GMAT（VERBAL）阅读练习试卷9(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1.While there is no blueprint for transforming a largelygovernment-controlled economy into a free one, theexperience of the United Kingdom since 1979 clearlyshows one approach that works: privatization, in which(5) state-owned industries are sold to private companies. By1979, the total borrowings and losses of state-ownedindustries were running at about t3 billion a year. Byselling many of these industries, the government hasdecreased these borrowings and losses, gained over t34(10) billion from the sales, and now receives tax revenues fromthe newly privatized companies. Along with a dramaticallyimproved overall economy, the government has been ableto repay 12.5 percent of the net national debt over atwo-year period.(15) In fact, privatization has not only rescued individualindustries and a whole economy headed for disaster, buthas also raised the level of performance in every area. AtBritish Airways and British Gas, for example, productivityper employee has risen by 20 percent. At associated(20) British Ports, labor disruptions common in the 1970’s andearly 1980’s have now virtually disappeared. At BritishTelecom, there is no longer a waiting list—as there alwayswas before privatization—to have a telephone installed.Part of this improved productivity has come about(25) because the employees of privatized industries were giventhe opportunity to buy shares in their own companies. Theyresponded enthusiastically to the offer of shares; at BritishAerospace, 89 percent of the eligible work force boughtshares; at Associated British Ports, 90 percent; and at(30) British Telecom, 92 percent. When people have a personalstake in something, they think about it, care about it, workto make it prosper. At the National Freight Consortium,the new employee-owners grew so concerned about theircompany’s profits that during wage negotiations they(35) actually pressed their union to lower its wage demands.Some economists have suggested that giving away freeshares would provide a needed acceleration of the privati-zation process. Yet they miss Thomas Paine’s point that“what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly.”In(40) order for the far-ranging benefits of individual ownershipto be achieved by owners, companies, and countries,employees and other individuals must make their owndecisions to buy, and they must commit some of their ownresources 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 industries.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.正确答案：D解析：The best answer is D. The passage does not mention how industries that were still state-owned fared in terms of profits. Choice A is not the answer because lines 10-11 state that the government “now receives tax revenues from the newly privatized companies.”Choice B is not the answer because liens 9-10 state that the government gained billions of pounds from selling state-owned industries. Choice C is not the correct answer because lines 12-14 state that “the government has been able to repay 12.5 percent of the net national debt over a two-year period.”Choice E is not the answer because lines 8-9 state that the government has decreased borrowings and losses of the state-owned industries mentioned in lines 6-7.2．According to the passage, which of the following resulted in increased productivity in companies that 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-owners agreed to have their wages lowered.正确答案：A解析：The best answer is A. In lines 24-26, the author attributes improved productivity partly to the opportunity given to employees of privatized industries to purchase shares in their own companies. The next sentence gives examples of how employees ‘responded enthusiastically to the offer of shares,”thereby implying that many employees bought shares in the privatized companies. Choice B is incorrect because, although the passage mentions that some economists suggested giving away free shares, the passage does not indicate that any shares were given away. Choice C is incorrect because the subject of regulation is not addressed, and choices D and E are incorrect because the passage does not discuss the relationship between wages and productivity.3．It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers labor disruptions to be______A．an inevitable problem in a weak national economyB．a positive sign of employee concern about a companyC．a predictor of employee reactions to a company’s offer to sell shares to them D．a phenomenon found more often in state-owned industries than in private companiesE．a deterrence to high performance levels in an industry正确答案：E解析：The best answer is E. In lines 15-17, the author states that privatization has “raised the level of performance”in industry. As an example, the author mentions in lines 19-21 that at one company, “labor disruptions common in the 1970’s and early 1980’s have now virtually disappeared.”Thus, the author is implying that an absenceof labor disruptions raises the level of performance, and the converse-that labor disruptions adversely affect performance levels. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because the passage makes no generalization about labor disruptions in a weak national economy, nor does it connect labor disruptions with employee concern or employee shareholding. Choice D is incorrect because the passage makes no generalization about the frequency of labor disruptions throughout either state-owned or private companies.4．The passage supports which of the following statements about employees buying shares in their own companies?A．At three different 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 unions.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.正确答案：B解析：The best answer is B. In lines 27-30, the passage cites the percentage of eligible workers 9rather than the percentage of total workers) who bought shares at three different companies; these percentages were respectively 89 percent, 90 percent, and 92 percent-that is, approximately 90 percent in each case. Choice A is incorrect because the passage does not state what portion of the workforce at each company was actually eligible to buy shares. Choice C is incorrect because the passage does not state labor unions’position on employee shareholding. Choices D and E are incorrect because the passage does not mention any contingency on which employees’opportunity to buy shares was based.5．