如何推理和判断

　　在阅读中, 人们首先理解的是语言的字面意义。然而, 语言所表达的内容常常超过其字面意义。这就需要我们掌握逻辑判断和推理的方法, 根据事物发展的自然规律以及语言本身的内在联系, 从一定的文字符号中获得尽可能多的信息。

　　有时, 作者在文中并未把需要读者理解的所有意思直接表达出来, 而是期待读者能领语文章的内在含义, 即从字里行间来体会他想表达的意思。由于有的意思文中没有直接说明, 读者必须根据文中所陈述内容的逻辑发展, 上下文的联贯以及文中有关部分的暗示, 作出判断或进行推理。

　　在阅读中, 判断和推理的能力是十分重要的。只有具备这种能力, 才有可能真正地弄懂文章中语言上没有明确表达却又隐含的意思, 达到真正的理解。

　　一、判断

　　在阅读中，有时要求我们对文章中阐述的事实或细节, 按照逻辑发展的规律, 进行分析和概括, 并以此为依据得出合乎逻辑的结论。我们将这个过程称作判断。

　　例1： The male and female mosquitoes make an odd couple. The female is vampire and lives on blood. The male is a vegetarian that sips nectar and plant juices. Females of different species choose different hosts on which to dine. Some feed exclusively on cattle, horses, birds, and other warm-blooded creatures. Some favor cold-blooded animals. Still others prefer man.

　　While the females menu varies, her bite remains the same. She drives her sharp tubular snout through the skin, injects a fluid to keep the blood from thickening, and drinks her fill, which takes a minute or less. It is the fluid she injects that carries disease. After her blood meal, she rests while her eggs develop. She then looks for a moist or flooded place to lay them

　　根据文中the male is a vegetarian that sips nectar and plant juice.我们可以得出结论：雄蚊相对地说对人类无害。根据文中The female is a vampire and lives on blood. Some feed on ...warm-blooded creatures. Some favour cold-blooded animals. Still others prefer man.我们可以得出结论：雌蚊对多数动物构成威胁。纵观全文, 我们可以得出结论：蚊子应该被消灭。

　　二、推理

　　推理就是以已知的事实为依据, 来获得未知的信息。在阅读中, 我们要善于利用文章中明确表示的内容, 进行正确的推理, 以挖掘作者的隐含意思; 要求进行推理的问题, 在文中均找不到直接答案。如果问题要求理解某句或某段的含蓄意义, 我们必须在文中找到所涉及的关键词语, 仔细阅读一至两遍, 吃透意思, 并以此为根据, 进行分析和推理。然后, 再逐个考虑选择项, 选出答案。如果需要进行推理判断的内容涉及全文, 则必须在理解通篇中心思想、掌握全文逻辑发展过程的基础上, 才能进行正确的推理判断接

　　例2： Like other opinions about the situation, Burkes predictably, and sensibly, forecasts a rise in unemployment among the young.

　　从此句我们可以看出：1)说话者同意Burke的关于年轻人失业现象要增多的看法(根据predictably, and sensibly);2)Burke不是唯一持这种看法的人(根据like other opinions...)。

　　例3：Directions: Read the following passage and choose the statement which can definitely be inferred

　　In 1980, Canada announced strict additional limits on ownership of energy companies by foreign institutions and individuals. Since these may no longer own more than 50 percent of such companies, sources of capital for these corporations are now sharply restricted.

　　A) Before 1980, foreigners were allowed to own a majority of shares in Canadian energy companies.

　　B) Canadas 1980 limitations on energy-company ownership have caused some problems for these enterprises.

　　C) After 1980, foreigners may not own a majority share in a Canadian company.

　　D) Before 1980, there were no limitations of foreign individuals owning Canadian energy companies.

