GMAT閱讀練習(xí)(10)

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Passage 1
    Virtually everything astronomers known about objects
    outside the solar system is based on the detection of
    photons-quanta of electromagnetic radiation. Yet there
    is another form of radiation that permeates the universe:
    (5) neutrinos. With (as its name implies) no electric charge,
    and negligible mass, the neutrino interacts with other
    particles so rarely that a neutrino can cross the entire
    universe, even traversing substantial aggregations of
    matter, without being absorbed or even deflected. Neu-
    (10) trinos can thus escape from regions of space where light
    and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation are blocked
    by matter. Furthermore, neutrinos carry with them
    information about the site and circumstances of their
    production: therefore, the detection of cosmic neutrinos
    (15) could provide new information about a wide variety of
    cosmic phenomena and about the history of the uni-
    verse.
    But how can scientists detect a particle that interacts
    so infrequently with other matter? Twenty-five years
    (20) passed between Pauli's hypothesis that the neutrino
    existed and its actual detection: since then virtually all
    research with neutrinos has been with neutrinos created
    artificially in large particle accelerators and studied
    under neutrino microscopes. But a neutrino telescope,
    (25) capable of detecting cosmic neutrinos, is difficult to co-
    nstruct. No apparatus can detect neutrinos unless it is
    extremely massive, because great mass is synonymous
    with huge numbers of nucleons (neutrons and protons),
    and the more massive the detector, the greater the pro-
    (30) bability of one of its nucleon's reacting with a neutrino.
    In addition, the apparatus must be sufficiently shielded
    from the interfering effects of other particles.
    Fortunately, a group of astrophysicists has proposed
    a means of detecting cosmic neutrinos by harnessing the
    (35) mass of the ocean. Named DUMAND, for Deep Under-
    water Muon and Neutrino Detector, the project calls for
    placing an array of light sensors at a depth of five kilo-
    meters under the ocean surface. The detecting medium is
    the seawater itself: when a neutrino interacts with a
    (40) particle in an atom of seawater, the result is a cascade of
    electrically charged particles and a flash of light that can
    be detected by the sensors. The five kilometers of sea-
    water above the sensors will shield them from the interf-
    ering effects of other high-energy particles raining down
    (45) through the atmosphere.
    The strongest motivation for the DUMAND project
    is that it will exploit an important source of information
    about the universe. The extension of astronomy from
    visible light to radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays
    (50) never failed to lead to the discovery of unusual objects
    such as radio galaxies, quasars, and pulsars. Each of
    these discoveries came as a surprise. Neutrino astronomy
    will doubtless bring its own share of surprises.
    1. Which of the following titles best summarizes the passage as a whole?
    (A) At the Threshold of Neutrino Astronomy
    (B) Neutrinos and the History of the Universe
    (C) The Creation and Study of Neutrinos
    (D) The DUMAND System and How It Works
    (E) The Properties of the Neutrino
    2. With which of the following statements regarding neutrino astronomy would the author be most likely to agree?
    (A) Neutrino astronomy will supersede all present forms of astronomy.
    (B) Neutrino astronomy will be abandoned if the DUMAND project fails.
    (C) Neutrino astronomy can be expected to lead to major breakthroughs in astronomy.
    (D) Neutrino astronomy will disclose phenomena that will be more surprising than past discoveries.
    (E) Neutrino astronomy will always be characterized by a large time lag between hypothesis and experimental confirmation.
