托福阅读真题第6套
第6套Sumerian Contributions（17年3月4日考过）Paragraph1：Before about4500B.C.,lower Mesopotamia,the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers just north of the Persian Gulf,was much less densely populated than other inhabited regions of the Near and Middle East.Its marshy soil, subject to annual inundations floods from the rivers,was not suited to the primitive hoe culture of early agriculture,in which land was cultivated without domestic animals or beasts.Moreover,the land was virtually treeless and lacked building stone and mineral resources.During the next thousand years,however,this(unpromising) area became the seat of Sumer,the first great civilization known to history,with large concentrations of people,bustling cities,monumental architecture,and(a wealth of) religious,artistic,and literary traditions that influenced other ancient civilizations for thousands of years.The exact sequence of events that led to this culmination is unknown,but it is clear that the economic basis of this first civilization lay in its highly productive agriculture.1..The word unpromising in the passage is closest in meaning to○unfavorable○underdeveloped○distant○expansive2..The phrase a wealth of in the passage is closest in meaning to○a strong competition among○a valuable source of○a deep respect for○an abundance of3..According to paragraph1,which of the following was NOT true of lower Mesopotamia before4500B.C.○It was flooded every year by rivers.○Its soil was unsuitable for Stone Age hoe culture agriculture.○It was comparatively dense in population.○It had few trees.Paragraph2：The natural fertility of the rich black soil was renewed annually by the silt left from the spring floods of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.Harnessing its full productive power,however,required an elaborate system of drainage and irrigation, which in turn required a large and well-disciplined workforce as well as skilled management and supervision.The latter were supplied by a class of priests and warriors who ruled a large population of peasants and artisans.Through taxation and other means the rulers extracted wealth from the population and then used it toconstruct temples and other public buildings and to create works of art.That gave them or some of them the leisure to perfect the other refinements of civilization. 4..According to paragraph2,which of the following was true of the soil in lower Mesopotamia○It was relatively unfertile until humans added other,richer types of soil to it.○It reached full productivity only when elaborate drainage and irrigation systems were added.○Its most valuable nutrients were washed away by the spring floods of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.○Its silt was removed by a large,well-disciplined workforce.5..According to paragraph2,which of the following was true of priests and warriors in Sumerian society○Their technical expertise was essential in the development of new irrigation and drainage systems.○They encouraged peasants and artisans to perfect the refinements of civilization.○They were responsible for managing and supervising the workforce.○They alone paid the taxes that funded the construction of temples. Paragraph3：The rise of civilization brought with it a far more complex division of labor and system of economic organization.█Full-time artisans specialized in the manufacture of textiles and pottery,metalworking,and other crafts.█The professions of architecture,engineering,and medicine,among others,were born.█Weights and measures were systematized,mathematics was invented,and primitive forms of science emerged.█Since Sumer was virtually(devoid of)natural resources other than its rich soil,it traded with other people,thereby contributing to the(diffusion)of Sumerian civilization.The scarcity of stone,for tools as well as for buildings, probably hastened the adoption of copper and bronze.Copper,at least,was already known before the rise of Sumerian civilization,but lack of demand for it among the Stone Age peasant villages inhibited its widespread use.【In Sumerian cities,on the other hand,stone imported by sea through the Persian Gulf from Oman and downriver from the mountains of Anatolia and the Caucasus had to compete with imported copper,and the latter proved more economical and effective for a variety of uses.】Thereafter metallurgy,the technology of separating metals from their ores and purifying them,was regarded as one of the hallmarks of civilization.6..The phrase devoid of in the passage is closest in meaning to○using up○looking for○lacking in○uninterested in7..The word diffusion in the passage is closest in meaning to○stability○spread○prosperity○productivity8..Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph3as an effect of Sumerian trade ○The spread of Sumerian civilization to people outside Sumer○The discovery of copper○A rise in the price of textiles,pottery,and other goods sold within Sumer○An increase in the scarcity of stone within Sumer9..Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.○Sumerian cities developed a trade in copper and stone that extended as far as Oman in the Persian Gulf and the mountains of Anatolia and the Caucasus.○Sumerian cities competed with traders elsewhere to produce copper that was more economical and useful than stone.○In Sumerian cities,imported copper often proved more economical and useful than imported stone.○The copper and stone imported from Oman,Anatolia,and the Caucasus proved more economical and effective than the copper and stone found in Sumerian cities.Paragraph4：Sumer's greatest contribution to subsequent civilizations,the invention of writing,likewise grew out of economic necessity.The early citiesEridu,Ur,Uruk, and Lagashwere temple cities:both economic and religious organizations centered on the temple of the local patron deity,represented by a priestly hierarchy.Members of the hierarchy directed the construction and maintenance of irrigation and drainage systems;oversaw agricultural activities;and supervised the collection of produce as taxation or tribute money or other wealth given as a sign of submission or in return for protection.The need to keep records of the sources and uses of this tribute led to the use of simple pictographs on clay tablets sometime before3000B.C.By about2800 B.C.the pictographs had been stylized into the system of writing known as cuneiform using wedge-shaped marks on clay,a distinctive characteristic of Mesopotamian civilization.It is one of the few examples in history of a significant innovation issuing from a bureaucratic organization.10..In paragraph4,why does the author point out that the economic and religious organizations of early Sumerian cities centered on local temples○To identify the bureaucratic needs that led to the development of writing○To identity factors responsible for the significant influence of Sumerian writing on subsequent civilizations○To explain why few examples of significant innovations have issued from a bureaucratic organization○To explain why the use of simple pictographs eventually became stylized into the system of writing known as cuneiform11..Paragraph4implies all the following about cuneiform EXCEPT:○It arose after3000B.C.○It involved stylized pictographs.○It was designed to further the purposes of the priestly bureaucracy.○It was developed outside of the early temple cities.Paragraph5：Although writing originated in response to the need for administrative bookkeeping,it soon found multiple religious,literary,and economic uses.In a later phase of development,after the strict temple-centered organization of the economy had given way to greater freedom of enterprise,clay tablets were used for recording the details of contracts,debts,and other commercial and financial transactions. 12..According to paragraph5,which of the following was true of Sumerian writing during the period of greater freedom of enterprise○Knowledge of it was limited to the temple-centered administration.○It was used for purposes beyond those for which it was first created.○It was used primarily to help keep the traditional leadership in power.○It led to further technological developments by2800B.C.13..Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.For example,the Sumerians learned to use the position of the stars and planets to predict weather and for traveling at night.Where would the sentence best fit Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.Paragraph3：The rise of civilization brought with it a far more complex division of labor and system of economic organization.█Full-time artisans specialized in the manufacture of textiles and pottery,metalworking,and other crafts.█The professions of architecture,engineering,and medicine,among others,were born.█Weights and measures were systematized,mathematics was invented,and primitive forms of science emerged.█Since Sumer was virtually(devoid of)natural resources other than its rich soil,it traded with other people,thereby contributing to the(diffusion)of Sumerian civilization.The scarcity of stone,for tools as well as for buildings, probably hastened the adoption of copper and bronze.Copper,at least,was already known before the rise of Sumerian civilization,but lack of demand for it among the Stone Age peasant villages inhibited its widespread use.【In Sumerian cities,on the other hand,stone imported by sea through the Persian Gulf from Oman and downriver from the mountains of Anatolia and the Caucasus had to compete with imported copper,and the latter proved more economical and effective for a variety of uses.】Thereafter metallurgy,the technology of separating metals from their ores and purifying them,was regarded as one of the hallmarks of civilization.14..Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong.To review the passage,click on View Text.Answer Choices○Originally,Sumerians cultivated the lower Mesopotamia region using primitive hoes and domesticated animals.○The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers caused peasants to look to religion for explanations,resulting in the development of a large class of priests.○Priests and warriors managed and supervised the workforce that operated the elaborate drainage and irrigation system required to maximize agricultural production.○The emergence of new professions,sciences,and techniques and the development of trade resulting from Sumer's lack of natural resources led to a complex labor and economic system.○The need on the part of the priestly hierarchy to keep track of who had paid taxes and tribute and how those were spent resulted in the invention of writing.○As writing became more complex,priests increasingly put ordinary people in charge of running day-to-day operations within the Sumer economy.The Cambrian Explosion（16年11月5日和17年5月13日考过）Paragraph1：The earliest fossil evidence for eukaryotes complex organisms whose cells contain a distinct nucleus dates to only about1.2billion years ago.The fossil record suggests that animal evolution progressed slowly,with relatively little change seen between fossils from1.2billion years ago and those from a half-billion years later.But then something quite dramatic happened as can be judged by the many different animal groups that suddenly appear in the fossil record.1..Paragraph1implies which of the following about evolutionary change○Eukaryotes have a very slow rate of evolution.○The fossil record of evolutionary change is incomplete for the first half-billion years of animal evolution.○Evolution has not always proceeded at the same rate.○Evolutionary rates of change in animals were slowing down considerably before a dramatic reversal happened1.2billion years ago.Paragraph2：Biologists classify animals according to their basic body plans.For example,the basic body plan shared by mammals and reptiles is fundamentally different from that of insects.Animals are grouped by body plan into what biologists call phyla.Mammals and reptiles both belong to the single phylum Chordata,which includes animals with internal skeletons.Insects,crabs,and spiders belong to the phylum Arthropoda,which contains animals with body features such as jointed legs, an external skeleton,and segmented bodies.Classifying animals into phyla is an (ongoing)project for biologists,but modern animals appear to comprise about30 different phyla,each representing a different body plan.2..The word ongoing in the passage is closest in meaning to○uncertain○full-time○important○continuing3..In paragraph2,why does the author provide the information that Arthropoda represents animals with features like jointed legs,an external skeleton,and segmented body parts○To indicate basic physical differences among insects,crabs,and spiders○To illustrate the types of physical characteristics considered when classifying animals○To show the complexity of features that have evolved in organisms○To demonstrate that some phyla include a wider range of body plans than others doParagraph3：Remarkably,nearly all of these different body plans,plus a few others that have gone extinct,make their first known appearance in the geological record during a period spanning only about40million years less than about1percent of Earth's history.This remarkable flowering of animal diversity appears to have begun about545million years ago,which(corresponds to)the start of the Cambrian period. Hence it is called the Cambrian explosion.4..The phrase corresponds to in the passage is closest in meaning to○causes○occurs before○differs from○matchesParagraph4：The fact that the Cambrian explosion marks the only major diversification of body plans in the geological record presents us with two important and related questions:Why,so long after the origin of eukaryotes,did the pace of evolution suddenly accelerate dramatically at the beginning of the Cambrian,and why hasn't there been another period of similarly explosive diversification since then？