1、GMAT（ VERBAL）阅读模拟试卷 23及答案与解析 0 Japanese firms have achieved the highest levels of manufacturing efficiency in the world automobile industry. Some observers of Japan have assumed that Japanese firms use the same manufacturing equipment and techniques as United States firms but have benefited from the
2、 unique characteristics of Japanese employees and the Japanese culture. However, if this were true, then one would expect Japanese auto plants in the United States to perform no better than factories run by United States companies. This is not the case, Japanese-run automobile plants located in the
3、United States and staffed by local workers have demonstrated higher levels of productivity when compared with factories owned by United States companies. Other observers link high Japanese productivity to higher levels of capital investment per worker. But a historical perspective leads to a differe
4、nt conclu- sion. When the two top Japanese automobile makers matched and then doubled United States productivity levels in the mid-sixties, capital investment per employee was comparable to that of United States firms. Furthermore, by the late seventies, the amount of fixed assets required to produc
5、e one vehicle was roughly equivalent in Japan and in the United States. Since capital invest - ment was not higher in Japan, it had to be other factors that led to higher productivity. A more fruitful explanation may lie with Japanese production techniques. Japanese automobile producers did not simp
6、ly implement conventional processes more effectively: they made critical changes in United States procedures. For instance, the mass-product ion phi- losophy of United States automakers encouraged the production of huge lots of cars in order to utilize fully expensive, component-specific equipment a
7、nd to occupy fully workers who have been trained to execute one operation efficiently. Japanese automakers chose to make small-lot production feasible by introducing several departures from United States practices, including the use of flexible equipment that could be altered easily to do several di
8、fferent production tasks and the training of workers in multiple jobs. Automakers could schedule the production of different compo- nents or models on single machines, thereby eliminating the need to store the buffer stocks of extra components that result when specialized equipment and workers are k
9、ept constantly active. 1 The primary purpose of the passage is to （ A） present the major steps of a process. （ B） clarify an ambiguity. （ C） chronicle a dispute. （ D） correct misconceptions. （ E） defend an accepted approach. 2 The author suggests that if the observers of Japan mentioned in line 4 we
10、re correct, which of the following would be the case? （ A） The equipment used in Japanese automobile plants would be different from the equipment used in United States plants. （ B） Japanese workers would be trained to do several different production jobs. （ C） Culture would not have an influence on
11、the productivity levels of workers. （ D） The workers in Japanese-run plants would have higher productivity levels regardless of where they were located. （ E） The production levels of Japanese-run plants located in the United States would be equal to those of plants run by United States companies. 3
12、Which of the following statements concerning the productivity levels of automakers can be inferred from the passage? （ A） Prior to the 1960s, the productivity levels of the top Japanese automakers were exceeded by those of United States automakers. （ B） The culture of a country has a large effect on
13、 the productivity levels of its automakers. （ C） During the late 1970s and early 1980s, productivity levels were comparable in Japan and the United States. （ D） The greater the number of cars that are produced in a single lot, the higher a plants productivity level. （ E） The amount of capital invest
14、ment made by automobile manufacturers in their factories determines the level of productivity. 4 According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of Japanese automobile workers? （ A） Their productivity levels did not equal those of United States automobile workers until the late s
15、eventies. （ B） Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of cultural influences. （ C） They operate component-specific machinery. （ D） They are trained to do more than one job. （ E） They produce larger lots of cars than do workers in United States factories. 5 Which of the following best descr
16、ibes the organization of the first paragraph? （ A） A thesis is presented and supporting examples are provided. （ B） Opposing views are presented, classified, and then reconciled. （ C） A fact is stated, and an explanation is advanced and then refuted. （ D） A theory is proposed, considered, and then a
17、mended. （ E） An opinion is presented, qualified, and then reaffirmed. 6 It can be inferred from the passage that one problem associated with the production of huge lots of cars is which of the following? （ A） The need to manufacture flexible machinery and equipment. （ B） The need to store extra comp
