2012年11月10日托福阅读真题解析第一篇：EARTH AGE
第一篇是讲的早期科学家们估计地球寿命。
首先说人们很早就在预估地球寿命了；之后一段讲的近代一位科学家采用生物一代代进化速度的方式预估了三叠纪的长度，但基于的假设是进化速率基本相同，其估计已经有一定准确度了。后来讲科学家利用这种方式预估地球寿命，其弱点是有部分化石找不到而且更基本的错误是地球在生物诞生之前那段时间无法估计。（这里有插空题）之后讲了科学家用其他方式预估，有种是采用测算地壳沉积岩石厚度的方法，但问题是没有考虑板块运动以及腐蚀。另一种是计算海水盐度发，理想地认为一开始地球海洋是淡水，不断地填充盐才有了现在这样子，但这也忽略了盐分与海底大陆架之间的复杂作用以及其他（这里会考题问科学家忽略了什么）。但作者对于科学家基于盐度推出的几千万年的寿命还是给予肯定的。因为这已经验证了地球寿命远比原先预计的几百万年要多得多。而且也有一批科学家从其他领域验证了这个结果。
The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years.This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the
oldest-known terrestrial and lunarsamples. Following the scientific revolution and the development of radiometric age dating, measurements of lead in uranium-rich minerals showed that some were in excess of a billion years old.
Because the exact accretion time of Earth is not yet known, and the predictions from different accretion models range from a few millions up to about 100 million years, the exact age of Earth is difficult to determine. It is also difficult to determine the exact age of the oldest rocks on Earth, exposed at the surface, as they are aggregates of minerals of possibly different ages.
【岩层研究法】Studies of strata, the layering of rocks and earth, gave naturalists an appreciation that Earth may have been through many changes during its existence. These layers often contained fossilized remains of unknown creatures, leading some to interpret a progression of organisms from layer to layer.
In the 1790s, the British naturalist William Smith hypothesized that if two layers of rock at widely differing locations contained similar fossils, then it was very plausible that
the layers were the same age. William Smith's nephew and student, John Phillips, later calculated by such means that Earth was about 96 million years old.
The naturalist Mikhail Lomonosov, regarded as the founder of Russian science, suggested in the mid-18th century that Earth had been created separately from the rest of the universe, several hundred thousand years before. Lomonosov's ideas were mostly speculative, but in 1779, the French naturalist the Comte du Buffon tried to obtain a value for the age of Earth using an experiment: He created a small globe that resembled Earth in composition and then measured its rate of cooling. This led him to estimate that Earth was about 75,000 years old
In 1862, the physicist William Thomson （who later became Lord Kelvin）of Glasgow published calculations that fixed the age of Earth at between 20 million and 400 million years. He assumed that Earth had formed as a completely molten object, and determined the amount of time it would take for the near-surface to cool to its present temperature. His calculations did not account for heat produced via radioactive decay （a process then unknown to science）or convection inside the Earth, which allows more heat to escape from the interior to warm rocks near the surface.
【生物进化方法】Geologists had trouble accepting such a short age for Earth. Biologists could accept that Earth might have a finite age, but even 100 million years seemed much too short to be plausible. Charles Darwin, who had studied Lyell's work, had proposed his theory of the evolution of organisms by natural selection, a process whose combination of random heritable variation and cumulative selection implies great expanses of time. （Geneticists have subsequently measured the rate of genetic divergence of species, using the molecular clock, to date the last universal ancestor of all living organisms no later than 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago）。
In a lecture in 1869, Darwin's great advocate, Thomas H. Huxley, attacked Thomson's calculations, suggesting they appeared precise in themselves but were based on faulty assumptions. The German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz （in 1856）and the Canadian astronomer Simon Newcomb （in 1892）contributed their own calculations of 22 and 18 million years respectively to the debate: they independently calculated the amount of time it would take for the Sun to condense down to its current diameter and brightness from the nebula of gas and dust from which it was born. Their values were consistent with Thomson's calculations. However, they assumed that the Sun was only glowing from the heat of its gravitational contraction. The process of solar nuclear fusion was not yet known to science.
Other scientists backed up Thomson's figures as well. Charles Darwin's son, the astronomer George H. Darwin of the University of Cambridge, proposed that Earth and Moon
had broken apart in their early days when they were both molten. He calculated the amount of time it would have taken for tidal friction to give Earth its current 24-hour day. His value of 56 million years added additional evidence that Thomson was on the right track.
