上海新东方方臻：解析2012年12月大学英语四级考试完形填空

　　 

　　上海新东方学校新概念名师解析2012年12月大学英语四级考试完形填空
　　我们要寻找的并不是自己认为最合适的词，而是作者当时写文章时所认为最能表达其写作思路的词。
　　当然，我们并不是作者，对于他的用词是基于猜测，但也正因为如此，为了避免出现相近的、模棱两可的答案，出题者在决定哪些词用来填空的时候（除了考察语法、词义和逻辑关系的词汇外），必然会抽取一些在上下文中与其它内容、词汇相呼应的词，以便达到有理可据。
　　下面，笔者以新鲜出炉的大学英语四级完形填空中，一篇讲述母婴关联影响人们冒险决策的文章为例，讲解怎样利用上面的理解，运筹帷幄，攻克难题！
　　Strong emotional bonds between mothers and infants increase children's willingness to explore the world-an effect that has been observed   67    the animal kingdom, in people, monkeys and even spiders. The more secure we are in our   68   to Mom, the more likely we are to try new things and take risks. Now researchers are discovering that this effect continues into adulthood. A   69  reminder of Mom's touch or the sound of her voice on the phone is   70  to change people's minds and moods,   71   their decision making in measurable ways.
　　In a study   72   online in April in Psychological Science, undergraduate business students had to choose between safe bets and risky gambles-a bond with a guaranteed 4 percent yearly  73   or a riskier stock option, for example. In half the cases, the experimenters patted the students   74  on the back of the shoulder for about one second   75   providing verbal  instructions about the study. Both male and female students who were touched by a female experimenter were   76  more likely to choose the risky alternative   77  were those who had not been touched or were patted by male experimenters. The reassuring（宽慰的）touch of a woman may have induced early associations,  78   the same openness to exploration that is observed in young children of   79   mothers, explains Jonathan Levav, a business professor at Columbia University and lead author of the study.
　　To further   80   that a woman's touch links feelings of security   81  risk taking, the researchers asked a   82  group of undergraduates to make financial decisions after a writing exercise. Half of them wrote about a time they felt secure and supported, whereas the   83  half wrote about feeling insecure and alone. Evoking (唤起) a   84   of insecurity made students in the latter group   85  receptive to the gentle shoulder pats from female experimenters and much more willing to take a risk-just as a child leaving for a field trip might steal one last reassuring hug   86   Mom before stepping on the bus.
　　67. A. by     B. up C. above D. across
　　68. A. concern  B. attachment  C. treatment D. appeal
　　69. A. bare B. unique C. mere  D. just
　　70. A. enough B. ready  C. easy  D. quick
　　71. A. generating B. regulating C. affecting  D. refining
　　72. A. exhibited B. published  C. appeared  D. advertised
　　73. A. return B. expense C. cost  D. prize
　　74. A. seemingly  B. strongly  C. partly D. lightly
　　75. A. if   B. so  C. while  D. whereas
　　76. A. rather B. far C. further   D. pretty
　　77. A. than  B. as C. which D. that
　　78. A. intending  B. inferring   C. inspiring D. instructing
　　79. A. supportive   B. lively  C. strict  D. respectful
