细节题从考查能力的角度上来说，主要考查的是提取关键词和在文章中定位有用解题信息的能力。细节题的问题一般就是纯粹的事实层面上的问题，主要问作者说了什么？ 哪些信息是真的？下面我们就通过实例来了解下托福阅读细节题的做题步骤及解题技巧，希望对考生会有一定的帮助。
前者的问题形式如：Which of the following statement is true about…
后者的问题形式有：which of the following statements are correct about…EXCEPT 或者说 which of the following statement is not true about…。
托福阅读中的细节题实在不难，但条件是定位的点要对，好比下面这个例题：
Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer， a lowland， west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern Washington， is now the most common. The other species， the Columbian white-tailed deer， in earlier times was common in the open prairie country， it is now restricted to the low， marshy islands and flood plains along the lower Columbia River。
According to paragraph 1， which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound？
A. It is native to lowlands and marshes。
B. It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern Washington than to other types of deer。
C. It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie。
D. It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied。
这是一个典型的细节题，在该题题干中，有的考生会选择Puget Sound作为枢纽词回原文定位，由于它是专有名词，在文中会比较显眼。但是假如一旦选择了这个地名，势必会定位在该段的第一句话，托福细节题往往是定位在哪句就在哪句找谜底，这样的话考生是选不出准确谜底的，由于定位不精确。实在准确的枢纽词应该是white-tailed deer，这个用连字符连接的词在文章中也是比较醒目的，按该词定位应是该段最后一句话。所以根据它的意思应该选D项。其中A项与原句意思不符，B和C都与定位句信息无关。
我们再来看另外一个否定事实细节题的例子：
Plant communities assemble themselves flexibly， and their structure depends on the particular history of the area. Ecologists use the term "succession" to refer to the changes that happen in plant communities and ecosystems over time. The first community in a succession is called a pioneer community， while the long-lived community at the end of succession is called a climax community. Pioneer and successional plant communities are said to change over periods from 1 to 500 years. These changes—in plant numbers and the mix of species—are cumulative. Climax communities themselves change but over periods of time greater than about 500 years。
According to paragraph 1， which of the following is NOT true of climax communities？
A. They occur at the end of a succession。
B. They last longer than any other type of community。
C. The numbers of plants in them and the mix of species do not change
D. They remain stable for at least 500 years at a time。
这个题大家都会选择用climax communities去定位，但在定位过程中会泛起良多题目。首先考生要学会跳跃式定位，即根据文章中特殊的标点符号以及最醒目的词来搜索我们真正需要的枢纽词。文中的particular是加了暗影的，succession是在引号里面的，都非常醒目，通过看这两个词我们会发现它们四周没有我们需要的东西；再比较凸起的就是数字及破折号，在500的上方有a climax community，但它是单数，与题干枢纽词不完全匹配，细节题讲究的是精确定位，所以我们应该选择500斜下方的Climax communities，即该段的最后一句话。
否定事实细节题的出题思路有两种：一是无中生有，四个选项只有一个没有提到，这种思路多合用于选项比较简短的标题题目；二是张冠李戴，即根据定位点的内容表述，只有一个选项与之矛盾，这种思路多适应于选项比较长的标题题目。就这个例题而言，根据定位的最后一句话，从表述上来说跟它相关的只有C和D两个选项，D项的意思与原句相符，而C项与原句矛盾，所以准确谜底是C。
其实在做托福阅读细节题的时候，我们最最关键的一点就是准确的定位，千万不可陷入到托福阅读的陷阱里面。
