GRE阅读选项设置都遵循哪些原则

 　　新GRE改革，让很多考生都感到望而生畏，下面这篇文章为大家介绍了新GRE阅读选项遵循的原则，希望能给广大GRE考生带来帮助!

　　2011年8月即将实施的新GRE中取消了类比反义的考查。新GRE的Verbal部分包括：Reading Comprehension，Text Completion以及Sentence Equivalence三个部分。其中与现行GRE考试的共同点就是阅读理解不但保留下来，其重要性得到了进一步的提升。

　　如果说Verbal Section是中国考生的噩梦，GRE阅读便是噩梦中噩梦。原因是中国学生由于长期以来在英语阅读理解的训练上一直强调词汇的理解和文本的翻译。所谓的“重翻译，轻思维”。此种训练理念与与ETS的要求相去甚远。其实，GRE阅读是借助阅读考察申请者的逻辑思维和解决问题的能力。另外，中国考生对于GRE阅读考试中的文章特点和选项编制的原则了解甚微，也导致备考中存在较大的盲目性以及考试中表现不佳。

　　在此文中，笔者无意对GRE阅读的文章特点做过多的论述，倒是想就GRE阅读文章的“最后一击”---选项，尤其是选项编制的原则， 做一些论述。并会结合笔者在近10年的教学经历跟读者朋友们分享所得。

　　作为一个标准化运作的出题机构多年以来在GRE阅读的出题方面已经沉淀下若干固定的规则，即ETS用固定的原则来指导阅读试题的编撰者来编制正确和错误的选项。以下笔者将用一篇GRE阅读文章来剖析ETS 编制选项的规则，希望对广大的GRE考生有所裨益。

　　通过对GRE阅读的深入分析不难发现ETS使用了以下原则来编制选项：

　　1. 正确选项：

　　(1)同义变换 。即将原文中的某一句话用另一种说法表达，也就是英文中的paraphrase¹。如将文章中的"many wind-pollinated species fail to release pollen² when wind speeds are low or when humid conditions prevail.”换成选项中的“Pollen is sometimes not released by plants when there is little wind"。

　　其中包括三种类型：变换同义词，变换句型，变化同根词的词性。以下分别论述，请注意表格中的斜体字。

　　2.错误选项：

　　对于GRE阅读文章中更大量的错误选项，ETS也形成了一套固定的规则。以下笔者就用实例来说明错误选项编制的规则：

　　(1)混偏反无。

　　1)混: 此类选项的错误可以形象地概括为：“张冠李戴”。 如下例：

　　文章："...unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed³ expenses"题目：The passage suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might cause it to(A) experience frustration⁴ but not serious financial harm(B) face potentially crippling fixed expenses (本题问大公司如果没有使投标转化为订单将引起什么结果。而这恰恰是小公司的特点。)(C) have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government(D) increase its spending with minority subcontractors(E) revise its procedure for making bids for federal contracts and subcontracts2)偏： 意即选项中所包含的逻辑范畴与原文不符。包括”以偏概全“ 以及”以全概偏”。请看下文：

　　Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) was a landmark⁵ in the depiction⁶ of female characters in Black American literature. Marshall avoided the oppressed and tragic⁷ heroine in conflict with White society that had been typical of the protest novels of the early twentieth century. Like her immediate⁸ predecessors⁹, Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn Brooks¹⁰, she focused her novel on an ordinary Black woman’s search for identity within the context of a Black community. But Marshall extended the analysis of Black female characters begun by Hurston and Brooks by depicting¹¹ her heroine’s development in terms of the relationship between her Barbadian American parents, and by exploring how male and female roles were defined by their immigrant culture, which in turn was influenced by the materialism¹² of White America. By placing characters within a wider cultural context, Marshall attacked racial and sexual stereotypes¹³ and paved the way for explorations of race, class, and gender¹⁴ in the novels of the 1970’s.

　　题目：The passage is primarily concerned with(A) comparing the works of three Black American authors(B) describing common themes in Black American literature(C) discussing an important work in Black American literature(D) providing insights about Black American literature in the early twentieth century(E) providing historical information about the writing of Black American novels in the second half the twentieth century分析：此文描述并评价了美国黑人文学史上一部优秀的著作。而其中的D，E选项中的“Black American literature”以及“the writing of Black American novels”无疑扩大了原文的逻辑涵盖的范围，即属于“以全概偏”。于是不予选择。

　　3)反： 即选项中的内容与文章内容相反。

　　文章：“....Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) was a landmark in the depiction of female characters in Black American literature. Marshall avoided the oppressed and tragic heroine in conflict with White society that had been typical of the protest novels of the early twentieth century. Like her immediate predecessors, Zora Neale Hurston and Gwendolyn Brooks, she focused her novel on an ordinary Black woman’s search for identity within the context of a black community......”

