最新TPO托福阅读34
TPO阅读1-34汇总【含原文翻译解析答案】
TPO1-34综合写作TPO 1 (1)1. 阅读部分 (1)2. 听力部分 (3)3. 范文赏析 (5)TPO 2 (7)1. 阅读部分 (7)2. 听力部分 (10)3. 范文赏析 (12)TPO 3 (14)1. 阅读部分 (14)2. 听力部分 (16)3. 范文赏析 (17)TPO4 (19)1. 阅读部分 (19)2. 听力部分 (20)3. 范文赏析 (22)TPO5 (24)1. 阅读部分 (24)2. 听力部分 (24)3. 范文赏析 (24)TPO6 (25)1. 阅读部分 (25)2. 听力部分 (25)3. 范文赏析 (25)TPO7 (26)1. 阅读部分 (26)2. 听力部分 (26)3. 范文赏析 (26)TPO8 (27)1. 阅读部分 (27)2. 听力部分 (27)3. 范文赏析 (27)TPO9 (28)1. 阅读部分 (28)2. 听力部分 (28)3. 范文赏析 (28)TPO10 (29)1. 阅读部分 (29)2. 听力部分 (29)3. 范文赏析 (29)TPO11 (30)1. 阅读部分 (30)3. 范文赏析 (30)TPO12 (31)1. 阅读部分 (31)2. 听力部分 (32)3. 范文赏析 (34)TPO13 (35)1. 阅读部分 (35)2. 听力部分 (36)3. 范文赏析 (38)TPO14 (39)1. 阅读部分 (39)2. 听力部分 (40)3. 范文赏析 (41)TPO15 (43)1. 阅读部分 (43)2. 听力部分 (44)3. 范文赏析 (45)TPO16 (47)1. 阅读部分 (47)2. 听力部分 (48)3. 范文赏析 (49)TPO17 (51)1. 阅读部分 (51)2. 听力部分 (52)3. 范文赏析 (54)TPO18 (55)1. 阅读部分 (55)2. 听力部分 (55)3. 范文赏析 (55)TPO19 (56)1. 阅读部分 (56)2. 听力部分 (56)3. 范文赏析 (56)TPO20 (57)1. 阅读部分 (57)2. 听力部分 (57)3. 范文赏析 (57)TPO21 (58)1. 阅读部分 (58)2. 听力部分 (58)3. 范文赏析 (58)TPO22 (59)1. 阅读部分 (59)3. 范文赏析 (59)TPO23 (60)1. 阅读部分 (60)2. 听力部分 (60)3. 范文赏析 (60)TPO24 (61)1. 阅读部分 (61)2. 听力部分 (61)3. 范文赏析 (61)TPO25 (62)1. 阅读部分 (62)2. 听力部分 (62)3. 范文赏析 (62)TPO26 (63)1. 阅读部分 (63)2. 听力部分 (63)3. 范文赏析 (63)TPO27 (64)1. 阅读部分 (64)2. 听力部分 (64)3. 范文赏析 (64)TPO28 (65)1. 阅读部分 (65)2. 听力部分 (65)3. 范文赏析 (65)TPO29 (66)1. 阅读部分 (66)2. 听力部分 (66)3. 范文赏析 (66)TPO30 (67)1. 阅读部分 (67)2. 听力部分 (67)3. 范文赏析 (67)TPO31 (68)1. 阅读部分 (68)2. 听力部分 (68)3. 范文赏析 (68)TPO32 (69)1. 阅读部分 (69)2. 听力部分 (70)3. 范文赏析 (70)TPO33 (71)1. 阅读部分 (71)3. 范文赏析 (71)TPO34 (72)1. 阅读部分 (72)2. 听力部分 (73)3. 范文赏析 (74)TPO 11. 阅读部分In the United States, employees typically work five days a week for eight hours each day. However, many employees want to work a four-day week and are willing to accept less pay in order to do so. A mandatory policy requiring companies to offer their employees the option of working a four-day workweek for four-fifths (80 percent) of their normal pay would benefit the economy as a whole as well as the individual companies and the employees who decided to take the option.在美国,职员一般执行的一周五天,每天八小时工作制。
托福TPO34原文翻译
TPO34-1译文:伊斯兰艺术和书籍在公元900至1500年,伊斯兰书籍的艺术造诣,如书法和装饰绘画,得到很大发展。
奢侈书籍成为这个时期伊斯兰艺术的最典型代表。
这主要源于两大主要发展:一是纸变得随处可见,取代羊皮纸成为主要的书写工具。
二是规范完善了圆形字体以取代之前的方形字体,因为方形字体的尖角高度不平均。
书成为艺术表达的主要工具;制作书籍的艺术家,通常是书法家和绘画家,享有很高的地位。
他们的作坊得到王子和宫廷的资助。
公元900年之前,古兰经(写着伊斯兰教义的书籍)的手稿是最常见的印刷和装饰书籍。
但是之后,各类资助人资助制作了各式各样的书籍。
这些书籍不仅有每个穆斯林都想诵读的古兰经的手稿,还有科学作品,历史书,冒险故事书,史诗书,和诗歌书,它们都印有清晰的字迹和美丽的插图。
大部分书籍都在市场上出售,城市设有书籍交易的特殊市场。
摩洛哥马拉喀什的清真寺被称为库图比亚清真寺,也叫做书商的清真寺。
最奢侈昂贵的书是受某王子特别委托制作出来并有书法家和装饰者亲笔签名的作品。
造纸术在8世纪由中国传到伊斯兰。
据说是因为751年中国和穆斯林在撒马尔罕附近的一场战役中,中国的造纸工匠被虏成为囚犯,造纸术才逐渐向西传播。
造纸术这项技术是首先是将从植物中提取的纤维素纸浆悬浮在水中,然后用筛选设备过滤,再烘干成柔软的纸张。
在不到50年的时间里,巴格达政府就已经在使用纸记录文件。
和羊皮纸不同,使用纸张的优势在于:用墨汁在纸上写的东西不易擦除,所以写在纸上的东西很难改变。
造纸术很快传播到埃及,最终传到西西里岛和西班牙。
但是纸张取代羊皮纸用来印刷古兰经则较晚出现,或许因为宗教艺术和从业者们的保守性。
因此,在整个8世纪,西伊斯兰仍然使用羊皮纸书写古兰经。
纸张的引进催生了一次概念革命,其影响几乎还未被探索。
尽管当时的纸没有现在廉价,但是它比羊皮纸便宜多了,所以更多人可以买得起书。
因为纸比羊皮纸薄,所以在一册中装订的页数也更多。
最开始,人们把相对小的纸张粘在一起,但是到了14世纪早期,出现了宽达一米的大型纸张。
托福备考托福阅读34套TPO样题+解析+译文1-3Timberline Vegetation on Mountains
托福考试 复习托福阅读TPO1(试题+答案+译文)第3篇:Timberline Vegetation on Mountains托福阅读原文The transition from forest to treeless tundraon a mountain slope is often a dramatic one. Within a vertical distance of just a few tens of meters, trees disappear as a life-form and are replaced by low shrubs, herbs, and grasses. This rapid zone of transition is called the upper timberline or tree line. In many semiarid areas there is also a lower timberline where the forest passes into steppe or desert at its lower edge, usually because of a lack of moisture.The upper timberline, like the snow line, is highest in the tropics and lowest in the Polar Regions. It ranges from sea level in the Polar Regions to 4,500 meters in the dry subtropics and 3,500-4,500 meters in the moist tropics. Timberline trees are normally evergreens, suggesting that these have some advantage over deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves) in the extreme environments of the upper timberline. There are some areas, however, where broadleaf deciduous trees form the timberline. Species of birch, for example, may occur at the timberline in parts of the Himalayas.At the upper timberline the trees begin to become twisted and deformed. This is particularly true for trees in the middle and upper latitudes, which tend to attain greater heights on ridges, whereas in the tropics the trees reach their greater heights in the valleys. This is because middle- and upper- latitude timberlines are strongly influenced by the duration and depth of the snow cover. As the snow is deeper and lasts longer in the valleys, trees tend to attain greater heights on the ridges, even though they are more exposed to high-velocity winds and poor, thin soils there. In the tropics, the valleys appear to be more favorable because they are less prone to dry out, they have less frost, and they have deeper soils. There is still no universally agreed-on explanation for why there should be such a dramatic cessation of tree growth at the upper timberline. Various environmental factors may play a role. Too much snow, for example, can smother trees, and avalanches and snow creep can damage or destroy them. Late-lying snow reduces the effective growing season to the point where seedlings cannot establish themselves. Wind velocity also increases with altitude and may cause serious stress for trees, as is made evident by the deformed shapes at high altitudes. Some scientists have proposed that the presence of increasing levels of ultraviolet light with elevation may play a role, while browsing and grazing animals like the ibex may be another contributing factor. Probably the most importantenvironmental factor is temperature, for if the growing season is too short and temperatures are too low, tree shoots and buds cannot mature sufficiently to survive the winter months.Above the tree line there is a zone that is generally called alpine tundra. Immediately adjacent to the timberline, the tundra consists of a fairly complete cover of low-lying shrubs, herbs, and grasses, while higher up the number and diversity of species decrease until there is much bare ground with occasional mosses and lichens and some prostrate cushion plants. Some plants can even survive in favorable microhabitats above the snow line. The highest plants in the world occur at around 6,100 meters on Makalu in the Himalayas. At this great height, rocks, warmed by the sun, melt small snowdrifts.The most striking characteristic of the plants of the alpine zone is their low growth form. This enables them to avoid the worst rigors of high winds and permits them to make use of the higher temperatures immediately adjacent to the ground surface. In an area where low temperatures are limiting to life, the importance of the additional heat near the surface is crucial. The low growth form can also permit the plants to take advantage of the insulation provided by a winter snow cover. In the equatorial mountains the low growth form is less prevalent.托福阅读试题1.The word “dramatic” in the passage(paragraph 1) is closest in meaning toA.gradualplexC.visibleD.striking2.Where is the lower timberline mentionedin paragraph 1 likely to be found?A.In an area that has little waterB.In an area that has little sunlightC.Above a transition areaD.On a mountain that has on uppertimberline.3.Which of the following can be inferredfrom paragraph 1 about both the upper and lower timberlines?A.Both are treeless zones.B.Both mark forest boundaries.C.Both are surrounded by desert areas.D.Both suffer from a lack of moisture.4.Paragraph 2 supports which of thefollowing statements about deciduous trees?A.They cannot grow in cold climates.B.They cannot grow in cold climates.C.They are less likely than evergreens tosurvive at the upper timberline.D.They do not require as much moisture asevergreens do.5.The word “attain” in the passage(paragraph 3) is closest in meaning toA. requireB.resistC.achieveD.endure6.The word “they” in the passage (paragraph3) refers toA.valleysB.treesC.heightsD.ridges7.The word “prone” in the passage (paragraph3) is closest in meaning toA.adaptedB.likelyC.difficultD.resistant8.According to paragraph 3, which of thefollowing is true of trees in the middle and upper latitudes?A.Tree growth is negatively affected by thesnow cover in valleysB.Tree growth is greater in valleys than onridges.C.Tree growth on ridges is not affected byhigh-velocity winds.D.Tree growth lasts longer in thoselatitudes than it does in the tropics.9.Which of the sentences below best expressthe essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage (paragraph4) ? In correct choices change the meaning in important ways or leave outessential information.A.Because of their deformed shapes at highaltitudes, trees are not likely to be seriously harmedby the strong winds typical of thosealtitudes.B.As altitude increases, the velocity ofwinds increase, leading to a serious decrease in the number of trees found athigh altitudes.C.The deformed shapes of trees at highaltitudes show that wind velocity, which increase with altitude, can causeserious hardship for trees.D.Increased wind velocity at high altitudesdeforms the shapes of trees, and this may cause serious stress for trees.10.In para graph 4, what is the author’smain purpose in the discussion of the dramatic cessation of tree growth at theupper timberline?A.To argue that none of several environmentfactors that are believed to contribute to that phenomenon do in fact play arole in causing itB.To argue in support of one particularexplanation of that phenomenon against several competing explanationsC.To explain why the primary environmentalfactor responsible for that phenomenon has not yet been identifiedD.To present several environmental factorsthat may contribute to a satisfactory explanation of that phenomenon11.The word “prevalent” in the passage(paragraph 6) is closest in meaning toA.predictableB.widespreadC.successfulD.developed12.According to paragraph 6, all of thefollowing statements are true of plants in the alpine zone EXCEPT:A.Because they are low, they are lessexposed to strong winds.B.Because they are low, the winter snowcover gives them more protection from the extreme cold.C.In the equatorial mountains, they tend tobe lower than in mountains elsewhere.D.Their low growth form keeps them closerto the ground, where there is more heat than further up.13.Look at the four squares [█] thatindicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.This explains how, for example, alpine cushionplants have been found growing at an altitude of 6,180 meters.Above the tree line there is a zone that isgenerally called alpine tundra.█【A】Immediately adjacent to the timberline, the tundra consists ofa fairly complete cover of low-lying shrubs, herbs, and grasses, while higherup the number and diversity of species decrease until there is much bare groundwith occasional mosses and lichens and some prostrate cushion plants. █【B】Some plantscan even survive in favorable microhabitats above the snow line. The highestplants in the world occur at around 6,100meters on Makalu in the Himalayas. █【C】At thisgreat height, rocks, warmed by the sun, melt small snowdrifts.█【D】Where would the sentence best fit?14. Directions: An introductory sentencefor a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary byselecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in thepassage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideasthat are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. Thisquestion is worth 2 points.At the timberline, whether upper or lower,there is a profound change in the growth of trees and other plants.A.Birch is one of the few species of treethat can survive in the extremeenvironments of the upper timberline.B.There is no agreement among scientists asto exactly why plant growth is sharply different above and below the uppertimberline.C.The temperature at the upper timberlineis probably more important in preventing tree growth than factors such as theamount of snowfall or the force of winds.D.The geographical location of an uppertimberline has an impact on both the types of trees found there and theirphysical characteristics.E.High levels of ultraviolet light mostlikely play a greater role in determining tree growth at the upper timberlinethan do grazing animals such as the ibex.F.Despite being adjacent to the timberline,the alpine tundra is an area where certain kinds of low trees can endure highwinds and very low temperatures.托福阅读答案1.dramatic剧烈的,戏剧化的,就单词本身能够想到drama戏剧,所以这个应该是戏剧的形容词,原文后句说在几十米的垂直距离内,树木完全被低矮的灌木和草取代了,所以变化非常剧烈,A渐渐B复杂C可见的都不靠谱2.以lower timberline做关键词定位至本段最后一句,说有lower timberline 是因为a lack of moisture,缺乏湿度,等于A选项中的没有水3.分别以upper timberline和lower timberline为关键词定位至本段倒数两句,不管是upper timberline还是lower timberline都是快速的过渡带,树还是有的,只是在向草原等等过渡,所以A错,既然是过渡,也就是边界了,B对,C没说,只有lower timberline缺水,所以D说both错4.以deciduous trees做关键词定位至原文的第三句和第四句,根据第四句说有的地方的timberline是由落叶树构成的,所以timberline上还是有落叶树的,所以选项A和B说反,D项moisture原文没说,第三句说timberline通常是常绿树构成的,第四句说有的时候也出现落叶树,所以常绿树比落叶树出现的概率大,所以C正确5.attain获得,想到相似的obtain和retain,原文说中高纬度的树木会变形,在山脊处怎么样更高,后半句的whereas所在句与之并列,其中reach greater heights应该和考的那部分是并列的,所以attain也是reach之意,答案是achieve,A要求B反对抵抗D忍耐都不对6.并列句,往前找,找主语,trees是正确答案,此外,被暴露在大风之下的应该是树,山谷山脊和高度都不靠谱7.prone可能,倾向于。
TPO托福阅读34培训资料
