本文重点大纲
●ACT和SAT的考试时间分配？
●ACT和SAT的文章篇幅区别？
●ACT和SAT的语法规则的考法？
●ACT和SAT的篇章复杂性？
●ACT和SAT的词汇的不同难度？
●ACT和SAT的2021年考试机会？
前一段时间在一个学生的朋友圈看到一句话：“室友天天中国各地寻找生命的真谛，我天天在家寻找考试的规律。” 面对申请季的压力，平时不爱考试的学生们此刻都无比希望能够有试可考。
而在这所有的考试中，SAT最为作妖。有学生为了参加SAT考试，坚持留在美国，也有学生学去东南亚隔离了15天回国隔离15天就想考个试，结果8月和9月考试却被大面积取消。除了少部分留在北美的学生和国内国际高中的学生得以参加考试以外，大部分学生和家长都面临着SAT分数空白的焦虑。
而ACT考试的优势这时候就显现了出来：非国际学校学生也可以在国内指定考场参加考试。
那ACT&SAT到底有什么区别？其实，无论是SAT还是ACT，综合难度并没有区别。主要的区别在于学生应对时间压力的能力和对题型的偏好。
01
时间分配
ACT：75道题/45分钟，平均每道题36秒
SAT：44道题/35分钟，平均每道题48秒
很少有同学会在SAT语法部分来不及做，但是ACT就不一定了，ACT是和时间赛跑！必须要做的快！
02
文章篇幅
ACT：300- 400字/篇
SAT：400-500字/篇
我们可以拿一个相同话题的ACT文章和SAT文章做对比。以下两篇文章讲的都是Fred Harvey这一人物改善了铁路餐厅的食物。
上下滑动查看ACT文章
Wild West, White Linens
In the late 1800s, [Q1] people who traveled west of the Mississippi River by train meant heading into a region still rough around the edges: The terrain was rugged. The weather was harsh. [Q2] Rigid were the train's seats. Food was scarce.
As rail travel increased, "eating houses" appeared anywhere trains took a twenty-minute stop to replenish [Q3] an engines' water supply. These eateries were often little more than ramshackle sheds or hastily erected tents. The use of campfire cooking and a lack of refrigeration meant passengers were likely to be served a concoction of spoiled produce and half-cooked meat impersonating stew.
[Q4] In 1901, Fred Harvey's sons took over the company. Out of Harvey's talent and ambition [Q5] to grow the Harvey House chain of restaurants. Harvey struck a deal with a major railroad line, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. In return for Santa Fe trains delivering fresh produce, meat, and dairy products to his kitchens daily, Harvey promised not to open any restaurants along competitors' routes. Only the Santa Fe railroad would offer passengers hot, savory meals served in elegant style.
Instead of food-stained planks, Harvey House tables were draped in white linen. Tin plates were replaced by fine china and silverware. A cadre of young [Q6] women—dubbed "the Harvey Girls" served guests quickly and cordially. Harvey believed the term "waitress" implied [Q7] servitude not his staff would offer gracious hospitality. And incredible food. Rather than suffering days-old stew, customers at Harvey House were served meals such as [Q8] meat, vegetables, and dessert, all for about seventy-five cents. In fact, the first known use of the expression "blue plate special," indicating [Q9] a bargain-cost, complete, inexpensive meal [Q10] (served on an actual blue plate), was on an 1892 Harvey House menu.
Today, only a few Harvey Houses remain. Still, whenever a roadside diner advertises a blue plate special—irrespective of the actual color of the plate—[Q11] its invoking Harvey's dining philosophy: good food at a reasonable price.
(339words)
上下滑动查看SAT文章
Transforming the American West Through Food and Hospitality
Just as travelers taking road trips today may need to take a break for food at a rest area along the highway, settlers traversing the American West by train in the mid-1800s often found 12 themselves in need of refreshment. However, food available on rail lines was generally of terrible quality. 13 Despite having worked for railroad companies, Fred Harvey, an English-born 14 entrepreneur. He decided to open his own restaurant business to serve rail customers. Beginning in the 1870s, he opened dozens of restaurants in rail stations and dining cars. These Harvey Houses, which constituted the first restaurant chain in the United States, 15 was unique for its high standards of service and quality. The menu was modeled after those of fine restaurants, so the food was leagues beyond the 16 sinister fare travelers were accustomed to receiving in transit.
