4. 对文章组织结构的理解。最常见的提问方式是：How is the passage
organized?;Which of the following best shows the structure of the
passage?
在上述几类题中考生感觉难做的题是第四类,
这类题是近两年来出现的主要考查议论文结构的命题新方式,且逐步得到语言教育专家们的认可。并逐步推广到对其他文体结构的考查。分析这一类的题我们看出：对文章组织结构的考查不外乎两个层次。一是按段落的组织方法理解文章的结构，一是按写作方法(论证方法)理解文章的结构。
首先，看看这样考查从段落层次理解文章的结构。这类题经常用到的提问方式是：Which of the following best
shows the structure of the passage? 常见的段落结构有如下几种情况：
图1表明：①(Paragraph
1)是主题段(提出论题或论点)，②、③段是就同一论据或者问题的同一方面作论述，④用另一论据材料或者从问题的另一方面论述，⑤段是结论段或者是用来重述论题、强调论点的段落。同样我们很容易理解图2.3.4所示的段落结构的意义。
下面具体看看05年江苏卷E篇：
The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before
changes for the better, changes for the worse, changes that brought
a lot of benefits to human beings, changes that put man in danger
.Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most
important was the progress in science.
Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened
our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of
matter and of the universe, it has brought us a better
understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous
development. Technology in the application of science has made big
advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.
The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century
will result in even greater advantages to human beings: in pure
science—a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in
applied science—a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and
better protection of the environment.
Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The
creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind.
The application of science and technology to the development and
production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger
to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We
have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although
their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War,
the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for
use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the
result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of
many kinds of animals.
William Shakespeare said. The web of our life is of a mingled
yarn(纱线), good and ill together. The above brief review of the
application of only one part of human activities—science seems to
prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the
ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically
programmed for war?
72.Which of the following best shows the structure of the
passage?
理解文章段落结构，我们很容易找到答案A。
接下来再来看看这样从论证方法上考查对议论文结构的理解。掌握了议论文常见的写作方法，我们不难理解议论文的论证过程。从论证方法上讲，常见的议论文结构有以下两类：
(一)Put forward a question →Analyze the question → Solve the
question 这就是提出问题、分析问题、解决问题的过程;(二)Argument/idea → Evidence →
conclusion/ restating the idea
这就是由论点到论据到结论或者强调论点的过程。
对说明文、夹叙夹议类文章结构的理解，只要我们弄清段落意义和段落之间的关系，很容易理解其结构。看看下面的例题我们也许会得到一些启发。
例1：
I receive a lot of emails every time a column is published in
21st Century. The majority of questions I get are like this: My
English is still very poor, could you please give me some advice?
Since this kind of question is so big and so vague, any answers
will be too broad or too general. In fact, asking questions is an
art that needs training and practice in itself. And I would like to
offer the following tips:
Always contextualize your question. If you really want to ask for
advice on something, you need to provide a brief description of how
you came up with the question and how you can benefit from asking
it. For instance, if you need to improve your English, you need to
state the skill area you are in the greatest need of improving, and
what difficulties you encounter that cause you so many
problems
The second piece of advice is that your question should be
focused and specific. By that I mean that you might have a lot of
questions, but choose the one that is most important and at the
same time the least complicated.
Third, you can practise asking one question in multiple ways. For
instance, if you are interested in knowing how you can boost your
confidence in speaking, you might consider asking: I often feel
nervous before I ask a question, how can I overcome my anxiety?
Could you share with me your experience of speaking in front of
others?
Of course, the best way to ask good questions is through the
practice of questioning. I highly encourage you to seek
opportunities to ask questions. It takes time to be a really good
questioner.
How is the text organized?
A.Topic---argument----description
B.Opinion—discussion---explanation
C.Main idea---comparison--- supporting examples
D.Topic ----argument----conclusion
解析：文章一开始就提出本文要讲的中心, 然后进行论述,
最后得出结论。由此,我们不难得出答案是D。
例2：
(05 浙江卷 C 篇)
In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs
I would rather forget. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my
job in an apple plant. The work was hard; the pay was poor; and,
most of all, the working conditions were terrible.
First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength. For ten
hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and
piled them onto a truck. Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of
apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of
twelve tons of apple juice every night.
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the
pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that
time—two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay, I felt eager to
get as much as possible. I usually worked twelve hours a night but
did not take home much more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the
working conditions. During work I was limited to two ten-minute
breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent
outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree
temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which
made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut
down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone
cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the
difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under
which I worked. By the time I left, I was determined never to go
back there again.
52.How is the text organized?
A.Topic—Argument—Explanation
B.Opinion—Discussion—Description
C.Main idea—Comparison—Supporting examples
D.Introduction—Supporting examples—Conclusion
解析：这道题考查考生对文章组织结构的理解，把握了文章的脉络，我们不难得出答案：D。
2007年广东
高考英语试题题型(讨论稿)中提出把篇章结构作为专门的一节来考查：要求把标有A-F的句子或段落插入到文章中标记的适当位置，使文章意义完整，结构连贯。
做好这一类题，要先理解全文的意义和结构，然后理解段落的意义和结构，分析句与句之间的关系，句与段落的关系。一般说来，文章中空格的地方主要是三类的句子或者段落：一是段落的主题句;二是和段落主题密切相关的细节句;三是段落或句子之间的过渡句/段。所以学会了分析句与句、句与段、段与段之间的关系做这类题并不难。下面我们来具体看一个例题：
阅读下面短文，请将标有A-F的句子或段落插入到文章中标号为71-75的合适位置，使文章意义完整，结构连贯;其中一个段落或句子是多余的。
Some twenty years ago, the performance of girls and boys in class
was compared. 71 Now, the situation is reversed (颠倒) with girls
consistently doing better than boys.
