[GMAT Verbal] 心法大解密

在GMAT裡，Verbal是由三種題型組成，句子改錯（SC），邏輯推理（CR）和閱讀理解（RC），總共36題。其中SC的比重佔得比較多約12-13題。SC不僅題目量較多難度也是最難的, 它更是其他兩科的基礎, 所以如果要提升閱讀的理解力, 當然我們在SC上就要好好下番功夫, 在這邊提供一個SC必讀的教材”Manhattan SC” 這本書的單字並不難, 所以建議剛入門的新生們可以好好啃一遍喔

那SC到底在考察什麼？

以下我們一起來看幾個例題的解題步驟：

Q1:

Recently physicians have determined that stomach ulcers are not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the stomach.

(A) not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but

(B) not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but are by

(D) caused not by stress, alcohol, and rich foods, but

(E) caused not by stress, alcohol, and rich foods, but are by

GMAT考試相當強調文法當中的平行句構，若出現關鍵之對等連接詞，符合句意後，對等連接詞後的結構必須相似。以本題來說，not…but…極為關鍵。(A)選項not後面接的是過去分詞caused by，但是but後面卻接名詞的bacterium，因此不符合。(B)選項not後面接的是過去分詞caused by，但是but後面卻接動詞的are，因此不符合。(C)選項not後面接的是介係詞by+名詞stress, alcohol, or rich foods，而but後面接介係詞by+名詞a bacterium，因此符合平行句構，為本題正解。(D)選項not後面接的是介係詞by+名詞stress, alcohol, or rich foods，但是but後面卻直接搭配名詞的bacterium，因此不符合。(E)選項not後面接的是介係詞by+名詞stress, alcohol, or rich foods，但是but後面卻接動詞的are，因此不符合。

Q2:

During her presidency of the short-lived Woman’s State Temperance Society (1852-1853), Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as she was a staunch advocate of liberalized divorce laws, scandalized many of her most ardent supporters in her suggestion that drunkenness should be made sufficient cause for divorce.

(A) as she was a staunch advocate of liberalized divorce laws, scandalized many of her most ardent supporters in her suggestion that drunkenness should be

(B) as she was a staunch advocate for liberalized divorce laws, scandalized many of her most ardent supporters by her suggestion of drunkenness being

(C) in being a staunch advocate for liberalized divorce laws, had scandalized many of her most ardent supporters with the suggestion of drunkenness being

(D) a staunch advocate of liberalized divorce laws, scandalized many of her most ardent supporters by suggesting that drunkenness be

(E) a staunch advocate of liberalized divorce laws, she scandalized many of her most ardent supporters in suggesting that drunkenness should be

首先，本題一開始即可發現Elizabeth Cady Stanton為本題之主詞，逗號後圍棋同位語，無須再使用as…「身為」之介系詞片語或者是in being的用法，直接搭配一個名詞a staunch advocate作為同位語最為簡潔，因此選項剩下(D)以及(E)。而(D) (E)皆出現了關鍵判斷動詞suggest。英文中表建議、提議的suggest, advise, propose, recommend，表請求、要求的ask, demand, require, request，表命令的order, command，表堅持的insist以及表力勸urge，後面常會搭配 that + S + (should) + V，而由於GMAT要求精簡，因此若考題出現相關動詞，後面子句當中的should必須省略，因此答案選(D) 。

Q3:

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor’s portfolio rose as her daughter-in-law’s dropped.
(A) as her daughter-in-law’s dropped
(B) while her daughter-in-law’s has dropped
(C) as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law’s
(D) while that of her daughter-in-law’s dropped
(E) as it dropped for her daughter-in-law’s

首先，本題我們可以看到前半句話是在說the value of Monica Taylor’s portfolio rose，後半句則是說daughter-in-law投資組合的價值dropped。rose以及dropped是相當明顯句意相反，互相對比的兩個動詞，因此需使用表對比的連接詞while。而須注意的是，dropped的主詞應為the value of her daughter-in-law’s portfolio，而(D)選項的that代替的就是前面的value，因此為正解。(B)選項將value of Monica Taylor’s portfolio以及her daughter-in-law’s portfolio去對比，但前者為value，後者為portfolio，不可互相比較，因此選(D)。

