2018年考研英語閱讀理解專練「附答案」

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　　Text 1

　　Proponents of different jazz styles have always argued that their predecessor’s musical style did not include essential characteristics that define jazz as jazz. Thus, 1940''s swing was belittled by beboppers of the 1950''s who were themselves attacked by free jazzes of the 1960''s. The neoboppers of the 1980''s and 1990''s attacked almost everybody else. The titanic figure of Black saxophonist John Coltrane has complicated the arguments made by proponents of styles from bebop through neobop because in his own musical journey he drew from all those styles. His influence on all types of jazz was immeasurable. At the height of his popularity, Coltrane largely abandoned playing bebop, the style that had brought him fame, to explore the outer reaches of jazz.

　　Coltrane himself probably believed that the only essential characteristic of jazz was improvisation, the one constant in his journey from bebop to open-ended improvisations on modal, Indian, and African melodies. On the other hand, this dogged student and prodigious technician? D who insisted on spending hours each day practicing scales from theory books? D was never able to jettison completely the influence of bebop, with its fast and elaborate chains of notes and ornaments on melody.

　　Two stylistic characteristics shaped the way Coltrane played the tenor saxophone: he favored playing fast runs of notes built on a melody and depended on heavy, regularly accented beats. The first led Coltrane to sheets of sound” where he raced faster and faster, pile-driving notes into each other to suggest stacked harmonies. The second meant that his sense of rhythm was almost as close to rock as to bebop.

　　Three recordings illustrate Coltrane’s energizing explorations. Recording Kind of Blue with Miles Davis, Coltrane found himself outside bop, exploring modal melodies. Here he played surging, lengthy solos built largely around repeated motifs; an organizing principle unlike that of free jazz saxophone player Ornette Coleman, who modulated or altered melodies in his solos. On Giant Steps, Coltrane debuted as leader, introducing his own compositions. Here the sheets of sound, downbeat accents, repetitions, and great speed are part of each solo, and the variety of the shapes of his phrases is unique. Coltrane’s searching explorations produced solid achievement. My Favorite Things was another kind of watershed. Here Coltrane played the soprano saxophone, an instrument seldom used by jazz musicians. Musically, the results were astounding. With the soprano’s piping sound, ideas that had sounded dark and brooding acquired a feeling of giddy fantasy.

　　When Coltrane began recording for the Impulse! Label, he was still searching. His music became raucous, physical. His influence on rockers was enormous, including Jimi Hendrix, the rock guitarist, who, following Coltrane, raised the extended guitar solo using repeated motifs to a kind of rock art form.

　　The primary purpose of the text is to

　　[A] Discuss the place of Coltrane in the world of jazz and describe his musical explorations.

　　[B] Examine the nature of bebop and contrast it with improvisational jazz.

　　[C] Analyze the musical sources of Coltrane’s style and their influence on his work.

　　[D] Acknowledge the influence of Coltrane’s music on rock music and rock musicians.

　　Which of the following best describes the organization of the fourth paragraph?

　　[A] A thesis referred to earlier in the text is mentioned and illustrated with three specific examples.

　　[B] A thesis is stated and three examples are given each suggesting that a correction needs to be made to a thesis referred to earlier in the text.

　　[C] A thesis referred to earlier in the text is mentioned, and three examples are presented and ranked in order of their support of the thesis.

　　[D] A thesis is stated, three seemingly opposing examples are presented, and their underlying correspondence is explained.

　　According to the text, John Coltrane did all of the following during his career EXCEPT

　　[A] Improvise on melodies from a number of different cultures.

　　[B] Perform as leader as well as soloist.

　　[C] Spend time improving his technical skills.

　　[D] Eliminate the influence of bebop on his own music.

　　According to the text a major difference between Coltrane and other jazz musicians was the

　　[A] Degree to which Coltrane’s music encompassed all of jazz.

　　[B] Repetition of motifs that Coltrane used in his solos.

　　[C] Number of his own compositions that Coltrane recorded.

　　[D] Indifference Coltrane maintained to musical technique.

　　In terms of its tone and form, the text can best be characterized as

　　[A] Dogmatic explanation.

　　[B] Indignant denial.

　　[C] Enthusiastic praise.

　　[D] Speculative study.

