隨著1月23日最后一場舊SAT考試落下帷幕，考生們終于迎來了閃亮登場的新SAT。對于亞太考區而言，將于5月份迎來首場新SAT考試。那么改革后的SAT考試發生了怎樣的變化？對于即將備戰新SAT的考生而言，應當如何來備考？這些都成為考生們最為關心的問題。那么今天朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家就帶領新SAT的考生們一起探究新SAT語法部分的變化及備考的重點和方向。
 
新SAT在語法部分的變化還是非常顯著的。新SAT語法題以篇章的形式出現，旨在考查考生對篇章閱讀的理解，尤其是對文章邏輯性和連貫性的把握，這無疑對考生提出了更高的語言能力要求。下面將會重點分析新SAT語法部分的變化及考察側重點。
 
一、出題形式
舊SAT考試的語法部分共占49道題目，時間為35分鐘，包括三類題型：句子改進題(improve sentences), 句子找錯題(identify sentence errors)和段落改進題(improve paragraphs)。
 
新SAT考試語法部分以Writing and Language Test（寫作語言測試）形式出現，共44題，時間依然為35分鐘，但只包括一種題型即篇章改錯題，總共涉及四篇文章，每篇文章出題數量為11道題。所涉及的四篇文章長度大約為400-450字左右，文章話題分別涉及職業發展類(career-related topic), 人文學科(humanities), 歷史&社會學科(history/social studies), 科學類(science)。其中在科學類話題的文章中還會加入圖表題，但是圖表題是不會涉及到數學計算的。
 
二、考查重點
新SAT所考查的語法點側重于篇章中句與句之間的邏輯關系，句子與段落之間的關系，需要考生從段落內容和文章結構入手才能解答題目。
 
新SAT OG中明確指出兩大類考點：(1). expression of ideas（觀點闡述）；(2). standard English convention（標準英語使用）。其中，expression of ideas包括文章的擴展能力(development), 比如說句子與段落主旨的相關性；文章結構的組織能力(organization), 比方說句子的邏輯順序，及有效的語言應用能力(effective language use), 比方說語言的簡潔性等。Standard English conventions則旨在考查句子結構(sentence structure), 固定搭配(convention usage)和標點符號(conventions of punctuation)的慣常用法等方面的能力。
 
下面朗閣海外考試研究中心的專家將通過新SAT OG中具體的樣題來對上述考點舉例說明。
 
1. Development questions

18 His fine brushwork conveys detailed street-level activity: a peanut vendor pushing his cart on the sidewalk, a pigeon pecking for crumbs around a fire hydrant, an old man tending to a baby outside a doorway. His broader brushstrokes and sponge-painted shapes create majestic city skylines, with skyscrapers towering in the background, bridges connecting neighborhoods on either side of a river, and enormous ships maneuvering out of a busy harbor. To art critics and fans alike, these city scenes represent the innovative spirit of twentieth-century urban Modernism.

18. Which choice most effectively establishes the main topic of the paragraph? (A) Kingman is considered a pioneer of the California Style school of painting. (B) Although cities were his main subject, Kingman did occasionally paint natural landscapes. (C) In his urban landscapes, Kingman captures the vibrancy of crowded cities. (D) In 1929 Kingman moved to Oakland, California, where he attended the Fox Art School.

答案解析：本題要求考生能夠從整個段落出發，總結出作者最想傳達的意思。本段第一句話作者講到“他的繪畫詳細傳遞出了城市街道的活力”，然后后面用很多細節性信息具體闡述了這一點，所以整段作者是圍繞Kingman筆下的urban landscapes這個話題進行展開的，只有C項符合主題。
 
2. Organization questions

[1] Kingman was keenly interested in landscape painting from an early age. [2] In Hong Kong, where Kingman completed his schooling, teachers at that time customarily assigned students a formal “school name.” [3] His interest was so keen, in fact, that he was named after it. [4] The young boy who had been called Dong Moy Shu became Dong Kingman. [5] The name Kingman was selected for its two 14 parts, “king” and “man”;Cantonese for “scenery” and “composition.” [6] As Kingman developed as a painter, his works were often compared to15 paintings by Chinese landscape artists dating back to CE 960, a time when a strong tradition of landscape painting emerged in Chinese art. [7] Kingman, however, 16vacated from that tradition in a number of ways, most notably in that he chose to focus not on natural landscapes, such as mountains and rivers, but on cities.17

17. to make this paragraph most logical, sentence 3 should be placed (A) where it is now. (B) before sentence 1. (C) after sentence 1. (D) after sentence 4.

答案解析：本題要求考生判斷某個句子應該放在文章中哪個位置以實現段落的連貫性。第3句提到“Kingman對landscape painting有著非常濃厚的興趣以至于以它來命名”，文中第1句即講到“Kingman對landscape painting有著濃厚的興趣”，第2句即講到命名的事情，所以放在這兩句中間最為銜接，正確答案為C項。
 
3. Effective language use questions

If analysis of the traffic count indicates that there is more traffic than the 6 current road as it is designed at this timecan efficiently accommodate, the transportation planner might recommend widening the road to add another lane

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

答案解析：本題考查語言的簡潔性。Current和at this time或者now重復，因此不能同時使用，只用其中一個即可。所以B和C都可排除，D項的表述最為簡潔明了，為正確選項。
 
4. Sentence structure

A crowd of admiring spectators12 watched as Kingman squeezes dollops of paint from several tubes into a tin watercolor 13 box, from just a few primary colors, Kingman creates dozens of beautiful hues as he layers the translucent paint onto the paper on his easel.

