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托福阅读真题10篇

1995年托福阅读真题

Questions 1-13

Atmospheric pressure can support a column of water up to 10 meters high. But plants can move wat er much higher, the sequoia tree can pump water to its very top, more than 100 meters above the ground. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the movement of water in trees and other tall plants was a mystery. Some

hat the stems of plants in which all the cells are killed can still move water to appreciable heights. Other explanations for the movement of water in plants have been based on root pressur e, a push on the water from the roots at the bottom of the plant. But root pressure is not nearly great enough to push water to the tops of tall trees. Furthermore, the conifers, which are among the tallest trees, have unusually low root pressures.

If water is not pumped to the top of a tall tree, and if it is not pushed to the top of a tall tree, then we may ask,

, water is pulled there. The pull on a rising column of water in a plant results from the evaporation of water at the top of the plant. As water is lost from the surface of the leaves, a negative pressure, or tension, is created. The evaporated water is replaced

same forces that create surface tension in any sample of water are responsible for the maintenance of these unbroken columns of water. When water is confined in tubes of very small bore, the forces of cohesion (the attraction between water molecules) are so great that the strength of a column of water compares with the

great heights without being broken.

1. How many theories does the author mention?

(A) One

(B) T wo

(D) Four

2. The passage answers which of the following questions?

(A) What is the effect of atmospheric pressure on foliage?

(B) When do dead cells harm plant growth?

(D) Why is root pressure weak

(A) ignored

(B) showed

(D) distinguished

4. What do the experiments mentioned in lines 4-6 prove?

(A) Plant stems die when deprived of water

(B) Cells in plant stems do not pump water

(D) Plant cells regulate pressure within stems

5. How do botanists know that root pressure is not the only force that moves w a ter in plants? (A) Some very tall trees have weak root pressure.

(B) Root pressures decrease in winter.

(D) Water in a plant's roots is not connected to water in its stem.

6. Which of the following statements does the passage support?

(A) Water is pushed to the tops of trees.

(B) Botanists have proven that living cells act as pumps.

(D) Botanists have changed their theories of how water moves in plants.

(A) top (B)

tree (C)

water

(D) cohesion-tension theory.

(A) treetops

(B) roots

(D) tubes

9. What causes the tension that draws water up a plant?

(A) Humidity

(B) Plant growth

(D) Evaporation

(A) stretch

(B) branch

(D) rotate

11. According to the passage, why does water travel through plants in unbroken columns? (A) Root pressure moves the water very rapidly.

(B) The attraction between water molecules in strong.

(D) Atmospheric pressure supports the columns.

12. Why does the author mention‖ in line 17?

(A) To illustrate another means of pulling water

(B) To demonstrate why wood is a good building material

(D) To emphasize the strength of cohesive forces in water

13. Where in the passage does the author give an example of a plant with low root pressure?

(A) Lines 2-3

(B) Lines 3-5

(D)Lines8

Question

14-22

Mass transportation revised the social and economic fabric of the American city in three fundamental ways. It catalyzed physical expansion, it sorted out people and land uses, and it accelerated the inherent instability of

commuter trains, and electric trolleys pulled settled regions outward two to four times more distant from city centers than they were in the pre-modern era. In 1850, for example, the borders of Boston lay scarcely two miles from the old business district; by the turn of the century the radius extended ten miles. Now those who could afford it could live far removed from the old city center and still commute there for work, shopping, and

entertainment. The new accessibility of land around the periphery of almost every major an explosion of real estate development and fueled what we now know as urban sprawl. Between 1890 and 1920, for example, some 250,000 new residential lots were recorded within the borders of Chicago, most of them located in outlying areas. Over the same period, another 550,000 were plotted outside the city limits but within the metropolitan area. Anxious to take advantage of the possibilities of commuting, real estate developers added

– lots that could have housed

five to six million people.

Chicago and other cities. These excesses underscore a feature of residential expansion re l ated to the growth of mass transportation: urban sprawl was essentially unplanned. It was carried out by thousands of small investors who paid little heed to coordinated land use or to future land users. Those who purchased and prepared land for residential purposes, particularly land near or outside city borders where transit lines and middle-class inhabitants were anticipated, did so to create demand as much as to respond to it. Chicago is a prime example of this process. Real estate subdivision there proceeded much faster than population growth.

14. With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned? (A)

Types of mass transportation.

(B) Instability of urban life.

(D) The effects of mass transportation on urban expansion.

15. The author mentions all of the following as effects of mass transportation on cities EXCEPT (A)

growth in city area

(B) separation of commercial and residential districts.

(D) Increasing standards of living.

(A) large

(B) basic

(D) urban

(A) brought about

(B) surrounded

(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.

