历年托福考试阅读真题汇总含答案

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0308

托福试题

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55minutes

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Question 1-11

If

food

is

allowed

to

stand

for

some

time,

it

putrefies .When the putrefied material

is

examined

microscopically

,it

is

found

to

be

teeming with bacteria. Where do these

bacteria

come

from

,

since

they

are

not

seen

in

fresh food? Even until the mid- nineteenth

century,

many

people

believed

that

such

microorganisms originated by spontaneous

(5

)

generation

,a

hypothetical

process

by

which

living organisms develop from nonliving

matter.

The

most

powerful

opponent

of

the

theory

of

spontaneous

generation

was

the

French

chemist

and

microbiologist

Louis

Pasteur(1822-

1895).Pasteur showed that structures

present

in

air

closely

resemble

the

microorganisms seen in putrefying materials .He did

(10)

this

by

passing

air

through

guncotton

filters,

the fibers of which stop solid particles. After

the

guncotton

was

dissolved

in

a

mixture

of

alcohol and ether, the particles that it had

trapped

fell

to

the

bottom

of

the

liquid

and

were

examined on a microscope slide .Pasteur

found that in ordinary air these exists a variety of

---

--

solid structures ranging in size from

0.01

mm

to

more

than

1.0

mm .Many

of

these

bodies resembled the reproductive

(15)structures

of

common

molds,

single-celled

animals, and various other microbial cells .

As many as 20 to 30 of them were found in fifteen

liters of ordinary air ,and they could

not be distinguished from the organisms found in

much

larger

numbers

in

putrefying

materials .Pasteur

concluded

that

the

organisms

found in putrefying materials originated

from the organized bodies present in the air .He

postulated that these bodies are constantly

(20)being deposited on all objects.

Pasteur showed that if a nutrient solution was

sealed in a glass flask and heated to

boiling

to

destroy

all

the

living

organisms

contaminating

it,

it

never

putrefied

.The

proponents

of

spontaneous

generation

declared

that fresh air was necessary for

spontaneous

generation

and

that

the

air

inside

the sealed flask was affected in some way

(25)by

heating

so

that

it

would

no

longer

support

spontaneous

generation.

Pasteur

constructed

a

swan-necked

flask

in

which

putrefying

materials

could he heated to boiling, but air

could

reenter.

The

bends

in

the

neck

prevented

microorganisms

from

getting

in

the

flask..

Material sterilized in such a flask did not putrefy.

---

--

1,What does the passage mainly discuss?

(a)Pasteur’s

influence

on

the

development

of

the

microscope.

(b)The

origin

of

the

theory

of

spontaneous

generation .

(c)The effects of pasteurization on food.

(d)Pasteur’s

argument

agai

nst

the

theory

of

spontaneous generation .

2,The phrase “teeming with ”in line 2 is closest in

meaning to

(a)full of

(b)developing into

(c)resistant to

(d)hurt by

3,Which of the following questions did the theory of

spontaneous generation attempt to answer?

(a)What is the origin of the living organisms are seen

on some food?

(b)How

many

types

of

organisms

can

be

found

on

food?

(c)What

is

the

most

effective

way

to

prepare

living

organisms for microscopic examination?

(d)How long can food stand before it putrefies?

4,The

word

“resemble”

in

line

9

is

closest

in

meaning to

---

--

(a)benefit from

(b)appear similar to

(c)join together with

(d)grow from

5,The

purpose

of

the

“guncotton”

