这次小编给大家整理了GRE快速阅读大法，本文共6篇，供大家阅读参考，也相信能帮助到您。
篇1：GRE快速阅读大法
GRE快速阅读大法
1、时间约束
在GRE阅读中，一篇长文章大致需要在4分钟之内看完。而且GRE文章涉猎极其广泛，再加上其特有的长难句，因此考生在读文章时必然感觉晦涩难懂。
至此读者不禁要问，如想要在短时间内看完文章，是不是只要在提高速度下功夫，即在语言层面做些工作就可以了呢?
在回答这个问题之前，我们先来看一下作为母语是英语的美国人来说，他们读GRE文章是不是没有问题呢?
笔者自己发现美国人读GRE阅读文章也有与中国考生同样的感觉：文章晦涩难懂，做题时间不够等。原因何在?原因在于美国长期以来实行放任教育体制，言外之意，美国主流的教育观念是不强调美国学生必须要知道一些基本的自然科学的常识，不管他们想不想知道。所以，很多美国学生的地理和数学知识匮乏到令人惊讶的程度也就容易理解了。因此，尽管美国人在考GRE时占尽了母语的优势，但与像TOEFL那样的语言考试迥异的是G式阅读不是纯粹的语言测试，所以土生土长的美国人也发现他们也无法轻而易举地在如此短的时间内读完文章并做完题目。
那么，试想连他们都感觉吃力，又怎么能指望中国学在紧张而短暂的4分钟内，把一篇文章如学术研究般的字斟句酌，领会深意，甚至做一番英译汉的工作呢?因此，符合GRE的快速阅读势在必行!
2、GRE阅读所考察的能力
事实上，G式阅读考查的是实际思维能力,
而并非仅仅停留在一些语言层面的内容如庞大的词汇量对以及全文进行逐字逐句地把握等。拿词汇来说，中国考生只要具备了托福的词汇量就可以在GRE阅读中取得好成绩，。我想很多中国GRE考生的单词量绝不止六七千，可阅读确实其中相对薄弱的环节。
不难看出，考生用传统的阅读思维来应对G式阅读是其中最重要的原因。而传统阅读方法中处于核心地位的就是文章逐字逐句地研读并翻译，希望尽量做到全文理解，然后再去做题，而这种方法恰恰不适合GRE阅读。GRE阅读就是要求在全文所传递出来的海量的信息中迅速找出相关的重点信息来解题，没有有效的快速阅读是不可想象的。
实际上，GRE阅读这种抓大放小，快速阅读的考查重点是与整个GRE考试的考查重点是完全吻合的。因为GRE语文部分，乃至GRE考试实际上都不单纯为考英语而考英语，而是考查考生是否具备将来成为一个商业领导者或研究生所需要的阅读能力以及思维方式。所以GRE阅读就是以高难的英语为载体，通过考查考生是否具有根据文章后面的题目在文章中寻找相关信息的能力，来间接考查考生是否具备从未来工作中那浩如烟海的信息海洋中抽取关键信息的能力。
此处的关键信息，简单地说，就是我们在看完一篇文章后，我们所明白的无非是：诸如有一种什么动物，名字不知道，第一个字母是t。
有一些科学家对此种动物很感兴趣，于是抓了一只t来研究并在研究结束后提出了一种假说。后来把t放归自然，当然安装了跟踪装置，数月后，研究者再次将t带回实验室，根据跟踪装置的报道，证明他们最初的假说是完全正确的。
其实，考生只需先看懂这些就足够了。考生只需在考试中，将一切人物、地点、器具、物质都转化为一个字母或代号，一切细微的感觉都概括为或正或负的评价(顶多是有保留的或正或负的态度)，至于作者使用了哪些论据，经历了哪些论证过程，最后又如何推出自己的精辟论点，考生实在是没那么多时间去顾及了。也就是说，考生必须看懂的内容：
※ 作者在说什么内容以及这些内容有什么中心事物和人的代表
※ 作者对他们态度如何(正评价或负评价)
※ 作者在论证出自己的正或负态度过程中曾举过什么重点例子以及作者是否表示出了一些极端的评价，如最好、唯一之类。
3、快速阅读的误区
由于G式阅读其本身的特殊性和快速阅读的特殊要求，很多考生在学习使用快速阅读技巧的时候表现出诸多的误区，下面试举几例：
※ 盲目求快而忽略了文章中主要的信息
有些考生片面理解了GRE阅读中的快速阅读，认为快速阅读仅仅指的就是提高单位时间内容阅读单词的数量，所以在阅读实践中盲目提速。导致文章中重要的主干内容被忽略。如下例：
有些考生在处理上一段的时候以极快的速度从头念到尾，却没有区分关键信息和非关键信息。将黄色区域等同于粉红色区域。其实，粉红色区域的“as a consequence”说明该句的重要性将大大超过黄色区域中的句子。因为从逻辑角度来说，As a consequence是表示“前因后果”，而从逻辑上说，结果比原因更重要，所以正确的阅读方法应为迅速通过黄色区域，在粉红色区域细细研读。
※ 在阅读时缩手缩脚，不敢舍弃
有的考生在备考时也基本认同了快速阅读方法的合理性，可在实际阅读文章的过程中还是缩手缩脚，不敢快速阅读一些细节。仍然是上述例子。
有些考生把黄色区域中的文字也好好地研读了一番，甚至试图记下每一年发生的大事件。将大量时间花在细节上，最终导致没有时间去思考该这部分内容是否值得他这样去细细品味。
※ 在阅读时颠倒阅读重点
在把握GRE文章时首先应读出其逻辑层次，其中包括套路，各段段意，各段之间的逻辑关系以及主题句。其次，需注意文章中的一些重点语言现象，如GRE强转折，强因果和强对比等词所在的句子。同时在看文章时对一些重要的细节要记住它们大致的位置。最后在做题的时候对一些与题目相关的细节进行仔细的研读。因此，阅读GRE文章的优先顺序如下：
以上步骤的优先级(priority)依次递减。而很多考生的误区在于认为读GRE文章就是去读一些文章中的细节，而忽视了对文章整体的把握。由于在细节上花的时间太多，没有时间去思考诸如本篇文章的套路，主题句等问题。所以概括说来，很多同学读G式阅读文章刚好“本末倒置”。
新GRE逻辑阅读
1. The painter Peter Brandon never dated his works, and their chronology is only now beginning to take shape in the critical literature. A recent dating of a Brandon self-portrait to 1930 is surely wrong. Brandon was 63 years old in 1930, yet the painting shows a young, dark-haired man-obviously Brandon, but clearly not a man of 63.
Which of the following, if justifiably assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) There is no securely dated self-portrait of Brandon that he painted when he was significantly younger than 63.
(B) In refraining from dating his works, Brandon intended to steer critical discussion of them away from considerations of chronology.