    3. In the last paragraph, the author describes the development of astronomy in order to
    (A) suggest that the potential findings of neutrino astronomy can be seen as part of a series of astronomical successes
    (B) illustrate the role of surprise in scientific discovery
    (C) demonstrate the effectiveness of the DUMAND apparatus in detecting neutrinos
    (D) name some cosmic phenomena that neutrino astronomy will illuminate
    (E) contrast the motivation of earlier astronomers with that of the astrophysicists working on the DUMAND project
    4. According to the passage, one advantage that neutrinos have for studies in astronomy is that they
    (A) have been detected for the last twenty-five years
    (B) possess a variable electric charge
    (C) are usually extremely massive
    (D) carry information about their history with them
    (E) are very similar to other electromagnetic particles
    5. According to the passage, the primary use of the apparatus mentioned in lines 24-32 would be to
    (A) increase the mass of a neutrino
    (B) interpret the information neutrinos carry with them
    (C) study the internal structure of a neutrino
    (D) see neutrinos in distant regions of space
    (E) detect the presence of cosmic neutrinos
    6. The passage states that interactions between neutrinos and other matter are
    (A) rare
    (B) artificial
    (C) undetectable
    (D) unpredictable
    (E) hazardous
    7. The passage mentions which of the following as a reason that neutrinos are hard to detect?
    (A) Their pervasiveness in the universe
    (B) Their ability to escape from different regions of space
    (C) Their inability to penetrate dense matter
    (D) The similarity of their structure to that of nucleons
    (E) The infrequency of their interaction with other matter
    8. According to the passage, the interaction of a neutrino with other matter can produce
    (A) particles that are neutral and massive
    (B) a form of radiation that permeates the universe
    (C) inaccurate information about the site and circumstances of the neutrino's production
    (D) charged particles and light
    (E) a situation in which light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are blocked
    9. According to the passage, one of the methods used to establish the properties of neutrinos was
    (A) detection of photons
    (B) observation of the interaction of neutrinos with gamma rays
    (C) observation of neutrinos that were artificially created
    (D) measurement of neutrinos that interacted with particles of seawater
    (E) experiments with electromagnetic radiation
    Passage 2
    Since the late 1970's, in the face of a severe loss of
    market share in dozens of industries, manufacturers in
    the United States have been trying to improve produc-
    tivity-and therefore enhance their international
    (5) competitiveness-through cost-cutting programs. (Cost-
    cutting here is defined as raising labor output while
    holding the amount of labor constant.) However, from
    1978 through 1982, productivity-the value of goods
    manufactured divided by the amount of labor input-
    (10) did not improve; and while the results were better in the
    business upturn of the three years following, they ran 25
    percent lower than productivity improvements during
    earlier, post-1945 upturns. At the same time, it became
    clear that the harder manufacturers worked to imple-
    (15) ment cost-cutting, the more they lost their competitive
    edge.
    With this paradox in mind, I recently visited 25
    companies; it became clear to me that the cost-cutting
    approach to increasing productivity is fundamentally
    (20) flawed. Manufacturing regularly observes a “40, 40, 20”
    rule. Roughly 40 percent of any manufacturing-based
    competitive advantage derives from long-term changes
    in manufacturing structure (decisions about the number,
    size, location, and capacity of facilities) and in approaches
    (25) to materials. Another 40 percent comes from major
    changes in equipment and process technology. The final
    20 percent rests on implementing conventional cost-
    cutting. This rule does not imply that cost-cutting should
    not be tried. The well-known tools of this approach-
    (30) including simplifying jobs and retraining employees to
    work smarter, not harder-do produce results. But the
    tools quickly reach the limits of what they can
    contribute.
    Another problem is that the cost-cutting approach
    (35) hinders innovation and discourages creative people. As
    Abernathy's study of automobile manufacturers has
    shown, an industry can easily become prisoner of its
    own investments in cost-cutting techniques, reducing its
    ability to develop new products. And managers under
    (40) pressure to maximize cost-cutting will resist innovation
    because they know that more fundamental changes in
    processes or systems will wreak havoc with the results on
    which they are measured. Production managers have
    always seen their job as one of minimizing costs and
    (45) maximizing output. This dimension of performance has
    until recently sufficed as a basis of evaluation, but it has
    created a penny-pinching, mechanistic culture in most
    factories that has kept away creative managers.