　　[答案與考點解析]

　　「答案」A

　　「考點解析」本題是一道中心主旨題。第一段的倒數第一、二句是全文的中心主旨句，全文就是根據這兩句話展開論述的。抓住這兩句話就可以找出本題的正確選項A.考生在解題時，尤其是破解中心主旨題時，一定要先找出全文的中心主旨句。

　　「答案」C

　　「考點解析」這是一道例(舉)證與細節理解題。第四段第一句明確指出“三張唱片為科爾特蘭尼富有活力的探索提供了證明”。這說明第四段將講述三個例子用來說明在前一段即第三段所提出的論點。另外這三個例子是按著先后順序給出的，因此本題的正確選項是C.考生在解題時要注意段落之間的相互關系，更要注意句子之間的相互關系。

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道細節理解題型。本題屬于比較難的題型，因為本題的涉及面比較廣。本題A、B、C選項的內容分別在第二段第一句、第四段第三四句和第二段第二句提到過。故本題的正確選項應該是D.其實這道題表面上非常難，但是對于善于捕捉全文中心主旨句的同學來講確比較容易，因為從第一段第四句的原因狀語從句中就可以推導出本題的正確答案D.考生在解題時應時時牢記全文的中心主旨句。

　　「答案」A

　　「考點解析」本題是一道審題定位題型。根據本題題干中的“other jazz musicians”可將本題的答案信息來源定位在第一段的第一至四句，因為在這四句話中提到了其它的爵士音樂家。第一段第四句的狀語從句明確指出了“Coltrane”與其它音樂家的不同在于他吸收了各種風格的爵士音樂。故本題的正確答案應該是A.考生在解題時應重視審題定位。

　　「答案」C

　　「考點解析」本題是一道歸納推導題型。細心的同學可從本文作者在論述時使用的詞語中推導出本題的正確答案C.例如作者在第一段第四句的主語上使用了“titanic figure”;在第五句使用了“his influence…was immeasurable”;在最后一段的第三句使用了“his influence… was enormous”，這都反映了作者的“enthusiastic praise”。考生在解題時要重視原文作者在表達觀點時的遣詞造句。

　　[參考譯文]

　　不同的爵士樂風格的支持者一貫認為他們前輩的音樂風格沒有包括那些使爵士樂之所以成為爵士樂的本質特征。這樣，二十世紀五十年代的比波普派輕視二十世紀四十年代的搖擺音樂派，而他們自己又受到二十世紀六十年代的自由爵士派的抨擊。二十世紀八十至九十年代的新比波普派幾乎對任何其他人都進行抨擊。而黑人薩克斯管巨匠約翰?科爾特蘭尼使這些從比波普派到新比波普派的.支持者所提出的主張更加復雜化，因為在他自己的音樂例程中，他經歷了所有這些風格。他對所有爵士音樂的風格的影響是不可估量的。在他最受歡迎的時期，科爾特蘭尼基本上放棄了比波普風格的演奏以便探索爵士樂更深的處延，然而正是比波普風格的演奏使得他成名。

　　科爾特蘭尼自己可能認為爵士樂的唯一本質特征就是即興創作，這是他從比波普風格到對形式音樂、印度音樂、非洲音樂的自由即興演奏的歷程中一直沒有改變的。另一方面，這個頑強的學生和異常的技巧家每天花幾個小時用以練習理論書籍上的曲譜，從未能完全拋棄比波普的影響，在他的旋律中可以找到帶有比波普特點的快速和精細的音符以及修飾效果。

　　有兩種風格特征影響了科爾特蘭尼演奏男高音薩克斯管的方式：他喜歡對建立于一種旋律上的音符進行快速的演奏，同時也依賴于強有力的、有規律的重音節奏。前者引導科爾特蘭尼走向“片狀聲響”的境界，在那里科爾特蘭尼的演奏越來越快，將音符成堆互相累放起來以表達一種堆疊起來的和諧感。而后者意味著，他的節奏感之接近于搖滾樂幾乎就像其接近于比波普風格一樣。

　　三張唱片為科爾特蘭尼富有活力的探索提供了證明。和馬爾斯?戴維斯合作錄制《有幾分憂傷》時，科爾特蘭尼發現他已離開了波普風格，對形式音樂進行探索。在這中間，他演奏那些跌宕起伏的冗長的獨奏，而這些獨奏基本上是圍繞著一個重復主題展開的。該種主題是用以組織其音樂的原則，它和自由派爵士樂薩克斯管演奏家奧尼迪?科爾曼采用的組織方式不同。后面這位音樂家在他的獨奏中會對其旋律進行調節改變。在《大踏步》中，科爾特蘭尼初次以領導者角色出現，對他自己的作品進行了介紹。在這中間，“片狀聲響”、強拍重音、重復回旋和極快的速度組成了每一段獨奏的各個部分，各樂章的形式的多樣性是獨一無二的。科爾特蘭尼深刻的探索獲得了穩固的成就。《我的鐘愛之物》是另一種意義上的分水嶺。在這里，科爾特蘭尼演奏了爵士樂演奏家很少使用的女高音薩克斯管，所產生的音樂上的效果是驚人的。伴隨著女高音薩克斯管的尖音，那些顯得昏暗及帶有沉思意味的主題獲得了一種令人眼花繚亂的夢幻感覺。