(C) Until recently, there was very little critical literature on the works of Brandon.
(D) Brandon at age 63 would not have portrayed himself in a painting as he had looked when he was a young man.
(E) Brandon painted several self-portraits that showed him as a man past the age of 60.
2. Dance critic from Europe: The improved quality of ballet in the United States is the result of more Europeans' teaching ballet in the United States than ever before. I know the proportion of teachers who were born and trained in Europe has gone up among ballet teachers in the United States, because last year, on my trip to New York, more of the ballet teachers I met were from Europe-born and trained there -than ever before.
Which of the following identifies a questionable assumption made by the dance critic's reasoning?
(A) The argument overlooks the possibility that some ballet teachers in the United States could have been born in Europe but trained in the United States.
(B) The argument assumes that the ballet teachers whom the critic met last year on the critic's trip to New York were a generally typical group of such teachers.
(C) The argument assumes that the teaching of ballet in the United States is superior to the teaching of ballet in Europe
(D) Other possible reasons for the improved mental attitudes of United States dancers are not examined.
(E) The argument assumes that dancers born and trained in Europe are typically more talented than dancers born and trained in the United States.
3.Mayor Four years ago when we reorganized the city police department in order to save money, critics claimed that the reorganization would make the police less responsive to citizens and would thus lead to more crime. The police have compiled theft statistics from the years following the reorganization that show that the critics were wrong. There was an overall decrease in reports of thefts of all kinds, including small thefts.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously challenges the mayor's argument?
(A) When city police are perceived as unresponsive, victims of theft are less likely to report thefts to the police.
(B) The mayor's critics generally agree that police statistics concerning crime reports provide the most reliable available data on crime rates.
(C) In other cities where police departments have been similarly reorganized, the numbers of reported thefts have generally risen following reorganization.
(D) The mayor's reorganization of the police department failed to save as much money as it was intended to save.
(E) During the four years immediately preceding the reorganization, reports of all types of theft had been rising steadily in comparison to reports of other crimes.
4. It takes a particular talent to be a successful business manager. Business courses can help people to solve management problems, but such courses can do so only for those people with managerial talent. Such people should take business courses to acquire ideas that they can subsequently use to good advantage if management problems happen to arise.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true on the basis of them?
(A) People who are helped by business courses in solving management problems also have managerial talent.
(B) People who are already skilled at solving management problems are unlikely to benefit from business courses.
(C) Most ideas that are used successfully in solving management problems are those acquired in business courses.
(D) People who lack managerial talent are more likely to take business courses than are people who have managerial talent.
(E) Those people who have never taken business courses are unable to solve management problems when such problems arise.
5. When a driver is suspected of having had too much to drink, testing the driver's ability to walk a straight line gives a more reliable indication of fitness to drive than does testing the driver's blood-alcohol level.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim made in the statement above?
(A) Not all observers will agree whether or not an individual has succeeded in walking a straight line.
(B) Because of genetic differences and variations in acquired tolerance to alcohol, some individuals suffer more serious motor impairment from a given high blood-alcohol level than do others.
(C) Tests designed to measure blood-alcohol levels are accurate, inexpensive, and easy to administer.
(D) More than half the drivers involved in fatal accidents have blood-alcohol levels that exceed the legal limit, whereas in less-serious accidents the proportion of legally intoxicated drivers is lower.
(E) Some individuals with high blood-alcohol levels are capable of walking a straight line but are not capable of driving safely.
6. That sales can be increased by the presence of sunlight within a store has been shown by the experience of the only Savefast department store with a large skylight. The skylight allows sunlight into half of the store, reducing the need for artificial light. The rest of the store uses only artificial light. Since the store opened two years ago, the departments on the sunlit side have had substantially higher sales than the other departments.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
(A) On particularly cloudy days, more artificial light is used to illuminate the part of the store under the skylight.
(B) When the store is open at night, the departments in the part of the store under the skylight have sales that are no higher than those of other departments.
(C) Many customers purchase items from departments in both parts of the store on a single shopping trip.
(D) Besides the skylight, there are several significant architectural differences between the two parts of the store.
(E) The departments in the part of the store under the skylight are the departments that generally have the highest sales in other stores in the Savefast chain.
7. To protect beachfront buildings from ocean storms, ocean resorts have built massive seawalls between beaches and the buildings. Not only do the seawalls block off some buildings' ocean view, but the beaches themselves become ever narrower, because sand can no longer creep inland as storms erode it at the water's edge. If the information is correct, which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported on the basis of it?
(A) Since the ferocity of ocean storms is increasing, increasingly high seawalls must be built between beaches and beachfront property.
(B) Even when beaches are heavily used by people, they are necessary to the survival of the many wild species that use them.
(C) Seawalls constructed to protect beachfront buildings will not themselves eventually be damaged by storms and will not require, if they are to protect the buildings, expensive repair or replacement.
(D) The conservation of beaches for future generations should be the overriding goal of shore management at ocean coasts.
(E) Trying to protect beachfront buildings by constructing seawalls is counterproductive in the long run for an oceanfront community wishing to maintain itself as a beach resort.
8. A study found that 70 percent of children surveyed in 1970 had at one time had cavities, whereas only 50 percent of those surveyed in 1985 had ever had cavities. The researchers concluded that the level of dental disease in children had declined between 1970 and 1985. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the researchers' conclusion presented above?
(A) Cavities are the most common kind of dental disease to which children are subject.
(B) The children surveyed came from a broad variety of income backgrounds.
(C) The children surveyed were selected from among students of teachers cooperating with the researchers.
(D) The accuracy of cavity detection techniques has improved dramatically since 1970.
(E) The children surveyed in 1985 were younger on average than those surveyed in 1970.
9. David: Since attempting to preserve every species that is currently endangered is prohibitively expensive, the endangered species whose value to humanity is the greatest should be accorded the highest priority for preservation. Karen: Such a policy would he unsound because it is impossible to predict the future value of a species, nor is it always possible to assess the present value of species whose contributions to humanity, though significant, are indirect.
Which of the following is the main point of Karen's reply to David?
(A) Although it would be desirable to preserve all endangered species, doing so is not economically feasible.
(B) Even if the value to humanity of a given species is known, that value should not be a factor in any decision on whether to expend effort to preserve that species.
(C) Species whose contributions to humanity are direct should have a higher priority for preservation efforts than species whose contributions to humanity are only indirect.
(D)Since the methods for deciding which species have the most value to humanity are imperfect, informed decisions cannot be made on the basis of the assessment of such value.
(E) The preservation of endangered species whose value to humanity can be reliably predicted is more important than the preservation of species whose value for humanity is unpredictable.
10. Roger: Reading a lot as a child causes
nearsightedness-difficulty seeing things at a distance.
Louise: I disagree. Any correlation between near-sightedness and reading results from the fact that children who have trouble seeing things at a distance are likeliest to prefer those activities, such as reading, that involve looking at things close up.
