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说明文（提供信息的文章）旨在告诉读者关于事件、物体或人物的相关信息，涉及从自然科学到人文社科的各类话题。
※说明文的主旨非常清晰明了，即作者只是告诉读者发生了什么事或是介绍一个东西、一个人，并不会为其争辩或解释原因。
※从结构上来说，这类文章的主题句并不好找，不会是开头段或结尾段的一句话，而是分散在各个段落里，需要理清线索逐个寻找。
※由于是提供信息的文章，所以态度题所涉及的形容词往往是中性的、没有明显倾向的。这类文章往往会避免使用有强烈态度倾向的形容词或表达。
※说明文的结构往往是在开头段进行相关背景知识介绍或提供理解相关信息需要的上下文，其作用是引导接下来的文章。说明文主体段落会对信息进行逐一介绍，往往按照从概括到细节的顺序。该类文章可以不需要总结段，把需要说明的信息说明清楚即可。
※在回答主旨大意类题目时，如果两个选项在文章中都有大量涉及，我们需要关注文章在哪个方面投入较多文字。投入较多的就是这篇文章的主旨大意。
一般来说，阅读考试中的说明文篇幅较长、段落较多，一篇文章四个段落是很常见的结构。总而言之，在阅读说明文的同时问自己三个问题：
※文章的主题是什么？
※文章的主旨大意是什么？
※作者的态度是什么？
Passage 1
Now answer the following questions…
⊙ What is the author’s topic?
⊙ What is the author saying about these topics, or what is the main idea of the passage?
⊙ What is the author’s purpose in this passage?
1. Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
（A） Traditional ways of celebrating the Day of the Dead are becoming less popular.
（B） Social gatherings might be the best way to celebrate the Day of the Dead.
（C） Guatemalans have developed unusual ways to make kites.
（D） Kites are uniquely used to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Guatemala.
（E） The Day of the Dead originates from various Latin American beliefs.
2. This passage would most likely appear in a
（A） personal letter （B） newspaper
（C） textbook （D） research journal
（E） instruction manual
Passage 2
Now answer the following questions…
⊙ What is the author’s topic?
⊙ What is the author saying about these topics, or what is the main idea of this passage?
⊙ What is the author’s purpose in this passage?
1. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
（A） Anglophones in Montreal often feel uneasy with the dominance of French.
（B） Street signs in Montreal are in French only.
（C） The wealthy social elite in Montreal are composed of native French speakers.
（D） The Quebec government is trying to force Anglophones to leave the province.
（E） Montreal has many native speakers of English, Italian, Greek, and Chinese in addition to French.
2. If an Anglophone family from Montreal wished to raise children in their hometown, which of the following would they likely prefer?
（A） Their children are sent to a Frenchspeaking school where they struggle with communicationand possibly discrimination.
（B） They travel to an English-speaking province of Canada.
（C） They go through the application process to secure an English-language education for their children.
（D） They petition the Canadian federal government to change language policies in Quebec.
（E） They move south across the border to the United States.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that many Anglophone Montrealers believe some in the Francophone community
（A） wish to learn English themselves
（B） look down on immigrants from outside Canada
（C） dislike the presence of English speakers in the city
（D） are envious of the prestige of McGill University
（E） identify strongly with the Democratic Republic of the Congo
4. According to the passage, Anglophones who graduate from McGill University often
（A） learn French at language schools
（B） earn less over their lifetimes than Francophones
（C） come from non-white ethnic backgrounds
（D） find employment outside Quebec
（E） switch from technology fields to finance or law
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the Quebec government
（A） maintains close ties with the French government
（B） is largely influenced by Francophone interests
（C） is working to develop Anglophone centers outside Montreal
（D） lacks crucial funding for education
（E） determines the hours of operation for shops and restaurants
6. The tone of the passage is primarily
（A） personal and nostalgic
（B） alarmed and polemical
（C） light and teasing
（D） objective yet cautionary
（E） didactic yet callous
Passage 1
1. The author’s use of which of the following words is an example of a word play?
（A） tough (line 1) （B） numerous (line 5)
（C） club (line 13) （D） weather (line 22)
（E） endured (line 24)
2. In which of the following does the author speak of the giant armadillo as if it were human?
（A） “It’s still widely considered to be endangered.”
（B） “Does the giant armadillo wish it were even bigger, more able to defend itself, even from humans?”
（C） “That makes this supersized armadillo around 20 times heavier than its so-called ‘giant’relative.”
（D） “Its gargantuan proportions may actually have hurt its chances.”
（E） “Giant armadillos endured this tumultuous time, but are still struggling today.”
3. “Trawled through” (line 9) could be replaced by which of the following without changing the author’s meaning?
（A） Struggled near （B） Stormed about
（C） Shuffled over （D） Slipped onto
（E） Searched across
4. In line 18, “it” refers to
（A） a small car （B） proportions
（C） the glyptodont （D） natural foes
（E） protection
5. The passage contains information to answer which of the following questions?
（A） How long is the giant armadillo?
（B） How did the glyptodont protect itself?
（C） What did the glyptodont use its club for?
（D） Why is the giant armadillo valuable on the black market?
（E） What is main reason for the giant armadillo’s endangerment?
Passage 2
6. This passage is mainly about the
（A） snow falls necessary for skiing
（B） discovery of lead in the Silver Valley
（C） disruption dams can cause to communities
（D） economy of the Silver Valley region
（E） spirit of competition between north and south Idaho
7. It can be inferred from the passage that one of the reasons behind the decline of the Silver Valley’s mining communities was
（A） the realization that gold deposits were not as large as previously thought
（B） the breakout of violence between workers and strike breakers
（C） the lack of economic viability of many mining ventures
（D） the building of the Milner Dam
（E） environmental concerns about the Bunker Hill complex
8. The style of the passage is most like that found in a
（A） historical journal （B） worker’s memoir
（C） short story （D） company mission statement
（E） newspaper editorial
9. The author’s attitude toward the Coeur d’Alene region of the late 1900s may best be described as one of
（A） genuine horror （B） tense concern
（C） delighted fascination （D） subdued admiration
（E） satirical dismissal
10. It can be inferred from the passage that mine owners in the Silver Valley before 1892
（A） were concerned about the possibility of a new gold rush
（B） had made fortunes investing in agriculture
（C） found machines more cost-effective than human labor for certain tasks
（D） moved to the region for its natural beauty and recreational opportunities
（E） acquiesced readily to workers’ wage demands
Passage 3
11. The author’s main purpose for writing the passage is most likely to
（A） criticize an outdated theory
（B） explain the proper use of a new technology
（C） report a discovery that undermines a theory
（D） identify contradictions in a new theory
（E） describe an innovative type of research
12. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
（A） The moon was formed after several large collisions.
（B） The moon’s water likely originated from Earth.
（C） Until the 1970s scientists thought the moon contained no water.
（D） The moon was formed less than 5 billion years ago.
（E） Earth’s water originated from extraterrestrial sources.
13. In line 9 the word “fingerprint” is an example of
（A） personification （B） exaggeration
（C） irony （D） humor
（E） metaphor