新SAT考试有哪些变化？

请看《中国日报》的报道：

The newly overhauled SAT exam, which puts a heavier emphasis on reading comprehension, may affect the performance of Chinese students, who have traditionally excelled in the math part of the test and relied heavily on rote memorization and cramming.

新改革的SAT考试更注重阅读理解，这将影响中国学生的表现。中国学生一向擅长数学测试部分，并且十分依赖死记硬背。

SAT全称Scholastic Assessment Test，意为学术能力评估测试，由美国大学理事会(College Board)主办，其成绩是世界各国高中生申请美国大学入学资格及奖学金的重要参考，它与ACT(American College Test，美国高等院校考试)都被称为美国高考。

SAT主要考察学生们在大学阶段所必须的阅读和写作能力。考试科目分别为阅读(Critical Reading)、数学(Mathematics)和写作(Writing)。写作由作文(Essay)和语法选择题(multiple choice)组成。

自引入SAT考试以来，已经进行过多次改革。新的SAT考试改革将于3月份启动，被称为有史以来最大的一次改革(one of the greatest overhauls of the exam in its history)。那么，新旧SAT到底有什么不同?

1. 记分改变(Different scoring)

The new SAT is going back to the old 1600 scale (400-1600) and doing away with the 2400 scale (600-2400).

新SAT考试将重回之前的1600分制(400-1600)，取消2400分制(600-2400)。

2. 答错不倒扣分(No more penalty for wrong answers)

Students will earn points for the questions they answer correctly but will not lose points for incorrect answers, as they did on the old test.

新的SAT考试中，学生们答对得分，答错也不倒扣分。旧的SAT考试中，答错要倒扣分。

3. 考试时长变短(Shorter test)

Not only will there be fewer questions, but students can spend less time taking the SAT. The old test took 225 minutes, but the new one takes 180 minutes, if you skip the essay.

新的SAT考试不仅题数变少了，学生们的考试时间也变短了。旧的SAT考试时长为3小时45分钟，，如果考生不考作文的话，新的SAT考试时长为3小时。

4. 作文变选考(Essay now optional)

The College Board has made several changes to the SAT essay, the biggest of which is that it's now optional. Students are no longer required to write an essay, but some colleges and still require it.

美国大学理事会对SAT作文考试做了很多变革，其中最大的变化就是作文变成选考。学生们不再被强制要求要写作文，不过一些大学仍要求考生写作。

5. 晦涩用词变少(No more obscure vocabulary)

Instead of quizzing students on words they’ll never use again like “abrogate” or “plaudit”.

新的SAT考试不再使用学生不常用到的词，例如“abrogate”、“plaudit”。

6. 计算器只在某些数学部分被允许使用(No-calculator math section)

The new SAT has two math sections, one where you can use a calculator and one where you can't. The no-calculator section is new and was designed to make it easier for colleges to assess students' understanding of math concepts, according to The College Board.

新的SAT考试有两个数学部分，其中一部分可以使用计算器，另一部分不可以。不可以使用计算器的部分是新设的，美国大学理事会表示，设立该部分是为了让大学更简单地考察考生对数学概念的理解能力。

7. 图形图表变多(More graphs and charts)

The new test will have an increased emphasis on questions that make students infer information from graphs and charts, especially in the reading section.

新SAT考试的题目将注重让考生从图形和图表中推断出信息，尤其是在阅读部分。