从GRE2006年改革的导向来看,大大强调考察词汇在语篇中的意思,而不再考察单纯的词汇题,虽然类比反义词汇题的取消可以减少考生在准备考试中背诵大量单词的痛苦,但是从测试题的样卷看,阅读和填空题都有了一定的变化。
因此,不能简单认为少准备单词了以后的GRE考试就比现行的GRE考试要来的简单。对题目进行一定的熟悉和练习,对针对培训GRE这个考试项目是十分必要的当务之急。
笔者将全卷分析一下测试题中的Section 2,分为阅读篇和填空篇,本文是阅读短文篇。包括样卷中出现的两篇短文及题目,值得指出的是测试的考试类型是计算机上的机考,这意味着2006年GRE改革后可能会恢复机考的形式。当然,如果继续实施目前的结合性考试的形式,那么考虑到机考和笔考之间的差异性题目类型,题目数量等细节上仍然可能会有微调。当然,也有可能保持东亚四考区目前的考试模式,这样,有一些本文中提到的阅读题型在笔考考卷上会有一些变化。
如下请看文章的实例:
文章一 短文章(130words,2 questions 文章130词,文章之后有两个问题要求考生回答)
The record industry tends to seize upon the latest youthful talent at the expense of older, more expressive artists. The celebrated jazz musicians of the last decade lack the individuality of authentic leaders: in setting craftsmanship as their highest goal, these neophytes resemble second-tier stars of the 1950's and 1960's, who made ideal sidemen but whose own recordings invariably lacked the 'dark comes' of character that separate great music from merely good. Whereas critics have historically been cast as guardians of the canon, sternly measuring new work against the timeless standards of the old, musicians now seem most interested in clinging to tradition, while critics chafe at the perceived dearth of fresh, adventurous voices.
问题1
The passage suggests which of the following about jazz critics today?
A They serve as guardians of the jazz canon
B They lament a perceived decline in the standards by which jazz is judged
C They are troubled by young musicians' loyalty to traditional jazz
D They insist that craftsmanship should be the highest goal of a musician
E They tend to favor the latest youthful talent at the expense of older artists
问题类型:
细节问题,5选1题型
问题分析:
如何思考阅读问题发问的方向,常常成为很多考生做阅读题目时的思维瓶颈,很多考生为了提高阅读部分的得分而做了大量的泛读的材料,但是发现提高得很慢,收效甚微,这其中一个最主要的问题往往是因为泛读的材料是没有问题的。这点让很多的考生很困惑,读文章觉得都能读懂,但是一做起题目来却无法达到高正确率,觉得复习无实质性进展和提高,挫伤了复习的积极性和热情。
那么如何真正提高阅读的成绩呢?或者说如何比较迅速的发现究竟文章后出现的题目是在问文章哪个部分的信息呢?
这里比较适合的是采用关键字定位法,做题目时读完题干,立即问自己几个问题:问的是谁(什么)做的事情和对谁(什么)做的事情(关注名词),什么时间什么地点做的(关注限定词),一般,这样的两个关注,可以很快地帮助定位。
比如这个问题,最关键的部分出现在最末尾的部分:jazz critics today,而之前的The passage suggests which of the following about则是一般细节问题的常用套话,可以说对解题没有什么作用,或者说,看与不看是没有什么区别的。
那么critics这个最值得注意的名词,就成为了文章定位的关键词,不难发现在倒数第三行有critics出现,最后一行也有critics的身影,如此,应当把重点放在把这三行文字看懂,事实上如果你看不懂的话,看明白了文章的其他部分,这个问题仍然是无法解答的。
"Whereas critics have historically been cast as guardians of the canon, sternly measuring new work against the timeless standards of the old, musicians now seem most interested in clinging to tradition, while critics chafe at the perceived dearth of fresh, adventurous voices."
