托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2

托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2（精选11篇）由网友“不婚不育”投稿提供，下面是小编整理过的托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2，欢迎您阅读，希望对您有所帮助。

篇1：托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2

Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer

The vast grasslands of the High Plains in the central United States were settled by farmers and ranchers in the 1880s. This region has a semiarid climate, and for 50 years after its settlement, it supported a low-intensity agricultural economy of cattle ranching and wheat farming. In the early twentieth century, however, it was discovered that much of the High Plains was underlain by a huge aquifer (a rock layer containing large quantities of groundwater). This aquifer was named the Ogallala aquifer after the Ogallala Sioux Indians, who once inhabited the region.

The Ogallala aquifer is a sandstone formation that underlies some 583,000 square kilometers of land extending from northwestern Texas to southern South Dakota. Water from rains and melting snows has been accumulating in the Ogallala for the past 30,000 years. Estimates indicate that the aquifer contains enough water to fill Lake Huron, but unfortunately, under the semiarid climatic conditions that presently exist in the region, rates of addition to the aquifer are minimal, amounting to about half a centimeter a year.

The first wells were drilled into the Ogallala during the drought years of the early 1930s. The ensuing rapid expansion of irrigation agriculture, especially from the 1950s onward, transformed the economy of the region. More than 100,000 wells now tap the Ogallala. Modern irrigation devices, each capable of spraying 4.5 million liters of water a day, have produced a landscape dominated by geometric patterns of circular green islands of crops. Ogallala water has enabled the High Plains region to supply significant amounts of the cotton, sorghum, wheat, and corn grown in the United States. In addition, 40 percent of American grain-fed beef cattle are fattened here.

This unprecedented development of a finite groundwater resource with an almost negligible natural recharge rate-that is, virtually no natural water source to replenish the water supply-has caused water tables in the region to fall drastically. In the 1930s, wells encountered plentiful water at a depth of about 15 meters; currently, they must be dug to depths of 45 to 60 meters or more. In places, the water table is declining at a rate of a meter a year, necessitating the periodic deepening of wells and the use of ever-more-powerful pumps. It is estimated that at current withdrawal rates, much of the aquifer will run dry within 40 years. The situation is most critical in Texas, where the climate is driest, the greatest amount of water is being pumped, and the aquifer contains the least water. It is projected that the remaining Ogallala water will, by the year 2030, support only 35 to 40 percent of the irrigated acreage in Texas that is supported in 1980.

The reaction of farmers to the inevitable depletion of the Ogallala varies. Many have been attempting to conserve water by irrigating less frequently or by switching to crops that require less water. Others, however, have adopted the philosophy that it is best to use the water while it is still economically profitable to do so and to concentrate on high-value crops such as cotton. The incentive of the farmers who wish to conserve water is reduced by their knowledge that many of their neighbors are profiting by using great amounts of water, and in the process are drawing down the entire region's water supplies.

In the face of the upcoming water supply crisis, a number of grandiose schemes have been developed to transport vast quantities of water by canal or pipeline from the Mississippi, the Missouri, or the Arkansas rivers.

Unfortunately, the cost of water obtained through any of these schemes would increase pumping costs at least tenfold, making the cost of irrigated agricultural products from the region uncompetitive on the national and international markets. Somewhat more promising have been recent experiments for releasing capillary water (water in the soil) above the water table by injecting compressed air into the ground. Even if this process proves successful, however, it would almost triple water costs. Genetic engineering also may provide a partial solution, as new strains of drought-resistant crops continue to be developed. Whatever the final answer to the water crisis may be, it is evident that within the High Plains, irrigation water will never again be the abundant, inexpensive resource it was during the agricultural boom years of the mid-twentieth century.

Paragraph 1: The vast grasslands of the High Plains in the central United States were settled by farmers and ranchers in the 1880s. This region has a semiarid climate, and for 50 years after its settlement, it supported a low-intensity agricultural economy of cattle ranching and wheat farming. In the early twentieth century, however, it was discovered that much of the High Plains was underlain by a huge aquifer (a rock layer containing large quantities of groundwater). This aquifer was named the Ogallala aquifer after the Ogallala Sioux Indians, who once inhabited the region.

篇2：托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2

1.According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements about the High Plains is true?

○Until farmers and ranchers settled there in the 1880s, the High Plains had never been inhabited.

○The climate of the High Plains is characterized by higher-than-average temperatures.

○The large aquifer that lies underneath the High Plains was discovered by the Ogallala Sioux Indians.

○Before the early 1900s there was only a small amount of farming and ranching in the High Plains.

Paragraph 2: The Ogallala aquifer is a sandstone formation that underlies some 583,000 square kilometers of land extending from northwestern Texas to southern South Dakota. Water from rains and melting snows has been accumulating in the Ogallala for the past 30,000 years. Estimates indicate that the aquifer contains enough water to fill Lake Huron, but unfortunately, under the semiarid climatic conditions that presently exist in the region, rates of addition to the aquifer are minimal, amounting to about half a centimeter a year.

2. According to paragraph 2, all of the following statements about the Ogallala aquifer are true EXCEPT:

○The aquifer stretches from South Dakota to Texas.

○The aquifer's water comes from underground springs.

○Water has been gathering in the aquifer for 30,000 years.

○The aquifer's water is stored in a layer of sandstone.

3. 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.

○Despite the current impressive size of the Ogallala aquifer, the region's climate keeps the rates of water addition very small.

○Although the aquifer has been adding water at the rate of only half a centimeter a year, it will eventually accumulate enough water of fill Lake Huron.

○Because of the region's present climatic conditions, water is being added each year to the aquifer.

○Even when the region experiences unfortunate climatic conditions, the rates of addition of water continue to increase.

Paragraph 3: The first wells were drilled into the Ogallala during the drought years of the early 1930s. The ensuing rapid expansion of irrigation agriculture, especially from the 1950s onward, transformed the economy of the region. More than 100,000 wells now tap the Ogallala. Modern irrigation devices, each capable of spraying 4.5 million liters of water a day, have produced a landscape dominated by geometric patterns of circular green islands of crops. Ogallala water has enabled the High Plains region to supply significant amounts of the cotton, sorghum, wheat, and corn grown in the United States. In addition, 40 percent of American grain-fed beef cattle are fattened here.

4. The word “ensuing” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○continuing

○surprising

○initial

○subsequent

5. In paragraph 3, why does the author provide the information that 40 percent of American cattle are fattened in the High Plains?

○To suggest that crop cultivation is not the most important part of the economy of the High Plains

○To indicate that not all economic activity in the High Plains is dependent on irrigation

○To provide another example of how water from the Ogallala has transformed the economy of the High Plains

○To contrast cattle-fattening practices in the High Plains with those used in other region of the United States

Paragraph 4: This unprecedented development of a finite groundwater resource with an almost negligible natural recharge rate-that is, virtually no natural water source to replenish the water supply-has caused water tables in the region to fall drastically. In the 1930s, wells encountered plentiful water at a depth of about 15 meters; currently, they must be dug to depths of 45 to 60 meters or more. In places, the water table is declining at a rate of a meter a year, necessitating the periodic deepening of wells and the use of ever-more-powerful pumps. It is estimated that at current withdrawal rates, much of the aquifer will run dry within 40 years. The situation is most critical in Texas, where the climate is driest, the greatest amount of water is being pumped, and the aquifer contains the least water. It is projected that the remaining Ogallala water will, by the year 2030, support only 35 to 40 percent of the irrigated acreage in Texas that is supported in 1980.

6. The word “unprecedented” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○difficult to control

○without any restriction

○unlike anything in the past

○rapidly expanding

7. The word “virtually” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○clearly

○perhaps

○frequently

○almost

8. According to paragraph 4, all of following are consequences of the heavy use of the Ogallala aquifer for irrigation EXCEPT:

○The recharge rate of the aquifer is decreasing.

○Water tables in the region are becoming increasingly lower.

○Wells now have to be dug to much greater depths than before.

○Increasingly powerful pumps are needed to draw water from the aquifer.

9. According to paragraph 4, compared with all other states that use Ogallala water for irrigation, Texas

○has the greatest amount of farmland being irrigated with Ogallala water

○contains the largest amount of Ogallala water underneath the soil

○is expected to face the worst water supply crisis as the Ogallala runs dry

○uses the least amount of Ogallala water for its irrigation needs

Paragraph 5: The reaction of farmers to the inevitable depletion of the Ogallala varies. Many have been attempting to conserve water by irrigating less frequently or by switching to crops that require less water. Others, however, have adopted the philosophy that it is best to use the water while it is still economically profitable to do so and to concentrate on high-value crops such as cotton. The incentive of the farmers who wish to conserve water is reduced by their knowledge that many of their neighbors are profiting by using great amounts of water, and in the process are drawing down the entire region's water supplies.

10. The word “inevitable” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○unfortunate

○predictable

○unavoidable

○final

11. Paragraph 5 mentions which of the following as a source of difficulty for some farmers who try to conserve water?

○Crops that do not need much water are difficult to grow in the High Plains.

