GRE阅读:水上移民的能力

　　GRE阅读:水上移民的能力

　　SECTION A

　　A mysterious phenomenon is the ability of over-water migrants to travel on course. Birds, bees, and other species can keep track of (keep track of: v.明了) time without any sensory cues from the outside world, and such “biological clocks” clearly contribute to their “compass sense.” For example, they can use the position of the Sun or stars, along with the time of day (the time of day: n.时刻), to find north. But compass sense alone cannot explain how birds navigate the ocean: after a flock traveling east is blown far south by a storm, it will assume the proper northeasterly course to compensate. Perhaps, some scientists thought, migrants determine their geographic position on Earth by celestial navigation, almost as human navigators use stars and planets, but this would demand of (demand of: v.要求) the animals a fantastic map sense. Researchers now know that some species have a magnetic sense, which might allow migrants to determine their geographic location by detecting variations in the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field.

　　17. The main idea of the passage is that

　　(A) migration over land requires a simpler explanation than migration over water does

　　(B) the means by which animals migrate over water are complex and only partly understood

　　(C) the ability of migrant animals to keep track of time is related to their magnetic sense

　　(D) knowledge of geographic location is essential to migrants with little or no compass sense(B)

　　(E) explanations of how animals migrate tend to replace, rather than build on, one another

　　18. It can be inferred from the passage that if the flock of birds described in lines 8-12 were navigating by compass sense alone, they would, after the storm, fly

　　(A) east

　　(B) north

　　(C) northwest

　　(D) south(A)

　　(E) southeast

　　19. In maintaining that migrating animals would need “a fantastic map sense” (line 17) to determine their geographic position by celestial navigation, the author intends to express

　　(A) admiration for the ability of the migrants

　　(B) skepticism about celestial navigation as an explanation

　　(C) certainly that the phenomenon of migration will remain mysterious

　　(D) interest in a new method of accounting for over-water migration(B)

　　(E) surprise that animals apparently navigate in much the same way that human beings do

　　20. Of the following descriptions of migrating animals, which most strongly suggests that the animals are depending on magnetic cues to orient themselves?

　　(A) Pigeons can properly readjust their course even when flying long distances through exceedingly dense fogs.

　　(B) Bison are able to reach their destination by passing through a landscape that has been partially altered by a recent fire.

　　(C) Elephants are able to find grounds that some members of the herd have never seen before.

　　(D) Swallows are able to return to a given spot at the same time every year.(A)

　　(E) Monarch butterflies coming from different parts of North America are able to arrive at the same location each winter.

　　Roger Rosenblatt’s book Black Fiction, in attempting to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject, successfully alters the approach taken by most previous studies. As Rosenblatt notes, criticism of Black writing has often served as a pretext for expounding on Black history. Addison Gayle’s recent work, for example, judges the value of Black fiction by overtly political standards, rating each work according to the notions of Black identity which it propounds.

　　Although fiction assuredly springs from political circumstances, its authors react to those circumstances in ways other than ideological, and talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology circumvents much of the fictional enterprise. Rosenblatt’s literary analysis discloses affinities and connections among works of Black fiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignored.

　　Writing acceptable criticism of Black fiction, however, presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions. First of all, is there a sufficient reason, other than the racial identity of the authors, to group together works by Black authors? Second, how does Black fiction make itself distinct from other modern fiction with which it is largely contemporaneous? Rosenblatt shows that Black fiction constitutes a distinct body of writing that has an identifiable, coherent literary tradition. Looking at novels written by Blacks over the last eighty years, he discovers recurring concerns and designs independent of chronology. These structures are thematic, and they spring, not surprisingly, from the central fact that the Black characters in these novels exist in a predominantly White culture, whether they try to conform to that culture of rebel against (rebel against: v.反抗) it.

　　Black Fiction does leave some aesthetic questions open. Rosenblatt’s thematic analysis permits considerable objectivity; he even explicitly states that it is not his intention to judge the merit of the various works—yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especially since an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For instance, some of the novels appear to be structurally diffuse. Is this a defect, or are the authors working out of, or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic? In addition, the style of some Black novels, like Jean Toomer’s Cane, verges on (verge on: (=on the verge of)接近于v.接近, 近乎) expressionism or surrealism; does this technique provide a counterpoint (a complementing or contrasting item: OPPOSITE) to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate against which Black heroes are pitted, a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic modes of expression?

　　In spite of such omissions, what Rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes for an astute and worthwhile study. Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels, bringing to our attention in the process some fascinating and little-known works like James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Its argument is tightly constructed, and its forthright, lucid style exemplifies levelheaded and penetrating criticism.

　　21. The author of the passage objects to criticism of Black fiction like that by Addison Gayle because it

　　(A) emphasizes purely literary aspects of such fiction

　　(B) misinterprets the ideological content of such fiction

　　(C) misunderstands the notions of Black identity contained in such fiction

　　(D) substitutes political for literary criteria in evaluating such fiction(D)

　　(E) ignores the interplay between Black history and Black identity displayed in such fiction

　　22. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

　　(A) evaluating the soundness of a work of criticism

　　(B) comparing various critical approaches to a subject

　　(C) discussing the limitations of a particular kind of criticism

　　(D) summarizing the major points made in a work of criticism(A)

　　(E) explaining the theoretical background of a certain kind of criticism

　　23. The author of the passage believes that Black Fiction would have been improved had Rosenblatt

　　(A) evaluated more carefully the ideological and historical aspects of Black fiction

　　(B) attempted to be more objective in his approach to novels and stories by Black authors

　　(C) explored in greater detail the recurrent thematic concerns of Black fiction throughout its history

　　(D) established a basis for placing Black fiction within its own unique literary tradition(E)

　　(E) assessed the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzes thematically

　　24. The author’s discussion of Black Fiction can be best described as

　　(A) pedantic and contentious

　　(B) critical but admiring

　　(C) ironic and deprecating

　　(D) argumentative but unfocused(B)

　　(E) stilted and insincere

　　25. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be LEAST likely to approve of which of the following?

　　(A) An analysis of the influence of political events on the personal ideology of Black writes

　　(B) A critical study that applies sociopolitical criteria to autobiographies by Black authors

　　(C) A literary study of Black poetry that appraises the merits of poems according to the political acceptability of their themes

　　(D) An examination of the growth of a distinct Black literary tradition within the context of Black history(C)

　　(E) A literary study that attempts to isolate aesthetic qualities unique to Black fiction

　　26. The author of the passage uses all of the following in the discussion of Rosenblatt’s book EXCEPT

　　(A) rhetorical questions

　　(B) specific examples

　　(C) comparison and contrast

　　(D) definition of terms(D)

　　(E) personal opinion

　　27. The author of the passage refers to James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man most probably in order to

　　(A) point out affinities between Rosenblatt’s method of thematic analysis and earlier criticism

　　(B) clarify the point about expressionistic style made earlier in the passage

　　(C) qualify the assessment of Rosenblatt’s book made in the first paragraph of the passage

　　(D) illustrate the affinities among Black novels disclosed by Rosenblatt’s literary analysis(E)

　　(E) give a specific example of one of the accomplishments of Rosenblatt’s work