翻开考研英语试卷的阅读部分，考生首先应当掌握的最基本的应试总则可以概括为12个字：文章思路、圈点到位、重叠原文。事实上这12个字已经概括了阅读解题的全部过程。
“文章思路”是指考生首先应对文章总体的思路和结构有一个大概的了解，先不要急于去读题目，而是应当将文章从头到尾看一遍，弄清楚文章的中心意思，这一遍阅读的目的并不是要立即找到答题所需要的信息点。在阅读的时候还要有主次之分，文章的第一段是文章的灵魂和核心，也应当是第一遍阅读的重点所在。考生要尽量将第一段的每一句话都理解透彻，因为掌握了第一段，就已经基本了解掌握了整篇文章的内容，至于其他的段落可以加快速度，看得懂就看，看不懂就暂时跳过去，在不懂的地方做出记号，留待以后解决。读完文章并理清思路后就可以接着阅读试题，命题专家在设计考卷时，题目排列的次序与文章的布局基本是相吻合的，也就是说题目所需要的信息点在文章中应当是按顺序出现的，这一点对于基础差的考生相当重要，因为考生完全可以根据每篇文章题目的题干来推测文章大致的内容和思路。
有些考生在把握文章思路时常常会陷入困境，他们虽然也从头到尾把文章读了一遍，但还是搞不清文章到底在讲什么。如何扫清阅读理解中出现的盲点?笔者建议考生在第一遍阅读时注意以下几点：1.文章中有些信息可以忽略，例如有关职务、头衔、社会地位等补充性说明；2.第一遍阅读时，可暂时不管句中破折号后所提供的旁支信息；3.复杂的难句看清主、谓、宾即可，其他辅助信息除非与解题有关，否则亦可暂时不管；4.上下文中平行对称的地方经常内容相同，所以这些互相对照的内容也可帮助考生消除盲点；5.做题时应注意：因为命题时要求选项部分的语言难度要低于文章语言的难度，所以读懂选项的语言常会帮助考生正确理解文章的内容。
第二步“圈点到位”，是就审题而言，实质上就是要求考生审题到位，弄清楚题目针对文章的什么内容提问。考生在读完题目后通常会返回到文章里去寻找答案，这时又会出现另一种情况，有些考生文章都看懂了，可就是找不到答案在哪里。出现这种情况的根本原因是考生没有审清题意，没有弄清楚题目要求考生在文章中寻找什么信息，因为绝大部分题目是针对文章的具体内容提问。所以只要考生审题到位，返回原文搜索答案时，即可圈点出相应的内容，从而缩小寻找范围，大大提高正确率。2000年考研试题的20道阅读题中只有4道题目(3道主旨题，1道判断题)无法依据题干语言在原文中圈点，其他的16道题目均可根据题干命题语言在文中圈点出相应的内容，答案基本就在所圈语句的附近。所以只要能在掌握文章思路的基础上做到“圈点到位”，基本上所有的阅读题目都可以迎刃而解，特别是具体的细节题，可以说是手到擒来。
完成题目之后就要检查所找到的答案是否正确，也就是阅读解题的第三个步骤“重叠原文”。设计阅读题时，选项通常是这样四种情况，假设选项内容是一个圆，文章内容也是一个圆，第一种情况是两者相距甚远，根本没有相交的地方，内容完全不一样，这种选项很容易就被排除掉；第二种情况是这两个圆相切，即只有很小一部分互相联系，但会有一部分考生选这个选项，因为选项的内容文中有所提及，有一定的迷惑性；第三种情况是这两个圆相交，有大部分内容重叠，考生往往会选择这种选项。较之前者，这种情况的迷惑性更大，也是最危险的干扰项；但只有符合第四种情况，即两个圆完全重合、内容完全相符的选项才是正确答案。因此在检查时，考生要做的就是把所选的选项与文章中相应的内容做比较，看其是否能与原文重叠。
在判断选项是否能重叠原文时，考生常常也会感到迷惑，无法判断选项是否与原文内容完全重叠，这是因为命题专家在设计考题时会使用一些语言来迷惑考生，从而测试考生的英语水平和阅读能力。一般说来，事实上命题专家最常用的有四种方式：“语言简化”、“反话正说”、“正话反说”和“关键词替换”。
“语言简化”是命题专家命题使用语言时所必须遵守的总则。在设置选项时，四个选项的长度及句法不应有太大差异，而选项所使用的语言难度必须低于文章本身的难度。这一点对考生大有帮助，因为考生可以利用选项来理解文章。这一原则几乎在所有的阅读试题中都有所体现，故此笔者在这里就不再列举。
“反话正说”的命题方式是指选项用肯定的方式来表述文中用否定方式所表述的内容。仅在2000年的考研试卷中，就有四道题目采用了这种命题方式。
2000年54题：The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to the.
