四六级阅读也是有技巧的！除了平时的积累与词汇量，最重要的，是清楚地了解出题老师想考什么！学会这10个设题点你就知道了！

转折对比处

转折句或转折关系常常是文章内容的强调之处，是作者表达观点或陈述事物的关键地方。一般而言，转折后的内容是语义的重点，它往往是作者的真实意图所在，所以命题者常对转折处的内容进行提问。考生应特别注意此处内容。

转折一般通过however, but, yet, in fact等词或短语来引出。

强对比也是作者用来强调论证自己观点的一种方法，常由unlike, until, not so much…as等词或短语引出。命题者常就被对比者的属性设题。

例(四级真题）

…likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn’t smoke. There’s a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse’s death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems.

Q: It can be inferred from the context that the “flip side” refers to ______.
A) the consequence of a broken marriage
B) the emotional problems arising from marriage
C) the responsibility of taking care of one’s family
D) the disadvantages of being married

文章第二段首先介绍了婚姻的好处，可以帮助弥补身体不健康所产生的不利影响。第四句中使用了表示转折意义的连词however，因此推断下文将会谈论婚姻产生的不利影响。所以此处的flip side是指“婚姻导致的弊端”，故答案为D）。

举例处

作者在文章中经常引用具体的例子来使文章更有说服力，而这些例子很可能会成为考点，需加以注意。

文章中常用as, such as, for example, for instance, take…as an example等引出的短语或句子作为例证。

例 (四级真题）

But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health; when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.

Q: According to the passage, privacy is like health in that ______.
A) people will make every effort to keep it
B) its importance is rarely understood
C) it is something that can easily be lost
D) people don’t cherish it until they lose it

作者把隐私同健康进行比较，当人们拥有健康时，不曾注意到它，一旦失去才知其珍贵。D）中的cherish it与原文中的wish you’d done more to protect it意思一致。
数字年代处

数字年代在文章中常常会传达重要的信息，因此也经常成为考查的重点，需要说明的是四级考试与其他考试不同，一般很少就数字本身的运算、辨认或推理设题，而往往就数字引出的信息命题。因此，考生在看到数字时还要注意其前后所印证或引出的具体信息。

例(四级真题）

We need economic growth unless we condemn the world’s poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone else’s living standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.

Q: Greenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050 because of ______.
A) economic growth
B) wasteful use of energy
C) the widening gap between the rich and poor
D) the rapid advances of science and technology

文中提到截至2050年，随着经济增长，能源利用及温室气体排放会加倍增长，A)中的“经济增长”与原文中的modest growth所指一致，符合题意。
因果关系处

两个事件内在的因果关系常常成为出题人的命题点，一般来讲，这种选择题有两种形式，给出原因推断结果，或给出结果推断原因。

例(四级真题）

In the past few years, prominent schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2003, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen “a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position.”

Q: Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor chiefly because ______.
A) she was known to be good at raising money
B) she could help strengthen its ties with Yale
C) she knew how to attract students overseas
D) she had boosted Yale’s academic status

剑桥大学公开强调Alison Richard在以前的工作中负责监督财务，“是耶鲁大学财政状况提升的主要力量”，基于这个才能，剑桥大学聘请她担任常务副校长一职。A)she was known to be good at raising money表达的与此句相同，故为答案。
主题句处

文章第一段的段首、段尾或最后一段的段尾处往往是整篇文章的主题所在；每一段的段首或段尾句通常是该段的主题句，因此命题者常常围绕此处出题。

在四级考试中，文章或段落的主旨常以主题句的形式出现。主题句的特点是：语义完整、形式简洁、观点明确。在演绎类的文章中，语篇主题句一般位于篇章的开头部分；在归纳类文章中，主题句多出现在段末或篇末；不过主题句有时也出现在文章中间部分。找到了主题句，就等于找到了此类题的答案。

例 (四级真题）

“The biggest problem is that couples assume each other knows what’s going on with their finances, but they don’t. There seems to be more of a taboo (禁忌) about talking about money than talking about death. But you both need to know what you’re doing, who’s paying what into the joint account and how much you keep separately. In a healthy relationship, you don’t have to agree about money, but you have to talk about it.”

Q: The author suggests at the end of the passage that couples should ______.
A) discuss money matters to maintain a healthy relationship
B) put their money together instead of keeping it separately
C) make efforts to reach agreement on their family budgets
D) avoid arguing about money matters to remain romantic

文章最后一句提到，要想维持一段健康的婚姻关系，双方的金钱观不一定要一致，但一定要彼此沟通。A） “夫妻双方应该讨论钱的问题以维持健康的婚姻关系”是对原文的同义转述，故为答案。
定义结论处

很多文章中会出现考生不熟悉的概念，作者往往会对这些概念给出相应的定义，这些定义很容易成为考查的内容。很多文章都涉及一些调查或实验，而这些调查、实验的结果、结论又常常成为考点，因此考生一定要注意find, show, reveal, conclude等动词引出的宾语从句以及thus等表示结论的词语。

例(四级真题）

Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable, but traces of both elements are also present as heavier isotopes. The heaviest rain falls first. As a result, storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.