CR的全稱是Critical Reasoning

這個科目會有8-10題，其中算分題數量固定，一共8題，考試時數量不固定

大家會將CR簡稱為“邏輯”，所以有些可愛的學生就不假思索的去搜索研究一些“邏輯學”的概念，結果越學頭越暈。其實，去研究邏輯學中的形式邏輯概念跟我們所以學的是差天差地遠的。CR其實就是小RC, RC 主旨題跟細節題之外的題目，超過半數都是 CR 題,所以對待CR和ＲC的學習方式其實是差不多的, 唯一不同的是CR的敘述都是虛構的, 所以就算沒有太多的背景知識也是可以解的出來, 至於很多人會去學習很多的ＣR技巧, 技巧有不是沒有用, 只是要建立在健全的基礎上喔

正確的備考方式應該是：

1. 建立CR知識基礎：

先系統學習CR必備的基本概念、規範的解題步驟、有系統的思維方法以及解題的基本原則。

2. 單科加強刷題：

學習過知識系後，並不代表你就完全理解它，還需要經過一定量的刷題，將學到的解題技巧運用在實際的題目中，並通過不斷的總結內化。

3. 考前模考衝刺：

考試中verbal各科是交替出現的，所以思維上的切換會比單科練習來得多很多，真實上戰場和平時練習是完全不一樣的，所以考前一定要有足夠多的模考來模擬的考場節奏和狀態。

我們廢話不多說, 來看一下以下幾個例題

CR到底在考察什麼？

Q1:

A study followed a group of teenagers who had never smoked and tracked whether they took up smoking and how their mental health changed. After one year, the incidence of depression among those who had taken up smoking was four times as high as it was among those who had not. Since nicotine in cigarettes changes brain chemistry, perhaps thereby affecting mood, it is likely that smoking contributes to depression in teenagers.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

(A) Participants who were depressed at the start of the study were no more likely to be smokers after one year than those who were not depressed.

(B) The study did not distinguish between participants who smoked only occasionally and those who were heavy smokers.

(D) Some participants entered and emerged from a period of depression within the year of the study.

(E) The researchers did not track use of alcohol by the teenagers.

題目情境：根據研究，只要吸煙的人都更容易憂鬱，所以我們認為，吸煙會造成憂鬱症狀的發生。本題的推理結構為，吸菸會導致憂鬱傾向。

(A) 題目本身只能看出憂鬱以及吸煙為正向關係，但是兩者為正向關係不能夠說明何者為因，何者為果。若要證明「吸菸會導致憂鬱傾向」，則必須排除「憂鬱傾向會導致吸煙」，而本選項正牌除了這種可能性，因而更確定了「吸菸會導致憂鬱傾向」，因此(A)為正確解答。

(B) 研究沒有分別那些僅僅偶爾抽煙和重度菸癮者。本選項與憂鬱無關。

(D) 有的參與者在一年的研究當中展現了一段時間的憂鬱。本選項並沒有提到憂鬱的成因，因此非解答。

(E) 研究人員沒有追蹤青少年飲酒情形。本選項與吸煙以及憂鬱無關。

Q2:

Advertisement: Ten years ago, the Cormond Hotel’s lobby was carpeted with Duratex carpet while the lobby of a nearby hotel was being carpeted with our competitor’s most durable carpet. Today, after a decade in which the two hotels have had similar amounts of foot traffic through their lobbies, that other hotel is having to replace the worn-out carpeting near its lobby entrances, whereas the Cormond’s Duratex carpeting has years of wear left in it.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the advertisement’s evidence for concluding that Duratex carpet is more durable than the carpet of its competitor?

(A) The lobby of the Cormond Hotel has five different entrances, but the lobby of the other hotel has only two.

(B) The carpet of the Cormond Hotel’s lobby is not the most durable carpet that Duratex manufactures.

(D) The carpet that is being used to replace carpeting near the other hotel’s lobby entrances is not Duratex carpet.

(E) There is a third hotel near the other two that has not replaced the Duratex carpet in its lobby for more than 15 years.

