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.

　　上面這篇文章出自GMAC出版的官方指南(Official Guide 12th edition)。這篇文章，如果根據(jù)傳統(tǒng)的閱讀習(xí)慣，搞清楚每個詞的意思，并以此為基礎(chǔ)概括句子的意思，進而通過句子的意思總結(jié)出段落的大意，最后歸納 出全文的意思，那么即使做到了，也一定是耗費了大量的時間和精力。

　　我們再看一眼這篇文章。Traditionally” 與 “Today”兩個詞在文中時間上的對比加上 “however” 這個轉(zhuǎn)折詞就能抓住第一段里前后兩種觀點的變化，而第二段的 “for example” 非常清楚地提示了第二段出現(xiàn)例子。例子與觀點形成的正是學(xué)術(shù)論文中最基礎(chǔ)的論證與被論證的關(guān)系。最后再通過對第二段首句中出現(xiàn)的關(guān)鍵詞的把握也不難發(fā) 現(xiàn)，“Beta”、“VHS”、“VCR” 這幾個關(guān)鍵詞貫穿了第二、三段始終。所以，最終整篇文章的結(jié)構(gòu)就是第一段為觀點而后兩段對觀點進行了論證。以此為基礎(chǔ)，文章的核心觀點和具體的展開方式就 基本清晰了。

　　用簡單粗暴式的排除法直接找選項和原文的對應(yīng)關(guān)系，而完全不顧題干所問究竟是什么，也是很多同學(xué)做題正確率難以提高的原因。很多同學(xué)習(xí)慣了以往 在中考、高考甚至是托福做題所用的找選項和原文的意思對應(yīng)這種做題方法，并帶到了gmat做題過程中來。對于某些細節(jié)題，這種方法也許是適用的，但是對文 章的主旨、結(jié)構(gòu)這一類和宏觀方面有關(guān)的題型卻完全無解。哪怕是在細節(jié)題里，也存在著不同題型提問方式上的差異，直接導(dǎo)致了做題過程中的做題方法和挑選項的 標(biāo)準(zhǔn)有很大的不同。一起來看下面幾道例題題干：

　　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

　　如果單看這幾個問題，大家能不能看出題干所問內(nèi)容的區(qū)別?或者能否看出每一個問題潛在的正確答案應(yīng)該是什么樣子?如果深入分析一下，不難發(fā)現(xiàn)例 1問的是文章提到了什么，所以正確答案一定是文章提到過的內(nèi)容，而且一定是原文原句表達過的意思，所以正確答案一定是與原文中句子相同意思，只不過換了一 種表達方式的選項。例2問的是文章暗示了什么，那么正確選項一定也會和原文有關(guān)，但意思一定不會和原文完全相同，而是原文信息的合理延伸。例3看似和例1 很像，都用了“mention”這個詞，但是看到最后的“in order to”的話可以發(fā)現(xiàn)題目所問的其實是文章之所以提到這句話是為了干什么。因此，這種題干本質(zhì)上是問句子作用，最后回答問題的正確選項一定不會是這句話本 身，而是句子背后的目的。對每一個題型深入分析，才是能夠針對性高效尋找答案的基礎(chǔ)。