Altogether, the Us population rose in the 1970s by 23.2 million people—numerically the third-largest growth ever recorded in a single decade. Even so, that gain adds up to only 11.4 percent, lowest in American annual records except for the Depression years.
Americans have been migrating south and west in larger numbers since World War Ⅱ, and the pattern still prevails. (1998年 Passage 4)
Discerned from the perplexing picture of population growth the 1980 census provided, America in 1970s . [A] enjoyed the lowest net growth of population in history [B] witnessed a southwestern shift of population
[C] underwent an unparalleled period of population growth
[D] brought to a standstill its pattern of migration since World War Ⅱ
这是一道涉及数字的题目，从标志词1970s可以定位为文章第三段，本段指出：“20世纪70年代，美国人口总共增长了2 320万——从数字上看，这是有纪录以来10年期人口增长的第三高峰。即使如此，人口总数也只增加了11.4%，除了大萧条时期，这是美国年度记录最低的增长率。”因此，[A]选项和[C]选项与文意不符。接着文章第四段谈到人口普查显示出“第二次世界大战以来，美国人不断移居西部和南部，现在这种趋势依然存在”。因此可以得出[B]选项是正确答案，而[D]选项与该段内容正好相反。
（3）用类比的例子，要求考生进行推理演绎 Example1
There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language-all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept. （1995年 Passage 2）
A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when . [A] he has given up his smoking habit [B] he has made great efforts in his work [C] he is keen on learning anything new
[D] he has tried to determine where he is on his journey
本文指出看待人的成长有两个观点：一是视为结果，一是视为过程。第一段具体讲到第一种观点的详细内容。它是大部分人都持有的观点，看重外在结果因为其可以量化，可以通过具体事例反映出来，如：工人得到升迁、学生成绩提高和外国人学会了一门新的语言。第二段讲第二种观点的详细内容：成长是人在遇到新的经历和意外险阻时表现出来的态度和情感，而不是实在的结果。问的是根据第一种观点，以下哪一种是成长表现。通过文中类比的例子可知只有[A]选项是实在的结果。
结论题与推理题在解题思路和方法上有许多相似之处，但是推理题偏重于推理过程，而结论题偏重于归纳过程。解答结论题时一定要根据题目要求，就短文有关内容做出合乎逻辑的、可靠的结论。有时为了克服片面性，可以扩大阅读范围，否则获得信息的范围太窄，结
论便欠妥。因此，解答此类试题既要以事实为依据，也要依据自己的常识和经验；既要重视文章主题，也要重视发展或印证主题的细节；而尤为重要的是把握作者的写作意图。注意过于概括、过于全面或过于细节化的选项，往往属于干扰项。
（1）先了解全文，把握主题
考生可以通过首尾段、文章结构、或归纳整理各段信息迅速了解主题。然后再通过主题与细节的关系进行合乎理性的归纳。
Example
The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely unattractive. As a result, the support for ambition as a healthy impulse, a quality to be admired and fixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States. This does not mean that ambition is at an end, that people no longer feel its stirrings and promptings, but only that, no longer openly honored, it is less openly professed. Consequences follow from this, of course, some of which are that ambition is driven underground, or made sly. Such, then, is the way things stand: on the left angry critics, on the right stupid supporters, and in the middle, as usual, the majority of earnest people trying to get on in life. （2000年 Passage 5）
From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained . [A] secretly and vigorously [B] openly and enthusiastically [C] easily and momentarily [D] verbally and spiritually
该段谈到人们对雄心的攻击远多于对它的维护，因此本应是一种健康公开的品质得不到很多支持。第四句和第五句指出了不公开表达雄心带来的不良后果，由此可以推出人们不应该隐瞒自己的雄心。此外，纵观全文，作者提倡的是正确对待雄心，坦言自己的抱负。因此[B]选项“公开而热情地”是作者提倡的对待雄心的正确态度。
（2）把握作者的写作意图 Example
