标点符号----托福阅读高分必备

标点符号，看起来微不足道，但是在托福阅读中却有着不容忽视的作用----这些不起眼的标点符号往往会为我们提供解题的线索。

标点符号1. 托福阅读中的冒号(colons)

冒号在中文或英文中都是一个常见的标点符号，在中英用法上也大致相同。冒号的主要作用有两种：一是用在总说性话语或需要解释的词语后边，引起下文的分说或引出解释和说明；二是引出引语。在托福阅读中，第一种用法对于我们理解文章和解题更加重要。例如：

① While the Greek world had expanded along the Mediterranean seas lanes, the Roman world was assembled by territorial conquest. Of course, the contrast is not quite so stark: in Alexander the Great the Greeks had found the greatest territorial conqueror of all time; and the Romans, once they moved outside Italy, did not fail to learn the lessons of sea power.

Why does the author mention “Alexander the Great” in the passage?

A. To acknowledge that Greek civilization also expanded by land conquest

B. To compare Greek leaders to Roman leaders

C. To give an example of Greek leader whom Romans studied

D. To indicate the superior organization of the Greek military

解析：这道修辞目的题出自TPO7Ancient Rome and Greece这篇文章，问为什么提到Alexander the Great，修辞目的题的解题关键是弄清前后句子信息之间的逻辑关系。读过原句之后，我们不难发现句中的冒号起着解释说明的作用，其前面的“the contrast is not quite so stark”是个总说性句子，而后面的内容则是对总说句子的一个详细解释。这样知道了冒号前后内容的联系之后，也就很容易解出这道目的题的答案A了。

又如：

② Four specific activities have been identified as major contributors to the desertification processes: overcultivation, overgrazing, firewood gathering, and overirrigation.

③ Now, other forms of life could take hold: ferns and mosses (two of the most ancient types of land plants) that flourish even in rock crevices.

解析：以上两句话都是摘自TPO的文章，句中的冒号同样是起着引起下文的分说的作用，分别举例说明冒号前面总说词语four specific activities 和other forms of life.

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标点符号2. 托福阅读中的破折号(dashes)

破折号在托福阅读中也是尤为常见，其主要作用是引入一个解释性的插入语，放在插入语的前面或者后面，破折号中的内容一般是对主句中的某个单词或短语进行修饰或者解释，作用相当于一个括号。考生就可以利用破折号之间的解释来理解主句中的某个概念。例如：

① This unprecedented development of a finite groundwater resource with an almost negligible natural recharge rate—that is, virtually no natural water source to replenish the water supply—has caused water tables in the region to fall drastically.

The word “virtually” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. Clearly

B. Perhaps

C. Frequently

D. Almost

解析：这是TPO 3 Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer 中的一道词汇题，单词所在的原句中出现了两个破折号，可以判断破折号之间的是插入语，且插入语中出现了短语“that is”。根据破折号的用法，我们可知“that is”后面的内容是在解释破折号前面的“an almost negligible natural recharge rate”。对于很多考生来说，“an almost negligible natural recharge rate”是个很抽象的概念，但是插入语中的信息就能够帮助其理解这一概念的意思，继而猜出virtually的意思，也就是D选项almost。

又如：

② Continued sedimentation—the process of deposits' settling on the sea bottom—buries the organic matter and subjects it to higher temperatures and pressures, which convert the organic matter to oil and gas.

③ From the Middle East the Chinese acquired a blue pigment—a purified form of cobalt oxide unobtainable at that time in China—that contained only a low level of manganese.

解析：在这两句话中，破折号内部的信息是同样是在进行解释和说明，帮助我们理解sedimentation和pigment的这两个词的意思。

另外需要注意的一点是，插入语中的信息虽然能够帮助考生理解破折号前面句子的意思，但是也很容易干扰考生对句子主干的把握。考生在遇到这样的句子时，可以先忽略破折号之间的内容，直接看第二个破折号之后的内容。把握句子的主干之后，再返回来看破折号内的插入语的内容。

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标点符号3. 托福阅读中的圆括号(parentheses)

英语中，圆括号最常见的用法是补充说明和解释生词，它们不同于逗号和破折号的用法，去掉后不会影响句子的理解，但是括号内的信息同样对考生的理解有很大的帮助。例如：

① In the early twentieth century, however, it was discovered that much of the High Plains was underlain by a huge aquifer (a rock layer containing large quantities of groundwater).

② Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished)， large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents.

③ They sting other insects and large herbivores (animals that eat only plants) and even clip surrounding vegetation that grows near the tree.

解析：以上三句话中的括号都是在起补充说明的作用，很多考生不认识aquifer, Cretaceous以及herbivores这三个单词，但是通过括号内的解释就可以知其大致意思。

在托福阅读文章中，标点符号的作用不容小觑，以上文章小编也是选择了其中比较重要的三个标点符号详细讲解。但是通过以上的分析，我们可以得出标点符号对于托福阅读的重要性。

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