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Passage 6

The more definitions a given noun has, the more valuable is each one. Multiple definitions, each subtly different from all the others, convey multiple shades of meaning. They expand the uses of the word; language is enriched, thought is widened, and interpretations increase or dilate to fill the potentialities of association. The very impossibility of absoluteness in the definition of certain nouns adds to the levels of connotation they may reach. The inner life of a writer often says more than most readers can know; the mind of a reader can discover truths that go beyond the intent or perhaps even the comprehension of the writer. And all of it finds expression because a word can mean many things.

1. In the context in which it appears, “shades” (line 2) most nearly means

A. reminders

B. nuances

C. obscurities

D. coverings

E. degrees

2. The passage suggests that a writer’s use of nouns that have multiple definitions can have which of the following effects on the relationship between writer and reader?

A. It can encourage the reader to consider how the writer’s life might have influenced the work.

B. It can cause the reader to become frustrated with the writer’s failure to distinguish between subtle shades of meaning.

C. It can allow the reader to discern in a work certain meanings that the writer did not foresee.

D. It allows the writer to provide the reader with clues beyond the word itself in order to avoid ambiguity.

E. It allows the writer to present unfamiliar ideas to the reader more efficiently.

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Passage 7

Until recently, many anthropologists assumed that the environment of what is now the southwestern United States shaped the social history and culture of the region’s indigenous peoples. Building on this assumption, archaeologists asserted that adverse environmental conditions and droughts were responsible for the disappearances and migrations of southwestern populations from many sites they once inhabited.

However, such deterministic arguments fail to acknowledge that local environmental variability in the Southwest makes generalizing about that environment difficult. To examine the relationship between environmental variation and sociocultural change in the Western Pueblo region of central Arizona, which indigenous tribes have occupied continuously for at least 800 years, a research team recently reconstructed the climatic, vegetational, and erosional cycles of past centuries. The researchers found it impossible to provide a single, generally applicable characterization of environmental conditions for the region. Rather, they found that local areas experienced different patterns of rainfall, wind, and erosion, and that such conditions had prevailed in the Southwest for the last 1,400 years. Rainfall, for example, varied within and between local valley systems, so that even adjacent agricultural fields can produce significantly different yields.

The researchers characterized episodes of variation in southwestern environments by frequency: low-frequency environmental processes occur in cycles longer than one human generation, which generally is considered to last about 25 years, and high-frequency processes have shorter cycles. The researchers pointed out that low-frequency processes, such as fluctuations in stream flow and groundwater levels, would not usually be apparent to human populations. In contrast, high-frequency fluctuations such as seasonal temperature variations are observable and somewhat predictable, so that groups could have adapted their behaviors accordingly. When the researchers compared sequences of sociocultural change in the Western Pueblo region with episodes of low- and high-frequency environmental variation, however, they found no simple correlation between environmental process and sociocultural change or persistence.

Although early Pueblo peoples did protect themselves against environmental risk and uncertainty, they responded variously on different occasions to similar patterns of high-frequency climatic and environmental change. The researchers identified seven major adaptive responses, including increased mobility, relocation of permanent settlements, changes in subsistence foods, and reliance on trade with other groups. These findings suggest that groups’ adaptive choices depended on cultural and social as well as environmental factors and were flexible strategies rather than uncomplicated reactions to environmental change. Environmental conditions mattered, but they were rarely, if ever, sufficient to account for sociocultural persistence and change. Group size and composition, culture, contact with other groups, and individual choices and actions were — barring catastrophes such as floods or earthquakes — more significant for a population’s survival than were climate and environment.

1. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. explaining why certain research findings have created controversy

B. pointing out the flaws in a research methodology and suggesting a different approach

C. presenting evidence to challenge an explanation and offering an alternative explanation

D. elucidating the means by which certain groups have adapted to their environment

E. defending a long-held interpretation by presenting new research findings

2. Which of the following findings would most strongly support the assertion made by the archaeologists mentioned in line 3?

A. A population remained in a certain region at least a century after erosion wore away much of the topsoil that sustained grass for their grazing animals.

B. The range of a certain group’s agricultural activity increased over a century of gradual decrease in annual rainfall.

C. As winters grew increasingly mild in a certain region, the nomadic residents of the region continued to move between their summer and winter encampments.