No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science: exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word “amateur” does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialisation in the nineteenth century, with its consequent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustrated in terms of the development of geology in the United Kingdom. （2001年 Passage 1）
The author writes of the development of geology to demonstrate. [A] the process of specialisation and professionalisation [B] the hardship of amateurs in scientific study [C] the change of policies in scientific publications
[D] the discrimination of professionals against amateurs 前一段谈到，业余研究者进入专业领域很难的趋势在某些科学领域尤为突出，英国地质学的发展就说明了这一问题。后一段通过对19世纪英国地质学及其出版物的变化、研究方式的变化、非专业人员研究过程的困难等的陈述，说明专业人员和业余人员之间的分化越来
越明显。因此可引申推理出作者的写作目的正是描述[A]选项 “职业化和专业化形成的过程”。
2?推理引申题的解答技巧 （1）推理引申题的划分
推理引申题按照难易可以分为：简单推理题和复杂推理题。第一，简单的推理题。虽然在原文中不能直接找到答案，但是有间接的暗示和线索。它们与答案之间的关系比较清楚，联系起来后便可以得出答案。而且答案与其他选项差别也较大。第二，复杂的推理题。在原文中找不到明确的解题线索，考生只能根据隐藏在词句后面的含义，根据作者说话的语气，反复分析，才能找到答案，而且干扰项的干扰较强。考生在几个选项中犹豫不定，不知选哪个好。后一种推理题是近几年命题的趋势。
Example
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses’ convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. “Who is that?” the new arrival asked St. Peter. “Oh, that’s God,” came the reply, “but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor.” （2002年Text 1）
The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are . [A] impolite to new arrivals
[B] very conscious of their godlike role [C] entitled to some privileges
[D] very busy even during lunch hours
考生要根据全文的主旨以及作者的语气，从那个关于医生的笑话里推理医生和上帝有相似的特点：医生无礼、傲慢，自以为像上帝一样。接着再推测护士对医生的看法是：非常在乎自己上帝般的角色。这种推理是一个比较复杂的过程。[B]选项为正确答案。
（2）推理引申题选项特点及其解答技巧
正确项的特点：①不是文中明确说明的内容，因为即使符合原文，没有引申推理就不是正确选项；②如果四个选项全能凭常识判断，其中含义深刻的是正确选项，有时惟一不是常识项的是正确选项。
干扰项的特点：①只是原文的简单复述，而非推断出来的结论，把直接表达当成间接推理；②看似从原文推断出来的结论，然而实际上与原文不符，例如把原文的原因变成了选项中的结果，把原文的手段变成了选项中的目的；③根据常识判断是正确的，然而不是在文章事实或上下文逻辑基础上推理而得出的观点，因此，考生要注意不能根据自己的主观想法或生活经验去推理，因为命题者考查的是考生揣摩作者意图的能力；④虽然以文章提供的事实或内在逻辑为推理依据，但推理过头，概括过度；⑤有部分选项的内容纯属编造。
根据推理引申试题的特点，考生在解答时要注意以下两点：
首先，考生在浏览全文时，一要留意那些似乎话中有话的间接表达句。它们往往采用说半句、打比喻、反过来讲的方式，留有让考生自己作结论或推理的余地。二要留意含义深刻或结构复杂的句子。考生对作者表达的意思不能一下子看透，它们往往是命题点所在。
Example
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to
make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.（2002年 Passage 1）
It can be inferred from the text that public services [A] have benefited many people [B] are the focus of public attention
[C] are an inappropriate subject for humor [D] have often been the laughing stock
该段末句“如果拿公共服务行业作为替罪羊（scapegoats）去进行评论，你就会处于安全境地”让人读了不是很明白，禁不住要去推想到底为什么公共服务行业这么特殊呢？联系上文，前面的内容说的是“开玩笑取乐要看听众是不是自己同行业的人，如果不是就有可能招人反感”。一番推理之后，才明白这句话的另外一层未说明的含义，即选项[D]反映的内容：公共服务行业是大家经常谈论的共同笑料。
其次，根据题干的关键词迅速搜索定位以便确定推理依据的范围，利用语法、词汇、语境线索，了解单句的含义，弄清上下文的逻辑关系，然后按题意进行推理。题目可能要求考生对某句话或数句话进行正确理解或释义，也可能从某句话或某段话中推测出一两件事实。
Example
In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.（2002年 Passage 3）
It can be inferred from the text that the retail price of petrol will go up dramatically if . [A] price of crude rises [B] commodity prices rise [C] consumption rises [D] oil taxes rise 题干中的关键词是“the retail price of petrol”。根据它定位到文章段落，文章先给出事实：原油价格占汽油零售价格的一小部分，其大部分是税收。在欧洲国家这个比例更是高达五分之四，因此原油价格的变动对汽油价格影响不大。据此可以推出二者的潜在关系：影响汽油价格的主要因素是税收；税收涨，油价也大幅度地涨。
