Reading Comprehension IBT TOFEL
? 信息结构与思维框架（Mental Framework） M.F.
organization
M.F. ideas(Major/Minor) priority
relationship
essential/ non essential
树形结构，后续文章要比前面有进步。
笔记区 B.G.
1st organism expend energy~ budget
B.G.
2nd organism allocate energy
Genetic package
S?M.G.R
Opportunities and Competitors Growth, reproduction, and daily metabolism all require an organism to expend energy. The expenditure of energy is essentially a process of budgeting, just as finances are budgeted. If all of one’s money is spent on clothes, there may be none left to buy food or go to the movies. Similarly, a plant or animal cannot squander all its energy on growing a big body if none would be left over for reproduction, for this is the surest way to extinction. All organisms, therefore, allocate energy to growth, reproduction, maintenance and storage. No choice is involved; this allocation comes as part of the genetic package from the parents. Maintenance for a given body design of an organism is relatively constant. Storage is important, but ultimately that energy will be used for maintenance, reproduction, or growth. Therefore the principal differences in energy allocation are likely to be between growth and reproduction. Almost all of an organism’s energy can be diverted to reproduction, with very little allocated to building the body. Organisms at this extreme are “opportunists”. At this other extreme are “competitors”, almost all of whose resources are invested in building a huge body, with a bare minimum allocated to reproduction. Dandelions are good examples of opportunists. Their seed heads raised just high enough above the ground to catch the wind, the plants are no bigger than they need be, their stems are hollow, and all the rigidity comes from their water content. Thus, a minimum investment has been made in the body that becomes a platform for seed dispersal. This very short-lived plants reproduce prolifically, that is to say they provided a constant rain of seed in the neighborhood of parents plants. A new plant will spring up whether a seed falls on a suitable soil surface but because they do not build big bodies, they cannot compete with other plants for space, water 5 or sunlight. These plants are termed “opportunists” because they rely on their seeds’ falling into settings where competing Reading Comprehension Difference:=growth and reproduction
3rd (Topic)
Opp := energy : R>G Comp:=energy :R 6th opp short-lived Population affected by bad weather 7th comp opp e.g. oak tree 自由笔记区 期待predicting: how to? 第一段先解释budget进行类比 段落与段落之间有关联，后续段落 IBT TOFEL plants have been removed by natural processes, such as along an eroding riverbank, or landslips, or where a tree falls and creates a gap in the forest canopy. Opportunists must constantly invade new areas to compensate for being displaced by more competitive species. Human landscapes of lawns, fields, or flowerbeds provide setting with bare soil and a lack of competitors that are perfect habitats for colonization by opportunists. ?Hence, many of the strongly opportunistic plants are the common weeds of fields and gardens.? Because each individual is short-lived, the population of an opportunist species is likely to be adversely affected by drought, bad winters, or floods. ?If their population is tracked through time, it will be seen to be particularly unstable——soaring and plummeting in irregular cycles. ? The opposite of an opportunist is a competitor. These organisms tend to have big bodies, are long-lived and spend relatively little effort each year on reproduction. An oak tree is a good example of a competitor. A massive oak claims its ground for 200 years or more, out-competing all other would-be canopy trees by casting a dense shade and drawing up any free water in the soil. The leaves of an oak tree taste foul because they are rich in tannins, a chemical that renders them distasteful or indigestible to many organisms. The tannins are part of the defense mechanism that is essential to longevity. Although oaks produce thousands of acorns, the investment in a crop of acorns is small compared with the energy spend on building leaves, trunks, and roots. Once an oak tree becomes established, it is likely to survive minor cycles of drought and even fire. A population of oaks is likely to be relatively stable through time, and its survival is likely to depend more on its ability to withstand the pressure of competition or predation than on it ability to take advantage of chance events. It should be noted, however, that the pure opportunist or pure competitor is rare in nature, as most species fall between the extremes of a continuum, exhibiting a blend of some opportunistic and some competitive characteristics. 6 Reading Comprehension 会有进步。 期待：budge->allocate 第三段由difference开始展开。 duchangxu@vip.sina.com 本文使用了比较分类，对比等方法 IBT TOFEL 7 Reading Comprehension IBT TOFEL １．The word squander in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) extend (B) transform (C)activate (D)waste 2. The word none in the passage refers to (A) food (B)plant of animal (C)energy (D)big body 3. In paragraph 1, the author explains the concept of energy expenditure by (A) identifying types of organisms that became extinct (B) comparing the scientific concept to a familiar human experience (C) arguing that most organisms conserve rather than expend energy (D) describing the processes of growth, reproduction, and metabolism 用budget来比喻 ４．According to the passage, the classification of organisms as “opportunists” or “competitors” is determined by (A) how the genetic information of an organism is store and maintained (B) the way in which the organism invests its energy resources (C) whether the climate to which the organism lives is mild or extreme (D) the variety of natural resources the organism consumes in its environment 5. The word dispersal in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) development (B)growth (C)distribution (D)protection 6. 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) Because their seeds grow in places where competing plants are no longer preserve, dandelions are classified as opportunists. (B) Dandelions are called opportunists because they contribute to the natural processes of erosion and the creation of gaps in the forest canopy. (C) The term “opportunists” applies to plants whose seeds fall in places where they compete with seed of other plants. (D) The term “opportunists” applies to plants whose falling seeds are removed by natural processes. 7. The word massive in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) huge (B)ancient (C)common (D)successful 8. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 7 as contribution to the longevity of oak tree EXCEPT (A) the capacity to create shade (B) leaves containing tannin (C) the ability to withstand mild droughts and fires (D) the large number of acorns the tree produces 9. According to the passage, oak trees are considered competitors because (A) they grow in areas free of opportunities (B) they spend more energy on their leaves, trunks and roots than on their acorns (C) their population tends to increase or decrease irregular cycles (D) unlike other organisms, they do not need much water or sunlight 8 Reading Comprehension IBT TOFEL 10. In paragraph 7, the author suggests that most species of organisms (A) are primarily opportunists (B) are primarily competitors (C) begin as opportunists and evolved into competitors (D) have some characteristics of opportunists and some of competitors 11. Look at the four square (?) that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage where would be the sentence best. Such episodic event will cause a population of dandelions, for example, to vary widely. Click on a square (?) add the sentence to the passage 12. Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the type of organisms to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points. 多使用已经做完的题目的信息来判断，第六和第八题对此题解题很有帮助。 Answer choices: (A) Vary frequently the amount of energy they spend in body maintenance. (B) Having mechanisms for protecting themselves from predation. -c (C) Succeed in locations where other organism have been removed. -o (D) Have relatively short live spans. -o (E) Invest energy in the growth of large, strong structure. -c (F) Have populations that are unstable in response to climate conditions. -o (G) Can rarely find suitable soil for reproduction. (H) Produce individuals that can withstand changes in the environmental conditions. -c (I) Reproduce in large members. -o ? 阅读的本质和自己的状态——知己知彼，百战不殆 √阅读的本质 1. 获取有效信息（找到信息与信息之间的关联） 2. 消除阅读障碍 √我们的状态 ? 阅读速度 □30单词/分 □60单词/分 □90单词/分 □120单词/分 □150单词/分或者以上 ? 水平阅读中的思维同步 □完全无法同步，必须停止阅读才能思考 □ 可以分同步，有明显声读现象 ? 从状态到缺陷——层次化的问题模型 □完全可同步，无回读现象 □大部分可同步，偶尔有回读现象 ? 水平阅读的视觉疲劳感 □ 明显，感觉无法继续 □一般，有疲劳感但还可以坚持 9