SECTION A
The more that is discovered about the intricate organization of the nervous system, the more it seems remarkable that genes can successfully specify the development of that system. Human genes contain too little information even to specify which hemisphere of the brain each of a human’s 1011 neurons should occupy, let alone the hundreds of connections that each neuron makes. For such reasons, we can assume that there must be an important random factor in neural development, and in particular, that errors must and do occur in the development of all normal brains.
The most vivid expression of such errors occurs in genetically identical (isogenic) organisms. Even when reared under the same conditions, isogenic organisms are rarely exact copies of one another, and their differences have revealed much about the random variations that result from (result from: v.由...产生) an organism’s limited supply of genetic information. In isogenic Daphniae, for example, even though the position, size, and branching pattern of each optic neuron are remarkably constant, there is some variability in connectivity, and the number of synapses varies greatly. This variability is probably the result of random scatter beyond the resolution of genetic control and is best termed “imprecision,” since its converse, the degree of clustering about a mean, is conventionally, called “precision.”
Imprecision should be distinguished from developmental mistakes: wrongly migrated neurons, incorrect connections, and the like. To use a computer analogy, minor rounding-off errors occur universally and are analogous to imprecision, but occasionally a binary digit is incorrectly transmitted, perhaps ruining a calculation, and this incorrect transmission is analogous to a developmental mistake. Thus, imprecision is a form of inaccuracy inherent within the limits of design, but mistakes are forms of gross fallibility.
Both imprecision and gross fallibility can plausibly be blamed on the insufficiency of genetic information, since either could be reduced by adding more information. It is universally accepted among information theorists that codes and languages can be made mistake-resistant by incorporating redundancy. However, since the amount of space available in any information system is limited, increased redundancy results in decreased precision. For example, π when written incorrectly in English, “three point oen four two, “can be understood correctly even though a typographical error has occurred. More precision could be gained, however, if those 24 spaces were filled with Arabic numerals (Arabic numerals: n.阿拉伯数字); then π could be expressed to 23 significant digits (one of the digits of a number beginning with the digit farthest to the left that is not zero and ending with the last digit farthest to the right that is not zero or is a zero considered to be exact called also significant figure), although any error would significantly change the meaning. There exists a trade-off (a giving up of one thing in return for another: EXCHANGE), the more precisely a system is specified, using a given limited amount of information, the greater the danger of gross mistakes. The overall scheme by which genetic information is rationed out (ration out: adv.应按配额给定地) in organisms, therefore, must involve a compromise between two conflicting priorities: precision and the avoidance of gross mistakes.
17. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
(A) Although studies of isogenic organisms have shown that all organisms are subject to developmental variations, there is still scientific debate over the exact causes of these variations.
(B) Because of limitations on the amount of information contained in the genes of organisms, developing nervous systems are subject to two basic kinds of error, the likelihood of one of which is reduced only when the likelihood of the other is increased.
(C) The complexity of an organism’s genetic information means that much of the unusual variation that occurs among organisms can best be explained as the result of developmental mistakes.
(D) New findings about the nature of the genetic control of neural development support the work of some scientists who argue that the computer is an extremely useful model for understanding the nervous system.(B)
(E) The major discovery made by scientists studying the genetic control of neural development is that both imprecision and gross developmental error can be traced to specific types of mutations in specific genes.
18. According to the passage, one of the reasons it has been assumed that there is an important random element in human neural development is that
(A) genes cannot specify certain types of developmental processes as well as they can others
(B) the intricacy of the nervous system allows small developmental errors to occur without harmful effects
(C) the amount of information contained in the genes is less than the amount necessary to specify the location of the neurons
(D) the number of neurons in the human brain varies greatly from individual to individual(C)
(E) it is theoretically impossible for an organism to protect itself completely from gross developmental mistakes
19. The author suggests which of the following about the findings of information theorists?
(A) Their findings provocatively challenge the standard explanation of redundancy in genes.
(B) Their findings provide useful insights into understanding the rationing of genetic information.
(C) Their findings help to explain why imprecision can occur in neural development but not why gross mistakes can occur.
(D) Their findings suggest that genes may be able to specify neural development more accurately than had previously been thought.(B)
(E) Their findings support the work of those who use computer operations as models for understanding genetic control.
20. According to the passage, of the following aspects of the optic neurons of isogenic Daphniae, which varies the most?
(A) Size
(B) Connectivity
(C) Position
(D) Branching pattern(E)
(E) Number of synapses
21. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?
(A) A specific case is presented, its details are analyzed, and a conclusion is drawn from it.
(B) A discovery is announced, its most significant application is discussed, and possibilities for the future are suggested.
(C) A generalization is made, specific situations in which it is applicable are noted, and problems with it are suggested.
(D) An observation is made, specifics are provided to support it, and a generalization is derived.(D)
(E) A hypothesis is presented, its implications are clarified, and applications of it are discussed.
