考研英語閱讀沖刺：選項特征知多少

劉琦

考研英語閱讀部分在考研題型中所占分值最高，其重要性不言而喻。它測試的是考生較高層次的英語能力，其選材廣泛，文章無論從長度、詞匯、句型結(jié)構(gòu)，還是邏輯、選項設(shè)置等，難度都遠遠大于四、六級。同時，考研英語閱讀的命題也更具有多變性和迷惑性。影響考生在閱讀方面失分的主要有三個方面：詞句、題目和選項。詞句方面是復(fù)習早期需要攻克的重點。題目方面需要考生對考研英語閱讀的題型有充分認識，充分了解每個題型的考查點、命題方式、解題思路。沖刺階段，考生在實現(xiàn)了前兩個方面的突破后，更多的失分原因落在選項上。本文筆者將就這一失分點，給考生介紹考研英語閱讀中正確選項和干擾選項的特征，幫助大家熟悉命題規(guī)律，規(guī)避不必要的失分。

正確選項特征

正確選項往往具有以下特征：在語氣表述上較為委婉，形式上多為原文詞句的同義改寫。值得一提的是，考研英語閱讀也存在一題有多個正確選項的可能性，遇到這種情況，考生需要從表達形式、內(nèi)容涉及范圍等方面多加考慮，從而選出最佳答案。在下文中，筆者將詳述各種正確選項特征的表現(xiàn)形式。

1 相對語氣原則

該原則指的是考研英語真題的選項設(shè)置中，語氣委婉、表達留有余地的選項往往是正確答案。“相對語氣詞”常見的有：may、might、could、not all、not every。

例 22. L.A. Unified has made the rule about homework mainly because poor students _________.

（2012-英語（二）-text1）

[A] tend to have moderate expectations for their education

[B] have asked for a different educational standard

[C] may have problems finishing their homework

[D] have voiced their complaints about homework

原文：①This rule is meant to address the difficulty that students from impoverished or chaotic homes might have in completing their homework. ②But the policy is unclear and contradictory. ③Certainly ...

分析：本題問的是洛杉磯聯(lián)合學區(qū)制定關(guān)于家庭作業(yè)的規(guī)則與貧窮學生之間的關(guān)系。在本題中，選項A中的tend to do和選項C中的may均顯示出委婉語氣，故考生在選擇時應(yīng)首先甄別A和C兩個選項。根據(jù)題干信息，考生可將答案信息定位到文章第二段第一句，由原文可知該規(guī)則的制定就是為了解決來自于貧困或混亂家庭的孩子在完成作業(yè)時可能會遇到的困難，而這正是選項C的內(nèi)容，故本題正確選項最終鎖定C。

2 同義替換原則

該原則指出題人在設(shè)置正確選項時一般不會直接摘抄原文，往往通過近義詞替換、簡化替換、詞性替換等方式對原文進行改寫，意思與原文接近。

1）近義詞替換。該替換形式是同義替換原則中最常見也最易識別的，即將原文解題關(guān)鍵句中的某個詞或某幾個詞用其對應(yīng)的近義詞在選項中進行替換，使得選項表達意思與原文對應(yīng)句幾乎相同。

例 29. We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to _________. （2012-英語（二）-text2）

[A] classify consumers into smaller groups

[B] attach equal importance to different genders

[C] focus on infant wear and older kids clothes

[D] create some common shoppers terms

原文：①Trade publications counselled department stores that， in order to increase sales， they should create a “third stepping stone” between infant wear and older kids clothes. ②It was only after “toddler” became a common shoppers term that it evolved into a broadly accepted developmental stage. ③Splitting kids， or adults， into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits. ④And one of the easiest ways to segment a market is to magnify gender differences ...

分析：根據(jù)題干中的關(guān)鍵詞Paragraph 4，考生把答案信息定位到文中第四段。第四段第三句提到將孩子和成人細分成更小類別是提升利潤的很好方式。原文中的“splitting … into …”與選項A中的“classify … into …”意思相近，屬于同義替換，故本題正確答案為選項A。

2）簡化替換。該替換形式是指原文在描述一項事物時，從多個方面逐一詳解，而選項以幾個甚至一個總結(jié)詞對文中詳述的內(nèi)容加以簡短概括。

例 39. According to paragraph 4， the message conveyed by celebrity magazine is ________. （2011-英語（一）-text4）

[A] soothing [B] ambiguous

[C] compensatory [D] misleading

原文：Of course， the image of parenthood that celebrity magazines like Us Weekly and People present is hugely unrealistic， especially when the parents are single mothers like Bullock. According to several studies concluding that parents are less happy than childless couples， single parents are the least happy of all. No shock there， considering how much work it is to raise a kid without a partner to lean on； yet to hear Sandra and Britney tell it， raising a kid on their “own” ... is a piece of cake.

分析：本段首句提到名人雜志所傳遞的信息hugely unrealistic （非常不真實）。并進一步提出，“parents are less happy than childless couples， single parents are the least happy of all”（父母比無子女的夫婦要更不開心，而單親父母就是最不開心者），這與雜志所傳遞的“raising a kid on their ‘own is a piece of cake”（獨自養(yǎng)育孩子只是小菜一碟）截然相反，從而可以看出選項D是對這一段內(nèi)容的簡化替換，故為正確答案。

3）詞性替換。該選項特征是指原文中用某一詞性的詞進行表意，而選項用意思相同但詞性不同的詞進行替換。

例 21. It is implied in paragraph 1 that nowadays homework _________. （2012-英語（二）-text1）

[A] is receiving more criticism

[B] is gaining more preferences

[C] is no longer an educational ritual

[D] is not required for advanced courses

原文：Homework has never been terribly popular with students and even many parents， but in recent years it has been particularly scorned.

