TPO-41听力题目文本

TPO 41 听力文本Conversation 1Listen to a conversation between a student and a professorP: I have some good news for you, one of the students who was signed up for the summer term at the field station next year won’t be attending after all. Your name’s first on the waiting list. So if you still want to do it, the space is available.S: Oh, That’s terrific.P: You’re also interested in doing an independent research project next summer right? S: Yeah, uh salt marsh restoration. But I was before when I thought I wasn’t get into the field station.P: Well, you can still do it if you want. I looked over your application for the independent research project and it looks strong. I approved it. And you’d even have more resource there at the field station. So…S: The field station and the independent study. But the summer term is a few weeks shorter than the regular term.P: Oh, it’s up to you. You’d have to work hard but I think you can do very well. Professor Garfield’s one of the professors over the field station.S: Yeah, I’ve heard of them.P: Yes, well, Professor Garfield’s been doing research on salt marshes for years, assessing human impact in methods of salt marsh restoration.He’s willing to oversee your project.S: Wow, that’s too good an opportunity to pass up.P: I thought you’d say that. When I spoke with Doctor Garfield, he suggested you take a particular course he’ll be teaching here in the spring. It’s called ‘advanced topics in salt marsh management’. The course looks like salt marsh cytology in depth, and it also focuses on factors that stress salt marsh systems, and how do we assess and monitor the level of stress.S: And that background information all fit right into my project on salt marsh restoration. This is so great.P: Oh, one more thing, do you know John Arnold?S: Not really, but he lives in my dorm. Why?P: John’s another ecology student who will be at the field station next summer. I approved an independent research project for him too. Initially he had the same concern as you. But anyway his topic will be similar to yours. He’ll be researching how bridges and covers that have been installed to allow tidal waters to move underneath roads between the sea and the salt marshes. Well, they are often too small.S: I guess that’d result in not enough tidal water flowing into the marshes to maintain the natural vegetation right?P: Exactly, and he’ll be looking at how to determine the right size. So I was thinking he might be a good choice for a summer roommate for you.Conversation 2Listen to a conversation between two studentsW: Hi, can I help you?M: Yes, um I’d like to get help with the ahh… you know payment for my classes, some sort of financial aid? The problem is, I don’t know much about it so I don’t really know where to begin. I saw this poster about work study programs? Can you tell something about that?W: Well, I think you are talking about the government sponsored work-study program. It works like this, you work on campus and get paid in hourly wage just like a regular job. However, instead of getting a pay check, the money goes directly to your bill for your courses. But almost all the work study jobs pay minimal wage which is usually pretty low. The truth is, you might do better getting a job off campus since you can do whatever you want with the money, like paying your rent or buying textbooks.M: Thanks, that’s very useful. So how do I find out what’s out there?W: Let me show you our catalog of various programs as well as scholarships offered here. That’s your best bet really if you can find a good scholarship, because you don’t have to pay the money back. You may qualify if your grades are good enough or if you have the right background.M: Yeah, that sounds like something I should try for.W: Now this is my desk copy of the catalog. But I can give you your own copy if you want. Oh yeah, be sure to visit the university library too. There’s a whole section on financial aid, including application forms.M: Why isn’t all the information listed in the catalog? It’d be so much easier.W: Oh, if we did that the catalog would be too heavy to pick up. Civic clubs, foundation, organizations from all over the country offer scholarships or other financial assistance to college students. And all kinds of companies have programs to help their employee’s children go to the college. If either of your parents works for a large corporation, have them check to see if their companies do that.M: Ok, good idea. Hey, my dad works for a big accounting firm, and he is a member of a professional accounting organization. Do you think they’d offer financial aid?W: Yes, that’s fairly common. Especially if you are planning to go into accounting. What are you studying? What do you plan to do after you graduate?M: I want to become a dentist. I’m enrolled in a pre-med program for dentistry.W: Okay, so I’d suggest looking in the library for information on organizations that have to do with dentistry. Any number of them might offer scholarships to student planning to join their profession.M: I’ll definitely investigate that one.W: Great, but be sure to talk to one of our librarians too. They get the same questions over and over so they can save you a great deal of time.Lecture 1Many organisms have developed the ability to survive in harsh environmental conditions: extreme heat or cold or very dry conditions, like plants in the desert. Your textbook doesn’t have much about the specifics on desert plants. But I think the desertplants are great examples of specialized adaptations to extreme environmental conditions. So with desert plants, there are basically three different adaptive strategies, and I should point out that these strategies are not specific to any particular species. Many different species have developed each of the adaptations. So first of, there are succulent plants. There are many different species of succulent plants. But they all can absorb and store a lot of water. Obviously, opportunities to get water in the desert are few and far between.Generally, rains are light and short so the rain doesn’t seem too far down into the soil. And there is a limited window of time for any plant to get the water before it vaporizes. But succulent plants have a spread out and shallow root system that can quickly pull in water from the top inch of soil, though the soil has to be saturated. Since succulents aren’t good at absorbing water from the soil that’s only a little moist. Succulent plants also are well suited to retaining water, important in the environment where rainy days are rare. Succulent plants can store water in their leaves, in their stems or in their roots, and to keep that moisture from evaporating in the hot desert sun. Most succulent plants have a waxy outer layer that makes them almost waterproof when their store mates are closed. They also preserve water by minimizing their surface area. The more of the plant is out in the sun, the more potential there is to lose stored up water, and that means that most succulent plants have few, if any, leaves.Now, besides succulent plants, there are also drought