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历年GRE习题（四）

时间：2011/7/11

　　SECTION A

　　Isadora Duncan’s masterly writings on the dance reveal the depth of her determination to create a lyric form of the art which was free of characterization, storytelling, and the theatrical exhibition of skills. She wished to discard the traditional methods and established vocabularies of such dance forms as ballet and to explore the internal sources of human expressiveness. She shunned bodily ornamentation and strove to use only the natural movements of her body, undistorted by acrobatic exaggeration and stimulated only by internal compulsion. In her recitals Duncan danced to the music of Beethoven, Wagner, and Gluck, among others, but, contrary to popular belief, she made no attempt to visualize or to interpret the music; rather, she simply relied on it to provide the inspiration for expressing inner feelings through movement. She did not regard this use of music as ideal, however, believing that she would someday dispense with (dispense with: v.免除, 省却, 无需) music entirely. That day never came.

　　17. The author is primarily concerned with Duncan’s

　　(A) masterful lyricism as expressed in her writings on the dance

　　(B) concerted efforts to subdue the natural movements of the dance

　　(D) basic standards for the dance form that she wished to create and perform(D)

　　(E) continuous responsiveness to a popular misconception about the nature of her new art form

　　18. The author implies that Duncan relied on music in her recitals in order to

　　(A) interpret musical works solely by means of natural body movements

　　(B) foster the illusion that music serves as an inspiration for the dance

　　(D) validate the public belief that music inspires the expression of feeling through movement(C)

　　(E) counter the public belief that she made no attempt to visualize music

　　19. According to the passage, Duncan intended to develop an art form that would do all of the following EXCEPT

　　(A) avoid the use of standard ballet techniques

　　(B) revitalize an earlier established vocabulary

　　(D) create intended effects without the use of acrobatic exaggeration(B)

　　(E) derive inspiration solely from inner feelings

　　20. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following endeavors is LEAST compatible with Duncan’s ideals for the dance?

　　(A) Using music to stimulate the inspiration to dance

　　(B) Attempting to free an art form of both characterization and storytelling

　　(D) Being inspired to express inner feeling through movement(A)

　　(E) Creating a lyric art form by drawing on inner personal resources

　　The recent, apparently successful, prediction by mathematical models of an appearance of El Nino—the warm ocean current that periodically develops along the Pacific coast of South America—has excited researchers. Jacob Bjerknes pointed out over 20 years ago how winds might create either abnormally warm or abnormally cold water in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Nonetheless, until the development of the models no one could explain why conditions should regularly shift from one to the other, as happens in the periodic oscillations between appearances of the warm El Nino and the cold so-called anti-El Nino. The answer, at least if the current model that links the behavior of the ocean to that of the atmosphere is correct, is to be found in the ocean.

　　It has long been known that during an El Nino, two conditions exist: (1) unusually warm water extends along the eastern Pacific, principally along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru, and (2) winds blow from the west into the warmer air rising over the warm water in the east. These winds tend to create a feedback mechanism (feedback mechanism: 反馈机制) by driving the warmer surface water into a “pile” that blocks the normal upwelling (upwelling: n.上涌;上升流(指海水由较深层上升到较浅层的过程)) of deeper, cold water in the east and further warms the eastern water, thus strengthening the wind still more. The contribution of the model is to show that the winds of an El Nino, which raise sea level in the east, simultaneously send a signal to the west lowering sea level. According to the model, that signal is generated as a negative Rossby wave, a wave of depressed, or negative, sea level, that moves westward parallel to the equator at 25 to 85 kilometers per day. Taking months to traverse the Pacific, Rossby waves march to the western boundary of the Pacific basin, which is modeled as a smooth wall but in reality consists of quite irregular island chains, such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

　　When the waves meet the western boundary, they are reflected, and the model predicts that Rossby waves will be broken into numerous coastal Kelvin waves carrying the same negative sea-level signal. These eventually shoot toward the equator, and then head eastward along the equator propelled by the rotation of the Earth at a speed of about 250 kilometers per day. When enough Kelvin waves of sufficient amplitude arrive from the western Pacific, their negative sea-level signal overcomes the feedback mechanism tending to raise the sea level, and they begin to drive the system into the opposite cold mode. This produces a gradual shift in winds, one that will eventually send positive sea-level Rossby waves westward, waves that will eventually return as cold cycle-ending positive Kelvin waves, beginning another warming cycle.

　　21. The primary function of the passage as a whole is to

　　(A) introduce a new explanation of a physical phenomenon

　　(B) explain the difference between two related physical phenomena

　　(D) indicate the direction that research into a particular physical phenomenon should take(A)

　　(E) clarify the differences between an old explanation of a physical phenomenon and a new model of it

　　22. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?

　　(A) A theory is presented and criticized.

　　(B) A model is described and evaluated.

　　(D) A phenomenon is noted and its significance debated.(C)

　　(E) A hypothesis is introduced and contrary evidence presented.

