托福阅读推理题中的类比逻辑关系

 　　很多同学最近一直和我抱怨，托福阅读中的推理题好难啊，很多题目的正确选项在文中都找不到，说好的忠于原文，说好的不用多想，不用为作者分忧解难呢?这时候我会偷笑，因为你们在托福阅读考试流程里碰到的是细节题的升级版本—─推理题!我们平时在阅读教学中一直和同学强调，阅读要忠于原文，不要大开脑洞，所有答案均出现在原文中。唯独有一种题目即推理题，需要学生不仅在文中找到相关依据，还要根据这个依据走一步推理的过程，才能得出答案。

　　今天就想和大家分享一下阅读推理题中涉及到的一种逻辑推理关系 — 类比关系，此类逻辑关系一般出现在对比类的文段中。即文章中出现A,B两个比较对象， A与B有相同特征，于是我们可以根据A的特证来推断B也有相同的特征。举个例子：像小明一样，小红爱吃西瓜，于是乎我们可以从这句话里推断出不仅小红爱吃西瓜，小明也爱吃。接下去，我们就来看看这种逻辑关系在推理题中的应用。

　　Paragraph 1: When it comes to physiology¹, the leatherback turtle is, in some ways, more like a reptilian² whale than a turtle. It swims farther into the cold of the northern and southern oceans than any other sea turtle, and it deals with the chilly³ waters in a way unique among reptiles⁴.

　　What can be inferred about whales from paragraph 1?

　　A . They are considered by some to be reptiles.

　　B. Their bodies are built in a way that helps them manage extremely cold temperatures.

　　C .They are distantly related to leatherback turtles.

　　D .They can swim farther than leatherback turtles.

　　这道题目，题干问我们根据第二段的内容我们可以对鲸鱼作出何种推断，于是乎我们根据解题技巧快速回到文中搜索定位词whales, 找到以下这句话 ”the leatherback turtle is, in some ways, more like a reptilian whale than a turtle.” 这句话告诉我们leatherback turtle更像爬行的whales, 虽然此句没有直接提到whales的特征，但我们可以根据刚刚提到的类比关系做一步逻辑推断啊。既然leatherback turtle很像whales, 那么leatherback turtle的特征也应该就是whales的特征，因此我们只要找到leatherback turtle的描述信息即可发现whales的特征。原文最后一句话提到， leatherback turtle会游到寒冷的南北海洋并且有特殊的处理冰水的能力。于是乎我们可以得出whales也有相同特征。答案对应B选项。

　　再来看一道稍难的题目吧

　　Buck⁵ rubs also have a scent⁶. These odors make buck rubs an important means of olfactory⁷ communication. Forehead rubbing by male deer on buck rubs presumably sends a great deal of information to other members of the same species. The presence of many well-marked rubs is indicative of older, higher-status males being in the general vicinity rather than simply being a crude measure of relative deer abundance in a given area. The information conveyed by the olfactory signals on a buck rub make it the social equivalent of some auditory signals in other deer species, such as trumpeting⁸ by bull elk⁹.

　　What can be inferred from paragraph 4 about the trumpeting of bull elk?

　　A.Trumpeting by higher-status bull elk signals their presence to other members of their species.

　　B.Bull elk need to combine trumpeting with olfactory signals to covey information about their identity.

　　C.Trumpeting alerts white-tailed deer to the presence of bull elk in their vicinity.

　　D.Trumpeting provides a better measure of deer presence in a given area than buck rubs do.

　　此题问我们，根据第四段我们可以对trumpeting of bull elk做出怎样的推断。根据关键词trumpeting of bull elk我们快速找到原文最后一个单词。既然是出现在文章的最后位置，那我们只好去往前推了。而前句又提到了一个我们非常熟悉的逻辑关系—─类比关系。来看这句话 The information conveyed by the olfactory signals on a buck rub make it the social equivalent of some auditory signals in other deer species, such as trumpeting by bull elk.这句话告诉我们buck rub发出的olfactory signal和trumpeting of bull elk发出的auditory signal有相同的社会作用。根据前文我们知道buck rub可以反映年长雄鹿在鹿群里的社会地位。于是乎我们便可以做进一步推理，即trumpeting of bull elk也应该有相似地功能。

　　我想，只要我们的同学能够熟练掌握这种逻辑推理方法，将来一定可以避免在做这类推理题时常常出现的无从下手的困境。

1 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

2 reptilian   

adj.（像）爬行动物的；（像）爬虫的；卑躬屈节的；卑鄙的n.两栖动物；卑劣的人

参考例句：

• The chick is ugly and almost reptilian in its appearance. 这只小鸡长得很丑，看起来几乎像个爬行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Being from Orion do Zetas contain DNA from the Reptilian race? 齐塔人是从猎户座而来，DNA来自爬虫族吗？ 来自互联网

3 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

4 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

6 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

7 olfactory   

adj.嗅觉的

参考例句：

• He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
• Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现，凯勒推断，每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。

8 trumpeting   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She is always trumpeting her son. 她总是吹嘘她儿子。
• The wind is trumpeting, a bugle calling to charge! 风在掌号。冲锋号！ 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

9 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。