tolerant plants. Drought tolerant plants are like bears in a way. You know how bears mostly sleep through the winter? They can survive without eating because their metabolism slows down. Well, drought tolerant plants also go into a dormant state when resources, in their case water, run short.A drought tolerant plant can actually dry out without dying. I said before that most desert rains are light and brief, but occasionally there’s a heavy one. Drought tolerant plants revive after one of these significant rainfalls and they are able to absorb a good bit of the rainfall due to their deep roots. Actually, the root system for drought tolerant plants is more extensive than the root system of many plants that live in wetter climates. Drought tolerant plants can even absorb water from relatively dry soil because of their deep roots, in contrast to succulent plants.The third adaptive strategy is to avoid the drought conditions all together. Yes-- there are plants that do this—annual plants. An annual plant will mature and produce seeds in a single season that will become the next generation of annual plants. In desert conditions, annual plants grow in the fall or spring to avoid the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Of course, these plants could face a serious problem if a particular fall or spring happen to be very dry. They would have difficulty growing and could die before producing seeds but they have a mechanism to prevent one year of low rainfall from wiping them out. Not all seeds and annual plant puts out or grow the following year. Some seeds remain dormant in the ground for several years. It’s a type of insurance that protects the annual plants from the season of poor growing conditions of unfavorable weather.Lecture 2P: It’s interesting how much we can learn about culture in the United States by looking at how Christopher Columbus has been portrayed throughout United States history. So let’s start at the beginning. Columbus’s ship first landed… landed in the Caribbean. Oh, there is some debate about which island he landed in 1492. But it wasn’t until 300 years later in 1792 that its landing was first commemorated. And this was the bring child of John Pintard. Pintard was a wealthy New Yorker, the founder of the New York historical society and he decided to use his influence and wealth to find a great hero, a patron for the young country and he chose Columbus. And in New York in 1792 the anniversary of Columbus’s landing was commemorated for the first time. Now, other cities, Philadelphia then Baltimore followed. And…S: But why Columbus and why then?P: Well, to Pintard, it was a way to build patriotism in the young, politically fractured country. We remember the United State had only declared its independence from Britain sixteen years earlier and had yet to form a national identity. Pintard also had a hand in helping to create an independent state in July 4th as a national holiday so you see that he was very involved in creating sort of a national story for Americans. And Columbus, he felt Columbus could be become a story that Americans could tell each other about their national origins that was outside of the British colonial context. The United States was in search of a national identity and its people wanted heroes.S: But why not some of leaders of the revolution? You know like George Washington. P: The leaders of the revolution were the natural candidates to be heroes. But many were still alive and didn’t want the job. To them, being raised to heroes’ status was undemocratic. So Columbus became the hero. And the link between Columbus and the United States took hold.S: And so what was that link？P: Well, Columbus was portrayed as entrepreneurial, someone who took chances, who took risks and he was cast as somebody who was opposed to the rule of kings and queens. Perhaps most of all Columbus was portrayed as someone who was destined to accomplish things. Just as America in those early years was coming to see itself as having a great destiny.S: But Columbus was supported by the king and queen of Spain. He wasn’t against them.P:True, to be historically accurate the way Pintard thought about Columbus doesn’tmatch up with the fact of his life at all. And I really have to stress this, the fact that Columbus became the hero of a young country had little to do with Columbus. Anything he did had a lot to do with what was happening in United States 300 years later. Columbus was extraordinary adaptable to the purposes of America’s nation builders. People like John Pintard in the early part of the 19th century and since not a lot of facts were known about Columbus, his writing were available in North America until 1816, that might’ve actually helped the process of adapting him to American purposes.S: Since no one knew about the real Columbus, it was easy to invent a mythical one? P: Exactly, and this mythical Columbus, he became a reflection of the society which chose him. So in the early history of the United States, Columbus represented an escape from the political institutions of Europe. He was the solitary individual who challenged to the unknown. And now there was this new democracy, this new country in a world without kings. Columbus became sort of the mythical founder of the country. So as historians, we wouldn’t want to study these myths about Columbus and mistaken them for facts about Columbus. But if we are trying to understand American culture, then we can learn much by studying how America adapts Columbus for its own purposes. Evaluations of Columbus then will reflect what Americans think of themselves. Oh, there is a quote. Something like a society’s re-constructor passed rather than faithfully recorded. And how that reconstruction takes place and what it tells us. That’s something we are going to be paying a lot of attention to.Lecture 3P: Ok, as art historians, one of our fundamental tasks is to assign authorship to works of art, right? We are presented with a work of art and we are to figure out who made it. But this task becomes particularly difficult when we dealing with works produced in Italy during the Renaissance. The sixteenth, seventeenth centuries. Now, why is this the case? Anyone? Emily?Emily: umm, is it because artists didn’t sign their work? I mean, didn’t whole concept of the artists as individual developed later, in like the 19th century?P: Well, you are sort of on the right track. The concept of the individual artist, especially the concept of the artists that has artistic genius, struggling alone with the vision as opposed to say a mere artisan. Well the idea of the artists as alone genius didn’t develop until later. But artists, individual artists did sign their work during the Renaissance, that you could say that’s part of the problem. Paintings were signed by the artists and that used to be understood to be a mark of Renaissance individualism. If a piece had Raphael signature on it, we assume this was done by great artist himself, Raphael in singular. But you see, art in Renaissance Italy was very much a collaborative business. Paintersand sculptors