His restaurants were immediately successful, but Harvey was not content to follow conventional business practices. 17 Although women did not traditionally work in restaurants in the nineteenth century, Harvey decided to try employing women as waitstaff. In 1883, he placed an advertisement seeking educated, well-mannered, articulate young women between the ages of 18 and 30. 18 Response to the advertisement was overwhelming, even tremendous, and Harvey soon replaced the male servers at his restaurants with women. Those who were hired as “Harvey Girls” joined an elite group of workers, who were expected to complete a 30-day training program and follow a strict code of rules for conduct and curfews. In the workplace, the women donned identical black-and-white uniforms and carried out their duties with precision. Not only were such regulations meant to ensure the efficiency of the business and the safety of the workers, 19 but also helped to raise people’s generally low opinion of the restaurant industry. In return for the servers’ work, the position paid quite well for the time: $17.50 a month, plus tips, meals, room and board, laundry service, and travel expenses. 20
For as long as Harvey Houses served rail travelers through the mid-twentieth century, working there was a steady and lucrative position for women. Living independently and demonstrating an intense work 21 ethic; the Harvey Girls became known as a transformative force in the American 22 West. Advancing the roles of women in the restaurant industry and the American workforce as a whole, the Harvey Girls raised the standards for restaurants and blazed a trail in the fast-changing landscape of the western territories.
(418 words)
03
语法规则
基本没有区别，重点的语法点比如主谓一致，时态，平行结构，句子结构，定语从句，标点符号等，无论是ACT还是SAT都一定会涉及。
所以就语法规则而言，如果SAT语法学的很好，那考ACT的语法也就没问题了。
但是就ACT考的会比SAT更基础一些，比如ACT会考begin，began，begun这类不规则动词变形，而SAT是不会考的；再比如ACT会考easy和easily这样形容词和副词的区别，SAT肯定也不会考。毕竟ACT的题目比SAT多了将近一倍， 所以出题会更直接，没有SAT那么多坑坑洼洼、一个不小心不仔细就会出错。
比如都是平行结构的考点, 上面两篇文章就可以凸显SAT和ACT的难易度
SAT的考法是：
Not only were such regulations meant to ensure the efficiency of the business and the safety of the workers, 19 but also helpedto raise people’s generally low opinion of the restaurant industry.
A) NO CHANGE
B) but also helping
C) also helping
D) but they also helped
ACT的考法是：
In the late 1800s, [Q1] people who traveled west of the Mississippi River by train meant heading into a region still rough around the edges.
A. NO CHANGE
B. when people traveled
C. by traveling
D. traveling
SAT这道题，就会有坑，很多同学看到not only…but also结构，可以反应出是一个平行结构，然后就选A, 因为not only后面跟的是were是个动词，所以but also后面也跟个动词helped，还都是过去式，觉得很语法很对应。就这么不知不觉掉进坑里了。
而这题还有一个语法点，not only放在句首主谓要倒装，所以not only后面其实真正的内容是一个句子，而不仅仅是一个动词，所以but also后面也必须是一个句子。这题要选D。
而ACT这题就没有那么十八弯，只要能够判断出平行结构，就简单直接，系动词meant前后平行，meant后面是heading…前面就应该也是doing的是结构，可以快速选出D。而做错的同学往往是因为并没有判断出这是一平行结构题。
就像对仗，ACT考工对，如“白日依山尽，黄河入海流。”“白日”对“黄河”，“山”对“海”。
而SAT考错综对， 比如杜甫的五律《长江》“众水会涪万，瞿塘争一门”，“众水”对“一门”，“涪万”对“瞿塘”，会更复杂一些。
04
篇章考点
篇章题考查的是考生的写作能力与技巧，除了题目的问法不太一样，核心是一样的，都会考词准确性，语言简洁性，句子或段落连贯性，句子逻辑等
比如上面的两篇文章
SAT的考法是：
However, food available on rail lines was generally of terrible quality. 13 Despite having worked for railroad companies, Fred Harvey, an English-born 14entrepreneur. He decided to open his own restaurant business to serve rail customers.
