破解GRE阅读理解系列（二十三）

Although scientists observe that an organism’s behavior falls into rhythmic patterns, they disagree about how these patterns are affected when the organism is transported to a new environment. One experimenter, Brown, brought oysters from Connecticut waters to Illinois waters. She noted that the oysters initially opened their shells widest when it was high tide in Connecticut, but that after fourteen days their rhythms had adapted to the tide schedule in Illinois. Although she could not posit an unequivocal causal relationship between behavior and environmental change, Brown concluded that a change in tide schedule is one of several possible exogenous influences (those outside the organism) on the oysters’ rhythms. Another experimenter, Hamner, however, discovered that hamsters from California maintain their original rhythms even at the South Pole. He concluded that endogenous influences (those inside the organism) seem to affect an organism’s rhythmic behavior.

读完了，是不是觉得文章真的很简单，措辞和意思都没有难度。

但是，我们看看题目，这么简单的文章，能“作什么妖”：

1. All of the following could be considered examples of exogenous influences on an organism EXCEPT the influence of the

(A) level of a hormone on a field mouse’s readiness for mating

(B) temperature of a region on a bear’s hibernation

(C) salt level of a river on a fish’s migration

(D) humidity of an area on a cat’s shedding of its fur

(E) proximity of an owl on a lizard’s searching for food

有没有发现：没有一个选项是文中出现的信息？这道题的出题思路：不考选项与文章信息本身的直接对应，而是考察理解选项是否对应文中信息所表达出来的逻辑。答案为（A）。

2. The passage suggests that Brown’s study was similar to Hamner’s in which of the following ways?

I. Both experimenters discovered that a new environment had a significant effect on an organism’s behavior rhythms.

II. Both experimenters observed an organism’s behavioral rhythms after the organism had been transported to a new environment.

III. Both experimenters knew an organism’s rhythmic patterns in its original environment.

此题的出题思路同样是：不考选项与文章中的信息本身的直接对应。这道题目的考法可以被称为“考前提”：即正确答案II和III所陈述的内容是文章所陈述的两个研究者得出各自结论的必然前提条件。既然有了结论，那么前提条件必然存在（虽然原文中没有说出来）。

3. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken Brown’s conclusion?

与第1题相同的是：没有一个选项是文中出现的信息。这道题的出题思路依然是：不考选项与文章中的信息本身的直接对应，而是考察理解选项是否对应文中信息所表达出来的逻辑。做这道题，考生需要首先理解文中所述的Brown’s conclusion。在这个基础上，才能找到对Brown’s conclusion不利的选项。答案为（C）。

(A) The oyster gradually closed their shells after high tide in Illinois had passed.

(B) The oysters’ behavioral rhythms maintained their adaptation to the tide schedule in Illinois throughout thirty days of observation.

(C) Sixteen days after they were moved to Illinois, the oysters opened their shells widest when it was high tide in Connecticut.

(D) A scientist who brought Maryland oysters to Maine found that the oysters opened their shells widest when it was high tide in Maine.

(E) In an experiment similar to Brown’s, a scientist was able to establish a clear causal relationship between environmental change and behavioral rhythms.

GRE阅读的文章可以很短，措辞以及文章的直接信息也可以很简单。但是题目的问法却可以要求考生对文中信息有合理“回溯”或者“延伸”的能力。于是GRE阅读的文章，不是“所见即所得”，而是理解文章内容里的逻辑，从而真的要求考生做到具备文本“推理”的能力。