　　选择项A符合题意, 因为文中谈到这一限制是1980年宣布的, 据此可以推断1980年前尚无此规定。选择项B也符合题意, 因文中谈到这些企业资金来源将受到限制, 据此可以推断该限制将会给这些企业带来问题。C项不符合题意, 因文中指的是energy companies, 而不是所有的公司。D项也不符合题意, 因为文中谈到1980年宣布的是jieadditional limits, 据此可以推断在此以前已有其它限制。

　　三、预测

　　根据上文中已出现的语言信息, 预测下文即将出现的信息, 这也是我们必须掌握的一项阅读技能。例如, 当我们读到Though progress on the subway has not actually stopped. . . 。我们根据Though所引出的让步状语从句的意义, 应能推测到Something is wrong with the project. ; 同时从not actually中推测到progress on the subject has almost stopped. 据此预测, 下文可能会出现it is likely that the completion of the project will be delayed , 却不可能出现the project will be completed ahead of time 。

　　若下文与预测一致或基本一致, 则证明自己对上文理解正确, 可以继续阅读; 若不一致, 则说明对已读信息的理解有偏差, 或这里有特殊含义, 需要调整自己的思路, 或应给予特别的注意。

　　通常, 我们可以借助于语法结构、常用句型进行预测; 通过标题或主题句进行预测; 结合自己的背景知识进行预测; 根据语篇标志的提示词或者连接上下文的承接手段来进行预测等等。

　　同样, 我们也可根据所给的某一段文章的内容, 来推测上文讨论的是什么话题, 或已经谈到过什么事情。以 Though progress on the subway has not actually stopped, it is likely that the comp1etion of the project will be delayed.为例。根据该句所提供的信息, 我们可以推测到上文讨论的内容可能是Strikes have severely hampered the project.; 而不可能是 The boss has promised to give his men a pay rise.

　　例5：

　　We can infer from the passage that _____

　　A) English people, like most people in other countries, dislike living in flats.

　　B) People in most countries of the world today are not opposed to living in flats.

　　C) People in Britain are forced to move into high blocks of flats

　　D) Modern flats still fail to provide the necessary facilities for living

　　本题考核学生根据上下文进行推断的能力。文章中说英国人在住房间题上与当今世界上许多国家的居民有着不同的看法, 他们反对住高层公寓, 文章中还列举了许多理由说明这一点, 而且指出这种习惯很难改变。既然英国人与许多国家的居民不同, 反对住高层公寓, 那么世界上许多国家的居民便是不反对住高层公寓, 因此正确的答案是选项B。可是只有大约26%的考生答对了本题,大部分人只注意个别句子的意思, 未能理解文章中隐含的意义。

　　四. 练习

　　The word conservationhas a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourse1ves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had this foo1ish idea that the treasures were 1imitlessand inexbaustible. Most of the citizens or earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a 1iving body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or 1ater be harmful to a11 the others.

　　Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the schoo1 work; scientific forestry was a new idea：timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river f1oods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper 1and use; even the word conservation had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.

　　For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should, therefore, be made a part of everyonesdaily life. To know about the water table in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic formulas. We need to know why all watersheds need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and river must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of mans fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.

　　Question: It can be inferred from the third paragraph that earlier generations didnt realize _____.

　　A ) the interdependence of water, soil and living things

　　B) the importance of the proper use of land

　　C) the harmfulness of soil destruction and river floods

　　D) the value of the beauty of nature

　　这个问题的答案是A。在文章中并不能找到the interdependence of water, soil and living things。我们在第一段可以找到这样一个句子：

　　Most of the citizens or earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a 1iving body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or 1ater be harmful to a11 the others.

　　由此我们可以看出答案是A。

　　在阅读理解测试中, 要求进行判断和推理的问题, 通常有以下几种形式：

　　1. The writer implies that _______.

　　2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

　　3. An inference, which may not be made from this passage, is _____.

　　4. Which of the following can be readily inferred from the passage

　　5. It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

　　6. What does the author conclude about _________

　　7. We may conclude from reading the passage that ______.

　　8. The passage is intended to ______.

　　9. The paragraph preceding this one would most likely state ________.

　　10. Where would this paragraph most probably appear