題目情境：Duratex的地毯最為耐用，因為證據顯示，Cormond Hotel鋪了Duratex地毯之後，經過了10年也沒壞；然而附近其他飯店他品牌地毯已經壞了。因此，Duratex的品質最佳。

(A) Cormond Hotel的大廳有五個門，但是其餘飯店大廳有兩個門。因此，Cormond Hotel的大廳的門被踩踏的機率較低，因此並不全然是因為Duratex的品質最佳。為本題正解。

(B) Cormond Hotel的大廳所鋪設的地毯並非Duratex製作的最耐用的地毯。本選項與Duratex的品質最佳與否並無關係。

(D) 其他飯店想要替換的的地毯並非Duratex所製作的地毯。本選項與Duratex的品質最佳與否並無關係。

(E) 有第三家飯店在大廳用了Duratex的地毯超過十五年也沒有損壞，本選項反而強化了Duratex的品質最佳論述，與題目要求的weaken剛好相反。

Q3:

From 1973 to 1976, total United States consumption of cigarettes increased 3.4 percent, and total sales of chewing tobacco rose 18.0 percent. During the same period, total United States population increased 5.0 percent.

If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn?

(A) United States manufacturers of tobacco products had higher profits in 1976 than in 1973.

(B) Per capita consumption of cigarettes in the United States was lower in 1976 than in 1973.

(D) United States manufacturers of tobacco products realize a lower profit on cigarettes than on chewing tobacco.

(E) A large percentage of United States smokers switched from cigarettes to chewing tobacco between 1973 and 1976.

(A) 美國煙製造商的利潤在1976年比1973年要高。題目中並沒有提到利潤相關的問題，因此本選項非正解。

(B) 1976年平均每人消費之香煙比1973年低。由題目敘述，我們得知人口增加5%，單是香煙消費只增加3.4%，分母提升的程度大於分子，因此本選項為正解。

(D) 美國煙製造商意識到煙的利潤比嚼煙還要低。題目中並沒有提到兩種煙的利潤高低，因此本選項非正解。

(E) 在1973到1976年之間，有很大比例美國抽煙的人從抽煙轉化成了嚼煙。我們可以從題目發現嚼煙的銷售量提升，但不代表抽嚼煙的人不會抽一般的煙，兩者之間並非一增一減的關係。

RC:

GMAT閱讀部分大概會是4篇文章，兩長兩短，長文章一般350字左右，有4道題，短文章一般250字左右，有3道題。GMAT的RC文章使用的主題範圍非常廣泛, 常常會遇到不同專業的主題, 所以任何一個人都可能會遇到自己不擅長的文, 這時候我們當然不能奢求在考試中僅用短短幾分鐘就掌握學術性的內容主題, 所以這時候會不會分析資訊和內容就成了RC成績的高低的關鍵了, 簡單來說RC要考的並不是文章的專業度, 而是考生在壓力環境下如何處理陌生文章並且或去相關訊息的能力

以下提供幾個方法：

文字理解能力

GMAT不像托福那樣會圍繞著一個生字展開衍伸，但是很多題型都會針對文章中所提到的細節延伸出來。有些題目會要求挑選文章中的內容的同義闡述，有些題目則是挑選簡潔的語句來蓋括一段文章的意思，另外一種是要求找到對應字面意思的延伸和推斷。所以對文字字面意思的理解是整個閱讀過程中的最為核心的重點

掌握main idea和文章結構

文章中的每一個句子和段落都是圍繞著一個中心或觀點來延伸的。有時我們能很快的找到文章中心，但更多的時候這需要從整篇文章的內文和結構來確定。裡面的考題大多是要識別、找出文章的中心，並且去總結文章所想表達目的，或者為文章去擬一個簡單的標題。

理解延伸的含義

文字除了自身的意思之外, 常常也會有字面外的意思, 所以如何辨別“弦外之音“也是閱讀的一大重點。在RC的題目中, 常常會有一些文章題目是清晰但有隱含文字背後的意思, 像是作者對觀點的態度或殘在風險等。最後的關鍵的題information題, 這沒什麽好方法，就是鍛煉看題目時的記憶力，還有主要從段落意思上來看

把這幾個重點總結一下, 你將形成一種GMAT RC的感覺，並且會在你再次寫題目時融入你的閱讀方法。

[GMAT Verbal] 心法大解密