1. SAT考试简要介绍
2. SAT语法考试内容
3. SAT语法题目特征
4. SAT语法解题步骤
本章我们要向各位读者介绍改革后的SAT,尤其是SAT语法部分。为了使各位以最快的速度了解新SAT语法最核心的信息,笔者将改革说明的重点全都搜罗出来,按条列举。读者可快速浏览本部分的内容。注意:有些标题你看了之后会产生“这是什么意思”的疑惑,这些部分就是本书中你需要反复阅读的部分。
关于SAT的几个名词
The College Board
The College Board(美国大学理事会)是SAT(Scholastic Assessment Test)的管理机构,目前,大学理事会已有超过5700个会员,包括中小学、大学以及其他教育组织等。每一年,大学理事会向700多万位学生及家长、23000所高中以及3800所大学提供各种服务项目,其中最著名的项目包括SAT、PSAT、AP等考试和课程项目。这些考试主要针对的是高中11、12年级的考生,考试成绩是进入美国大学的重要标准和参照。
ETS
ETS(Educational Testing Service,美国教育考试服务中心)成立于1947年,是世界最大的私立非营利性教育考试和评估机构,也是教育研究领域的领导者。该组织致力于为近200个国家的个人、教育机构和政府部门提供服务,并在全球范围内开展、管理每年1200多万人次的考试,其中包括我们熟悉的TOEFL、GRE等考试。ETS不负责SAT的命题和管理,只是承办考试和负责考务工作。
New SAT
2016年3月,SAT考试改革,演化为新SAT考试。新的SAT考试分为三部分:Evidence-based Reading & Writing,Math,Essay。其中读写部分占800分,数学占800分,这两项加起来满分为1600分。Essay部分为选考,独立计算分数,分数范围是6~24分。
关于SAT语法的几个数字
·4: 语法部分包含4篇文章。按内容分类,人文、历史社会、科学各一篇,还有一篇的内容与工作相关,兼顾那些高中毕业后不直接读大学而选择工作的考生;按体裁分类,其中一篇为非小说类记叙文,剩下三篇为说明文和议论文。
·400~450: 每篇语法文章的长度在400~450词,比起阅读考试中每篇500~750词的文章要短不少;文章的复杂程度只相当于美国中学9~10年级的阅读材料难度,比同类考试中阅读文章要简单很多。对于广大中国考生来说,英语毕竟不是我们的母语,所以在准备考试时,要知己知彼,扬长避短,尽量先复习好SAT语法部分,将容易拿到的分数掌握在自己手中,再尽量弥补自己的不足,努力做好阅读题目。
·35: 语法考试的时间为35分钟。可以说,与SAT考试的其他科科目相比,语法考试在时间上也有天然的优势。这部分考试在顺序上是排在阅读考试之后,考生可以避免刚入考场的兴奋和浮躁,又不至于已经考了太久而疲惫不堪,应该是考生在考场上状态最好的一部分考试。
·44: 在35分钟的时间内,考生要完成44道题目。综合计算一下,按照SAT要求的阅读速度,大约每分钟要读200词,那么阅读的时间大概是8.5分钟,留给题目的时间就只有26.5分钟左右,算下来每道题目用的时间不能超过36秒,所以要求我们对题目的分析要精准,做题要迅速。
·1/4: 新SAT考试将原来选择题的五选一模式改为四选一,且答错的题目不再扣分,整体降低了选择的难度。
SAT语法考试内容
从SAT改革样题说明和SAT OG对SAT Writing and Language 部分的说明可以看出,新SAT语法主要考查两个方面。
Standard English Conventions 即“标准英语用法”,指的是固定的英语语言规则。比如说,一个句子应该至少有主语和谓语;句子结尾要有标点符号;单数的主语对应单数的谓语,等等。这种类型的题目,或者说这些语法规则,是我们国内英语教学一直重视的部分,也是国内英语考试的重点,相信考生掌握得不会太差。考生需要做的是查漏补缺,归纳整理,这也是这本书在这部分的重点。
Expression of Ideas 即“英语表达技巧”,指的是为了达到文章的主旨或目的,在内容、组织结构或者语言表达上所做的改变。比如说,段落的开头一般会有表达本段主要内容的主题句;或者为了语言的连贯和顺畅,需要添加或者改变一些连接词,等等。这类题目,一方面题干和选项比前面所述的标准英语用法类题目要长,阅读起来比较累。另一方面,考生在国内高中很少见到这种出题方式,不太适应这种类型的题目。这部分就是本书的重点和难点。
A subway system is expanded to provide service to a growing suburb. A bike-sharing program is adopted to encourage nonmotorized transportation. To alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a congested downtown area, stoplight timing is coordinated. When any one of these changes 2 occur, it is likely the result of careful analysis conducted by transportation planners.
