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篇1：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 4

The term Hudson River school was applied to the foremost representatives ofnineteenth-century North American landscape painting. Apparently unknown during the goldendays of the American landscape movement, which began around 1850 and lasted until the late1860's, the Hudson River school seems to have emerged in the 1870's as a direct result of thestruggle between the old and the new generations of artists, each to assert its own style as therepresentative American art. The older painters, most of whom were born before 1835, practicedin a mode often self-taught and monopolized by landscape subject matter and were securelyestablished in and fostered by the reigning American art organization, the National Academy ofDesign. The younger painters returning home from training in Europe worked more with figuralsubject matter and in a bold and impressionistic technique; their prospects for patronage in theirown country were uncertain, and they sought to attract it by attaining academic recognition inNew York. One of the results of the conflict between the two factions was that what in previousyears had been referred to as the American, native, or, occasionally, New York school — the mostrepresentative school of American art in any genre — had by 1890 become firmly established inthe minds of critics and public alike as the Hudson River school.

The sobriquet was first applied around 1879. While it was not intended as flattering, it washardly inappropriate. The Academicians at whom it was aimed had worked and socialized in NewYork, the Hudson's port city, and had painted the river and its shores with varying frequency.Most important, perhaps, was that they had all maintained with a certain fidelity a manner oftechnique and composition consistent with those of America's first popular landscape artist,Thomas Cole, who built a career painting the Catskill Mountain scenery bordering the HudsonRiver. A possible implication in the term applied to the group of landscapists was that many ofthem had, like Cole, lived on or near the banks of the Hudson. Further, the river had long servedas the principal route to other sketching grounds favored by the Academicians, particularly theAdirondacks and the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The National Academy of Design

(B) Paintings that featured the Hudson River

(D) The training of American artists in European academies

(A) Figural painting

(B) Landscape painting

(D) Historical painting

3. The word struggle in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) connection

(B) distance

(D) competition

4. The word monopolized in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) alarmed

(B) dominated

(D) pursued

5. According to the passage , what was the function of the National Academy of Design for the

painters born before 1835?

(A) It mediated conflicts between artists.

(B) It supervised the incorporation of new artistic techniques.

(D) It supported their growth and development.

6. The word it in line 12 refers to

(A) matter

(B) technique

(D) country

7. The word factions in line 13 is closest in meaning to

(A) sides

(B) people

(D) images

8. The word flattering in line 18 is closest in meaning to

(A) expressive

(B) serious

(D) flashy

9. Where did the younger generation of painters receive its artistic training?

(A) In Europe

(B) In the Adirondacks

(D) In New Hampshire

PASSAGE 4 BBDBD CACA

篇2：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 5

Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring theenvironment — the materials and technologies available to a culture. Stone, wood, tree bark, clay,and sand are generally available materials. In addition, depending on the locality, other resourcesmay be accessible: shells, horns, gold, copper, and silver. The different uses to which societies putthese materials are of interest to anthropologists who may ask, for example, why people chooseto use clay and not copper when both items are available. Although there are no conclusiveanswers yet, the way in which a society views its environment is sometimes apparent in its choiceand use of artistic materials. The use of certain metals, for example, may be reserved forceremonial objects of special importance. Or the belief in the supernatural powers of a stone ortree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.

What is particularly meaningful to anthropologist is the realization that although thematerials available to a society may to some extent limit or influence what it can do artistically,the materials by no means determine what is done. Why do the artists in Japanese society rakesand into patterns; and the artists in Roman society melt sand to form glass? Moreover, evenwhen the same material is used in the same way by members of different societies, the form orstyle of the work varies enormously from culture to culture. A society may simply choose torepresent objects or phenomena that are important to its population. An examination of the artof the Middle Ages tells us something about the medieval preoccupation with theologicaldoctrine. In addition to revealing the primary concerns of a society, the content of that society'sart may also reflect the culture's social stratification.

