最新TOEFL阅读理解真题

若水1147由分享时间：2020-08-30 13:30:15

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托福阅读真题1

Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of a city. If a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, its development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-west transportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorm activity.

Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City's importance stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the western end of one of the world's most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowland) to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New York's primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain why some cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The development of trade routes through United States cities

(B) Contrasts in settlement patterns in United States

(D) The importance of geographical situation in the growth of United States cities

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

(A) wealth

(B) resourcefulness

(D) organization

3. The passage suggests that a geographer would consider a city's soil type part of its

(A) hinterland

(B) situation

(D) function

4. According to the passage , a city's situation is more important than its site in regard to the

city's

(A) long-term growth and prosperity

(B) ability to protect its citizenry

(D) need to import food supplies

5. The author mentions each of the following as an advantage of Chicago's location EXCEPT its

(A) hinterland

(B) nearness to a large lake

(D) flat terrain

6. The word characteristics in line 14 is closest in meaning to

(A) choices

(B) attitudes

(D) inhabitants

7. The primary purpose of paragraph 1 is to

(A) summarize past research and introduce a new study

(B) describe a historical period

(D) define a term and illustrate it with an example

8. According to the passage , Philadelphia and Boston are similar to New York City in

(A) size of population

(B) age

(D) availability of rail transportation

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

(A) alternate

(B) unknown

(D) usable

10. The word it in line 21 refers to

(A) account

(B) primacy

(D) hinterland

11. The word significant in line 26 is closest in meaning to

(A) threatening

(B) meaningful

(D) available

PASSAGE 71 DBCAD CDCDA B

托福阅读真题2

The Harlem Renaissance, a movement of the 1920's, marked the twentieth century's first period of intense activity by African Americans in the field of literature, art, and music in the United States. The philosophy of the movement combined realism, ethnic consciousness, and Americanism. Encouraged by the example of certain Americans of European descent such as Thomas Eakins, Robert Henri, and George Luks, who had included persons of African descent in their paintings as serious studies rather than as trivial or sentimental stereotypes, African American artists of this period set about creating a new portrayal of themselves and their lives in the United States. As they began to strive for social and cultural independence. Their attitudes toward themselves changed, and, to some extent, other segments of American society began to change their attitudes toward them. Thus, though the Harlem Renaissance was a short-lived movement, its impact on American art and culture continues to the present.

The district in New York City known as Harlem was the capital of the movement. In 1925 an issue of Survey Graphic magazine devoted exclusively to Harlem and edited by philosopher Alain Locke became the manifesto of the African American artistic movement. Locke strongly suggested that individuals, while accepting their Americanism, take pride in their African ancestral arts and urged artists to look to Africa for substance and inspiration. Far from advocating a withdrawal from American culture, as did some of his contemporaries, Locke recommended a cultural pluralism through which artists could enrich the culture of America. African Americans were urged by Locke to be collaborators and participators with other Americans in art, literature, and music; and at the same time to preserve, enhance, and promote their own cultural heritage.

Artists and intellectuals from many parts of the United States and the Caribbean had been attracted to Harlem by the pulse and beat of its unique and dynamic culture. From this unity created by the convergence of artists from various social and geographical backgrounds came a new spirit, which, particularly in densely populated Harlem, was to result in greater group awareness and self-determination. African American graphic artists took their place beside the poets and writers of the Harlem Renaissance and carried on efforts to increase and promote the visual arts.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) African American paintings in the 1920's

(B) An arts movement of the 1920's

(D) Some ways in which African culture inspired American literature, art and music

2. According to the passage , Tomas Eakins, Robert Henri, and George Luks were important because of

(A) the philosophical contributions they made to the Harlem Renaissance

(B) their development of a new style of African American art

(D) their independence from European artistic traditions

3. The word them in line 11 refers to

(A) Americans of European descent

(B) paintings

(D) attitudes

4. According to the passage , African American artists of the 1920's differed from earlier African

American artists in terms of their feelings about

(A) themselves

(B) other artists

(D) stereotypes

5. The word urged in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) prepared

(B) defined

(D) encouraged

6. Alain Locke believed all of the following to be important to the African American artistic

movement EXCEPT

(A) pride in African art

(B) cultural pluralism

(D) withdrawal from American culture

7. In mentioning the pulse and beat (line 25) of Harlem during the 1920's, the author is

characterizing the district as one that

(A) depended greatly on its interaction with other parts of the city

(B) grew economically in a short period of time

(D) was in danger of losing population

8. The word convergence in line 26 is closest in meaning to

(A) gathering

(B) promotion

(D) influence

9. According to the passage , all of the following were true of Harlem in the 1920's EXCEPT:

(A) Some Caribbean artists and intellectuals lived there.

(B) It attracted people from various regions of United States.

(D) It was a unique cultural center.

10. The phrase carried on in line 30 is closest in meaning to

(A) continued

(B) praised

(D) connected

PASSAGE 72 BCCAD DCACA

托福阅读真题3

ffeterd spanning in line 18d- The interrelationship of science, technology, and industry is taken for granted today — summed up, not altogether accurately, as research and development. Yet historically this widespread faith in the economic virtues of science is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating back in the United States about 150 years, and in the Western world as a whole not over 300 years at most. Even in this current era of large scale, intensive research and development, the interrelationships involved in this process are frequently misunderstood. Until the coming of the Industrial Revolution, science and technology evolved for the most part independently of each other. Then as industrialization became increasingly complicated, the craft techniques of preindustrial society gradually gave way to a technology based on the systematic application of scientific knowledge and scientific methods. This changeover started slowly and progressed unevenly. Until late in the nineteenth century, only a few industries could use scientific techniques or cared about using them. The list expanded noticeably after 1870, but even then much of what passed for the application of science was engineering science rather than basic science.

Nevertheless, by the middle of the nineteenth century, the rapid expansion of scientific knowledge and of public awareness — if not understanding — of it had created a belief that the advance of science would in some unspecified manner automatically generate economic benefits. The widespread and usually uncritical acceptance of this thesis led in turn to the assumption that the application of science to industrial purposes was a linear process, starting with fundamental science, then proceeding to applied science or technology, and through them to industrial use. This is probably the most common pattern, but it is not invariable. New areas of science have been opened up and fundamental discoveries made as a result of attempts to solve a specific technical or economic problem. Conversely, scientists who mainly do basic research also serve as consultants on projects that apply research in practical ways.

In sum, the science-technology-industry relationship may flow in several different ways, and the particular channel it will follow depends on the individual situation. It may at times even be multidirectional.

1. What is the author's main purpose in the passage ?

(A) To show how technology influenced basic science

(B) To describe the scientific base of nineteenth-century American industries

(D) To argue that basic science has no practical application

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

(A) completely

(B) realistically

(D) understandably

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

(A) decreased

(B) concentrated

(D) advanced