新GRE中短篇閱讀真題

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新GRE中短篇閱讀真題精選

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新GRE中短篇閱讀真題精選

　　Passage 1

　　A divide between aesthetic and technical considerations has played a crucial role in mapmaking and cartographic scholarship. Since nineteenth century cartographers, for instance, understood themselves as technicians who did not care about visual effects, while others saw themselves as landscape painters. That dichotomy structured the discipline of the history of cartography. Until the 1980s, in what Blakemore and Harley called “the Old is Beautiful Paradigm,” scholars largely focused on maps made before 1800, marveling at their beauty and sometimes regretting the decline of the pre-technical age. Early mapmaking was considered art while modern cartography was located within the realm of engineering utility. Alpers, however, has argued that this boundary would have puzzled mapmakers in the seventeenth century, because they considered themselves to be visual engineers.

　　1. According to the passage, Alpers would say that the assumptions underlying the “paradigm” were

　　A. inconsistent with the way some mapmakers prior to 1800 understand their own work

　　B. dependent on a seventeenth-century conception of mapmaking visual engineering

　　C. unconcerned with the difference between the aesthetic and technical questions of mapmaking

　　D. insensitive to divisions among cartographers working in the period after 1800

　　E. supported by the demonstrable technical superiority of mapmaking made after 1800

　　2. It can be inferred from the passage that, beginning in the 1980s, historians of cartography

　　A. placed greater emphasis on the beauty of maps made after 1800

　　B. expanded their range of study to include more material created after 1800

　　C. grew more sensitive to the way mapmakers prior to 1800 conceived of their work

　　D. came to see the visual details of maps as aesthetic objects rather than practical cartographic aids

　　E. reduced the attention they paid to the technical aspects of mapmaking

　　答案：A B

　　Passage 2

　　Some researchers claim that cetaceans—whales and dolphins—have culture, which the researchers define as the ability to learn from one another. Skeptics, however, demand clear evidence that cetaceans can acquire new behaviors through some form of social learning, preferably clear-cut instances of imitation or teaching. But such evidence is difficult to obtain. While few people doubt that captive cetaceans are adept at imitation or that they reproduce behaviors taught by researchers, biologists seeking insight into cetaceans’ behavior in their natural habitats must rely on deduction rather than experiments. If members of a particular group share behaviors that do not result from genetic inheritance or environmental variation, then they have almost certainly learned them by watching, following, or listening to other animals.

　　1. Which of the following best describe the function of the highlighted sentence?

　　A. It identifies a factor that complicates biologists’ ability to draw conclusions about the behavior of cetaceans in their natural environments.

　　B. It illustrates the kind of deduction mentioned in the preceding sentence.

　　C. It explains why skeptics have remained unpersuaded by evidence that has been put forward in support of the claim that cetaceans have culture.

　　D. It introduces a claim that would be dismissed by both supporters and opponents of the view that cetaceans have culture.

　　E. It notes a previously overlooked factor that might shed light on the question of whether cetaceans have culture.

　　2. The passage suggests which of the following about captive cetaceans?

　　A. Whether they are engaged in social learning is a subject of disagreement among biologists.

　　B. Their ability to imitate new behaviors is more extensive than that of noncaptive cetaceans.

　　C. They exhibit few behaviors that have not also been observed in cetaceans in their natural habitats.

　　D. They appear to adopt new behaviors more quickly than noncaptive cetaceans.

　　E. They exhibit tendencies that suggest a capacity for the kind of behavior that qualifies as cultural.

　　答案：B E

　　Passage 3

　　Analyzing levels of proportional representation of American Indians in state and local government jobs is important for several reasons. First, the basic idea underlying the theory of representative bureaucracy is that the demographic composition of bureaucracy should mirror the demographic composition of the general public. This is because in addition to its symbolic value, increased access to managerial position may lead to greater responsiveness on the part of policy makers to the policy interests of traditionally disadvantaged groups such as American Indians. Second, the focus on higher level jobs in bureaucracies (as opposed to non-managerial positions) is especially important because managerial positions represent a major source of economic progress for members of traditionally disadvantaged groups, as these jobs confer good salaries, benefits, status, security, and mobility. Third, it is important to know if there has been growth in the American Indian share of more desirable public sector positions over the last two decades. For instance, Peterson and Duncan argue that the population and power of American Indians have been growing in certain states. Peterson and Duncan also suggest that this growth may reflect the possibility that American Indian population are becoming more active in nontraditional areas of politics, assimilating into mainstream culture, and securing with greater frequency leadership positions in non-tribal government.