【Radiometric dating同位素年龄测定法】Rockminerals naturally contain certain elements and not others. By the process of radioactive decay of radioactive isotopes occurring in a rock, exotic elements can be introduced over time. By measuring the concentration of the stable end product of the decay, coupled with knowledge of the half life and initial concentration of the decaying element, the age of the rock can be calculated. Typical radioactive end products are argon from potassium-40 and lead from uranium and thorium decay. If the rock becomes molten, as happens in Earth's mantle, such nonradioactive end products typically escape or are redistributed.Thus the age of the oldest terrestrial rock gives a minimum for the age of Earth assuming that a rock cannot have been in existence for longer than Earth itself.Modern radiometric dating
Radiometric dating continues to be the predominant way scientists date geologic timescales. Techniques for radioactive dating have been tested and fine-tuned for the past 50+ years. Forty or so different dating techniques have been utilized to date, working on a wide variety of materials. Dates for the same sample using these different techniques are in very close agreement on the age of the material.
Possible contamination problems do exist, but they have been studied and dealt with by careful investigation, leading to sample preparation procedures being minimized to limit the chance of contamination. Hundreds to thousands of measurements are done daily with excellent precision and accurate results. Even so, research continues to refine and improve radiometric dating to this day
Source:https://www.doczj.com/doc/658128063.html,/wiki/Age_of_the_Earth
第二篇：GERMAN RAILWAY
第二篇讲的是近代德国基于铁路工业的发展。
这篇结构为很简洁的三段。第一段总起说了下德国发展铁路后带动了一系列的发展进步。第二段细说了下铁路引领了什么进步，主要是铁、煤以及其他诸如化工产业之类的发展。然后作者列举了一个现象，通过铁路带动化工产业这个例子来阐述。（这里考作者的阐述方法）之后还强调了下铁路带动了一个P城市的兴旺，这个城市通过兴建各种配套设施啥的，体现了铁路给城市带来的翻天覆地的变化。第三段主要还是围绕P展开说了下，说由于铁路使得市场扩大了之类的。之后说了铁路还帮助人们能够在更大范围找工作以及周边产业给了更多的人就业机会。（这里有双选题）最后还说铁路打通了德国东西的连接，（运河是南北的）标志着德国工业的振兴blabla。
German Railways.
As far as railway development is concerned, no corner of the world is making more rapid progress than Germany. A recent survey issued by the German railway authorities states that, during 1927, the German railways handled 1,909,000,000 passengers and 489,000,000 tons
of merchandise. Steam locomotives number 24,575 and electric locomotives 316. The German railways operate some 62,940 passenger carriages, and the stock of goods wagons totals 674,318. As a result of a consistent effort at standardization, the number of types of locomotives in service on the German lines has been reduced from 250 in 1920 to 40 at the present time. Despite this standardization, the door is being left open to experiment, and, at the moment, attention is being devoted to the development of high pressure locomotives, some of these experimental machines having steam pressures as high as 880lbs. per square inch.
German Railway history began with the opening of the steam-hauled Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835. This had been preceded by the opening of the horse-hauled Prince William Railway on 20 September 1831. The first long distance railway was the Leipzig-Dresden railway, completed on 7 April 1839.
German unification in 1871 stimulated consolidation, nationalization into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth. Unlike the situation in France, the goal was support of industrialization, and so heavy lines crisscrossed the Ruhr and other industrial districts, and provided good connections to the major ports of Hamburg and Bremen. By 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight, and forged ahead of France
Source：https://www.doczj.com/doc/658128063.html,/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov03_11Rail-t1-body-d7-d2-d6.html Social and economic benefits
【P的兴旺】Prussia nationalized its railways in an effort both to lower rates on freight service and to equalize those rates among shippers. Instead of lowering rates as far as possible, the government ran the railways as a profitmaking endeavor, and the railway profits became a major source of revenue for the state. The nationalization of the railways slowed the economic development of Prussia because the state favoured the relatively backward agricultural areas in its railway building. Moreover, the railway surpluses substituted for the development of an adequate tax system.
In order to enable the free exchange of goods wagons between the different state railway administrations, the German State Railway Wagon Association （DeutscherStaatsbahnwagenverband or DSV）was formed in 1909. The standard wagons that resulted are often referred to as 'DSV wagons'.
The standardisation of goods wagons under the German State Railway Wagon Association, that had produced the Verbandsbauart （'Association design'）wagons, continued as new designs using interchangeable components were introduced from about 1927. These were the Austauschbauart （'interchangeable design'）wagons. The 1930s saw the introduction of welded construction and solid wheels replacing spoked wheels on new goods wagons. As the Second World War loomed, production was geared towards the war
effort. The focus was on fewer types but greater numbers of so-called Kriegsbauart or wartime designs for the transportation of large quantities of tanks, vehicles, troops and supplies.