Louise disputes Roger's claim by
(A) demonstrating that an absurd conclusion would follow if Roger's claim were accepted
(B) arguing that what Roger claims to be a cause of a given phenomenon is actually its effect
(C) using an analogy to expose a flaw in Roger's reasoning
(D) pointing out that Roger's claim is self-contradictory
(E) attempting to demonstrate that Roger uses the term“nearsightedness” in an ambiguous way
11. Years ago, consumers in Frieland began paying an energy tax in the form of two Frieland pennies for each unit of energy consumed that came from nonrenewable sources. Following the introduction of this energy tax, there was a steady reduction in the total yearly consumption of energy from nonrenewable sources.
If the statements in the passage are true, then which of the following must on the basis of them be true?
(A) There was a steady decline in the yearly revenues generated by the energy tax in Frieland.
(B) There was a steady decline in the total amount of energy consumed each year in Frieland.
(C)There was a steady increase in the use of renewable energy sources in Frieland
(D) The revenues generated by the energy tax were used to promote the use of energy from renewable sources.
(E) The use of renewable energy sources in Frieland greatly increased relative to the use of nonrenewable energy sources.
12. Despite a dramatic increase in the number of people riding bicycles for recreation in Parkville. a recent report by the Parkville Department of Transportation shows that the number of accidents involving bicycles has decreased for the third consecutive year.
Which of the following, if true during the last three years, best reconciles the apparent discrepancy in the facts above?
(A) The Parkville Department of Recreation confiscated abandoned bicycles and sold them at auction to any interested Parkville residents.
(B) Increased automobile and bus traffic in Parkville has been the leading cause of the most recent increase in automobile accidents.
(C) Because of the local increase in the number of people bicycling for recreation. many out -of -town bicyclists ride in the Parkville area.
(D) The Parkville Police Department enforced traffic rules for bicycle riders much more vigorously and began requiring recreational riders to pass a bicycle safety course.
(E) The Parkville Department of Transportation canceled a program that required all bicycles to be inspected and registered each year.
13. Do strong electric currents, by means of the electromagnetic fields that accompany them, cause cancer in people who live and work nearby? Telephone line workers. who work near such currents every day, can provide a test case. They show elevated levels of brain cancer, therefore, the hypothesis of electromagnetic causation is supported.
Which of the following if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) Burying power lines and other measures to protect the public from such electromagnetic fields would be prohibitively expensive.
(B) Telephone line workers are exposed to levels of chemical solvents high enough to cause brain cancer.
(C) High exposure to strong electromagnetic fields is correlated with a slightly higher-than-normal incidence of childhood leukemia, which is a form of cancer.
(D) Public health officials who found that a group of different illnesses in people living near a power substation could not reliably be attributed to its electromagnetic field were accused of covering up the facts.
(E) Telephone line workers, like most people. have electrical appliances at home, and most electrical appliances, when turned on, are surrounded by and electromagnetic field of some measurable level.
14. Neither the Sami nor the Kephrian delegations attended the international conference. Beforehand. the delegations of Daqua and Kephria. allies whose governments had grievances against Tessia. officially announced that one or both of the two would stay away if the Tessian delegation attended the conference. In response, the Sami delegation officially announced that it would definitely attend if both the Daquan and Kephrian delegations stayed away.
If the statements given are all true and all the delegations adhered to their official announcements. it must also be true that the
(A) Daquan delegation attended the conference
(B) Daquan delegation did not attend the conference
(C) Sami government had no grievance against Tessia
(D) Tessian delegation did not attend the conference
(E) Tessian delegation made no official announcement regarding its attendance at the conference
15. On turning 65 years old, everyone living in the town of Malton becomes eligible to receive a card that guarantees discounts on most goods and services sold in the town. Census records for 1990 show that 2, 450 inhabitants of Malton turned 64 in that year. Yet . in 1991 over 3,000 people applied for and properly received discount cards. So clearly some of Malton's population growth between 1990 and 1992 must be attributable to migration into the city by people in their mid -60's
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) The town of Malton has no complete census records for 1991.
(B) The overall size of the population of Malton grew by over 500 during 1990.
(C) Fewer people applied for and received discount cards in 1991 than did so in 1992.
(D) Among the people 65 years old or older who moved into Malton in 1991. there was no one who did not apply for a discount card .
(E) In general. people who applied for and received discount cards in 1991 first became eligible to do so in that year
篇2：gre考试阅读部分时间管理大法
gre考试阅读部分时间管理大法
一、查找同义词、近义词、相关词。
在gre阅读考试中，能否准确找出正确答案很大程度上取决于能否辩认出同义词、近义词、相关词及不同形式的短语。
1.词形完全相同;
2.词义相同，即同义词;
3.词义相近，但并非同义;
4.词义相关。
上述四种词汇/短语表达方式中，第一种当然容易辩认，第二种同义词也相 对不难，但第三种与第四种形式则不易辩认，所以要在阅读过程中多加比较练习。如能攻破这一关，则一定能够取得好的考试成绩。
二、猜读词义。
gre考试时不许用词典，而且也没有必要去读懂每一个词。如所遇到的词对理解全文及答题不构成任何困难，则不必理会它的词义，但所碰到的词使你在理解全文，甚至回答问题时出现困难，则要设法去猜测其词义。
猜测词义要从两方面着手：
1.根据其所在句子的上下文，及前后的词语，探其究竟。
2.如果根据上下文及前后词语还是无法确切了解其真正含义，你可以再看一下这个词对整个句子所构成的影响是肯定的(POSITIVE)，还是否定的 (NEGATIVE)，实际上这对你理解作者的意图已足够了。
三、优先查看数字。
在文章中，数字是极容易找到的，如果在问句中出现数字时，可优先将数字作为标示牌在文章中找出答案的位置。需注意有时问句中的数字在文章中可能会用文字形式表达
四、三点相符原则检查答案。
匹配题除了配标题外，还有匹配句子开头或结尾形式，或图表标题与图表部分相匹配的题型。
总而言之，所给出的答案必须与所匹配部分的内容相一致。
三点相符原则在确定答案正确性方面帮助极大。如果在匹配过程中找出三个逻辑上相同点既可确信答案正确无疑;两点相同，准确率也应在80%以上;一点相同，就须根据语法知识及相关信息加以判断。
五、利用例句确定答案在文章中的位置。
如能在一组题内先查看例句及最后一个问题，并确定例句的关键词语与最后一个问题的关键词语在文章中的位置，即可确定其它各题的答案一定是处在它们之间的段落内，从而缩小了搜索答案的范围。
这种方法特别适用于填空题(GAPFILL)，而且也适用于其它题型。
六、掌握句子顺序上的变化。
问句中所含信息与文章中相应句子中的信息在顺序上有时可能出现不同，甚至前后完全倒置。这种情况可能会导致迷失答题的方向。
还应注意到文章中有关问句的信息并非全都能在每个句子中找到，甚至在关键词及短语之间存在一些不相关的信息，这些都会是寻找答案过程中的困难。
七、长句短读。
长句短读：即指将一个长句子(有时不止一个句子，还包括从句)读成一个相对短的句子，以对长句子内容作一总结式归纳，找出其所陈述的要点。
GRE阅读：长难句分析
Such variations in size， shape，chemistry， conduction speed， excitation threshold，and the like as had been demonstrated in nerve cells remained negligible in significance for any possible correlation with the manifold dimensions of mental experience.(5)
难免类型：复杂修饰
译文：类似于这些已经被在神经细胞中证明的在大小、形状、化学过程、产生的速度、兴奋阈值及其类似的方面上所发生变化，当他们被用来与大脑的体验以可能的方式联系起来的时候，他们在重要性上仍然是微不足道的。
解释：即使是初练难免的人其实也很熟悉such thing as something这样的语言方式，可是当中间的小东西thing居然变成了一个长达十二个单词的大东西的时候，实在令人搞不清后面的as及其后的something 到底为哪方神圣。再加上以such as 为中心的长主语距离系动词remain太远，更增加了本句的难度。请读者反复阅读，直到读出这样的感觉：顺序阅读原文时，原文似乎就是几大块，就好像是such things as a remain negligible in a certain sense.
