(1)破折號(表解釋);(2)括號(表解釋);(3)冒號(表解釋);(4)引號(表引用)。題型一般有推理題，主旨大意題，細節事實題等。

　　例1. Just how critical this eye maneuvering is

　　to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes

　　evident when two speakers are wearing dark glasses

　　there may be a sort of trefoil jam of words caused

　　by interruption, false, and unpredictable

　　pauses.Q：To keep a conversation flowing smoothing,

　　it is better for the participants ______ .(A) out

　　to wear dark spectacles (B) not to make any

　　interruptions(C) not to glance away (D) not to

　　make unpredictable

　　pauses.(分析：選A。屬辨認細節事實題型，冒號前一句話意思是當兩個說話者戴墨鏡進行交談時，談話的流利性就會受影響。冒號后一句話進一步解釋了會有哪些影響，即會有一些停頓或錯誤表達，或隨便插話。答案B、D項是結果，不是條件，C項短文沒提，故選A。)

　　例2.…She adds:"Most women and blacks are so

　　frightened that people will think they've gotten

　　ahead because of their sex or color that they play

　　down (使…不突出)their visibility. "Her advice to those

　　folks: learn the ways that white males have

　　traditionally used to find their way into the

　　spotlight. Q：The best title for this passage would

　　be ______ .(A) pole of women and Minorities in

　　Management(B) The Importance of Being Visible (C)

　　Job Performance and Advancement(D) Sex and Career

　　Success

　　(分析：選B項，屬主旨大意題型。冒號前面的內容講的是女人和黑人常因自己的膚色和性別而畏首畏腳，不愿張揚自己，這樣很難得到老板提拔。冒號后內容即建議他們要象白人一樣善于突出自己并引人注意。此即全篇文章主旨，故選B項。)

　　例3.…Human-resource management is not

　　traditionally seen as central to the competitive

　　survival of the firm in the United States. Skill

　　acquisition is considered an individual

　　responsibility. Lab our is simply another factor

　　of production to be hired - rented at the lowest

　　possible cost - much as one buys raw materials or

　　equipment.

　　Q：Which of the following applies to the management

　　of human resources in American companies?

　　(A) They hire people at the lowest cost

　　regardless of their skills.

　　(B) They see the gaining of skills as their

　　employees' own business.

　　(C) They attach more importance to workers than

　　equipment.

　　(D) They only hired skilled workers because of

　　keep competition.

　　(分析：選B項，屬歸納事實細節題。文章主要意思講美國大公司忽視人力資源管理。帶破折號的句子是進一步解釋，闡述這一主旨，強調勞動力僅被視為生產的最廉價因素--就象去買原料或裝置一樣。我們由此歸納，總結出美國公司把員工技能的培養看作員工自己的事。

　　例4："Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned

　　in internal-Combustion engines, could be

　　introduced at relatively low cost, but they would

　　lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and

　　greenhorns emissions (especially because oil

　　companies are already spending billions of dollars

　　every year to develop less of polluting types of

　　gasoline).Q：Which of the following statements is

　　TRUE according to the passage?

　　(A)The decline of public transportation accounts

　　for increased…

　　(B)cars are popular in western Europe even though

　　fuel prices…

　　(C)The reduction of vehicle use is the only

　　sustainable option…

　　(D)Western European oil companies cannot sustain

　　the cost of developing new-type

　　fuels.(分析選B項屬推理題。此題雖需通閱全文才能做出。但命題者針對小括號內內容出了一干擾項D項。D項內容與文中小括號內容是有出入的，故錯。)注：至引號處的考點，前面引用處常考一項已分析過。

　　8、段首，段尾句常考在短文中第一段首句或末段末句往往是文章中心思想的表達處;有時某一段的段首，段尾句是該段的主題句。因此，命題者常在這些地方出題。題型基本上屬主旨大意型。