yeng9701 托福阅读真题

2021年1月22日发(作者：佤族)


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(Page 161-163)


C

Question 1-8


Both the number and the percentage of people in the United States involved in nonagricultural
pursuits expanded rapidly during the half century following the Civil War, with some of the most
dramatic increases occurring in the domains of transportation, manufacturing, and trade and
distribution. The development of the railroad and telegraph systems during the middle third of the
nineteenth century led to significant improvements in the speed, volume, and regularity of
shipments and communications, making possible a fundamental transformation in the production
and distribution of goods.


In agriculture, the transformation was marked by the emergence of the grain elevators, the
cotton presses, the warehouses, and the commodity exchanges that seemed to so many of the
nation's farmers the visible sign of a vast conspiracy against them. In manufacturing, the
transformation was marked by the emergence of a
larger, more complex, and more systematically organized and managed. And in distribution, the
transformation was marked by the emergence of the jobber, the wholesaler, and the mass retailer.
These changes radically altered the nature of work during the half century between 1870 and 1920.


To be sure, there were still small workshops, where skilled craftspeople manufactured products
ranging from newspapers to cabinets to plumbing fixtures. There were the sweatshops in city
tenements, where groups of men and women in household settings manufactured clothing or
cigars on a piecework basis. And there were factories in occupations such as metalwork where
individual contractors presided over what were essentially handicraft proprietorships that
coexisted within a single buildings. But as the number of wage earners in manufacturing rose from
2.7 million in 1880 to 4.5 million in 1900 to 8.4 million in 1920, the number of huge plants like
the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia burgeoned, as did the size of the average plant.
(The Baldwin Works had 600 employees in 1855, 3,000 in 1875, and 8,000 in 1900.) By 1920, at
least in the northeastern United States where most of the nation's manufacturing wage earners
were concentrated, three-quarters of those worked in factories with more than 100 employees and
30 percent worked in factories with more than 1,000 employees.

1.
The word
(A)
fields
(B)
locations
(C)
organizations
(D)
occupations

2.
What can be inferred from the passage about the agricultural sector of the economy after the
Civil War?
(A)
New technological developments had little effect on farmers.
(B)
The percentage of the total population working in agriculture declined.
(C)
Many farms destroyed in the war were rebuilt after the war.
(D)
Farmers achieved new prosperity because of better rural transportation.

3.
The word
(A)
possible
(B)
basic
(C)
gradual
(D)
unique

4.
Which of the following was NOT mentioned as part of the
(A)
A change in the organization of factories.
(B)
A growth in the complexity of factories.
(C)
An increase in the size of factories.




(D)
An increase in the cost of manufacturing industrial products.

5.
Which of the following statements about manufacturing before 1870 can be inferred from the
passage?
(A)
Most manufacturing activity was highly organized.
(B)
Most manufacturing occurred in relatively small plants.
(C)
The most commonly manufactured goods were cotton presses.
(D)
Manufacturing and agriculture each made up about half of the nation's economy.

6.
The word
(A)
hardworking
(B)
expert
(C)
well-paid
(D)
industrial

7.
The word

(A)
managed

(B)
led to
(C)
worked in
(D)
produced

8.
The author mentions the Baldwin Locomotive Works in lines 23-24 because it was
(A)
a well-known metal- works
(B)
the first plant of its kind in Philadelphia
(C)
typical of the large factories that were becoming more common
(D)
typical of factories that consisted of a single building


Question 9-19


Stars may be spheres, but not every celestial object is spherical. Objects in the universe show a
variety of shapes: round planets (some with rings), tailed comets, wispy cosmic gas and dust
clouds, ringed nebulae, pinwheel-shaped spiral galaxies, and so on. But none of the shapes on this
list describes the largest single entities in the universe. These are the double radio sources,
galaxies with huge clouds of radio emission that dwarf the visible galaxies, sometimes by a factor
of a hundred or more. Stretching over distances greater than a million light-years, these radio-
emitting regions resemble twin turbulent gas clouds, typically forming dumbbell-like shapes with
the visible galaxy (when it is visible) in the center.


These double radio sources present astronomers with a puzzle. Their radio emission arises from
the synchrotron process, in which electrons accelerated to nearly the speed of light move through
magnetic fields. However, in view of the rate at which the radio sources emit energy, they should
disappear in a few million years as their electrons slow down and cease producing radiation.
Somehow new electrons must be continually accelerated to nearly the speed of light, otherwise, by
now almost none of the double radio sources would be observed.


With the advent of high- resolution radio interferometers during the late 1970's, part of the
answer became clear: the electrons are produced in jets that are shot out in opposite directions
from the center of galaxy. Remarkably narrow and highly directional, the jets move outward at
speeds close to the speed of light. When the jets strike the highly rarefied gas that permcales
intergalactic space, the fast-moving electrons lose their highly directional motion and form vast
clouds of radio-emitting gas.


Cosmic jets have ranked among the hottest topics of astronomical research in recent years as
astronomers strive to understand where they come from. Why should a galaxy eject matter at such
tremendous speeds in two narrow jets? And why are such jets not seen in the Milky Way?

