第二节 完成句子填空题

一、题型介绍

完成句子填空题的每个题目都是一个陈述句，但在句子的开头、中间或结尾处留有一个空格，要求考生根据文章填空或者从给出的几个选项中选择一个和句子内容相匹配的选项。

完成句子填空题也是雅思阅读A类考试中难度较大的一种题型。在Cambridge IELTS 8至Cambridge IELTS 13的960道A类阅读题目中，有122道是完成句子填空题。

二、答题步骤

（1）首先分析所给句子的关键词。关键词大多数情况下是句子的主语以及重要动词。

（2）利用关键词在文章中找出相关的句子。注意关键词在文章中可能会以同义替换的形式出现。

（3）阅读文章中相关的句子，从中选取适合填入题目空格处的词汇。如果完成句子填空题是以选择题的形式出现的，那么则要根据文章中相关的句子从选项中选取答案。

三、注意事项

（1）所填（选）答案必须符合语法。

（2）如果题目要求填写词汇，答案则来自原文，并且答案字数要符合题目中的字数限制。

四、真题示例

Example 1（Cambridge IELTS 11 Test 4 READING PASSAGE 2 Questions 23-26）

【真题回顾】

READING PASSAGE 2

An Introduction to Film Sound

Though we might think of film as an essentially visual experience, we really cannot afford to underestimate the importance of film sound. A meaningful sound track is often as complicated as the image on the screen, and is ultimately just as much the responsibility of the director. The entire sound track consists of three essential ingredients: the human voice, sound effects and music. These three tracks must be mixed and balanced so as to produce the necessary emphases which in turn create desired effects. Topics which essentially refer to the three previously mentioned tracks are discussed below. They include dialogue, synchronous and asynchronous sound effects, and music.

Let us start with dialogue. As is the case with stage drama, dialogue serves to tell the story and expresses feelings and motivations of characters as well. Often with film characterization the audience perceives little or no difference between the character and the actor. Thus, for example, the actor Humphrey Bogart is the character Sam Spade;film personality and life personality seem to merge. Perhaps this is because the very texture of a performer's voice supplies an element of character.

When voice textures fit the performer's physiognomy and gestures, a whole and very realistic persona emerges. The viewer sees not an actor working at his craft, but another human being struggling with life. It is interesting to note that how dialogue is used and the very amount of dialogue used varies widely among films. For example, in the highly successful science-fiction film 2001, little dialogue was evident, and most of it was banal and of little intrinsic interest. In this way the film-maker was able to portray what Thomas Sobochack and Vivian Sobochack call, in An Introduction to Film, the“inadequacy of human responses when compared with the magnificent technology created by man and the visual beauties of the universe”.

【答案解析】

24 The audience's response to different parts of a film can be controlled

答案：C

关键词：audience's response...be controlled

定位句：根据关键词定位到第一段第四行：The entire sound track consists of three essential ingredients: the human voice, sound effects and music. These three tracks must be mixed and balanced so as to produce the necessary emphases which in turn create desired effects．完整的音轨包括三个核心组成元素：人发出的声音、音效和音乐。这三个声道必须融合在一起并彼此平衡调和，这样才能产生必要的侧重点，进而产生理想的效果。

解 析：定位句中的create desired effects指的就是题目中的audience's response...be controlled，定位句中的voice, sound effects...music...be mixed...balanced和选项C中的voice, sound...music are combined appropriately是同义替换，答案就是C。

考 点：同义替换。voice, sound effects...music...be mixed...balanced=voice, sound...music are combined appropriately。

25 The feelings and motivations of characters become clear

答案：A

关键词：feelings、motivations、characters become clear

定位句：根据关键词定位到第二段第一行：As is the case with stage drama, dialogue serves to tell the story and expresses feelings and motivations of characters as well．与舞台戏剧相同，对话的作用也是讲述故事并表达角色的感想和动机。

解 析：题目中的关键词feelings、motivations、characters在定位句中重现，定位句中的dialogue在选项A中重现，答案就是A。

考 点：推理判断。

26 A character seems to be a real person rather than an actor

答案：E

关键词：seems to be...real person

定位句：根据关键词定位到第三段第一行：When voice textures fit the performer's physiognomy and gestures, a whole and very realistic persona emerges．当声音特质配合了表演者的容貌和手势，一个完整而非常真实的人物就出现了。

解 析：定位句中的realistic persona emerges和题目中的seems to be...real person是同义替换，定位句中的when voice textures fit...performer's physiognomy...gestures和选项E中的when...actor's appearance...voice...moves...consistent with each other是同义替换，答案就是E。

考 点：同义替换。when voice textures fit...performer's physiognomy...gestures=when... actor's appearance...voice...moves...consistent with each other。

Example 2（Cambridge IELTS 8 Test 3 READING PASSAGE 1 Questions 4-6）

【真题回顾】

READING PASSAGE 1

Striking Back at Lightning with Lasers

Seldom is the weather more dramatic than when thunderstorms strike. Their electrical fury inflicts death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone. As the clouds roll in, a leisurely round of golf can become a terrifying dice with death—out in the open, a lone golfer may be a lightning bolt's most inviting target. And there is damage to property too. Lightning damage costs American power companies more than $100 million a year.