　　當科爾特蘭尼開始為沖動唱片公司進行音樂錄制時，他仍然在探索。他的音樂變得沙啞而感性。搖滾樂手受到他的巨大影響，其中包括吉米?亨德瑞克斯這位吉它手。后者仿效科爾特蘭尼，使基于重復主題的大段吉他獨奏上升成為一種搖滾藝術形式。

　　Text 2

　　Many objects in daily use have clearly been influenced by science, but their form and function, their dimensions and appearance, were determined by technologists, artisans, designers, inventors, and engineers ?D using nonscientific modes of thought. Many features and qualities of the objects that a technologist thinks about cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in the mind by a visual, nonverbal process. In the development of Western technology, it has been nonverbal thinking, by and large, that has fixed the outlines and filled in the details of our material surroundings. Pyramids, cathedrals, and rockets exist not because of geometry or thermodynamics, but because they were first a picture in the minds of those who built them.

　　The creative shaping process of a technologist’s mind can be seen in nearly every artifact that exists. For example, in designing a diesel engine, a technologist might impress individual ways of nonverbal thinking on the machine by continually using an intuitive sense of rightness and fitness. What would be the shape of the combustion chamber? Where should be valves be placed? Should it have a long or short piston? Such questions have a range of answers that are supplied by experience, by physical requirements, by limitations of available space, and not least by a sense of form. Some decisions such as wall thickness and pin diameter may depend on scientific calculations, but the nonscientific component of design remains primary.

　　Design courses, then, should be an essential element in engineering curricula. Nonverbal thinking, a central mechanism in engineering design, involves perceptions, the stock-in-trade of the artist, not the scientist. Because perceptive processes are not assumed to entail hard thinking， nonverbal thought is sometimes seen as a primitive stage in the development of cognitive processes and inferior to verbal or mathematical thought. But it is paradoxical that when the staff of the Historic American Engineering Record wished to have drawings made of machines and isometric views of industrial processes for its historical record of American engineering, the only college students with the requisite abilities were not engineering students, but rather students attending architectural schools.

　　If courses in design, which in a strongly analytical engineering curriculum provide the background required for practical problem-solving, are not provided, we can expect to encounter silly but costly errors occurring in advanced engineering systems. For example, early models of high-speed railroad cars loaded with sophisticated controls were unable to operate in a snowstorm because a fan sucked snow into the electrical system. Absurd random failures that plague automatic control systems are not merely trivial aberrations; they are a reflection of the chaos that results when design is assumed to be primarily a problem in mathematics.

　　1.In the text, the author is primarily concerned with

　　[A] Identifying the kinds of thinking that is used by technologists.

　　[B] Stressing the importance of nonverbal thinking in engineering design.

　　[C] Proposing a new role for nonscientific thinking in the development of technology.

　　[D] Contrasting the goals of engineers with those of technologists.

　　2. It can be inferred that the author thinks engineering curricula are

　　[A] Strengthened when they include courses in design.

　　[B] Weakened by the substitution of physical science courses for courses designed to develop mathematical skills.

　　[C] Strong because nonverbal thinking is still emphasized by most of the courses.

　　[D] Strong despite the errors those graduates of such curricula have made in the development of automatic control systems.

　　3.Which of the following statements best illustrates the main point of the first two paragraphs of the text?

　　[A] When a machine like a rotary engine malfunctions, it is the technologist who is best equipped to repair it.

　　[B] Each component of an automobile? D for example, the engine or the fuel tank? D has a shape that has been scientifically determined to be best suited to that component’s function.

　　[C] A telephone is a complex instrument designed by technologists using only nonverbal thought.

　　[D] The distinctive features of a suspension bridge reflect its designer''s conceptualization as well as the physical requirements of its site.

　　4.Which of the following statements would best serve as an introduction to the text?

　　[A] The assumption that the knowledge incorporated in technological developments must be derived from science ignores the many nonscientific decisions made by technologists.

　　[B] Analytical thought is no longer a vital component in the success of technological development.