　　23. According to the passage, which of the following features is characteristic of an El Nino?

　　(A) Cold coastal water near Peru

　　(B) Winds blowing from the west

　　(D) Worldwide effects(B)

　　(E) Short duration

　　24. According to the model presented in the passage, which of the following normally signals the disappearance of an El Nino?

　　(A) The arrival in the eastern Pacific of negative sea-level Kelvin waves.

　　(B) A shift in the direction of the winds produced by the start of an anti-El Nino elsewhere in the Pacific.

　　(D) An increase in the speed at which negative Rossby waves cross the Pacific.(A)

　　(E) The creation of a reservoir of colder, deep ocean water trapped under the pile of warmer, surface ocean water.

　　25. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would result fairly immediately from the cessation of the winds of an El Nino?

　　I. Negative Rossby waves would cease to be generated in the eastern Pacific.

　　II. The sea level in the eastern Pacific would fall.

　　III. The surface water in the eastern Pacific would again be cooled by being mixed with deep water.

　　(A) I only

　　(B) II only

　　(D) I and III only(E)

　　(E) I, II, and III

　　26. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the validity of the model of El Nino that is presented in the passage?

　　(A) During some years El Nino extends significantly farther along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru than during other years.

　　(B) During periods of unusually cool temperatures along the eastern Pacific, an El Nino is much colder than normal.

　　(C) The normal upwelling of cold water in the eastern Pacific depends much more on the local characteristics of the ocean than on atmospheric conditions.

　　(D) The variations in the time it takes Rossby waves to cross the Pacific depend on the power of the winds that the waves encounter.(E)

　　(E) The western boundary of the Pacific basin is so irregular that it impedes most coastal Kelvin waves from heading eastward.

　　27. The passage best supports the conclusion that during an anti-El Nino the fastest-moving signal waves are

　　(A) negative Rossby waves moving east along the equator

　　(B) positive Rossby waves moving west along the equator

　　(D) positive Kelvin waves moving west along the equator(E)

　　(E) positive Kelvin waves moving east along the equator

　　SECTION B

　　Historians have only recently begun to note the increase in demand for luxury goods and services that took place in eighteenth-century England. McKendrick has explored the Wedgwood firm’s remarkable success in marketing luxury pottery; Plumb has written about the proliferation of provincial theaters, musical festivals, and children’s toys and books. While the fact of this consumer revolution is hardly in doubt, three key questions remain: Who were the consumers? What were their motives? And what were the effects of the new demand for luxuries?

　　An answer to the first of these has been difficult to obtain. Although it has been possible to infer from the goods and services actually produced what manufactures and servicing trades thought their customers wanted, only a study of relevant personal documents written by actual consumers will provide a precise picture of who wanted what. We still need to know how large this consumer market was and how far down the social scale the consumer demand for luxury goods penetrated. With regard to this last question, we might note in passing that Thompson, while rightly restoring laboring people to the stage of eighteenth-century English history, has probably exaggerated the opposition of these people to the inroads of capitalist consumerism in general; for example, laboring people in eighteenth-century England readily shifted from home-brewed beer to standardized beer produced by huge, heavily capitalized urban breweries.

　　To answer the question of why consumers became so eager to buy, some historians have pointed to the ability of manufacturers to advertise in a relatively uncensored press. This, however, hardly seems a sufficient answer. McKendrick favors a Veblen model of conspicuous consumption (conspicuous consumption: n.炫耀性消费, 挥霍) stimulated by competition for status. The “middling sort” bought goods and services because they wanted to follow fashions set by the rich. Again, we may wonder whether this explanation is sufficient. Do not people enjoy buying things as a form of self-gratification? If so (if so: 假如这样的话), consumerism could be seen as a product of the rise of new concepts of individualism and materialism (a preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things), but not necessarily of the frenzy for conspicuous competition.

　　Finally, what were the consequences of this consumer demand for luxuries? McKendrick claims that it goes a long way (go a long way: v.大有帮助, 走了一大段路, 采取主动) toward explaining the coming of the Industrial Revolution. But does it? What, for example, does the production of high-quality pottery and toys have to do with the development of iron manufacture or textile mills? It is perfectly possible to have the psychology and reality of a consumer society without a heavy industrial sector.

　　That future exploration of these key questions is undoubtedly necessary should not, however, diminish the force of the conclusion of recent studies: the insatiable demand in eighteenth-century England for frivolous as well as useful goods and services foreshadows our own world.

　　17. In the first paragraph, the author mentions McKendrick and Plumb most probably in order to

　　(A) contrast their views on the subject of luxury consumerism in eighteenth-century England

　　(B) indicate the inadequacy of historiographical approaches to eighteenth-century English history

　　(C) give examples of historians who have helped to establish the fact of growing consumerism in eighteenth-century England

　　(D) support the contention that key questions about eighteenth-century consumerism remain to be answered(C)

　　(E) compare one historian’s interest in luxury goods such as pottery to another historian’s interest in luxury services such as musical festivals

　　18. Which of the following items, if preserved from eighteenth-century England, would provide an example of the kind of documents mentioned in lines 16-17?