○Farmers who grow crops that need a lot of water make higher profits.

○Irrigating less frequently often leads to crop failure.

○Few farmers are convinced that the aquifer will eventually run dry.

Paragraph 6: In the face of the upcoming water supply crisis, a number of grandiose schemes have been developed to transport vast quantities of water by canal or pipeline from the Mississippi, the Missouri, or the Arkansas rivers. Unfortunately, the cost of water obtained through any of these schemes would increase pumping costs at least tenfold, making the cost of irrigated agricultural products from the region uncompetitive on the national and international markets. Somewhat more promising have been recent experiments for releasing capillary water (water in the soil) above the water table by injecting compressed air into the ground. Even if this process proves successful, however, it would almost triple water costs. Genetic engineering also may provide a partial solution, as new strains of drought-resistant crops continue to be developed. Whatever the final answer to the water crisis may be, it is evident that within the High Plains, irrigation water will never again be the abundant, inexpensive resource it was during the agricultural boom years of the mid-twentieth century.

12.According to paragraph 6, what is the main disadvantage of the proposed plans to transport river water to the High Plains?

○The rivers cannot supply sufficient water for the farmer's needs.

○Increased irrigation costs would make the products too expensive.

○The costs of using capillary water for irrigation will increase.

○Farmers will be forced to switch to genetically engineered crops.

Paragraph 5: The reaction of farmers to the inevitable depletion of the Ogallala varies. Many have been attempting to conserve water by irrigating less frequently or by switching to crops that require less water. █Others, however, have adopted the philosophy that it is best to use the water while it is still economically profitable to do so and to concentrate on high-value crops such as cotton. █The incentive of the farmers who wish to conserve water is reduced by their knowledge that many of their neighbors are profiting by using great amounts of water, and in the process are drawing down the entire region's water supplies. █

Paragraph 6: In the face of the upcoming water supply crisis, a number of grandiose schemes have been developed to transport vast quantities of water by canal or pipeline from the Mississippi, the Missouri, or the Arkansas rivers. █Unfortunately, the cost of water obtained through any of these schemes would increase pumping costs at least tenfold, making the cost of irrigated agricultural products from the region uncompetitive on the national and international markets. Somewhat more promising have been recent experiments for releasing capillary water (water in the soil) above the water table by injecting compressed air into the ground. Even if this process proves successful, however, it would almost triple water costs. Genetic engineering also may provide a partial solution, as new strains of drought-resistant crops continue to be developed. Whatever the final answer to the water crisis may be, it is evident that within the High Plains, irrigation water will never again be the abundant, inexpensive resource it was during the agricultural boom years of the mid-twentieth century.

13.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage

But even if uncooperative farmers were to join in the conservation efforts, this would only delay the depletion of the aquifer.

Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.

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.

The Ogallala aquifer is a large underground source of water in the High Plains region of the United States.

●

●

●

Answer choices

○The use of the Ogallala for irrigation has allowed the High Plains to become one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States.

○Given the aquifer's low recharge rate, its use for irrigation is causing water tables to drop and will eventually lead to its depletion.

○Releasing capillary water and introducing drought-resistant crops are less-promising solutions to the water supply crisis than bringing in river water

○The periodic deepening of wells and the use of more-powerful pumps would help increase the natural recharge rate of the Ogallala.

○In Texas, a great deal of attention is being paid to genetic engineering because it is there that the most critical situation exists.

○Several solutions to the upcoming water supply crisis have been proposed, but none of them promises to keep the costs of irrigation low.

篇3：托福TPO3阅读真题原文题目及答案Part2

参考答案：

1. ○4

2. ○2

3. ○1

4. ○4

5. ○3

6. ○3

7. ○4

8. ○1

9. ○3

10. ○3

11. ○2

12. ○2

13. ○3

14. The use of the Ogallala for…

Given the aquifer's low recharge…

Several solutions to the upcoming…

托福TPO3阅读翻译Part2

奥加拉拉蓄水层的枯竭

19世纪80年代，在美国中部北美大平原的广阔草原上定居着农场主们和牧场主们。这里有着半干旱的气候，在人们定居50年后，它支撑了一个以畜牧业和小麦种植为主的低密度农业经济。然而，在20世纪初，人们发现北美大平原的大部地下是巨大的蓄水层(含有大量地下水的岩层)。这个蓄水层因曾经在这里定居过的奥加拉拉苏族印第安人而得名，被称作奥加拉拉蓄水层。

奥加拉拉蓄水层属于砂岩结构，在从德克萨斯州西北到南达科塔州南部的地下绵延了58.3万平方公里。雨水和融雪自3万年前便开始在奥加拉拉蓄积。据估计，奥加拉拉蓄水层的含水量足以填满休伦湖，但不幸的是，在目前该地区半干旱的气候条件下，奥加拉拉蓄水层的蓄水能力极低，每年仅半厘米左右。

20世纪30年代初，奥加拉拉正处于干旱时期，人们打出了第一口井。灌溉农业的迅速扩张，特别是20世纪50年代之后，改变了这一地区的经济。目前人们已经在奥加拉拉地区共开凿了10万多口井。日喷水量达到450万升的现代灌溉设备，形成了一个圆形绿岛作物为主的景观。奥加拉拉蓄水层支撑了北美大平原地区棉花、高粱、小麦、玉米的灌溉需求。此外，美国40%谷饲养的肉牛在这里被育肥。

考虑到几乎没有补充率(实质上没有自然水资源进行补充)，这种有限地下水资源前所未有的发展已经引起了该地区地下水位的急剧下降。在20世纪30年代，井下15米就有丰富的水资源，而现在，必须挖掘到45米到60米甚至更深的地方才行。有的地方地下水位的下降速度甚至达到了每年1米，迫使人们周期性的加深水井并使用更有力的水泵。按现今的下降速度来估计，大部分地下蓄水将在40年内耗尽。这种现象在气候最干旱的德克萨斯州尤为严重。大量的水被从地下抽起，蓄水层含水量最少。据估计，到2030年，德克萨斯州余下的奥加拉拉含水只能支持1980年灌溉面积的35%到40%。

农场主们对无法避免的奥加拉拉蓄水层枯竭的反应各不相同。很多人已经开始尝试通过降低灌溉频率或者改种需水较少的庄稼来节约水资源。而另外一些人却抱着趁水资源还能产生经济效益就应抓紧利用的想法，继续种植高价值的棉花等农作物。当那些想节水的农场主得知邻居们通过大量耗水的种植而盈利的时候，他们的热情降低了，从而导致了整个区域的供水量的减少。

在即将到来的水资源供应危机面前，人们提出了一些宏伟的供水计划，比如将密西西比河、密苏里河或者阿肯色河的水通过运河或管道运到需要用水的地方。不幸的是，通过以上任何一种方式获得水资源都会将抽水的成本提高10倍以上，进而导致这一地区的灌溉农产品成本在国内和国际市场上失去竞争力。最近一些有希望获得成功的试验试图通过向土壤中注入压力，释放水层上方土壤中的毛细管水。即使这样行之有效，抽水成本会变到原来的3倍。基因工程也会通过继续研发抗旱作物新品种，帮助解决部分难题。无论这次水资源危机的最终结果如何，显然，北美大平原地区灌溉水资源再也不会像20世纪中期农业繁荣时期的那样充足并且廉价了。

篇4：托福TPO3阅读真题Part1原文及答案参考

Architecture

Architecture is the art and science of designing structures that organize and enclose space for practical and symbolic purposes. Because architecture grows out of human needs and aspirations, it clearly communicates cultural values. Of all the visual arts, architecture affects our lives most directly for it determines the character of the human environment in major ways.

Architecture is a three-dimensional form. It utilizes space, mass, texture, line, light, and color. To be architecture, a building must achieve a working harmony with a variety of elements. Humans instinctively seek structures that will shelter and enhance their way of life. It is the work of architects to create buildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration and delight. Buildings contribute to human life when they provide shelter, enrich space, complement their site, suit the climate, and are economically feasible. The client who pays for the building and defines its function is an important member of the architectural team. The mediocre design of many contemporary buildings can be traced to both clients and architects.

In order for the structure to achieve the size and strength necessary to meet its purpose, architecture employs methods of support that, because they are based on physical laws, have changed little since people first discovered them-even while building materials have changed dramatically. The world's architectural structures have also been devised in relation to the objective limitations of materials. Structures can be analyzed in terms of how they deal with downward forces created by gravity. They are designed to withstand the forces of compression (pushing together), tension (pulling apart), bending, or a combination of these in different parts of the structure.

Even development in architecture has been the result of major technological changes. Materials and methods of construction are integral parts of the design of architecture structures. In earlier times it was necessary to design structural systems suitable for the materials that were available, such as wood, stone, brick. Today technology has progressed to the point where it is possible to invent new building materials to suit the type of structure desired. Enormous changes in materials and techniques of construction within the last few generations have made it possible to enclose space with much greater ease and speed and with a minimum of material. Progress in this area can be measured by the difference in weight between buildings built now and those of comparable size built one hundred years ago.

