俺的GMAT家

女王的肥皂

Although the discount stores in Goreville’s central shopping district are expected to close within five years as a result of competition from a SpendLess discount department store that just opened, those locations will not stay vacant for long. In the five years since the opening of Colson’s, a non-discount department store, a new store has opened at the location of every store in the shopping district that closed because it could not compete with Colson’s.

每次看到这个就各种抓狂。

女王的肥皂

别人的总结，直接搬过来了。



今天在看Manhattan第六章，对介词短语的修饰问题疑惑了很久，后来查询，思考颇多，与大家分享我的收获。
介词短语修饰问题：
在做看Manhattan的时候明白，介词短语可以做一下成分。
1） noun modifier：就近修饰。GMAT大多数的介词短语是作为noun modifier就近修饰前面的名词。Manhattan举例：ON the couch. the cat took a nap.
The cat ON the couch took a nap.
2） verb modifier：修饰主句的动词，逻辑主语是谓语动词的主语。Manhattan举例：
ON Mondays, I walk to the store.
I walk to the store ON Mondays.

但我对介词短语何时是noun modifier，何时是verb modifier产生了不少疑惑。因为不论属于哪种都可以放到名词前也可以放到名词后。放到名词前面还好说，放到后面就会疑惑了，到底是修饰的句子还是名词？
OG 18题
18. Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi, in the form of carbon dioxide, and converting it to energy-rich sugars.
(A) Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi,
(B) Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi,
(C) Plants are more efficient than fungi at acquiring carbon,
(D) Plants, more efficient than fungi at acquiring carbon,
(E) Plants acquire carbon more efficiently than fungi,
A,B,E选项解释都说in the form of carbon dioxide就近修饰fungi，修饰错误。我就困惑了，为什么不能算做是verb modifier修饰前面的动词呢？什么情况才是做verb modifier，什么时候做noun modifier?
查了很多帖子，总结如下：
1：大多数是就近修饰名词。做noun modifier.
2：如果是做verb modifier，介词短语就是作状语，大多数的题目都是将介词短语放在句首的。因为一旦放在一个名词后面后面很容易出现修饰歧义。
3：但是最终判断的标准是要看逻辑意思，比如上题，in the…修饰verb，其主语为plants是否合理？明显是不合理的。

女王的肥皂

Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities - as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980's is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade. Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too.First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company's efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as “fronts (a person, group, or thing used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual controlling agent)” with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming-and remaining-dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success.

2.The passage supplies information that would answer which of the following questions?
(A) What federal agencies have set percentage goals for the use of minority-owned businesses in public works contracts?
(B) To which government agencies must businesses awarded federal contracts report their efforts to find minority subcontractors?
(C) How widespread is the use of minority-owned concerns as “fronts” by White backers seeking to obtain subcontracts?
(D) How many more minority-owned businesses were there in 1977 than in 1972?（E）
(E) What is one set of conditions under which a small business might find itself financially overextended?

