大家好，我是SK2的Rosa，
通常同學在做托福閱讀時，都會有個疑惑，
到底什麼叫過度推論，而什麼是合理的推論呢？
最常犯過度推論的題型是閱讀裡面的inference題（推論題），
我以前在準備托福時，也會常常犯這個問題。事實上，程度好的同學特別容易犯過度推論，而且更慘的是，你只要會過度推論，你會發現通常閱讀與聽力，二選一的時候，都是因為這個問題而選錯！但是往好處想，當你今天能夠弄懂過度推論以及合理推論的差別時，閱讀與聽力的分數就會上去了。
因此，今天希望分享推論題的解題技巧，幫助同學順利答題。
推論題，顧名思義，就是在考同學作出適當推論的能力。
而同學為什麼會犯過度推論呢？這是因為在日常生活中，同學習慣犯過度推論，舉例來說，你看見你的朋友滿頭大汗地走進來，你很可能會假設你朋友剛剛去運動了。但事實上，他有可能只是剛搬完家。沒有開口問他流汗的原因，你單從外表是無法確定他為什麼會流汗。托福閱讀便是在考你這樣的能力—從文中作出適當推論的能力。
在開始講解推論題之前，請同學先自己做做看此類題型，從做題目的過程中，也能夠看出一些你的閱讀問題。
♦The areas covered by this material were so vast that the ice that deposited it must have been a continental glacier larger than Greenland or Antarctica. Eventually, Agassiz and others convinced geologists and the general public that a great continental glaciation had extended the polar ice caps far into regions that now enjoy temperate climates. For the first time, people began to talk about ice ages. It was also apparent that the glaciation occurred in the relatively recent past because the drift was soft, like freshly deposited sediment. We now know the age of the glaciation accurately from radiometric dating of the carbon-14 in logs buried in the drift. The drift of the last glaciation was deposited during one of the most recent epochs of geologic time, the Pleistocene, which lasted from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago. Along the east coast of the United States, the southernmost advance of this ice is recorded by the enormous sand and drift deposits of the terminal moraines that form Long Island and Cape Cod.
It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that Agassiz and other geologists of his time were not able to determine
A.which geographic regions had been covered with ice sheets in the last ice age
B.the exact dates at which drifts had been deposited during the last ice age
C.the exact composition of the drifts laid during the last ice age
D.how far south along the east coast of the United States the ice had advanced during the last ice age
接下來我們來看推論題要怎麼解，首先小心該題的常見陷阱：
＊不能用自己的背景知識或是常識判斷選項對錯，而是文中有寫的才能夠選。
只要題目裡面有imply, infer, suggest即為推論題，譬如：
It can be inferred from the paragraph that
Paragraph 5 implies which of the following about
The passage supports which of the following statements about water in the desert?
我們來看推論題的三個步驟，
STEP 1: Skim
請先略讀整段，找找看是否有轉折詞或是態度字？整段在闡述什麼概念？
STEP 2: Simplify
此時，把你剛剛看到的重點記成筆記，如果你剛剛有讀到態度（ex: appealing, debatable）或是看到轉折詞（ex: but），請把該句裡面的重要概念寫下來，如此能夠幫助你刪掉至少兩個以上的錯誤選項、節省做題時間。筆記的重點是盡量簡單，一到兩個字清楚表達概念即可，不要寫一句話，否則會失去記筆記的意義。此步驟重要的原因是因為通常正確答案選項都會跟你剛剛寫下的概念有關。如果你整段沒有看到任何用態度或轉折詞強調的資訊，也可以單純把整段的主旨與目的記下來。
＊此步驟練到答題率很穩定時，能夠改成用想的。
STEP 3: Choose Answer.
由於推論題的答案選項有時候很難判斷得出來，建議使用刪去法作答，會比較有效率。根據你的筆記，先刪掉確定錯的選項。 剩下兩個可以再回去原文找，刪掉最確定錯的那個選項。此外，熟悉此題型的幾種常見錯誤選項，對於答推論題也很有幫助喔！
常見推論題的錯誤選項：
- 有武段語氣字眼的選項： 通常這類題型的語氣不會很強烈，所以只要看到選項裡面有武斷語氣的字眼，通常都是錯的，例如：must, only, always, etc.