　　[C] As knowledge of technology has increased, the tendency has been to lose sight of the important role played by scientific thought in making decisions about form, arrangement, and texture.

　　[D] A movement in engineering colleges toward a technician’s degree reflects a demand for graduates who have the nonverbal reasoning ability that was once common among engineers.

　　5. The author calls the predicament faced by the Historic American Engineering Record paradoxical (line 6, paragraph 3) most probably because

　　[A] The publication needed drawings that its own staff could not make.

　　[B] Architectural schools offered but did not require engineering design courses for their students.

　　[C] College students were qualified to make the drawings while practicing engineers were not.

　　[D] Engineering students were not trained to make the type of drawings needed to record the development of their own discipline.

　　[考點解析]

　　1.「答案」B

　　「考點解析」這是一道中心主旨題。本題的正確答案信息點在原文第一段的倒數第二句，該句強調“nonverbal thinking”的重要性。可見本題的正確選項應該是B.考生在破解中心主旨題時一定要首先找出原文的中心主旨句。

　　2.「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道反推題。根據題干中的“engineering curricula”可將本題的正確答案信息來源確定在原文的第三段第一句。該句中“should”一詞的理解十分重要。“should”是“應該做”而實際上確“沒有做”。根據“should”一詞并且結合第三段第一句進行反推即逆向思維，可得出本題的正確選項是A.考生在解題時應該重視關鍵的語言信號詞，更要加強反推的能力。

　　3.「答案」D

　　「考點解析」本題是一道細節歸納推導題。其實只要考生抓住第一段中的中心主旨句(倒數第二句)和第二段中的中心主旨句(倒數第一句)，就不難尋找出本題的正確答案D.要想知道某一段的主要含義就要首先找出該段的中心主旨句。另外考生在破解此類題型時還要善于根據中心主旨句進行合理的邏輯推導。

　　4.「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道中心主旨題。如果考生抓住了全文的中心主旨句(第一段的倒數第二句)以及每段的中心主旨句(例如第二段的倒數第一句)，就不難尋找出本題的正確選項A，因為該選項所強調的內容與這些中心主旨句所表達的內容是相互一致的。考生在破解中心主旨題型時一定要具備尋找和理解中心主旨句的能力。

　　5.「答案」D

　　「考點解析」本題是一道細節推導題。題干已經將本題的答案信息確定在第三段的尾句，該句強調的是“engineering students”在教育方面的缺陷，因此本題的正確選項應該是D.如果考生在理解此句時有困難，可借助于本段的`主題句(第三段第一句)來破解本題。第三段第一句強調的是“engineering curricula”缺乏“design courses”。這句話同樣是表明“engineering students”在教育方面的缺失。考生在破解此類題型時一定要善于總結和歸納原文的信息。

　　[參考譯文]

　　許多日常使用的事物明顯受到了科學的影響，但它們的形狀和功能，它們的大小和外觀，是由工藝人員、工匠、設計師、發明家和工程師運用非科學思維模式來設計的。工藝人員所考慮物體的很多性質和特點不能歸結到毫不模糊的字面描述;在思維中，它們以一種視覺上的、非言語的方式被加以處理。在西方科技的發展過程中，大體上是由非言語思維刻畫了我們物質環境的輪廓并充實了其中的細節。金字塔、大教堂、火箭之所以存在，不是因為幾何學或熱力學的原因，而是因為在它們的制造者的頭腦中事先存在了這樣一幅畫面。

　　在幾乎每一件現存的人造制品身上都能看出工藝人員思維創造性的制作過程。比如說，在柴油發動機的設計中，通過不斷使用關于合適感和適當感的直觀體會，一個工藝人員得以用他個人的非語言思維來影響到機器本身。燃燒室的形狀應怎樣?閥門應該放在哪里?它應該有個長的活塞還是應該有個短的?這樣的問題有著由經驗、物理需要、可用空間的局限以及并非微不足道的形狀感等因素提供的一系列答案。某一些決定，比如壁厚和銷釘直徑，可能需要由科學的計算來定奪，但設計中的非科學成分仍然是主要的。

　　因此設計課程應該成為工程課程中的基本成份。非語言思維，這一工程設計的核心機制，包括了感受這一屬于藝術家的而非科學家的慣用手段。因為人們認為感受的過程不需要“硬思維”，非語言思維被視為認知過程發展的一個原始階段而且比語言和數學思維差。但令人感到自相矛盾的是，當《美國工程歷史名錄》的工作人員希望得到為其美國工程歷史記錄而繪制的機器圖和等比例圖時，唯一具有所需技能的大學生不是工程學大學生，而是就讀于建筑學院的大學生。