这个答案我在文中找不到答案呀。 If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. 是这句吗？

女王的肥皂

Since Would War II considerable advances have been made in the area of health-care services. These include better access to health care (particularly for the poor and minorities), improvements in physical plants, and increased numbers of physicians and other health personnel. All have played a part in the recent improvement in life expectancy. But there is mounting criticism of the large remaining gaps in access, unbridled cost inflation, the further fragmentation of service, excessive indulgence in wasteful high-technology “gadgeteering,” and a breakdown in doctor-patient relationships. In recent years proposed panaceas and new programs, small and large, have proliferated at a feverish pace and disappointments multiply at almost the same rate. This has led to an increased pessimism—“everything has been tried and nothing works”—which sometimes borders on cynicism or even nihilism.
It is true that the automatic “pass through” of rapidly spiraling costs to government and insurance carriers, which was set in a publicized environment of “the richest nation in the world,” produced for a time a sense of unlimited resources and allowed to develop a mood whereby every practitioner and institution could “do his own thing” without undue concern for the “Medical Commons.” The practice of full-cost reimbursement encouraged capital investment and now the industry is overcapitalized. Many cities have hundreds of excess hospital beds; hospitals have proliferated a superabundance of high-technology equipment; and structural ostentation and luxury were the order of the day. In any given day, one-fourth of all community beds are vacant; expensive equipment is underused or, worse, used unnecessarily. Capital investment brings rapidly rising operating costs.
Yet, in part, this pessimism derives from expecting too much of health care. It must be realized that care is, for most people, a painful experience, often accompanied by fear and unwelcome results. Although there is vast room for improvement, health care will always retain some unpleasantness and frustration. Moreover, the capacities of medical science are limited. Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again. Too many physicians are reluctant to admit their limitations to patients; too many patients and families are unwilling to accept such realities. Nor is it true that everything has been tried and nothing works, as shown by the prepaid group practice plans of the Kaiser Foundation and at Puget Sound. In the main, however, such undertakings have been drowned by a veritable flood of public and private moneyswhich have supported and encouraged the continuation of conventional practices and subsidized their shortcomings on a massive, almost unrestricted scale. Except for the most idealistic and de
dicated, there were no incentives to seek change or to practice self-restraint or frugality. In this atmosphere, it is not fair to condemn as failures all attempted experiments; it may be more accurate to say many never had a fair trial.

表蓝这话什么意思？回来再看

1. The author implies that the Kaiser Foundation and Puget Sound plans differed from other plans by
(A) encouraging capital investment
(B) requiring physicians to treat the poor
(C) providing incentives for cost control
(D) employing only dedicated and idealistic doctors
(E) relying primarily on public funding
2. The author mentions all of the following as consequences of full-cost reimbursement EXCEPT
(A) rising operating costs
(B) underused hospital facilities
(C) overcapitalization
(D) overreliance on expensive equipment
(E) lack of services for minorities
3. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) light-hearted and amused
(B) objective but concerned
(C) detached and unconcerned
(D) cautious but sincere
(E) enthusiastic and enlightened
4. According to the author, the “pessimism” mentioned at line 35 is partly attributable to the fact that
(A) there has been little real improvement in health-care services
(B) expectations about health-care services are sometimes unrealistic
(C) large segments of the population find it impossible to get access to health-care services
(D) advances in technology have made health care service unaffordable
(E) doctors are now less concerned with patient care
5. The author cites the prepaid plans in lines 46-48 as
(A) counterexamples to the claim that nothing has worked
(B) examples of health-care plans that were over-funded
(C) evidence that health-care services are fragmented
(D) proof of the theory that no plan has been successful
(E) experiments that yielded disappointing results
6. It can be inferred that the sentence “Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again” means that
(A) the cost of health-care services will not decline
(B) some people should not become doctors
(C) medical care is not really essential to good health
(D) illness is often unpleasant and even painful
(E) medical science cannot cure every ill
7. With which of the following descriptions of the system for the delivery of health-care services would the author most likely agree?
(A) It is biased in favor of doctors and against patients.
(B) It is highly fragmented and completely ineffective
(C) It has not embraced new technology rapidly enough
(D) It is generally effective but can be improved
(E) It discourages people from seeking medical care
8. Which of the following best describes the logical structure of the selection?
(A) The third paragraph is intended as a refutation of the first and second paragraphs.
(B) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(C) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(D) The first paragraph describes a problem, and the second and third paragraphs present two horns of a dilemma.
(E) The first paragraph describes a problem, the second its causes, and the third a possible solution.
9. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) criticize physicians and health-care administrators for investing in techno¬logically advanced equipment
(B) examine some problems affecting delivery of health-care services and assess their severity
(C) defend the medical community from charges that health-care has not improved since World War II
(D) analyze the reasons for the health-care industry’s inability to provide quality care to all segments of the population
(E) describe the peculiar economic features of the health-care industry that are the causes of spiraling medical costs
Highlight to see answers: 1. C 2. E 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. E 7. D 8. C 9. B

