众所周知，构成一部小说的三要素分别是：人物、情节、环境。按理说三者缺一不可，但是如果放在短短几百字的一段节选中，想要做好三者的平衡其实不易。接下来我就从这三个要点出发，结合历年考试原题文章，分析一下三者在文中的体现方式以及需要注意的地方。
人物外貌
我们首先从人物入手。小说中对人物的刻画方式是非常多样的，鉴于这篇文章是针对SAT阅读考试，我们就从中节选一些内容帮助大家感受下考试的难度。
1. He was in his early twenties, slim and serious, wearing the black military-style uniform of a student. As he bowed—his hands hanging straight down, a black cap in one, a yellow oil-paper umbrella in the other…
这段文字是我们在小说中常见的一种人物描述方式：外貌描述。如果我们只是平时去读小说，这样的内容对于我们在脑中想象人物非常有帮助，能够让我们真正融入到故事当中，但是在考试过程中并没有给我们这样想象的空间，相反，可能是拖累我们阅读速度的因素，我们再看一段：
2.She was a homely woman, with a small weazened face and body and eyes that glowed. She had absolutely no taste in dress, and wore a batch of rusty black lace with a bunch of artificial violets pinned to the side of her hair.
上面这段文字取自可汗练习题小说文章，从这段文字我们可以看到一些外貌描述的生词，纠结这部分的生词毫无意义，且浪费时间，比较好的处理方式就是绕过生词，从自己能读懂的部分抓取信息，概括出一个印象即可，比如利用“She had absolutely no taste in dress”进行概括即可。
人物举止
除外貌刻画外，人物行为举止的描述也会在考试中大量出现，这里的行为举止特指：没有带人物态度体现或人物互动的单纯的动作描述，我们可以通过下面的例子体会一下：
3.He came on a winter’s eve. He pounded on the door while a cold rain beat on the shuttered veranda, so at first Chie thought him only the wind. The maid knew better. Chie heard her soft scuttling footsteps, the creak of the door. Then the maid brought a calling card to the drawing room, for Chie.
这么短短一段文字涉及到了3个人的不同动作，但这部分的动作描述没有涉及到人物态度或直接的互动，那么有态度或互动的行为描述是如何的呢?我们接着看：
4. His voice was soft, refined. He straightened and stole a deferential peek at her face. In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity. Chie felt herself starting to like him.
这段文字就是比较典型的既有态度又有互动的举止描述，是我们需要关注的内容，而事实证明，这样的内容也是出题人比较偏好的部分：
In the passage, Akira addresses Chie with
A) affection but not genuine love.B) objectivity but not complete impartiality.C) amusement but not mocking disparagement.D) respect but not utter deference.
人物性格
人物外貌和举止这些内容都算是比较外在的刻画，相比较而言，人物的性格、态度和观点等内在特质的描述则是能够赋予小说中人物灵魂的部分：
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch. She was one of those imperfectly self-assured individuals who are magnificent and autocratic as long as they are not seriously opposed. The least show of unexpected resistance goes a long way towards rendering them cowed and apologetic. When the new governess failed to express wondering admiration of the large newly-purchased and expensive car, and lightly alluded to the superior advantages of one or two makes which had just been put on the market, the discomfiture of her patroness became almost abject.
上面这段是OG practice test3的小说文章的节选，通过这段人物特质描述，一个外强中干，稍加冒犯内心就会崩溃的玻璃心伪真暴发户的形象就跃然纸上了。而出题人也不会放过这类典型的小说文章出题点：
As presented in the passage, Mrs. Quabarl is best described as
A) superficially kind but actually selfish.B) outwardly imposing but easily defied.C) socially successful but irrationally bitter.D) naturally generous but frequently imprudent
有一些小说类文章，大部分内容都有可能是某个人的心理活动，可能是以第三人称，也可能是人称，可见把握人物内心的重要性：
5. I feel a vast yearning that is simultaneously a pleasure and a pain. I am certain of the consummation of this yearning, but I don’t know yet what form it will take, since I do not understand quite what it is that the yearning desires.
6.What I am on the brink of knowing, I now see, is not an ephemeral mathematical spot but myself. The doctor was right, even though I dislike him. Fundamentally I am a dangerous madman, and what I do is both a challenge to my egotism and a surrender to it.
以上两段都出自OG practice test4的小说文章，而贯穿整篇文章的主线，就是叙述者纠结挣扎的内心戏，这种内容一般是我们在阅读小说文章时需要准确抓取的部分。
做个小结：针对小说三大构成要素(人物、情节、环境)中的人物要素，我们在这篇文章中结合指南的文章节选，从外貌、举止、性格及态度观点这几个方面进行了介绍，并提出了一些处理建议，希望对大家有帮助。