Q: What is said about the rainfall in America’s West?
A) There is much more rainfall in California than in Utah.
B) The water it delivers becomes lighter when it moves inland.
C) Its chemical composition is less stable than in other areas.
D) It gathers more light isotopes as it moves eastward.

在太平洋上形成的风暴给加利福尼亚州带来的雨水要比带给犹他州的更多。 B) The water it delivers becomes lighter when it moves inland （雨水由沿海进入内陆地区时会变小），加州属沿海地区，犹他是内陆地区，因此，该选项是对原文的概括，故为答案。
列举并列处

列举并列处是指用First(ly)… Second(ly)… Third(ly)… Finally…; Not only…but also…; In addition; Furthermore; Moreover; Above all; On the one hand…, on the other hand…等表示顺承关系或递进关系的词语列举出的事实。列举并列处是设置事实细节题的主要出处，若为正面出题，则与原文内容相同的选项为正确答案；若题干为反面设题，则与原文意思相反的选项为此题的正确答案。

例(四级真题）

Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity (长寿) boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers (鳏夫) were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man’s life and two to a woman’s. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.

Q: William Farr’s study and other studies show that ______.
A) social life provides an effective cure for illness
B) marriage contributes a great deal to longevity
C) women benefit more than men from marriage
D) being sociable helps improve one’s quality of life

本文论述社交生活对人寿命的影响，开头列举了可能导致长寿的因素：善于与他人交际以及与家人、朋友、邻居甚至宠物保持良好关系。但马上转折后提到能够导致长寿的最主要的因素似乎在于婚姻或者是类似的关系。然后，提到这一结果最早由威廉·法尔于1858年记录。B） 中的contributes…to是对第二句中的boost的同义转述，故为答案。
比较级/最高级处

在文章中经常会对不同的对象进行某方面的比较，而这些比较经常成为考查的目标，尤其是在文章中的最高级出现之处。

例(四级真题）

“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly,” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greet at the store entrance would help.”

Q: What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?
A) Manners of the salespeople.
B) Hiring of efficient employees.
C) Huge supply of goods for sale.
D) Design of the store layout.

对顾客态度友善、反应迅速的商家更容易解决好问题，从这里可以看出态度友善和反应迅速都属于销售人员的举止问题。A) “销售人员的举止”最符合题意，故为答案。
指代处

写作、讲话时为了简洁、明晰地表达事物及其逻辑关系，常用各种代词通过指代进行信息传递，当同时出现好几个事物时，这种。指代关系往往不容易区分，故常成为命题点

例(四级真题）

At Penn, students are not asked to indicate race when applying for housing. “One of the great things about freshman housing is that, with some exceptions, the process throws you together randomly,” said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley. “This is the definition of integration.”

Q: What does Alec Webley consider to be the “definition of integration”?
A) Students of different races are required to share a room.
B) Interracial lodging is arranged by the school for freshmen.
C) Lodging is assigned to students of different races without exception.
D) The school randomly assigns roommates without regard to race.

原文倒数第四段最后一句提到，“This is the definition of integration.”而This指代的具体内容出现在前一句中，即with some exceptions, the process throws you together randomly（除特殊情况外，宿舍的安排一般是随机的）。因此，所谓“融合的定义”实际上是指“随机安排学生住宿”，故答案为D)。
特殊标点处

特殊标点符号处，尤其是段首的特殊符号所引出的内容往往表达了作者的观点，阐述了全文的主题，因此也成为主旨大意题的高发命题点。

此处所说的特殊标点符号包括：
(1) 破折号(表解释)；
(2) 括号 (表解释)；
(3) 冒号 (表解释)；
(4) 引号 (表引用或有其他特殊含义)；
(5) 分号 (表进一步的解释说明) 等。

在主题段落或主题句中，特殊标点符号所引出的内容往往是出题点，因此在解答这类题时，一定要特别注意对特殊标点所引出内容的把握。

例(四级真题）

Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House—mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family.

Q: What do many African-Americans write about in their blogs?
A) Whether Michelle can live up to the high expectations of her fans.
B) How Michelle should behave as a public figure.
C) How proud they are to have a black woman in the White House.
D) What Michelle should do as wife and mother in the White House.

第五段第二句使用了破折号，表达了美国黑人希望看到米歇尔可以向这个世界展示一个黑人妇女既可以支持她的丈夫，也可以支撑起一个强大的家庭的形象。D) “作为妻子和母亲，米歇尔在白宫应该做什么”与原文意思相符，故D） 正确。