改革后的新GRE考試,更注重考查考生的研究能力,同時在內(nèi)容和形式上都有重大變化。拿詞匯部分來講,舊GRE考試中最為讓人望而生畏的類比反義詞部分在新GRE考試中被取消,這固然是一個讓很多考生都歡欣鼓舞的消息,但同時又提出一個疑問,應(yīng)該如何相應(yīng)地來準備新GRE考試中的詞匯呢?在這里筆者對此進行一個初步的分析與探討。
一、新舊GRE考試對詞匯量要求的對比
舊GRE考試中非常注重對詞匯的要求,對單詞量要求非常之大,到了讓人瞠目結(jié)舌的地步。不僅常見詞匯能考到18000左右,而且充斥著大量日常生活中難以見到的生僻詞匯,比如coven意為”十三個女巫的集會“,arabesque意為”具有阿拉伯風(fēng)格的圖案“,illumination轉(zhuǎn)義為”古書上的修飾圖案“,因此導(dǎo)致單詞不認識幾乎無法解題。然而在新GRE考試中,由于將類比反義詞類題型取消,單詞量要求相對減少,生僻詞考查力度削弱,主要考查一些具有特征的單詞,即使某個生詞不認識也完全能根據(jù)上下文的語境把詞的大致含義給推斷出來。因此從這個角度來講,考生背誦單詞的數(shù)量大幅度下降,對單詞精確含義理解的要求也相應(yīng)的大幅度削弱。
二、新舊GRE考試對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境下考生對詞匯的分析能力,閱讀則偏重于根據(jù)上下文對詞匯的理解能力??忌肴〉美硐氲某煽冊诳记熬鸵欢ㄒ洃洏O大數(shù)量的單詞。
改革后的GRE考試對詞匯的考查大大減弱。Verbal部分將會取消原有的類比與反義詞題目的測試,只剩填空與閱讀兩個部分,而這兩個部分的考察方式也做了一定程度的調(diào)整。
下面就針對新GRE考試中填空與閱讀對詞匯的考察做一些分析。
拿填空部分來講,從樣題上看,改革后的GRE考試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和例題如下:
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,為什么會做這樣的變化呢?其目的就是可以考察更多的詞匯量。而所選的兩個正確選項由于都要符合題干的意思,所以這兩個詞就必然是同義詞或者近義詞。所以在解題時大家可以先不讀題干,先看選項中是否有同義詞組,如果只有一對的話則答案必然是選這兩個詞,而如果有兩對或者三對時再回到題干由句子意思來判斷應(yīng)該選哪一對同義詞。在此題中我們先不讀題干,直接掃視五個選項,發(fā)現(xiàn)只有A和B這兩個選項是一組同義詞,所以答案就可直接選擇A和B選項,以此方法解題考生如果詞匯量過關(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就會花更多的時間。因此掌握大量的同義詞意群對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詞匯進行考查的。
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