天山真题5-7

Q5 to Q7:

In American Genesis, which covers

the century of technological innovation

in the United States beginning in 1876,

Line Thomas Hughes assigns special promi-

(5) nence to Thomas Edison as archetype

of the independent nineteenth-century

25

inventor. However, Hughes virtually

ignores Edison’s famous contemporary

and notorious adversary in

(10) the field of electric light and power,

George Westinghouse. This comparative

neglect of Westinghouse is

consistent with other recent historians’

works, although it marks an intriguing

(15) departure from the prevailing view

during the inventors’ lifetimes (and for

decades afterward) of Edison and

Westinghouse as the two “pioneer

innovators” of the electrical industry.

(20) My recent reevaluation of Westinghouse,

facilitated by materials found

in railroad archives, suggests that

while Westinghouse and Edison shared

important traits as inventors, they

(25) differed markedly in their approach to

the business aspects of innovation.

For Edison as an inventor, novelty

was always paramount: the overriding

goal of the business of innovation was

(30) simply to generate funding for new

inventions. Edison therefore undertook

just enough sales, product development,

and manufacturing to accomplish this.

Westinghouse, however, shared the

(35) attitudes of the railroads and other

industries for whom he developed

innovations: product development,

standardization, system, and order

were top priorities. Westinghouse

(40) thus better exemplifies the systematic

approach to technological development

that would become a hallmark of modern

corporate research and development.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q5:

The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. reevaluate a controversial theory

B. identify the flaws in a study

C. propose a new method of historical research

D. compare two contrasting analyses

E. provide a fresh perspective

26

Answer:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q6:

According to the passage, Edison’s chief concern as an inventor was the

A. availability of a commercial market

B. costs of developing a prototype

C. originality of his inventions

D. maintenance of high standards throughout production

E. generation of enough profits to pay for continued marketing

Answer:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q7:

The author of the passage implies that the shift away from the views of Westinghouse’s

contemporaries should be regarded as

A. a natural outgrowth of the recent revival of interest in Edison

B. a result of scholarship based on previously unknown documents

C. reflective of modern neglect of the views of previous generations

D. inevitable, given the changing trends in historical interpretations

E. surprising, given the stature that Westinghouse once had

Answer:

答案是ECE

请问为何第7题是E、不是C？

请问为何第5题是E、不是D？