Transport and Trade

1        Transport is one of the aids to trade. By moving goods from places where they are plentiful to places where they are scarce, transport adds to1 their value. The more easily goods can be brought over the distance that separates producer and consumer, the better for trade. When there were no railways, no good roads, no canals, and only small sailing ships, trade was on a small scale2.

Transport: 运输

Trade: 贸易

第一段是文章的主题段落，概括出文章的大意。找到文章的主题词transport和trade。得出这一结论后就可以将本段其他部分忽略，暂时不许要读。直接进入接下来的几段文章。

Aid相当于help，帮助。

2        The great advances made in transport during the last two hundred years were accompanied by a big increase in trade. Bigger and faster ships enabled a trade in meat to develop between Britain and New Zealand, for instance. Quicker transport makes possible mass-production and big business, drawing supplies from, and selling goods to, all parts of the globe. Big factories could not exist without transport to carry the large number of workers they need to and from their homes. Big city stores could not have developed unless customers could travel easily from the suburbs and goods delivered to their homes. Big       cities could not survive unless food could be brought from a distance.

第一句是主题句，概括了主题意思。找到主题词great advances made in transport和a big increase in trade即可理解本段的意思，主要是两个主题词之间的关系。

3        Transport also prevents waste. Much of the fish landed at the ports would be wasted if it could not be taken quickly to inland towns. Transport has given us a much greater variety of foods and goods since we no longer have to live on4 what is produced locally. Foods which at one time could be obtained only during a part of the year can now be obtained all through the year. Transport has raised the standard of living.

重点讲transport的作用。Prevent是防止，阻止的意思。第二句、第三句、第四是细节描述，作为论证主题的例子，对答题没有太大意义。最后一句是总结前面的内容，很重要，与本段首句照应。

4        By moving fuel, raw materials, and even power, as, for example, through electric cables, transport has led to the establishment of industries and trade in areas where they would have been impossible before. Districts and countries can concentrate on5 making things which they can do better and more cheaply than others and can then exchange them with one another. The cheaper and quicker transport becomes, the longer the distance over which goods can profitably be carried. Countries with poor transport have a lower standard of living.

本段首句为主题句，可以通过忽略介词短语简化本句：transport has led to the establishment of industries and trade in areas where they would have been impossible before. 在答案中找包含关键词的选项即可，不需要详细阅读文章。

5        Commerce requires not only the moving of goods and people but also the carrying of messages and information. Means of communication, like telephones, cables and radio, send information about prices, supplies, and changing conditions in different parts of the world. In this way, advanced communication systems also help to develop trade.

Not only … but also …….：不仅……而且……在阅读中遇到这样的短语，重点放在but also后面的内容上。主题词是information，根据主题词选择答案。

练习：

Earthquake

1        Every year earthquakes are responsible for a large number of deaths and a vast amount of destruction in various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur either in a narrow belt which surrounds the Pacific Ocean or in a line which extends from Burma to the Alps in Europe. Some of the destruction is directly caused by the quake itself. An example of this is the collapse of buildings as a result of the quake itself. Other damage results from landslides or major fires which are initiated by the quake.

根据标题可以看到本文的内容是单话题的不同方面，主题词只有一个。

第一段一般不会出题，看完第一句话即可，了解大体内容。

Responsible for为……负责

2  There are about a million quakes a year. Fortunately, however, not all of them are destructive. The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale, which goes from 0 upward. The highest scale recorded to date is 8.9. Major damage generally occurs from quakes ranging upwards from 6.0.

However表示转折关系。第一句是主题句，但与答案相距太远，需要继续看文章。对比选项找出相同的词。同时该词也是文章的重点词。

3        The actual cause of the quake itself is the breaking of rocks at or below the earth’’s surface. This is produced by pressure which scientists believe may be due to a number of reasons, two of which are the expansion and contraction of the earth’’s crust and continental drift.

第一句话为主题句。Cause表示原因，看到此即可选出答案，忽略剩下的内容。

4        In order to limit the damage and to prevent some of the suffering resulting from earthquakes, scientists are working on ways to enable accurate prediction. Special instruments are used to help people record, for example, shaking of the earth. Scientists are trying to find methods that will enable them to indicate the exact time, location and size of an earthquake.

首先简化首句话，忽略介词短语，直接看句子的主干：scientists are working on ways to enable accurate prediction.

5        Certain phenomena have been observed which are believed to be the signs of imminent earthquakes. These include strange behaviors of some animals, the changes in the content of mineral water, etc. The magnetic properties of rocks may also display special pattern before major earthquakes happen.

生词比较多，主题句很明确，但很难看懂，所以可看后面文章的例子总结主题句的意思。接下来的句子正好是细节介绍，即地震的征兆，如动物的非正常表现、水中矿物质增加等。然后根据同义替换确定答案。

练习：