搞定这些特殊符号，雅思阅读就赢一半啦！
众所周知雅思阅读多数题目考查原文段落中一些重要的细节，比如举例或者段落的分论点，许多考生为此困扰不已，觉得定位困难，找不到出题的句子，越来越多的考生发现题目中，曾经的“原词”定位大法不再适用，更多题目会替换掉这些题目中的”定位词”让定位出题句变得头痛，在经过一段时间的观察后我发现这样的现象除了一贯的“不审清题目”“不读懂题目的idea”和“盲目乱撞”考生们往往忽视了，原文的重要“信号”—特殊标点符号，这些符号包括常见的破折号引号，和相对少一些的冒号，括号和问号(设问)，然而这些符号恰恰有很好的提示性出现的句子往往出题下面以破折号和引号为例展示下他们的强大。
Developed most probably as a defense against forest fires, the bark of the cork oak has a particular cellular structure — with about 40 million cells per cubic centimeter — that technology has never succeeded in replicating.
摘自paragraph 2
这句话破折号起到句中停顿作用，补充解释"a particular cellular structure"，去掉这个补充成分，此句要说明的是软木作为木材有抵御森林火灾的天然优势，而人类技术从未能企及。
对应地，后面的判断题目scientists have developed a synthetic cork with the same cellular structure as natural cork.(Question 2) 题目说“科学家已经研发出合成软木，跟天然橡木有相同的纤维质地(也就是防火的特点)”，显然题目与原文矛盾，判定为false。
If the bark is stripped on a day when it's too cold — in when the air is damp— the tree will be damaged.
摘自paragraph 4
此句说“如果在寒冷或潮湿的日子里剥树皮，树会遭损伤”，通过"if"可以看出是讲“条件”，对应到后面一判断题：Cork bark should be stripped in dry atmospheric conditions.(Question 4)
此题就在讲剖树皮的条件，显然干燥与“潮湿”(damp)矛盾，判定false. 这里有个小插曲，有的童鞋不认识damp一词，恐怕只好通过语境猜词义，前面说cold，搭配一起是“寒冷干燥”还是“阴冷潮湿”，这里就得想想出题的是英国人，恐怕他们字典里很难找“寒冷干燥”吧，于是这是潮湿的意思。
The Montreal study
Participants, who were recruited for the study through advertisements, had their brain activity monitored while listening to their favorite music. It was noted that the music stimulated the brain's neurons to release a substance called 27 _______ in two of the parts of the brain which are associated with feeling 28________.
Researchers also observed that the neurons in the area of the brain called the 29_______ were particularly active just before the participants' favourite moments in the music - the period known as the 30_______. Activity in this part of the brain is associated with the expectation of 'reward' stimuli such as 31_______.
Question27-31
考题：摘要填空
这组考题可谓把标点符号用到，从空格考点来看，五道题目有三题明显考术语(往往有引号)，而最后一空前“reward”作为术语可以容易定位到。
如此，在利用标题定位段落后，找到一两段话中的术语，题目就迎刃而解。具体来看，空格27考一种物质(化学物质名称，早在剑桥4里就已经出现过类似考察)substance往往就指hemical。 空格29考的是大脑区域的名称，空格4考的是“时间段或阶段'名称，空格31考察举例名称，但给出有引号的术语来定位。
原文
The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine — a chemical with a key role in setting people's moods— by the neurons(nerve cells) in both the dorsal and ventral regions of the brain.
摘自paragraph 2
此处对应的是空格27 主要的提示信号仍是破折号，起到补充解释'dopamine'的作用，于是此处答案即使'dopamine'。
What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate — a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus— response associations, and in anticipating food and other 'reward' stimulus — were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants' favorite moments in the music.
摘自paragraph 3
此句中破折号再次起到信号作用解释'caudate' 是大脑中的一个区域，于是空格29答案便是这个词，而另一处破折号前出现空格31的定位词'reward' stimulus，于是它对应的举例就是空格5'food'。
The researchers call this 'anticipatory phase' and argue that the purpose of this activity is to help us predict the arrival of our favorite part.
摘自paragraph 3
紧接着一句中提到的这一术语正是空格30 的答案，如果词汇量充分，也很容易理解'anticipate'本来就与'predict' 和'before'对应到，'phase'指时期或阶段，可以对应'period'。
此类标点符号的运用在几乎所有文章里都有体现，建议考生们不要忽视。除了题目中关键词的把握，其实了解出题句常见位置和提示信号也是必要的答题技巧。