D. An agricultural population began to trade for supplies of a grain instead of producing the grain in its own fields as it had in the past.

E. A half century of drought and falling groundwater levels caused a certain population to abandon their settlements along a riverbank.

3. The fact that “adjacent agricultural fields can produce significantly different yields” (lines 16–17) is offered as evidence of the

A. unpredictability of the climate and environment of the southwestern United States

B. difficulty of producing a consistent food supply for a large population in the Western Pueblo region

C. lack of water and land suitable for cultivation in central Arizona

D. local climatic variation in the environment of the southwestern United States

E. high-frequency environmental processes at work in the southwestern United States

4. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following activities is NOT an example of a population responding to high-frequency environmental processes?

A. Developing watertight jars in which to collect and store water during the rainy season

B. Building multistory dwellings in low-lying areas to avoid the flash flooding that occurs each summer

C. Moving a village because groundwater levels have changed over the last generation

D. Trading with other groups for furs from which to make winter clothes

E. Moving one’s herds of grazing animals each year between summer and winter pastures

GRE閱讀真題之OG2

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Passage 8

Arctic sea ice comes in two varieties. Seasonal ice forms in winter and then melts in summer, while perennial ice persists year-round. To the untrained eye, all sea ice looks similar, but by licking it, one can estimate how long a particular piece has been floating round. When ice begins to form in seawater, it forces out salt, which has no place in the crystal structure. As the ice gets thicker, the rejected salt collects in tiny pockets of brine too highly concentrated to freeze. A piece of first-year ice will taste salty. Eventually, if the ice survives, these pockets of brine drain out through fine, veinlike channels, and the ice becomes fresher; multiyear ice can even be melted and drunk.

For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

1. The passage mentions which of the following as being a characteristic of seasonal ice?

A. It is similar in appearance to perennial ice.

B. It is typically filled with fine, veinlike channels.

C. It tastes saltier than perennial ice.

2. In the context in which it appears, “fine” (line 7) most nearly means

A. acceptable

B. elegant

C. precise

D. pure

E. small

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Passage 9

Historians credit repeated locust invasions in the nineteenth century with reshaping United States agriculture west of the Mississippi River. Admonished by government entomologists, farmers began to diversify. Wheat had come to nearly monopolize the region, but it was particularly vulnerable to the locusts. In 1873, just before the locusts’ most withering offensive, nearly two-thirds of Minnesota farmland was producing wheat; by the invasions’ last year, that fraction had dropped to less than one-sixth. Farmers learned that peas and beans were far less vulnerable to the insects, and corn was a more robust grain than wheat. In addition to planting alternative crops, many farmers turned to dairy and beef production. Although pastures were often damaged by the locusts, these lands were almost always left in better shape than the crops were.

For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

1. According to the passage, before the recommendations by the government entomologists, which of the following was true about farming west of the Mississippi River?

A. Farmers focused primarily on growing wheat.

B. Peas and beans had not yet been planted in the region.

C. A relatively small portion of farmland was devoted to crops other than wheat.

2. In the context in which it appears, “robust” (line 8) most nearly means

A. crude

B. demanding

C. productive

D. vigorous

E. rich

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Passage 10

In 1998 the United States Department of Transportation received nearly 10,000 consumer complaints about airlines; in 1999 it received over 20,000. Moreover, the number of complaints per 100,000 passengers also more than doubled. In both years the vast majority of complaints concerned flight delays, cancellations, mishandled baggage, and customer service. Clearly, therefore, despite the United States airline industry’s serious efforts to improve performance in these areas, passenger dissatisfaction with airline service increased significantly in 1999.

1. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. Although the percentage of flights that arrived on time dropped slightly overall, from 77 percent in 1998 to 76 percent in 1999, some United States airlines’ 1999 on-time rate was actually better than their 1998 on-time rate.

B. The number of passengers flying on United States airlines was significantly higher in 1999 than in 1998.

C. Fewer bags per 1,000 passengers flying on United States airlines were lost or delayed in 1999 than in 1998.

D. The appearance in 1999 of many new Internet sites that relay complaints directly to the Department of Transportation has made filing a complaint about airlines much easier for consumers than ever before.

E. Although the number of consumer complaints increased for every major United States airline in 1999, for some airlines the extent of the increase was substantial, whereas for others it was extremely small.