机考SAT阅读和托福阅读的不同之处在于，SAT的阅读主要是考察逻辑推理能力和分析性阅读能力，也就是critical thinking skills。我们可以从官方对于题型的描述中看出来：
Students will use comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, synthesis, and reasoning skills and knowledge to understai d and use high-utility words and phrases in context, evaluate texts rhetorically, and make connections beiween topically related texts.
Students will use comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills and knowledge and the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information and ideas from texts and infurmational graphics.
（阅读的两个大类题型：information and ideas，craft and structure都提到了analysis和reasoning skills and knowledge）
例题
我们来看一个例子。这是一个推理题，大家拿到题目，一定要去分析文本，不能只是读懂表面意思。
To better understand the burrowing habits of Alpheus bellulus (the tiger pistol shrimp), some studies have used resin casting to obtain precise measurements of the shrimps' burrows. Resin casting involves completely filling an empty burrow with liquid plastic that hardens to create a three-dimensional model; however, recovering the model inevitably requires destroying the burrow. In their 2022 study, Miyu Umehara and colleagues discovered that an x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner can accurately record a burrow's measurements both at a moment in time and throughout the entire burrow-building process, something that's impossible with resin casting because___
文本分析
文本分析：为了理解burrowing habits of Alpheus bellulus（研究目的），研究人员用resin casting（方案A），这个方法是先用liquid plastic填满一个empty burrow（具体过程）。但是，取回这个model就会不可避免地破坏这个burrow（困难）。在2022年的时候，Miyu和他的同事发现，用X-ray 扫描就可以准确测量洞的尺寸，包括洞的建造过程和结束之后（方案B），这是用resin casting无法实现的（方案对比），因为它____
A. it can only be used on burrows below a certain size.
B. it does not allow for multiple castings of the same burrow over time.
C. the casting process takes more time than A. bellulus takes to construct a burrow.
D. the process of recovering the model distorts the resin's shape.
分析完文本之后就会发现，这个文本的结构就一目了然了，就是“目的——方案A和B——方案对比”。那么结论也就很容易得出来。需要注意的是，这里选的是方案A不可行的原因，因此我们要选择方案B的反面即- B。所以答案就是B。需要注意的是答案D，根据原文destroy the burrow，可以排除。
这个题本质上是在考察对比推理能力。这些推理思维早在纸质SAT中也是一直在考察的，这也是为什么机考虽然改革，但是考察的能力没有变的原因，下面这个题是来自于纸质SAT：
原文证据
Environmentalists have embraced organic food as better for the planet-and healthier and tastier, too--than the stuff produced by agricultural corporations.
Which choice best reflects the perspective of the "environmentalists" on conventional agriculture?
A) It produces inferior fruits and vegetables and is detrimental to the environment.
B) It is energy efficient and reduces the need to convert wilderness to farmland.
C) It is good for the environment only in the short run.
D) It depletes critical resources but protects wildlife habitats.
分析文本
有机食物（A）更加健康，味道更好，对环境更好；题目问的是对传统农业（B）的看法，因此就要选答案是- A，也就是答案A。
通过对比，其实可以感觉到，从纸质到机考，对同一个逻辑的考察，机考是变难了一些的。难点在于，需要学生自己去1）分析出来文章是在对比 2）去推理得出答案，而纸质考试则是明显告诉学生这里是在考对比，你只需要去推理得出答案即可。