【德国铁路对工业影响】During the Second World War, austere versions of the standard locomotives were produced to speed up construction times and minimise the use of imported materials. These were the so-called war locomotives （Kriegslokomotiven
and ?bergangskriegslokomotiven）。Absent a good highway network and trucks, the Germans relied heavily on the railways, supplemented by slower river and canal transport for bulk goods. The rail yards were the main targets of the "transportation strategy" of the British and American strategic bombing campaign of 1944-45, and resulted in massive destruction of the system.
【东德和西德的铁路】After World War II, Germany （and the DRG）was divided into 4 zones: US, British, French and Soviet. The first three eventually combined to form the Federal Republic of Germany （the West）and the Russian zone became the German Democratic Republic （the East）。German territories beyond the Oder were ceded to Poland except for the northern part of East Prussia, which was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1945.From 1949, the new governments assumed authority for railway operations. The DRG's （or DR's）successors were named Deutsche Bundesbahn （DB, German Federal Railways）in West Germany, and Deutsche Reichsbahn （DR, German State Railways）in East Germany kept the old name to hold tracking rights in western Berlin.
Unlike the DRG, which was a corporation, both the DB and the DR were federal state institutions, directly controlled by their respective transportation ministries. Railway service between East and West was restricted; there were around five well-controlled and secure checkpoints between West and East Germany, and about the same number between East Germany and West Berlin. Four transit routes existed between West Germany and West Berlin; citizens of West Berlin and West Germany were able to use these without too much harassment by the East German authorities.
Source：https://www.doczj.com/doc/658128063.html,/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Germany
第三篇：WEATHERING OF ROCK
第三篇讲岩石风化。
段落很多所以就一起讲了好了。首先总起是列举了两种风化方式：化学上的和生物上的。文章主讲了化学上的，化学上的有三种，水侵蚀、二氧化碳侵蚀、氧气侵蚀（翻译很不专业就表嘲笑啦）。水侵蚀主要说的是水与岩石中物质接合使得其膨胀等等；二氧化碳侵蚀就是列举了类似钟乳石那种因潮湿环境融入二氧化碳而慢慢风化侵蚀的现象（化学的涉及到碳酸盐遇碳酸根生成可溶的碳酸氢盐，然后流失），干燥环境下不是很明显；氧气侵蚀主要发生在阳光照射强烈的地方，氧化后呈红色，多发生于热带。（这里有题大概是考推测热带的土多为红色的啥的）最后作者也说了些生物侵蚀的例子，强调的是它可能没有想象中的作用那么大，因为其中也包含着化学侵蚀部分。而且生物侵蚀有利于土壤的生成，本身是对植物好的。文章末尾讲了一个真菌，通过从岩石中提取矿物质，使岩石最终崩碎呈小块状以及另外一种方式（忘了）来进行生物侵蚀。（生
物影响涉及到植物的根，不过这一点作用被过分关注了；讲了lichen，这种生物对石头的侵蚀既有生物作用又有化学作用）
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters. Weathering occurs in situ, or "with no movement", and thus should not be confused with erosion, which involves the movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, snow, wind and gravity.
Two important classifications of weathering processes exist – physical and chemical weathering. Mechanical or physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through direct contact with atmospheric conditions, such as heat, water, ice and pressure. The second classification, chemical weathering, involves the direct effect of atmospheric chemicals or biologically produced chemicals （also known as biological weathering）in the breakdown of rocks, soils and minerals.
The materials left over after the rock breaks down combined with organic material creates soil. The mineral content of the soil is determined by the parent material, thus a soil derived from a single rock type can often be deficient in one or more minerals for good fertility, while a soil weathered from a mix of rock types （as in glacial, aeolian or alluvial sediments）often makes more fertile soil. In addition many of Earth's landforms and landscapes are the result of weathering processes combined with erosion and re-deposition.
【Chemical weathering】Chemical weathering changes the composition of rocks, often transforming them when water interacts with minerals to create various chemical reactions. Chemical weathering is a gradual and ongoing process as the mineralogy of the rock adjusts to the near surface environment. New or secondary minerals develop from the original minerals of the rock. In this the processes of oxidation and hydrolysis are most important.
The process of mountain block uplift is important in exposing new rock strata to the atmosphere and moisture, enabling important chemical weathering to occur; significant release occurs of Ca++ and other minerals into surface waters.[6]
Rainfall is acidic because atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in the rainwater producing weak carbonic acid. In unpolluted environments, the rainfall pH is around 5.6. Acid rain occurs when gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are present in the atmosphere. These oxides react in the rain water to produce stronger acids and can lower the pH to 4.5 or even 3.0. Sulfur dioxide, SO2, comes from volcanic eruptions or from fossil fuels, can become sulfuric acid within rainwater, which can cause solution weathering to the rocks on which it falls.