［A］turning of the business cycle
［B］restructuring of industry
［C］improved business management
［D］success in education
［正确答案］A
“作者似乎认为90年代美国经济的复兴可以归功于经济周期的转机。”圈点原文“Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle.”“几乎没有哪个美国人将这一增长只看做是美元贬值或经济周期的转机等明显的原因造成的。”文章字面意思是否定的，作者的言下之意是这一增长就是由经济周期的转机等原因造成的，命题者以此作为考点,设计了一个肯定的选项,如果考生无法掌握这一命题方式,就容易掉入陷阱。
2000年57题：The author argues that our bodies have stopped evolving because.
［A］life has been improved by technological advance［B］the number of female babies has been declining［C］our species has reached the highest stage of evolution［D］the difference between wealth and poverty is disappearing
［正确答案］A
“作者认为我们的身体停止了进化是因为我们的生活已经被技术进步改进。”圈点原文：But in the past 100,000 years—even the past 100 years—our lives have been transformed but our bodies have not. We did not evolve, because machines and society did it for us.“但是在过去的10万年间——甚至是在过去的100年间——我们的生活改变了,但我们的身体没有改变,我们没有进化,是因为机器和社会在替我们进化。”
2000年65题：Which of the following is true according to the author?
［A］Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder.
［B］Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.
［C］More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.
［D］Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.
［正确答案］C
圈点原文：While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self_expression.“Those things that do not show up in the test scores—personality, ability, courage or humanity—are completely ignored,”says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee.“Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild.”此题问的是作者的观点，A项讲日本教育受赞扬的是它可以帮助年轻人在社会上往上爬，与文中内容不符，文中是说日本教育因其对基础的重视而受到表扬。而B选项中的“as well as creativity”与文中所说的“over creativity...”不符，也不能选。D项的逻辑恰好与原文相反，作者在评论日本教育时批评其“完全忽略了考试成绩中无法表现的个性、能力、勇气和人性”，作者用否定的方式表达出自己的意见。C选项所说的是应“更多地强调培养创造性”，所以答案为C选项。
2000年70题：From the last paragraph the conclusion can be drawn that ambition should be maintained.
［A］secretly and vigorously
［B］openly and enthusiastically
［C］easily and momentarily
［D］verbally and spiritually
［正确答案］B
从最后一段可得出结论：野心应当保持公开的、积极的状态。
圈点原文：The attacks on ambition are many and come fromvarious angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive,swheresthey are not extremely unattractive. As a result,the support for ambition as a healthy impulse,a quality to be admired and fixed in the mind of the young, is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States. This does not mean that ambition is at an end, that people no longer feel its stirrings and promptings, but only that no longer openly honored, and it is less openly professed. Consequences follow from this,of course,some of which are that ambition is driven underground,or made sly.Such,then,is the way things stand: on the left angry critics,on the right stupid supporters,and in the middle,as usual,the majority of earnest people trying to get on in life.
“这并不意味着野心已经不存在了，或人们感觉不到它的涌动和激励了，只是因为人们不再公开赞美它了，它因此也就得不到公开的表述了。”支持公开承认做人要有雄心壮志，因为在上文中作者已经指出，野心应当“作为一种促进因素，作为一种应该受到称赞，应该铭记在年轻人心中的品质”，正是由于野心不再公开受到尊敬和赞美，也就越来越得不到公开的承认，而B选项恰好从肯定的角度表述了作者的态度，是正确答案。
第三种常用的命题方式“正话反说”，是指文中用肯定方式表述，而选项用否定方式表述，两者意义相吻合。这一命题方式在近年的试卷中也可找到例证。
1999年第68题：The author asserts that scientists.
