GRE阅读3种常见主体结构精讲

GRE阅读看懂文章先了解结构 ,3种常见主体结构精讲，下面小编就和大家分享，来欣赏一下吧。

GRE阅读3种常见主体结构精讲

新GRE阅读理解文章的常见“主体结构”有三种：

1.结论-解释型(也叫论点-解释型)

2.新老观点对比型

3.现象解释型(包含问题-解决方案型)

GRE阅读文章结构精讲：结论-解释型

这类文章在开始有一个判断句，一般是文章的结论，也是文章的主题。这个判断句的谓语部分通常包含系动词(is, remain, prove, turn out, appear等)或情态动词(can, may, should, must等)，而且含有表示态度的词汇(如形容词等)。例如：

Because of its accuracy in outlining the Earth's subsurface, the seismic-reflection method remains the most important tool in the search for petroleum reserves. In field practice, a subsurface is mapped by arranging a series of wave-train sources, such as small dynamite explosions, in a grid pattern…

文章首句指出：由于“地震反射法”(sr)在勾划地球的地下层面这方面的准确性，该方法一直是探寻石油储备的最重要的工具。这是一个判断句，为结论。其中remains为系动词，而most important为态度词，表示作者对“地震反射法”持非常正面的评价。

后文应解释“地震反射法”的具体过程。 第二句话对解释进行总的说明：“在实地作业中，通过将一系列波列源，诸如小规模炸药爆炸，排列成一个网格模式，从而将地下层面标绘出来。”接下来是“地震反射法”的详细过程。

GRE阅读文章结构精讲：新老观点对比型

这类文章在开始提出老观点，然后提出新观点并进行论述。通常新观点是文章的主题。老观点出现的标志词有：

1.传统观点： has been, traditionally, until recently等。

2.大众观点：frequently, widely, many等。

新观点出现的标志词有：however, recently, now等。

例如：

Traditionally, pollination by wind has been viewed as a reproductive process marked by random events in which the vagaries of the wind are compensated for by the generation of vast quantities of pollen, so that the ultimate production of new seeds is assured at the expense of producing much more pollen than is actually used。

However, a number of features that are characteristic of wind-pollinated plants reduce pollen waste…

文章首句指出：“传统上，风媒授粉过程一直被视为是一个以随机事件为标志的繁殖过程，其中风的不确定性通过产生大量花粉而得以补偿，因此，新种子的最终繁殖得以保证，而此举的代价是所需产生的花粉要远远超过实际的使用量。”由第一个词traditionally可知文章首句为老观点(由于风的不确定性，风媒植物要产生大量花粉补偿)，那么本文的结构是“新老观点对比型”。

第二段首句出现了GRE阅读中的标志性转折词however,说明这句话就是新观点：“但是，风媒植物所独有的一系列特征可减少花粉浪费。”这说明风媒植物除了可以产生大量花粉加以补偿的消极策略之外，还可以通过一些积极机制减少花粉损失，不一定需要产生大量花粉。

GRE阅读文章结构精讲：现象解释型

文章开始提出一个现象，然后解释现象。解释是主题。有多个解释时，作者一般对前面的解释持负面评价，对最后的解释持正面评价。提出现象时的标志词有：phenomenon, fact; problem, difficulty, puzzle, question等。例如：

What causes a helix in nature to appear with either a dextral ("right-handed,"or clockwise) twist or a sinistral ("left-handed," or counterclockwise') twist is one of the most intriguing puzzles in the science of form…What mechanisms, control handedness and keep left-handedness rare?

It would seem unlikely that evolution should discriminate against sinistral snails if sinistral and dextral snails are exact mirror images, for any disadvantage that a sinistral twist in itself could confer on its possessor is almost inconceivable. But left- and right-handed snails are not actually true mirror images of one another…

是什么样的原因致使自然界中的螺旋体呈现出右旋(“右向旋转的”，或顺时针的)或左旋(“左向旋转的，”或反时针的)?这是形态科学中一个最引人入胜的不解之谜。究竟是一些什么样的机制控制着旋转方向，并使左旋的比例为数稀少呢?