Modern architectural forms generally have three separate components comparable to elements of the human body: a supporting skeleton or frame, an outer skin enclosing the interior spaces, and equipment, similar to the body's vital organs and systems. The equipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, and air-conditioning. Of course in early architecture-such as igloos and adobe structures-there was no such equipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one.

Much of the world's great architecture has been constructed of stone because of its beauty, permanence, and availability. In the past, whole cities grew from the arduous task of cutting and piling stone upon. Some of the world's finest stone architecture can be seen in the ruins of the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu high in the eastern Andes Mountains of Peru. The doorways and windows are made possible by placing over the open spaces thick stone beams that support the weight from above. A structural invention had to be made before the physical limitations of stone could be overcome and new architectural forms could be created. That invention was the arch, a curved structure originally made of separate stone or brick segments. The arch was used by the early cultures of the Mediterranean area chiefly for underground drains, but it was the Romans who first developed and used the arch extensively in aboveground structures. Roman builders perfected the semicircular arch made of separate blocks of stone. As a method of spanning space, the arch can support greater weight than a horizontal beam. It works in compression to divert the weight above it out to the sides, where the weight is borne by the vertical elements on either side of the arch. The arch is among the many important structural breakthroughs that have characterized architecture throughout the centuries.

Paragraph 1: Architecture is the art and science of designing structures that organize and enclose space for practical and symbolic purposes. Because architecture grows out of human needs and aspirations, it clearly communicates cultural values. Of all the visual arts, architecture affects our lives most directly for it determines the character of the human environment in major ways.

篇5：托福TPO3阅读真题Part1原文及答案参考

参考答案：

1. ○ 4

2. ○ 3

3. ○2

4. ○ 4

5. ○ 2

6. ○ 1

7. ○ 2

8. ○ 3

9. ○ 4

10. ○ 1

11. ○ 3

12. ○ 2

13. ○ 4

14. Architects seek to create…

Over the course of the…

The discovery and use of…

托福TPO3阅读Part1参考翻译

建筑

建筑是一门出于实用和象征的双重目的，通过组织和利用空间来实现设计结构的艺术和科学。。因为建筑源于人类的需求和愿望，同样也可以清楚地传达文化价值。在所有的视觉艺术中，建筑最直接地影响了我们的生活，因为它在很多方面决定了我们生存的环境特征。

建筑是一种利用空间、质量、纹理、线条、光线和颜色的三维立体形式。一幢建筑物必须实现各种要素的和谐搭配。人类本能地希望可以提供居住并且改善他们生活质量的建筑。建筑师们创造出来的建筑物不单纯的是建筑物，还为人们带来了灵感和喜悦。建筑物为人类的生活提供了遮蔽处和丰富的空间、增加人们的活动场所、完善人们的居所、帮助人们适应气候的变化，同时在经济上也可承受。建筑团队中，最重要的是那些为建筑支付建设费用并且设计其功能的人，许多当代建筑平庸的根源在于客户和建筑师双反。

为了达到建筑的目的，一定的大小和强度是必须的。尽管建筑材料已经发生了翻天覆地的变化，建筑采用的各种支撑方法自从人们发现它们以来鲜有改变，因为这些方法都建立在物理定律的基础上。世界的建筑结构也因为克服材料限制的目的而发展起来。建筑师们在设计建筑结构的时候需要将重力对材料的影响考虑在内，通过结构设计使建筑不同部分能抵抗压力、拉力、弯曲力或混合的压力。

甚至建筑的发展也是由重大的技术变革造成的。材料和建设方法是建筑结构设计整体的组成部分。早期，人们必须设计结构系统来配合当前可用的材料，如木头、石头和砖。现今的技术已经发展到能够创造新的建筑材料来适应想要应用的建筑结构。近几代建筑材料和科技的巨大变化使得包围空间更加简单、快速，并且用更少的材料。在这一领域的进步可以用现在修建的建筑和1前建造的同规模建筑之间的重量差异来衡量。

类似人类的身体结构，现代建筑可以划分为三个独立的部分：支撑骨架或框架、围住内部空间的外壳以及像人体内器官一样重要的设施。这些设施包括管道、电线、热水和空调。当然，在早期的圆顶建筑和土坯建筑中并没有这样的设施，皮肤和骨骼也往往是合在一起的。

世界上大多数伟大的建筑都是石料建筑，因为石料建筑不仅外形漂亮、持久耐用，而且石头随处可得。在过去，整个城市的建筑物都是从艰苦的石块切割和堆砌发展起来的。在秘鲁安第斯山脉东部的马丘比丘印加古城遗址，可以看到世界上最棒的石质建筑。在开阔的空间上放置厚石板来支撑上面的石头，使门和窗的修建成为可能。设计师们必须在克服石头的物理限制以及新建筑形式发展之前发明出建筑结构，这就是拱形结构，即最初由分段的石头或砖块构成的弧形结构。拱最初在地中海早期文化中用来建设地下水渠，但古罗马人最先开发和广泛的利用它作为地上建筑的结构，他们完善了由分段的石块组成的半圆形拱。作为跨越空间的一种方式，拱可以比水平横梁支撑更大的重量。它使得其上的压力转移到两侧，由两侧垂直的部分来承担压力。拱形结构只是近百年来众多重要建筑结构的突破之一。

篇6：托福TPO3阅读真题Part1原文及答案参考

1. According to paragraph 1, all of the following statements about architecture are true EXCEPT:

○Architecture is visual art.

○Architecture reflects the cultural values of its creators.

○Architecture has both artistic and scientific dimensions.

○Architecture has an indirect effect on life.

Paragraph 2: Architecture is a three-dimensional form. It utilizes space, mass, texture, line, light, and color. To be architecture, a building must achieve a working harmony with a variety of elements. Humans instinctively seek structures that will shelter and enhance their way of life. It is the work of architects to create buildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration and delight. Buildings contribute to human life when they provide shelter, enrich space, complement their site, suit the climate, and are economically feasible. The client who pays for the building and defines its function is an important member of the architectural team. The mediocre design of many contemporary buildings can be traced to both clients and architects.

2.The word “feasible” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○in existence

○without question

○achievable

○most likely

3. The word “enhance” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○protect

○improve

○organize

○match

Paragraph 3: In order for the structure to achieve the size and strength necessary to meet its purpose, architecture employs methods of support that, because they are based on physical laws, have changed little since people first discovered them-even while building materials have changed dramatically. The world's architectural structures have also been devised in relation to the objective limitations of materials. Structures can be analyzed in terms of how they deal with downward forces created by gravity. They are designed to withstand the forces of compression (pushing together), tension (pulling apart), bending, or a combination of these in different parts of the structure.

4. 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.

○Unchanging physical laws have limited the size and strength of buildings that can be made with materials discovered long ago.

○Building materials have changed in order to increase architectural size and strength, but physical laws of structure have not changed.

○When people first started to build, the structural methods used to provide strength and size were inadequate because they were not based on physical laws.

○Unlike building materials, the methods of support used in architecture have not changed over time because they are based on physical laws.

5. The word “devised” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○combined

○created

○introduced

○suggested

Paragraph 4: Even development in architecture has been the result of major technological changes. Materials and methods of construction are integral parts of the design of architecture structures. In earlier times it was necessary to design structural systems suitable for the materials that were available, such as wood, stone, brick. Today technology has progressed to the point where it is possible to invent new building materials to suit the type of structure desired. Enormous changes in materials and techniques of construction within the last few generations have made it possible to enclose space with much greater ease and speed and with a minimum of material. Progress in this area can be measured by the difference in weight between buildings built now and those of comparable size built one hundred years ago.

6. The word “integral” is closest in meaning to

○essential

○variable

○practical

○independent

7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is true about materials used in the construction of buildings?

○Because new building materials are hard to find, construction techniques have changed very little from past generations.

○The availability of suitable building materials no longer limits the types of structures that may be built.

○The primary building materials that are available today are wood, stone, and brick.

○Architects in earlier times did not have enough building materials to enclose large spaces.

8. In paragraph 4, what does the author imply about modern buildings?

○They occupy much less space than buildings constructed one hundred years ago.

○They are not very different from the building of a few generations ago.

○They weigh less in relation to their size than buildings constructed one hundred years ago.

○They take a long time to build as a result of their complex construction methods.

Paragraph 5: Modern architectural forms generally have three separate components comparable to elements of the human body: a supporting skeleton or frame, an outer skin enclosing the interior spaces, and equipment, similar to the body's vital organs and systems. The equipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, and air-conditioning. Of course in early architecture-such as igloos and adobe structures-there was no such equipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one.

9. Which of the following correctly characterizes the relationship between the human body and architecture that is described in paragraph 5?

○Complex equipment inside buildings is the one element in modern architecture that resembles a component of the human body.

○The components in early buildings were similar to three particular elements of the human body.

○Modern buildings have components that are as likely to change as the human body is.

○In general, modern buildings more closely resemble the human body than earlier buildings do.