5..According to paragraphs3and4,what was remarkable about the Cambrian explosion○That the evolution of species occurred so soon after the first eukaryotes appeared ○That most of the known animal types appeared in a relatively short period in history○That many of the animal types that appeared in the period have survived until today○That the pace of evolution slowed before it accelerated6..The function of the two questions in paragraph4is to○recognize two common questions that cannot be addressed within the passage○present the two different points of view contrasted in the passage○provide important objections to the central idea of the passage○indicate two important questions that will be explored in the passageParagraph5：We can identify at least four factors that might have contributed to the Cambrian explosion.First,the oxygen level in our atmosphere may have remained well below its present level until about the time of the Cambrian explosion.Thus,the rapid diversification in animal life may have occurred at least in part because oxygen reached a critical level for the survival of larger and more energy-intensive life forms.7..Paragraph5implies which of the following about oxygen○It was not essential for the life forms that appeared before the Cambrian period.○It has remained at relatively the same level since the beginning of the fossil record.○Its changes in levels are associated with animal extinctions.○Its levels before the Cambrian period were too low for large animals to survive. Paragraph6：A second factor that may have been important was the evolution of genetic(complexity).As eukaryotes evolved,they developed more and more genetic variation in their DNA.Some scientists believe that the Cambrian explosion marks the point at which organisms developed certain kinds of genes homeobox genes that control body form and that could be combined in different ways,(allowing)the evolution of a great diversity of forms over time.8..The word complexity in the passage is closest in meaning to○sophistication○adaptation○improvement○variation9..The word allowing in the passage is closest in meaning to○resulting in○making possible○preceding○spreadingParagraph7：A third factor may have been climate change.Geological evidence points to a series of episodes in which Earth froze over before the Cambrian began.The extreme climate conditions of these episodes eliminated many species,leaving a wide array of ecological niches available into which new species could rapidly evolve when climate conditions eased at the beginning of the Cambrian.10..According to paragraph7,all of the following occurred before the Cambrian began EXCEPT:○Almost all of Earth froze over.○New ecological niches were filled by new species.○A series of extreme climate episodes occurred.○Many species became extinct.Paragraph8：A fourth factor may have been the absence of efficient predators.【Early predatory animals were probably not very sophisticated,so some evolving animals that later might have been eliminated by predation were given a chance to survive, making the beginning of the Cambrian period a window of opportunity for many different adaptations to establish themselves in the environment.】11..Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.○Predators at the beginning of the Cambrian period had to become more sophisticated in order to survive in environments with newly adapted animals.○New adaptations had an opportunity to survive at the beginning of the Cambrian period because early predators were not yet sophisticated enough to eliminate the animals with these adaptations.○Early predatory animals lacked sophisticated adaptations because they did not develop them during a window of opportunity in the early Cambrian period.○Early predators had an opportunity at the beginning of the Cambrian period to remove new adaptations before they established themselves in the environment. Paragraph9：This last idea may partly explain why no similar explosion of diversity has taken place since the Cambrian:once predators were efficient and widespread,it may have been virtually impossible for animals with entirely new body forms to find an environmental niche in which they could escape predation.█Or it may be that while more body plans may have been possible at some early point in evolution,it was not possible to evolve into those other body plans from the body plans that evolved in the Cambrian.█Or perhaps the various body forms that arose during the Cambrian explosion represent the full range of forms possible given the basic genetic resources that characterize all Earth's organisms.█In any case,no fundamentally new body forms have emerged since the Cambrian explosion.█12..Paragraph9suggests all of the following possible explanations for the uniqueness of the Cambrian explosion EXCEPT○the inability of later animals to evolve body plans different from those that appeared during the Cambrian period○the post-Cambrian appearance of efficient predators occupying nearly every environmental niche○the decline in the number of habitats having sufficient resources to support the rapid evolution of new species○the limited range of genetically possible body types13..Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.After all,evolution of body structure can act only on the structure that already exists. Where would the sentence best fit Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.Paragraph9：This last idea may partly explain why no similar explosion of diversity has taken place since the Cambrian:once predators were efficient and widespread,it may have been virtually impossible for animals with entirely new body forms to find an environmental niche in which they could escape predation.█Or it may be that while more body plans may have been possible at some early point in evolution,it was not possible to evolve into those other body plans from the body plans that evolved in the Cambrian.█Or perhaps the various body forms that arose during the Cambrian explosion represent the full range of forms possible given the basic genetic resources that characterize all Earth's organisms.█In any case,no fundamentally new body forms have emerged since the Cambrian explosion.█14..Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong.To review the passage,click on View Text.Answer Choices○Biologists want to find out why the rapid diversification of body forms did not happen soon after the appearance of eukaryotes around1.2billion years ago.○Biologists classify animals according to their body plans into phyla such as Chordata,animals with a backbone,and Arthropoda,animals with segmented exoskeletons.○The Cambrian explosion was a unique episode in the history of evolution that produced nearly all of the30or so animal body plans that have ever been seen.○The Cambrian explosion may have been aided by genes that could yield a variety of body forms and the inability of early predators to eliminate the new forms.○Once predators became efficient after the Cambrian explosion,they were able to eliminate any animals that began to evolve a new body plan.○At the beginning of the Cambrian,an increase in oxygen needed for animal growth and the return of a hospitable climate may have contributed to the Cambrian explosion.Weak Electric Systems in Fish（16年9月19日考过）Paragraph1：Some blind elephantnose fish produce weak electric signals that are used for detecting objects in their surroundings a phenomenon called active electrolocation. These fish have specialized electric organs that discharge either in pulses or in awave-like fashion,depending on the species.【Although discharges follow one another almost continuously throughout the life of the fish,their power level is much too low to be detected by human handlers but potent enough to create a stable electric field around the body of the fish.】When an object enters into this electric field,it causes(distortions)in the current that are detected by electroreceptor organs distributed over the fish's skin.1..Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.○Throughout the life of the fish,its electric discharges vary in power from undetectable to fairly potent.○Nearly continuous discharges undetectable by humans create a stable,low-level electric field around the body of the fish.○Human handlers cannot feel the electric discharges because the discharges are at such low power levels.○The discharges are so weak that they would have to be fired almost continuously to create a detectable electric field.2..The word distortions in the passage is closest in meaning to○decreases○signals○concentrations○irregularitiesParagraph2：A weak electric system may have several uses,including the exploration of novel environments.For example,blind elephantnose fish can easily find the only opening that allows them to cross through a newly installed partition within their aquarium,even though they cannot see it with their eyes.Their electric sense must be implicated because when these individuals become electrically silent unable to use their electric system through denervation of their electric organs,they can no longer find the opening.3..Paragraph2describes an experiment with elephantnose fish that were electrically silent and therefore unable to○distinguish between new and familiar objects in their aquarium○swim around the partition in their aquarium○find their way through a hole in a barrier○see with their eyesParagraph3：During the1970s,biologists became interested in the role of the weak electric system not only as a means of electrolocation but also as a means of electrical communication between individual munication is possible because the rateand waveform of the electric discharges can vary between species,between sexes, between individuals,or even between situations in the same individual.Moreover, some fish can(temporarily)interrupt their normally continuous train of discharges, and these pauses can be full of meaning.The effective range of communication by electric signals can reach a little over1meter depending on water resistance.4..All of the following are mentioned in paragraph3as components of communication in electric fish EXCEPT○the rate of electric discharges○the direction in which discharges travel○the waveform of electric discharges○pauses between electric discharges5..The word temporarily in the passage is closest in meaning to○deliberately○suddenly○partially○brieflyParagraph4：In terms of functions,electric communication is strikingly similar to acoustical vocalization(vocal sounds).Some of these functions are concerned with reproductive activity.In some species,males switch to new electric calls during courtship,resuming their regular programming only after the mating season is over.In species in which each sex has its own distinctive pattern of discharges,females are attracted to the pattern of males,and males to the pattern of females.Females can even be induced to release their eggs in the vicinity of electrodes that imitate a male signal¨the spark of love.As expected,through natural selection,both males and females prefer the electric pattern of their own species to that of other species. 6..The author provides the information that Females can even be induced to release their eggs in the vicinity of electrodes that imitate a male signal in order to○emphasize the importance of electric signals in some fish mating behavior○argue that many fish are not very particular when choosing a mate○show that electric signals alone do not provide adequate information for mate selection○imply that identifying a potential mate by its electric signal is more difficult than it might seemParagraph5：Other functions relate to aggression.Aggressive individuals often precede their attacks with an increase in discharge rate,whereas submissive fish may stop emitting altogether.This submissive behavior seems to work.Researchers have found that individuals rendered electrically silent through denervation of their electric organs are seldom attacked by dominant fish.Finally,individual recognition can alsobe based on electric signatures.In banded knifefish,territory neighbors recognize each other through individually distinctive discharge waveforms.7..All of the following are mentioned in paragraphs4and5as ways fish communicate using discharge patterns EXCEPT:○Some fish increase their rate of discharge right before they attack.○Some fish reproduce the electric pattern of another species to hide from a predator.○Some male fish switch to a different electric call during mating season.○Some fish temporarily stop discharging as a sign of submission.8..In saying that Aggressive individuals often precede their attacks with an increase in discharge rate the author means that○aggressive individuals often prepare for their attacks by increasing the discharge rate○aggressive individuals often intensify their attacks by increasing the discharge rate○attacks by aggressive individuals often increase when there is an increase in the discharge rate○an increase in the discharge rate often occurs before aggressive individuals attack9..According to paragraph5,becoming electrically silent can affect a fish by○causing it to become more aggressive○making it a more frequent target of attacks○damaging its organs for sending electric signals○making it less likely to be attacked by dominant fishParagraph6：The fact that weak electric fish can use their electric sense to communicate with one another leads to an interesting question:How can a fish distinguish between its own electric bursts and those from another fish In blind elephantnose fish,the problem is solved by the presence of two types of electroreceptors.One of these two types is automatically and briefly shut down each time the fish discharges.Therefore,any signal picked up by these electroreceptors has to come from another animal.Elephantnose fish also have the habit of echoing the discharges of other individuals.They discharge their own electric organ a fixed time after sensing the electric signal of another fish.This response time is extremely short approximately12milliseconds probably the most rapid form of communication in the animal kingdom.10..According to paragraph6,one of the types of electroreceptors of the elephantnose fish shuts down at times in order to○avoid confusing its own signals with those of other fish○prevent the receptor from becoming damaged○distinguish between signals of short and long duration。
托福TPO6综合写作阅读原文+听力原文+满分范文
托福TPO6综合写作阅读原文+听力原文+满分范文为了帮助大家高效备考托福，为大家带来托福TPO6综合写作阅读原文+听力原文+满分范文，希望对大家备考有所帮助。
