四级改革后,记叙文体裁的文章出现的频率越来越高,尤其是仔细阅读和快速阅读部分。记叙文体裁能很好地考查考生捕捉具体信息、把握主旨大意方面的能力。无论是说明文、议论文还是记叙文,最常用的阅读方法是一样的,即详读、略读和跳读。一般来说,在记叙文当中,如果题目考查的是具体的信息点,比如年代、数据、方法步骤等,采取详读的策略；如果考查主旨大意,一般采取略读的策略；如果考查考生迅速找到主要信息点的能力,建议采用跳读的策略。当然,必要的时候,多种阅读方法并用。下面我们以具体的试题为例探讨解决记叙文难题的可行性方法。例:
　　Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality, but when it comes to my college education I am an idealist and a fool. In high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and, of course, any sensible student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, famous reputation and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that’s not what I did.
　　I chose to study engineering at a small liberal arts university that doesn’t even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren’t studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a sensible choice. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I believed them.
　　I headed off to college being sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering "factories" where they didn’t care if you have values or were flexible. I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist all in one.
　　Now I’m not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideals crashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile(协调)engineering with liberal arts courses in college.
　　The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don’t mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways; together they threaten to confuse. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult.
　　1. The author chose to study engineering at a small liberal arts university because he _______.
　　A) wanted to be an example of practicality and rationality
　　B) intended to be a combination of engineer and humanist
　　C) wanted to coordinate engineering with liberal arts courses in college
　　D) intended to be a sensible student with noble ideals
　　2. According to the author, by interacting with people who study liberal arts, engineering students can _______.
　　A) balance engineering and the liberal arts
　　B) receive guidance in their careers
　　C) become noble idealists
　　D) broaden their horizons
　　3. In the eyes of the author, a successful engineering student is expected _______.
　　A) to have an excellent academic record
　　B) to be wise and mature
　　C) to be imaginative with a value system to guide him
　　D) to be a technical genius with a wide vision
　　4. The author’s experience shows that he was _______.
　　A) creative
　　B) ambitious
　　C) unrealistic
　　D) irrational5. The word "they" in "... together they threaten to confuse."(Line 7, Para.5) refers to _______.
　　A) engineering and the liberal arts
　　B) reality and noble ideals
　　C) flexibility and a value system
　　D) practicality and rationality　　
　　解析:
　　1. B)。本题考查细节的关键词,采用跳读加详读的阅读策略。根据liberal arts定位在第二段中的两个wanted 。此处讲"我"想成为一个工程师和人文主义者的结合体。故选B)。
　　2. D)。根据题干,迅速锁定第二段中"I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren’t studying science or engineering."。此处讲与非工科学生交流可以开阔"我"的视野,拓宽"我"的想象力。故选D)。
　　3. D)。根据题干中"successful"和"expected",锁定在第三段中"I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist all in one."此处讲在作者看来,一个完美的工程师应该是拥有宽广视野的技术天才。故选D)。
　　4. C)。根据题干中"experience"锁定倒数第二段中。此处讲在实现高尚理想的路途中,作者遭遇了"现实"的撞击。他试图平衡对文理科的学习,但是实际操作起来很困难,不是很现实。故选C)。
　　5. A)。根据题干锁定最后一段可知,此处讲工科和文科不像"我"在高中时期想的那样简单地混合在一起。它们分别以不同的方式塑造一个人。故此处的they指的是工科和文科。故选A)。

　　一般情况下,选词填空题中选用记叙文的可能性非常大。在做记叙文体裁的选词填空时,可以根据词性、时态、上下文、单复数等确定答案。具体步骤:
　　1. 首先了解主旨大意。一篇文章的主题思想通常要么出现在开头(开门见山),要么出现在文章的结尾,或者是每段的第一句连接在一起的意思。考生可以通过把握文章的主旨大意更好地理解全文。
　　2. 分析空格处所需要的词性。分析空缺,确定词性。根据上下文、语境、词组搭配等,加以排除法,确定答案。
　　3. 把选中的词套入原文,从上下文和语义上把握准确性。　　
　　Tryout
　　Years ago, doctors often said that pain was a normal part of life. In particular, when older patients 1 of pain, they were told it was a natural part of aging and they would have to learn to live with it.
　　Times have changed. Today, we take pain 2 . Indeed, pain is now considered the fifth vital sign, as important as blood pressure, temperature, breathing rate and pulse in 3 a person’s well-being. We know that chronic (慢性的) pain can disrupt (扰乱) a person’s life, causing problems that 4 from missed work to depression.
　　That’s why a growing number of hospitals now depend upon physicians who 5 in pain medicine. Not only do we evaluate the cause of the pain, which can help us treat the pain better, but we also help provide comprehensive therapy for depression and other psychological and social 6 related to chronic pain. Such comprehensive therapy often 7 the work of social workers, psychiatrists (心理医生) and psychologists, as well as specialists in pain medicine.
　　This modern 8 for pain management has led to a wealth of innovative treatments which are more effective and with fewer side effects than ever before. Decades ago, there were only a 9 number of drugs available, and many of them caused 10 side effects in older people, including dizziness and fatigue. This created a doubleedged sword: the medications helped relieve the pain but caused other problems that could be worse than the pain itself. 　　
　　A) result I) determining
　　B) involves J) limited
　　C) significant K) gravely
　　D) range L) complained
　　E) relieved M) respect
　　F) issues N) prompting
　　G) seriously O) specialize
　　H) magnificent　　
　　答案&解析
　　1. L)。此处需要一个动词。此处考查complain of sth的用法，意为“诉说（病情或病痛）”。此处讲当老年病人诉说疼痛时，医生会告诉他们病痛是一个自然的老化过程，他们要学会泰然处之。故选L)。
　　2. G)。此处需要一个副词。此处考查take ... seriously的用法，意为“认真地对待……”。根据“Times have changed.”可知，时过境迁，现在的人们认真对待病痛。故选G)。
　　3. I)。此处需要一个动词。此处讲疼痛被视为和血压、体温、呼吸频率和脉搏同等重要的第五大健康标志。故选I)。
　　4. D)。此处需要一个动词。此处考查range from ... to ...的用法，意为“从……到……之间的多类事物”。此处讲慢性疼痛扰乱人的生活，导致从失业到抑郁症的一系列问题。故选D)。
　　5. O)。此处需要一个动词。此处考查specialize in ... 的用法，意为“专门研究……”。此处讲那就是为什么越来越多的医院依赖专门研究止痛药的医生。故选O)。
　　6. F)。此处需要一个名词。此处考查social issues的意思“社会问题”。此处讲“我们”不仅评估疼痛的原由，“我们”还提供治疗抑郁症以及解决其他与慢性疼痛有关的心理和社会问题的方案。故选F)。
　　7. B)。此处需要一个动词。此处讲这些广泛的治疗方案将涵盖社会工作者、心理医生、心理专家和研究止痛药的专家的工作。故选B)。
　　8. N)。此处需要一个名词。此处讲这种推动治疗疼痛的趋势带来了大量的创新治疗方法——它们既有好的效果，副作用也小。故选N)。
　　9. J)。此处需要一个形容词。此处讲几十年前只有数量有限的药物可供使用。故选J)。
　　10. C)。此处需要一个形容词。此处讲几十年前的药物不仅数量少而且还对老年人产生显著的副作用。故选C)。