2013年8月17日托福阅读真题解析

根据一份今在「英国医学杂志」刊出的报告指出，母乳虽然含有丰富营养，但长期吃母奶无助於降低幼儿罹患气喘和过敏症状风险。

【Section One】ArticleThe benefits of breast-feeding are many and varied. Studies suggest that breast-fed kids are smarter, taller, thinner, healthier and less stressed than babies on bottles. Plus, breast-feeding helps moms bond with their babies and may even lower their blood pressure. So, is there anything breast milk can‘t do? Apparently, yes, according to a new study published Tuesday by BMJ Online: It doesn‘t offer infants much defense against asthma or allergies.That‘s a question researchers have long debated. Until now, the evidence has been mixed: Some studies have suggested that exclusive, prolonged breast-feeding helps stave off asthma and allergies later in life; other studies have shown no protection, or even an increased risk. But most of the available data has come from observational studies. The new BMJ paper, in contrast, was a large, long-term randomized trial that involved more than 17,000 breast-feeding women and babies, 13,889 of whom were tracked until age 6 1/2. Researchers recruited the moms in maternity hospitals and clinics in Belarus. About half of them — those who had already begun breast-feeding — were encouraged to continue breast-feeding exclusively; the control group got no such extra urging.Researchers report that women in the intervention group breast-fed significantly longer than women in the control group: at three months, 73% of the intervention group was breast-feeding, compared with 60% of the control group, and the number of women breast-feeding exclusively was seven times higher. By a year after birth, rates of breast-feeding had dropped across the board; but still, 20% of the intervention group was breast-feeding versus 11% of the controls.In general, about 10% of the children had ever suffered wheezing in their lives, though less than 1.5% had had full-blown asthma. Roughly 3% to 5% had had hay fever, and about 1% had suffered bouts of eczema. Researchers also performed skin-prick tests on the children; again, there was no significant difference between incidence of allergy — to dust mites, cats, pollen, grass and Alternaria, a common fungus —between the groups. In the breast-fed group, about 9% were allergic to pollen and Alternaria, 12% to cats and grass and 15% to dust mites.Absolute rates of all allergies were slightly lower in the control group, but the variations weren‘t statistically relevant.The BMJ study is "to our knowledge.. the largest randomizedtrial ever done in the area of human l actation," write the study‘s authors. But it‘s not likely to be the last. Science will continue to debate the discrete pros and cons of breast-feeding, but doctors unanimously agree that breast, in general, is best for babies‘ health, growth and development. Mothers should breast-feed newborns for at least 12 months — and exclusively for at least 6 months — according to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.【Section Two】Vocabulary。

2013年3月17日托福写作考题解析综合写作：关于the extinction of diprotodon巨型袋鼠的灭绝阅读提到理由如下：一：deforestation二：hunting三：climate change听力持反对意见，理由如下：一：澳洲基本全是森林，人类放火开垦的量对熊的栖息地造不成影响, 且有的地方untouched by fire.二：如果人们要捕猎必然有peers 之类weapons ，但是考古学家没找到。

推测那时的人大多吃植物，只是碰巧吃dead diprotodons三：climate change引起的dry weather,说在这之前至少有四次climate change，而diprotodon并没有因为dry weather 灭绝climate change引起的dry weather,说在这之前至少有四次climate change，而小diprotodon并没有因为dry weather 灭绝。

