来自：查字典高考网 2014-12-25
指代类问题（Reference Questions）是新托福阅读考试每次必考题型，因此每次IBT考试我们都能看到一个熟悉的词组refer to ,这是指代类问题的标志。一般来说，3篇IBT阅读题目中会有2至3道这种类型的题目。本文将带领广大IBT考生解密Reference Questions ，以助考生考到理想成绩。
问题形式
考试的到文章中会有一个单词或短语用阴影标识出来，这个词通常是一个代词。然后考生会被问到：
◆ The word X in the passage refers to
四个选项都来自于文章中的单词或短语，但只有一个选项是被阴影标识出来的单词或短语所指代的内容(referent)。
考查目的
此类问题考查考生辨认文章中但此间指代关系的能力。通常这种关系是代词与其先行词之间的关系，有时也考查其他语法的指代关系（如：which或this）。
解题步骤
1. 看题干，确定指代词类型。
2. 带着题干主线索回原文找到阴影代词，根据上下文内容确定答案。（注意：在文章中，指代内容通常在代词之前出现，但有时也会出现在带代词后。指代内容可能与代词在同一个句子，也可能在另一个句子中出现。）
3. 将所选的答案替代被标识的单词或短语放回原文，利用语法检验它能否使句子表达通顺。
我们以OG Practice Set 6中的question 2为例：
Passage: Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have made streamlining in to an art form. Their bodies are sleek and compact. The body shapes of tunas, in fact, are nearly ideal from engineering point of view. Most species lack scales over most of the body, making it smooth and slippery. The eyes lie flush with the body and do not produce at all. They are also covered with a slick, transparent lid that reduces drag. The fins are stiff, smooth, and narrow, qualities that also help cut drag. When not in use, the fins are tucked into special grooves or depressions so that they lie flush with the body and do not break up its smooth contours
The word they in the passage refers to
○ qualities
○ fins
○ grooves
○ depressions
解题：首先根据题干我们可以看出此题中考查的是人称代词they的指代内容；然后在文中定位到阴影they 所在句子。而我们都知道在主从句中，从句的代词主语通常指代主句的名词主语，而主句的代词主语通常指代从句的名词主语，因此我们可以初步得出答案为 fins；把fins放回原文利用语法检查，它能够使句子表达通顺，因此可以确定正确答案为fins。
解题技巧
◆ 就近原则。所谓就近原则即为代词(尤其关系代词)一般指代离它最近的名词或代词。例：
Passage: The first weekly newspaper in the colonies was the Boston Gazette, established in 1719, the same year that marked the appearance of Philadelphias first newspaper, the American Mercury, where the young Benjamin Franklin worked. By 1760, Boston had 4 newspapers and 5 other printing establishments; Philadelphia, 2 newspapers and 3 other presses; and New York, 3 newspapers. The distribution, if not the sale, of newspapers was assisted by the establishment of a postal service in 1710, which had a network of some 65 offices by 1770, serving all 13 colonies
The word which in the passage refers to
○ distribution
○ sale
○ newspaper
○ postal service
解题：首先根据题干我们可以看出此题中考查的是关系代词which的指代内容；然后在文中定位到阴影which所在句子，根据就近原则搜索，我们会发现指代内容在代词之前出现，并且与代词在同一句子中，postal service可以初步定为答案；把postal service放回原文检查，语法正确并且符合语义和逻辑，因此可以确定正确答案为postal service。
◆ 数格一致原则。所谓数格一致原则即为被指代对象通常与指代词在数(单数或复数)和格（第一人称、第二人称、第三人称）两方面相同。如单数代词it指代第三人称的单数名词，复数代词they指代第三人称的复数名词。例：
Passage: Most Americans still get married at some point in their lives, but even that group, is shrinking. Among current generations of adults starting with those born in the 1920s more than 90 percent have married or will marry at some point in their lives. However, based on recent patterns of marriage and mortality, demographers calculate that a growing share of the younger generation is postponing marriage for so long that an unprecedented number will never marry at all. Data on cohabitation and unmarried childbearing suggests that marriage is becoming less relevant to Americans. 2.8 million of the nations households are unmarried couples, and one-third of them are caring for children , according to the Census Bureau.
The word them in the passage refers to
○ younger generations
○ data
○ Americans
○ unmarried couples
解题：首先根据题干我们可以看出此题中考查的是人称代词them的指代内容，them为复数人称代词，而选项中在原文出现的单词data为单数，根据数格一致的原则，我们可以直接排除data；然后在文中定位到阴影them所在句子，根据上下文内容，我们会发现指代内容在代词之前出现，而且与代词在同一个句子中，unmarried couples可以初步定为答案；把unmarried couples放回原文检查，语法正确并且符合语义和逻辑，因此可以确定正确答案为unmarried couples。
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