命题专家在命制阅读理解试题时，总是会使尽浑身解数以各种方式迷惑考生，为他们选择正确的答案设置各种障碍。以下四大原则就是考研命题专家们最常用的一些方式和手段：
1.语言简化
“语言简化”是命题专家使用语言时所必须遵守的一条重要原则。一般来说，一道题的
四个答案不仅长度差不多，语言的用词水平和语法难度也都差不多。此外，答案的文字难度一般低于文章本身，这也是对考生非常有利的一点，有时候甚至可以通过答案来帮助理解原文。
2.关键词替换
关键词替换是阅读理解题目中出现最频繁的命题原则，一般都会在正确答案中用原文某个关键词的同 义词或者近义词进行替代。或者从更广的意义上来说，有时候命题者会以和原文意思相同但是遣词造句不同的方式来设计正确答案，即用不同的话把原文的某个句子 重述一遍，而错误答案反而往往会看上去和原文差不多，这个时候考生需要仔细阅读加以区别。
【例题】This speeding up of life, says the Futurist, receives a new form of expression。
Futurists claim that we must＿＿＿。(2000年第61题)
[A] increase the production of literature
[B] use poetry to relieve modern stress
[C] develop new modes of expression
[D] avoid using adjectives and verbs
【正确答案】C
3.正话反说
即选择用否定的方式(如双重否定，或者一个否定形式加上另一个否定词如never，none等)来表述文中用肯定方式所表述的本内容，两者的意思是相同的。
【例题】How many men would have considered the possibility of an apple falling up into the tree? Newton did because he was not trying to predict anything. He was just wondering. His mind was ready for the unpredictable. Unpredictability is part of the essential nature of research. If you don’t have unpredictable things, you don’t have research. Scientists tend to forget this when writing their cut and dried reports for the technical journals, but history is filled with examples of it. (1999年第68题)
The author asserts that scientists ________。
[A] shouldn’t replace “scientific method” with imaginative thought
[B] shouldn’t neglect to speculate on unpredictable things
[C] should write more concise reports for technical journals
[D] should be confident about their research findings
【正确答案】B
顾名思义，即文中用否定方式来表述一定的内容，而选项中用肯定的方式把同样的意思在表述一遍。
【例题】Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle。(2000年第54题)
The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to the ________。
[A] turning of the business cycle
[B] restructuring of industry
[C] improved business management
[D] success in education
【正确答案】A
本文由万学海文供稿。