托福TPO6综合写作阅读原文文本：Communal online encyclopedias represent one of the latest resources to be found on the Internet. They are in many respects like traditional printed encyclopedias collections of articles on various subjects. What is specific to these online encyclopedias, however, is that any Internet user can contribute a new article or make an editorial change in an existing one. As a result, the encyclopedia is authored by the whole community of Internet users. The idea might sound attractive, but the communal online encyclopedias have several important problems that make them much less valuable than traditional, printed encyclopedias.First, contributors to a communal online encyclopedia often lack academic credentials, thereby making their contributions partially informed at best and downright inaccurate in many cases. Traditional encyclopedias are written by trained experts who adhere to standards of academic rigor that nonspecialists cannot really achieve.Second, even if the original entry in the online encyclopedia is correct, the communal nature of these online encyclopedias gives unscrupulous users and vandals or hackers the opportunity to fabricate, delete, and corrupt information in the encyclopedia. Once changes have been made to the original text, an unsuspecting user cannot tell the entry has been tampered with. None of this is possible with a traditional encyclopedia.Third, the communal encyclopedias focus too frequently, and in too great a depth, on trivial and popular topics, which createsa false impression of what is important and what is not. A child doing research for a school project may discover that a major historical event receives as much attention in an online encyclopedia as, say, a single long-running television program. The traditional encyclopedia provides a considered view of what topics to include or exclude and contains a sense of proportion that online "democratic" communal encyclopedias do not.托福TPO6综合写作听力原文文本：The communal online encyclopedia will probably never be perfect, but that's a small price to pay for what it does offer. The criticisms in the reading are largely the result of prejudice against and ignorance about how far online encyclopedias have come.First, errors. It's hardly a fair criticism that encyclopedias online have errors. Traditional encyclopedias have never been close to perfectly accurate, ifyou are looking for a realty comprehensive reference work without any mistakes, you are not going to find it, on or off line. The real point is that it's easy for errors in factual material to be corrected in an online encyclopedia. But with the printed and bound encyclopedia, the errors remain for decades.Second, hacking. Online encyclopedias have recognized the importance of protecting their articles from malicious hackers. One strategy they started using is to put the crucial facts in the articles that nobody disputes in a read-only format, which is a format that no one can make changes to. That way you are making sure that the crucial facts in the articles are reliable. Another strategy that's being used is to have special editors whose job is to monitor all changes made to the articles and eliminate those changes that are clearly malicious.Third, what's worth knowing about? The problem fortraditional encyclopedias is that they have limited space, so they have to decide what's important and what's not. And in practice, the judgments of the group of academics that make these decisions don't reflect the great range of interests that people really have. But space is definitely not an issue for online encyclopedias. The academic articles are still represented in online encyclopedias, but there can be a great variety of articles and topics that accurately reflect the great diversity of users' interests. The diversity of use in topics that online encyclopedias offer is one of their strongest advantages托福TPO6综合写作满分范文：In the reading passage, the author holds the idea that communal online encyclopedias are less valuable than traditional, printed one. However, the lecturer strongly refutes this idea.The reading passage, the author states that a communal online encyclopedia is often with errors and inaccuracies, which is attributed to unprofessional contributors. However, the lecture contends that there are also some inaccuracies in traditional encyclopedias. And the errors and inaccuracies can be corrected easily in an online encyclopedia, while with traditional encyclopedia, errors might remain for decades.As to the belief in the reading passage that the online encyclopedia gives many chances of fabricating, deleting and corrupting information to unscrupulous users and vandals or hackers, lecturer gives two strategies that have been proven very effective in protecting online encyclopedias from malicious alteration. She explains that contents that consist of indisputable facts are stored and presented in a read-only format so that nobody can make changes to them. In addition, she says, there are specialists who constantly monitor contents online so thatthey can quickly remove a suspicious change once it is detected.。
托福备考托福阅读34套TPO样题+解析+译文TPO6--1 Powering the Industrial Revolution
托福考试 复习托福阅读TPO6(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:Powering the Industrial Revolution托福阅读原文In Britain one of the most dramatic changesof theIndustrial Revolution was the harnessing of power. Until the reign ofGeorge Ⅲ(1760-1820),available sources of power for work and travel had notincreased since theMiddle Ages. There were three sources of power: animal orhuman muscles; thewind, operating on sail or windmill; and running water. Onlythe last of thesewas suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, andalthoughwaterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills aswell astextile mills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed wherenature intendedthem to, and water-driven factories had to be located on theirbanks whether ornot the location was desirable for other reasons. Furthermore,even the mostreliable waterpower varied with the seasons and disappeared in adrought. Thenew age of machinery, in short, could not have been born without anew sourceof both movable and constant power.The source had long been known but notexploited. Early inthe eighteenth century, a pump had come into use in whichexpanding steamraised a piston in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure broughtit down againwhenthe steam condensed inside the cylinder to form a vacuum.This“atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved byhispartner, Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles, but it was soslowand wasteful of fuel that it could not be employed outside the coal minesforwhich it had been designed. In the 1760s, James Watt perfected aseparatecondenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be cooledat everystroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thusconvertreciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion. Hetherebytransformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine ofathousand uses. The final step came when steam was introduced into thecylinderto drive the piston backward as well as forward, thereby increasing thespeedof the engine and cutting its fuel consumption.Watt's steam engine soon showed what itcould do. Itliberated industry from dependence on running water. The engine eliminatedwaterin the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper anddeepermining. The ready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch duringthe 1790sto develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to bediscovered in amillennium and a half. Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps andflickering candles,and early in the new century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gaslithouses and even streets. Iron manufacturers, which hadstarved for fuel whiledepending on charcoal, also benefited fromever-increasing supplies of coal:blast furnaces with steam-powered bellowsturned out more iron and steel for thenew machinery. Steam became the motiveforce of the Industrial Revolution ascoal and iron ore were the raw materials.By1800 more than athousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, andBritain retained avirtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s.Steam power didnot merely spin cotton and roll iron; early in the new century,it alsomultiplied ten times over the amount of paper that a single workercouldproduce in a day. At the same time, operators of the first printingpresses runby steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousandpages inan hour rather than thirty. Steam also promised to eliminate atransportationproblem not fully solved by either canal boats or turnpikes.Boats could carryheavy weights, but canals could not cross hilly terrain;turnpikes could crossthe hills, but the roadbeds could not stand upundergreatweights. These problems needed still another solution, and theingredients forit lay close at hand. In some industrial regions, heavily ladenwagons, withflanged wheels, were being hauled by horses along metal rails; andthestationary steam engine was puffing in the factory and mine. Anothergenerationpassed beforeinventors succeeded in combining these ingredients, byputtingthe engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide amachine totake the place of the horse. Thus the railroad age sprang from whathad alreadyhappened in the eighteenth century.托福阅读试题1.Which of the sentences below bestexpresses the essential informationin the highlighted sentence in the passage(paragragh 1) ? Incorrect choices change the meaning inimportant ways or leaveout essential information．A.Running water was the best power sourcefor factories since it could keep machines operating continuously, but since itwas abundant only in Lancashire and Scotland, most mills and factories thatwere located elsewhere could not be water driven.B.The disadvantage of using waterpower isthat streams do not necessarily flow in places that are the most suitable forfactories, which explains why so many water-powered grain and textile millswere located in undesirable places.C.Since machines could be operatedcontinuously only where runningwater was abundant, grain and textile mills, aswell as other factories, tended to be located only in Lancashire and Scotland.D.Running water was the only source ofpower that was suitable for the continuous operation of machines, but to makeuse of it, factories had to be located where the water was, regardless ofwhether such locations made sense otherwise.2.Which of the following best describes therelation of paragraph 2 to paragraph 1?A.Paragraph 2 shows how the problemdiscussed in paragraph 1 arose.B.Paragraph 2 explains how the problempresented in paragraph 1 came to be solved.C.Paragraph 2 provides a more technicaldiscussion of the problem introduced in paragraph 1.D.Paragraph 2 shows why theproblem discussed in paragraph 1 was especially important to solve.3.The word “exploited”in the passage(paragraph 2) is closest in meaning toA.utilizedB.recognizedC.examinedD.fully understood4.The word “vastly”in the passage(paragraph 2) is closet in meaning toA.quicklyB.ultimatelyC.greatlyD.initially5.According to paragraph 2, the“atmospheric engine” was slow becauseA.it had been designed to be used in coalminesB.the cylinder had to cool between eachstrokeC.it made use of expanding steam to raisethe piston in its cylinderD.it could be operated only when a largesupply of fuel was available6.According to paragraph 2, Watt's steamengine differed from earlier steam engines in each of the following waysEXCEPT:A.It used steam to move a piston in acylinder.B.It worked with greater speed.C.It was more efficient in its use of fuel.D.It could be used in many different ways.7.In paragraph 3, the author mentionsWilliam Murdoch’s invention of a new form of night time illumination inorder toA.indicate one of the importantdevelopments made possible by the introduction of Watt's steam engineB.make the point that Watt's steam enginewas not the only invention of importance to the Industrial RevolutionC.illustrate how important coal was as araw material for the Industrial RevolutionD.provide an example of anothereighteenth-century invention that used steam as a power source8.The phrase “grewaccustomed to” in thepassage (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning toA.began to preferB.wanted to haveC.became used toD.insisted on9.The word “retained”in the passage(paragraph 4) is closest in meaning toA.gainedB.establishedC.profited fromD.maintained10.According to paragraph 4, which of thefollowing statements about steam engines is true?A.They were used for the production ofpaper but not for printing.B.By 1800, significant numbers of them wereproduced outside of Britain.C.They were used in factories before theywere used to power trains.D.They were used in the construction ofcanals and turnpikes.11.According to paragraph 4, providing amachine to take the place of thehorse involved combining which two previouslyseparate ingredients?A.Turnpikes and canalsB.Stationary steam engines and wagons withflanged wheelsC.Metal rails in roadbeds and wagonscapable of carrying heavy loadsD.Canal boats and heavily laden wagons12. Look at the four squares [█] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage．Thefactories did not have to go to the streams when power could come to thefactories．█【A】Watt's steam enginesoon showed what it could do. █【B】It liberatedindustryfrom dependence on running water. █【C】The engineeliminatedwater in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possibledeeper anddeeper mining. █【D】The readyavailability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the1790s to develop thefirst new form of nighttime illumination to be discoveredin a millennium and ahalf.Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickeringcandles, and early in thenew century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed togaslit houses and evenstreets. Iron manufacturers, which had starved for fuelwhile depending oncharcoal, also benefited from ever-increasing supplies ofcoal: blast furnaceswith steam-powered bellows turned out more iron and steelfor the newmachinery. Steam became the motive force of the IndustrialRevolution as coaland iron ore were the raw materials.Where would the sentence best fit?13. Directions: An introductory sentencefor a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary byselecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in thepassage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideasthat are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.The Industrial Revolution would not havebeen possible without a newsource of power that was efficient, movable, andcontinuously available.A.In the early eighteenth century, Saveryand Newcomen discovered thatexpanding steam could be used to raise a piston ina cylinder.B.Watt’s steam engine played a leading rolein greatly increasing industrial production of all kinds.C.Until the 1830s, Britain was the world’smajor producer of steam engines.D.In the mid-1700s James Watt transformedan inefficient steam pump into a fast, flexible, fuel-efficient engine.E.In the 1790s William Murdoch developed anew way of lighting houses and streets using coal gas.F.Theavailability of steam engines was a major factor in the development ofrailroads, which solved a major transportation problem.托福阅读答案1.原句很长，首先分析清楚最应该断句的地方，是第一个逗号，前半句是只有最后一个，也就是前面说的流水能够满足要求；后半句的结构是尽管怎样，有一个很大的缺点，缺点是blabla；原文说L和S两个地方水能充足，但没说只有这两个地方充足，A和C错；B缺失了原文的前半句，属于遗漏重要信息，错2.问第二段与第一段的关系，第一段说了水能的缺点，这是上一题读到的，提出了一个问题；第二段一开始就说这个能源早就发现了，也就是蒸汽。