Which of the following statements is most consistent with the principle 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 their 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-market 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.正确答案：C解析：The best answer is C. Lines 30-32 assert that people who have a persona stake in an endeavor will “work to make it prosper.”In other words, self-interest is an incentive to make people perform better. Choice C makes the same assumption and uses that the converse is also true: that when workers lack a personal stake in the fate of their industry, their performance will be poor. Thus, state-owned industries, in which employees receive no additional benefit from increased profits, perform poorly because the industries have failed to use employees’self-interest as motivation for those employees to perform well.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 dangerous degree on individual ownership of shares.B．It conforms in its most general outlines to Thomas Palne’s 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 other countries.E．It is taking place more slowly than some economists suggest is necessary.正确答案：E解析：The best answer is E. In lines 36-38, the author notes that some economists have suggested a way to “provide a needed acceleration of the privatization process.”That the acceleration is considered to be “needed”suggests that these economists see the privatization process as occurring more slowly than it should be occurring. Choice A is incorrect because the passage does not attribute any danger to individual ownership of shares. Choice B is incorrect because the passage presents no evidence that this idea was part of the original conception. Choice D is incorrect because the passage does not mention how privatization has fared elsewhere.7．The quotation in line 39 is most probably used to______A．counter a position that the author of the passage believes is incorrectB．state a solution to a problem described in the previous sentenceC．show how opponents of the viewpoint of the author of the passage have supported their argumentsD．point out a paradox contained in a controversial viewpointE．present a historical maxim to challenge the principle introduced in the third paragraph正确答案：A解析：The best answer is A. Paine’s saying asserts that people do not hold in high esteem something that comes to them too easily; in this case, the author of the passage is applying the maxim to workers in privatized industries. The author of the passage states that Paine’s point is missed by those economists who believe that giving away, rather than selling; company shares to the employees of a privatizedcompany would spur the privatization process. Thus, the author of the passage believes that the position taken by these economists is incorrect, and that the opposing position as represented y Paine’s maxim is correct-that workers will value the shares more if the shares have a cost.Coral reefs are one of the most fragile, biologicallycomplex, and diverse marine ecosystem on Earth. Thisecosystem 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 theanswer lies within the tissues of the corals themselves.Symbiotic cells of algae known as zooxanthellae carry outphotosynthesis using the metabolic wastes of the coralthereby 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 sparse nutrient resources efficiently.Unfortunately for coral reefs, however, a variety ofhuman activities are causing worldwide degradation of(15) shallow marine habitats by adding nutrients to the (water.Agriculture, slash-and-burn land clearing, sewage disposaland manufacturing that creates waste by-products allincrease nutrient loads in these waters. Typical symptomsof reef decline are destabilized herbivore populations and(20)an increasing abundance of algae and filter-feedinganimals.Declines in reef communities are consistent with observa-tions that nutrient input is increasing in direct proportion togrowing human populations, thereby threatening reef com-(25) munities sensitive to subtle changes in nutrient input totheir waters.8．The passage is primarily concerned with______A．describing the effects of human activities on algae in coral reefsB．explaining how human 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 themselvesE．describing the abundance of algae and filter-feeding animals in coral reef areas正确答案：B解析：This question asks you to identify the primary concerns of the passage. The best answer is B. The first paragraph describes how coral reefs survive in nutrient-poor waters. The second paragraph states that human activities are adding nutrients to shallow marine habitats, thus threatening the survival of coral reef communities. Choices A and E can be eliminated because an increase in algae and filter-feeding animals is mentioned in the context of the passage’s larger concern with the negative effects of human activities on coral reefs. Choice C is incorrect because the first paragraph of the passage explains how coral reefs survive in nutrient-poor waters; the deterioration of coral reef communities has occurred as a result of the increase in nutrients in their habitats. Choice D can be eliminated because the first paragraph states that symbiotic cells of algae known as zooxanethellae produce food for coral reef communities.9．The passage 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 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.