聽力材料中出現(xiàn)的例子(Example)是最經(jīng)典的“插入信息”,這里也直接對應托福聽力考試的一大題型——目的題(例子題)。
常見問法:Why does the professor mention...?
刷過TPO的同學一定不會陌生。下面我們以TPO1 conversation2的一道目的題來看看,材料中是如何插入例子考點的。
題目:Why does Matthew mention Greek and Roman mythology?
A. To identify a topic frequently discussed in third grade
B. To get the professor's opinion about a lesson he taught
C. To make a suggestion to improve the class he is taking
D. To illustrate a technique used to teach a third-grade class
通過分析文本,教授表示對Mr.Grabell課堂上運用的interdisciplinary(跨學科)這種教學方法非常感興趣,學生為了進一步解釋這種方法的具體應用,例舉了在課堂上Mr.Grabell關(guān)于jupiter這顆太陽系中最大的行星名字的由來,講到了jupiter這個詞同時也是羅馬神話中眾神之王的名字(朱庇特)。
文中原話:So since Jupiter, the planet, is the largest planet in our solar system, it's like the king of the planets, like Jupiter was the king of all the gods.這種由天?文學跨到神學的講解方式正是interdisciplinary這一教學technique的具體體現(xiàn)。故此題選D。
除了以上最顯眼的例子插入,托福聽力考試中還有一些相對存在感比較弱,卻常爆考點的“插入信息”。如TPO1 Lecture1中:
題目:Why did Frantzen go to the Sales Barn?
A. To study human form and movement
B. To earn money by painting portraits
C. To paint farm animals in an outdoor setting
D. To meet people who could model for her paining
這道題屬于因果類細節(jié)題,詢問畫家Rose Frantzen為什么常去Sales Barn這樣的地方?答案難度其實不大,后文兩次提到“movement”,選A。難點在于這個細節(jié)容易被忽略。但只要我們掌握“插入信息”這個考點,也就不難理解為什么要考這道題。在教授講述該畫家的一幅關(guān)于Farm的畫作與回國后的經(jīng)歷之間,說了一句“Oh,and speaking about frams,that reminds me…One interesting thing I read about Franzten is that...”此處插入的這句話更像是對考點的一種提示,讓考生對接下來的內(nèi)容提高警惕。
又如TPO3 conversation2中
題目:What information does the student still need to get from the professor?
A. The name of the senior researcher
B. What book he needs to read before the next lecture
C. When the train session will be scheduled
D. Where the project is located:
這道題也屬于細節(jié)題,難度系數(shù)很低,但出現(xiàn)在同樣容易被忽略的conversation結(jié)尾處,不少同學在聽完全文后對該考點毫無印象,這種送分題反而成了送命題…通過分析文本,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)其實這個考點也是“早有預謀”,在出現(xiàn)答案training前(C),學生插入了一句“By the way”,大家千萬不要小看這個看似普通的小詞組,在TPO聽力練習中,幾乎每次它的出場,都在告訴我們考點來了。