托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析
托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析托福TPO是我们托福阅读的重要参考资料，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家整理了托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析，希望大家喜欢。
托福TPO6阅读文本Part2William SmithIn 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He received rudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, "A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland," a map so meticulously researched that it canstill be used today.In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the "father of English geology," it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. Ever since people had begun to catalog the strata in particular outcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used to calculate geological time. But as more and more accumulations of strata were cataloged in more and more places, it became clear that the sequences of rocks sometimes differed from region to region and that no rock type was ever going to become a reliable time marker throughout the world. Even without the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers. Quartz is quartz-a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions-there's no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.As he collected fossils from strata throughout England, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata, the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between two consistent strata might in one place be shale and in another sandstone, the fossils in that shale or sandstone were always the same. Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particular periods in Earth's history.Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossilsalways appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris.Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.Paragraph 1: In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He receivedrudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.托福TPO6阅读题目Part21. The word "rudimentary" in the passage is closest in meaning to○thorough○strict○basic○occasional2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements about William Smith is NOT true?○Smith learned surveying by reading and by apprenticing for a local surveyor.○Smith's family lived in a small English town and possessed little wealth.○Smith learned about fossils from books he borrowed from his uncle.○Smith eventually left his village to work on the excavation of an English canal.Paragraph 2: This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, "A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland," a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.3. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?○ Canals were built primarily in the south of England ratherthan in other regions.○ Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented.○ Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process.○ Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata.4. According to paragraph2, which of the following is true of the map published by William Smith?○It indicates the locations of England's major canals.○It became most valuable when the steam locomotive made rail travel possible.○The data for the map were collected during Smith's work on canals.○It is no longer regarded as a geological masterpiece.5. The word "meticulously" in the passage is closest in meaning to○carefully○quickly○frequently○obviouslyParagraph 3: In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the "father of English geology," it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. Ever since people had begun to catalog the strata in particular outcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used to calculate geological time. But as more and more accumulations of strata were cataloged in more and more places, it became clear that the sequences of rocks sometimes differed from region to region and that no rocktype was ever going to become a reliable time marker throughout the world. Even without the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers. Quartz is quartz-a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions-there's no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.○The discovery of regional differences in the sequences of rocks led geologists to believe that rock types could someday become reliable time markers.○Careful analysis of strata revealed that rocks cannot establish geological time because the pattern of rock layers varies from place to place.○Smith's catalogs of rock strata indicated that the sequences of rocks are different from place to place and from region to region.○Because people did no t catalog regional differences in sequences of rocks, it was believed that rocks could never be reliable time markers.7. Why does the author use the phrase "Quartz is quartz"?○To describe how the differences between Pleistocene and Cambrian quartz reveal information about dating rocks ○To point out that the chemical composition of quartz makes it more difficult to date than other rocks○To provide an example of how regional differences in rock sequences can make a particular rock difficult to date○To explain that rocks are difficult to use for dating because their chemical compositions always remain the same over time Paragraph 4: As he collected fossils from strata throughout England, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata, the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between two consistent strata might in one place be shale and in another sandstone, the fossils in that shale or sandstone were always the same. Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particular periods in Earth's history.8. According to paragraph 4, it was difficult for Smith to distinguish rock strata because○the rocks fr om different strata closely resembled each other ○he was often unable to find fossils in the younger rock strata ○their similarity to each other made it difficult for him to distinguish one rock type from another○the type of rock between two consistent st rata was always the same9. The word "endured" in the passage is closest in meaning to○vanished○developed○varied○survivedParagraph 5: Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging:certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.10. The word "virtually" in the passage is closest in meaning to○possibly○absolutely○surprisingly○nearly11. Select the TWO answer choices that are true statements based upon the discussion of the principle of faunal succession in paragraph 5. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.○It was a principle that applied to fauna but not to flora.○It was discovered independently by two different geologists.○It describes how fo ssils are distributed in rock strata.○It explains why plants and animals undergo transformations through time.12. In mentioning "trilobite", the author is making which of the following points?○Fossils cannot be found in more than one rock stratum.○Faunal succession can help put rock layers in relative temporal sequence.○Faunal succession cannot be applied to different strata composed of the same kind of rock.○The presence of trilobite fossils makes it difficult to date a rock.Paragraph 5: Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. █By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. █About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. █Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. █It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.13.Look at the four squares [█]that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passageThe findings of these geologists inspired others to examine the rock and fossil records in different parts of the world.Where would the sentence best fit?14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary byselecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences 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.William Smith's contributions to geology have increased our knowledge of the Earth's history.●●●Answer Choices○Smith found success easily in his profession because he came from a family of geologists and surveyors.○Smith's work on canals allowed him to collect fossils and study rock layers all over England.○Smith found that fossils are much more reliable indicators of geological time than rock strata are.○Smith was named "the father o f English geology" for his maps rather than for his other contributions to the field.○Smith and Cuvier discovered that fossil patterns are easier to observe in ancient rock strata than in younger rock strata.○The discovery of the principle of faunal succ ession allowed geologists to establish the relative age of Earth's rock layers 托福TPO6阅读答案Part2参考答案：1. ○32. ○33. ○24. ○35. ○16. ○27. ○4.8. ○19. ○410. ○411. ○2, 312. ○213. ○314. Smith's work on canals allowedSmith found that fossils areThe discovery of the principle托福TPO6阅读翻译Part2参考翻译：威廉;史密斯1769年，在英国牛津郡的一个小镇上，一个小男孩儿出生在村里一户穷铁匠家，他的名字很普通，叫做威廉o史密斯。
[tpo6阅读答案]tpo6阅读第多篇
![[tpo6阅读答案]tpo6阅读第多篇](https://360docs-1393072327.cos.ap-beijing.myqcloud.com/fe413a2289eb172dec63b754.webp)
[tpo6阅读答案]tpo6阅读第多篇tpo6阅读答案tpo6阅读答案tpo6阅读答案：*****LE *****A 1. 以inability to recall early experience做关键词定位至第一句，但这句话是个问题，我们应该关注的是答案，也就是第二句，第二句说时间不是遗忘的原因，接着又说另一个可能的解释，也就是先给一个不对的，再说一个可能的，所以C是答案2. plausible合理的，动听的，所以believable 可信的是正确答案。
把原文的插入语去掉之后，变成看起来怎么样的解释也不对，明显应该是看起来合理的或者说看起来对的，所以应该是个正面词汇，A可变的D可预测的都是中性，排除;C的debatable甚至稍有贬义，更不靠谱3. phenomenon现象，事情，所以occurrence正确。
原句说这个假说也没法解释什么，因为nor表示也，所以往前看，说两三岁的孩子记得他们一岁时候的事情，十一个月大的孩子在一年之后还记得他们经历的一些事情，所以phenomenon应该在说前面的这些事情，所以选C，A例外B重复D 主意都不对4. EXCEPT题，排除法。
A中的time定位至第二句的前半句，这个原因被排除了，所以A对，不选;B中的memories定位至第三句，插入语的内容正是这个选项，原文也认为不合理，所以B对，不选;C中的sexually meaningful memories定位至倒数第二句，也被排除了，所以C对，不选，错的是D，选5. 以long-term memory 定位至倒数第二句，说婴儿会重复他们看到的动作，接着就说大脑成熟导致他们能形成关于这些的记忆，但那些需要清楚解释的不行，也就是这个阶段还不能记住听到的东西，所以B说看到的比听到的早，正确。
A错，没说对verbal description不重要;C/D都没说6. 以storytelling做关键词定位至第二，三两句。
托福阅读真题词汇 TPO 6
harness
利用
windmill
风车
grain mill
磨坊
constant pump
不变的，恒定的 水泵
cylinder
气缸，圆筒
condense
压缩；冷凝
principle
原则
stroke
冲程；笔画
device reciprocate
装置 往复运动
consumption
消费，消耗 consume
eliminate
消除
illuminate
照亮；阐明
accustom
使习惯
charcoal virtual
木炭 实质的，实际的
merely
仅仅
spin
旋转，纺织
turnpike
收费高速公路
ingredient
成分，配料
wagon ultimately
Infantile amnesia infantile scanty distinctive sheer account for repression episode toddler flexible reject maturation explicit verbal extract gist compatible encode critical subsequent block exclusive
基础的，基本的 学徒；做学徒 进行，继续 严格的 拥有 在顶峰 层，地层，阶层 目录；登记
石英 离子 页岩 一致的，始终如一的 实质上，实际上
succession flora limestone
连续 植物群 石灰岩
valid fauna ubiquitous
托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析
托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析托福TPO是我们托福阅读的重要参考资料，为了方便大家备考，下面小编给大家整理了托福TPO6Part2阅读文本及答案解析，希望大家喜欢。
托福TPO6阅读文本Part2William SmithIn 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He received rudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncles farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coaldeposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland, a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the father of English geology, it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. Ever since people had begun to catalog the strata in particular outcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used to calculate geological time. But as more and more accumulations of strata were cataloged in more and more places, it became clear that the sequences of rocks sometimes differed from region to region and that no rock type was ever going to become a reliable time marker throughout the world. Even without the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers.Quartz is quartz-a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions-theres no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.As he collected fossils from strata throughout England, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata, the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between two consistent strata might in one place be shale and in another sandstone, the fossils in that shale or sandstone were always the same. Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particular periods in Earths history.Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of Englands earth into relative temporal sequence. About thesame time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris.Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.Paragraph 1: In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He receivedrudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncles farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset CoalCanal in the south of England.托福TPO6阅读题目Part21. The word rudimentary in the passage is closest in meaning to○thorough○strict○basic○occasional2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements about William Smith is NOT true?○Smith learned surveying by reading and by apprenticing for a local surveyor.○Smiths family lived in a small English town and possessed little wealth.○Smith learned about fossils from books he borrowed from his uncle.○Smith eventually left his village to work on the excavation of an English canal.Paragraph 2: This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine thebest courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland, a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.3. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?○Canals were built primarily in the south of England rather than in other regions.○Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented.○Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process.○Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata.4. According to paragraph2, which of the following is true of the map published by William Smith?○It indicates the locations of Englands major canals.○It became most valuable when the steam locomotive made rail travel possible.○The data for the map were collected during Smiths work on canals.○It is no longer regarded as a geological masterpiece.5. The word meticulously in the passage is closest in meaning to○carefully○quickly○frequently○obviouslyParagraph 3: In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the father of English geology, it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. Ever since people had begun to catalog the strata in particular outcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used to calculate geological time. But as more and more accumulations of strata were cataloged in more and more places, it became clear that the sequences of rocks sometimes differed from region to region and that no rock type was ever going to become a reliable time markerthroughout the world. Even without the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers. Quartz is quartz-a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions-theres no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.○The discovery of regional differences in the sequences of rocks led geologists to believe that rock types could someday become reliable time markers.○Careful analysis of strata revealed that rocks cannot establish geological time because the pattern of rock layers varies from place to place.○Smiths catalogs of rock strata indicated that the sequences of rocks are different from place to place and from region to region.○Because people did not catalog regional differences in sequences of rocks, it was believed that rocks could never be reliable time markers.7. Why does the author use the phrase Quartz is quartz?○To describe how the differences between Pleistocene and Cambrian quartz reveal information about dating rocks ○To point out that the chemical composition of quartz makes it more difficult to date than other rocks○To provide an example of how regional differences in rock sequences can make a particular rock difficult to date ○To explain that rocks are difficult to use for dating because their chemical compositions always remain the same over timeParagraph 4: As he collected fossils from strata throughout England, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata, the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between two consistent strata might in one place be shale and in another sandstone, the fossils in that shale or sandstone were always the same. Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particularperiods in Earths history.8. According to paragraph 4, it was difficult for Smith to distinguish rock strata because○the rocks from different strata closely resembled each other○he was often unable to find fossils in the younger rock strata○their similarity to each other made it difficult for him to distinguish one rock type from another○the type of rock between two consistent strata was always the same9. The word endured in the passage is closest in meaning to○vanished○developed○varied○survivedParagraph 5: Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. By following the fossils, Smith was able to put allthe strata of Englands earth into relative temporal sequence. About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.10. The word virtually in the passage is closest in meaning to○possibly○absolutely○surprisingly○nearly11. Select the TWO answer choices that are true statements based upon the discussion of the principle of faunal succession in paragraph 5. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.○It was a principle that applied to fauna but not to flora.○It was discovered independently by two different geologists.○It describes how fossils are distributed in rock strata.○It explains why plants and animals undergo transformations through time.12. In mentioning trilobite, the author is making which of the following points?○Fossils cannot be found in more than one rock stratum.○Faunal succession can help put rock layers in relative temporal sequence.○Faunal succession cannot be applied to different strata composed of the same kind of rock.○The presence of trilobite fossils makes it difficult to date a rock.Paragraph 5: Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. █By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of Englands earth into relative temporal sequence. █About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. █Soon it wasrealized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. █It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or-300 million years later-in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite-the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian-will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.13.Look at the four squares [█]that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passageThe findings of these geologists inspired others to examine the rock and fossil records in different parts of the world.Where would the sentence best fit?14. Directions: 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 sentences 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.William Smiths contributions to geology have increasedour knowledge of the Earths history.●●●Answer Choices○Smith found success easily in his profession because he came from a family of geologists and surveyors.○Smiths work on canals allowed him to collect fossils and study rock layers all over England.○Smith found that fossils are much more reliable indicators of geological time than rock strata are.○Smith was named the father of English geology for his maps rather than for his other contributions to the field.○Smith and Cuvier discovered that fossil patterns are easier to observe in ancient rock strata than in younger rock strata.○The discovery of the principle of faunal succession allowed geologists to establish the relative age of Earths rock layers托福TPO6阅读答案Part2参考答案：1. ○32. ○33. ○24. ○35. ○16. ○27. ○4.8. ○19. ○410. ○411. ○2, 312. ○213. ○314. Smiths work on canals allowedSmith found that fossils areThe discovery of the principle托福TPO6阅读翻译Part2参考翻译：威廉;史密斯1769年，在英国牛津郡的一个小镇上，一个小男孩儿出生在村里一户穷铁匠家，他的名字很普通，叫做威廉o史密斯。
托福TPO6阅读Passage3原文文本+题目+答案解析
为了帮助大家高效备考托福，为大家带来托福TPO6阅读Passage3原文文本+题目+答案解析，希望对大家备考有所帮助。
▉托福TPO6阅读Passage3原文文本： Infantile Amnesia What do you remember about your life before you were three? Few people can remember anything that happened to them in their early years. Adults' memories of the next few years also tend to be scanty. Most people remember only a few events—usually ones that were meaningful and distinctive, such as being hospitalized or a sibling’s birth. How might this inability to recall early experiences be explained? The sheer passage of time does not account for it; adults have excellent recognition of pictures of people who attended high school with them 35 years earlier. Another seemingly plausible explanation—that infants do not form enduring memories at this point in development—also is incorrect. Children two and a half to three years old remember experiences that occurred in their first year, and eleven month olds remember some events a year later. Nor does the hypothesis that infantile amnesia reflects repression—or holding back—of sexually charged episodes explain the phenomenon. While such repression may occur, people cannot remember ordinary events from the infant and toddler periods either. Three other explanations seem more promising. One involves physiological changes relevant to memory. Maturation of the frontal lobes of the brain continues throughout early childhood, and this part of the brain may be critical for remembering particular episodes in ways that can be retrieved later. Demonstrations of infants’and toddlers' long-term memory have involved their repeating motor activities that they had seen or done earlier, such as reaching in the dark for objects, putting a bottle in a doll’s mouth, or pulling apart two pieces of a toy. The brain’s level of physiological maturation may support these types of memories, but not ones requiring explicit verbal descriptions. A second explanation involves the influence of the social world on children’s language use. Hearing and telling stories about events may help children store information in ways that will endure into later childhood and adulthood. Through hearing stories with a clear beginning, middle, and ending children may learn to extract the gist of events in ways that they will be able to describe many years later. Consistent with this view, parents and children increasingly engage in discussions of past events when children are about three years old. However, hearing such stories is not sufficient for younger children to form enduring memories. Telling such stories to two year olds does not seem to produce long-lasting verbalizable memories. A third likely explanation for infantile amnesia involves incompatibilities between the ways in which infants encode information and the ways in which older children and adults retrieve it. Whether people can remember an event depends critically on the fit between the way in which they earlier encoded the information and the way in which they later attempt to retrieve it. The better able the person is to reconstruct the perspective from which the material was encoded, the more likely that recall will be successful. This view is supported by a variety of factors that can create mismatches between very young children's encoding and older children's and adults' retrieval efforts. The world looks very different to a person whose head is only two or three feet above the ground than to one whose head is five or six feet above it. Older children and adults often try to retrieve the names of things they saw, but infants would not have encoded the information verbally. General knowledge of categories of events such as a birthday party or a visit to the doctor's office helps older individuals encode their experiences, but again, infants and toddlers are unlikely to encode many experiences within such knowledge structures. These three explanations of infantile amnesia are not mutually exclusive; indeed, they support each other. Physiological immaturity may be part of why infants and toddlers do not form extremely enduring memories, even when they hear stories that promote such remembering in preschoolers. Hearing the stories may lead preschoolers to encode aspects of events that allow them to form memories they can access as adults. Conversely, improved encoding of what they hear may help them better understand and remember stories and thus make the stories more useful for remembering future events. Thus, all three explanations—physiological maturation, hearing and producing stories about past events, and improved encoding of key aspects of events—seem likely to be involved in overcoming infantile amnesia. ▉托福TPO6阅读Passage3题目： Question 1 of 14 What purpose does paragraph 2 serve in the larger discussion of children’s inability to recall early experiences? A. To argue that theories that are not substantiated by evidence should generally be considered unreliable B. To argue that the hypotheses mentioned in paragraph 2 have been more thoroughly researched than have the theories mentioned later in the passage C. To explain why some theories about infantile amnesia are wrong before presenting ones more likely to be true。
TPO 06阅读详细解析
TPO 06 Paragraph 1：Paragraph 2:1. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information．○Running water was the best power source for factories since it could keep machines operating continuously but since it was abundant only in Lancashire and Scotland, most mills and factories that were located elsewhere could not be water driven．○The disadvantage of using waterpower is that streams do not necessarily flow in places that are the most suitable for factories which explains why so many water—powered grain and textile mills were located in undesirable places ○Since machines could be operated continuously only where running water was abundant, grain and textile mills as well as other factories tended to be located only in Lancashire and Scotland．○Running water was the only source of power that was suitable for the continuous operation of machines, but to make use of it factories had to be located where the water was, regardless of whether such locations made sense otherwise.2. Which of the following best describes the relation of paragraph 2 to paragraph 1?○Paragraph 2 shows how the problem discussed in paragraph 1 arose.○Paragraph 2 explains how the problem presented in paragraph 1 came to be solved．○Paragraph 2 provides a more technical discussion of the problem introduced in paragraph 1.○Paragraph 2 shows why the problemPowering the IndustrialRevolutionIn Britain one of the most dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution was the harnessing of power．Until the reign of George Ⅲ(1760-1820)，available sources of power for work and travel had not increased since the Middle Ages. There were three sources of power：animal or human muscles；the wind, operating on sail or windmill; and running water. Only the last of these was suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks whether or not the location was desirable for other reasons. Furthermore, even the most reliable waterpower varied with the seasons and disappeared in a drought, the new age of machinery, in short, could not have been born without a new source of both movable and constant power.The source had long been known but not exploited. Early in the century, a pump had come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure brought it down again when the steam condensed inside the cylinder to form a vacuum．This “atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner．Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles, but it was so slow and wastefuldiscussed in paragraph 1 was especially important to solve.3. The word exploited in the passage is closest in meaning to○utilized○recognized○examined○fully understood4. The word vastly in the passage is closet in meaning to○quickly○ultimately○greatly○initially5. According to paragraph 2，the atmospheric engine was slow because○it had been designed to be used in coal mines○the cylinder had to cool between each stroke○it made use of expanding steam to raise the piston in its cylinder○it could be operated only when a large supply of fuel was availableParagraph 2:6. According to paragraph 2, Watt's steam engine differed from earlier steam engines, in each of the following ways, except:○ It used steam to move a piston in a cylinder.○ It worked with greater spe ed.○ It was more efficient in its use of fuel.○ It could be used in many different ways.Paragraph 3:7. In paragraph 3 the author mentions William Murdoch’s invention of a new form of nighttime illumination in order to○indicate one of the important developments made possible by the introduction of fuel that it could not be employed outside the coal mines for which it had been designed. In the 1760s, James Watt perfected a separate condenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be cooled at every stroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thus convert reciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion. He thereby transformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine of a thousand uses. The final step came when steam was introduced into the cylinder to drive the piston backward as well as forward thereby increasing the speed of the engine and cutting its fuel consumption.Watt's steam engine soon showed what it could do. It liberated industry from dependence on running water．The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining. The ready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half. Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the new century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gaslit houses and even streets. Iron manufacturers which had starved for fuel while depending on charcoal also benefited from ever-increasing supplies of coal; blast furnaces with steam-powered bellows turned out more iron and steel for the new machinery. Steam became the motive force of the Industrial Revolution as coal and iron ore were the raw materials．By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly onof Watt's steam engine○make the point that Watt's steam engine was not the only invention of importance to the Industrial Revolution○illustrate how important coal was as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution○provide an example of another eighteenth-century invention that used steam as a power source8. The phrase grew accustomed to in the passage is closest in meaning to○began to prefer○ wanted to have○ became used to○ insisted onParagraph 4:9. The word retained in the passage is closest in meaning to○gained○established○profited from○maintained10. According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements about steam engines is true?○They were used for the production of paper but not for printing○By 1800, significant numbers of them were produced outside of Britain○They were used in factories before they were used to power trains○They were used in the construction of canals and turnpikes11. According to paragraph 4, providing a machine to take the place of the horse involved combining which two previously separate ingredients?○Turnpikes and canals○Stationary steam engines and wagons with flanged wheels○Metal rails in roadbeds and wagons steam engine production until the 1830s. Steam power did not merely spin cotton and roll iron; early in the new century it also multiplied ten times over the amount of paper that a single worker could produce in a day. At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an hour rather than thirty. Steam also promised to eliminate a transportation problem not fully solved by either canal boats of turnpikes．Boats could carry heavy weights, but canals could not cross hilly terrain; turnpikes could cross the hills, but the roadbeds could not stand up under great weights. These problems needed still another solution, and the ingredients for it lay close at hand. In some industrial regions, heavily laden wagons, with flanged wheels, were being hauled by horses along metal rails; and the stationary steam engine was puffing in the factory and mine．Another generation passed; before Inventors succeeded in combining these ingredients by putting the engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide a machine to take the place of the horse. Thus the railroad age sprang from what had already happened in the eighteenth century.Paragraph 3: █Watt's steam engine soon showed what it could do. █It liberated industry from dependence on running water．█The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining. █The ready availability ofcapable of carrying heavy loads○Canal boats and heavily laden wagons12.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage．The factories did not have to go to the streams when power could come to the factories．Where would the sentence best fit?13.The Industrial Revolution would not have been possible without a new source of power that was efficient, movable，and continuously available．●●●Answer Choices1.In the early eighteenth century,Savery and Newcomen discoveredthat expanding steam could be usedto raise a piston in a cylinder.2. Watt’s steam engine played a leadingrole in greatly increasing industrialproduction of all kinds.3. Until the 1830s，Britain was the world’s major producer of steam engines.4. In the mid-1700s James Watttransformed an inefficient steam pumpinto a fast，flexible，fuel-efficientengine.5. In the 1 790s William Murdochdeveloped a new way of lighting housesand streets using coal gas.6. The availability of steam engines was amajor factor in the development ofrailroads，which solved a majortransportation problem . coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half.Paragraph 1:1. The word rudimentary in the passageis closest in meaning to○thorough○strict○basic○occasional2. According to paragraph 1 which of the following statements about William Smith is NOT true?○Smith learned surveying by reading and by apprenticing for a local surveyor○Smith’s family lived in a small English town and possessed little wealth．○Smith learned about fossils from books he borrowed from his uncle．○Smith eventually left his village to work on the excavation of an English canal.Paragraph 2:3. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?○ Canals were built primarily in the south of England rather than in other regions．○ Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented．○ Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process．○Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata．4.Accordingto paragraph2，which of the following is true of the map published by William Smith?○It indicates the locations of England's major canals○It became most valuable when the steam locomotive made rail travel possible○The data for the map were collected during Smith’s work on canals○It is no longer regarded as a geological masterpieceWilliam SmithIn 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He received rudimentary village schooling but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills．When he grew older William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England．This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find．Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10000 miles per year．In 1815 he published the first modern geological map “A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland”, map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today．5. The word meticulously in the passage is closest in meaning to○carefully○quickly○frequently○obviously一想到新托福，就想到咱老无。
2020年托福阅读模拟试题及答案(卷六)
2020年托福阅读模拟试题及答案（卷六）托福阅读文本：Prehistoric mammoths have been preserved in the famous tar pits of Rancho La Brea (Brea is the Spanish word for tar) in what is now the heart of Los Angeles, California. These tar pits have been known for centuries and were formerly mined for their natural asphalt, a black or brown petroleum-like substance. Thousands of tons were extracted before 1875, when it was first noticed that the tar contained fossil remains. Major excavations were undertaken that established the significance of this remarkable site. The tar pits were found to contain the remains of scores of species of animals from the last 30,000 years of the Ice Age.Since then, over 100 tons of fossils, 1.5 million from vertebrates, 2.5 million from invertebrates, have been recovered, often in densely concentrated and tangled masses. The creatures found range from insects and birds to giant ground sloth's, but a total of 17 proboscides (animals with a proboscis or long nose) —including mastodons and Columbian mammoths —have been recovered, most of them from Pit 9, the deepest bone-bearing deposit, which was excavated in 1914. Most of the fossils date to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago.The asphalt at La Brea seeps to the surface, especially in the summer, and forms shallow puddles that would often have beenconcealed by leaves and dust. Unwary animals would become trapped on these thin sheets of liquid asphalt, which are extremely sticky in warm weather. Stuck, the unfortunate beasts would die of exhaustion and hunger or fall prey to predators that often also became stuck.As the animals decayed, more scavengers would be attracted and caught in their turn.Carnivores greatly outnumber herbivores in the collection: for every large herbivore, there is one saber-tooth cat, a coyote, and four wolves. The fact that some bones are heavily weathered shows that some bodies remained above the surface for weeks or months. Bacteria in the asphalt would have consumed some of the tissues other than bones, and the asphalt itself would dissolve what was left, at the same time impregnating and beautifully preserving the saturated bones, rendering them dark brown and shiny.托福阅读题目：1. What aspect of the La Brea tar pits does the passage mainly discuss?(A) The amount of asphalt that was mined there(B) The chemical and biological interactions between asphalt and animals(C) The fossil remains that have been found there(D) Scientific methods of determining the age of tar pits2. In using the phrase "the heart of Los Angeles" in line 2, the author is talking about the city's(A) beautiful design(B) central area(C) basic needs(D) supplies of natural asphalt3. The word "noticed" in line 5 closest in meaning to(A) predicted(B) announced(C) corrected(D) observed4. The word "tangled" in line 10 is closest in meaning to(A) buried beneath(B) twisted together(C) quickly formed(D) easily dated5. The word "them" in line 13 refers to(A) insects(B) birds(C) cloths(D) proboscideans6. How many proboscideans have been found at the La Brea tarpits?(A) 9(B) 17(C) 1.5 million(D) 2.5 million7. The word "concealed" in line 17 is closest in meaning to(A) highlighted(B) covered(C) transformed(D) contaminated8. Why does the author mention animals such as coyotes and wolves in paragraph 4?(A) To give examples of animals that are classified as carnivores(B) To specify the animals found least commonly at La Brea(C) To argue that these animals were especially likely to avoid extinction.(D) To define the term "scavengers"托福阅读答案：CBDBD BBA托福阅读文本：One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids,erect bipedal primates —including earlyhumans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were.Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools.Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation.Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food —meat and marrow —from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases.托福阅读题目：1. The passage mainly discusses which of the following aspects of hominid behavior?(A) Changes in eating and dietary practices(B) The creation of stone hunting tools(C) Social interactions at home bases(D) Methods of extracting nutritious food from carcasses2.According to the passage , bringing a meal to a location to be shared by many individuals is(A) an activity typical of nonhuman primates(B) a common practice among animals that eat meat(C) an indication of social unity(D) a behavior that encourages better dietary habits3. The word "consumed" in line 4 is closest in meaning to(A) prepared(B) stored(C) distributed(D) eaten4.According to paragraph 2, researchers make copies of old stone tools in order to(A) protect the old tools from being worn out(B) display examples of the old tools in museums(C) test theories about how old tools were used(D) learn how to improve the design of modern tools5. In paragraph 2, the author mentions all of the following as examples of ways in which earlystone tools were used EXCEPT to(A) build home bases(B) obtain food(C) make weapons(D) shape wood6. The word "innovative" in line 13 is closest in meaning to(A) good(B) new(D) costly7. The word "them" in line 15 refers to(A) issues(B) researchers(C) tools(D) specimens8. The author mentions "characteristic chippage patterns" in line 16 as an example of(A) decorations cut into wooden objects(B) differences among tools made of various substances(C) impressions left on prehistoric animal bones(D) indications of wear on stone tools9. The word "extract" in line 19 is closest in meaning to(A) identify(B) remove(C) destroy(D) compare10. The word "whether" in line 26 is closest in meaning to(A) if(B) how(C) why托福阅读答案：ACDCABCDBA托福阅读文本：Plants are subject to attack and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotic species and have evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the potential colonists. These can be divided into preformed or passive defense mechanisms and inducible or active systems.Passive plant defense comprises physical and chemical barriers that prevent entry of pathogens,such as bacteria, or render tissues unpalatable or toxic to the invader. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae. Other trichomes are sticky and glandular and effectively trap and immobilize insects.If the physical barriers of the plant are breached, then preformed chemicals may inhibit or kill the intruder, and plant tissues contain a diverse array of toxic or potentially toxic substances, such as resins, tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids, many of which are highly effective deterrents to insects that feed on plants. The success of the Colorado beetle in infesting potatoes, for example,seems to be correlated with itshigh tolerance to alkaloids that normally repel potential pests.Other possible chemical defenses, while not directly toxic to the parasite, may inhibit some essential step in the establishment of a parasitic relationship. For example, glycoproteins in plant cell walls may inactivate enzymes that degrade cell walls. These enzymes are often produced by bacteria and fungi.Active plant defense mechanisms are comparable to the immune system of vertebrate animals,although the cellular and molecular bases are fundamentally different. Both, however, are triggered in reaction to intrusion, implying that the host has some means of recognizing the presence of a foreign organism. The most dramatic example of an inducible plant defense reaction is the hypersensitive response. In the hypersensitive response, cells undergo rapid necrosis —that is, they become diseased and die —after being penetrated by a parasite; the parasite itself subsequently ceases to grow and is therefore restricted to one or a few cells around the entry site.Several theories have been put forward to explain the basis of hypersensitive resistance.托福阅读题目：1. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A) The success of parasites in resisting plant defense mechanisms(B) Theories on active plant defense mechanisms(C) How plant defense mechanisms function(D) How the immune system of animals and the defense mechanisms of plants differ2. The phrase "subject to" in line 1 is closest in meaning to(A) susceptible to(B) classified by(C) attractive to(D) strengthened by3. The word "puncture" in line 8 is closest in meaning to(A) pierce(B) pinch(C) surround(D) cover .4. The word "which" in line 12 refers to(A) tissues(B) substances(C) barriers(D) insects5. Which of the following substances does the author mention as NOT necessarily being toxic tothe Colorado beetle?(A) resins(B) tannins(C) glycosides(D) alkaloids6. Why does the author mention "glycoproteins" in line 17?(A) to compare plant defense mechanisms to the immune system of animals(B) to introduce the discussion of active defense mechanisms in plants(C) to illustrate how chemicals function in plant defense(D) to emphasize the importance of physical barriers in plant defense7. The word "dramatic" in line 23 could best be replaced by(A) striking(B) accurate(C) consistent(D) appealing8. Where in the passage does the author describe an active plant-defense reaction?(A) Lines 1-3(B) Lines 4-6(C) Lines 13-15(D) Lines 24-279. The passage most probably continues with a discussion of theories on(A) the basis of passive plant defense(B) how chemicals inhibit a parasitic relationship.(C) how plants produce toxic chemicals(D) the principles of the hypersensitive response.托福阅读答案：CAABD CADD托福阅读文本：Any rock that has cooled and solidified from a molten state is an igneous rock. Therefore, if the Earth began as a superheated sphere in space, all the rocks making up its crust may well have been igneous and thus the ancestors of all other rocks. Even today, approximately 95 percent of the entire crust is igneous. Periodically, molten material wells out of the Earth's interior to invade the surface layers or to flow onto the surface itself. This material cools into a wide variety of igneous rocks. In the molten state, it is called magma as it pushes into the crust and lava when it runs out onto the surface.All magma consists basically of a variety of silicate minerals (high in silicon-oxygen compounds), but the chemical composition of any given flow may differ radically from that of any other. The resulting igneous rocks will reflect these differences. Igneous rocks also vary in texture aswell as chemistry. Granite, for instance, is a coarse-grained igneous rock whose individual mineral crystals have formed to a size easily seen by the naked eye. A slow rate of cooling has allowed the crystals to reach this size. Normally, slow cooling occurs when the crust is invaded by magma that remains buried well below the surface. Granite may be found on the surface of the contemporary landscape, but from its coarse texture we know that it must have formed through slow cooling at a great depth and later been laid bare by erosion. Igneous rocks with this coarse-grained texture that formed at depth are called plutonic.On the other hand, if the same magma flows onto the surface and is quickly cooled by the atmosphere, the resulting rock will be fine-grained and appear quite different from granite, although the chemical composition will be identical. This kind of rock is called rhyolite. The most finely grained igneous rock is volcanic glass or obsidian, which has no crystals. Some researchers believe this is because of rapid cooling; others believe it is because of a lack of water vapor and other gases in the lava. The black obsidian cliffs of Yellowstone National Park are the result of a lava flow of basalt running head on into a glacier. Some of the glacier melted on contact, but suddenly there also appeared a huge black mass of glassy stone.托福阅读题目：1. In the first paragraph, the author mentions that 95% of theEarth's crust is composed of igneous rock to support the idea that(A) the Earth began as a molten mass(B) a thin layer of magma flows beneath the Earth's crust(C) the minerals found in igneous rock are very common(D) igneous rock is continually being formed2. The word "invade" in line 5 is closest in meaning to(A) move into(B) neutralize(C) cover(D) deposit3. The word "contemporary" in line 15 is closest in meaning to(A) vast(B) natural(C) existing(D) uneven4. The word "it" in line 16 refers to(A) granite(B) surface(C) landscape(D) texture5. Granite that has been found above ground has been(A) pushed up from below the crust by magma(B) produced during a volcanic explosion(C) gradually exposed due to erosion(D) pushed up by the natural shifting of the Earth6. Which of the following is produced when magma cools rapidly?(A) granite(B) plutonic rock(C) rhyolite(D) mineral crystals7. The word "finely" in line 22 is closest in meaning to(A) minutely(B) loosely(C) sensitively(D) purely8. Which of the following is another name for volcanic glass?(A) Plutonic rock(B) Crystal(C) Lava(D) Obsidian托福阅读答案：AACAC CAD托福阅读文本：Television has transformed politics in the United States by changingthe way in which information is disseminated, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizen's patterns of response to politics. By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. By centering politics on the person of the candidate, television accelerated the citizen's focus on character rather than issues.Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. The messages on which most of us rely are briefer than they once were. The stump speech, a political speech given by traveling politicians and lasting 11/2 to 2 hours, which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse, has given way to the 30-second advertisement and the 10 second "sound bite" in broadcast news. Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience who will hear and see a snippet of the speech on the news.In these abbreviated forms, much of what constituted the traditional political discourse of earlier ages has been lost. In 15 or 30 seconds, a speaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issue in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. In snippets, politicians assert but do not argue.Because television is an intimate medium, speaking through itrequire a changed political style that was more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech.Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. Schools teach us to analyze words and print. However, in a word in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills.Recognizing the power of television's pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events,called pseudo-event, designed to attract media coverage. Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.托福阅读题目：1. What is the main point of the passage ?(A) Citizens in the United States are now more informed about political issues because of television coverage.(B) Citizens in the United States prefer to see politicians on television instead of in person.(C) Politics in the United States has become substantially more controversial since the introduction of television.(D) Politics in the United States has been significantly changed by television.(A) analyzed(B) discussed(C) spread(D) stored3. It can be inferred that before the introduction of television, political parties(A) had more influence over the selection of political candidates(B) spent more money to promote their political candidates(C) attracted more members(D) received more money4. The word "accelerated" in line 5 is closest in meaning to(A) allowed(B) increased(C) required(D) started5. The author mentions the "stump speech" in line 7 as an example of(A) an event created by politicians to attract media attention(B) an interactive discussion between two politicians(C) a kind of political presentation typical of the nineteenth century(D) a style of speech common to televised political events(A) added interest to(B) modified(C) imitated(D) been replaced by7. The word "that" in line 12 refers to(A) audience(B) broadcast news(C) politician(D) advertisement8. According to the passage , as compared with televised speeches, traditional political discoursewas more successful at(A) allowing news coverage of political candidates(B) placing political issues within a historical context(C) making politics seem more intimate to citizens(D) providing detailed information about a candidates private behavior9. The author states that "politicians assert but do not argue" (line 18) in order to suggest thatpoliticians(A) make claims without providing reasons for the claims(B) take stronger positions on issues than in the past(C) enjoy explaining the issue to broadcasters(D) dislike having to explain their own positions on issues to citizens10. The word "Reliance" in line 21 is closest in meaning to(A) abundance(B) clarification(C) dependence(D) information11. The purpose of paragraph 4 is to suggest that(A) politicians will need to learn to become more personal when meeting citizens(B) politicians who are considered very attractive are favored by citizens over politicians who areless attractive(C) citizens tend to favor a politician who analyzed the issue over one who does not(D) citizens will need to learn how to evaluate visual political images in order to become betterinformed12.According to paragraph 5, staged political events are created so that politicians can(A) create more time to discuss political issues(B) obtain more television coverage for themselves(C) spend more time talking to citizens in person(D) engages in debates with their opponents13. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage ?(A) Political presentations today are more like advertisements than in the past.(B) Politicians today tend to be more familiar with the views of citizens than in the past.(C) Citizens today are less informed about a politician's character than in the past.(D) Political speeches today focus more on details about issues than in the past.托福阅读答案：DCABC DABAC DBA托福阅读文本：Fungi, of which there are over 100,000 species, including yeasts and other single-celled organisms as well as the common molds and mushrooms, were formerly classified as members of the plant kingdom. However, in reality they are very different from plants and today they are placed in a separate group altogether. The principal reason for this is that none of them possesses chlorophyll, and since they cannot synthesize their own carbohydrates, they obtain their supplies either from thebreakdown of dead organic matter or from other living organisms. Furthermore the walls of fungal cells are not made of cellulose, as those of plants are, but of another complex sugarlike polymer called chitin, the material from which the hard outer skeletons of shrimps,spiders, and insects are made. The difference between the chemical composition of the cell walls of fungi and those of plants is of enormous importance because it enables the tips of the growing hyphae, the threadlike cells of the fungus, to secrete enzymes that break down the walls of plant cells without having any effect on those of the fungus itself. It is these cellulose-destroying enzymes that enable fungi to attack anything made from wood, wood pulp, cotton, flax, or other plant material.The destructive power of fungi is impressive. They are a major cause of structural damage to building timbers, a cause of disease in animals and humans, and one of the greatest causes of agricultural losses. Entire crops can be wiped out by fungal attacks both before and after harvesting. Some fungi can grow at +50°C, while others can grow at -5°C, so even food in cold storage may not be completely safe from them. On the other hand, fungi bring about the decomposition of dead organic matter, thus enriching the soil and returning carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. They also enter into a number of mutually beneficial relationships with plants and other organisms. In addition, fungi are the source of many of the most potent antibiotics used in clinical medicine,including penicillin.托福阅读题目：1. What does paragraph 1 mainly discuss?(A) differences between simple and complex fungi(B) functions of chlorophyll in plants(C) functions of sugar in the walls of fungal cells(D) differences between fungi and plants2. Which of the following is mentioned as a major change in how scientists approach the study offungi?(A) Fungi are no longer classified as plants(B) Some single-cell organisms are no longer classified as fungi.(C) New methods of species identification have been introduced(D) Theories about the chemical composition of fungi have been revised.3. The word "principal" in line 4 is closest in meaning to(A) true(B) main(C) logical(D) obvious4.According to the passage , how do fungi obtain carbohydrates?