【教师点拨】托福阅读句子简化题解题思路

托福阅读题中的句子简化题又叫做释义题，即recognizing paraphrases，是新托福阅读当中比较浪费考生时间的一种题型。 在之前的文章中我们主要探讨了用句子内部和句子之间的逻辑关系来解答句子简化题，介绍了四种常用的逻辑关系。但是，在实际的操练过程中，我们可以发现，有些句子并没有明显的逻辑关系，有些句子和选项中明明有相对应的逻辑关系，但是答案却不是逻辑关系符合的那个选项， 例如TPO12的第二篇文章Transition to Sound in Film的第8题：

Though it may be difficult to imagine from a later perspective, a strain of critical opinion in the 1920s predicted that sound film would be a technical novelty that would soon fade from sight, just as had many previous attempts, dating well back before the First World War, to link images with recorded sound.

8. 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.

○It was difficult for some critics in the 1920s to imagine why the idea of sound film had faded from sight well before the First World War.

○As surprising as it seems today, some critics in the 1920s believed that the new attempts at sound films would fade just as quickly as the attempts made before the First World War.

○Though some early critics thought that sound film would fade, its popularity during the First World War proved that it was not simply a technical novelty.

○Although some critics predicted well before the First World War that sound film would be an important technical innovation, it was not attempted until the 1920s.

见到第一个词Though，我们马上可以判断这是一个转折关系的句子，对照四个选项，发现第三个选项和第四个选项都是同样的逻辑关系。但是，再仔细分析发现，第三个选项和第四个选项与原句的含义均不符合。这就表明ETS在设置题目的过程中，并不总是非常显而易见的，也会带有一定的迷惑性。上述的这个例子，也可以通过just as这个比较的逻辑关系进行选择，正确答案是第二个选项。

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那么，如果遇到逻辑关系这条路走不通的情况，我们要怎么应对呢?

我们知道，一个结构复杂的句子，就像一棵枝繁叶茂的大树，会有很多个枝条，但树干只有一个。一个复杂的句子，就是因为多出了很多修饰它的枝条，它才变得复杂，但它的主干意思却只有一个或者两个(在并列结构中会有一个以上的主干意思)。因此，如何识别句子的主干及修饰成分就是我们突破长难句简化题的第二个法宝。

首先来看看主干结构中的主语的样子。主语可以由名词(n)、动名词(doing)、动词不定式(to do)或名词从句充当。当主语过长，并且为doing, to do, that+从句时，为了避免头重脚轻，主语可以由形式主语It充当。找到主语后，再找到与之相对应的谓语动词和宾语(如果有)，那么主干的意思就出来了。

修饰成分主要有状语和定语。状语比较好识别，一般都是通过介词短语或状语从句的连接词(九大状语从句)引出，用于修饰整个句子，并且句子的语序与汉语的语序基本一致，理解起来比较容易。所以，如果发现有介词短语或状语从句连接词连接的句子，我们基本可以认定其为一个修饰成分，暂时可以不看。定语相对来说比较复杂，我们会在下一篇文章中详细探讨。识别出修饰成分后，就可以利用找句子主干的方法解答长难句的问题。如上面举过的那个句子：Though it may be difficult to imagine from a later perspective, a strain of critical opinion in the 1920s predicted that sound film would be a technical novelty that would soon fade from sight, just as had many previous attempts, dating well back before the First World War, to link images with recorded sound. 这句话中，句子开头的地方见到了though，我们就可以判断though后面的这个句子是个状语从句，再向后看找到一个能做主语的名词，即为a strain of critical opinion，后面的in the 1920s为介词短语做状语，然后我们找到了主句的谓语动词predicted，再向后是一个that引导的宾语从句(因为名词性从句所充当的成分是句子的主干成分，所以我们在看句子时要多关注名词性从句的含义)。宾语从句中的主语为sound film，动词为would be，表语为a thchnical novelty，novelty后有一个that引导的定语从句用于修饰novelty。所以，整个句子的主干就是：a strain of critical opinion predicted that sound film sould be a technical novelty that ……fade from sight。根据这个主干的含义，马上就能选出来答案是第二个选项some critics in the 1920s believed that the new attempts at sound films would fade，而第三个选项的主干its popularity during the First World War proved that 和第四个选项的主干it was not attempted until the 1920s均与原句不符。所以，利用找句子主干的方法也能够快速识别句子的主要含义，有效的完成句子简化题。

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