mentioned

in

paragraph 2 was to

(a)trap particles for analysis

(b)slow the process of putrefaction

(c)increase the airflow to the microscopic slide

(d)aid the mixing of alcohol and ether

6,The

author

mention

“1.0mm”in

line

14

in

describing the

(a)thickness

of

a

layer

of

organisms

that

was

deposited on an object

(b)diameter

of

the

fibers

that

were

in

the

guncotton

filters

(c)thickness of the microscope slides that were used

(d)size of the particles that that were collected

word

“postulated”in

line

19

is

closest

in

meaning to

(a)analyzed

(b)doubted

(c)persuaded

(d)suggested

objects

that

Pasteut

removed

from

the

air

in

---

--

his experiment were remarkable because they were

(a)primarily single-celled organisms

(b)no

different

from

objects

found

in

putrefying

materials

(c)fairly rare

(d)able to live in a mixture of alcohol and ether

word “it” in line 22 refers to

(a)a nutrient solution

(b)a glass flask

(c)boiling

(d)spontaneous generation

ing

to

paragraph

3,proponents

of

spontaneous

generation

believed

that

which

of

the

following was important for the process to succeed ?

(a)A sealed container

(b)Fresh air

(c)Heat

(d)The presence of nutrients

can be inferred from paragraph 3 that Pasteur

employed a swam-necked flask to

(a)store

sterilized

liquids

for

use

in

future

experiments

(b)prevent heat from building up in a solution

(c)disprove a criticism of his conclusions

(d)estimate the number of organisms in a liter of air

---

--

Questions 12-20

In

the

early

decades

of

the

United

States

,the

agrarian movement promoted the farmer

as

society’s

hero.

In

the

minds

of

agrarian

thinkers and writers ,the farmer was a person on

whose

well-being

the

health

of

the

new

country

depended .The period between the

Revolution,

which

ended

in

1783,and

the

Civil

War ,which ended in 1865 ,was the age of

(5

)the

farmer

in

the

United

States

.Agrarian

philosophers ,represented most eloquently by

Thomas

Jefferson,

celebrated

farmers

extravagantly for their supposed centrality in a good

society,

their

political

virtue

,and

their

Superior

morality .And virtually all policy makers, whether

they

subscribed

to

the

tenets

of

the

philosophy

held by Jefferson or not, recognized agriculture as

the

key

component

of

the

American

economy .Consequently ,government at

(10)

all

levels

worked

to

encourage

farmers

as

a

social group and agriculture as economic

enterprise.

Both

the

national

and

state

governments

developed

transportation

infrastructure,building

canals,

roads,

bridges,

and

railroads

,deepening

harbors

,and

removing

obstructions

from

navigable

streams

.The

national

government

imported plant and animal varieties and

---

--

(15) launched exploring expeditions into

prospective

farmlands in the West .In addition ,

government trade policies facilitated the exporting

of agricultural products.

For

their

part

,farmers

seemed

to

meet

the

social expectations agrarian philosophers

had

for

them

,as

their

broader

horizons

and

greater

self- respect,

both

products

of

the

Revolution ,were reflected to some degree in their

behavior .Farmers seemed to become

(20) more scientific ,joining agricultural societies and

reading the farm newspapers that sprang

up

throughout

the

country

.They

began

using

improved implements, tried new crops and

pure

animal

breeds

,

and

became

more

receptive

to modern theories of soil improvement .

They also responded to inducements by national

and state governments .Farmers

streamed

to

the

West

,filling

frontier

lands

with

stunning rapidity .But farmers responded

(25)

less

to

the

expectations

of

agrarians

and

government inducements than to growing market

opportunities .European demand for food from the

United

States

seemed

insatiable

.

War,

industrialization

,

and

urbanization

all

kept

demand high in Europe . United States cities

and

industries

grew

as

well;

even

industries

not

directly related to farming thrived because

of

the

market,

money

,and

labor

that

agriculture

---

--

provided .

does the passage mainly discuss?