9.
The word
(A)
visible




(B)
astronomical
(C)
glowing
(D)
scientific

10.
The word
(A)
factors
(B)
processes
(C)
objects
(D)
puzzles

11.
In the first paragraph, the author describes objects in the universe in terms of their
(A)
color
(B)
origin
(C)
location
(D)
shape

12.
Which of the following is the best representation of the clouds of radio emission
described in the first paragraph?
(A)
（图）

(B)
（图）

(C)
（图）

(D)
（图）


13.
According to the passage, scientists do not fully understand why double radio sources
(A)
have not eventually disappeared
(B)
cannot be observed with a telescope
(C)
are beginning to slow down
(D)
are not as big as some planets and stars

14.
The word
(A)
speeds
(B)
directions
(C)
electrons
(D)
clouds

15.
According to the passage, what happens when electrons and gas collide in space?
(A)
The gas becomes more condensed
(B)
The gas becomes less radiated
(C)
The electrons disperse
(D)
The electrons become negatively charged

16.
The author suggests that astronomers consider the study of cosmic jets to be
(A)
an obsolete scientific field
(B)
an unprofitable venture
(C)
an intriguing challenge
(D)
a subjective debate

17.
In what lines does the passage compare the size of double radio sources with that of other
galaxies?
(A)
Lines 4-6
(B)
Lines 12-14
(C)
Lines 19-20
(D)
Lines 23-24





18.
Where in the passage does the author mention a technology that aided in the
understanding of double radio sources?
(A)
Line 2
(B)
Line 7
(C)
Line 17
(D)
Line 21

19.
The paragraph following the passage most likely discusses
(A)
specific double radio sources
(B)
an explanation of the synchrotron process
(C)
possible reasons for the presence of cosmic jets
(D)
the discovery of the first double radio sources.


Questions 20-28


The sculptural legacy that the new United States inherited from its colonial predecessors was
far from a rich one, and in fact, in 1776 sculpture as an art form was still in the hands of artisans
and craftspeople. Stone carvers engraved their motifs of skulls and crossbones and other religious
icons of death into the gray slabs that we still see standing today in old burial grounds. Some
skilled craftspeople made intricately carved wooden ornamentations for furniture or architectural
decorations, while others caved wooden shop signs and ships' figureheads. Although they often
achieved expression and formal excellence in their generally primitive style, they remained
artisans skilled in the craft of carving and constituted a group distinct from what we normally
think of as


On the rare occasion when a fine piece of sculpture was desired, Americans turned to foreign
sculptors, as in the 1770's when the cities of New York and Charleston, South Carolina,
commissioned the Englishman Joseph Wilton to make marble statues of William Pitt. Wilton also
made a lead equestrian image of King George III that was created in New York in 1770 and torn
down by zealous patriots six years later. A few marble memorials with carved busts, urns, or other
decorations were produced in England and brought to the colonies to be set in the walls of
churches-as in King's Chapel in Boston. But sculpture as a high art, practiced by artists who knew
both the artistic theory of their Renaissance-Baroque-Rococo predecessors and the various
technical procedures of modeling, casting, and carving rich three-dimensional forms, was not
known among Americans in 1776. Indeed, for many years thereafter, the United States had two
groups from which to choose - either the local craftspeople or the imported talent of European
sculptors.


The eighteenth century was not one in which powered sculptural conceptions were developed.
Add to this the timidity with which unschooled artisans - originally trained as stonemasons,
carpenters, or cabinetmakers - attacked the medium from which they sculpture made in the United
States in the late eighteenth century.

20.
What is the main idea of the passage?
(A)
There was great demand for the work of eighteenth- century artisans.
(B)
Skilled sculptors did not exist in the United States in the 1770's.
(C)
Many foreign sculptors worked in the United States after 1776.
(D)
American sculptors were hampered by a lack of tools and materials.

21.
The word
(A)
tools
(B)
prints
(C)
signatures
(D)
designs

22.
The work of which of the following could be seen in burial grounds?
(A)
European sculptors




(B)
Carpenters
(C)
Stone carves
(D)
Cabinetmakers

23.
The word
(A)
craftspeople
(B)
decorations
(C)
ornamentations
(D)
shop signs

24.
The word
(A)
separate
(B)
assembled
(C)
notable
(D)
inferior

25.
The word
(A)
festive
(B)
infrequent
(C)
delightful
(D)
unexpected

26.
Why does the author mention Joseph Wilton in line 13?
(A)
He was an English sculptor who did work in the United States.
(B)
He was well known for his wood carvings
(C)
He produced sculpture for churches.
(D)
He settled in the United States in 1776.

27.
What can be inferred about the importation of marble memorials from England?
(A)
Such sculpture was less expensive to produce locally than to import
(B)
Such sculpture was not available in the United States.
(C)
Such sculpture was as prestigious as those made locally.
(D)
The materials found abroad were superior.

28.
How did the work of American carvers in 1776 differ from that of contemporary sculptors?
(A)
It was less time-consuming
(B)
It was more dangerous.
(C)
It was more expensive.
(D)
It was less refined.


Question 29-39


Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for reducing the
effects of extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to reflect rather than absorb the
Sun's rays. Desert mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a
constant body temperature. Instead of trying to keep down the body temperature deep inside the
body, which would involve the expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their
temperatures to rise to what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46
degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant's gazelles. The overheated body then cools down
during the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall unusually low by dawn, as low
as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of the first few hours of
daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of heat does not begin
until well into the day.


Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that
would be fatal for non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as