    Every company I know that has freed itself from the
    (50) paradox has done so, in part, by developing and imple-
    menting a manufacturing strategy. Such a strategy
    focuses on the manufacturing structure and on equip-
    ment and process technology. In one company a manu-
    facturing strategy that allowed different areas of the
    (55) factory to specialize in different markets replaced the
    conventional cost-cutting approach; within three years
    the company regained its competitive advantage.
    Together with such strategies, successful companies are
    also encouraging managers to focus on a wider set of
    objectives besides cutting costs. There is hope for
    manufacturing, but it clearly rests on a different way of
    managing.
    1.The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
    (A) summarizing a thesis
    (B) recommending a different approach
    (C) comparing points of view
    (D) making a series of predictions
    (E) describing a number of paradoxes
    2. It can be inferred from the passage that the
    manufacturers mentioned in line 2 expected that
    the measures they implemented would
    (A) encourage innovation
    (B) keep labor output constant
    (C) increase their competitive advantage
    (D) permit business upturns to be more easily predicted
    (E) cause managers to focus on a wider set of objectives
    4. The author refers to Abernathy's study (line 36) most
    probably in order to
    (A) qualify an observation about one rule governing
    manufacturing
    (B) address possible objections to a recommendation
    about improving manufacturing competitiveness
    (C) support an earlier assertion about one method of
    increasing productivity
    (D) suggest the centrality in the United States economy
    of a particular manufacturing industry
    (E) give an example of research that has questioned the
    wisdom of revising a manufacturing strategy
    5. The author's attitude toward the culture in most
    factories is best described as
    (A) cautious
    (B) critical
    (C) disinterested
    (D) respectful
    (E) adulatory
    6. In the passage, the author includes all of the following
    EXCEPT
    (A) personal observation
    (B) a business principle
    (C) a definition of productivity
    (D) an example of a successful company
    (E) an illustration of a process technology
    7. The author suggests that implementing conventional
    cost-cutting as a way of increasing manufacturing
    competitiveness is a strategy that is
    (A) flawed and ruinous
    (B) shortsighted and difficult to sustain
    (C) popular and easily accomplished
    (D) useful but inadequate
    (E)misunderstood but promising
    Passage 3
    The number of women directors appointed to corpo-
    rate boards in the United States has increased dramati-
    cally, but the ratio of female to male directors remains
    low. Although pressure to recruit women directors,
    (5)unlike that to employ women in the general work force,
    does not derive form legislation, it is nevertheless real.
    Although small companies were the first to have
    women directors, large corporations currently have a
    higher percentage of women on their boards. When the
    (10)chairs of these large corporations began recruiting
    women to serve on boards, they initially sought women
    who were chief executive officers (CEO's) of large corpor-
    ations. However, such women CEO's are still rare. In
    addition, the ideal of six CEO's (female or male) serving
    (15)on the board of each of the largest corporations is realiz-
    able only if every CEO serves on six boards. This raises
    the specter of director over commitment and the resultant
    dilution of contribution. Consequently, the chairs next
    sought women in business who had the equivalent of
    (20)CEO experience. However, since it is only recently that
    large numbers of women have begun to rise in manage-
    ment, the chairs began to recruit women of high achieve-
    ment outside the business world. Many such women are
    well known for their contributions in government,
    (25)education, and the nonprofit sector. The fact that the
    women from these sectors who were appointed were
    often acquaintances of the boards' chairs seems quite
    reasonable: chairs have always considered it important
    for directors to interact comfortably in the boardroom.
    (30)Although many successful women from outside the
    business world are unknown to corporate leaders, these
    women are particularly qualified to serve on boards
    because of the changing nature of corporations. Today a
    company's ability to be responsive to the concerns of the
    (35)community and the environment can influence that
    company's growth and survival. Women are uniquely
    positioned to be responsive to some of these concerns.
