托福阅读高分技巧：托福阅读句子插入题如何解答?

在托福阅读的考查中，每篇文章必会出现一类题，叫做"Insert Text Questions"，即插入句子题(简称插入题)。考试中，考生会遇到一句话，问该句插入文中四个黑色方块中的哪个位置最合适。这类题型重点考查英文句子间的逻辑语义关系，即英文中句子与句子是如何衔接在一起的。所以，只要掌握了英语句子间的衔接手法(cohesive devices)，这种问题便可迎刃而解。 那么衔接手法到底有哪些呢?如何通过发现句子里的隐藏玄机而找到上下文的逻辑呢?下面和大家分享一位小站的资深托福阅读老师的教学经验，帮助大家高效准确地“秒杀”句子插入题。
一、 代词衔接
代词衔接具体包括人称代词(they, them, it等)、指示代词(these, this, such等)和关系代词等(their, its等)。在上下句的关联中，代词是最为紧密的一类词。当作者再次谈及上句相关话题时，为了避免重复，遵循语言学的最简单化原理，作者会用代词指代该话题词。因此，如果要插入的句子中出现代词，表明句子前面含有该代词指代的名词事物或某句话所描述的事情。只要我们找到代词所指代的内容，就可以把要插入的句子放在所指代内容的句子的后面。
二、定冠词the + 名词
名词所指对象第一次出现时，用不定冠词a连接，当后句再次提及该名词对象时，为了表示它和前一句名词是同一关系，会用定冠词the引出。因此，如果句子中出现(the + 名词)，表明该名词之前已出现，只要我们找到该名词第一次出现的句子，把要插入的句子放在这个句子后面，再看逻辑是否通顺即可。
以上两种衔接手法可以通过以下这个例子来更好地说明：
We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? ■Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. ■When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. ■Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward—a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. ■Of 148 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
The stencils of hands found in these shelters and caves allow us to draw conclusions about which hand was dominant.
解题思路： 快速阅读需要被插入原文中的句子，马上可以看到句子中提到了指示代词these，其内容为these shelters and caves，根据指示代词的性质，shelters and caves一定在上一句句子中提到，因此我们只需要寻找原文中含有这个信息的句子即可。另外，本句还有定冠词the stencils，证明stencils也是在本句之前已出现。 然后分别阅读四个方块之前的句子：第二句提到既提到了stencils也提到了rock shelters和 Ice Age caves，因此可以判断放在第二个黑色方块的位置，代入进去后再读一下是否通顺即可确定。
三、 名词衔接：重复话题词或同义近义改写
如果要插入的句子中没有代词衔接，那么要考虑名词衔接。句子中所提到的名词相关内容在该句中的上下句必然会重复出现，具体是出现在该句中的上一句还是下一句要看句子本身的意思提示。有时候句子中的名词会以同义替换的方式出现，或对该名词进行改写。
四、逻辑衔接：总分，因果，转折，举例等逻辑提示词
如果句子中含有某种逻辑提示词，可以根据相应逻辑关系来推断上下文的内容。比如in a number of ways提示句子是个总起句，下文接具体各个方面的描述;this is a consequence of…提示本句是原因句，上文是某个现象或事实结果的描述句;however提示本句带转折关系，下文和上文呈现转折或相反的意思，等等。
以上名词衔接和逻辑衔接的应用可以通过以下例子更好地说明：
■Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. ■The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. ■We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community’s resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery. ■
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
In fact, damage to the environment by humans is often much more severe than damage by natural events and processes.
首先本句里的in fact提示本句是一个观点句，意思是人类对环境的破坏远远大于自然事件。再来看本句中的名词衔接：damage by humans, damage by natural events。提示上下文会提到跟人类和自然的破坏。原文B选项前面的句子有提到“climax communities are being damaged or destroyed by human activities”群落受到人类活动的破坏， B选项后面的句子是一个example，内容是美国某个火山爆发所造成的危害，与人类造成的破坏相比显得相形见绌。因此我们考虑放在B选项或C选项，再根据先说观点再举例子的说话逻辑，可以判断B选项更加合适。
简而言之，要插入的句子里的代词，定冠词，名词词组和逻辑提示词都是破解上下文逻辑的关键。有了以上的“必杀技“，妈妈再也不用担心我不会做插入句子题啦!
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