女王的肥皂

due¹
due¹W1S1/dju? US du?/adj
1【expected】
2【owed】
3【money】
4 in due course
5【proper】
6 with (all) due respect[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French;Origin: deu 'owed', past participle of devoir 'to owe', from Latin debere; DEBT]
【EXPECTED】 [not before noun]
expected to happen or arrive at a particular time
due to do sth
　The team are due to fly to Italy next month.
　His new book is due to be published next year.
due in/on/at
　She's pregnant and the baby's due in April.
　The final results of the experiment are due on December 9.
　I'm due at his office at 4.30.
due for
　The car is due for its annual service again.
due back
　When are the library books due back?
→due date
【OWED】
owed to someone either as a debt or because they have a right to it
　Any money due you will be sent by cheque through the post.
due to
　Thanks are due to all those who took part.
【MONEY】
if an amount of money is due, it must be paid at a particular time
　The next income tax payment is due on 31 January.
in due course
at some time in the future when it is the right time, but not before
　Further details will be announced in due course.
【PROPER】 [only before noun]formal
proper or suitable
　He was banned for six months for driving without due care and attention.
due regard/consideration
　We want the best for each individual child with due regard for the interests of the other children.（我把这里的with phrase 看成each individual children的修饰语）
with (all) due respect （with due respect to sb, 出于对sb的尊重； with my all due respect，恕我直言）
spoken used when you disagree with someone or criticize them in a polite way
　Dad, with all due respect, was not a very good husband.
→duly, due to

女王的肥皂

我是在做傻事吗？没办法，我不背成这样子，我自己很难舒服的。


NOTE ON USAGE 用法:
1.When speaking about who or what remains from an original total, we use the rest or (more formal) remainder
    Some boys stay on after school; the rest/remainder (of them) go home. 放学後总有些男孩子不走, 其余的人回家.
    The rest/remainder of the time was spent swimming. 剩下的时间用来游泳.
2. If something has been partly used or destroyed, we use remains or remnants. Of food left-overs is often used
    The remains/remnants/left-overs of the meal (ie the bits of food left uneaten) were fed to the dog. 剩饭喂狗了.
3. Remains is also used of old buildings or dead bodies
   the remains of an old castle 古堡的废墟
   human remains 人的遗体.
4.A relic is a historical object and reminder of the past.  
5.A residue is what is left after a process, especially a chemical one, has taken place.  
    There is a green residue in the bottom of the test tube. 试管底部有绿色的沉淀.
6. In a mathematical calculation the remainder (in arithmetic) or the balance (in accounting) is the amount left after subtraction or division. 在数学计算中remainder指（算术中的）差数或余数, balance指（会计学中的）余额或差额.
7.vestige n 遗迹(这个遗迹更多是制度上的，不像relic)；退化器官 Most people have curiously rejected Confucianism, butthe vestige of old order remains
8. surplusn/adj.amount left over after one has used all that one needs; amount by which money received is greater than money spent 剩余（额）; 过剩; 盈余; 顺差: Surpluses of food can be sold for cash. 多余的食物可卖钱. * We have a trade surplus of 400 million. 我们有4亿英镑的贸易顺差

女王的肥皂

话说不是背单词， 我会注意 radiate 和 irradiate 的区别吗 ？ 让我死吧，死吧。

Radiation is emitted from something and travels from its point of origin to somewhere else.
When radiation hits something else (and is therefore stopped) the thing that has been hit is said to have been irradiated.

Thus a sunbather is undergoing irradiation by radiation emitted by the sun.

似乎挺简单的呀，这都是什么词典呀，我看半天都是一个意思。

Microwave irradiations are considered unequivocally to produce "thermal effects."

