在SAT閱讀中有一類(lèi)題型，叫做假設(shè)題。這類(lèi)題型不僅涉及到對(duì)于定位點(diǎn)句子的理解，其理解的原理還在一定程度上涉及到邏輯關(guān)系的推理。

　　這一類(lèi)題題面的基本特征就是含有一個(gè)詞assumption。通常題目會(huì)問(wèn)文章的某幾行，是基于什么樣的一個(gè)假設(shè)(basedon或restson)。既然是問(wèn)一個(gè)假設(shè)，那么顯然就是問(wèn)原文能夠成立的條件是怎樣的。在SAT的閱讀考試當(dāng)中，通常能在出題點(diǎn)看到的是導(dǎo)致的某個(gè)結(jié)果，或可達(dá)到的某個(gè)目的。比如問(wèn)一個(gè)方法基于什么樣的假設(shè)，意思就是說(shuō)要達(dá)到某個(gè)目的，這樣的方法為什么能夠有效。

　　具體思路為，若把原文看成B，選項(xiàng)看成A，那么A是B的假設(shè)，意思就是說(shuō)若A成立B就一定成立(由A一定能推出B)，而若B成立A不一定成立(即B不一定能推出A)。比如說(shuō)，你想長(zhǎng)壽，就要少抽煙少喝酒，這句話(huà)基于什么假設(shè)就是只要少抽煙少喝酒就一定能長(zhǎng)壽。

　　做題的時(shí)候，理解出題點(diǎn)后要對(duì)自己提問(wèn)為什么出題點(diǎn)的內(nèi)容能夠成立，在五個(gè)選項(xiàng)中找到一個(gè)選項(xiàng)，能夠符合這個(gè)提問(wèn)。

　　例如OG中900頁(yè)：

　　My physiotherapist expressed himself similarly: "Adaptation follows a different path in each person. The nervous system creates its own paths. You are the neurologist-you must see this all the time。

　　The physiotherapist's remarks (lines 36-39) reveal the assumption that

　　A. patients have complete control over the progress of their recovery

　　B. each neurologist follows a different path to understanding

　　C. all neurologists are aware of the nervous system's adaptability

　　D. the author is inadequately informed about the intricacies of the muscular system

　　E. some neurologists consider both healthy and injured brain processes to be parallel

　　題目問(wèn)理療師的話(huà)揭示了一個(gè)什么假設(shè)。理療師的意思是：適應(yīng)對(duì)于每個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)都是基于不同的路徑的。神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)創(chuàng)建了它自己的路徑，你就是那個(gè)神經(jīng)學(xué)家，你必須時(shí)時(shí)刻刻看到這一點(diǎn)。意思也就是說(shuō)你作為一個(gè)神經(jīng)學(xué)家，必須時(shí)刻了解神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)創(chuàng)建不同的適應(yīng)的不同路徑。理解選項(xiàng)后可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有C選項(xiàng)“所有的神經(jīng)學(xué)家都對(duì)神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的適應(yīng)性有意識(shí)”成立時(shí)，這句話(huà)才是能夠成立的，其他的都為不相關(guān)項(xiàng)。

　　再如2007年5月的真題：

　　1. I had been trained in the tradition of acting called "psychological realism". A basic tenet of psychological realism is that characters live inside of you and that you create a lifelike portrayal of the character through a process of realizing your own similarity to the character. When I later became a teacher of acting, I began to became more and more troubled by the self-oriented method. I began to look for ways to engage my students in putting themselves in other people's shoes. This went against the grain of the psychological realism tradition, which was to get the character to walk into a classroom of people in their real lives。

　　The author's explanation in the fourth paragraph suggests that the "self-oriented method" (line 45) rests on the assumption that

　　A. audience members appreciate complex nuance of character

　　B. the playwright's biography provides the main evidence for interpreting character

　　C. actors have already felt the full range of human emotions

　　D. actors are extremely independent and self-serving people。

　　E. Actors' lives become fulfilled through their dramatic portrayals。

　　可以看到題面所問(wèn)的self-orientedmethod就是文中說(shuō)到的psychologicalrealism。而這個(gè)方法的一個(gè)基本理念就是角色就住在你體內(nèi)，你通過(guò)一個(gè)實(shí)現(xiàn)自身與角色相似性的過(guò)程，來(lái)創(chuàng)造一個(gè)活生生的對(duì)角色的扮演。為什么這個(gè)方法能夠成立呢，為什么能夠通過(guò)實(shí)現(xiàn)自身與角色相似性的過(guò)程，來(lái)創(chuàng)造活生生的角色扮演呢？顯然，只有選項(xiàng)中的C選項(xiàng)“演員已經(jīng)體會(huì)過(guò)了所有人類(lèi)情感”成立，這一點(diǎn)才能夠成立。

　　從以上例題也可看出，假設(shè)題是不能排除極端選項(xiàng)的。由于是從選項(xiàng)能推出原文，通常的正解甚至都是帶有極端詞的。