托福阅读考试中不可忽略的重要标点符号
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托福阅读考试中不可忽略的重要标点符号
托福阅读常见标点符号及作用
冒号在中文或英文中都是一个常见的标点符号，在中英用法上也大致相同。冒号的主要作用有两种：一是用在总说性话语或需要解释的词语后边，引起下文的分说或引出解释和说明;二是引出引语。在托福阅读中，第一种用法对于我们理解文章和解题更加重要。
破折号在托福阅读中也是尤为常见，其主要作用是引入一个解释性的插入语，放在插入语的前面或者后面，破折号中的内容一般是对主句中的某个单词或短语进行修饰或者解释，作用相当于一个括号。考生就可以利用破折号之间的解释来理解主句中的某个概念。
英语中，圆括号最常见的用法是补充说明和解释生词，它们不同于逗号和破折号的用法，去掉后不会影响句子的理解，但是括号内的信息同样对考生的理解有很大的帮助。
案例分析
例1，TPO18阅读 R-3冒号
The negatively charged region is large： several hundred meters thick and several kilometers in diameter.
前半句说带负电negatively charged的区域region非常大，冒号后面描述了负电荷是怎么大，对前半句又进一步的表述。知道冒号的作用对于预测文章下文来说也很重要，前半句是带负电的区域非常大，那冒号后面就是描述如何大。这句话完整的意思是带负电的区域非常大，厚度达数百米，直径达几千米。因此冒号对于理解文章来说有很大的帮助。
例2，TPO19阅读 R-3-破折号
The fossils buried in Pleistocene and earlier ocean sediments were of foraminifera—small, single-celled marine organisms that secrete shells of calcium carbonate, or calcite.
在本句话中foraminifera—small，single-celled marine organisms，small和single
对foraminifera和single进一步进行描述，埋在更新世时期的化石和更早的海洋沉积物是有孔虫类 ，它们是一种小的单细胞海洋生物，会分泌碳酸钙壳或者方解石。帮助我们进一步了解孔虫类foraminifera。
例3，TPO20-3 Fossil Preservation-圆括号
来自第七段中的两句话The Middle Eocene Messel Shale(from about 48 million years ago)of Germany accumulated in such an environment. Among the superbly preserved Messel fossils are insects with iridescent exoskeletons(hard outer coverings),frogs with skin and blood vessels intact, and even entire small mammals with preserved fur and soft tissue.
from about 48 million years ago对于前面的The Middle Eocene Messel Shale做了详细的解释，hard outer coverings对iridescent exoskeletons进一步进行解释。
在本篇文章的第11题中的四个选项中，通过定位答案为D选项，但是如果利用排除法的话就需要结合括号中的信息，对于主题句进一步的解释，帮助我们更好的理解段落主题。
托福阅读练习：女性28岁时最幸福
Women are at their happiest at the age of 28, a study has found.
Researchers discovered women feel most confident and happy with their love life and body shape shortly before they reach 30.
It is also the period in their life when they enjoy the best sex – but the happiness is relatively shortlived.
Because by the time they have turned 30 they start worrying about growing old and developing grey hair and wrinkles.
A spokesman for home hair colour brand Clairol Perfect 10, which carried out the study of 4,000 women, said: "Everything in life hits its peak at some point, and nearly reaching your thirties isn't so bad now.
"The age of 28 has been pinpointed as the time in a woman's life their hair looks the best, body shape is at its peak and confidence is at an all-time high.
The survey of 25-65 year olds recorded the age at which women were most content in 12 key areas of their life.
According to the results, women are happiest in their career at 29 and most content with their relationships one year later at 30, despite having the best sex at 28.
But all is not lost for the over 30s, as women feel most content with their financial situation at 33 and at ease with their home and family life at 32.
The research found two thirds of women feel they age more quickly than men. It also emerged that 56 per cent of women worry about losing their looks as they get older
But drinking from the fountain of youth doesn't come cheap as the average woman will spend ￡600 every year on beauty products in a bid to stay looking young.
The research also found women spend over five days a year on their beauty routine – an average of 22 minutes every day.