T P O托福阅读34托福TPO阅读34文本+答案解析Islamic Art and the BookThe arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing, developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the most characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period. This came about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts were regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts of the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven in height. Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful illustrations. Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks (markets) where books were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed by the calligrapher and decorator.Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in the eighth century. It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible sheets – slowly spread westward. Within fifty years, the government in Baghdad was using paper for documents. Writing in ink on paper, unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt – and eventually to Sicily and Spain – but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period.The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whose consequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as much as a meter across – were available. These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper, particularly after 1250,allowed the easy transfer of artistic ideas and motifs over great distances from one medium to another, and in a different scale in ways that had been difficult, if not impossible, in the previous period.Rounded styles of Arabic handwriting had long been used for correspondence and documents alongside the formal angular scripts used for inscriptions and manuscripts of the Koran. Around the year 900, Ibn Muqla, who was a secretary and vizier at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, developed a system of proportioned writing. He standardized the length of alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and then determined what the size and shape of all other letters should be, based on the alif. Eventually, six round forms of handwriting, composed of three pairs of big and little scripts known collectively as the Six Pens, became the standard repertory of every calligrapher.Para.1 The arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing, developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the most characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period. This came about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts were regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts of the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven in height. Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful illustrations. Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks (markets) where books were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed by the calligrapher and decorator.1. Paragraph 1 makes all of the following points about Islamic books EXCEPT:A) Books were an important form of artistic expression.B) A wide variety of books with different styles and topics became available.C) They were sold primarily near mosques.D) Most books were intended for sale on the open market.2. The word “sponsored” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) visitedB) ownedC) praised3. The word “adjacent” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) majorB) nearbyC) ancientD) well-known4. According to paragraph 1, before A.D. 900, books in the Islamic worldA) included a wide range of subjectsB) did not contain any calligraphy or decorationC) used rounded scriptsD) were usually written on parchment5. In paragraph 1, why does the author mention the fact that the mosque in Marrakech, Morocco, is known as the Booksellers’ MosqueA) To cast doubt on the importance of souks in making books available to common peopleB) To provide an example of a place where books were made at the order of a particular princeC) To emphasize how influential and well known the book markets wereD) To demonstrate the need for religious texts in Islamic landsPara.2 Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in the eighth century. 【】It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible sheets – slowly spread westward. 【】Within fifty years, the government in Baghdad was using paper for documents. 【】Writing in ink on paper, unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. 【】Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt – and eventually to Sicily and Spain – but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period.6. The phrase “extracted from” in the passage is clos est in meaning toA) taken out ofB) produced usingC) discovered inD) combined with7. 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.A) It was several centuries before papermaking techniques spread to faraway areas where parchment was popular and used widely in art.B) Although papermaking came to Egypt quickly, it took much longer for paper to be used when copying the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art.C) Papermaking spread beyond Egypt, Sicily, and Spain, but it was not widely used by artists for centuries, probably because of the conservative nature of art in those countries.D) Paper replaced parchment in copies of the Koran, probably at the request of conservative practitioners in areas like Egypt, Sicily, and Spain.Para.3 The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whose consequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginningof the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as much as a meter across – were available. These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper, particularly after 1250, encouraged people to develop systems of representation, such as architectural plans and drawings. This in turn allowed the easy transfer of artistic ideas and motifs over great distances from one medium to another, and in a different scale in ways that had been difficult, if not impossible, in the previous period.8. In paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of paper over parchment?A) It was harder to erase or change what was written on paper.B) More pages of paper could be bound in a single volume.C) Paper could be produced in sheets of varying weights and thicknesses.D) More people could buy books made of paper because it was cheaper.9. Why does the author include the following information: “At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as much as a meter across –were available.”?A) To provide evidence that the development of papermaking techniques was very slowB) To explain why paper was never as cheap as it has become todayC) To make the point that paper allowed artists to develop paintings that were more expressive and complexD) To prove that paper was more popular with artists who used large sheets, than it was with book printers, who used smaller sheets10. According to paragraph 3, the increased availability of paper and the development of systems of representationA) encourage more people to make their own drawingsB) made the transfer of artistic ideas to distant people and places much easierC) made architectural plans more complex and therefore harder to readD) allowed artists to create paintings that were smaller in scalePara.4 Rounded styles of Arabic handwriting had long been used for correspondence and documents alongside the formal angular scripts used for inscriptions and manuscripts of the Koran. Around the year 900, Ibn Muqla, who was a secretary and vizier at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, developed a system of proportioned writing. He standardized the length of alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and then determined what the size and shape of all other letters should be, based on the alif. Eventually, six round forms of handwriting, composed of three pairs of big and little scripts known collectively as the Six Pens, became the standard repertory of every calligrapher.11. According to paragraph 4, what did Ibn Muqla achieve around the year 900?A) He modified a set of formal scripts known as the Six Pens into rounded scripts appropriate for correspondence.B) He created a standardized set of rounded scripts proportional to the size of the first letter of the alphabet.C) He promoted calligraphy as an art form and encouraged the use of rounded letters in religious texts.D) He persuaded the court in Baghdad to use rounded styles instead of more angular scripts in their documents.12. The phrase “composed of” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) made up ofB) developed fromC) in addition toD) similar to13. Look at the four squares 【】 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.This change occurred for good reason.Where does the sentence best fit?Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in the eighth century. 【】It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible sheets – slowly spread westward. 【】Within fifty years, the government in Baghdad was using paper for documents. 【】Writing in ink on paper, unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. 【】Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt – and eventually to Sicily and Spain –but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period.14. Prose SummaryIslamic books from A.D. 900 to 1500 reflect major changes from the past and important innovations.Answer Choices:A) Books became major vehicle of artistic expression for calligraphers and painters, and the subjects of books expanded to include more and more kinds of works.B) The growing luxuriousness of books meant that the market for them was increasingly dominated by the wealthy and powerful patrons who could afford them.C) After it was learned from Chinese prisoners, the technique of papermaking spread throughout Islamic lands, where paper gradually replaced parchment.D) The high status enjoyed by calligraphers and artists made books extremely popular in the cities where books were bought and sold.E) The popularity of books led to major advances in the development and transfer of new artistic ideas.F) Around the year 900, a set of rounded styles of Arabic handwriting began replacing angular scripts in copying the manuscripts of the Koran.Protection of Plants by InsectsMany plants – one or more species of at least 68 different families – can secrete nectar even when they have no blossoms, because they bear extrafloral nectaries (structures that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants usually occur where ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate areas. Among those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses, hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar consists mainly of water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, in some plants, small amounts of amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries of some plants are known to attract ants andother insects, but the evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is unknown. Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries attract insects that will defend the plant.Ants are portably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders ofplants. ¢Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant energy. ¢To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding insects that might compete with ants for nectar. ¢Many of these intruders are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants. ¢Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some purely internal physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit whatsoever to the plants that secrete it. This view and the opposing “protectionist” hypothesis that ants defend plants had been disputed for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and that in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perish or fail to produce flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. That we now have an abundance of the proof that was called for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the relevant evidence in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments have provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect morning glories against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies of the North American morning glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding on flowers indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which the pollen germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract pollinators and are not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed beetles affect seed production directly. Caterpillars devour the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae eat seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds of insects, but 96 percent of them are ants, several different species of them. When buds are still small, less than a quarter of an inch long, the sepal nectaries are already present and producing nectar. They continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit matures. Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers and fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, and seed beetles. Bentley compares the seed production of six plants that grew where there were no ants with that of seventeen plants that were occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore only 45 seeds per plant, but plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant. Although ants are not big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive them away by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, disturb females asPara.1 Many plants – one or more species of at least 68 different families – can secrete nectar even when they have no blossoms, because they bear extrafloral nectaries (structures that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants usually occur where ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate areas. Among those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses, hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar consists mainly of water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, in some plants, small amounts of amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries of some plants are known to attract ants and other insects, but the evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is unknown. Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries attract insects that will defend the plant.1. According to paragraph 1, floral nectar and extrafloral nectar are alike in thatA) they are likely to be produced by the same plantsB) they basically consist of the same chemical componentsC) they attract only insects that will defend the plantD) they are produced by the same parts of the plantPara.2 Ants are portably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of plants. Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant energy. To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding insects that might compete with ants for nectar. Many of these intruders are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants.2. To say that ants are “persistent” defenders of plants means thatA) they defend plants against a wide variety of threatsB) they continue to defend plants for as long as the plants are threatenedC) they are successful defenders of plantsD) they are easily observable defenders of plants3. What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the ants that are attracted to the extrafloral nectaries?A) They do not eat the leaves of the plants that produce extrafloral nectar.B) They live almost entirely on extrafloral nectar.C) They spend most of their energy guarding extrafloral nectaries.D) They frequently fight among themselves over extrafloral nectar.Para.3 Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some purely internal physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit whatsoever to the plants that secrete it. This view and the opposing “protectionist”Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and that in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perishor fail to produce flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. That we now have an abundance of the proof that was called for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the relevant evidence in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments have provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.4. According to paragraph 3, what was the position of the opponents of the “protectionist” hypothesis?A) Extrafloral nectar provides plants with a direct defense against attack by insects.B) Ants substantially benefit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar.C) The secretion of extrafloral nectar plays a role in the plant’s internal functioning.D) Ants visit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar as often as they visit plants that do not.5. The word “skeptical” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) curiousB) doubtfulC) open-mindedD) practical6. 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.A) We now have ample proof that ants benefit plants.B) Barbara Bentley has called for additional proof that ants benefit plants.C) In 1977 Barbara Bentley conducted research that proved that all prior studies were wrong.D) Proof that ants benefit plants will require many more observations and experiments.Para.4 One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect morning glories against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies of the North American morning glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding on flowers indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which the pollen germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract pollinators and are not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed beetles affect seed production directly. Caterpillars devour the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae eat seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.7. According to paragraph 4, what effect does the destruction of the corolla have on plants?A) It leaves the seeds exposed and unprotected.C) It keeps pollen grains from attaching properly.D) It prevents the flower from attracting pollinators.8. The word “devour” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) attackB) eatC) damageD) preferPara.5 Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds of insects, but 96 percent of them are ants, several different species of them. When buds are still small, less than a quarter of an inch long, the sepal nectaries are already present and producing nectar. They continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit matures. Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers and fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, and seed beetles. Bentley compares the seed production of six plants that grew where there were no ants with that of seventeen plants that were occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore only 45 seeds per plant, but plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant. Although ants are not big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive them away by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, disturb females as they lay their eggs on developing fruits, and eat many of the eggs they do manage to lay.9. What role does paragraph 5 play in the passage?A) It offers various kinds of evidence for the protectionist view.B) It presents the study that first proved that ants benefit plants.C) It explains how insects find sources of nectar.D) It presents information that partly contradicts the protectionist view.10. The word “vulnerable” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) numerousB) harmfulC) open to attackD) difficult to locate11. According to paragraph 5, what did Bentley’s comparative study show?A) Many more plants grew in places where ants were present than where they were absent.B) The ants preferred plants with low seed production to plants with high seed production.C) The plants occupied by ants produced many more seeds than those that were not occupied by ants.D) The plants that grew in places without ants were much smaller and weaker than those that grew in places where ants were present.12. According to paragraph 5, ants defend morning glory plants from seed beetles in each of the following ways EXCEPTA) driving adult beetles off the plants by nipping at their feetB) catching and eating adult beetlesC) eating beetle eggs they find on developing fruitsD) making it difficult for beetles to lay eggs on developing fruits13. Look at the four squares 【】 that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Sometimes they capture the insects to feed their protein-hungry larvae.Where does the sentence best fit?Ants are portably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of plants. 【】Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant energy. 【】To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding insects that might compete with ants for nectar. 【】Many of these intruders are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants. 【】14. Prose SummaryMany plants have extrafloral nectaries that produce nectar even during periods in which the plant is not flowering. Answer ChoicesA) Evolutionary history shows that plants that produce extrafloral nectar originated in the tropics.B) Extrafloral nectar has a higher concentration of sugar than floral nectar and is more attractive to ants and other insects.C) The protectionist hypothesis is that extrafloral nextar attracts ants, and that the ants, in order to preserve this energy-rich food source, attack insects that might harm the plant.D) Evidence accumulated during the twentieth century proved that ants provide significant benefits for plants with extrafloral nectaries.E) Research has shown that American morning glory plants that are protected by ants produce significantly more seeds than morning glory plants that are not protected by ants.F) Ants generally ignore small insects, but they will eat the adults of large insect species as well as their eggs and larvae.The Development of Steam PowerBy the eighteenth century, Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy. Because of the growth of population, most of the great forests of medieval Britain hadlong ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay.。
托福TPO阅读34原文+题目答案解析
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Islamic Art and the BookThe arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing,developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the mostcharacteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period. This came aboutfrom two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as themajor medium for writing, and rounded scripts were regularized and perfected sothat they replaced the angular scripts of the previous period, which because oftheir angularity were uneven in height. Books became major vehicles for artisticexpression, and the artists who produced them, notably calligraphers andpainters, enjoyed high status, and their workshops were often sponsored byprinces and their courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the bookcontaining the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the mostcommon type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range ofbooks were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued to include,of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted to read, butscientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry were alsocopied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful illustrations. Most weremade for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks (markets)where books were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known asthe Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of themost luxurious books were specific commissions made at the order of a particularprince and signed by the calligrapher and decorator.Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in theeighth century. It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible sheets – slowly spread westward. Within fifty years, the government in Baghdad was using paper for documents. Writing in ink on paper, unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt – and eventually to Sicily and Spain – but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period.The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whoseconsequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as much as a meter across – were available. These large sheets meant that calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper, particularly。
TPO34 The Development of Steam Power
The Development of Steam PowerBy the eighteenth century, Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy. Because of the growth of population, most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay. Wood was in ever-shorter supply, yet it remained tremendously important. It served as the primary source of heat for all homes and industries and as a basic raw material. Processed wood (charcoal) was the fuel that was mixed with iron ore in the blast furnace to produce pig iron (raw iron). The iron industry’s appetite for wood was enormous, and by 1740 the British iron industry was stagnating. Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world’s leading producer of iron, much of which was exported to Britain. But Russia’s potential for growth was limited too, and in a few decades Russia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back.As this early energy crisis grew worse, Britain looked toward its abundant and widely scattered reserves of coal as an alternative to its vanishing wood. Coal was first used in Britain in the late Middle Ages as a source of heat. By 1640 most homes in London were heated with it, and it also provided heat for making beer, glass, soap, and other products. Coal was not used, however, to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery. It was there that coal’s pot ential wad enormous.As more coal was produced, mines were dug deeper and deeper and were constantly filling with water. Mechanical pumps, usually powered by hundreds of horses waling in circles at the surface, had to be installed. Such power was expensive and bothersome. In an attempt to overcome these disadvantages, Thomas Savery in 1698 and Thomas Newcomen in 1705 invented the first primitive steam engines. Both engines were extremely inefficient. Both burned coal to produce steam, which was then used to operate a pump. However, by the early 1770s, many of the Savery engines and hundreds of the Newcomen engines were operating successfully, though inefficiently, in English and Scottish mines.In the early 1760s, a gifted young Scot named James Watt was drawn to a critical study of the steam engine. Watt was employed at the time by the University of Glasgow as a skilled crafts worker making scientific instruments. In 1763, Watt was called on to repair a Newcomen engine being used in a physics course. After a series of observations, Watt saw that the New comen’s waste of energy could be reduced by adding a separate condenser. This splendid invention, patented in 1769, greatly increased the efficiency of the steam engine. The steam engine of Watt and his followers was the technological advance that gave people, at least for a while, unlimited power and allowed the invention and use of all kinds of power equipment.The steam engine was quickly put to use in several industries in Britain. It drained mines and made possible the production of ever more coal to feed steam engines elsewhere. The steam power plant began to replace waterpower in the cotton-spinning mills as well as other industries during the 1780s, contributing to a phenomenal rise in industrialization. The British iron industry was radically transformed. The use of powerful, steam-driven bellows in blast furnaces helped iron makers switch over rapidly from limited charcoal to unlimited coke (which is made from coal) in the smelting of pig iron (the process of refining impure iron) after 1770 in the 1780s, Henry Cort developed the puddling furnace, which allowed pig iron to be refined in turn with coke. Cort also developed heavy-duty, steam-powered rolling mills, which were capable of producing finished iron in every shape and form.The economic consequence of these technical innovations in steam power was a great boom in the British iron industry. In 1740 annual British iron production was only 17,000 tons, but by 1844, with the spread of coke smelti ng and the impact of Cort’s inventions, it had increased to 3,000,000 tons. This was a truly amazing expansion. Once scarce and expensive, iron became cheap, basic, and indispensable to the economy.Para.1By the eighteenth century, Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy. 【】 Because of the growth of population, most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay. 【】Wood was in ever-shorter supply, yet it remained tremendously important. 【】It served as the primary source of heat for all homes and industries and as a basic raw material. 【】Processed wood (charcoal) was the fuel that was mixed with iron ore in the blast furnace to produce pig iron (raw iron). The iron industry’sappetite for wood was enormous, and by 1740 the British iron industry was stagnating. Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world’sleading producer of iron, much of which was exported to Britain. But Russia’s potential for growth was limited too, and in a few decadesRussia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back.1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about Britain’s short suppl y of wood in the eighteenth century?A) Wood from Britain’s great forests was being exported to othe r countries for profit.B) A growing population had required cutting down forests to increase available land for farming.C) Larger families required the construction of larger homes made from wood.D) What was left of the great forests after the medieval period was being strictly protected.2. Select TWO answer choices that, according to paragraph 1, are true statements about Russia’s iron industry in the eighteenth century.To obtain credit, you must select TWO answer choices.A) Russia reached its maximum production of iron at the same time as Britain.B) Russia exported much of its iron production to Britain.C) Russia’s appetite for iron increased rapidly after 1740.D) Russia’s energy resources eventually became insufficient and limited the growth of its iron industry.Para.2As this early energy crisis grew worse, Britain looked toward its abundant and widely scattered reserves of coal as an alternative to its vanishing wood. Coal was first used in Britain in the late Middle Ages asa source of heat. By 1640 most homes in London were heated with it,and it also provided heat for making beer, glass, soap, and otherproducts. Coal was not used, however, to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery. It was there tha t coal’s potential wad enormous.3. The word “abundant” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) reliableB) plentifulC) well-preservedD) existing4. Why are “beer, glass, soap, and other products” mentioned in the discussion of Brita in’s energy?A) To help explain why the energy crisis was so severeB) To show that despite the energy crisis and as early as 1640, London homes were advanced and well suppliedC) To emphasize that after 1640, British homes required energy for more than heatD) To indicate that coal had been used for the production of certain products before the eighteenth centuryPara.3As more coal was produced, mines were dug deeper and deeper and were constantly filling with water. Mechanical pumps,usually powered by hundreds of horses waling in circles at the surface, had to be installed. Such power was expensive and bothersome. In an attempt to overcome these disadvantages, Thomas Savery in 1698 and Thomas Newcomen in 1705 invented the first primitive steam engines.Both engines were extremely inefficient. Both burned coal to produce steam, which was then used to operate a pump. However, by the early 1770s, many of the Savery engines and hundreds of the Newcomenengines were operating successfully, though inefficiently, in English and Scottish mines.5. According to paragraph 3, all of the following are ways in which the Savery and Newcomen engines were similar EXCEPT:A) Both became relatively inexpensive after the 1770s.B) Both produced steam by burning coal.C) Both were used to operate pumps.D) Both were very inefficient.Para.1In the early 1760s, a gifted young Scot named James Watt was drawn to a critical study of the steam engine. Watt was employed at the time by the University of Glasgow as a skilled crafts worker makingscientific instruments. In 1763, Watt was called on to repair aNewcomen engine being used in a physics course. After a series ofobservations, Watt saw that the Newcomen’s waste of energy could be reduced by adding a separate condenser. This splendid invention,patented in 1769, greatly increased the efficiency of the steam engine.The steam engine of Watt and his followers was the technologicaladvance that gave people, at least for a while, unlimited power andallowed the invention and use of all kinds of power equipment.6. The word “gifted” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) independentB) talentedC) famousD) ambitious7. According to paragraph 4, what was James Watt’s major achievement?A)He was able to apply his understanding of physics to invent a variety ofscientific instruments and tools for skilled crafts workers.B) He taught university physics courses to outstanding studentswhose observations led to many patented inventions.C) He improved the efficiency of Newcomen’s engine by preventingenergy from being lost.D) He redesigned Newcomen’s engine so that it no longer needed aseparate condenser.8. The word “splendid” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) originalB) necessaryC) magnificentD) popularPara.2The steam engine was quickly put to use in several industries in Britain. It drained mines and made possible the production of ever more coal to feed steam engines elsewhere. The steam power plantbegan to replace waterpower in the cotton-spinning mills as well asother industries during the 1780s, contributing to a phenomenal rise in industrialization. The British iron industry was radically transformed. The use of powerful, steam-driven bellows in blast furnaces helped ironmakers switch over rapidly from limited charcoal to unlimited coke(which is made from coal) in the smelting of pig iron (the process ofrefining impure iron) after 1770 in the 1780s, Henry Cort developed the puddling furnace, which allowed pig iron to be refined in turn with coke.Cort also developed heavy-duty, steam-powered rolling mills, whichwere capable of producing finished iron in every shape and form.9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 5 as adevelopment that greatly changed the production of iron?A) The use of coke in the smelting of pig ironB) The invention of a furnace that used coke to refine ironC) The discovery of a method for increasing the production ofcharcoalD) The invention of powerful machinery that could shape, form, andfinish ironPara.3The economic consequence of these technical innovations in steam power was a great boom in the British iron industry. In 1740annual British iron production was only 17,000 tons, but by 1844, with the spread of coke smelting and the impact o f Cort’s inventions, it had increased to 3,000,000 tons. This was a truly amazing expansion. Once scarce and expensive, iron became cheap, basic, and indispensable to the economy.10. In paragraph 6, why does the author compare British ironproduction in 1740 with that of 1844?A) To contrast the amounts of iron needed in Britain in two differentcenturiesB) To illustrate how easy it was to make money using Cort’s inventionC) To demonstrate the tremendous growth of the iron industry inBritainD) To demonstrate how inexpensive coal had become11. The word “indispensable” in the passage is closest in meaning toA) advantageousB) essentialC) less costlyD) highly stimulating12. According to the passage, which of the following is true about thedevelopment of steam power?A) The steam engine’s basic technology can be traced back tomedieval Britain when steam-powered machinery was being tried in farming activities.B) Although Russia and Britain developed steam-power technologysimultaneously, Britain was first to try it in a large-scale industry dueto a greater need for iron.C) Steam-power technology was largely the result of improvementsdeveloped to increase the supply of coal as a primary source of energy.D) Adaptations to steam engines required for their use in cotton-spinning mills led to radical developments in machinery used in theiron industry.13. Look at the four squares 【】 that indicate where the followingsentence could be added to the passage.Energy had not been a problem for Britain in the past because itrelied on a rich source of energy: its vast forests.Where does the sentence best fit?托福备考QQ群小伙伴根据网络材料整理:306612832Para.1By the eighteenth century, Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy. 【】 Because of the growth of population, most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced byfields of grain and hay. 【】Wood was in ever-shorter supply, yet itremained tremendously important. 【】It served as the primary source of heat for all homes and industries and as a basic raw material. 【】Processed wood (charcoal) was the fuel that was mixed with iron ore in the blast furnace to produce pig iron (raw iron). The iron industry’sappetite for wood was enormous, and by 1740 the British iron industry was stagnating. Vast forests enabled Russia t o become the world’sleading producer of iron, much of which was exported to Britain. ButRussia’s potential for growth was limited too, and in a few decadesRussia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back.14. Prose SummaryBy the eighteenth century, Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy.Answer Choices:A) The development of blast furnaces for the manufacture of pig iron made the Britain less dependent on wood.B) After the medieval period, both Russia and Britain began to look for alternative sources of energy, such as steam power, in order to maintain the growth of their iron industries.C) Two inventors designed the first steam engines in order to overcome the disadvantages of relying on horses to power the pumps used in mining coal.D) James Watt was able to improve upon the efficiency of the steam engine and make it useful to several industries.E) The puddling furnace increased the availability of charcoal to a variety of industries from cotton to iron production.F) Steam power increased coal production, which in turn allowed extraordinary growth of the iron industry and the British economy.。
托福TPO34阅读Passage2原文文本+题目+答案解析
为了帮助大家高效备考托福,为大家带来托福TPO34阅读Passage2原文文本+题目+答案解析,希望对大家备考有所帮助。
The Development of Steam Power 蒸汽机的发展 By the eighteenth century,Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy.Because of the growth of population,most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay.Wood was in ever-shorter supply,yet it remained tremendously important.It served as the primary source of heat for all homes and industries and as a basic raw material.Processed wood(charcoal)was the fuel that was mixed with iron ore in the blast furnace to produce pig iron(raw iron).The iron industry’s appetite for wood was enormous,and by 1740 the British iron industry was stagnating.Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world’s leading producer of iron,much of which was exported to Britain.But Russia’s potential for growth was limited too,and in a few decades Russia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back. 在18世纪之前,英国正在经历一次严重的能源短缺。
托福TPO34综合写作(阅读+听力文本)
小编为托福考生们准备了托福综合写作TPO34,希望各位考生们在TPO写作真题里能够得到锻炼,祝广大托福考生能够取得理想成绩。
ReadingA huge marine mammal known as Steller’s sea cow once lived in the watersaround Bering Island off the coast of Siberia. It was described in 1741 by GeorgW. Steller, a naturalist who was among the first European to see one. In 1768the animal became extinct. The reasons for the extinction are not clear. Hereare three theories about the main cause of the extinction.First, the sea cows may have been overhunted by groups of native Siberianpeople. If this theory is correct, then the sea cow population would haveoriginally been quite large, but hundreds of years off too much hunting by thenative people diminished the number of sea cows. Sea cows were a good source offood in a harsh environment, so overhunting by native people could have been themain cause of extinction.Second, the sea cow population may have become extinct because ofecosystems disturbances that caused a decline in their main source of food, kelp(a type of sea plant). Kelp populations respond negatively to a number ofecological changes. It is possible that ecological changes near Bering islandsome time before 1768 caused a decrease of the kelp that the sea cows dependon.Third, the main cause of extinction of the sea cows could have beenEuropean fur traders who came to the island after 1741. It is recorded that thefur traders caught the last sea cow in 1768. It thus seems reasonable to believethat hunting by European fur traders, who possessed weapons that allowed them toquickly kill a large number of the animals, was the main cause of the sea cow’sextinction.托福TPO34独立写作题目Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?Educating children is a more difficult task today than it was in the pastbecause they spend so much time on cell phone, online games, and socialnetworking Web site.Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.,。
托福备考托福阅读34套TPO样题+解析+译文TPO 33—1 最初的文明
托福考试 复习TPO 33—1 最初的文明原文:【1】Evidence suggests that an important stimulus behind the rise of early civilizations was the development of settled agriculture, which unleashed a series of changes in the organization of human communities that culminated in the rise of large ancient empires.【2】The exact time and place that crops were first cultivated successfully is uncertain. Many prehistorians believe that farming may have emerged in dependently in several different areas of the world when small communities, driven by increasing population and a decline in available food resources, began to plant seeds in the ground in an effort to guarantee their survival. The first farmers, who may have lived as long as 10,000 years ago, undoubtedly used simple techniques and still relied primarily on other forms of food production, such as hunting, foraging, or pastoralism. The real breakthrough took place when farmers began to cultivate crops along the floodplains of river systems. The advantage was that crops grown in such areas were not as dependent on rainfall and therefore produced a more reliable harvest. An additional benefit was that the sediment carried by the river waters deposited nutrients in the soil, thus enabling the farmer to cultivate a single plot of ground for many years without movingto a new location. Thus, the first truly sedentary (that is, nonmigratory) societies were born. As time went on, such communities gradually learned how to direct the flow of water to enhance the productive capacity of the land, while the introduction of the iron plow eventuallyled to the cultivation of heavy soils not previously susceptible to agriculture. 【3】The spread of this river valley agriculture in various parts of Asia and Africa was the decisive factor in the rise of the first civilizations. The increase in food production in these regions led to a significant growth in population, while efforts to control the flow of water to maximize the irrigation of cultivated areas and to protect the local inhabitants from hostile forces outside the community provoked the first steps toward cooperative activities on a large scale. The need to oversee the entire process brought about the emergence of an elite that was eventually transformed into a government.