It was possible to demonstrate by other methods refined structural differences among neuron types ; however , proof was lacking that the quality of the impulse or its condition was influenced by these differences , which seemed instead to influence the developmental patterning of the neural circuits .(5)
有可能通过其他方法来证明神经元种类间的细微的结构差异;可是，这样的证据是缺乏的，即神经冲动的性质或者状态是受这些差异所影响的，而这些差异看起来却能影响神经网络的发育模式。
难免类型：复杂修饰、倒装
解释：与很多人的印象相反，lack从来就不能作形容词，它只有动词或名词的词性。其形容词的形式是lacking,意思是缺乏的、不足的。
本句的在however 之前和之后的两个分句，是两个倒装结构，前一个是小倒装，正常语序是：to demonstrate refined structural differences among neuron types by other methods: however后面是个大倒装，lacking之后的that引导的同位语人名是修饰主语proof的，但是因为它太长，所以为了避免头重脚轻，被放到lacking之后，正常的语序应该是proof that the quality of ..was lacking
GRE阅读：长难句分析
If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons , it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact –real Amazonian societies – but rather to offer “moral lessons” on the supposed outcome of women’s rule in their own society . (4)
如果我们先研究一下为什么古人会提到亚马逊人，下面的一点就变得清晰了，那就是古希腊对于这种社会的庙睡不是太多的被用来表达观察的历史事实——真正的亚麻逊社会的——而是为了对于妇女在其社会中的统治的预期后果提供一种“道德教导”。
难句类型：复杂修饰、插入语、抽象词
解释：有两个词汇需要先解释一下：something be meant to represent是use something to mean的被动语态。mean在这里不是常用的“……的意思是”的意思，而是表示做某事所表达的目的、意图，其英文释义为：to serve or intend to convey, show, or indicate。句中的结构为：something be meant not so much to,,, but rather to, 实际上是把be meant to和not rather 的两个固定搭配套在一起，意思是：不是为了...而是为了...
另外，suppose的意思很抽象，不容易理解。此词既有据信、被认为的意思，也有预期的意思，还有表示贬义的假想的被想当然的意思。
本句的supposed用法极其特殊，在此处的意思，用以上任何一个释义来理解居然都可以成立，既是在说一个预期的社会状态，又是在说一个虚构出来的、本来不存在的社会状态，其用法类似于中文中的一语双关，是文章作者自以为文笔精妙之处。
Thus，for instance，it may come as a shock to mathematicians to learn that the Schrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom is not a literally correct description of this atom，but only an approximation to a somewhat more correct equation taking account of spin，magnetic dipole，and relativistic effects;and that this corrected equation is itself only an imperfect approximation to an infinite set of quantum field-theoretical equations. (5)
因此，举例来说，对数学家而言，了解到下述情形可能会令其惊愕不已，即薛定谔(Schrodinger)的氢原子方程式并非是对该原子作出的一种绝然正确的描述，而仅仅是个近似值，趋近于一个在某种程度上更为正确的将自旋、磁性偶极子、以及相对论效应考虑在内的方程式;而这个得以纠正的方程式就其本身而言也只是一个不完美的近似值，趋近于无穷无尽的一整套量子场论方程式。
难句类型：复杂修饰、插入语、省略
解释：读到此句时，数学家不见得震惊，晕倒的考生恐怕不在少数。不但句子结构复杂，而且罗列了大量的专有名词。对于不是理科的同学来讲，在阅读这篇文章的现场清楚地明白应该读到什么程度远比研究这些生僻的专有名词更重要。其实是否知道薛定鄂方程对读者来说并不见得重要，GRE考试的出题者也不见得知道它;关键是要读懂句子的主要意思;数学家不能理解不精确和近似值的伟大意义。不过在本书中，出现的句子均以阅读训练为目的，所以读者仍要把句子的结构读清楚。
主句中的主语it是一个开工主语，其具体的内容应该是从to learn开始一直到句子结束的长达八行的不定式，但是此不定式实在太长，如果放在句首则句子无法平衡。Learn后面带着两个以that引导的宾语从句，中间以分号和and分开，可以把分号以后的句子看成是and it may come as a shock to mathematicians to learn that的省略形式。
篇3：gre阅读考试成绩如何快速提升
gre阅读考试成绩如何快速提升?