- 錯誤比較： 如果文中沒有比較兩個項目，答案選項卻變成比較兩者，就會是錯的，例如：文中顯示Rivers or streams are often found in this area. 選項A)Rivers are more often found in this area than streams.
- 過度推論： 選項描述的範圍大於文中的範圍，即使按照常理是對的，也不能選，例如：文中描述Monkeys can make good use of wooden sticks to dig for food. 選項A) Animals use wooden sticks to find food. 該選項為過度推論，因為我們從文中只能夠判斷猴子會如此，無法判斷其他種動物也會有這個行為。
了解了推論題答題的三步驟後，我們來實際上試試看這題。
It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that Agassiz and other geologists of his time were not able to determine
看到題目裡面有infer的時候，用推論題的解題技巧。
STEP 1: Skim.
♦The areas covered by this material were so vast that the ice that deposited it must have been a continental glacier larger than Greenland or Antarctica. Eventually, Agassiz and others convinced geologists and the general public that a great continental glaciation had extended the polar ice caps far into regions that now enjoy temperate climates. For the first time, people began to talk about ice ages. It was also apparent that the glaciation occurred in the relatively recent past because the drift was soft, like freshly deposited sediment. We now know the age of the glaciation accurately from radiometric dating of the carbon-14 in logs buried in the drift. The drift of the last glaciation was deposited during one of the most recent epochs of geologic time, the Pleistocene, which lasted from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago. Along the east coast of the United States, the southernmost advance of this ice is recorded by the enormous sand and drift deposits of the terminal moraines that form Long Island and Cape Cod.
綠色的是我用題目裡面的關鍵字定位的訊息，黃色的部分是每句話裡面的主要概念，我盡量只抓主要子句裡最重要的概念，抓得少才記得起來。看到有態度字或是轉折詞，我會用紅色標示出來。
不會定位關鍵字嗎？請看以下這篇文章學習如何利用scan節省時間。
閱讀滿分的關鍵祕密 Part 1：學會Scan
STEP 2: Simplify
我會看到Eventually, Agassiz and others convinced geologists and the general public that a great continental glaciation had extended the polar ice caps far into regions that now enjoy temperate climates. 還有We now know the age of the glaciation accurately from radiometric dating of the carbon-14 in logs buried in the drift. 並且認為文中說我們現在知道age of glaciation，代表當時是不知道的，因此，age可能是我們要的訊息，把age寫在筆記紙上面。
STEP 3: Choose Answer.
在看答案選項時，可以先抓出一個主要概念，通常是主要子句裡面的動詞或是受詞。假如主要概念判斷不出來的話，再看選項裡面的細節。這麼做可以簡化選項，因而節省很多時間。
It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that Agassiz and other geologists of his time were not able to determine
A.which geographic regions had been covered with ice sheets in the last ice age
B.the exact dates at which drifts had been deposited during the last ice age
C.the exact composition of the drifts laid during the last ice age
D.how far south along the east coast of the United States the ice had advanced during the last ice age
因此，我只會選B。
建議同學能夠用分類閱讀的方式徹底改善過度推論的問題，先用以上三步驟做五題推論題，然後好好檢討每個錯誤答案選項的類型，以及你選錯的原因。接著，再練五題，並試著內化以上的方法，你會發現推論題也沒有那麼難嘛！
＊同學可以直接上考滿分這個網站或是利用小站托福這個App找閱讀分類題型。
＊假如你發現你做推論題時，會做太久，很可能是你第一個步驟skim會花太多時間，那麼便建議你加強skim的能力，當你很會skim的時候，看任何一個段落時，整段一兩句話的重點會浮現喔！
不會skim嗎？請看以下這篇文章學習如何skim，
閱讀滿分的關鍵祕密 Part 2：學會Skim
記得，閱讀高分的關鍵不只是答對而已喔！還是時間掌控，
要在18分鐘內做完一篇閱讀，就必須要練到在1.5-2分鐘內答完高難度的題型，像是推論題。因此，當你內化上述三步驟，而且答題率很穩定時，請你試著在15分鐘-20分鐘內做完十題推論題。如果時間掌控不好，再回去檢討三步驟，很可能是你skim花太久時間了，或是自己寫下來的想法不夠明確，導致判斷選項時花太多的時間。
加油加油！新年新希望，趁現在一月初好好準備考試，過年時才能夠悠閒地陪伴家人朋友！:D
Cheers,
SK2 Rosa