正确答案：A解析：This question asks you to identify what the passage suggests about coral reef communities. The best answer is A. The first paragraph of the passage describes how coral reef communities have survived in nutrient-poor waters. Lines 21-22 go on to state that recent “Declines in reef communities are consistent wit observations that nutrient input is increasing”in habitats occupied by coral reefs. Thus, the passage suggests that coral reef communities are more likely to survive in nutrient-poor waters. Both B and C can be eliminated because the passage does not state that human population growth has led to changing ocean temperature, nor does it state that the nutrients on which coral reef communities thrive are found only in shallow waters. Choice D is incorrect because the passage states that destabilized herbivore populations are a symptom of the decline of coral reef communities rather than a result of the growth of coral reef communities. Choice E can also be eliminated because the first sentence of the passage states that coral reefs “are one of the most fragile, biologically complex, and diverse marine ecosystems on Earth”; it does not, however, discuss the complexity of coral reefs communities in the context of ecosystems on dry land.10．The author refers to “filter-feeding animals”(line 20) in order to______ A．provide an example of a characteristic sign of reef deteriorationB．explain how reef communities acquire sustenance for survivalC．identify a factor that helps herbivore populations thriveD．indicate a cause of decreasing nutrient input in waters that reefs inhabitE．identify members of coral reef communities that rely on coral reefs for nutrients正确答案：A解析：This question asks you to identify the purpose of the author’s reference to filter-feeding animals. The best answer is A. In the second paragraph, the author asserts than human activities are adding nutrients to coral reef habitats, thus causing reef decline. In lines 18-20, the author identifies “an increasing abundance of …filter-feeding animals”as a typical symptom of this decline. Choice B can be eliminated because the way in which reef communities acquire sustenance for survival is described in the first paragraph of the passage, prior to the author’sreference to filter-feeding animals. Choice C is not the correct answer because filter-feeding animals are not identified as a factor that helps herbivore populations survive; in fact, destabilized herbivore populations and an increase in filter-feeding animals are signs of coral reef decline. Choice D can be eliminated because the passage indicates that an increase in filter-feeding animals is a symptom of coral reef decline that is brought about by an increase in nutrient input in coral reef habitats, not a decrease in nutrient input. Choice E can be eliminated also because the passage does not mention filter-feeding animals in order to identify coral reef community members that rely on coral reefs for sustenance.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.B．A decline in nutrient input is disrupting their symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellaeC．The degraded waters of their marine habitats have reduced their ability to carry out photosynthesisD．They are too biologically complex to survive in habitats with minimal nutrient input.E．Waste by-products result in an increase in nutrient input to reef communities.正确答案：E解析：This question asks you to identify a factor, mentioned in the passage, that is threatening the survival of coral reef communities. The best answer is E. In lines 16-18, the author indicates that waste by-products created by manufacturing increase the nutrient input in coral reef habitats. In lines 21-25, the author states that the increase in nutrient input is threatening the coral reef communities. Choice A can be eliminated because the first paragraph of the passage indicates that coral reef communities have thrived in nutrient-poor waters. Choice B can be eliminated because the second paragraph of the passage indicates that there has been an increase in the nutrient input in their habits, not a decline. Choice C is not the correct answer. Although the passage does indicate that the waters of coral reefs’marine habitats have become degraded, the passage does not state that this degradation reduces the ability of coral reef communities to carry out photosynthesis. Choice D is incorrect because the passage does indicate that coral reef communities are complex, but it also states that they have been able to thrive in nutrient-poor waters.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 nutrients 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 theyinhabit.E．They are declining even when the water sur-rounding them remains clear.正确答案：C解析：To answer this question, you must use information contained in the passage to draw an inference about why the author labels coral reef communities as paradoxical. The bet answer is C. In line 3, the author calls coral reefs “one of the fascinating paradoxes of the biosphere.”The author goes on to explain the nature of this paradox: the “prolific and productive”coral reef communities survive in nutrient-poor waters. Choice A contradicts information presented in the passage. The second paragraph indicates that human activities have increased, not decreased, the nutrients in coral reef communities’waters, and that this increase has threatened the survival of such communities. Choice B does not present a reason why the author describes coral reef communities as paradoxical. In addition, lines 18-20 of the passage indicate that an abundance of algae is a symptom of reef decline, not reef survival. Choice D does not describe a paradox, and it misrepresents information presented in the passage. Lines 7-10 indicate that the metabolic wastes of coral reefs are used by zooxanthellae to carry out photosynthesis, thereby sustaining themselves and the coral reefs. Choice E contradicts information presented in the passage. Lines 2-5 indicate that coral reef communities thrive in “clear, and thus nutrient-poor, waters.”However, they have begun to decline because of an addition of nutrients in their waters, thus suggesting that the water surrounding them is no longer as clear.Two divergent definitions have dominated sociologists’discussions of the nature of ethnicity. The first emphasizesthe primordial and unchanging character of ethnicity. Inthis view, people have