Paragraph 6: Much of the world's great architecture has been constructed of stone because of its beauty, permanence, and availability. In the past, whole cities grew from the arduous task of cutting and piling stone upon. Some of the world's finest stone architecture can be seen in the ruins of the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu high in the eastern Andes Mountains of Peru. Thedoorways and windows are made possible by placing over the open spaces thick stone beams that support the weight from above. A structural invention had to be made before the physical limitations of stone could be overcome and new architectural forms could be created. That invention was the arch, a curved structure originally made of separate stone or brick segments. The arch was used by the early cultures of the Mediterranean area chiefly for underground drains, but it was the Romans who first developed and used the arch extensively in aboveground structures. Roman builders perfected the semicircular arch made of separate blocks of stone. As a method of spanning space, the arch can support greater weight than a horizontal beam. It works in compression to divert the weight above it out to the sides, where the weight is borne by the vertical elements on either side of the arch. The arch is among the many important structural breakthroughs that have characterized architecture throughout the centuries.

10. The word “arduous” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○difficult

○necessary

○skilled

○shared

11. Why does the author include a description of how the “doorways and windows” of Machu Picchu were constructed?

○To indicate that the combined skeletons and skins of the stone buildings of Machu Picchu were similar to igloos and adobe structures

○To indicate the different kinds of stones that had to be cut to build Machu Picchu

○To provide an illustration of the kind of construction that was required before arches were invented

○To explain how ancient builders reduced the amount of time necessary to construct buildings from stone

12.According to paragraph 6, which of the following statements is true of the arch?

○The Romans were the first people to use the stone arch.

○The invention of the arch allowed new architectural forms to be developed.

○The arch worked by distributing the structural load of a building toward the center of the arch.

○The Romans followed earlier practices in their use of arches.

Paragraph 5: █Modern architectural forms generally have three separate components comparable to elements of the human body; a supporting skeleton or frame, an outer skin enclosing the interior spaces, and equipment, similar to the body's vital organs and systems. █The equipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, and air-conditioning. █Of course in early architecture-such as igloos and adobe structures-there was no such equipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one. █

13.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

However, some modern architectural designs, such as those using folded plates of concreter or air-inflated structures, are again unifying skeleton and skin.

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.

Architecture uses forms and space to express cultural values.

●

●

●

Answer choices

○Architects seek to create buildings that are both visually appealing and well suited for human use.

○Over the course of the history of building, innovations in material and methods of construction have given architects ever greater freedom to express themselves.

○Throughout history buildings have been constructed like human bodies, needing distinct “organ” systems in order to function.

○Both clients and architects are responsible for the mediocre designs of some modern buildings.

○Modern buildings tend to lack the beauty of ancient stone buildings such as those of Machu Picchu.

○The discovery and use of the arch typifies the way in which architecture advances by developing more efficient types of structures.

篇7：托福TPO8阅读真题Part2及题目答案

托福TPO8阅读真题Part2

Extinction of the Dinosaurs

Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago

Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago

-Triassic Period

-Jurassic Period

-Cretaceous Period

Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present

Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished), large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.

At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.

If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.

Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the Mesozoic). Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.

Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.

In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years.

Paragraph 1: Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished), large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today's. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.

托福TPO8阅读题目Part2

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the Late Cretaceous climate?

○Summers were very warm and winters were very cold.

○Shallow seas on the continents caused frequent temperature changes.

○The climate was very similar to today's climate.

○The climate did not change dramatically from season to season.

Paragraph 2: At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.

2. Which of the following reasons is suggested in paragraph 2 for the extinction of the dinosaurs?

○Changes in the lengths of the days and nights during the late Cretaceous period

○Droughts caused by the movement of seaways back into the oceans

○The change from mild to severe climates during the Late Cretaceous period

○An extreme decrease in the average yearly temperature over 10,ooo years

Paragraph 3: If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It's hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.

3. Why does the author mention the survival of “snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles” in paragraph 3?

○To argue that dinosaurs may have become extinct because they were not cold-blooded animals

○To question the adequacy of the hypothesis that climatic change related to sea levels caused the extinction of the dinosaurs

○To present examples of animals that could maintain a livable body temperature more easily than dinosaurs

○To support a hypothesis that these animals were not as sensitive to climate changes in the Cretaceous period as they are today

4. The word “cope” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ adapt

○ move

○ continue

○ compete

5. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of changes in climate before the Cretaceous period and the effect of these changes on dinosaurs?

○Climate changes associated with the movement of seaways before the Cretaceous period did not cause dinosaurs to become extinct.

○Changes in climate before the Cretaceous period caused severe fluctuations in sea level, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

○Frequent changes in climate before the Cretaceous period made dinosaurs better able to maintain a livable body temperature.

○Before the Cretaceous period there were few changes in climate, and dinosaurs flourished.

6.The word “fluctuations” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ extremes

○ retreats

○ periods

○ variations

Paragraph 4: Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the Mesozoic). Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (lr) it contained.

7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? In correct choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

○The fossil record suggests that there was an abrupt extinction of many plants and animals at the end of the Mesozoic era.

○Few fossils of the Mesozoic era have survived in the rocks that mark the end of the Cretaceous.

○Fossils from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic up to the beginning of the Cenozoic era have been removed from the layers of rock that surrounded them.

○Plants and animals from the Mesozoic era were unable to survive in the Cenozoic era.

Paragraph 4: Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic (the era after the Mesozoic). Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium (Ir) it contained.

8. In paragraph 4, all the following questions are answered EXCEPT:

○Why is there a layer of clay between the rocks of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic?

○Why were scientists interested in determining how long it took to deposit the layer of clay at the end of the Cretaceous?

○What was the effect of the surprising observation scientists made?

○Why did scientists want more information about the dinosaur extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous?

Paragraph 5: Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.

9. The word “bombard” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ approach

○ strike

○ pass

○ circle

10. Paragraph 5 implies that a special explanation of Ir in the boundary clay is needed because

○the Ir in microscopic meteorites reaching Earth during the Cretaceous period would have been incorporated into Earth's core

○the Ir in the boundary clay was deposited much more than a million years ago

○the concentration of Ir in the boundary clay is higher than in microscopic meteorites

○the amount of Ir in the boundary clay is too great to have come from microscopic meteorites during the time the boundary clay was deposited

Paragraph 6: In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years.

11. The word “disruption” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ exhaustion

○ disturbance

○ modification

○ disappearance

12. Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following effects of the hypothesized asteroid collision EXCEPT

○ a large dust cloud that blocked sunlight

○ an immediate drop in the surface temperatures of the continents

○ an extreme decrease in rainfall on the continents

○ a long-term increase in global temperatures

Paragraph 5: Ir has not been common at Earth's since the very beginning of the planet's history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth's core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system's original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. ■ These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. ■However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. ■So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation. ■

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Consequently, the idea that the Ir in the boundary clay came from microscopic meteorites cannot be accepted.

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 that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

For a long time scientists have argued that the extinction of the dinosaurs was related to climate change.

●

●

●

Answer choices

○A simple climate change does not explain some important data related to the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.

○The retreat of the seaways at the end of the Cretaceous has not been fully explained.

○The abruptness of extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous and the high concentration of Ir found in clay deposited at that time have fueled the development of a new hypothesis.

○Extreme changes in daily and seasonal climates preceded the retreat of the seas back into the major ocean basins.

○Some scientists hypothesize that the extinction of the dinosaurs resulted from the effects of an asteroid collision with Earth.

○Boundary clay layers like the one between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are used by scientists to determine the rate at which an extinct species declined

托福TPO8阅读答案Part2

参考答案：

1. ○4

2. ○3

3. ○2

4. ○1

5. ○1

6. ○4

7. ○1

8.○1

9. ○2

10. ○4

11. ○2

12. ○3

13. ○3

14. A simple climate change

The abruptness of extinctions

Some scientists hypothesize

托福TPO8阅读翻译：Part2

参考翻译：恐龙的灭绝

很长时间以来，古生物学家们认为恐龙的灭亡是与因地质构造而引起的海洋和大陆位置变迁相关的气候变化所致。在整个白垩纪(中生代的最后的一段时间，这时恐龙正值繁盛)，广阔的浅海覆盖了大量的陆地。各方面的数据，包括海床沉积中的地理化学证据，都表明白垩纪后期的气候比现在的气候要温和得多。白天不是很热，夜间也不是很寒冷。夏天不是太炎热，而冬天也不是太寒冷。大陆上的浅海可能使其附近的空气少受影响，以保持相对稳定的温度。

在白垩纪后期，地质资料表明这些浅海都从大陆退回到主要的海洋盆地内了，没有人明白为什么。大约在100 0内，海洋收缩了，世界的气候也随之变得更极端：白天更热，夜间更冷，夏天更炎热，冬天更寒冷。恐龙或许就是因为无法忍受这种严峻的气温变化因而灭绝。

如果真是这样，那么为什么冷血动物，比如蛇类、蜥蜴、乌龟和鳄鱼却能够幸免于寒冬和酷夏呢?这些动物都是依赖于气温以使其身体保持适合生存的温度。很难理解它们为什么毫不受影响，然而恐龙却如此的无能以至于无法适应，尤其是有些科学家认为恐龙是热血动物。批评者们也指出浅海在中生代曾有过无数次的进入大陆而又退回盆地的过程，所以为什么恐龙在前面的海洋起伏中能幸免于难，而在这一次中却不能呢?尽管最初人们这样认为，但是简单的与海平面高度有关的气候变化假设是不足以解释所有数据的。

