新GRE阅读出题实例浅析

新GRE阅读实例浅析

通过几个具体例子来感性体会所谓隐蔽和出题点的概念。先从一道No题中的难题开始。在一篇关于有氧代谢和无氧糖酵解的生命科学文章中，第三段有这样一个长达数行的难句子： With the conclusion of a burst of activity, the lactic acid level is high in the body fluids, leaving the large animal vulnerable to attack until the acid is reconverted, via oxidative metabolism, by the liver into glucose, which is then sent (in part) back to the muscles for glycogen resynthesis.

面对这样一个充斥着烦难专业名词的难句，很多同学读完之后几乎当场晕倒。这里重点强调的不是句子本身的结构和各因素相互之间的制约联系。而是因为这句难句对应了一道非常有代表性的罗马数字类型题。

It can be inferred from the passage that the time required to replenish muscle glycogen following anaerobic

glycolysis is determined by which of the following factors?

I. Rate of oxidative metabolism

II. Quantity of lactic acid in the body fluids

III. Percentage of glucose that is returned to the muscles

(A) I only

(B) III only

(C) I and II only

(D) I and III only

(E) I, II, and III

题目问及无氧糖酵解过程转化糖原时间和哪些因素有关?有氧代谢率和乳酸本身含量是比较明显的因素。然而根据本人实际教学中的反馈，这道题的正确率非常低，原因主要是由于III项的现场争议。当提醒学员句子中括号包含的in part短短两词时，往往得到的是豁然开朗的叹气。试想，在考试中读到这样一个复杂冗长的句子时，没有经过训练的考生是非常难在第一时间注意到这样两个不起眼的小词的。所以本题选E选项，同时受三个因素影响。

再看一个同样也是生命科学文章的例子。这次不是以复杂机制作为隐蔽方法。文章主要内容是各种复杂理论来解释为什么动植物中的雌雄比例大致相等。文中一段末句提到：Although Fisher wrote before the mathematical theory of games had been developed, his theory incorporates the essential feature of a game — that the best strategy to adopt depends on what others are doing.

这句话文字难度不大，但是这里是全文唯一一次提到game一词的地方。之后文章就详细展开关于Fisher的具体理论和机理。之后提问：

According to the passage, successful game strategy depends on

(A) the ability to adjust one's behavior in light of the behavior of others

(B) one's awareness that there is safety in numbers

(C) the degree of stability one can create in one's immediate environment

(D) the accuracy with which one can predict future events

(E) the success one achieves in conserving and storing one's resources

阅读功底一般的同学读到这里，顿时就停在那里。因为文中竟然提到过一个理论叫game，对他来说早已“相见不如怀念了”。此时要么全文重新检索，要么无奈的放弃。这种细节定位题貌似简单，其实杀伤力是极其巨大的。笔者教学过程中一直强调的是读文章时就尽量形成预测考点的感觉，不然这种细节是很难找到的，即使后期水平上升到很高的境界。仔细观察对应的出题点，标点符号破折号“——”其实已经隐蔽地暗示了此处叙述的重要性。正确选项A，depend on改写为in light of, behavior of others概括了文中的what others are doing。

当然，这些隐蔽的考点不光存在于理科文章中。文学评论文章中这条规律往往“老树开新花”，有另外一种变化。简单先看一个例子：Their present high standing is due to a different, more democratic political climate and to different aesthetic values: we no longer require artists to provide ideal images of humanity for our moral edification but rather regard such idealization as a falsification of the truth.

这篇文章是分析了Francoise Duparc的作品及当时不流行的原因。短文章第一题：

According to the passage, modern viewers are not likely to value which of the following qualities in a painting?

(A) The technical elements of the painting

(B) The spontaneity of the painting

(C) The moral lesson imparted by the painting:

(D) The degree to which the painting realistically depicts its subject

(E) The degree to which the artist's personality is revealed in the painting

作为短文章第一题的难度，本来应该是比较低，容易上手的。但是实际学生反映看到题干的modern viewers没有印象，无法在原文找到这题的合理定位，宛如遭到当头棒喝。客观分析，如果题干做同义改写(Paraphrase)，题目的难度一定大大升高。仔细分析题干，其实这个viewers是复数泛指，类似于一大类泛指化题型。这种题型最怕文中对Francoise Duparc的评价做随意归纳，把特点推广到现代观察者，因为这样的解题思路不能保证“放之四海皆准”。其实这道题的解题定位就是冒号：之后的we(等价于题干的modern viewers)这个词。这里的同义改写即是正确选项C。

最后看一个No.9中Emily Bronte呼啸山庄前后部分是否统一的例子。这篇文章本身不仅学术含义很深，没有一定积累的考生较难理解。其文字难度也绝对不低。文中末尾提到：

However, any interpretation that seeks to unify all of the novel’s diverse element is bound to be somewhat

unconvincing. This is not because such an interpretation necessarily stiffens into a thesis (although rigidity

in any interpretation of this or any novel is always a danger), but because Wuthering Heights has recalcitrant

elements of undeniable power that, ultimately, resist inclusion in an all-encompassing interpretation.

这个例子是最能体现ETS出题点口味的，比上面的例子更具普遍意义。看文章后面问题：

The author of the passage would be most likely to agree that an interpretation of a novel should

(A) not try to unite heterogeneous elements in the novel

(B) not be inflexible in its treatment of the elements in the novel

(C) not argue that the complex use of narrators or of time shifts indicates a sophisticated structure

(D) concentrate on those recalcitrant elements of the novel that are outside the novel’s main structure

(E) primarily consider those elements of novelistic construction of which the author of the novel was aware

这道题题干中的an和a提示了泛指化的题型。仔细阅读原文选段，不难发现这个离题的叙述内容出现在不成立的原因半句的括号中的让步语气中的延伸叙述部分。试想当第一次阅读该文时，这里究竟是重要还是不重要?