22. The author uses all of the following to clarify the distinction between imprecision and gross mistake in neural development EXCEPT
(A) classification of borderline phenomena
(B) a description of the relationship between the phenomena denoted by each term
(C) specific examples of the phenomena denoted by each term
(D) an explanation of at least one of the key terms involved(A)
(E) analogies to other types of phenomena
23. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the genetic information of Daphniae?
I. There is probably some degree of redundancy in the information controlling neural development.
II. Most of the information for neural development stored in the genes is used to specify the positions of the optic neurons.
III. There is sufficient information to preclude the occurrence of gross mistakes during neural development.
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only(A)
(E) II and III only
In a recent study, David Cressy examines two central questions concerning English immigration to New England in the 1630’s: what kinds of people immigrated and why? Using contemporary literary evidence, shipping lists, and customs records, Cressy finds that most adult immigrants were skilled in farming or crafts, were literate, and were organized in families. Each of these characteristics sharply distinguishes the 21,000 people who left for New England in the 1630’s from most of the approximately 377,000 English people who had immigrating to America by 1700.
With respect to their reasons for immigrating, Cressy does not deny the frequently noted fact that some of the immigrants of the 1630’s, most notably the organizers and clergy, advanced religious explanations for departure, but he finds that such explanations usually assumed primacy only in retrospect (in retrospect: 回顾, 回顾往事;检讨过去). When he moves beyond the principal actors, he finds that religious explanations were less frequently offered and he concludes that most people immigrated because they were recruited by promises of material improvement.
24. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with
(A) summarizing the findings of an investigation
(B) analyzing a method of argument
(C) evaluating a point of view
(D) hypothesizing about a set of circumstances(A)
(E) establishing categories
25. According to the passage, Cressy would agree with which of the following statements about the organizers among the English immigrants to New England in the 1630’s?
I. Most of them were clergy.
II. Some of them offered a religious explanation for their immigration.
III. They did not offer any reasons for their immigration until some time after they had immigrated.
IV. They were more likely than the average immigrant to be motivated by material considerations.
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) II and III only
(D) I, III, and IV only(B)
(E) II, III, and IV only
26. According to the passage, Cressy has made which of the following claims about what motivated English immigrants to go to New England in the 1630’s?
(A) They were motivated by religious considerations alone.
(B) They were motivated by economic considerations alone.
(C) They were motivated by religious and economic considerations equally.
(D) They were motivated more often by economic than by religious considerations.(D)
(E) They were motivated more often by religious than by economic considerations.
27. The passage suggests that the majority of those English people who had immigrated to America by the late seventeenth century were
(A) clergy
(B) young children
(C) organized in families
(D) skilled in crafts(E)
(E) illiterate
SECTION B
Is the literary critic like the poet, responding creatively, intuitively, subjectively to the written word as the poet responds to human experience? Or is the critic more like a scientist, following a series of (a series of: 一连串的) demonstrable, verifiable steps, using an objective method of analysis?
For the woman who is a practitioner of feminist literary criticism, the subjectivity versus objectivity, or critic-as-artist-or-scientist, debate has special significance; for her, the question is not only academic, but political as well, and her definition will court special risks whichever side of the issue it favors. If she defines feminist criticism as objective and scientific—a valid, verifiable, intellectual method that anyone, whether man or woman, can perform—the definition not only precludes the critic-as-artist approach, but may also impede accomplishment of the utilitarian political objectives of those who seek to change the academic establishment and its thinking, especially about sex roles. If she defines feminist criticism as creative and intuitive, privileged as art, then her work becomes vulnerable to the prejudices of stereotypic ideas about the ways in which women think, and will be dismissed by much of the academic establishment. Because of these prejudices, women who use an intuitive approach in their criticism may find themselves charged with inability to be analytical, to be objective, or to think critically. Whereas men may be free to claim the role of critic-as-artist, women run different professional risks when they choose intuition and private experience as critical method and defense.
These questions are political in the sense that the debate over them will inevitably be less an exploration of abstract matters in a spirit of disinterested inquiry than an academic power struggle in which the careers and professional fortunes of many women scholars—only now entering the academic profession in substantial numbers—will be at stake (at stake: at issue: in jeopardy), and with them the chances for a distinctive contribution to humanistic understanding, a contribution that might be an important influence against sexism in our society.
As long as the academic establishment continues to regard objective analysis as “masculine” and an intuitive approach as “feminine,” the theoretician must steer a delicate philosophical course between the two. If she wishes to construct a theory of feminist criticism, she would be well advised to place it within the framework of a general theory of the critical process that is neither purely objective nor purely intuitive. Her theory is then more likely to be compared and contrasted with other theories of criticism with some degree of dispassionate distance.
17. Which of the following titles best summarizes the content of the passage?
(A) How Theories of Literary Criticism Can Best Be Used
(B) Problems Confronting Women Who Are Feminist Literary Critics
(C) A Historical overview of Feminist literary Criticism
(D) A New Theory of Literary Criticism(B)
(E) Literary Criticism: Art or Science?
