雅思閱讀題型多變，考點在文中飄忽不定。但是作爲國際化的學術英語考試，自然有其嚴肅穩定的考查目的和內容，始終會把對英語篇章結構和行文規律的理解作爲閱讀的一項基本要求重點考查。因此加強這方面的學習研究是從根本上提高應試能力的途徑。下面僅從英語行文結構中邏輯關係詞的作用及其閱讀功能這一具體方面作初步探討。
關於邏輯關係詞在閱讀中的作用，我們首先來看一段文字：
the discourse markers signal relationships: between different parts of the discourse…the main reason for studying them is the usefulness in helping the reader to work out the meaning of difficult often show the relationship the writer intends between two parts of the text,so if you can understand one part,the discourse marker is a possible key to the other part.
(Christine Nuttall,hing Reading Skills in a Foreign Language,Heinemann)
具體到雅思閱讀，邏輯關係詞在解題中體現出兩大功能：
一、語意推斷
語意推斷主要是運用於重點題型之一的摘要題(Summary)。具體是指根據空格所在句及前後句的邏輯關係詞，分析詞語之間，句子之間的語意關係，推斷出所缺單詞的大致含義。
例如：
1.劍4 / P77 / Q38
Some corpora include a wide range of language while others are used to focus on a particular linguistic feature.
根據while這個表示對比或轉折的邏輯關係詞，可以判斷它前後部分是對比或反義關係。“a wide range of language”指的是語言研究的廣泛的各個方面，可以預判空格處應是指具體的方面。
2.劍1 / P20 / Q4-5
The very first fire-lighting methods involved the creation of friction by, for example, rapidly rotating a wooden stick in a round hole.
根據介詞“by”和“for example”這個表示舉例的邏輯關係詞，可以預判第二個空格應是和“creation of friction”(產生摩擦)的具體動作有關的詞。
3.劍1 / P20 / Q6
The use of percussion or persistent chipping was also widespread in Europe …
題幹中出現了表示遞進的邏輯關係詞in the short term … in the longer term …。快速查讀原文，可定位於文中相同的`邏輯結構in the immediate future … in the long term …。
另外，對雅思真題文章進行精讀訓練的同學會發現，除了以上兩大功能之外，邏輯關係詞在原文中的位置還常常是命題考點最集中的地方。因此學習和掌握邏輯關係詞在閱讀中的功能和作用，將對提高答題的速度起關鍵性的作用。同時，能夠熟練運用邏輯關係詞對於寫出條理清楚，層次分明的雅思作文也大有幫助。
二、定位例如：
1.劍5 / P50 / Q30-31
題幹：In Britain, moreover, scientists worried that English hadneither the technical vocabulary nor the grammatical resourcesto express their ideas.
原文：First, it lacked the necessary technical nd, it lacked the grammatical resources required torepresent the world … (Para.7) 題幹中出現的neither…nor…是連接兩個否定概念的並列邏輯關係詞。原文中對應出現了完全相同的邏輯關係，即first, it lacked …,second it lacked …(表現方式有所變化)。我們可根據這種對應的邏輯關係在原文中快速定位答案信息源。
2.劍5 / P50 / Q33-34
題幹：Although English was then overtaken by German, itdeveloped again in the 19th century as a direct result of theindustrial revolution.
原文：In the following century much of this momentum waslost as German established itself as the leading European language of science. … However, in the 19th century scientificEnglish again enjoyed substantial lexical growth as the industrialrevolution created the need for new technical vocabulary