如何在短时间内攻破新托福阅读指代题呢？朗阁老师将针对这个问题，具体分析指代题的考试特点，涵盖内容以及解题方法。
如何在短时间内攻破新托福阅读指代题呢？朗阁老师将针对这个问题，具体分析指代题的考试特点，涵盖内容以及解题方法。
一、考试的特点
我们先看一下托福官方指南对指代题这一题型的描述：These questions ask you to identify referential relationships between the words in the passage. Often the relationships is between pronoun and its antecedent (the word to which the pronoun refers). Sometimes other kinds of grammatical reference are tested (like which or this).
The four answers choices will be words or phrases from the passage. Only one choice is the word to which the highlighted word refers.
总结起来指代题有以下三个特点：
1. 问题除了常规代词（it/they/them/these）外，还有which, this等语法指代；
Which是定语从句或者非限制定语从句的关系指代词，此外新托福阅读真题出现过this + problem/view等非常规语法指代题。
2. 代词所指必须是前面提到过的词；
代词指代在英语里面可分为前指和后指，在新托福阅读考试里面只考前指，也就是指代前文提到过的事物。
3. 答案可以是词、短语或者前面谈到的一件事情；
新托福阅读指代题突破我们常规的指代概念，不局限于指代单个词，它可以是短语，甚至是完整的一句话。
问题形式：The word X in the passage refers to……
二、考试的内容
托福阅读常考查的代词包括：they, them, it, this, these, which, others, some, none, this + n等。
首先同学们要掌握这些词本身的意思，考查的内容虽然是指代，但我们要追溯起源头，也就是这些代词本身的意思，这和词汇题是一个概念，只有知道词本身的意思，才能在此基础上推导出来该词的同义词。下面我们就逐一分析一下每个代词本身的意思。
1.They: 他（它）们，复数代词，注意这个代词既可以指代有生命的东西，也可以指代无生命的东西。
eg: My father and mother are here. Theyvisit every week.
Take your books, they might be useful.
2.Them: 他（它）们，是they的宾格，所以同样这个词即可以指代有生命的东西，也可以指代无生命的东西。
eg: My father and brother are playing basketball, I bought drinks for them.
Where are my shoes? I can’t find them.
3.It: 指代单数名词，可以指代无生命的东西，也可以指代有生命的东西（指代动物），一般是特指（the + n）; 此外还可以指代前面所说的整件事情。
eg: I pick up the plate and putit on the table.
Where is the mouse? The cat ate it.
He said he can swim across that big river, but I don’t believeit.
4.This: 这个，可以指代前面说的事物（单数可数名词或者不可数名词）、动作、过程等，通常是指代离它*近的东西。在托福阅读里面通常用作限定词，形式：this + n
eg: Many millions of years after ferns evolved (but long before the Hawaiian Island were born from the sea), another kind of flora evolved on Earth: the seed-bearing plants. This was a wonderful biological invention.
This根据词本身的意思，是指离它*近的事物，所以答案是the development of plants that produce seeds
Thekilling of birds of prey by wind turbines has pitted environmentalists who champion wildlife protection against environmentalists who promote renewable wind energy. Researchers are evaluating how serious this problem is and hope to find ways to eliminate or sharply reduce this problem.
这题考的是限定词this + problem, 那么所指的就是前面提到离这句话*近的问题：The killing of birds of prey…
5.These: 这些, this的复数形式，指代复数名词，其它用法同this一样
eg: They carried on their farm operations with mules and they had no surplus of these, seldom more than four.
6. Which:（非限制）定语从句中的关系代词，指代前面的先行词，先行词可以是单个名词、短语或者一个句子
eg: He has a bookwhich is written by Hemingway.
He likes reading books,which is a good habit.
She said she’d been waiting for an hour, which was true.
7.不定代词：托福阅读常考不定代词有both, some, other, and none etc. 不定代词顾名思义就是不指明代替任何特定名词，用在句子中可以做主语、宾语、表语和定语等。
eg: Some of his stories were quite amusing.（主语）
They are both doctors.（表语）
These trousers are wet—I’ll change into my other ones.（定语）
She had none of her mother’s beauty.（宾语）
所以不定代词在新托福阅读里面的指代，要具体看不定代词在句子中所充当的语法成分。
三、解题方法
做对指代题要考虑三个因素：指代词本身的意思、句与句之间的语义关系和句子的结构（语法）。指代词本身意思是基础，语义关系和句子结构都是以指代词本身意思为基础的，我们已经分析了各类指代词的意思，所以这里我们会着重以句子语义和句子结构为出发点，并把指代词的意思嵌入到语义和句子结构分析中。
1. 语义关系
语义关系要求所指代词带入句子中要符合句子意思。
Since the laws of physics, not some arbitrary decision, have determined the general form of applied-art objects, they follow basic patterns, so much so that functional forms can vary only within certain limits.