对传统的关于恐龙灭绝解释的不满使得人们反过来惊奇的发现，从而产生了新的假设。当人们对比白垩纪后期的岩层资料和新生代(中生代后面的一个时期)早期的资料时发现很多植物和动物都突然地消失了。在白垩纪最后的一层岩石和新生代的第一层岩石之间，常有一层很薄的粘土。科学家们感觉到他们可以通过确定这层一厘米厚的粘土层中元素铱的含量来推测其的沉积时间，进而推测大灭绝所用的时间。

自从地球以来，铱元素在地球的表面上就不常见。因为它通常是以金属状态存在，并随着地球的冷却和固结而优先地合并到地核中了。在一些陨石中，依可能会高度富集，而这里常保存着太阳系内原始的化学组成。直到今天，小型的陨石也在连续不断地撞击地球，并掉落在陆地和海洋中。通过确定在一段给定时间内掉落在地球上的这种陨石的数量，科学家们就可以确定沉积隔层粘土的形成时间。这种计算表明形成这种沉积可能需要一百万年。然而其他可靠的证据则表明沉积这层粘土不可能花费了一百万年。所以这种不正常的铱的富集可能需要一种特殊的解释。

考虑到这些事实，科学家们就假设有一个较大的小行星，直径差不多有10到15公里，曾与地球相撞，所以碰撞扬起的灰尘等就形成了这层粘土层。他们的计算表明撞击扬起的灰尘遮挡了阳光达几个月之久，阻止了植物的光合作用，将陆地上的气温降到了零点之下，导致酸雨，通过温室效应造成了长期的、严重的全球升温。这种对食物链和气候的极大扰乱将可使恐龙和其他生物在不到50年的时间内绝迹。

篇8：托福TPO3阅读真题原文及答案翻译Part3

The Long-Term Stability of Ecosystems

Plant communities assemble themselves flexibly, and their particular structure depends on the specific history of the area. Ecologists use the term “succession” to refer to the changes that happen in plant communities and ecosystems over time. The first community in a succession is called a pioneer community, while the long-lived community at the end of succession is called a climax community. Pioneer and successional plant communities are said to change over periods from 1 to 500 years. These changes-in plant numbers and the mix of species-are cumulative. Climax communities themselves change but over periods of time greater than about 500 years.

An ecologist who studies a pond today may well find it relatively unchanged in a year's time. Individual fish may be replaced, but the number of fish will tend to be the same from one year to the next. We can say that the properties of an ecosystem are more stable than the individual organisms that compose the ecosystem.

At one time, ecologists believed that species diversity made ecosystems stable. They believed that the greater the diversity the more stable the ecosystem. Support for this idea came from the observation that long-lasting climax communities usually have more complex food webs and more species diversity than pioneer communities. Ecologists concluded that the apparent stability of climax ecosystems depended on their complexity. To take an extreme example, farmlands dominated by a single crop are so unstable that one year of bad weather or the invasion of a single pest can destroy the entire crop. In contrast, a complex climax community, such as a temperate forest, will tolerate considerable damage from weather to pests.

The question of ecosystem stability is complicated, however. The first problem is that ecologists do not all agree what “stability” means. Stability can be defined as simply lack of change. In that case, the climax community would be considered the most stable, since, by definition, it changes the least over time. Alternatively, stability can be defined as the speed with which an ecosystem returns to a particular form following a major disturbance, such as a fire. This kind of stability is also called resilience. In that case, climax communities would be the most fragile and the least stable, since they can require hundreds of years to return to the climax state.

Even the kind of stability defined as simple lack of change is not always associated with maximum diversity. At least in temperate zones, maximum diversity is often found in mid-successional stages, not in the climax community. Once a redwood forest matures, for example, the kinds of species and the number of individuals growing on the forest floor are reduced. In general, diversity, by itself, does not ensure stability. Mathematical models of ecosystems likewise suggest that diversity does not guarantee ecosystem stability-just the opposite, in fact. A more complicated system is, in general, more likely than a simple system to break down. A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is more likely to break down than a child's tricycle.

Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community's resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery.

Many ecologists now think that the relative long-term stability of climax communities comes not from diversity but from the “patchiness” of the environment, an environment that varies from place to place supports more kinds of organisms than an environment that is uniform. A local population that goes extinct is quickly replaced by immigrants from an adjacent community. Even if the new population is of a different species, it can approximately fill the niche vacated by the extinct population and keep the food web intact.

Paragraph 1: Plant communities assemble themselves flexibly, and their particular structure depends on the specific history of the area. Ecologists use the term “succession” to refer to the changes that happen in plant communities and ecosystems over time. The first community in a succession is called a pioneer community, while the long-lived community at the end of succession is called a climax community. Pioneer and successional plant communities are said to change over periods from 1 to 500 years. These changes-in plant numbers and the mix of species-are cumulative. Climax communities themselves change but over periods of time greater than about 500 years.

托福TPO3阅读真题题目Part3

1. The word “particular” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○natural

○final

○specific

○complex

2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT true of climax communities?

○They occur at the end of a succession.

○They last longer than any other type of community.

○The numbers of plants in them and the mix of species do not change.

○They remain stable for at least 500 years at a time.

Paragraph 2: An ecologist who studies a pond today may well find it relatively unchanged in a year's time. Individual fish may be replaced, but the number of fish will tend to be the same from one year to the next. We can say that the properties of an ecosystem are more stable than the individual organisms that compose the ecosystem.

3. According to paragraph 2, which of the following principles of ecosystems can be learned by studying a pond?

○Ecosystem properties change more slowly than individuals in the system.

○The stability of an ecosystem tends to change as individuals are replaced.

○Individual organisms are stable from one year to the next.

○A change in the members of an organism does not affect an ecosystem's properties.

Paragraph 3: At one time, ecologists believed that species diversity made ecosystems stable. They believed that the greater the diversity the more stable the ecosystem. Support for this idea came from the observation that long-lasting climax communities usually have more complex food webs and more species diversity than pioneer communities. Ecologists concluded that the apparent stability of climax ecosystems depended on their complexity. To take an extreme example, farmlands dominated by a single crop are so unstable that one year of bad weather or the invasion of a single pest can destroy the entire crop. In contrast, a complex climax community, such as a temperate forest, will tolerate considerable damage from weather to pests.

4. According to paragraph 3, ecologists once believed that which of the following illustrated the most stable ecosystems?

○Pioneer communities

○Climax communities

○Single-crop farmlands

○Successional plant communities

Paragraph 4: The question of ecosystem stability is complicated, however. The first problem is that ecologists do not all agree what “stability” means. Stability can be defined as simply lack of change. In that case, the climax community would be considered the most stable, since, by definition, it changes the least over time. Alternatively, stability can be defined as the speed with which an ecosystem returns to a particular form following a major disturbance, such as a fire. This kind of stability is also called resilience. In that case, climax communities would be the most fragile and the least stable, since they can require hundreds of years to return to the climax state.

5. According to paragraph 4, why is the question of ecosystem stability complicated?

○The reasons for ecosystem change are not always clear.

○Ecologists often confuse the word “stability” with the word “resilience.”

○The exact meaning of the word “stability” is debated by ecologists.

○There are many different answers to ecological questions.

6. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is true of climax communities?○They are more resilient than pioneer communities.

○They can be considered both the most and the least stable communities.

○They are stable because they recover quickly after major disturbances.

○They are the most resilient communities because they change the least over time.

Paragraph 5: Even the kind of stability defined as simple lack of change is not always associated with maximum diversity. At least in temperate zones, maximum diversity is often found in mid-successional stages, not in the climax community. Once a redwood forest matures, for example, the kinds of species and the number of individuals growing on the forest floor are reduced. In general, diversity, by itself, does not ensure stability. Mathematical models of ecosystems likewise suggest that diversity does not guarantee ecosystem stability-just the opposite, in fact. A more complicated system is, in general, more likely than a simple system to break down. A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is more likely to break down than a child's tricycle.

7. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5 about redwood forests?

○They become less stable as they mature.

○They support many species when they reach climax.

○They are found in temperate zones.

○They have reduced diversity during mid-successional stages.

8. The word “guarantee” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○increase

○ensure

○favor

○complicate

9. In paragraph 5, why does the author provide the information that “A fifteen-speed racing bicycle is more likely to break down than a child's tricycle”?

○To illustrate a general principle about the stability of systems by using an everyday example

○To demonstrate that an understanding of stability in ecosystems can be applied to help understand stability in other situations

○To make a comparison that supports the claim that, in general, stability increases with diversity

○To provide an example that contradicts mathematical models of ecosystems

Paragraph 6: Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community's resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery.