但是，这种结合不对称、解剖学和偶然性的进化论机制并未提供一种充分的解释，以说明蜗牛的右旋何以会成为主要的旋向。于是，进化论必须让位于支持右旋或左旋的明确的发育机制为基础的理论。因此，解决所有蜗牛身上旋向之谜的道路似乎与这一螺旋体本身一样曲折复杂。

上文在第一段最后提出一个问题：“究竟是一些什么样的机制控制着旋转方向，并使左旋的比例为数稀少呢?”这个问题就是一个现象：螺旋体中左旋的比例少。有问题就有解答，有现象就有解释。第二段从进化论的角度解释这一现象。但是，GRE阅读文章中一般对进化论的解释持负面评价，所以需要寻找新的解释。第三段否定了进化论的解释。在末段，作者以发育机制(developmental mechanism)解释“为何左旋少、右旋多”。

把握了文章的三种主体结构以后，做文章后的许多题时易如反掌。

本文的结构是“结论-解释型”，因此(C)为正确答案。由此可见，对于GRE阅读来说，把握文章的主体结构，而不陷入文章词句与细节的泥沼中，是一件快意的事情：文章读得爽，题也做得爽。

GRE阅读练习每日一篇

If a supernova (the explosion of a massive star) triggered star formation from dense clouds of gas and dust, and if the most massive star to be formed from the cloud evolved into a supernova and triggered a new round of star formation, and so on, then a chain of star-forming regions would result. If many such chains were created in a differentially rotating galaxy, the distribution of stars would resemble the observed distribution in a spiral galaxy (spiral galaxy: n.(=spiral nebula)螺旋星云,旋涡星云).

This line of reasoning underlies an exciting new theory of spiral-galaxy structure. A computer simulation based on this theory has reproduced the appearance of many spiral galaxies without assuming an underlying density wave, the hallmark (a distinguishing characteristic, trait, or feature “the dramatic flourishes which are the hallmark of the trial lawyer Marion K. Sanders”) of the most widely accepted theory of the large-scale structure of spiral galaxies. That theory maintains that a density wave of spiral form sweeps through the central plane of a galaxy, compressing clouds of gas and dust, which collapse into stars that form a spiral pattern.

17. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe what results when a supernova triggers the creation of chains of star-forming regions

(B) propose a modification in the most widely accepted theory of spiral-galaxy structure

(C) compare and contrast the roles of clouds of gas and dust in two theories of spiral-galaxy structure

(D) describe a new theory of spiral-galaxy structure and contrast it with the most widely accepted theory

(E) describe a new theory of spiral-galaxy structure and discuss a reason why it is inferior to the most widely accepted theory

18. The passage implies that, according to the new theory of spiral-galaxy structure, a spiral galaxy can be created by supernovas when the supernovas are

(A) producing an underlying density wave

(B) affected by a density wave of spiral form

(C) distributed in a spiral pattern

(D) located in the central plane of a galaxy

(E) located in a differentially rotating galaxy

19. Which of the following, if true, would most discredit the new theory as described in the passage?

(A) The exact mechanism by which a star becomes a supernova is not yet completely known and may even differ for different stars.

(B) Chains of star-forming regions like those postulated in the new theory have been observed in the vicinity of dense clouds of gas and dust.

(C) The most massive stars formed from supernova explosions are unlikely to evolve into supernovas.

(D) Computer simulations of supernovas provide a poor picture of what occurs just before a supernova explosion.

(E) A density wave cannot compress clouds of gas and dust to a density high enough to create a star.

20. The author’s attitude toward the new theory of spiral-galaxy structure can best be described as

(A) euphoric

(B) enthusiastic

(C) concerned

(D) critical

(E) disputatious

The first mention of slavery in the statutes of the English colonies of North America does not occur until after 1660—some forty years after the importation of the first Black people. Lest we think that slavery existed in fact before it did in law, Oscar and Mary Handlin assure us that the status of Black people down to (down to: 下至) the 1660’s was that of servants. A critique of the Handlins’ interpretation of why legal slavery did not appear until the 1660’s suggests that assumptions about the relation between slavery and racial prejudice should be reexamined, and that explanations for the different treatment of Black slaves in North and South America should be expanded.

The Handlins explain the appearance of legal slavery by arguing that, during the 1660’s, the position of White servants was improving relative to that of Black servants. Thus, the Handlins contend, Black and White servants, heretofore treated alike, each attained a different status. There are, however, important objections to this argument. First, the Handlins cannot adequately demonstrate that the White servant’s position was improving during and after the 1660’s; several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures indicate otherwise. Another flaw in the Handlins’ interpretation is their assumption that prior to the establishment of legal slavery there was no discrimination against Black people. It is true that before the 1660’s Black people were rarely called slaves. But this should not overshadow evidence from the 1630’s on that points to racial discrimination without using the term slavery. Such discrimination sometimes stopped short of lifetime servitude or inherited status—the two attributes of true slavery—yet in other cases it included both. The Handlins’ argument excludes the real possibility that Black people in the English colonies were never treated as the equals of White people.