The word they in the passage refers to
a. applied-art objects
b. the laws of physics
c. containers
d. the sides of pots
托福指代题的考试特点是必须指代前面提到过的词，所以可以排除c和d两个选项。剩下a和b选项代入句子，原文译为：因为物理原理，而不是任意想法，决定了应用艺术品的普遍形式，应用艺术品/物理原理需要遵守基本的模式，这样它们的功能形式才不会相差太远。根据句子意思，应该是应用艺术品需要遵守基本的模式，而不是物理原理，所以我们可以推断出来答案是a。
It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean. Itprobably bred and gave birth on land.
The word it in the passage refers to
a. pakicetus
b. fish
c. life
d. ocean
根据句子语义It probably bred and gave birth on land（它可能在陆地上繁殖养育下一代）可以推导出来it是指有生命的动物，所以排除c和d,b选项鱼是不可能在陆地上繁殖和养育下一代的，所以答案只能是a。
2.句子结构
大部分同学在做指代题时感觉词汇太难，很难从语义上去推导出来正确答案，那么我们可以从句子结构分析入手。
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 wordtheyin the passage refers to
a. qualities
b. fins
c. grooves
d. depressions
They在句子中作主语，so that表递进，前后主语应该一致，所以答案是b。
表递进逻辑的关系词还有such that。
Workers were united in resenting the industrial system and their loss of status, but they were divided by ethnic and racial antagonisms, gender, conflicting religious perspectives, occupational differences, political party loyalties, and disagreements over tactics. For them, the factory and industrialism were not agents of opportunity but reminders of their loss of independence and a measure of control over their lives.
The wordthemin the passage refers to
a. workers
b. political party loyalties
c. disagreements over tactics
d. agents of opportunity
them是they的宾语，they是but引导的转折句子主语，转折关系前后主语一致所以they指workers, 进而我们可以推导出来them也指workers, 所以答案是a。
In Southwest France in the 1940’s, playing children discovered Lascaux Grotto, a series of narrow cave chambers that contain huge prehistoric paintings of animals. Many of these beasts are as large as 16 feet (almost 5 meters). Some follow each other in solemn parades, but others swirl about, sideways and upside down.
The word others in the passage refers to
a. chambers
b. paintings
c. beasts
d. parades
根据逻辑关系词but可以推导出来前后主语一致，那么others与前面半句话主语some所指代的内容应该是一样的。Some指前一句主语beasts,所以答案是c。
表转折逻辑的关系词：however, yet, while and whereas etc.
Pots played an important part in some religious ceremonies. Long and often lyrical descriptions of the different types of ware exist that assist in classifying pots, although these sometimes confuse an already large and complicated picture.
The word these in the passage refers to
a. religious ceremonies
b. descriptions
c. types of ware
d. pots
although表让步，主从句主语需一致，所以these应与前面主句的主语一致，主句主语是descriptions, 所以答案是b。
表让步的逻辑关系词：though, even if/though, despite and in spite of etc.
If all of one’s money is spent on clothes, there may be none left to buy food or go to the movies. Similarly, a plant or animal cannot squander all its energy on growing a big body if none would be left over for reproduction, for this is the surest way to extinction.
The word none in the passage refers to
a. food
b. plant or animal
c. energy
d. big body
none在这里是被动语态主语，那么也就是主动语态宾语，同样if引导从句不定代词宾语应与主句宾语一致，主句宾语是energy, 所以答案是c。
表条件的逻辑关系词：if, when and unless etc.
Animals need natural periodic signals like sunrise to maintain a cycle whose period is precisely 24 hours. Such an external cue not only coordinates an animal’s daily rhythms with particular features of the local solar day but also—because it normally does so day after day-seems to keep the internal clock’s period close to that of Earth’s rotation.
The word it in the passage refers to
a. an external cue such as sunrise
b. the daily rhythm of an animal
c. the local solar day
d. a cycle whose period is precisely 24 hours.
Because引导原因状语从句，前后逻辑主语应该一致，所以it指前面主语an external cue, 所以答案是a。
表原因的逻辑关系词：because, because of, therefore, so, hence, thus and since etc.
四、总结
有些情况我们需要结合这三种因素来综合考虑指代题。
In classic research Paul Ekman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them.
The wordthemin the passage refers to
a. emotions
b. people
c. photographs
d. cultures
them是they的宾格，它指代的是宾语，而且是复数的。在句子中做宾语的有b和c选项，那么代进去，符合语义的只有c,译为：然后他让来自*各地的人指出照片上的人所呈现出来的情感。
通过以上分析我们可以知道，有的指代题可以从语义上去分析，有的指代题可以以句子结构为出发点，无论是哪种方法都是以代词本身的意思为基础的，此外，每一种方法都有各自的优点。在做题时，同学们要善于把这三种方法结合起来使用，以达到在*短时间内做对此类题型。
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