worked in a workshop. It was almost like a small business run by a master artist. You see, to deal with the wide varieties of commissions they received, orders, basically, for specific types of art, specific projects. To handle this, master artists often employ assistants as apprentices and, this was especially so if they work on a large scale, huge paintings of sculptures, or if they were much in demand like Raphael, for instance. He worked on some large paintings, he painted fresco for the V odacom. He also received a great many commissions. There is no way he could complete every part of every project all by himself.Now these assistances might work for the master artists on a temporary or permanent basis, and they may also specialize. For example, in Raphael’s workshop, which may be called Raphael incorporative, one of the assistants specialize in animals. He actually painted good number of the animals in Raphael’s art. It may be that the master assigning the work with simply make a declaration that the work met the standards of the shop; and it wasn’t just painters, sculptors also work together. In fact, the systems were even more necessary if you are a master sculptor because status take longer to make than paintings. The master had to arrange from marble to the quarry, things like that. Perhaps the most collaborative of all was architecture. There we see a real division of labor, with carpenters, masons, unskilled labor just carry materials to and fro and so on. Thus of course your skilled artisans who carried out the master architects design. Think of it like umm a ballet, you know. All the dancers worked together. There is division of labor, people who have different roles, and in order for the things to come together everyone needs to be aware what others are doing, and coordinate the work and have good timing. So, for architecture, it’s almost impossible to know who was responsible for any given detail. Was it the master architect? The mason? The assistant mason? Maybe it was even the patron. The client who was paying for the art. Remember, it wasn’t yet customary for architects to give their assistants measure drawings to work from. Instructions were given orally, not in writing.So we don’t have those documents to tell us what exactly the master’s architect plans were. The only time we have written records is when the architect wasn’t actually there. Perhaps the architect was away on business and had to write out instructions and sent them into shop. And another thing to think about, what affect do you suppose this approach would have had on innovation? I mean, since the hired artisans had been trained by other artisans, they tended to trained to use traditional styles and technics. So if you were a master architect, and you’ve developed your own style. Say your calling for certain detail in the building you design, right? And see this detail different, purposely different from established tradition, the established style. Well, most likely when the hired artisans would execute the design rather than follow the intended design. They stick with the more traditional styles that they were familiar with. Workers would have to be supervised very closely to prevent this from happening. Otherwise, as often happened, there goes to designers’ style and creativity.Lecture 4P: Ok, we’ve been discussing the planets in our solar system and how some of the ones farthest from sun were discovered. Well today, I’d like to turn to what are called exoplanets and how researchers detect them. Meriam.M: Exoplanets are planets that orbit around a star other than our sun right? They’re not in our solar system.P: Right, they have different, what are called, host stars. And the study of exoplanets has been getting more and more exciting, hundreds of them have been discovered so far. This is quite remarkable, in view the fact of the discovery of the first exoplanet was confirmed only in the mid-1990s. Now we are finding new ones every few weeks or so.M: So, uhh, exactly why are we interested in these exoplanets anyway? Is it to see if there’s life on them? Because it seems to me like the only exoplanets we ever hear about are gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn that couldn’t possibly support carbon-based life.P: Ok, well, let’s take about that. First, as for discovering life, well, I think that sort of discovery is pretty far in the future but it is an eventual goal. For now, the focus is on locating planets within the host stars’ so called habitable zone. A zone that’s a certain distance from its star. Because only planets within this zone could conceivably support carbon-based life. So, what would such a planet need?M: Water?P: Yes, it need to be the right temperature to sustain liquid water.S: And it would need to be a rocky planet. I mean as opposed to a gas giant.P: Ok, good, and earth-like planet. Now, as to that, there are some recently detected exoplanets that might actually be earth-like. For example, there is a red dwarf star, that’s what most stars are. Umm, that called Gliese 581. Gliese 581 is, well, it’s a lot more interesting than that name makes it seem. This host star is considered a near neighbor of our solar system because it’s only about 20 lightyears away. That’s pretty close, right? Astronomical standards. And being a right dwarf star, it’s small and relatively cool, at least compared with the sun. And researchers have discovered planets orbiting Gliese 581.These exoplanets have been named, ready? Gliese 581-BCDE, in alphabetical order of their discovery. Gliese 581-D and E are the planets I want to focus on now. See, in 2009, a group of researchers made an announcement. These two exoplanets Gliese 581-D and E do have some earth-like qualities.Gliese 581-D had actually been discovered a couple of years earlier. And when its orbit was originally calculated, it was thought to be too far away from its host star to be warmenough to support a liquid ocean, let along carbon-based life. But then its orbit is re-calculated. And now we see that Gliese 581-D is within its host’s habitable zone.S: So, it might have an ocean?P: Well, conceivably, see, Gliese 581-D weighs seven times what earth weighs. And it’s unlikely that it’s made entirely of rocks because it’s so massive. The researchers studying it said it could have a rocky core an ice-layer, a large deep ocean and an atmosphere. Ok, and there was another announcement along with the recalculated orbit of Gliese 581-D. That was the discovery of another planet in the system, Gliese 581-E. Compared with other exoplanets its mass is quiet small, only about twice about that of earth.S: So, is Gliese 581-E a more earth-like planet?P: Well, we have to consider its orbit. Gliese 581-E orbits its host star in a much shorter period of time than the other planets in the system. Meaning it’s very close to the star. And, therefore, too hot for water, for an ocean. However, the fact that it’s relatively close to the size of the earth, small in astronomical terms, that was pretty exciting. It’s impressive that we have a technology to detect it and it bolds well for future research. Who knows what we will find the more we search.。