10. The word “pales” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○increases proportionally

○differs

○loses significance

○is common

Paragraph 7: Many ecologists now think that the relative long-term stability of climax communities comes not from diversity but from the “patchiness” of the environment, an environment that varies from place to place supports more kinds of organisms than an environment that is uniform. A local population that goes extinct is quickly replaced by immigrants from an adjacentcommunity. Even if the new population is of a different species, it can approximately fill the niche vacated by the extinct population and keep the food web intact.

11.Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incurred choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

○Ecologists now think that the stability of an environment is a result of diversity rather than patchiness.

○Patchy environments that vary from place to place do not often have high species diversity.

○Uniform environments cannot be climax communities because they do not support as many types of organisms as patchy environments.

○A patchy environment is thought to increase stability because it is able to support a wide variety of organisms.

12.The word “adjacent” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○foreign

○stable

○fluid

○neighboring

Paragraph 6: █Ecologists are especially interested to know what factors contribute to the resilience of communities because climax communities all over the world are being severely damaged or destroyed by human activities. █The destruction caused by the volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helens, in the northwestern United States, for example, pales in comparison to the destruction caused by humans. █We need to know what aspects of a community are most important to the community's resistance to destruction, as well as its recovery. █

13.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

In fact, damage to the environment by humans is often much more severe than damage by natural events and processes.

Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.

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.

The process of succession and the stability of a climax community can change over time.

●

●

●

Answer choices

○The changes that occur in an ecosystem from the pioneer to the climax community can be seen in one human generation.

○A high degree of species diversity does not always result in a stable ecosystem.

○The level of resilience in a plant community contributes to its long-term stability.

○Ecologists agree that climax communities are the most stable types of ecosystems.

○Disagreements over the meaning of the term “stability” make it difficult to identify the most stable ecosystems.

○The resilience of climax communities makes them resistant to destruction caused by humans

篇9：TPO5托福阅读真题原文及答案解析Part2

托福TPO5阅读真题文本：Part2

The Origin of the Pacific Island People

The greater Pacific region, traditionally called Oceania, consists of three cultural areas: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Melanesia, in the southwest Pacific, contains the large islands of New Guinea, the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Micronesia, the area north of Melanesia, consists primarily of small scattered islands. Polynesia is the central Pacific area in the great triangle defined by Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. Before the arrival of Europeans, the islands in the two largest cultural areas, Polynesia and Micronesia, together contained a population estimated at 700,000.

Speculation on the origin of these Pacific islanders began as soon as outsiders encountered them, in the absence of solid linguistic, archaeological, and biological data, many fanciful and mutually exclusive theories were devised. Pacific islanders are variously thought to have come from North America, South America, Egypt, Israel, and India, as well as Southeast Asia. Many older theories implicitly deprecated the navigational abilities and overall cultural creativity of the Pacific islanders. For example, British anthropologists G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry assumed that only Egyptians would have been skilled enough to navigate and colonize the Pacific. They inferred that the Egyptians even crossed the Pacific to found the great civilizations of the New World (North and South America). In 1947 Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a balsa-log raft westward with the winds and currents across the Pacific from South America to prove his theory that Pacific islanders were Native Americans (also called American Indians). Later Heyerdahl suggested that the Pacific was peopled by three migrations: by Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest of North America drifting to Hawaii, by Peruvians drifting to Easter Island, and by Melanesians. In 1969 he crossed the Atlantic in an Egyptian-style reed boat to prove Egyptian influences in the Americas. Contrary to these theorists, the overwhelming evidence of physical anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology shows that the Pacific islanders came from Southeast Asia and were skilled enough as navigators to sail against the prevailing winds and currents.

The basic cultural requirements for the successful colonization of the Pacific islands include the appropriate boat-building, sailing, and navigation skills to get to the islands in the first place, domesticated plants and gardening skills suited to often marginal conditions, and a varied inventory of fishing implements and techniques. It is now generally believed that these prerequisites originated with peoples speaking Austronesian languages (a group of several hundred related languages) and began to emerge in Southeast Asia by about 5000 B.C.E. The culture of that time, based on archaeology and linguistic reconstruction, is assumed to have had a broad inventory of cultivated plants including taro, yarns, banana, sugarcane, breadfruit, coconut, sago, and rice. Just as important, the culture also possessed the basic foundation for an effective maritime adaptation, including outrigger canoes and a variety of fishing techniques that could be effective for overseas voyaging.

Contrary to the arguments of some that much of the pacific was settled by Polynesians accidentally marooned after being lost and adrift, it seems reasonable that this feat was accomplished by deliberate colonization expeditions that set out fully stocked with food and domesticated plants and animals. Detailed studies of the winds and currents using computer simulations suggest that drifting canoes would have been a most unlikely means of colonizing the Pacific. These expeditions were likely driven by population growth and political dynamics on the home islands, as well as the challenge and excitement of exploring unknown waters.

Because all Polynesians, Micronesians, and many Melanesians speak Austronesian languages and grow crops derived from Southeast Asia, all these peoples most certainly derived from that region and not the New World or elsewhere. The undisputed pre-Columbian presence in Oceania of the sweet potato, which is a New World domesticate, has sometimes been used to support Heyerdahl's “American Indians in the Pacific” theories. However, this is one plant out of a long list of Southeast Asian domesticates. As Patrick Kirch, an American anthropologist, points out, rather than being brought by rafting South Americans, sweet potatoes might just have easily been brought back by returning Polynesian navigators who could have reached the west coast of South America.

Paragraph1: The greater Pacific region, traditionally called Oceania, consists of three cultural areas: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Melanesia, in the southwest Pacific, contains the large islands of New Guinea, the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Micronesia, the area north of Melanesia, consists primarily of small scattered islands. Polynesia is the central Pacific area in the great triangle defined by Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. Before the arrival of Europeans, the islands in the two largest cultural areas, Polynesia and Micronesia, together contained a population estimated at 700,000.

托福TPO5阅读题目：Part2

1. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are true statements about Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia EXCEPT:

○ Collectively, these regions are traditionally known as Oceania.

○ These islands of Micronesia are small and spread out.

○ Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand mark the boundaries of Polynesia.

○ Melanesia is situated to the north of Micronesia.

Paragraph 2: Speculation on the origin of these Pacific islanders began as soon as outsiders encountered them, in the absence of solid linguistic, archaeological, and biological data, many fanciful and mutually exclusive theories were devised. Pacific islanders are variously thought to have come from North America, South America, Egypt, Israel, and India, as well as Southeast Asia. Many older theories implicitly deprecated the navigational abilities and overall cultural creativity of the Pacific islanders. For example, British anthropologists G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry assumed that only Egyptians would have been skilled enough to navigate and colonize the Pacific. They inferred that the Egyptians even crossed the Pacific to found the great civilizations of the New World (North and South America). In 1947 Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a balsa-log raft westward with the winds and currents across the Pacific from South America to prove his theory that Pacific islanders were Native Americans (also called American Indians). Later Heyerdahl suggested that the Pacific was peopled by three migrations: by Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest of North America drifting to Hawaii, by Peruvians drifting to Easter Island, and by Melanesians. In 1969 he crossed the Atlantic in an Egyptian-style reed boat to prove Egyptian influences in the Americas. Contrary to these theorists, theoverwhelming evidence of physical anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology shows that the Pacific islanders came from Southeast Asia and were skilled enough as navigators to sail against the prevailing winds and currents.

2. By stating that the theories are “mutually exclusive” the author means that

○ if one of the theories is true, then all the others must be false

○ the differences between the theories are unimportant

○ taken together, the theories cover all possibilities

○ the theories support each other

3. The word “overwhelming” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ powerful

○ favorable

○ current

○ reasonable

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following led some early researchers to believe that the Pacific islanders originally came from Egypt?

○ Egyptians were known to have founded other great civilizations.

○ Sailors from other parts of the world were believed to lack the skills needed to travel across the ocean.

○ Linguistic, archaeological, and biological data connected the islands to Egypt.

○ Egyptian accounts claimed responsibility for colonizing the Pacific as well as the Americas.

5. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about early theories of where the first inhabitants of the Pacific islands came from?

○ They were generally based on solid evidence.

○ They tried to account for the origin of the characteristic features of the languages spoken by Pacific islanders.

○ They assumed that the peoples living in Southeast Asia did not have the skills needed to sail to the Pacific islands.

○ They questioned the ideas of G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry.

Paragraph 3: The basic cultural requirements for the successful colonization of the Pacific islands include the appropriate boat-building, sailing, and navigation skills to get to the islands in the first place, domesticated plants and gardening skills suited to often marginal conditions, and a varied inventory of fishing implements and techniques. It is now generally believed that these prerequisites originated with peoples speaking Austronesian languages (a group of several hundred related languages) and began to emerge in Southeast Asia by about 5000 B.C.E. The culture of that time, based on archaeology and linguistic reconstruction, is assumed to have had a broad inventory of cultivated plants including taro, yarns, banana, sugarcane, breadfruit, coconut, sago, and rice. Just as important, the culture also possessed the basic foundation for an effective maritime adaptation, including outrigger canoes and a variety of fishing techniques that could be effective for overseas voyaging.