生词问题
许多GRE阅读测试文章来自国外原创期刊或杂志。它们涵盖了科学技术、自然、环境保护、社会、文化、工作、生物、地理等多个领域。因此，遇到生词是合理的。但有些考生遇到生词就失去了信心。他们非常慌乱。他们打破了原来的阅读节奏和速度。当他们问问题时，他们因为生词而陷入困境。因此，问题不仅没有解决，而且影响了后续问题的速度和时间。可以说，“一旦开始，他们就到处移动”。在这方面，专家认为新词的出现是不可避免的，只要你有一个基本的词汇，就可以一个一个地彻底新词的问题。
有时新词属于更专业的词汇。他们的出现不是为了考察考生的词汇，而是为了考察考生的适应能力和判断能力。gre阅读怎么练习尤其是标题中出现的所谓生词，可以使不好的事情变得更好，成为考生寻找答案的线索词。
有时生词的意义可以直接在上下文中获得。gre阅读中遇到的生词的相当一部分意义可以通过各种方式猜测得到。因此，在生词周围或语境中寻找解释是一种有效的方法。
时间问题
gre阅读考试备考很多学生面对GRE阅读考试，都会感叹时间不够，往往考生来不及读完整篇文章。问题解决速度达不到要求的原因有很多，如词汇、阅读方法和解决问题的能力。此外，还有一个重要因素：没有权衡，没有衡量问题的优先性。鉴于GRE考试模式不倒箭，如果遇到很难阅读的问题，就要花很多时间去定位和分析那些难以保证正确率的问题。建议你直接猜出答案，然后输入下一个问题，不要在这些问题上花太多时间。只有学会选择或拒绝，才能保证解决以下问题的时间，从而弥补损失，取得更好的gre阅读成绩提升。
理解问题
很多考生在日常练习和考场遇到需要查找关键词和中心句的问题时，总是跟着感觉走，完全失去了方向和焦点，这直接导致了在面对问题时很难回到原来的位置。因此，考生应学会在阅读过程中直接寻找线索，即中心句的关键词。建议我们在日常的课堂和习题中总结试题的特点，用一两个词覆盖整个题目。使用关键词来定位答案，更多地关注目标，更有方向性。
其实，只要有经验的考生都会知道，在最后一个错误造成之后，就应该尽量避免在同类问题面前再次犯错。这样，就更容易知道他们的弱点在哪里。如何提高gre阅读的效率，是掌握gre阅读解决问题的技巧，避免其弱点失分的关键。
GRE阅读：法国二月革命
In February 1848 the people of Paris rose in revolt against the constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Despite the existence of excellent narrative accounts, the February Days, as this revolt is called, have been largely ignored by social historians of the past two decades. For each of the three other major insurrections in nineteenth-century Paris—July 1830, June 1848, and May 1871—there exists at least a sketch of participants’ backgrounds and an analysis, more or less rigorous, of the reasons for the occurrence of the uprisings. Only in the case of the February Revolution do we lack a useful description of participants that might characterize it in the light of what social history has taught us about the process of revolutionary mobilization. Two reasons for this relative neglect seem obvious. First, the insurrection of February has been overshadowed by that of June. The February Revolution overthrew a regime, to be sure, but met with so little resistance that it failed to generate any real sense of historical drama. Its successor, on the other hand, appeared to pit key socioeconomic groups in a life-or-death struggle and was widely seen by contemporary observers as marking a historical departure. Through their interpretations, which exert a continuing influence on our understanding of the revolutionary process, the impact of the events of June has been magnified, while, as an unintended consequence, the significance of the February insurrection has been diminished. Second, like other “successful” insurrections, the events of February failed to generate the most desirable kinds of historical records. Although the June insurrection of 1848 and the Paris Commune of 1871 would be considered watersheds of nineteenth-century French history by any standard, they also present the social historian with a signal advantage: these failed insurrections created a mass of invaluable documentation as a by-product of authorities’ efforts to search out and punish the rebels.
Quite different is the outcome of successful insurrections like those of July 1830 and February 1848. Experiences are retold, but participants typically resume their daily routines without ever recording their activities. Those who played salient roles may become the objects of highly embellished verbal accounts or in rare cases, of celebratory articles in contemporary periodicals. And it is true that the publicly acknowledged leaders of an uprising frequently write memoirs. However, such documents are likely to be highly unreliable, unrepresentative, and unsystematically preserved, especially when compared to the detailed judicial dossiers prepared for everyone arrested following a failed insurrection. As a consequence, it may prove difficult or impossible to establish for a successful revolution a comprehensive and trustworthy picture of those who participated, or to answer even the most basic questions one might pose concerning the social origins of the insurgents.
12.1. According to the passage, “a useful description of participants” (lines 11-12) exists for which of the following insurrections of nineteenth-century France?
I. The July Insurrection of 1830
II. The February Revolution of 1848
III. The June insurrection of 1848
IV. The May insurrection of 1871
(A) I and III only
(B) II and IV only
(C) I, II, and III only
(D) I, III, and IV only
(E) II, III, and IV only
12.2. It can be inferred from the passage that support for the objectives of the February Revolution was
(A) negligible
(B) misguided
(C) fanatical
(D) spontaneous
(E) widespread
12.3. Which of the following, best describes the organization of the second paragraph?
(A) The thesis of the passage is stated and supporting evidence systematically presented.
(B) Two views regarding the thesis presented in the first paragraph are compared and contrasted.
(C) Evidence refuting the thesis presented in the first paragraph is systematically presented.
(D) The thesis presented in the first paragraph is systematically supported.
(E) The thesis presented in the first paragraph is further defined and a conclusion drawn.
12.4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers which of the following essential for understanding a revolutionary mobilization?
(A) A comprehensive theory of revolution that can be applied to the major insurrections of the nineteenth century
(B) Awareness of the events necessary for a revolution to be successful
(C) Access to narratives and memoirs written by eyewitnesses of a given revolution
(D) The historical perspective provided by the passage of a considerable amount of time
(E) Knowledge of the socioeconomic backgrounds of a revolution’s participants
12.5. Which of the following can be inferred about the “detailed judicial dossiers” referred to in line 49?
(A) Information contained in the dossiers sheds light on the social origins of a revolution’s participants.
(B) The dossiers closely resemble the narratives written by the revolution’s leaders in their personal memoirs.
(C) The information that such dossiers contain is untrustworthy and unrepresentative of a revolution’s participants.
(D) Social historians prefer to avoid such dossiers whenever possible because they are excessively detailed.
(E) The February Revolution of 1848 produced more of these dossiers than did the June insurrection.
12.6. Which of the following is the most lical objection to the claim made in lines 38-39?
(A) The February Revolution of 1848 is much less significant than the July insurrection of 1830.
(B) The backgrounds and motivations of participants in the July insurrection of 1830 have been identified, however cursorily.
(C) Even less is known about the July insurrection of 1830 than about the February Revolution of 1848.
(D) Historical records made during the July insurrection of 1830 are less reliable than those made during the May insurrection of 1871.
(E) The importance of the July insurrection of 1830 has been magnified at the expense of the significance of the February Revolution of 1848.
12.7. With which of the following statements regarding revolution would the author most likely agree?
(A) Revolutionary mobilization requires a great deal of planning by people representing disaffected groups.
(B) The objectives of the February Revolution were more radical than those of the June insurrection.
(C) The process of revolutionary mobilization varies greatly from one revolution to the next.
(D) Revolutions vary greatly in the usefulness of the historical records that they produce.
(E) As knowledge of the February Revolution increases, chances are good that its importance will eventually eclipse that of the June insurrection.
篇4：gre阅读长文章如何快速解题
gre阅读长文章如何快速解题
gre长阅读“做题速度慢”的解决方案：
多数考生做题速度慢的原因都是一样的，就是花在读原文上的时间太长了。GRE阅读的原文通常又长又难，如果要读懂原文然后凭借印象来做题是需要考生有非常深厚的英文功底的，而这种功底我们绝大多数考生都不具备，所以我们只能用考完题干再定位回原文读懂某个具体的句子来做题。
那么，我们在遇到一篇新的阅读时先读一遍原文是要达到什么目的呢?