1. According to the passage , gold, copper, and silver are

(A) more difficult to handle than wood and

(B) of their stable social conditions

(D) available only in specific locations

2. The word conclusive in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) definitive

(B) controversial

(D) realistic

3. The word apparent in line 8 is closest in meaning to

(A) attractive

(B) logical

(D) distinct

4. Why does the author mention the supernatural powers of a stone or tree in line 10?

(A) to show that some sculptors avoid working with specific materials

(B) to emphasize the unusual properties of certain materials

(D) as an illustration of the impact of the environment on religious beliefs

5. The word it in line 13 refers to

(A) realization

(B) society

(D) influence

6. It can be inferred that the author mentions the Japanese and Roman societies because

(A) they influenced each other stone

(B) commonly used by artists in all societies

(D) they used the same artistic material in very different ways

7. According to the passage , all of the following statements about sand are true EXCEPT

(A) It is used to create glass.

(B) Roman artists mix it into their paints.

(D) Japanese artists use it to create artistic patterns.

8. The word Moreover in line 16 is closest in meaning to

(A) similarly

(B) in addition

(D) frequently

9. The word preoccupation in line 20 is closest in meaning to

(A) involvement

(B) separation

(D) argument

10. The word primary in line 21 is closest in meaning to

(A) discrete

(B) preliminary

(D) fundamental

PASSAGE 5 DACCB DBBAD

篇3：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 6

Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda,sodium carbonate) that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from theearly Middle Ages in the making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture ofalkali and sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in thecommunities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed.

Potash and soda are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass- or soap-making eitherwould do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea plants, potashfrom those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar to the early European settlersof the North American continent.

The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the economy ofcolonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It was required for theglassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and was produced in sufficient quantity topermit the inclusion of potash in the first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship toarrive in the settlement from England included among its passengers experts in potash making.

The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was piled up and burned in the open,and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and waterwas poured over them. The solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. Theresulting mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash.

In North America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land foragriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land could be recoveredby the sale of potash. Some potash was exported from Maine and New Hampshire in theseventeenth century, but the market turned out to be mainly domestic, consisting mostly ofshipments from the northern to the southern colonies. For despite the beginning of the trade atJamestown and such encouragements as a series of acts to encourage the making of potash,beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be poor sources of thesubstance.

1. What aspect of potash does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) How it was made

(B) Its value as a product for export

(D) Its importance in colonial North America

2. All of the following statements are true of both potash and soda EXPECT:

(A) They are alkalis.

(B) They are made from sea plants.

(D) They are used in making glass.

3. They phrase the latter in line 4 refers to

(A) alkali

(B) glass

(D) soap

4. The word stressed in line 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) defined

(B) emphasized

(D) mentioned

5. The word interchangeable in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) convenient

(B) identifiable

(D) advantageous

6. It can be inferred from the passage that potash was more common than soda in colonial North

America because

(A) the materials needed for making soda were not readily available

(B) making potash required less time than making soda

(D) the colonial glassworks found soda more difficult to use

7. According to paragraph 4, all of the following were needed for making potash EXCEPT

(A) wood

(B) fire

(D) water

8. The word adjunct in line 22 is closest in meaning to

(A) addition

(B) answer

(D) possibility

9. According to the passage , a major benefit of making potash was that

(A) it could be exported to Europe in exchange for other goods

(B) it helped finance the creation of farms

(D) stimulated the development of new ways of glassmaking

10. According to paragraph 5, the softwoods in the South posed which of the following problems

for southern settles?

(A) The softwoods were not very plentiful.

(B) The softwoods could not be used to build houses.

(D) The softwoods were not very useful for making potash.

PASSAGE 6 DBDBC ACABD

篇4：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 37

A number of factors related to the voice reveal the personality of the speaker. The first is the broad area of communication, which includes imparting information by use of language, communicating with a group or an individual, and specialized communication through performance. A person conveys thoughts and ideas through choice of words, by a tone of voice that is pleasant or unpleasant, gentle or harsh, by the rhythm that is inherent within the language itself, and by speech rhythms that are flowing and regular or uneven and hesitant, and finally, by the pitch and melody of the utterance. When speaking before a group, a person's tone may indicate unsureness or fright, confidence or calm. At interpersonal levels, the tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen, or may belie them. Here the conversant's tone can consciously or unconsciously reflect intuitive sympathy or antipathy, lack of concern or interest, fatigue, anxiety, enthusiasm or excitement, all of which are usually discernible by the acute listener. Public performance is a manner of communication that is highly specialized with its own techniques for obtaining effects by voice and /or gesture. The motivation derived from the text, and in the case of singing, the music, in combination with the performer's skills, personality, and ability to create empathy will determine the success of artistic, political, or pedagogic communication.

