新GRE逻辑阅读 每日一练32

　　编辑点评： GRE阅读考试的材料，非常强调逻辑的关系，所以逻辑要点是大家在解GRE阅读题的时候的关键，本文就为大家例举了这样一篇逻辑短文，供大家参考和练习。

　　随着GRE阅读考试的难度日益增加，大家需要有针对性地进行练习，本文为大家例举的就是逻辑短文的练习，文末还附有答案，供大家更好地练习。

　　The determination of the sources of copper ore used in the manufacture of copper and bronze artifacts of Bronze Age civilizations would add greatly to our knowledge of cultural contacts and trade in that era. Researchers have 5 analyzed artifacts and ores for their concentrations of elements, but for a variety of reasons, these studies have generally failed to provide evidence of the sources of the copper used in the objects. Elemental composition can vary within the same copper-ore lode, usually because of varying admixtures of 10 other elements, especially iron, lead, zinc, and arsenic. And high concentrations of cobalt or zinc, noticed in some artifacts,appear in a variety of copper-ore sources. Moreover, the processing of ores introduced poorly controlled changes in the concentrations of minor and trace elements in the 15 resulting metal. Some elements evaporate during smelting and roasting; different temperatures and processes produce different degrees of loss. Finally, flux, which is sometimes added during smelting to remove waste material from the ore, could add quantities of elements to the final product.

　　20 An elemental property that is unchanged through these chemical processes is the isotopic composition of each metallic element in the ore. Isotopic composition, the percentages of the different isotopes of an element in a given sample of the element, is therefore particularly suitable as an 25 indicator of the sources of the ore. Of course, for this purpose it is necessary to find an element whose isotopic composition is more or less constant throughout a given ore body, but varies from one copper ore body to another or,at least, from one geographic region to another.

　　30 The ideal choice, when isotopic composition is used to investigate the source of copper ore, would seem to be copper itself. It has been shown that small but measurable variations occur naturally in the isotopic composition of copper. However, the variations are large enough only in rare 35 ores; between samples of the common ore minerals of copper, isotopic variations greater than the measurement error have not been found. An alternative choice is lead, which occurs in most copper and bronze artifacts of the Bronze Age in amounts consistent with the lead being derived from the 40 copper ores and possibly from the fluxes. The isotopic composition of lead often varies from one source of common copper ore to another, with variations exceeding the measurement error; and preliminary studies indicate virtually uniform isotopic composition of the lead from a45 single copper-ore source.

　　While some of the lead found in an artifact may have been introduced from flux or when other metals were added to the copper ore, lead so added in Bronze Age processing would usually have the same isotopic composition as the lead in the copper ore. Lead isotope 50 studies may thus prove useful for interpreting the archaeological record of the Bronze Age.

　　4. The author first mentions the addition of flux during smelting in the last sentence in the last paragraph in order to

　　give a reason for the failure of elemental composition studies to determine ore sources

　　illustrate differences between various Bronze Age civilizations

　　show the need for using high smelting temperatures

　　illustrate the uniformity of lead isotope composition

　　explain the success of copper isotope composition analysis For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply

　　5. According to the passage, possible sources of the lead found in a copper or bronze artifact include which of the following?

　　□A The copper ore used to manufacture the artifact

　　□B Flux added during processing of the copper ore

　　□C Other metal added during processing of the copper ore

　　6. Select the sentence in the passage that the author rejects copper as the ideal choice .

　　7. It can be inferred from the passage that the use of flux in processing copper ore can alter the lead isotope composition of the resulting metal EXCEPT when

　　there is a smaller concentration of lead in the flux than in the copper ore

　　the concentration of lead in the flux is equivalent to that of the lead in the ore

　　some of the lead in the flux evaporates during processing

　　any lead in the flux has the same isotopic composition as the lead in the ore

　　other metals are added during processing

　　正确答案：4. A 5. ABC 6. However, the variations are large enough 7. D

　　上文的题目大家答对了几题?大家不仅要多做题，更要善于总结，这样才会有针对性地提高。