托福真题2014-06-28西南农业+打印发展+地球能量循环

1、Southwest AgricultureAfter the arrival of hunter-gatherers in the southwestern region of North America, several alternative types of agriculture emerged, all involving different solutions to the Southwest' s fundamental problem: how to obtain enoughwater to grow cropsin an environment in which r

2、ainfall is so low and unpredictable that little or no farming is practiced there today. People experimented with alternative strategies for almost a thousand years in different locations, and many experiments succeeded for centuries, but eventually all except one succumbed to environmental problems

3、caused by human impact or climate change.One strategy was to live at higher elevations where rainfall was higher, as did theMogollon, the people at Mesa Verde, and the people of the early agricultural phase at Chaco Canyon known as the Pueblo I phase. But that carried a risk, because it is cooler at

4、 high than at low elevations, and in an especially cool year, it might be too cold to grow crops at all. An opposite extreme was to farm at the warmer low elevations, but there the rainfall is insufficient even for dryland agriculture. The Hohokam got around that problem by constructing the most ext

5、reme irrigation system in the Americas outside Peru. But irrigation entailed the risk that human digging of ditches and canals could lead to sudden heavy water runoff from rainstorms, digging further down into the ditches and canals and carving out deep channels called arroyos. In that case, the wat

6、er level would drop below the field level, making irrigation impossible for people without pumps.A more conservative strategy was to plant crops only in areas with reliable springs and groundwatertables. That was the solution initially adopted by the Mimbresand by people in the phase known as Pueblo

7、 II. However, it then became dangerously tempting to expand agriculture during wet decades with favorable growing conditions into marginal areas with less reliable springs and groundwater. The population multiplying in those marginal areas might then find itself unable to grow crops and might starve

8、 when the unpredictable climate turned dry again.That fate actually befell the Mimbres, who started by farming the floodplain and then began to farm adjacent land above the floodplain as their population came to exceed the floodplain' s capacity to support it. They got away with their gambleduri

9、ng a wet climate phase, when they were able to obtain half their food outside the floodplain. However, when drought conditions returned, that gamble left them with a population double what the floodplain could support, and Mimbres society collapsed suddenly under the stress.Still another solution wa

10、s to occupy an area only for a few decades, until the area soil became exhausted, then to move to another area. That method worked when people were living at low population densities, when there were many unoccupied areas to move to, and when each occupied area could be left unoccupied again for suf

11、ficiently long after occupation so that its vegetation and soil nutrients hadtime to recover. However, the method of shifting sites after a short occupation became impossible at high population densities, when people filled up the whole Ian dscape and there was no where left empty to move to.One mor

12、e strategy was to pla nt crops at many sites eve n though rain fall was locally un predictable and the n to harvest crops at whichever sites did get eno ugh rain to produce a good harvest and to redistribute some of the harvest to the people still livi ng at all the sites that did not happe nto rece

13、ive eno ugh rain that year. Butredistribution was not without risks because it involved a complexpolitical andsocial system to in tegrate activities betwee n differe nt sites, so whe n that complex system collapsed, lots of people en ded up starv ing.The remaining strategy was to plant crops and liv

14、e near permanent or dependable sources of water, but on Ian dscape ben ches above the main floodways, so as to avoid the risk of a heavy flood washing out fields and villages, and to practice a diverse economy,exploiting ecologically diversezones so that each settlementwould be self-sufficie nt. Tha

15、t soluti on, adopted by people whose desce ndents live today in the Southwest' s Hopi and Zuni villages, has succeeded for more than athousa nd years.Paragraph 1After the arrival of hun ter-gatherers in the southwester n regi on of North America, several alter native types of agriculture emerged

16、, all in volvi ng differe nt soluti ons to the Southwest ' s fun dame ntal problem: how to obtai n eno ugh water to growcropsin an environment in whichrain fall is so low and un predictable that little or nofarmi ng is practiced there today. People experime nted with alter native strategies for

17、almost a thousand years in different locations, and many experiments succeeded for cen turies,but even tuallyall except one succumbed toen viro nmen tal problems caused by huma n impact or climate cha nge.1. The worde“en tually ” in the passage is closet i n meaning toto some degree unfortun ately i

18、n the end gradually2. Paragraph 1 supports which of the followinginferences about the NorthAmerica n Southwest?Its sources of water were ple ntiful whe n the hun ter-gathers first arrived.It has always lacked the large populationneededto perform successfulexperiments in agriculture.Its climatic cond

19、itions today are essentially similar to those existing when thehun ter-gathers first arrived.It was more seriously affected by climate change than it was by human impact.Paragraph 2One strategy was to live at higher elevati ons where rain fall was higher, as did theMogollon,the people at Mesa Verde,

20、 and the people of the early agriculturalphase at Chaco Canyon known as the Pueblo I phase. But that carried a risk, because it is cooler at high than at low elevations, and in an especially cool year, it might be too cold to grow crops at all. An opposite extreme was to farm at thewarmer low elevat

