(33) On average, U.S. students study more topics within science and math than their international counterparts do. This creates an educational environment that "is a mile wide and an inch deep," Schmidt notes. （出现比较级时应高度关注。第二句This指代第一句陈述的事实：平均说来，与国际同龄人相比，美国学生在科学与数学方面要学习更多的科目。A mile wide and an inch deep属于形象用法、比喻考点。)
For instance, eighth graders in the United States cover about 33 topics in math versus just 19 in Japan. Among science courses, the international gap is even wider.（作者接着举例说明美国的教育环境是a mile wide and an inch deep。)U.S. curricula for this age level resemble those of a small group of countries including Australia, Thailand, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Schmidt asks whether the United States wants to be classed with these nations, whose educational systems "share our pattern of splintered (支离破碎的) visions" but which are not economic leaders.
33. By saying that the U.S. educational environment is "a mile wide and an inch deep" (Line 2, Para. 5), the author means U.S. educational practice ________.
[定位与替换] 本题问作者对美国教育实践的看法。根据上面两段This指代的事实以及For instance后对a mile wide and an inch deep的进一步解释可以看出，美国教育注重所开科目的广度而不重视深度，所以选D) scratches the surface of a wide range of topics只触及了许多科目的表面。另外，education environment = educational practice。解题的关键是要跨段整合内容，并准确地识别指代和例证的含义。
[干扰项分析] A) lays stress on quality at the expense of quantity牺牲数量来强调质量，和文中内容相反；B) offers an environment for comprehensive education为全面综合教育提供了环境，文中只提到科学和数学教育，并未出现全面综合教育的概念；C) encourages learning both in depth and in scope鼓励既深入又广泛地学习，这只是美国教育改革的方向，与原文内容不一致。
The new report "couldn't come at a better time," says Gerald Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington.（本句是某个专家对the new report所作的评价。文章中出现概括性评价之后一般都会作进一步的解释说明、原因分析等，这是命题者较喜欢的考点。)（34)"The new National Science Education Standards provide that focused vision," including the call "to do less, but in greater depth." （The new National Education Standards和The new report属于同义概念。)
34. The new National Science Education Standards are good news in that they will ________.
[定位与替换]本题问新的全国科学教育标准是个好消息的原因。根据关键词The new National Education Standards和good news, 定位到第七段，本题所问的原因在第二句，注意but引起的强调，故选A) provide depth to school science education使学校的科学教育具有深度。解题的关键在于识别句子之间的关系。
[干扰项分析] B) solve most of the problems in school teaching解决学校教学的大部分问题，歪曲并夸张了文章原意；C) be able to meet the demands of the community能够满足社区需求，文中未提及，因为新的全国科学标准是为了弥补教育体制的缺陷而制定的；D) quickly dominate U.S. educational practice迅速在美国的教育实践中处于支配地位，文中也未提及，而是指出了实现这个新标准将面临挑战。
(35) Implementing the new science standards and their math counterparts will be the challenge, he and Schmidt agree, because the decentralized responsibility for education in the United States requires that any reforms be tailored and instituted one community at a time.（…因为美国的教育责任是分散的，它要求任何一项改革只能一次一个社区地量身定制。he and Schmidt agree是插入语，而且是专家观点标志词，紧接着阐述了Implementing the new standards… will be the challenge的原因，考点设置和34题如出一辙，但相对简单，因为because是明显的因果关系考点标志词。)
In fact, Schmidt argues, reforms such as these proposed national standards "face an almost impossible task, because even though they are intellectually coherent, each becomes only one more voice in the babble (嘈杂声)."
35. Putting the new science and math standards into practice will prove difficult because ________.
[定位与替换] 本题问实施新的科学和数学标准将会遇到困难的原因。put sth. into practice = implement, will prove difficult = will be the challenge, 所以本题可准确定位到倒数第二段，最后选C) school districts are responsible for making their own decisions学区对自己的决定负责。该选项表达了文中“责任分散”的意思。
[干扰项分析] A) there is always controversy in educational circles在教育界一直存在争论，B) not enough educators have realized the necessity for doing so没有足够的教育者意识到这样做的重要性，D) many schoolteachers challenge the acceptability of these standards许多学校老师质疑这些标准的可接受性，这三个选项文中均无信息支持。
例2、2000年1月四级阅读第二篇
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
30. What does the author say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads?
A) They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles.
B) They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time.
C) They are falling out of use in the United States.
D) They are applicable only on broad roads
请用心体会initially 这个词的内涵，其实，你一看到这个词，就应该准确predict后面可能会有考点，而且肯定会出现but, however, ultimately 一类的转折、对比词。答案B)。
例3、六级2001年6月阅读第二篇
For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. ……
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
Today Mars looms as humanity’s next great terra incognita. And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet’s reddish surface. Could it be science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at least destined to take a leading role? ……
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. …..