    Although conditions have changed, it should be remem-
    bered that most directors of both sexes are over fifty
    (40)years old. Women of that generation were often encour-
    aged to direct their attention toward efforts to improve
    the community. This fact is reflected in the career devel-
    opment of most of the outstandingly successful women
    of the generation now in their fifties, who currently serve
    (45) on corporate boards: 25 percent are in education and
    22 percent are in government, law, and the nonprofit
    sector.
    One organization of women directors is helping busi-
    ness become more responsive to the changing needs of
    (50) society by raising the level of corporate awareness about
    social issues, such as problems with the economy,
    government regulation, the aging population, and the
    environment. This organization also serves as a resource
    center of information on accomplished women who are
    (55) potential candidates for corporate bards.
    1. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about achievement of the “ideal” mentioned in line 14?
    (A) It has only recently become a possibility.
    (B) It would be easier to meet if more CEO's were women.
    (C) It is very close to being a reality for most corporate boards.
    (D) It might affect the quality of directors' service to corporations.
    (E) It would be more realizable if CEO's had a more extensive range of business experience.
    2. According to the passage, the pressure to appoint women to corporate boards differs from the pressure to employ women in the work force in which of the following ways?
    (A) Corporate boards are under less pressure because they have such a small number of openings.
    (B) Corporate boards have received less pressure from stockholders, consumers, and workers within companies to include women on their boards.
    (C) Corporate boards have received less pressure from the media and the public to include women on their boards.
    (D) Corporate have only recently been pressured to include women on their boards.
    (E) Corporate are not subject to statutory penalty for failing to include women on their boards.
    3. All of the following are examples of issues that the organization described in the last paragraph would be likely to advise corporations on EXCEPT
    (A) long-term inflation
    (B) health and safety regulations
    (C) retirement and pension programs
    (D) the energy shortage
    (E) how to develop new markets
    4. It can be inferred from the passage that, when seeking to appoint new members to a corporation's board, the chair traditionally looked for candidates who
    (A) had legal and governmental experience
    (B) had experience dealing with community affairs
    (C) could work easily with other members of the board
    (D) were already involved in establishing policy for that corporation
    (E) had influential connections outside the business world
    5. According to the passage, which of the following is true about women outside the business world who are currently serving on corporate bards?
    (A) Most do not serve on more than one board.
    (B) A large percentage will eventually work on the staff of corporations.
    (C) Most were already known to the chairs of the board to which they were appointed.
    (D) A larger percentage are from government and law than are from the nonprofit sector.
    (E) Most are less than fifty years old.
    6. The passage suggests that corporations of the past differ form modern corporations in which of the following ways?
    (A) Corporations had greater input on government policies affecting the business community.
    (B) Corporations were less responsive to the financial needs of their employees.
    (C) The ability of a Corporation to keep up with changing markets was not a crucial factor in its success.
    (D) A Corporation's effectiveness in coping with community needs was less likely to affect its growth and prosperity.
    (E) Corporations were subject to more stringent government regulations.
    7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
    (A) A problem is described, and then reasons why various proposed solutions succeeded or failed are discussed.
    (B) A problem is described, and then an advantage of resolving it is offered.
    (C) A problem is described, and then reasons for its continuing existence are summarized.
    (D) The historical origins of a problem are described, and then various measures that have successfully resolved it are discussed.
    (E) The causes of a problem are described, and then its effects are discussed.
    8. It can be inferred from the passage that factors making women uniquely valuable members of modern corporate boards would include which of the following?
    Ⅰ。 The nature of modern corporations
    Ⅱ。The increased number of women CEO's
    Ⅲ。The careers pursued by women currently available to serve on corporate boards
    (A) Ⅰ only
    (B) Ⅱ only
    (C) Ⅲ only
    (D) Ⅰ and Ⅲ only
    (E) Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ
    KEYS:
    Passage 1: ACADE AEDC
    Passage 2: BCCBE D
    Passage 3: DEECC DAD