老托福精选95-05阅读理解原文、真题及答案
16. The word \ (A) large (B) basic (C) new (D) urban
17. The word \ (A) brought about (B) surrounded (C) sent out (D) followed
18. Why does the author mention both Boston and Chicago? (A) To demonstrate positive and negative effects of growth. (B) To show that mass transit changed many cities.
(C) To exemplify cities with and without mass transportation.
(D) To contrast their rates of growth
19. The word \ (A) certain (B) popular (C) improved (D) possible
20. The word \ (A) people (B) lots (C) years (D) developers
21. According to the passage, what was one disadvantage of residential expansion? (A) It was expensive. (B) It happened too slowly. (C) It was unplanned.
(D) It created a demand for public transportation.
22. The author mentions Chicago in the second paragraph as an example of a city (A) that is large
(B) that is used as a model for land development (C) where land development exceeded population growth (D) with an excellent mass transportation system. Question 23-33
The preservation of embryos and juveniles is rare occurrence in the fossil record. The tiny, delicate skeletons are usually scattered by scavengers or destroyed by weathering before they can be fossilized. Ichthyosaurs had a higher chance of being preserved than did terrestrial creatures because, as marine animals, they tended to live in environments less subject to erosion. Still, their fossilization required a suite of factors: a slow rate of decay of soft tissues, little scavenging by other animals, a lack if swift currents and waves to jumble and carry away small bones, and fairly rapid burial. Given these factors, some areas have become a treasury of
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老托福精选95-05阅读理解原文、真题及答案
well-preserved ichthyosaur fossils.
The deposits at Holzmaden, Germany, present an interesting case for analysis. The ichthyosaur remains are found in black, bituminous marine shales deposited about 190 million years ago. Over the years, thousands of specimens of marine reptiles, fish, and invertebrates have been recovered from these rocks. The quality of preservation is outstanding, but what is even more impressive is the number of ichthyosaur fossils containing preserved embryos. Ichthyosaurs with embryos have been reported from 6 different levels of the shale in a small area around Holzmaden, suggesting that a specific site was used by large numbers of ichthyosaurs repeatedly over time. The embryos are quite advanced in their physical development; their paddles, for example, are already well formed. One specimen is even preserved in the birth canal. In addition, the shale contains the remains of many newborns that are between 20 and 30 inches long.
Why are there so many pregnant females and young at Holzmaden when they are so rare elsewhere? The quality of preservation is almost unmatched, and quarry operations factors do not account for the interesting question of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place very close to their time of giving birth.
23. The passage supports which of the following conclusions?
(A) Some species of ichthyosaurs decayed more rapidly than other species. (B) Ichthyosaur newborns are smaller than other newborn marine reptiles. (C) Ichthyosaurs were more advanced than terrestrial creatures. (D) Ichthyosaurs may have gathered at Holzmaden to give birth. 24. The word \ (A) skeletons (B) scavengers (C) creatures (D) environments
25. All of the following are mentioned as factors that encourage fossilization EXCEPT the (A) speed of burial (B) conditions of the water (C) rate at which soft tissues decay (D) cause of death of the animal.
26. Which of the following is true of the fossil deposits discussed in the passage? (A) They include examples of newly discovered species. (B) They contain large numbers of well-preserved specimens (C) They are older than fossils found in other places
(D) They have been analyzed more carefully than other fossils. 27. The word \ (A) extensive (B) surprising (C) vertical (D) excellent
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老托福精选95-05阅读理解原文、真题及答案
28. The word \ (A) example (B) location (C) development (D) characteristic
29. Why does the author mention the specimen preserved in the birth canal (line 15)? (A) To illustrate that the embryo fossils are quite advanced in their development (B) To explain why the fossils are well preserved (C) To indicate how the ichthyosaurs died
(D) To prove that ichthyosaurs are marine animals. 30. The word \ (A) pregnant females and young (B) quarry operations (C) the value of the fossils (D) these factors
31. The phrase \ (A) record (B) describe (C) equal (D) explain
32. Which of the following best expresses the relationship between the first and second paragraphs? (A) The first paragraph describes a place while the second paragraph describes a field of study. (B) The first paragraph defines the terms that are used in the second paragraph.
