首先文本类型的题目(包括阅读听力和类似TOEFL 口语写作的综合题)的核心都是重复,所以这个点不是SAT 阅读或者机考SAT 阅读(Digital SAT)所特有的。
一个考试文本类型题目的简单和难往往在于重复的难度,比如一般觉得雅思的阅读是比较简单的,就是因为正确答案和原文的重复率很高,而GRE 的阅读会比雅思的难,主要也是因为GRE 的正确答案和原文的重复是更为广义的,不是简单的同义词替换。
机考SAT 的重复本身来说有简单的,也有复杂的。这里综述下阅读部分不同题型的重复特点
官方把机考SAT 的语文部分的题型分为以下几类
前面两行是阅读部分的(后面两个是语法的),对标着,我们的阅读一共有以下几个题型
- words 词汇题
- Evidence (Textual & Quantitative)证据题
- Inferences 推理题
- Central ideas 主旨题
- Purpose 段落目的题
- Structure 结构题
- Cross-texts 双篇关系题
从以上几个考察的题型看,目前的重复类型大致有以下三种情况
1. 词的重复
In habitats with limited nutrients, certain fungus species grow on the roots of trees, engaging in mutually beneficial relationships known as ectomycorrhizae: in this symbiotic exchange, the tree provides the fungus with carbon, a nutrient necessary for both species, and the fungus ______ by enhancing the tree’s ability to absorb nitrogen, another key nutrient, from the soil."
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
- overreacts
- reciprocates
- retaliates
- deviates
空格问的是fungus 怎么样了,前文有个直接的词的对应叫mutually beneficial relationship,定位到了以后,下一步就是选项里的单词是不是认识了:reciprocates 是个很直接的对应
2. 单句重复
Born in 1891 to a Quechua-speaking family in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Martín Chambi is today considered to be one of the most renowned figures of Latin American photography. In a paper for an art history class, a student claims that Chambi’s photographs have considerable ethnographic value—in his work, Chambi was able to capture diverse elements of Peruvian society, representing his subjects with both dignity and authenticity.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the student’s claim?
- Chambi took many commissioned portraits of wealthy Peruvians, but he also produced hundreds of images carefully documenting the peoples, sites, and customs of Indigenous communities of the Andes.
- Chambi’s photographs demonstrate a high level of technical skill, as seen in his strategic use of illumination to create dramatic light and shadow contrasts.
- During his lifetime, Chambi was known and celebrated both within and outside his native Peru, as his work was published in places like Argentina, Spain, and Mexico.
- Some of the peoples and places Chambi photographed had long been popular subjects for Peruvian photographers.
一个证据题,要求我们选一个答案能够支持原文的claim,本质上就是找一个答案和原文的这个claim 的句子重复。
原文说的是Chambi 这个的photographs 记录了当时的社会百态,那对应过来的只有A
diverse elements of Peruvian society = wealthy Peruvians + the peoples, sites, and customs of Indigenous communities of the Andes
这是一个很典型的单句重复题
这种单句的重复如果是类似上面议论文形式的会比较好做些,如果是诗歌或者小说的,因为会偏文绉绉,多修饰词,会不适应些,这时候重要的还是要把握答案和原文要求句子间的重复对应
“To You” is an 1856 poem by Walt Whitman. In the poem, Whitman suggests that he deeply understands the reader, whom he addresses directly, writing, ______
Which quotation from “To You” most effectively illustrates the claim?
- “Your true soul and body appear before me.”
- “Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem.”
- “I should have made my way straight to you long ago.”
- “Whoever you are, I fear you are walking the walks of dreams.”
题目要找到一个选项对应 he deeply understands the reader 就好,A 的 Your true soul and body appear before me 比较好的重复了understand,因为空格前说了address directly,所以这个选项的you 就是reader,因此 your... appear before me = undersatand the reader
3. 多句重复
The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll’s 1889 satirical novel Sylvie and Bruno. A crowd has gathered outside a room belonging to the Warden, an official who reports to the Lord Chancellor.
One man, who was more excited than the rest, flung his hat high into the air, and shouted (as well as I could make out) “Who roar for the Sub-Warden?” Everybody roared, but whether it was for the Sub-Warden, or not, did not clearly appear: some were shouting “Bread!” and some “Taxes!”, but no one seemed to know what it was they really wanted.
All this I saw from the open window of the Warden’s breakfast-saloon, looking across the shoulder of the Lord Chancellor.
“What can it all mean?” he kept repeating to himself. “I never heard such shouting before—and at this time of the morning, too! And with such unanimity!”"
Based on the text, how does the Lord Chancellor respond to the crowd?
- He asks about the meaning of the crowd’s shouting, even though he claims to know what the crowd wants.
- He indicates a desire to speak to the crowd, even though the crowd has asked to speak to the Sub-Warden.
- He expresses sympathy for the crowd’s demands, even though the crowd’s shouting annoys him.
- He describes the crowd as being united, even though the crowd clearly appears otherwise.
问的是 Lord 的反应,文本的最后一段就是Lord 的反应,答案D 的前半句对应的是lord 的话的部分,后半句对应的前面对于群众的描述
严格来说,答案算是和原文的两个句子重复了。
再看一题
Text 1
Conventional wisdom long held that human social systems evolved in stages, beginning with hunter-gatherers forming small bands of members with roughly equal status. The shift to agriculture about 12,000 years ago sparked population growth that led to the emergence of groups with hierarchical structures: associations of clans first, then chiefdoms, and finally, bureaucratic states.
Text 2
In a 2021 book, anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow maintain that humans have always been socially flexible, alternately forming systems based on hierarchy and collective ones with decentralized leadership. The authors point to evidence that as far back as 50,000 years ago some hunter-gatherers adjusted their social structures seasonally, at times dispersing in small groups but also assembling into communities that included esteemed individuals.
Based on the texts, how would Graeber and Wengrow (Text 2) most likely respond to the “conventional wisdom” presented in Text 1?
- By conceding the importance of hierarchical systems but asserting the greater significance of decentralized collective societies
- By disputing the idea that developments in social structures have followed a linear progression through distinct stages
- By acknowledging that hierarchical roles likely weren’t a part of social systems before the rise of agriculture
- By challenging the assumption that groupings of hunter-gatherers were among the earliest forms of social structure
这种双篇的题肯定是多句的,因为至少两篇内容都得涉及到。首先读完两篇时候就要能建立起两者的关系,上面的两篇显然是相反的态度,Text 1 觉得人类的社会结构发展是线性的:从原始社会的equal status到后来的有hierarchical structures;Text 2 觉得人类社会的结构是是灵活的,在原始社会的时候也有 hierarchy,所以两者的关系就是text 2 dispute text 1 的态度。
通过以上几个官方试题,可以看到题目制造难度的方式
- 定位的难度,即能不能快速找到答案在原文的定位 (这个目前机考SAT 因为文本不长,所以考生遇到有陌生单词,不然都是好定位的)
- 同义替代的难度,即找到原文的定位以后,能不能在几个选项里面读出来和原文重复上最合适的。
以上两个难度要去克服,比较重要的还是
1. 解决单词 2. 提高难句阅读速度。
因为机考SAT 的文章已经没有像纸质版本的时候那么长了,所以对于段落阅读的要求没有那么高了,特别是段间关系的考察上。
所以提高阅读能力还是词和句。解决这两个以后,要提高阅读部分的正确率,可以做完题以后多分析下答案和原文是怎么重复的,以及另外几个答案为什么没有和原文重复了。