考大学生和考高中生的同类型考题难度对比

标题解释：

考大学生/成年人的考试，即申请研究生时候需要的考试，比如 GRE/GMAT/LSAT‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

考高中生考试，即申请本科时候需要的考试，比如SAT/ACT 等‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

因为都是美国教育选拔的考试，出题机构要么ETS，要么ETS -ish，所以有很多的测试题型在不同考试里面都有出现。事实上如果一个考生是从美高申请备考SSAT 起步的话，那么会发现每个阶段的升学考试（初中到高中，高中到大学，大学到研究生）的备考题型和自己准备的方式是比较类似的。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

这里我们要比较的是Digital SAT 的语文部分和研究生考试的GRE/GMAT  考试语文部分的同类型题型。可以看下对于出题机构来说，在设计题目的时候，对于一个高中生和一个大学生要求的不同。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

题型1：单词填空

这个题型在SSAT, 老SAT, GRE 都有，这里要比较的是目前Digital SAT 里有的和GRE 部分有的。丰富度上GRE 考察的更高一些：Digital SAT 的只有单空的，GRE 是1/2/3 空的都有。下面比较的是两者都有的单空部分：

[Digital SAT] 

Following the principles of community-based participatory research, tribal nations and research institutions are equal partners in health studies conducted on reservations. A collaboration between the Crow Tribe and Montana State University _______ this model: tribal citizens worked alongside scientists to design the methodology and continue to assist in data collection. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? 

1. circumvents 

2. eclipses 

3. fabricates 

4. exemplifies ‍

   ‍
   

[GRE]

The results of the latest survey being _______, earlier results gave researchers little relevant experience for the new data's interpretation.

1. superfluous
2. inconsequential
3. tedious
4. unexampled
5. familiar

刻意的找了两个考察上有点像的两个题目。

表面上的不同，SAT 是4选1， GRE 是5选1； 单词难度上目前这两个题目看不出来，从目前可看到的考场题来看，GRE 的单空考察的单词会难一些，但是也要注意到 Digital SAT 官方公布的题目还不多，所以坦白讲还不好把握在这个填词部分会有的单词难度，但从题目设计看，这类型题目增加难度的方式基本只有一种，就是增加词的陌生度。

基于目前Digital SAT 的测试上也是会有难度自适应的，可以预测，进入到Hard 部分以后，这种词汇填空的题目难度还是会主要通过单词的陌生度来实现。因此记忆扎实词汇，对于Digital SAT 来说还是很有必要的，不要被目前开放的官方题里的词汇友好度迷惑了。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

题型2：Inference 题目

Digital SAT的语文部分相较于纸质的SAT最大的变化就是文本短了很多，短的像极了研究生考试里的逻辑题（Critical Reasoning）‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

比如这个是Digital SAT 里的Inference 题目

[Digital SAT]

Herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs could grow more than 100 feet long and weigh up to 80 tons, and some researchers have attributed the evolution of sauropods to such massive sizes to increased plant production resulting from high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the Mesozoic era. However, there is no evidence of significant spikes in carbon dioxide levels coinciding with relevant periods in sauropod evolution, such as when the first large sauropods appeared, when several sauropod lineages underwent further evolution toward gigantism, or when sauropods reached their maximum known sizes, suggesting that _______ 

Which choice most logically completes the text? 

1. fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide affected different sauropod lineages differently. 

2. the evolution of larger body sizes in sauropods did not depend on increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

3. atmospheric carbon dioxide was higher when the largest known sauropods lived than it was when the first sauropods appeared. 

4. sauropods probably would not have evolved to such immense sizes if atmospheric carbon dioxide had been even slightly higher. 


简单来说，这个题目做题方式就是假设给你的文本部分的信息都是对的，能推导（Infer）出选项部分的哪个答案，当然4个里面只有一个可以推导出来。‍‍‍

在GRE/GMAT 的逻辑题部分有个类似的提醒，我们传统上一般叫conclusion 类‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

[GMAT] Proponents of the electric car maintain that when the technical problems associated with its battery design are solved, such cars will be widely used and, because they are emission-free, will result in an abatement of the environmental degradation caused by auto emissions. But unless we dam more rivers, the electricity to charge these batteries will come from nuclear or coal- fired power plants. Each of these three power sources produces considerable environmental damage. Thus, the electric car _______. 

Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?