　　题目：

　　According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women分析：从文章中得知：“马歇尔已经摆脱了抗议小说所一贯描绘的受压迫并且带有悲剧色彩的女主人公形象”。但是B选项却说道：“马歇尔深深地受到二十世纪早期抗议小说的影响”，明显与原文意思相反。

　　再如：

　　It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being(A) completely different from novels written before 1959(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s分析：C选项“与之前的抗议小说类似” 与原文意思相反。而B选项的“深受二十世纪早期小说的影响”从文章无法推测出。

　　4)无：即 提到文章中未涉及的内容。由于此种选项编制容易，并且ETS一厢情愿地认为此种迷惑手段非常高明。因此，此类错误选项在GRE阅读的错误选项中数量众多。请各位考生紧记：凡基于文章内容无法推测出的选项必然错误。

　　还是上文：

　　题目：

　　According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women分析：从文章中得知：“马歇尔与另外两位的的共同点在于他们都把小说聚焦于一位普通的黑人女性对自己身份的追求，当然故事是以一个黑人社会为背景”。其中的A选项“未研究百人文化对角色生活所带来的影响”文章从未涉及。

　　再如：

　　It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being(A) completely different from novels written before 1959(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s分析：D选项“二十世纪50年代末期重要，但是今天过时了”文章从未涉及。

　　(3) 含有强调性语言(最高级、唯一性和比较级)的选项ETS会随意地在选项中加入一些极端语言来编制错误选项。集中表现为含有最高级，唯一性以及比较级的词汇。换句话说，含有这三类词汇的选项错误的几率很高。具体说：

　　1)最高级词汇：best , the most important, the least useful, uttermost, foremost, uppermost, always ,never, often, usually，primarily，primary，exact(ly)，complete(ly) . entire(ly) absolute(ly) extremely, unmitigated . unrestrained . unchecked. first等2)唯一性词汇：only, alone, exclusively, sole(ly), unique(ly)3)比较级词汇：more useful than, less beneficial than, better , worse than ，as ..as, the same with, similar to 等等。

　　还是以上两例：

　　According to the passage, Hurston, Brooks, and Marshall are alike in that they(A) did not examine the effects of White culture on their characters’ lives(B) were heavily influenced by the protest novels of the early twentieth century(C) used Black communities as the settings for their novels(D) wrote primarily about the difficulties their characters encountered in White culture(E) wrote exclusively about female characters and the experiences of women分析：此处的D选项和E选项中的“primarily”以及“exclusively”都属于比较极端的词汇。

　　It can be inferred that the author of the passage would describe Brown Girl, Brownstones as being(A) completely different from novels written before 1959(B) highly influenced by novels written in the early twentieth century(C) similar to the protest novels that preceded it(D) important in the late 1950’s but dated today(E) an important influence on novels written in the 1970’s分析：此处的A选项中的“completely” 也属于比较极端的词汇。

　　(4) 违反“论据集中”原则：

　　即此类选项试图使用非定位处的信息回答问题。此类选项极具迷惑性，因为这些错误的选项在文章中确实被提及过，可是由于与问题回答无关因此不予选择。

　　请看下例：

　　“No very satisfactory account of the mechanism¹⁵ that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given. The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle¹⁶ of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the(E) mid-ocean ridges¹⁸ and sinking currents under the continents. Theoretically, this convection would carry the continental¹⁹ plates along as though they were on a conveyor belt and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge¹⁷. This view may be correct: it has the advantage that the currents are driven by(B) temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a (D)back-coupling, in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it, could produce complicated and varying motions.

　　On the other hand, the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines, and it certainly does not occur along lines broken by frequent offsets²⁰ or changes in direction, as the ridge is. Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the (C)Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. ”

　　【题】The author refers to a “conveyor belt” in order to(A)illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle(B)show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents(C)demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge(D)describe the complicated motions made possible by back coupling(E)account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges分析：此题为一道举例作用题。其定位为文章中加粗和划线的句子。但是这四个错误的选项都无一例外地通过利用其它的句子编制而成，即出题机构分别使用文章中标号为 A，B，C和D的内容编制出四个错误的选项。因此，不予选择。考生切忌因为文章别的地方曾经出现过类似的内容而犹豫不决。

 

1 paraphrase   

vt.将…释义，改写；n.释义，意义

参考例句：

• You may read the prose paraphrase of this poem.你可以看一下这首诗的散文释义。
• Paraphrase the following sentences or parts of sentences using your own words.用你自己的话解释下面的句子或句子的一部分。

2 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

12 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。

13 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

15 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

16 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

17 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

18 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

19 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

20 offsets   

n.开端( offset的名词复数 )；出发v.抵消( offset的第三人称单数 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• The following paragraphs deal with intra-source offsets and the so-called \"bubble\" concept. 下面讨论污染源内部的补偿和所谓的“泡泡”概念。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The preceding paragraphs were concerned with inter-source offsets. 前文牵涉到污染源之间的补偿。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法