在托福閱讀的考查中，每篇文章必會出現一類題，叫做"Insert Text Questions"，即插入句子題(簡稱插入題)。考試中，考生會遇到一句話，問該句插入文中四個黑色方塊中的哪個位置最合適。這類題型重點考查英文句子間的邏輯語義關系，即英文中句子與句子是如何銜接在一起的。所以，只要掌握了英語句子間的銜接手法(cohesive devices)，這種問題便可迎刃而解。 那么銜接手法到底有哪些呢?如何通過發現句子里的隱藏玄機而找到上下文的邏輯呢?下面和大家分享資深托福閱讀老師的教學經驗，幫助大家高效準確地“秒殺”句子插入題。
  一、 代詞銜接
  代詞銜接具體包括人稱代詞(they, them, it等)、指示代詞(these, this, such等)和關系代詞等(their, its等)。在上下句的關聯中，代詞是最為緊密的一類詞。當作者再次談及上句相關話題時，為了避免重復，遵循語言學的最簡單化原理，作者會用代詞指代該話題詞。因此，如果要插入的句子中出現代詞，表明句子前面含有該代詞指代的名詞事物或某句話所描述的事情。只要我們找到代詞所指代的內容，就可以把要插入的句子放在所指代內容的句子的后面。
  二、定冠詞the + 名詞
  名詞所指對象第一次出現時，用不定冠詞a連接，當后句再次提及該名詞對象時，為了表示它和前一句名詞是同一關系，會用定冠詞the引出。因此，如果句子中出現(the + 名詞)，表明該名詞之前已出現，只要我們找到該名詞第一次出現的句子，把要插入的句子放在這個句子后面，再看邏輯是否通順即可。
  以上兩種銜接手法可以通過以下這個例子來更好地說明：
  We all know that many more people today are right-handed than left-handed. Can one trace this same pattern far back in prehistory? ■Much of the evidence about right-hand versus left-hand dominance comes from stencils and prints found in rock shelters in Australia and elsewhere, and in many Ice Age caves in France, Spain, and Tasmania. ■When a left hand has been stenciled, this implies that the artist was right-handed, and vice versa. ■Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward—a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand. ■Of 148 stencils in the French cave of Gargas, 136 have been identified as left, and only 22 as right; right-handedness was therefore heavily predominant.
  Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
  The stencils of hands found in these shelters and caves allow us to draw conclusions about which hand was dominant.
  解題思路： 快速閱讀需要被插入原文中的句子，馬上可以看到句子中提到了指示代詞these，其內容為these shelters and caves，根據指示代詞的性質，shelters and caves一定在上一句句子中提到，因此我們只需要尋找原文中含有這個信息的句子即可。另外，本句還有定冠詞the stencils，證明stencils也是在本句之前已出現。 然后分別閱讀四個方塊之前的句子：第二句提到既提到了stencils也提到了rock shelters和 Ice Age caves，因此可以判斷放在第二個黑色方塊的位置，代入進去后再讀一下是否通順即可確定。
  三、 名詞銜接：重復話題詞或同義近義改寫
  如果要插入的句子中沒有代詞銜接，那么要考慮名詞銜接。句子中所提到的名詞相關內容在該句中的上下句必然會重復出現，具體是出現在該句中的上一句還是下一句要看句子本身的意思提示。有時候句子中的名詞會以同義替換的方式出現，或對該名詞進行改寫。
  四、邏輯銜接：總分，因果，轉折，舉例等邏輯提示詞
  如果句子中含有某種邏輯提示詞，可以根據相應邏輯關系來推斷上下文的內容。比如in a number of ways提示句子是個總起句，下文接具體各個方面的描述;this is a consequence of…提示本句是原因句，上文是某個現象或事實結果的描述句;however提示本句帶轉折關系，下文和上文呈現轉折或相反的意思，等等。
  以上名詞銜接和邏輯銜接的應用可以通過以下例子更好地說明：
  ■Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. ■The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. ■We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community’s resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery. ■
  Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
  In fact, damage to the environment by humans is often much more severe than damage by natural events and processes.
  首先本句里的in fact提示本句是一個觀點句，意思是人類對環境的破壞遠遠大于自然事件。再來看本句中的名詞銜接：damage by humans, damage by natural events。提示上下文會提到跟人類和自然的破壞。原文B選項前面的句子有提到“climax communities are being damaged or destroyed by human activities”群落受到人類活動的破壞， B選項后面的句子是一個example，內容是美國某個火山爆發所造成的危害，與人類造成的破壞相比顯得相形見絀。因此我們考慮放在B選項或C選項，再根據先說觀點再舉例子的說話邏輯，可以判斷B選項更加合適。
  簡而言之，要插入的句子里的代詞，定冠詞，名詞詞組和邏輯提示詞都是破解上下文邏輯的關鍵。有了以上的“必殺技“，媽媽再也不用擔心我不會做插入句子題啦!