托福模拟考试及答案解析（1）(1~14/共54题)阅读理解Agricultural Society in Eighteenth-Century British AmericaP1: Throughout the colonial period, most Northerners, 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 Americans earned a major portion of their living by farming. Generally, high ratios of land and other natural resources to labor generated exceptionally high levels of output per worker in the colonies. Located between the Potomac and the Hudson rivers, the Middle Colonies were, unlike New England, fertile and readily tillable, and therefore enjoyed a comparative advantage in the production of grains and other foodstuffs. Most production in the New World was for the colonists´own consumption, but sizable proportions of colonial goods and services were produced for commercial exchange. In time, New England colonists had tapped into a sprawling Atlantic trade network that connected them to the English homeland as well as the West African Slave Coast, the Caribbean´s plantation islands, and the Iberian Peninsula.P3: 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.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. 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.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 farmsforced 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 insignificant portion 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 other intermittent 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.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 insignificant portion 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 other intermittent 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.第1题Paragraph 1 mentions all of the following as economic activities that New Englanders practiced EXCEPTA.growing cropsB.raising animalsC.trading goodsD.cutting timber第2题Paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 support all of the following statements about the economies in colonial period EXCEPTA.New England engaged in international trade.B.The middle colonies had agricultural advantages New England did not.C.The colonists in New England earned their living by farming.D.The middle colonies were less prosperous than New England.第3题According to paragraph 2, what can be inferred about New Englanders at the end of 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.第4题The word "sizable" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.mixedB.enormousC.growingD.constant第5题According to paragraph 3, in what way did farming society in the northern colonies differ from farming societies in the rest of the Western world?A.The 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.第6题The word "indefinitely" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.fairlyB.safelyC.more than onceD.without limit第7题Why does author include a discussion of "Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts"?A.To give an example of the type of inheritance farm owners generally provided for their sonsB.To help explain why the farms started by the founders averaged at least 250 acresC.To indicate that New England farms were always inherited by the oldest sons from their fathersD.To help illustrate how limited the overall land supply was in New England第8题The word "compounded" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.added toB.resulted fromC.led toD.occurred before第9题According to paragraph 5, what causes the crop yields in New England to fail?A.The shift to livestock production by many farmersB.The decreased amount of time that fields were left fallowC.The practice of planting crops in the same field for three years in a rowD.The reduced size of the average field第10题According to paragraph 6, why did many New Englanders move out of the area in the eighteenth century?A.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.第11题The word "endeavor" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.effectB.improvementC.effortD.accelerator第12题Why does the author include the information about the "intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving" that northern cultivators engaged in?A.To suggest that northern cultivators were not as skilled at agricultural work as southern cultivators wereB.To indicate an economic effect of the shorter northern growing season on northern cultivatorsC.To challenge the claim that work routines in the north were less intense than they were in the southD.To emphasize that northern workers tried to change their agriculturally centered economy第13题Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added 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.第14题An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided 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 Choices A By the mid-eighteenth century shipping had become important to the economy of 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 farmers to 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 left fallow, 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.