　　如果不能開設設計課程(它能在一個高度分析性工程學課程體系中提供解決實際問題的背景知識)，我們就會在先進的工程系統中遇到愚蠢而同時會導致極大損失的錯誤。比如，裝載了精密控制設備的早期高速鐵路車輛模型不能在暴風雪中正常運行，原因是一個風扇將雪吸入到電子系統中。干擾著自動控制系統的荒唐的隨機故障不是輕微的失常;它們是一種混亂的反映，人們認為這種混亂主要在設計數學方面的問題時就會產生。

　　Text 3

　　As Gilbert White，Darwin， and others observed long ago， all species appear to have the innate capacity to increase their numbers from generation to generation. The task for ecologists is to untangle the environmental and biological factors that hold this intrinsic capacity for population growth in check over the long run. The great variety of dynamic behaviors exhibited by different population makes this task more difficult： some populations remain roughly constant from year to year; others exhibit regular cycles of abundance and scarcity; still others vary wildly， with outbreaks and crashes that are in some cases plainly correlated with the weather， and in other cases not.

　　To impose some order on this kaleidoscope of patterns， one school of thought proposes dividing populations into two groups. These ecologists posit that the relatively steady populations have density-dependent growth parameters; that is， rates of birth， death， and migration which depend strongly on population density. The highly varying populations have density-independent growth parameters， with vital rates buffeted by environmental events; these rates fluctuate in a way that is wholly independent of population density.

　　This dichotomy has its uses， but it can cause problems if taken too literally. For one thing， no population can be driven entirely by density-independent factors all the time. No matter how severely or unpredictably birth， death， and migration rates may be fluctuating around their long-term averages， if there were no density-dependent effects， the population would， in the long run， either increase or decrease without bound (barring a miracle by which gains and losses canceled exactly)。 Put another way， it may be that on average 99 percent of all deaths in a population arise from density-independent causes， and only one percent from factors varying with density. The factors making up the one percent may seem unimportant， and their cause may be correspondingly hard to determine. Yet， whether recognized or not， they will usually determine the long-term average population density.

　　In order to understand the nature of the ecologist''s investigation， we may think of the density-dependent effects on growth parameters as the signal ecologists are trying to isolate and interpret， one that tends to make the population increase from relatively low values or decrease from relatively high ones， while the density-independent effects act to produce noise in the population dynamics. For populations that remain relatively constant， or that oscillate around repeated cycles， the signal can be fairly easily characterized and its effects described， even though the causative biological mechanism may remain unknown. For irregularly fluctuating populations， we are likely to have too few observations to have any hope of extracting the signal from the overwhelming noise. But it now seems clear that all populations are regulated by a mixture of density-dependent and density-independent effects in varying proportions.

　　1.The author of the text is primarily concerned with

　　[A] Discussing two categories of factors that control population growth and assessing their relative importance.

　　[B] Describing how growth rates in natural populations fluctuate over time and explaining why these changes occur.

　　[C] Proposing a hypothesis concerning population size and suggesting ways to test it.

　　[D] Posing a fundamental question about environmental factors in population growth and presenting some currently accepted answer.

　　2. It can be inferred from the text that the author considers the dichotomy discussed to be

　　[A] Applicable only to erratically fluctuating populations.

　　[B] instrumental， but only if its limitations are recognized.

　　[C] Dangerously misleading in most circumstances.

　　[D] A complete and sufficient way to account for observed phenomena.

　　3.According to the text， all of the following behaviors have been exhibited by different populations EXCEPT

　　[A] Roughly constant population levels from year to year.

　　[B] Regular cycles of increases and decreases in numbers.

　　[C] Erratic increases in numbers correlated with the weather.

　　[D] Unchecked increases in numbers over many generations.

　　4. The discussion concerning population in the third paragraph serves primarily to

　　[A] Demonstrate the difficulties ecologists face in studying density-dependent factors limiting population growth.

　　[B] Advocate more rigorous study of density-dependent factors in population growth.

　　[C] Prove that the death rates of any population are never entirely density-independent.

　　[D] underline the importance of even small density-dependent factors in regulating long-term population densities.

　　5. In the text， the author does all of the following EXCEPT

　　[A] Cite the views of other biologists.

　　[B] Define a basic problem that the text addresses.

　　[C] Present conceptual categories used by other biologists.

