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ETS經(jīng)過(guò)成熟醞釀后，將于2011年推出的新的GRE General Test。作為歷史悠久的GRE一般化考試，歷史60年來(lái)上發(fā)生的重大變化。面對(duì)變化，中國(guó)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(duì)策略。
本文通過(guò)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(diǎn)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(gè)考試的變化趨勢(shì)為如下幾點(diǎn)：
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 40-minute sections rather than one 30-minute section
逐點(diǎn)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(kāi)的。
所為cognitive認(rèn)知性能力，是所有閱讀測(cè)試的核心，即主要依賴(lài)文章本身而非經(jīng)驗(yàn)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(gè)Section考察的篇幅數(shù)量都大大提升。在計(jì)算機(jī)新媒介的輔助下，ETS把GRE閱讀注冊(cè)商標(biāo)般的推理也提高到新的層次進(jìn)行考察。簡(jiǎn)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(duì)給出的樣題中閱讀部分做一個(gè)綜合評(píng)述，慢慢揭開(kāi)新GRE閱讀的神秘面紗。在對(duì)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(diǎn)。
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(méi)有太大區(qū)別。題材又談到了黑人，尤其是爵士音樂(lè)。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(duì)象(創(chuàng)新與傳統(tǒng)，不同音樂(lè)家間的邏輯聯(lián)系)，文章應(yīng)該比較容易處理。
6. 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(kāi)始談到Johnson作為偉大爵士音樂(lè)家，因?yàn)槠鋭?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(shí)代的popular music以及symphonic。注意該題的spirituals文中確實(shí)也出現(xiàn)過(guò)，但是措辭用的是borrow from，題干問(wèn)的是compose.
7. 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(shí)這種題型即為原來(lái)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 with such forms of American music as jazz, blues, and popular songs。本題從出題點(diǎn)分析涉及文中的比較點(diǎn)。最后的邏輯關(guān)系用東方閱讀體系表示可以是:Johnson=Milhaud and Gershwin<>most composers。運(yùn)用取非解題思路。
8. The author suggests that most critics have
A. underrated the popularity of Yamekraw
B. undervalued Johnson's musical abilities
C. had little interest in Johnson's influence on jazz
D. had little regard for classical works that incorporate popular music
E. neglected Johnson's contribution to classical symphonic music
此題正確答案為E。該題題干提到的critics指引考生定位到文章首段。經(jīng)過(guò)邏輯和套路熟練訓(xùn)練后，不難把握Music critics have consistently defined James P. Johnson as a great early jazz pianist…… however, Johnson was an innovator in classical music。類(lèi)似于兩個(gè)觀點(diǎn)的對(duì)立，為結(jié)構(gòu)上重要內(nèi)容。
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.
本文為符合現(xiàn)行GRE考試部分文章套路分類(lèi)中的廣義新老觀點(diǎn)對(duì)比型。文首觀點(diǎn)說(shuō)報(bào)紙最后的政治取向?qū)?huì)趨于neutral。而之后Pasley提出的觀點(diǎn)否認(rèn)了這種看法(oversimplified)。具體從早期國(guó)家報(bào)紙的黨派差異論證自己觀點(diǎn)。文章首句符合一貫GRE閱讀的品味：長(zhǎng)度達(dá)到35詞的復(fù)雜難句子，為理解上的一個(gè)難點(diǎn)。
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