The work of transportation planners generally includes evaluating current transportation needs, assessing the effectiveness of existing facilities, and improving those facilities or 3 they design new ones. Most transportation planners work in or near cities, but some are employed in rural areas. Say, for example, a large factory is built on the outskirts of a small town. Traffic to and from that location would increase at the beginning and end of work shifts. The transportation planner's job, might involve conducting a traffic count to determine the daily number of vehicles traveling on the road to the new factory. If analysis of the traffic count indicates that there is more traffic than the 6 current road as it is designed at this time can efficiently accommodate, the transportation planner might recommend widening the road to add another lane.
Transportation planners work closely with a number of community stakeholders, such as government officials and other interested organizations and individuals. 7 Next , representatives from the local public health department might provide input in designing a network of trails and sidewalks to encourage people to walk more. According to the American Heart Association, walking provides numerous benefits related to health and well-being. Members of the Chamber of Commerce might share suggestions about designing transportation and parking facilities to support local businesses.
9 People who pursue careers in transportation planning have a wide variety of educational backgrounds. A two-year degree in transportation technology may be sufficient for some entry-level jobs in the field. Most jobs, however, require at least a bachelor's degree; majors of transportation planners are varied, including fields such as urban studies, civil engineering, geography, or transportation and logistics management. For many positions in the field, a master's degree is required.
Transportation planners perform critical work within the broader field of urban and regional planning. As of 2010, there were approximately 40,300 urban and regional planners employed in the United States. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts steady job growth in this field, 11 projecting that 16 percent of new jobs in all occupations will be related to urban and regional planning . Population growth and concerns about environmental sustainability are expected to spur the need for transportation planning professionals.
2. A)NO CHANGE
B)occur, they are
C)occurs, they are
D)occurs, it is
3. A)NO CHANGE
B)to design
C)designing
D)design
6. A)NO CHANGE
B)current design of the road right now
C)road as it is now currently designed
D)current design of the road
7. A)NO CHANGE
B)For instance,
C)Furthermore,
D)Similarly,
9. A)NO CHANGE
B)People, who pursue careers in transportation planning,
C)People who pursue careers, in transportation planning,
D)People who pursue careers in transportation planning,
11. Which choice completes the sentence with accurate data based on the graph?
A)NO CHANGE
B)warning, however, that job growth in urban and regional planning will slow to 14 percent by 2020.
C)predicting that employment of urban and regional planners will increase 16 percent between 2010 and 2020.
D)indicating that 14 to 18 percent of urban and regional planning positions will remain unfilled.
根据上面的例题片段我们可以看出,SAT语法题目的基本特征是:
(1)围绕一篇文章来出题,文章本身难度不大。
(2)题目考查的是词语、句子或者一篇文章。
(3)每个题目后面有四个选项,要求考生选择一个正确的选项。有的题目有题干,认真按照题干来选择;没有题干的题目,选择最佳替代选项。
1. 快速浏览文章,阅读文章中的画线部分。
通过浏览文章确定文章的基本人称和时态,同时注意画线部分的成分,初步判断画线部分试图考查的知识点。对于短语和句子类考点,能够当时解决的就解决;对于明显针对全文出的题目,不要纠结,读完全文之后再回来做题。
2. 先易后难,不要轻视简单题目。
结合本书后面精讲部分对题目的分类和讲解,确定哪些是简单易得分的题目,哪些是不易得分的题目。题目的难易不会影响题目所占的分值,所以越是简单的题目,越要认真仔细,保证应该得到的分数一分不丢。
3. 不论对错,对所有选项负责。
在做题的时候注意认真分析、举一反三,如果某题选A,一定要弄明白B、C、D为什么是错的,因为它们的错误会重复出现在将来的考试中,多分析一个选项就相当于多巩固一遍知识,多熟悉一次出题思路,因此不要随便放弃任何一个选项。
4. 先重视答对率,再提高速度。
在你刚开始接触SAT语法的时候,是不可能在35分钟的时间内游刃有余地做完44道题目的。这是正常情况,完全不必担心。做题目的时候,不要求多求快,练习过程中重在养成总结积累、仔细钻研的好习惯,先求对,再求准,最后求快。做题速度会随着练习量的增加而逐渐提升。