(完整版)GRE阅读三大难文

Islamic law

Islamic law is a particularly instructive example of “sacred law”. Islamic law is a phenomenon so different from all other

forms of law, notwithstanding, of course, a considerable and inevitable number of coincidences with one or the other of

them as far as subject matter and positive enactments are concerned that its study is indispensable in order to appreciate

adequately the full range of possible legal phenomena. Even the two other representatives of sacred law that are historically

and geographically nearest to it, Jewish law and Roman Catholic canon law, are perceptibly different.

Both

Jewish

law

and

canon

law

are

more

uniform

than

Islamic

law.

Though

historically

there

is

a

discernible

break

between Jewish law of the sovereign state of ancient Israel and of the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jewish people after the

conquest of Israel), the spirit of the legal matter in later parts of the Old Testament is very close to that of the Talmud, one

of the primary codifications of Jewish law in the Diaspora. Islam, on the other hand, represented a radical breakaway from

the Arab paganism that preceded it; Islamic law is the result of an examination, from a religious angle, of legal subject matter

that was far from uniform, comprising as it did the various components of the laws of pre-Islamic Arabia and numerous legal

elements taken over from the non Arab peoples of the conquered territories. All this was unified by being subjected to the

same kind of religious scrutiny, the impact of which varied greatly, being almost nonexistent in some fields, and in others

originating novel institutions. This central duality of legal subject matter and religious norm is additional to the variety of

legal ethical and ritual rules that is typical of sacred law.

In its relation to the secular state, Islamic law differed from both Jewish and canon law. Jewish law was buttressed by

the cohesion of the community, reinforced by pressure from outside: its rules are the direct expression of this feeling of

cohesion, tending toward the accommodation of dissent. Canon and Islamic law, on the contrary, were dominated by the

dualism of religion and state

，

where the state was not, in contrast with Judaism, an alien power but the political expression

of the same religion. But the conflict between state and religion took different forms; in Christianity it appeared as the

struggle for political power on the part of a tightly organized ecclesiastical hierarchy, and canon law was one of its political

weapons. Islamic law, on the other hand

，

was never supported by and organized institution; consequently there never

developed an overt trial of strength. There merely existed discordance between application of the sacred law and many of

the regulations framed by Islamic states; this antagonism varied according to place and time. (NO7-1-B-L)

1.

The author’s purpose in comparing Islamic law to Jewish law and canon law is most probably to:

(A)

contend that traditional legal subject matter does not play a large role in Islamic law.

(B)

Support his argument that Islamic law is a unique kind of legal phenomenon.

(C)

Emphasize the variety of forms that can all be considered sacred law.

(D)

Provide an example of how he believes comparative institutional study should be undertaken.

(E)

Argue that geographical and historical proximity does not necessarily lead to parallel institutional development.

2.

The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

(A)

Does Islamic law depend on sources other than Arab legal principles?

(B)

What secular practices of Islamic states conflicted with Islamic law?

(C)

Are Jewish law and canon law the most typical examples of sacred law?

(D)

Is Jewish law more uniform than canon law?

(E)

What characterized Arab law of the pre- Islamic era?

3.

According to the passage, which of the following statements about sacred law is correct?

(A)

The various systems of sacred law originated in a limited geographical area.

(B)

The various systems of sacred law have had marked influence on one another.

(C)

Systems of sacred law usually rely on a wide variety of precedents.

(D)

Systems of sacred law generally contain prescriptions governing diverse aspects of human activity.

(E)

Systems of sacred law function most effectively in communities with relatively small populations.

4.

It can be inferred from the passage that the application of Islamic law in Islamic states has

(A)

Systematically been opposed by groups who believe it is contrary to their interest

(B)

Suffered irreparably from the lack of firm institutional backing

(C)

Frequently been at odds with the legal activity of government institutions.

(D)

Remain unaffected by the political forces operating alongside it.

(E)

Benefited from the fact that it never experienced a direct confrontation with the state.

5.

Which of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

(A)

A universal principle is advanced and then discussed in relation to a particular historical phenomenon

(B)

A methodological innovation is suggested and then examples of its efficacy are provided.

(C)

A traditional interpretation is questioned and then modified to include new data.

(D)

A general opinion is expressed and then supportive illustrations are advanced.

(E)

A controversial viewpoint is presented and then both supportive evidence and contradictory evidence are cited.

6.

The

passage

implies

that

the

relationship

of

Islamic,

Jewish,

and

canon

law

is

correctly

described

by

which

of

the

following statements?

