標點符號，是書面語言的一大組成部分，它可以幫助準確的表達語意并協助讀者抓住句中的精髓。在上小學語文課的時候，老師都會教怎樣正確使用中文的標點符號。其實，英文的標點符號也起著同樣重要的作用。雅思閱讀文章中有很多這樣的標點符號，不僅可以使考生讀懂文章，更能迅速準確的搞定考題答案。下面為我們分別講述幾個在雅思文章中很重要的標點符號，希望對大家備戰雅思閱讀有幫助。

　　冒號

　　冒號在英文中有兩大用法：一是用在一個正式的引用前面，二是列出表示列舉、解釋和說明性的詞語。比如在劍六TEST2第一篇文章的A段中，首句是這樣表達的：

　　In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics: “The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.”冒號后的內容是一句正式引語，并對冒號前的politics進行了具體的闡述說明，因此，冒號后的內容是本段的主題句，強調的引號內的democratic一詞，所以在本篇第一個題型List of Heading中，本段的選項為A successful exercise in people power.

　　在劍橋四Test 4第三篇閱讀文章The Problem of Scarce Resources中第一個題型依舊是List of Heading。文章section c 段首句如下：

　　'However, at exactly the same time as this new realization of the finite character of health-care resources was sinking in, an awareness of a contrary kind was developing in Western societies: that people have a basic right to health-care as a necessary condition of a proper human life.'冒號后面的內容對前半句的an awareness of a contrary kind進行了具體的解釋說明，因此冒號后面的內容就是解題的重點。在冒號后面提出了health-care與right的關系，所以這個段的段落大意選擇選項I The connection between health-care and other human rights.

　　括號

　　括號在英文中可以用來表示其中插入的或附加的解釋成分，這個插入成分可以是單詞、詞組或句子。例如在劍五TEST1第一篇文章Johnson’s Dictionary中，題號為5的summary即考察的就是文中括號內的內容。該題為：

　　Johnson did not have a ……..available to him, but eventually produced definitions of in excess of 40,000 words written down in 80 large notebooks. 根據題中的定位詞80 large notebooks, 考生可找到文章第六段首句” The work was immense; filling about eighty large notebooks (and without a library to hand), Johnson wrote the definitions of over 40,000 words, and……..”考生根據所填題目前的did not have體現的否定關系以及不定冠詞a, 可預判答案選詞為可數名詞單數，并且體現為否定關系。通過閱讀，可確定答案為文章中括號內的單詞library.

　　問號

　　雅思閱讀中的問號，多數情況下用在設問句之后。設問句，即沒有疑問而故意自問自答，作者的目的在于引起讀者的注意和思考，能夠引起文章的跌宕起伏。因此，多數情況下，如果在段首位置出現了問號，該句即為該段的主旨句。如劍六TEST1第一篇文章“Australia’s Sporting Success”的首段：

　　They play hard, they play often, and they play to win. Australian sports teams win more than their fair share of titles, demolishing rivals with seeming ease. How do they do it? A big part of the secret is an extensive and expensive network of sporting academies underpinned by science and medicine. 前兩句為描述性語句，第三句問句How do they do it?后的自問自答引出了本段甚至本文的中心內容。

　　破折號

　　雅思閱讀中的破折號后的內容，通常是對主句中的某個單詞或短語的修飾或解釋說明。破折號寫法上共有兩種，一種為兩個破折號搭配使用，兩破折號中間部分為細節即―……―，而第二種情況為―…….的情況。如劍四TEST3第二篇文章：

　　Volcanoes-earth-shattering news”中Section C第二段首句：Sometimes it is slow: vast bubbles of magma-molten rock from the mantle-inch towards the surface…… 兩個破折號中的molten rock from the mantle是在解釋破折號之前的名詞magma.

　　破折號中的部分正好對應19題的題干：What is the name given to molten rock from the mantle? 因此答案為magma。依舊在Section C第四段中， 第四行and you can see the rough outlines of what are called tectonic plates-the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle.破折號后的the plates which make up the earth’s crust and mantle是在解釋破折號前的tectonic plates. 此句與18題題干What are the sections of the earth’s crust, often associated with volcanic activity, called?相對應。