很多考生在拿到一篇
客观原因就是小说本身是自带不可预测性的：就算我们看过很多小说，但每部小说都有他们自己的运行轨迹，你永远不能用其他小说的阅读经验去预判自己手上这篇小说的后续发展这也是小说的魅力之一，但也的确是让我们感到懵的原因之一。
主观原因就是小说文章一直是我们SAT阅读的第一篇文章，对于进入状态慢的同学来说，第一篇就是一个充满不确定的文章真的会让人感到一阵发懵。
SAT阅读小说文章其实就是踩着石头过河的过程，那么这些石头就是我们之前说过的小说的阅读重点：人物性格特质，态度观点，人物关系，人物互动。不要去想后面会发生什么，只要在阅读过程中把握住这些重点，我们就能逐步摸清这篇文章的主要脉络。
我们以OG第一套题的小说文章为例，一起去体会一下这个摸着石头过河的过程，同时分析与总结SAT阅读中小说类文章的解题思路。
Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. Was that it? Had he followed form—had he asked his mother to speak to his father to approach ago-between—would Chie have been more receptive?
小说的开篇第一段的一般是让人最摸不着头脑的一部分了，因为是节选，所以在不了解事件的来龙去脉的情况下很容易犯懵。在这要强调一下，懵是正常的，不要因此打乱节奏，把该抓的抓到就行，这段里面有一个词体现了人物的态度，就是receptive，我们做个标记即可。再来看下一段：
He came on a winter’s eve. He pounded on the door while a cold rain beat on the shuttered veranda, so at first Chie thought him only the wind. The maid knew better. Chie heard her soft scuttling footsteps, the creak of the door. Then the maid brought a calling card to the drawing room, for Chie.
在这段里中我们看到了一系列动作，但是这些动作当中并没有体现人物性格特质或者性格方面的内容，而且有一些是“非人”的描述，比如说“cold rain beat on the shuttered veranda”, 有些同学可能不认识veranda的意思，但是没关系，因为它是“非人”描述，所以我们不用纠结。我们继续：
Chie was reluctant to go to her guest; perhaps she was feeling too cozy. She and Naomi were reading at a low table set atop a charcoal brazier. A thick quilt spread over the sides of the table so their legs were tucked inside with the heat.
在这段里就有需要我们特别注意的内容了。Reluctant的意思是不情愿的，是在说明Chie对于招待这位不速之客的态度，而在后面也给出了体现这个态度的原因：perhaps she was feeling too cozy。Perhaps 这个词经常用作一种可能性的说明，所以自带因果逻辑。之后的内容还是不涉及到人物性格态度的阅读重点，做一个大致了解即可。
“Who is it at this hour, in this weather?” Chie questioned as she picked the name card off the maid’s lacquer tray.
“Shinoda, Akira. Kobe Dental College,” she read.
Naomi recognized the name. Chie heard a soft intake of air.
“I think you should go,” said Naomi.
在这段简短的对话中其实我们是可以从soft intake of air以及“I think you should go”这两处描述中观察到Naomi 和 Akira应该是认识的，一对人物关系需要我们抓到。
Akira was waiting in the entry. He was in his early twenties, slim and serious, wearing the black military-style uniform of a student. As he bowed—his hands hanging straight down, a black cap in one, a yellow oil-paper umbrella in the other—Chie glanced beyond him. In the glistening surface of the courtyard’s rain-drenched paving stones, she saw his reflection like a dark double.
这段的重点在于 Akira的外貌描述，但是在这段外貌描述中并不涉及任务的性格特质的侧面，所以我们对于这样的内容可以读一个大概，知道这是外貌描述即可。
“Madame,” said Akira, “forgive my disruption, but I come with a matter of urgency.”
His voice was soft, refined. He straightened and stole a deferential peek at her face.
In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity.Chie felt herself starting to like him.
“Come inside, get out of this nasty night. Surely your business can wait for a moment or two.”
“I don’t want to trouble you. Normally I would approach you more properly but I’ve received word of a position. I’ve an opportunity to go to America, as dentist for Seattle’s Japanese community.”
“Congratulations,” Chie said with amusement. “That is an opportunity, I’m sure. But how am I involved?”
这段对话本身就是人物互动的部分，但是在人物对话中我们除了需要注意对话内容外，还要注意人物对话时的神态：His voice was soft, refined;stole a deferential peek。从这几处的描述中我们就能抓住Akira当时尊敬的态度，而对于这点我们也是有题目直接考察：
In the passage, Akira addresses Chie with
A) affection but not genuine love.
B) objectivity but not complete impartiality.
C) amusement but not mocking disparagement.
D) respect but not utter deference.
只是这道题不光考察这部分态度，在稍后的故事发展中有出现了态度上的几次转变，这也又一次印证了我们对于人物态度抓取的重要性。