Second, the voice gives psychological clues to a person's self-image, perception of others, and emotional health. Self-image can be indicated by a tone of voice that is confident, pretentious, shy, aggressive, outgoing, or exuberant, to name only a few personality traits. Also the sound may give a clue to the facade or mask of that person, for example, a shy person hiding behind an overconfident front. How a speaker perceives the listener's receptiveness, interest, or sympathy in any given conversation can drastically alter the tone of presentation, by encouraging or discouraging the speaker. Emotional health is evidenced in the voice by free and melodic sounds of the happy, by constricted and harsh sound of the angry, and by dull and lethargic qualities of the depressed. ?

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The function of the voice in performance

(B) The connection between voice and personality

(D) The production of speech

2. What does the author mean by stating that, At interpersonal levels, tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen (lines 9-10)?

(A) Feelings are expressed with different words than ideas are.

(B) The tone of voice can carry information beyond the meaning of words.

(D) Feelings are more difficult to express than ideas.

3. The word Here in line 10 refers to

(A) interpersonal interactions

(B) the tone

(D) words chosen

4. The word derived in line 15 is closest in meaning to

(A) discussed

(B) prepared

(D) obtained

5. Why does the author mention artistic, political, or pedagogic communication in line 17?

(A) As examples of public performance

(B) As examples of basic styles of communication

(D) To introduce the idea of self-image

6. According to the passage , an exuberant tone of voice, may be an indication of a person's

(A) general physical health

(B) personality

(D) vocal quality

7. According to the passage , an overconfident front may hide

(A) hostility

(B) shyness

(D) strength

8. The word drastically in line 24 is closest in meaning to

(A) frequently

(B) exactly

(D) easily

9. The word evidenced in line 25 is closest in meaning to

(A) questioned

(B) repeated

(D) exaggerated

10. According to the passage , what does a constricted and harsh voice indicate?

(A) lethargy

(B) depression

(D) anger

PASSAGE 37 BBADA BBCCD

篇5：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 38

During most of their lives, surge glaciers behave like normal glaciers, traveling perhaps only a couple of inches per day. However, at intervals of 10 to 100 years, these glaciers move forward up to 100 times faster than usual. The surge often progresses along a glacier like a great wave, proceeding from one section to another. Subglacial streams of meltwater might act as a lubricant, allowing the glacier to flow rapidly toward the sea. The increasing water pressure under the glacier might lift it off its bed, overcoming the friction between ice and rock, thus freeing the glacier, which rapidly sliders downhill. Surge glaciers also might be influenced by the climate, volcanic heat, or earthquakes. However, many of these glaciers exist in the same area as normal glaciers, often almost side by side.

Some 800 years ago, Alaska's Hubbard Glacier advanced toward the sea, retreated, and advanced again 500 years later. Since 1895, this seventy-mile-long river of ice has been flowing steadily toward the Gulf of Alaska at a rate of approximately 200 feet per year. In June 1986, however, the glacier surged ahead as much as 47 feet a day. Meanwhile, a western tributary, called Valerie Glacier, advanced up to 112 feet a day. Hubbard's surge closed off Russell Fiord with a formidable ice dam, some 2,500 feet wide and up to 800 feet high, whose caged waters threatened the town of Yakutat to the south.

About 20 similar glaciers around the Gulf of Alaska are heading toward the sea. If enough surge glaciers reach the ocean and raise sea levels, west Antarctic ice shelves could rise off the seafloor and become adrift. A flood of ice would then surge into the Southern Sea. With the continued rise in sea level, more ice would plunge into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise even higher, which in turn would release more ice and set in motion a vicious cycle. The additional sea ice floating toward the tropics would increase Earth's albedo and lower global temperatures, perhaps enough to initiate a new ice age. This situation appears to have occurred at the end of the last warm interglacial (the time between glacations), called the Sangamon, when sea ice cooled the ocean dramatically, spawning the beginning of the Ice Age.