3?特殊的引申推理题型 （1）针对作者思路的推断
主要是猜测上下文可能出现的信息：首先，考生应该在分析概括文章的写作结构基础上进行推理。如：文章是按事物分类的叙述，而所选材料是其中一类，那么上下文就可能是对其他类别的叙述。其次，如果要求考生猜测短文之后的内容，就应该特别注意其结尾部分；如果要求考生猜测之前的内容，就应该特别注意短文的开始部分。其命题模式如下：
It can be assumed that the paragraph, preceding (following) the passage most probably discusses .
The paragraph preceding (following) this one is probably about . 此类题型到目前为止还未在研究生考试中的阅读部分出现，但是我们不能排除它是将来的一种新题型。
（2）推断文章来源的类型
要求考生在读懂全文的基础上判断本篇文章选自何种书、杂志或文章的一部分。这种题目往往在文章中有所暗示。考生也可根据文章的写作结构、行文风格去推断其文体。此类题的例题模式如下：
This passage appears to be a digest of . The passage is most likely a part of a . Example
Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/evolution are in the publisher’s pipelines. A few have already appeared. The goal of all will be to try to explain to a confused and often unenlightened citizenry that there are not two equally valid scientific theories for the origin and evolution of universe and life. Cosmology, geology, and biology have provided a consistent, unified, and constantly improving account of what happened. “Scientific” creationism, which is being pushed by some for “equal time” in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of evolution are given, is based on religion, not science. Virtually all scientists and the majority of nonfundamentalist religious leaders have come to regard “scientific” creationism as bad science and bad religion.
The first four chapters of Kitcher’s book give a very brief introduction to evolution. At appropriate places, he introduces the criticisms of the creationists and provides answers. In the last three chapters, he takes off his gloves and gives the creationists a good beating. He describes their programmes and tactics, and, for those unfamiliar with the ways of creationists, the extent of their deception and distortion may come as an unpleasant surprise. When their basic motivation is religious, one might have expected more Christian behavior.
Kitcher is a philosopher, and this may account, in part, for the clarity and effectiveness of his arguments. The non-specialist will be able to obtain at least a notion of the sorts of data and argument that support evolutionary theory. The final chapters on the creationists will be extremely clear to all. On the dust jacket of this fine book, Stephen Jay Gould says: “This book stands for reason itself.” And so it does—and all would be well were reason the only judge in the creationism/evolution debate.（1996年 Passage 5）
This passage appears to be a digest of . [A] a book review [B] a scientific paper [C] a magazine feature [D] a newspaper editorial
文章首段以20本关于创造论与进化论之争的书开始，然后在第二段和第三段专门介绍金切尔著作的结构内容和突出特点，最后引用斯蒂芬·杰·古尔德的对话对此书做出高度评价，因此可以看出这是一篇典型的书评。英语书评的写作特点是：一般会先给出背景知识，接着介绍该书的主要内容，最后对所介绍的书籍做出一个总体评价。正确答案应该是[A]选项。
（3）判断文章写作方法
这种题型在2005年试题中首次出现，体现了阅读理解选择题开始从对局部信息的考查转向对文章组织结构的考查。考生需要了解不同类型英语文章的特点，开头、结尾方式及段落的拓展技巧，只有对文章整体组织结构有了清楚的了解，解答此类题型才能得心应手。
Example
Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be ourtaged. Such behaviour is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by