新GRE中短篇阅读真题精选
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.