小编下面给考生们带来了托福TPO41口语文本，六个task，希望大家有针对性的有计划的规划备考。

多做题，多积累、多研究，实现自我的不断提升，加油!向着梦想前进。

?托福TPO41口语task1题目:Talk about a famous person that you admire. Explain why you respect thisperson.托福TPO41口语task2题目:Some people believe it is important for universities to provide funding forstudents' entertainment, such as movies or concerts on campus. Others believethat university money should only be used for academic purposes. Which view doyou agree with? Explain why.托福口语TPO41 Task3(听力+阅读+题目):Final ProjectReading Part:The final project for this course will be an oral presentation. Studentsmust work with an assigned partner to select a topic and complete all relatedresearch for the project. The partners will orally present their research to theclass during the last two weeks of classes. This project will provide studentswith the opportunity to discover the rewards and challenges of working withanother individual, an experience that will help them in future endeavorsFurthermore, these presentations will benefit the entire class: when studentsshare their discoveries with the class, they enable other students to learn fromtheir work.ListeningNow listen to two students discussing theassignment.W : I don't know about this.M : Why not? Sounds OK to me.W : Thing is depending on someone else makes menervous. My roommate had todo a project like thisand the other girl didn't show up to meetings, didn't do any research. My roommate had to doeverything herself.M : That's a drag. I guess if your partner is irresponsible, you are out of luck.W : Exactly. It hurt her grade. I don't want the same thing to happen tome. Right now I, mmore concerned with getting a good grade even though I know that's not the lesson theprofessor has in mind.M : Still it'll be good to listen everyone's stuff.W : Well I don't know. I mean at the end of the semester. People arefocusing on studying forexams.M : Yeah.W : Who has time to put something like this together when they are busy studying?M : True.W : I can't image anyone would be able to really do a good job with it and everyone would beso preoccupied by then that they probably won't listen anyway.I think the professor is gonnabe disappointed and students, well, we'II all just be frustrated by the whole thing.Question:The woman expresses her opinion of the assignment. State her opinion and。

Climate of VenusEarth has abundant water in its oceans but very little carbon dioxide in its relatively thin atmosphere. By contrast, Venus is very dry and its thick atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. The original atmospheres of both Venus and Earth were derived at least in part from gases spewed forth, or outgassed, by volcanoes. The gases that emanate from present-day volcanoes on Earth, such as Mount Saint Helens, are predominantly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. These gases should therefore have been important parts of the original atmospheres of both Venus and Earth. Much of the water on both planets is also thought to have come from impacts from comets, icy bodies formed in the outer solar system.In fact, water probably once dominated the Venusian atmosphere. Venus and Earth are similar in size and mass, so Venusian volcanoes may well have outgassed as much water vapor as on Earth, and both planets would have had about the same number of comets strike their surfaces. Studies of how stars evolve suggest that the early Sun was only about 70 percent as luminous as it is now, so the temperature in Venus’ early atmosphere must have been quite a bit lower. Thus water vapor would have been able to liquefy and form oceans on Venus. But if water vapor and carbon dioxide were once so common in the atmospheres of both Earth and Venus, what became of Earth’s carbon dioxide? And what happened to the water on Venus?The answer to the first question is that carbon dioxide is still found in abundance on Earth, but now, instead of being in the form of atmospheric carbon dioxide, it is either dissolved in the oceans or chemically bound into carbonate rocks, such as the limestone and marble that formed in the oceans. If Earth became as hot as Venus, much of its carbon dioxide would be boiled out of the oceans and baked out of the crust. Our planet would soon develop a thick, oppressive carbon dioxide atmosphere much like that of Venus.To answer the question about Venus’ lack of water, we must return to the early history of the planet. Just as on present-day Earth, the oceans of Venus limited the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide by dissolving it in the oceans and binding it up in carbonate rocks. But being closer to the Sun than Earth is, enough of the liquid water on Venus would have vaporized to create a thick cover of water vapor clouds. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, this humid atmosphere—perhaps denser than Earth’s present-day atmosphere, but far less dense than the atmosphere that envelops Venus today—would have efficiently trapped heat from the Sun. At first, this would have had little effect on the oceans of Venus. Although the temperature would have climbed above 100° C, the boiling point of water at sea level on Earth, the added atmospheric pressure from water vapor would have kept the water in Venus’ oceans in the liquid state.This hot and humid state of affairs may have persisted for several hundred million years. But as the Sun’s energy output slowly increased over time, the tempera ture at the surface would eventually have risen above 374°C. Above this temperature, no matter what the atmospheric pressure. Venus’ oceans would have begun to evaporate, and the added water vapor in the atmosphere would have increased the greenhouse effect. This would have made the temperature even higher and caused the oceans to evaporate faster, producing more water vapor. That, in turn, would have further intensified the greenhouse effect and made the temperature climb higher still.Once Venus’ oceans d isappeared, so did the mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With no oceans to dissolve it, outgassed carbon dioxide began to accumulate in the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect even more Temperatures eventually became highenough to" bake out” any carbon dioxide that was trapped in carbonate rocks. This liberated carbon dioxide formed the thick atmosphere of present-day Venus. Over time, the rising temperatures would have leveled off, solar ultraviolet radiation having broken down atmospheric water vapor molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. With all the water vapor gone, the greenhouse effect would no longer have accelerated.Paragraph 1Earth has abundant water in its oceans but very little carbon dioxide in its relatively thin atmosphere. By contrast, Venus is very dry and its thick atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. The original atmospheres of both Venus and Earth were derived at least in part from gases spewed forth, or outgassed, by volcanoes. The gases that emanate from present-day