1、GMAT（ VERBAL）阅读练习试卷 9及答案与解析 1 While there is no blueprint for transforming a largely government-controlled economy into a free one, the experience of the United Kingdom since 1979 clearly shows one approach that works: privatization, in which (5) state-owned industries are sold to private companies.
2、 By 1979, the total borrowings and losses of state-owned industries were running at about t3 billion a year. By selling many of these industries, the government has decreased these borrowings and losses, gained over t34 (10) billion from the sales, and now receives tax revenues from the newly privat
3、ized companies. Along with a dramatically improved overall economy, the government has been able to repay 12.5 percent of the net national debt over a two-year period. (15) In fact, privatization has not only rescued individual industries and a whole economy headed for disaster, but has also raised
4、the level of performance in every area. At British Airways and British Gas, for example, productivity per employee has risen by 20 percent. At associated (20) British Ports, labor disruptions common in the 1970s and early 1980s have now virtually disappeared. At British Telecom, there is no longer a
5、 waiting listas there always was before privatizationto have a telephone installed. Part of this improved productivity has come about (25) because the employees of privatized industries were given the opportunity to buy shares in their own companies. They responded enthusiastically to the offer of s
6、hares; at British Aerospace, 89 percent of the eligible work force bought shares; at Associated British Ports, 90 percent; and at (30) British Telecom, 92 percent. When people have a personal stake in something, they think about it, care about it, work to make it prosper. At the National Freight Con
7、sortium, the new employee-owners grew so concerned about their companys profits that during wage negotiations they (35) actually pressed their union to lower its wage demands. Some economists have suggested that giving away free shares would provide a needed acceleration of the privati- zation proce
8、ss. Yet they miss Thomas Paines point that “what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly.” In (40) order for the far-ranging benefits of individual ownership to be achieved by owners, companies, and countries, employees and other individuals must make their own decisions to buy, and they must comm
9、it some of their own resources to the choice. 1 According to the passage, all of the following were benefits of privatizing state-owned industries in the United Kingdom EXCEPT_ （ A） Privatized industries paid taxes to the government. （ B） The government gained revenue from selling state-owned indust
10、ries. （ C） The government repaid some of its national debt. （ D） Profits from industries that were still state-owned increased. （ E） Total borrowings and losses of state-owned industries decreased. 2 According to the passage, which of the following resulted in increased productivity in companies tha
11、t have been privatized? （ A） A large number of employees chose to purchase shares in their companies. （ B） Free shares were widely distributed to individual shareholders. （ C） The government ceased to regulate major industries. （ D） Unions conducted wage negotiations for employees. （ E） Employee-own
12、ers agreed to have their wages lowered. 3 It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers labor disruptions to be_ （ A） an inevitable problem in a weak national economy （ B） a positive sign of employee concern about a company （ C） a predictor of employee reactions to a companys offer t
13、o sell shares to them （ D） a phenomenon found more often in state-owned industries than in private companies （ E） a deterrence to high performance levels in an industry 4 The passage supports which of the following statements about employees buying shares in their own companies? （ A） At three differ
14、ent companies, approximately nine out of ten of the workers were eligible to buy shares in their companies. （ B） Approximately 90% of the ellgible workers at three different companies chose o buy shares in their companies. （ C） The opportunity to buy shares was discouraged by at least some labor uni
15、ons. （ D） Companies that demonstrated the highest productivity were the first to allow their employees the opportunity to buy shares. （ E） Eligibility to buy shares was contingent on employees agreeing to increased work loads. 5 Which of the following statements is most consistent with the principle