6. The word “implements” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ skills

○ tools

○ opportunities

○ practices

7. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 as required for successful colonization of the Pacific islands EXCEPT

○ knowledge of various Austronesian languages

○ a variety of fishing techniques

○ navigational skills

○ knowledge of plant cultivation

8. In paragraph 3, why does the author provide information about the types of crops grown and boats used in Southeast Asia during the period around 5000 B. C. E.?

○ To evaluate the relative importance of agriculture and fishing to early Austronesian peoples

○ To illustrate the effectiveness of archaeological and linguistic methods in discovering details about life in ancient times

○ To contrast living conditions on the continent of Asia with living conditions on the Pacific islands

○ To demonstrate that people from this region had the skills and resources necessary to travel to and survive on the Pacific islands

Paragraph 4: Contrary to the arguments of some that much of the pacific was settled by Polynesians accidentally marooned after being lost and adrift, it seems reasonable that this feat was accomplished by deliberate colonization expeditions that set out fully stocked with food and domesticated plants and animals. Detailed studies of the winds and currents using computer simulations suggest that drifting canoes would have been a most unlikely means of colonizing the Pacific. These expeditions were likely driven by population growth and political dynamics on the home islands, as well as the challenge and excitement of exploring unknown waters. Because all Polynesians, Micronesians, and many Melanesians speak Austronesian languages and grow crops derived from Southeast Asia, all these peoples most certainly derived from that region and not the New World or elsewhere. The undisputed pre-Columbian presence in Oceania of the sweet potato, which is a New World domesticate, has sometimes been used to support Heyerdahl's “American Indians in the Pacific” theories. However, this is one plant out of a long list of Southeast Asian domesticates. As Patrick Kirch, an American anthropologist, points out, rather than being brought by rafting South Americans, sweet potatoes might just have easily been brought back by returning Polynesian navigators who could have reached the west coast of South America.

9. 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.

○ Some people have argued that the Pacific was settled by traders who became lost while transporting domesticated plants and animals.

○ The original Polynesian settlers were probably marooned on the islands, but they may have been joined later by carefully prepared colonization expeditions.

○ Although it seems reasonable to believe that colonization expeditions would set out fully stocked, this is contradicted by much of the evidence.

○ The settlement of the Pacific islands was probably intentional and well planned rather than accidental as some people have proposed.

10. The word “undisputed” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○ mysterious

○ unexpected

○ acknowledged

○ significant

11. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is NOT an explanation for why a group of people might have wanted to colonize the Pacific islands?

○ As their numbers increased, they needed additional territory.

○ The winds and currents made the islands easy to reach.

○ The political situation at home made emigration desirable.

○ They found exploration challenging and exciting.

12. Why does the author mention the views of “Patrick Kirch”?

○ To present evidence in favor of Heyerdahl's idea about American Indians reaching Oceania

○ To emphasize the familiarity of Pacific islanders with crops from many different regions of the world

○ To indicate that supposed proof for Heyerdahl's theory has an alternative explanation

○ To demonstrate that some of the same crops were cultivated in both South America and Oceania

Paragraph 2: Speculation on the origin of these Pacific islanders began as soon as outsiders encountered them, in the absence of solid linguistic, archaeological, and biological data, many fanciful and mutually exclusive theories were devised. Pacific islanders are variously thought to have come from North America, South America, Egypt, Israel, and India, as well as Southeast Asia. ■Many older theories implicitly deprecated the navigational abilities and overall cultural creativity of the Pacific islanders. ■For example, British anthropologists G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry assumed that only Egyptians would have been skilled enough to navigate and colonize the Pacific. ■They inferred that the Egyptians even crossed the Pacific to found the great civilizations of the New World (North and South America). ■In 1947 Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a balsa-log raft westward with the winds and currents across the Pacific from South America to prove his theory that Pacific islanders were Native Americans (also called American Indians). Later Heyerdahl suggested that the Pacific was peopled by three migrations: by Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest of North America drifting to Hawaii, by Peruvians drifting to Easter Island, and by Melanesians. In 1969 he crossed the Atlantic in an Egyptian-style reed boat to prove Egyptian influences in the Americas. Contrary to these theorists, the overwhelming evidence of physical anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology shows that the Pacific islanders came from Southeast Asia and were skilled enough as navigators to sail against the prevailing winds and currents.

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Later theories concentrate on journeys in the other direction.

Where could the sentence best fit?

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 answer c

14. hoices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or

15. are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Together, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia make up the region described as the Pacific islands, or Oceania.

●

●

●

Answer Choices

○The first Europeans to reach the area assumed that the islands' original inhabitants must have drifted to Oceania, perhaps from Egypt or the Americas.

○It is now believed that the process of colonization required a great deal of skill, determination, and planning and could not have happened by chance.

○Using linguistic and archaeological evidence, anthropologists have determined that the first Pacific islanders were Austronesian people from Southeast Asia.

○New evidence suggests that, rather than being isolated, Pacific islanders engaged in trade and social interaction with peoples living in Southeast Asia.

○Although early colonizers of the islands probably came from agriculture-based societies, they were obliged to adopt an economy based on fishing.

○Computer simulations of the winds and currents in the Pacific have shown that reaching the Pacific islands was probably much easier than previously thought

托福TPO5阅读真题翻译：Part2

参考答案：

1.○4

2.○1

3.○1

4.○2

5.○3

6.○2

7.○1

8.○4

9.○4

10.○3

11.○2

12.○3

13.○4

14. The first Europeans to…

It is now believed that…

Using linguistic and…

托福TPO5阅读翻译Part2

参考翻译：太平洋群岛居民的起源

广义的太平洋地区，传统上被称作大洋洲，由三块文化区域组成：美拉尼西亚，密克罗尼西亚和波利尼西亚。美拉尼西亚在西南太平洋，包含了新几内亚岛、所罗门、瓦努阿图和新喀里多尼亚的广大岛屿。密克罗尼西亚在美拉尼西亚的北边，主要由一些分散的岛屿组成。波利尼西亚是太平洋中心地区，位于由夏威夷、复活节群岛和新西兰的三大岛屿组成的三角区域中。在欧洲人到来之前，最大的波利尼西亚和密克罗尼西亚岛屿群一共有差不多70万人口。

对于太平洋群岛居民起源的思索开始于外来者和岛民们接触的最初，由于缺乏可靠的语言学、考古学和生物学资料，出现了很多奇异并且互斥的理论。之前太平洋岛民曾被认为来自北美洲、南美洲、埃及、以色列、印度以及东南亚。许多古老的理论含蓄地贬低了太平洋群岛居民的航海能力和综合文化创造力。比如说，英国人类学家G. Elliot Smith 和W. J. Perry认为只有埃及人才能熟练地航海和统治太平洋。他们推断埃及人甚至曾经穿越过太平洋去寻找新世界的文明(北美洲和南美洲)。1947年，挪威探险家Thor Heyerdahl为了证明他的太平洋群岛居民是美国本土居民(也被称作美国印第安人)的理论，用一只带有标志的轻质木筏，借助风力和水流从南美洲漂流过了太平洋。后来Heyerdahl表明太平洋人来自三个移民群体：从北美洲西北部太平洋地区漂流到夏威夷的美国本土居民，从秘鲁去往复活节岛的漂流者，还有美拉尼西亚人。1969年，他驾驶一条埃及样式的芦苇船穿过大西洋，证明埃及人在美洲的影响。与这些理论相矛盾的是，有关物理人类学、语言学和考古学的权威证据表明，太平洋岛居民来自东南亚，并且他们有足够的能力来逆着风和洋流航行。

成功地将太平洋群岛殖民地化需要的基础文化条件包括：适当的造船、航行和航海技术以首先到达岛屿;适应贫瘠条件的驯化植物和园艺技术;各种各样的捕鱼器具和技术。现在普遍认为这些先决条件是那些说南岛语(一个有几百种亲属语种的语系)的人所带来的，他们公元前5 0前就出现在东南亚。通过考古学和语言学的重建发现，那个时候的文明拥有广泛的植物储存，包括芋头、纱、香蕉、甘蔗、面包果、椰子、西米和稻米。同样重要的是，当时的社会也具备适应海洋的基础，包括桅杆船和各种各样有利于越洋航行的捕鱼技术。

与那个太平洋人很多都是波利尼西亚人偶然迷失并漂流而定居下来的说法相反的是，这些功绩是通过有意的殖民远征来实现的，他们那些准备周详，出发时满载食物、已培育好的植物和以驯化的动物。通过电脑模拟对风向和洋流进行的详细研究表明，船只漂流是最不可能的殖民太平洋的途径。远征可能是由本土的人口增长、_以及探索未知水域的挑战和兴奋所驱动的。因为所有的波利尼西亚人、密克罗尼西亚人和很多美拉尼西亚人说南岛语，种植的庄稼起源于东南亚，所以所有的这些人最有可能来自那个地方，而不是新世界或者其他地方。甘薯，一种新世界的品种，在哥伦比亚发现美洲大陆前它就在大洋洲的出现，这是无可置疑的，这有时候被用来证明Heyerdahl的太平洋岛民是美国印第安人的理论。然而，这是一种在东南亚培育的植物的长名单之外的植物。正如美国人类学家Patrick Kirch所指出的，比起从南美漂流过来，甘薯更容易被那些到过南美的玻利尼西亚返航者携带来。

篇10：托福TPO4阅读真题及答案Part2

Cave Art in Europe

The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.