1. What is the main topic of the passage ?

(A) The classification of different types of surge glaciers

(B) The causes and consequences of surge glaciers

(D) The history of a particular surge glacier

2. The word intervals in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) records

(B) speeds

(D) periods

3. The author compares the surging motion of a surge glacier to the movement of a

(A) fish

(B) wave

(D) boat

4. Which of the following does the author mention as a possible cause of surging glaciers?

(A) The decline in sea levels

(B) The occurrence of unusually large ocean waves

(D) The pressure of meltwater underneath the glacier

5. The word freeing in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) pushing

(B) releasing

(D) draining

6. According to the passage , the Hubbard Glacier

(A) moves more often than the Valerie Glacier

(B) began movement toward the sea in 1895

(D) has moved as fast as 47 feet per day

7. Yakutat is the name of

(A) an Alaskan town

(B) the last ice age

(D) an Antarctic ice shelf

8. The word plunge in line 22 is closest in meaning to

(A) drop

(B) extend

(D) drift

9. The term vicious cycle in line 24 refers to the

(A) movement pattern of surge glaciers

(B) effect surge glaciers could have on the temperature of tropical areas

(D) constant threat surge glaciers could pose to the Gulf of Alaska

10. The author provides a definition for which of the following terms?

(A) tributary (line 15)

(B) ice dam (line 16)

(D) interglacial(line 26)

11. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage ?

(A) The movement of surge glaciers can be prevented.

(B) The next ice age could be caused by surge glaciers.

(D) Normal glaciers have little effect on Earth's climate.

PASSAGE 38 BDBDB DAACD B

篇6：托福阅读真题

PASSAGE 39

The Native American peoples of the north Pacific Coast created a highly complex maritime culture as they invented modes of production unique to their special environment. In addition to their sophisticated technical culture, they also attained one of the most complex social organizations of any nonagricultural people in the world.

In a division of labor similar to that of the hunting peoples in the interior and among foraging peoples throughout the world, the men did most of the fishing, and the women processed the catch. Women also specialized in the gathering of the abundant shellfish that lived closer to shore. They collected oysters, crabs, sea urchins, mussels, abalone, and clams, which they could gather while remaining close to their children. The maritime life harvested by the women not only provided food, but also supplied more of the raw materials for making tools than did fish gathered by the men. Of particular importance for the native tool kit before the introduction of metal was the wide knife made from the larger mussel shells, and a variety of cutting edges that could be made from other marine shells.

The women used their tools to process all of the fish and marine mammals brought in by the men. They cleaned the fish, and dried vast quantities of them for the winter. They sun-dried fish when practical, but in the rainy climate of the coastal area they also used smokehouses to preserve tons of fish and other seafood annually. Each product had its own peculiar characteristics that demanded a particular way of cutting or drying the meat, and each task required its own cutting blades and other utensils.

After drying the fish, the women pounded some of them into fish meal, which was an easily transported food used in soups, stews, or other dishes to provide protein and thickening in the absence of fresh fish or while on long trips. The woman also made a cheese-like substance from a mixture of fish and roe by aging it in storehouses or by burying it in wooden boxes or pits lined with rocks and tree leaves.

1. Which aspect of the lives of the Native Americans of the north Pacific Coast does the passage

mainly discuss?

(A) Methods of food preservation

(B) How diet was restricted by the environment

(D) Difficulties in establishing successful farms

2. The word unique in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) comprehensible

(B) productive

(D) particular

3. The word attained in line 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) achieved

(B) modified

(D) spread

4. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that the social organization of many agricultural peoples is

(A) more complex than that of hunters and foragers

(B) less efficient than that of hunters and foragers

(D) better documented than that of hunters and foragers

5. According to the passage , what is true of the division of labor mentioned in line 5?

(A) It was first developed by Native Americans of the north Pacific Coast.

(B) It rarely existed among hunting

other peoples.

(D) It provided a form of social organization that was found mainly among coastal peoples.

6. The word abundant in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) prosperous

(B) plentiful

(D) fundamental

7. All of the following are true of the north Pacific coast women EXCEPT that they

(A) were more likely to catch shellfish than other kinds of fish

(B) contributed more materials for tool making than the men did

(D) prepared and preserved the fish

8. The word They in line 16 refers to

(A) women

(B) tools

(D) men

9. The Native Americans of the north Pacific Coast used smokehouses in order to

(A) store utensils used in food preparation

(B) prevent fish and shellfish from spoiling

(D) prepare elaborate meals

10. The wore peculiar in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) strange

(B) distinctive

(D) biological

11. All of following are true of the cheese-like substance mentioned in paragraph 4 EXCEPT that it

was

(A) made from fish

(B) not actually cheese

(D) made in a short period of time

PASSAGE 39 CDAAC BCABB D

篇7：托福阅读真题精选

PASSAGE 1

By the mid-nineteenth century, the term icebox had entered the American language, but icewas still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice tradegrew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns, and hospitals, and by someforward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865),as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, halfthe ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston andChicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new householdconvenience, the icebox, a precursor of the modern refrigerator, had been invented.

Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenthcentury, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration,was rudimentary. The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the icefrom melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling.Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping the ice in blankets, which kept theice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve thedelicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.

But as early as 1803, an ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the righttrack. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the villageof Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport hisbutter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs ofhis competitors to pay a premium price for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-poundbricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have totravel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The influence of ice on the diet

(B) The development of refrigeration

(D) Sources of ice in the nineteenth century

2. According to the passage , when did the word icebox become part of the language of the

United States?

(A) in 1803

(B) sometime before 1850

(D) near the end of the nineteenth century

3. The phrase forward-looking in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) progressive

(B) popular

(D) well-established

4. The author mentions fish in line 4 because

(A) many fish dealers also sold ice

(B) fish was shipped in refrigerated freight cars

(D) fish was not part of the ordinary person's diet before the invention of the icebox

5. The word it in line 5 refers to

(A) fresh meat

(B) the Civil War

(D) a refrigerator

6. According to the passage , which of the following was an obstacle to the development of the

icebox?

(A) Competition among the owners of refrigerated freight cars

(B) The lack of a network for the distribution of ice

(D) Inadequate understanding of physics

7. The word rudimentary in line 12 is closest in meaning to

(A) growing

(B) undeveloped

(D) uninteresting

8. According to the information in the second paragraph, an ideal icebox would

(A) completely prevent ice from melting

(B) stop air from circulating

(D) use blankets to conserve ice

9. The author describes Thomas Moore as having been on the right track (lines 18-19) to indicate

that

(A) the road to the market passed close to Moore's farm

(B) Moore was an honest merchant

(D) Moore's design was fairly successful

10. According to the passage , Moore's icebox allowed him to

(A) charge more for his butter

(B) travel to market at night

(D) produce ice all year round

11. The produce mentioned in line 25 could include

(A) iceboxes

(B) butter

(D) markets

PASSAGE 1 BBACC DBCDA B

篇8：托福阅读真题精选

PASSAGE 2

The geology of the Earth's surface is dominated by the particular properties of water. Presenton Earth in solid, liquid, and gaseous states, water is exceptionally reactive. It dissolves,transports, and precipitates many chemical compounds and is constantly modifying the face ofthe Earth.

Evaporated from the oceans, water vapor forms clouds, some of which are transported bywind over the continents. Condensation from the clouds provides the essential agent ofcontinental erosion: rain. Precipitated onto the ground, the water trickles down to form brooks,streams, and rivers, constituting what are called the hydrographic network. This immensepolarized network channels the water toward a single receptacle: an ocean. Gravity dominatesthis entire step in the cycle because water tends to minimize its potential energy by running fromhigh altitudes toward the reference point, that is, sea level.

The rate at which a molecule of water passes though the cycle is not random but is a measureof the relative size of the various reservoirs. If we define residence time as the average time for awater molecule to pass through one of the three reservoirs — atmosphere, continent, and ocean— we see that the times are very different. A water molecule stays, on average, eleven days inthe atmosphere, one hundred years on a continent and forty thousand years in the ocean. Thislast figure shows the importance of the ocean as the principal reservoir of the hydrosphere butalso the rapidity of water transport on the continents.

A vast chemical separation process takes places during the flow of water over the continents.Soluble ions such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and some magnesium are dissolved andtransported. Insoluble ions such as aluminum, iron, and silicon stay where they are and form thethin, fertile skin of soil on which vegetation can grow. Sometimes soils are destroyed andtransported mechanically during flooding. The erosion of the continents thus results from twoclosely linked and interdependent processes, chemical erosion and mechanical erosion. Theirrespective interactions and efficiency depend on different factors.

1. The word modifying in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) changing

(B) traveling

(D) destroying

2. The word which in line 5 refers to

(A) clouds

(B) oceans

(D) compounds

3. According to the passage , clouds are primarily formed by water

(A) precipitating onto the ground

(B) changing from a solid to a liquid state

(D) being carried by wind

4. The passage suggests that the purpose of the hydrographic network (line 8) is to

(A) determine the size of molecules of water

(B) prevent soil erosion caused by flooding

(D) regulate the rate of water flow from streams and rivers

5. What determines the rate at which a molecule of water moves through the cycle, as discussed

in the third paragraph?

