朗阁海外考试研究中心郑虹

句子插入题(Insert Text Questions)是托福阅读考试题型，出现在每一篇文章倒数第二题，大部分考生在做此题时遇到模棱两可的情况较多，容易选错。朗阁海外考试研究中心的将针对这个问题，具体分析句子插入题的考试特点及解题技巧。

一、题型特点

句子插入题顾名思义就是给一句新的句子，要求考生们把这个句子插入到相应的位置，位置是文章中四个方块的地方。这些方块分布在句或句末，四个方框有时都出现在一个段落里，有时分布在一段的末尾和下一段的开头。考题形式如下：

Look at the foursquares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to thepassage.

[…………………]

Where would thesentence best fit?

同学们要做的是点击其中的一个方块并将这个句子插入文章。

句子插入题考查的内容是句子与句子间的逻辑关系，即所插入句子必须和前后句子在逻辑关系上保持一致。其实和我们写作一样，同学们不能把两句毫无关系的句子放在一起。那么在英语里为了体现句与句之间的逻辑关系，会采用各种衔接手段将句子连接起来，所以我们只要熟悉各种句子衔接手段，我们就能立即判断出来句子所插入的相应位置。以下，我们将对考试中经常出现的几种衔接手段进行详细分析。

二、解题方法

1. 词重复适用

这种衔接方法简单粗暴明了，无需花费大量脑细胞，完全是送分题。后面一个句子里重复使用前面句子提到的同一个词（通常是名词），使用此方法，我们可以清楚知道作者仍然在谈论同一主题，因为前后句子在意义上关系密切，互相连贯。

Their competition andcollaboration were creating the broadcasting industryin the United States, beginning with the introduction of commercialradio programming in the early 1920s. ■With financial assetsconsiderably greater than those in the motion picture industry, and perhaps awider vision of the relationships among entertainment andcommunications media, they revitalized research into recording sound for motionpictures. ■In1929 the United States motion picture industry released more than 300 soundfilms—a rough figure, since a number weresilent films with music tracks, or films prepared in dual versions, to takeaccount of the many cinemas not yet wired for sound. ■At the production level, in theUnited States the conversion was virtually complete by 1930. ■In Europe it took a little longer,mainly because there were more small producers for whom the costs of sound wereprohibitive…

Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could beadded to the passage.

When thisresearch resulted in the development of vastly improved soundtechniques, film studios became convinced of the importance of converting tosound.

前面一句话已经提及到了research,第二次出现用thisresearch, 所以选第二个选项。

So, in another set of experiments, Kramer putidentical food boxes around the cage, with food in only one of the boxes. ■The boxes were stationary, and the one containing foodwas always at the same point of the compass. ■However, itsposition with respect to the surroundings could be changed by revolving either the inner cage containing the birdsor the outer walls, which served as the background. ■As long asthe birds could see the Sun, no matter how their surroundings were altered,they went directly to the correct food box. ■Whether the boxappeared…

Look at thefour squares [■] that indicatewhere the following sentence could be added to the passage.

He arranged the feed boxes atvarious positions on acompass.

不定冠词a compass在句话里再次出现用的是特指the compass, 所以选个黑框。

2. 词指代替换

带有代词题型也比较简单明了，为了避免重复，我们通常会在第二个句子使用代词代替前面（或者后面）提到过的事物（一个词）或者事件（一句话）。所以同学们只要正确找到代词所指就能做对此题。形式一般是this + 名词，或者this单独用于指代前面一句话。

Since 1980, the use of wind toproduce electricity has been growing rapidly. In 1994 there werenearly 20,000 wind turbines worldwide, most grouped in clusters called windfarms that collectively produced 3,000 megawatts of electricity. █Most were in Denmark (which got 3 percent of itselectricity from wind turbines) and California (where 17,000 machines produced1 percent of the state’s electricity, enough to meet the residential needs of acity as large as San Francisco). In principle, allthe power needs of the United States could be provided by exploiting the windpotential of just three states—North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas.

Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could beadded to the passage.

Somecompanies in the power industry are aware of this wider possibility and are planningsizable wind-farm projects in states other than California.

代词this wider possibility这种更加广泛的可能性指代上一句话中的情态动词could be,情态动词could be在这里表示可能性，所以选最后一个选项。

Under very cold conditions, rocks canbe shattered by ice and frost. Glaciers may form in permanently cold areas, andthese slowly moving masses of ice cut out valleys, carrying with them hugequantities of eroded rock debris. █In dry areas the wind is theprincipal agent of erosion. █It carries fineparticles of sand, which bombard exposed rock surfaces, thereby wearing theminto yet more sand. █Even living things contribute tothe formation of landscapes. █Tree roots forcetheir way into cracks in rocks and, in so doing, speed their splitting. Incontrast, the roots of grasses and other small plants may help to hold loosesoil fragments together, thereby helping to prevent erosion by the wind.

Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Underdifferent climatic conditions, another type of destructive force contributes to erosion.

another是不定代词，指代后一句提到的另外一种destructive force。通过整个段落分析，句话destructiveforce包括ice和frost, 第二句话另外一种destructiveforce指代的是wind, 所以选个黑框。

阅读中常出现的代词：this, this+n, these, another, such and other etc.

3. 词同义替换

此类句子衔接的方法是指所插入句子里面的词（通常是名词）与所在位置前后句子的词同义替换，这种方法要求会比较高，考生除了要理解插入句子里面词的意思，还要找到所在段落里面与它同义的词。

█Watt's steam engine soon showed what itcould do. █It liberated industryfrom dependence on runningwater. █The engine eliminated water in the minesby driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining. █Theready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to developthe first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millenniumand a half.

Look at the four squares [█] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage．

The factoriesdid not have to go to the streams when power could come to the factories．

这个句子里面的factories与前一句里的industry同义替换，这里同义替换并不是指两个词要完全对等才能同义替换。只要两个词之间在某一部分是表同义的就可以。比如说工业必然会涉及到很多工厂建立，所以我们可以说两个词是同义替换。选第三个黑框。

Not only could Smith identify rock strata by thefossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: Certain fossils always appear inmore ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become morerecent. █By following the fossils．Smith was able to put all the strata of England'searth into relative temporal sequence. █Aboutthe same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocksaround Paris. █Soon it was realized that this principleof faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France butvirtually everywhere. █It was actually a principle of floralsuccession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through timeas did fauna.

Look at the four squares [█] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

The findingsof these geologists inspiredothers to examine the rock and fossil records in different parts of the world.

The findings意思是“发现”，与段落第二句话thesame discovery表同义替换，所以这句话应该放在第三块黑框回指前文提到的发现，选第三块黑框。

4. 连接词衔接

英语里面表达句与句之间的逻辑关系通常会用到连接词，同学们除了要知道连接词的意思，还要知道连接的两个句子是否存在相应的逻辑关系，所以这种方法相对前面几种是比较难的。常考连接词有表转折，原因，结果，递进等。

█Modernarchitectural forms generally have three separate components comparable toelements of the human body; a supporting skeleton or frame, an outer skinenclosing the interior spaces, equipment, similar to the body’s vital organsand systems. █Theequipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, andair-conditioning. █Ofcourse in earlyarchitecture—such as igloos and adobe structures—there was no suchequipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one. █

Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentencecould be added to the passage.

However, some modern architecturaldesigns, suchas those using folded plates of concreter or air-inflated structures, are againunifying skeleton and skin.

插入句子中的however表示转折，前后意思相反或者对比。最后一句话in early architecture对应插入句子modern architectural designs, 所以选择最后一个方框。

句子插入题经常出现的转折关系词有：however,but, yet, whereas and while etc.

■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have toopen their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles thatother fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, sincemost have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac thathelps most other fish remain buoyant.

Look at the four squares [■] thatindicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.

Consequently, tunas donot need to suck in water.