做对主旨题和作者态度题;2)关注、标记一些常考考点为定位所用。
故读原文后能达到这两个要求就足够了，如果除达到这两个要求之外又多读了句子，或在某些句子、某些词上多逗留了时间，都是致使做题速度慢花的无用功。
我们在这里先给出一些可以略读的固定内容，大家不妨花一点时间记一下这些非常不重要的东西，以便今后不用在它们上面浪费更多时间。
1、已知大意的具体叙述可以略读，重复、进一步的解释、反之亦然的叙述部分可以略读。
2、目的已知，具体内容可以略读，就是知道了叙述目的，可以略读其内容。
3、作者将要或者已经摒弃的论据、论证可以略读，这样的观点一般都是为后面作者支持的观点做铺垫。
4、一句话的重心如果在后面，前面的可以略读。
GRE阅读真题之OG2
While chocolate was highly esteemed in Mesoamerica, where it originated, its adoption in Europe was initially slow. There is a common belief that Europeans needed to “transform” chocolate to make it appetizing. However, while Spaniards did put sugar, which was unknown to indigenous Americans, into chocolate beverages, this additive was not completely innovative. Mesoamericans were already sweetening chocolate with honey, and the step from honey to sugar—increasingly more available than honey because of expanding sugar plantations in the Americas—is a small one. Likewise, although Spaniards adjusted Mesoamerican recipes by using European spices, the spices chosen suggest an attempt to replicate harder-to-find native flowers. There is no indication the Spaniards deliberately tried to change the original flavor of chocolate.
1. The author of the passage refers to the use of honey primarily to
A. identify the origins of an additive previously untried by Europeans
B. present an example of a product that was unknown to Europeans
C. correct the misapprehension that Mesoamericans used a sweetener that was not available in Europe
D. provide an example of an ingredient that was in the process of being displaced by a substitute
E. explain why the Spanish use of sugar in chocolate was not a sign of a need to transform chocolate
2. Which sentence presents a misconception that the passage challenges?
A. The second (“There is … appetizing”)
B. The third (“However … innovative”)
C. The fourth (“Mesoamericans … one”)
D. The fifth (“Likewise … flowers”)
E. The sixth (“There is … chocolate”)
GRE阅读真题之OG2
In early-twentieth-century England, it was fashionable to claim that only a completely new style of writing could address a world undergoing unprecedented transformation— just as one literary critic recently claimed that only the new “aesthetic of exploratory excess” can address a world under- going well, you know. Yet in early-twentieth century England, T. S. Eliot, a man fascinated by the “presence” of the past, wrote the most innovative poetry of his time. The lesson for today’s literary community seems obvious: a reorientation toward tradition would benefit writers no less than readers. But if our writers and critics indeed respect the novel’s rich tradition (as they claim to), then why do they disdain the urge to tell an exciting story?
1. The author of the passage suggests that present-day readers would particularly benefit from which of the following changes on the part of present-day writers and critics?
A. An increased focus on the importance of engaging the audience in a narrative
B. Modernization of the traditional novelistic elements already familiar to readers
C. Embracing aspects of fiction that are generally peripheral to the interest of readers
D. A greater recognition of how the tradition of the novel has changed over time
E. A better understanding of how certain poets such as Eliot have influenced fiction of the present time
2. In the context of the passage as whole, “address” (lines 3 and 6) is closest in meaning to
A. reveal
B. belie
C. speak to
D. direct attention toward
E. attempt to remediate
篇5：gre阅读高分快速突破经验
gre阅读高分快速突破经验
阅读强度要提升
备考GRE阅读，阅读强度要大，每天计划阅读量要尽量大，比如2-3天内总结完官方指南及补充材料的所有文章。阅读要做好说穿了还是多看，通过大量阅读积累量，并最终实现量变到质变的过程。不建议总结GMAT和LSAT文章，因为阅读和题目的特点不同，没有太大的参考价值。
培养自己的阅读速度和节奏
备考GRE阅读，要试着在做阅读和横向总结的过程中培养一种比较固定的最佳阅读速度，这种速度是对文章的理解程度和阅读速度的一个组合。再快些恐怕会看不懂，从而导致正确率的下降;再慢些正确率提高很少，但阅读占据的时间太多了。最佳速度应该根据文体和生词量有所调整，适合自己的速度才是最好的，而不是去追求所谓的标准阅读速度。
阅读过程中要学会抓关键词
备考GRE阅读的时候，要思考，同时注意一些关键词，不能为读而读，在读的过程中就要把一些可能出题的点都找出来，至少要保证有点印象，也可以适当做标记，这样在读完文章后就能知道文章大概的结构和主要内容。也方便之后的解题。
了解阅读方法自己总结经验
备考GRE阅读，了解阅读方法很重要，但如果都是别人的总结，没有自己总结过的话，难以做到深刻领会。总结比做题更重要。做题只是练习速度和熟悉考试的感觉，而总结则可以从整体上加快阅读解题节奏。盲从他人方法而不顾及自身实际水平，将很难取得满意的结果。
做阅读题要分段进行
备考GRE阅读，做练习和总结的时候建议不要一下子把所有文章全部都做完，再从头至尾再做第二次。这种题海战术实际效果极差。建议考生以10篇或5个section为一个界限。做10篇，每篇做完后总结;做完这10篇后，回头再做一次，再总结，然后才开始下一个10篇。这样做的好处是在短时间内加深对文章结构及考点的印象，再进入下一个阶段。
关于GRE阅读题的快速提分经验就和大家分享到这里，相信各位考生在平时自己练习备考的过程中也会有一些心得体会，希望大家能结合上述内容，找出适合自己的解题方式和技巧，这样才能在考试中更加游刃有余的面对GRE阅读题，取得优异的成绩。
TIPS：阅读的关键在于理解
GRE阅读文章有一个明显的特点：逻辑条理性强。因此在阅读的过程中一定要把握文章的脉络。平时训练时要一边读一边想：这是个历史现象吗?是对这个现象作解释还是评价?这是新观点还是老观点?作者是什么态度?这才是active reading。
GRE一遍阅读基础方法讲解
什么是一遍阅读法?
所谓一遍阅读法，就是最简单基本的阅读方式，也是很多人第一次接触阅读会使用的方式，即从头到尾仔细完整地看完文章，然后带着理解和记忆进入做题环节的方式。这是一种最自然最淳朴的阅读方式，却也是最适合大部分人的方法。
GRE阅读如何使用一遍阅读法?