【4】The first clear steps in the rise of the first civilizations took place in the fourth and third millennia B.C. in Mesopotamia, northern Africa, India, and China. How the first governments took shape in these areas is not certain, but anthropologists studying the evolution of human communities in various parts of the world have discovered that one common stage in the process is the emergence of what are called “big men” within a single village or a collection of villages. By means of their military prowess, dominant personalities, or political talents, these people gradually emerge as the leaders of that community. In time, the “big men” become formal symbols of authority and pass on that authority to others within their own family. As the communities continue to grow in size and material wealth, the “big men” assume hereditary status, and their allies and family members are transformed into a hereditary monarchy.【5】The appearance of these sedentary societies had a major impact on the socialorganizations, religious beliefs, and way of life of the peoples living within their boundaries. With the increase in population and the development of centralized authority came the emergence of the cities. While some of these urban centers were identified with a particular economic function, such as proximity to gold or iron deposits or a strategic location on a major trade route, others served primarily as administrative centers or the site of temples for the official cult or other ritual observances. Within these cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the growing need for social services and consumer goods. Some people became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars, or priests. In some cases, the physical division within the first cities reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall and separate from the remainder of the urban population. In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere题目:1.The phrase "culminated in" in the passage (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning toA.reached a high point with.B.logically followed from.C.partly contributed to.D.marked.2.According to paragraph 2, which of the following statements is true of earlyA.They used farming to supplement other food sources.B.They were driven out of small communities.C.They were victims of flooding.D.They farmed several plots of land at once.3.The word "undoubtedly" in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning toA.increasingly.B.certainly.C.in general.D.apparently.4.According to paragraph 2, what are TWO reasons why farmers chose river valleys for cultivation? To receive credit you must select TWO answer choices.A.The soils in river valleys were rich in nutrients.B.The crops grown in river valleys were not completely dependent on rainwater.C.Farming techniques could not be easily applied to soils far from rivers.D.The heavier weight of river soil resulted in more reliable harvests.5.The word "enhance" in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning toA.serve.B.improve.C.control.D.protect.6.The word "provoked"(paragraph 3) in the passage is closest in meaning toB.coordinated.C.modeled.D.brought about.7.According to paragraph 3, which of the following is NOT a reason why governments first arose among agricultural communities?A.A significant increase in population.B.The desire to control water resources for irrigation.C.The need for protection from outside forces.D.The demand for organized communication with other communities.8.According to paragraph 4, what is not known about the rise of the first civilizations?A.Where the first steps toward civilization took place.B.Who was allowed to replace "big men" after the "big men" died.C.Why some individuals became recognized as leaders.D.How governments emerged.9.What is the relationship between paragraphs 3 and 4 in the passage?A.Paragraph 3 explains why a need for leadership arose in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 describes how that leadership developed.B.Paragraph 3 suggests that agriculture was first practiced in Asia and Africa, and paragraph 4 discusses how it might have later spread to the rest of the world.C.Paragraph 3 describes several methods of early government, and paragraph 4 gives an extended example of one of them.D.Paragraph 3 discusses a cause of the spread of river valley agriculture in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 discusses an effect.10.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.A.Some cities were associated with economic activities, while others were government or religious centers.B.Emerging cities generally served strategic administrative, economic, and religious purposes.C.The creation of an economic or administrative activity led to the emergence of a city for its proper supervision.D.Some cities emerged as economic centers and later became the sites of administrative or religious activities.11.Paragraph 5 suggests that which of the following was a consequence of the emergence of cities?A.The decentralization of authority.B.An increase in religious activity.C.The emergence of service- and production-related jobs.D.A decreased reliance on mineral resources.12.According to paragraph 5, why were huge walls built around early royal palaces?A.T o protect the inhabitants from invaders.B.To mark the urban areas.C.To separate the ruling class from the rest of the population.D.T o represent the prosperity of a city.13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit? ?? This was accompanied by increased professional specialization.The appearance of these sedentary societies had a major impact on the social organizations, religious beliefs, and way of life of the peoples living within their boundaries. ■【A】??With the increase in population and the development of centralized authority came the emergence of the cities. ■【B】??While some of these urban centers were identified with a particular economic function, such as proximity to gold or iron deposits or a strategic location on a major trade route, others served primarily as administrative centers or the site of temples for the official cult or other ritual observances. ■【C】Within these cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the growing need for social services and consumer goods. ■【D】??Some people became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars, or priests. In some cases, the physical division within the first cities reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall andseparate from the remainder of the urban population. In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere.14. Prose SummaryThe practice of settled agriculture in some areas of Asia and Africa was crucial tothe development of early civilizations.A.Prehistorians disagree as to whether early farmers first cultivated crops along floodplains or first tried cultivating crops in less successful environments.B.Cultivation in fertile river valleys resulted in predictable harvests, which meant that farmers no longer needed to migrate constantly in search of food.C.Because crops could be cultivated more successfully where farmers were not completely dependent on rainfall, hostilities between groups arose over control of the river systems.D.The need to organize the effort to ensure the food supply and defend the land led to the formation of elite supervising groups that eventually became the first governments.E.Increasingly centralized forms of administration resulted in the emergence of social classes and in the development of cities as trade, administration, or religious centers.F.Unlike other early civilizations, those that developed in the Indus River Valley did not have any spectacular palaces or areas for exclusive use by the authorities.答案:1.词汇题,culminate表示"达到高峰",选A。
托福阅读TPO34-1 WORD 打印 Protection of Plants by Insects
Protection of Plants by InsectsMany plants-one or more species of at least 68 different families-can secrete nectar even when they have no blossoms, because they bear extrafloral nectaries (structures that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants usually occur where ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate areas. Among those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses, hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar consists mainly of water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, in some plants, small amounts of amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries of some plants are known to attract ants and other insects, but the evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is unknown. Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries attract insects that will defend the plant.According to paragraph 1, floral nectar and extrafloral nectar are alike in that∙they are likely to be produced by the same plants∙they basically consist of the same chemical components∙they attract only insects that will defend the plant∙they are produced by the same parts of the plantAnts are probably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of plants. []Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant energy.[] To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding insects that might compete with ants for nectar.[] Many of these intruders are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants. []To say that ants are "persistent" defenders of plants means that∙they defend plants against a wide variety of threats∙they continue to defend plants for as long as the plants are threatened∙they are successful defenders of plants∙they are easily observable defenders of plantsWhat can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the ants that are attracted to the extrafloral nectaries?∙They do not eat the leaves of the plants that produce extrafloral nectar.∙They live almost entirely on extrafloral nectar.∙They spend most of their energy guarding extrafloral nectaries.∙They frequently fight among themselves over extrafloral nectar.Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some purely internal physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit whatsoever to the plants that secrete it. This view and the opposing "protectionist" hypothesis that ants defend plants had been disputed for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and that in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perish or fail to produce flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. That we now have an abundance of the proof that was called for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the relevant evidence in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments have provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.According to paragraph 3, what was the position of the opponents of the "protectionist" hypothesis?∙Extrafloral nectar provides plants with a direct defense against attack by insects.∙Ants substantially benefit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar.∙The secretion of extrafloral nectar plays a role in the plant's internal functioning.∙Ants visit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar as often as they visit plants that do not.The word "skeptical" in the passage is closest in meaning to∙curious∙doubtful∙open-minded∙practicalWhich 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.∙We now have ample proof that ants benefit plants.∙Barbara Bentley has called for additional proof that ants benefit plants.∙In 1977 Barbara Bentley conducted research that proved that all prior studies were wrong.∙Proof that ants benefit plants will require many more observations and experiments. One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect morning glories against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies of the North American morning glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding on flowers indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on whichthe pollen germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract pollinators and are not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed beetles affect seed production directly. Caterpillars devour the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae eat seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds of insects, but 96 percent of them are ants, several different species of them. When buds are still small, less than a quarter of an inch long, the sepal nectaries are already present and producing nectar. They continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit matures. Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers and fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, and seed beetles. Bentley compared the seed production of six plants that grew where there were no ants with that of seventeen plants that were occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore only 45 seeds per plant, but plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant. Although ants are not big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive them away by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, disturb females as they lay their eggs on developing fruits, and eat many of the eggs they do manage to lay.What role does paragraph 5 play in the passage?∙It offers various kinds of evidence for the protectionist view.∙It presents the study that first proved that ants benefit plants.∙It explains how insects find sources of nectar.∙It presents information that partly contradicts the protectionist view.According to paragraph 5, ants defend morning glory plants from seed beetles in each of the following ways EXCEPT∙driving adult beetles off the plants by nipping at their feet∙catching and eating adult beetles∙eating beetle eggs they find on developing fruits∙making it difficult for beetles to lay eggs on developing fruitsLook at the four squares [] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.Sometimes they capture the insects to feed their protein-hungry larvae.Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it.To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT.Many plants have extrafloral nectaries that produce nectar even during periods in which the plant is not flowering.∙∙∙Answer ChoicesA.Evolutionary history shows that plants that produce extrafloral nectaroriginated in the tropics.B. Extrafloral nectar has a higher concentration of sugar than floral nectar andis more attractive to ants and other insects.C. The protectionist hypothesis is that extrafloral nectar attracts ants, and thatthe ants, in order to preserve this energy-rich food source, attack insects that might harm the plant.D.Evidence accumulated during the twentieth century proved that antsprovide significant benefits for plants with extrafloral nectaries.E. Research has shown that American morning glory plants that are protectedby ants produce significantly more seeds than morning glory plants that are not protected by ants.F.Ants generally ignore small insects, but they will eat the adults of largeinsect species as well as their eggs and larvae.。