12. A. NO CHANGE B．had watched C. would watch D. watches

答案解析：本題考查動詞時態的前后一致性。因為整句話甚至整個段落作者使用的都是一般現在時(squeezes, creates, layers), 所以此處謂語動詞要保持一致，因此選D。注意此處crowd為集合名詞，a crowd of + 名詞復數做主語時通常作為一個整體看待，因此謂語動詞用單數。
 
5. Conventions of usage

Nutritionists consider Greek yogurt to be a healthy food: it is an excellent source of calcium and protein, serves 7to be a digestive aid, and 8 it contains few calories in its unsweetened low- and non-fat forms.

7. A) NO CHANGE B) as C) like D) for

答案解析：第7題考查固定搭配serve as, “充當……”，“起……作用”，所以毫無疑問選B。
 
6. Conventions of punctuation

But Jason 15 Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State believes that another factor added to the early 16thaw; the “dark snow” problem.

15. A) NO CHANGE B) Box an associate professor of geology at Ohio State, C) Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State, D) Box, an associate professor of geology, at Ohio State 16. A) NO CHANGE B) thaw; and it was C) thaw: D) thaw: being

答案解析：15)句中an associate professor of geology at Ohio State是Jason Box的同位語，是對主語的別稱，前后要用逗號隔開，謂語是believes,所以選C。
16)冒號用于對前面內容的介紹或解釋，the “dark snow” problem具體指前文出現的another factor, 所以選C。
 
以上6個考點之下還分別包括若干細小考點，我們會在后面的論文中一一總結呈現給各位考生。
 
三、增加圖表題
新SAT語法題中加入了形式新穎的圖表題，要求考生通過分析和概括圖表中的數據來選出正確選項，并且還要兼顧此選項在語法上的正確性。圖表題只是形式新穎，但其實并不算難，考生只需認真看圖，注意圖表注解，關注圖表中的趨勢變化和極值分布就很容易解題了。
 

Most of Greenland’s interior is covered by a thick layer of ice and compressed snow known as the Greenland Ice Sheet. The size of the ice sheet fluctuates seasonally: in summer, average daily high temperatures in Greenland can rise to slightly above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, partially melting the ice; in the winter, the sheet thickens as additional snow falls, and average daily low temperatures can drop 12 to as low as 20 degrees.

12. Which choice most accurately and effectively represents the information in the graph? A) NO CHANGE B) to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. C) to their lowest point on December 13. D) to 10 degrees Fahrenheit and stay there for months.

 

答案解析：看圖表時考生需要注意圖表的標題，橫軸縱軸所代表的信息，圖表縱軸表示溫度，橫軸表示月份，溫度最低出現在Mar.5, 12°, 因此選B項。
 
四、新增詞匯題
在改革后的SAT考試中，單詞填空題被取消，在一定程度上弱化了單純詞匯的考查，但是這并不意味著新SAT不考查詞匯了或者詞匯的識記不重要了，完全不是這樣的。改革后的SAT語法部分增加了詞匯題，來考查單詞在特定語境中是否恰當使用。新SAT OG中也明確提到“the students will revise text as needed to improve the exactness or content appropriateness of word choice”,即學生根據需要來修改文章用詞，以改進單詞使用的準確性和合適性。因此新SAT語法中對詞匯的考查不僅要求考生要有一定的單詞積累，而且要能夠正確區分近義詞，熟練掌握在不同的語境中單詞的精確使用。

Given these solutions as well as the many health benefits of the food, the advantages of Greek yogurt 1 outdo the potential drawbacks of its production.

A) NO CHANGE B) defeat C) outperform D) outweigh

答案解析：因為該詞是用來修飾advantages和drawbacks之間的關系，所以使用outweigh“超過”最合適，defeat意為“打敗”之意，outperform和outdo則都為“勝過，做得比…好，贏過”這個意思，兩者都不能表達出“比…多，大于”之意，所以選D項。
 
總體來說，因為新SAT剛經歷改革，本身可利用的題目較少，語法部分最基本的語法點是沒有太大變化的，所以考生需要利用舊SAT真題梳理并掌握基礎語法點，比如說動詞的時態、語態，主謂一致，平行結構，代詞的人稱、數，標點符號的使用等，練好基本功，此外還需要適應新題型，加強對文章中邏輯關系的把握，多分析段落和文章的結構以加強對文章的整體理解能力。
 
最后，因為關于新SAT的題目略顯珍貴，所以在這里給大家推薦幾套目前可以使用的新SAT考試書目：
1. 官方OG (The Official SAT Study Guide), 總共包含4套題目
2. 普林斯頓Cracking the NEW SAT, 總共包含6套題目
3. 卡普蘭 8 Practice Tests for the NEW SAT, 8套題目
4. 巴朗 NEW SAT, 總共包含5套題目
 
新SAT考生最重要的還是要打好英文基礎，在積累詞匯的過程中要更加關注單詞的使用，其次還要加強鍛煉邏輯思維能力，比如說對段落和文章結構的分析，對文章主旨的把握，最后要及時了解改革后的變化趨勢，制定正確的備考戰略，積極應對新SAT考試。
 

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