(A) The potential energy contained in water

(B) The effects of atmospheric pressure on chemical compounds

(D) The relative size of the water storage areas

6. The word rapidity in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) significance

(B) method

(D) reliability

7. The word they in line 24 refers to

(A) insoluble ions

(B) soluble ions

(D) continents

8. All of the following are example of soluble ions EXCEPT

(A) magnesium

(B) iron

(D) calcium

9. The word efficiency in line 27 is closest in meaning to

(A) relationship

(B) growth

(D) effectiveness

PASSAGE 2 AACCD CABD

篇9：托福阅读真题精选

PASSAGE 3

The Native Americans of northern California were highly skilled at basketry, using the reeds,grasses, barks, and roots they found around them to fashion articles of all sorts and sizes — notonly trays, containers, and cooking pots, but hats, boats, fish traps, baby carriers, and ceremonialobjects.

Of all these experts, none excelled the Pomo — a group who lived on or near the coast duringthe 1800's, and whose descendants continue to live in parts of the same region to this day. Theymade baskets three feet in diameter and others no bigger than a thimble. The Pomo people weremasters of decoration. Some of their baskets were completely covered with shell pendants;others with feathers that made the baskets' surfaces as soft as the breasts of birds. Moreover, thePomo people made use of more weaving techniques than did their neighbors. Most groups madeall their basketwork by twining — the twisting of a flexible horizontal material, called a weft,around stiffer vertical strands of material, the warp. Others depended primarily on coiling — aprocess in which a continuous coil of stiff material is held in the desired shape with tightwrapping of flexible strands. Only the Pomo people used both processes with equal ease andfrequency. In addition, they made use of four distinct variations on the basic twining process,often employing more than one of them in a single article.

Although a wide variety of materials was available, the Pomo people used only a few. Thewarp was always made of willow, and the most commonly used weft was sedge root, a woodyfiber that could easily be separated into strands no thicker than a thread. For color, the Pomopeople used the bark of redbud for their twined work and dyed bullrush root for black in coiledwork. Though other materials were sometimes used, these four were the staples in their finestbasketry.

If the basketry materials used by the Pomo people were limited, the designs were amazinglyvaried. Every Pomo basketmaker knew how to produce from fifteen to twenty distinct patternsthat could be combined in a number of different ways.

1. What best distinguished Pomo baskets

from baskets of other groups?

(A) The range of sizes, shapes, and designs

(B) The unusual geometric

(D) The rare materials used

2. The word fashion in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) maintain

(B) organize

(D) create

3. The Pomo people used each of the following materials to decorate baskets EXCEPT

(A) shells

(B) feathers

(D) bark

4. What is the author's main point in the second paragraph?

(A) The neighbors of the Pomo people tried to improve on the Pomo basket weaving techniques.

(B) The Pomo people were the most skilled basket weavers in their region.

(D) The Pomo baskets have been handed down for generations.

5. The word others in line 9 refers to

(A) masters

(B) baskets

(D) surfaces

6. According to the passage , a weft is a

(A) tool for separating sedge root

(B) process used for coloring baskets

(D) pattern used to decorate baskets

7. According to the passage , what did the Pomo people use as the warp in their baskets?

(A) bullrush

(B) willow

(D) redbud

8. The word article in line 17 is close in meaning to

(A) decoration

(B) shape

(D) object

9. According to the passage . The relationship between redbud and twining is most similar to the

relationship between

(A) bullrush and coiling

(B) weft and warp

(D) sedge and weaving

10. The word staples in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) combinations

(B) limitations

(D) basic elements

11. The word distinct in lime 26 is closest in meaning to

(A) systematic

(B) beautiful

(D) compatible

12. Which of the following statements about Pomo baskets can be best inferred from the

passage ?

(A) Baskets produced by other Native Americans were less varied in design than those of the

Pomo people.

(B) Baskets produced by Pomo weavers were primarily for ceremonial purposes.

(D) The basketmaking production of the Pomo people has increased over the years.