巨型袋鼠巨型袋鼠(Diprotodon)巨型袋鼠化石巨型袋鼠化石独立写作题目：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: A leader should admit if they made a bad decision. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.独立写作范文：Everybody admires a leader, but being a leader is difficult. People depend on a leader to see the bigger picture and make the best decision. Sometimes, the decision a leader makes will not be the best one. It may not even be the correct one. Sometimes, the decision a leader makes will be just plain bad. In these cases, should a leader admit to making a poor choice? I think they should.First, it shows that you are an honest leader. Because you are willing to call attention to your own failings, it demonstrates that you will not hide important information from the public or mislead them for your own benefit. It shows that you can take responsibility, even if it costs you the faith of your followers in the short-term. This is especially true in the political realm, where admitting to mistakes has heavy consequences. If a political rival catches you admitting to your mistakes-and it is almost guaranteed to happen-they will use it as ammunition to discredit you in some way. Nonetheless, I think it's important that a leader be the one to expose the mistake rather than someone else, because at the very least, he or she could say, "I freely admit it, and I ask for your forgiveness." This somewhat mitigates the damage.Second, admitting to your mistakes is a crucial step on the road toself-improvement. If you are unable to acknowledge where you have failed, you will never be able to begin the process of working on your areas of weakness. In order to be a strong leader, one has to make mistakes, and confront them with a desire to do better in the future. This has more to do with improving your competence as a leader, rather than how people perceive you. A leader will constantly be faced withtough decisions. Every leader thus has to take risks, but a good leader takes calculated risks. The only way to get better at this decision-making process is to make mistakes and learn from them. Also, if you are willing to make your mistakes public, the people may be willing to trust you to take bigger risks in the future.Granted, admitting to making bad decisions can undermine your authority. However, I think that in the long-term, it is still the best choice. For example, I once had to do a group project with a friend at school, and he was chosen to be our group leader. Overall he was very competent; however, he at times made errors in judgment that cost our group time and resources. Once, he told us to use a certain format for all our documents, because he thought that format would save us time during the editing process later. We were really annoyed when we later discovered our teacher actually required a very specific document format, so we ended up wasting time fixing the format. He was the first to bring attention to his mistake, and took it upon himself to fix all of the documents. By showing such honesty, humility, and willingness to remedy the situation, we forgave him easily and all ended up helpinganyway.。

2013年8月25日托福阅读真题解析第一套题：第一篇TOPIC 某古代王国扩张及衰退古代地中海附近的一个国家，不断军事扩张，变得很繁荣。

但随着版图的扩大，周围国家的威胁（如俄国），并且后面几代君主个人能力不行，这个国家渐渐衰弱。

还介绍了他的政治制度，虽然君主一个人掌权，但后来产生了两种职位分权，一种是有一个人会对君主进行授权，另一种是很有权利的女人。

但随着这个国家经济和社会的衰退，最后一段提到了一个解决的办法，但已无法扭转。

解析：本文属历史类话题，介绍了某国家的兴亡过程。

从机经回忆来看，该古代王国应指曾盛极一时的土耳其奥斯曼帝国。

奥斯曼帝国在欧洲历史长河中扮演了非常重要的角色，很多重要的如新航路开辟等历史事件都和奥斯曼帝国的崛起有直接联系，所以也常常在托福的历史类文章中出现，大家应对其有一定了解。