TPO-34 Reading 2 解析
Q1正确答案:B解析:定位到原文Because of the growth of population, most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay,“因为人口的增长,很多的森林早已被农田替代”。
B选项的表述是对定位句的同义改写,fileds of gray and hay=land for farming。
A选项的木材出口与原文意思相反,因为原文说的是俄国出口铁到英国;C选项的大家庭要求大房子的内容在第一段中没有出现;D选项的英国木材出口是错误的,原文中提到的出口的是俄国向英国出口的铁。
Q2正确答案:BD解析:B选项的表述可以定位到原文Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world's leading producer of iron, much of which was exported to Britain, D选项的表述可以定位到原文But Russia's potential for growth was limited too, and in a few decades Russia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back。
选项A 错误,原文信息为by 1740 the British iron industry was stagnating. Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world’s leading producer of iron,即在英国的钢铁业已停滞的时候,俄罗斯当时是生产铁矿的领头羊,但是俄罗斯是不是reached its maximum production of iron并不明确。
托福TPO34综合写作阅读原文+听力原文+满分范文
¡¡¡¡ÎªÁË°ïÖú´ó¼Ò¸ßЧ±¸¿¼Íи££¬Îª´ó¼Ò´øÀ´Íи£TPO34×ÛºÏд×÷ÔĶÁÔ-ÎÄ+ÌýÁ¦Ô-ÎÄ+Âú·Ö·¶ÎÄ£¬Ï£Íû¶Ô´ó¼Ò±¸¿¼ÓÐËù°ïÖú¡£¡¡¡¡Íи£TPO34×ÛºÏд×÷ÔĶÁÔ-ÎÄÎı¾£º¡¡¡¡A huge marine mammal known as Steller¡¯s sea cow once lived in the waters around Bering Island off the coast of Siberia. It was described in 1741 by Georg W. Steller, a naturalist who was among the first European to see one. In 1768 the animal became extinct. The reasons for the extinction are not clear. Here are three theories about the main cause of the extinction. First, the sea cows may have been overhunted by groups of native Siberian people. If this theory is correct, then the sea cow population would have originally been quite large, but hundreds of years off too much hunting by the native people diminished the number of sea cows. Sea cows were a good source of food in a harsh environment, so overhunting by native people could have been the main cause of extinction. Second, the sea cow population may have become extinct because of ecosystems disturbances that caused a decline in their main source of food, kelp (a type of sea plant). Kelp populations respond negatively to a number of ecological changes. It is possible that ecological changes near Bering island some time before 1768 caused a decrease of the kelp that the sea cows depend on. Third, the main cause of extinction of the sea cows could have been European fur traders who came to the island after 1741. It is recorded that the fur traders caught the last sea cow in 1768. It thus seems reasonable to believe that hunting by European fur traders, who possessed weapons that allowed them to quickly kill a large number of the animals, was the main cause of the sea cow¡¯s extinction.¡¡¡¡Íи£TPO34×ÛºÏд×÷ÌýÁ¦Ô-ÎÄÎı¾£º¡¡¡¡The truth is we don¡¯t know what the main cause of extinction of Steller¡¯s sea cow was. There are problems with each of the theories that you read about.First, the sea cows were massive creatures. They were up to nine meters long and could weigh over ten tons, just enormous. A couple of sea cows could feed a small Siberian village for months. And the population of the native Siberian people wasn¡¯t very large. So while the Siberians certainly did hunt the sea cows, they didn¡¯t need to hunt a lot of them. So it¡¯s unlikely they were the ones who brought the sea cows to the point of extinction.Second, about a hypothetical decrease in kelp caused by ecological disturbances, well, if something severe really happened in the ecosystem near Bering Island sometime before 1768, it would have affected not just the kelp but also other parts of the ecosystem. For example, it would have caused the decline in other marine animals like whales. But fishing ships in the area did not report a whale decline. Since there is no indication of broader ecosystem problems, the kelp was probably growing just fine and the sea cows did not experience food shortage.Third, it might seem like the European traders were responsible because the sea cows became extinct soon after the Europeans arrived. But, actually, by the time that the Europeans arrived, the sea cow population was already quite small. We have evidence that thesea cow population was at its largest hundreds of years before the 1700s. So something was causing a serious and on-going decrease in the sea cow population long before the Europeans arrived in the Bering Island area. Whatever this something was, it shouldbe considered the main cause of the extinction, not the European traders who were just the last to arrive.¡¡¡¡Íи£TPO34×ÛºÏд×÷Âú·Ö·¶ÎÄ1£º¡¡¡¡According to the reading passage, the author claims that there are three theories elaborating the reasons for declineof sea cows. However, the lecturer entirely challenges these theories. First of all, in the reading passage theauthor believes that overhunting by Sibrian for food is the major factor forthe decrease of sea cows.In contrast, the lecturer opposes this view and maintains that sea cows, a kind of animal with approximately ten tons, are tooenormous for people to eat, and another contributor refuting the view in thereading is that the population of people was not substantial at that time,which do not have the capacity to kill the majority of sea cows. Furthermore, contrary to the statement inthe reading passage that the extinction of sea cows is due to the fact that it is the quantity of Kelp, regardedas the food resource of sea cows, decreased by the destruction of ecosystem, the lecturer asserts that Kelp also is thefood resource for whales, which means if the population of Kelp decreases, thenumber of whales will decline as sea cows do. But there is no report about the decline of them. Eventually, the lecturer casts doubton thepoint made by the author that the extinction of sea cows may be caused by Europeanfur traders, and he proposes that actually when European fur traders firstly arrived there, the population of sea cows had already been small;therefore, there must be other fatal events causing the decrease in the population of sea cows before fur traders being there.¡¡¡¡Íи£TPO34×ÛºÏд×÷Âú·Ö·¶ÎÄ2£º¡¡¡¡The reading passage proposes three possible theories about why the gigantic Steller's sea cow became extinct. However, the professor in the listening states thatall of the theories have problems, and he has proposes sufficient evidence to refute these three hypotheses. First of all, the first theory stated in the reading article claims that these sea cows became extinct because of the hunting by the native peoplein the Siberia since they were a good source of food in a harsh environment. However, the lecturer in the listening contradicts the theory by contending that these animals were extremely massive: nine meters in length and ten tons in weight. Therefore, even though the Siberian people did really hunt them for food, these people only neededa few of them, which could provide the food for months. This negates the first theory. Next, the second theory in the passage maintains that they became extinct becauseof the ecology disturbances, which led to the main source of food, Kelp, for the sea cows diminished. On the contrary, the speaker in the listening seriously challenges the theory by pointing out that if the ecosystem really had some disturbances, there。
tpo34阅读及答案
tpo34阅读及答案tpo34阅读试题1.According to paragraph 1,floral nectar and extrafloral nectar are alike in thatA.they are likely to be produced by the same plants.B.they basically consist of the same chemical components.C.they attract only insects that will defend the plant.D.they are produced by the same parts of the plant.2.To say that ants are "persistent" defenders of plants means thatA.they defend plants against a wide variety of threats.B.they continue to defend plants for as long as the plants are threatened.C.they are successful defenders of plants.D.they are easily observable defenders of plants.3.What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the ants that are attracted to theextrafloral nectaries?A.They do not eat the leaves of the plants that produce extrafloral nectar.B.They live almost entirely on extrafloral nectar.C.They spend most of their energy guarding extrafloral nectaries.D.They frequently fight among themselves over extrafloral nectar.4.According to paragraph 3, what was the position of the opponents of the"protectionist" hypothesis?A.Extrafloral nectar provides plants with a direct defense against attack by insects.B.Ants substantially benefit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar.C.The secretion of extrafloral nectar plays a role in the plants internal functioning.D.Ants visit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar as often as they visit plants that do not.5.The word "skeptical" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.curious.B.doubtful.C.open-minded.D.practical.6.Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information jn thehighlighted sentence in the passage Incorrect choices change the meaning in importantways or leave out essential information.A.We now have ample proof that ants benefit plants.B.Barbara Bentley has called for additional proof that ants benefit plants.C.In 1977 Barbara Bentley conducted research that proved that all prior studies were wrong.D.Proof that ants benefit plants will require many more observations and experiments.7.According to paragraph 4, what effect does the destruction of the corolla have onplants.A.It leaves the seeds exposed and unprotected.B.It prevents the stigma from developing.C.It keeps pollen grains from attaching properly.D.It prevents the flower from attracting pollinators.8.The word "devour" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.attack.B.eat.C.damage.D.prefer.9.What role does paragraph 5 play in the passage?A.It offers various kinds of evidence for the protectionist view.B.It presents the study that first proved that ants benefit plants.C.It explains how insects find sources of nectar.D.It presents information that partly contradicts the protectionist view.10.The word "vulnerable" in the passage is closest in meaning toA.numerous.B.harmful.C.open to attack.D.difficult to locate.11.According to paragraph 5, what did Bentleys comparative study show?A.Many more plants grew in places where ants were present than where they were absent.B.The ants preferred plants with low seed production to plants with high seed production.C.The plants occupied by ants produced many more seeds than those that were not occupiedby ants.D.The plants that grew in places without ants were much smaller and weaker than those thatgrew in places where ants were present.12.According to paragraph 5, ants defend morning glory plants from seed beetles ineach of the following ways EXCEPT:A.driving adult beetles off the plants by nipping at their feet.B.catching and eating adult beetles.C.eating beetle eggs they find on developing fruits.D.making it difficult for beetles to lay eggs on developing fruits.。
TPO-34 Reading 1 解析
Q1正确答案:C解析:定位到第1段倒数第2句: The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market. 也就是说这些书是在一个清真寺书店里售卖,不是在清真寺旁边, 所以C的表述是错误的。
选项A项对应原文中Books became major vehicles for artistic expression;选项B 项对应原文中but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons;选项D项对应原文中Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks(markets) where books were bought and sold. boast, “有(值得自豪的东西)”。
Q2正确答案:D解析:定位词汇出现的上下文来推断词意…their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their courts. …“他们的工作坊经常被王子们和宫廷____”,最符合句内逻辑关系的选项是supported。
选项中sponsored 意思是“资助,赞助”,即在财务上支持,故选supported。
visit,“参观,拜访”;own,“拥有”;praise,“称赞,赞扬”。
Q3正确答案:B解析:adjacent意思“附近的,临近的”,故选nearby。
major,“主要的,重要的”;ancient,“远古的,古代的”;well-known 为“众所周知的”。
Q4正确答案:D解析:定位到第一段第2句:This came about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing parchment as the major medium for writing. 即A.D.900之前的写作是在羊皮纸上的,A.D.900之后羊皮纸被纸张取代,D正确。
托福TPOextra 答案解析和原文翻译
TPO 34阅读解析第一篇Population and Climate【P1】地球人口的增长已经对大气和生态环境产生了影响。
化石燃料的燃烧,毁林,城市化,种植大米,养殖家畜,生产作为助推燃料和制冷剂的CFC增加了空气中CO2,甲烷,二氧化氮,二氧化硫灰尘和CFOs 的含量。
约70%的太阳能量穿过大气直射地球表面。
太阳射线提高了土地和海洋表面的温度,随后土地和海洋表面将红外射线反射会太空中。
这能使地球避免温度过高。
但是并不是所有的红外射线被返回会太空中,一些被大气中的气体吸收,然后再次反射回地球表面。
温室气体就是其中吸收了红外射线的一种气体,然后再次反射一些红外线到地球。
二氧化碳,CFC,甲烷和二氧化氮都是温室气体。
大气中温室效应形成和建立的很自然。
事实上,大气中如果没有温室气体,科学家预测地球温度比当前的能够低33度。
【P2】大气中当前二氧化碳浓度是360ppm。
人类活动正在对大气中二氧化碳浓度的增加有着重要的影响,二氧化碳浓度正在快速增长,目前预估在未来50-100年内,浓度将是目前的一倍。
IPCC在1992中做出一份报告,在该份报告中大多数大气科学家中观点一致,预测二氧化碳浓度翻倍可能会将全球气温提高1.4-4.5度。
IPCC在2001年的报告中做出的预测是气温几乎将会提高2倍。
可能发生的气温升高比在冰河时期发生的变化要大很多。
这种温度的升高也不会是一直的,在赤道周围变化最小,而在极点周围的变化则是2-3倍。
这些全球变化的本地化影响很难预测,但是大家一致认为可能会影响洋流的改变,在北半球的一些区域可能增加在冬天发洪水的可能性,在一些区域夏天发生干旱的概率提高,还有海平面的升高也可能会淹没位置较低的国家。
【P3】科学家积极参与地球气候系统中物理,化学和生物成分的调查,为了对温室气体的增加对未来全球气候的影响做出准确预测。
全球环流模型在这个过程中是重要的工具。
这些模型体现包含了当前对大气环流模式,洋流,大陆影响和类似东西所掌握的知识,在变化的环境下预测气候。
TPO34阅读详细答案
Islamic Art and the Book第一段分析●概述书籍已经成为伊斯兰艺术的代表◇纸和字体的发展◇出书人地位的提高◇书的种类变多第二段分析●介绍造纸技术传入伊斯兰世界的过程以及纸张的优势第三段分析●介绍纸张进步所带来的影响◇书籍变得便宜◇艺术创作的空间变大第四段分析●圆形字体的发展过程文章结构分析解析:非真实信息题。
答案C•原文信息为The mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ Mosque, after the adjacent market.而不是They were sold primarily near mosques.迷惑选项• A 对应原文信息为Books became major vehicles for artistic expression,• B 对应原文信息为but after that date a wide range of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons.• D 对应原文信息为Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities boasted special souks (markets) where books were bought and sold解析:词汇题。
答案D•sponsored意为“资助,赞助”故选D: supported迷惑选项• A visited意为“参观,拜访”• B owned意为“拥有”• C praised意为“称赞,赞扬”解析:词汇题。
答案B•adjacent意为“附近的,临近的”故选B: nearby迷惑选项• A major意为“主要的,重要的”• C ancient意为“远古的,古代的”• D well-known意为“众所周知的”解析:真实信息题。
托福阅读tpo34R-2原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识
