託福閱讀考試中不可忽略的重要標點符號
爲了幫助大家備考託福。提高閱讀成績，打有準備的仗，下面小編給大家帶來託福閱讀考試中不可忽略的重要標點符號，希望大家喜歡。
託福閱讀考試中不可忽略的重要標點符號
託福閱讀常見標點符號及作用
冒號在中文或英文中都是一個常見的標點符號，在中英用法上也大致相同。冒號的主要作用有兩種：一是用在總說性話語或需要解釋的詞語後邊，引起下文的分說或引出解釋和說明;二是引出引語。在託福閱讀中，第一種用法對於我們理解文章和解題更加重要。
破折號在託福閱讀中也是尤爲常見，其主要作用是引入一個解釋性的插入語，放在插入語的前面或者後面，破折號中的內容一般是對主句中的某個單詞或短語進行修飾或者解釋，作用相當於一個括號。考生就可以利用破折號之間的解釋來理解主句中的某個概念。
英語中，圓括號最常見的用法是補充說明和解釋生詞，它們不同於逗號和破折號的用法，去掉後不會影響句子的理解，但是括號內的信息同樣對考生的理解有很大的幫助。
案例分析
例1，TPO18閱讀 R-3冒號
The negatively charged region is large： several hundred meters thick and several kilometers in diameter.
前半句說帶負電negatively charged的區域region非常大，冒號後面描述了負電荷是怎麼大，對前半句又進一步的表述。知道冒號的作用對於預測文章下文來說也很重要，前半句是帶負電的區域非常大，那冒號後面就是描述如何大。這句話完整的意思是帶負電的區域非常大，厚度達數百米，直徑達幾千米。因此冒號對於理解文章來說有很大的幫助。
例2，TPO19閱讀 R-3-破折號
The fossils buried in Pleistocene and earlier ocean sediments were of foraminifera—small, single-celled marine organisms that secrete shells of calcium carbonate, or calcite.
在本句話中foraminifera—small，single-celled marine organisms，small和single
對foraminifera和single進一步進行描述，埋在更新世時期的化石和更早的海洋沉積物是有孔蟲類 ，它們是一種小的單細胞海洋生物，會分泌碳酸鈣殼或者方解石。幫助我們進一步瞭解孔蟲類foraminifera。
例3，TPO20-3 Fossil Preservation-圓括號
來自第七段中的兩句話The Middle Eocene Messel Shale(from about 48 million years ago)of Germany accumulated in such an environment. Among the superbly preserved Messel fossils are insects with iridescent exoskeletons(hard outer coverings),frogs with skin and blood vessels intact, and even entire small mammals with preserved fur and soft tissue.
from about 48 million years ago對於前面的The Middle Eocene Messel Shale做了詳細的解釋，hard outer coverings對iridescent exoskeletons進一步進行解釋。
在本篇文章的第11題中的四個選項中，通過定位答案爲D選項，但是如果利用排除法的話就需要結合括號中的信息，對於主題句進一步的解釋，幫助我們更好的理解段落主題。
託福閱讀練習：女性28歲時最幸福
Women are at their happiest at the age of 28, a study has found.
Researchers discovered women feel most confident and happy with their love life and body shape shortly before they reach 30.
It is also the period in their life when they enjoy the best sex – but the happiness is relatively shortlived.
Because by the time they have turned 30 they start worrying about growing old and developing grey hair and wrinkles.
A spokesman for home hair colour brand Clairol Perfect 10, which carried out the study of 4,000 women, said: "Everything in life hits its peak at some point, and nearly reaching your thirties isn't so bad now.
"The age of 28 has been pinpointed as the time in a woman's life their hair looks the best, body shape is at its peak and confidence is at an all-time high.
The survey of 25-65 year olds recorded the age at which women were most content in 12 key areas of their life.
According to the results, women are happiest in their career at 29 and most content with their relationships one year later at 30, despite having the best sex at 28.