Ottoman EmpireOriginsThe Ottoman state began as one of many small Turkish states that emerged in Asia Minor during the breakdown of the empire of the Seljuk Turks. The Ottoman Turks began to absorb the other states, and during the reign (1451–81) of Muhammad II they ended all other local Turkish dynasties. The early phase of Ottoman expansion took place under Osman I, Orkhan, Murad I, and Beyazid I at the expense of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Bursa fell in 1326 and Adrianople (the modern Edirne) in 1361; each in turn became the capital of the empire. The greatOttoman victories of Kosovo Field (1389) and Nikopol (1396) placed large parts of the Balkan Peninsula under Ottoman rule and awakened Europe to the Ottoman danger. The Ottoman siege of Constantinople was lifted at the appearance of Timur, who defeated and captured Beyazid in 1402. The Ottomans, however, soon rallied. The Period of Great ExpansionThe empire, reunited by Muhammad I, expanded victoriously under Muhammad's successors Murad II and Muhammad II. The victory (1444) at Varna over a crusading army led by Ladislaus III of Poland was followed in 1453 by the capture of Constantinople. Within a century the Ottomans had changed from a nomadic horde to the heirs of the most ancient surviving empire of Europe. Their success was due partly to the weakness and disunity of their adversaries, partly to their excellent and far superior military organization. Their army comprised numerous Christians—not only conscripts, who were organized as the corps of Janissaries, but also volunteers. Turkish expansion reached its peak in the 16th cent. under Selim I and Sulayman I (Sulayman the Magnificent).The Hungarian defeat (1526) at Mohács prepared the way for the capture (1541) of Buda and the absorption of the major part of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire; Transylvania became a tributary principality, as did Walachia and Moldavia. The Asian borders of the empire were pushed deep into Persia and Arabia. Selim I defeated the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, took Cairo in 1517, and assumed the succession to the caliphate. Algiers was taken in 1518, and Mediterranean commerce was threatened by corsairs, such as Barbarossa, who sailed under Turkishauspices. Most of the Venetian and other Latin possessions in Greece also fell to the sultans.During the reign of Sulayman I began (1535) the traditional friendship between France and Turkey, directed against Hapsburg Austria and Spain. Sulayman reorganized the Turkish judicial system, and his reign saw the flowering of Turkish literature, art, and architecture. In practice the prerogatives of the sultan were limited by the spirit of Muslim canonical law (sharia), and he usually shared his authority with the chief preserver ( sheyhülislam ) of the sharia and with the grand vizier (chief executive officer).In the progressive decay that followed Sulayman's death, the clergy ( ulema ) and the Janissaries gained power and exercised a profound, corrupting influence. The first serious blow by Europe to the empire was the naval defeat of Lepanto (1571; see Lepanto, battle of), inflicted on the fleet of Selim II by the Spanish and Venetians under John of Austria. However, Murad IV in the 17th cent. temporarily restored Turkish military prestige by his victory (1638) over Persia. Crete was conquered from Venice, and in 1683 a huge Turkish army under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa surrounded Vienna. The relief of Vienna by John III of Poland and the subsequent campaigns of Charles V of Lorraine, Louis of Baden, and Eugene of Savoy ended in negotiations in 1699 (see Karlowitz, Treaty of), which cost Turkey Hungary and other territories.DeclineThe breakup of the state gained impetus with the Russo-Turkish Wars in the 18thcent. Egypt was only temporarily lost to Napoleon's army, but the Greek War of Independence and its sequels, the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29 (see Adrianople, Treaty of), and the war with Muhammad Ali of Egypt resulted in the loss of Greece and Egypt, the protectorate of Russia over Moldavia and Walachia, and the semi-independence of Serbia. Drastic reforms were introduced in the late 18th and early 19th cent. by Selim III and Mahmud II, but they came too late. By the 19th cent. Turkey was known as the Sick Man of Europe.Through a series of treaties of capitulation from the 16th to the 18th cent. the Ottoman Empire gradually lost its economic independence. Although Turkey was theoretically among the victors in the Crimean War, it emerged from the war economically exhausted. The Congress of Paris (1856) recognized the independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire, but this event marked the confirmation of the empire's dependency rather than of its rights as a European power.The rebellion (1875) of Bosnia and Herzegovina precipitated the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, in which Turkey was defeated despite its surprisingly vigorous stand. Romania (i.e., Walachia and Moldavia), Serbia, and Montenegro were declared fully independent, and Bosnia and Herzegovina passed under Austrian administration. Bulgaria, made a virtually independent principality, annexed (1885) Eastern Rumelia with impunity.Sultan Abd al-Majid, who in 1839 issued a decree containing an important body of civil reforms, was followed (1861) by Abd al-Aziz, whose reign witnessed the rise ofthe liberal party. Its leader, Midhat Pasha, succeeded in deposing (1876) Abd al-Aziz. Abd al-Hamid II acceded (1876) after the brief reign of Murad V. A liberal constitution was framed by Midhat, and the first Turkish parliament opened in 1877, but the sultan soon dismissed it and began a rule of personal despotism. The Armenian massacres (see Armenia) of the late 19th cent. turned world public opinion against Turkey. Abd al-Hamid was victorious in the Greco-Turkish war of 1897, but Crete, which had been the issue, was ultimately gained by Greece. CollapseIn 1908 the Young Turk movement, a reformist and strongly nationalist group, with many adherents in the army, forced the restoration of the constitution of 1876, and in 1909 the parliament deposed the sultan and put Muhammad V on the throne. In the two successive Balkan Wars (1912–13), Turkey lost nearly its entire territory in Europe to Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and newly independent Albania. The nationalism of the Young Turks, whose leader Enver Pasha gained virtual dictatorial power by a coup in 1913, antagonized the remaining minorities in the empire. The outbreak of World War I found Turkey lined up with the Central Powers. Although Turkish troops succeeded against the Allies in the Gallipoli campaign (1915), Arabia rose against Turkish rule, and British forces occupied (1917) Baghdad and Jerusalem. Armenians, accused of aiding the Russians, were massacred and deported from Anatolia beginning in 1915; an Armenian uprising in Van (1915) survived until relieved by Russian forces. In 1918, Turkish resistance collapsed in Asia and Europe. An armistice was concluded in October, and the Ottoman Empirecame to an end. The Trea ty of Sèvres (see Sèvres, Treaty of) confirmed its dissolution. With the victory of the Turkish nationalists, who had refused to accept the peace terms and overthrew the sultan in 1922, modern Turkey's history began. 第二篇TOPIC 基因的意外发现科学家做实验室为某种目的，但往往会有意外地发现。

