新托福阅读真经(解析版)

Passage ⅠAgricultural Society in Eighteenth-Century British AmericaP1: Throughout the colonial period, mostNortherners, especially New Englanders,depended on the land for a livelihood,although a living had literally to be wrested from the earth. Community lands were used for grazing and logging (people could petition the town for the right to cut wood). Agriculture was the predominant occupation, and what industrial and commercial activity there was revolved almost entirely around materials extracted from the land, the forests, and the ocean.P2: At the end of the eighteenth century, approximately 90 percent of all Americansearned a major portion of their living by farming. Generally, high ratios of land andother natural resources to labor generated exceptionally high levels of output per workerin the colonies. Located between the Potomac and the Hudson rivers, the Middle Colonieswere, on the whole, fertile and readily tillable, and therefore enjoyed a comparativeadvantage in the production of grains and other foodstuffs. Most production in the NewWorld was for the colonists’ own consumption, but sizable proportions of colonial goodsand services were produced for commercial exchange. In time, New England colonistshad tapped into a sprawling Atlantic trade network that connected them to the Englishhomeland as well as the West African Slave Coast, the Caribbean's plantation islands, andthe Iberian Peninsula.1.Paragraph 1 mentions all of the following as economic activities that NewEnglanders practiced EXCEPTA growing cropsB raising animalsC trading goodsD cutting timber2.Paragraph 1 and Passage 2 support all of the following statements about theeconomies in colonial period EXCEPTA The northern colonies engaged in international trade.B The middle colonies had agricultural advantages the northern colonies did not.C The northern colonists earned their living by farmingD The middle colonies were less prosperous than the northern colonies.3.According to paragraph2, what can be inferred about New Englanders at the endof the eighteenth century?A They wanted to connect with their homeland.B They prepared products for international trade.C They could not be self-sufficient on grains.D They produced most of the goods in the New World.4.The word “sizable” in the passage is closet in meaning toA mixedB enormousC growingD constantP3:In the North, land was seemingly limitless in extent and therefore not highly priced, and almost every colonist wanted to be a landholder. The widespread ownership of land distinguished farming society in Colonial America from every other agricultural region of the Western world. Equal access to land ownership in this early period made it possible for most men other than indentured servants to purchase or inherit a farm of at least 50 acres. The North was developed as a rigidly hierarchical society in which status was determined by or at least strongly correlated with the extent to which one owned, controlled, or labored on land.5.According to paragraph 3 in what way did farming society in the northern coloniesdiffer from farming societies in the rest of the Western world?AThe differences between social classes were much greater.B People lived much closer together.C The proportion of land owners was much higher.D Many more families had servants.P4: The eighteenth century witnessed a sharp rise in population, which left many faced with the harsh reality of an increasingly limited supply of land; this was especially true in New England, where farms inherited from prior generations could not be divided and subdivided indefinitely. An example of this principle in action was the life of Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts, a proprietor of the town, who had significant civic responsibilities, including road-building, militia duty, and fence-viewing, and who received parcels of land in return for his investment and work. By 1653, he owned over 55 acres and ranked twelfth of 78 property owners in terms of the size of his holdings. Eventually, the Richards family controlled several hundred acres of land, enough for Nathaniel Richards, Edward’s son, to give 80-acre farms to two sons while a third retained the central farm after his death. In this way, the average farm would shrink by two thirds in a century.6.The word “indefinitely” in the passage is closet in meaning toA fairlyB safelyC more than onceD without limit7.Why does author include a discussion of “Edward Richards in Dedham,Massachusetts”A To give an example of the type of inheritance farm owners generallyprovided for their sons.B To help explain why the farms started by the founders averaged at least 250acres.C To indicate that New England farms were always inherited by the oldest sonsfrom their fathers.D To help illustrate how limited the overall land supply was in New England.P5:The decreasing fertility of the soil compounded the problem of dwindling farm size in New England. When land had been plentiful, farmers had planted crops in the same field for three years and then let it lie fallow in pasture seven years or more until it regained its fertility. On the smaller farms of the eighteenth century, however, farmers reduced fallow time to only a year or two. Such intense use of the soil reduced crop yields, forcing farmers to plow marginal land or shift to livestock production.8.The word “compounded” in the passage is closet i n meaning toA added toB resulted fromC led toD occurred before9.According to paragraph5, what causes the crop yields in New England to fail?A The shift to livestock production by many farmers.B The decreased amount of time that fields were left fallow.C The practice of planting crops in the same field for three years in a row.D The reduced size of the average field.P6:Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what little land they had. The diminishing size and productivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificantportion of the region’s total commercial output for sale (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with otherintermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled trades of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.10.According to paragraph6 why did many New Englanders move out of the area inthe eighteenth centuryA They wanted to live in towns rather than on farms.B Their farms no longer provided them with good living.C There was unequal distribution of males and females in New England.D They were being crowded out by migrants from outside New England.11.The word “endeavor” in the passage is closet in meaning toA effectB improvementC effortD accelerator12.Why does the author include the information about the “intermittent work, such asclock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving” that northern cultivators engaged in?A To suggest that northern cultivators were not as skilled at agricultural workas southern cultivators were.B To indicate an economic effect of the shorter northern growing season onnorthern cultivators.C To challenge the claim that work routines in the north were less intense thanthey were in the south.D To emphasize that northern workers tried to change their agriculturallycentered economy.P6:Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what little land they had.■The diminishing size and productivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. ■Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificantportion of the region’s total commercial output for sale. ■ (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). ■In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with otherintermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled trades of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.13.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could beadded to the passage.By the end of the eighteenth century, New England was a net importer of food and fiber.Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage isprovided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text.In eighteenth century British America agriculture was more productive and profitable in the middle colonies than in New England.●●●Answer ChoicesA By the mid-eighteenth century shipping had become important to the economyof the middle colonies where farmers produced large surpluses of foodstuffs for trade with Europe and elsewhere.B The labor provided by indentured servants allowed most New England farmersto raise enough food and livestock to earn a living and leave a comfortable inheritance for their children.C Declining farm size forced farmers to greatly reduce the time fields were leftfallow, and this more intensive use of relatively poor soil resulted in seriously decreased fertility and lowered crop yields.D Land ownership was far more important to New Englanders than to people in the middle colonies because it was necessary for political rights and economic independence only in the North.E Land ownership was widespread in the North but a shortage of farmland and the practice of dividing family farms among the sons had left the average farm barely big enough to support a family.F The reduced size and productivity of northern farms forced many farmers to move to other regions or to take up other occupations at least during those periods when little work was required on a farm.AnswersPassage Ⅰ1.C2.D3.B4.B5.C6.D7.D8.A9.B 10.B 11.C 12.B 13.C 14. C E FExplanations1.【否定事实信息题】第一段提到放牧、砍柴、农业种植，而没有提到贸易。