下一题(15~27/共54题)阅读理解Animal BehaviorP1: Throughout much of the 20th century, European and American scientists were sharply divided over how to study animal behavior.To ethologists who mainly based in Europe, the most striking fact about animal behaviors was that they are fixed and seemingly unchangeable. For example, cats have an innate need to climb and seek refuge up high. They typically feel most secure when they can view their world from a point of concealment and gain control over their environment from a single vantage point. Dogs, by contrast, are able to understand and communicate with humans. Ethologists came to believe that ultimately even the most complex animal behaviors could be broken down into a series of immutable stimulus-response reactions. They emphasized the value of comparative studies of specific behavioral patterns, such as mating across species, in order to gain insight into how those behaviors evolved. For well over half a century, their search for the innate mechanism continued. P2: Meanwhile, to those ethologists who based mainly in North America, the study of animal behavior took a different tack. American comparative behaviorists focused on learning and conditioned responses, which later developed into comparative behaviorism. Of interest to comparative behaviorists was where a particular behavior came from—that is, its evolutionary history, how the nervous system controlled it, and the extent to which it could be modified. In 1894, C. Lloyd Morgan, a pioneer comparative behaviorist, insisted that animal behavior be explained independently without reference to emotions or motivations, since these could not be observed or measured. In Morgan´s research, animals were put in simple situations and presented with an easily described stimulus, accompanied by precise observations and vivid accounts of behavior.P3: This extension of animal behaviorism— studies of stimulus-response—has evolved to become an important development in comparative behavior. A stimulus is an observable fact and a broad term—so broad, in fact, that it involves any phenomenon that directly influences the activity or growth of a living organism. Not all responses to stimuli are automatic, however: as we have noted, even humans are incapable of some automatic responses. Nor are environmental changes limited to the organism´s external environment. In some cases, its internal environment can act as a stimulus as well. In general, behavior can be categorized as either innate (inborn) or learned, but the distinction is often unclear. Behavior is considered innate when it is presented and completed without any experience whereby it was learned. Higher animals, in contrast to other animals, use both innate and learned behavior. Not surprisingly, comparative behaviorists worked most comfortably from the comfort of a laboratory or psychology department, while their ethologist colleagues tended to stick strictly to studying innate patterns in a natural environment, like the development of behavior throughout animals´lives. Major disagreements between adherents of the two approaches out inevitably occur, though the distinctions were often unclear.P4: To early ethologists, the major driving force in behavior was instinct, behaviors that are inherited and unchangeable. Moths move towards light because they inherit the mechanism to respond to light. Although dogs have more options available to them, they bark at strangers for much the same reason. The comparative behaviorists disagreed: learning and rewards are more important factors than instinct in animal behavior. Geese are not born with the ability to retrieve lost eggs when they roll out of the nest—they learn to do so. If their behavior sometimes seems silly to humans because it fails to take new conditions into account, that is because the animals´ability to learn is limited. There were too many examples of behaviors modified by experience for comparative behaviorists to put their faith in learning and rewards.P5: The arguments came to a peak in the 1950s and became known as "the nature vs. nurturecontroversy". Consider how differently an ethologist and a comparative behaviorist would interpret the begging behavior of a hatching bird. The first time a hatching bird is approached by its parents, it begs by pecking at the beaks of their parents in an attempt to stimulate them to regurgitate a meal. Obviously, said the ethologists, they inherited the ability and the tendency to beg. Not so, countered the comparative behaviorists. We also saw that a model bearing what would seem to be the most superficial resemblance to the beak of the parent birds would stimulate begging on the part of the chick. Later experiments showed that when presented with two parental birds from related species, the young initially showed no preference for either of them. Of course, these chicks will only ever be rewarded by their parents. It would appear therefore that their innate behavior is refined with time, or to put it another way—they learn. Eventually, the distinctions between the two fields narrowed.P6: The current view is that both nature and nurture influence behavior and development. Increasingly, people are beginning to realize that asking how much heredity or environment influence a particular trait is not the right approach. The reality is that there is not a simple way to disentangle the multitude of forces that exist. These influences include genetic factors that interact with one another, environmental factors that interact such as social experiences and overall culture, as well as how both hereditary and environmental influences intermingle. Instead, many researchers today are interested in seeing how genes modulate environmental influences and vice versa.P4: ■To early ethologists, the major driving force in behavior was instinct, behaviors that are inherited and unchangeable. ■Moths move towards light because they inherit the mechanism to respond to light. Although dogs have more options available to them, they bark at strangers for much the same reason. ■The comparative behaviorists disagreed: learning and rewards are more important factors than instinct in animal behavior. ■Geese are not born with the ability to retrieve lost eggs when they roll out of the nest—they learn to do so. If their behavior sometimes seems silly to humans because it fails to take new conditions into account, that is because the animals´ability to learn is limited. There were too many examples of behaviors modified by experience for comparative behaviorists to put their faith in learning and rewards.