Consequently是表示结果的逻辑关系词。整句话意思是所以金鱼不需要在水里吮吸。段落句意思：因为金鱼的游动从不停止，它们必须张着嘴使水流经它们的腮。根据两句话的逻辑意思，因为它张着嘴使水流经它们的腮，所以不需要在水里吮吸。同学们不仅要理解consequently的意思，还要理解前后两句话的意思才能做对此题。选第二个黑框。

表示结果的逻辑关系词有：consequently,therefore, so, hence and thus etc.

It has long been accepted that theAmericas were colonized by a migration of peoples from Asia, slowly travelingacross a land bridge called Beringia (now the Bering Strait betweennortheastern Asia and Alaska) during the last Ice Age. ■The first water craft theory about the migration was thataround 11,000-12,000 years ago there was an ice-free corridor stretching fromeastern Beringia to the areas of North America south of the great northernglaciers. It was the mid continental corridor between two massive icesheets-the Laurentide to the west-that enabled the southward migration. ■But belief in this ice-free corridor began to crumblewhen paleoecologist Glen MacDonald demonstrated that some of the most importantradiocarbon dates used to support the existence of an ice-free corridor wereincorrect. ■Hepersuasively argued that such an ice-free corridor did not exist until muchlater, when the continental ice began its final retreat. ■

Look at thefour squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to thepassage.

Moreover, other evidencesuggests that even if an ice-free corridor did exist, it would have lacked theresources needed for human colonization.

Moreover表递进，可译为“此外”，插入句子意思和段落最后一句话表递进关系，译为：他令人信服地主张那样的不冻地带直到很久以后才出现，那时大陆冰块开始最后的消退。此外其它证据表明即使不冻地带存在，所以选最后一个方框。

5.观点+例子

这种连接的方法往往插入的句子是作者表达的观点，那么我们只要回段落找相关的例子就可以选择正确的方框了。

Thedifferences in feeding preferences lead, in turn, to differences in migratoryhabits. ■The wildebeests follow, in their migration, the patternof local rainfall. ■The other species do likewise. ■But when anew area is fueled by rain, the mammals migrate toward it in a set order toexploit it. ■The larger, less fastidious feeders, the zebras, move infirst; the choosier, smaller wildebeests come later; and the smallest speciesof all, Thomson’s gazelle, arrives last.

Look at the four squares [■] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

The sequence in which they migratecorrelates with their body size.

插入的句子表达了一个观点：它们迁移的顺序是与身体大小相关的。那么我们只要找一个例子和身体大小相关的句子即可。最后一句话the larger, less fastidious feeders, thezebras, move in first. 通过这两组词我们就可以判断出来这是一个例子，所以选最后一个黑框。

Chinese porcelain wares imported intothe Arab world. ■So admired were thesepieces that they encouraged the development of earthenware made in imitation ofporcelain and instigated research into the method of theirmanufacture. ■Fromthe Middle East theChinese acquired a blue pigment—a purifiedform of cobalt oxide unobtainable at that time in China—that contained only alow level of manganese. Cobalt oresfound in China have a high manganese content, which produces a more muted blue-gray color. ■In the seventeenth century, the trading activities of theDutch East India Company resulted invast quantities of decorated Chinese porcelain being brought to Europe,which stimulated and influenced the work of a wide variety of wares, notablyDelft. ■TheChinese themselves adapted many specific vessel forms from the West, such asbottles with long.

Look at the four squares [■]that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Foreign trade was also responsiblefor certain innovations in coloring.

这句话也是观点：外贸也是颜色创新的原因。那么例子只要涉及到颜色，外贸即可。第二句话谈到：Middle East and blue, 所以是第二个方框。

三、总结

句子与句子之间的连接，主要是通过以上五种方法进行的，所以我们在做题时，先分析所给的插入句子，找出句子里面的名词，代词，连接词，其次要理解这些关键词的意思，如果不理解其意思，即使找出来，有时候也帮助不大，所以同学们不仅需要技巧还需要扎实的基本功，比如词汇理解，句子结构分析的能力.