Some minerals, due to their natural solubility （e.g. evaporites），oxidation potential （iron-rich minerals, such as pyrite），or instability relative to surficial conditions （see Goldich dissolution series）will weather through dissolution naturally, even without acidic water.
One of the most well-known solution weathering processes is carbonation, the process in which atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to solution weathering. Carbonation occurs on rocks
which contain calcium carbonate, such as limestone and chalk. This takes place when rain combines with carbon dioxide or an organic acid to form a weakcarbonic acid which reacts with calcium carbonate （the limestone）and forms calcium bicarbonate. This process speeds up with a decrease in temperature, not because low temperatures generally drive reactions faster, but because colder water holds more dissolved carbon dioxide gas.[citation needed] Carbonation is therefore a large feature of glacial weathering.
The reactions as follows:
CO2 + H2O => H2CO3
carbon dioxide + water => carbonic acid
H2CO3 + CaCO3 =>Ca（HCO3）2
carbonic acid + calcium carbonate => calcium bicarbonate
Carbonation on the surface of well-jointed limestone produces a dissected limestone pavement. This process is most effective along the joints, widening and deepening them.
【水合作用】Hydration
Mineral hydration is a form of chemical weathering that involves the rigid attachment of H+ and OH- ions to the atoms and molecules of a mineral.When rock minerals take up water, the increased volume creates physical stresses within the rock. For example iron oxides are converted to iron hydroxides and the hydration of anhydrite forms gypsum.
Hydrolysis on silicates and carbonates：Hydrolysis is a chemical weathering process affecting silicate and carbonate minerals. In such reactions, pure water ionizes slightly and reacts with silicate minerals.
【氧化】Oxidation
Within the weathering environment chemical oxidation of a variety of metals occurs. The most commonly observed is the oxidation of Fe2+ （iron）and combination with oxygen and water to form Fe3+ hydroxides and oxides such as goethite, limonite, and hematite. This gives the affected rocks a reddish-brown coloration on the surface which crumbles easily and weakens the rock. This process is better known as 'rusting', though it is distinct from the rusting of metallic iron. Many other metallic ores and minerals oxidize and hydrate to produce colored deposits, such as chalcopyrites or CuFeS2 oxidizing to copper hydroxide and iron oxides.
【生物风化】Biological weathering
A number of plants and animals may create chemical weathering through release of acidic compounds, i.e. moss on roofs is classed as weathering. Mineral weathering can also be initiated and/or accelerated by soil microorganisms.
【lichen例子】Lichens on rocks are thought to increase chemical weathering rates. For example, an experimental study on hornblende granite in New Jersey, USA, demonstrated a 3x - 4x increase in weathering rate under lichen covered surfaces compared to recently exposed bare rock surfaces.
The most common forms of biological weathering are the release of chelating compounds （i.e. organic acids, siderophores）and of acidifying molecules （i.e. protons, organic acids）by plants so as to break down aluminium and iron containing compounds in the soils beneath them. Decaying remains of dead plants in soil may form organic acids which, when dissolved in water, cause chemical weathering. Extreme release of chelating compounds can easily affect surrounding rocks and soils, and may lead to podsolisation of soils.
The symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi associated with tree root systems can release inorganic nutrients from minerals such as apatite or biotite and transfer these nutrients to the trees, thus contributing to tree nutrition.[8] It was also recently evidenced that bacterial communities can impact mineral stability leading to the release of inorganic nutrients.[9] To date a large range of bacterial strains or communities from diverse genera have been reported to be able to colonize mineral surfaces and/or to weather minerals, and for some of them a plant growth promoting effect was demonstrated.[10] The demonstrated or hypothesised mechanisms used by bacteria to weather minerals include several oxidoreduction and dissolution reactions as well as the production of weathering agents, such as protons, organic acids and chelating molecules.
