该题型要求考生理解各个论点或观点的重点和含义，判断支持论点的合适的例证、论据并发挥推理判断和分析归纳的能力，推断相关论点或对观点的进一步阐述及说明。

一篇文章的每一个段落只有一个主题。段落主题可能是显性的（有鲜明的主题句），也可能是隐性的（主题隐含在细节的描述中），但段落的展开却紧紧围绕这一个中心，并服务于这个中心，或陈述其原因，或叙述其结果，或罗列事实，或举例论证。

段落的展开一般遵循以下五种方法：

1.分类法

这种方法常用于阐述某一概念。它通过概念中所包括的事物进行分门别类，分别加以叙述，使考生对这一概念的认识更加清晰。如段落小标题中有various forms of communication（各种交流方式）等词，那么，作者就有可能将其分为oral speech（口语）, sign language（符号语言）等加以阐述。

【真题回放】

Marc Veyrat, who this year became the first man to be awarded 20/20 by Gault Millau, said chefs at this level were “like fragile little boys, under pressure from all sides: from ourselves, to do better every time; from the public; and then, when we've reached the summit, from the guides and the critics, swords of Damocles hanging over our heads……because for us, where we are now, there's only one way to go.”

分析　本段采用分类法展开。主要谈到了来自各方面的压力；冒号后面的部分就分别从自身、公众、各家指南及各路评论家三个方面进行了阐述，以此说明压力的来源。

2.举例法

指用典型、具体而生动的事例来证明、阐述一个观点，支持文章标题。这种方法通常用于主题比较抽象的文章中，通过使抽象意义具体化而使文章通俗易懂并具有说服力。

【真题回放】

Put yourself first

In order to write a resume others will read with enthusiasm, you have to feel important about yourself. A woman once told me about a cash-flow crisis her employer had faced. She'd agreed to work without pay for three months until business improved. Her reward was her back pay plus a 20 percent bonus. I asked why that marvelous story wasn't in her resume. She answered, “It wasn't important.” What she was really saying of course was “I'm not important.”

分析　小标题Put yourself first意思是把自己放在最前面。段首句进一步解释这一观点“要想让自己的简历使看的人充满热情，你首先就要觉得自己是个人物”。接着以一个女士的例子说明了不要认为自己做过的事情不值一提，瞧不起自己的人不会得到别人的重视。这一例子从反面支持了段落标题。

3.列举法(www.daowen.com)

列举法是指在文章中用一个个细节来对标题所体现的主题思想进行说明的方法。列举法的使用会使文章显得思路清晰、有条有理。

【真题回放】

Successful safety programs may differ greatly in the emphasis placed on certain aspects of the program. Some place great emphasis on mechanical guarding. Others stress safe work practices by observing rules or regulations. Still others depend on an emotional appeal to the worker. But, there are certain basic ideas that must be used in every program if maximum results are to be obtained.

分析　段首句提出了段落的主题思想：成功的安全计划可能在对项目的重点放置上大不相同；接着后面用列举的方法从三个方面详细地对段落主题中所提到的不同之处（differ）进行说明：Some……Others……Still others……。

4.因果法

因果法即通过分析事物发展的原因和结果将文章标题阐述清楚的一种方法。因果法有两种：先因后果和先果后因。

【真题回放】

A few premiers are suspicious of any federal provincial deal-making. They（particularly Quebec and Alberta）just want Ottawa to fork over additional billions with few, if any, strings attached. That's one reason why the idea of a national list hasn't gone anywhere, while drug costs keep rising fast.

分析　本段先谈到一些省府官员对联邦地方联合交易方式持怀疑态度。他们（尤其是魁北克与阿尔伯塔）只希望加拿大政府尽量无条件地支付额外的几十亿款项。最后一句谈到了他们那样做所导致的结果：建立全国性的代理机构这一想法难以推广，而药价会持续快速上涨。其中的that’s one reason why……表明前后是原因结果的关系。

5.比较、对比法

比较、对比法即在文章中对两个或两个以上不同种类事物之间的共同点或不同点进行阐述的方法，或者进行整体对比和比较，或者是进行逐项的对比和比较。

【真题回放】

Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be outraged. Such behavior is regarded as “all too human，”with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it all too monkey, as well.

分析　该段先讲到人在面临不公平待遇时的气愤情绪，后又提到了猴子身上也有这样的情况，将人和猴子作比较。