Already a graduate student from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Huang Weiming, 24, a finance major, feels like he is preparing for another college entrance exam this summer vacation. Learning English vocabulary, attending lectures and doing endless tests has become a daily routine. Huang is hoping to improve his English by taking a GRE training class.
今年24歲的黃維銘畢業(yè)于西安交通大學(xué)金融專業(yè)，今年暑假他卻像復(fù)習(xí)高考一樣為另一項考試做著準備：GRE;為了提高英語水平，他參加了GRE考試訓(xùn)練班，于是背單詞、聽講座、做沒完沒了的訓(xùn)練題就成了他的日常生活。
Like Huang, for many, taking English training courses to pass the GRE, TOEFL and IELTS exams is the first step to fulfilling their dream of studying abroad. There were 43 TOEFL exam sessions in 2013, a new record, and the number of Chinese TOEFL exam takers reached 300,000, according to the New Oriental training institution.
像黃維銘一樣，還有很多人為了完成自己的出國夢，都參加過GRE、托�；蜓潘伎荚嚨挠⒄Z培訓(xùn)課。根據(jù)新東方培訓(xùn)機構(gòu)的統(tǒng)計，2013年(全國)共進行了43場托�？荚嚕忌藬�(shù)累計達30萬人。
So demand for English training courses is increasing. But such courses focus on teaching participants test-taking skills. How effective they are in improving students’ grades still depends on their overall language level. Therefore, the key for test-takers to pass the exams is to improve their comprehensive English ability.
英語培訓(xùn)課程的需求也因此日益增加。但是，這些課程都以教授考試技巧為主，而提分仍然取決于學(xué)生整體的語言水平。歸根結(jié)底，想要通過這些考試，提高綜合英語能力才是關(guān)鍵。
Even so, learning new test-taking skills can be helpful for some. For example, time management used to be a challenge for Huang. But on the course he learned the golden rule that each gap-filling task should be finished within one minute in order to complete the test.
盡管如此，了解最新的應(yīng)試技巧還是會對考試有所幫助。例如，黃維銘一直很難合理安排考試時間，但是通過上課，他才知道有這樣的“黃金法則”：只有將完成每道聽力填空題的時間控制在一分鐘之內(nèi)才能做完卷子。
Also, these courses introduce students to the test format and teach them specific tactics to tackle different types of questions. For the reading part, Huang used to read the passages from beginning to end without taking any notes. But after taking the course, he now knows how to quickly find the right answers by marking the key words. “My efficiency and accuracy have both improved”, he says.
同時，這些培訓(xùn)課程還會向?qū)W生介紹考試形式，以及應(yīng)對不同類型題目的解題技巧。過去黃維銘在做閱讀的時候總是會一口氣從頭讀到尾，從不做標記。但是，上了課之后，他學(xué)會了如何通過標注關(guān)鍵詞快速找到答案。他說，“(通過上課)我的答題效率和準確性都有所提高�！�
“Our aim is to allow students to familiarize themselves with the exams in a short time,” Tang Wenxin, 22, a teacher at New Oriental, says. But to make full use of such courses, the importance of self-study can’t be ignored.
今年22歲的唐文新是新東方的一名老師，他說，“我們的目標是讓學(xué)生在短時間內(nèi)熟悉考試�！钡�，要想讓培訓(xùn)課程取得最好的效果，自學(xué)仍然很重要。
Rather than test-taking skills, Zhang Yang, 23, a business administration major at Anhui Jianzhu University who once took a one-month TOEFL training course, says she benefited from the atmosphere most.
培訓(xùn)班帶來的也許不只是考試技巧。就讀于安徽建筑大學(xué)、23歲的張洋說，她曾參加過一個月的托福培訓(xùn)班，而令她收獲最多的卻是其中的學(xué)習(xí)氛圍。
“My teachers and classmates gave me helpful advice on writing personal statements and resumes. I know more about the application procedure for foreign universities now,” she says.
張洋說，“老師和同學(xué)在寫個人陳述和簡歷方面給了我很多有用的建議，同時讓我對國外大學(xué)的申請流程也有了更多的了解�！�
Most training courses, however, don’t cater to individual needs as there are too many students. Sun Siyu, 21, an English major at Beijing University of Technology, is taking an IELTS training course with 100 students. “I often find the grammar knowledge we are taught is not what I need,” she says.
但是，大部分的培訓(xùn)課程因為學(xué)生眾多，很難滿足個人的具體需要。21歲的孫思雨來自北京科技大學(xué)，她參加的雅思培訓(xùn)班上一共有100名學(xué)生，她說，“我時常覺得老師教的語法知識我并不需要�！�
Besides, the teachers constantly tell jokes to keep the students motivated, which affects the quality of the class. “Sometimes, we just laugh and laugh. There is not much valuable content,” Sun adds.
同時，老師們?yōu)榱宋龑W(xué)生的注意常常會講一些笑話，從而影響課程質(zhì)量。孫思雨說，“有時候，我們只是一直在笑，課上并沒有什么有價值的內(nèi)容。
Even if some students master test-taking skills, they still can’t get satisfactory grades. Zhang’s TOEFL training class aims to help students get a score of 100, but she only got 89.
而且，一些同學(xué)即使掌握了考試技巧，仍然不能取得滿意的成績。張洋曾參加的托福培訓(xùn)班的目標是讓每個學(xué)生都得100分(注：新托福考試滿分為120分)，而她卻只得了89分。
Wu Xia, 43, an English teacher at Tsinghua University, says that the key to getting good grades in the exams is to improve students’ comprehensive English ability. Test-taking skills only help students get more familiar with the exams and perform at their normal level.
今年43歲的吳霞是清華大學(xué)的一名英語教師，她說，提高綜合英語能力才是在考試中取得好成績的關(guān)鍵，而掌握考試技巧只能幫助學(xué)生熟悉考試，能夠正常發(fā)揮。