13 Which choice provides the most logical introduction to the sentence?
A) NO CHANGE
B) He had lived in New York and New Orleans, so
C) To capitalize on the demand for good food,
D) DELETE the underlined portion.
ACT的考法是：
The use of campfire cooking and a lack of refrigeration meant passengers were likely to be served a concoction of spoiled produce and half-cooked meat impersonating stew.
[Q4] In 1901, Fred Harvey's sons took over the company. Out of Harvey's talent and ambition [Q5] to grow the Harvey House chain of restaurants. Harvey struck a deal with a major railroad line, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. In return for Santa Fe trains delivering fresh produce, meat, and dairy products to his kitchens daily, Harvey promised not to open any restaurants along competitors' routes. Only the Santa Fe railroad would offer passengers hot, savory meals served in elegant style.
[Q4] Given that all the choices are true, which one offers the most effective transition from the preceding two paragraphs to the rest of the essay?
A. NO CHANGE
B. Then entrepreneur Fred Harvey stepped onto the scene.
C. There were forty-seven Harvey House restaurants open in 1902 due to Fred Harvey.
D. In 1835, Fred Harvey was born in London.
这两道题目其实问的是一模一样的，就是如何衔接上下文的内容。做题思路也是一样的，根据题*要求读相关的句子，然后选出能够衔接上下文的句子。
但是因为ACT的篇幅更短，文章内容更为简单，句子复杂性相对较小，所以对于考生而言更好理解，所以ACT的篇章题和SAT的相比，会显得更加简单一些。
在高考语文卷里，我们也有类似的题目，比如：
在下面一段文字横线处补写恰当的语句，使整段文字语意完整连贯，内容贴切，逻辑严密。每处不超过15个字。
考古学是利用古人遗迹遗物重建古代历史的学科，尽管先民的物质遗存作为古史研究的直接史料有益于重建古代物质文化的历史，但仅满足于人类物质文化历史的建设，①。理由很简单，人类社会的历史不仅包括物质文化历史，也应包括精神文化的历史，我们不仅要关心古人是如何生活的，②。这意味着真正的考古学研究，③，同时更要通过这些物质遗存研究先民精神文化的成果。
高考语文的考法可要比SAT和ACT难多了。
05
词汇考点
SAT的词汇题也会比ACT错综复杂一些。 甚至会在词汇题中暗藏语法玄机。比如SAT这篇文章：
The menu was modeled after those of fine restaurants, so the food was leagues beyond the16sinister fare travelers were accustomed to receiving in transit.
Which choice best maintains the tone established in the passage?
A) NO CHANGE
B) surly
C) abysmal
D) icky
这道题看着好像是一道单词题，但实际也是一道定语从句题。要知道几个点才能做对：
第一，fare是什么意思
第二，fare和travelers是连在一起读还是断开来读
第三，选项的四个单词各是什么意思
这里其实是一个省略了that的定语从句：so the food was leagues beyond the 16 sinister fare (that) travelers were accustomed to receiving in transit.
fare是食物的意思，A选项“邪恶的”和B选项“阴沉的”都是形容人的，D选项“脏兮兮的”虽然可以形容食物，但是个口语词，所以只有C选项“糟糕的”，不仅可以形容食物也是比较书面的用法。
SAT这种拐弯抹角的题，在ACT是不太会出现。
如果把ACT的词汇题难度等同于“斯是陋室，惟吾德馨”中的“斯”为何意的话，那SAT的词汇题难度就是“不肖宗道，稚年丧母，外大母每见不肖，辄泪涔涔下，且泣且拊曰：“儿饥否？将无寒乎？”中的“拊”的意思了
所以就题目本身的难度而言，SAT会比ACT高一些，但是加上题量和时间因素之后，整体难度还是比较难分伯仲的。
06
考试机会
2021年ACT在亚太区有6场考试，11月EA/ED申请前有5场考试，考试时间分布在4，6，7，9，10月，没有与5月的AP大考冲突，而且因为ACT实行机考，每次考试会有4场，也就是20次考试机会。 如果3月还不能去香港，澳门，新加坡等考场的话，国内GAC-U项目中心有机会报考ACT考试。这样来看，ACT的考试机会是远远大于SAT的。
具体考试时间安排如下图所示：