volcanoes on Earth, such as Mount Saint Helens, are predominantly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. These gases should therefore have been important parts of the original atmospheres of both Venus and Earth. Much of the water on both planets is also thought to have come from impacts from comets, icy bodies formed in the outer solar system.1. According to paragraph 1, in what major respect are Venus and Earth different from each other?A. Whether carbon dioxide v/as present in their original atmospheresB.How thin their original atmospheres wereC. What their present-day atmospheres mainly consist ofD. How long ago they first developed an atmosphere2. Why does the author mention "present-day volcanoes on Earth"?A. To provide an example of an important difference between present-day Venus and present-day EarthB. To help explain why Earth's atmosphere still contains traces of sulfur dioxide but Venus' does notC. To indicate one source of information about the likely composition of the original atmospheres of Venus and EarthD. To account for the fact that Earth’s water supply no longer comes primarily from impacting cometsParagraph 2In fact, water probably once dominated the Venusian atmosphere. Venus and Earth are similar in size and mass, so Venusian volcanoes may well have outgassed as much water vapor as on Earth, and both planets would have had about the same number of comets strike their surfaces. Studies of how stars evolve suggest that the early Sun was only about 70 percent as luminous as it is now, so the temperature in Venus’ early atmosphere must have been quite a bit lower. Thus water vapor would have been able to liquefy and form oceans on Venus. But if water vapor and carbon dioxide were once so common in the atmospheres of both Earth and Venus, what became of Earth’s carbon dioxide? And what happened to the water on Venus?3. According to paragraph 2, what is one reason for thinking that at one time, there were significant amounts of water on Venus?A. B ecause of Venus’ size and mass, its volcanoes probably produced much more water vapor thanvolcanoes on Earth did.B. The low temperature of Venus' early atmosphere can be explained only by the presence of water.C. The presence of carbon dioxide in a planet's atmosphere is an indicator of water on that planet.D. Venus probably was struck by roughly as many comets as Earth was.4. The word “luminous” in the passage is closest in meaning toA. denseB. brightC. largeD. activeParagraph 3The answer to the first question is that carbon dioxide is still found in abundance on Earth, but now, instead of being in the form of atmospheric carbon dioxide, it is either dissolved in the oceans or chemically bound into carbonate rocks, such as the limestone and marble that formed in the oceans. If Earth became as hot as Venus, much of its carbon dioxide would be boiled out of the oceans and baked out of the crust. Our planet would soon develop a thick, oppressive carbon dioxide atmosphere much like that of Venus.5. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.A. The first question to be answered is how Earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide either got dissolved in the oceans or got chemically bound into carbonate rocks.B. The fact that Earth’s abundant carbon dioxide is more often found in carbonate rock than dissolved in the oceans is the answer to the first question.C.Earth still has abundant carbon dioxide, but instead of being in the atmosphere it is now dissolved in the oceans or chemically bound into ocean rock s.D. The formation of limestone and marble used up the carbon dioxide that was dissolved in Ear th’s oceans so that only carbon dioxide in atmospheric form remained.Paragraph 4To answer the question about Venus’ lack of water, we must return to the early history of the planet. Just as on present-day Earth, the oceans of Venus limited the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide by dissolving it in the oceans and binding it up in carbonate rocks. But being closer to the Sun than Earth is, enough of the liquid water on Venus would have vaporized to create a thick cover of water vapor clouds. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, this humid atmosphere—perhaps denser than Earth’s present-day atmosphere, but far less dense than the atmosphere that envelops Venus today—would have efficiently trapped heat from the Sun. At first, this would have had little effect on the oceans of Venus. Although the temperature would have climbed above 100° C, the boiling point of water at sea level on Earth, the added atmospheric pressure from water vapor would have kept the water in Venus’ oceans in the liquid state.6. According to paragraph 4, what is one factor that kept the amount of carbon dioxide in theatmosphere of early Venus relatively low?A.The presence of water vapor cloudsB.The presence of oceansC.Rapidly increasing temperatures at ground levelD. Low atmospheric pressuresParagraph 6Once Venus’ oceans disappeared, so did the mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With no oceans to dissolve it, outgassed carbon dioxide began to accumulate in the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect even more Temperatures eventually became high enough to" bake out” any carbon dioxide that was trapped in carbonate rocks. This liberated carbon dioxide formed the thick atmosphere of present-day Venus. Over time, the rising temperatures would have leveled off, solar ultraviolet radiation having broken down atmospheric water vapor molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. With all the water vapor gone, the greenhouse effect would no longer have accelerated.7. The phrase “mechanism for” in the passage is c losest in meaning toA. means ofB. importance ofC. need forD. benefits ofParagraph 5This hot and humid state of affairs may have persisted for several hundred million years. But as the Sun’s energy output slowly increased over time, the temperature a t the surface would eventually have risen above 374°C. Above this temperature, no matter what the atmospheric pressure. Venus’ oceans would have begun to evaporate, and the added water vapor in the atmosphere would have increased the greenhouse effect. This would have made the temperature even higher and caused the oceans to evaporate faster, producing more water vapor. That, in turn, would have further intensified the greenhouse effect and made the temperature climb higher still.8. The word “persisted” i n the passage is closest in meaning toA. improvedB. continuedC. weakenedD. evolved9. According to paragraph 5, what happens when temperatures rise above 374°C?A. Atmospheric pressure begins to decrease.B. Water vapor disappears from the atmosphere.C. Water evaporates regardless of atmospheric pressure.D. More energy is required to evaporate a given volume of water.Paragraph 6Once Venus’ oceans disappeared, so did the mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With no oceans to dissolve it, outgassed carbon dioxide began to accumulate in the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect even more Temperatures eventually became high enough to" bake out” any carbon dioxide that was trapped in carbonate rocks. This liberated carb on dioxide formed the thick atmosphere of present-day Venus. Over time, the rising temperatures would have leveled off, solar ultraviolet radiation having broken down atmospheric water vapor molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. With all the water vapor gone, the greenhouse effect would no longer have accelerated.10. According to paragraph 6, extremely high temperatures increased the amount of carbon dioxide in Venus’ atmosphere byA. increasing the rate which carbon dioxide was outgassedB. baking out carbon dioxide from carbonate rocksC. creating additional water vaporD. replacing the previous mechanisms for removing carbon dioxide with less effective ones11. The passage supports the idea that the basic reason that Venus and Earth are now so different from each other is thatA.early Venus had more frequent volcanic outgassing than early Earth didB. early Venus had far less liquid water than early Earth didC. volcanic activity stopped relatively early on Venus but continued on EarthD.Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth isParagraph 512. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.This cycle of rising temperatures following an increase in greenhouse gases is known as therunaway greenhouse effect.Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.This hot and humid state of affairs may have persisted for several hundred million years. But as the Sun’s energy output slowly increased over time, the temperature at the surface would eventually have risen above 374°C.[■] Above this temperature, no matter what the atmospheric pressure. Venus’ oceans would have begun to evaporate, and the added water vapor in the atmosphere would have increased the greenhouse effect.[■] This would have made the temperature even higher and caused the oceans to evaporate faster, producing more water vapor. [■] That, in turn, would have further intensified the greenhouse effect and made the temperature climb higher still.[■]13. Directions: Select from the seven phrases below the 2 phrases that correctly characterize earlyVenus and the 3 phrases that correctly characterize present-day Venus. Drag each phrase you select into the appropriate column of the table. Two of the phrases will NOT be used. This question is worth 3 points.Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it.To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT.Early VenusPresent-day VenusAnswer ChoicesA.High percentage of water vapor in the atmosphereB.Carbon dioxide present only in atmospheric formC.An atmosphere quite similar to that of early EarthD.Very dense but relatively cool atmospherepletely covered with waterplete absence of surface waterG. Essentially stable temperaturesAmphibian ThermoregulationIn contrast to mammals and birds, amphibians are unable to produce thermal energy through their metabolic activity, which would allow them to regulate their body temperature independent of the surrounding or ambient temperature. However, the idea that amphibians have no control whatsoever over their body temperature has been proven false because their body temperature does not always correspond to the surrounding temperature. While amphibians are poor thermoregulators, they do exercise control over their body temperature to a limited degree.Physiological adaptations can assist amphibians in colonizing habitats where extreme conditions prevail. The tolerance range in body temperature represents the range of temperatures within which a species can survive. One species of North American newt is still active when temperatures drop to -2°C while one South American frog feels comfortable even when temperatures rise to 41°C—the highest body temperature measured in a free-ranging amphibian. Recently it has been shown that some North American frog and toad species can survive up to five days with a body temperature of -6°C with approximately one-third of their body fluids frozen. The other tissues are protected because they contain the frost-protective agents glycerin or glucose Additionally, in many species the tolerance boundaries are flexible and can change as a result of acclimatization (long-term exposure to particular conditions).Frog species that remain exposed to the sun despite high diurnal (daytime) temperatures exhibit some fascinating modifications in the skin structure that function as morphological adaptations. Most amphibian skin is fully water permeable and is therefore not a barrier against evaporation or solar radiation. The African savanna frog Hyperolius viridiflavus stores guanine crystals in its skin, which enable it to better reflect solar radiation, thus providing protection against overheating. The tree frog Phyllomedusa sauvagei responds to evaporative losses with gland secretions that provide a greasy film over its entire body that helps prevent desiccation (dehydration).However, behavior is by far the most important factor in thermoregulation. The principal elements in behavioral thermoregulation are basking (heliothermy), heat exchange with substrates such as rock or earth (thigmothermy), and diurnal and annual avoidance behaviors, which include moving to shelter during the day for cooling and hibernating or estivating (reducing activity during cold or hot weather, respectively) Heliothermy is especially common among frogs and toads: it allows them to increase their body temperature by more than 10°C. The Andean toad Bufo spinulosus exposes itself immediately after sunrise on moist ground and attains its preferred body temperature by this means, long before either ground or air is correspondingly warmed. A positive side effect of this approach is that it accelerates the digestion of the prey consumed overnight, thus also accelerating growth. Thigmothermy is a behavior present in most amphibians, although pressing against the ground serves a dual purpose: heat absorption by conductivity and water absorption through the skin. The effect of thigmothermy is especially evident in the Andean toad during rainfall: its body temperature corresponds to the temperature of the warm earth and not to the much cooler air temperature.Avoidance behavior occurs whenever physiological and morphological adaptations are insufficient to maintain body temperature within the vital range. Nocturnal activity in amphibians with low tolerance for high ambient temperatures is a typical thermoregulatory behavior of avoidance. Seasonal avoidance behavior is extremely important in many amphibians. Specieswhose habitat lies in the temperate latitudes are confronted by lethal low temperatures in winter, while species dwelling in semi- and regions are exposed to long dry, hot periods in summer.In amphibians hibernation occurs in mud or deep holes away from frost. North of the Pyrenees Mountains, the natterjack toad offers a good example of hibernation, passing the winter dug deep into sandy ground. Conversely, natterjacks in southern Spain remain active during the mild winters