3. ____ my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I eagerly explored (探索) our new surroundings.                                                        (2005湖南卷)

A. If            B. After       C. Once          D. While

分析：“姐姐因为失去朋友而感到悲伤”与“我探索新环境”形成一种对比，答案是D。

(八) 利用语篇标志

语篇一般指比单个句子长的语言单位，如句群、段落、篇章等。语篇与语篇之间往往有表明其内在联系的词语，这些词语可称为语篇标志。如：表示结构层次的语篇标志语firstly，secondly，thirdly，finally等；表示逻辑关系的thus，therefore，so等；表示改变话题的by the way等；表示时间关系的before，so far，yet，now，later等。在做完形填空题时，如果能充分利用这些语篇标志语，就可以迅速理清文章的脉络，弄清上下文的关系。如：

At first nothing happened,           suddenly a large mouse rushed out of the hole…

A. then      B. and        C. or        D. so

分析：该题的关键词是at first，因此不难判断，答案是A。

2. I wanted to be a biologist, ____ I didn’t pursue  my dream.            (2005山东卷)

A. rather         B. but        C. for           D. therefore

分析：“想成为一名生物学家”与“没有追求梦想”__是一种转折关系，答案是B。

1. It seems your tray stand has been very useful to you, but we are getting ready to    now, and my wife needs her tray back.                                      (2008全国卷Ⅰ)

A. rest      B. order       C. eat          D. leave

分析：前面说“useful“，而要选出此题答案，but一词是非常关键的。答案为D。

3. So I tried hard with my writing and went to college. My first novel (小说)         while I was at college.                                                    （2005安徽卷）

A. came on       B. came in          C. came out      D. came back

分析：come on“加油，过来”；come in“进来”；come out“出版，发行”；come back“回来”。答案是C。

(七) 利用前后对比关系

2. One afternoon I was sitting at my favorite table in a restaurant, waiting for the food I had ordered to arrive. Suddenly I           that a man sitting at a table near the window kept glancing in my direction.                                             （2005全国卷）

A. knew          B. understood       C. noticed       D. recognized

分析：know“知道”；understand“懂得，理解”；notice“注意到”；recognize“认出”。答案是C。

1. The goal of the Challenge was simple― to build a projective container to keep an egg from breaking when          the stadium wall.                           (2005湖南卷)

A. rolled down       B. pushed against      C. thrown at       D. dropped over

分析：roll down“滚下”；push against“推”； throw at“扔”；____drop over“掉”。答案为D。

2. But the ring had fallen off and been damaged in the great        of the fire.

A. pile       B. heat          C. power       D. pressure

分析：第1题，一个人在1350英尺高的地方走，旁观者站在地上看的话，看上去应很小，答案是D；第2题关键词是damaged和fire，答案是B。

(六) 利用习惯用法和词语辨析

完形填空题中对词汇知识的考查主要体现在习惯用法和同义词、近义词的辨析两个方面。习惯用法是英语中某些固定的结构形态，不能随意变动。而在众多的习语当中，介词往往扮演着最活跃的角色，其次是副词。所以，考生应掌握习惯用法，用它来分析破解完形填空题，可算得上是一件秘密武器。要做好这类题目，要有足够的词汇量和较强的词语搭配能力。如：

1. There, 1,350 feet above the street, a _____ figure  was walking on air.

A. great      B. strange        C. public       D. tiny

2. “They not only make it difficult to sleep at night, but they are           damage to our houses and shops of historical interest,” said John Norris, one of the protesters.

A. doing       B. raising      C. putting       D. producing

分析：此题关键词是damage to，与动词do是固定搭配，故答案为A。

(五) 利用文化背景和生活常识

完形填空题命题的基本形式是独立的语篇，它以自身的内容提供完整的语篇信息，其间交织、渗透着各类相关的常识与知识，从文化、科学常识到历史、地理知识等，无所不包。高中生已掌握了一定量的文化背景知识和生活常识，具备一定的价值判断能力。考生做题时，若能积极地调动自己的文化背景知识和生活常识，注意中西方文化差异，将会大大简化复杂的分析与判断过程，节省宝贵的时间，顺理成章地选出正确答案。因此，这就要求考生平时注意知识的积累，并加强不同学科间的知识融合，有意识地了解一些英语国家的文化背景知识，这对英语学习和应试将大有帮助。如：