(1) Connections between nouns, verbs, adjectives, and non-associative adverbs
In a sense, the relationship between cloze tests and reading comprehension is the closest. In fact, the first hurdle of a cloze test is reading comprehension, or rather, reading comprehension is part of the cloze test, with the tested reading comprehension ability permeating the solving process of each small question. The primary step in solving cloze questions is to clearly understand the main idea of the passage.
During the review process, similar words can be grouped together. This learning method not only helps reduce the possibility of confusion but also strengthens memory while improving learning efficiency. If some students are suitable for this memory and learning style, it can enhance their interest and confidence in learning English.
In basic vocabulary collocations, there are mainly two types of relationships: verb relationships and modifier relationships. Verb relationships refer to the subject-predicate or verb-object relationships formed by verbs and nouns. For example, in Chinese expressions like "dragon soars and tiger leaps," "chickens fly and dogs jump," and "people fall off and horses tumble," swapping the nouns inside would result in ridicule. Modifier relationships refer to adjectives modifying nouns or adverbs modifying verbs. For instance, in phrases like "fox borrows tiger's might," "pigs are mean and dogs are dangerous," and "graceful cranes wear hats," swapping the objects being modified also leads to nonsensical results. In English, such collocation relationships are presented in another form of text, which often leaves many candidates at a loss.
(2) Connections after replacing simple thoughts with complex components
Most cloze fill-ins are limited by multiple related known information points, and these multiple related known information points are often distributed on three levels, appearing alternately. The key to cracking a cloze passage is to grasp the effective information after reading. And the grasp of this effective information again comes back to the most basic point - the mastery of vocabulary. However, with the above methods, we believe that our fear of cloze fill-ins will decrease. By carefully studying and mastering these methods, one can also supplement them through extensive practice, find exceptions, and discover methods suitable for oneself. Thus, we will feel more comfortable with the cloze section in the postgraduate entrance examination.
Cloze tests do not examine those so-called difficult or obscure words. The vocabulary volume required by the syllabus itself is the basic vocabulary that an undergraduate should master. Among these vocabularies, those primarily used for cloze tests amount to about 1500-1600 words, and the vast majority of these words are ordinary words that candidates already know. However, when memorizing and reviewing these words, one should pay attention to summarizing and contrasting similar words. For example: consider v. ① think, regard as... ② consider, ponder ③ empathize, take care of; considerable a. ① quite large (or many) ② worth considering; considerate a. empathetic, thoughtful; consideration n.[U] ① consideration, thought ② empathy, take care of ③ things to be considered, reasons.
Cloze tests place grammar and vocabulary questions within a passage, so they differ from single grammar and vocabulary questions. Candidates need to not only spend effort on memorizing grammar points and accumulating vocabulary but also pay attention to word usage habits and differences in usage among synonyms, etc. Additionally, one needs to learn how to infer word meanings and conjunction usage through context hints, as well as the relationships between words, sentences, and paragraphs (whether they are parallel, selective, transitional, progressive, concessive, or causal, etc.).
(3) Connections in parallel structures
Familiarize yourself with reading techniques in cloze tests
1. Skim. Grasp the central theme of the entire article, i.e., the topic of the article or the attitude tendency in the text.
In summary, everyone should master a large vocabulary as the foundation, learn skillful reading methods, and then attempt cloze tests. After mastering vocabulary and reading, one will experience a feeling of ease and joy.
Cloze tests are essentially a reading comprehension with over 200-word content, and since it's reading, it cannot be separated from vocabulary accumulation, differentiation, and usage, etc. Vocabulary differentiation and usage account for about 60-70% of cloze questions, making it the heaviest part. Therefore, preparing vocabulary before the exam is particularly important for cloze tests.
The cloze test in the postgraduate entrance examination is undoubtedly the eternal pain in the hearts of many candidates, difficult to discern patterns, hard to grasp the focus, and hard to summarize, resulting in a mindset where the cloze test in the postgraduate entrance examination mainly relies on guessing. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. As a testing item, there must be its own patterns. If we carefully savor the characteristics of the cloze test questions in the postgraduate entrance examination, it is not difficult to find its purpose or even patterns behind it, thus grasping the pulse of the cloze test in the postgraduate entrance examination, as Sun Tzu’s Art of War says, knowing leads to victory.
