舊GRE考試中非常注重對(duì)詞匯的要求,對(duì)單詞量要求非常之大,到了讓人瞠目結(jié)舌的地步。不僅常見(jiàn)詞匯能考到18000左右,而且充斥著大量日常生活中難以見(jiàn)到的生僻詞匯,比如coven意為”十三個(gè)女巫的集會(huì)“,arabesque意為”具有阿拉伯風(fēng)格的圖案“,illumination轉(zhuǎn)義為”古書(shū)上的修飾圖案“,因此導(dǎo)致單詞不認(rèn)識(shí)幾乎無(wú)法解題。然而在新中,由于將類比反義詞類題型取消,單詞量要求相對(duì)減少,生僻詞考查力度削弱,主要考查一些具有特征的單詞,即使某個(gè)生詞不認(rèn)識(shí)也完全能根據(jù)上下文的語(yǔ)境把詞的大致含義給推斷出來(lái)。因此從這個(gè)角度來(lái)講,考生背誦單詞的數(shù)量大幅度下降,對(duì)單詞精確含義理解的要求也相應(yīng)的大幅度削弱。
二、新舊對(duì)詞匯考察方式的比較
改革前的GRE Verbal部分的38道題目由類比、反義、閱讀和填空四部分組成。其中直接考察詞匯能力的類比和反義題占到了20個(gè)之多,體現(xiàn)出詞匯題占著至關(guān)重要的地位。填空考查在一定的語(yǔ)境下考生對(duì)詞匯的分析能力,閱讀則偏重于根據(jù)上下文對(duì)詞匯的理解能力。考生想取得理想的成績(jī)?cè)诳记熬鸵欢ㄒ洃洏O大數(shù)量的單詞。
改革后的對(duì)詞匯的考查大大減弱。Verbal部分將會(huì)取消原有的類比與反義詞題目的測(cè)試,只剩填空與閱讀兩個(gè)部分,而這兩個(gè)部分的考察方式也做了一定程度的調(diào)整。
下面就針對(duì)新中填空與閱讀對(duì)詞匯的考察做一些分析。
拿填空部分來(lái)講,從樣題上看,改革后的在填空中包括了同義詞的辨析、反義詞的辨析、詞匯搭配、詞匯含義精確理解等考察方式,這就要求考生不僅要掌握詞匯的意思,還需要進(jìn)一步了解??荚~匯的用法和內(nèi)涵。其中樣題的填空類題型direction和例題
For the following questions, select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.
4 . International financial issues are typically by the United States media because they are too technical to make snappy headlines and too inaccessible to people who lack a background in economics.
A. neglected 被忽視的
B. slighted 被忽視的
C. overrated 被高估的
D. hidden 被隱藏的
E. criticized 被批評(píng)的
F. repudiated 被拒絕的
從direction和樣題可以看出,填空題由以前的五選一變?yōu)榱肆x二,為什么會(huì)做這樣的變化呢?其目的就是可以考察的詞匯量。而所選的兩個(gè)正確選項(xiàng)由于都要符合題干的意思,所以這兩個(gè)詞就必然是同義詞或者近義詞。所以在解題時(shí)大家可以先不讀題干,先看選項(xiàng)中是否有同義詞組,如果只有一對(duì)的話則答案必然是選這兩個(gè)詞,而如果有兩對(duì)或者三對(duì)時(shí)再回到題干由句子意思來(lái)判斷應(yīng)該選哪一對(duì)同義詞。在此題中我們先不讀題干,直接掃視五個(gè)選項(xiàng),發(fā)現(xiàn)只有A和B這兩個(gè)選項(xiàng)是一組同義詞,所以答案就可直接選擇A和B選項(xiàng),以此方法解題考生如果詞匯量過(guò)關(guān)只要五秒種就可解出正確答案,而如果先看題干再讀選項(xiàng)就會(huì)花的時(shí)間。因此掌握大量的同義詞意群對(duì)解填空題可以收到事半功倍的效果,詞匯的重要性也就不言而喻了。
下面再看一下樣題中閱讀題是如何對(duì)詞匯進(jìn)行考查的。
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following reading passage.
Scholarship on political newspapers and their editors is dominated by the view that as the United States grew, the increasing influence of the press led, ultimately, to the neutral reporting from which we benefit today. Pasley considers this view oversimplified, because neutrality was not a goal of early national newspaper editing, even when editors disingenuously stated that they aimed to tell all sides of a story. Rather, the intensely partisan ideologies represented in newspapers of the early republic led to a clear demarcation between traditional and republican values. The editors responsible for the papers‘ content ― especially those with republican agendas ― began to see themselves as central figures in the development of political consciousness in the United States.
10. In the context in which it appears, "disingenuously" most nearly means
A. insincerely
B. guilelessly
C. obliquely
D. resolutely
E. pertinaciously
此類在閱讀中直接考察詞匯的題目在改革前的GRE閱讀中從未出現(xiàn)過(guò),可見(jiàn)在改革后的中并未放松對(duì)詞匯的考察。按部就班的解題方法應(yīng)該是通過(guò)上下文邏輯關(guān)系推斷出單詞的含義,但是掌握了大量GRE單詞后就完全可以脫離上下文而快速選出答案。由于disingenuously的意思是不真誠(chéng)的,所以答案選A選項(xiàng)。可見(jiàn)此類題很類似于改革以前的反義詞題型,無(wú)非是把它放在閱讀題里對(duì)考生進(jìn)行考察。
三、準(zhǔn)備新舊背誦詞匯方式的比較
在準(zhǔn)備改革前的GRE考試時(shí),考生們一般需要背誦紅寶書(shū)上的所有單詞,但是正如上文所述,改革后的GRE考試會(huì)減輕對(duì)生僻名詞的考察,因此在沒(méi)有專門(mén)針對(duì)新GRE考試的詞匯書(shū)出現(xiàn)前,考生們完全可以繼續(xù)使用以前GRE的備考詞匯書(shū),比如紅寶書(shū),但是需要注意的是在背誦時(shí)可以略過(guò)一些生僻的名詞,而把大部分精力集中在對(duì)于一些描述特征的形容詞和動(dòng)詞上,因?yàn)樵诟母锖蟮牡奶羁蘸烷喿x部分會(huì)出現(xiàn)大量諸如此類的詞。