第二节 暗指题
暗指题的特点是体味"言外之意"，信息只能从字里行间获得。第一节中列举的1、2、3条试题用语就是本类试题中诸多用语的典范。考生得尽自己最大可能与命题人达成"共识"，因为命题人事先确定的非此即错的答案决不允许考生的认识有任何偏差。
解暗指题时必须注意：
1.一定要在语篇整体水平上了解全文；
2.把握文章主题重要细节；
3.分清是明述还是暗指，即：言内还是意外；
4.做选择时，排除干扰信息(次要信息、语义干扰、无关信息)，确定正确信息。
例1.(1996年考题第4篇64题)
......
Why mention the elementary schools? Because thanks to these schools our early mechanics, especially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, were generally literate and at home in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry.
Acute foreign observers related American adaptiveness and inventiveness to this educational advantage. As a member of a British commission visiting here in 1853 reported, "With a mind prepared by thorough school discipline, the American boy develops rapidly into the skilled workman."
......
It is implied that adaptivensess and inventiveness of the early American mechanics _____ .
［A］ benefited a lot from their mathematical knowledge
［B］ shed light on disciplined school management
［C］ was brought about by privileged home training
［D］ owed a lot to the technological development
我们知道解这类题时，一定要在语篇水平上了解全文。本文第一段提问"What accounts for the great outburst of major inventions in early America......?"第二段首句回答"Among the many shaping factors, I would single out the country's elementary schools;..."。第三段解释为什么提到"the elementary schools"，作者指出：由于这些学校的存在，我们的技工们基本上都识文断字，熟知算术及某些几何学与三角学知识。文中的"literate"是受过很好的教育；"were...at home"表"自如；熟悉"。根据"...our early mechanics,...were generally literate and at home in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry."我们判断早期美国技工的适应能力与创造能力在很大程度上得益于数学知识。第四段对此进行了进一步说明。为此，答案为A项。
例2.(1994年考题第4篇64题)
......
This year, 50 percent of the 910,000 people who suffer from cancer will survive at least five years. In the year 2000, the National Cancer Institute estimates, that figure will be 75 percent. For some skin cancers, the fiveyear survival rate is as high as 90 percent. But other survival statistics are still discouraging-13 percent for lung cancer, and 2 percent for cancer of the pancreas (胰腺).......
The author implies that by the year 2000, _____ .
［A］ there will be a drastic rise in the fiveyear survival rate of skincancer patients
［B］ 90 percent of the skincancer patients today will still be living
［C］ the survival statistics will be fairly even among patients with various cancers
［D］ there won't be a drastic increase of survival rate of all cancer patients
解暗指题的关键是区分明述与暗指，而尤为关键的是排除命题人故意设下的"陷井"，即"真明述，假暗指"。解这类题可以通过排除法。本题的解题范围在原文第二段。A项的内容是原文的事实，即：明述。B项属于语义干扰，原文说"For some skin cancers, the fiveyear survival rate is as high as 90 percent"(皮肤癌患者，从做手术到死，存活率为5年的有90%)，但这并不意味着现在的90%的患者还活着。C项中的"fairly even"表示"基本不变"，原文最后一句"But other survival statistics are still discouraging..."只告诉我们各种癌症患者的平均存活率不会有大幅度的增加，但并不等于没有增加，故C项也排除。D项的内容是本段的综合反映。文中说有的存活率很高(90%)，有的很低(2%)，所以综合起来，癌症患者的存活率不会有明显的提高。故正确答案为D项。这里的连词"But"起决定性作用，作者笔锋一转，下边叙述作者的观点。
例3.(1992年考题第1篇32题)
It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol and the quick pace of modern life, but manners on the roads are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men become monsters behind the wheel. It is all very well, again to have a tiger in the tank, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter altogether. You might tolerate the odd roadhog, the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the wellmannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a `Be Kind to Other Drivers' campaign, otherwise it may get completely out of hand
The sentence "You might tolerate the odd roadhog...the rule"(para. 1)implies that _____ .
［A］ our society is unjust towards wellmannered motorists
［B］ rude drivers can be met only occasionally
［C］ the wellmannered motorist cannot tolerate the roadhog
［D］ nowadays impolite drivers constitute the majority of motorists
要判断该题的正确答案，首先必须弄清其字面意思，在语篇水平上了解本文。该句字面意思很简单，即"你可能会容忍怪异的、粗鲁无理、不替别人着想的司机，但是有礼貌的司机对于这个规则来说是个例外"，在此"the rule"指的是其前半句"You might tolerate the odd road hog, the rude and inconsiderate driver"乍一看似乎有些悖于常理，"不替别人着想的司机人们能容忍，而讲礼貌的司机，人们却不能容忍"，而实际上，人们不能容忍讲礼貌的司机是由于很少见到这种司机，也就是说讲礼貌的司机太少了，人们对那些粗鲁的司机已习以为常。因此D项表达了与本句相同的意义。而A项并不是其要暗示的东西；B项恰好与事实相反；C项与事实毫不相干。