1、GMAT（ VERBAL）阅读练习试卷 10及答案与解析 1 A recent study has provided clues to predator-prey dynamics in the late Pleistocene era.Researchers compared the number of tooth fractures in present-day carnivores with tooth fracturesin carnivores that lived 36,000 to 10,000 years ago and that were preserved in the R
2、ancho La Breatar pits in Los Angeles. The breakage frequencies in the extinct species were strikingly higher thanthose in the present-day species. In considering possible explanations for this finding, the researchers dismissed demographic biasbecause older individuals were not overrepresented in th
3、e fossil samples. They rejectedpreservational bias because a total absence of breakage in two extinct species demonstrated thatthe fractures were not the result of abrasion within the pits. They ruled out local bias becausebreakage data obtained from other Pleistocene sites were similar to the La Br
4、ea data. Theexplanation they consider most plausible is behavioral differences between extinct and present-daycarnivores-in particular, more contact between the teeth of predators and the bones of prey due tomore thorough consumption of carcasses by the extinct species. Such thorough carcassconsumpt
5、ion implies to the researchers either that prey availability was low, at least seasonally, orthat there was intense competition over kills and a high rate of carcass theft due to relatively highpredator densities. 1 The primary purpose of the passage is to_ （ A） present several explanations for a we
6、ll-known fact （ B） suggest alternative method of resolving a debate （ C） argue in favor of a controversial theory （ D） question the methodology used in a study （ E） discuss the implications of a research finding 2 The passage suggests that, compared with Pleistocene carnivores in other areas, Pleist
7、ocene carnivores in the La Brea area_ （ A） included the same species, in approximately the same proportions （ B） had a similar frequency of tooth fractures （ C） populated the La Brea more densely （ D） consumed their preys more thoroughly （ E） found it harder to obtain sufficiency prey 3 According to
8、 the passage, the researchers believes that the high frequency of tooth breakage in carnivores found at La Brea was caused primarily by_ （ A） the aging process in individual carnivores （ B） contact between the fossils in the pits （ C） poor preservation of the fossils after they wer removed from the
9、pits （ D） the impact of carnivores teeth against the bones of their prey （ E） the impact of carnivores teeth against the bones of other carnivores during fights over kills 4 The researchers conclusion concerning the absence of demographic bias would be most seriously undermined if it were found that
10、_ （ A） the older as individual carnivore is, the more likely it is to have a large number of tooth fratures （ B） the average age at death of a present-day carnivores is greater than was the average age at death of a Pleistocene carnivore （ C） in Pleistocene carnivore species, older individuals consu
11、med carcasses as thoroughly as idd younger individuals （ D） the methods used to determine animals ages in fossile samples tend to misidentify many older individuals as younger individuals （ E） data concerning the ages of fossil samples cannot provide reliable information about behavioral differences
12、 between extinct carnivores and present-day carnivores 5 The passage suggests that if the researchers had not found that two extinct carnivore species were free of tooth breakage, the researchers would have concluded that_ （ A） the difference in breakage frequencies could have been the result of dam
13、age to the fossile remains in the La Brea pits （ B） the fossils in other Pleistocene sites could have higher breakage frequencies than do the fossils in the La Brea pits （ C） Pleistocene carnivore species probably behaved very similarly to one another with respect to consumption of carcass （ D） all
14、Pleistocene carnivores species differed behaviorally from present-day carnivore species. （ E） predator desities during the Pleistocene era were extremely high 6 During the nineteenth-century, occupational information about women that was provided by theUnited States census-a population count conduct
15、ed each decade-became more detailed and precisein response to social changes. Through 1840, simple enumeration by household mirrored ahome-based agricultural economy and hierarchical social order: the head of the household(presumed male or absent) was specified by name, whereas other household membe
16、rs were onlyindicated by the total number of persons counted in various categories, including occupationalcategories. Like farms, most enterprises were family-run, so that the census measured economicactivity as an attribute of the entire household, rather than of individuals. The 1850 census, partl
17、y responding to antislavery and womens rights movements, initiated thecollection of specific information about each individual in a household. Not until 1870 wasoccupational information analyzed by gender: the census superintendent reported 1.8 millionwomen employed outside the home in “gainful and
