate strength among the business and commercial classes. Whigs appealed to planters who needed credit to finance their cotton and rice trade in the world market, to farmers who were eager to sell their surpluses, and to workers who wished to improve themselves. Democrats attracted farmers isolated from the market or uncomfortable with it, workers alienated from the emerging industrial system, and rising entrepreneurs who wanted to break monopolies and open the economy to newcomers like themselves. The Whigs were strongest in the towns, cities, and those rural areas that were fully integrated into the market economy, whereas Democratsdominated areas of semisubsistence farming that were more isolated and languishing economically.

　　对于这种较长的段落，如何快速辨别段落内部结构和句与句之间的逻辑是理解的关键。[一般来说，段落的主题常出现的位置在段首和段尾，但是也有例外，比如段落内部出现转折，那么要注意转折后的内容与前面相反而且是重点。]

　　这个段落，首句在讲两个党派的社会组成是相似的，接着的第二三句出现了both、neither表示“都”、“都不”，提出了两点相似之处。第四句出现了关键性的however，而该句以及接下来的句子主语也发生了转变，都变为两个党派的其中一个。那么，可以推断出however之后的内容与前面相反，所以段落的主题落在了Democrats和Whigs社会组成的不同之处。

　　3. 长题目

　　(包括选项)

　　有些学生过五关斩六将，好不容易将文章意思弄懂的差不多了，一看题目和选项瞬间又一脸懵x。于是只能依靠“经典口诀”来蒙答案，三短一长选一长，三长一短选一短，参差不齐就选c。大家不要模仿哦!

　　选项看不懂这种情况的出现是为什么呢?主要原因在于选项的同义改写。

　　同义，意味着核心意思保持一致;改写，意味着换一种说法，简单的例如替换同义词语，复杂的例如改变句子结构。下面，我们结合前面所讲的长难句理解内容来做一道句子简化题。

　　The Whigs were strongest in the towns, cities, and those rural areas that were fully integrated into the market economy, whereas Democrats dominated areas of semisubsistence farming that were more isolated and languishing economically.

　　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.

　　A. Whigs were able to attract support only in the wealthiest parts of the economy because Democrats dominated in other areas.

　　B. Whig and Democratic areas of influence were naturally split between urban and rural areas, respectively.

　　C. The semisubsistence farming areas dominated by Democrats became increasingly isolated by the Whigs' control of the market economy.

　　D. The Democrats' power was greatest in poorer areas while the Whigs were strongest in those areas where the market was already fully operating.

　　答案：选D

　　单词：

　　integrate v. 使融合;使结合

　　dominate v. 主宰

　　semisubsistence n. 半自给自足

　　languish v. 失去活力

　　快速做法：

　　Step 1：根据逻辑排除A，因果逻辑无

　　Step 2：根据主干结构排除C，主语不对

　　Step 3：细读B和D，发现B与原句矛盾，排除。

　　详细解析：

　　原句的结构比较简单易懂，主语是红色部分。句子逻辑是绿色的whereas，表示“然而”。所以这句话是在对比Whigs和Democrats势力分布上的区别。

　　A选项的极端词only、最高级wealthiest、because因果逻辑均无体现

　　B选项表示两个党派的势力在城市和乡村地区各自自然分布，与原句前半句矛盾

　　C选贤偷换主干，原句主干不是farming areas

　　D选项涉及同义改写，whereas与while同义替换，逻辑对应。poorer areas同义对应原句的more isolated and languishing economically;market fully operating同义对应原句的fully integrated into market economy

　　综上，对于托福阅读长难句，首先按照逻辑排除与原句不对应的改写，其次注意主干结构是否原句一致。掌握好这两个关键的步骤，很大程度上可以帮助我们快速排除掉“一本正经胡说八道”的选项了。