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SAT阅读练习题：每日一篇（附解析）

SAT Reading Practice Questions

Passage-Based Reading

  【北京新航道SAT频道】： SAT考试中的批判性阅读分为句子填空选择和阅读理解两种类型。阅读文章的题材涉及面很广，有人文科学领域、社会科学领域、科学领域及文学作品。

　　参加SAT考试的考生普遍反映，阅读的时间短、文章长、词量大、涉题广，是“最难招架”、“无法发挥正常水平”的题型。其实，美国当地中学并没有设置任何批判性阅读的课程。然而，美国的大学普遍认为批判性思维是学生必须具备的关键能力，这一考试内容却恰恰成为中国学生难以攻破的关卡。
　　因此，建议学生在准备SAT考试时，应尤其加强对科学领域知识的补充，以下是在美国SAT相关网站摘录的阅读练习，希望大家坚持每天读一篇，逐步培养自己的阅读思维。

　　希望可以供大家参考，预祝大家取得理想的考试成绩。

1.Read the passage carefully.Directions

2.Decide on the best answer to each question, and then read the explanation for the correct answer.

Passage

This passage is adapted from a novel written by a woman in 1899. The novel was banned in many places because of its unconventional point of view.

Following are sample questions about this passage. In the actual test, as many as thirteen questions may appear with a passage of this length.

You may be asked to interpret information presented throughout the passage and to evaluate the effect of the language used by the author.

1、The narrator would most likely describe Mr. Pontellier's conduct during the evening as

(A) typically generous

(B) justifiably impatient

(C) passionate and irrational

(D) patronizing and self-centered

(E) concerned and gentle

The correct answer is D

Explanation（解析）

Difficulty: Easy

This question asks you to consider a large portion of the passage and to make an inference about the narrator's view of "Mr. Pontellier's conduct during the evening." To answer such a question, you should look carefully at the particular words used and details mentioned in the passage. In the first paragraph, Mr. Pontellier awakens his wife after his "night out"; he seems not to notice or care that she had been sound asleep. In lines 48-59, the narrator describes Mr. Pontellier speaking to his wife in a superior and condescending manner about "a mother's place" in caring for children and about how hard he works at "his brokerage business."

·(A) and (E) are not correct because the narrator does not depict Mr. Pontellier's words and actions during the evening as "generous" or "gentle."

·(B) is not correct because the narrator does not suggest that Mr. Pontellier's conduct with his wife is justifiable.

·(C) is not correct; although Mr. Pontellier's behavior is selfish and inconsiderate, it is not "passionate" — in fact, the narrator states that Mr. Pontellier "talked in a monotonous, insistent way."

·(D) is correct because it accurately describes the narrator's impression of Mr. Pontellier's behavior during the evening, "patronizing and self-centered." Someone who is "patronizing" has an attitude of superiority and thus treats others as if they were less important.

2、Some questions ask you to focus on a specific piece of information presented in the passage.

In context, the description in lines 58-59 of Mr. Pontellier's way of speaking suggests the narrator's belief that his complaints are

·(A) stumbling and confused

·(B) familiar and not as urgent as he claims

·(C) angry and sarcastic

·(D) too complex to make sense to anyone but himself

·(E) both rational and thought-provoking

The correct answer is B

Explanation

Difficulty: Medium

In lines 58-59, the narrator describes Mr. Pontellier's "way of speaking" as "monotonous, insistent." Previously, Mr. Pontellier had told his wife that one of their sons "had a high fever and needed looking after," and he had criticized Mrs. Pontellier for her "habitual neglect of the children." These are seemingly serious matters, and yet Mr. Pontellier is described as not at all excited in the way that he communicates his opinions to his wife.

·(A) is wrong because Mr. Pontellier speaks assertively to his wife throughout the passage, not in a "stumbling" or uncertain manner.

·(C) is wrong because statements that are "monotonous" and "insistent" are not "angry and sarcastic."

·(D) and (E) are wrong because the narrator does not indicate that Mr. Pontellier's statements to his wife are "too complex to make sense" or "rational and thought-provoking." In fact, the terms "monotonous" and "insistent" suggest that the statements are rather dull and simpleminded.

·The correct answer is (B) because concerns that are voiced "in a monotonous, insistent way" are likely to be ones that are oft-repeated and "familiar," and probably "not as urgent" as Mr. Pontellier claims. The statement in lines 66-68 also supports this answer: "When his cigar was smoked out he went to bed, and in half a minute was fast asleep."

3、Some questions require you to make an inference or draw a conclusion about what you have read.

In lines 69-113, Mrs. Pontellier's reactions to her husband's behavior on returning home suggest that

·(A) she accepts unquestioningly her role of caring for the children

·(B) this is one of the first times she has acknowledged her unhappiness

·(C) her marriage is not what is making her so depressed

·(D) she is angry about something that happened before her husband went out

·(E) she is not as worldly as her husband is

The correct answer is B

Explanation

Difficulty: Medium

In these lines, Mrs. Pontellier cries for a long time while sitting alone on the porch. Her husband's treatment of her has upset her greatly. The narrator indicates that such behavior by Mr. Pontellier was "not uncommon" but that Mrs. Pontellier had not previously been too bothered by such incidents: "They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance of her husband's kindness... "

·(A) is not correct because the issue of "caring for the children" is not the focus of this part of the passage; Mrs. Pontellier's feelings of sadness and "oppression" are not related to her acceptance of "her role" as a mother.

 (C) is not correct because it is precisely her relationship with her husband that has made her "so depressed."

(D) is not correct because there is no indication in the passage that "something that happened before her husband went out" has made Mrs. Pontellier "angry." In fact, it is his behavior after his return that has upset her.

(E) is not correct because whether Mrs. Pontellier is "as worldly as her husband" is irrelevant to her reaction to his treatment of her; the passage suggests not that she lacks sophistication but that he lacks consideration.

(B) is correct because Mrs. Pontellier's "strange and unfamiliar" mood of "oppression" and "anguish" marks a new realization on her part of her "unhappiness" with her husband.

4、You may be asked to consider the overall description of a character, event, or phenomenon across an entire passage.

The passage shows Mr. Pontellier as happiest when he

(A) is attending to his children

(B) sits outside and smokes a cigar

(C) makes up with his wife after an argument

(D) has been away from home or is about to leave home

(E) has showered his children with gifts of candy

The correct answer is D

Explanation

Difficulty: Easy

The passage begins with Mr. Pontellier "in an excellent humor," having just returned after a night away from home. He becomes less happy, however, when his wife is too sleepy to talk with him, and when he discovers that his son Raoul "had a high fever and needed looking after." Subsequently, he lectures his wife about their family roles and responsibilities, finishes his cigar, and goes to bed. The next morning, Mr. Pontellier has "regained his composure" and is "eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week" away from his family at work.

·(A) and (E) are not correct because Mr. Pontellier gets upset the one time that he is "attending to" his sons, and he has forgotten to send them the treats that he had promised.

·(B) is not correct because Mr. Pontellier is described as neither happy nor unhappy while he smokes; there are other occasions in the passage when he is happier.

·(C) is not correct because the passage never shows Mr. Pontellier making up with his wife after their argument.

·(D) is the correct answer based on the description of a happy Mr. Pontellier at the beginning and the end of the passage, when "he has been away from home or is about to leave home."