【典例1】 Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by something truly fishier—the shark(鲨鱼)。
Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms。
Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure。
If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behaviour of sharks to predict bad weather。
…
It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system。
At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology。
In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal(潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish—none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic(模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts。
She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research. (2008·天津卷)
44. The passage is most probably taken from _____。
A. a short-story collection
B. a popular science magazine
C. a research paper
D. a personal diary
45. What do we learn from the first four paragraph of the passage?
A. Sharks may be used to predict bad weather。
B. Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled。
C. Michael Fish is not qualified for his job。
D. Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster。
如：Mary is due to leave at two o’clock。
【解析】 本文为科普类文章，介绍了一位英国生物系学生对于鲨鱼来预测暴风雨的研究。
44. B 推理判断题。本题适宜用排除法。由文章内容来看这是一篇科普文，A、D可删除，由文章的语言来看，并未出现大量的专业术语，可删除C “a research paper”(科研论文)
45. A 推理判断题。由第一段和第四段可知，前四段所要表达的含义为If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behavior of Sharks to predict bad weather。(科学家们可以通过监视鲨鱼的行为来预测不好的天气”。故A 项正确。细节推断题要求学生根据语篇关系，推断具体细节，如时间、地点、人物关系、人物身份、事件等。一般可根据短文提供的信息，或者借助生活常识进行推理判断。解答此类题，不仅需要我们有一定的社会基础知识，而且还需要对细节以及有关背景知识有一个充分的理解。
【典例2】 It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, carrier, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him。
Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday。” Memories fleshed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days。
…
Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser。”
“Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked。
“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. (2008·江苏卷)
69. Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?
A. He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest。
B. He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son。
C. He had missed his son and his family for days。
D. He came to realize the importance of the time with his family。
【解析】 本文属于记叙文，文章由邻居之死而引出一个不容忽视的社会主题：友情、亲情才是最重要的。69. D推理判断题，由文中可知Belser的遗言对Jack触动很大，同时也使他开始领悟到：只有亲人、朋友才是生活中最重要的。因果推断题要求考生根据已知结果推测导致该结果产生的可能原因，考生要准确掌握文章的内涵，理解文章的真正含义。回答推理判断题的试题时，考生一定要牢记，能够直接从文中找到的选项不是正确选项，因为与原文一样的句子不叫推理。只有那些没有在文中直接出现，但根据文中的信息经过推断可以得出的才是符合题意的正确选项。
【典例3】As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friend’s house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone(语气) of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk。” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while。
…
It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us has reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence(青春期). In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that were really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria. (2008·天津卷)
55. How does the author feel about his childhood?
A. Happy but short. B. Lonely but memorable。
C. Boring and meaningless. D. Long and unforgettable。
【解析】 本文描述了小时侯玩耍的“树林”对与“我”和朋友们的意义。主要讲述了我们在“树林”中所从事的活动——探索，以及之后随着年龄的增长，不再去那里的过程。55. A 从全文看，作者在“树林”里过的很愉快，又由最后一段可知，当我们一部分人上了七年级之后。我们在“树林”中的玩耍就结束了。很短暂。因此，正确选项为A。做这一类题时一定注意：1. 由表及里地准确把握字里行间的意思，切勿用自己的主观想法或观点代替作者的思想观点。2. 要特别注意那些描写环境气氛的语言，以及表达感情、态度观点的词语和作者在文章中的措辞，尤其是感情色彩的形容词。3. 能结合自己平时积累的有关英语国家的文化传统、风俗习惯等背景知识来识别评价。
(三)词义推测题
该题型主要考查考生根据上下文推测词义和语义的能力，突出考查对语境的分析和把握能力。近几年的高考阅读理解题越来越重视对猜词悟义能力的考查，试题中有一到两个小题是直接考查词义猜测的。从考查内容看主要有猜测某个生词、熟词、短语或句子的意思以及猜测代词的指代等。
常见的命题方式：
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the word…?
The word…could best be replaced by…?
In the…paragraph, the word…means(refers to)…
According to the passage,…probably means…
The authors uses the word…to mean…
The word…is most likely to mean…。
【典例1】 Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager。
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste。”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits。
… (2008·广东卷)
41. The underlined word “gulf” in Para.3 most probably means _________。
A. interest B. distance C. difference D. separation
【解析】 本文讲述“代沟”的发展、变化。以40岁左右为分界线，之前和之后与子女间的关系在改变，虽然代沟越来越窄，但仍没有消失，家庭研究专家提醒新的平等关系也会导致子女对父母的不尊重。41. D 由上文中提到的 “…he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager。”以及“There was just a complete gap in taste。”可知gulf应表示两代人之间关系的“代沟”。separation指“分开，分离”。猜测词义时更多用到的方法是：结合上下文的意义、线索、内在逻辑关系。一般情况下，上下文所提示的意义与所考词汇通常是同义、反义或针对性解释的关系，可直接确定词义。根据上下文意义很难作出判断的，就考虑用句法和内在逻辑方法去判断，符合句法和内在逻辑的可能为正确答案，反之则排除。
【典例2】
Dear Hamilton,
We are fortunate that in such a large, high-pressure office we all get along so well. You are one of the people who keep the social temperature at such a comfortable setting. I don’t know anyone in the office who is better liked than you。
You can perhaps help with this. The collection of contributions towards gifts for employees’ personal-life events is becoming a little troubling. Certainly, the group sending of a gift is reasonable now and then. In the past month, however, there have been collections for two baby shower gifts, one wedding shower gift, two wedding gifts, one funeral(葬礼)remembrance, four birthday gifts, and three graduation gifts。
It’s not only the collected-from who are growing uncomfortable (and poor)， but the collected-for feel uneasy receiving gifts from people who don’t know them outside the office, who wouldn’t even recognize their graduating children, their marrying daughters and sons, or their dead relatives。
This is basically a kind gesture (and one that people think well of you for)， but the practice seems to have become too wide-ranging and feels improper in today’s office setting。
Thank you for understanding. (2008·北京卷)
63. The underlined word “contributions” probably means ________。
A. money B. suggestions C. reports D. understanding
【解析】 这是一篇书信，作者提出办公室里存在一种不好的现象：无论有什么事，办公室里所有人都凑份子钱。作者对这种做法提出质疑，说这种风气不好，并希望收信人能够关注此事。63. A 第二段说凑份子是为了买礼物庆祝职员个人生活中的大事，比如婚礼，葬礼等。结合选项判断，画线部分的contributions指money，故选A。做题时，首先要仔细看单词来确定词性，是名词、动词、形容词还是副词，(如上面的高考题中的contributions，根据-tion我们可以推知该词应该是名词);然后好好研究含有生词的从句或句子与其他的句子或段落之间的关系，或跟相邻单词或句子的关系，它们之间可能出现因果、比较、时间、例证等关系，有时候标点符号也可以提供线索。最后还要根据上下文检测猜测结果的正确性。
