英语测试中阅读理解部分是最让考生紧张而又担心的部分。它量大，难度较高。因此，阅读理解题发挥如何决定着考生得分的高低。许多考生在做阅读理解部分时，最大感受就是时间紧、答案选项迷惑性大，因而很难及时而又准确地选出答案。如何在没有足够时间进行深入阅读或文章太难而看不懂的情况下进行答题，我们在总结、归纳历年四、六级真题特点是基础上，向考生介绍一些紧急情况下的应试技巧。
一、阅读理解题答案项特征
通过研究历届四、六级阅读理解题，我们发现，在所列出的四个选项中，也有一些普遍性规律可循。如果考生了解、熟悉并掌握了这些规律，他(她)们就可以找到做题时的"第六感觉"，达到所谓超常发挥的水平。如果考生来不及看文章，万般无奈下凭这些规律可以选中不少正确选项。
(一)答案项中有绝对语气词的一般不是正确答案项。这些语气词有： must, always, never, the most, all, only, have to, any, no, very,completely, none, hardly等。
例(1) One of the great changes brought about by the knowledge society is that _____ .(1995年6月六级题22)
A. the difference between the employee and the employer has become
insignificant.
B. people's traditional concepts about work no longer hold true.
C. most people have to take part-time jobs.
D. people have to change their jobs from time to time.
(分析：四个选项中，C、D两项中都含有"have to"，语气太绝对化，一般被排除。考生在剩下两项中进行选择，就大大降低了难度。)
例（2）The main idea of this passage is that _____ .(1991年6月六级题40)
A．better use of green space facilities should be made so as to
improve the quality of our life.
B. attention must be directed to the improvement of recreative
possibilities.
C. the urban environment is providing more recreation activities
than it did many years ago.
D. priority must be given to the development of obligatory
activities.
(分析：B、D两项中均有must be,语气太绝对化，故一般被排除。考生结合短文内容在剩下两项中进行选择，命中率就极高了。)
（二）选项中含有不十分肯定的语气词一般是正确答案项。这些语气词有： can, could, may, should, usually, might, most(大多数)，more or less, relatively, be likely to, possible, whether or, not necessarily 等。
例（1）It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes .(1999年6月四级题30)
A．Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
B. in many countries success often depends on one's social status
C. American businesses are more democratic than those in other
countries
D. businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those
in America
(分析：选项B中often 一词，语气委婉，不十分肯定，故为答案。而其它三项中所表达出的语气都明显绝对化。)
例(2) According to the passage the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that ——.
A. society can't provide enough jobs for properly trained college
graduates
B. high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college
education?
C. too many students have to earn their own living
D. college administrators encourage students to drop out
（分析：答案项C中有have to, 语气太绝对化，故被排除。而A项中can't 的语气则不十分绝对化，故为答案。）
（三）选项中照抄原文的一般不是答案项，而同义替换的一般是选项。
例（1）According to Dr. David, Americans .(1993年6月六级题32)
A．are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life
B. often neglect the unsequences of sleep deficit
C. do not know how to relax themselves properly
D. can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep
(分析：答案项中A、D两项基本上是原文中句子的原现，故被排除。B项中有often 一词，语气委婉，不十肯定，故为答案。)
例（2）According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?(1996年1月六级题35)
A．Future man will be made of silicon instead of flesh and blood
B. Some day it will be difficult to tell a computer from a man
C. The reasoning power of computers has already surpassed that of man
D. Future intelligent life may not necessarily be made of organic
matter. （分析：A项句子基本上是原文词句，C项中有already一词，语气太绝对化，故A、C两项被排除。剩下B、D两项，而D项中有不十分肯定语气词may not,故选D。）
（四）较全面、有针对性地表达文章中心思想的，选项一般是答案项。
例（1）which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage? (1996年1月六级题25)