　　[D] Describe the results of a particular study.

　　[考點解析]

　　1.「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道中心主旨題。本文的中心主旨句在第三段的首句。如果考生能夠抓住第三段的首句就等于抓住了整篇文章的論述結構。該句中的“dichotomy”(兩分法)就是正確選項A中的“two categories”。考生在解題時應首先抓住每篇文章的中心主旨句，因為這決定了對全文結構的認識以及對原文整體的把握。

　　2.「答案」B

　　「考點解析」這是一道細節推導題。根據題干中的“dichotomy”可將本題的答案信息來源迅速確定在第二段的首句。如果考生能夠正確理解該句中“but”一詞前后的內容，就可以找出本題的正確選項B.考生在解題時一定要正確理解原文所傳達的含義，即進行正確的細節推導。

　　3.「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道審題定位與中心主旨題。根據本題題干中的“different populations”可將本題的答案信息來源確定在首段的第一句，因為該句中的“all species”實際上指的就是題干中的“different populations”。從第一段的首句入手并且仔細閱讀首段的第二句，就可以找出本題的正確選項D，因為該選項所傳達的信息與原文第一段第一、二句所傳達的信息不一致。考生在解題時一定要學會迅速審題定位的能力。

　　4.「答案」D

　　「考點解析」本題是一道歸納推導題。題干已明確指出該題的答案信息來源在第三段。第三段主要陳述“density-dependent factors”的作用，通過仔細閱讀第三段，尤其是第三段的最后三句話，考生可以得知本文作者在第三段是在強調“density-dependent factors”的作用。可見D是本題的正確選項。考生在理解原文時一定要注意掌握歸納推導的能力。

　　5.「答案」D

　　「考點解析」本題是一道寫作手法題。這是一道比較難的題目，旨在考察考生的語言功底。本文作者在論述自己的觀點時運用了各種寫作手段。選項A、B、C中所涉及的.內容分別在第一段、第三段和第二段中出現。考生一定要提高對原文各種寫作手段的認識。

　　[參考譯文]

　　正如吉爾伯特?懷特、達爾文以及其它科學家很久以前觀察的那樣，所有的物種都具有一種天生的能力來一代一代地增加它們種群的數量。生態學家的使命就是調查清楚環境和生態因素長期以來是如何控制這種致使種群增長的內在能力的。由于不同種群所表現出來的動態行為是如此多樣化，致使這項任務顯得非常困難：有些種群長期以來大致保持不變;有些表現出周期性的繁榮和稀少;而還有些變化非常大，時而暴增，時而銳減，這種增減有時顯然與氣候有關，而有時又與氣候無關。

　　為了賦予這些千變萬化的模式一種規律，科學家中的一種流派提出將所有種群劃分為兩類。這部分生態學家假設：那些相對穩定的種群具有和“種群密度相關”的增長參數;也就是說，這些種群的出生率、死亡率以及遷徙規律都大大地依賴于種群的密度。那些變化很大的種群具有“種群密度無關”的增長參數，其生存率隨環境因素的變化而變化，并且以一種完全獨立于種群密度的方式進行波動。

　　這種二分法有它的用途，但如果死板地應用也會引發一些問題。一方面，沒有任何種群在所有的時間里完全只受“種群密度無關”因素的影響。無論出生、死亡率以及遷徙規律相對于長期的平均值的變化是如何的劇烈和不可預測，如果沒有種群密度無關因素，從長遠來看，這個種群的數量將無限地增加或減少(從而阻礙了得失正好相消的奇跡的發生)。換一句話講，也許種群內平均99%的死亡都由“種群密度無關”因素導致的，只有1%由隨種群密度變化而變化的因素所導致。導致這1%的因素也許看起來并不重要，而且它們的影響也相應地很難確定。但是，無論認識到或沒有認識到，它們都將對該種群密度長期的平均值起決定作用。

　　為了能夠理解生態學家們研究的性質，我們可以把種群密度相關對增長參數的影響視為一種“信號”，生態學家試圖分離并解釋這些“信號”，這種“信號”將使種群中個體數量從相對低的數值增長或從相對高的數值減少，同時，密度無關因素將作為一種“噪音”來影響種群的動態變化。對于那些數量保持相對不變，或者以一種循環周期進行擺動的種群而言，這種“信號”將會相當容易提取特征并描述它的影響，即使我們仍不知道作為原因的生物機制。對那些變化不規則的種群，我們可能因為觀察太小而無法從繁多的“噪音”中提取那一信號。但是，現在顯得很清楚的是，所有種群都受“種群密度相關”和“種群密度無關”兩類因素在不同程度上的共同制約。

　　Text 4

　　Bernard Bailyn has recently reinterpreted the early history of the United States by applying new social research findings on the experiences of European migrants. In his reinterpretation, migration becomes the organizing principle for rewriting the history of preindustrial North America. His approach rests on four separate propositions.