72 John Dunsford, leader of the association of head teachers of
secondary schools, says that the academic failure of boys is a
problem which had its roots in society rather than the classroom.
Girls, more than boys, see education as a passport to a good job.
On the other hand, according to Penny Lewis, a head teacher, young
men lack confidence, which they hide with a show of bravado (逞能).
Theyre uncertain about their place in society. 73
Moreover, boys may learn in a different way from girls,
preferring small amounts of work with immediate headlines rather
than large projects stretching (延续) into the distance. And
education is not seen as cool. 74
This is not just a problem in Britain. In a study by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UNESCO,
girls did better than boys at reading at the age of 15 in all 45
countries. The UK ranks ninth out of the 45 countries for reading
despite the fact that pupils in the UK spend less time reading than
in most other countries. 75
A. So, what has gone wrong with the boys, and what can be done
about it?
B. Interestingly, the study suggested that British children read
for pleasure more often than those in other countries.
C. Boys scored better in exams, so various measures were
introduced to improve the performance of girls, including having
single sex girl-only classes.
D. This study can offer a great help to teachers and school
leaders in terms of proper education to different people.
E. Some boys grow up in families where there is no male role
model to follow.
F. As one contributoe to a BBC website put it, Girls achieve more
at school because they are watching the future while the boys are
watching the girls.
解析：这是一篇说明文。首先通读文章了解文章的中心：全文分析当前在学校女生比男生表现好的原因。文章结构简单明了：首先提出问题，然后分析原因。接下来我们来逐段分析：
第一段提出问题，71空后面说现在情况颠倒过来了：女生比男生好了，看了这句话，我们肯定能判断前一句话的大意应该是：先前的情况是男生比女生表现好。那就从选项中去看哪个句子表达的是这个意思。快速浏览A-F选项，我们得到答案C。
第二段分析原因。段首的空格72，应该是一个承上启下的过渡句。浏览选项，我们迅速得到答案A。段尾的73空应该是一个细节句，对前一句具体说明，能够具体说明Theyre
uncertain about their place in society一句的只有选项E。
第三段进一步分析原因。74空应该是个细节句，详细阐明男生比女生表现差的原因。这里我们不难找到答案F。
第四段说明这种现象的普遍存在。段尾的75空是一个接续前句的细节句。浏览剩余的选项，我们很肯定地找到答案B。
【实战演练练习十三】(05 江西卷 E 篇)
Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex
schools?
A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that
schools should be like the societies they belong to .In Hong Kong,
men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis .In many fields
men are even likely to have female bosses. It is, therefore,
desirable that boys and girls grow up together, go to school
together, and prepare themselves for a society that does not value
sexual separation.
Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of
the opposite sex is important for personal development. Regular
contact(接触)can remove the strange ideas about the opposite-sex and
lead to more natural relationships. Single-sex conditions are seen
as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as
encouraging homosexuality(同性恋), though there is no proof that this
is the case.
Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention
on the sexual side. Some parents fear that close contact with
members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers. They want
their children to be attentive to their studies. Such parents feel
uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the
sexes.
A stronger argument comes from research into school results.
Girls grow up earlier than
boys ,tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at
languages. In a mixed class ,boys who might do well in a single-sex
class become discouraged and take on the rule of troublemaker.
Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed (惊动)the
government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have
some single-sex classes. In the UK the best schools are all
single-sex, strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best
answer. This may, however, not be as simple as it looks. It may
simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best
students happen to be single-sex, rather than that being single-sex
makes them better schools.
72.In the third paragraph, by saying though there is no proof
that this is the case, the writer means that .
A.students in single-sex schools will certainly become
homosexual
B.students in co-educational schools cannot have extreme
opinions
C.students in co-educational schools are likely to be
homosexual
D.single-sex school conditions may or may not have effects on the
students
【实战演练练习十四】(04 重庆卷 D 篇)
Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being
watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking
right at you!
Parapsychologists (灵学家) say that humans have a natural ability to
sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a
sixth sensereally exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist(心理学家)at the
University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.
In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public
places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes.
The subjects(受试者)were eating, drinking, reading，studying, watching
TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could
not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods.
Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said
they had no sense that someone was staring at them.
For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they
would be stared at from time to time from behind a two way mirror
in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they
felt they were being stared at and when they werent. Baker found
that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared
at and when they werent .Baker found that the subjects were no
better at telling when they were stared at than if they had just
guessed.
Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when
theyre being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two
experiments, said Baker, I suggest they repeat the experiments and
see for themselves.
68. The purpose of the two experiments is to .
A. explain when people can have a sixth sense
B. show how people act while being watched in the lab
C. study whether humans can sense when they are stared at
D. prove why humans have a sixth sense
【实战演练练习十五】
阅读下面短文，并将文后标有A-F
的句子(或段落)插入文章中标号为71-75的合适位置，使短文结构完整。其中有一个句子(或段落)是多余的。
She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever.
But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona
Lisa.
71
The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil
has changed shape since experts checked it two years age, the
museum said. 72 .
73 It is very interesting that when youre not looking at her, she
seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops, said
Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University, Its because
direct vision is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to
looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.
74 Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it
with him, until it was eventually sold to Frances King Francis I in
1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former
employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He
said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back
to France two years later.
75
A. Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year,
many attracted by the mystery of her smile.
B. However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as
mysterious as the smile.
C. Visitors have notice the changes but repairing the worlds most
famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the
materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical
state.
D. The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci
in 1905, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre
Museum where it is housed.
E. The picture is now so valuable that no one can tell its exact
price. Therefore, many thieves tried to steal it in any way they
could think of.
F. During World War II, French did the painting in small towns to
keep it out of the hands of German forces. Like many old ladies,
the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.