But all is not lost for the over 30s, as women feel most content with their financial situation at 33 and at ease with their home and family life at 32.
The research found two thirds of women feel they age more quickly than men. It also emerged that 56 per cent of women worry about losing their looks as they get older
But drinking from the fountain of youth doesn't come cheap as the average woman will spend ￡600 every year on beauty products in a bid to stay looking young.
The research also found women spend over five days a year on their beauty routine – an average of 22 minutes every day.
Vocabulary:
shortlived：living or lasting only a little while(短暫的)
fountain of youth：青春泉，長生不老泉(傳說飲此泉者可恢復健康和返老還童，長生不老)
一項最新研究表明，女性在28歲時最幸福。
研?a href="">咳嗽狽⑾鄭詡脣氨既敝剩遠宰約旱陌檣鈄鈄孕牛芯踝鈈腋＃幣捕宰約旱納聿淖盥狻?/p>
也正是在這段時期，女性享受到質量最高的性生活，但這種幸福感持續的時間相對較短。
因爲到那時，已屆30歲的女性們開始擔心衰老、長白頭髮和出現皺紋。
國內染髮品牌“伊卡璐10分鐘快速完美染髮”對4千位女性進行了此項調查，該品牌的一位發言人說：“人生的每種經歷都在某一時期達到頂點，現在看來，接近30歲並沒有那麼糟。”
“28歲被認定爲女性一生之中頭髮最健康，身材最棒，最自信的年齡。”
受訪女性年齡在25歲至65之間，研究人員記錄了她們何時對生活中12個最關鍵的領域感覺最滿足。
結果顯示，女性29歲時在職場最開心，一年之後的30歲時對感情生活最滿足，而在28歲時性生活質量最高。
但對女性來說，過了30歲也不會失去一切。女性在33歲時對經濟狀況最滿意，在32歲時感覺家庭生活最舒心。
研究結果表明，2/3的女性認爲自己比男性衰老更快。結果還表明，56%的女性擔心隨着年齡的增大，自己容顏盡失。
但想要容顏永駐可不便宜。爲了看上去一直年輕，每位普通女性每年會花費600英鎊購買美容產品。
研究還發現，女性每年用於日常美容的時間累計多於5天，平均每天22分鐘。
託福閱讀練習：你是否適合創業
Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).
Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.
創業很像當父母。你不僅要在感情上和財務上爲自己的企業做好準備，還必須滿足它持續不斷的需求，直到它足夠成熟可以自行運轉。即便到了那個時候(很像長大的孩子)，它仍然總是需要你投入一定的精力，無論它有多麼成熟。
Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:
在你考慮自立門戶之前，不妨問問自己以下五個問題：
1. Am I passionate about my product or service? 我對自己的產品或者服務充滿熱情嗎?
Let's face it: the start-up phase is stressful. You will find yourself questioning whether you've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (if any) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Your enthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation— is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors. It's unwise to start down the path of entrepreneurship unless you've got a zeal that will get you through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm has faded.
讓我們直面這樣的事實：創業初期你會面臨壓力很大。你會發現自己在不斷質疑是否做出了正確的決策，尤其是在工作時間很長、但最初的利潤卻很少的情況下。作爲企業所有人，你還是企業的主要銷售人員。你對於自己產品或者服務──無論它是手織毛衫還是一流的稅務服務──的熱情常常是抓住客戶、取得合約以及吸引投資者的與衆不同之處。除非你抱有能夠幫助自己度過艱難時日並且在最初的熱情逐漸消退之後的很長時間裏仍能保持濃厚興趣的熱忱，否則開始創業之路將是不明智的選擇。
2. What is my tolerance for risk? 我容忍風險的程度如何?
Whether it's quitting your day job or signing a lease on a new space, nothing about starting a business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods store called The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched out into cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that you have to 'be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down.' Even with enough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstances hastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city or state zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's no guarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurship probably isn't the right path for you.
