託福閱讀如何從“完敗”到滿分
託福閱讀如何從“完敗”到滿分?這是一個勵志的經歷，大家快來學習一下吧!
託福閱讀如何從“完敗”到滿分?
我第一次參加託福，結果敗在託福閱讀上。閱讀失分最多。很好笑，別人覺得閱讀很容易提高的，但我就偏偏不行。時隔半年第二次參加託福以後，重點提升閱讀，結果考試拿了110分，閱讀滿分。想知道我是怎麼做的嗎?
首先， 我們要明確，我們的知識面有限，而托福考試所模擬的是北美大學校園的真實學術環境，天文、地質地理、生物、心理、經濟、藝術等各類學科文章都有可能出現，除了專業詞彙多，涉及的背景知識也很複雜，比如生物鐘、DNA、心理學認知實驗等，擴大課外閱讀量對我們說既可以彌補專業知識不足，又能夠增加詞彙。有很多牛人閱讀獲得滿分的成功案例，總結起來都有一個特點，就是課外閱讀量大。除了英文小說，科學60秒等傳統資源，我平時堅持在iTunes U 裏同步學習一流美國大學公開課(Open Course)，比如哈佛大學的《博弈論》(Game Theory)，也會看Times、NPR等媒體的官網瀏覽新聞，並瀏覽Discovery關於行星形成、生物演化等和託福話題相關的專題紀錄片，這樣的課外學習不僅是有趣的，也是有用的，而且還免費。需要注意的是，即便是看美劇，遇到不懂的單詞也要停下來查一查，並記在專門的本子上，不斷積累總結。
好了，這是宏觀上如何有效提升閱讀能力的方法，那麼具體到做題的練習上呢?
我們必須清楚的是，託福閱讀的出題是很有特點的，每題都是嚴格和當題所在的段落相對應的，絕對不會出現做某一題的時候，要到別的段落去找答案的情況。所以做閱讀的時候最重要的一件事就是，找到問題中的關鍵字，然後在原文裏找到這個關鍵字(或者它的同義轉述)，然後仔細翻譯其所在句，再和選項進行對比。
此外，閱讀還有一點很重要，就是要把眼光放在句子和段落上，不要侷限於單詞和詞組的翻譯或者理解。從這點也說明，背大量單詞其實並不是必須的，更重要的是掌握各種句型結構，掌握連接詞在句中的作用，從而提高閱讀速度及閱讀能力。
當然，做題技巧都是建立在一定的基礎上的，空中樓閣絕對蓋不高，而這個基礎當然還是詞彙和語法。記住，託福閱讀要求的詞彙大概是六級左右的水平，當然能有更大的詞彙量的話一定是有百利而無一害的。
還有做題，大家不要忽視，一定要保證做題量。題海戰術很痛苦，但是一定需要哦!
託福閱讀真題練習：美國農業
託福閱讀文本：
During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Corn production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture.
With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items — running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 — they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. "Combines" were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines — sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses — reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states — allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much corn as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before.
託福閱讀題目：
1. What aspect of farming in the United States in the nineteenth century does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) How labor-saving machinery increased crop Production
(B) Why southern farms were not as successful as Successful as northern farms
(C) Farming practices before the Civil War
(D) The increase in the number of people farming
2. The word "crucial" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A) obvious
(B) unbelievable
(C) important
(D) desirable
3. The phrase "avail themselves" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(A) take care
(B) make use
(C) get rid
(D) do more
rding to the passage , why was the Civil War a stimulus for mechanization?
(A) The army needed more grain in order to feed the soldiers.
(B) Technology developed for the war could also the used by farmers.
(C) It was hoped that harvesting more grain would lower the price of grain.
(D) Machines were needed to replace a disappearing labor force.
5. The passage supports which of the following statements about machinery after the Civil War?
(A) Many farmers preferred not to use the new machinery.
(B) Returning laborers replaced the use of machinery.
(C) The use of farm machinery continued to increase.
(D) Poor-quality machinery slowed the pace of crop production.
