3.语义题:考察根据上下文推断词义的能力

标志:题干中包含明确位置,如:(Line 1, Para. 3)。   

解答语义题关键抓两点:利用并列平行结构、根据上下文的语义推断。

语义题错误选项的特点:简单词的本意。

(1) 简单词的本意往往为错误选项。

例题4:05年6月

What do the environmentalists mean by saying “Not so fast” (Line 1, Para. 3)?   C

A) Oil exploitation takes a long time

B) The oil drilling should be delayed

C) Don’t be too optimistic

D) Don’t expect fast returns

分析:题干非常简单,从字面意思上看与速度和时间有关系,AB中的takes a long time和delayed都是Not so fast的字面意思,D选项更是用fast来解释Not so fast,因此ABD同时排除,正确答案是C,与简单的题干的字面意思没有直接联系。

总结:语义题的题干如果很简单,那么正确答案就与字面意思无关。

(2) 利用并列平行结构

例题5:(对应例文1)

The word “shun” (Line 1, Para. 1) most probably means ___B___.

A) cut down on减少

B) stay away from 远离

C) run out of 用完

D) put up with 忍受(B)

分析:“Humans should not try to avoid stress any more than they would shun food, love or exercise.”在本句话中出现比较more than,把前后的内容进行对比they对应Humans,shun对应avoid,对应正确答案B,stay away from 远离。

总结:灵活利用并列、比较等平行结构寻找对应

(3) 根据上下文的语义推断

例题6:2008年12月

What does Dr. Ross Cartmill mean by “the ostrich approach” (Line 1, Para. 9)?  D

A) A casual attitude towards one’s health conditions

B) A new therapy for certain psychological problems

C) Refusal to get medical treatment for fear of the pain involved

D) Unwillingness to find out about one’s disease because of fear

分析:原文Then there is the ostrich approach. “Some men are scared of what might be there and would rather not know,” says Dr. Ross Cartmill. 关于ostrich approach的意思,需要看上下文的内容,也就是对应在后面的那句话,D选项中的Unwillingness to find out对应原文的would rather not know,fear对应scared,因此为正确答案。

总结:语义题不是考察你是否认识这个单词,而是考察你能不能利用上下文推断出它在文章里的含义。

四.快速阅读:

快速阅读项目规定的完成时间是在作文之后的9:40-9:55,而且9:55的时候会收答题卡I其中包含作文和快速阅读,因此快速阅读只有15分钟,不光 要完成解答还要填好机读卡,在速度上要求很高,因此就要求快速阅读的做题方法有别于深度阅读,但方法的根本还是一致的,那就是关键词的定位。

快速阅读解题三步骤:

(1)浏览大标题小标题,了解文章主题结构。

(2)根据题干中的关键词结合小标题和出题顺序在原文中找到定位。

(3)正确答案:1-7完整照抄原文或对原文同义改写的选项为正确答案;8-10对比原文与题干,缺失的成分为答案,注意填入的内容的时态和主谓搭配与题干一致。

How Do You See Diversity    2009年6月

As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company. During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.

He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice.

“It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person,” Tiffany confesses. What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a household where respect for those in authority was shown by averting (避开) your eyes.

“I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact; not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again.”

Many of us have had similar encounters with behaviors we perceive as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions.

Hire Advantage

At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can eliminate invalid biases (偏见) from the process have a distinct advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate recruiter we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make.

“During my Mindsets coaching session, I was taught how to recruit a diversified workforce. I recruited people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to utilize their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to say in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.”

Blinded by Gender

Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops on supervising a diverse workforce. “Through one of the sessions, I discovered my personal bias,” he recalls. “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences.” In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.

“I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My reasoning would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.” Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to tap into the full potential of a diverse workforce.

“I learned from the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the situation. I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision.” Dale credits the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.”

Year of the Know-It-All

Doug is another supervisor who attended one of my workshops. He recalls a major lesson learned from his own employee.