But researchers in the United States and Japan are planning to hit back. Already in laboratory trials they have tested strategies for neutralising the power of thunderstorms, and this winter they will brave real storms, equipped with an armoury of lasers that they will be pointing towards the heavens to discharge thunderclouds before lightning can strike.

The idea of forcing storm clouds to discharge their lightning on command is not new. In the early 1960s, researchers tried firing rockets trailing wires into thunderclouds to set up an easy discharge path for the huge electric charges that these clouds generate. The technique survives to this day at a test site in Florida run by the University of Florida, with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI), based in California. EPRI, which is funded by power companies, is looking at ways to protect the United States' power grid from lightning strikes.“We can cause the lightning to strike where we want it to using rockets,” says Ralph Bernstein, manager of lightning projects at EPRI. The rocket site is providing precise measurements of lightning voltages and allowing engineers to check how electrical equipment bears up.

Bad behaviour

But while rockets are fine for research, they cannot provide the protection from lightning strikes that everyone is looking for. The rockets cost around $1,200 each, can only be fired at a limited frequency and their failure rate is about 40 per cent. And even when they do trigger lightning, things still do not always go according to plan.“Lightning is not perfectly well behaved,” says Bernstein.“Occasionally, it will take a branch and go someplace it wasn't supposed to go.”

And anyway, who would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area?“What goes up must come down,” points out Jean-Claude Dials of the University of New Mexico. Dials is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely—and safety is a basic requirement since no one wants to put themselves or their expensive equipment at risk. With around $500,000 invested so far, a promising system is just emerging from the laboratory.

The idea began some 20 years ago, when high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions. If a laser could generate a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud, this conducting path could be used to guide lightning to Earth, before the electric field becomes strong enough to break down the air in an uncontrollable surge. To stop the laser itself being struck, it would not be pointed straight at the clouds. Instead it would be directed at a mirror, and from there into the sky. The mirror would be protected by placing lightning conductors close by. Ideally, the cloud-zapper (gun) would be cheap enough to be installed around all key power installations, and portable enough to be taken to international sporting events to beam up at brewing storm clouds.

A stumbling block

However, there is still a big stumbling block. The laser is no nifty portable: it's a monster that takes up a whole room. Diels is trying to cut down the size and says that a laser around the size of a small table is in the offing. He plans to test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds next summer.

【答案解析】

4 EPRI receives financial support from …………… .

答案：power companies

关键词：EPRI、financial support

定位句：根据关键词定位到第三段第五行：EPRI, which is funded by power companies, is looking at ways to protect the United States' power grid from lightning strikes．由电力公司投资的EPRI正致力于研究保护美国输电网不受闪电袭击的方法。

解 析：题目问的是EPRI从哪里获得资金支持，定位句说的是EPRI, which is funded by power companies，这里的EPRI, which is funded by和题目中的EPRI receives financial support from是同义替换，答案就是power companies。

考 点：同义替换。is funded by = receives financial support from

5 The advantage of the technique being developed by Diels is that it can be used…………… .

答案：safely

关键词：technique、Diels、be used

定位句：根据关键词定位到第五段第三行：Dials is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely—and safety is a basic requirement since no one wants to put themselves or their expensive equipment at risk. Diels正在领导一个由ERPI支持的项目，尝试用激光使闪电安全放电——安全是一项基本的要求，因为没有人愿意把他们自己或他们的昂贵设备置于危险之中。

解 析：定位句中的use lasers和题目中的technique … be used是同义替换。题目问的是技术可以被怎样使用。从题目可以看出，空格处要填的是副词，修饰be used。定位句说的是use lasers to discharge lightning safely，该句中的safely就是修饰动词use的副词，答案就是safely。

考 点：（1）同义替换。use lasers = technique ... be used。

（2）推理判断。

6 The main difficulty associated with using the laser equipment is related to its…………… .

答案：size

关键词：main difficulty、laser equipment

定位句：根据关键词定位到最后一段第一行：However, there is still a big stumbling block. The laser is no nifty portable: it's a monster that takes up a whole room. Diels is trying to cut down the size and says that a laser around the size of a small table is in the offing．可是，仍有一个很大的障碍。激光器并不是很方便携带：它是个能占据整个房间的庞然大物。Diels一直想要缩小它的尺寸，并表示很快就会有小型桌子大小的激光器了。

解 析：定位句中的big stumbling block（很大的障碍）和题目中的main difficulty（主要的困难）是同义替换，定位句后面说的是Diels is trying to cut down the size，由此可以推断出，主要的困难就是尺寸太大，答案就是size。

考 点：同义替换。big stumbling block = main difficulty。