　　80. A. enable  B. ensure C. consent  D. confirm
　　81. A. beyond  B. with  C. for  D. along
　　82. A. relative  B. competitive  C. different   D. successive
　　83. A. next   B. other C. minor    D. opposite
　　84. A. hint B. clue C. chain D. sense
　　85. A. especially B. specially C. securely D. entirely
　　86. A. toward B. into C. of    D. from
　　首先，在通读全文之后掌握作者的大致思路，第一段首句以母婴强烈情感维系增强儿童探险意愿为开头，道出了从母亲身上所得的安全感与孩子探险意愿之间的正比例关系，第三句的now和continue将这一理论继续延展至后述的实验和成人。
　　后面两段通过两个不同的实验展示了女性对于唤起成人安全感，继而令他们更加愿意尝试冒险的测试结果。而67-86题之中的许多处填词都是可以在文中找出相对应的内容的，如果所选词汇出现在同一句子中，则常常前后呼应。以此展示作者本人在写作中前后统一关联的思路。
　　如67题，  67    the animal kingdom, in people, monkeys and even spiders. 从选项中也能看出此处选填一个介词，而答案就在后面的in people, monkeys and even spiders, 通过阅读后面得知前面的animal kingdom实为总起范围，讲述这样的现象遍及整个动物王国，包括人类、猴子甚至是蜘蛛，因此选择原意为横穿，穿过，在此处引申至横跨、遍及含义的across。
　　68题，The more secure we are in our   68   to Mom，该空的选词其实是与首句的bond相呼应，在我们与母亲的联系中，我们觉得越安全，便越是可能尝试新鲜事物和冒险。attachment和bond都在讲述一种联系、维系。
　　69、70题，A   69  reminder of Mom's touch or the sound of her voice on the phone is   70  to change people's minds and moods. 两处填空在同一个句子中用词前后呼应，70题的enough较易看出，表达这样的触动足够改变人们的思想情绪，而前面正是用mere 仅仅的与enough 呼应，仅仅小小的触动便足够。
　　74题 In half the cases, the experimenters patted the students   74  on the back of the shoulder. 这一题的选择应为lightly, 在最后一段末句的gentle shoulder pats处得到了印证，后面的gentle实为前面lightly的近义替换，当然修饰不同对象时使用了不同的词性。
　　80、82题，To further   80   that a woman's touch links feelings of security   81  risk taking, the researchers asked a   82  group of undergraduates to make financial decisions after a writing exercise. 80题的各个选项中，consent 为允许、准许，较易排除，enable后一般要跟使其能够怎样的对象，因此也排除，在科学实验的探索中，不应当是确保、担保某事必然会发生，而是去努力证实某理论是成立的，因此舍弃ensure使用confirm, 而这里的confirm也就决定了后面是要使用a different group of students来进一步证实该理论在不同受测试者身上均成立。
　　相信上述的分析已解答了部分考生的疑惑。在今后的考试中，如能清醒的认识到，所选择的词应该是表达作者本意的词，有意识的将前后句子、段落看成相互关联的整体，学会在文中寻找答案，让词汇前后呼应，表达统一主题，那么，许多难以抉择的选项就变得容易了。
　　然而，在看了网上五花八门的网友答案之后，笔者也见到一些其实很简单，却有许多人出错的选项。因为自己教授英语新概念多年，一眼便识有不少是出自课文原句的用法，因此选得轻松得意，在此写出与读者分享。
　　75题 In half the cases, the experimenters patted the students   74  on the back of the shoulder for about one second   75   providing verbal  instructions about the study. 后面部分的providing ...其实是作为主语支线动作的分词状语，表达在进行口头说明的同时，轻拍学生的肩膀。在新概念二册课文中，上述将while重新添上，更明确表意的用法比比皆是，如第45课中出现的Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office. 73课， while playing truant， 讲述一个传奇的逃学学生的经历，等等。
　　76题，Both male and female students who were touched by a female experimenter were   76  more likely to choose the risky alternative   77  were those who had not been touched or were patted by male experimenters. far 修饰形容词比较级，与more一起出现的情况，在新概念二册第35课《捉贼》中亦有例证： He is finding his new work far more exciting.
　　83题，whereas the   83  half wrote about feeling insecure and alone. the other 表述两者中的另一个在新概念二册的第5课，讲述飞鸽传书的课文中就已出现：from one garage to the other...
　　84题 a   84   of insecurity 安全感，则对应新概念二册第63课中所出现的常见幽默感的表述 sense of humour。
　　若是考生们在平时能多阅读、学习一些地道的文章、教材，这一类基本语法知识和常用表达也能驾轻就熟了。
　　方臻
　　新概念一、二册主讲老师。方老师热爱英语教学，擅长通过归纳总结，由浅入深地教授英语语法难点。授课风格幽默风趣，讲解形象生动，并能有效帮助学生树立英语学习的信心，培养学习兴趣。