Introduction海啸是一种具有强大破坏力的海浪。

当地震发生于海底，因震波的动力而引起海水剧烈的起伏，形成强大的波浪，向前推进，将沿海地带一一淹没的灾害，称之为海啸。

VocabularyTsunami n.海啸high-rises n.高楼(注意前面用的是tall buildings)temblor n.地震holocaust n.大屠杀universal time n.(=Greenwich Time)世界时间,格林尼治(平均)时extensive 这里注意原文中“the most extensive tsunami warning system around”我们在写作的时候也可以这样用最大的什么机构组织。

tremor n.震动, 颤动bulletin n.公告evacuate v.疏散, 撤出, 排泄fiasco n. 大惨败dialects n.方言比较长，建议只泛读ArticleWednesday‘s massive earthquake near Indonesia was distressingly similar to the one that killed over 220,000 people in December of 2004. Both happened off the coast of Sumatra and put atleast a dozen other countries at risk of tsunami. Yesterday’s magnitude-8.4 quake was smaller than the 9.1 of 2004, but only slightly. Tall buildings swayed in Jakarta, and some high-rises were evacuated in Singapore. And less than 24 hours later, the quake was followed by a second and third temblor in the same area, which brought buildings down in the coastal Indonesian city of Padang and triggered more tsunami warnings around the region.So far, the damage appears to be much less serious than the 2004 disaster —thankfully. It’s too early to guess at a body count, but most of the destruction will probably come from the quakes themselves, not from a tsunami.Three years after one of the worst disasters in history, though, the quakes pose worrisome questions: are we any more prepared? Has any progress been made in building better tsunami warning systems? Or can we expect another holocaust any day now?One thing, at least, has changed dramatically. The first earthquake happened at 11:10 universal time. Although it occurred in the Indian Ocean, it was detected by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, headquartered in Hawaii, which has the most extensive tsunami warning system around — largely because the Pacific Ocean is where 70% of the world’s earthquakes normally happen.The 2004 quake was quickly detected by the Pacific Center, too, so that’s no big deal unto itself. This time, th ough, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (and a Japanese warning system that also noticed the earthquake) knew what to do with the information. Fourteen minutes after the tremor, the Pacific Center sent a bulletin around the world, warning all at-risk nations that there might be a tsunami and estimating when it might strike, to the minute. Those channels of communication simply didn’t exist in 2004. Basic as it may seem, this across-the-water communication represents a huge breakthrough.But a warning onl y helps if someone passes it along. And here’s where things get dicey all over again. "Presumably all of the countries should have gotten that bulletin in minutes," says Lori Dengler, a geology professor and tsunami expert at Humboldt State University in California. "Then it becomes an internal decision to decide whether to call a tsunami warning in their country. Because we’re dealing with sovereign nations, that makes it complex."Each nation on the Indian Ocean has its own procedure — or lack thereof — for what to do next. They decide whether to issue a public warning, whether to call for an evacuation and how to do it in a waythat people understand. In some places, like southern Bangladesh, a warning to evacuate was disseminated by police over loudspeakers four hours before the tsunami might have arrived, and many people rushed to high ground.But in Indonesia, the last test run didn’t go so well. In July 2006, a major earthquake caused a tsunami, headed for Java. The Indonesian government received the alert, but the island of Java still had no real warning system. More than 600 people died.Indonesia’s ability to communicate with the public has improved since the Java fiasco, says Laura Kong, director of the International Tsunami Information Centre. And to be fair, it’s a difficult problem. Disseminating an effective warning fast is complicated. There is currently much debate in emergency-management circles over the relative merits of sirens, text messages and other high-tech gadgetry. The state of California has not yet figured out the best way to get a tsunamialert to its coastal residents; Indonesia, in comparison, must spread the word to 235 million people who speak hundreds of dialects.But there are simpler ways to avoid tsunami fatalities. Before most waves strike, the ground shakes or the sea recedes dramatically. In some areas, everyone knows that these signs mean you must head for high ground; in most places, though, people are unaware of the warning signs. In Thailand, which lost 5,400 people in the Indian Ocean tsunami three years ago — half of them tourists — many hotels still do not educate guests about these simple clues. "Putting up a danger sign is bad for business," says Kong. "The businesses, and hotels in particular, are wary." I t’s a shocking lapse, but not an uncommon one: Kong has runinto the same attitude in Hawaii hotels and has learned to temper her expectations. She hopes that at the least, front-desk staff and other key hotel employees can be trained on recognizing the signs of a tsunami to assist guests in an emergency. "We just have to be practical and reasonable."Overall, however, Kong believes that we’re much better off than we were a couple of years ago. If the 2004 tsunami happened again today in exactly the same way, the death toll would be lower, she says.That’s good, since we can expect more of them. A major incident like the 2004 quake puts geological stress on the entire region — not the most stable in the world to begin with — which helps explain why we have seen more magnitude-8 or larger quakes there than normal. Especially in Indonesia, nestled right in the middle of a nest of earthquake faults, it can only be a matter of time.Homework1. What is the main idear of this Article?2.Please translate the sentence into Chinese.It‘s a shocking lapse, but not an uncommon one: Kong has run into the same attitude in Hawaii hotels and has learned to temper her expectations.3.what is "one thing,at least, has changed dramtically"?4.what is the simpler way to avoid tsunami fatalities?。

