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最新托福考试阅读试题及答案1

阅读题目：

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633-foot humphreys peak in the san francisco peaks in arizona, plant life changes radically. starting among the cacti of the sonoran desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. it may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. the idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. they build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. but are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

a great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. these glaciers covered much of north america and europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. during this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. as the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. by drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. the fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. each individual organism moved at its own pace. the fossil record seems to be tellineuver – to respond to environmental changes.

1. what is the passage mainly about?

(a) the effects of the ice age on plants

(b) plant migration after the ice age

(d) communities of plants live at different altitudes

2. the word “radically” in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(a) variably

(b) demonstrably

(d) dramatically

3. the author mentions “cacti” in line 3 and a ”treeless alpine tundra” in line 4 to illustrate

(a) changes in climate

(b) the effects of the ice age

(d) plant migration

4. the word “which” in line 10 refers to

(a) the responses of plants to climate changes

(b) the current theories of ecosystems

(d) plant life changes

5. the word “axis” in line 12 is closest in meaning to

(a) center

(b) method

(d) slowdown

6. the word “successive” in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(a) exng us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to matinct

(b) consecutive

(d) following

7. the passage states that by drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to find successive fossils of:

(a) sediment

(b) ice

(d) pollen

8. which of the following can be inferred from the passage

(a) –that the migratory patterns of plants are dependent upon changes in climate

(b) –that modern conservation methods should consider the migratory patterns of plants

(d) –that another ice age is likely to occur at some time

9. according to the passage, the movement of individual species of plants

(a) occurs in groups

(b) often depends upon the formation of lakes

(d) depends upon climate and soil conditions

10. all of the following are true except

(a) the ice age occurred when small changes affected the movement of the earth

(b) fossil records seem to indicate that plants will be preserved if theyhave sufficient room to move

(d) in the ice age glaciers covered the world to depths of up to two miles

【参考答案】：

BBCDA BACAD

最新托福考试阅读试题及答案2

The year 1850 may be considered the beginning of a new epoch in America art, with respect to the development of watercolor In December of that year, a group of thirty artists gathered in the studio of John Falconer in New York City and drafted both a constitution and bylaws, establishing The Society for the Promotion of Painting in Water In addition to securing an exhibition space in the Library Society building in lower Manhattan, the society founded a small school for the

instruction of watercolor Periodic exhibitions of the members paintings also included works by noted English artists of the day, borrowed from embryonic private collections in the The societys activities also included organized sketching excursions along the Hudson Its major public exposure came in 1853, when the society presented works by its members in the "Industry of All Nations" section of the Crystal Palace Exposition in New

The society did not prosper, however, and by the time of its annual meeting in 1854 membership had fallen to The group gave up its quarters in the Library Society building and returned to Falconers studio, where it broke up amid No further attempt to formally organize the growing numbers of watercolor painters in New York City was made for more than a During that decade, though, Henry Warrens Painting in Water Color was published in New York City in 1856 — the book was a considerable improvement over the only other manual of instruction existing at the time, Elements of Graphic Art, by Archibald Roberson,published in 1802 and by the 1850s long out of

In 1866 the NationalAcademy of Design was host to an exhibition of watercolor painting in its elaborate neo-Venetian Gothic building on Twenty-Third Street in New York The exhibit was sponsored by an independent group called The Artists Fund Within a few months of this event, forty-two prominent artists living in and near New York City

founded The American Society of Painters in Water

阅读题目：

This passage is mainly about

(A) the most influential watercolor painters in the mid-1800s

(B) efforts to organize watercolor painters in New York City during the mid-1800s

(D) styles of watercolor painting in New York City during the mid-1800s

The year 1850 was significant in the history of watercolor painting mainly because

(A) a group of artists established a watercolor painting society

(B) watercolor painting was first introduced to New York City

(D) The first book on watercolor painting was published

The word "securing" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) locking

(B) creating

(D) acquiring

All of the following can be inferred about the Society for the

promotion of Painting inWatercolor EXCEPT:

(A) The society exhibited paintings in lower

(B) Instruction in watercolor painting was offered by members of the society

(D) Scenes of the Hudson River appeared often in the work of society

The exhibition at the Crystal Palace of the works of the Society for the Promotion of Painting in

Watercolor was significant for which of the following reasons?

(A) It resulted in a dramatic increase in the popularity of painting with

(B) It was the first time an exhibition was funded by a private

(D) It resulted in a large increase in the membership of the

The word "it" in line 15 refers to

(A) time

(B) group

(D) studio

Which of the following is true of watercolor painters in New York City in the late 1850s?

(A) They increased in number despite a lack of formal

(B) They were unable to exhibit their paintings because of the lack of exhibition

(D) They formed a new society because they were not allowed to join groups run by other kinds of Henry Warrens Painting in Water Color was important to artists because it

(A) received an important reward

(B) was the only textbook published that taught painting

(D) attracted the interest of art collectors

The word "considerable" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) sensitive

(B) great

(D) planned

The year 1866 was significant for watercolor painting for which of the following reasons?

(A) Elements of GraphicArt was

(B) Private collections of watercolors were first publicly

(D) The NationalAcademy of Design held an exhibition of watercolor

The word "prominent" in line 25 is closest in meaning to

(A) wealthy

(B) local

(D) organized

阅读答案：

BADCC BACBD C

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