一.科学类文章介绍
篇章类型：SAT考试中科学类文章主要包括涉及地球科学，生物学，化学以及物理领域的信息，概念和试验类的文章。
更多内容查看可点击：sat2016阅读分析
难度分析：在原有题型基础上，增加了2道题左右的图表信息题。总体难度不难，看得懂图表、读懂问题与选项，推理出问题与图表的关系就可以选出正确答案。
答题建议：自然科学类文章较人文类文章更简单，虽总体阅读量大，但文章大意、结构较为清晰，不可大意失分，更要保证有效的阅读速度、阅读技巧。
二.例题详解
这篇文章是一篇关于海龟的自然科学类文章，并附有图表信息。难度属于相对简单的等级。
Questions 9-13 are based on the following passage and
supplementary material.
This passage is adapted from Ed Yong, “Turtles Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field as Global GPS.” ©2011 by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
In 1996, a loggerhead turtle called Adelita swam across
9,000 miles from Mexico to Japan, crossing the entire Pacific
on her way. Wallace J. Nichols tracked this epic journey with a
satellite tag. But Adelita herself had no such technology at her
5 disposal. How did she steer a route across two oceans to find
her destination?
Nathan Putman has the answer. By testing hatchling
turtles in a special tank, he has found that they can use the
Earth’s magnetic field as their own Global Positioning System
10 (GPS). By sensing the field, they can work out both their
latitude and longitude and head in the right direction.
Putman works in the lab of Ken Lohmann, who has been
studying the magnetic abilities of loggerheads for over 20
years. In his lab at the University of North Carolina, Lohmann
15 places hatchlings in a large water tank surrounded by a large
grid of electromagnetic coils. In 1991, he found that the babies
started swimming in the opposite direction if he used the coils
to reverse the direction of the magnetic field around them.
They could use the field as a compass to get their bearing.
20 Later, Lohmann showed that they can also use the
magnetic field to work out their position. For them, this is
literally a matter of life or death. Hatchlings born off the sea
coast of Florida spend their early lives in the North Atlantic
gyre, a warm current that circles between North America and
25 Africa. If they’re swept towards the cold waters outside the
gyre, they die. Their magnetic sense keeps them safe.
Using his coil-surrounded tank, Lohmann could mimic the
magnetic field at different parts of the Earth’s surface. If he
simulated the field at the northern edge of the gyre, the
30 hatchlings swam southwards. If he simulated the field at the
gyre’s southern edge, the turtles swam west-northwest. These
experiments showed that the turtles can use their magnetic
sense to work out their latitude—their position on a north-
south axis. Now, Putnam has shown that they can also
35 determine their longitude—their position on an east-west
axis.
He tweaked his magnetic tanks to simulate the fields in
two positions with the same latitude at opposite ends of the
Atlantic. If the field simulated the west Atlantic near Puerto
Rico, the turtles swam northeast. If the field matched that on
40 the east Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands, the turtles swam
southwest. In the wild, both headings would keep them within
the safe, warm embrace of the North Atlantic gyre.
Before now, we knew that several animal migrants, from
loggerheads to reed warblers to sparrows, had some way of
45 working out longitude, but no one knew how. By keeping the
turtles in the same conditions, with only the magnetic fields
around them changing, Putman clearly showed that they can use
these fields to find their way. In the wild, they might well also use
other landmarks like the position of the sea, sun and stars.
50 Putman thinks that the turtles work out their position
using two features of the Earth’s magnetic field that change
over its surface. They can sense the field’s inclination, or the
angle at which it dips towards the surface. At the poles, this
angle is roughly 90 degrees and at the equator, it’s roughly
55 zero degrees. They can also sense its intensity, which is
strongest near the poles and weakest near the Equator.
Different parts of the world have unique combinations of
these two variables. Neither corresponds directly to either
latitude or longitude, but together, they provide a “magnetic
60 signature” that tells the turtle where it is.
9. The passage most strongly suggests that Adelita used which of the following to navigate her 9,000-mile journey?
(A) The current of the North Atlantic gyre
(B) Cues from electromagnetic coils designed by Putman and Lohmann
(C) The inclination and intensity of Earth’s magnetic field
(D) A simulated “magnetic signature” configured by Lohmann
题目考点：Information and Ideas信息观点类
答案：C
答题思路：考生需从文章中进行合理的推断
解析：文章的第一段中描述了Adelita完成的9000米的旅程并提出了问题，文章的后半部分都在回答这只红海归是如何能够“steer a route across two oceans to find her destination” (lines 5-6)而针对这一问题的答案主要是从文章的最后一段得来的，最后一段中提到Putman认为红海归“work out their position using two features of theEarth’s magnetic field that change over its surface” (lines 50-52)”这一结论是合理的，所以推测出这是Adelita使用的方法。
10.Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
(A) Lines 1-3 (“In 1996 . . . way”)
(B) Lines 27-28 (“Using . . . surface”)
(C) Lines 48-49 (“In the wild . . . stars”)
(D) Lines 58-60 (“Neither . . . it is”)
题目考点：Information and Ideas信息观点类
答案：D
答题思路：考生需从文章中找出支撑第9题答案的最佳证据。
解析：在文中的58-60行中，作者表明“together, [inclination and intensity] provide a ‘magnetic signature’ that tells the turtle where it is.” 因此这些话是对上一问题答案的最佳支持证据。
11. As used in line 3, “tracked” most nearly means
(A) searched for.
(B) traveled over.
(C) followed.
(D) hunted.
题目考点：Information and Ideas 信息观点类
答案：C
答题思路：考生需确定这个词汇在文章中的具体含义
解析：选择C是因为文章在3-4行中明确的表明了Nichols是依照Adelita的“epic journey with a satellite tag”，也就是“沿着，顺着”的意思。
12. Based on the passage, which choice best describes the relationship between Putman’s and Lohmann’s research?
(A) Putman’s research contradicts Lohmann’s.
(B) Putman’s research builds on Lohmann’s.
(C) Lohmann’s research confirms Putman’s.
(D) Lohmann’s research corrects Putman’s.
题目考点：Information and Ideas信息观点类
答案：B
答题思路：考生需确定文章中两个句子之间的关系
解析：文章的12-14行中提到Putman “works in the lab of Ken Lohmann, who has been studying the magnetic abilities of loggerheads for over 20 years”，Lohmann早期表明红海龟“could use the [magnetic] field as a compass to get their bearing” (line 19) and “use their magnetic sense to work out their latitude—their position on a north-south axis” (lines 32-34).而Putman后来在Lohmann研究的基础上展示了海龟“can also determine their longitude—their position on an east-west axis” (lines 34-35).
13. The author refers to reed warblers and sparrows (line 44) primarily to
(A) contrast the loggerhead turtle’s migration patterns with those of other species.
(B) provide examples of species that share one of the loggerhead turtle’s abilities.
(C) suggest that most animal species possess some ability to navigate long distances.
(D) illustrate some ways in which the ability to navigate long distances can help a species.
题目考点：Rhetoric修辞类
答案：B
答题思路：考生需找出文章部分的修辞效果对文章整体的作用
解析：选项B为最佳答案是因为作者表明芦苇莺和麻雀像海龟一样，之前被认为是有“some way of working out longitude” (lines 44-45).
以上就是小编为大家介绍的
以上就是小编为大家介绍的新SAT阅读科学类图表文章的例题分析，希望对备考新SAT阅读的考生有帮助，在新增的图表类题型中，大家要学会读懂图表信息。
您还可能关注：
前程百利SAT官方QQ:390352172