　　The first of these asserts that residents of early modern England moved regularly about their countryside; migrating to the New World was simply a natural spillover. Although at first the colonies held little positive attraction for the English ?D they would rather have stayed home ?D by the eighteenth century people increasingly migrated to America because they regarded it as the land of opportunity. Secondly, Bailyn holds that, contrary to the notion that used to flourish in America history textbooks, there was never a typical New World community. For example, the economic and demographic character of early New England towns varied considerably.

　　Bailyn's third proposition suggest two general patterns prevailing among the many thousands of migrants: one group came as indentured servants, another came to acquire land. Surprisingly, Bailyn suggests that those who recruited indentured servants were the driving forces of transatlantic migration. These colonial entrepreneurs helped determine the social character of people who came to preindustrial North America. At first, thousands of unskilled laborers were recruited; by the 1730's, however, American employers demanded skilled artisans.

　　Finally, Bailyn argues that the colonies were a half-civilized hinterland of the European culture system. He is undoubtedly correct to insist that the colonies were part of an Anglo-American empire. But to divide the empire into English core and colonial periphery, as Bailyn does, devalues the achievements of colonial culture. It is true, as Bailyn claims, that high culture in the colonies never matched that in England. But what of seventeenth-century New England, where the settlers created effective laws, built a distinguished university, and published books? Bailyn might respond that New England was exceptional. However, the ideas and institutions developed by New England Puritans had powerful effects on North American culture.

　　Although Bailyn goes on to apply his approach to some thousands of indentured servants who migrated just prior to the revolution, he fails to link their experience with the political development of the United States. Evidence presented in his work suggests how we might make such a connection. These indentured servants were treated as slaves for the period during which they had sold their time to American employers. It is not surprising that as soon as they served their time they passed up good wages in the cities and headed west to ensure their personal independence by acquiring land. Thus, it is in the west that a peculiarly American political culture began, among colonists who were suspicious of authority and intensely anti-aristocratic.

　　Which of the following statements about migrants to colonial North America is supported by information in the text?

　　[A] A larger percentage of migrants to colonial North America came as indentured servants than as free agents interested in acquiring land.

　　[B] Migrants who came to the colonies as indentured servants were more successful at making a livelihood than were farmers and artisans.

　　[C] Migrants to colonial North America were more successful at acquiring their own land during the eighteenth century than during the seventeenth century.

　　[D] By the 1730's,migrants already skilled in a trade were in more demand by American employers than were unskilled laborers.

　　The author of the text states that Bailyn failed to

　　[A] Give sufficient emphasis to the cultural and political interdependence of the colonies and England.

　　[B] Describe carefully how migrants of different ethnic backgrounds preserved their culture in the United States.

　　[C] Take advantage of social research on the experiences of colonists who migrated to colonial North America specifically to acquire land.

　　[D] Relate the experience of the migrants to the political values that eventually shaped the character of the United States.

　　Which of the following best summarizes the author's evaluation of Bailyn's fourth proposition?

　　[A] It is totally implausible.

　　[B] It is partially acceptable.

　　[C] It is highly admirable.

　　[D] It is controversial though persuasive.

　　According to the text, Bailyn and the author agree on which of the following statements about the culture of colonial New England?

　　[A] High culture in New England never equaled the high culture of England.

　　[B] The cultural achievements of colonial New England have generally been unrecognized by historians.

　　[C] The colonists imitated the high culture of England， and did not develop a culture that was uniquely their own.

　　[D] The southern colonies were greatly influenced by the high culture of New England.

　　The author of the text would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about Bailyn's work?

　　[A] Bailyn underestimates the effects of Puritan thought on North American culture.

　　[B] Bailyn overemphasizes the economic dependence of the colonies on Great Britain.

　　[C] Bailyn's description of the colonies as part of an Anglo-American empire is misleading and incorrect.

　　[D] Bailyn failed to test his propositions on a specific group of migrants to colonial North America.

