天山-9-6,7

neverback

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.

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

MINE E

ANS C

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

MINE B

ANS E

请指教

gmatgamester

以下是引用neverback在2004-12-16 23:51:00的发言：

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.

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

MINE E

ANS C 见L27~31

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

MINE B

ANS E 见L9~14

请指教

neverback

Q7中的SURPRISING哪里有体现呢?

gmatgamester

因为the views of Westinghouse’s contemporaries的观点都比较一致，所以如果shift away from 这些观点就会surprising。

philipzhou

以下是引用neverback在2004-12-16 23:51:00的发言：

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.

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

我的答案是C.

还是要到原文去找答案。对应的地方用同样的颜色标出来了。题目问的不是作者的观点，而是 “the shift away from the views of Westinghouse’s contemporaries“ should be regard as

答案E.中 "given the stature that Westinghouse once had“ 可以用在作者的观点上，但不是问题所问的。suprising 这样强烈的态度就更无法从文中找到。

我觉得阅读不是逻辑，不要太多的推理。应该更注意关键词的对应。  

[此贴子已经被作者于2005-1-4 8:27:21编辑过]

skyalan

我这片文章全错。。。虽然基本都看懂了。。。那个originality没有理解正确；支持楼上选C的观点

[此贴子已经被作者于2005-1-14 1:41:42编辑过]

xealot

还是要到原文去找答案。对应的地方用同样的颜色标出来了。题目问的不是作者的观点，而是 “the shift away from the views of Westinghouse’s contemporaries“ should be regard as

Yes, the quiz is not explicitly asking for the author's view, but, it is actually asking for our impression --which is supposed to be delivered by the author's wording, and that is, the author's view. In point of fact, I personally feel quite surprising when facing such inconsistency.

Another point is, throughout the article, the author is trying to explain the kinda surprising neglect. The reflection, on the contrary, doesn't lend a hand to the motif.

smartdummy

I support E.

Edison and Westinghouse were viewed as "pioneer innovators" in their lifetimes. However, Westinghouse was neglected by Thomas Hughes and other historians. Therefore, the shift away from the views of Westinghouse's contemporaries (departure from the prevailing view during the inventors' lifetimes) is surprising, since Westinghouse was a pioneer in his times (given the stature that Westinghouse once had) but neglected now. Something intriguing is likely to be something surprising.

This also complies with the authors positive attitude about Westinghouse.

philipzhou

以下是引用smartdummy在2005-1-15 19:04:00的发言：

I support E.

Edison and Westinghouse were viewed as "pioneer innovators" in their lifetimes. However, Westinghouse was neglected by Thomas Hughes and other historians. Therefore, the shift away from the views of Westinghouse's contemporaries (departure from the prevailing view during the inventors' lifetimes) is surprising, since Westinghouse was a pioneer in his times (given the stature that Westinghouse once had) but neglected now.

E. The author of the passage implies that the shift away from the views of Westinghouse’s contemporaries should be regarded as surprising, given the stature that Westinghouse once had.

Does the auther or DID "the shift away" give the stature that Westinghouse once had???

xealot

Yes, agree with smartdummy.

To Philipzhou,

The author says:

although it marks an intriguing 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.

This is quite a stature I guess.