“I can’t stop shivering.” Lucy had to speak louder than normal so Gary could hear her over the wind’s caterwaul.

“我不停地打哆嗦。”露西用比平时更大的声音对盖里说道，好让他在狂风呼啸下也能听到。

“Move closer,” Gary said as he tugged gently at her light jacket. The material felt alarmingly flimsy in his hand. He wondered how much longer they’d have to wait until help would come.

“靠过来一点。”盖里轻轻拢了拢她的浅色夹克说道。夹克的料子在他手中显得异常单薄。他想知道，他们还得等多久才能得到解救。

Although you may not realize it, you have made several inferences from the passage above without even trying very much.

虽然你可能没有意识到，你也可以毫不费力地从以上的文章中推论出一些内容。

For example, you probably concluded from the conversation that Lucy and Gary were cold, and that they may be in serious trouble. However, if you look back, you’ll see that there is not direct statement about temperature in the passage. You have determined the information from several clues.

例如，你可以从对话中得出，露西和盖里很冷，他们可能陷入了困境。但是，如果你回顾之前的内容，你会发现文中没有直接交代出温度有多少。你可以从一些线索中断定出一些信息。

What else can you infer from the passage?

你还可以从文中推论出什么？

Are the two inside or outside? Do you think Lucy has prepared herself for this situation? What might her lack of preparedness say about her personality? What do you think of Gary’s personality?

他们两人是在室内还是室外？你觉得露西受得了这个环境吗？她的准备不足说明了她有什么性格特点？你觉得盖里是一个什么样的人？

Most of the information you believe about Gary and Lucy has come from inference.

你得到的关于盖里和露西的大多数的信息都是源于推论。

What Is Inference?

推论是什么？

Inference is what we do when we draw conclusions based on observations and experience.

推论就是我们通过自己的观察和经验得出的结论。

Any time you read, you make inferences about the characters, scenes, and actions. You can do this because you bring a pretty large vocabulary and some life experience with you as you read.

每一次阅读，你都可以对人物、场景和动作做出推论。因为你有相当大的词汇量，以及生活经验，因此阅读的时候可以做出推论。

As you read the passage above, you made inferences about the following:

当你阅读以上的文章时，你可以推论出以下内容。

Pronoun antecedents: In the last sentence (He wondered . . .), you have most likely inferred that the pronoun “he” refers to Gary.

代词：最后一句（he wondered…），你很可能就推论出代词he指代的就是盖里。

Meaning of words from context: Can you define the word caterwaul? You have most likely concluded that it means something similar to howl or scream. If you weren’t familiar with the word before reading the passage, you probably made a conclusion because you are familiar enough with the words that came before and after to determine the meaning of this new word.

文中词语的意思：你能对词语caterwaul下定义吗？你很可能得出结论，它跟嗥叫或尖叫的意思类似。如果你在阅读这篇文章之前对这个词还不熟悉，那么你会在对新词下定义之前或之后得出结论，因为你已经足够熟悉了。

In other words, You determined this from the context of the sentence. You put the clues together to make an educated guess about an unfamiliar word.

换句话说，你可以从文中的句子里得出结论。将线索归在一起，然后对不熟悉的词语做出有根据的推测。

Determine character traits through words, thoughts, and actions: How would you describe Gary’s personality, based on the few sentences above? Is he a cruel person or a kind person? Is he sensitive or uncaring? What clues have led you to your conclusions?

通过词语、观点和动作推断出角色的特点：你会根据以上的句子怎样描述盖里的性格呢？他是一个残忍的人，还是一个和善的人？他是敏锐还是心不在焉？什么样的线索是你得出结论？

Pick up on clues about setting and mood: Is Gary happy, sleep, or worried in the passage? You probably think he’s worried, right? So try to identify the clues that left you with this impression.

手机关于设定和情绪的线索：文中的盖里是高兴的、睡觉的还是焦虑的？你很可能认为他是焦虑的，是吗？所以试着去确认一下给你留下这些印象的线索。

Did you come up with these clues?

你得出这些线索了吗？

1. Lucy’s coat feels alarming flimsy.

露西的外套很单薄。

2. He’s waiting for help to come.

他在等待救援。

Pick up on character flaws or weaknesses: What can a reader conclude from the fact that Lucy is wearing a light jacket that seems to be inadequate for the situation at hand? Not much, to be fair.

找出角色的缺陷或弱点：读者从露西穿着和和环境不协调的浅色外套中可以得出什么结论？不用太多，从公平的角度说即可。

There is simply not enough information in this short passage to help the reader make a reasonable conclusion about Lucy’s personality. However, your brain is doing something interesting as you read. It stores clues.

这篇短文中可能没有足够的信息来帮助读者对露西的性格做出一个合理的结论。但是，你的大脑在你阅读时在作者一些有趣的事，它在储存线索。

As you read long passages, you pick up on subtle hints and store them in your memory. You accumulate these clues and add them together to make further inferences as you read.

当你阅读长篇文章时，你可以收集一些细小的提示，然后将它们记在脑子里。将这些线索聚集起来，放在一起，从而阅读时做出进一步的推论。

Why Does Inference Matter?

推论有什么作用？

Inference is an important ingredient for reading comprehension, but it is impossible to isolate inference as a factor alone. You can’t make inferences if you don’t possess other reading skills, like a strong vocabulary, an understanding of paragraph structure, and a knowledge of the parts of speech.

推论是阅读理解中的一个中药成分，但是它不可能独立而存在。如果你不具备其他的阅读技巧，例如强大的词汇量，对段落的理解以及对词类的了解，你就不能做出推论。

All of your reading skills work in unison as you practice reading. And the more you read, the more you build your reading skills.

在你练习阅读的时候，你所有的阅读技巧都是一致的。你读的越多，建立起来的阅读技巧也就越多。