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　A. Summarize a demographic trend overt time

　　B. Present findings on a demographic group

　　C. Analyze the demographic composition of a type of job

　　D. Explain the need for particular social research

　　E. Argue for the implementation of a social policy

　　2. Which of the following best describes the function of the highlighted sentence in the context of the passage as whole?

　　A. It hypothesizes a phenomenon that might explain a point made in the preceding sentence.

　　B. It provides evidence that undermines that assertion made in the first sentence.

　　C. It offers a projection regarding the development of a trend mentioned earlier in the passage.

　　D. It presents an interpretation of a discrepancy noted earlier in the passage.

　　E. It proposed an implementation of a policy mentioned in the preceding sentence.

　　3. The passage suggests which of the following regarding “access to managerial positions” for disadvantaged groups?

　　A. This access is only significant when the percentage of disadvantaged group members in managerial positions mirrors the percent of that group in the general public.

　　B. This access is largely the result of policy decisions made response to interest of those groups.

　　C. This access has meaning apart from any policy benefits it confer on those groups.

　　D. This access often creates increased access to non-managerial position for those groups.

　　E. The extent of this access tends to be similar across different disadvantaged groups.

　　答案：D C C

　　Passage 4

　　Benjamin Franklin is portrayed in American history as the quintessential self-made man. In “Self-reliance”, Emerson asks, “Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin...?” In fact, Franklin took instruction widely, and his scientific work was highly collaborative. Friends in England sent equipment needed for his electrical experiments, others, in Philadelphia, helped him set up his workshop there. Philip Syng constructed a device for generating electrical charges, while Tomas Hopkinson demonstrated the potential of pointed conductors. Franklin, in addition to being the group’s theoretician, wrote and published its results. His fame as an individual researcher is partly a consequence of the shorthand by which when one person writes about a group’s discoveries, history sometimes grants singular credit for collective effort.

　　1. Which of the following best describes the function of the highlighted sentence?

　　A. It states a viewpoint about Franklin with which the author disagrees.

　　B. It introduces new evidence about Franklin’s role in the collaborative process.

　　C. It explains Franklin’s reputation in terms of a broad scholarly phenomenon.

　　D. It emphasizes the extent to which Franklin relied on others in his workshop.

　　E. It describes Franklin’s approach to writing scientific results.

　　2. Emerson is mentioned in the passage primarily to

　　A. Identify the origin of a particular understanding of Franklin

　　B. Elaborate on a view of Franklin that the author takes issue with

　　C. Point to a controversial claim about Franklin’s historical legacy

　　D. Introduce the question of who Franklin’s main scientific influences were

　　E. Suggests that Franklin was resistant to collaboration with other scientists

　　答案：C B

　　Passage 5

　　Many scholars have argued that government investment in manufacturing in the southern United States during the Second World War spurred a regional economic boom that lasted into the postwar period. But much of this investment went to specialized plants, many of them unsuitable for postwar production. Large-scale, wartime government funding led to a massive increase in the number and scale of munitions facilities. By the war’s end, 216 munitions establishment costing more than $3.5 billion had been built, many of them located in the south. Indeed, according to one estimate, more than 70 percent of federally financed manufacturing construction capital in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee went into munitions plants.

　　Even in the northern regions with strong prewar manufacturing economics, these plants were difficult to deal with once the imperative of war had been removed. In the south few industrialists had the capacity or desire to transform these factories to a peacetime function. Accordingly, at war’s end almost all of the southern munitions facilities were shut down, placed on standby, operated at a very low capacity, or converted to nonmanufacturing functions, usually storage. Although some reopened a few years later for use during the Korean War, the impact of the special plants on the South’s postwar economy was marginal at best.

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　A. propose an alternative explanation