女王的肥皂

第三天，后遗症就出来了。 听听力，也没有反应了。 不知道说的是啥了。

女王的肥皂

stringent/strict(反义词 lenient) person : 严格是那种你必须听我的（obey）严格，就像老师对学生；家长对孩子
stringent economy: 银根紧缩的经济
strict: in the strictest sense of the word 严格意义上讲

Severe /stern person: 我觉得翻译成严肃比较好，是指那种酷酷的，不讲感情，没有多少友爱精神的人。

Severe （核心意思：极）
Strict  （核心意思：遵守）

rigorous: 准确的，精确的
               a rigorous analysis of defense needs
              the rigorous standards required by the college
rigid（反义词flexible）: 僵化的
             rigid and authoritarian methords.

austere: 简朴的，清教徒般的。

stringent
/ ?str?nd??nt; ˋstr?nd??nt/ adj
(of a law, rule, etc) that must be obeyed; strict or severe （指法律﹑ 规则等）必须遵守的, 严格的, 严厉的: a stringent ban onsmoking 禁止吸烟的严格规定.
(of financial conditions) difficult because there is not enough money （指财务状况）因缺钱而困难的, 银根紧的: a stringent economic climate 窘迫的经济情势. > stringency / -ns?; -ns?/ n : in these days of financial stringency 在银根收缩的这段日子里. stringently adv: The regulations must be stringently observed. 这些规则必须严格遵守。

severe
se·vere
W2S3/s??v?? US -?v?r/adj1【very serious】
2【weather】
3【punishment】
4【criticism】
5【difficult】
6【person】
7【plain】

[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French;Origin: sévère, from Latin severus]
【VERY SERIOUS】
severe problems, injuries, illnesses etc are very bad or very serious
　His injuries were quite severe.
　She's suffering from severe depression.
　The US faces severe economic problems.
　The storm caused severe damage.
【WEATHER】
severe weather is very bad and very extreme, and very hot, dry, cold etc
【PUNISHMENT】
a severe punishment is very strict or extreme
　Drug smugglers can expect severe penalties.
【CRITICISM】
severe criticism is very extreme and shows that you think someone has done something very badly
　The president came under severe criticism for his handling of the crisis.
【DIFFICULT】
very difficult and needing a lot of effort and skill
　The negotiations will be a severe test of his abilities.
【PERSON】
someone who is severe behaves in a way that does not seem friendly or sympathetic, and is very strict or disapproving
= stern
　His slightly severe expression softened.
【PLAIN】
very plain with little or no decoration
　a rather severe red-brick building


strict


strict
S3/str?kt/adj comparativestrictersuperlativestrictest
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin;Origin: strictus, past participle of stringere; STRINGENT]
expecting people to obey rules or to do what you say
≠ lenient
　a strict teacher
strict about
　This company is very strict about punctuality.
strict with
　The Stuarts are very strict with their children.
a strict order or rule is one that must be obeyed
　You had strict instructions not to tell anybody.
　There are strict limits on presidential campaign contributions.
　He's under strict orders from his doctor to quit smoking.
　I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence (=it must be kept completely secret) .
[usually before noun]
exact and correct, often in a way that seems unreasonable
　Amy was attractive, although not beautiful in the strictest sense of the word .
obeying all the rules of a religion or set of principles
　He was raised a strict Catholic.
　a strict vegetarian

rigid
ri·gid /?r?d??d/ adj
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: rigidus, from rigere 'to be stiff']
rigid methods, systems etc are very strict and difficult to change
≠ flexible
　rigid and authoritarian methods of education
someone who behaves in a rigid way is very unwilling to change their ideas or behaviour
≠ flexible
　rigid adherence to old-fashioned ideas
　She maintained rigid control over her emotional and sexual life.
stiff and not moving or bending
≠ flexible
　rigid plastic

rigorous
rig·or·ous /?r?g?r?s/ adj
careful, thorough, and exact
　a rigorous analysis of defence needs
　the rigorous standards required by the college
very severe or strict
　rigorous army training


austere
aus·tere /???st??, ?- US ???st?r/ adj
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin;Origin: austerus, from Greek austeros 'severe']
plain and simple and without any decoration
　the church's austere simplicity
someone who is austere is very strict and serious - used to show disapproval
　Her father is a very austere man.

女王的肥皂

一小时争取过完旧单词