蓝图 · 学术MBA｜用逻辑思维治愈学术阅读的精神内耗

Life is simple. You make choices and don't look back.

MBA入学考试虽说是针对

想要攻读工商管理硕士的同学们进行的考试

阅读部分的文章题材确是相当多元化

从甲壳类动物进化原理

到美国宪法知识产权保护到量子物理

轮番挑战我们的思维维度

However，归根结底

万变不离其宗

解题还是考“逻辑”二字

下面是一篇

hard级别的MBA入学标化考试官方指南中

阅读细节题的解题思路

Conodonts, the spiky phosphatic remains (bones and teeth composed of calcium phosphate) of tiny marine animals that probably appeared about 520 million years ago, were once among the most controversial of fossils. Both the nature of the organism to which the remains belonged and the function of the remains were unknown. However, since the 1981 discovery of fossils preserving not just the phosphatic elements but also other remains of the tiny soft-bodied animals (also called conodonts) that bore them, scientists’ reconstructions of the animals’ anatomy have had important implications for hypotheses concerning the development of the vertebrate skeleton. The vertebrate skeleton had traditionally been regarded as a defensive development, champions of this view postulating that it was only with the much later evolution of jaws that vertebrates became predators. The first vertebrates, which were soft-bodied, would have been easy prey for numerous invertebrate carnivores, especially if these early vertebrates were sedentary suspension feeders. Thus, traditionalists argued, these animals developed coverings of bony scales or plates, and teeth were secondary features, adapted from the protective bony scales. Indeed, external skeletons of this type are common among the well-known fossils of ostracoderm, jawless vertebrates that existed from approximately 500 to 400 million years ago. However, other paleontologists argued that many of the definitive characteristics of vertebrates, such as paired eyes and muscular and skeletal adaptations for active life, would not have evolved unless the first vertebrates were predatory. Teeth were more primitive than external armor according to this view, and the earliest vertebrates were predators.

The stiffening notochord along the back of the body, V-shaped muscle blocks along the sides, and posterior tail fins help to identify conodonts as among the most primitive of vertebrates. The lack of any mineralized structures apart from the elements in the mouth indicates that conodonts were more primitive than the armored jawless fishes such as the ostracoderms. It now appears that the hard parts that first evolved in the mouth of an animal improved its efficiency as a predator, and that aggression rather than protection was the driving force behind the origin of the vertebrate skeleton.

1. According to the passage, the anatomical evidence provided by the preserved soft bodies of conodonts led scientists to conclude that

A. Conodonts had actually been invertebrate carnivores

B. Conodonts’ teeth were adapted from protective bony scales

C. Conodonts were primitive vertebrate suspension feeders

D. Primitive vertebrates with teeth appeared earlier than armored vertebrates

E. Scientists’ original observations concerning the phosphatic remains of conodonts were essentially correct

学术文章要先看文章的结构

▼

第一段给出了一个发现scientists

和anatomical evidence

后面段落显然是对这个finding的解释

这道题是一个高度逻辑性的题目

先说软体类动物容易被predator吃，所以才发展出了armor。

（地球上第一批韭菜的抗争！）

The vertebrate skeleton had traditionally been

regarded as a defensive development, ... The first vertebrates, which were soft-bodied, would have been easy prey for numerous invertebrate carnivores, especially if these early vertebrates were sedentary suspension feeders.

然后，注意重要的转折

However, other paleontologists argued that many of the definitive characteristics of vertebrates, such as paired eyes and muscular and skeletal adaptations for active life, would not have evolved unless the first vertebrates were predatory. Teeth were more primitive than external armor according to this view, and the earliest vertebrates were predators.

再次提示

转折句必须重点看

一定是出题点！

分析下这句话的逻辑：如果脊椎动物不是predator的话（必要前提），脊椎动物的特征是发展不出来的。

所以呢？

一定是先是predator，再是vertebrate。且在vertebrate中有teeth的（predator）一定比armor更早出现。

而开始第一段中的发现是在软体类动物的remains中，发现了teeth的遗迹（没说发现了armore），所以科学家按这个特征，应该支持however后的内容。

所以这道题选D

2. The second paragraph in the passage serves primarily to

A. Outline the significance of the 1981 discovery of conodont remains in the debate concerning the development of the vertebrate skeleton

B. Contrast the traditional view of the development of the vertebrate skeleton with a view derived from the 1981 discovery of conodont remains

C. Contrast the characteristics of the ostracoderms with the characteristics of earlier soft-bodied vertebrates

D. Explain the importance of the development of teeth among the earliest vertebrate predators

E. Present the two sides of the debate concerning the development of the vertebrate skeleton

还是重点看转折，转折前后的相反点是什么

前：traditionalists argued, that these animals developed coverings of bony scales or plates, and teeth were secondary features, adapted from the protective bony scales；

后：Teeth were more primitive than external armor according to this view,

and the earliest vertebrates were predators.

相反点：先有甲壳后有牙（先先变成颗防御型韭菜 后变成镰刀）VS 先有牙齿后有甲壳（先变成镰刀割韭菜再说）

所以重点是两种观点的对比: present the two sides of the debate concerning the development of the vertebrate skeleton.

选E

3. It can be inferred that on the basis of the 1981 discovery of conodont remains, paleontologists could draw which of the following conclusions?

A. The earliest vertebrates were sedentary suspension feeders.

B. Ostracoderms were not the earliest vertebrates.

C. Defensive armor preceded jaws among vertebrates.

D. Paired eyes and adaptations for activity are definitive characteristics of vertebrates.

E. Conodonts were unlikely to have been predators.

这道题考conodont

这个词在第一段和第三段出现了

按逻辑这道题应该对应第三段

因为这题是问conclusion

第三段开头是一个逻辑对比：

The stiffening notochord along the back of the body, V-shaped muscle blocks along the sides, and posterior tail fins help to identify conodonts as among the most primitive of vertebrates. The lack of any mineralized structures apart from the elements in the mouth indicates that conodonts were more primitive than the armored jawless fishes such as the ostracoderms.

因为condont是teeth，第一段第一句解释了（所以再次提醒：第一段的解释一定要注意）。

那么第三段的这句话里的高光部分再次强调最早的脊椎动物是有condont（teeth）的，而the armored jawless fishes such as the ostracoderms. 说明ostracoderms是jawless，没有咬合能力的（无teeth），所以可推出Ostracoderms were not the earliest vertebrates.

选B

总结这篇hard文章虽然很长

在MBA标化考试中属于最长的

但是题目对应的是两个核心逻辑句和配套信息

however和more than

Focus在逻辑上，没错的