2001年1月第二篇 Questions 10-17 at least one carpenter, joiner, sawyer, and cooper in woodworking; a weaver and a tailor 5) an assistant, the rural artisan provided the neighborhood with common goods from furniture to shoes to farm equipment in exchange for cash or for “goods in kind” from the customer’s field, pasture, or dairy. Sometimes artisans transformed material provided by the customer wove cloth of yam spun at the farm from the wool of the family sheep; made chairs or tables 10) from wood cut in the customer’s own woodlot; produced shoes or leather breeches from cow, deer, or sheepskin tanned on the farm. Like their farming neighbors, rural artisans were part of an economy seen, by one historian, as “an orchestra conducted by nature.” Some tasks could not be done in the winter, other had to be put off during harvest time, and still others waited on raw materials that were 15) only produced seasonally. As the days grew shorter, shop hours kept pace, since few artisans could afford enough artificial light to continue work when the Sun went down. To the best of their ability, colonial artisans tried to keep their shops as efficient as possible and to regularize their schedules and methods of production for the best return on their investment in time, tools, and materials. While it is pleasant to imagine a woodworker, for example, 20) carefully matching lumber, joining a chest together without resort to nails or glue, and applying all thought and energy to carving beautiful designs on the finished piece, the time required was not justified unless the customer was willing to pay extra for the quality— and few in rural areas were, Artisans, therefore, often found it necessary to employ as many shortcuts and economics as possible while still producing satisfactory products.
2020年托福阅读模拟试题及答案（卷九） 托福阅读文本： The Native American peoples of the north Pacific Coast created a highly complex maritime culture as they invented modes of production unique to their special environment. In addition to their sophisticated technical culture, they also attained one of the most complex social organizations of any nonagricultural people in the world. In a division of labor similar to that of the hunting peoples in the interior and among foraging peoples throughout the world, the men did most of the fishing, and the women processed the catch. Women also specialized in the gathering of the abundant shellfish that lived closer to shore. They collected oysters, crabs, sea urchins, mussels, abalone, and clams, which they could gather while remaining close to their children. The maritime life harvested by the women not only provided food, but also supplied more of the raw materials for making tools than did fish gathered by the men. Of particular importance for the native tool kit before the introduction of metal was the wide knife made from the larger mussel shells, and a variety of cutting edges that could be made from other marine shells. The women used their tools to process all of the fish and marine mammals brought in by the men. They cleaned the fish, and dried vast quantities of them for the winter. They sun-dried fish when practical, but
ET老师另辟蹊径谈“托福阅读Prose Summary 解题技巧” 一、绝密档案——剖析Prose Summary的前世今生 Prose summary, TOEFL王国中的头号通缉犯，自2008年随IBT入主考试界以来，就是无数江湖人士的心头噩梦。究其为何，原因有二： 其一：Prose Summary 题型天生不讨巧，从来都是在一场战役（一篇文章）行将结束时出现，而且还针对全文出题。很多大侠往往准备不足，加之略有紧张，到最后往往文章中写了些啥全部忘得一干二净。而面对这种题目，定位相对来讲往往也就意味着从头把文章再看一遍，耗时又费力，极为不招人待见。 其二：从Prose Summary的出题标准来看，Prose Summary是希望各位大侠选出符合文章内容的三个选项，当然，这个选项，并非说只要是符合文章的，正确的就行。在江湖英雄帖（OG）中，对于Prose Summary的描述是这样的：“These items measure your ability to understand and recognize the major ideas and the relative importance of information in a passage.”，各位看官不妨注意一下major ideas这个词，翻译成我们汉人的话来说，就是主要观点或者是重要信息。但是，很多大侠，入行不久，功夫不深，往往是细节和主观点傻傻分不清楚。 综上，Prose Summary是各位大侠在战斗中所遇到的终极BOSS，耗时又费力。然而，俗话说，擒贼先擒王，更不要说这个BOSS是个外强中干的菜鸟，稍加注意，不但能逢凶化吉，反而在战场上作用巨大，为何如此，且听ET细细道来。 二、庖丁解牛——prose summary 破题五法 1. 秘技1——巧用黑体字 相信，还有不少大侠还没注意到过prose summary选项前的那一行黑体字吧，这行黑体字，作用又是什么呢？我们不妨来继续看看，英雄帖怎么说？ 现在，拿出自己手里的任何一本托福模拟题，或者是任何的一套TPO，我们都会在题目上的Direction看到这样的一行字：An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below。用汉人的话说，brief summary，也就是全文的简单总结。换而言之，文章大概写了什么内容，出题人已经给你总结出来了。加上，这篇文章，让你选择出来的又是符合文章的重要信息，所以，有了它，我们就对全文的内容，已经略知一二了。、2. 秘技2——巧用黑体字题眼定选项 刚才我们谈到，黑体字是对全文的概括总结。加上我们在之前的时候，就已经给大家