任何饮食习惯都无法违反热力学定律，即使现在充斥各种神奇的减重方法，减轻体重的唯一方法只有消耗的热量。

但新的研究指出增加体重的身体位置可以提供线索来决定那种饮食习惯将最适合你。

【Section One】ArticleNo diet has ever been able to defy the laws of thermodynamics. Whether you go low carb, low fat, low this or low that, the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Even the new "it" diet, volumetrics—which uses fancy terms such as energy density and satiety to describe why filling up on certain low-calorie, water-based foods like celery makes you less hungry—can‘t mir aculously melt away fat. But new research indicates that where on your body you pack onextra kilograms may provide a clue to determining which diet will work best for you.It is already widely accepted that even the most rigorously adhered-to diet will not produce the same results from person to person. Some of us are simply genetically predisposed to burn more calories more efficiently than others. Restricting those calories, as you do on a diet, will similarly lead to differing results. But the biggest wild card in the diet game may be how you crank out insulin.As digestion breaks down much of what we eat into sugary,energy-rich fuel that helps keep us on the go, insulin triggers the body to store excess sugar floating around the bloodstream as fat. Insulin was particularly important in our caveman days, when we needed theenergy from one meal to last as long as possible, until we had hunted down the next. "Insulin is the hormone of feast," says Gary D. Foster, director of the center for obesity research and education at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.But nowadays, with food so plentiful that groups like Weight Watchers are making a fortune promoting portion control, our insulin is often forced to work overtime, sweeping up the excess carbohydrates we pour into our system from candy bars or fruit juice or starchy foodslike pasta. Sometimes insulin can do such a good job of responding to a spike in blood sugar that it causes those levels to quickly drop. Thisin turn can lead to feelings of hunger shortly after a big meal. Forthis reason, many scientists think insulin‘s ride on the blood-sugar roller coaster may be a stimulus for overeating and, as a result, weight gain. It would be nice if there were an easy way to determine howaggressive your particular insulin response is, and now it appears there is.In a study of 73 obese adults published last month in theJournal of the American Medical Association (J.A.M.A.), Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at the Children‘s Hospital Boston, and his colleagues looked at high- and low-insulin secretors. People who rapidly secrete a lot of insulin after eating a little bit of sugar tend to carry their excess weight around their waist—the so-called apple shape. People who secrete less insulin carry their excess fat aroundtheir hips—the pear shape. Those differences are more thanaesthetic.Low-secreting, pear-shaped people will do equally well oneither type of diet. But the results went deeper than simply how much weight was lost.Over the course of six months, high-secreting, apple people lost an average of 6 kg on a low-glycemic diet and just 2.3 kg on a low-fat diet. Low-secreting, pear people lost about 4.5 kg on both diets. At the end of 18 months, however, the pear-shaped people had gained back halfof the weight they had lost on either diet. Apple-shaped people gained back almost 1.4 of the 2.3 kg they lost on the low-fat diet but kept off all the weight they lost on the low-glycemic diet. While the study isre vealing, almost nothing about it is simple. It‘s not clear just what the mechanism is that links body shape and insulin levels—a crucial detail if scientists are going to understand the full implications of their findings. More important, nothing suggests that apple-shapedpeople should simply dash out to sign up for an Atkins-type low-carbohydrate diet.True, a large report published in J.A.M.A. earlier this year showed that regardless of body shape, Atkins produces the greatestshort-term weight loss. ("If you want to look good in your wedding gown, I would go for Atkins," says Dr. Anastassios Pittas, assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.) But adherents tend to fall off the low-carb wagon and quickly gain back unwanted kilograms. What‘s more, the Atkins diet allows only a small fraction of caloriesto come from carbs, compared with 40% on the new study‘s low-glycemic regimen. The more balanced diet allows—indeed, encourages—people toeat whole-grain cereals and other complex carbs that take longer to digest and thus don‘t cause the rapid fat production that accompanies spikes in blood sugar. Atkins‘ more restrictive regimen may reduce fateven faster, but people lose weight on both diets. "Atkins just does it with a bludgeon instead of a chisel," says Ludwig.What‘s clearer from the study is that apple-shaped people should probably not choose low-fat diets, because the white rice or other types of simple carbs they are still allowed to eat may have a yo-yo effect on blood-sugar levels, making them hungrier sooner. The study didn‘t evaluate whether these people would do better on an Ornish-style vegetarian diet that restricts fat intake and has dieters make up the difference by eating lots of complex carbs, such as brown rice and oats—which are high in fiber and tend to make people feel fuller longer—as well as low-sugar fruits like blueberries.。