“One of my most embarrassing moments was when I had a Chinese-American employee put in a request to take time off to celebrate Chinese New Year. In my ignorance, I assumed he had his dates wrong’, as the first of January had just passed. When I advised him of this, I gave him a tong talking-to about turning in requests early with the proper dates.

“He patiently waited, then when I was done, he said he would like Chinese New Year off, not the Western New Year. He explained politely that in his culture the New Year did not begin January first, and that Chinese New Year, which is tied to the lunar cycle, is one of the most celebrated holidays on the Chinese calendar. Needless to say, I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up. But I learned a great deal about assumptions, and that the timing of holidays varies considerably from culture to culture.

“Attending the diversity workshop helped me realize how much I could learn by simply asking questions and creating dialogues with my employees, rather than making assumptions and trying to be a know-it-all,” Doug admits. “The biggest thing I took away from the workshop is learning how to be more ‘inclusive’ to differences.”

A Better Bottom Line

An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations internally, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales. “Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn’t until my boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased.”

Once we start to see people as individuals, and discard the stereotypes, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities. It is about building better communities and organizations that enhance us as individuals and reinforce our shared humanity.

When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past, from the media, peers, family, friends, etc., we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are flawed (有缺陷的) or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone.

注意:此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

1. What bothered Tiffany during an interview with her candidate?  A

A) He just wouldn’t look her in the eye.

B) He was slow in answering her questions.

C) His resume didn’t provide the necessary information.

D) His answers to some of her questions were irrelevant.

分析:第一题,根据关键词Tiffany 结合bothered对应在全文开头的第二句话。A选项wouldn’t look her in the eye 对应原文never made direct eye contact,正确。

2. What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC? B

A) A real estate agency.

B) A personnel training company.

C) A cultural exchange organization.

D) A hi-tech company.

分析:根据关键词Mindsets LLC对应在全文第一个小标题中。原文helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots 帮助公司和个人认识到自身的盲区,并且在下文反复出现training、coaching、taught,可以得知这是一个培训机构,B选项正确。

3. Doug felt ____ when he realized that his assumption was wrong.

分析:根据关键词Doug对应在全文第三个小标题。原文第二段开头就出现了最高级的重要考点One of my most embarrassing moments,同时在第三段的中间出现了I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up,题干中的wrong对应mixed up,assumption对应assuming,felt对应felt,正确答案very embarrassed。

五.选词填空:

选词填空项目最大的突破点是A-O这15个备选答案的认知,只要能认识大部分选项就可以拿3分以上。选项的范围可以参考上文所提到的单词的记背范围,尤其关注:1历年考过的选词填空选项;2历年考过的复合式听写;3完形填空的选项

选词填空解题三步骤:

(1)浏览选项,同时在15个备选答案后标记词性,共四大类词性:名词n、动词v、形容词a、副词ad;

(2)以一个段落或3个空为一个单位进行解答,不能直接判断出词义的判断词性;

(3)把对应词性的选项逐一带回原文,含义通顺时态主谓一致者为正确答案。

Every year in the first week of my English class, some students inform me that writing is too hard. They never write, unless assignments __1__ it. They find the writing process __2__ and difficult. (2009年6月)

A) closer      B) daily      C) emotional      D) enhance       E) enormous

F) especially    G) hinder      H) mission     I) painful         J) performance

K) profession    L) remarkably   M) require    N) sensitive       O) urge

分析:第1题:前后词assignments 和 it都是名词,中间缺一个谓语动词,根据语意,“每一年在我的第一周的英语课上都会有一些同学跟我说写作非常难。他们从来不写,除非有任务____”。在动词中M) require正确。

第2题:根据后面的信息and difficult,并列连词连结的应该是相同词性的两个词,因此应该找形容词,根据语意,“他们感觉写作的过程是____并且困难的。在形容词中I) painful正确。

六.时间规划

最后的复习时间切忌不要大量做模拟题或预测题,应该把以往做过的真题进行反复总结,挖掘规律,发现问题,避免相同的情况反复错。每天拿出两个小时的时间全面总结一套真题,水平必然会在不断的分析总结中得到提升。


四级考试阅读冲刺策略-有效利用真题(1)