2017年2月12日GRE阅读逻辑机经预测
短篇阅读
Ragwort was accidentally introduced to New Zealand in the late nineteenth century and, like so many invading foreign species, quickly became a pest. By the 1920s, the weed was rampant. What made matters worse was that its proliferation coincided with sweeping changes in agriculture and a massive shift from sheep farming to dairying.
Ragwort contains a battery of toxic and resilient alkaloids: even honey made from its flowers contains the poison in dilute form. Livestock generally avoid grazing where ragwort is growing, but they will do so once it displaces grass and clover in their pasture. Though sheep can eat it for months before showing any signs of illness, if cattle eat it they sicken quickly, and fatality can even result.
1. The passage suggests that the proliferation of ragwort was particularly ill-timed because it
A. coincided with and exacerbated a decline in agriculture
B. took place in conditions that enabled the ragwort to spread faster than it otherwise would have done
C. led to an increase in the amount of toxic compounds contained in the plants
D. prevented people from producing honey that could be eaten safely
E. had consequences for livestock that were more dramatic than they otherwise would have been
正确答案：E
题目解析：第二句说ragwort的繁殖赶上了新西兰农业的变化——从养羊到养牛;而最后一句话又说这种草对牛的危害更大，so the proliferation of ragwort was particularly ill-timed
E选项：相比于其他方面，这种草对家畜的影响更为巨大
The passage mentions that ragwort’s impact on New Zealand’s agriculture was especially severe because the plant’s proliferation “coincided with sweeping changes in agriculture that saw a massive shift from sheep farming to dairying.” The severity of the impact was increased because cattle, which were displacing sheep, are much more sensitive than sheep to the toxins contained in ragwort. This points to Choice E as the correct answer choice. Nothing in the passage suggests that the proliferation of ragwort coincided with a decline in agriculture (Choice A), occurred faster than it might have done (Choice B), or made the plants more toxic (Choice C). There is a suggestion that ragwort honey might not be safe for humans, but there is no indication that this made the timing of the proliferation particularly unfortunate.
2. The passage implies which of the following about the problems ragwort poses to dairy farmers?
A. Milk produced by cows that eat ragwort causes illness in humans who drink it.
B. Ragwort can supplant the plants normally eaten by cattle.
C. Cattle, unlike sheep, are unable to differentiate between ragwort and healthy grazing.
正确答案：B
题目解析：尽管A有可能正确，但是文章里没有任何Support。B由Livestock generally avoid grazing where ragwort is growing, but they will do so once it displaces grass and clover in their pasture.支持，C完全超出文章之外。
长篇阅读
Frederick Douglass was unquestionably the most famous African American of the nineteenth century; indeed, when he died in 1895 he was among the most distinguished public figures in the United States. In his study of Douglass’ career as a major figure in the movement to abolish slavery and as a spokesman for Black rights, Waldo Martin has provoked controversy by contending that Douglass also deserves a prominent place in the intellectual history of the United States because he exemplified so many strands of nineteenth-century thought: romanticism, idealism, individualism, liberal humanism, and an unshakable belief in progress. But this very argument provides ammunition for those who claim that most of Douglass’ ideas, being so representative of their time, are now obsolete. Douglass’ vision of the future as a melting pot in which all racial and ethnic differences would dissolve into “a composite American nationality” appears from the pluralist perspective of many present-day intellectuals to be not only utopian but even wrongheaded. Yet there is a central aspect of Douglass’ thought that seems not in the least bit dated or irrelevant to current concerns. He has no rival in the history of the nineteenth-century United States as an insistent and effective critic of the doctrine of innate racial inequality. He not only attacked racist ideas in his speeches and writings, but he offered his entire career and all his achievements as living proof that racists were wrong in their belief that one race could be inherently superior to another.
While Martin stresses Douglass’ antiracist egalitarianism, he does not adequately explain how this aspect of Douglass’ thought fits in with his espousal of the liberal Victorian attitudes that many present-day intellectuals consider to be naive and outdated. The fact is that Douglass was attracted to these democratic-capitalist ideals of his time because they could be used to attack slavery and the doctrine of White supremacy. His favorite rhetorical strategy was to expose the hypocrisy of those who, while professing adherence to the ideals of democracy and equality of opportunity, condoned slavery and racial discrimination. It would have been strange indeed if he had not embraced liberal idealism, because it proved its worth for the cause of racial equality during the national crisis that eventually resulted in emancipation and citizenship for African Americans. These points may seem obvious, but had Martin given them more attention, his analysis might have constituted a more convincing rebuttal to those critics who dismiss Douglass’ ideology as a relic of the past. If one accepts the proposition that Douglass’ deepest commitment was to Black equality and that he used the liberal ideals of his time as weapons in the fight for that cause, then it is hard to fault him for seizing the best weapons at hand.