(A) The absorb carbohydrates from their own cell walls.(B) They synthesize chlorophyll to produce carbohydrates.(C) They produce carbohydrates by breaking down chitin.(D) They acquire carbohydrates from other organic matter, both living and dead.5. The passage mentions shrimps, spiders, and insects in line 9 because their skeletons(A) can be destroyed by fungi(B) have unusual chemical compositions(C) contain a material found in the walls of fungal cells(D) secrete the same enzymes as the walls of fungal cells do6. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage ?(A) "chlorophyll" (line 5)(B) "polymer" (line 8)(C) "hyphae" (line 12)(D) "enzymes" (line 14)7. The word "those" in line 13 refers to(A) tips(B) hyphae(C) enzymes(D) walls8. Fungi have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT(A) They grow hyphae.(B) They secrete enzymes.(C) They synthesize cellulose.(D) They destroy crops.9. The word "Entire" in line 18 is closest in meaning to(A) certain(B) whole(C) mature(D) diseased10. The passage describes the negative effects of fungi on all the following EXCEPT(A) buildings(B) animals(C) food(D) soil11. The phrase "bring about" in line 21 is closest in meaning to(A) cause(B) join(C) take(D) include12. The passage mentions "penicillin" in line 25 as an example of(A) a medicine derived from plants(B) a beneficial use of fungi(C) a product of the relationship between plants and fungi(D) a type of fungi that grows at extreme temperatures.托福阅读答案：DABDC CDCBD AB托福阅读文本：The first flying vertebrates were true reptiles in which one of the fingers of the front limbs became very elongated, providing support for a flap of stretched skin that served as a wing. These were the pterosaurs, literally the "winged lizards." The earliest pterosaurs arose near the end of the Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era, some 70 million years before the first known fossils of true birds occur, and they presumably dominated the skies until they were eventually displaced by birds. Like the dinosaurs, some the pterosaurs became gigantic; the largest fossil discovered is of an individual that had a wingspan of 50 feet or more, larger than many airplanes. These flying reptiles had large, tooth-filled jaws, but their bodies were small and probably without the necessary powerful muscles for sustained wing movement. They must have been expert gliders,not skillful fliers, relying on wind power for their locomotion.Birds, despite sharing common reptilian ancestors with pterosaurs, evolved quite separately and have been much more successful in their dominance of the air. They are an example of a common theme inevolution, the more or less parallel development of different types of body structure and function for the same reason —in this case, for flight. Although the fossil record, as always, is not complete enough to determine definitively the evolutionary lineage of the birds or in as much detail as one would like, it is better in this case than for many other animal groups. That is because of the unusual preservation in a limestone quarry in southern Germany of Archaeopteryx, a fossil that many have called the link between dinosaurs and birds. Indeed, had it not been for the superb preservation of these fossils, they might well have been classified as dinosaurs. They have the skull and teeth of a reptile as well as a bony tail, but in the line-grained limestone in which these fossils occur there are delicate impressions of feathers and fine details of bone structure that make it clear that Archaeopteryx was a bird. All birds living today, from the great condors of theAndes to the tiniest wrens, trace their origin back to the Mesozoic dinosaurs.托福阅读题目：1. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A) Characteristics of pterosaur wings(B) The discovery of fossil remains of Archaeopteryx(C) Reasons for the extinction of early flying vertebrates(D) The development of flight in reptiles and birds2. Which of the following is true of early reptile wings?。
托福备考托福阅读34套TPO样题+解析+译文TPO6--3 Infantile Amnesia
托福考试 复习托福阅读TPO6(试题+答案+译文)第3篇:Infantile Amnesia托福阅读原文What do you remember about yourlife beforeyou were three? Few people can remember anything that happened tothem in theirearly years. Adults' memories of the next few years also tend tobe scanty. Mostpeople remember only a few events—usually ones that weremeaningful anddistinctive, such as being hospitalized or a sibling’s birth.How might this inability to recallearlyexperiences be explained? The sheer passage of time does not account forit;adults have excellent recognition of pictures of people who attended highschoolwith them 35 years earlier. Another seemingly plausible explanation—thatinfantsdo not form enduring memories at this point in development—also isincorrect. Childrentwo and a half to three years old remember experiences thatoccurred in theirfirst year, and eleven month olds remember some events a yearlater. Nor doesthe hypothesis that infantile amnesia reflects repression—orholding back—ofsexually charged episodes explain the phenomenon. While suchrepression mayoccur, people cannot remember ordinary events from the infantand toddlerperiods either.Three other explanations seemmorepromising. One involves physiological changes relevant to memory.Maturation ofthe frontal lobes of the brain continues throughout earlychildhood, and thispart of the brain may be critical for remembering particularepisodes in waysthat can be retrieved later. Demonstrations of infants’ andtoddlers' long-termmemory have involved their repeating motor activities thatthey had seen ordone earlier, such as reaching in the dark for objects, puttinga bottle in adoll’s mouth, or pulling apart two pieces of a toy. The brain’slevel ofphysiological maturation may support these types of memories, but notonesrequiring explicit verbal descriptions.A second explanation involves the influenceof the socialworld on children’s language use. Hearing and telling storiesabout events mayhelp children store information in ways that will endure intolater childhoodand adulthood. Through hearing stories with a clear beginning,middle, andending children may learn to extract the gist of events in ways thatthey willbe able to describe many years later. Consistent with this view,parents andchildren increasingly engage in discussions of past events whenchildren areabout three years old. However, hearing such stories is notsufficient foryounger children to form enduring memories. Telling such storiesto two yearolds does not seem toproduce long-lasting verbalizable memories.A third likely explanation for infantileamnesia involvesincompatibilities between the ways in which infants encodeinformation and theways in which older children and adults retrieve it. Whetherpeople canremember an event depends critically on the fit between the way inwhich theyearlier encoded the information and the way in which they laterattempt toretrieve it. The better able the person is to reconstruct theperspective fromwhich the material was encoded, the more likely that recallwill be successful.This view is supported by a variety offactors that cancreate mismatches between very young children's encoding andolder children'sand adults' retrieval efforts. The world looks very differentto a person whosehead is only two or three feet above the ground than to onewhose head is fiveor six feet above it. Older children and adults often try toretrieve the namesof things they saw, but infants would not have encoded theinformationverbally. General knowledge of categories of events such as abirthday party ora visit to the doctor's office helps older individuals encodetheirexperiences, but again, infants and toddlers are unlikely to encodemanyexperiences within such knowledge structures.These threeexplanations of infantileamnesia are not mutually exclusive; indeed, theysupport each other.Physiological immaturity may be part of why infants andtoddlers do not formextremely enduring memories, even when they hear storiesthat promote suchremembering in preschoolers. Hearing the stories may leadpreschoolers to encodeaspects of events that allow them to form memories theycan access as adults.Conversely, improved encoding of what they hear may helpthem better understandand remember stories and thus make the stories moreuseful for rememberingfuture events. Thus, all threeexplanations—physiological maturation, hearingand producing stories about pastevents, and improved encoding of key aspects ofevents—seem likely to beinvolved in overcoming infantile amnesia.托福阅读试题1.What purpose does paragraph2 serve in thelarger discussion of children’s inability to recall earlyexpe riences?A.To argue that theories that are notsubstantiated by evidence should generally be considered unreliableB.To argue that the hypotheses mentioned inparagraph 2 have beenmore thoroughly researched than have the theoriesmentioned later in the passageC.To explain why some theories aboutinfantile amnesia are wrong before presenting ones more likely to be trueD.To explain why infantile amnesia is ofgreat interest to researchers2.The word “plausible”in the passage(paragraph 2) is closest in meaning toA.flexibleB.believableC.debatableD.predictable3.The word “phenomenon”in the passage(paragraph 2) is closest in meaning toA.exceptionB.repetitionC.occurrenceD.idea4.All of the following theories about theinability to recall earlyexperiences are rejected in paragraph 2 EXCEPT:A.The ability to recall an event decreasesas the time after the event increases.B.Young children are not capable of formingmemories that last for more than a short time.C.People may hold back sexually meaningfulmemories.D.Most events in childhood are too ordinaryto be worth remembering.5.What does paragraph 3 suggest aboutlong-term memory in children?A.Maturation of the frontal lobes of thebrain is important for the long-term memory of motor activities but not verbaldescriptions.B.Young children may form long-termmemories of actions they see earlier than of things they hear or are told.C.Young children have better long-termrecall of short verbal exchanges than of long ones.D.Children’s long-term recall of motoractivities increases when such activities are accompanied by explicit verbaldescriptions.6.According to paragraph 4, what role maystorytelling play in formingchildhood memories?A.It may encourage the physiologicalmaturing of the brain.B.It may help preschool children tell thedifference between ordinary and unusual memories.C.It may help preschool children retrievememories quickly.D.It may provide an ordered structure thatfacilitates memory retrieval.7.The word “critically” in thepassage(paragraph 5) is closest in meaning toA.fundamentallyB.partiallyC.consistentlyD.subsequently8.The word “perspective” in thepassage(paragraph 5) is closest in meaning toA.systemB.theoryC.sourceD.viewpoint9.The phrase “This view” in the passage(paragraph 6) refers to the belief thatA.the ability to retrieve a memory partlydepends on the similarity between the encoding and retrieving processB.the process of encoding information isless complex for adults than it is for young adults and infantsC.infants and older children are equallydependent on discussion of past events for the retrieval of informationD.infants encode information in the sameway older children and adults do10.According to paragraphs 5 and 6, onedisadvantage very young childrenface in processing information is that theycannotA.process a lot of information at one timeanize experiences according to typeC.block out interruptionsD.interpret the tone of adult language11.Which of the sentences below bestexpresses the essential information inthe highlighted sentence in the passage(paragraph 7) ? Incorrect choices change the meaning inimportant ways or leaveout essential information.A.Incomplete physiological development maypartly explain why hearing stories does not improve long-term memory in infantsand toddlers.B.One reason why preschoolers fail tocomprehend the stories they hear is that they are physiologically immature.C.Given the chance to hear stories, infantsand toddlers may form enduring memories despite physiological immaturity.D.Physiologically mature children seem tohave no difficulty rememberingstories they heard as preschoolers.12.How does paragraph 7 relate to theearlier discussion of infantileamnesia?A.It introduces a new theory about thecauses of infantile amnesia.B.It argues that particular theoriesdiscussed earlier in the passage require further research.C.It explains how particular theoriesdiscussed earlier in the passage may work in combination.D.It evaluates which of the theoriesdiscussed earlier is most likely to be true.13. Look at the four squares [█] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage Otherimportant occasions are school graduations and weddings.What do you remember about your life beforeyou were three? █【A】Few people can remember anything that happened to themin their earlyyears.█【B】Adults' memories ofthe next few years also tend to be scanty. █【C】Most peoplerememberonly a few events—usually ones that were meaningful and distinctive, such asbeinghospitalized or a sibling’s birth. █【D】Where would the sentence best fit?14. Directions: An introductorysentence fora brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete thesummary byselecting the THREE answer choices that express the most importantideas in thepassage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because theyexpress ideasthat are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in thepassage. Thisquestion is worth 2points.There are several possible explanations whypeople cannot easilyremember their early childhoods.A.Preschoolers typically do not recallevents from their first year.B.Frontal lobe function of the brain mayneed to develop before memory retrieval can occur.C.Children recall physical activities moreeasily if they are verbalized.D.The opportunity to hear chronologicallynarrated stories may help three-year-old children produce long-lastingmemories.E.The content of a memory determines theway in which it is encoded.F.Thecontrasting ways in which young children and adults process information maydetermine their relative success in remembering.托福阅读答案1.以inability to recallearly experience做关键词定位至第一句，但这句话是个问题，我们应该关注的是答案，也就是第二句，第二句说时间不是遗忘的原因，接着又说另一个可能的解释，也就是先给一个不对的，再说一个可能的，所以C 是答案2.plausible合理的，动听的，所以believable可信的是正确答案。