首先，考生要学会控制阅读时间，建议大家按照长篇阅读3分半，短篇阅读2分半的时间限制来进行一篇阅读法的练习，这个时间能够大致保证考生在正式考试中的解题速度不会太慢影响到整体时间，也不会太快来不及读完文章。
接下来，考生在阅读中要学会明确一个概念，那就是一遍阅读，重在理解文章整体含义，而非强行记住各个细枝末节。考生在读完一遍文章后，对于文章的主旨，各个段落大致讲述的内容是什么有所了解即可，至于文章中的各种细节，只要大致知道位置，能够快速找到就算是达成了阅读的目标。
最后，考生可以在练习中尝试使用笔记的方式来帮助练习这种方法。边阅读边记录下一些诸如文章主题、段落大意等的内容，用简短的语句甚至一些标记符号来帮助记忆。之后在做题时可以参考这些笔记来解答。这样的做法虽然从短期来看可能会让考生花费更多的时间，但从长远角度来说却是帮助大家练好阅读技巧的划算投资。而当考生逐渐掌握并熟练了这种方法后，则可以尝试着逐步摆脱记笔记的步骤，直接依靠大脑来进行记录，并最终达到只读一遍就能完成阅读目标的“大成”境界。
GRE考试一遍阅读法的好处
使用一遍阅读法益处多多。首先，一遍阅读是最符合人的自然阅读习惯的方法，也因此在练习过程中最容易被身体本能所接受。换句话说，只是在加强本身的正常阅读过程中的能力，比起那些违背通常阅读习惯的方法，练习效率无疑更高。
其次，一遍阅读法在考试中适用范围更大。有些同学可能针对不同类型的GRE阅读文章准备了不同的阅读技巧，但考试中却不一定能够用上。而一遍阅读法，无论对于哪种题材和结构的文章，在使用上都毫无障碍可言，只要掌握就能用到任意一篇文章上，实用度极高。
最后，一遍阅读法并不仅仅只是针对考试使用的阅读技巧。相比其他纯为考试设计研究出来，功利性大于泛用性的阅读技巧，一遍阅读法对于考生日后的学业和工作也大有帮助。特别是考虑到参加GRE考试的考生大多数都是为了学习深造研究生专业并在学术领域有所发展，面对以后可以想见的大量阅读，一遍阅读法必然能帮助大家走得更顺更远。
GRE阅读高频词汇分享1
Promptly 迅速地 reiterate 重申
Propagate 传播 relatedness 关联性
Propel 推进 relegate 把…归类
Propensity 倾向 remainder 剩余物
Prophet 提倡者 rendering 描绘
Proportionally 相应地 renunciation 放弃
Protogynous 雌性先熟的 repay 补偿
Provocation 激怒，挑衅 repel 排斥
Psychologically 心里上地 repellent 驱除剂
Publicize 宣传 replicate 复制
Publisher 出版商 representativeness 代表性
Pulley 滑轮 repressive 镇压
Qualification 资格，先决条件 repulsive 排斥的
Racist 种族主义者 reradiate 再辐射
Rainfall 降雨量 resell 转售
Ramifications 结果，分支 resettlement 重新安置，重新定居
Ratify 批准 respiration 呼吸
Ration 配额，定量配置 restatement 再次声明
GRE阅读高频词汇分享2
Pregnancy 怀孕 rationale 基本理由，基本原理
Prehistory 史前时代 rationalize 使…合理化
Preliterate 有文字之前的 reaggregate 重新聚集
Preoccupation 全神贯注 realization 实现
Presidential 总统的 reaper 收割机
Preventable 可预防的 reappearance 再现
Prevention 预防 receptive 易于接受的，愿意接受的
Primate 灵长类动物 recital 独舞表演
Privileged 有特权的 recombine 重新组合
Probabilistic 或然论的，盖然论的 recoverability 可恢复性
Proceed 出自 recreate 重新创建
Prodigality 铺张浪费 recreational 娱乐的
Prodigious 不可思议的，令人惊恐的 recycle 使…再循环;重复利用
Producer 制片人 redistribution 重新分配
Productivity 生产力 reductive 减少的，还原的
Progeny 后代 reef 暗流
Programmer 程序员 reexamine 重考;再检查
Prohibitively (价格)过高地 reflectivity 反射能力
Proletariat 无产阶级 refreshingly 令人耳目一新的
Prominently 明显地 refugee 难民
Promotion 倡导 regime 政权，政体
篇6：快速提高gre阅读成绩的方法
gre考试阅读成绩提升有什么好方法吗?
生词问题
许多gre阅读考试文章来自国外原创期刊或杂志。它们涵盖了科学技术、自然、环境保护、社会、文化、工作、生物、地理等多个领域。因此，遇到生词是合理的。但有些考生遇到生词就失去了信心。他们非常慌乱。他们打破了原来的阅读节奏和速度。当他们问问题时，他们因为生词而陷入困境。因此，问题不仅没有解决，而且影响了后续问题的速度和时间。可以说，“一旦开始，他们就到处移动”。在这方面，专家认为新词的出现是不可避免的，只要你有一个基本的词汇，就可以一个一个地彻底po解新词的问题。
有时新词属于更专业的词汇。他们的出现不是为了考察考生的词汇，而是为了考察考生的适应能力和判断能力。gre阅读怎么练习尤其是标题中出现的所谓生词，可以使不好的事情变得更好，成为考生寻找答案的线索词。
有时生词的意义可以直接在上下文中获得。gre阅读中遇到的生词的相当一部分意义可以通过各种方式猜测得到。因此，在生词周围或语境中寻找解释是一种有效的方法。
时间问题
gre考试阅读备考很多学生面对GRE阅读考试，都会感叹时间不够，往往考生来不及读完整篇文章。问题解决速度达不到要求的原因有很多，如词汇、阅读方法和解决问题的能力。此外，还有一个重要因素：没有权衡，没有衡量问题的优先性。鉴于GRE考试模式不倒箭，如果遇到很难阅读的问题，就要花很多时间去定位和分析那些难以保证正确率的问题。建议你直接猜出答案，然后输入下一个问题，不要在这些问题上花太多时间。只有学会选择或拒绝，才能保证解决以下问题的时间，从而弥补损失，取得更好的效果。
理解问题
很多考生在日常练习和考场遇到需要查找关键词和中心句的问题时，总是跟着感觉走，完全失去了方向和焦点，这直接导致了在面对问题时很难回到原来的位置。因此，考生应学会在阅读过程中直接寻找线索，即中心句的关键词。建议我们在日常的课堂和习题中总结试题的特点，用一两个词覆盖整个题目。使用关键词来定位答案，更多地关注目标，更有方向性。
其实，只要有经验的考生都会知道，在最后一个错误造成之后，就应该尽量避免在同类问题面前再次犯错。这样，就更容易知道他们的弱点在哪里。如何提高gre阅读的效率，是掌握gre阅读解决问题的技巧，避免其弱点失分的关键。
GRE阅读怎样读文章
1.一句话只看一遍，充分利用自己的语法知识，时刻把握句子主干，修饰成分要毫无感觉得快速浏览(这里的“毫无感觉”不是略读，而是不希望过多的修饰成分或插入成分影响对句子主干的理解，这四个字需要自己体会)。
2.做标记除了大写字母、时间年代、最高级、转折标志词、因果标志词、列举、让步、强对比以外，还要标记出并列连接词(如and)、分号、冒号、表示作者态度的词(这个比较难，需要自己体会收集)，原因我会在下面的取舍中谈到。我的做标记的小窍门：标记符号不要只用一种(如下划线)，也不要过多，个人感觉最多三种(如括号、圆圈、下划线)，分别标记原因、转折和其他，不过我自己只用下划线和括号。
3.一定要取舍。我以前的标准是：
a)让步分句(如：带although的分句、带it is true的分句、带do的分句等)一律跳过(但是用括号括起来)，只看后半个分句;
b)such as后的内容一律跳过，也用括号括起来，不过我会数数列举的个数，如果是4个，则必出题，其他个数不用管，出题了再回头看;
c)for example举例只要提炼关键词的首字母就可以了，也要括起来，重点看后面或前面的结论。
d)原因——标志词常为BECause、since——一律跳过，括起来，只看结果。比较容易被忽略的是result in和result from，遇到这两个，我在下面划横线做标记。
e)老观点只把握关键词、知道讲的是什么就行，其他一律跳过。
f)冒号后一律跳过，冒号下做标记。
g)分号后一律跳过，因为表示并列，内容和前面大体一致，分号做标记，出题的话再回来看。
现在的标准是：上面这些全看，因为速度上来了，但看这些内容时仍然是“毫无感觉”地看，可以不用担心它们会分散注意力了。
当这些内容都做标记后，文章结构就非常清楚了，哪儿是举例、哪儿是结论、哪儿是原因、哪儿是转折一目了然，定位非常容易。
4. (本来想把这条放在第一位的)我的提高阅读速度的不二法门：反复阅读已经读过的文章，5遍左右吧!慢慢地就会产生一种直觉，知道哪里略读哪里重读。
GRE阅读练习：鸟叫研究
Over the years, biol.ists have suggested two main pathways by which sexual selection may have shaped the evolution of male birdsong. In the first, male competition and intrasexual selection produce relatively short, simple songs used mainly in territorial behavior. In the second, female choice and intersexual selection produce longer, more complicated songs used mainly in mate attraction; like such visual ornamentation as the peacock’s tail, elaborate vocal characteristics increase the male’s chances of being chosen as a mate, and he thus enjoys more reproductive success than his less ostentatious rivals. The two pathways are not mutually exclusive, and we can expect to find examples that reflect their interaction. Teasing them apart has been an important challenge to evolutionary biol.ists.
