一般说来，托福阅读题目中涉及到的单词或短语对于文章的理解或者重要的部分起到至关重要的作用。

　　如何识别此类问题

　　词汇类问题很容易辨认，在文章中被考到的单词或短语会被用阴影标识出来，问题的提问形式通常为：

　　☆ In the case of a word， the question might be :

　　The word X in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　☆ In the case of a phrase， the question might be :

　　In stating X， the author means that

　　The phrase X in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　其中，以第一种形式，也就是考察考生某单词在文章上下文中意思的问题类型最为常见。

　　如何答题

　　1. 在文章中定位到阴影标识的单词或短语。

　　2. 仔细阅读该词或短语所在句子。

　　3. 在句子中寻找可以帮助理解阴影标识的单词或短语的具体意思的线索。

　　4. 选择答案，并将所选择的单词或短语放入原文进行检验，以确认这个句子在全文中仍是有意义的。

　　提醒考生注意，选择答案时，不要仅仅因为某个选项符合该单词的某一个正确意思就将其作为正确选项;题目考察的是作者在文章上下文中使用了那一个词义。

　　如何利用各种线索

　　☆ 结构线索(即指明句子中各成分之间关系的特定单词、短语和语法结构)

　　1. 对比

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 5， question 6

　　Passage 5: In this newly emerging economic order， workers sometimes organized to protect their rights and traditional ways of life. Craftworkers such as carpenters and tailors formed unions and in 1834 individual unions came together in the National Trades’ Union. The labor movement gathered some momentum in the decade before the Panic of 1837， but in the depression that followed， labor’s strength collapsed…

　　The phrase gathered some momentum in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ made progress

　　○ became active

　　○ caused changes

　　○ combined forces

　　解析：单词readily所在的文章句子中出现转折词but，根据文章中but后面的内容我们可以得出短语gathered some momentum在此句中的的意思为made progress。

　　2. 例子

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 4， question 10

　　Passage 8: One cognitive theory suggests that aggravating and painful events trigger unpleasant feelings. These feelings in turn， can lead to aggressive action， but not automatically. Cognitive factors intervene. People decide whether they will act aggressively or not on other people’s motives. Supporting evidence comes from research showing that aggressive people often distort other people’s motives. For example， they assume that other people mean them harm when they do not.

　　The word distort in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ mistrust

　　○ misinterpret

　　○ criticize

　　○ resent

　　解析：distort所在的文章句子后出现“ for example”， 根据for example 中的内容，我们可以得出distort在此句中的意思为misinterpret。

　　3. 并列信息

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 5， question 3

　　Passage 3: …Absenteeism and lateness hurt productivity and since work was specialized， disrupted the regular factory routine. Industrialization not only produced a fundamental change in the way work was organized; it transformed the very nature of work.

　　The word disrupted in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ prolonged

　　○ established

　　○ followed

　　○ upset

　　解析：disrupt 在的文章句子中出现and连接的并列信息hurt，根据这一并列信息，我们可以得出disrupt在此句中的意思为upset。

　　4. 因果关系

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 6， question 1

　　Passage 1: …Feeding， courtship， preproduction， and even “rest” are carried out while in constant motion. As a result， practically every aspect of the body form and function of these swimming “machines” is adapted to enhance their ability to swim.

　　The word enhance in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ use

　　○ improve

　　○ counteract

　　○ balance

　　解析：enhance 在的文章句子中出现表示因果关系的短语as a result，根据前一句中的原因，我们可以得出enhance在此句中的意思为improve。

　　5. 连词or

　　Example: OG　The EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS　question 1

　　Passage 1: Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world， but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of many emotions may e universal…

　　The word despondent in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ curious

　　○ unhappy

　　○ thoughtful

　　○ uncertain

　　解析：despondent 所在的文章句子中出现疑问句，疑问句中的连词or 表示选择，因此我们可以得出despondent在此句中的意思为unhappy?

　　☆ 数字/时间

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 3， question 11

　　Passage 6: With the advent of projection， the viewer’s relationship with the image was no longer private， as it had been with earlier peepshow devices such as the Kinetoscope and the Mutoscope， which was a similar machine that reproduced motion by means of successive images on individual photographic cards instead of strips of celluloid. It suddenly became public –an experience that the viewer shared with dozens， score， and even hundreds of others. At the same time， the image that the spectator looked at expanded from the minuscule peepshow dimensions of 1 or 2 inches (in height) to the life-size proportions of 6 or 9 feet.

　　The word expanded in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ was enlarged

　　○ was improved

　　○ was varied

　　○ was rejected

　　解析：expanded所在的文章句子中出现从“1 or 2 inches”到“6 or 9 feet”，因此我们可以轻而易举得出expanded在文章中上下文意思为 was enlarged。

　　☆ 标点线索

　　Example: OG　Practice Set 3， question 4

　　Passage 3: Exhibitors， however， wanted to maximize their profits， which they could do more readily by projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by charging 25 to 50 cents admission…

　　The word readily in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ frequently

　　○ easily

　　○ intelligently

　　○ obviously

　　解析：readily 在的文章句子中出现表示附加或补充信息的圆括号()，根据圆括号中的内容，我们可以得出readily在此句中的意思为easily。

　　☆ 构词法

　　根据构词法，单词的结构有三部分：前缀(prefixes)，词干(stems)和后缀(suffixes)。词干是单词的构成基础，前缀和后缀则分别加在词干的前面和后面，从而改变单词的词性和含义。而前缀、后缀和词干都有其固定含义，因此根据构词法，我们就可以利用其固定含义来判断生词的意思。

　　Example: OG NINETEENTH-CENTURY POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES

　　Passage 1: …During his administration he immeasurably enlarged the power of the presidency…

　　The word immeasurably in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○ frequently

　　○ greatly

　　○ rapidly

　　○ reportedly

　　解析：immeasurably一词的词根为measure(测量、度量)，词缀分别为im-(不)，-able(能…的)，-ly(由形容词变为副词)。因此我们可以判断immeasurably一词在此句中的意思为greatly?