历年托福考试阅读真题汇总含答案43404

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0308

托福试题

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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

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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

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(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

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(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

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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

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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 farmers.

(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 agrarian 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

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(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

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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 mostly consists of short- grass prairies or

stepper. The only areas of true desert are in the Southwest.

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