無論是辭掉平日的工作，還是簽署新的租約，創業的方方面面都不是爲意志薄弱的人準備的。問問艾娜 加滕(Ina Garten)就好了。她在1978年買下了紐約州東漢普敦的一家特色食品商店The Barefoot Contessa，從此一發不可收拾，擴展至烹飪書籍、電視等領域，並推出了一系列產品。加滕告訴那些滿懷抱負的企業家，你必須“願意跳下懸崖，搞清楚在下降的過程中如何飛行。”即便你有足夠的熱情推出一千家企業，你還是可能會發現加速失敗的各種情形：不太理想的地點，與城市或者州分區有關的麻煩，無法輕易擺脫的供應鏈問題等等。沒有成功的保證，甚至是穩定的薪水。如果你不願冒險，創業恐怕不是適合你走的路。
3. Am I good at making decisions? 我善於做出決策嗎?
No one else is going to make them for you when you own your own business. Consider how you might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do I hire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do I advertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep in mind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once you have employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success or downfall, so you must feel confident in your ability to make the right call.
當你擁有自己的企業後，別人不會爲你做出決策。想想你可能會怎麼應對這些早期的決策：我是在家辦公，還是在外租用辦公室?我要不要僱傭員工?我要爭取高端客戶，還是面向大衆銷售?我要不要組建法人公司?我要不要打廣告?我要不要從朋友或者家人那裏借錢?我要不要用掉自己所有的積蓄?記住，一旦你開始有員工或者客戶依賴於你，決策的過程只會隨着時間的推移愈加複雜。你所做出的決策可能會直接導致成功或者失敗，因此你必須對自己做出正確決策的能力充滿信心才行。
4. Am I willing to take on numerous responsibilities? 我願意承擔多方面的責任嗎?
While a corporate employee focuses on a special skill or role within the larger corporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Solo entrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chief salesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many roles doesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn has made it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge of their companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting your hands dirty, the more knowledge you have in advance, the better prepared you'll be.
雖然企業的員工往往會關注一種特殊的技能或者角色，但是企業主必須爲企業盡其所能。尤其是單打獨鬥的創業者必須是多面手，發揮多種作用，從銷售、會計，到市場營銷、收款，他要無所不能。如果在許多角色之間不斷轉換不適合你的話，創業可能也不會適合你。最近的經濟衰退更使企業主深諳企業財務變得無比重要。雖然你無疑將會從實踐中不斷學習財務知識，但是你提前知道的越多，你就越有準備。.
5. Will I be able to avoid burnout? 我能夠避免身心透支嗎?
Working seven days a week, losing touch with friends, abandoning old hobbies and interests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst of starting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, an entrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his first company in 1997 and worked as hard as possible, for as long as possible, until his creativity, enthusiasm and energy were sapped. By 2002, he was a broken man— the business took a downturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, Allgen Financial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as not working on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and building close ties with other business owners through a faith-based support network.
一週七天整日忙於工作，與朋友失去聯繫，放棄原來的愛好和興趣，無法爲自己所愛的人抽出時間，這些都可能會很快導致創業過程中的身心透支──並且最終導致企業破產。這正是佛羅里達州奧蘭多的創業者詹姆斯 辛巴迪(James Zimbardi)的經歷。辛巴迪說，他在1997年成立自己第一家公司的時候懵懵懂懂，只會拼命努力工作，廢寢忘食，直到他的創造力、熱情和精力消失殆盡。到2002年的時候，他已經是一個散了架的人──企業陷入了低迷期，而他的個人生活也遭遇了挫折。如今，辛巴迪正在組建他的第二家公司Allgen Financial Services，這次他堅持保持良好的習慣維持工作、生活平衡，比如說週日不工作，爲帆船和風情拉丁舞等愛好留出時間，通過一個宗教信仰支持網絡與其他企業主建立密切的關係等等。
Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if you think you have what it takes, go for it.
