GRE阅读机经真题答案详细解析之：Passage 35-「GRE阅读真题」免费下载

市面上流传的GRE阅读机经真题有三百多篇，同时又存在多种版本的答案和解析，有些疑难题目让考生不知道听谁的，还有些版本的解析像是用谷歌翻译把同题目和选项翻译了一下。TD GRE教研组认为，GRE阅读的解析，可以讲得再清楚一点。 GRE不光有技巧，不光有快速解题法，GRE更加考察大家的逻辑硬实力，文字理解实打实的深度。良好的GRE备考应当在课堂上向老师学习快速解题法，取同取反逻辑的同时，课下扎扎实实的读懂每一句话。读懂，是一切技巧使用的前提。皮之不存，毛将焉附？有感于此，我们尝试用比较长的时间，原创一个解析，力求做到超详细，大白话，包你懂。往期GRE阅读真题详细解析?：GRE阅读Passage 解析,今天继续为大家推出Passage 35（长阅读）解析，这篇阅读一共有5段，带4道题，TD版超详细「包你懂」系列对此篇文章进行了清楚地解析。

GRE阅读Passage 35

Architectural morphology is the study of how shifting cultural and environmental conditions produce changes in an architectural form. When applied to the mission churches of New Mexico exemplifying seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Spanish colonial architecture in what is now the southwestern United States, architectural morphology reveals much about how Native American culture transformed the traditional European church architecture of the Spanish missionaries who hoped to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Many studies of these mission churches have carefully documented the history and design of their unique architectural form, most attribute the churches’ radical departure from their sixteenth-century European predecessors to local climate and a less- mechanized building technology. Certainly, the limitations imposed by manual labor and the locally available materials of mud-brick and timber necessitated a divergence from the original European church model. However, the emergence of a church form suited to life in the Southwest was rooted in something more fundamental than material and technique. The new architecture resulted from cultural forces in both the Spanish colonial and indigenous Native American societies, each with competing ideas about form and space and different ways of conveying these ideas symbolically. For example, the mission churches share certain spatial qualities with the indigenous kiva, a round, partly subterranean room used by many Southwest Native American communities for important rituals. Like the kiva it was intended to replace, the typical mission church had thick walls of adobe (sun-dried earth and straw), a beaten-earth floor, and one or two small windows. In deference to European custom, the ceilings of these churches were higher than those of the traditional kiva. However, with the limited lighting afforded by their few small windows, these churches still suggest the kiva’s characteristically low, boxlike, earth-hugging interior. Thus, although pragmatic factors of construction may have contributed to the shape of the mission churches, as earlier studies suggest, the provision of a sacred space consistent with indigenous traditions may also have been an important consideration in their design. The continued viability of the kiva itself in Spanish mission settlements has also been underestimated by historians. Freestanding kivas discovered in the ruins of European- style missionary communities have been explained by some historians as examples of “superposition”. Under this theory, Christian domination over indigenous faiths is dramatized by surrounding the kiva with Christian buildings. However, as James Ivey points out, such superposition was unlikely, since historical records indicate that most Spanish missionaries, arriving in the Southwest with little or no military support, wisely adopted a somewhat conciliatory attitude toward the use of the kiva at least initially. This fact, and the careful, solitary placement of the kiva in the center of the mission-complex courtyards, suggests an intention to highlight the importance of the kiva rather than to diminish it.

GRE阅读文章解析

第一自然段：

白话版讲解：

建筑形态学，专门研究文化和环境的改变是如何使建筑形态也产生变化的。将这门学问应用于对美国西南部墨西哥州的一些建于17世纪、18世纪西班牙殖民时期宣教教堂建筑的研究时，就揭示了很多（有价值的事情）出来——可以看出来，美洲土著文化怎样改变了传统的欧式教堂建筑风格。这些教堂是当时的西班牙传教士修的，他们想让北美土著人皈依基督教。 注解： ●mission church 一般指（新开的）教堂，不靠在当地募款，而（至少部分）要靠上级更大教堂拨款维持运营的教堂。中文可以翻译成：“宣教（传教）教堂” a church that is not locally self-supporting but that depends at least partially upon the support of mission funds from the larger religious organization that established it

第二自然段第一部分：

Many studies of these mission churches have carefully documented the history and design of their unique architectural form, most attribute the churches’ radical departure from their sixteenth-century European predecessors to local climate and a less- mechanized building technology. Certainly, the limitations imposed by manual labor and the locally available materials of mud-brick and timber necessitated a divergence from the original European church model.