6. Combines and self-binding reapers were similar because each
(A) could perform more than one function
(B) required relatively little power to operate
(C) was utilized mainly in California
(D) required two people to operate
7. The word "they" in line 19 refers to
(A) grain stalks
(B) threshing machines
(C) steam engines
(D) horses
8. It can be inferred from the passage that most farmers did not own threshing machines because
(A) farmers did not know how to use the new machines
(B) farmers had no space to keep the machines
(C) thresher owner had chance to buy the machines before farmers did
(D) the machines were too expensive for every farmer to own
9. The word "ponderous" in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) advanced
(B) heavy
(C) complex
(D) rapid
託福閱讀答案：
ACBDCABDB
託福閱讀真題練習：新藝術風格
託福閱讀文本：
The end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century were marked by the development of an international Art Nouveau style, characterized by sinuous lines, floral and vegetable motifs, and soft evanescent coloration. The Art Nouveau style was an eclectic one,bringing together elements of Japanese art, motifs of ancient cultures, and natural forms. The glass objects of this style were elegant in outline, although often deliberately distorted, with pale or iridescent surfaces. A favored device of the style was to imitate the iridescent surface seen on ancient glass that had been buried. Much of the Art Nouveau glass produced during the years of its greatest popularity had been generically termed "art glass." Art glass was intended for decorative purposes and relied for its effect upon carefully chosen color combinations and innovative techniques.
France produced a number of outstanding exponents of the Art Nouveau style; among the most celebrated was Emile Galle (1846-1904). In the United States, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1843-1933) was the most noted exponent of this style, producing a great variety of glass forms and surfaces,which were widely copied in their time and are highly prized today. Tiffany was a brilliant designer, successfully combining ancient Egyptian, Japanese, and Persian motifs.
The Art Nouveau style was a major force in the decorative arts from 1895 until 1915, although its influence continued throughout the mid-1920's. It was eventually to be overtaken by a new school of thought known as Functionalism that had been present since the turn of the century. At first restricted to a small avant-garde group of architects and designers, Functionalism emerged as the dominant influence upon designers after the First World War. The basic tenet of the movement — that function should determine form — was not a new concept. Soon a distinct aesthetic code evolved: form should be simple, surfaces plain, and any ornament should be based on geometric relationships. This new design concept, coupled with the sharp postwar reactions to the styles and conventions of the preceding decades, created an entirely new public taste which caused Art Nouveau types of glass to fall out of favor. The new taste demanded dramatic effects of contrast,stark outline and complex textural surfaces.
託福閱讀題目：
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly discuss?
(A) Design elements in the Art Nouveau style
(B) The popularity of theArt Nouveau style
(C) Production techniques for art glass
(D) Color combinations typical of theArt Nouveau style
2. The word "one" in line 4 refers to
(A) century
(B) development
(C) style
(D) coloration
3. Paragraph 1 mentions that Art Nouveau glass was sometimes similar to which aspect of ancient
buried glass?
(A) The distortion of the glass
(B) The appearance of the glass surface
(C) The shapes of the glass objects
(D) The size of the glass objects
4. What is the main purpose of paragraph 2?
(A) to compare differentArt Nouveau styles
(B) to give examples of famous Art Nouveau artists
(C) to explain why Art Nouveau glass was so popular in the United States
(D) to show the impact Art Nouveau had on other cultures around the world
5. The word "prized" in line 16 is closest in meaning to
(A) valued
(B) universal
(C) uncommon
(D) preserved
6. The word "overtaken" in line 20 is closest in meaning to
(A) surpassed
(B) inclined
(C) expressed
(D) applied
7. What does the author mean by stating that "function should determine form" (lines 23-24)?
(A)A useful object should not be attractive.
(B) The purpose of an object should influence its form.
(C) The design of an object is considered more significant than its function.
(D) The form of an object should not include decorative elements.
8. It can be inferred from the passage that one reason Functionalism became popular was that it
(A) clearly distinguished between art and design
(B) appealed to people who liked complex painted designs
(C) reflected a common desire to break from the past
(D) was easily interpreted by the general public
9. Paragraph 3 supports which of the following statements about Functionalism?
(A) Its design concept avoided geometric shapes.
(B) It started on a small scale and then spread gradually.
(C) It was a major force in the decorative arts before the First World War.
(D) It was not attractive to architects and designers.
rding to the passage , an object made in the Art Nouveau style would most likely include
(A) a flowered design
(B) bright colors
(C) modern symbols
(D) a textured surface
託福閱讀答案：
ACBBAABCBA
