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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岁的黄维铭毕业于西安交通大学金融专业，今年暑假他却像复习高考一样为另一项考试做着准备：GRE；为了提高英语水平，他参加了GRE考试训练班，于是背单词、听讲座、做没完没了的训练题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.
像黄维铭一样，还有很多人为了完成自己的出国梦，都参加过GRE、托福或雅思考试的英语培训课。根据新东方培训机构的统计，2013年（全国）共进行了43场托福考试，考生人数累计达30万人。
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.
英语培训课程的需求也因此日益增加。但是，这些课程都以教授考试技巧为主，而提分仍然取决于学生整体的语言水平。归根结底，想要通过这些考试，提高综合英语能力才是关键。
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.
尽管如此，了解最新的应试技巧还是会对考试有所帮助。例如，黄维铭一直很难合理安排考试时间，但是通过上课，他才知道有这样的“黄金法则”：只有将完成每道听力填空题的时间控制在一分钟之内才能做完卷子。
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.
同时，这些培训课程还会向学生介绍考试形式，以及应对不同类型题目的解题技巧。过去黄维铭在做阅读的时候总是会一口气从头读到尾，从不做标记。但是，上了课之后，他学会了如何通过标注关键词快速找到答案。他说，“（通过上课）我的答题效率和准确性都有所提高。”
“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岁的唐文新是新东方的一名老师，他说，“我们的目标是让学生在短时间内熟悉考试。”但是，要想让培训课程取得最好的效果，自学仍然很重要。
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.
培训班带来的也许不只是考试技巧。就读于安徽建筑大学、23岁的张洋说，她曾参加过一个月的托福培训班，而令她收获最多的却是其中的学习氛围。
“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.
张洋说，“老师和同学在写个人陈述和简历方面给了我很多有用的建议，同时让我对国外大学的申请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，大部分的培训课程因为学生众多，很难满足个人的具体需要。21岁的孙思雨来自北京科技大学，她参加的雅思培训班上一共有100名学生，她说，“我时常觉得老师教的语法知识我并不需要。”
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.
同时，老师们为了吸引学生的注意常常会讲一些笑话，从而影响课程质量。孙思雨说，“有时候，我们只是一直在笑，课上并没有什么有价值的内容。”
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，一些同学即使掌握了考试技巧，仍然不能取得满意的成绩。张洋曾参加的托福培训班的目标是让每个学生都得100分（注：新托福考试满分为120分），而她却只得了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岁的吴霞是清华大学的一名英语教师，她说，提高综合英语能力才是在考试中取得好成绩的关键，而掌握考试技巧只能帮助学生熟悉考试，能够正常发挥。
