托福阅读学术性文章2大结构分析

托福阅读的文章以学术性文章为主，在篇章和段落结构方面都有较为明显的特点。今天小编给大家带来了托福阅读学术性文章2大结构分析指点 ，希望能够帮助到大家，下面小编就和大家分享，来欣赏一下吧。

托福阅读学术性文章2大结构分析指点

托福阅读学术性文章篇章结构介绍

在学术性文章中，一般需要具备三个组成部分：

(1)Topic 话题：即文章的主角是什么。比如讲解某个科学理论、研究某种社会现象，探讨某个历史事件;在托福文章中，这种导入性信息往往出现在篇首位置。考生可以根据篇首段信息对整篇文章所要讨论的核心内容有所了解。

(2)Aspects 方面：即将篇首的话题延伸拓展为若干个方面进行阐述说明。若话题为某个科学论点，则方面可能分为若干个支持论据;若话题为某种自然现象，则方面可能分为若干个内外成因;若话题为某个历史事件，则方面为几段发展时期。在托福阅读文章中，往往依照各个方面之间的层次关系，将各个方面拆分为若干个独立的自然段落，共同组成行文主体。

(3)Attitude态度：即文章的作者对于所讨论话题持怎样的态度。或是积极肯定，或是消极否定，或是保持中立。在托福阅读文章中，态度往往是被较多的淡化甚至有可能省略不提。

Topic话题 +Aspects方面 + Attitude态度，这三要素加起来就是标准学术论文体的"T+A+A篇章结构"。托福文章大都遵循这种结构，我们通过篇首段落信息来把控整个文章话题及大致讨论方向，再抓住文章的各个段落主旨，便可洞悉整个文章脉络和逻辑结构。

托福阅读学术性文章段落结构解析

学术性文章的自然段落，一般需要具备两个组成部分：

(1) Topic Sentence 主旨句：表达段落的主旨，即本段想要表达的核心内容是什么。

(2) Detail 细节：为了详细说明段落中心含义，所罗列的相关支持内容，即本段通过哪些例证来阐明主旨句。

Topic Sentence主旨句 + Detail细节，这两个要素加起来就是标准学术论文体的"TS+D段落结构"。托福文章段落大都遵循这种结构，我们通过段落主旨句就可以把握该段的中心含义。

托福(TOEFL)考试阅读模拟试题

Hormones in the Body

Up to the beginning of the twentieth century, the nervous system was thought to control all communication within the body and the resulting integration of behavior. Scientists had determined that nerves ran, essentially, on electrical impulses. These impulses were thought to be the engine for thought, emotion, movement, and internal processes such as digestion. However, experiments by William Bayliss and Ernest Starling on the chemical secretin, which is produced in the small intestine when food enters the stomach, eventually challenged that view. From the small intestine, secretin travels through the bloodstream to the pancreas. There, it stimulates the release of digestive chemicals. In this fashion, the intestinal cells that produce secretin ultimately regulate the production of different chemicals in a different organ, the pancreas.

Such a coordination of processes had been thought to require control by the nervous system; Bayliss and Starling showed that it could occur through chemicals alone. This discovery spurred Starling to coin the term hormone to refer to secretin, taking it from the Greek word hormon, meaning "to excite" or "to set in motion." A hormone is a chemical produced by one tissue to make things happen elsewhere.

As more hormones were discovered, they were categorized, primarily according to the process by which they operated on the body. Some glands (which make up the endocrine system) secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream. Such glands include the thyroid and the pituitary. The exocrine system consists of organs and glands that produce substances that are used outside the bloodstream, primarily for digestion. The pancreas is one such organ, although it secretes some chemicals into the blood and thus is also part of the endocrine system.

Much has been learned about hormones since their discovery. Some play such key roles in regulating bodily processes or behavior that their absence would cause immediate death. The most abundant hormones have effects that are less obviously urgent but can be more far-reaching and difficult to track: They modify moods and affect human behavior, even some behavior we normally think of as voluntary. Hormonal systems are very intricate. Even minute amounts of the right chemicals can suppress appetite, calm aggression, and change the attitude of a parent toward a child. Certain hormones accelerate the development of the body, regulating growth and form; others may even define an individual's personality characteristics. The quantities and proportions of hormones produced change with age, so scientists have given a great deal of study to shifts in the endocrine system over time in the hopes of alleviating ailments associated with aging.