A．Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
B. Music can't be passed on to future generations unless it's recorded.
C. Folk songs can't be spread for unless they are printed on music sheet.
D. the development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
(分析：根据短文内容可以看出，A、B、C三项的内容都只是从某一个方面阐述了一种观点，而D项句子所表达的意思就较全面，高度囊括了全篇短文的主旨。)
例（2）The first paragraph is mainly about . (1991年6月六级题22) A．the teenagers' criticism of their parents
B. misunderstandings between teenagers and their parents
C. the dominance of the parents over their children
D. the teenagers' ability to deal with crisis
(分析：短文意思是讲年青人有时批评、责备其父母，认为父母对他们间误解负大部分责任是自然的事。而B项意思是年青人和父母间的误解；C项意思是父母对他们孩子的统治；D项指年轻人处理危机的能力。根据短文内容，可以明确看出，B、C、D三项内容都是从三个方面来论述短文观点的，而A项则较全面地、有针对性地表达了文章的中心意思，故为答案。)
（五）选项中表达意义较具体的、肤浅的（字面意思）一般不是答案项，而概括性的、抽象的、含义深刻的是答案项。
例（1）The population in the 21st century, according to the writer .
A. will be smaller than a few years ago
B. will not be as small as people expect
C. will prove to be a threat to the world
D. will not constitute as serious a problem as expected
(分析：选项A、B中都有small一词，该词在文中出现过，因而总觉肤浅，是字面之意。C项明显与文章不符，而D项表达的意义比small要深刻得多。)
例（2）From the passage it can be seen that employeeship helps one . (1990年1月六级题)
A．to be more successful in his career
B. to solve technical problems
C. to be more specialized in his field
D. to develop his professional skill
（分析：题意是"从文中看出员工素质有助于人们 ...。" B项题即"解决技术问题"；C项意即"深化专业"；D项"发展职业技能"。这三项表达的意思都比较具体，而A项则概括地有深度，包括了B、C、D三项内容。）
（六）选项中较符合常识的,易明白的一般不是选项；而似乎不太合理，一时较难理解的往往是正确选项。
例（1）Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by .(1999年1月四级题31)
A. stressing their high quality
B. unlinking him of their low price
C. maintaining a balance between quality and price
D. appealing to his buying motives
(分析：题干问的是"广告会通过什么办法能劝说顾客买那些没用的产品？"A项意思是通过强调质量，B项意思是使顾客意识到其产品价格低，C项意思是既考虑到质量又考虑到价格。这三项所表达的意思都是我们在看广告时能感受到的，生活中天天见到。故这样的选项一般不是答案。而D项意思是迎合了顾客购物心理，乍一看还不太明白，不好理解。而这样的选项往往是正确答案。)
例（2）Raising children, in the author's opinion, is . (1998年6月四级题32)
A．a moral duty
B. a thankless job
C. a rewarding task
D. a source of inevitable pain
（分析：题目问的是，"依作者观点，抚养孩子是 "。 依据我们日常生活所闻所见，抚养孩子就是A. "一种道德责任" B."不求回报的工作"。我们都觉得抚养孩子是人生义务，是天经地 义的。这两项太熟悉了，因而一般不是答案。而C项"求回报的事"，似乎不太合人情味、合乎常识。但这样的选项就是答案。D项有inevitable 一词，语气太绝对化，故排除掉。） 此外，在作者态度题中，象中立态度（neutral）一般不是选项，既有肯定、赞扬性、褒义的（如positive等），又有否定、批评、贬义的如（critical, neglect等）。一般否定性、贬义的是正确选项。如果没有肯定性、赞扬性选项，则批语性、否定性为正确选项，其它的为干扰项。在四个选项中，忽然有一个选项特别长或特别短，则此选项往往是正确选项。在两个选项中，如果除个别字外，其他部分完全一样，其中往往有一个是正确选项。"None of the above"往往是用作干扰项。而尤为请考生注意的是，新闻记者理解四个选项中，正确答案项为D的频繁比较高，其次为B项。
