新SAT官方样题发布之阅读解析

【题目解析】

Question 20.Within Passage 1, the main purpose of the first two paragraphs (lines 1–8) is to

A. offer historical background in order to question the uniqueness of two researchers’ findings.

B. offer interpretive context in order to frame the discussion of an experiment and its results.

C. introduce a scientific principle in order to show how an experiment’s outcomes validated that principle.

D. present seemingly contradictory stances in order to show how they can be reconciled empirically.

答案：B

解析：Passage1第一段从科学的角度指出，人类不能轻易下判断说动物行为体现了类似人类的思维能力。然而，从感性的角度来看，人类似乎又一直有一种期待，希望能找到证据证明其它动物跟人类一样“聪明”（第二段）。这两段内容为下文Gary的观察实验提供了一个解析的语境，即鸟类拥有tool-making的能力能不能证明鸟类有跟人类一样的思维能力。

考点：文章结构(text structure)

Question 21.According to the experiment described in Passage 2, whether the author’s ravens continued to show interest in a formerly new object was dictated primarily by whether that object was

A. edible.

B. plentiful.

C. conspicuous.

D. natural.

答案：A

解析：由Passage2第二段最后一段(In subsequent trials, when the previously novel items were edible, they became preferred and the inedible objects became “background” items, just like the leaves, grass, and pebbles, even if they were highly conspicuous.)可以看出，如果同样是之前见过的东西，ravens偏爱edible objects，不能食用的就当做background忽略。

难度：易

考点：隐含语义(implicit meanings：draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text)

Question 22.The crows in Passage 1 and the ravens in Passage 2 shared which trait?

A. They modified their behavior in response to changes in their environment.

B. They formed a strong bond with the humans who were observing them.

C. They manufactured useful tools for finding and accessing food.

D. They mimicked the actions they saw performed around them.

答案：A

解析：由Passage1第四段开头(Their tools are hooked sticks or strips made from spike-edged leaves, and they use them in the wild to winkle grubs out of crevices.)可以看出，自然状态下的crows用带钩的小枝把虫子从洞穴里剔出来。而Gary和同事做实验的时候，他们用一天时间让crows习惯在一个树洞里找meat(Over the course of days, he and crow researcher Gavin Hunt had gotten wild crows used to finding meat tidbits in holes in a log.)，然后在旁边放上针叶植物。实验证明，crows在这个新环境里依然有tool-making的能力。

Passage2很明显，作者一直有意地在ravens周围放置不同的物品，以此观察ravens的反应。因此，两篇文章的共同之处在于，crows和ravens都能根据环境的变化调整自己的行为。

考点：双篇对比求同(Analyzing multiple texts: synthesize information and ideas from paired texts)

Question 23.One difference between the experiments described in the two passages is that unlike the researchers discussed in Passage 1, the author of Passage 2

A. presented the birds with a problem to solve.

B. intentionally made the birds aware of his presence.

C. consciously manipulated the birds’ surroundings.

D. tested the birds’ tool-using abilities.

答案：B

解析：由Passage1第四段段尾“hid behind a blind”得知，Gary和同事在做观察研究时会隐蔽起来，不让crows发现。而Passage 2第一段开头就可以看出，作者没有隐蔽，而是有意让ravens意识到他的存在。比如第一句(For one month after they left the nest, I led my four young ravens at least once and sometimes several times a day on thirty-minute walks.)和第3-4句(In the first sessions, I tried to be teacher. I touched specific objects—sticks, moss, rocks—and nothing that I touched remained untouched by them.)

考点：双篇对比求异(Analyzing multiple texts: synthesize information and ideas from paired texts)

Question 24. Is the main conclusion presented by the author of Passage 2 consistent with Morgan’s canon, as described in Passage 1?

A. Yes, because the conclusion proposes that the ravens’ behavior is a product of environmental factors.

B. Yes, because the conclusion offers a satisfyingly simple explanation of the ravens’ behavior.

C. No, because the conclusion suggests that the ravens exhibit complex behavior patterns.

D. No, because the conclusion implies that a humanlike quality motivates the ravens’ behavior.

答案：D

解析：Passage 2的结论在最后一句。作者认为ravens拥有跟人类一样的特点——好奇心(curiosity)。而Passage1第一段Morgan’s canon则警告不能随便给出这种解读。因此，这两种观点是不一致的，因为Passage2的结论正是Morgan警告人们不要饭的错误。

考点：双篇逻辑关系(Analyzing multiple texts: analyzing claims and counterclaims)

新SAT阅读备考指导

通过目前College Board 最新公布的5篇新SAT阅读样题，我们发现新题目的改变主要集中在以下几个方面：

1、 文章背景知识变难

2、 增加寻证题

3、 增加图表信息

4、 增加较为专业的学科文章

5、 行号定位弱化

除此以外，在题目的考察角度和难易程度方面新SAT阅读并没有明显变化。针对以上改变，为考生们提出以下备考指导：

1、针对背景知识变难，考生应补充美国的基本政治和历史常识，阅读重要的建国纲领和著名政治演说，比如“独立宣言”或林肯的“葛底斯堡演说”等演讲；

2、针对寻证题，考生在做老SAT阅读题目时，切不可凭感觉解题，而应该养成寻找解题依据的习惯。关于这一点，也是我们老师在课堂上一再强调以前的考生在做老SAT阅读时要做到的。其实新SAT阅读的寻证题，对于原本就凭依据解题的同学，几乎没有任何影响，反而增加了他们的得分机会。因为寻证题都是与上一个题目紧密关联的，只要解决上一个题目时有依据，寻证题相当于是自然得分。因此考生在做老SAT阅读题目时，每一道题都应该仔细分析，找到具体依据。通过坚持这种练习，培养解题思路和解题习惯，这样在面对新SAT阅读的寻证题时，就不会有任何生疏感；

3、针对图表信息和较为专业的学科文章，考生应增加学科类文章的阅读。比如阅读一些图文并茂的百科全书或入门级的专业书籍，培养综合处理文字和图表的能力；

4、针对行号定位弱化，考生在备考过程中应培养关注、提取文章关键字的能力。因为没有行号定位的题目所考察的内容一定是文章的关键内容。如果考生能够把握关键信息，就可以根据关键信息快速定位到文章的解题点；

5、老SAT阅读真题有很高的备考价值。考生可以充分利用老SAT阅读题目，体验文章的难度，分析文章的结构，了解不同题目的考察要点。比如这5篇新样题中的第1篇就是小说的节选。其难度与老SAT阅读中的小说一致，并且文章内容甚至与2009年Sunday卷第6个section的小说有些类似。考生可以下载这篇Sunday题目进行比较。

总体上来讲，新SAT阅读题目难度增加，考试技巧弱化，更加考察学生的综合能力。因此考生在备考时，应放弃短期突击的想法，踏踏实实背单词、精读长难句、广泛阅读英文原版书籍，以提高自身英语能力为备考核心。