“I can’t stop shivering.” Lucy had to speak louder than normal so Gary could hear her over the wind’s caterwaul.“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.“
我止不住地颤抖。”露西提高嗓门说道，这样加里才能在隆隆风声听清她。“靠近点”，加里一边说一边轻轻拉起她的薄外套。他觉得手中的布料薄如蝉翼，就要粉碎。他不知道他们还要等多久，救援才来。
Although you may not realize it, you have made several inferences from the passage above without even trying very much.
尽管你没有意识到，你已经不知不觉地在对这篇文章进行推理。
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.
举个例子，你可能可以从这段对话中看出露西和加里很冷，并陷入了麻烦。但是，如果你再往回看，你会发现文章中并没有对气温的直接描述。你从文中的线索推断出温度低。
What else can you infer from the passage?
你还能从文中推断出什么？
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?
这两个人是在室内还是户外？你认为露西对这个情况有所准备吗？她的粗心体现出她的什么性格？加里的性格又是什么样？
Most of the information you believe about Gary and Lucy has come from inference.
你所得到的关于加里和露西的信息大多来自你的推理。
What Is Inference?
什么是推理？
Inference is what we do when we draw conclusions based on observations and experience.
推理是你通过观察与经验做出的结论。
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.
阅读时，你会对人物性格、场景及动作做出推理。你会这样做是因为你在阅读时动用了自身的庞大词汇量以及生活经验。
As you read the passage above, you made inferences about the following:
你在读上述文章时，你会对下面这些因素进行推理：
Pronoun antecedents: In the last sentence (He wondered . . .), you have most likely inferred that the pronoun “he” refers to Gary.
前指代词：最后一句中（他不知道……），你认为代词“他”指加里。
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. 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.
通过上下文猜词义：你知道“caterwaul”是什么意思吗？你可能能猜出它指“咆哮”、“尖叫”。如果你在看文章前不认识这个单词，你能做出这种判断很可能是因为你认识足够多的这个新词前后的词。换句话说，你通过上下文，把线索结合起来，对这个不熟悉的词做出了恰当的猜测。
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?
通过话语、想法、行动判断人物性格：根据上述短短几句话，你如何描述加里的人物性格？残酷还是和蔼？敏感细腻还是心不在焉？是什么线索让你做出结论？
Pick up on clues about setting and mood: Is Gary happy, sleepy, or worried in the passage? You probably think he’s worried, right? So try to identify the clues that left you with this impression.
寻找有关场景及心情的线索：文章中，加里是开心、疲倦还是焦虑？可能你认为他很焦虑，是吗？试着找找让你产生这种印象的线索。
Did you come up with these clues?
你是否找到了这些线索？
Lucy’s coat feels alarming flimsy.
露西的外套薄如蝉翼，就要粉碎。
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.
寻找性格弱点：通过露西身穿薄外套不能应付当前情况这一事实读者可以得出什么结论？实话说，结论并不多。
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.
这篇短文不能提供足够的信息让读者对露西的性格下结论，但是，你在阅读时，你的大脑也在做一些有趣的工作，它储存线索。
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.
你阅读长篇大论时，你会得到细微的线索，你会把这些线索记住，在阅读过程中累计这些线索，做出推断。
Why Does Inference Matter?
为什么推理很重要?
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.All of your reading skills work in unison as you practice reading. And the more you read, the more you build your reading skills.
推理是阅读理解的一个重要因素，但却不能把推理单独归类为一种因素。如果你没有其他阅读技巧，你无法推理，这些技巧包含丰富的词汇量，对段落结构的理解，以及对词性的理解。你所有的阅读技巧在你训练阅读时都是一个整体，你读得越多，你掌握的阅读技巧也越多。
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