托福阅读tpo34R-2原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识原文The Development of Steam Power①By the eighteenth century,Britain was experiencing a severe shortage of energy. Because of the growth of population,most of the great forests of medieval Britain had long ago been replaced by fields of grain and hay.Wood was in ever-shorter supply,yet it remained tremendously important.It served as the primary source of heat for all homes and industries and as a basic raw material.Processed wood (charcoal)was the fuel that was mixed with iron ore in the blast furnace to produce pig iron(raw iron).The iron industry’s appetite for wood was enormous, and by1740the British iron industry was stagnating.Vast forests enabled Russia to become the world’s leading producer of iron,much of which was exported to Britain.But Russia’s potential for growth was limited too,and in a few decades Russia would reach the barrier of inadequate energy that was already holding England back.②As this early energy crisis grew worse,Britain looked toward its abundant and widely scattered reserves of coal as an alternative to its vanishing wood.Coal was first used in Britain in the late Middle Ages as a source of heat.By1640most homes in London were heated with it,and it also provided heat for making beer, glass,soap,and other products.Coal was not used,however,to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery.It was there that coal’s potential was enormous.③As more coal was produced,mines were dug deeper and deeper and were constantly filling with water.Mechanical pumps,usually powered by hundreds of horses waling in circles at the surface,had to be installed.Such power was expensive and bothersome.In an attempt to overcome these disadvantages, Thomas Savery in1698and Thomas Newcomen in1705invented the first primitive steam engines.Both engines were extremely inefficient.Both burned coal to produce steam,which was then used to operate a pump.However,by the early 1770s,many of the Savery engines and hundreds of the Newcomen engines were operating successfully,though inefficiently,in English and Scottish mines.④In the early1760s,a gifted young Scot named James Watt was drawn to a critical study of the steam engine.Watt was employed at the time by the University of Glasgow as a skilled crafts worker making scientific instruments.In1763,Watt was called on to repair a Newcomen engine being used in a physics course.After a series of observations,Watt saw that the Newcomen’s waste of energy could be reduced by adding a separate condenser.This splendid invention,patented in1769, greatly increased the efficiency of the steam engine.The steam engine of Watt and his followers was the technological advance that gave people,at least for a while, unlimited power and allowed the invention and use of all kinds of power equipment.⑤The steam engine was quickly put to use in several industries in Britain.It drained mines and made possible the production of ever more coal to feed steam engines elsewhere.The steam power plant began to replace waterpower in the cotton-spinning mills as well as other industries during the1780s,contributing to a phenomenal rise in industrialization.The British iron industry was radically transformed.The use of powerful,steam-driven bellows in blast furnaces helped iron makers switch over rapidly from limited charcoal to unlimited coke(which is made from coal)in the smelting of pig iron(the process of refining impure iron) after1770.In the1780s,Henry Cort developed the puddling furnace,which allowed pig iron to be refined in turn with coke.Cort also developed heavy-duty, steam-powered rolling mills,which were capable of producing finished iron in every shape and form.⑥The economic consequence of these technical innovations in steam power was a great boom in the British iron industry.In1740annual British iron production was only17,000tons,but by1844,with the spread of coke smelting and the impact of Cort’s inventions,it had increased to3,000,000tons.This was a truly amazing expansion.Once scarce and expensive,iron became cheap,basic,and indispensable to the economy.译文蒸汽动力的发展①到18世纪,英国已经出现了严重的能源短缺。
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1托福TPO阅读34文本+答案解析Islamic Art and the Book2The arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative drawing, 3developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some of the most 4characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period. This came 5about from two major developments: paper became common, replacing6parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts were7regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts of 8the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven in 9height. Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the 10artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed 11high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their 12courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing 13the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common 14type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range 15of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued 16to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted 17to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric 18poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful 19illustrations. Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities 20boasted special souks (markets) where books were bought and sold. The 21mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ 22Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were 23specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed 24by the calligrapher and decorator.2526Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in the 27eighth century. It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among the 28prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the Chinese 29and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in which 30cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first suspended 31in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible sheets 32–slowly spread westward. Within fifty years, the government in Baghdad 33was using paper for documents. Writing in ink on paper, unlike parchment, 34could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had the advantage that 35it was difficult to alter what was written on it. Papermaking spread 36quickly to Egypt – and eventually to Sicily and Spain – but it was 37several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for copies of the 38Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of religious art and 39its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment continued to be 40used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period.4142The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whose43consequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap 44as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and 45therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than 46parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At 47first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, 48but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as 49much as a meter across – were available. These large sheets meant that 50calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings 51became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to52depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper,53particularly after 1250, encouraged people to develop systems of54representation, such as architectural plans and drawings. This in turn 55allowed the easy transfer of artistic ideas and motifs over great56distances from one medium to another, and in a different scale in ways 57that had been difficult, if not impossible, in the previous period.5859Rounded styles of Arabic handwriting had long been used for60correspondence and documents alongside the formal angular scripts used 61for inscriptions and manuscripts of the Koran. Around the year 900, Ibn 62Muqla, who was a secretary and vizier at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, 63developed a system of proportioned writing. He standardized the length 64of alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and then determined 65what the size and shape of all other letters should be, based on the alif.66Eventually, six round forms of handwriting, composed of three pairs of 67big and little scripts known collectively as the Six Pens, became the 68standard repertory of every calligrapher.6970Para.1 The arts of the Islamic book, such as calligraphy and decorative 71drawing, developed during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some 72of the most characteristic examples of Islamic art produced in this period.73This came about from two major developments: paper became common,74replacing parchment as the major medium for writing, and rounded scripts 75were regularized and perfected so that they replaced the angular scripts 76of the previous period, which because of their angularity were uneven 77in height. Books became major vehicles for artistic expression, and the 78artists who produced them, notably calligraphers and painters, enjoyed 79high status, and their workshops were often sponsored by princes and their 80courts. Before A.D. 900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing 81the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common 82type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide range 83of books were produced for a broad spectrum of patrons. These continued 84to include, of course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every Muslim wanted 85to read, but scientific works, histories, romances, and epic and lyric 86poetry were also copied in fine handwriting and decorated with beautiful 87illustrations. Most were made for sale on the open market, and cities 88boasted special souks (markets) where books were bought and sold. The 89mosque of Marrakech in Morocco is known as the Kutubiyya, or Booksellers’ 90Mosque, after the adjacent market. Some of the most luxurious books were 91specific commissions made at the order of a particular prince and signed 92by the calligrapher and decorator.93941. Paragraph 1 makes all of the following points about Islamic books 95EXCEPT:96A) Books were an important form of artistic expression.97B) A wide variety of books with different styles and topics became98available.99C) They were sold primarily near mosques.100D) Most books were intended for sale on the open market.1011022. The word “sponsored” in the passage is closest in meaning to 103A) visited104B) owned105C) praised106D) supported1071083. The word “adjacent” in the passage is closest in meaning to 109A) major110B) nearby111C) ancient112D) well-known1131144. According to paragraph 1, before A.D. 900, books in the Islamic world 115A) included a wide range of subjects116B) did not contain any calligraphy or decoration117C) used rounded scripts118D) were usually written on parchment1191205. In paragraph 1, why does the author mention the fact that the mosque 121in Marrakech, Morocco, is known as the Booksellers’ Mosque122A) To cast doubt on the importance of souks in making books available 123to common people124B) To provide an example of a place where books were made at the order 125of a particular prince126C) To emphasize how influential and well known the book markets were 127D) To demonstrate the need for religious texts in Islamic lands128129Para.2 Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China 130in the eighth century. 【】It has been said that Chinese papermakers were 131among the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between 132the Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking –133in which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first 134suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible 135sheets –slowly spread westward. 【】Within fifty years, the government 136in Baghdad was using paper for documents. 【】Writing in ink on paper, 137unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had 138the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. 【】139Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt –and eventually to Sicily and Spain 140– but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for 141copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of 142religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment 143continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period. 1441456. The phrase “extracted from” in the passage is closest in meaning 146to147A) taken out of148B) produced using149C) discovered in150D) combined with1511527. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential153information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices 154change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 155A) It was several centuries before papermaking techniques spread to 156faraway areas where parchment was popular and used widely in art.157B) Although papermaking came to Egypt quickly, it took much longer for 158paper to be used when copying the Koran, probably because of the159conservative nature of religious art.160C) Papermaking spread beyond Egypt, Sicily, and Spain, but it was not 161widely used by artists for centuries, probably because of the162conservative nature of art in those countries.163D) Paper replaced parchment in copies of the Koran, probably at the 164request of conservative practitioners in areas like Egypt, Sicily, and 165Spain.166167Para.3 The introduction of paper spurred a conceptual revolution whose 168consequences have barely been explored. Although paper was never as cheap 169as it has become today, it was far less expensive than parchment, and 170therefore more people could afford to buy books, Paper is thinner than 171parchment, so more pages could be enclosed within a single volume. At 172first, paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, 173but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets – as 174much as a meter across – were available. These large sheets meant that 175calligraphers and artists had more space on which to work. Paintings 176became more complicated, giving the artist greater opportunities to 177depict space or emotion. The increased availability of paper,178particularly after 1250, encouraged people to develop systems of179representation, such as architectural plans and drawings. This in turn 180allowed the easy transfer of artistic ideas and motifs over great181distances from one medium to another, and in a different scale in ways 182that had been difficult, if not impossible, in the previous period. 1831848. In paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following is NOT mentioned as 185an advantage of paper over parchment?186A) It was harder to erase or change what was written on paper.187B) More pages of paper could be bound in a single volume.188C) Paper could be produced in sheets of varying weights and thicknesses. 189D) More people could buy books made of paper because it was cheaper. 1901919. Why does the author include the following information: “At first, 192paper was made in relatively small sheets that were pasted together, but 193by the beginning of the fourteenth century, very large sheets –as much 194as a meter across –were available.”