2002年8月TOEFL试题 Section Three: Reading Comprehension Question 1-9 Often enough the craft worker’s place of employment in ancient Greece was set in rural isolation. Potter, for instance, found it convenient to locate their workshops near their source of clay, regardless of its relation to the center of settlement, At Corinth and Athens, however, two of the best-known potters’ quarters were situated on the cities’ outskirts, and potters and makers of terra-cotta figurines were also established well within the city of Athens itself. The techniques of pottery manufacture had evolved well before the Greek period, but marked stylistic developments occurred in shape and in decoration, for example, in the interplay of black and other glazes with the red surface of the fired pot. Athenian black-figure and red-figure decoration, which emphasized human figures rather than animal images, was adopted between 630 and 530 B.C.；its distinctive color and luster were the result of the skillful adjustments of the kiln’s temperat ure during an extended three-stage period if firing the clayware. Whether it was the potters or the vase-painters who initiated changes in firing is unclear; the functions of making and decorating were usually divided between them, but neither group can have been so specialized the they did not share in the concerns of the other. The broad utility of terra-cotta was such that workers in clay could generally afford to confine themselves to either decorated ware and housewares like cooking pots and storage Jars or building materials like roof tiles and drainpipes, some sixth-and fifth-century B.C. Athenian pottery establishments are known to have concentrated on a limited range of fine ware, but a rural pottery establishment on the island of Thasos produced many types of pottery and roof tiles too, presumably to meet local demand. Molds were used to create particular effects for some products, such as relief-decorated vessels and figurines; for other products such as roof tiles, which were needed in some quantity, they were used to facilitate mass production. There were also a number of poor-quality figurines and painted pots produced in quantity by easy, inexpensive means- as numerous featureless statuettes and unattractive cases testify. 1. The passage mainly discusses ancient Greek pottery and its (A) production techniques (B) similarity to other crafts (C) unusual materials (D) resemblance to earlier pottery 2. The phrase “regardless of” in line 3 is closest in meaning to (A) as a result of (B) no matter what (C) proud of (D) according to 3. It can be inferred from the passage that most pottery establishments in ancient Greece were situated (A) in city centers (B) on the outskirts of cities (C) where clay could be found (D) near other potters’ workshops 4. The word “marked” in line 7 is closest in meaning to
老托福阅读真题及答案解析 托福从听、说、读、写四方面进行英语能力全面考核。托福频道为大家提供了这四个方面的资料，希望对大家有所帮助。 Aviculturists, people who raise birds for commercial sale, have not yet learned how to simulate the natural incubation of parrot eggs in the wild. They continue to look for better ways to increase egg production and to improve chick survival rates. When parrots incubate their eggs in the wild, the temperature and humidity of the nest are controlled naturally. Heat is transferred from the bird's skin to the top portion of the eggshell, leaving the sides and bottom of the egg at a cooler temperature. This temperature gradient may be vital to successful hatching. Nest construction can contribute to this temperature gradient. Nests of loosely arranged sticks, rocks, or dirt are cooler in temperature at the bottom where the egg contacts the nesting material. Such nests also act as humidity regulators by allowing rain to drain into the bottom sections of the nest so that the eggs are not in direct contact with the water. As the water that collects in the bottom of the nest evaporates, the water vapor rises and is heated by the incubating bird, which adds significant humidity to the incubation environment. In artificial incubation programs, aviculturists remove eggs from the nests of parrots and incubate them under laboratory conditions. Most commercial incubators heat the eggs fairly evenly from top to bottom, thus ignoring the bird's method of natural incubation, and perhaps reducing the viability and survivability of the hatching chicks. When incubators are not used, aviculturists sometimes suspend wooden boxes outdoors to use as nests in which to place eggs. In areas where weather can become cold after eggs are laid, it is very important to maintain a deep foundation of nesting material to act as insulator against the cold bottom of the box. If eggs rest against the wooden bottom in extremely cold weather conditions, they can become chilled to a point where the embryo can no longer survive. Similarly, these boxes should be protected from direct sunlight to avoid high temperatures that are also fatal to the growing embryo. Nesting material should be added in sufficient amounts to avoid both extreme temperature situations mentioned above and assure that the eggs have a soft, secure place to rest. 1. What is the main idea of the passage ? (A) Nesting material varies according to the parrots' environment. (B) Humidity is an important factor in incubating parrots' eggs. (C) Aviculturists have constructed the ideal nest box for parrots. (D) Wild parrots' nests provide information useful for artificial incubation. 2. The word "They" in line 2 refers to
