真题1 （2026.03）
While no one doubts that politicians are influenced by a variety of incentives, it is generally agreed that they seek to support policies their constituents favor—after all, they risk losing office if they do not. Direct contact with constituents via such means as public events and emails from voters is a major source of politicians' beliefs about their constituents' views, but it is susceptible to a selection effect. There is little reason to presume that individuals with the time, resources, and strength of feeling to directly engage with their representatives are themselves broadly representative.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A People who are likely to contact their elected representatives do not tend to be representative of politicians' constituents generally.
B Direct contact with constituents shapes politicians' beliefs about policies their constituents favor, and they try to act in accordance with those beliefs.
C Politicians aim to advocate for their constituents' policy preferences, but politicians' understanding of those preferences may be skewed.
D Although politicians have an incentive to act in accordance with their constituents' views, that is not the only incentive.
真题2（2026.03)
Throughout history, tall structures such as Ruwanwelisaya in Sri Lanka or the Minarets of Selimiye Mosque in Turkey have posed a challenge to their architects, since these structures are more susceptible to physical forces than smaller structures. For example, the lower floors of a building must be able to support the enormous weight of the upper floors. To test a hypothesis that steel is more suitable than concrete for construction of a tall building's lower floors, researchers created a computer model of two buildings that were identical except that one had concrete lower floors while one had steel lower floors, and simulated the effects of the forces of wind and gravity on those structures over the course of a century.
Which finding, if true, would best support the hypothesis?
A At the end of the simulation, the structure with steel lower floors had slightly larger dimensions at its base than it did at the beginning of the simulation.
B During the simulation, the structure with steel lower floors bent in high wind to a greater degree than did the structure with concrete lower floors.
C During the simulation, when sudden forces caused vibrations in the structures, those vibrations took longer to disappear in the structure with steel lower floors than in the structure with concrete lower floors.
D At the end of the simulation, the structure with concrete lower floors was several inches shorter than the structure with steel lower floors.
一、susceptible 的核心含义及其在 SAT 解题中的重要性
susceptible to X = 容易被 X 影响 / 容易受到 X 的作用。它是一种因果或影响关系的标志词：A is susceptible to B → B 容易对 A 产生影响。在 SAT 阅读中。理解这个词对于把握文本中的因果关系、判断信息可靠性以及排除干扰选项至关重要。因为它往往标志着某个事物存在缺陷或偏差，或者某个问题需要被特别关注。
二、susceptible 在第 1题（政治家与选民）中的作用
原文逻辑链：政治家想支持选民偏好的政策（否则丢官）→ 他们通过直接接触（公开活动、邮件）了解选民观点 → But 这种直接接触 is susceptible to a selection effect → 解释：能直接接触的人本身不具代表性。
解题关键：susceptible to a selection effect = 容易受到“选择偏差”的影响，也就是这种接触方式不能准确反映全体选民。这正是 C选项的核心：“politicians’ understanding of those preferences may be skewed”。skewed 与 susceptible to selection effect 是直接对应关系。如果没有理解 susceptible，你会以为直接接触是可靠信息源，从而误选其他选项。
三、susceptible 在第 2 题（高层建筑与材料）中的作用
原文逻辑链：高层建筑 more susceptible to physical forces（比矮的建筑更容易受物理力影响）→ 举例：下层必须支撑上层巨大重量 → 假设：钢比混凝土更适合做下层 → 模拟：两个建筑，一个混凝土下层，一个钢下层，模拟百年风力和重力。
解题关键：假设是“钢比混凝土更合适”。“合适”在本实验中，意味着更能抵抗物理力（因为它更 susceptible，所以更需要合适材料）。我们需要找支持钢更好的证据。D选项：混凝土下层的建筑比钢下层的建筑矮几英寸。矮 = 被压缩了 = 说明混凝土下层在重力下变形/沉降更严重。钢下层更能保持高度 → 更适合承受重力 → 支持假设。如果没有理解 susceptible，你会不知道为什么要测“受力后的变化”，可能误选 B（弯曲更严重）或 C（振动更久），这些反而是更差的表现，反而削弱假设。
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