［A］shouldn't replace“scientific method”with imaginative thought
［B］shouldn't neglect to speculate on unpredictable things
［C］should write more concise reports for technical journals
［D］should be confident about their research findings
［正确答案］B
“作者认为科学家不应忽略对不可预见的事物进行观察。”
圈点原文：How many men would have considered the possibility of an apple falling upsintosthe tree? Newton did because he was not trying to predict anything. He was just wondering. His mind was ready for the unpredictable. Unpredictability is part of the essential nature of research. If you don't have unpredictable things, you don't have research. Scientists tend to forget this when writing their cut and dried reports for the technical journals, but history is filled with examples of it.“不可预见性是研究本质的一部分，如果没有不可预见的事物就没有研究可言，科学家们在为专业杂志写那些干巴巴的报告时趋向于忘记这一点，但历史上到处都是这种例子。”原文采用肯定的表达方式，说科学家常常忽略那些不可预见的东西，上文中提到不可预见性是研究本质的一部分，很自然就可以推出结论：科学家应重视不可预见的东西。
1999年第70题：The author implies that the results of scientific research.
［A］may not be as profitable as they are expected
［B］can be measured in dollars and cents
［C］rely on conformity to a standard pattern
［D］are mostly underestimated by management
［正确答案］A
“作者以为科学研究的成果可能不会像他们预计的那样有利可图。”
圈点原文：What this amounts to, of course, is that the scientist has become the victim of his own writings. He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but has convinced industrial and business management that they are true. If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the reports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactlyswheresthey are going and how they will get there should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. Nor, if regularity and conformity to a standard pattern are as desirable to the scientist as the writing of his papers would appear to reflect, is management to be blamed for discriminating against the“odd balls”among researchers in favor of more conventional thinkers who“work well with the team.”
“如果实验能像科学杂志上发表的论文所显示的那样按计划设定并完成，那么管理者期望研究产生出能以美元和美分衡量的结果就是很符合逻辑的了。”原文中的“If”一词表明作者陈述的只是一个假设，这一假设可能不会实现，因此原文是在暗示科学研究的结果并不像所预见的那样有效益，而选项A所表达的意思正好与之吻合。
2000年52题：The loss of U.S.predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact that the American.
［A］TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market
［B］semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprises
［C］machine_tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions
［D］auto industry had lost part of its domestic market
［正确答案］D
“80年代美国失去在全球经济的主导地位由美国的汽车工业失去部分国内市场这一事实体现出来。”
圈点原文：By the mid 1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea's LG Electronics in July). Foreign_made cars and textiles were sweepingsintosthe domestic market.
“到20世纪80年代中期，面对其工业竞争力的日益衰退，美国人感到无计可施。一些大型的工业如电子消费品面对外国竞争已萎缩或消失。到1987年美国只剩下一个电视制造商：现在一个都没有了，7月韩国的LG电子公司买下了Zenith公司。进口汽车和纺织品迅速占领了国内市场。”文章说进口汽车占领国内市场，反过来就是国产汽车工业失去了一部分国内市场，D选项与之内容一致。
“关键词替换”是出现最频繁的命题方式，几乎每年都有一些用这种方式设置的题目。
1999年55题：We learn from the beginning of the passage that Web business.
［A］has been striving to expand its market
［B］intended to follow a fanciful fashion
［C］tried but in vain to control the market
［D］has been booming for one year or so
［正确答案］A
“从文章开头我们得知网络经济正在力争扩展市场。”对应原文：In the first year or so of Web business, most of the action has revolved around efforts to tap the consumer market.“在网络经济的头一年左右，大多数的行动与致力于开发买方市场有关。”strive替换原文中的efforts,expand替换原文中的tap。
1999年62题：According to the author, basic computer skills should be.
［A］included as an auxiliary course in school
［B］highlighted in acquisition of professional qualifications
［C］mastered through a life_long course
［D］equally emphasized by any school, vocational or otherwise
［正确答案］A
“根据作者所说基础的计算机技能在学校中应设为辅修课程。”对应原文：In any case, basic computer skills are only complementary to the host of real skills that are necessary to becoming any kind of professional. auxiliary替换complementary。
“关键词替换”这一方式不仅用于设置选项，还可以用于设置题干。
例如：2000年61题：Futurists claim that we must.
［A］increase the production of literature
［B］use poetry to relieve modern stress
［C］develop new modes of expression
［D］avoid using adjectives and verbs
［正确答案］C
“未来派诗人声称我们必须发展新的表达方式。”对应原文：This speeding up of life, says the Futurist, receives a new form of expression.题干中的claim替换原文中的say，而选项中的mode则替换原文中的form。命题专家常常采用“语言简化”、“反话正说”、“正话反说”、“关键词替换”这四种方式设置考题，对考生进行干扰。考生在了解这些方式后，就可以反其道而行之，利用这四种命题方式来检查所选选项是否与原文重叠。