　　[答案與考點解析]

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道審題定位題。題干中的“migrants”一詞暗示本題的答案信息在第一段或第三段，因為這兩段的首句都含有“migrants”一詞。又根據題干中的“supported”一詞，我們可以推斷出本題的答案信息來源應該在原文的第三段，因為作者應該在第三段提出相應證據來“支持”(supported)自己的觀點。通過仔細閱讀和理解第三段，尤其是第三段的尾句，我們可以推導出本題的正確選項應該是D.考生在解題時一定要有審題定位的能力，更要具備善于理解原文中啟承轉合所傳達的含義。

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道細節理解題。題干中的“failed”一詞暗示本題的答案信息應該在尾段，因為尾段中含有“fails”一詞。根據閱讀和理解首段尾句，我們可以推導出本題的正確選項是D.考生在解題時一定要善于理解原文中所傳達的中心含義。

　　「答案」B

　　「考點解析」本題是一道歸納推導題。本題題干中的“Bailyn‘s fourth proposition”將本題的答案信息來源確定在原文的第四段。通過仔細閱讀和理解本段的每一句話，尤其是第二、三句話和四、五句話，我們可以推導出本題的正確選項應該是B.考生在解題時一定要善于歸納和推導原文的內容，更要善于體會上下句之間的語意關系。

　　「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道細節推導題。題干中的“culture”一詞暗示本題的答案信息來源在第四段，因為第四段首句包含“culture”一詞。通過仔細閱讀和理解第四段的'每一句話，尤其是第四句，我們可以推導出本題的正確選項應該是A.考生在解題時一定要注意原文中重點詞語所表達的含義，以及重點詞語在選項中的替換形式。

　　「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道審題定位題。題干并沒有明確指出本題答案信息在原文中的準確位置。在這種情況下，考生一定要抓住全文的中心主旨，以及每段的核心句。本題的答案信息來源在第四段的尾句，這是一個由轉折詞“however”引導的句子。通過仔細閱讀理解本句，我們可以推導出本題的正確選項是A.考生在解題時一定要重視原文中表達啟承轉合的詞語，因為這往往是出題的重點。

　　[參考譯文]

　　Bernard Bailyn最近通過運用關于歐洲移民經歷的新的社會研究成果重新解釋了美國的早期歷史。在他的重新解釋中，遷徙成了重寫北美前工業化歷史的重要依據。其主張可分為四個獨立的觀點。

　　第一點斷言，近代早期的英國居民經常在鄉下流動，因此后來他們遷移到新大陸僅僅是一種“自然外流”。雖然最初時殖民地對英國人沒有多少正面的誘惑力?D?D他們寧愿留在本土。到18世紀時，移往美洲的人數卻增加了，因為他們將那兒看作是充滿機遇的地方。第二，Bailyn認為，和以往美國歷史教材中慣用的觀念相反，從來就沒有過一個典型的新大陸社會，例如，早期新英格蘭城鎮中的經濟和人口特點就很不相同。

　　Bailyn的第三個觀點是，成千上萬的移民中最常見的是兩種普遍類型：一組是簽約的仆人，另一組是為土地而來。令人驚異的是：Bailyn認為那些征召簽約仆人的人是這種跨越大西洋移民遷徙的推動力。這些殖民地的企業主幫助那些來到前工業化北美社會的人確定其社會屬性。起初，成千上萬未受過培訓的勞動力被征召，然而到了18世紀30年代，美洲雇主開始需求技術熟練的技工。

　　第四，Bailyn提出，殖民地是歐洲文化體系的半開化內地。在堅持殖民地是盎格魯?D美利堅帝國的一部分這一點上，他無疑是正確的。但是像Bailyn這樣，把帝國劃分為英國核心和殖民地外圍，就貶低了殖民地文化的成就。確實，如Bailyn所說，殖民地的高雅文化不能和英國本土的相比。但是如何看待17世紀的新英格蘭呢?移民者在這兒制定了有效的法律，創建了著名的大學，出版了書籍。Bailyn可能會說，新英格蘭是個特例。不過，新英格蘭清教徒的思想和組織機構對北美文化有著深遠的影響。

　　盡管Bailyn不斷關注著數萬名剛好在革命前夕遷移過來的簽約仆人，但他沒能把這些人的經歷與美國的政治發展結合起來。他的書中有證據表明，我們本來可以建立這樣一種聯系。在出賣給美洲雇主的時間里，這些簽約仆人被看作是奴隸。毫不奇怪，一旦他們服役期滿，就會放棄城市里的高薪而走向西部，通過獲得土地來保障個人獨立。因此，一種特殊的美國政治文化開始于西部，那些懷疑權威和強烈反對貴族統治的移民者之中。

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