本期导读：
新托福阅读题型完全解读之句子简化题
今天要聊的是新托福阅读中的一道句子简化题。这类题目要求考生根据题干信息要点在四个选项中选出一个最能表达其要点的选项。其中，不要选择题干中未提及的选项或细节选项。
让我们一起来看看学生们经常错的这道题TPO24 R3 Q6：
Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people: construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses indicates that farmers were intensifying their efforts during the 1200s.
A) Some scholars even claim that the intensification of farmers' various efforts during the 1200s led to further population growth and the consequent need for more arable land.
B) Evidence of intensifying agriculture in the 1200s indicates a need to feed a larger population and so extends the argument that a growing population was the cause of the move to pueblos.
C) During the 1200s, farmers met the demand for more arable land, but they also succeeded in cultivating existing land more intensively with the help of agricultural construction projects.
D) Some scholars feel strongly that the construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses in the thirteenth century is independent evidence for growth in the number of people.
［题目解析］
题干句子的主干1是“Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people”，主要在讲“一些学者通过强调养活越来越多的人口需要相应的耕地扩展了这一看法”。主干2是“construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses indicates that farmers were intensifying their efforts during the 1200s”对前面的主干进行解释，主要在讲“小型水坝、水库、梯田以及房屋的建设表明十三世纪的农民一直在加紧努力”。
主干1与主干2之间用标点“：”衔接，表示“解释说明”，也就是说主干2是对主干1的解释。所以此句话中的要点为主干1“Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people”。
据此，在浏览选项的时候需要验证选项中是否包含题干要点“expand on this idea”以及“need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people”。很快会发现，这分别与选项B中“extend the argument”，“intensifying agriculture”和“need to feed a larger population”相一致。所以此题选B。
关于选项B，部分学生对“that a growing population was the cause of the move to pueblos”持有疑问，觉得这部分似乎在题干中没有出现。关于这个疑问，可以从两个方面来解答。
首先，明确句子简化题的考点，便可避开这个疑问。句子简化题主要在考察提取句子要点的能力以及理清要点间逻辑关系的能力。所以我们利用“抓主干去修饰”的方式来处理选项B时，就会将“that a growing population was the cause of the move to pueblos”给删除，因为它是从句，属于修饰语。这样自然不会被其干扰。
其次，我们在理解题干要点的时候发现“expand on this idea”。针对这种“指示代词＋名词”（this idea）的情况，我们要想搞清楚其所代表的真实含义，需根据“指示代词前指”的原则，就前前看，将其具体化。所以我们很快发现“this idea”代表前面的“After several generations of population growth, people packed the landscape in densities so high that communal pueblos may have been a necessary outcome.”，主要讲的是“在经历几代的人口增长之后，人们使得这一地区的人口密度达到了如此高的程度以至于普韦布洛社区成为一个必需的结果”。这也就是说选项B中的“a growing population was the cause of the move to pueblos”在此处是有体现的。
通过这个疑问，我们可以看出在句子简化题中，我们一定要关注“简化”两字，尤其是“如何简化”。我们只有在提取题干要点和理清逻辑的前提下，方能迅速而又轻松地选出正确答案。其次，在题干中碰见“指示代词”，就近前看，将其具体化。