I.

Because each constitutes an example of sacred law, they necessarily share some features.

II.

They each developed in reaction to the interference of secular political institutions.

III.

The differences among them result partly from their differing emphasis on purely ethical rules.

(A)

I only

(B)

III only

(C)

I and II only

(D)

II and III only

(E)

I, II, and III

7.

The passage suggests that canon law differs from Islamic law in that only canon law

(A)

contains prescriptions that nonsacred legal systems might regard as properly legal

(B)

concerns itself with the duties of a person in regard to the community as a whole

(C)

was affected by the tension of the conflict between religion and state

(D)

developed in a political environment that did not challenge its fundamental existence

(E)

played a role in the direct confrontation between institutions vying for power

8.

All of the following statements about the development of Islamic law are implied in the passage EXCEPT:

(A)

Pre-Islamic legal principles were incorporated into Islamic law with widely differing degrees of change.

(B)

Diverse legal elements were joined together through the application of a purely religious criterion.

(C)

Although some of the sources of Islamic law were pagan, its integrity as a sacred law was not compromised by their

incorporation.

(D)

There was a fundamental shared characteristic in all pre- Islamic legal matter taken over by Islamic law.

(E)

Although Islam emerged among the Arabs, Islamic law was influenced by ethnically diverse elements.

Nitrogen Fixation

Two relatively recent independent developments

stand behind the current major research effort on

nitrogen fixation,

the

process

by

which

bacteria

symbiotically

render

leguminous

plants

independent

of

nitrogen

fertilizer.

The

one

development has

been the rapid, sustained increase in the price of

nitrogen fertilizer. The other development has been

the

rapid growth of knowledge of and technical

sophistication in genetic engineering. Fertilizer

prices, largely tied to the price

of

natural

gas,

huge

amounts

of

which

go

into

the

manufacture

of

fertilizer,

will

continue

to

represent

an

enormous

and

escalating

economic

burden

on

modern

agriculture,

spurring

the

search

for

alternatives

to

synthetic fertilizers.

And

genetic engineering is just the sort of

fundamental breakthrough that opens up prospects

of wholly novel alternatives. One

such novel idea is

that of inserting into the chromosomes of plants

discrete genes that are not a part of the plants' natural

constitution: specifically, the idea of inserting

into nonleguminous plants the genes, if they can be

identified and isolated,

that fit the leguminous

plants to be hosts for nitrogenfixing bacteria.

Hence, the intensified research on legumes.

Nitrogen fixation is a process in which certain

bacteria use atmospheric nitrogen gas, which green

plants cannot directly

utilize, to produce ammonia,

a nitrogen compound plants can use. It is one of

nature's great ironies that the availability of

nitrogen in the soil frequently sets an upper limit on

plant growth even though the plants' leaves are

bathed in a sea of

nitrogen gas. The leguminous

plants-among them crop plants such as soybeans,

peas, alfalfa, and clover-have solved the

nitrogen

supply problem by entering into a symbiotic relationship with the bacterial genus Rhizobium; as a

matter of fact,

there is a specific strain of Rhizobium for each species of legume. The host plant

supplies the bacteria with food and a

protected

habitat and receives surplus ammonia in exchange.

Hence, legumes can thrive in nitrogen-depleted soil.

Unfortunately, most of the major food cropsincluding maize, wheat, rice, and potatoes-cannot.

On the contrary, many

of

the

highyielding

hybrid

varieties

of

these

food

crops

bred

during

the

Green

Revolution

of

the

1960's

were

selected

specifically

to give high yields in response to generous applications of nitrogen fertilizer. This poses an additional,

formidable

challenge to plant geneticists: they must

work on enhancing fixation within the existing symbioses. Unless they succeed, the

yield gains of the

Green Revolution will be largely lost even if the

genes in legumes that equip those plants to enter

into a

symbiosis with nitrogen fixers are identified

and isolated, and even if the transfer of those gene

complexes, once they are

found, becomes possible.

The overall task looks forbidding, but the stakes

are too high not to undertake it. (NO-7-2-B-L)

20. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) expose the fragile nature of the foundations on which the high yields of modern agriculture rest

(B) argue that genetic engineering promises to lead to even higher yields than are achievable with synthetic fertilizers

(C) argue that the capacity for nitrogen-fixing symbioses is transferable to nonleguminous plants

(D) explain the reasons for and the objectives of current research on nitrogen-fixing symbioses

(E) describe the nature of the genes that regulate the symbiosis between legumes and certain bacteria

21. According to the passage, there is currently no strain of Rhizobium that can enter into a symbiosis with

(A) alfalfa

(B) clover

(C) maize

(D) peas

(E) soybeans

22. The passage implies that which of the following is true of the bacterial genus Rhizobium?

(A) Rhizobium bacteria are found primarily in nitrogen-depleted soils.