The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified three principal locations of paintings in the caves of western Europe: (1) in obviously inhabited rock shelters and cave entrances; (2) in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves; and (3) in the inner reaches of caves, whose difficulty of access has been interpreted by some as a sign that magical-religious activities were performed there.

The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing.

The particular symbolic significance of the cave paintings in southwestern France is more explicitly revealed, perhaps, by the results of a study conducted by researchers Patricia Rice and Ann Paterson. The data they present suggest that the animals portrayed in the cave paintings were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. For example, wild cattle (bovines) and horses are portrayed more often than we would expect by chance, probably because they were larger and heavier (meatier) than other animals in the environment. In addition, the paintings mostly portray animals that the painters may have feared the most because of their size, speed, natural weapons such as tusks and horns, and the unpredictability of their behavior. That is, mammoths, bovines, and horses are portrayed more often than deer and reindeer. Thus, the paintings are consistent with the idea that the art is related to the importance of hunting in the economy of Upper Paleolithic people. Consistent with this idea, according to the investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic also seems to reflect how people got their food. But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becoming extinct), the art ceased to focus on portrayals of animals.

Upper Paleolithic art was not confined to cave paintings. Many shafts of spears and similar objects were decorated with figures of animals. The anthropologist Alexander Marshack has an interesting interpretation of some of the engravings made during the Upper Paleolithic. He believes that as far back as 30,000 B.C., hunters may have used a system of notation, engraved on bone and stone, to mark phases of the Moon. If this is true, it would mean that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and were consciously aware of their environment. In addition to other artworks, figurines representing the human female in exaggerated form have also been found at Upper Paleolithic sites. It has been suggested that these figurines were an ideal type or an expression of a desire for fertility.

Paragraph 1: The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show amarked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.

篇11：托福TPO4阅读真题及答案Part2

1.The word “marked” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○considerable

○surprising

○limited

○adequate

2.Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about painting in Europe?

○It is much older than painting in Australia.

○It is as much as 28,000 years old.

○It is not as old as painting in southern Africa.

○It is much more than 30,000 years old.

Paragraph 2: The researchers Peter Ucko and Andree Rosenfeld identified three principallocations of paintings in the caves of western Europe: (1) in obviously inhabited rock shelters and cave entrances; (2) in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves; and (3) in the inner reaches of caves, whose difficulty of access has been interpreted by some as a sign that magical-religious activities were performed there.

3.The word “principal” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○major

○likely

○well protected

○distinct

4.According to paragraph 2, what makes some researchers think that certain cave paintings were connected with magical-religious activities?

○The paintings were located where many people could easily see them, allowing groups of people to participate in the magical-religious activities.

○Upper Paleolithic people shared similar beliefs with contemporary peoples who use paintings of animals in their magical-religious rituals.

○Evidence of magical-religious activities has been found in galleries immediately off the inhabited areas of caves.

○The paintings were found in hard-to-reach places away from the inhabited parts of the cave.

Paragraph 3: The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing.

5.The word “trappings” in the passage is closest in meaning to

○conditions

○problems

○influences

○decorations

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.

○Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that if they drew a human image in their cave art, it would cause death or injury.

○Many contemporary people believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, so they, like Upper Paleolithic people, rarely depicted human figures in their cave art.

○If Upper Paleolithic people, like many contemporary peoples, believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, this belief might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art.

○Although many contemporary peoples believe that the drawing of a human image can cause death or injury, researchers cannot explain why Upper Paleolithic people rarely depicted human figures in their cave art.

7.According to paragraph 3, scholars explained chips in the painted figures of animals by proposing that

○Upper Paleolithic artists used marks to record the animals they had seen

○the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals for hunting

○the artists had removed rough spots on the cave walls

○Upper Paleolithic people used the paintings to increase their luck at hunting

8.Why does the author mention that Upper Paleolithic cave art seemed to have “reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing”?

○To argue that Upper Paleolithic art ceased to include animals when herds of game became scarce

○To provide support for the idea that the aim of the paintings was to increase the supply of animals for hunting

○To emphasize the continued improvement in the quality of cave art throughout the Upper Paleolithic period

○To show the direct connection between the decrease in herds of game and the end of the Upper Paleolithic period

Paragraph 4: The particular symbolic significance of the cave paintings in southwestern France is more explicitly revealed, perhaps, by the results of a study conducted by researchers Patricia Rice and Ann Paterson. The data they present suggest that the animals portrayed in the cave paintings were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. For example, wild cattle (bovines) and horses are portrayed more often than we would expect by chance, probably because they were larger and heavier (meatier) than other animals in the environment. In addition, the paintings mostly portray animals that the painters may have feared the most because of their size, speed, natural weapons such as tusks and horns, and the unpredictability of their behavior. That is, mammoths, bovines, and horses are portrayed more often than deer and reindeer. Thus, the paintings are consistent with the idea that the art is related to the importance of hunting in the economy of Upper Paleolithic people. Consistent with this idea, according to the investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic also seems to reflect how people got their food. But in that period, when getting food no longer depended on hunting large game animals (because they were becoming extinct), the art ceased to focus on portrayals of animals.

9.According to paragraph 4, scholars believe that wild cattle, horses, and mammoths are the animals most frequently portrayed in cave paintings for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

○These animals were difficult to hunt because their unpredictable behavior.

○People preferred these animals for their meat and for their skins.

○The painters admired the beauty of these large animals.

○People feared these animals because of their size and speed.

10.According to paragraph 4, which of the following may best represent the attitude of hunters toward deer and reindeer in the Upper Paleolithic period?

○Hunters did not fear deer and reindeers as much as they did large game animals such as horses and mammoths.

○Hunters were not interested in hunting deer and reindeer because of their size and speed.

○Hunters preferred the meat and hides of deer and reindeer to those of other animals.

○Hunters avoided deer and reindeer because of their natural weapons, such as horns.

11.According to paragraph 4, what change is evident in the art of the period following the Upper Paleolithic?

○This new art starts to depict small animals rather than large ones.

○This new art ceases to reflect the ways in which people obtained their food.

○This new art no longer consists mostly of representations of animals.

○This new art begins to show the importance of hunting to the economy.

Paragraph 5: Upper Paleolithic art was not confined to cave paintings. Many shafts of spears and similar objects were decorated with figures of animals. The anthropologist Alexander Marshack has an interesting interpretation of some of the engravings made during the Upper Paleolithic. He believes that as far back as 30,000 B.C., hunters may have used a system of notation, engraved on bone and stone, to mark phases of the Moon. If this is true, it would mean that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and were consciously aware of their environment. In addition to other artworks, figurines representing the human female in exaggerated form have also been found at Upper Paleolithic sites. It has been suggested that these figurines were an ideal type or an expression of a desire for fertility.

12.According to paragraph 5, which of the following has been used as evidence to suggest that Upper Paleolithic people were capable of complex thought and conscious awareness of their environment?

○They engraved animal figures on the shafts of spears and other objects.

○They may have used engraved signs to record the phases of the Moon.

○Their figurines represented the human female in exaggerated form.

○They may have used figurines to portray an ideal type or to express a desire for fertility.

Paragraph 3: The subjects of the paintings are mostly animals. The paintings rest on bare walls, with no backdrops or environmental trappings. Perhaps, like many contemporary peoples, Upper Paleolithic men and women believed that the drawing of a human image could cause death or injury, and if that were indeed their belief, it might explain why human figures are rarely depicted in cave art. Another explanation for the focus on animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting. █This theory is suggested by evidence of chips in the painted figures, perhaps made by spears thrown at the drawings. █But if improving their hunting luck was the chief motivation for the paintings, it is difficult to explain why only a few show signs of having been speared. █Perhaps the paintings were inspired by the need to increase the supply of animals. Cave art seems to have reached a peak toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic period, when the herds of game were decreasing. █

13.Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Therefore, if the paintings were connected with hunting, some other explanation is needed.

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 explain 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.

Upper Paleolithic cave paintings in Western Europe are among humanity's earliest artistic efforts.

● ●●

Answer choices

○Researchers have proposed several different explanations for the fact that animals were the most common subjects in the cave paintings.

○The art of the cultural period that followed the Upper Paleolithic ceased to portray large game animals and focused instead on the kinds of animals that people of that period preferred to hunt.

○Some researchers believe that the paintings found in France provide more explicit evidence of their symbolic significance than those found in Spain, southern Africa, and Australia.

○The cave paintings focus on portraying animals without also depicting the natural environments in which these animals are typically found.

○Some researchers have argued that the cave paintings mostly portrayed large animals that provided Upper Paleolithic people with meat and materials.

○Besides cave paintings, Upper Paleolithic people produced several other kinds of artwork, one of which has been thought to provide evidence of complex thought

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