gre阅读练习每日一篇(十五)

　　掌握了gre阅读里的长难句，到了实战演习的时候了。gre阅读练习每日一篇帮助gre考生循序渐进地进行练习和总结。希望gre考生在进行gre阅读练习时，也按着考试时候的时间规定自己的练习，这样才能有效果。

　　The evolution of intelligence among early large mammals of the grasslands was due in great measure to the interaction between two ecologically synchronized groups of these animals, the hunting carnivores and the herbivores that they hunted. The interaction resulting from the differences between predator and prey led to a general improvement in brain functions; however, certain components of intelligence were improved far more than others.

　　The kind of intelligence favored by the interplay of increasingly smarter catchers and increasingly keener escapers is defined by attentionthat aspect of mind carrying consciousness forward from one moment to the next. It ranges from a passive, free-floating awareness to a highly focused, active fixation. The range through these states is mediated by the arousal system, a network of tracts converging from sensory systems to integrating centers in the brain stem. From the more relaxed to the more vigorous levels, sensitivity to novelty is increased. The organism is more awake, more vigilant; this increased vigilance results in the apprehension of ever more subtle signals as the organism becomes more sensitive to its surroundings. The processes of arousal and concentration give attention its direction. Arousal is at first general, with a flooding of impulses in the brain stem; then gradually the activation is channeled. Thus begins concentration, the holding of consistent images. One meaning of intelligence is the way in which these images and other alertly searched information are used in the context of previous experience. Consciousness links past attention to the present and permits the integration of details with perceived ends and purposes.

　　The elements of intelligence and consciousness come together marvelously to produce different styles in predator and prey. Herbivores and carnivores develop different kinds of attention related to escaping or chasing. Although in both kinds of animal, arousal stimulates the production of adrenaline and norepinephrine by the adrenal glands, the effect in herbivores is primarily fear, whereas in carnivores the effect is primarily aggression. For both, arousal attunes the animal to what is ahead. Perhaps it does not experience forethought as we know it, but the animal does experience something like it. The predator is searchingly aggressive, innerdirected, tuned by the nervous system and the adrenal hormones, but aware in a sense closer to human consciousness than, say, a hungry lizards instinctive snap at a passing beetle. Using past events as a framework, the large mammal predator is working out a relationship between movement and food, sensitive to possibilities in cold trails and distant soundsand yesterdays unforgotten lessons. The herbivore prey is of a different mind. Its mood of wariness rather than searching and its attitude of general expectancy instead of anticipating are silk-thin veils of tranquility over an explosive endocrine system.

　　17. The author is primarily concerned with

　　 disproving the view that herbivores are less intelligent than carnivores

　　 describing a relationship between animals intelligence and their ecological roles

　　 establishing a direct link between early large mammals and their modern counterparts

　　 analyzing the ecological basis for the dominance of some carnivores over other carnivores

　　 demonstrating the importance of hormones in mental activity

　　18. The author refers to a hungry lizard primarily in order to

　　 demonstrate the similarity between the hunting methods of mammals and those of nonmammals

　　 broaden the application of his argument by including an insectivore as an example

　　 make a distinction between higher and lower levels of consciousness

　　 provide an additional illustration of the brutality characteristic of predators

　　 offer an objection to suggestions that all animals lack consciousness

　　19. It can be inferred from the passage that in animals less intelligent than the mammals discussed in the passage

　　 past experience is less helpful in ensuring survival

　　 attention is more highly focused

　　 muscular coordination is less highly developed

　　 there is less need for competition among species

　　 environment is more important in establishing the proper ratio of prey to predator

　　20. The sensitivity described in lines 56-61 is most clearly an example of

　　 free-floating awareness

　　 flooding of impulses in the brain stem

　　 the holding of consistent images

　　 integration of details with perceived ends and purposes

　　 silk-thin veils of tranquility

　　21. The authors attitude toward the mammals discussed in the passage is best described as

　　 superior and condescending

　　 lighthearted and jocular

　　 apologetic and conciliatory

　　 wistful and tender

　　 respectful and admiring

　　22. The author provides information that would answer which of the following questions?

　　I. Why is an aroused herbivore usually fearful?

　　II. What are some of the degrees of attention in large mammals?

　　III. What occurs when the stimulus that causes arousal of a mammal is removed?

　　 I only

　　 III only

　　 I and II only

　　 II and III only

　　 I, II and III

　　23. According to the passage, improvement in brain function among early large mammals resulted primarily from which of the following?

　　 Interplay of predator and prey

　　 Persistence of free-floating awareness in animals of the grasslands

　　 Gradual dominance of warm-blooded mammals over cold-blooded reptiles

　　 Interaction of early large mammals with less intelligent species

　　 Improvement of the capacity for memory among herbivores and carnivores

　　24. According to the passage, as the process of arousal in an organism continues, all of the following may occur EXCEPT:

　　 the production of adrenaline

　　 the production of norepinephrine

　　 a heightening of sensitivity to stimuli

　　 an increase in selectivity with respect to stimuli

　　 an expansion of the range of states mediated by the brain stem

　　Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions. At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

　　Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class. Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes. In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones. Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the communitys wealth. Although these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the undoubted progress toward inequality in the late eighteenth century continued in the Jacksonian period and that the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialization.

　　25. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:

　　 They formed a distinct upper class.

　　 Many of them were able to increase their holdings.

　　 Some of them worked as professionals or in business.

　　 Most of them accumulated their own fortunes.

　　 Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals.

　　26. The authors attitude toward Pessens presentation of statistics can be best described as

　　 disapproving

　　 shocked

　　 suspicious

　　 amused

　　 laudatory

　　27. Which of the following best states the authors main point?

　　 Pessens study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of early nineteenth-century America.

　　 Tocquevilles analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remains the definitive account of this period.

　　 Pessens study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the United States throughout the nineteenth century.

　　 The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 are well documented.

　　 Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850, but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

答案：17-27：BCADECAEDEE