老托福阅读真题_2000年5月.doc

2000年5月TOEFL试题
Section Three: Reading Comprehension
Question 1-9
The canopy, the upper level of the trees in the rain forest, holds a plethora of climbing mammals of moderately large size, which may include monkeys, cats, civets, and porcupines. Smaller species, including such rodents as mice and small squirrels, are not as prevalent overall in high tropical canopies as they are in most habitats globally.
Small mammals, being warm blooded, suffer hardship in the exposed and turbulent environment of the uppermost trees. Because a small body has more surface area per unit of weight than a large one of similar shape, it gains or loses heat more swiftly. Thus, in the trees, where shelter from heat and cold may be scarce and conditions may fluctuate, a small mammal may have trouble maintaining its body temperature.
Small size makes it easy to scramble among twigs and branches in the canopy for insects, flowers, or fruit, but small mammals are surpassed, in the competition for food, by large ones that have their own tactics for browsing among food-rich twigs. The weight of a gibbon (a small ape) hanging below a branch arches the terminal leaves down so that fruit-bearing foliage drops toward the gibbon’s face. Walking or leaping species of a similar or even larger size access the outer twigs either by snapping off and retrieving the whole branch or by clutching stiff branches with the feet or tail and plucking food with their hands.
Small climbing animals may reach twigs readily, but it is harder for them than for large climbing animals to cross the wide gaps from on tree crown to the next that typify the high canopy. A macaque or gibbon can hurl itself farther than a mouse can: it can achieve a running start, and it can more effectively use a branch as a springboard, even bouncing on a climb several times before jumping. The forward movement of a small animal is seriously reduced by the air friction against the relatively large surface area of its body.
Finally, for the many small mammals that supplement their insect diet with fruits or seeds an inability to span open gaps between tree crowns may be problematic, since trees that yield these foods can be sparse.
1. The passage answers which of the following questions?
(A) How is the rain forest different from other habitats?
(B) How does an animal’s body size influence an animal’s need for food?
(C) Why does the rain forest provide an unusual variety of food for animals?
(D) Why do large animals tend to dominate the upper canopy of the rain forest?

2. Which of the following animals is less common in the upper canopy than in other environments?
(A) Monkeys (B) Cats (C) Porcupines (D) Mice

3. The word “they” in line 4 refers to
(A) trees (B) climbing mammals of moderately large size
(C) smaller species (D) high tropical canopies

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is true about the small mammals in the rain forest?
(A) They have body shapes that are adapted to life in the canopy.
(B) They prefer the temperature and climate of the canopy to that of other environments.
(C) They have difficulty with the changing conditions in the canopy.
(D) They use the trees of the canopy for shelter from heat and cold.

5. In discussing animal size in paragraph 3, the author indicates that
(A) small animals require proportionately more food than larger animals do
(B) a large animal’s size is an advantage in obtaining food in the canopy
(C) small animals are often attacked by large animals in the rain forest
(D) small animals and large animals are equally adept at obtaining food in the canopy

6. The word “typify” in line 19 is closest in meaning to
(A) resemble (B) protect (C) characterize (D) divide

7. According to paragraph 4, what makes jumping from one tree crown to another difficult for small mammals?
(A) Air friction against the body surface
(B) The thickness of the branches
(C) The dense leaves of the tree crown
(D) The inability to use the front feet as hands

8. The word ‘supplement” in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A) control (B) replace (C) look for (D) add to

9. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage?
(A) canopy(line1) (B) warm blooded(line5) (C) terminal leaves(line13) (D)springboard(line 21)

Question 10-19
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early history of the newly formed United States. Lacking the right to vote and absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President of the United States. But little or no notice was taken of these contributions. During these Centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
Throughout the nineteenth century, this lack of visibility continued, despite the efforts of female authors writing about women. These writers, like most of their male counterparts, were amateur historians. Their writings were celebratory in nature, and they were uncritical in their selection and use of sources.
During the nineteenth century, however, certain feminists showed a keen sense of history by keeping records of activities in which women were engaged. National, regional, and local women’s organizations compiled accounts of their doings. Personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were saved and stored. These sources from the core of the two greatest collections of women’s history in the United States one at the Elizabeth and Arthur Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College, and the other the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Such sources have provided valuable materials for later Generations of historians.
Despite the gathering of more information about ordinary women during the nineteenth Century, most of the writing about women conformed to the “great women” theory of History, just as much of mainstream American history concentrated on “great men.” To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of these leaders were involved in public life as reformers, activists working for women’s right to vote, or authors, and were not representative at all of the great of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be untold in the American histories being published.
10. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The role of literature in early American histories
(B) The place of American women in written histories
(C) The keen sense of history shown by American women
(D)The “great women” approach to history used by American historians

11. The word “contemporary” in line 5 means that the history was
(A) informative (B) written at that time (C) thoughtful (D) faultfinding

12. In the first paragraph, Bradstreet, Warren, and Adams are mentioned to show that
(A) a woman’s status was changed by marriage
(B) even the contributions of outstanding women were ignored
(C) only three women were able to get their writing published
(D) poetry produced by women was more readily accepted than other writing by women

13. The word “celebratory” in line 12 means that the writings referred to were
(A) related to parties (B) religious (C) serious (D) full of praise

14. The word “they” in line 12 refers to
(A) efforts (B) authors (C) counterparts (D) sources

15. In the second paragraph, what weakness in nineteenth-century histories does the author point out?
(A) They put too much emphasis on daily activities
(B) They left out discussion of the influence of money on politics.
(C) The sources of the information they were based on were not necessarily accurate.
(D) They were printed on poor-quality paper.

