新SAT官方样题发布之阅读解析
- 2015年01月12日12:51 来源：小站整理
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在题目设计上，这篇文章的五个题目依次考察了文章结构(text structure)，措辞与态度(use of specific words and phrases to shape meaning and tone), 人物观点(point of view or perspective)，文本依据(citing textual evidence)和隐含语义(implicit meanings)这五个考点。
对照老SAT相关题型和考点发现，我们发现，这五个题目中只有第四题是新题型，考查的是文本依据(citing textual evidence)，这种题目要求在文中找出支持上一题答案的依据，目的是引导学生有理有据地解读原文，非常符合新SAT阅读改革的大方向：Evidence-based reading.
其余四个题目在考点设计上与旧SAT类似，只是选项由旧SAT的五个减为四个，且答错不再倒扣分数。
【文章大意】
MattieSilver是Ethan家的年轻女佣，这篇文章讲述了男主人Ethan对这位女佣的感情。
在第一段里，Ethan初见Mattie时就喜欢上了她，觉得她给自己原本冷清的生活带来了活力(But it was not only that the coming to his house of a bit of hopeful young life was like the lighting of a fire on a cold hearth. The girl was more than the bright serviceable creature he had thought her.)。
第二段里，Ethan觉得自己对自然美景有一种常人无法理解的感伤情绪(He did not even know whether anyone else in the world felt as he did, or whether he was the sole victim of this mournful privilege.)而当他和Mattie在一起时，他觉得终于有人能够跟他心灵相通，做他的知己(When she said to him once: “It looks just as if it was painted!” it seemed to Ethan that the art of definition could go no farther, and that words had at last been found to utter his secret soul....)。
第三段，Ethan看到社交场合的Mattie，才意识到他原本以为Mattie只有跟他在一起时才会流露的感情和动作，其实并非他独有(The face she lifted to her dancers was the same which, when she saw him, always looked like a window that has caught the sunset.)，而自己居然以为她真的对自己无聊的谈话感兴趣。
【题目解析】
Question 1.Over the course of the passage, the main focus of the narrative shifts from the
A. reservations a character has about a person he has just met to a growing appreciation that character has of the person’s worth.
B. ambivalence a character feels about his sensitive nature to the character’s recognition of the advantages of having profound emotions.
C. intensity of feeling a character has for another person to the character’s concern that that intensity is not reciprocated.
D. value a character attaches to the wonders of the natural world to a rejection of that sort of beauty in favor of human artistry.
答案：C
解析：前两段是Ethan对Mattie的强烈感情，第三段Ethan意识到这种感情其实只是自己一厢情愿，并不是相互的。
考点：文章结构(text structure)
Question2. In the context of the passage, the author’s use of the phrase “her light step flying to keep time with his long stride” (line 6) is primarily meant to convey the idea that
A. Ethan and Mattie share a powerful enthusiasm.
B. Mattie strives to match the speed at which Ethan works.
C. Mattie and Ethan playfully compete with each other.
D. Ethan walks at a pace that frustrates Mattie.
答案：A
解析：由第二段可以看出，黄昏时Mattie和Ethan手挽手一起回农场的这段路上，两人分享着自然美景给他们带来的感受，步伐轻快强调他们心情愉悦兴奋。
考点：措辞与态度(use of specific words and phrases to shape meaning and tone)
Question 3. The description in the first paragraph indicates that what Ethan values most about Mattie is her
A. fitness for farm labor
B. vivacious youth
C. receptive nature.
D. freedom from worry
答案：C
解析：在第一段，Ethan第一次见到Mattie就喜欢上她了，因为她活泼，可爱，阳光，有活力。但是最重要的，在第一段结尾，Ethan强调“The girl was more than the bright serviceable creature he had thought her.She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will.”这说明，Ethan更看重的是，这个女孩能感知这个世界，能够跟他交流，以此引出下一段他们能心灵相通的内容。
考点:人物观点(point of view or perspective)
Question 4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A. LINES 2-7( mattie… farm)
B. lines 7-14 (“he had …. anyhow”)
C. lines 14-16 ( but it ….. hearth)
D. lines 17-21 ( she had …wil)
答案：D
解析：支持第三题答案“C. receptive nature.”的证据在第17-21行，即“She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will.”
考点：文本依据(citing textual evidence)
Question 5.The author includes the descriptions of the sunset, the clouds, and the hemlock shadows (lines 46–49)primarily to
A. suggest the peacefulness of the natural world
B. emphasize the acuteness of two characters’ sensations.
C. foreshadow the declining fortunes of two characters.
D. offer a sense of how fleeting time can be.
答案：B
解析：由“And there were other sensations, less definable but more exquisite, which drew them together with a shock of silent joy: the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight of cloud-flocks over slopes of golden stubble, or the intensely blue shadows of hemlocks on sunlit snow.”可知，眼前的日落、云朵和树木给他们两人一种较难定义却更加精致的感觉，让他们两人陷入一种无声的愉悦。结合后文，“When she said to him once: ‘It looks just as if it was painted!’ it seemed to Ethan that the art of definition could go no farther, and that words had at last been found to utter his secret soul….”当Mattie说眼前的景象好像一幅油画时，Ethan觉得这句话终于说出了他的心声。因此，这些景色描写的作用是突出Ethan和Mattie都对自然美景感觉敏锐，所以两人在非常细微的感官差别上似乎都能心灵相通。
考点：隐含语义(implicit meanings)
新SAT考试中，五篇文章中有一篇是双篇对比(paired passages)，重点考察学生分析多篇文本的能力(Analyzing multiple texts)。这篇文章题材属于Science这一类，考察重点是“动物是否拥有类似人类的思维能力”这一老生常谈的话题，老师发现在旧SAT中也有类似的文章（2008年1月短双“是否应该以人类动机解读黑猩猩的行为”）。
在题目设计上，五个题目依次考察了文章结构(text structure),隐含语义(implicit meanings：draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text), 双篇对比求同(Analyzing multiple texts: synthesize information and ideas from paired texts)，双篇对比求异(Analyzing multiple texts: synthesize information and ideas from paired texts)和双篇逻辑关系(Analyzing multiple texts: analyzing claims and counterclaims)这五个考点。
刘琼歌老师经过对比分析发现，这五个题目在考点设计上与旧SAT类似，只是选项由旧SAT的五个减为四个，且答错不再倒扣分数。整体上说，新SAT的文章复杂度和题目难度并没有显著增强。
【文章大意】
这两篇文章通过观察和实验研究鸟类是否拥有与人类类似的认知能力。
Passage1第一段心理学家Morgan提出一条原则“如果有更加简单的解释，就不应该认为动物行为体现了类似人类的思维过程。”第二段则指出，人类似乎很“想”证明动物跟人一样“聪明”。从第三段至文章结尾，Gray做了一个观察实验(observation)，发现New Caledonian crows有制作工具的能力。
Passage2记述了作者对ravens感知环境能力的实验。作者发现ravens拥有区分new objects和background的能力，而且偏爱可食用的(edible)的东西。作者认为是ravens的好奇心(curiosity)导致它们能够感知周围环境的全部内容。
这两篇文章的共同焦点在于tool-making ability和curiosity能够证明鸟类拥有与人类类似的思维和感知能力。
