托福阅读专项 高级Summary

托福阅读专项高级SummaryUnit11. Darwin and WallaceCharles Darwin is known as the discover of the theory of revolution . He formulated his theory while on a voyage around the world,during which he observed differenceamong animal species .His key insight was that species evolve through a process of natural selection. He delayed published the theory for fear of religious controversy .Alfred Russel Wallace discovered the theory later and told Darwin about it. Thatprompted Darwin to publish his book On the Origin of Species.2. The Chicago School of EconomicsThe university of Chicago had become the leading center of economic thought in the United States. Its views have become known as the Chicago School. In the1960s ,it was led by Milton Friedman ,who favored a monetarist approach. Hebelieved in controlling the economy by regulating the money supply. He advocateda strong role for the Federal Reserve in setting interest rates and selling treasurybonds.3. TranscendentalismTranscendentalism was a philosophy that arose in New England in the mid-1800s . It was first expressed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Nature. Transcendentalists believed in looking within oneself for an understanding of nature, not in society’s creations such as organized religion. They preached meditation and self-reliance in order to rise above,or transcend ,our physical senses. Transcendentalists attempted to design towns, such as Brook Farm ,where they could practice their beliefs.However, all these experiments failed.4. White FightAfter World War II, blacks began moving north in greater numbers while looking for jobs. White began to move out to avoid the poverty and decline in school systems that they felt were caused by this black influx. Real estate agents cooperated in the white flight by secretly selling homes to blacks in formerly white communities . Once this blockbusting occurred, whites would put their houses up for sale, allowing the real estate agents to earn more commissions. White flight caused racial disparity in the public schools. Courts decisions have tried to equalize these differences by ordering the busing of school children .5. Thomas Hunt MorganThomas Hunt Morgan wanted to find out how the body passed traits to latergenerations. He designed experiments fruit flies. When one fly was born with anuncommon eye color-a mutation ,Morgan was able to reproduce it in the fly’s offspring.This led him to conclude that eye color was passed by chromosomes, thread-likestructures in a cell’s nucleus. He determined that each trait was linked to a gene, or a chain of molecules inside a cell.6. The MuckrakersThe muckrakers were reporters and novelists who exposed some of the abuses in politics and business in the early 1990s. President Theodore Roosevelt approved of these reformers and endorsed several reform laws. But when a series of articlesalleged political corruption by Roosevelt’s friends, Roosevelt spoke out againstthem ,calling them muckrakers. His criticism ended the movement. But the termcontinues to be applied in a positive way to those who reveal public corruption or business misbehavior.Unit21. The mechanics of FlightFour forces combine to make airplane flight possible. Lift enables a plane to take off and stay in the air. Weight offsets lift and must be overcome by lift in order tokeep the plane in flight. Thrust moves the plane forward. Drag is air resistance that slows the plane down. The pilot must precisely mange each force in order to take off, change direction and speed, or land.2. Furniture in Colonial AmericaEarly American settlers had to focus on survival ,leaving no time for furnituredesign. As they prospered ,they turned to making plainly designed furniture thatwas suited to their small homes. Colonial furniture is valued today because it was made from the finest quality wood.. It was handmade with simple designs thatwould fit in the work of an English furniture maker, Thomas Chippendale. Todaycolonial furniture is expensive and in great demand ,creating a market inreproductions.3. The RenminbiThe renminbi is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. It was first issued in 1949 and has been reevaluated many times since the communists took control. It is not yet fully convertible with foreign currency . The latest series ofbanknotes have many security features, such as metallic strips and raised-inkprinting. The base 12 unit is the yuan ,which is equal to 10 jiao, which in turnequals 10 fens.4. Hydrogen TechnologyHydrogen technology may be a good replacement for fossil fuel as a resource ofenergy . It causes less pollution ,can be produced locally ,and can be stored in fuel cells. Sources of hydrogen include water, ,methane ,gasoline, coal ,or wind andsolar energy ,but hydrogen technology is expensive and will not affordable formany years. In 2003 ,the U.S government announced a plan to invest inHydrogen-powered fuel cells.5. The rise of the Roman EmpireThe Roman Republic was born in 5.9B.C. It extended its control over the Italian peninsula and eventually the major powers bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Its initial success was due to its ability to use the cities it conquered as a source of manpower for its armies. And it held onto power by establishing an efficientsystem of government . But it declined when it was unable to govern its owncitizens. The unrest led to the start of the Roman Empire in 27B.C.,with Augustus as the first emperor . The empire lasted until 476.6. John Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard Keynes proposed that governments should take more active roles in the economy .He believed that governments could avoid depressions byincreasing spending and lowering interest rates. He also favored public-works projects to lower employment . President Franklin Roosevelt used that strategy to help America out of the Great Depression .Keynes’s belief that inflation occurs only in times of high employment has been proved incorrect.Unit 3DadaismDadaism was a cultural movement that arose at the end of World War I as aprotest against reason and logic. Dadaists felt that a more humane world would be created once the traditional system was dismantled. The movement was joined by artists who condemned art that fit the current fashion or conveyed meaning or beauty. They created art works out of common objects that had no serious artistic message. By the 1920s ,Dadaism was absorbed into other cultural movements.GeysersA geysers is a hot underground spring that ejects streams of water and steam. It isformed when water is heated by volcanic rocks and is subjected to pressure from the cooler water above it. The water boils and escapes through passageways in the ground. It erupts into the air in the form of spray. The eruption ends when the water cools. The cycle repeats itself at predictable intervals.Works Projects administrationThe works Project Administration helped put Americans back to work during the Great Depression . It was created by President Franklin Roosevelt and was the largest agency of the New Deal, his economic recovery program. It providedgovernment-funded jobs for those receiving relief payments. Most WPA jobs were on public-work projects, such as bridges ,highways, libraries and dams. But it also funded cultural projects, giving work to writers ,actors and artists.Fresco PaintingIn buon fresco painting ,the artist applies paint directly onto wet plaster . The work is done in four stages: an outline is drawn on dry plaster (ariccio), a layer of wet plaster is applied( intonaco); the final version is drawn on paper and traced onto a cartoon( intonaco) ;and the artist begins painting with the cartoon as aguide(painting) . The paint consists of powdered pigments mixed with limewater ,which is easily absorbed by wet plaster. Frescos must be carefully planned and timed so that work is finished before the plaster dries. Once it dries, nochanges can be made until the dried plaster is removed and a fresh layer of wet plaster applied.5 The Great BasinThe Great Basin s a desert plateau mostly in the mountains of Utah and Nevada.It was formed during the Ice Age. Humans first populated it 12000 years ago ,and Spanish explorers found Native American Indian tribes there in the 1700s. Itsunderground drainage system and hot, dry climate prevent water from escaping to the Pacific Ocean. The region was populated in the mid-19th century after theMormons founded Salt Lake City and gold was discovered in California.7. NationalismA sense of national pride ,or nationalism, arose around the time of the FrenchRevolution . Industrialization and the need to raise armies led to people identifying themselves as being from a country as opposed to from a tribe or region . Nations are often united by a common language ,culture and values. When a nationincludes different ethnic or religious group ,however, political conflict or violence can result.。