托福阅读笔记之TPO13 Biological Clocks

托福阅读笔记之TPO13 Biological Clocks

说到托福阅读备考，TPO是必不可少的备考神器，通过TPO练习来更好的适应阅读考试的节奏。本文小编带来的托福阅读笔记是TPO13 Biological Clocks的内容，希望能够与正在备考的大家一起进步。

TPO13 Biological Clocks

文章题材：生命学科——生物钟

常见词汇：

determined[di'tə:mind]adj. 坚毅的，下定决心的

wheel[wi:l]n. 轮子，车轮，方向盘，周期，旋转

measured['meʒəd]adj. 量过的，慎重的，基于标准的，有韵律的

range[reindʒ]n. 范围，行列，射程，山脉，一系列

approximately[ə'prɔksimitli]adv. 近似地，大约

factor['fæktə]n. 因素，因子

tend[tend]v. 趋向，易于，照料，护理

duration[dju'reiʃən]n. 持续时间，期间

sustain[səs'tein]vt. 承受，支持，经受，维持，认可

stable['steibl]adj. 稳定的，安定的，可靠的

易错题解析：

Paragraph 2: Indeed, stability of the biological clock's period is one of its major features, even when the organism's environment is subjected to considerable changes in factors, such as temperature, that would be expected to affect biological activity strongly.

5. 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.

○Stability, a feature of the biological clock's period, depends on changeable factors such as temperature.

○A major feature of the biological clock is that its period does not change despit e significant changes in the environment.

○A factor such as temperature is an important feature in the establishment of the biological clock's period.

○Biological activity is not strongly affected by changes in temperature.

题型：句子简化题。答案是(B)

解析：主干是stability is one of the features，when后面引导的是时间状语从句，其前的even表明这里与前面有让步的关系，temperature是一个对factors举的例子，后边的that引导定语从句，修饰temperature。B项的despite和even表达一样的逻辑关系。A major feature of the biological clock is that its period does not change对应原句的stability is one of the features，且significant changes in the environment对应于原句的organism’s environment is subjected to changes in factors。

A项的主干为stability depends on changeable factors，原句没有这样的因果关系，C项没有体现原句的逻辑关系，另外，其主要意思与原句完全不一致。D项也没有体现原句的逻辑关系。

Paragraph 3: Animals need natural periodic signals like sunrise to maintain a cycle whose period is precisely 24 hours. ■Such an external cue not only coordinates an animal's daily rhythms with particular features of the local solar day but also—because it normally does so day after day-seems to keep the internal clock's period close to that of Earth's rotation. ■Yet despite this synchronization of the period of the internal cycle, the animal's timer itself continues to have its own genetically built-in period close to, but different from, 24 hours. ■Without the external cue, the difference accumulates and so the internally regulated activities of the biological day drift continuously, like the tides, in relation to the solar day. ■This drift has been studied extensively in many animals and in biological activities ranging from the hatching of fruit fly eggs to wheel running by squirrels. Light has a predominating influence in setting the clock. Even a fifteen-minute burst of light in otherwise sustained darkness can reset an animal's circadian rhythm. Normally, internal rhythms are kept in step by regular environmental cycles. For instance, if a homing pigeon is to navigate with its Sun compass, its clock must be properly set by cues provided by the daylight/darkness cycle.