PASSAGE 3 BDCBB CBDAD CA

篇10：托福阅读理解真题精选

Molting is one of the most involved processes of a bird's annual life cycle. Notwithstanding preening and constant care, the marvelously intricate structure of a bird's feather inevitably wears out. All adult birds molt their feathers at least once a year, and upon close observation, one can recognize the frayed, ragged appearance of feathers that are nearing the end of their useful life. Two distinct processes are involved in molting. The first step is when the old, worn feather is dropped, or shed. The second is when a new feather grows in its place. When each feather has been shed and replaced, then the molt can be said to be complete. This, however, is an abstraction that often does not happen: incomplete, overlapping, and arrested molts are quite common.

Molt requires that a bird find and process enough protein to rebuild approximately one-third of its body weight. It is not surprising that a bird in heavy molt often seems listless and unwell. But far from being random, molt is controlled by strong evolutionary forces that have established an optimal time and duration. Generally, molt occurs at the time of least stress on the bird. Many songbirds, for instance, molt in late summer, when the hard work of breeding is done but the weather is still warm and food still plentiful. This is why the woods in late summer often seem so quiet, when compared with the exuberant choruses of spring.

Molt of the flight feathers is the most highly organized part of the process. Some species, for example, begin by dropping the outermost primary feathers on each side (to retain balance in the air) and wait until the replacement feathers are about one-third grown before shedding the next outermost, and so on. Others always start with the innermost primary feathers and work outward. Yet other species begin in the middle and work outward on both sides. Most ducks shed their wing feathers at once, and remain flightless for two or three weeks while the replacement feathers grow.

1. The passage mainly discusses how

(A) birds prepare for breeding

(B) bird feathers differ from species

(D) birds are affected by seasonal changes

2. The word Notwithstanding in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) despite

(B) because of

(D) regarding

3. The word intricate in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) regular

(B) complex

(D) important

4. The word random in line 12 is closest in meaning to

(A) unfortunate

(B) unusual

(D) unpredictable

5. The word optimal in line 13 is closest in meaning to

(A) slow

(B) frequent

(D) early

6. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that songbirds molt in the late summer?

(A) Fewer predators are in the woods.

(B) The weathers are still warm.

(D) Food is still available.

7. Some birds that are molting maintain balance during flight by

(A) constantly preening and caring for their remaining feathers

(B) dropping flight feathers on both sides at the same time

(D) only losing one-third of their feathers

8. The word Others in line 21 refers to

(A) ducks

(B) sides

(D) flight feathers

9. The author discusses ducks in order to provide an example of birds that

(A) grow replacement feathers that are very long

(B) shed all their wing feathers at one time

(D) shed their outermost feathers first

10. It can be inferred from the discussion about ducks that the molting of their flight feathers

takes

(A) a year

(B) a season

(D) a few weeks

PASSAGE 62 CABDC ABCBD

篇11：托福阅读理解真题

Glass fibers have a long history. The Egyptians made coarse fibers by 1600 B.C., and fibers survive as decorations on Egyptian pottery dating back to 1375 B.C. During the Renaissance (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D.), glassmakers from Venice used glass fibers to decorate the surfaces of plain glass vessels. However, glassmakers guarded their secrets so carefully that no one wrote about glass fiber production until the early seventeenth century.

The eighteenth century brought the invention of spun glass fibers. R é ne-Antoine de R é a French scientist, tried to make artificial feathers from glass. He made fibers by rotating a wheel through a pool of molten glass, pulling threads of glass where the hot thick liquid stuck to the wheel. His fibers were short and fragile, but he predicted that spun glass fibers as thin as spider silk would be flexible and could be woven into fabric.

By the start of the nineteenth century, glassmakers learned how to make longer, stronger fibers by pulling them from molten glass with a hot glass tube. Inventors wound the cooling end of the thread around a yarn reel, then turned the reel rapidly to pull more fiber from the molten glass. Wandering tradespeople began to spin glass fibers at fairs, making decorations and ornaments as novelties for collectors, but this material was of little practical use; the fibers were brittle, ragged, and no longer than ten feet, the circumference of the largest reels. By the mid-1870's, however, the best glass fibers were finer than silk and could be woven into fabrics or assembled into imitation ostrich feathers to decorate hats. Cloth of white spun glass resembled silver; fibers drawn from yellow-orange glass looked golden.