Vocabulary:
shortlived：living or lasting only a little while(短暂的)
fountain of youth：青春泉，长生不老泉(传说饮此泉者可恢复健康和返老还童，长生不老)
一项最新研究表明，女性在28岁时最幸福。
研究人员发现，在即将“奔三”之际，女性对自己的爱情生活最自信，感觉最幸福，同时也对自己的身材最满意。
也正是在这段时期，女性享受到质量最高的性生活，但这种幸福感持续的时间相对较短。
因为到那时，已届30岁的女性们开始担心衰老、长白头发和出现皱纹。
国内染发品牌“伊卡璐10分钟快速完美染发”对4千位女性进行了此项调查，该品牌的一位发言人说：“人生的每种经历都在某一时期达到顶点，现在看来，接近30岁并没有那么糟。”
“28岁被认定为女性一生之中头发最健康，身材最棒，最自信的年龄。”
受访女性年龄在25岁至65之间，研究人员记录了她们何时对生活中12个最关键的领域感觉最满足。
结果显示，女性29岁时在职场最开心，一年之后的30岁时对感情生活最满足，而在28岁时性生活质量最高。
但对女性来说，过了30岁也不会失去一切。女性在33岁时对经济状况最满意，在32岁时感觉家庭生活最舒心。
研究结果表明，2/3的女性认为自己比男性衰老更快。结果还表明，56%的女性担心随着年龄的增大，自己容颜尽失。
但想要容颜永驻可不便宜。为了看上去一直年轻，每位普通女性每年会花费600英镑购买美容产品。
研究还发现，女性每年用于日常美容的时间累计多于5天，平均每天22分钟。
托福阅读练习：你是否适合创业
Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009).
Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only do you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it's mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets.
创业很像当父母。你不仅要在感情上和财务上为自己的企业做好准备，还必须满足它持续不断的需求，直到它足够成熟可以自行运转。即便到了那个时候(很像长大的孩子)，它仍然总是需要你投入一定的精力，无论它有多么成熟。
Here are five questions to ask before you start your own business:
在你考虑自立门户之前，不妨问问自己以下五个问题：
1. Am I passionate about my product or service? 我对自己的产品或者服务充满热情吗?
Let's face it: the start-up phase is stressful. You will find yourself questioning whether you've made the right decision, especially when the hours are long and the initial profits (if any) are lean. As the business owner, you're also chief salesperson for your company. Your enthusiasm for your product or service— whether it's hand-knit sweaters or top-notch tax preparation— is often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors. It's unwise to start down the path of entrepreneurship unless you've got a zeal that will get you through rough patches and keep you interested long after the initial enthusiasm has faded.
让我们直面这样的事实：创业初期你会面临压力很大。你会发现自己在不断质疑是否做出了正确的决策，尤其是在工作时间很长、但最初的利润却很少的情况下。作为企业所有人，你还是企业的主要销售人员。你对于自己产品或者服务──无论它是手织毛衫还是一流的税务服务──的热情常常是抓住客户、取得合约以及吸引投资者的与众不同之处。除非你抱有能够帮助自己度过艰难时日并且在最初的热情逐渐消退之后的很长时间里仍能保持浓厚兴趣的热忱，否则开始创业之路将是不明智的选择。
2. What is my tolerance for risk? 我容忍风险的程度如何?
Whether it's quitting your day job or signing a lease on a new space, nothing about starting a business is for the faint of heart. Just ask Ina Garten, who bought a specialty-foods store called The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, in 1978 and has since branched out into cookbooks, television and a line of products. Garten tells aspiring entrepreneurs that you have to 'be willing to jump off the cliff and figure out how to fly on the way down.' Even with enough passion to launch a thousand ventures, you could find any number of circumstances hastening your failure: a location that turns out to be less than ideal, a problem with city or state zoning boards or a kink in the supply chain that can't easily be ironed out. There's no guarantee of success, or even a steady paycheck. If you're risk-averse, entrepreneurship probably isn't the right path for you.
