力。
其中，修辞题主要考查考生是否了解某句话的特定意图，而词汇题则考查某个词语或短语的具体意思。通常考查的内容都会对文章理解起到至关重要的作用。
指代类问题考查某个代词指代的对象，句子简化题则要求考生选出与原文中某个句子含义相同的答案。这两道题目都比较简单。
插入文字题则会提供一个新的句子，考生需要将它插入到文章中合适的位置，这道题可以检验考生的逻辑性。
4。 理解文章概要类问题
理解文章概要类问题属于托福阅读考试中的新题型，包含总结题（Prose Summary）和图表题（Fill in a Table），这两道题的难度比较大，考查考生理解一篇文章的写作意图以及整理文章框架、理清文章层次的能力。
其中，总结题需要考生根据文中出现的内容推断答案，这道题目会提供6个选项，考生要选出最能概括文章内容的3项。在做这道题目时，考生要具备理解及总结重要信息的能力。要注意，不要选择那些仅陈述文章某一细节的选项，因为这些细节的作用通常只是支持观点的论据。正确的选项应该是概括性的陈述。请看下面的例子：
Urban Climates
The city is an extraordinary processor of mass and energy and has its own metabolism。 A daily input of water； food； and energy of various kinds is matched by an output of sewage； solid waste； air pollutants； energy； and materials that have been transformed in some way。 The quantities involved are enormous。 Many aspects of this energy use affect the atmosphere of a city； particularly in the production of heat。
In winter the heat produced by a city can equal or surpass the amount of heat available from the Sun。 All the heat that warms a building eventually transfers to the surrounding air； a process that is quickest where houses are poorly insulated。 But an automobile produces enough heat to warm an average house in winter； and if a house were perfectly insulated； one adult could also produce more than enough heat to warm it。 Therefore； even without any industrial production of heat； an urban area tends to be warmer than the countryside that surrounds it。
The burning of fuel； such as by cars； is not the only source of this increased heat。 Two other factors contribute to the higher overall temperature in cities。 The first is the heat capacity of the materials that constitute the city； which is typically dominated by concrete and asphalt。 During the day； heat from the Sun can be conducted into these materials and stored — to be released at night。 But in the countryside materials have a significantly lower heat capacity because a vegetative blanket prevents heat from easily flowing into and out of the ground。 The second factor is that radiant heat ing into the city from the Sun is trapped in two ways： by a continuing series of reflections among the numerous vertical surfaces that buildings present and by the dust dome the cloudlike layer of polluted air that most cities produce。 Shortwave radiation from the Sun passes through the pollution dome more easily than outgoing longwave radiation does； the latter is absorbed by the gaseous pollutants of the dome and reradiated back to the urban surface。
Cities； then； are warmer than the surrounding rural areas； and together they produce a phenomenon known as the urban heat island。 Heat islands develop best under particular conditions associated with light winds； but they can form almost any time。 The precise configuration of a heat island depends on several factors。 For example； the wind can make a heat island stretch in the direction it blows。 When a heat island is well developed； variations can be extreme； in winter； busy streets in cities can be 17℃ warmer than the side streets。 Areas near traffic lights can be similarly warmer than the areas between them because of the effect of cars standing in traffic instead of moving。 The maximum differences in temperature between neighboring urban and rural environments is called the heat…island intensity for that region。 In general； the larger the city； the greater its heat…island intensity。 The actual level of intensity depends on such factors as the physical layout； population density； and productive activities of a metropolis。
The surface…atmosphere relationships inside metropolitan areas produce a number of climatic peculiarities。 For one thing； the presence or absence of moisture is affected by the special qualities of the urban surface。 With much of the built…up landscape impenetrable by water； even gentle rain runs off almost immediately from rooftops； streets； and parking lots。 Thus； city surfaces； as well as the air above them； tend to be drier between episodes of rain； with little water available for the cooling process of evaporation； relative humidities are usually lower。 Wind movements are also modified in cities because buildings increase the friction on air flowing around them。 This friction tends to slow the speed of winds； making them far less efficient at dispersing pollutants。 On the other hand； air turbulence increases because of the effect of skyscrapers on airflow。 Rainfall is also increased in cities。 The cause appears to be in part greater turbulence in the urban atmosphere as hot air rises from the built…up surface。
Question： Cities create climatic conditions of their own through their physical structure and urban activities。
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Answer Choices
1。 The amount of heat produced in a city will be reduced when cities use the heat from cars to warm houses。
2。 The built up landscape of the city readily bees a heat island； with greater water runoff and special climatic conditions such as low relative humidity and increased air turbulence。
3。 The materials from which cities are built and the effects of pollution domes help make urban areas warmer than rural areas。
4。 Cities tend to be warmer than their surrounding areas； in part because they produce heat by burning fuel for heating； powering vehicles； and industrial production。
5。 In most cities； the heating that results from solar radiation is intensified by carbon dioxide； a gas that is present at very high concentrations in cities’ atmospheres。
6。 During periods without rainfall； the air in cities heats up and causes winds to slow down with the result that pollutants are not dispersed。
阅读题干，可以知道题目要求选出符合“城市自身结构和城市活动会形成其自身的气候条件”这一说法的选项。
观察选项，第一项的意思是“城市产生的热量会受因汽车的使用等因素影响”，而这只是支持“城市活动会影响气候”这一观点的一个细节，没有概括地谈及气候的形成，因此不符合题意；
第二项主要讲的是“城市地貌特征很容易形成热岛”，是对文章最后两段的总结，因此符合题意；
第三项讲的是“城建材料和污染会使城市比农村更温暖”，是文章第三段提到的“两个影响气候的因素”的其中一个，因此符合题意；
第四项表述的是“城市中燃料的使用也会使温度升高”，这与文章第四段的观点相符，因此是正确选项；
第五项讲的是“城市大气中的二氧化碳能使太阳辐射产生的热量变得更多”；和第一个选项一样，这也是一个细节性的陈述；
第六项提到“在没有降雨的时期，城市中的空气会升温，使风速减慢，因此污染物不容易扩散”，这不符合题目的要求，因此可以确定不是正确选项。
图表题则需要考生在备选答案中选出正确的选项填入表格。要做好这道题，考生需要对文章的结构有一个清晰的了解。建立的文章结构大纲要包含重要的细节，以及作者的观点，这样才能有助于选择正确的答案。
三、必备阅读技巧
想在托福阅读考试中获得高分，除了熟悉考试中常见的单词、文章的特点，以及题目类型以外，掌握一些解题必备技巧也是必不可少的。
在实际考试中，我们可以参考以下这些有助于提高阅读成绩的技巧：
1。 在原文中找出处