This possibility has important ramifications. If from the outset Black people were discriminated against, then legal slavery should be viewed as a reflection and an extension of racial prejudice rather than, as many historians including the Handlins have argued, the cause of prejudice. In addition, the existence of discrimination before the advent of legal slavery offers a further explanation for the harsher treatment of Black slaves in North than in South America. Freyre and Tannenbaum have rightly argued that the lack of certain traditions in North America—such as a Roman conception of slavery and a Roman Catholic emphasis on equality—explains why the treatment of Black slaves was more severe there than in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of South America. But this cannot be the whole explanation since it is merely negative, based only on a lack of something. A more compelling explanation is that the early and sometimes extreme racial discrimination in the English colonies helped determine the particular nature of the slavery that followed.

21. Which of the following statements best describes the organization of lines 1-8 of the passage?

(A) A historical trend is sketched and an exception to that trend is cited.

(B) Evidence for a historical irregularity is mentioned and a generalization from that evidence is advanced.

(C) A paradox about the origins of an institution is pointed out and the author’s explanation of the paradox is expounded.

(D) A statement about a historical phenomenon is offered and a possible misinterpretation of that statement is addressed.

(E) An interpretation of the rise of an institution is stated and evidence for that interpretation is provided.

22. Which of the following is the most logical inference to be drawn from the passage about the effects of “several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures” (lines 22-23) passed during and after the 1660’s?

(A) The acts negatively affected the pre-1660’s position of Black as well as of White servants.

(B) The acts had the effect of impairing rather than improving the position of White servants relative to what it had been before the 1660’s.

(C) The acts had a different effect o n the position of White servants than did many of the acts passed during this time by the legislatures of other colonies.

(D) The acts, at the very least, caused the position of White servants to remain no better than it had been before the 1660’s.

(E) The acts, at the very least, tended to reflect the attitudes toward Black servants that already existed before the 1660’s.

23. With which of the following statements regarding the status of Black people in the English colonies of North America before the 1660’s would the author be LEAST likely to agree?

(A) Although Black people were not legally considered to be slaves, they were often called slaves.

(B) Although subject to some discrimination, Black people had a higher legal status than they did after the 1660’s.

(C) Although sometimes subject to lifetime servitude, Black people were not legally considered to be slaves.

(D) Although often not treated the same as White people, Black people, like many White people, possessed the legal status of servants.

(E) Although apparently subject to more discrimination after 1630 than before 1630, Black people from 1620 to the 1660’s were legally considered to be servants.

24. According to the passage, the Handlins have argued which of the following about the relationship between racial prejudice and the institution of legal slavery in the English colonies of North America?

(A) Racial prejudice and the institution of slavery arose simultaneously.

(B) Racial prejudice most often took the form of the imposition of inherited status, one of the attributes of slavery.

(C) The source of racial prejudice was the institution of slavery.

(D) Because of the influence of the Roman Catholic church, racial prejudice sometimes did not result in slavery.

(E) Although existing in a lesser form before the 1660’s, racial prejudice increased sharply after slavery was legalized.

25. The passage suggests that the existence of a Roman conception of slavery in Spanish and Portuguese colonies had the effect of

(A) extending rather than causing racial prejudice in these colonies

(B) hastening the legalization of slavery in these colonies

(C) mitigating some of the conditions of slavery for Black people in these colonies

(D) delaying the introduction of slavery into the English colonies

(E) bringing about an improvement in the treatment of Black slaves in the English colonies

26. The author considers the explanation put forward by Freyre and Tannenbaum for the treatment accorded Black slaves in the English colonies of North America to be

(A) ambitious but misguided

(B) valid but limited

(C) popular but suspect

(D) anachronistic and controversial

(E) premature and illogical

27. With which of the following statements regarding the reason for the introduction of legal slavery in the English colonies of North America would the author be most likely to agree?

(A) The introduction is partly to be explained by reference to the origins of slavery, before the 1660’s, in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies.

(B) The introduction is to be explained by reference to a growing consensus beginning in the 1630’s about what were the attributes of true slavery.

(C) The introduction is more likely to be explained by reference to a decline than to an improvement in the position of White servants in the colonies during and after the 1660’s.

(D) The introduction is more likely to be explained by reference to the position of Black servants in the colonies in the 1630’s than by reference to their position in the 1640’s and 1650’s.

(E) The introduction is more likely to be explained by reference to the history of Black people in the colonies before 1660 than by reference to the improving position of White servants during and after the 1660’s.

答案：17-27：DECBDDACCBE