16、 described in lines 30-32? （ A） A democratic government that decides it is inappropriate to own a particular industry has in no way abdicated its responsibilities as guardian of the public interest. （ B） The ideal way for a government to protect employee interests is to force companies to maintain t
17、heir share of a competitive market without government subsidies. （ C） The failure to harness the power of self-interest is an important reason that state-owned industries perform poorly. （ D） Governments that want to implement privatization programs must try to eliminate all resistance to the free-m
18、arket system. （ E） The individual shareholder will reap only a minute share of the gains from whatever sacrifices he or she makes to achieve these gains. 6 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the privatization process in the United Kingdom? （ A） It depends to a potentially
19、dangerous degree on individual ownership of shares. （ B） It conforms in its most general outlines to Thomas Palnes prescription for business ownership. （ C） It was originally conceived to include some giving away of free shares. （ D） It has been successful, even though privatization has failed in ot
20、her countries. （ E） It is taking place more slowly than some economists suggest is necessary. 7 The quotation in line 39 is most probably used to_ （ A） counter a position that the author of the passage believes is incorrect （ B） state a solution to a problem described in the previous sentence （ C） s
21、how how opponents of the viewpoint of the author of the passage have supported their arguments （ D） point out a paradox contained in a controversial viewpoint （ E） present a historical maxim to challenge the principle introduced in the third paragraph 8 Coral reefs are one of the most fragile, biolo
22、gically complex, and diverse marine ecosystem on Earth. This ecosystem is one of the fascinating paradoxes of the bio- sphere: how do clear, and thus nutrient-poor, waters sup- (5) port such prolific and productive communities? Part of the answer lies within the tissues of the corals themselves. Sym
23、biotic cells of algae known as zooxanthellae carry out photosynthesis using the metabolic wastes of the coral thereby producing food for themselves, for their corals, (10) hosts, and even for other members of the reef community. This symbiotic process allows organisms in the reef com- munity to use
24、sparse nutrient resources efficiently. Unfortunately for coral reefs, however, a variety of human activities are causing worldwide degradation of (15) shallow marine habitats by adding nutrients to the (water. Agriculture, slash-and-burn land clearing, sewage disposal and manufacturing that creates
25、waste by-products all increase nutrient loads in these waters. Typical symptoms of reef decline are destabilized herbivore populations and (20)an increasing abundance of algae and filter-feeding animals. Declines in reef communities are consistent with observa- tions that nutrient input is increasin
26、g in direct proportion to growing human populations, thereby threatening reef com- (25) munities sensitive to subtle changes in nutrient input to their waters. 8 The passage is primarily concerned with_ （ A） describing the effects of human activities on algae in coral reefs （ B） explaining how human
27、 activities are posing a threat to coral reef communities （ C） discussing the process by which coral reefs deteriorate in nutrient-poor waters （ D） explaining how coral reefs produce food for themselves （ E） describing the abundance of algae and filter-feeding animals in coral reef areas 9 The passa
28、ge suggests which of the following about coral reef communities? （ A） Coral reef communities may actually be more likely to thrive in waters that are relatively low in nutrients. （ B） The nutrients on which coral reef communities thrive are only found in shallow waters. （ C） Human population growth
29、has led to changing ocean temperatures, which threatens coral reef communities. （ D） The growth of coral reef communities tends to destabilize underwater herbivore populations. （ E） Coral reef communities are more complex and diverse than most ecosystems located on dry land. 10 The author refers to
30、“filter-feeding animals” (line 20) in order to_ （ A） provide an example of a characteristic sign of reef deterioration （ B） explain how reef communities acquire sustenance for survival （ C） identify a factor that helps herbivore populations thrive （ D） indicate a cause of decreasing nutrient input i
31、n waters that reefs inhabit （ E） identify members of coral reef communities that rely on coral reefs for nutrients 11 According to the passage, which of the following is a factor that is threatening the survival of coral reef communities? （ A） The waters they inhabit contain few nutrient resources.