　　B. challenge a widely held position

　　C. contrast two views of a phenomenon

　　D. explain why a particular claim has been influential

　　E. evaluate evidence used to support a particular view

　　Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

　　2. According to the passage, some southern munitions plants built in the South during the Second World War were

　　A. later reopened and used once more as munitions plants

　　B. used for nonmanufacturing purposes after the war

　　C. originally envisioned as continuing to manufacture munitions at high capacity even after the war had ended

　　3. In the passage, the mention of “Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee” serves primarily to

　　A. suggest that some states were better than others at anticipating postwar economic needs

　　B. identify evidence used to support a view held by scholars mentioned at the beginning of the passage

　　C. suggest that federal investment in some kinds of manufacturing was excessive

　　D. identify the states that received the largest allocations of federal funds

　　E. provide information to support a point about the nature of government investment made earlier in the paragraph

　　答案：B AB E

　　Passage 6

　　Many researchers attribute the large number of physiological and behavioral similarities between birds and mammals, which have separate evolutionary histories, to endothermy (a thermoregulatory strategy whereby warm body temperature is maintained through internal heat sources). However, Farmer argues that parental care rather than endothermy is the key to understanding the similarities between mammals and birds. According to Farmer, while endothermy provides an explanation for a few similarities, such as the presence of body insulation, endothermy is just one characteristic among many related to parental care. The two purported advantages of endothermy that have been most frequently cited by researchers are an expanded range of inhabitable environments and the ability to sustain vigorous exercise. But metabolism has to increase substantially (at great energy cost) therefore conferring any significant thermoregulatory advantage in terms of the former, and there is no causal biological linkage to explain why endothermy would be essential to sustain exercise. Farmer argues instead that endothermy evolved as a means to control incubation temperature and that the ability to sustain exercise evolved separately, as a means to improve a parent’s ability to forage and provision its young.

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　A. present a scientific theory that challenges a widely held theory

　　B. summarize the basis for a large body of scientific research

　　C. defend an established scientific theory in light of recent criticism

　　D. express skepticism about the results obtained by a particular researcher

　　E. compare the results of two particular scientific studies

　　2. Which of the following best characterizes the organization of the passage as a whole?

　　A. A position is noted, an alternative to that position is introduced, and then several points in support of the alternative are discussed.

　　B. A theory is discussed, an inconsistency within that theory is illustrated, and then a recommendation is made for further inquiry.

　　C. Certain research results are described, the significance of those results is explained, and then a novel interpretation of those results is summarized.

　　D. A question is posed, a possible answer to that question is suggested, and then evidence is provided to corroborate that answer.

　　E. A debate is outlined, contrasting viewpoints within the debate are discussed, and then one viewpoint is demonstrated to be correct.

　　3. According to the passage, Farmer concedes that endothermy provides an explanation for which of the following features shared by birds and mammals?

　　A. The ability to forage

　　B. The ability to sustain exercise

　　C. The instinct to care for offspring

　　D. Flexibility in habitat usage

　　E. Body insulation

　　答案：A A E

　　Passage 7

　　A bird’s plumage, while contributing to structural integrity and participating in aerial locomotion, completely obscures a bird’s internal activity from human view, greatly impeding our attempts to understand birds as functioning animals. Plumage has even made it difficult to describe bird movement. When describing the movement of mammals, writers turn to well-worn clichés like “grace in motion.” A mammal’s rippling muscles slide smoothly over one another in eye-catching ways. With a mammal, whether a mouse or hippopotamus, we recognize that the underlying body parts are similar to our own and we know these parts will act predictably. Not so with a bird. For centuries, we knew little more about a bird’s movement than that it was a mystery that seemed to be based on the flapping of wings.

　　Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

　　1. The passage mentions which of the following as an effect of bird plumage?

　　A. It contributes to a bird’s ability to fly.

　　B. It hides the inner workings of birds.

　　C. It contributes to the structural soundness of birds.

　　2. The author implies which of the following about the “underlying body parts” of nonhuman mammals?

　　A. They are more similar to humans’ underlying body parts than most people assume.

　　B. They are more predictable in their workings than are the underlying body parts of humans.

　　C. Their smooth and grateful actions belie how complicated they actually are.

　　D. They work in much different ways than do the underlying body parts of most birds.

　　E. They are easier to observe and understand than are underlying parts of birds.

　　答案：ABC E

　　Passage 8

　　An influential early view held that ecosystems contain niches for a limited number of species and that competition for resources among species—whether native or nonnative invading ones—determines ecosystems’ species composition. However, factors other than competition often help explain invading species’ success. For example, the American grey squirrel, often cited as a classic example of competitively superior invading species, was introduced in England in 1876 and now thrives, while the native red squirrel population has declined. Although scientists have found gray squirrels to be more efficient foragers than red ones, they also note that even before the gray squirrel’s arrival, Britain’s red squirrel populations had a periodic tendency to die out, only to be subsequently reintroduced. Furthermore, many gray squirrels are silent carriers of a disease fatal to red squirrels.

　　1. It can be inferred that the author of the passage mentions the efficiency with which gray squirrels forage primarily in order to

　　A. identify a factor that explains a certain phenomenon

　　B. call attention to an inconsistency in a particular theory

　　C. suggest that competition cannot be the factor responsible for a particular outcome

　　D. acknowledge a fact that appears to support a view that the author intends to qualify

　　E. cite evidence that is not consistent with an early influential view about species competition

　　2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the “early view?”

