2008 Graduate Entrance Exam English New Course

Author: Zhang Jinxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-27
Features: 20 units, progressing from easy to difficult, covering everything from solidifying fundamentals to surpassing real exam questions, providing comprehensive support throughout. Centered around reading, it includes all types of questions outlined in the syllabus, improving both language foundation and skills. The themes are rich and touch upon popular topics in past exam questions, expanding knowledge. It includes translations, annotations, and selected vocabulary and definitions. The outstanding features of this book are: (1) Each unit's sections are systematically structured around a single theme; (2) The units are arranged in order of difficulty as much as possible; (3) Each unit is accompanied by detailed explanations, full translation of the main text, translation and annotation of difficult and long sentences in reading passages, and writing guidance to facilitate candidates' in-depth study of each unit; (4) Thematic organization of units helps candidates systematically absorb knowledge and memorize vocabulary and expressions related to frequently tested themes; (5) It includes a master vocabulary list with highlighted key vocabulary to guide candidates in focusing on memorizing postgraduate entrance exam vocabulary. Below is a detailed introduction to the book's features and usage:
(1) The book is divided into 20 thematic units, each focusing on a specific theme. Correspondingly, the "main text" and "exercises" in each unit are selected around the same theme. Reviewing the materials in past exam questions, the following themes have become the first choice for articles: computer networks, economy, education, law, medicine, scientific knowledge, language and culture, social values, and so on. The 20 units in this book not only focus on these themes but also include other themes that we believe may be tested. This arrangement not only helps candidates systematically accumulate knowledge and understand various Western perspectives on these issues but also builds relevant vocabulary. Since the same theme uses certain common vocabulary and expressions, candidates can learn and master a set of vocabulary and expressions related to a specific theme by taking it as a core topic.
(2) Each unit consists of a "main text" and "exercises." The exercises are sequentially organized as cloze, reading comprehension (including new types of questions), translation, and writing (including applied writing). Each exercise set is largely self-contained, designed in the form and requirements of the actual exam. The book is divided into "Intermediate" and "Advanced" sections, balancing themes while striving to arrange the 20 units in a progressive difficulty level. This arrangement is especially necessary for students with weaker language foundations. Based on two years of use, the 2007 edition further adjusted the arrangement of units by difficulty. The purpose is to help candidates build a solid foundation and improve their language proficiency and exam skills step by step.
(3) The book emphasizes the role of in-depth study and systematic knowledge accumulation in preparation. In terms of organization, the main text is slightly longer than the reading comprehension passages in postgraduate entrance exam questions to cover sufficient language knowledge and scope. The main text is accompanied by reading comprehension exercises and a reference translation to help candidates verify their understanding and truly master the content. Based on this understanding, candidates should memorize and accumulate useful language knowledge. Before reading the translation of the main text, we recommend that candidates first attempt to translate the text on their own and then compare it with the translation to practically improve their reading and translation skills, particularly in understanding difficult and long sentences.
(4) The "cloze" material is fresh, and the difficulty level of the exercises is reasonably designed, praised by most candidates. The two articles in the exercises are roughly the same length as the reading comprehension passages in the postgraduate entrance exam. Each article is accompanied by comprehension exercises and translation exercises, with translations and annotations of difficult and long sentences to help candidates truly understand every sentence. The reading comprehension questions include frequently tested types of questions in the postgraduate entrance exam, as well as some types that have not yet appeared in the exam, preparing candidates for these question types. The "translation" section provides detailed analysis of sentences from both linguistic and conceptual perspectives.
(5) The "writing" section is divided into two parts: applied writing and short essays. Applied writing includes diverse formats, while the second part focuses on practice with picture and chart essays. For chart and picture essays, topic review is crucial, as many candidates lose points due to incomplete topic analysis. Therefore, we have added topic review guidance to each essay to train students' analytical thinking. At the same time, to help candidates accumulate knowledge, each essay provides common vocabulary and expressions for writing essays on similar themes, allowing candidates to select and memorize useful phrases.
(6) All exercises are accompanied by answers and explanations. The translation, annotations, and exercise explanations for the "main text" are attached after the main text; the answers and explanations for each part of the "exercises" are attached after each unit, with reference essays provided for writing. Candidates are encouraged to carefully study the explanations to learn problem-solving perspectives and summarize some problem-solving techniques.
(7) The "appendix" is a master vocabulary list, listing new words from the main text and exercises. The selection of words, phrases, and definitions was based on the syllabus but not strictly limited to it. The vocabulary is provided with phonetic transcriptions because we believe that memorizing words starting from their sound can lead to more retention, thus addressing the drawback of the postgraduate entrance exam syllabus not including phonetic transcriptions. The vocabulary is categorized into three types: (1) key vocabulary and phrases that candidates must memorize; (2) optional vocabulary and phrases to be memorized after mastering the key ones; (3) vocabulary and phrases that appear in the book but do not need to be memorized. The basis for categorization is frequency of occurrence.