Research studies lend strong support to the argument that there are benefits for families considering a change to a fairer or more equitable division of the pleasures and pains of family life. Greater equality in the performance of family work is associated with lower levels of family stress and higher self-esteem, better health, and higher marital satisfaction for mothers. There is also higher marital satisfaction for fathers, especially when they take more responsibility for the needs of their children – fathers are happier when they are more involved (Russell 1984).
这段话并不长，但是如果让你在30秒钟之内说出主旨是什么，恐怕比登天还难吧！其实不然！请看首句中有一个词benefits是个正向词，紧接着第二句话中lower levels of family stress, higher…, better health, higher… satisfaction等都是正向词。第三句话中higher satisfaction, happier等也都是正向词。这说明这段话作者的基本态度是正向的，那么段落主旨就是首句中的benefits，而第二和第三句话就在具体论述有哪些benefits。至于self-esteem, marital等生词不认识都无所谓了，因为本段落中，除了这些正向词之外，其余的单词的存在都是多余的。30秒足够你“顿悟”了吧！
其次，关系是更为重要的，因为它的存在更加使得单词变得多余。例如：
In business as a whole, there are a number of factors encouraging the prospect of greater equality in the workforce. Demographic trends suggest that the number of women going into employment is steadily increasing. In addition a far greater number of women are now passing through higher education, making them better qualified to move into management positions.
这段话中，首句a number of factors encouraging…是一个正向词，说明在分析好的因素。第二句number…increasing和第三句higher education, better qualified都是正向词，说明在具体论述第一句话中的好的因素。但是，二三句之间的一个In addition让我们知道了这两句话之间是一个“递进”关系，那么其前后的方向应该是相同的。所以，当我们看完第二句话之后，发现这个“递进”关系时，后面的内容根本不需要看了。至于prospect和demographic trends即使都是你的生词，又怎能妨碍你抓住段落的主旨——a number of factors呢？
常见的表示方向的关系有如下几大类：
表示前后方向相反：
转折关系： but/however/yet, on the other hand, despite
对比关系： more/less…than…, unlike
表示前后方向相同：
并列关系： A and B, not…nor…, first, second, third
递进关系： moreover, in addition/additionally/besides, not only…but also…
那么请大家来做一个练习：
Managerial and executive progress made by women is confirmed by the annual survey of boards of directors carried out by Korn /Ferry /Carre /Orban International. This year the survey shows a doubling of the number of women serving as non-executive directors compared with the previous year. However, progress remains painfully slow and there were still only 18 posts filled by women out of a total of 354 non-executive positions surveyed. Hilary Sears, a partner with Korn /Ferry, said, ‘Women have raised the level of grades we are employed in but we have still not broken through barriers to the top.’
上面一段话，完全可以浓缩成以下内容：
… progress(+) … doubling of the number(+) … However … painfully slow(-) … raised the level of grades(+) … but … not broken through(-) …
例如：
原文：Frogs are losing the ecological battle for survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their demise.
题干：Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying.
对于这道题，“尘埃中人”一看就傻眼，因为原文中ecological, at a loss, demise都是生词。但是，“无词阅读”者是这样作题的：
首先洞悉本题的考点词为unable to explain，属于典型的是非判断考点词，对应原文的考点是at a loss to explain。loss是负向词，而unable也是负向词，原文与题干在考点上方向相同。那么本题就应该是TRUE。至于那些污七八糟的生词是什么意思，“Sorry, I don’t know!”