白话版讲解：

有很多研究都认真记录了宣教教堂独特的建筑外形的历史。17世纪、18世纪西班牙殖民者修建的教堂，跟16世纪欧洲殖民者修建的教堂比起来，其建筑外形差别很大。大部分研究都认为，之所以出现这么大的变化，应该归因于当地气候和欧洲不一样，另外就是建筑技术机械化程度低（跟欧洲比起来，更多靠人工建，更少用机械建）。诚然，在当时的新墨西哥地区，确实存在手工修房子情况比较多（欧洲修房子用机械稍微多一些）、当地获取的建筑材料（泥砖和木材）跟欧洲不一样等因素，这确实必然导致殖民者在当地仿照欧洲教堂修出来的教堂，和被仿的欧洲教堂，在外形上一定会有差异。

第二自然段第二部分：

However, the emergence of a church form suited to life in the Southwest was rooted in something more fundamental than material and technique. The new architecture resulted from cultural forces in both the Spanish colonial and indigenous Native American societies, each with competing ideas about form and space and different ways of conveying these ideas symbolically.

白话版讲解：

但是，17世纪、18世纪的新墨西哥地区之所以出现了建筑外形适合美国西南部生活的教堂，其根源，还是在于一些比建筑材料方面和建筑技术方面更深更基础的原因。这个原因就是文化方面的原因，这些教堂的建筑形式之所以新、之所以和欧洲教堂不一样，是西班牙殖民文化和当地土著文化合力的结果。这两种文化对建筑外形、空间有不同的想法，所采用的表达（convey）这些想法的象征手法也不同。

第三自然段：

For example, the mission churches share certain spatial qualities with the indigenous kiva, a round, partly subterranean room used by many Southwest Native American communities for important rituals. Like the kiva it was intended to replace, the typical mission church had thick walls of adobe (sun-dried earth and straw), a beaten-earth floor, and one or two small windows. In deference to European custom, the ceilings of these churches were higher than those of the traditional kiva. However, with the limited lighting afforded by their few small windows, these churches still suggest the kiva’s characteristically low, boxlike, earth-hugging interior. Thus, although pragmatic factors of construction may have contributed to the shape of the mission churches, as earlier studies suggest, the provision of a sacred space consistent with indigenous traditions may also have been an important consideration in their design.

白话版讲解：

Kiva是当时很多美国西南部土著使用的一种部分在地下的圆形房子，这种房子的用途是举办重要的宗教仪式（即一种教堂）。17世纪、18世纪的宣教教堂有些空间特点就和kiva类似。比如，宣教教堂和kiva一样，也是以阳光晒干泥巴稻草制成的土砖为材料，砌很厚的墙，地面是把土地锤平做成的，带一到两个小窗户。考虑到欧洲传统，宣教教堂的天花板比kiva又要高一些。但是总体来说，因为窗户又小又少，宣教教堂还是具备kiva的典型特点：光线有限，室内低矮、像个盒子、贴近地面。所以，建造时实用方面的原因（前文所说的建筑技术和建筑材料）可能对宣教教堂的建筑外形有所影响；但是，提供一个不违反当地传统习俗的宗教（sacred）空间（建的教堂的外形上要符合当地传统），应该也是在设计教堂时的一个重要考虑。

第四自然段：

The continued viability of the kiva itself in Spanish mission settlements has also been underestimated by historians. Freestanding kivas discovered in the ruins of European- style missionary communities have been explained by some historians as examples of “superposition”. Under this theory, Christian domination over indigenous faiths is dramatized by surrounding the kiva with Christian buildings. However, as James Ivey points out, such superposition was unlikely, since historical records indicate that most Spanish missionaries, arriving in the Southwest with little or no military support, wisely adopted a somewhat conciliatory attitude toward the use of the kiva at least initially. This fact, and the careful, solitary placement of the kiva in the center of the mission-complex courtyards, suggests an intention to highlight the importance of the kiva rather than to diminish it.

白话版讲解：

在西班牙传教团定居的那些定居点，当地原有的kiva继续当教堂使用而没有被废弃（viability），这一事实本身也被历史学家们所忽略了。在欧洲传教社区遗址，发现了一些独立存在的kiva。这些kiva为什么会存在而没有被废弃，一些历史学家说是基督教的人故意留着这些kiva，是故意的，在一圈基督教教堂中间，留一个kiva不拆，围着这个kiva，以此显示，在定居点，信基督教的人，已经远远超过信当地原有宗教的人。他们认为西班牙殖民者是故意这样做的，这种理论叫“叠加”理论。但是，正如James Ivey所指出的那样，“叠加”理论所说的那一套不太可能。历史记录显示，大部分西班牙传教团，来到美国西南部，只有很少一点或根本没有军事方面的支持，所以他们至少在一开始对kiva的继续存在和继续使用采取了安抚的态度（这种做法是明智的，因为西班牙人没有武力撑腰，所以并不敢强迫别人弃用kiva改用自己新修的教堂）。对kiva宽容和安抚，此外还特意把kiva放在传教社区大院的中央，新修的教堂围着kiva，实际上当时的西班牙传教团是在（众星拱月）突出kiva的重要性，而不是像“叠加”理论所说的那样，包围着kiva，是想（以众胜寡以多打少）贬低kiva的重要性。

题目解析

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to A. correct some misinterpretations about the development of an architectural form. B. compare the traditional church architectures of two different cultures. C. examine the influence of a religious architectural style on secular buildings. D. explain the nature of the contrast between two different architectural styles. E. trace the European roots of an architectural style used in the United Stales.