common to the region and are instead forced into inactivity during the dry, hot summer season. Summer estivation also occurs by burrowing into the ground or hiding in cool, deep rock crevasses to avoid desiccation and lethal ambient temperature. Amphibians are therefore hardly at mercy of ambient temperature, since by means of the mechanisms described above they are more than )exercise some control over their body temperature.paragraph 1In contrast to mammals and birds, amphibians are unable to produce thermal energy through their metabolic activity, which would allow them to regulate their body temperature independent of the surrounding or ambient temperature. However, the idea that amphibians have no control whatsoever over their body temperature has been proven false because their body temperature does not always correspond to the surrounding temperature While amphibians are poor thermoregulators, they do exercise control over their body temperature to a limited degree.1.According to paragraph 1, what indicates that amphibians have some control over their body temperature?A. Amphibians can regulate their metabolic rates to generate energy.B. Amphibians use the same means of thermoregulation as mammals and birds do.C. The body temperature of amphibians sometimes differs from the temperature of their surroundings.D. The body temperature of amphibians is independent of their metabolic activity.paragraph 2Physiological adaptations can assist amphibians in colonizing habitats where extreme conditions prevail. The tolerance range in body temperature represents the range of temperatures within which a species can survive. One species of North American newt is still active when temperatures drop to -2°C while one South American frog feels comfortable even when temperatures rise to 41°C—the highest body temperature measured in a free-ranging amphibian Recently it has been shown that some North American frog and toad species can survive up to five days with a body temperature of -6°C with approximately one-third of their body fluids frozen. The other tissues are protected because they contain the frost-protective agents glycerin or glucose Additionally, in many species the tolerance boundaries are flexible and can change as a result of acclimatization (long-term exposure to particular conditions)2.Why does the author mention a “South American frog” species in the passage?A. To make the point that an amphibian’s temperature tolerance depends on a number of factorsB. To indicate how precise the range of body temperatures is for certain amphibiansC. To contrast its ability to adapt to that of the North American newtD. To help illustrate the range of environmental conditions to which amphibians have adapted3. According to paragraph 2, what allows some North American frog and toad species to survive in ambient temperatures well below freezing?A. Their internal body temperatures never fall below -6°C.B. They do not remain at temperatures below freezing for very long periods of time.C. Their tolerance boundaries are flexibleD. Some of their body tissues contain substances that prevent freezing.paragraph 3Frog species that remain exposed to the sun despite high diurnal (daytime) temperatures exhibit some fascinating modifications in the skin structure that function as morphological adaptations. Most amphibian skin is fully water permeable and is therefore not a barrier against evaporation or solar radiation. The African savanna frog Hyperolius viridiflavus stores guanine crystals in its skin, which enable it to better reflect solar radiation, thus providing protection against overheating The tree frog Phyllomedusa sauvagei responds to evaporative losses with gland secretions that provide a greasy film over its entire body that helps prevent desiccation (dehydration).4. “Phyllomedusa sauvager ” is mentioned as an example of a frog with an adaptation thatA. protects its glandular systemB. helps reduce its secretionsC. increases the amount of solar radiation that its skin can reflectD. modifies its skin structure to protect against the drying effects of the sunparagraph 4However, behavior is by far the most important factor in thermoregulation. The principal elements in behavioral thermoregulation are basking (heliothermy), heat exchange with substrates such as rock or earth (thigmothermy), and diurnal and annual avoidance behaviors, which include moving to shelter during the day for cooling and hibernating or estivating (reducing activity during cold or hot weather, respectively) Heliothermy is especially common among frogs and toads: it allows them to increase their body temperature by more than 10°C. The Andean toad Bufo spinulosus exposes itself immediately after sunrise on moist ground and attains its preferred body temperature by this means, long before either ground or air is correspondingly warmed. A positive side effect of this approach is that it accelerates the digestion of the prey consumed overnight, thus also accelerating growth Thigmothermy is a behavior present in most amphibians, although pressing against the ground serves a dual purpose heat absorption by conductivity and water absorption through the skin The effect of thigmothermy is especially evident in the Andean toad during rainfall its body temperature corresponds to the temperature of the warm earth and not to the much cooler air temperature.5. Paragraph 4 mentions each of the following as an example of behavioral thermoregulation EXCEPTA. pressing against the groundB. speeding up of the metabolismC. reducing activity during the summerD. adjusting exposure to the sun6. The “Andean toad Bufo spinulosus”illustrates which of the following behavioral modifications?A. Heliothermy and thigmothermyB. Diurnal avoidance behaviorC. Absorbing heat from the airD. Moving to shelter during the summer7. The word “attains” in the passage is closest in meaning toA. raisesB. lowersC. reachesD. regulates8.The phrase “this approach” in the passage refers toA gradually increasing body temperature by 10°CB. basking as soon as the sun comes upC. waiting for the ground and air to warmD. keeping body temperature above the temperature of the airparagraph 5Avoidance behavior occurs whenever physiological and morphological adaptations are insufficient to maintain body temperature within the vital range Nocturnal activity in amphibians with low tolerance for high ambient temperatures is a typical thermoregulatory behavior of avoidance. Seasonal avoidance behavior is extremely important in many amphibians. Species whose habitat lies in the temperate latitudes are confronted by lethal low temperatures in winter, while species dwelling in semi- and regions are exposed to long dry, hot periods in summer.9. According to paragraph 5, why is avoidance behavior important for some amphibians?A. Amphibians’ habitats are areas where temperatures vary from day to day.B. Amphibians have less tolerance for high ambient temperatures than for low ambient temperatures.C. Amphibians lack adequate physiological adaptations for dealing with ambient temperatures.D. Amphibians cannot protect