2019托福阅读：模拟试题及答案解析（6） 【托福】 Although only 1 person in 20 in the Colonial period lived in a city, the cities had a disproportionate influence on the development of North America. They were at the cutting edge of social change. It was in the cities that the elements that can be associated with modern capitalism first appeared — the use of money and commercial paper in place of barter, open competition in place of social deference and hierarchy, with an attendant rise in social disorder, and the appearance of factories using coat or water power in place of independent craftspeople working with hand tools. "The cities predicted the future," wrote historian Gary. B. Nash, "even though they were but overgrown villages compared to the great urban centers of Europe, the Middle East and China." Except for Boston, whose population stabilized at about 16,000 in 1760, cities grew by exponential leaps through the eighteenth century. In the fifteen years prior to the outbreak of the War for independence in 1775, more than 200,000 immigrants arrived on North American shores. This meant that a population the size of Boston was arriving every year, and most of it flowed into the port cities in the Northeast. Philadelphia's population nearly doubted in those years, reaching about 30,000 in 1774, New York grew at almost the same rate, reaching about 25,000 by 1775. The quality of the hinterland dictated the pace of growth of the cities. The land surrounding Boston had always been poor farm country, and by the mid-eighteenth century it
2005年11月份托福阅读真题及答案 Questions 1-10 As Philadelphia grew from a small town into a city in the first half of the eighteenth century, it became an increasingly important marketing center for a vast and growing agricultural hinterland. Market days saw the crowded city even more crowded, as line fanners from within a radius of 24 or more kilometers brought their sheep, cows, pigs, vegetables, cider, and other products for direct sale to the townspeople. The High Street Market was continuously enlarged throughout the period until 1736, when it reached from Front Street to Third. By 1745 New Market was opened on Second Street between Pine and Cedar. The next year the Callowhill Market began operation. Along with market days, the institution of twice-yearly fairs persisted in Philadelphia even after similar trading days had been discontinued in other colonial cities. The fairs provided a means of bringing handmade goods from outlying places to would-be buyers in the city. Linens and stockings from Germantown, for example, were popular items. Auctions were another popular form of occasional trade. Because of the competition, retail merchants opposed these as well as the fairs. Although governmental attempts to eradicate fairs and auctions were less than successful, the ordinary course of economic development was on the merchants' side, as increasing business specialization became the order of the day. Export merchants became differentiated from their importing counterparts, and specialty shops began to appear in addition to general stores selling a variety of goods. One of the reasons Philadelphia's merchants generally prospered was because the surrounding area was undergoing tremendous economic and demographic growth. They did their business, after all, in the capital city of the province. Not only did they cater to the governor and his circle, but citizens from all over the colony came to the capital for legislative sessions of the assembly and council and the meetings of the courts of justice. 1. What does the passage mainly discuss? (A) Philadelphia's agriculture importance
2000年5月第五篇 Questions 41-50 According to sociologists, there are several different ways in which a person may become recognized as the leader of a social group in the United States. In the family, traditional cultural patterns confer leadership on one or both of the parents. In other cases, Line such as friendship groups, one or more persons may gradually emerge as leaders, although support to individual members. Instrumental leaders are likely to have a rather secondary relationship to other group members. They give orders and may discipline group members who inhibit attainment of the group’s goals. Expressive leaders cultivate a more personal or primary relationship to (25) suggest, expressive leaders generally receive more personal affection from group members; instrumental leaders, if they are successful in promoting group goals, may enjoy a mote (30) distant respect.
