中国历史根深枝茂、源远流长，中国文化博大精深、底蕴深厚。近年来，托福阅读中出现了不少有关中国的文章，今天我们就一起来看看其中几篇。
真题一：Early Chinese Silk Production
中国丝绸闻名遐迩，这篇文章就聚焦丝绸生产。文中有以下几道易错题。推断题：“According to paragraph 1, archaeological evidence indicates which of the following about silk production in ancient China?“ 文中第一段提到“Excavations of Neolithic sites have revealed clay artifacts with impressions made apparently by silk cloth, as well as stone ornaments carved in the shape of silkworms.”由此我们可知，在新石器时代的遗址中，有丝绸制成的陶制品和刻有蚕形装饰的石饰。也就是说，丝绸早在新石器时代就被生产出来了。此题选“Silk was produced as early as the Neolithic period.” 这种由考古证据推出结论的推断题我们并不陌生，在TPO43中讲到厄尔尼诺现象时就出现过。根据15世纪就有关于厄尔尼诺现象的记载，推断出至少在15世纪就已经有了厄尔尼诺现象。 修辞目的题：“In paragraph 4, the author mentions the emperor in order to” 本文第四段开头就提到“Although produced in large quantities, silk remained an expensive luxury. Both woven silk and raw silk were used as tribute to the emperor and as offerings to foreign tribes, such as the Xiongnu on the northwestern borders of China.”这里提及丝绸被用作给皇帝的贡品，是为了进一步展现总句中提到的丝绸仍然是一种昂贵的奢侈品这件事。所以此题选“provide evidence that silk was highly valued.“修辞目的题中经常考查到总分关系，不管是从总的论点到具体论据，从总体说明到进一步举例，还是从总体观点到进一步阐释，分句基本上都起到了进一步支持、说明、解释总句的作用。所以这种题目，我们要从理解总句入手。 句子插入题：“ But China was not exclusively an exporter of silk products and techniques; sometimes the exchange went the other way.”被插入句中含有转折逻辑词。遇到这种题目，我们可以先对前后文内容进行预判。此句此前文章应该在讲中国是丝绸产品和技术的出口国，此句之后文章应该在讲这种交流是相互的(也就是说，外国同样会影响我国的丝绸生产)。因此，被插入句应该放在“A silk weave now known as weft-faced compound twill appears among Chinese textiles for a few centuries from about A.D. 700.”之前，因为从这句开始，作者就开始介绍伊朗的技术如何影响丝绸了。
真题二：Han Dynasty Tomb Sculpture
修辞目的题：“Why does the author ask the question, ‘But why was there such urgent building of mausoleums’?” 本文第二段以问句结尾，问“But why was there such urgent building of mausoleums?”，第三段就开始解释为什么要如此迫切地建造陵墓，谈及祭祀地点的改变。 其实，修辞目的题问段尾以问句结束的原因，十有八九都是启发下文。掌握了套路，我们就能快速判断出此题的答案是“To introduce a subject discussed in the following paragraph”。 句子插入题：“The adoption of Confucian values affected government in multiple ways” 被插入句说儒家价值观的采用以多种方式影响着政府。可以看出，被插入句的概括性很强，是典型的总句的特点。而这一段，从第一句“The increased emphasis on civic duty and order encouraged stability …”就在具体阐述儒家思想的影响，所以，被插入句应该放在段首。 顺便提一下，本文的第二段提到了“The importance of filial piety led to competitive tomb building.“ 这里的“filial piety”是什么意思呢?——没错，就是中华民族的传统美德“孝道“啦。 生长在新的时代背景下的新一代，越来越能从生活的方方面面感受到中国的文化自信。我们在学好英语的同时，更要学习中国文化，向世界介绍新的中国。 |