　　(A) A written agreement between a supplier of raw materials and a supplier of luxury goods

　　(B) A diary that mentions luxury goods and services purchased by its author

　　(D) A payroll record from a company that produced luxury goods such as pottery(B)

　　(E) A newspaper advertisement describing luxury goods and services available at a seaside resort

　　19. According to the passage, Thompson attributes to laboring people in eighteenth-century England which of the following attitudes toward capitalist consumerism?

　　(A) Enthusiasm

　　(B) Curiosity

　　(D) Stubbornness(E)

　　(E) Hostility

　　20. In the third paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with

　　(A) contrasting two theses and offering a compromise

　　(B) questioning two explanations and proposing a possible alternative to them

　　(D) examining two theories and endorsing one over the other(B)

　　(E) raising several questions but implying that they cannot be answered

　　21. According to the passage, a Veblen model of conspicuous consumption has been used to

　　(A) investigate the extent of the demand for luxury goods among social classes in eighteenth-century England

　　(B) classify the kinds of luxury goods desired by eighteenth-century consumers

　　(D) establish the extent to which the tastes of rich consumers were shaped by the middle classes in eighteenth-century England(C)

　　(E) compare luxury consumerism in eighteenth-century England with such consumerism in the twentieth century

　　22. According to the passage, eighteenth-century England and the contemporary world of the passage’s readers are

　　(A) dissimilar in the extent to which luxury consumerism could be said to be widespread among the social classes

　　(B) dissimilar in their definitions of luxury goods and services

　　(D) similar in their strong demand for a variety of goods and services(D)

　　(E) similar in the extent to which a middle class could be identified as imitating the habits of a wealthier class

　　23. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would most probably agree with which of the following statements about the relationship between the Industrial Revolution and the demand for luxury goods and services in eighteenth-century England?

　　(A) The growing demand for luxury goods and services was a major factor in the coming of the Industrial Revolution.

　　(B) The Industrial Revolution exploited the already existing demand for luxury goods and services.

　　(C) Although the demand for luxury goods may have helped bring about the Industrial Revolution, the demand for luxury services did not.

　　(D) There is no reason to believe that the Industrial Revolution was directly driven by a growing demand for luxury goods and services.(D)

　　(E) The increasing demand for luxury goods and services was a cultural phenomenon that has been conclusively demonstrated to have been separate from the coming of the Industrial Revolution.

　　Researchers are finding that in many ways an individual bacterium is more analogous to a component cell of a multicellular organism than it is to a free-living, autonomous organism. Anabaena, a freshwater bacteria, is a case in point. Among photosynthetic bacteria, Anabaena is unusual: it is capable of both photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. Within a single cell, these two biochemical processes are incompatible: oxygen produced during photosynthesis, inactivates the nitrogenase (nitrogenase: n.[生化]固氮酶) required for nitrogen fixation. In Anabaena communities, however, these processes can coexist. When fixed nitrogen compounds are abundant, Anabaena is strictly photosynthetic and its cells are all alike. When nitrogen levels are low, however, specialized cells called heterocysts (heterocyst: [生]异形细胞) are produced which lack chlorophyll (necessary for photosynthesis) but which can fix nitrogen by converting nitrogen gas into a usable form. Submicroscopic channels develop which connect the heterocyst cells with the photosynthetic ones and which are used for transferring cellular products between the two kinds of Anabaena cells.

　　24. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of bacteria that engage in photosynthesis?

　　(A) They eventually become two autonomous cells.

　　(B) They cannot normally also engage in nitrogen fixation.

　　(D) Cellular products are constantly transferred between such bacteria.(B)

　　(E) They normally lack chlorophyll.

　　25. It can be inferred from the passage that cell differentiation within Anabaena is regulated by the

　　(A) amount of oxygen Anabaena cells produce

　　(B) season of the year

　　(D) number of microscopic channels uniting Anabaena cells(C)

　　(E) amount of chlorophyll in Anabaena cells

　　26. The passage supports which of the following inferences about heterocysts?

　　(A) Heterocysts do not produce oxygen.

　　(B) Nitrogen gas inactivates heterocysts.

　　(D) Heterocysts allow nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis to occur in the same cell.(A)

　　(E) Heterocysts are more important for Anabaena’s functioning than are photosynthetic cells.

　　27. The author uses the example of Anabaena to illustrate the(A选项很具迷惑性，但A肯定不对。因为Among photosynthetic bacteria, Anabaena is unusual。Unusual是指Among photosynthetic bacteria。而非among unicellular organisms)

　　(A) uniqueness of bacteria among unicellular organisms

　　(B) inadequacy of an existing view of bacteria

　　(D) variability of a freshwater bacteria(B)

　　(E) difficulty of investigating even the simplest unicellular organisms