考試利器：不會做？高效猜答案的4大招！

1. Ignore conventional wisdom.
拋棄傳統思維。

You've probably been given test-taking advice along the lines of "always guess the middle answer if you don't know" or "avoid any answer that uses the words 'never,' 'always,' 'all,' or 'none'" at some point in your life. However, according to Poundstone, this conventional wisdom doesn't hold up against statistics. In fact, he found that the answers "none of the above" or "all of the above" were correct 52% of the time. Choosing one of these answers gives you a 90% improvement over random guessing, he says.
可能曾經有人建議你在應試時沿用“如果不知道，就猜中間的答案”或“避免使用 ‘從不’，‘總是’，‘全部’或者‘沒有’等用詞”。但是，根據龐德斯通（Poundstone）所說，這一傳統智慧不能支撐統計數據。事實上，他發現“以上都不是”或“上述所有”的回答52％的機率是正確的。他說選擇這些回答中的一個會比隨意猜測的正確率提高90%。

2. Look at the surrounding answers.
看看周圍的答案。

Poundstone found correct answer choices hardly repeated consecutively, so looking at the answers of the questions you do know will help you figure out the ones you're stuck on. For example, if you're stuck on question No. 2, but know that the answer to No. 1 is A and the answer to No. 3 is D, those choices can probably be eliminated for No. 2. Of course, "knowledge trumps outguessing," Poundstone reminds us. Cross out answers you know are wrong based on facts first.
龐德斯通發現正確答案的選項幾乎不會連續性地重複，所以看那些你肯定明白的問題的答案將會幫助你解決困住你的問題。例如，如果你被困在問題2，但知道問題1的答案是A以及問題3的答案是D，這些選擇也許可以在回答問題2時被排除。當然，“知識勝過猜測”，龐德斯通提醒道。首先要基於事實劃掉你已知錯誤的選項。

3. Choose the longest answer.
選擇最長的答案。

Poundstone also noticed that the longest answer on multiple-choice tests was usually correct. "Test makers have to make sure that right answers are indisputably right," he says. "Often this demands some qualifying language. They may not try so hard with wrong answers." If one choice is noticeably longer than its counterparts, he says it's likely the correct answer.
龐德斯通還注意到，在多項選擇題測試中最長的選項通常是正確的。“出題者必須確保正確的答案是準確無誤的，”他說，“這通常需要一些專業語言。他們可能不會在錯誤的答案上花力氣。”如果其中一個選項明顯長於其它選項，他說這可能是正確答案。

4. Eliminate the outliers.
排除選項。

Some exams, like the SATs, are randomized using computers, negating any patterns usually found in the order of the answers. However, no matter their order, answer choices that are incongruent with the rest are usually wrong, according to Poundstone. He gives the following sample answers from an SAT practice test, without including the question:
像SAT這樣的一些考試，都是隨機使用電腦，不會出現任何經常出現的答案順序。但是，據龐德斯通所說，不管它們的順序是怎麼樣的，與其餘選項不一致的那個選項通常是錯的。他給出某次SAT練習測試中的示例答案如下，不包括題目：
A. haphazard…radical
B. inherent…controversial
C. improvised…startling
D. methodical…revolutionary
E. derivative…gradual

Because the meaning of "gradual" stands out from the other words in the right column, choice E can be eliminated. Poundstone then points out that "haphazard" and "improvised" have almost identical meanings. Because these choices are so close in meaning, A and C can also be eliminated, allowing you to narrow down over half the answers without even reading the question.
因爲在右欄中“gradual”的含義與其他選項不一致，所以選項E可以被排除。龐德斯通隨後指出，"haphazard" 和"improvised"有着幾乎相同的含義。由於兩個選項意思接近，A和C也可以被排除，這使你甚至在沒有閱讀問題的情況下就能鎖定超過一半的答案。

"It's hard to see how one could be unambiguously correct and the other unambiguously wrong," he says. For the record, the correct answer is D.“
很難看出哪個選項是明顯正確和明顯錯誤的，”他還說。特此說明，正確答案是D。