16. On the basis of information in the third paragraph, which of the following would most likely have been collected by nineteenth -century feminist organizations?
(A) Newspaper accounts of presidential election results
(B) Biographies of John Adams
(C) Letters from a mother to a daughter advising her how to handle a family problem
(D) Books about famous graduates of the country’s first college
17. What use was made of the nineteenth -century women’s history materials in the Schlesinger Library and the Sophia Smith Collection?
(A) They were combined and published in a multivolume encyclopedia
(B) They formed the basis of college courses in the nineteenth century.
(C) They provided valuable information for Twentieth-century historical researchers.
(D) They were shared among women’s colleges throughout the United States.

18. In the last paragraph, the author mentions all of the following as possible roles of nineteenth-century “great women” EXCEPT
(A) authors (B) reformers (C) activists for women’s rights (D) politicians

19. The word “representative” in line 29 is closest in meaning to
(A) typical (B) satisfied (C) supportive (D) distinctive

Question 20-29
The end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century were Marked by the development of an international Art Nouveau style, characterized by sinuous Lines, floral and vegetable motifs, and soft evanescent coloration. The Art Nouveau style was an eclectic one, bringing together elements of Japanese art, motifs of ancient cultures, and natural forms. The glass objects of this style were elegant in outline, although often deliberately distorted, with pale or iridescent surfaces. A favored device of the style was to imitate the iridescent surface seen on ancient glass that had been buried. Much of the Art Nouveau glass produced during the years of its greatest popularity had been generically Termed “art glass.” Art glass was intended for decorative purposes and relied for its effect pon carefully chosen color combinations and innovative techniques.
France produced a number of outstanding exponents of the Art Nouveau style; among the most celebrated was Emile Galle (1846-1904). In the United States, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1843-1933) was the most noted exponent of this style, producing a great variety of Glass forms and surfaces, which were widely copied in their time and are highly prized today. Tiffany was a brilliant designer, successfully combining ancient Egyptian, Japanese, and Persian motifs.
The Art Nouveau style was a major force in the decorative arts from 1895 until 1915, although its influence continued throughout the mid-1920. It was eventually to be overtaken by a new school of thought known as Functionalism that had been present since the turn of the century. At first restricted to a small avant-garde group of architects and designers, Functionalism emerged as the dominant influence upon designers after the First World War. The basic tenet of the movement-that function should determine from-was not a new concept. Soon a distinct aesthetic code evolved: from should be simple, surfaces plain, and any ornament should be based on geometric relationships. This new design concept, coupled with the sharp postwar reactions to the styles and conventions of the preceding decades, created an entirely new public taste which caused Art Nouveau types of glass to fall out of favor. The new taste demanded dramatic effects of contrast, stark outline and complex textural surfaces.
21. What does paragraph 1 mainly discuss?
(A) Design elements in the Art Nouveau style (B) The popularity of the Art Nouveau style
(C) Production techniques for art glass (D) Color combinations typical of the Art Nouveau style
22. The word “one” in line 4 refers to
(A) century (B) development (C) style (D) coloration

23. Paragraph 1 mentions that Art Nouveau glass was sometimes similar to which aspect of ancient buried glass？
(A) The distortion of the glass (B) The appearance of the glass surface
(C) The shapes of the glass objects (D) The size of the glass objects

24. The word “prized” in line 14 is closest in meaning to
(A) valued (B) universal (C) uncommon (D) preserved

25. The word “overtaken” in line 19 is closest in meaning to
(A) surpassed (B) inclined (C) expressed (D) applied

26. What does the author mean by stating that “function should determine form” (line 22)?
(A) A useful object should not be attractive.
(B) The purpose of an object should influence its form.
(C) The design of an object is considered more significant than its function.
(D) The form of an object should not include decorative elements.

27. It can be inferred from the passage that one reason Functionalism became popular was that it
(A) clearly distinguished between art and design
(B) appealed to people who liked complex painted designs
(C) reflected a common desire to break from the past
(D) was easily interpreted by the general public

28. Paragraph 3 supports which of the following statements about Functionalism?
(A) Its design concept avoided geometric shapes.
(B) It started on a small scale and then spread gradually.
(C) It was a major force in the decorative arts before the First World War.
(D) It was not attractive to architects all designers.

29. According to the passage, an object made in the Art Nouveau style would most likely include
(A) a flowered design (B) bright colors (C) modern symbols (D) a textured surface

Question 30-40
During most of their lives, surge glaciers behave like normal glaciers, traveling perhaps only a couple of inches per day. However, at intervals of 10 to 100 years, these glaciers move forward up to 100 times faster than usual. The surge often progresses along a glacier like a great wave, proceeding from one section to another. Subglacial streams of meltwater pressure under the glacier might lift it off its bed, overcoming the friction between ice and rock, thus freeing the glacier, which rapidly sliders downhill Surge glaciers also might be influenced by the climate, volcanic heat, or earthquakes. However, many of these glaciers exist in the same area as normal glaciers, often almost side by side.
Some 800 years ago, Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier advanced toward the sea, retreated, and advanced again 500 years later. Since 1895, this secentry-mile-long river of ice has been flowing steadily toward the Gulf of Alaska at a rate of approximately 200 feet per year. In June 1986, however, the glacier surged ahead as much as 47 feet a day. Meanwhile, a western tributary,