解讀GRE閱讀出題思路趨勢

　　2011年ETS經(jīng)過成熟醞釀后，推出的新的GRE General Test。作為歷史悠久的GRE一般化考試，歷史60年來上發(fā)生的重大變化。面對變化，中國考試應(yīng)該盡早適應(yīng)并且從考試考察能力轉(zhuǎn)變之中解讀中出調(diào)整和應(yīng)對策略。本文通過詳細(xì)剖些ETS官方給出的Verbal Reasoning權(quán)威樣題，和廣大考生分享新GRE閱讀部分的變化究竟在哪里，本質(zhì)上延續(xù)的根本特點是什么以及相應(yīng)的備考策略以及啟發(fā)。站在命題哲學(xué)的高度透視這次變化，做到知己知彼，百戰(zhàn)不殆。

　　

 

　　總體宏觀變化

　　從ETS官方網(wǎng)站的敘述中，最為核心的整個考試的變化趨勢為如下幾點：

　　Greater emphasis on higher cognitive skills and less dependence on vocabulary

　　More text-based materials, such as reading passages

　　A broader selection of reading passages

　　Emphasis on skills related to graduate work, such as complex reasoning

　　Expansion of computer-enabled tasks (e.g., clicking on a sentence in a passage to highlight it)

　　Two 30-minute sections rather than one 30-minute section

　　逐點分析，不難發(fā)現(xiàn)幾乎每條都于閱讀部分難度和重要性的提高分不開的。

　　所為cognitive認(rèn)知性能力，是所有閱讀測試的核心，即主要依賴文章本身而非經(jīng)驗性的一種理解能力。不僅在能力上提出了更高要求，閱讀文章本身不論從選擇題材的廣度，每個Section考察的篇幅數(shù)量都大大提升。在計算機(jī)新媒介的輔助下，ETS把GRE閱讀注冊商標(biāo)般的推理也提高到新的層次進(jìn)行考察。簡而言之，閱讀可謂成為了新GRE考試中的重中之重。

　　樣題剖析

　　筆者對給出的樣題中閱讀部分做一個綜合評述，慢慢揭開新GRE閱讀的神秘面紗。在對題目做完剖析之后，總結(jié)相關(guān)的變化和值得注意的要點。

　　Questions 6 through 8 are based on the following reading passage.

　　Music critics have consistently defined James P. Johnson as a great early jazz pianist, originator of the 1920's Harlem "stride" style, and an important blues and jazz composer. In addition, however, Johnson was an innovator in classical music, composing symphonic music that incorporated American, and especially African-American, traditions.

　　Such a blend of musical elements was not entirely new: by 1924 both Milhaud and Gershwin had composed classical works that incorporated elements of jazz. Johnson, a serious musician more experienced than most classical composers with jazz, blues, spirituals, and popular music, was particularly suited to expand Milhaud's and Gershwin's experiments. In 1927 he completed his first large-scale work, the blues- and jazz-inspired Yamekraw, which included borrowings from spirituals and Johnson's own popular songs. Yamekraw, premiered successfully in Carnegie Hall, was a major achievement for Johnson, becoming his most frequently performed extended work. It demonstrated vividly the possibility of assimilating contemporary popular music into the symphonic tradition.

　　本選文難度和風(fēng)格幾乎和現(xiàn)行的GRE閱讀沒有太大區(qū)別。題材又談到了黑人，尤其是爵士音樂。這種題材在95-00筆考期間也經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)。把握住文章首段重要詞匯however抓住主題。分清文中矛盾對象(創(chuàng)新與傳統(tǒng)，不同音樂家間的邏輯聯(lián)系)，文章應(yīng)該比較容易處理。

　　1. The passage states that Johnson composed all of the following EXCEPT.

　　A. jazz works

　　B. popular songs

　　C. symphonic music

　　D. spirituals

　　E. blues pieces

　　此題正確答案為D。文中開始談到Johnson作為偉大爵士音樂家，因為其創(chuàng)始了新的風(fēng)格，其中包括了blues and jazz。而在文章末句提到了他吸收了同時代的popular music以及symphonic。注意該題的spirituals文中確實也出現(xiàn)過，但是措辭用的是borrow from，題干問的是compose.

　　2. Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

　　The author suggests which of the following about most classical composers of the early 1920's?

　　A. They were strongly influenced by the musical experiments of Milhaud and Gershwin.

　　B. They had little working familiarity with such forms of American music as jazz, blues, and popular songs

　　C. They made few attempts to introduce innovations into the classical symphonic tradition

　　本題即為新GRE閱讀中新醞釀推出的所謂恐怖的“多選題”。其實這種題型即為原來GRE閱讀中羅馬數(shù)字題的變體，只是難度進(jìn)一步加大。正確答案B。--They had little working familiarity

　　本文為符合現(xiàn)行新GRE考試部分文章套路分類中的廣義新老觀點對比型。文首觀點說報紙最后的政治取向?qū)呌趎eutral。而之后Pasley提出的觀點否認(rèn)了這種看法(oversimplified)。具體從早期國家報紙的黨派差異論證自己觀點。文章首句符合一貫GRE閱讀的品味：長度達(dá)到35詞的復(fù)雜難句子，為理解上的一個難點。