雅思阅读重点考点之一：因果关系
因果关系无疑是雅思阅读的重要考察内容之一，而这恰恰也是大部分考生在备考过程 中最容易疏忽或者没有引起足够重视的地方，这次我们就要重点分析一下因果关系。相对来说， 因果关系在雅思阅读中涉及的题型最广，考察形式也比较多样。
首先，考生们需要熟悉在雅思阅读中常见的表示因果关系的词（组），并且能够从句 子中判断出原因和结果分别是什么。就完成阅读题目而言，可以简单把表因果关系的 词汇分成以下三类：
1. 名词
（原因）reason, factor, cause, explanation…
（结果）result, consequence
2. 之后接原因的词（组）
since, as, for, in, that
due to, thanks to, as a result of + 原因
owe to, result from, be attributed to
3. 之后接结果的词（组）
lead to, contribute to, result in
cause, engender, give rise to
be responsible for + 结果
so, therefore, hence, thus as a consequence,
as a result
有一些词组可以表示较弱的因果关系，需结合上下文来具体分析，例如，be linked to, be related to, be associated with, be connected with等。在了解基本的词 （组）之后，我们再来分析因果关系在雅思阅读不同题型中的考察方式。
1、填空题中的因果关系
填空题考察因果关系主要体现在两个方面：一是考生可以利用题目中出现的因果逻辑 关系进行辅助定位，节省做题时间，以及减少因为题目定位词发生替换之后找不到原 文的几率；另一方面，考生需要通过因果关系判断答案要填的是某组因果关系中的原 因还是结果。
例如：C5T2P1中的3题
There were several reasons for the research into plastics in the nineteenth century, among them the great advances that had been made in the field of 3________ and the search for alternatives to natural resources like ivory.
本题题目句子较长，考生除了正常选择名词定位，还可以通过reasons明确答案要的 是原因之一，因此可以从文章中的factors进一步确定答案的范围。
【原文】The impetus behind the development of these early plastics was generated by a number of factors — immense technological progress in the domain of chemistry, coupled with wider cultural changes, and the pragmatic need to find acceptable substitutes for dwindling supplies of 'luxury' materials such as tortoiseshell and ivory.
2、判断题中的因果关系
因果关系是判断题中重要的考点之一，首先要求考生在读题的过程中就找出因果关 系，并且认真和文章比对，看其因果关系是否一致。
例如：C5T4P1中的7题
The spread of tourism in certain hill-regions has resulted in a fall in the amount of food produced locally.
【原文】In some hill-regions, this has led to a serious decline in farm output and a change in the local diet, because there is insufficient labour to maintain terraces and irrigation systems and tend to crops.
本题result in和lead to之后都接结果，因此题目和文章中的因果一致，因此答案为 YES。
3、选择题中的因果关系
选择题历来是阅读考试中花费时间较多而正确率比较低的一个题型。如果题目中出现 了明确的因果关系，考生可以利用该逻辑关系来选择答案或者排除，从而提高正确率。
例如：C6T4P3中的33题
The writer thinks that the declaration ‘There is no bullying at this school’
A. is no longer true in many schools.
B. was not in fact made by many schools.
C. reflected the school/s lack or concern.
D. reflected a lack of knowledge and resources.
【原文】Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. There is no bullying at this school has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: ‘There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.’
本题是考生在练习中错误率非常高的一题，其中一个原因是选项A、B的干扰能力很 强，很容易让考生觉得和文中的untrue一词是同义替换进而错选A、B项；另一个原 因则是，很多考生没有注意C、D选项中的比较弱的因果关系，即reflect后可以加原 因。因此，当我们再读文章时就会发现文章中有对应的因果关系，即as a consequence。由此得出前句则是原因，也就是选项D的同义替换，因此答案为D。
4、段落信息配对题中的因果关系
例如：C13T3P3中的27题
proposed explanations for the declined of the Harappan Civilisation
【原文】…; and yet others that climate change caused an environmental change that affected food and water provision. ‘It is unlikely that there was a single cause for the decline of civilisation.’…
段落细节信息匹配在阅读中算是难度较大题型，但是考生仍然可以利用逻辑关系来降 低难度，提升正确率和做题时间。本题定位难度较大，没有有效的定位词可以借助， 但是在题目中问道explanation for…，那么答案所在段落极有可能出现表示因果关系 的词（组），因此我们可以利用该逻辑关系来帮助我们更加准确地缩小甚至确定答案 的范围。
5、Heading题中的因果关系
例如：C7T1P2中的19题
【答案】(ii) An explanation for reduced water use
【G段】What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use. Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater consumed per person doubled on average;…
Heading在考察中仍然涉及到了因果关系。如果某一个自然段的topic sentence中出 现了因果关系，那么考生应该将重点放在同样体现出因果关系的选项中。本题中G段 是明显的总分结构，因此topic sentence位于段落前面，而句话提问what explain..紧接着说two factors，考生不用往后读文章也可以得知，之后会分别论述这 两个因素。因此，本段的heading选择的是ii。
