準備TOEFL閱讀的時候學會化繁為簡、判斷資訊的重要性是直觀地、能夠快速縮短時間的好方法，但是要如何判斷關鍵資訊，以及就此為依歸推倒出結論是需要技巧與經驗的，今天筆者舉一篇文章來跟大家說明，準備TOEFL閱讀時有哪些關鍵技巧可以學習，幫助你提高分數並縮短做題時間。
【托福閱讀】準備TOEFL閱讀就要學會「化繁為簡」，文章再長也不害怕!
例文 1
Roses from far away 來自遠方的玫瑰(1)
Have you ever considered how a bunch of roses got to you? It’s a remarkable process because most of the roses in florists or supermarkets in England have traveled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. The word’s number one producer of roses for Britain is currently Kenya.
In Kenya, most of the flower farms are in the Rift Valley that supplies the water. It has an ideal climate and lots of cheap labor. Favorable as the climate is, most flowers are produced in greenhouses to protect them from the occasional hailstorm or from becoming wet before they are harvested.
Wet flowers rot quickly, so they need to be picked while the blooms are dry. Having them indoors also facilitates spraying and pest control. Picking them at the right time is crucial.
Once the flowers are picked it is a race against time. They are boxed without water, cooled to keep them as fresh as possible, and taken from the farms to the hub at Nairobi and then almost anywhere in the Britain within 48 hours of being cut.
你曾想過一束紅玫瑰是怎麼到達你手上的嗎?這個過程頗值得關注。因為英格蘭花店或超市裡大部分的玫瑰，要不是來自幾千，不然就是幾百英里外。目前英國玫瑰第一大生產國是肯亞。
肯亞大部分花田都位於有水源供應的東非大裂谷。那裡的氣候合宜，勞動力也相當低廉。儘管氣候宜人，大部分花朵還是種在溫室裡好好保護，以免慘遭雹災或是在採收前不幸淋濕。淋濕的花朵爛得很快，所以必趁花朵還很乾時趕緊採收，把它們養在室內也有助於農藥噴灑與蟲害的控制。算準花朵採收的時間事關重大。
花朵一摘下來就開始與時間賽跑，它們在無水的環境下裝箱、冷藏，盡可能保持新鮮，從農場運到奈洛比的集散中心，然後在採收後48小時之內送至全英各地。
題目
The author states that most of Kenya’s exported flowers are grown in greenhouses for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
(A) it keeps the flowers dry before they are cut.
(B) it provides the plants from heat so that they won’t wither easily.
(C) it provides the plants with shelters in case of violent weather.
(D) it makes it easier to sprinkle the flowers with a chemical to kill harmful insects.
解析
A: (B)
根據文章脈絡梳理
解題的關鍵在於第二段的中後段，…most flowers are produced in greenhouses to protect them from the occasional hailstorm or from becoming wet …
這一句的不定詞to是表目的的in order to，答案很明顯就在這裡，因此可以知道因素涵蓋(A)、(C)兩個選項
可是跳過一句之後，Having them indoors also facilitates spraying and pest control.這裡又說明另一個原因，由此可見(D)選項也是其中一個因素，刪掉。排除了所有涉及的因素以後可以得知，答案是(B)。
根據關鍵字推斷
第二段前前後後出現hailstorm、wet、dry、spray、pest等字眼，我們以此做出預測: hailstorm跟(C)有關；wet、dry跟(A)有關；spray、pest跟(D)有關，由此可以看出只有(B)選項與關鍵字都無關，這樣就找出答案。
文法解析
Favorable as the climate is, most flowers are produced in greenhouses 〔to protect them ( from the occasional hailstorm ) or ( from becoming wet before they are harvested.)〕
解析
1. 連接詞as在這種倒裝句型應該做「雖然」解釋。可以放在句首的不是只有形容詞而已，舉凡副詞、名詞、動詞都能。
例如
- Hard as he tried, he failed. 雖然他努力嘗試過，但還是失敗了。
- Much as I wanted to talk, I kept silent. 雖然我非常想說話，但還是保持沉默。
- Try as I would, I couldn’t open the box. 雖然我盡力嘗試，但還是打不開這箱子。
- Man as he was, he is more beautiful than any women. 雖然他是男人，卻比任何女性都美麗。*名詞在句首的時候，不用加冠詞(a、an)。
2. 中括號框起來的to不定詞片語表示目的，裡面的or連接兩個from介系詞片語，說明把花種在溫室的目的就是要避免冰雹與弄濕，這兩大危害。
例文 2
Roses from far away 來自遠方的玫瑰(2)
(A)However, the majority the flowers go to Aalsmeer market, the biggest flower market in the world, just outside Amsterdam. It has one million square meters of warehouse space and up to twenty million flowers a day are sold there. (B)Wholesalers bid for them, prices starts high and then are lowered- the classic Dutch auction. (C)They are rushed to the UK by plane or in refrigerated trucks and are delivered to florists. (D)
But what does this mean for the environment and carbon footprint involved in transporting flowers for such large distance? Surprisingly, research carried out by Cranfield University discovered that roses grown by the Dutch had a carbon footprint six times higher than those produced in Kenya. This is because growing roses need vast amounts energy, mainly sun and heat, which is free and plentiful in Kenya, while in Nederland, it has to be provided by other means.
