了解过新SAT希望重点考察的核心技能后，我们来分析一下考试样题以及正确的解题过程。美国大学理事会称，下面的试题取自“高难度文章样本”，这类文章样本通常选自国会议员演讲、美国宪法、重要“立国文献”（Founding Documents）和对“美国精神”的解读内容等。

请注意在此我们仅针对答案的推理进行中文编译，阅读章节和问题保持英文原文。 考察重点：对单词意义的深度理解

新SAT的阅读部分将重点考察学生对单词及词组的理解和运用，生僻的单词和词组以及特殊领域的专业词汇将不再出现。也就是说，新SAT考察的是学生结合上下文理解单词含义及修辞手法的能力。 This passage is adapted from a speech delivered by Congresswoman Barbara Jordan of Texas on July 25, 1974. She discusses how and when a United States president may be impeached, or charged with serious offenses, while in office. […] The nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation of powers maxim. The Federal Convention of 1787 said that. It limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors, and discounted and opposed the term “maladministration.” “It is to be used only for great misdemeanors,” so it was said in the North Carolina ratification convention. And in the Virginia ratification convention: “We do not trust our liberty to a particular branch. We need one branch to check the other.” Question: As used in the passage above, “channeled” most nearly means:A) worn B) sent C) constrained D) siphoned 正确答案：C。这一问题要求学生结合历史/政治文献理解单词含义。“Channeled”一词可以被理解为“worn、Sent、Siphoned”，但结合文章内容来看，作者明显表达出“例外”应该被严格限制的意思，因此“constrained”最为贴切。后面的一句话也表明，1787年的联邦制宪会议“要求只有在总统出现行为不端或触犯重罪时才可启动弹劾，而且反对使用‘maladministration’（行政失当）一词，”恰恰说明这一描述太过宽泛，需要加以限制。 考察重点: 引用证据支持论点新SAT阅读考试同时要求学生指出文章中的哪些话为文章结论提供了论据支持。这样一来，学生不仅要正确理解文章，还要从原文中找出相关论据来支持自己的答案。 […] The North Carolina ratification convention: “No one need be afraid that officers who commit oppression will pass with immunity.” “Prosecutions of impeachments will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community,” said Hamilton in the Federalist Papers, number 65. “We divide into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused.”* I do not mean political parties in that sense. The drawing of political lines goes to the motivation behind impeachment; but impeachment must proceed within the confines of the constitutional term “high crime[s] and misdemeanors.” Of the impeachment process, it was Woodrow Wilson who said that “Nothing short of the grossest offenses against the plain law of the land will suffice to give them speed and effectiveness. Indignation so great as to overgrow party interest may secure a conviction; but nothing else can.” […] Question: In lines “Prosecutions . . . sense”, what is the most likely reason Jordan draws a distinction between two types of “parties”? A) To counter the suggestion that impeachment is or should be about partisan politicsB) To disagree with Hamilton’s claim that impeachment proceedings excite passionsC) To contend that Hamilton was too timid in his support for the concept of impeachmentD) To argue that impeachment cases are decided more on the basis of politics than on justice Follow-up question: Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

A) Lines 13-17 (“It . . . office”)It is wrong, I suggest, it is a misreading of the Constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the President should be removed from office.

B) Lines 20-24 (“The division . . . astute”)The division between the two branches of the legislature, the House and the Senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge—the framers of this Constitution were very astute. C) Lines 55-58 (“The drawing . . . misdemeanors’”)The drawing of political lines goes to the motivation behind impeachment; but impeachment must proceed within the confines of the constitutional term “high crime[s] and misdemeanors.” D) Lines 65-68 (“Congress . . . transportation”)Congress has a lot to do: appropriations, tax reform, health insurance, campaign finance reform, housing, environmental protection, energy sufficiency, mass transportation. 答案：第一个问题要求学生分析Jordan对“党派”的不同定义：一种是Alexander Hamilton所称的非正式的联盟组织，另一种则是正式的、有组织的政治党派，例如今天美国的共和党和民主党。本题的最佳答案是A。Jordan已经预计到自己引用Hamilton的话时会引起读者的误解。读者可能会以为，她相信弹劾只是党派之间争权夺利的工具，是某一政党用来攻击另一政党的政治手腕。因此，Jordan在上面的文章中清楚的表示，她认为弹劾只有在总统触犯众怒——既出现行为不端或触犯重罪时——才可以启用。 接下来的问题要求学生指出下面4段话中哪一段为该答案提供了最直接的例证，旨在考察学生使用证据的能力。本题的正确答案为C，因为这句话强调了Jordan的观点，既弹劾应该是极为严肃的事，不能成为争夺政治利益的工具，只能用作处理总统行为不端或触犯重罪时的行政手段。这类问题考察的是学生论证推理和综合理解的能力。请继续阅读：《新SAT改革解析：家长该做什么？》