转折关系处，常为命题点

刘嫦云

理解句子之间的逻辑关系对理解语篇内容和解答阅读试题都非常重要。常见的逻辑关系包括并列关系、转折关系、因果关系、让步关系等。笔者通过分析归纳近五年的高考真题发现，其中的转折关系是高考阅读理解的高频考点。如下表所示：

表示转折关系的词除了常见的but外，还有however， instead， contrary to， yet等等。转折后是作者要着重强调的内容，也常常是命题点所在。相关的试题涵盖了细节理解、词义猜测、推理判断、主旨大意四种题型。请看下列真题。

[例1]（2020全国I卷C篇）Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk， which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sports rules require that a race walkers knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact（接觸）with the ground at all times. Its this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity， however， says Jaclyn Norberg， an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem， Mass.

28. Why are race walkers conditioned athletes？

A. They must run long distances.

B. They are qualified for the marathon.

C. They have to follow special rules.

D. They are good at swinging their legs.

解析：细节题。由题干中的conditioned athletes 可迅速定位到第二段，首句Race walkers are conditioned athletes是总述，接下来应是详述理由。由该段中的But the sports rules require that a race walkers knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact with the ground at all times可知，竞走运动的规则要求竞走者的膝关节在腿摆动时的大部分时间里伸直，同时一只脚保持与地面接触。对比各选项，只有C项正确：竞走者必须遵循一些特殊的运动规则。

[例2]（2020全国II卷B篇）The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would， and about half of the children in the study played with puzzles at one time. Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more frequently， and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills. However， boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls， and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than the parents of girls.

26. How do boys differ from girls in puzzle play？

A. They play with puzzles more often.

B. They tend to talk less during the game.

C. They prefer to use more spatial language.

D. They are likely to play with tougher puzzles.

解析：细节题。由题干中的boys和girls可定位到最后一段。由其中的However， boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls， and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than parents of girls可知，男孩们较女孩们而言，倾向于玩更复杂的智力游戏，故选D项。

[例3]（2017全国I卷 B篇）I work with Volunteers for Wildlife， a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured， displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However， when it works， it is simply beautiful.

I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. ...

...

A nervous night to be sure， but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all！ The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all — LUNCH！The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.

27. How would the author feel about the outcome of the event？

A. Its unexpected.

B. Its beautiful.

C. Its humorous.

D. Its discouraging.

解析：推斷题。由最后一段可知，通过播放猫头鹰雏鸟饥饿时发出叫声的录音，这只猫头鹰雏鸟的父母找到了雏鸟，并得到了其爸妈的照管，达到了作者的预期。再结合第一段最后一句“However， when it works， it is simply beautiful.”可知，当救助工作起作用时，是美好的，故选B项。

[例4]（2018全国I卷 C篇）Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years， but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers， small， tightly knit（联系）groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10，000 years ago， when the world had just five to ten million people， they spoke perhaps 12，000 languages between them.

31. What is the main idea of the text？

A. New languages will be created.

B. Peoples lifestyles are reflected in fewer languages.

C. Human development results in fewer languages.

D. Geography determines language evolution.

解析：主旨题。由第一段第一句“Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years， but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going.”中but后的内容“但在最近一段时间，来的越来越少，去的越来越多”可知，语言的种类越来越少，故选C项。

[例5]（2020新高考I 卷D篇）According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research， both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions（份），its the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.

13. What does the underlined word“beanpoles”in paragraph 1 refer to？

A. Big eaters.               B. Overweight persons.

C. Picky eaters.            D. Tall thin persons.

解析：词义猜测题。根据第一段第二句“And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions（份），its the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.”可知，研究表明，与现存的研究发现（应该避免和食量大的胖人一起吃饭）相反，你真正需要避开的是胃口大的又高又瘦的人。根据“contrary to”可知，画线词与heavier people含义相反，故D项正确。

我们在解答阅读理解题时，首先用题干中的关键词定位到文本中特定的段落或语句。当出现表转折关系的but， however， instead， contrary to， yet等时，我们就要特别注意了，因为这往往是答案所在，需要仔细研读。

责任编辑 蒋小青