an essential need for belonging that(5) is satisfied by membership in groups based on sharedancestry and culture. A different conception of ethnicityde-emphasizes the cultural component and defines ethnicgroups as interest groups. In this view, ethnicity serves asa way of mobilizing a certain population behind issues(10) relating to its economic position. While both of thesedefinitions are useful, neither fully captures the dynamicand changing aspects of ethnicity in the United States.Rather, ethnicity is more satisfactorily conceived of as aprocess in which preexisting communal bonds and common(15) cultural attributes are adapted for instrumental purposesaccording to changing real-life situations.One example of this process is the rise of participationby Native American people in the broader United Statespolitical system since the Civil Rights movement of the(20)1960’s. Besides leading Native Americans to participatemore actively in politics (the number of Native Americanlegislative officeholders more than doubled), this movementalso evoked increased interest in tribal history and traditionalculture. Cultural and instrumental components of(25 )ethnicity are not mutually exclusive, but rather reinforceone another.The Civil Rights movement also brought changes in theuses to which ethnicity was put by Mexican Americanpeople. In the 1960’s, Mexican Americans formed(30) community-based political groups that emphasized ancestralheritage as a way of mobilizing constituents. Such emerg-ing issues as immigration and voting rights gave MexicanAmerican advocacy groups the means bywhich to promoteethnic solidarity. Like European ethnic groups in the(35) nineteenth-century United States, late-twentieth-centuryMexican American leaders combined ethnic with contem-porary civic symbols. In 1968 Henry Censors, then mayorof San Antonio, Texas, cited Mexican leader Benito Juarezas a model for Mexican Americans in their fight for con-(40) temporary civil rights. And every year, Mexican Americanscelebrate Cinco de Mayo as fervently as many IrishAmerican people embrace St. Patrick’s Day (both are majorholidays in the countries of origin), with both holidayshaving been reinvented in the context of the United Statesand linked to ideals, symbols, and heroes of the UnitedStates13．Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?A．In their definitions of the nature 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 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 replaced by an entirely new approach.正确答案：B解析：This question asks you to identify the statement that best expresses the main idea of the passage. The best answer is B. The passage defines ethnicity and provides examples to illustrate how ethnicity is a “process”that combines cultural concerns with the “shared political and economic interests”mentioned in choice B. Choice A can be eliminated because the “primorodial”character of ethnicity mentioned in the passage. Choices C and D can be eliminated because ethnic groups’efforts to further their political and economic interests and changes brought about by the Civil Rights movement are merely used by the author as evidence supporting the main idea. Choice E is not correct because although the passage suggests a new conception of ethnicity, there is no indication that the other definitions discussed are incompatible with each other.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 the 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．One focuses more on immigrant groups than does the other.正确答案：D解析：Since the question simply asks which of the given statements is supported by the passage, you must read each of the choices in order to answer. Reading the first two definitions of ethnicity will be helpful in answering this question. The best answer is D because only the first definition mentions ancestry as a component of ethnicity. The two definitions are contrasted in the passage as well as in choices A, B, and C, but there is not information in the passage to suggest that the definitions are different in any of the specific ways mentioned in these choices. Choice E can be eliminated because neither definition mentions or focuses on immigrant groups.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．how ethnic feelings have both motivated and been strengthened by political activityC．how the Civil Rights movement can help promote solidarity among United States ethnic groupsD．how participation in the political system has helped to improve a group’s economic situationE．the benefits gained from renewed study of ethnic history and culture正确答案：B解析：This question asks you to determine why the author uses the actions of Native American people as an example. To answer it, you must decide what the phrase “this process”in line 17 means. The best answer is B because the “process”of ethnicity mentioned in line 17 is described generally in the first paragraph. The reference to Native American people provides a specific example, in terms of political activity, of that process. Specifically, in lines 20-24, the author states that Native Americans’political activities, which were inspired by the Civil Rights movement, have in turn increased interest in Native American history and culture. Choice A can be eliminated because the discussion of Native American people is not concerned with the concept of essential human need, which is mentioned in the first paragraph in the first definition of ethnicity. Choice C can be eliminated because the Civil Rights movements is mentioned in the second paragraph because of its encouragement of Native American participation in politics, rather than its promoting of solidarity among groups. Both D and E are incorrect because no mention is made of improvement in Native Americans’economic situation or of the benefits gained from studying ethnic history and culture.16．The passage supports which of the following statements about the Mexican American community?A．In the 1960’s the Mexican American community began to incorporate the customs of another ethnic group in the United States into the observation of its own。
