GMAT阅读资料第30篇

Until recently, scientists did not know of a close verte- brate analogue¹ to the extreme form of altruism² abserved in eusocial insects like ants and bees, whereby individuals cooperate, sometimes even sacrificing their own oppor- ( 5) tunities to survive and reproduce, for the good of others. However, such a vertebrate society may exist among under- ground colonies of the highly social rodent³ Heterocephalus glaber, the naked mole⁴ rat.

　　A naked mole rat colony, like a beehive, wasp's nest, or (10) termite⁵ mound⁶, is ruled by its queen, or reproducing female. Other adult female mole rats neither ovulate nor breed. The queen of the largest member of the colony, and she maintains her breeding status through a mixture of behavioral and, presumably, chemical control. Queens have (15) been long-lived in captivity⁷, and when they die or are removed from a colony one sees violent fighting for breed- ing status among the larger remaining females, leading to a takeover by a new queen.

　　Eusocial insect societies have rigid⁸ caste systems, each (20) insects's role being defined by its behavior, body shape, and physiology⁹. In naked mole rat societies, on the other hand, differences in behavior are related primarily to reproductive status (reproduction being limited to the queen and a few males), body size, and perhaps age. Smaller nonbreeding (25) members, both male and female, seem to participate pri- marily in gathering¹⁰ food, transporting nest material, and tunneling. Larger nonreaders are active in defending the colony and perhaps in removing dirt from the tunnels. Jarvis' work has suggested that differences in growth rates may influence the length of time that an individual performs (30) a task, regardless of its age.

　　1. Which of the following most accurately¹¹ states the main idea of the passage?

　　(A) Naked mole rat colonies are the only known examples of cooperatively breeding vertebrate societies.
　   (B) Naked mole rat colonies exhibit social organization based on a rigid caste system.

　　(C) Behavior in naked mole rat colonies may well be a close vertebrate analogue to behavior in eusocial insect societies.

　　(D) The mating habits of naked mole rats differ from those of any other vertebrate species.

　　(E) The basis for the division of labor¹² among naked mole rats is the same as that among eusocial insects.

　　2. The passage suggests that Jarvis' work has called into question which of the following explanatory variables for naked mole rat behavior?

　　(A) Size

　　(B) Age

　　(C) Reproductive status

　　(D) Rate of growth

　　(E) Previously¹³ exhibited behavior

　　3. It can be inferred from the passage that the performance of tasks in naked mole rat colonies differs from task performance in eusocial insect societies in which of the following ways?

　　(A) In naked mole rat colonies, all tasks ate performed cooperatively.

　　(B) In naked mole rat colonies, the performance of tasks is less rigidly¹⁴ determined¹⁵ by body shape.

　　(C) In naked mole rat colonies, breeding is limited to the largest animals.

　　(D) In eusocial insect societies, reproduction is limited to a single female.

　　(E) In eusocial insect societies, the distribution of tasks is based on body size.

　　4. According to the passage, which of the following is a supposition rather than a fact concerning the queen in a naked mole rat colony?

　　(A) She is the largest member of the colony.

　　(B) She exerts chemical control over the colony.

　　(C) She mates with more than one male.

　　(D) She attains¹⁶ her status through aggression¹⁷.

　　(E) She is the only breeding female.

　　5. The passage supports which of the following inferences about breeding among Lycaon pictus?

　　(A) The largest female in the social group does not maintain reproductive status by means of behavioral control.

　　(B) An individual's ability to breed is related primarily to its rate of growth.

　　(C) Breeding is the only task performed by the breeding female.

　　(D) Breeding in the social group is not cooperative.

　　(E) Breeding is not dominated by a single pair of dogs