例析托福考试题型

三、如何应对新托福阅读正误判断题

　　正误判断题(True or False)是考查读者根据文章中阐明的信息，判断什么信息是正确的，什么信息是错误的或文章中没有提到的。考生的任务是在文章中找到相关信息，从而证实四个选项中有三个是正确的，并且/或者有一个选项是错误的。

　　例题：

　　…Although we now tend to refer to the various crafts according to the materials used to construct them-clay, glass, wood, fiber, and metal-it was once common to think of crafts in terms of function, which led to their being known as the “applied arts.” Approaching crafts from the point of view of function, we can divide them into simple categories: containers, shelters, and supports. There is no way around the fact that containers, shelters, and supports must be functional. The applied arts are thus bound by the laws of physics, which pertain to both the materials used in their making and the substances and things to be contained, supported, and sheltered. These laws are universal in their application, regardless of cultural beliefs, geography, or climate. If a pot has no bottom or has large openings in its sides, it could hardly be considered a container in any traditional sense…

　　The passage discusses applied-art objects in relation to all of the following EXCEPT

　　A. the techniques used in their construction

　　B. the ways they have been classified

　　C. their function

　　D. the universality of the laws that govern them

　　[解析]

　　正误判断题实际上也是在考察考生理解文章主要信息的能力，从这一点来讲是与Factual Information（事实信息题）相似的，两种题型存在的差异就在于正误判断题是要求考生从四个选项中筛选出与文章不符或文章中没有提到的信息。

　　仔细阅读这一段，我们发现这一段主要是在讨论1，在过去，人们常常是根据功能来区分手工艺术品的，从而产生了“applied arts（应用艺术品）”这一概念；2，从功能的角度来区分手工艺术品，可以把它们分为收纳物(container)、遮蔽物(shelter)、支撑物(support)；3，应用艺术品受到laws of physics的限定，不仅限定了制作这些艺术品的材料也限定了他们所收纳的、遮蔽的、支撑的物体。这些laws是防止四海皆准的，在任何文化信仰、世界的任何地方和任何一种气候条件都是一样的。比如如果一个没有底的罐子或是一个在旁边开口的罐子，就很难被定一位是收纳物。

　　整个段落都没有提及建造这些艺术品所使用的技术，所以A是文章中没有提到的，为正确答案。

四、如何应对新托福考试托福阅读修辞题策略

　　修辞目的题(Rhetorical Purpose)：考查读者透过表面特定的修辞方法/方式发掘潜在的目的能力。要求读者发现外在修辞特征背后的修辞目的。

　　例题：

　　Fine-art objects are not constructed by the laws of physics in the same way that applied-art objects are. Because their primary purpose is not functional, they are only limited in terms of the materials used to make them. Sculptures must, for example, be stable, which requires an understanding of the properties of mass, weight distribution, and stress. Paintings must have rigid stretchers so that the canvas will be taut, and the paint must not crack, deteriorate, or discolor. These are problems that must be overcome by the artist because they tend to intrude upon his or her conception of the work. For example, in the early Italian Renaissance, bronze statues of horses with a raised foreleg usually had a cannonball under that hoof. This was done because the cannonball was needed to support the weight of the leg. In other words, the demand of the laws of physics, not the sculptor’s aesthetic intentions, placed the ball there. That this device was a necessary structural compromise is clear from the fact that the cannonball disappeared when sculptors learned how to strengthen the internal structure of a statue with iron braces (iron being much stronger than bronze).

　　Why does the author discuss the bronze statues of horses created by artists in the early Italian Renaissance?

　　A. To provide an example of a problem related to the laws of physics that an artist tries to overcome.

　　B. To argue that fine artists are unconcerned with the laws of physics

　　C. To contrast the relative sophistication of modern artists in solving problems related to the laws of physics

　　D. To note an exceptional piece of art constructed without the aid of technology