第15题The word "ultimately" in the passage is closest in the meaning toA.noticeablyB.importantlyC.some of the timeD.in the end第16题According to paragraph 1, what do ethologists think is the most notable characteristic of animal behavior?A.Animal responses in most situations are predictable and do not vary.B.In similar situations, different animal species often behave in similar ways.C.Even in ordinary situations, animal behavior can be unusually complex.D.Animal behavior may sometimes include stimulus/response reactions.第17题According to paragraph 2, C. Lloyd Morgan agreed with which of the following statements about animal behavior?A.Only those elements of animal behavior that could be observed and measured should be used to explain it.B.Any study of animal behavior should include an explanation of emotions and motivations.C.Emotions and motivations can be measured indirectly using simple experimental situations.D.Experimental situations are less than ideal if researchers want to develop a comprehensive explanation of animal behavior.第18题According to paragraph 2, comparative behaviorists were interested in finding answers to all of the following questions EXCEPTA.How has animal behavior changed over time?B.How can emotions causing a specific behavior in one animal species help explain behavior in other animal species?C.To what degree can animal behavior be changed?D.How does the nervous system regulate animal behavior?第19题Paragraph 3 suggests that comparative behaviorists´conclusions concerning animal behavior were basedA.on the observation that rewards do not affect inherited animal behavior.B.on the application of stress to modify animal behavior.C.most often on the results of laboratory experiments.D.more on stimulus/response reactions than on simple rewards.第20题The word "retrieve" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.findB.recoverC.rememberD.hatch第21题According to paragraph 4, why did comparative behaviorists believe that their view of instinct in animal behavior was correct?A.They had observed that animals can respond to the same stimulus in different ways.B.They had demonstrated that animals could use learned behaviors in new conditions.C.They had acquired sufficient evidence that instincts vary from one animal to another.D.They had shown that the behavior of many different animals had been changed by learning. 第22题The word "Obviously" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.OriginallyB.ClearlyC.SimilarlyD.Consequently第23题The word "countered" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.learnedB.argued backC.assumedD.predicted第24题In paragraph 5, why does the author discuss the begging behavior of a hatchling bird?A.To support the view that instinct explains animal behavior better than learning does.B.To demonstrate that ethologists are correct about the limited ability of animals to learn.C.To contrast an ethologist´s explanation of a particular animal behavior with that of a comparative behaviorist.D.To question whether the discussion about the roles of nature and nurture was a valid one.第25题The word "current" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.idealB.basicC.alternativeD.present第26题Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit? This view is supported by the behavior of insects as well as animals. Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.第27题Select from the seven phrases below, the two sentences that correctly characterize ethologists and the three sentences that correctly characterize comparative behaviorists. Drag each phrase you select into the appropriate column of the table. Two of the sentences will NOT be used. This question is worth 3 points.图片上一题下一题(28~41/共54题)阅读理解Attempts at Determining Earth´s AgeP1: Since the dawn of civilization, people have been curious about the age of Earth. What´s more, we have not been satisfied in being able to state merely the relative geologic age of a rock or fossil—human curiosity demands that we know the actual age in years. Generally speaking, scientists have developed three different methods of determining the age of the earth. Using these methods, or a combination of them, the age of geological formations and even fossilized bones of prehistoric animals left behind by past events can be determined.P2: As geologists endeavored to reconstruct the earth´s geologic history in the 1700s and early 1800s, they quickly recognized that the distribution of fossils within this history was not random—fossils occurred in a consistent order. This was true on a regional and even a global scale. The natural processes that continue at a constant rate also leave a tangible record in rocks. Evolution is one such process, and geologist Charles Lyell (1797-1875) recognized this. By using empirical observations of fossil succession, he was able to propose a fine subdivision of the rocks and map out the formations of southern England in one of the earliest geological maps. Furthermore, fossil organisms were both more unique than rock types and much more varied, offering the potential for a much more precise subdivision of the stratigraphy and events within it.By comparing the amount of evolution exhibited by marine mollusks then, Lyell estimated that 80 million years had elapsed since the beginning of the Tertiary Period. He came astonishingly close to the mark, since it was actually about 65 million years. However, for older sequence of evolutionary development, only a part of the fossil record could be used. Rates of evolution for many orders of plants and animals were not well understood.P3: In another attempt, geologists suggested that they might be able to estimate the time required for deposition of a given thickness of strata, or rock layers, because each layer represented a specific