在托福阅读中，有一类别致的题型叫作否定事实信息类问题(Negative Factual Information Questions)。这类问题考察考生区别真实信息与虚假信息的能力。要分辨这种题型非常容易，因为题干中会出现大写的拒绝(“NOT”或“EXCEPT”)引起我们的注意。

　　例如：

　　The author’s description of X mentions all of the following EXCEPT...

　　According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true of X?

　　当我们看到“EXCEPT”或“NOT”这两个词的时候，就要马上反应过来这道题问的是以下哪个选项为否定事实信息。为了便于理解，我们把这种信息叫做虚假信息，也就是原文中没有说明是正确的信息。

　　下面为大家梳理一下虚假信息的三大套路：自相矛盾、无中生有、答非所问。

　　一、自相矛盾

　　第一种情况是选项信息与原文相矛盾，错误表述文中的信息或观点。例如下题：

　　According to paragraph 6, all of the following statements aretrue of plants in the alpine zone EXCEPT:

　　○ Because they are low, they are less exposed to strong winds.

　　○ Because they are low, the winter snow cover gives them moreprotection from the extreme cold.

　　○ In the equatorial mountains, they tend to be lower than inmountains elsewhere.

　　○ Their low growth form keeps them closer to the ground, where thereis more heat than further up.

　　这道题的选项1改写原文“… avoid theworst rigors of high winds…”;选项2对应原文“…take advantage of the insulation provided by a winter snow cover”;选项4对应原文“…make use of the higher temperaturesimmediately adjacent to the ground surface”;选项3中的“lower”与原文之中“the low growth form is lessprevalent”相矛盾，因此该选项为虚假信息，选作本题的答案。

　　二、无中生有

　　第二种情况是选项信息在原文中没有被提及。同学们可以比较容易地辨别出在原文中完全没有提到的选项，但大家务必注意此类出题方式经常会使点小心机，也就是选项的部分信息是对原文信息的重复，但是另一部分却出现了新概念或脑补了新信息。例如：

　　PASSAGE EXCERPT: “The causes of this population rebound are consequences of otherhuman actions. First, the major predators of deer---wolves, cougar, andlynx--have been greatly reduced in numbers. Second, conservation has beeninsured by limiting times for and types of hunting. But the most profoundreason for the restoration of high population numbers has been the gate of theforests. Great tracts of lowland country deforested by logging, fire, or bothhave become ideal feeding grounds of deer. ”(TPO4: Deer Populations ofthe Puget Sound)

　　Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 5 as a factor that has increased deerpopulations?

　　○ A reduction in thenumber of predators

　　○ Restrictions on hunting

　　○ The effects of loggingand fire

　　○ Laws that protectedfeeding grounds of deer

　　选项1与原文“First, the majorpredators of deer---wolves, cougar, and lynx--have been greatly reduced innumbers”相对应;选项2对应原文“Second, conservationhas been insured by limiting times for and types of hunting”;选项3对应原文“Great tracts of lowland countrydeforested by logging, fire”;选项4中的后半部分信息“feeding grounds of deer”是对原文 “… or both havebecome ideal feeding grounds of deer”中的原词重复，但是选项前半部分新添加了原文没有的信息“laws that protected”，这仍然属于无中生有的虚假信息，因此这道题应该选择最后一个选项。