其实这三行文字也不需要全部都看明白,有一些比较重要的关键词把握住就行了,whereas开头的句子表达的是一种转折,让步的关系,因此这道题可以通过这一点突破,转折关系总是把陈述的重点放在后面,所以musicians now seem most interested in clinging to tradition, while critics chafe at the perceived dearth of fresh, adventurous voices就是答案的最好提示:"(爵士)音乐家现在更看重传统,而评论家们则烦恼于意识到缺乏新鲜,前卫的声音了。"
符合这个意思的答案也就是C了。复习中练习得当,勤于思考,多关注一些文章中的关键词汇,读文章做题目能变得更加有的放矢。
问题2
In the context in which it appears, guardians most nearly means
A Appraisers
B Authors
C Fathers
D Determinants
E Champions
问题类型:
词汇题,五选一题型
问题分析:
就现行GRE考试的阅读题目而言,词汇题出现得并不多,词汇题目中也主要考察类比关系和反义关系,而寻找同义词或者近义词则是TOEFL阅读中常考察的题型,这里单独考察词汇题是牢牢扣紧了改革原则,考察词汇在语篇中的意思而不是单纯考察词汇意思,同时这里选择的词汇比较冷僻guardian在m-w字典上的含义是take care of one person or property而答案里的father则更是GRE 典型的熟词僻义的考察模式,没有一个考生在看到father的时候会说自己不认识的,而这里做保护和监护解的意思却很少有知道的。或者说,遍寻GRE词汇的各种参考书也很少能找到收录father这个词的,但是这是GRE考试考词汇的特点,一定要注意。勤查字典,是考试获得理想成绩的基本保证。
文章二 短文章 (100words 2 questions 文章100词左右,文章之后有两个问题要求考生回答)
Objectively, of course, the various ecosystems that sustain life on the planet proceed independently of human agency, just as they operated before the hectic ascendancy of Homo sapiens. But it is also true that it is better or worse, been substantially" title="ad.大体上;本质上">substantially modified by human culture. Nor is this simply the work of the industrial centuries. It has been happening since the days of ancient Mesopotamia. It is coeval with the origin of writing and has occurred throughout our social existence. And it is this irreversibly modified world, from the polar caps to the equatorial forests, that is all the nature we have.
问题3:
Consider each of the three choices separately and select all that apply. The credited response may be one, two or all three of the choices.
It can be inferred from the passage that the author would agree with which of the following statement?
A Overtime the impact of human culture on the natural world has been largely benign.
B It is a mistake to think that the natural world contains many areas of pristine wilderness.
C The only substantial effects that human agency has had on ecosystems have been inadvertent
问题类型:
问题3是一种新型题型--不定项选择题。题目的要求是,在下面的三个选项中有一个,两个或者三个都是可能是正确的,看来这种题型的评分中全部选对,部分选对(比如三个全是正确答案而只选择了一个或者两个)的评分将会不同。当然出题人也有一定的难度调整的想法,减少了选项的数量。不定项选择如果有5个或者6个选项,这样的题目从评分角度,也有不少的困难。
问题分析:
而这样的题目类型从发问的角度而言,是既可以对文章的主旨相关内容发问,又可以从文章细节的角度出发发问,而这样,这个类型的问题就必须搜索一下全篇,找到了与给出的选项叙述不同或相反的背离的就排除,一致的则成为选择的正确答案。
这里,A选项说人类对自然世界的影响是largely benign,也就是基本上都是良性的。而文章中是这样写的"But it is also true that it is better or worse"也就是影响是有好也有不好的,A不能入选;B的叙述是无法找到自在的自然,而文章里这样叙述:that is all the nature we have。可见B也不正确,因此不用再比对下去,这道题选C。当然C的叙述与文章刚好匹配。
问题4:
In the context in which it appears, coeval with most nearly means
A Influenced by
B Older than
C Coincident with
D Unimpeded by
E Similar to
问题类型:
词汇题,寻找同义词组,五选一。
问题分析:
这个词汇题比较简单,不看文章也一样可以找到答案C,这两个结构意思相同都是表示同时发生。当然,如果词汇意思不明确,通过看上下文的提示也可以推断出来,因为该结构在文中连接两个发生事件的时间,那么这里的这个结构的意思应该是表示前后的时间是同时发生的。
由于测试是计算机考试的界面,这里出现的词汇题并没有在题目里加行数提示,原因是计算机界面中出现这道题目的时候,文章里用醒目的黄色标记,标明了这个单词的位置,方便了考生的查找工作。
GRE考试的语文部分,除了已经介绍过的填空题目,和短文章以外,还有长文章和出现较少的逻辑题目,篇幅所限,将在以后的文章中为读者再做介绍,请继续关注。