18、reputable occupations.” In addition, hearbitrarily attributed to each family one woman “keeping house.” Overlap between the two groupswas not calculated until 1890, when the rapid entry of women into the paid labor force and socialissues arising from industrialization were causing womens advocates a
19、nd women statisticians topress for more thorough and accurate accounting of womens occupations and wages. 6 The primary purpose of the passage is to_ （ A） explain and critique the methods used by early statisticians （ B） compare and contrast a historical situation with a current-day one （ C） describ
20、e and explain a historical change （ D） discuss historical opposition to an established institution （ E） trace the origin of a contemproary cotroversy 7 Each of the following aspects of nineteenth-century United States censuses is mentioned in the passage EXCEPT the_ （ A） year in which data on occupa
21、tions began to be analyzed by gender （ B） year in which hspecific information began to be collected on individuals in addition to the head of the household （ C） year in which overlap between women employed outside the home and women keeping hosue was first calculated （ D） way in which the 1890 censu
22、s measured womens income levels and educational backgrounds （ E） way in which household members were counted in the 1840 census 8 It can be inferred from the passage that the 1840 United States census provided a count of which of the following? （ A） Women who worked exclusively in the home （ B） Peop
23、le engaged in nonfarming occupations （ C） People engaged in social movements （ D） Women engaged in family-run enterprises （ E） Men engaged in agriculture 9 The author uses the adjective “simple” in line 5 most probably to emphasize that the_ （ A） collection of census inofrmation became progressively
24、 more difficult throughout the nineteenth-century （ B） technology for tabulating census information was rudimentary during the first half of the nineteenth century （ C） home-based agricultural economy of the early nineteenth century was easier to analyze than the later industrial economy （ D） econom
25、ic role ofwomen was better defined in the early nineteenth century than in the late nienteent century （ E） information collected by early-nineteen-century censuses was limited in its amount of detail 10 The passage suggests which of the following about the “womens advocates and women statisticians”
26、mentioned in lines 27-28? （ A） They wanted to call attention to the lack of pay for women who worked in the home. （ B） They believed that previous census information was inadequate and idd not reflect certain economic changes in the United States. （ C） They had begun to press for changes in census-t
27、aking methods as part of their participation in the antislavery movement. （ D） They thought that census statistics about women would be more accurate if more women were employed as census officials. （ E） They had conducted independent studies that disputed the official statistics provided by previos
28、u United States censuses. 11 The modern multinational corporation is described as having originated when the owner-managersof nineteenth-century British firms carrying on international trade were replaced by teams ofsalaried managers organized into hierarchies. Increases in the volume of transaction
29、s in such firmsare commonly believed to have necessitated this structural change. Nineteenth-century inventionslike the steamship and the telegraph, by facilitating coordination of managerial activities, aredescribed as key factors. Sixteenth-and seventeenth-century chartered trading companies, desp
30、itethe international scope of their activities, are usually considered irrelevant to this discussion: thevolume of their transactions is assumed to have been too low and the communications andtransport of their day too primitive to make comparisons with modern multinationals interesting. In reality,
31、 however, early trading companies successfully purchased and outfitted ships, built andoperated offices and warehouses, manufactured trade goods for use abroad, maintained tradingposts and production facilities overseas, procured goods for import, and sold those goods both athome and in other countr
32、ies. The large volume of transactions associated with these activitiesseems to have necessitated hierarchical management structures well before the advent of moderncommunications and transportation. For example, in the Hudsons Bay Company, each far-flungtrading outpost was managed by a salaried agen
33、t, who carried out the trade with the NativeAmericans, managed day-to-day operations, and oversaw the posts workers and servants. Onechief agent, answerable to the Court of Directors in London through the correspondencecommittee, was appointed with control over all of the agents on the bay. The earl
