首先在语法(官方叫Writing)的考察上不管是纸质版本的SAT,还是目前机考的SAT 都是比GMAT 的SC (同样涉及语法)部分容易很多。
一个直观的比较是,SAT 的题目用一个知识点就可以排除3个选项的,但是GMAT 的SC 往往一个题目里考的不仅仅是一个知识点。
比如
[Digital SAT] Formed in 1967 to foster political and economic stability within the Asia-Pacific region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was originally made up of five members: Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. By the end of the 1990s, the organization ______ its initial membership.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- has doubled
- had doubled
- doubles
- will double
就是考时态这一个知识点,时间点(the end of the 1990s)的给出也是很直接
[GMAT] The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, which increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it fell over the last two years.
- which increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it fell
- which had increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it had fallen
- which have increased five percent during the first three months of this year after falling
- with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after falling
- with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after having fallen
找了一个和第一个SAT 的题目考察点很接近的GMAT SC 的题目,也是考时态,只是从选项的复杂度上来说会高一些,另外时间点的给出也没有那么直接,GMAT 的还是有一个after 的前后时间扰乱。
当然两题都不是对应考试里面的难的题目,只是从以上同类型知识点的考察可以看出来两个考试在能力要求上的不同。
在机考SAT 阅读方面也是
阅读的填空GRE 有类似的考题,不管是词汇量的考察还是句子的阅读难度上,GRE 的填空都会更难一些。
[Digital SAT] The author’s claim about the relationship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens is ______, as it fails to account for several recent archaeological discoveries. To be convincing, his argument would need to address recent finds of additional hominid fossils, such as the latest Denisovan specimens and Homo longi.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
- disorienting
- tenuous
- nuanced
- unoriginal
[GRE] In one theory, as people learn things throughout the day, connections between neurons get strengthened, but during sleep then all synapses are weakened, tenuous connections are _____ and only the strongest bonds could remain.
- reinforced
- reproduced
- replaced
- stimulated
- severed
在单空题目方面,GRE 的空格重复会更为直截了当些,SAT 的语境会更为完整些,直观来看,就是题目会字数多些。从目前官方给出的SAT 填空题目来看,虽然题目长,但陌生词是比较少的,长出来的部分大多是在帮我们更好的理解题目内容。
GRE 也有长题的填空,只是这个时候挖的空就会多些
The power of laughter to affect the perceived funniness of television programming is (i) _______: most researchers have found that the inclusion of laughter on a program's soundtrack (ii) _______ the overall perception of humor, although it appears that it can (iii) _______ humor at specific points and thus boost the total comic appeal of the program.
- cumulative measurable unclear
- allows variations in tends to accentuate has little effect on
- dampen enhance mask
另外机考SAT 的阅读部分还有类似GRE/GMAT 逻辑部分的考题。
机考SAT 的证据题
[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?
-
The model with a sail took significantly longer to travel a specified distance while submerged than the model without a sail did.
-
The model with a sail displaced significantly more water while submerged than the model without a sail did.
-
The model with a sail had significantly less battery power remaining after completing the tests than the model without a sail did.
-
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)。
GMAT 的逻辑题
[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?
-
Most infants start the process of learning language when they are about four months old.
-
Watching people's eyes and facial expressions also plays a substantial role in how most infants learn language.
-
Watching the woman's mouth did not help the adults or the youngest infants understand what she was saying.
-
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.
-
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高些(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?
-
“The snow has ceased its fluttering flight, / The wind sunk to a whisper light, / An ominous stillness fills the night, / A pause—a hush.”
-
“And so the years go swiftly by, / Each, coming, brings ambitions high, / And each, departing, leaves a sigh / Linked to the past.”
-
“What does this brazen tongue declare, / That falling on the midnight air / Brings to my heart a sense of care / Akin to fright?”
-
“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。
但如前所述,SAT 的词汇难度还是会低于GRE,但会比GMAT 高些。
当然SAT是针对高中生的,GRE/GMAT是针对大学生的,本身难度有差异也是好理解的。
只是纸质SAT时的长篇阅读文章还是让SAT 保有了自己的一些难度特点,现在去掉了这个特点,就找不到一个SAT 部分的分数可以反映考生语言能力的变量了。
类似的变量,比如TOEFL 里的口语; 比如GRE 里的写作(以前GRE 的语文也能反映,近年因为一些不好的风气,语文部分的分数已经反应不了语言能力了)。TOEFL 口语28+; GRE 写作5+ 还是能证明一定的语言能力的。
但机考SAT 有一个难度是容错率,虽然题目的绝对难度不算高,对于总分1500+甚至1550+ 的考生来说能错的题目数量非常少,所以如果能力上到了这个分数等级的,其实自己也会意识到,机考SAT的题目难度还是很友好的。