As Gilbert White,Darwin, and others observed long ago, all species appear to have the innate capacity to increase their numbers from generation to generation. The task for ecologists is to untangle the environmental and biological factors that hold this intrinsic capacity for population growth in check over the long run. The great variety of dynamic behaviors exhibited by different population makes this task more difficult: some populations remain roughly constant from year to year others exhibit regular cycles of abundance and scarcity still others vary wildly, with outbreaks and crashes that are in some cases plainly correlated with the weather, and in other cases not.
To impose some order on this kaleidoscope of patterns, one school of thought proposes dividing populations into two groups. These ecologists posit that the relatively steady populations have density-dependent growth parameters that is, rates of birth, death, and migration which depend strongly on population density. The highly varying populations have density-independent growth parameters, with vital rates buffeted by environmental events these rates fluctuate in a way that is wholly independent of population density.
This dichotomy has its uses, but it can cause problems if taken too literally. For one thing, no population can be driven entirely by density-independent factors all the time. No matter how severely or unpredictably birth, death, and migration rates may be fluctuating around their long-term averages, if there were no density-dependent effects, the population would, in the long run, either increase or decrease without bound (barring a miracle by which gains and losses canceled exactly)。 Put another way, it may be that on average 99 percent of all deaths in a population arise from density-independent causes, and only one percent from factors varying with density. The factors making up the one percent may seem unimportant, and their cause may be correspondingly hard to determine. Yet, whether recognized or not, they will usually determine the long-term average population density.
In order to understand the nature of the ecologist''s investigation, we may think of the density-dependent effects on growth parameters as the signal ecologists are trying to isolate and interpret, one that tends to make the population increase from relatively low values or decrease from relatively high ones, while the density-independent effects act to produce noise in the population dynamics. For populations that remain relatively constant, or that oscillate around repeated cycles, the signal can be fairly easily characterized and its effects described, even though the causative biological mechanism may remain unknown. For irregularly fluctuating populations, we are likely to have too few observations to have any hope of extracting the signal from the overwhelming noise. But it now seems clear that all populations are regulated by a mixture of density-dependent and density-independent effects in varying proportions.
1.The author of the text is primarily concerned with
[A] discussing two categories of factors that control population growth and assessing their relative importance.
[B] describing how growth rates in natural populations fluctuate over time and explaining why these changes occur.
[C] proposing a hypothesis concerning population size and suggesting ways to test it.
[D] posing a fundamental question about environmental factors in population growth and presenting some currently accepted answer.
2.It can be inferred from the text that the author considers the dichotomy discussed to be
[A] applicable only to erratically fluctuating populations.
[B] instrumental, but only if its limitations are recognized.
[C] dangerously misleading in most circumstances.
[D] a complete and sufficient way to account for observed phenomena.
3.According to the text, all of the following behaviors have been exhibited by different populations EXCEPT
[A] roughly constant population levels from year to year.
[B] regular cycles of increases and decreases in numbers.
[C] erratic increases in numbers correlated with the weather.
[D] unchecked increases in numbers over many generations.
4.The discussion concerning population in the third paragraph serves primarily to
[A] demonstrate the difficulties ecologists face in studying density-dependent factors limiting population growth.
[B] advocate more rigorous study of density-dependent factors in population growth.
[C] prove that the death rates of any population are never entirely density-independent.
[D] underline the importance of even small density-dependent factors in regulating long-term population densities.
5. In the text, the author does all of the following EXCEPT
[A] cite the views of other biologists.
[B] define a basic problem that the text addresses.
[C] present conceptual categories used by other biologists.
[D] describe the results of a particular study.
