经过了一年多的紧张复习，高三同学们即将迎来2007年高考。然而，回顾近几年的高考英语命题，却有许多不尽人意的地方。 2006年高考英语山东卷第23题 Engines are to machines _____hearts are to animals.
A. as B. that C. what D. which
当时官方公布的答案是C. what，目前市面上各种辅导书也都给出了这个答案。然而，这个题的最佳答案应该是A. as，尽管如果没有as，what也是可以的。
为什么会出现这样的错误呢？一位高中英语教师告诉我，在高中英语课本中曾经出现过 “A is to B what C is to D” 这个句型。但这只能证明在这个句子中，选what 是可以的，并不能说明 what 是最佳答案。
当我用百度搜索时发现：Engines are to machines_____hearts are to animals 这句英文在网上很多地方都出现过，一般是在“高三英语单项选择题精选”的页面中，四个选项是 that、what、where 和which。 就这个题而言，答案当然是 what。
但2006年山东高考英语卷的四个选项是 A. asB. that.C. whatD. which 。命题者的本意如果是想考察上述what的句型，在设计题的时候就应该特别小心，不能把 as 出现在备选项中。
为了进一步确认，首先，我问了几个外教，他们都说就这孤立的、没有语境的一句话而言，as 是首选答案，这是毫无疑问的。其中，英籍教育专家 Mr. David Rowles 在给我的E-mail中说：
As I said in my earlier e-mail，I think that context has a role to play in all this... my first “gut” reaction was “as”...and I think that “as” is better in a bald，no-context statement. If the “engines” statement comes at the end of a paragraph detailing similarities between engines and hearts，and maybe prefaced by “so”，then maybe “what” is more appropriate. But，as it stands without context， then “as” is better.省略 英文网站上发了帖子，寻求native speaker的帮助，在14个回复中，13人选择了as。 这是其中的一个回复：
The correct answer is “as”. This type of question is called an analogy.
Another and more popular example of one is： A glove is to hand as a shoe is to _____ (The answer is ‘foot’ because the glove covers/protects the hand， then the shoe must cover/protect whatever it is referring to.)
I hope that made sense to you. If I figure out a better way to explain it let you know.
再次，我且在BBC 的学习网站上也发了帖子，一位语言教师回复道：
I’d agree with you. Though ‘what’ is possible，it cannot be used in the sentence you have given as an example. If we use ‘what’ the relationship between the two parts has to be absolute. This is not the case. The engine of a machine does not perform the same function as the heart in an animal - the heart is simply a muscle that pumps，it does not provide any power.
When we use ‘as’ we provide only an analogy，not a direct relationship. It’s the same as using ‘like’. An engine in a machine is like the heart - without it the machine doesn’t work / body ceases to function.
我们整天强调素质教育、强调学习英语的目的是为了应用，反对死背语法。然而考试，尤其是高考更具有指挥棒的作用，高考的命题是不是也应进一步地改革，更加合理、科学呢？（语言测试也是一门科学，在国外已经有了相当的发展）。自从2004年以来，除了北京、上海等省市外，很多省份高考都采取了自主命卷，也因此出现了很多设计不严谨的试题。即使让接受过正规高等教育的英国、美国人士做这些试题，他们也都会感到莫名其妙、稀里糊涂。以下是笔者通过对最近几年的高考英语试题研究，发现的一些“有问题”的试题。
1． The husband gave his wife _______every month in order to please her. (2004年重庆高考英语卷)
A. all half his incomeB. his half all income
C. half his all incomeD. all his half income
这道题根本就没有正确的答案！上述选项都不是地道的表达方法！
2． ―What’s wrong with your coat?
― Just now when I wanted to get off the bus，the man next
to me _______on it. （2005年重庆高考英语卷）
A. satB. had satC. had been sitting D. was sitting
这道题的题干设计有严重缺陷，选A 和 D 都是有道理的，甚至还有native speaker选别的选项！
3． He was educated at a local grammar school，_______ he went on to Cambridge. (2005年山东高考英语卷)
A. from which B. after thatC. after whichD. from this
这道题设计也不是很严谨。尽管大部分人选C项，一些native speaker 可能会选别的选项！
4． I _______ in London for many years，but I’ve never regretted my final decision to move back to China.（2006年重庆高考英语卷）
A. livedB. was livingC. have livedD. had lived
这道题设计也有严重缺陷，大部分native speaker认为选 A 和 D 都是有道理的，甚至还选别的选项！
5． ―It’s thirty years since we last met.
―But I still remember the story，believe it or not，_______
we got lost on a rainy night.（2006四川高考英语卷）
A. whichB. thatC. what D. when
这又是一个设计很有缺陷的试题，尽管选 B 是对的，但是更多的 native speaker 会选择D 项。
如上所述，高考作为选拔性的考试，无疑对于教学起着指挥棒的作用。因此，我们希望高考英语的命题者能进一步提高命题的质量，从真正有利于提高学生的英语水平这个角度出发，让英语试题更贴近实际，与时俱进，这样才能对广大的中学教师和学生有个满意的交代。