(B) Some strains of Rhizobium are not capable of entering into a symbiosis with any plant.

(C) Newly bred varieties of legumes cannot be hosts to any strain of Rhizobium.

(D) Rhizobium bacteria cannot survive outside the protected habitat provided by host plants.

(E) Rhizobium bacteria produce some ammonia for their own purposes.

23.

It

can

be

inferred

from

the

passage

that

which

of

the

following

was

the

most

influential

factor

in

bringing

about

intensified research on nitrogen fixation?

(A) The high yields of the Green Revolution

(B) The persistent upward surge in natural gas prices

(C) The variety of Rhizobium strains

(D) The mechanization of modern agriculture

(E) The environmental ill effects of synthetic fertilizers

24. Which of the following situations is most closely analogous to the situation described by the author as one of nature's

great ironies (lines 28-32)?

(A) That of a farmer whose crops have failed because the normal midseason rains did not materialize and no preparations

for irrigation had been made

(B) That of a long- distance runner who loses a marathon race because of a wrong turn that cost him twenty seconds

(C) That of shipwrecked sailors at sea in a lifeboat, with one flask of drinking water to share among them

(A) That of a motorist who runs out of gas a mere five miles from the nearest gas station

(E) That of travelers who want to reach their destination as fast and as cheaply as possible, but find that cost increases as

travel speed increases

25. According to the passage, the ultimate goal of the current research on nitrogen fixation is to develop

(A) strains of Rhizobium that can enter into symbioses with existing varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegnumes

(B) strains of Rhizobium that produce more ammonia for leguminous host plants than do any of the strains presently known

(C) varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that yield as much as do existing varieties, but require less nitrogen

(D) varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that maintain an adequate symbiotic relationship with nitrogen- fixing

bacteria and produce high yields

(E) high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that are genetically equipped to fix nitrogen from the air

without the aid of bacteria

26. The author regards the research program under discussion as

(A) original and extensive but ill-defined as to method

(B) necessary and ambitious but vulnerable to failure

(C) cogent and worthwhile but severely under-funded

(D) prohibitively expensive but conceptually elegant

(E) theoretically fascinating but practically useless

27. Most nearly parallel, in its fundamental approach, to the research program described in the passage would be a program

designed to

(A) achieve greater frost resistance in frost tender food plants by means of selective breeding, thereby expanding those

plants' area of cultivation

(B) achieve greater yields from food plants by interplanting crop plants that are mutually beneficial

(C) find

inexpensive

and abundant

natural

substances

that

could,

without

reducing

yields,

be

substituted

for expensive

synthetic fertilizers

(D) change the genetic makeup of food plants that cannot live in water with high salinity, using genes from plants adapted

to salt water

(E)

develop,

through

genetic

engineering,

a

genetic

configuration

for

the

major

food

plants

that

improves

the

storage

characteristics of the edible portion of the plants

Remembrance of Things Past

Many literary detectives have pored over a great puzzle concerning the writer Marcel Proust: what happened in 1909?

How

did

Contre

Saint-Beuve,

an

essay

attacking

the

methods

of

the

critic

Saint-Beuve,

turn

into

the

start

of

the

novel

Remembrance of Things Past? A recently published letter from Proust to the editor Vallette confirms that Fallois, the editor

of the 1954 edition of Contre Saint-Beuve, made an essentially correct guess about the relationship of the essay to the novel.

Fallois proposed that Proust had tried to begin a novel in 1908, abandoned it for what was to be a long demonstration of

Saint-Beuve's blindness to the real nature of great writing, found the essay giving rise to personal memories and fictional

developments, and allowed these to take over in a steadily developing novel.

Draft passages in Proust's 1909 notebooks indicate that the transition from essay to novel began in Contre Saint-Beuve,

when Proust introduced several examples to show the powerful influence that involuntary memory exerts over the creative

imagination. In effect, in trying to demonstrate that the imagination is more profound and less submissive to the intellect

than Saint-Beuve assumed, Proust elicited vital memories of his own and, finding subtle connections between them, began