推理性问题与细节性问题相似，也是对文章具体内容的判断。但推理不但要求掌握文章所表达的字面含义，还要掌握一定的逻辑判断能力及写作技巧知识，从文章表面推出更深层含义，这部分往往出题分量大，难度大，出错也最多，归根结底还是对文章内容没有做到真正的理解和掌握。
Inference类问题主要包括Significance和Communication Techniques两大类。
1、Significance
文字表面往往没有明显反映作者的全部意图，有些含义需要读者从字里行间去体会，靠自己的逻辑推理能力去判断，从上下文的联贯及文中有关部分的暗示去明析作者隐含的意思。这类问题的命题方式有：
(1)The writer implies but not directly states that__________.
(2)It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
(3)The author strongly suggests that__________.
(4)It can be concluded from the passage that________.
(5)The passage is intended to__________.
(6)The writer indicates that__________.
Example:
Nursing at Beth Israel Hospital produces the best patient care possible.If we were to solve the nursing shortage，hospital administration and doctors everywhere would do well to follow Beth Israel's example.
At Beth Israel each patient is assigned to a primary nurse who visits at length with the patient and constructs a full-scale health ac-count that covers everything from his medical history to his emotion-al state.Then she writes a care plan centered on the patient's illness but which also includes everything else that is necessary.
The primary nurse stays with the patient through his hospitalization，keeping track with his progress and seeking further advice from his doctor.If a patient at Beth Israel is not responding to treatment，it is not uncommon for his nurse to propose another approach to his doctor.What the doctor at Beth Israel has in the primary nurse is a true colleague.
Nursing at Beth Israel also involves a decentralized(分散的)nursing administration;every floor，every unit is a self-contained organization.There are nurse managers instead of head nurses，in addition to their medical duties they do all their own hiring and dismissing，employee advising，and they make salary recommendations.Each unit's nurse decide among themselves who will work what shifts and when.
Beth Israel's nurse-in-chief ranks as an equal with other vice presidents of the hospital. She also is a member of the Medical Executive Committee，which in most hospitals includes only doctors.
It can be inferred from the passage that__________.
A)compared with other hospitals nurses at Beth Israel Hospital are more patient
B)in most hospitals nurses get low salaries
C)in most hospitals nurses get low salaries
D)compared with other hospitals nurses have to work longer hour at Beth Israel Hospital
本题要求考生判断4个选项中哪一个是根据文章可以推断出的结论，要求考生根据文章内容作出合理的推断。从本题所提供的4个选项来看，文章并未谈及护士的“耐心”(A);也未谈及护士的“工资待遇”(C)，只是说到护士的工资提升要由各科室推荐;更未涉及护士的“工作时间长短”(D))，文章的第一段最后一句才是得出正确答案的依据，这句的意思是：“如果我们确要解决护理工作不足的问题，那么各地医院的行政部门和医生最好还是效法一下Beth Israel医院”，主句的虚拟语气也说明这一点：迄今为止还未做到。由此可以推断：①护理不充分是一个应该解决的问题;②这个问题普遍存在，否则就没有必要要求各地医院行政部门和医生效法这家医院的做法。因此本题的正确答案为B)，本题属于局域型问题的间接性问题，这类问题是考生出错最多的题型。在做这类问题时，切忌从篇章的个别句子中寻找答案，而应把目光放在全篇的理解上：作者写这篇文章的目的是什么，针对什么问题，如何解决等。有许多考生可能都有这种体验：有的问题，第一遍阅读时做对了，第二遍再细读后，又改错了。这就是因为他们在读第二遍时注意了对篇章的个别句于的推敲，而忽视了整篇文章的大意。
2、Communication Techniques
文章中的每一句话都有它的作用和目的，都是为作者的写作而服务的。有的是下层意思的铺垫，有的是上旬话的结果，互相衬托，互相联系。四级阅读中常常就技巧性问题提问，测试读者对文章是否正确理解。这类题的命题方式有：
(1)The fact...is mentioned by the author to show_________.
(2)The author achieves his purpose by depending mainly upon.
(3)The writer talks about...in order io_________ .
(4)In discussing...the author_________.
(5)The author's statement about...is a...for...
Example：
If women are mercilessly exploited year after year，they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion，they are al-ways taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it，only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way，waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened，necklines are lowered or raised，and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes any thing really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth，comfort and durability.They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort，as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day，or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high- heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion，the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes，one wonders，reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability?That is for you to decide.To the writer，the fact that women alter their old-fashioned dresses is seen as_________.
A)a waste of money
B)waste of time
C)an expression of taste
本题问题是：女士们把过了时的衣服改来改去，在作者看来是“浪费金钱”(A));是“(女士对服装的)喜好(品味)的表现”(C));是“(女士们)创造性的表现”(D));还是(B))所说的“浪费时间”。根据第二段所说的“waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have.”(Para.2，Line 4——5，答案应选B)