分析：根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞，考生把本題答案信息定位在第一段。把原文與選項對比，考生可發(fā)現(xiàn)，本題選項A中的criticism與原文scorned意思相近，屬于同義替換原則，但兩者詞性不同，criticism是名詞，scorn為動詞。本題正確答案為選項A。

3矛盾對立原則

該原則指的是當選項中出現(xiàn)一對意思相反的選項時，正確選項往往是兩者之一。不過提醒考生注意的是，該原則不適用于態(tài)度題。

例 39. The research of Till Von Wachter suggests that in recession graduates from elite universities tend to __________.

（2012-英語（二）-text4）

[A] lag behind the others due to decreased opportunities

[B] catch up quickly with experienced employees

[C] see their life chances as dimmed as the others

[D] recover more quickly than the others

原文：The research of Till Von Wachter， the economist at Columbia University， suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed： those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times； it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.

分析：通讀四個選項，考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項A和選項D意思相反，所以答案可鎖定在選項A和選項D。接下來根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞，可以將答案區(qū)域定位到上面原文的句子。將原文與兩個選項對比后，考生可以發(fā)現(xiàn)正確答案為選項D。

干擾選項特征

考研英語閱讀的干擾選項的設(shè)置情況非常多元化，必須放在具體的語境中一一進行分析。以下筆者僅就考研英語閱讀選項設(shè)置中最常見的三種干擾選項的特征展開介紹。

1偷換概念

具備該特征的選項通常干擾性較強。因為這類選項涉及內(nèi)容往往在文中都有出處。選項的錯誤在于其將文中用以描述甲的內(nèi)容嫁接到乙上，而文中并沒有說甲乙兩者具有這方面的共性特征；或是將文中甲乙兩者的關(guān)系說成是甲丙的關(guān)系。最常見的表現(xiàn)形式是甲乙丙三者文中皆有介紹，甲乙之間存在關(guān)系，乙丙之間也有關(guān)系，然而甲丙之間并不存在任何聯(lián)系，出題人在設(shè)計選項時，混淆甲乙兩者的關(guān)系，故意將乙方替換成丙方，這就屬于偷換概念。

2無中生有

選項中的表述在文中找不到出處，相當于該選項毫無依據(jù)。然而該選項在設(shè)計后仍然對考生造成干擾的原因在于，其表述內(nèi)容往往在生活中很常見并符合常識，考生在選擇時，基于常識或自身主觀判斷，未考慮文中內(nèi)容表述即進行選擇，實際文中并無相關(guān)表達，這種選項特征即稱為無中生有。

3正反混淆

選項中的表述與原文正好相反。比如文中對甲的評價是正面的，選項對甲持有負面評價；文中對某事件持有肯定態(tài)度，選項卻持有否定態(tài)度。這類型選項即具備正反混淆特征。

接下來，筆者就以兩道真題來為考生具體講解。

例1 37. According to Paragraph 2， the recession has made people __________. （2012-英語（二）-text4）

[A] struggle against each other [B] realize the national dream

[C] challenge their prudence [D] reconsider their lifestyle

原文：①No one tries harder ... ②Many said that unemployment， while extremely painful， had improved them in some ways： they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent； they were more aware of the struggles of others. ③In limited respects， perhaps the recession will leave society better off. ④At the very least， it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses， and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.

分析：該道題問的是根據(jù)第二段內(nèi)容，經(jīng)濟蕭條使得人們怎么了。我們來具體分析四個選項。選項A屬于偷換概念。句②提到，大蕭條使失業(yè)者們更能體會到別人的艱苦奮斗（more aware of the struggles of others），而不是使人們相互斗爭（struggle against each other）。選項B也屬于偷換概念。句④中有對national dream的相關(guān)表述，該句指出，經(jīng)濟蕭條使國人從一夜暴富的狂熱之夢中醒來（awoken us from our national fever dream …），而不說它幫助人們實現(xiàn)了夢想（realize the national dream）。選項C屬于正反混淆。經(jīng)濟蕭條使人們在經(jīng)濟上比以往更加謹慎（more financially prudent），而不是說對人們的謹慎構(gòu)成了挑戰(zhàn)（challenge their prudence）。所以，正確答案是選項D。

例2 38. Benjamin Friedman believes that economic recessions may __________. （2012-英語（二）-text4）

[A] impose a heavier burden on immigrants

[B] bring out more evils of human nature

[C] promote the advance of rights and freedoms

[D] ease conflicts between races and classes 原文：①But for the most part ... ②In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth， the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S.， lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive， and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms. ③Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases， as does conflict between races and classes.

分析：該題問的是Benjamin Friedman對經(jīng)濟蕭條的看法。我們看四個選項可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項A屬于無中生有。句③僅提到了經(jīng)濟蕭條會導致反移民情緒高漲，但這未必就會給移民帶來更沉重的負擔（impose a heavier burden on immigrants），選項A應(yīng)排除掉。選項C和D都屬于正反混淆，原文內(nèi)容正好與選項內(nèi)容相反：原文為stopped or reversed，選項為promote；原文為increases，選項為ease，所以也應(yīng)排除掉。正確答案為選項B。