1. will have worse environmental consequences than its proponents may believe
2. will probably remain less popular than other types of cars
3. requires that purely technical problems be solved before it can succeed
4. will increase the total level of emissions rather than reduce it
5. will not produce a net reduction in environmental degradation

在GMAT 的逻辑（CR）部分找了一个类似排版的题目。做题方法上当时是一样的：正确答案一定是原文的重复（以上两个题目因为文中有 However/But 的取反，所以实际的答案都是原文内容的取反重复）；错误要么是原文没有提到的，要么和原文的信息相反了。

这个类型的题目增加难度的方式主要是增加句子的难度或者长度，可能通过加从句或者加比较结构的方式让考生读起来不舒服，同时增加时间上的消耗。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

解决类似难句处理的速度问题，首先是多限时做题，另外句子实在读的有点云里雾里的同学，额外专门去做下长难句的练习也是有一定的必要的。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

目前来看，这个类型的题目在Digital SAT 和在 GRE/GMAT 里考察的难度区别不大，除了一个是4选，一个是5选。所以后期Digital SAT 缺题做的同学，可以借鉴下GRE/GMAT 的类似题来做下。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

题型3 Textual Evidence 类题目‍‍‍

同样重复了GRE/GMAT 的逻辑题部分

Digital SAT 里的题目‍‍‍‍‍

[Digital SAT] Jan Gimsa, Robert Sleigh, and Ulrike Gimsa have hypothesized that the sail-like structure running down the back of the dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus improved the animal’s success in underwater pursuits of prey species capable of making quick, evasive movements. To evaluate their hypothesis, a second team of researchers constructed two battery-powered mechanical models of S. aegyptiacus, one with a sail and one without, and subjected the models to a series of identical tests in a water-filled tank. 

Which finding from the model tests, if true, would most strongly support Gimsa and colleagues’ hypothesis? 

1. The model with a sail took significantly longer to travel a specified distance while submerged than the model without a sail did. 

2. The model with a sail displaced significantly more water while submerged than the model without a sail did. 

3. The model with a sail had significantly less battery power remaining after completing the tests than the model without a sail did. 

4. The model with a sail took significantly less time to complete a sharp turn while submerged than the model without a sail did. ‍

从做题原则上来说，就是在题目里面有个结论，然后需要我们在选项里面找个证据能去支持文本里的结论。所谓的“支持”，就是重复（比如上面黄色highlight 部分的对应）。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

下面是GMAT 里的类似考题‍‍‍‍

[GMAT]

In an experiment, psychologists tracked the eye movements of adults and of infants from four to twelve months old watching a video of a woman speaking. The adults and the infants younger than six months mainly watched the woman's eyes, but the infants older than six months switched their attention between her eyes and her mouth. The psychologists concluded that lip-reading plays a role in how most infants learn language. 

Which of the following would, if true, most strengthen the support for the psychologists' conclusion?

1. Most infants start the process of learning language when they are about four months old.
2. Watching people's eyes and facial expressions also plays a substantial role in how most infants learn language.
3. Watching the woman's mouth did not help the adults or the youngest infants understand what she was saying.
4. While watching the woman's lips, the infants older than six months repeated the vocal sounds she made then more often than those she made at other times.
5. The infants generally paid closer attention to the video when the woman's mouth was concealed than when her eyes were concealed.

上面GMAT 的这个题目和 前面Digital SAT的题目在题干和答案的制造上是比较像的：

1. 都是加强

2. 都是答案提供了一个更为细节的内容和题干中的笼统观点对应重复。

这个Evidence的题型，不管是Digital SAT 还是 GMAT 都有Weaken 类型的：就是在选项里面找个证据去削弱题干中的结论。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

GMAT 和 Digital SAT 不同的地方是， GMAT 的考察的逻辑的丰富度会更好些（在选项的加强和削弱的表达上会更为复杂）；Digital SAT 在这个题型上也有自己的特点，它会考场诗歌和小说内容的证据题，这是研究生考试没有的，比如‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

“Ghosts of the Old Year” is an early 1900s poem by James Weldon Johnson. In the poem, the speaker describes experiencing an ongoing cycle of anticipation followed by regretful reflection: ______

Which quotation from “Ghosts of the Old Year” most effectively illustrates the claim?

1. “The snow has ceased its fluttering flight, / The wind sunk to a whisper light, / An ominous stillness fills the night, / A pause—a hush.”
2. “And so the years go swiftly by, / Each, coming, brings ambitions high, / And each, departing, leaves a sigh / Linked to the past.”
3. “What does this brazen tongue declare, / That falling on the midnight air / Brings to my heart a sense of care / Akin to fright?”
4. “It tells of many a squandered day, / Of slighted gems and treasured clay, / Of precious stores not laid away, / Of fields unreaped.”

逻辑上不管文本是诗歌还是小说，还是常见的argument都是一样的，就是答案和原文的重复（如上题的highlights 对应）。只是诗歌和小说因为是文科类型，所以会有一些修饰性的态度词，对于词的要求会高一些。‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

以上，提高阅读的能力不管在哪个阶段都是一样的。‍‍‍‍‍‍需要先把基础的单词和长难句的能力提高了，‍‍‍然后通过官方题目的练习，增加对于出题的了解。‍‍‍保持阅读，保持思考。