考生在GMAT阅读的考试中的问题大体可以分为两类:过分关注个别字词意思而忽略了文章的宏观展开;单独获取句子的意思而忽略了句与句之间的关联。简言之,重细节而轻结构,是造成阅读瓶颈的核心问题所在。
GMAT考试的文章来源为学术期刊文章的改写。这些论文的写作是有严格的格式规范的,表意清晰的文章一定是层次清晰、中心单一而明确的。文章的每个段落都会围绕着一个意思来展开,最终段落加在一起共同表达出文章的中心。
这样少则几页,多则几十页的文章,要改写成一篇350词以内且内在逻辑依然清晰的短文,改写方式无非有二:节选(取文章中的一部分意思)和缩写(将一段或多段文章的意思概括成一句话来表达)。所以,不管以那种方式来进行改写,文章的原有逻辑结构都不会受到任何破坏。因此,过分纠结于句子字面的意思而看不到文章的宏观框架,会对文章的理解照成极大的影响。以下边这篇文章为例:
Traditionally, the first firm to commercialize a new technology has benefited from the unique opportunity to shape product definitions, forcing followers to adapt to a standard or invest in an unproven alternative. Today, however, the largest payoffs may go to companies that lead in developing integrated approaches for successful mass production and distribution.
Producers of the Beta format for videocassette recorders (VCRs), for example, were first to develop the VCR commercially in 1975, but producers of the rival VHS (Video Home System) format proved to be more successful at forming strategic alliances with other producers and distributors to manufacture and market their VCR format. Seeking to maintain exclusive control over VCR distribution, Beta producers were reluctant to form such alliances and eventually lost ground to VHS in the competition for the global VCR market.
Despite Beta’s substantial technological head start and the fact that VHS was neither technically better nor cheaper than Beta, developers of VHS quickly turned a slight early lead in sales into a dominant position. Strategic alignments with producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS advantage. The perception among consumers that prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS format further expanded VHS’s share of the market. By the end of the 1980s, Beta was no longer in production.
上面这篇文章出自GMAC出版的官方指南(Official Guide 12th edition)。这篇文章,如果根据传统的阅读习惯,搞清楚每个词的意思,并以此为基础概括句子的意思,进而通过句子的意思总结出段落的大意,最后归纳出全文的意思,那么即使做到了,也一定是耗费了大量的时间和精力。
我们再看一眼这篇文章。Traditionally” 与 “Today”两个词在文中时间上的对比加上 “however” 这个转折词就能抓住第一段里前后两种观点的变化,而第二段的 “for example” 非常清楚地提示了第二段出现例子。例子与观点形成的正是学术论文中最基础的论证与被论证的关系。最后再通过对第二段首句中出现的关键词的把握也不难发现, “Beta”、“VHS”、“VCR” 这几个关键词贯穿了第二、三段始终。所以,最终整篇文章的结构就是第一段为观点而后两段对观点进行了论证。以此为基础,文章的核心观点和具体的展开方式就基本清晰了。
用简单粗暴式的GMAT阅读技巧——排除法直接找选项和原文的对应关系,而完全不顾题干所问究竟是什么,也是很多同学做题正确率难以提高的原因。很多同学习惯了以往在中考、高考甚至是
例1:The author of the passage mentions which of the following as an advantage of high-technology development?
例2:The passage suggests which of the following about the majority of United States manufacturing industries before the high-technology development era of the 1980s?
例3:The author mentions the behavior of the circulatory system of sea snakes when they are removed from the ocean primarily in order to
如果单看这几个问题,大家能不能看出题干所问内容的区别?或者能否看出每一个问题潜在的正确答案应该是什么样子?如果深入分析一下,不难发现例1问的是文章提到了什么,所以正确答案一定是文章提到过的内容,而且一定是原文原句表达过的意思,所以正确答案一定是与原文中句子相同意思,只不过换了一种表达方式的选项。例2问的是文章暗示了什么,那么正确选项一定也会和原文有关,但意思一定不会和原文完全相同,而是原文信息的合理延伸。例3看似和例1很像,都用了“mention”这个词,但是看到最后的“in order to”的话可以发现题目所问的其实是文章之所以提到这句话是为了干什么。因此,这种题干本质上是问句子作用,最后回答问题的正确选项一定不会是这句话本身,而是句子背后的目的。对每一个题型深入分析,才是能够针对性高效寻找答案的基础。