2013年1月12日An effective leader should try to make others feel that they are part of the decision making process.2013年1月13日It is important to make sure that others know about your strengths and accomplishments; if you are not so, you will be never successful in life.2013年1月26日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Young people today are more likely to help others than young people in the past.2013年1月27日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: the place people choose to live has more effect on happiness than the job people choose.2013年3月2日Do you agree or disagree: The world is busy and crowded; we should not expect people to be polite to others.2013年3月3日Do you agree or disagree：young people today are more likely to give time and effort to improve the world than young people were in the past.2013年3月16日Movies and TV programs made in one’s own country are more interesting than those made in other countries.2013年3月17日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: A leader should admit if they made a bad decision. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.2013年3月24日It is easier for parents to raise children today than it does 50 years ago2013年3月30日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Though many countries nowadays pay special attention to environmental problems (such as pollution or global warming), the environmental situation will not be improved in the future. 2013年4月14日Which of the following do you think contributes the most to an enjoyable vacation?A. Good FoodB. Good LocationC. Good Friends to travel with2013年4月20日Do you agree or disagree that with the following statement? It’s more important for the government to spend money to build art museums and music performance centers than to build recreational facilities (such as swimming pool and playgrounds).重复2009.9.19北美.2013年5月11日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Governments should spend money on scientific research even if it has no practical value?2013年5月26日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The personal andwork-related challenges that young people face today are not very different from the challenges their parents and grandparents faced in the past.2013年6月8日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more fun to see a movie in the cinema with other people than see a movie at home.2013年6月15日Do you agree or disagree with the statement? The way a person dresses is a good indication of his/her personality and character.2013年6月30日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People will be happier if they have fewer possessions?2013年7月13日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People rely on their neighbors less now than they did in the past.2013年7月14日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are more friendly in the past than today.2013年7月20日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents now spend too much time on determining the futures of their children; children should be allowed to make their own choices.Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is impossible to be completely honest with your friends.2013年8月17日Would you rather your school spend money social events and facilities or on improving the cafeteria menus? Use specific examples to support your answer. 2013年8月24日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is important to have rules about the types of clothing that people are allowed to wear at work and at school.2013年8月25日第一套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It’s less important to eat with families regularly nowadays.第二套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Some scientists are responsible for the negative impacts that are made by their discoveries.2013年9月1日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Only movies that can teach us something about real life is worth watching.2013年9月8日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? To increase economic growth, the government should ignore environmental concerns. Use specific examples to support your answer.2013年9月14日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People who keep their room neat and organized are more likely to be successful in the future.2013年9月28日When you are assigned an important presentation for work or school, you prefer to work on it right away so that you can work on it a little bit every day, or wait until you have a good idea about the presentation.2013年9月29日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? University students should be required to take history courses no matter what filed they study.第一套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? In order to succeed, we should be more like others than be different from others.2008.10.12NA/2010.2.7ML第二套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People who move out of native village or town are more successful and happier than people who stay in their native village or town. 2011.2.20ML.2013年10月20日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is always better to purchase in large stores than in several small shops that specialize in different items.2013年10月27日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Student activities do as much benefit as academic study. (重复2012.7.6NA)2013年11月2日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is better for people to have friends who are intelligent than to have friends who have a good sense of humor.2013年11月23日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Teachers’ performance should be evaluated by students rather than by other teachers.2013年11月24日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People who leave home for the city are more likely to be successful and happier than people who remain in village. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.2013年12月1日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? All school teachers should be required to take courses every five years to update their knowledge. 2013年12月7日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The government must make choice about how to spend its money on amusing the people. Given the choice between spending tax dollars on art or sports, it should choose to spend those dollars on art.第一套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is easier to maintain good health nowadays than it was in the past.第二套Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Students nowadays do not respect teachers as much as they did in the past.2013年12月21日Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising is less honest than in the past. For this reason, it is not useful for people to choose products to buy.2013年12月28日Should children spend most time playing and studying, or they should be required to help the family with household chores, like cooking and cleaning?。

