雅思阅读备考之标点符号篇

雅思阅读备考之标点符号篇

标点符号,是书面语言的一大组成部分,它可以帮助准确的表达语意并协助读者

抓住句中的精髓。在上小学语文课的时候,老师都会教如何正确使用中文的标点符

号。其实,英文的标点符号也起着同样重要的作用。雅思阅读文章中有很多这样的

标点符号,不仅可以使考生读懂文章,更能迅速准确的搞定考题答案。

冒号

冒号在英文中有两大用法:一是用在一个正式的引用前面,二是列出表示列举、

解释和说明性的词语。比如在剑六 TEST2第一篇文章的 A 段中,首句是这样表达

的:

In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics: “ The more democratic the process, the more public transport is 冒号后的内容是一句正式引语,并对冒号前的 politics 进行了具体的阐述说favored.”

明,因此,冒号后的内容是本段的主题句,强调的引号内的 democratic 一词,所以在本

篇第一个题型 List of Heading中,本段的选项为 A successful exercise in people power.

在剑桥四 Test 4第三篇阅读文章 The Problem of Scarce Resources 中第一个题型

依旧是 List of Heading 。文章 section c 段首句如下:

'However, at exactly the same time as this new realization of the finite character of

health-care resources was sinking in, an awareness of a contrary kind was developing in

Western societies: that people have a basic right to health-care as a necessary condition of a proper human life.'冒号后面的内容对前半句的 an awareness of a contrary kind进行

了具体的解释说明,因此冒号后面的

内容就是解题的重点。在冒号后面提出了 health-care 与 right 的关系,所以这个

段的段落大意选择选项 I The connection between health-care and other human rights.

括号

括号在英文中可以用来表示其中插入的或附加的解释成分,这个插入成分可以

是单词、词组或句子。例如在剑五 TEST1第一篇文章Johnson ’ s Dictionary中,题

号为 5的 summary 即考察的就是文中括号内的内容。该题为:

Johnson did not hav e a ,, ..available to him, but eventually produced definitions of

in excess of 40,000 words written down in 80 large notebooks. 根据题中的定位词 80 large notebooks, 考生可找到文章第六段首句” The work was immense; filling about eighty large notebooks (and without a library to hand, Johnson wrote the definitions of

考生根据所填题目前的 did not have体现的否定关系以over 40,000 words, and,, .. ”

及不定冠词 a, 可预判答案选词为可数名词单数,并且体现为否定关系。通过阅读,可确定答案为文章中括号内的单词 library.

问号

雅思阅读中的问号,多数情况下用在设问句之后。设问句,即没有疑问而故意自

问自答,作者的目的在于引起读者的注意和思考,能够引起文章的跌宕起伏。因此,多数情况下,如果在段首位置出现了问号,该句即为该段的主旨句。如剑六 TEST1第

的首段:

一篇文章“ Australia ’ s Sporting Success”

They play hard, they play often, and they play to win. Australian sports teams win more than their fair share of titles, demolishing rivals with seeming ease. How do they do it? A big part of the secret is an extensive and expensive network of sporting academies underpinned by science and medicine. 前两句为描述性语句,第三句问句 How do they do it?后的自问自答引出了本段甚至本文的中心内容。

破折号

雅思阅读中的破折号后的内容,通常是对主句中的某个单词或短语的修饰或解

释说明。破折号写法上共有两种, 一种为两个破折号搭配使用, 两破折号中间部分

为细节即—,,—, 而第二种情况为—,, . 的情况。如剑四 TEST3第二篇文章:

中 Section C第二段首句:Sometimes it is slow: Volcanoes-earth-s hattering news”

vast bubbles of magma-molten rock from the mantle-inch towards the surface,, 两个破

折号中的 molten rock from the mantle是在解释破折号之前的名词 magma.

破折号中的部分正好对应 19题的题干:What is the name given to molten rock

from the mantle? 因此答案为 magma 。依旧在 Section C 第四段中, 第四行 and you can see the rough outlines of what are called tectonic plates-the plates which make up the

破折号后的 the plates which make up the earth’ s crust and earth ’ s crust and mantle.

mantle是在解释破折号前的 tectonic plates. 此句与 18题题干 What are the sections

相对应。

of the earth’ s crust, often associated with volcanic activity, called?