高考英語閱讀理解中why問題的考點與命題點

楊文煜

近五年高考英語全國I卷閱讀理解考題中，出現以why設問的題目共八道，所涉及的文體有議論文、記敘文及說明文，而且不同文體中以why提問的題目，其求答的方向也不一樣，體現了命題者不同的設計意圖。從命題者的設計意圖入手，對題干特點、命題點及選項分析，有助于揣測命題者的設計意圖，從而提高答題的準確率。

一、why問句，問原因

why問句，問原因的題目多數出現在記敘文中，其題干特點“why+助動詞+普通人的一件事”為特點，而且選項都是主語相同的完整陳述句，正確選項通常是對文本材料進行語意概括。其命題點有以下三種情況：

1.?原因狀語從句

（2016年全國Ⅰ卷C篇）I?am?Peter?Hodes，?a?volunteer?stem?courier.?Since?March?2012，?Ive?done?89?trips?--of?those，?51?have?been?abroad.?I?have?42?hours?to?carry?stem?cells（干細胞）in?my?little?box?because?Ive?got?two?ice?packs?and?thats?how?long?they?last，?in?all，?from?the?time?the?stem?cells?are?harvested?from?a?donor（捐獻者）to?the?time?they?can?be?implanted?in?the?patient，?weve?got?72?hours?at?most.?So?I?am?always?conscious?of?time.

30.?Why?does?Peter?have?to?complete?his?trip?within?42?hours？

A.?He?cannot?stay?away?from?his?job?too?long.

B.?The?donor?can?only?wait?for?that?long.

C.?The?operation?needs?that?much?time.

D.?The?ice?wont?last?any?longer.

分析：由because引導的原因狀語從句“因為我有兩個冰袋，它們只能撐這么長的時間”可知，選D項。

2.?現在分詞短語

（2016年全國Ⅰ卷B篇）Garza?never?pleased?move?away.?Even?when?her?daughter?and?son?asked?her?to?move?to?San?Antonio?to?help?their?children，?she?politely?refused.?Only?after?a?year?of?friendly?discussion?did?Ms.?Garza?finally?say?yes.?That?was?four?years?ago.?Today?all?three?generations?regard?the?move?to?a?success，?giving?them?a?closer?relationship?than?they?would?have?had?in?separate?cities.

25.?Why?was?Garzas?move?a?success？

A.?It?strengthened?her?family?ties.

B.?It?improved?her?living?conditions.

C.?It?enabled?her?make?more?friends.

D.?It?helped?her?know?more?new?places.

分析：最后一句中的現在分詞短語，表示結果“這讓他們的關系比在單獨的城市更親密”，可見A項正確。

3.?表示轉折處

（2020年全國Ⅰ卷C篇）Race?walkers?are?conditioned?athletes.?The?longest?track?and?field?event?at?the?Summer?Olympics?is?the?50-kilometer?race?walk，?which?is?about?five?miles?longer?than?the?marathon.?But?the?sports?rules?require?that?a?race?walkers?knees?stay?straight?through?most?of?the?leg?swing?and?one?foot?remain?in?contact（接觸）with?the?ground?at?all?times.?Its?this?strange?form?that?makes?race?walking?such?an?attractive?activity，?however，?says?Jaclyn?Norberg，?an?assistant?professor?of?exercise?science?at?Salem?State?University?in?Salem，?Mass.

28.?Why?are?race?walkers?conditioned?athletes？

A.?They?must?run?long?distances.

B.?They?are?qualified?for?the?marathon.

C.?They?have?to?follow?special?rules.

D.?They?are?good?at?swinging?their?legs.

分析：由題干中的conditioned?athletes找到此段，由段中But后的內容“但是這項運動的規則要求競走選手的膝蓋在擺腿的大部分時間里要保持筆直，一只腳要始終與地面接觸”可知，這些運動員必須遵守特殊的規則，故選C項。正確選項是對原因的高度概括。

二、why問句，問目的

why問句，問目的，多數出現在研調或科普說明文中。題干通常是“why+研究者（researchers）或團隊（teams）或組織等完成一件事”，材料中命題點所在的句子的主體跟題干的主語基本一致。四個選項均為不定式，正確選項往往是文本材料的同義轉換或高度概括。

其命題點有以下兩種情況：

1.?表示目的的不定式處

（2018年全國Ⅰ卷D篇）We?may?think?...?Thats?bad?news?for?the?environment?–?and?our?wallets?–?as?these?outdated?devices?consume?much?more?energy?than?the?newer?ones?that?do?the?same?things.

To?figure?out?how?much?power?these?devices?are?using，?Callie?Babbitt?and?her?colleagues?at?the?Rochester?Institute?of?Technology?in?New?York?tracked?the?environmental?costs?for?each?product?throughout?its?life?...