免费2013专八真题及答案TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2013)GRADE EIGHTTIME LIMIT：195 MINPART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35 MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture．You will hear the lecture ONCE ONL Y. While listening, take notes on the important points．Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture．When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE, using no more than three words in each gap．Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are)both grammatically and semantically acceptable．You may refer to your notes while completing the task．Use the blank sheet for note-taking．Now, listen to the mini-lecture．What Do Active Learners Do?There are difference between active learning and passive learning.Characteristics of active learners:I. reading with purposesA. before reading: setting goalsB. while reading: (1) ________II. (2) ______ and critical in thinkingi.e. information processing, e.g.-- connections between the known and the new information-- identification of (3) ______ concepts-- judgment on the value of (4) _____.III. active in listeningA.ways of note-taking: (5) _______.B.before note-taking: listening and thinkingIV. being able to get assistanceA.reason 1: knowing comprehension problems because of (6) ______.B.Reason 2: being able to predict study difficultiesV. being able to question informationA. question what they read or hearB. evaluate and (7) ______.VI. Last characteristicA. attitude toward responsibility-- active learners: accept-- passive learners: (8) _______B. attitude toward (9) ______-- active learners: evaluate and change behaviour-- passive learners: no change in approachRelationship between skill and will: will is more important in (10) ______.Lack of will leads to difficulty in college learning.SECTION B INTERVIEWIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow．Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO．Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview．At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions．Now listen to the interview．1．According to the interviewer, which of the following best indicates the relationship between choice and mobility?A．Better educatio n →greater mobility →more choices．B．Better education →more choices →greater mobility．C．Greater mobility →better education →more choices．D．Greater mobility →more choices →better education．2．According to the interview，which of the following details about the first poll is INCORRECT? A．Shorter work hours was least chosen for being most important．B．Chances for advancement might have been favoured by young people．C．High income failed to come on top for being most important．D．Job security came second according to the poll results．3．According to the interviewee，which is the main difference between the first and the second poll?A．The type of respondents who were invited．B．The way in which the questions were designed．C．The content area of the questions．D．The number of poll questions．4．What can we learn from the respondents’answers to items 2，4 and 7 in the second poll? A．Recognition from colleagues should be given less importance．B．Workers are always willing and ready to learn more new skills．C．Psychological reward is more important than material one．D．Work will have to be made interesting to raise efficiency．5．According to the interviewee，which of the following can offer both psychological and monetary benefits?A．Contact with many people．B．Chances for advancement．C．Appreciation from coworkers．D．Chances to learn new skillsSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY．Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow．Mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO．Questions 6 and 7 are based on the following news, At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions．Now listen to the news．6．According to the news item，“sleep boxes”are designed to solve the problems of A．airports．B．passengers．C．architects．D．companies．7．Which of the following is NOT true with reference to the news?A．Sleep boxes can be rented for different lengths of time．B．Renters of normal height can stand up inside．C．Bedding can be automatically changed．D．Renters can take a shower inside the box．Question 8 is based on the following news．At the end of the news item，you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question．Now listen to the news．8．What is the news item mainly about?A．London’S preparations for the Notting Hill Carnival．B．Main features of the Notting Hill Carnival．C．Police's preventive measures for the carnival．D．Police participation in the carnival．Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news．At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions．Now listen to the news．9．The news item reports on a research finding aboutA．the Dutch famine and the Dutch women．B．early malnutrition and heart health．C．the causes of death during the famine．D．nutrition in childhood and adolescence．10．When did the research team carry out the study?A．At the end of World War II．B．Between 1944 and 1945．C．In the 1950s．D．In 2007．PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO．TEXT AThree hundred years ago news travelled by word of mouth or 1etter, and circulated in taverns and coffee houses in the form of pamphlets and newsletters．“The coffee houses particularly are．very roomy for a free conversation，and for reading at an easier rate all manner of printed news，”noted one observer．Everything changed in 1833 when the first mass-audience newspaper, The New York Sun，pioneered the use of advertising to reduce the cost of news，thus giving advertisers access to a wider audience．The penny press，followed by radio and television，turned news from a two-way conversation into a one—way broadcast，with a relatively small number of firms controlling the media．Now, the news industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house．The internet is making news more participatory，social and diverse，reviving the discursive characteristics of" the era before the mass media．That will have profound effects on society and politics．In much of the world．the mass media are flourishing．Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6% between 2005 and 2009．But those global figures mask a sharp decline in readership in rich countries．Over the past decade，throughout the Western world，people have been giving up newspapers and TV news and keeping up with events in profoundly different ways．Most strikingly, ordinary people are increasingly involved in compiling，sharing，filtering，discussing and distributing news．Twitter lets people anywhere report what they are seeing．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．Mobile·phone footage of Arab uprisings and American tornadoes is posted on social-networking sites and shown on television newscasts．Social-networking sites help people find，discuss and share news with their friends．And it is not just readers who are challenging the media elite．Technology firms including Google，Facebook and Twitter have become important conduits of news．Celebrities and world leaders publish updates directly via social networks；many countries now make raw data availablethrough“open government”initiatives．The internet lets people read newspapers or watch television channels from around the world．The web has allowed new providers of news，from individual bloggers to sites，to rise to prominence in a very short space of time．And it has made possible entirely new approaches to journalism，such as that practiced by WikiLeaks，which provides an anonymous way for whistleblowers to publish documents．The news agenda is no longer controlled by a few press barons and state outlets．In principle，every liberal should celebrate this．A more participatory and social news environment，with a remarkable diversity and range of news sources，is a good thing．The transformation of the news business is unstoppable，and attempts to reverse it are doomed to failure．As producers of new journalism，individuals can be scrupulous with facts and transparent with their sources．As consumers，they can be general in their tastes and demanding in their standards．And although this transformation does raise concerns，there is much to celebrate in the noisy, diverse，vociferous，argumentative and stridently alive environment of the news business in the ages of the internet．The coffee house is back．Enjoy it．11．According to the passage，what initiated the transformation of coffee-house news to mass-media news?A．The emergence of big mass media firms．B．The popularity of radio and television．C．The appearance of advertising in newspapers．D．The increasing number of newspaper readers．12．Which of the following statements best supports“Now, the Hews industry is returning to something closer to the coffee house”?A Newspaper circulation rose globally by 6％between 2005 and 2009．B．People in the Western world are giving up newspapers and TV news．C．Classified documents are published in their thousands online．D．More people are involved in finding，discussing and distributing news．13．According to the passage，which is NOT a role played by information technology? A．Challenging the traditional media．B．Planning the return to coffee-house news．C．Providing people with access to classified files．D．Giving ordinary people the chance to provide news．14．The author’S tone in the last paragraph towards new journalism isA．optimistic and cautious．B．supportive and skeptical．C．doubtful and reserved．D．ambiguous and cautious．15．In“The coffee house is back”，coffee house best symbolizesA．the changing characteristics of news audience．B．the more diversified means of news distribution．C．the participatory nature of news．D. the more varied sources of news．TEXT BParis is like pornography．You respond even if you don’t want to．You turn a corner and see a vista，and your imagination bolts away。