1. The passage as a whole can best be described as doing which of the following?
A. Explaining Douglass’ emergence as a major figure in the movement to abolish slavery
B. Tracing the origins of Douglass’ thought in nineteenth-century romanticism, idealism, and liberal humanism
C. Analyzing Douglass’ speeches and writings from a modern, pluralist perspective
D. Criticizing Martin for failing to stress the contradiction between Douglass’ principles and the liberal Victorian attitudes of his day
E. Formulating a response to those who consider Douglass’ political philosophy to be archaic and irrelevant
正确答案：E
题目解析：问文章主要讲了什么
A. abolish slavery上的作用，太细节，错
B. FD idea的源头，文中没有提到，错
C. 分析FD的writing，细节，错
D. 批评M没能强调FD原则与LV原则的矛盾性。错，没提到矛盾
E. 回击那些人文FD 的idea过时的人，对
“These points may seem obvious, but had Martin given them more attention, his analysis might have constituted a more convincing rebuttal to those critics who dismiss Douglass’ ideology as a relic of the past. If one accepts the proposition that Douglass’ deepest commitment was to Black equality and that he used the liberal ideals of his time as weapons in the fight for that cause, then it is hard to fault him for seizing the best weapons at hand.”之句话是理解文章的关键，出现在文末。如果M更关注这点的话，那么他对人们认为D观点过时的反驳就会更有说服力。如果一个人接受并认为D最深的目的就是追求黑人的平等并运用了“liberal ideals”最为他反驳他人观点的武器，那是绝对不会错的。
2. It can be inferred that the “present-day intellectuals” believe that
A. although Douglass used democratic-capitalist ideas to attack slavery and racial inequality, he did not sincerely believe in those ideas
B. the view that Douglass was representative of the intellectual trends of his time is obsolete
C. Douglass’ opposition to the doctrine of innate racial inequality is irrelevant to current concerns
D. Douglass’ commitment to Black equality does not adequately account for his na瘀攀 attachment to quaint liberal Victorian political views
E. Douglass’ goal of ultimately doing away with all racial and ethnic differences is neither achievable nor desirable
正确答案：E
题目解析：Douglass’ vision of the future as a melting pot in which all racial and ethnic differences would dissolve into “a composite American nationality” appears from the pluralist perspective of many present-day intellectuals to be not only utopian but even wrongheaded.
这句话讲DF的观点在pluralist看来就是utopian乌托邦 空想主义， 甚至wrongheaded。DF的想法不现实，缺乏实践无法实现。E选项中neither achievable nor desirable完美体现了这个意思。
3. According to the passage, Douglass used which of the following as evidence against the doctrine of innate racial inequality?
A. His own life story
B. His vision of a composite American nationality
C. The hypocrisy of self-professed liberal idealists
D. The inevitability of the emancipation of African Americans
E. The fact that most prominent intellectuals advocated the abolition of slavery
正确答案：A
题目解析：He not only attacked racist ideas in his speeches and writings, but he offered his entire career and all his achievements as living proof that racists were wrong in their belief that one race could be inherently superior to another. 体现了A中的own life story。
逻辑阅读
Despite the fact that the health-inspection procedures for catering establishments are more stringent than those for ordinary restaurants, more of the cases of food poisoning reported to the city health department were brought on by banquets served by catering services than were brought on by restaurant meals.
Which of the following, if true, helps explain the apparent paradox in the statement above?
A. A significantly larger number of people eat in restaurants than attend catered banquets in any given time period.
B. Catering establishments know how many people they expect to serve, and therefore are less likely than restaurants to have, and serve, leftover food, a major source of food poisoning.
C. Many restaurants provide catering services for banquets in addition to serving individual meals.
D. The number of reported food-poisoning cases at catered banquets is unrelated to whether the meal is served on the caterer’s or the client’s premises.
E. People are unlikely to make a connection between a meal they have eaten and a subsequent illness unless the illness strikes a group who are in communication with one another.
正确答案：E
题目解析：
逻辑：食物中毒-->宴席被报告
假设：食物中毒一定会被报告(无论是在餐厅还是在宴席上)
原文漏洞：尽管宴席上的食物比普通餐厅的食物经过了更严格的检查，但宴席上被报告出食物中毒的案例却多于餐厅的。
解题思路：假设取反(一切可以推翻假设的方式都可以)
E选项：给出了人们在普通餐厅吃饭中毒却不一定报告的情况，而在宴席上因为有认识的同伴一起进食从而可以确定是在宴席上中毒了。这是食物中毒一定会被举报的一种反例。
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