(2)運用數字進行推理

　　Example

　　Emerging from the 1980 census is the picture of a nation developing more and more regional competition, as population growth in the Northeast and Midwest reaches a near standstill.

　　This development—and its strong implication for US politics and economy in years ahead—has enthroned the South as America’s most densely populated region for the first time in the history of the nation’s head counting.

　　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

　　這是一道涉及數字的題目，從標志詞1970s可以定位為文章第三段，本段指出：“20世紀70年代，美國人口總共增長了2 320萬——從數字上看，這是有紀錄以來10年期人口增長的第三高峰。即使如此，人口總數也只增加了11.4%，除了大蕭條時期，這是美國年度記錄最低的增長率。”因此，[A]選項和[C]選項與文意不符。接著文章第四段談到人口普查顯示出“第二次世界大戰以來，美國人不斷移居西部和南部，現在這種趨勢依然存在”。因此可以得出[B]選項是正確答案，而[D]選項與該段內容正好相反。

　　(3)用類比的例子，要求考生進行推理演繹

　　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長有兩個觀點：一是視為結果，一是視為過程。第一段具體講到第一種觀點的詳細內容。它是大部分人都持有的觀點，看重外在結果因為其可以量化，可以通過具體事例反映出來，如：工人得到升遷、學生成績提高和外國人學會了一門新的語言。第二段講第二種觀點的詳細內容：成長是人在遇到新的經歷和意外險阻時表現出來的態度和情感，而不是實在的結果。問的是根據第一種觀點，以下哪一種是成長表現。通過文中類比的例子可知只有[A]選項是實在的結果。

　　結論題與推理題在解題思路和方法上有許多相似之處，但是推理題偏重于推理過程，而結論題偏重于歸納過程。解答結論題時一定要根據題目要求，就短文有關內容做出合乎邏輯的、可靠的結論。有時為了克服片面性，可以擴大閱讀范圍，否則獲得信息的范圍太窄，結論便欠妥。因此，解答此類試題既要以事實為依據，也要依據自己的常識和經驗;既要重視文章主題，也要重視發展或印證主題的細節;而尤為重要的是把握作者的寫作意圖。注意過于概括、過于全面或過于細節化的選項，往往屬于干擾項。

　　(1)先了解全文，把握主題

　　考生可以通過首尾段、文章結構、或歸納整理各段信息迅速了解主題。然后再通過主題與細節的關系進行合乎理性的歸納。

　　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

　　該段談到人們對雄心的攻擊遠多于對它的維護，因此本應是一種健康公開的品質得不到很多支持。第四句和第五句指出了不公開表達雄心帶來的不良后果，由此可以推出人們不應該隱瞞自己的雄心。此外，縱觀全文，作者提倡的是正確對待雄心，坦言自己的抱負。因此[B]選項“公開而熱情地”是作者提倡的對待雄心的正確態度。

　　(2)把握作者的寫作意圖

　　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

　　前一段談到，業余研究者進入專業領域很難的趨勢在某些科學領域尤為突出，英國地質學的發展就說明了這一問題。后一段通過對19世紀英國地質學及其出版物的變化、研究方式的變化、非專業人員研究過程的困難等的陳述，說明專業人員和業余人員之間的分化越來越明顯。因此可引申推理出作者的寫作目的正是描述[A]選項 “職業化和專業化形成的過程”。