白话版讲解：

问全文的主要修辞功能是……？找准全文的核心内容：宣教教堂的外形发生变化，以前认为是技术和材料方面的原因，新观点认为是文化方面的原因。所以全文是在纠正一些错误的解读。A选项正确。本题答案：A 2. The passage suggests that the indicated historians regarded the placement of kivas in the midst of Christian buildings as which of the following? A. exemplary of an arrangement of religious buildings typical of a kind of Native American architecture common prior to the arrival of the Spanish B. largely responsible for the evolution of a distinctive Spanish mission architectural style C. indicative of the Spanish missionaries’ desire to display an attitude of acceptance toward the kiva D. symbolic of the controversy among Spanish missionaries in New Mexico regarding their treatment of the indigenous population E. reflective of the Spanish missionary’s desire to diminish the kiva’s importance

白话版讲解：

问文章暗示有些历史学家认为让kiva处于众多基督教建筑的中央，是……？根据文章第四自然段，选项E正确。本题答案：E 3. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument about the Spanish missionaries’ attitude toward the kiva? A. The period of most intensive settlement by Spanish missionaries in the Southwest occurred before the period in which the mission churches of New Mexico were built. B. There are no traces of kivas in Spanish mission settlements that were protected by a large military presence. C. Little of the secular Spanish colonial architecture of the Southwest of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is predominantly European in style. D. Some Spanish missionary communities of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were attached to Spanish military installations. E. New Mexico contains by far the largest concentration of Spanish mission-style church architecture in the United States.

白话版讲解：

问下列哪一种情况为真时，最能够加强文章对西班牙传教士对kiva的态度的论证？ A“最密集定居行为发生的时间在宣教教堂时间之前” 就是说西班牙人先来了一段时期以后，然后再修的宣教教堂。这跟西班牙人对kiva的态度无关。所以A选项错误。 B“有很强武力保护的西班牙传教士定居点，就完全没有一点kiva的踪迹” 首先根据文章第四自然段，找到文章的论证是，“大部分西班牙传教团，来到美国西南部，只有很少一点或根本没有军事方面的支持，所以他们至少在一开始对kiva的继续存在和继续使用采取了安抚的态度（这种做法是明智的，因为没有武力撑腰，不敢强迫别人弃用kiva改用自己新修的教堂）”。也就是说，这个论证的逻辑是，因为没有武力撑腰，所以对kiva就安抚和宽容，所以在基督教建筑群里，保留了kiva（并且放在中央）。反之，如果有武力撑腰，就撕下面具了，就不会对kiva持安抚和宽容态度了。在有武力撑腰的情况下，就不会有kiva的viability了，就会把kiva拆掉破坏掉了。而B选项就是说考古发现确实发现了这种情况，那就可以加强文章中的论证了。所以B选项正确。 C“西班牙人在新墨西哥殖民地修的世俗建筑（除教堂以外的其他建筑）在建筑风格上，很少是欧式” 文章的论证是说，西班牙人，在没有很强的军力的保护下，对kiva是安抚和容忍态度。C选项如果为真，说明西班牙人对当地文化几乎是完全屈服和投降了。不能加强文章中的论证。所以C选项错误。 D“有些西班牙殖民社区附属于军事设施（机构）” 文章的论证是说，西班牙人，在没有很强的军力的保护下，对kiva是安抚和容忍态度。D选项如果为真，也无法加强这个论证，因为这个选项没有体现西班牙人对kiva的态度怎么样。所以D选项错误。 E“新墨西哥地区的西班牙宣教教堂是全美国最集中的” 这个情况显然和文章的论证毫无关系。所以E选项错误。本题答案：B 4. According to the passage, the building techniques prevailing in the Southwest during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries played a role in which of the following? A. preventing missionaries in the Southwest from duplicating traditional European churches B. influencing missionaries in the Southwest to incorporate a freestanding kiva into certain mission settlements C. causing missionaries in the Southwest to limit the building of churches to New Mexico only D. jeopardizing the viability of Spanish religious settlements throughout the Southwest E. encouraging many missionaries in the Southwest to reexamine the continued viability of a highly ceremonial European religious tradition

白话版讲解：

问根据文章，17世纪和18世纪，在今美国西南部流行的建筑技术发挥了什么作用？根据文章第二自然段第一部分，A选项正确。选项中duplicate的意思是“复制（一个一模一样的）”（make or be an exact copy of），所以A选项的意思就是“阻止……复制出一模一样的”，恰好和文章的意思对应。本题答案：A