Early research confirmed the role of intrasexual selection. In a variety of experiments in the field, males responded aggressively to recorded songs by exhibiting territorial behavior near the speakers. The breakthrough for research into intersexual selection came in the development of a new technique for investigating female response in the laboratory. When female cowbirds raised in isolation in sound-proof chambers were exposed to recordings of male song, they responded by exhibiting mating behavior. By quantifying the responses, researchers were able to determine what particular features of the song were most important. In further experiments on song sparrows, researchers found that when exposed to a single song type repeated several times or to a repertoire of different song types, females responded more to the latter. The beauty of the experimental design is that it effectively rules out confounding variables; acoustic isolation assures that the female can respond only to the song structure itself.
If intersexual selection operates as theorized, males with more complicated songs should not only attract females more readily but should also enjoy greater reproductive success. At first, however, researchers doing fieldwork with song sparrows found no correlation between larger repertoires and early mating, which has been shown to be one indicator of reproductive success; further, common measures of male quality used to predict reproductive success, such as weight, size, age, and territory, also failed to correlate with song complexity.
The confirmation researchers had been seeking was finally achieved in studies involving two varieties of warblers. Unlike the song sparrow, which repeats one of its several song types in bouts before switching to another, the warbler continuously composes much longer and more variable songs without repetition. For the first time, researchers found a significant correlation between repertoire size and early mating, and they discovered further that repertoire size had a more significant effect than any other measure of male quality on the number of young produced. The evidence suggests that warblers use their extremely elaborate songs primarily to attract females, clearly confirming the effect of intersexual selection on the evolution of birdsong.
17.1. The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) showing that intrasexual selection has a greater effect on birdsong than does intersexual selection
(B) contrasting the role of song complexity in several species of birds
(C) describing research confirming the suspected relationship between intersexual selection and the complexity of birdsong
(D) demonstrating the superiority of laboratory work over field studies in evolutionary biol.y
(E) illustrating the effectiveness of a particular approach to experimental design in evolutionary biol.y
17.2. The author mentions the peacock’s tail in line 8 most probably in order to
(A) cite an exception to the theory of the relationship between intrasexual selection and male competition
(B) illustrate the importance of both of the pathways that shaped the evolution of birdsong
(C) draw a distinction between competing theories of intersexual selection
(D) give an example of a feature that may have evolved through intersexual selection by female choice
(E) refute a commonly held assumption about the role of song in mate attraction
17.3. According to the passage, which of the following is specifically related to intrasexual selection?
(A) Female choice
(B) Territorial behavior
(C) Complex song types
(D) Large song repertoires
(E) Visual ornamentation
17.4. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly demonstrate the interaction mentioned in lines 11-13?
(A) Female larks respond similarly both to short, simple songs and to longer, more complicated songs.
(B) Male canaries use visual ornamentation as well as elaborate song repertoires for mate attraction.
(C) Both male and female blackbirds develop elaborate visual and vocal characteristics.
(D) Male jays use songs to compete among themselves and to attract females.
(E) Male robins with elaborate visual ornamentation have as much reproductive success as rivals with elaborate vocal characteristics.
17.5. The passage indicates that researchers raised female cowbirds in acoustic isolation in order to
(A) eliminate confounding variables
(B) approximate field conditions
(C) measure reproductive success
(D) quantify repertoire complexity
(E) prevent early mating
17.6. According to the passage, the song sparrow is unlike the warbler in that the song sparrow
(A) uses songs mainly in territorial behavior
(B) continuously composes long and complex songs
(C) has a much larger song repertoire
(D) repeats one song type before switching to another
(E) responds aggressively to recorded songs
17.7. The passage suggests that the song sparrow experiments mentioned in lines 37-43 failed to confirm the role of intersexual selection because
(A) females were allowed to respond only to the song structure
(B) song sparrows are unlike other species of birds
(C) the experiments provided no evidence that elaborate songs increased male reproductive success
(D) the experiments included the songs of only a small number of different song sparrows
(E) the experiments duplicated some of the limitations of previous field studies
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