Glass fibers were little more than a novelty until the 1930's, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous filaments were developed. In the modern manufacturing process, liquid glass is fed directly from a glass-melting furnace into a bushing, a receptacle pierced with hundreds of fine nozzles, from which the liquid issues in fine streams. As they solidify, the streams of glass are gathered into a single strand and wound onto a reel.

1. Which of the following aspects of glass fiber does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The major developments in its production

(B) Its relationship with pottery making

(D) The variety of its uses in modern industry

2. The word coarse in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) decorative

(B) natural

(D) weak

3. Why was there nothing written about the making of Renaissance glass fibers until the seventeenth century?

(A) Glassmakers were unhappy with the quality of the fibers they could make.

(B) Glassmakers did not want to reveal the methods they used.

(D) Production methods had been well known for a long time.

4. According to the passage , using a hot glass tube rather than a wheel to pull fibers from molten

glass made the fibers

(A) quicker to cool

(B) harder to bend

(D) longer and more durable

5. The phrase this material in line 16 refers to

(A) glass fibers

(B) decorations

(D) novelties for collectors

6. The word brittle in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) easily broken

(B) roughly made

(D) shiny

7. The production of glass fibers was improved in the nineteenth century by which of the

following

(A) Adding silver to the molten glass

(B) Increasing the circumference of the glass tubes

(D) Using yarn reels

8. The word appreciated in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) experienced

(B) recognized

(D) increased

9. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage ?

(A) invention (line 7)

(B) circumference (line 17)

(D) bushing (line 25)

PASSAGE 53 ACBDA ADBD

篇12：托福阅读理解真题

The term folk song has been current for over a hundred years, but there is still a good deal of disagreement as to what it actually means. The definition provided by the International Folk Music Council states that folk music is the music of ordinary people, which is passed on from person to person by being listened to rather than learned from the printed page. Other factors that help shape a folk song include: continuity (many performances over a number of years); variation (changes in words and melodies either through artistic interpretation or failure of memory); and selection (the acceptance of a song by the community in which it evolves).

When songs have been subjected to these processes their origin is usually impossible to trace. For instance, if a farm laborer were to make up a song and sing it to a-couple of friends who like it and memorize it, possibly when the friends come to sing it themselves one of them might forget some of the words and make up new ones to fill the gap, while the other, perhaps more artistic, might add a few decorative touches to the tune and improve a couple of lines of text. If this happened a few times there would be many different versions, the song's original composer would be forgotten, and the song would become common property. This constant reshaping and re-creation is the essence of folk music. Consequently, modem popular songs and other published music, even though widely sung by people who are not professional musicians, are not considered folk music. The music and words have been set by a printed or recorded source, limiting scope for further artistic creation. These songs' origins cannot be disguised and therefore they belong primarily to the composer and not to a community.

The ideal situation for the creation of folk music is an isolated rural community. In such a setting folk songs and dances have a special purpose at every stage in a person's life, from childhood to death. Epic tales of heroic deeds, seasonal songs relating to calendar events, and occupational songs are also likely to be sung.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) Themes commonly found in folk music

(B) Elements that define folk music

(D) The standards of the International Folk Music Council

2. Which of the following statements about the term folk song is supported by the passage ?

(A) It has been used for several centuries.

(B) The International Folk Music Council invented it.

(D) There is disagreement about its meaning.

3. The word it in line 8 refers to

(A) community

(B) song

(D) memory

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a characteristic of the typical folk

song?

(A) It is constantly changing over time.

(B) It is passed on to other people by being performed.

(D) It appeals to many people.

5. The word subjected in line 9 is closest in meaning to

(A) reduced

(B) modified

(D) imitated

6. The author mentions the farm laborer and his friends (lines 10-14) in order to do which of the

following?

(A) Explain how a folk song evolves over time

(B) Illustrate the importance of music to rural workers

(D) Demonstrate how a community, chooses a folk song

7. According to the passage , why would the original composers of folk songs be forgotten?

(A) Audiences prefer songs composed by professional musicians.

(B) Singers dislike the decorative touches in folk song tunes.

(D) Folk songs are not considered an important form of music.

8. The word essence in line 16 is closest in meaning to

(A) basic nature

(B) growing importance

(D) first phase

9. The author mentions that published music is not considered to be folk music because

(A) the original composer can be easily identified

(B) the songs attract only the young people in a community

(D) the composers write the music in rural communities

PASSAGE 56 BDBCC ACAA

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