18、onents not required for immediate use. （ C） The need for expensive training programs for workers, which emphasize the development of facility in several production jobs. （ D） The need to alter conventional mass-production processes. （ E） The need to increase the investment per vehicle in order to ac
19、hieve high productivity levels. 7 Which of the following statements is supported by information stated in the passage? （ A） Japanese and United States automakers differ in their approach to production processes. （ B） Japanese automakers have perfected the use of single-function equipment. （ C） Japan
20、ese automakers invest more capital per employee than do United States automakers. （ D） United States-owned factories abroad have higher production levels than do Japanese owned plants in the United States. （ E） Japanese automakers have benefited from the cultural heritage of their workers. 8 With wh
21、ich of the following predictive statement regarding Japanese automakers would the author most likely agree? （ A） The efficiency levels of the Japanese automakers will decline if they become less flexible in their approach to production. （ B） Japanese automakers productivity levels double during the
22、late 1990s. （ C） United States automakers will originate net production processes before Japanese automakers do. （ D） Japanese automakers will hire fewer workers than will United States automakers because each worker is required to perform several jobs. （ E） Japanese automakers will spend less on eq
23、uipment repairs than will United States automakers because Japanese equipment can be easily altered. 8 It was once believed that the brain was independent of metabolic processes occurring elsewhere in the body. In recent studies, however, we have discov- ered that the production and release in brain
24、 neurons of the neurotransmitter serotonin(neurotransmitters are compounds that neurons use to transmit signals to other cells)depend directly on the food that the body processes. Our first studies sought to determine whether the increase in serotonin observed in rats given a large injection of the
25、amino acid tryptophan might also occur after rats ate meals that change tryptophan levels in the blood. We found that, immediately after the rats began to eat, parallel elevations occurred in blood tryptophan, brain tryptophan, and brain serotonin levels. These findings suggested that the production
26、 and release of serotonin in brain neurons were normally coupled with blood-tryp-tophan increases. In later studies we found that injecting insulin into a rats bloodstream also caused parallel elevations in blood and brain tryptophan levels and in serotonin levels. We then decided to see whether the
27、 secretion of the animals own insulin similarly affected serotonin production. We gave the rats a carbohydrate-containing meal that we knew would elicit insulin secretion. As we had hypothesized, the blood trypto- phan level and the concentrations of tryptophan serotonin in the brain increased after
28、 the meal. Surprisingly, however, when we added a large amount of protein to the meal, brain tryptophan and serotonin levels fell. Since protein contains tryptophan, why should it depress brain tryptophan levels? The answer lies in the mechanism that provides blood tryp- tophan to the brain cells. T
29、his same mechanism also provides the brain cells with other amino acids found in protein, such as tyrosine and leucine. The consumption of protein increases blood con- centration of the other amino acids much more, proportionately, than it does that of tryptophan. The more protein in the meal, the l
30、ower is the ratio of the resulting blood-tryptophan concentration to the concentration of competing amino acids, and the more slowly is tryptophan provided to the brain. Thus the more protein in a meal, the less serotonin subsequently produced and re- leased. 9 Which of the following titles best sum
31、marizes the contents of the passage? （ A） Neurotransmitters: Their Crucial Function in Cellular Communication （ B） Diet and Survival: An Old Relationship Reexamined （ C） The Blood Supply and the Brain: A Reciprocal Dependence （ D） Amino Acids and Neurotransmitters: The Connection Between Serotonin L
32、evels and Tyrosine （ E） The Effects of Food Intake on the Production and Release of Serotonin: Some Recent Findings 10 According to the passage, the speed with which tryptophan is provided to the brain cells of a rat varies with the （ A） amount of protein present in a meal. （ B） concentration of ser
33、otonin in the brain before a meal. （ C） concentration of leucine in the blood rather than on the concentration of tyrosine in the blood after a meal. （ D） concentration of tryptophan in the brain before a meal. （ E） number of serotonin-containing neurons present in the brain before a meal. 11 Accord