(a)The agrarian philosophy of Thomas Jefferson

(b)The

role

of

the

national

government

in

the

development of agriculture

(c)Improvements in farming techniques

(d)The

impact

of

the

increased

importance

of

the

farmer

word

“depended”

in

line

3

is

closest

in

meaning to

(a)improved

(b)relied

(c)demanded

(d)explained

author

mentions

Thomas

Jefferson

in

paragraph 1 as an example of

(a)a leader during the Revolution

(b)an inventor of new farming techniques

(c)a philosopher who believed farmers were essential

to the creation of a good society

(d)a

farmer

who

guided

the

agrarian

movement

toward an emphasis on economic development

phrase “subscribed

to”

in

line

8

is

closest

in meaning to

(a)contributed to

---

--

(b)agreed with

(c)thought about

(d)expanded on

of the following statements is supported by

the information in paragraph 1?

(a)All

government

policy

makers

accepted

Jefferson’s views of agriculture and farme

rs.

(b)Agricultural

production

declined

between

1783

and 1861.

(c)The

majority

of

farmers

worked

for

the

government.

(d)Agriculture

was

a

vital

part

of

the

nation’s

economy.

ing to the passage , the national and state

governments did all of the following EXCEPT

(a)build roads

(b)import new plant varieties

(c)give farmers money for their crops

(d)develop

policies

that

helped

farmers

export

their

products

of the following are mentioned as examples of

farmers’

meeting

the

expectations

of

agra

rian

philosophers EXCEPT

(a)obtaining information from farm newspapers

(b)accumulating personal wealth

(c)planting new crops

---

--

(d)becoming more scientific

word

“stunning”

in

line

24

is

closest

in

meaning to

(a)predictable

(b)impressive

(c)famous

(d)gradual

of

the

following

statements

is

best

supported by paragraph 4?

(a)Agricultural

development

contributed

to

development in other parts of the economy.

(b)European

agricultural

products

were

of

a

higher

quality than those produced in the United States.

(c)The

growing

settlement

of

the

West

led

to

a

decrease in agricultural production.

(d)Farmers

were

influenced

more

by

government

policies than by market opportunities.

Question 21-29

---

--

The wide variety of climates in North America

has helped spawn a complex pattern of

soil

regions.

In

general,

the

realm’s

soils

also

reflect the broad environmental partitioning

into

“humid

America”

and

“arid

America.”

Where annual precipitation exceeds 20 inches

(50

centimeters),soils

in

humid

areas

tend

to

be

acidic in chemical content, Since crops

(5 ) do best in soils that are neither acidic(higher in

acid

content)

nor

alkaline(higher

in

salt

content).fertilization

is

necessary

to

achieve

the

desired level of neutrality between the

two.

A

rid

America’s

soils

are

typically

alkaline

and must be fertilized back toward

neutrality

by

adding

acidic

compounds.

Although many of these dryland soils, particularly

in

the

Great

Plains,

are

quite

fertile,

European

settlers learned over a century ago that

(10)

water

is

the

main

missing

ingredient

in

achieving their agricultural potential. In the

1970’s,

certain

irrigation

methods

were

---

--

perfected and finally provided a real opportunity

to expand more intensive farming west from the

Central Lowland into the drier portions

of the Great Plains. Glaciation also enhanced the

rich legacy of fertile soils in the central

United

States,both

from

the

deposition

of

mineral-rich glacial debris left by meltwater

(15) and from thick layers of fine wind-blown glacial

material, called loess, in and around the

middle Mississippi Valley.

Natural

vegetation

patterns

could

be

displayed on a map of North America, but the

enormous

human

modification

of

the

North

American environment in modern times has

all

but

reduced

this

regionalization

scheme

to

the level of the hypothetical. Nonetheless,

(20)

the

humid

America-arid

America

dichotomy

is

still a valid generalization: the natural

vegetation of areas receiving more than 20 inches

of water yearly is forest, whereas the

drier climates give rise to a grassland cover. The

forests of North America tent to make

a

broad

transition

by

latitude.

In

the

Canadian

North, needle-leaf forests dominate, but

these

coniferous

trees

become

mixed

with

broadleaf deciduous trees as one crosses the

(25) border into the Northeast United States. As one

proceeds

toward

the

Southeast,

broadleaf

vegetation

becomes

dominant.

Arid

America

---