2013年8月17日托福口语真题解析1. Which of the following qualities do you admire the most (or would be most interested in getting?) Art skills, language skills or sport skills? Use details and explanations in your response.参考答案I admire art skills the most out of the three choices. Photography is my favorite art form. First of all, taking photos is fun! Photography gives us a chance to see the world around us differently. It trains our eyes to spot things that are interesting out of the ordinary. Second, Every second that you live is a second more in the past. Every picture that is taken captures those split seconds and stores them timelessly. Pictures are a chart of memories and moments that can be revisited as they were when the image is viewed.2. Some people prefer to celebrate special occasions like birthdays with their friends, others prefer to be alone at such occasions. Which do you prefer? Use examples and details to support your response.参考答案I prefer to celebrate my birthdays with my friends for the following reasons. First of all, having a party is a great way to celebrate special occasions, and you can’t have a party by yourself. The more friends, the merrier! People can have a great timesinging and dancing together. When there’re people around, w e can take tons of photos of each other. On the other hand, I think it’s pretty depressing to celebrate special occasions alone. Humans are social animals, which means it’s healthy to interact with each other and share our feelings.3.一学生给学校写信说图书馆一直都是10pm关门，临考也是，觉得不合理，建议24小时全开，便于学生彻夜查资料假期可以关门，还有可以收费什么的。