themselves from the extreme summer heat by being active only at night.10.The word “dwelling” in the passage is closest in meaning toA.arrivingB.originatingC.evolvingD. livingparagraph 6In amphibians hibernation occurs in mud or deep holes away from frost North of the Pyrenees Mountains, the natterjack toad offers a good example of hibernation, passing the winter dug deep into sandy ground. Conversely, natterjacks in southern Spain remain active during the mild winters common to the region and are instead forced into inactivity during the dry, hot summer season. Summer estivation also occurs by burrowing into the ground or hiding in cool, deep rock crevasses to avoid desiccation and lethal ambient temperature. Amphibians are therefore hardly at mercy of ambient temperature, since by means of the mechanisms described above they are more than exercise some control over their body temperature.11. In paragraph 6, which of the following can be inferred from the discussion of the natterjack?A. Amphibians have greater tolerance for heat than for cold.B. Desiccation is not a threat to amphibiansC. Both hibernation and estivation may serve as avoidance behaviors depending on the climateD. Some species of amphibians are active only in the spring and in the fall12. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.A. Thus, although amphibians use the various mechanisms described above, they have hardly any control of their body temperatureB. Thus, by the mechanisms described above, amphibians are quite capable of controlling their body temperature to survive extreme ambient temperatures.C. Thus, unless they can use the mechanisms described above, amphibians are at the mercy of ambient temperatures.D. Thus, the mechanisms described above give amphibians control over much more than just their body temperature13. Look at the fou r squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.On the other hand, amphibians in very hot climates use secretions from the mucus glands to decrease their temperature through evaporative cooling on the skin.Where would the sentence best fit? Click on square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.Physiological adaptations can assist amphibians in colonizing habitats where extreme conditions prevail. The tolerance range in body temperature represents the range of temperatures within which a species can survive. One species of North American newt is still active when temperatures drop to -2°C while one South American frog feels comfortable even when temperatures measured to 41°C—the highest body temperature measured in a free-ranging amphibian. [■] Recently it has been shown that some North American frog and toad species can survive up to five days with a body temperature of -6°C with approximately one-third of their body fluids frozen. [■] The other tissues are protected because they contain the frost-protective agents glycerin or glucose. [■] Additionally, in many species the tolerance boundaries are flexible。

托福听力结构理解听力提升太难了？？？？？今日案例分享：学生每早会听半小时托福听力，很坚持。

但是听力分数偶尔几分，偶尔十几分。

不是说好的坚持就会有进步吗？为什么这么颠簸不前呢？一问之下：只是听，并没有懂。

如果只是听：有的同学大约是听着听着睡着啦，听力有助于入睡；有的同学大约是听和尚念经，叽里咕噜，并不知道在说什么；真的很坚持，不要灰心，一年半载之后还是会有进步的，只是效率会有点低；那么如何化坚持为快速进步呢？答案：听多少内容就要听懂多少内容以免浪费练习的素材托福听力考察的能力图：基本信息 --->直线推断--->结构理解针对基础薄弱：词汇不懂/找词汇句子不懂/慢慢听/精听/打下来内容逐渐清晰一些：理解结构钢筋混泥土，无结构怎么盖楼呢每篇讲座都一定会有自己的结构否则几分钟，600词以上的内容靠什么组合在一起给你呢而且任何复杂的东西，理解结构，你就明白了大大半今天以TPO41 lecture1来看看讲座的其中一种结构听完了再来看结构哈～FEMALE PROFESSOR:Many organisms have developed the ability to survive in harsh environ-mental conditions—extreme heat or cold, or, very dry conditions.... Like, plants in the desert—your textbook doesn’t have much about the specif-ics on desert plants, but I think that desert plants are great examples of specialized adaptations to extreme environmental conditions.So with desert plants, there are basically three different adaptive strate-gies. And I should point out that these strategies are not specific to any particular species—many different species have developed each of the adaptations.So, first off, there are succulent plants.There are many different species of succulent plants, but they all can absorb and store a lot of water. Obviously, opportunities to get water in the desert are few and far between. Generally, rains are light and short, so the rain doesn’t seep too far down into the soil… and there's a limited window of time for any plant to get the water before it evaporates.But succulent plants have a spread-out and shallow root system that can quickly pull in water from the top inch of soil, though the soil has to besaturated, since succulents aren't good at absorbing water from soil that’s only a little moist.Succulent plants also are well suited to retaining water—important in an environment where rainy days are rare. Succulent plants can store water in their leaves, in their stems, or in their roots.And to keep that moisture from evaporating in the hot desert sun, most succulent plants have a waxy outer layer that makes them almost water-proof when their stomates are closed.They also preserve water by minimizing their surface area—the more of the plant that’s out in the sun, the more potential there is to lose stored-up water—and that means that most succulent plants have few, if any, leaves.Now besides succulent plants, there are also drought-tolerant plants. Drought-tolerant plants are like bears in a way. You know how bears mostly sleep through the winter? They can survive without eating be-cause their metabolism slows down. Well, drought-tolerant plants also go into a dormant state when resources—in their case, water—runs short. A drought-tolerant plant can actually dry out without dying.I said before that most desert rains are light and brief, but occasionally there's a heavy one. Drought-tolerant plants revive after one of these significant rainfalls—and they're able to absorb a good bit of the rainfall due to their deep roots. Actually the root system for drought-tolerant plants is more extensive than the root systems of many plants that live in wetter climates. Drought-tolerant plants can even absorb water from rel-atively dry soil because of their deep roots, in contrast to succulent plants.The third adaptive strategy is to avoid the drought conditions altogether. Yes, there are plants that do this —annual plants.An annual plant will mature and produce seeds in a single season that will become the next generation of annual plants. In desert conditions, annual plants grow in the fall or spring to avoid the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Of course, these plants could face a serious problemif a particular fall or spring happened to be very dry—they would have difficulty growing and could die before producing seeds.But they have a mechanism to prevent one year of low rainfall from wip-ing them out. Not all seeds an annual plant puts out will grow the follow-ing year. Some seeds remain dormant in the ground for several years. It's a type of insurance that protects the annual plants from a season of poor growing conditions, of unfavorable weather.波浪线已经标出文章的结构衔接句式和用词你发现了吗？原来和综合写作结构一样你听出来了吗？更多内容分享公众号：DC托福。