新托福听力场景分析之考古学应对技巧-广州智美教育

朗阁海外考试研究中心的专家分析发现，在托福听力考试4个lecture中，必会出现至少一个历史、艺术、或考古类的话题。艺术与历史类我们之前已经探讨过，属于考生熟悉的话题范围；而考古学话题本身就不为广大考生熟悉，很多考生对这一话题非常畏惧。实际上只要提前适应难度，掌握好词汇，还是可以轻松攻克的。下面我们来共同讨论一下考古话题的应对方式。

一、概述
考古话题往往和其他分支学科产生联系，具体可以从以下几个方面来考察：

☆ 历史年代 如不同地理地质时期的化石，遗迹等。
☆ 人类学 如某个历史阶段人类生活工具和遗址的发掘，故而推测出当时人们的生活状态。
☆ 艺术类 例如古代壁画，陶瓷的发现及其艺术价值。
☆ 其他话题 商业容易和其他学科产生交叉，如古生物学和文化等。

所谓话题的交叉性，前几讲中我们也提到过，但在考古学中这一特点得到了升华。考古学很难独立成段子，一般会涉及其他方面，在这里考生应该多积累历史，地质，人文方面的知识。推荐BBC的documentary，生动且令人印象深刻。

二、案例分析
下面是一个考古学的经典案例：
TPO 30 Lecture 2 (Paleontology)
听力原文：
1) And as for popular attitudes towards dinosaurs … well, take the Obiraptor for instance … In the 1920s, a paleontologist discovered the fossil remains of a small dinosaur near a nest containing eggs. He assumed the dinosaur was stealing the eggs, so he named it Oviraptor that means egg thief in Latin, which fueled the generally negative public image of such dinosaurs … But by the 1990s, other experts had convincingly made the case that instead of robbing the nest; the Oviraptor was probably taking care of the eggs. You see, dinosaurs’ closest living relatives–birds and crocodiles–display nesting behavior. And dinosaur fossils have been found in postures that we now believe to indicate brooding behavior, that is, sitting on the eggs until they hatch.

Q: What is the professor's attitude toward the name "Obiraptor"?
Click on 2 answers.
A. It accurately represents the behavior of the dinosaur
B. It resulted from an incorrect translation of the original Latin term
C. It was based on a misunderstanding of the fossil evidence
D. It influenced popular attitudes toward dinosaurs

分析：
这里提到了attitude一词，说明考到了语气态度这个考点。在读题目之前我们并不知道是否会有态度题的出现，但是以上听力内容中出现了全文重要概念─── Obiraptor的描述与评价。在听的过程中我们要学会预判考点：作者花这么长的时间评价这一概念，一定会出现细节题。果然，此处出现双选题。文中还出现了attitude一词，划线部分说明Obiraptor一词让这种恐龙给大众带来负面的印象，所以选D。这里虽然出现Latin一词，但与B意思不同，注意不要掉入陷阱。更重要的是下文出现转折关系，澄清了这种恐龙是为了offer care而非偷蛋，因此C为正确选项。朗阁海外考试研究中心的专家还要提醒考生，在理解句意的同时要学会抓关键词。Obiraptor是全文的关键词，因此此词聚集出现的地方一定是考点。

注意：抽象词的出现会影响理解。fuel作为名词是“燃料”，而做动词的意思是“提供燃料”，引申为“给 … 提供推动力，刺激”。可以联想到trigger, spark, breed, drive等词，后面表示导致的后果。

2) No, there’s more. They also examined the fossilized bones of those three types of dinosaurs that were found on or near nests to determine their sex. You see, adult female birds during egg production produce a layer of spongy bone tissue inside certain long bones. And so did female dinosaurs of the kinds that were investigated. This spongy tissue serves as a source of calcium for eggshell formation. But when the dinosaur fossils were examined, there were no spongy bone deposits.

Q: What is the function of the spongy tissue in the bones of a female bird?
A. In makes the bird more comfortable while sitting on her eggs for long periods of time.
B. In enables female birds to lay more eggs.
C. It strengthens the bird's bones just before she lays her eggs.
D. It serves as a source of calcium for eggshells.

分析：
并列连接词also告诉我们后面还会有关键内容出现。直到下文出现了重要概念spongy tissue，与其相关的内容有eggshell formation。所以这种物质的分泌是与蛋壳钙质的形成有关的，因此选D。此题难点在于语速快，加之上文难句长句多，考点密集，容易忽略，但如果一旦捕捉到关键词，就很容易选对。

三、考点追踪
*古生物学这个例子，我们可以看出考古学的听力段子话题具有以下特点：
☆ 注意并列和转折关系 这是总规律和考点所在。
☆ 抽象词的快速理解 建议每做完一篇lecture就总结一下这类词汇。
☆ 提前预判考点 关键词和屏幕上的词密集处往往会出细节题。态度题要好好把握。有关考古题话题，灵活性大，内容交叉性强，应当引起考生的重视，词汇的积累也不容忽视。朗阁海外考试研究中心的专家提醒广大考生注意关注*新考试动态，获悉考试热点话题，关注*新考题回顾，辅之复习与预测。

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