34、ing to the passage, when the authors began their first studies, they were aware that （ A） they would eventually need to design experiments that involved feeding rats high concentrations of protein. （ B） tryptophan levels in the blood were difficult to monitor with accuracy. （ C） serotonin levels inc
35、reased after rats were fed meals rich in tryptophan. （ D） there were many neurotransmitters whose production was dependent on metabolic processes elsewhere in the body. （ E） serotonin levels increased after rats were injected with a large amount of tryptophan. 12 According to the passage, one reason
36、 that the authors gave rats carbohydrates was to （ A） depress the rats tryptophan levels. （ B） prevent the rats from contracting diseases. （ C） cause the rats to produce insulin. （ D） demonstrate that insulin is the most important substance secreted by the body. （ E） compare the effect of carbohydra
37、tes with the effect of proteins. 13 According to the passage, the more protein a rat consumes, the lower will be the （ A） ratio of the rat s blood-tryptophan concentration to the amount of serotonin produced and released in the rats brain. （ B） ratio of the rats blood-tryptophan concentration to the
38、 concentration in its blood of the other amino acids contained in the protein. （ C） ratio of the rats blood-tyrosine concentration to its blood-leucine concentration. （ D） number of neurotransmitters of any kind that the rat will produce and release. （ E） number of amino acids the rat s blood will c
39、ontain. 14 The authors discussion of the “mechanism that provides blood tryptophan to the brain cells“(lines 44-45)is meant to （ A） stimulate further research studies. （ B） summarize an area of scientific investigation. （ C） help explain why a particular research finding was obtained. （ D） provide s
40、upporting evidence for a controversial scientific theory. （ E） refute the conclusions of a previously mentioned research study. 15 According to the passage, an injection of insulin was most similar in its effect on rats to an injection of （ A） tyrosine. （ B） leucine. （ C） blood. （ D） tryptophan. （ E
41、） protein. 16 It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would be LEAST likely to be a potential source of aid to a patient who was not adequately producing and releasing serotonin? （ A） Meals consisting almost exclusively of protein. （ B） Meals consisting almost exclusively of
42、carbohydrates. （ C） Meals that would elicit insulin secretion. （ D） Meals that had very low concentrations of tyrosine. （ E） Meals that had very low concentrations of leucine. 17 It can be inferred from the passage that the authors initially held which of the following hypotheses about what would ha
43、ppen when they fed large amounts of protein to rats? （ A） The rats brain serotonin levels would not decrease. （ B） The rats brain tryptophan levels would decrease. （ C） The rats tyrosine levels would increase less quickly than would their leucine levels. （ D） The rats would produce more insulin. （ E
44、） The rats would produce neurotransmitters other than serotonin. 17 Historians sometimes forget that history is continually being made and experienced before it is studied, interpreted, and read. These latter activities have their own history, of course, which may impinge in unexpected ways on publi
45、c events. It is difficult to predict when “new pasts“ will overturn established historical interpretations and change the course of history. In the fall of 1954, for example, C. Vann Woodward delivered a lecture series at the University of Virginia which challenged the prevailing dogma concerning th
46、e history, continuity, and uniformity of racial segregation in the South. He argued that the Jim Crow laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries not only codified traditional practice but also were a determined effort to erase the considerable progress made by Black people during and
47、after Reconstruction in the 1870s. This revisionist view of Jim Crow legis- lation grew in part from the research that Woodward had done for the NAACP legal campaign during its preparation for Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court had issued its ruling in this epochal desegregation case a f
48、ew months before Woodward s lectures. The lectures were soon published as a book The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Ten years later, in a preface to the second revised edition, Woodward confessed with ironic modesty that the first edition “had begun to suffer under some of the handicaps that might be e
49、x- pected in a history of the American Revolution published in 1776.“ That was a bit like hearing Thomas Paine apologize for the timing of his pamphlet Common Sense, which had a compara- ble impact. Although Common Sense also had a mass readership, Paine had intended to reach and inspire: he was not a historian, and thus not concerned with accuracy or the dangers of histori- cal anachronism. Yet, like Paine, Woodward had an unerring sense of the revolutionary moment, and of how historical evidence could undermine the mythological tradition that was crushing the dream