34、y trading companies did differ strikingly from modern multinationals in many respects.They depended heavily on the national governments of their home countries and thuscharacteristically acted abroad to promote national interests. Their top managers were typicallyowners with a substantial minority s
35、hare, whereas senior managers holdings in modernmultinationals are usually insignificant. They operated in a pre-industrial world, grafting a systemof capitalist international trade onto a pre-modern system of artisan and peasant production.Despite these differences, however, early trading companies
36、 organized effectively in remarkablymodern ways and merit further study as analogues of more modern structures. 11 The authors main point is that_ （ A） modern multinationals originated in the sixtenth and seventeenth centuries with the establishment of chartered trading companies （ B） the success of
37、 early chartered trading companies, like that of modern multinationals, depended primarily on their ability to carry out complex opertions （ C） early chartered trading companies should be more seriously considered by scholars studying the origins of modern multinationals （ D） scholars are quite mist
38、aken concerning the origins of modern multinationals （ E） the management structures of early chartered trading companies are fundamentally the same as those of modern multinationals 12 According to the passage, early chartered trading companies are usually described as_ （ A） irrelevant to a discussi
39、on of the origins of the modern multinational corporation （ B） interesting but ultimately too unusually to be good subjects for economic study （ C） analogues of nineteenth-century British trading firms （ D） rudimentary and very early forms of the modern multinational corporation （ E） important natio
40、nal institutions because they existed to further the political aims of the governments of their home countries 13 It can be inferred from the passage that the author would characterize the activities engaged in by early chartered trading companies as being_ （ A） complex enough in scope to requrie a
41、substantial amount of planning and coordination on the part of management （ B） too simple to be considered similar to those of a modern multinational corporation （ C） as intricate as those carried out by the largest multinational corporations today （ D） often unprofitable due to slow communications
42、and unreliable means of transportation （ E） hampered by the political demands imposed on them by the governments of their home countries 14 The author lists the various activities of early chartered trading companies in order to_ （ A） analyze the various ways in which these activities contributed to
43、 changes in management structure in such companies （ B） demonstrate that the volume of business transactions of such companies exceeded that of exceeded that of earlier firms （ C） refute the view that the volume of business undertaken by such companies was relatively low （ D） emphasize the internati
44、onal scope of these companies operations （ E） support the argument that such firms coordinated such activities by using available means of communication and transport 15 With which of the following generalizations regarding management structures would the author of the passage most probably agree? （
45、 A） Hierarchical management structures are the most efficient management structures possible in a modern context. （ B） Firms that routinely have a high volume of business transactions find it necessary to adopt hierarchical managemnt structures. （ C） Hierarchical management structures cannot be succ
46、essfully implemented without modern communications and transportation. （ D） Modern multinational firms with a relatively small volume of business transactions usually do not have hierarchically organized managemnt structures. （ E） Companies that adopt hierarchical management structures usually do so
47、 in order to facilitate expansion into foreign trade. 16 The passage suggests that modern multinationals differ from early chartered trading companies in that_ （ A） the top managers of modern multinationals own stock in their own companies rather than simply receiving a salary （ B） modern multinatio
48、nals depend on a system of capitalist international trade rather than on less modern trading systmes （ C） modern multinationals have operations in a number of different foreign counties rather than merely in one or two （ D） the operations of modern multinationals are highly profitable despite the mo
49、re stringent environmental and safety regulations of modern governments （ E） the overseas operations of modern multinationals are not governed by the national interests of their home countries 17 The author mentions the artisan and peasant production systems of early chartered trading companies as an example of_ （ A） an area of operations of these companies that was unhampered by rudimentary systems of communications and transport （ B） a similarity that allows fruitful comparison of these companies with m