(C) The second paragraph describes a specific instance of the general topic discussed in the first paragraph. (D) The second paragraph presents information that contrasts with the information given in the first
paragraph.
33. Where in the passage does the author mentions the variety of fossils found at Holzmaden? (A) Line 8 (B) Lines 9-10 (C) Lines 14-15 (D) Lines 17-19 Questions 34-41
The Lewis and Clark expedition, sponsored by President Jefferson, was the most important official examination of the high plains and the Northwest before the War of 1812. The President's secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, had been instructed to \its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean …may offer her most direct and practicable water communication across the continent, for the purposes of commerce.\Captain William Clark, the younger brother of famed George Rogers Clerk, was invited to share the command of the exploring party. Amid rumors that there were prehistoric mammoths wandering around the unknown region and that somewhere in its wilds was a mountain of rock salt 80 by 45 miles in extent, the two captains set out. The date was May 14, 1804. Their point of departure was the mouth of the Wood River, just across the Mississippi from
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老托福精选95-05阅读理解原文、真题及答案
the entrance of the Missouri River. After toiling up the Missouri all summer, the group wintered near the Mandan villages in the center of what is now North Dakota. Resuming their journey in the spring of 1805, the men worked their way along the Missouri to its source and then crossed the mountains of western Montana and Idaho. Picking up a tributary of the Columbia River, they continued westward until they reached the Pacific Ocean, where they stayed until the following spring.
Lewis and Clark brought back much new information, including the knowledge that the continent was wider than originally supposed. More specifically, they learned a good deal about river drainages and mountain barriers. They ended speculation that an easy coast-to-coast route existed via the Missouri-Columbia River systems, and their reports of the climate, the animals and birds, the trees and plants, and the Indians of the West – though not immediately published – were made available to scientists. 34. With what topic is the passage primarily concerned? (A) The river systems of portions of North America.
(B) Certain geological features to the North American continent. (C) An exploratory trip sponsored by the United States government. (D) The discovery of natural resources in the United States.
35. According to the passage, the primary purpose of finding a water route across the continent was to (A) gain easy access to the gold and other riches of the Northwest (B) become acquainted with the inhabitants of the West. (C) investigate the possibility of improved farmland in the West. (D) facilitate the movement of commerce across the continent 36. The river Meriwether Lewis was instructed to explore was the (A) Wood (B) Missouri (C) Columbia (D) Mississippi
37. According to the passage, the explorers spent their first winter in what would become (A) North Dakota (B) Missouri (C) Montana (D) Idaho
38. The author states that Lewis and Clark studied all of the following characteristics of the explored territories EXCEPT (A) mineral deposits (B) the weather (C) animal life (D) native vegetation
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老托福精选95-05阅读理解原文、真题及答案
39. The phrase \(A) Searching for (B) Following (C) Learning about (D) Lifting
40. It can be inferred from the passage that prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition the size of the continent
had been (A) of little interest (B) underestimated
(C) known to native inhabitants of the West (D) unpublished but known to most scientists
41. Where in the passage does the author refer to the explorers' failure to find an easy passageway to the western part of the continent? (A) Lines1-2 (B) Lines4-5 (C) Lines9-11 (D) Lines12-14 Questions 42-50
For a century and a half the piano has been one of the most popular solo instruments for Western music. Unlike string and wind instrument, the piano is completely self-sufficient, as it is able to play both the melody and its accompanying harmony at the same time. For this reason, it became the favorite household instrument of the nineteenth century.
The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries – the spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.
The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy (though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument). This instrument was called a piano e forte(soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance. 42. What does the passage mainly discuss? (A) The historical development of the piano
(B) The quality of tone produced by various keyboard instruments (C) The uses of keyboard instruments in various types of compositions
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