[考點(diǎn)解析]
1.「答案」A
「考點(diǎn)解析」這是一道中心主旨題。本文的中心主旨句在第三段的首句。如果考生能夠抓住第三段的首句就等于抓住了整篇文章的論述結(jié)構(gòu)。該句中的“dichotomy”(兩分法) 就是正確選項(xiàng)A中的“two categories”?忌诮忸}時(shí)應(yīng)首先抓住每篇文章的中心主旨句,因?yàn)檫@決定了對(duì)全文結(jié)構(gòu)的認(rèn)識(shí)以及對(duì)原文整體的把握。
2.「答案」B
「考點(diǎn)解析」這是一道細(xì)節(jié)推導(dǎo)題。根據(jù)題干中的“dichotomy”可將本題的答案信息來(lái)源迅速確定在第二段的首句。如果考生能夠正確理解該句中“but”一詞前后的內(nèi)容,就可以找出本題的正確選項(xiàng)B.考生在解題時(shí)一定要正確理解原文所傳達(dá)的含義,即進(jìn)行正確的細(xì)節(jié)推導(dǎo)。
3.「答案」D
「考點(diǎn)解析」這是一道審題定位與中心主旨題。根據(jù)本題題干中的“different populations”可將本題的答案信息來(lái)源確定在首段的第一句,因?yàn)樵摼渲械摹癮ll species”實(shí)際上指的就是題干中的“different populations”。從第一段的首句入手并且仔細(xì)閱讀首段的第二句,就可以找出本題的正確選項(xiàng)D,因?yàn)樵撨x項(xiàng)所傳達(dá)的信息與原文第一段第一、二句所傳達(dá)的信息不一致?忌诮忸}時(shí)一定要學(xué)會(huì)迅速審題定位的能力。
4.「答案」D
「考點(diǎn)解析」本題是一道歸納推導(dǎo)題。題干已明確指出該題的答案信息來(lái)源在第三段。第三段主要陳述“density-dependent factors”的作用,過(guò)仔細(xì)閱讀第三段,尤其是第三段的最后三句話,考生可以得知本文作者在第三段是在強(qiáng)調(diào)“density-dependent factors”的作用?梢(jiàn)D是本題的正確選項(xiàng)?忌诶斫庠臅r(shí)一定要注意掌握歸納推導(dǎo)的能力。
5.「答案」D
「考點(diǎn)解析」本題是一道寫作手法題。這是一道比較難的題目,旨在考察考生的語(yǔ)言功底。本文作者在論述自己的觀點(diǎn)時(shí)運(yùn)用了各種寫作手段。選項(xiàng)A、B、C中所涉及的內(nèi)容分別在第一段、第三段和第二段中出現(xiàn)。考生一定要提高對(duì)原文各種寫作手段的認(rèn)識(shí)。
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)社會(huì)工作原理考研真題
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)社會(huì)工作實(shí)務(wù)考研真題
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)森林作業(yè)環(huán)境學(xué)考研真題
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)農(nóng)業(yè)知識(shí)綜合四考研真題
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)馬克思主義中國(guó)化考研真題
- 2024年內(nèi)蒙古農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)馬克思主義基本原理考研真題
- 查看考研全部真題>>
- 研招網(wǎng)2025年考研網(wǎng)上調(diào)劑服務(wù)系統(tǒng)4月8日開(kāi)通
- 研招網(wǎng)2025年考研調(diào)劑意向采集服務(wù)系統(tǒng)3月28日開(kāi)通
- 北京2025年考研網(wǎng)上調(diào)劑服務(wù)系統(tǒng)(4月8日開(kāi)通)
- 北京2025年考研調(diào)劑意向采集服務(wù)系統(tǒng)(3月28日開(kāi)通)
- 天津2025年考研網(wǎng)上調(diào)劑服務(wù)系統(tǒng)(4月8日開(kāi)通)
- 天津2025年考研調(diào)劑意向采集服務(wù)系統(tǒng)(3月28日開(kāi)通)
- 查看考研全部文檔 >>
- 教育部:2025年全國(guó)碩士研究生招生初試和報(bào)名時(shí)間
- 山東考研時(shí)間2025年考試時(shí)間及科目:2024年1
- 上?佳袝r(shí)間2025年考試時(shí)間及科目:2024年1
- 北京考研時(shí)間2025年考試時(shí)間及科目:2024年1
- 考研時(shí)間2025年考試時(shí)間及科目:2024年12月
- 陜西2025年考研成績(jī)公布時(shí)間 預(yù)計(jì)2月24日后公
- 四川2025年考研成績(jī)公布時(shí)間 預(yù)計(jì)2月24日后公
- 湖北2025年考研成績(jī)公布時(shí)間 預(yù)計(jì)2月24日后公