无论是辞掉平日的工作，还是签署新的租约，创业的方方面面都不是为意志薄弱的人准备的。问问艾娜 加滕(Ina Garten)就好了。她在1978年买下了纽约州东汉普敦的一家特色食品商店The Barefoot Contessa，从此一发不可收拾，扩展至烹饪书籍、电视等领域，并推出了一系列产品。加滕告诉那些满怀抱负的企业家，你必须“愿意跳下悬崖，搞清楚在下降的过程中如何飞行。”即便你有足够的热情推出一千家企业，你还是可能会发现加速失败的各种情形：不太理想的地点，与城市或者州分区有关的麻烦，无法轻易摆脱的供应链问题等等。没有成功的保证，甚至是稳定的薪水。如果你不愿冒险，创业恐怕不是适合你走的路。
3. Am I good at making decisions? 我善于做出决策吗?
No one else is going to make them for you when you own your own business. Consider how you might handle these early decisions: Do I work from home or do I lease office space? Do I hire employees? Do I pursue high-end clients or sell to the masses? Do I incorporate? Do I advertise? Do I borrow money from friends or family? Do I use my entire savings? Keep in mind that the decision-making process only gets more complicated as time goes on, once you have employees or clients depending on you. The choices you make can lead to success or downfall, so you must feel confident in your ability to make the right call.
当你拥有自己的企业后，别人不会为你做出决策。想想你可能会怎么应对这些早期的决策：我是在家办公，还是在外租用办公室?我要不要雇佣员工?我要争取高端客户，还是面向大众销售?我要不要组建法人公司?我要不要打广告?我要不要从朋友或者家人那里借钱?我要不要用掉自己所有的积蓄?记住，一旦你开始有员工或者客户依赖于你，决策的过程只会随着时间的推移愈加复杂。你所做出的决策可能会直接导致成功或者失败，因此你必须对自己做出正确决策的能力充满信心才行。
4. Am I willing to take on numerous responsibilities? 我愿意承担多方面的责任吗?
While a corporate employee focuses on a special skill or role within the larger corporation, a business owner must contribute everything to the business. Solo entrepreneurs in particular must be versatile and play a number of roles, from chief salesperson and bookkeeper to head marketer and bill collector. If juggling many roles doesn't suit you, entrepreneurship probably won't, either. The recent economic downturn has made it more important than ever for business owners to have a good working knowledge of their companies' finances. While you will undoubtedly learn much on this topic from getting your hands dirty, the more knowledge you have in advance, the better prepared you'll be.
虽然企业的员工往往会关注一种特殊的技能或者角色，但是企业主必须为企业尽其所能。尤其是单打独斗的创业者必须是多面手，发挥多种作用，从销售、会计，到市场营销、收款，他要无所不能。如果在许多角色之间不断转换不适合你的话，创业可能也不会适合你。最近的经济衰退更使企业主深谙企业财务变得无比重要。虽然你无疑将会从实践中不断学习财务知识，但是你提前知道的越多，你就越有准备。.
5. Will I be able to avoid burnout? 我能够避免身心透支吗?
Working seven days a week, losing touch with friends, abandoning old hobbies and interests and not making time for loved ones can quickly lead to burnout in the midst of starting up— and ultimately to business failure. That's what happened to James Zimbardi, an entrepreneur in Orlando, Florida, who says he didn't know any better when he started his first company in 1997 and worked as hard as possible, for as long as possible, until his creativity, enthusiasm and energy were sapped. By 2002, he was a broken man— the business took a downturn, and so did his personal life. Now Zimbardi is at work on his second company, Allgen Financial Services, and sticking to better habits to maintain work/life balance, such as not working on Sundays, making time for hobbies such as sailing and salsa dancing, and building close ties with other business owners through a faith-based support network.
一周七天整日忙于工作，与朋友失去联系，放弃原来的爱好和兴趣，无法为自己所爱的人抽出时间，这些都可能会很快导致创业过程中的身心透支──并且最终导致企业破产。这正是佛罗里达州奥兰多的创业者詹姆斯 辛巴迪(James Zimbardi)的经历。辛巴迪说，他在1997年成立自己第一家公司的时候懵懵懂懂，只会拼命努力工作，废寝忘食，直到他的创造力、热情和精力消失殆尽。到2002年的时候，他已经是一个散了架的人──企业陷入了低迷期，而他的个人生活也遭遇了挫折。如今，辛巴迪正在组建他的第二家公司Allgen Financial Services，这次他坚持保持良好的习惯维持工作、生活平衡，比如说周日不工作，为帆船和风情拉丁舞等爱好留出时间，通过一个宗教信仰支持网络与其他企业主建立密切的关系等等。
Take some time to mull over these questions, do some soul-searching, and then if you think you have what it takes, go for it.
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