托福阅读折磨人的小妖精——指代关系

      指代关系，是托福阅读中比较重要但又常被我们忽略的关系，小伙伴们别看它小，其作用却是不可忽视的，几乎每套题目中都会考察指代题，也会在此设置陷阱，大家一定小心哦

　　指代关系——句子里出现了代词，一般意味着这句话前面的句子或者本句中引入了这个代词的指代对象，如此这个指代才能够成立。常见的代词有：this,these,those,they,them,their,etc.这些词出现在句子中，表示他们所指代的名词在前文出现，并且也隐含着有代词这句话与前文有一些隐藏的句子间联系。

　1.指代关系在解句子插入题中的应用

　　插入题中待插入的句子中如果含有指代词，那么从这里入手对于我们解题思路来说会有很好的引导。

The chief problem was technological: How were the Europeans to reach the East? Europe's maritime tradition had developed in the context of easily navigable seas—the Mediterranean,the Baltic, and, to a lesser extent, the North Sea between England and the Continent—not of vast oceans. New types of ships were needed, new methods of finding one's way, new techniques for financing so vast a scheme. The sheer scale of the investment it took to begin commercial expansion at sea reflects the immensity of the profits that such East-West trade could create. ■ Spices were the most sought-after commodities. ■ Spices not only dramatically improved the taste of the European diet but also were used to manufacture perfumes and certain medicines. ■ But even high-priced commodities like spices had to be transported in large bulk in order to justify the expense and trouble of sailing around the African continent all the way to India and China. ■

　　Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

　　They were highly valued for a couple of reasons.

　　Where would the sentence best fit?

　　我们从指代入手。首先我们读待插入的句子，里面有一个代词They，那么意味着正确的答案前面有They所指代的名词出现，而这个名词在文中也应是“be highly valued”的名词。那么文章中，正好B选项前面的句子引入了“spices”这个复数概念，并且是“most sought-after commodities”，与待插入句子正好吻合。且B后面，也正是"be highly valued"的两大原因：“improved the taste"和"manufacture perfumes and certain medicines"。句子完全对应吻合。

　　2.指代关系在目的题中的应用。

　　做目的题要注意前后关系，而代词出现意味着两句话之间有比较紧的联系。Paragraph 3: The introduction of paperspurred a conceptual revolution whose consequences have barely been explored.Although paper was never as cheap as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment and therefore more people could afford to buy books.Paper is thinner than parchment so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets—as much as a meter across—were available. These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings became more complicated.giving the artist greater opportunities to depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper. particularly after 1250. encouraged people to develop systems of representation, such as architectural plans and drawings.This in turn allowed the easy transfer of artistic ideas and motifs over great distances: from one medium to another, and in a different scale in ways that had been difficult, if not impossible, in the previous period.

　　Why does the author include the following information: "At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets—as much as a meter across—were available”?

　　○ To provide evidence that the development of paper making techniques was very slow

　　○ To explain why paper was never as cheap as it has become today

　　○ To make the point that paper allowed artists to develop paintings that were more expressive and complex

　　○ To prove that paper was more popular with artists, who used large sheets, than it was with book printers, who used smaller sheets

　　结合指代，我们发现这句话出现的目的应该与它后面那句“these large sheets”相关。所以这句话出现的目的应该表现了对calligraphers和artists的影响。"These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists hadmore space on which to work."由此，可以选出答案是B。

　　3.指代在其他题目中的作用。

　　在其他题目的解题过程中，也要注意指代词。Paragraph 1: Sometime after midnight on February 8,1969, a large, bright meteor entered Earth's atmosphere and broke into thousands of pieces, plummeted to the ground, and scattered over an area 50 miles long and 10 miles wide in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The first meteorite from this fall was found in the village of Pueblito de Allende.Altogether, roughly two tons of meteorite fragments were recovered, all of which bear the name Allende for the location of the first discovery.

　　Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about the large meteor that entered Earths atmosphere on February8, 1969?

　　O It was almost ten miles wide.

　　O It was the biggest meteor ever to hit Mexico.

　　O It weighed more than two tons.

　　O It broke into more pieces than most meteors do.

　　这是一道很简单的推理题，我们通过文章可以知道答案选C，解题过程不赘述。但是对于这道题，很多同学会错选A，因为他们看到了文章中出现了“10mileswide”的字眼。但是A选项是错的，错在同学们忽略了选项中的"it"指代的是题干中的“large meteor”，而文章中的“10mileswide”指的是“scattered over an area"。所以即使在做题看选项的过程中，也一定不要忽略指代及其指代对象的存在。

        通过课窝给大家详细的讲解，不知道我们的同学掌握了多少，无论在读文章还是做题时都不要忽略这个小小的指代关系，否则一失足成千古恨！关于如何进一步提高托福阅读做题质量，课窝为大家准备了阅读答题技巧，愿我们的小伙伴都能考取理想的成绩！