雅思阅读的一大点金石：标点符号

　　标点符号，是书面语言的一大组成部分，它可以帮助准确的表达语意并协助读者抓住句中的精髓。在上小学语文课的时候，老师都会教怎样正确使用中文的标点符号。其实，英文的标点符号也起着同样重要的作用。雅思阅读文章中有很多这样的标点符号，不仅可以使考生读懂文章，更能迅速准确的搞定考题答案。下面为我们分别讲述几个在雅思文章中很重要的标点符号，希望对大家备战雅思阅读有帮助。

　　冒号

　　冒号在英文中有两大用法：一是用在一个正式的引用前面，二是列出表示列举、解释和说明性的词语。比如在剑六TEST2第一篇文章的A段中，首句是这样表达的：

　　In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics: “The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.”冒号后的内容是一句正式引语，并对冒号前的politics进行了具体的阐述说明，因此，冒号后的内容是本段的主题句，强调的引号内的democratic一词，所以在本篇第一个题型List of Heading中，本段的选项为A successful exercise in people power.

　　在剑桥四Test 4第三篇阅读文章The Problem of Scarce Resources中第一个题型依旧是List of Heading。文章section c 段首句如下：

　　'However, at exactly the same time as this new realization of the finite character of health-care resources was sinking in, an awareness of a contrary kind was developing in Western societies: that people have a basic right to health-care as a necessary condition of a proper human life.'冒号后面的内容对前半句的an awareness of a contrary kind进行了具体的解释说明，因此冒号后面的内容就是解题的重点。在冒号后面提出了health-care与right的关系，所以这个段的段落大意选择选项I The connection between health-care and other human rights.

　　括号

　　括号在英文中可以用来表示其中插入的或附加的解释成分，这个插入成分可以是单词、词组或句子。例如在剑五TEST1第一篇文章Johnson’s Dictionary中，题号为5的summary即考察的就是文中括号内的内容。该题为：

　　Johnson did not have a ……..available to him, but eventually produced definitions of in excess of 40,000 words written down in 80 large notebooks. 根据题中的定位词80 large notebooks, 考生可找到文章第六段首句” The work was immense; filling about eighty large notebooks (and without a library to hand), Johnson wrote the definitions of over 40,000 words, and……..”考生根据所填题目前的did not have体现的否定关系以及不定冠词a, 可预判答案选词为可数名词单数，并且体现为否定关系。通过阅读，可确定答案为文章中括号内的单词library.

　　问号

　　雅思阅读中的问号，多数情况下用在设问句之后。设问句，即没有疑问而故意自问自答，作者的目的在于引起读者的注意和思考，能够引起文章的跌宕起伏。因此，多数情况下，如果在段首位置出现了问号，该句即为该段的主旨句。如剑六TEST1第一篇文章“Australia’s Sporting Success”的首段：

　　They play hard, they play often, and they play to win. Australian sports teams win more than their fair share of titles, demolishing rivals with seeming ease. How do they do it? A big part of the secret is an extensive and expensive network of sporting academies underpinned by science and medicine. 前两句为描述性语句，第三句问句How do they do it?后的自问自答引出了本段甚至本文的中心内容。

　　破折号

　　雅思阅读中的破折号后的内容，通常是对主句中的某个单词或短语的修饰或解释说明。破折号写法上共有两种，一种为两个破折号搭配使用，两破折号中间部分为细节即―……―，而第二种情况为―…….的情况。如剑四TEST3第二篇文章：

　　Volcanoes-earth-shattering news”中Section C第二段首句：Sometimes it is slow: vast bubbles of magma-molten rock from the mantle-inch towards the surface…… 两个破折号中的molten rock from the mantle是在解释破折号之前的名词magma.

　　破折号中的部分正好对应19题的题干：What is the name given to molten rock from the mantle? 因此答案为magma。依旧在Section C第四段中， 第四行and you can see the rough outlines of what are called tectonic plates-the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle.破折号后的the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle是在解释破折号前的tectonic plates. 此句与18题题干What are the sections of the earth’s crust, often associated with volcanic activity, called?相对应。