2020年托福阅读模拟试题及答案（卷七） 托福阅读文本： Aviculturists, people who raise birds for commercial sale, have not yet learned how to simulate the natural incubation of parrot eggs in the wild. They continue to look for better ways to increase egg production and to improve chick survival rates. When parrots incubate their eggs in the wild, the temperature and humidity of the nest are controlled naturally. Heat is transferred from the bird's skin to the top portion of the eggshell, leaving the sides and bottom of the egg at a cooler temperature. This temperature gradient may be vital to successful hatching. Nest construction can contribute to this temperature gradient. Nests of loosely arranged sticks, rocks, or dirt are cooler in temperature at the bottom where the egg contacts the nesting material. Such nests also act as humidity regulators by allowing rain to drain into the bottom sections of the nest so that the eggs are not in direct contact with the water. As the water that collects in the bottom of the nest evaporates, the water vapor rises and is heated by the incubating bird, which adds significant humidity to the incubation environment. In artificial incubation programs, aviculturists remove eggs from the nests of parrots and incubate them under laboratory conditions. Most commercial incubators heat the eggs fairly evenly from top to bottom,
老托福阅读真题及答案：PASSAGE 11 Plants are subject to attack and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotic species and have evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the potential colonists. These can be divided into preformed or passive defense mechanisms and inducible or active systems. Passive plant defense comprises physical and chemical barriers that prevent entry of pathogens, such as bacteria, or render tissues unpalatable or toxic to the invader. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae. Other trichomes are sticky and glandular and effectively trap and immobilize insects. If the physical barriers of the plant are breached, then preformed chemicals may inhibit or kill the intruder, and plant tissues contain a diverse array of toxic or potentially toxic substances, such as resins, tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids, many of which are highly effective deterrents to insects that feed on plants. The success of the Colorado beetle in infesting potatoes, for example, seems to be correlated with its high tolerance to alkaloids that normally repel potential pests. Other possible chemical defenses, while not directly toxic to the parasite, may inhibit some essential step in the establishment of a parasitic relationship. For example, glycoproteins in plant cell walls may inactivate enzymes that degrade cell walls. These enzymes are often produced by bacteria and fungi. Active plant defense mechanisms are comparable to the immune system of vertebrate animals, although the cellular and molecular bases are fundamentally different. Both, however, are triggered in reaction to intrusion, implying that the host has some means of recognizing the presence of a foreign organism. The most dramatic example of an inducible plant defense reaction is the hypersensitive response. In the hypersensitive response, cells undergo rapid necrosis — that is, they become diseased and die — after being penetrated by a parasite; the parasite itself subsequently ceases to grow and is therefore restricted to one or a few cells
对于目标明确，清晰认识自己薄弱的考生一定很想知道托福阅读summary题型该怎么解。接下来上海环球托福为考生解答。 首先，做阅读就要了解掌握文章的主旨是什么，新托福阅读SUMMARY题作为文章最后一种题型，考察的是对文章主要段落的主旨概括能力，而非全篇文章主旨。直白一点说，就是只需要关注文章局部段落，而不需要在意全局。这不同于老托福阅读里面每篇文章都有一道“What is the passage mainly about”这样的全文主旨题。 接着，考生要如何掌握主旨，来完成summary的题目。阅读英语段落的时候，应该是“匀速阅读”还是“变速阅读”呢？当然是“变速阅读”！这样考生才能做到阅读时的详略得当。但是，“变速阅读”是“先快后慢”还是“先慢后快”呢？这就要从英语的思维方式说起。 汉语族人的思维方式是“螺旋式”的，喜欢画龙点睛，我们称之为“Save the best for the last”。而英语族人的思维方式是“直线式”的，喜欢直入主题，我们称之为“Say what you want to say, then say why”。阅读英语段落的要领：变速阅读，先慢后快，精读首句，浏览全段。据统计，70%-80%的英语段落都是首句是主题句。所以，以后阅读英语段落，应该先精读首句（把握首句的“主题”和“方向”），再浏览全段（把握全段的“关系词”），才能实现快速阅读。而很多同学以前阅读的时候，要么就是倾向于到段落结尾找主题句（这主要是受了汉语思维方式的影响），要么就干脆把有限的精力平均分配到一段话内部的每个单词。 说了那么多，上海环球托福为你提出掌握主旨的方法： 1、常用法——分析段落结构找主题句 通过段落结构来概括主旨，常见的段落结构有如下六大类：（1）总分；（2）总分总（由总分演变而成）；（3）分总；（4）分总分（由分总演变而成）；（5）对比；（6）并列。其中，前四种段落结构都存在主题句和支持句之分。而后两种结构中可能不存在主题句，其段落内部会分成若干个势均力敌的部分，只不过对比结构段落的两部分之间方向相反，而并列结构段落的各部分之间方向相同。一、总分结构 总分结构的主题句一般为首句（如果首句结束后，第二句话存在转折关系，那么主题句就是第二句）。最常见的总分段落的标志就是第二句话前面出现“for example/instance”等举例关系词。如果总分结构段落最后再加一个总结句，就是总分总结构。这种段落结构约占70%。这个方法最大好处是大部分段落都存在主题句，所以能够广泛应用该方法概括段落主旨。这就是“常用法”的由来。但是，该方法的缺点是，如果段落结构比较复杂，又存在大量生词，可能导致我们难以找到主题句。这时候“简易法——重复出现是主旨”就会帮上大忙了。 2、简易法——重复出现是主旨 之所以有第二个方法是因为第一个方法有缺点，常用法的缺点是，如果段落结构比较复杂，又存在大量生词，可能导致我们难以找到主题句。这时候“简易法——重复出现是主旨”就会帮上大忙了。如果一段话在不断重复某一概念，就说明这段话在围绕这个概念展开，这个概念就是这段话的主旨。这就为我们快速把握主旨提供了极大的方便。因此，这种方法称为“简易法”。 在一段话内部重复出现可以分为三种类型。第一种是“原词”重复，但是这也是作者极力避