　　A. It reflects a mistaken assumption about the means by which nonnative species are introduced into ecosystems.

　　B. Its basic premise is shown to be valid by the effect of American gray squirrels on Britain’s red squirrel population.

　　C. It presents a simplistic picture of the means by which species composition within ecosystems is determined.

　　D. It can effectively explain the formation of ecosystems that contain few species but cannot adequately account for the formation of complex ecosystems.

　　E. It understates the importance of competition as a factor determining species composition within ecosystems.

　　答案：D C

　　Passage 9

　　Hotter and more massive than the Sun, stars called “stragglers” are puzzling to astronomers because such rapidly burning stars would not be expected to persist in ancient star clusters. Some researchers believe that the typical blue stragglers formed when two ancient, lower-mass stars collide and merge form more massive, hotter star. Peter Leonard theorizes alternatively that in low density globular clusters, where mergers between single stars occur too infrequently to account for the observed quantity of blue stragglers, these stragglers are created instead by a group of stars. He suggests that a pair of stars already orbiting each other presents a larger target for a third star or another pair. Once this new grouping forms, close encounters between the stars could prompt any two to merge as a blue straggler. Leonard’s model predicts that each blue straggler has a distant orbiting companion—as appears true of many blue stragglers in the M67 cluster of the Milky Way galaxy.

　　1. The reference to a “larger target” serves primarily to suggest why a

　　A. blue straggler would be more likely to collide and merge with another star than would be a lower-mass star

　　B. pair of stars would be more likely to encounter other stars than would the typical blue straggler

　　C. pair of stars would be more likely to interact with other stars than would a single star

　　D. blue straggler would be more likely to interact with a pair of stars than it would with a third star

　　E. third star would be more likely to encounter a pair than it would to encounter a blue straggler

　　2. Information presented in the passage suggests which of the following about blue stragglers?

　　A. They originate from stars that are hotter and more massive than the Sun.

　　B. They are burning more rapidly than other types of stars observed in ancient star clusters.

　　C. They are older than most other types of stars within the same star cluster.

　　D. They are less numerous in low-density globular clusters than are pairs of stars.

　　E. They generally originate from the oldest stars among those found in ancient star clusters.

　　3. The passage cites which of the following as evidence undermining the theory presented in the second sentence?

　　A. A discrepancy between the number of mergers between single stars in certain low-density globular clusters and that in other low-density globular clusters

　　B. A discrepancy between the heat and mass of blue stragglers formed by one type of process and the heat and mass of blue stragglers formed by another type of process

　　C. A discrepancy between the frequency of star mergers in low-density globular clusters and those in high-density globular clusters

　　D. A discrepancy between the amount of heat and mass of ancient single stars and that of blue stragglers

　　E. A discrepancy between the number of mergers between single stars in certain star clusters and the number of blue stragglers in those clusters

　　答案：C B E

　　Passage 10

　　MacArthur and Wilson suggested that the biodiversity of an island will vary in direct proportion to a function of the island’s size (i.e., larger islands can support a greater number of species) and in inverse proportion to a function of its distance from the mainland (i.e., many remote islands will tend to support fewer species). Reduced biodiversity in an island context is likely to require significant adaptation on the part of colonizing human populations. Evans argues that this limitation makes islands ideal laboratories for the study of human adaptations to the natural environment, whilst Renfrew and Wagstaff, in the introduction to their study of Melos, focus on this limitation in biodiversity as a “significant characteristic of the island ecosystem.” For human communities, however, this limitation may potentially be offset by other factors. The reduced biodiversity of an island ecosystem applies only to terrestrial resources: the resources of the sea will be as rich as on any other coastal area, and may be equally important to human communities. A small island such as Malta or Melos allows all communities direct access to the sea, providing an important nutritional “safety net,” as well as an element of dietary diversity, which may actually give island communities an advantage over their landlocked counterparts. Islands may also have specific nonbiological resources (such as obsidian on Melos), which may be used in exchange with communities on other islands and adjacent mainlands.

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　A. evaluate two contrasting approaches to island biodiversity

　　B. discuss the relevance of certain data pertaining to island biodiversity

　　C. call into question a particular understanding of island biodiversity

　　D. consider various reasons for reduced biodiversity on islands

　　E. contrast large and small islands in terms of overall biodiversity

　　Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

　　2. According to the author, factors of potential importance to human communities on islands include

　　A. the accessibility of the sea’s resources

　　B. a diet superior in some respects to the diet of landlocked communities

　　C. nonbiological resources that can be exploited

　　3. The author suggests that in considering the biodiversity of islands, Evans