21、i ons, but there the rain fall is in sufficie nt evenfor dryla ndagriculture. The Hohokam got around that problem by con struct ing the most extreme irrigation system in the Americas outside Peru. But irrigation entailed the risk that huma n diggi ng of ditches and can als could lead to sudde n heav

22、y water runoff from rain storms,diggi ngfurther dow ninto the ditches and can als andcarvi ng out deep cha nn els called arroyos. In that case, the water level would drop below the field level, making irrigation impossible for people without pumps.3. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 2

23、 as potential problems facedby the Hohokam EXCEPTinsufficient rainfall to allow crops to growrain storms leadi ng to destructive water runoffin sufficie nt workers to dig ditches and can alsirrigation water levels in channels too low to be usedParagraph 3A more con servative strategy was to pla nt c

24、rops only in areas with reliable spri ngsand groun dwater tables. That was the soluti onin itially adopted by the Mimbresand by people in the phase known as Pueblo II. However, it then became dan gerously tempti ng to expa nd agriculture duri ng wet decades with favorable growing conditions into mar

25、ginal areas with less reliable springs and groundwater.The population multiplying in those marginal areas might then find itself unable to grow crops and might starve whe n the un predictable climate turned dry aga in.That fate actually befell the Mimbres, who started by farming the floodplain and t

26、hen bega n to farm adjace nt land above the floodpla in as their populati on came to exceed the floodplain' s capacity to support it. They got away with their gambleduring a wet climate phase, when they were able to obtain half their food outside the floodplain. However, when drought conditions

27、returned, that gamble left them with a populati on double what the floodpla in could support, and Mimbres society collapsed sudde nly un der the stress.4. The wordinitially ” inhe passage is closet in meaning tofirstpossiblysometimesrelucta ntly5. The worda“jace nt ” in the passage is closet in mean

28、ing ton eighbori nghigherunusedadditi onal6. According to paragraph 3, which of the followingwas the cause of thecollapse of the Mimbres society?They could not overcome the stress of moving to a new area with each cha nge in the climate.The flooding oftheir farmlandduring a wet climate phase prevent

29、edthemfrom grow ing eno ugh to feed their populati on.A decline in population during dry periods prevented them from expandingtheir farmi ng into n earby areas.Their populati on became too large to survive whe n the climate en tered a dry period.Paragraph 4Still another solution was to occupy an are

30、a only for a few decades, until the area ' ssoil became exhausted, the n to move to ano ther area. That method worked whe n people were living at low populati on den sities, whe n there were many un occupied areas to move to, and whe n each occupied area could be left un occupied aga in for suff

31、iciently long after occupation so that its vegetation and soil nutrients hadtime to recover. However, the method of shifting sites after a short occupation became impossible at high population densities, when people filled up the whole Ian dscape and there was no where left empty to move to.7. Accor

32、d ing to paragraph 4, the soluti on of moving to other, previously occupiedareas was effective only whe nthe soil on the previously occupied land had bee n used for farming at leastoncethe vegetation and nutrientsof the previously occupied area had time torecoverthe reoccupations did not last a long

33、 timethe reoccupied areas became more den sely populatedParagraph 5One more strategy was to pla nt crops at many sites eve n though rain fall was locally un predictable and the n to harvest crops at whichever sites did get eno ugh rain to produce a good harvest and to redistribute some of the harves

34、t to the people still livi ng at all the sites that did not happe n to receive eno ugh rain that year. But redistribution was not without risks because it involved a complexpolitical andsocial system to in tegrate activities betwee n differe nt sites, so whe n that complex system collapsed, lots of

35、people en ded up starv ing.8. The soluti on for un predictable rain fall described in paragraph 5 in volved all of the followi ng EXCEPTpla nting crops in many differe nt places, regardless of predicted rain fall using a simple political and social system for the coord in ati on of agricultural acti

36、vities harvesti ng crops from those sites that did receive adequate rain shari ng harvested crops with people whose crops did not grow wellParagraph 6The remaining strategy was to plant crops and live near permanent or dependable sources of water, but on Ian dscape ben ches above the main floodways,

37、 so as to avoid the risk of a heavy flood washing out fields and villages, and to practice a diverse economy,exploiting ecologically diversezones so that each settlementwould be self-sufficie nt. That soluti on, adopted by people whose desce ndents live today in the Southwest' s Hopi and Zuni vi

38、llages, has succeeded for more than athousa nd years.9. The wordd“pe ndable” in the passage is closet in meaning toadequatefamiliarreliableple ntiful10. Which of the following contributed to the success of the strategy discussed inparagraph 6?Crops were pla nted high eno ugh to avoid being carried a

39、way by floods.Crops were pla nted wherever there were sources of water, regardless of theirproximity to where people actually lived.Farming was limited to ecological zones that were similar to each other.In stead of aiming at beco ming self-sufficie nt, each village became part of an etwork of diver