Fixed collocations are a must-test type in the cloze test for postgraduate entrance examinations. It requires candidates to memorize necessary common English idiomatic expressions. This type of question has lower flexibility and is relatively targeted in preparation. However, candidates should avoid falling into a misconception, which is spending too much time and energy on memorizing fixed expressions. In fact, if time permits, memorizing fixed collocations word-for-word is indeed an effective means. But if time is limited, the aforementioned method is obviously not feasible, as it may disrupt your entire preparation plan due to occupying too much time. Here, teachers remind candidates to note that our goal for the cloze test in postgraduate entrance examinations is only one: scoring! In other words, choosing the correct options. Remember: no one forces you to remember idiomatic expressions perfectly, which is unnecessary and unneeded. You just need to have a relatively deep impression of some commonly tested fixed collocations. For example, in much the ____ way as, followed by four options A) familiar B) similar C) same D) identical. For this question, if you have a deeper impression of the fixed expression in much the same way as during regular times, you will find that option C) has higher recognizability than the other options, or simply put, it looks more appealing. Why does it look appealing? Because you see it frequently, even though you may not be able to write it down perfectly. So for such question types, you don't need to force memorization and certainly don't need to distinguish the differences between various options.
The connection between sentences actually examines the candidate's understanding of sentence meanings and their ability to infer the relationships between sentences. Many candidates often confuse if only and only if, despite them almost never being selected. Many candidates also confuse even if and even though, which actually have no difference; more candidates confuse as if and even if, causing much trouble during exams. Therefore, clarifying the four common types of relationships makes solving sentence connections in the cloze test in postgraduate entrance examinations effortless. These four types of relationships are: addition, such as furthermore, moreover, in addition, etc.; reversal, such as although, whereas, even if, on the contrary, etc.; cause-effect, such as because, so, consequently, as a result, etc.; time, such as while, since, before, etc.
While expanding vocabulary, candidates can also try to do some reading or cloze test questions within a limited time. In fact, reading comprehension and cloze tests complement each other. When doing these two types of questions, pay attention to the following aspects:
2. Intensive reading. Understand the meaning of the article in sections and layers.
The difficulty of the cloze test in postgraduate entrance examinations largely stems from the complexity of its question design. Sentences in the postgraduate entrance examination English are mostly complex sentences with diverse structures, and even simple sentences may appear with complex modifiers, such as prepositional phrases, participial structures, infinitives, etc., further increasing the difficulty of the postgraduate entrance examination English. In the cloze test, candidates often pay attention to word collocations or sentence relationships, but easily overlook the role of the aforementioned complex structure in sentences and its connection with blank content. Therefore, when judging, it is advisable to pay attention to prepositional phrases, participial structures, infinitives, or even clauses around the blanks, especially attributive clauses and appositive clauses that play a direct limiting role.
The principle of solving cloze test questions is to use the content of the preceding and succeeding texts as the measuring standard. Some questions are designed to be very focused on the grammatical structural rationality of interfering items, making all four options grammatically flawless. Some interfering items can be accepted locally, such as conforming to habitual collocations or logical expressions in phrases or single sentences. However, when these words are placed in the overall context of the article, flaws appear: either contradictions or irrelevance to the theme. Therefore, it is crucial not to deal with things separately without considering the context. Instead, when stuck on a local issue, looking at the external context may bring unexpected surprises, or even ready-made answers.
(4) Connections between sentences
It is well known that using conjunctions like and or or can list similar structured contents in parallel, and and requires consistency in parallel content. Therefore, when an and-parallel structure appears around the blank, the parallel content is often the clue to deduce the correct answer.
Emphasize vocabulary foundation in cloze tests
Additionally, we need to know that the focus of cloze tests won't be on examining the general meaning, but rather the depth of the candidate's mastery of the vocabulary. In terms of word meanings, since most English words have multiple meanings, cloze tests focus on comprehensively examining word meanings, not limited to the main meaning of the word. Besides word meanings, cloze tests in recent years increasingly emphasize the examination of word usages, especially collocations. Therefore, teachers remind everyone to place emphasis on the depth expansion of vocabulary.
Remember fixed collocations in cloze tests
Pay attention to logical links in cloze tests
3. If doing reading comprehension, design a few questions to think about after rough and intensive reading; if doing cloze tests, skim through the passage again before answering the questions. This makes it easier to grasp the article's flow and structure for detailed analysis.