?195A) To provide evidence that the development of papermaking techniques 196was very slow197B) To explain why paper was never as cheap as it has become today 198C) To make the point that paper allowed artists to develop paintings 199that were more expressive and complex200D) To prove that paper was more popular with artists who used large 201sheets, than it was with book printers, who used smaller sheets20220310. According to paragraph 3, the increased availability of paper and 204the development of systems of representation205A) encourage more people to make their own drawings206B) made the transfer of artistic ideas to distant people and places 207much easier208C) made architectural plans more complex and therefore harder to read 209D) allowed artists to create paintings that were smaller in scale 210211Para.4 Rounded styles of Arabic handwriting had long been used for 212correspondence and documents alongside the formal angular scripts used 213for inscriptions and manuscripts of the Koran. Around the year 900, Ibn 214Muqla, who was a secretary and vizier at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, 215developed a system of proportioned writing. He standardized the length 216of alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and then determined 217what the size and shape of all other letters should be, based on the alif. 218Eventually, six round forms of handwriting, composed of three pairs of 219big and little scripts known collectively as the Six Pens, became the 220standard repertory of every calligrapher.22122211. According to paragraph 4, what did Ibn Muqla achieve around the 223year 900?224A) He modified a set of formal scripts known as the Six Pens into rounded 225scripts appropriate for correspondence.226B) He created a standardized set of rounded scripts proportional to 227the size of the first letter of the alphabet.228C) He promoted calligraphy as an art form and encouraged the use of 229rounded letters in religious texts.230D) He persuaded the court in Baghdad to use rounded styles instead of 231more angular scripts in their documents.23223312. The phrase “composed of” in the passage is closest in meaning 234to235A) made up of236B) developed from237C) in addition to238D) similar to23924013. Look at the four squares 【】 that indicate where the following 241sentence could be added to the passage.242This change occurred for good reason.243Where does the sentence best fit?244245Papermaking had been introduced to the Islamic lands from China in the 246eighth century. 【】It has been said that Chinese papermakers were among 247the prisoners captured in a battle fought near Samarqand between the 248Chinese and the Muslims in 751, and the technique of papermaking – in 249which cellulose pulp extracted from any of several plants is first 250suspended in water, caught on a fine screen, and then dried into flexible 251sheets –slowly spread westward. 【】Within fifty years, the government 252in Baghdad was using paper for documents. 【】Writing in ink on paper, 253unlike parchment, could not easily be erased, and therefore paper had 254the advantage that it was difficult to alter what was written on it. 【】255Papermaking spread quickly to Egypt –and eventually to Sicily and Spain 256– but it was several centuries before paper supplanted parchment for 257copies of the Koran, probably because of the conservative nature of 258religious art and its practitioners. In western Islamic lands, parchment 259continued to be used for manuscripts of the Koran throughout this period. 26026114. Prose Summary262Islamic books from A.D. 900 to 1500 reflect major changes from the past 263and important innovations.264Answer Choices:265A) Books became major vehicle of artistic expression for calligraphers 266and painters, and the subjects of books expanded to include more and more 267kinds of works.268B) The growing luxuriousness of books meant that the market for them 269was increasingly dominated by the wealthy and powerful patrons who could 270afford them.271C) After it was learned from Chinese prisoners, the technique of 272papermaking spread throughout Islamic lands, where paper gradually 273replaced parchment.274D) The high status enjoyed by calligraphers and artists made books 275extremely popular in the cities where books were bought and sold.276E) The popularity of books led to major advances in the development 277and transfer of new artistic ideas.278F) Around the year 900, a set of rounded styles of Arabic handwriting 279began replacing angular scripts in copying the manuscripts of the Koran. 280281Protection of Plants by Insects282283Many plants – one or more species of at least 68 different families 284–can secrete nectar even when they have no blossoms, because they bear 285extrafloral nectaries (structures that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, 286leaf stems, or other structures. These plants usually occur where ants 287are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate areas. Among those 288of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses,289hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar 290consists mainly of water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, 291in some plants, small amounts of amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries 292of some plants are known to attract ants and other insects, but the 293evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is unknown. 294Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries 295attract insects that will defend the plant.296297Ants are portably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent 298defenders ofplants. ¢Since the highly active worker ants require a great 299deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar 300that supplies ants with abundant energy. ¢To return this f avor, ants guard 301the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding insects that might 302compete with ants for nectar. ¢Many of these intruders are herbivorous 303and would eat the leaves of the plants. ¢304305Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some 306purely internal physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit 307whatsoever to the plants that secrete it. This view and the opposing 308“protectionist” hypothesis that ants defend plants had been disputed 309for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William Morton Wheeler 310commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the protectionist 311view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and 312that in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perish 313or fail to produce flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. 314That we now have an abundance of the proof that was called for was315established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the relevant evidence in 1977, 316and since then many more observations and experiments have provided still 317further proof that ants benefit plants.318319One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect 320morning glories against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies 321of the North American morning glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits 322rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding on flowers indirectly block 323pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the corolla or the 324stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which the pollen325germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract326pollinators and are not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a 327large corolla, about 2.5 inches long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed 328beetles affect seed production directly. Caterpillars devour the ovaries, 329where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae eat seeds as they 330burrow in developing fruits.331332Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds 333of insects, but 96 percent of them are ants, several different species 334of them. When buds are still small, less than a quarter of an inch long, 335the sepal nectaries are already present and producing nectar. They336continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit matures. 337Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers 338and fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, 339and seed beetles. Bentley compares the seed production of six plants that 340grew where there were no ants with that of seventeen plants that were 341occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore only 45 seeds per plant, but 342plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant. Although ants are not 343big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive them away 344by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they 345are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, 346disturb females as they lay their eggs on developing fruits, and eat many 347of the eggs they do manage to lay.348349Para.1 Many plants – one or more species of at least 68 different 350families – can secrete nectar even when they have no blossoms, because 351they bear extrafloral nectaries (structures that produce nectar) on stems, 352leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants usually occur where 353ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate areas. Among 354those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses, 355hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar 356consists mainly of water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, 357in some plants, small amounts of amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries 358of some plants are known to attract ants and other insects, but the 359evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is unknown. 360Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries 361attract insects that will defend the plant.3623631. According to paragraph 1, floral nectar and extrafloral nectar are 364alike in that365A) they are likely to be produced by the same plants366B) they basically consist of the same chemical components367C) they attract only insects that will defend the plant368D) they are produced by the same parts of the plant369370Para.2 Ants are portably the most frequent and certainly the most 371persistent defenders of plants. Since the highly active worker ants 372require a great deal of energy, plants exploit this need by providing 373extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant energy. To return 374this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding 375insects that might compete with ants for nectar. Many of these intruders 376are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants.3773782. To say that ants are “persistent” defenders of plants means that 379A) they defend plants against a wide variety of threats380B) they continue to defend plants for as long as the plants are381threatened382C) they are successful defenders of plants383D) they are easily observable defenders of plants3843853. What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the ants that are 386attracted to the extrafloral nectaries?387A) They do not eat the leaves of the plants that produce extrafloral 388nectar.389B) They live almost entirely on extrafloral nectar.390C) They spend most of their energy guarding extrafloral nectaries. 391D) They frequently fight among themselves over extrafloral nectar. 392393Para.3 Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar 394has some purely internal physiological function, and that ants provide 395no benefit whatsoever to the plants that secrete it. This view and the 396opposing “protectionist” hypothesis that ants defend plants had been 397disputed for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William 398Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the 399protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on 400the plants and that in the absence of the insects a much greater number 401would perish or fail to produce flowers or seeds than when the insects 402are present. That we now have an abundance of the proof that was called 403for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the relevant evidence 404in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments have 405provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.4064074. According to paragraph 3, what was the position of the opponents 408of the “protectionist” hypothesis?409A) Extrafloral nectar provides plants with a direct defense against 410attack by insects.411B) Ants substantially benefit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar. 412C) The secretion of extrafloral nectar plays a role in the plant’s 413internal functioning.414D) Ants visit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar as often as they 415visit plants that do not.4164175. The word “skeptical” in the passage is closest in meaning to 418A) curious419B) doubtful420C) open-minded421D) practical4224236. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential424information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices 425change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 426A) We now have ample proof that ants benefit plants.427B) Barbara Bentley has called for additional proof that ants benefit 428plants.429C) In 1977 Barbara Bentley conducted research that proved that all prior 430studies were wrong.431D) Proof that ants benefit plants will require many more observations 432and experiments.433434Para.4 One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries 435protect morning glories against attacking insects. The principal insect 436enemies of the North American morning glory feed mainly on its flowers 437or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding on flowers438indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying 439the corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which 440the pollen germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not 441attract pollinators and are not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can 442consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches long, in an hour. Caterpillars 443and seed beetles affect seed production directly. Caterpillars devour 444the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae eat 445seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.446447。