33.?Why?did?Babbitts?team?conduct?the?research？

A.?To?reduce?the?cost?of?minerals.

B.?To?test?the?life?cycle?of?a?product.

C.?To?update?consumers?on?new?technology.

D.?To?find?out?electricity?consumption?of?the?devices.

分析：由題干中的Babbitt可定位到第二段，由第一句中表示目的的不定式“（To?figure?out?...?為了弄清楚這些設備到底用了多少電）”可知，選D項。

（2017年全國Ⅰ卷C篇）Some?of?the?worlds?most?famous?musicians?recently?gathered?in?Paris?and?New?Orleans?to?celebrate?the?first?annual?International?Jazz?Day.?UNESCO（United?Nations?Educational，?Scientific?and?Cultural?Organization）recently?set?April?30?as?a?day?to?raise?awareness?of?jazz?music，?its?significance，?and?its?potential?as?a?unifying（聯合）voice?across?cultures.

28.?Why?did?UNESCO?set?April?30?as?International?Jazz?Day？

A.?To?remember?the?birth?of?jazz.

B.?To?protect?cultural?diversity.

C.?To?encourage?people?to?study?music.

D.?To?recognize?the?value?of?jazz.

分析：由題干中的April?30可定位到第一段的最后一句，“聯合國教科文組織最近將4月30日定為爵士樂日，以提高人們對爵士樂的認識、爵士樂的重要性以及爵士樂作為跨文化統一聲音的潛力。”由其中的不定式短語可知，選D項：認識到爵士樂的價值。正確選項是對原文的概括。

2.?問題解決處

（2019年全國Ⅰ卷C篇）As?data?and?identity?theft?becomes?more?and?more?common，?the?market?is?growing?for?biometric（生物測量）technologies—like?fingerprint?scans—to?keep?others?out?of?private?e-spaces.?At?present，?these?technologies?are?still?expensive，?though.

Researchers?from?Georgia?Tech?say?that?they?have?come?up?with?a?low-cost?device（裝置）that?gets?around?this?problem：?a?smart?keyboard.?This?smart?keyboard?precisely?measures?the?cadence（節奏）with?which?one?types?and?the?pressure?fingers?apply?to?each?key.

28.?Why?do?the?researchers?develop?the?smart?keyboard？

A.?To?reduce?pressure?on?keys.

B.?To?improve?accuracy?in?typing

C.?To?replace?the?password?system.

D.?To?cut?the?cost?of?e-space?protection.

分析：第一段末句“然而，目前這些技術仍然很昂貴。”第二段第一句“佐治亞理工學院的研究人員說，他們已經發明了一種低成本的設備來解決這個問題（上文“昂貴”的問題）：智能鍵盤。”由此可知，開發智能鍵盤就是為了降低電子空間保護的成本，故選D項。

當然，這類問題也可能出現在記敘文中。如：

（2017年全國Ⅰ卷B篇）I?work?with?Volunteers?for?Wildlife，?a?rescue?and?education?organization?at?Bailey?Arboretum?in?Locust?Valley?...?However，?when?it?works，?it?is?simply?beautiful.

I?got?a?rescue?call?from?a?woman?in?Muttontown.?She?had?found?a?young?owl（貓頭鷹）on?the?ground.?When?I?arrived，?I?saw?a?2-to-3-week-old?owl.?It?had?already?been?placed?in?a?carrier?for?safety.

I?examined?the?chick（雛鳥）and?it?seemed?fine.?If?I?could?locate?the?nest，?I?might?have?been?able?to?put?it?back，?but?no?luck...

25.?Why?was?the?author?called?to?Muttontown？

A.?To?rescue?a?woman.

B.?To?take?care?of?a?woman.

C.?To?look?at?a?baby?owl.

D.?To?cure?a?young?owl.

分析：本題問叫作者來Muttontown的目的。由第一段第一句可知，作者是野生動物志愿者，最后一句“然而，當救助成功時，會有一種美妙的感覺”應是本文的主題句，接下來應是救助成功的一個案例。第二段開始講案例，作者接到一個女士的電話，說她發現了一個貓頭鷹，第三段說作者檢查了這只貓頭鷹，一切正常，接下來就是講如何幫助貓頭鷹找到其父母的過程。我們看各選項，“治愈一位女士”“照料一位女士”顯然是無中生有，易排除，選項D“治愈一只小貓頭鷹”，貓頭鷹并未生病，何來治愈？只有C項正確，該項中的look?at是examine的同義表達。

面對why提問的問題，考生可從選項入手，是不定式，就是問目的;若是完整的陳述句，就是問原因。明確了設計意圖，就更易在文中找到信息句，從而有效地選出正確選項。

責任編輯 蔣小青