36. According to the passage, the chief purpose of explorers in going to unknown places in the past was_____ .
A) to display their country’s military might
B) to accomplish some significant science
C) to find new areas for colonization
D) to pursue commercial and state interests
37. At present, a probable inducement for countries to initiate large-scale space ventures is _____ .
A) international cooperation B) nationalistic reasons
C) scientific research D) long-term profits
注意：economic / commercial / financial / profit ; nationalistic / political / military / cold war / nationalism; science / scientist/ scientific 都是近义词或同一范畴的词，也就阅读文章中经常出现的同义换词现象。如果一个词的同义词、相关词在一篇文章中多次重复出现，必定是这篇文章的强调的地方，必定和考题相关。另外，请注意这两道题的考法，先考过去，再考现在，一个是was, 一个是is。答案D,C。
例4、考研2004年 Text 1
Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site’s “personal search agent”. It’s an interactive feature that lets visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and salary, then emails them when a matching position is posted in the database.
….
Some sites design their agents to tempt job hunters to return. When CareerSite’s agent sends out messages to those who have signed up for its service, for example, it includes only three potential jobs – those it considers the best matches. There maybe more matches in the database; job hunters will have to visit the site again to find them – and they do.
44. Why does CareerSite’s agent offer each job hunter only three job options?
A) To focus on better job matches.
B) To attract more returning visits.
C) To reserve space for more messages.
D) To increase the rate of success.
请注意下面句中them是指代什么：then emails them when a matching position is posted in the database. 有的辅导书上是这么翻译的：然后给网上贴出的对应岗位发个邮件/ 当…时，你就通过EMAIL给这些人寄去相关的资料。其实，这里them指visitors。比如说你访问某个求职网站，登记了你的要求，那么该网站可能会根据你的要求给你发email通知你，这就是所谓的interactive feature.
44题答案B, 实际上考的是一个例证题，但是表面上不很容易看出来，这就是考研难的地方。如果你平时注意分析第一句话和后面句子的关系，那么你就会知道， 例证题的答案经常指向段落第一句话。答案中attract替换原文tempt。如果你在解题的时候只注意后面几句话，就可能会做错答案或者速度慢了。
例五、考研2002年 Text 4
The Supreme Court’s decisions on physician-assisted suicide carry important implications for how medicine seeks to relieve dying patients of pain and suffering.
Although it ruled that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, the Court in effect supported the medical principle of “double effect”, a centuries-old moral principle holding that an action having two effects – a good one that is intended and a harmful one that is foreseen – is permissible if the actor intends only the good effect.
56. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that_____ .
A) doctors used to increase drug dosages to control their patients’ pain
B) it is still illegal for doctors to help the dying end their lives
C) the Supreme Court strongly opposes physician-assisted suicide
D) patients have no constitutional right to commit suicide
答案B, 这几段里有不少和法律相关单词可以学习，比如constitutional / rule / supreme court, rule 这个词在这里是裁决的意思，很多死背词汇书的同学考试中就不一定能够反应出这个意思。这道题目的干扰项之一C很有意思，大家有没有注意到strongly这个词，这个选项就错在这里。请看一下第二段Although这句话， 体会一下这句话的内涵（尽管，但是)，这句话的内涵是最高法院尽管认为医生协助病人自杀是非法的，是持反对态度的，但并不是强烈反对！ 所以大家在做题的时候一定要注意选项中的形容词和副词等限定词，这些地方经常是陷阱，同样文章中出现这类词汇也需要高度警惕。
第五步：翻译文章或者与译文（如果有)对照学习
这一步最具有挑战性，但可以使你对英文的理解更准确，可以让你更自由地在中英文之间驰骋。
同学们在进行超精读时，可以参考以上五个步骤进行。如果还有什么问题，或者我说的不当的地方，欢迎一起讨论！我的博客地址为：（http://xzding.diandian.net) 另外同学们也可以到点点英语超精读专版（http://bbs.diandian.net/index.asp?boardid=147)和广大英语爱好者一起对“超精读”进行学习、训练、讨论，共同提高英语水平，英语学习的道路是永无止境的！
最后引用一个我与一个网上同学的对话来结束这篇文章，希望各位同学都能早日视深刻地理解英语为一种享受，并顺利攻克英语这个堡垒。
问：您说的超精读 会花费很多时间的 难道不是吗?
答： 呵呵，你搞错了，你做题目的时候是在规定时间之内完成。研究题目的时候超精读，知道吗？精读之外，研究好出题点，解题技巧，怎么会过不了？不花时间，怎么提高？你不精读，这次过不了，下次还要再考，更花时间，浪费的是你的青春。