18. It can be inferred that the author believes which of the following about women who are literary critics?
I. They can make a unique contribution to society.
II. They must develop a new theory of the critical process.
III. Their criticisms of literature should be entirely objective.
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only(A)
(E) I, II, and III
19. The author specifically mentions all of the following as difficulties that particularly affect women who are theoreticians of feminist literary criticism EXCEPT the
(A) tendency of a predominantly male academic establishment to form preconceptions about women
(B) limitations that are imposed when criticism is defined as objective and scientific
(C) likelihood that the work of a woman theoretician who claims the privilege of art will be viewed with prejudice by some academics
(D) inescapability of power struggles between women in the academic profession and the academic establishment(E)
(E) tendency of members of the academic establishment to treat all forms of feminist literary theory with hostility
20. According to the author, the debate mentioned in the passage has special significance for the woman who is a theoretician of feminist literary criticism for which of the following reasons?
(A) There are large numbers of capable women working within the academic establishment.
(B) There are a few powerful feminist critics who have been recognized by the academic establishment.
(C) Like other critics, most women who are literary critics define criticism as either scientific or artistic.
(D) Women who are literary critics face professional risks different from those faced by men who are literary critics.(D)
(E) Women who are literary critics are more likely to participate in the debate than are men who are literary critics.
21. Which of the following is presented by the author in support of (in support of: adv.支持, 支援) the suggestion that there is stereotypic thinking among members of the academic establishment?
(A) A distinctively feminist contribution to humanistic understanding could work against the influence of sexism among members of the academic establishment.
(B) Women who define criticism as artistic may be seen by the academic establishment as being incapable of critical thinking.
(C) The debate over the role of the literary critic is often seen as a political one.
(D) Women scholars are only now entering academia in substantial numbers.(B)
(E) The woman who is a critic is forced to construct a theory of literary criticism.
22. Which of the following is most likely to be one of the “utilitarian political objectives” mentioned by the author in line 16?
(A) To forge a new theory of literary criticism
(B) To pursue truth in a disinterested manner
(C) To demonstrate that women are interested in literary criticism that can be viewed either subjectively or objectively
(D) To convince the academic establishment to revise the ways in which it assesses women scholars’ professional qualities(D)
(E) To dissuade women who are literary critics from taking a subjective approach to literary criticism
23. It can be inferred that the author would define as “political” (line 30) questions that
(A) are contested largely through contentions over power
(B) are primarily academic in nature and open to abstract analysis
(C) are not in themselves important
(D) cannot be resolved without extensive debate(A)
(E) will be debated by both men and women
[This passage was excerpted from an article published in 1979.]
Quantum mechanics (quantum mechanics: n.[物]量子力学) is a highly successful theory: it supplies methods for accurately calculating the results of diverse experiments, especially with minute particles. The predictions of quantum mechanics, however, give only the probability of an event, not a deterministic statement of whether or not the event will occur. Because of this probabilism, Einstein remained strongly dissatisfied with the theory throughout his life, though he did not maintain that quantum mechanics is wrong. Rather, he held that it is incomplete: in quantum mechanics the motion of a particle must be described in terms of probabilities, he argued, only because some parameters that determine the motion have not been specified. If these hypothetical “hidden parameters” were known, a fully deterministic trajectory could be defined. Significantly, this hidden-parameter quantum theory leads to experimental predictions different from those of traditional quantum mechanics. Einstein’s ideas have been tested by experiments performed since his death, and as most of these experiments support traditional quantum mechanics, Einstein’s approach is almost certainly erroneous.
24. The author regards the idea that traditional quantum mechanics is incomplete with
(A) approval
(B) surprise
(C) indifference
(D) apprehension(E)
(E) skepticism
25. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s conclusion that Einstein’s approach is “erroneous” (line 22) might have to be modified because
(A) it is theoretically possible to generate plausible theories with hidden parameters within them
(B) some experimental tests of Einstein’s theory do not disconfirm the hidden-parameter theory of quantum mechanics
(C) it is possible for a theory to have hidden parameters and yet be probabilistic
(D) traditional quantum mechanics has not yet been used to analyze all of the phenomena to which it could be applied(B)
(E) there are too many possible hidden parameters to develop meaningful tests of hidden-parameter theories
26. According to the passage, Einstein posed objections to the
(A) existence of hidden parameters in quantum theory
(B) probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics
(C) idea that quantum mechanics is incomplete
(D) results of experiments testing quantum theory(B)
(E) importance accorded quantum mechanics in physics
27. The passage suggests that which of the following would have resulted if the experiments mentioned in lines 18-20 had not supported the predictions of traditional quantum mechanics?
(A) Einstein, had he been alive, would have revised his approach to quantum mechanics.
(B) Hidden-parameter theories would have been considered inaccurate descriptions of real-world phenomena.
(C) A deterministic description of the motion of a particle might still be considered possible.
(D) Quantum mechanics would have ceased to attract the attention of physicists.(C)
(E) Einstein, had he been alive, would have abandoned attempts to specify the hidden parameters that describe motion.
