在全国大学英语四级考试中，完形填空是其中一种题型，所占分值比例为10％。完形填空往往会选择一篇题材熟悉，难度中等，约有200词左右的短文，文中留有20个空，每空为一题，针对每题有四个选项，考生从中选出一个最佳选项，从而使短文的意思和结构恢复完整。这部分要求应试者在15分钟之内完成。
完形填空题与单句形式考核词汇和语法的试题是截然不同的，因为《大学英语四级考试大纲》明确指出：完形填空部分的目的是测试学生综合运用语言的能力。
所谓综合运用语言的能力包括阅读理解、背景知识、词汇、语法等多方面的知识和技能。正因为它不是以单句而是以一篇短文的形式来考核应试者的语言能力，所以首要前提是要读懂文章的内容，领会短文的中心思想、主题大意和上下文衔接的脉络与逻辑关系。
在此，我们以1995年6月完形填空真题为实例，加以具体说明。
A land free from destruction，plus wealth，natural resources，and labor supply—all these were important ____71____ in helping England to become the center for the Industrial Revolution．____72____ they were not enough． Something ____73____ was needed to start the industrial process．That“something special” was men—____74____ individuals who could invent machines，find new ____75____ of power，and establish business organizations to reshape society．
The men who ____76____the machines of the Industrial Revolution ____77____ from many backgrounds and many occupations．Many of them were ____78____ inventors than scientists．A man who is a ____79____ scientist is primarily interested in doing his research ____80____．He is not necessarily working ____81____ that his findings can be used．
An inventor or one interested in applied science is ____82____ trying to make something that has a concrete ____83____．He may try to solve a problem by using the theories ____84____ science or by experimenting through trial and error．Regardless of his method，he is working to obtain a ____85____ result：the construction of a harvesting machine，the burning of a light bulb，or one of ____86____ other objectives．
Most of the people who ____87____ the machines of the Industrial Revolution were inventors，not trained scientists．A few were both scientists and inventors．Even those who had ____88____ or no training in science might not have made their inventions ____89____ aground work had not been laid by scientists years ____90____．
71．A）cases B）reasons C）factors D）situations
72．A）But B）And C）Besides D）Even
73．A）else B）near C）extra D）similar
74．A）generating B）effective
C）motivating D）creative
75．A）origins B）sources
C）bases D）discoveries
76．A）employed B）created
C）operated D）controlled
77．A）came B）arrived C）stemmed D）appeared
78．A）less B）better C）more D）worse
79．A）genuine B）practical C）pure D）clever
80．A）happily B）occasionally
C）reluctantly D）accurately
81．A）now B）and C）all D）so
82．A）seldom B）sometimes
C）usually D）never
83．A）plan B）use C）idea D）means
84．A）of B）with C）to D）as
85．A）single B）sole C）specialized D）specific
86．A）few B）those C）many D）all
87．A）proposed B）developed C）supplied D）offered
88．A）little B）much C）some D）any
89．A）as B）if C）because D）while
90．A）ago B）past C）ahead D）before
以72题为例，很显然本句与上一句是转折关系，所以所选的连接词应为A．But，可见没有上下文的背景知识就无法判断出正确选项。在完形填空中常涉及的上下文逻辑关系主要有转折、让步关系，因果关系，递进、补充关系，和对比、比较关系。
正因为完形填空的测试宗旨是从语篇的层次上考核考生的能力，故具备一定的阅读理解能力是必需的。再考虑到15分钟的时限，要通读全文，又要解决20道题，阅读速度就显得尤为重要了。对此，我们可以总结出：应对完形填空的前提基础就是在平时培养熟练的阅读技巧，具有良好的阅读理解能力，和一定的速读能力。