40、se econo mic activities.11. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?A historical account of the various people that have lived in southwesternNorth America followed by conflictingviews about the accuracy of theaccountA comparison and contrast of the historical role of a

41、griculture in different partsof the southwester n regi on of North AmericaAn explanation of how the solutions developed to improve living conditions insouthwester n North America spread to other n eighbori ng regi onsA descripti on of a Ion g-sta nding problem faced by the people in southwester nNor

42、th America followed by a discussi on on strategies that have bee n used toovercome the problemParagraph 2One strategy was to live at higher elevati ons where rain fall was higher, as did theMogollon,the people at Mesa Verde, and the people of the early agriculturalphase at Chaco Canyon known as the

43、Pueblo I phase. But that carried a risk, because it is cooler at high than at low elevations, and in an especially cool year, it might be too cold to grow crops at all. An opposite extreme was to farm at the warmer low elevati ons, but there the rain fall is in sufficie nt even for dryla nd agricult

44、ure. The Hohokam got around that problem by con struct ing the most extreme irrigati on system in the Americas outside Peru. But irrigati on en tailedthe risk that huma n diggi ng of ditches and can als could lead to sudde n heavy water runoff from rain storms, digg ing further dow n into the ditche

45、s and can als and carvi ng out deep cha nn els called arroyos. In that case, the water level woulddrop below the field level, making irrigation impossible for people without pumps.12. Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence canbe added to the passage.Another risk of irrig

46、ation was that floods could simply wash away the dams and cha nn els, as in deed may have happe ned even tually to the Hohokam.Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentenceto the passage.13. Directions:An introductorysentence for a brief summary of the passage isprovided b

47、elow. Complete the summary by selecti ngthe THREE an swerchoices that express the most importa nt ideas in the passage. Some an swerchoices do not bel ong in the summary because they express ideas that are notpresentedin the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This questionisworth 2 poi nts.D

48、rag your choices to the spaces where they bel ong. To review the passage, click on View Text .People trying to grow crops in the dry southwestern area of North America experime nted with various strategies for almost a thousa nd years.amount of rai nfall gradually over many cen turies.An swer Choice

49、sExperimentsin agriculture succeededin those areas thatexperie needclimate cha nges that in creasedtheIn spite of usually dry conditions, water runoff from rainstorms was used by the Hohokam to flood fields and deepen channels in irrigation systems.Shifting sites or planting in areas with good sourc

50、es of water was successful only in areas with low population densities.Farming at higher elevations meant risking failure from cold weather, while extensive irrigation at the lower elevations risked destructive floods from sudden rainstorms.Farming in dry climate phases was successful only at higher

51、 elevations.Sharing food produced at different sites had limited success, while selfsufficient and ecologically sound farming continued to succeed.The Development of PrintingPrinting with movable type, a revolutionary departure from the old practice of copying by hand, was invented in the 1440s by J

52、ohannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith. Mass production of identical books and pamphlets made the world of letters more accessible to a literate audience. Two preconditions proved essential for the advent of printing: the industrial production of paper and the commercial production of manuscripts.Inc

53、reased paper production in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was the first stage in the rapid growth of manuscript books hand-copied works bound as books which in turn led to the invention of mechanical printing. Papermaking came to Europe from China via Arab intermediaries. By the fourteenth c

54、entury, paper mills were operating in Italy, producing paper that was much more fragile but much cheaper than parchment or vellum, animal skins that Europeans had previously used for writing. To produce paper, old rags were soaked in a chemical solution, beaten by mallets into a pulp, washed with wa

55、ter, treated, and dried in sheets a method that still produces good-quality paper today.Medici, theBy the fifteenth century, a brisk industry in manuscript books was flourishing in Europe ' suniversity towns and major cities. Production was in the hands of merchants called stationers, who suppli

56、ed materials, arranged contracts for book production, and organized workshops known as scriptoria, where the manuscripts were copied, and acted as retail booksellers. The largest stationers, in Paris and Florence, were extensive operations by fifteenth-century standards. The Florentine Vespasiano da

57、 Bisticci, for example, created a library for Cosimo de head of Florence 'lesading family, by employing 45 copyists to complete 200 volumes in 22 months. Nonetheless, bookmaking in scriptoria was slow and expensive.The invention of movable type was an enormous technological breakthrough that too

58、k bookmaking out of the hands of human copyists. Printing was not new: the Chinese had been printing by woodblock since the tenth century, and woodcut pictures (in which an image is cut on wood and then transferred to paper) made their appearance in Europe in the early fifteenth century. Movable type, however, allowed entire manuscripts to be printed. The process involved casting durable metal molds to represent the letters of the alphabet. The letters were arranged to represent the text on a page and then pressed in ink against a sheet of paper. The imprint could be repea