32、（ B） A decline in nutrient input is disrupting their symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae （ C） The degraded waters of their marine habitats have reduced their ability to carry out photosynthesis （ D） They are too biologically complex to survive in habitats with minimal nutrient input. （ E） Wast
33、e by-products result in an increase in nutrient input to reef communities. 12 It can be inferred from the passage that the author describes coral reef communities as paradoxical most likely for which of the following reasons? （ A） They are thriving even though human activities have depleted the nutr
34、ients in their environment. （ B） They are able to survive in spite of an overabundance of algae inhabiting their waters. （ C） They are able to survive in an environment with limited food resources. （ D） Their metabolic wastes contribute to the degradation of the waters that they inhabit. （ E） They a
35、re declining even when the water sur-rounding them remains clear. 13 Two divergent definitions have dominated sociologists discussions of the nature of ethnicity. The first emphasizes the primordial and unchanging character of ethnicity. In this view, people have an essential need for belonging that
36、 (5) is satisfied by membership in groups based on shared ancestry and culture. A different conception of ethnicity de-emphasizes the cultural component and defines ethnic groups as interest groups. In this view, ethnicity serves as a way of mobilizing a certain population behind issues (10) relatin
37、g to its economic position. While both of these definitions are useful, neither fully captures the dynamic and changing aspects of ethnicity in the United States. Rather, ethnicity is more satisfactorily conceived of as a process in which preexisting communal bonds and common (15) cultural attribute
38、s are adapted for instrumental purposes according to changing real-life situations. One example of this process is the rise of participation by Native American people in the broader United States political system since the Civil Rights movement of the (20)1960s. Besides leading Native Americans to p
39、articipate more actively in politics (the number of Native American legislative officeholders more than doubled), this movement also evoked increased interest in tribal history and traditional culture. Cultural and instrumental components of (25 )ethnicity are not mutually exclusive, but rather rein
40、force one another. The Civil Rights movement also brought changes in the uses to which ethnicity was put by Mexican American people. In the 1960s, Mexican Americans formed (30) community-based political groups that emphasized ancestral heritage as a way of mobilizing constituents. Such emerg- ing is
41、sues as immigration and voting rights gave Mexican American advocacy groups the means by which to promote ethnic solidarity. Like European ethnic groups in the (35) nineteenth-century United States, late-twentieth-century Mexican American leaders combined ethnic with contem- porary civic symbols. In
42、 1968 Henry Censors, then mayor of San Antonio, Texas, cited Mexican leader Benito Juarez as a model for Mexican Americans in their fight for con- (40) temporary civil rights. And every year, Mexican Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo as fervently as many Irish American people embrace St. Patricks Da
43、y (both are major holidays in the countries of origin), with both holidays having been reinvented in the context of the United States and linked to ideals, symbols, and heroes of the United States 13 Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage? （ A） In their definitions of the na
44、ture of ethnicity, sociologists have underestimated the power of the primordial human need to belong. （ B） Ethnicity is best defined as a dynamic process that combines cultural components with shared political and economic interests. （ C） In the United States in the twentieth century, ethnic groups
45、have begun to organize in order to further their political and economic interests. （ D） Ethnicity in the United States has been significantly changed by the Civil Rights movement. （ E） The two definitions of ethnicity that have dominated sociologists discussions are incompatible and should be replac
46、ed by an entirely new approach. 14 Which is the following statements about the first two definitions of ethnicity discussed in the first paragraph is supported by the passage? （ A） One is supported primarily by sociologists, and the other is favored by members of ethnic groups. （ B） One emphasizes t
47、he political aspects of ethnicity, and the other focuses on the economic aspects. （ C） One is the result of analysis of United States populations, and the other is the result of analysis of European populations. （ D） One focuses more on the ancestral components of ethnicity than does the other. （ E）
48、 One focuses more on immigrant groups than does the other. 15 The author of the passage refers to Native American people in the second paragraph in order to provide an example of_ （ A） the ability of membership in groups based on shared ancestry and culture to satisfy an essential human need. （ B） h
49、ow ethnic feelings have both motivated and been strengthened by political activity （ C） how the Civil Rights movement can help promote solidarity among United States ethnic groups （ D） how participation in the political system has helped to improve a groups economic situation （ E） the benefits gained from renewed study of ethnic history and culture 16 The passage supports which of the following statements about the Mexican American community? （ A） In the 1960s the Mexican American community began to incorporate the customs of another ethnic group in