In fact, some hormone therapies are already very common. A combination of estrogen and progesterone has been prescribed for decades to women who want to reduce mood swings, sudden changes in body temperature, and other discomforts caused by lower natural levels of those hormones as they enter middle age. Known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the treatment was also believed to prevent weakening of the bones. At least one study has linked HRT with a heightened risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. HRT may also increase the likelihood that blood clots-dangerous because they could travel through the bloodstream and block major blood vessels-will form. Some proponents of HRT have tempered their enthusiasm in the face of this new evidence, recommending it only to patients whose symptoms interfere with their abilities to live normal lives.

Human growth hormone may also be given to patients who are secreting abnormally low amounts on their own. Because of the complicated effects growth hormone has on the body, such treatments are generally restricted to children who would be pathologically small in stature without it. Growth hormone affects not just physical size but also the digestion of food and the aging process. Researchers and family physicians tend to agree that it is foolhardy to dispense it in cases in which the risks are not clearly outweighed by the benefits.

27. The word engine in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) desire

(B) origin

(C) science

(D) chemical

28. The word it in the passage refers to

(A) secretin

(B) small intestine

(C) bloodstream

(D) pancreas

29. The word spurred in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) remembered

(B) surprised

(C) invented

(D) motivated

30. To be considered a hormone, a chemical produced in the body must

(A) be part of the digestive process

(B) influence the operations of the nervous system

(C) affect processes in a different part of the body

(D) regulate attitudes and behavior

31. The glands and organs mentioned in paragraph 3 are categorized according to

(A) whether scientists understand their function

(B) how frequently they release hormones into the body

(C) whether the hormones they secrete influence the aging process

(D) whether they secrete chemicals into the blood

Paragraph 3 is marked with an arrow [→]

32. The word key in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) misunderstood

(B) precise

(C) significant

(D) simple

33. The word minute in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) sudden

(B) small

(C) changing

(D) noticeable

34. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

(A) Most moods and actions are not voluntary because they are actually produced by the production of hormones in the body.

(B) Because the effects of hormones are difficult to measure, scientists remain unsure how far-reaching their effects on moods and actions are.

(C) When the body is not producing enough hormones, urgent treatment may be necessary to avoid psychological damage.

(D) The influence of many hormones is not easy to measure, but they can affect both people's psychology and actions extensively.

35. The word tempered in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) decreased

(B) advertised

(C) prescribed

(D) researched

36. Which patients are usually treated with growth hormone?

(A) Adults of smaller statue than normal

(B) Adults with strong digestive systems

(C) Children who are not at risk from the treatment

(D) Children who may remain abnormally small

37.Which of the following sentences explains the primary goal of hormone replacement therapy?

These sentences are highlighted in the passage.

(A) The quantities and proportions of hormones produced change with age, so scientists have given a great deal of study to shifts in the endocrine system over time in the hopes of alleviating ailments associated with aging.

(B) A combination of estrogen and progesterone has been prescribed for decades to women who want to reduce mood swings, sudden changes in body temperature, and other discomforts caused by lower natural levels of those hormones as they enter middle age.

(C) HRT may also increase the likelihood that blood clots-dangerous because they could travel through the bloodstream and block major blood vessels-will form.

(D) Because of the complicated effects growth hormone has on the body, such treatments are generally restricted to children who would be pathologically small in stature without it.

38. Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.The body is a complex machine, however, and recent studies have called into question the wisdom of essentially trying to fool its systems into believing they aren't aging.Where would the sentence best fit?Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.

39. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

The class of chemicals called hormones was discovered by two researchers studying a substance produced in the small intestine.

Answer Choices

The term hormone is based on a Greek word that means "to excite" or "to set in motion."Researchers are looking for ways to decrease the dangers of treatments with growth hormone so that more patients can benefit from it.

Hormones can be given artificially, but such treatments have risks and must be used carefully.Hormones can affect not only life processes such as growth but also behavior and emotion.

Scientists have discovered that not only the nervous system but also certain chemicals can affect bodily processes far from their points of origin.Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of blood clots and heart disease in middle-age women.

Answer Keys

Reading:

27. B

28. A

29. D

30. C

31. D

32. C

33. B

34. D

35. A

36. D

37. A

38. third square

39.1) Scientists have discovered that not only the nervous system….

2) Hormones can affect not only life processes…..

3) Researchers are looking for ways to decrease the dangers of ….