interval of geologic time. Similar reasoning argued that rock layers were originally deposited more or less evenly, and each layer should therefore continue laterally unless there was a material or structural impediment to prevent its extension. Thus, one could estimate the total elapsed geologic time by dividing the average thickness of sediment deposited in the past and transported annually to the oceans. Unfortunately, such estimates did not adequately account for the precise sedimentation rates of most strata losses during extreme weather conditions like episodes of erosion. Also, some extremely ancient sediment deposits were no longer recognizable, having been converted to igneous and metamorphic rocks during the formation of mountains. Today, such a proposal would appear to be quite elementary, but nearly 200 years ago, it amounted to a major breakthrough in scientific reasoning by establishing a rational basis for relative time measurements.P4: Yet another scheme for approximating Earth´s age had been proposed in 1715. Sir Edmund Halley (1656-1742), an astronomer and the first real proponent of using the salt clock to calculate the age of the Earth, surmised that the original ocean was not salty and that subsequently salt must have derived from the weathering of rocks was brought to the sea by streams. Theoretically, in a closed system, measuring the salt content of a body of water would work to calculate an approximate age. If a somewhat constant rate of accumulation of the salt is known, and the present amount of salt in the water is given, then a simple algebraic calculation would render the age of that particular body of water. In 1899, Irish geologist John Joly (1857-1933) attempted the calculation. From information provided by gauges placed at the mouths of streams, Joly was able to estimate the annual increment of salt to the oceans. Then, knowing the salinity of ocean water and the approximate volume of water, he calculated the amount of salt already held in solution in the oceans. According to Joly, it would take 99.4 million years for the sulfates of calcium and magnesium to reach their present concentrations in the oceans. The dates calculated by all who attempted this method were wrong because of several fundamental flaws in the system. First of all, to use the salt clock as an actual clock, you must assume that the starting point would be 0% salinity. This, of course, could never be known because no one was around to measure the salinity of the oceans right when they formed. Also, people assumed that the ocean is an eternal reservoir, and when the salt is dumped in the ocean, it stays there permanently. This assumption is false as it has been later proven that elements of the ocean are being constantly recycled and leave the water. Even though in error, Joly´s calculations clearly supported those geologists who insisted on an age for Earth far in excess of a few million years. The belief in Earth´s immense antiquity was also supported by Darwin, Huxley, and other evolutionary biologists, who saw the need for time in the hundreds of millions of years to accomplish the organic evolution apparent in the fossil record.P2: As geologists endeavored to reconstruct the earth´s geologic history in the 1700s and early 1800s, they quickly recognized that the distribution of fossils within this history was notrandom—fossils occurred in a consistent order. This was true on a regional and even a global scale. The natural processes that continue at a constant rate also leave a tangible record in rocks. Evolution is one such process, and geologist Charles Lyell (1797-1875) recognized this. ■By using empirical observations of fossil succession, he was able to propose a fine subdivision of the rocks and map out the formations of southern England in one of the earliest geological maps. Furthermore, fossil organisms were both more unique than rock types and much more varied, offering the potential for a much more precise subdivision of the stratigraphy and events within it. By comparing the amount of evolution exhibited by marine mollusks then, Lyell estimated that 80 million years had elapsed since the beginning of the Tertiary Period. He came astonishingly close to the mark, since it was actually about 65 million years. ■However, for older sequence of evolutionary development, only a part of the fossil record could be used. ■Rates of evolution for many orders of plants and animals were not well understood. ■第28题The word "tangible" in the paragraph 2 is closest in meaning toA.physicalB.relatedC.significantD.helpful第29题It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that Charles Lyell based his study of the marine mollusk fossils on which of the following assumptions?A.The Tertiary Period was separated into division of time that were equal in length.B.Mollusks lived under rocks in the sea during the Tertiary period.C.Evolution of mollusks proceeded at a uniform rate over time.D.Mollusks have evolved less rapidly with the passing of time.第30题The word "sequence" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.observationsB.sensesC.seriesD.categories第31题According to paragraph 2, Lyell´s strategy for estimation geologic dates was not very accurate for periods before the Tertiary Period party becauseA.Marine mollusks did not evolve until the Tertiary Period.B.fossil records of the very distant past are incomplete.C.there was not much agreement about how to identify or categorize earlier eras.D.the duration of previous geologic periods was difficult to determine.第32题The phrase "another attempt" in the passage refers toA.trying to understand the fossil recordB.trying to determine the evolutionary rate of marine mollusksC.trying to understand natural processesD.trying to determine Earth´s actual age。