(A)然而大部分花躲都是送到阿爾斯梅爾的市場，這市場在阿姆斯特丹的外圍，是世上最大的花市，擁有一百萬平方公尺的倉儲空間，每天在那裡賣掉的花高達兩千萬朵。(B)批發商競標時，價碼從高喊到低，這是典型的荷蘭式拍賣。(C)這些花用飛機會冷凍貨櫃車火速送到英國去，再轉送到各花店。(D)
可是將這些花轉送到千里之外，對環境與碳足跡會有什麼影響呢?令人訝異的是，克蘭非大學所做的研究顯示荷蘭種植的玫瑰所產生的碳足跡是肯亞產的六倍。這是因為玫瑰所需要的熱與光需要大量能量，這些能源在肯亞既免費又取之不盡，但在荷蘭卻必須以其他方式來提供。
題目
Look at the four letters that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
It will not be long before wholesalers buy these flowers and then re-export them to other market across the globe.
Where could the sentence best fit?
解析
A: (C)
1. 一般來說，假如插入題目的題型出現it、he、them之類的代名詞或this、those、here之類的指示詞，那麼恭喜你，這是超好拿分的題目!因為只要透過上下文，把代名詞或指示詞本身找出來、拼湊出邏輯順序，問題很快就能迎刃而解。
2. 不過看到這一題一開頭就是It也不要高興得太早，因為這個It是代表時間，就好比What time is it的it並不是取代前後文之中的哪個名詞。
3. 儘管如此也用不著垂頭喪氣，因為根據嘗試就知道花果蔬菜一摘下來，保鮮期限就開始倒數，而不得不與時間展開競賽，遠從肯亞千里而來肯定是要賣錢的，何況連題目都出現wholesalers這個單字，就知道批發商進場了。
4. 即使不認識wholesalers，但是從題目關鍵字找出buy、re-export等，也能判斷這些花開始進入市場了，而且即將轉運到其他地方，把答案塞進(C)這個位置最符合前後文。
文法解析
(It will not be long) before (wholesalers buy these flowers and then re-export them to other market across the globe.)
解析
1. 表示時間先後的連接詞before連接前後句，注意
It will not be long before… = before long = soon。
例如
It was not long before they were deep in conversation
= Before long, they were deep in conversation. 不久他們就聊得很起勁了。
2. 這句話的意思是說，在尼德蘭大批發市場裡批發商火速下標這些花轉運到其他各地方，可是拍賣方式很特別，一般的「auction」競標時數字都是越開越大，但是尼德蘭的卻是越喊越低
文法解析
Surprisingly, research( carried out by Cranfield University )discovered [that roses (grown by the Dutch) had a carbon footprint six times higher than those( produced in Kenya.)]
解析
1. 副詞surprisingly放句首修飾逗點後面整句，也就是這所大學的研究結果讓大家跌破眼鏡，凡是修飾整句的副詞一定要放句首，也要用逗號和句子隔開。
例如
Frankly, I lose confidence in him. 老實說，我對他失去信心了。
2. 後面的those是roses的代名詞，也就是拿荷蘭所種的玫瑰跟肯亞的相比。要注意同類的東西才能做比較，即「人對人」與「物對物」
例如
The climate of Kaohsiung is much hotter than Keelung. 高雄的天氣比基隆熱多了。
3. 你可能不認識什麼是carbon footprint，但是從關鍵字來看，carbon是炭，跟前一句的environment與後一句的energy、heat，應該可以推理出與環保相關。所謂carbon footprint就是一個活動或產品的整個生命週期過程所直接或間接產生的溫室效應氣體排放量。就距離來看，肯亞玫瑰遠從千里而來，於理來說排放的二氧化碳排放量應該遠高於荷蘭玫瑰，但事實卻並非如此。
以上，希望文章的內容有助於大家準備托福閱讀，祝考試順利!
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