“Whereas critics have historically been cast as guardians of the canon, sternly measuring new work against the timeless standards of the old, musicians now seem most interested in clinging to tradition, while critics chafe at the perceived dearth of fresh, adventurous voices.”

　　其实这三行文字也不需要全部都看明白，有一些比较重要的关键词把握住就行了，whereas开头的句子表达的是一种转折，让步的关系，因此这道题可以通过这一点突破，转折关系总是把陈述的重点放在后面，所以musicians now seem most interested in clinging to tradition, while critics chafe at the perceived dearth of fresh, adventurous voices就是答案的最好提示：“(爵士)音乐家现在更看重传统，而评论家们则烦恼于意识到缺乏新鲜，前卫的声音了。”

　　符合这个意思的答案也就是C了。复习中练习得当，勤于思考，多关注一些文章中的关键词汇，读文章做题目能变得更加有的放矢。

　　问题2

　　In the context in which it appears, guardians most nearly means

　　A Appraisers

　　B Authors

　　C Fathers

　　D Determinants

　　E Champions

　　问题类型：

　　词汇题，五选一题型

　　问题分析：

　　就现行GRE考试的阅读题目而言，词汇题出现得并不多，词汇题目中也主要考察类比关系和反义关系，而寻找同义词或者近义词则是TOEFL阅读中常考察的题型，这里单独考察词汇题是牢牢扣紧了改革原则，考察词汇在语篇中的意思而不是单纯考察词汇意思，同时这里选择的词汇比较冷僻guardian在m-w字典上的含义是take care of one person or property而答案里的father则更是GRE 典型的熟词僻义的考察模式，没有一个考生在看到father的时候会说自己不认识的，而这里做保护和监护解的意思却很少有知道的。或者说，遍寻GRE词汇的各种参考书也很少能找到收录father这个词的，但是这是GRE考试考词汇的特点，一定要注意。勤查字典，是考试获得理想成绩的基本保证。

　　文章二 短文章 (100words 2 questions 文章100词左右，文章之后有两个问题要求考生回答)

　　Objectively, of course, the various ecosystems that sustain life on the planet proceed independently of human agency, just as they operated before the hectic ascendancy of Homo sapiens. But it is also true that it is better or worse, been substantially modified by human culture. Nor is this simply the work of the industrial centuries. It has been happening since the days of ancient Mesopotamia. It is coeval with the origin of writing and has occurred throughout our social existence. And it is this irreversibly modified world, from the polar caps to the equatorial forests, that is all the nature we have.