(D) To contrast their rates of growth

(A) certain (B)

popular (C)

improved (D)

possible

(A) people

(B) lots

(D) developers

21. According to the passage, what was one disadvantage of residential expansion? (A)

It was expensive.

(B) It happened too slowly.

(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

(D) with an excellent mass transportation system.

Question 23-33

The preservation of embryos and juveniles is rare occurrence in the fossil record. Th e tiny, delicate skeletons

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 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 quality of preservation is almost 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.

(A) skeletons

(B) scavengers

(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

(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

(D) They have been analyzed more carefully than other fossils.

(A) extensive

(B) surprising

(D) excellent

(A) example

(B) location

(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

(D) To prove that ichthyosaurs are marine animals.

(A) pregnant females and young

(B) quarry operations

(D) these factors

(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

(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 "explore the Missouri River, and such principal streams of it as, by 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 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. 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.

(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.

(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

(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

(D) native vegetation

Searching for

(B) Following

(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

(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 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 impr o vements 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 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

(D) The popularity of the piano with composers

43. Which of the following instruments was widely used before the seventeenth century? (A)

The harpsichord

(B) The spinet

(D) The organ

(A) a suggestion

(B) an improvement

(D) a development

(A) supported

(B) promoted

(D)dominated

(A) variety

(B) music

(D) clavichord

47. According to the passage, what deficiency did the harpsichord have?

(A) It was fragile

(B) It lacked variety in tone.

(D) It could not produce a strong sound.

48. Where in the passage does the author provide a translation?

(A) Lines 2-3

(B) Lines 8-9

(D) Lines 12-14

49. According to the information in the third paragraph, which of the following improvements made it possible to lengthen the tone produced by the piano?

(A) The introduction of pedals

(B) The use of heavy wires

(D) The metal frame construction

(A) noticeable

(B) many

(D) unusual

1995.12

Questions 1-10

The House of Native American Tribe

Keywords: United States, pueblos, buildings, chambers, niches

Another early Native American tribe in what is now the southwestern part of the United States was the Anasazi. By A. D. 800 the Anasazi Indians were constructing multistory pueblos-massive, stone apartment

compounds. Each one was virtually a stone town, which is why the Spanish would later call them pueblos, the Spanish word for towns. These pueblos represent one of the Anasazis' supreme achievements. At least a dozen large stone houses took shape below the bluffs of Chiaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico. They were built with masonry walls more than a meter thick and adjoining apartments to accommodate dozens, even hundreds, of families. The largest, later named Pueblo Bonito (Pretty Town) by the Spanish, rose in five terraced stories, contained more than 800 rooms, and could have housed a population of 1,000 or more.

Besides living quarters, each pueblo included one or more kivas-circular underground chambers faced with stone. They functioned as sanctuaries where the elders met to plan festivals, perform ritual pueblo affairs, and impart tribal lore to the younger generation. Some kivas were enormous. Of the 30 or so at pueblo Bonito, two measured 20 meters across. They contained niches for ceremonial objects, a central fire pit, and holes in the floor for communicating with the spirits of tribal ancestors.

Each pueblo represented an astonishing amount of well-organized labor. Using only stone and wood tools, and without benefit of wheels or draft animals, the builders quarried ton upon ton of sandstone from the canyon walls, cut it into small blocks, hauled the blocks to the construction site, and fitted them together with mud mortar. Roof beams of pine or fir had to be carried from logging areas in the mountain forests many kilometers away . Then, to connect the pueblos and to give access to the surrounding tableland, the architects laid out a 80 satellite villages within a 60-kilometer radius.

1. The paragraph preceding the passage most probably discussed

(A) how pueblos were built

(B) another Native American tribe

Pueblo village in New Mexico

2. What is the main topic of the passage?

(A) The Anasazi pueblos

(B) Anasazi festivals of New Mexico

(D) The use of Anasazi sanctuaries

(A) most common

(B) most outstanding

(D) most convenient

(A) houses

(B) bluffs (C)

walls (D)

families

5. The author mentions that Pueblos bonito had more than 800 rooms as an example of which of the following? (A) How overcrowded the pueblos could be

(B) How many ceremonial areas it contained

(D) How big a pueblo could be

(A) sink (B)

decide (C)

clarify (D)

locate

7. It can be inferred from the passage that building a pueblo probably

(A) required many workers

(B) cost a lot of money

(D) relied on sophisticated technology

(A) arriving at

(B) carving

(D) climbing

9. It can be inferred from the passage that in addition to pueblos the Anasazis were skilled at building which of following?

(A) Roads

(B) Barns

(D) Water systems

10. The pueblos are considered one of the Anasazis' supreme achievements for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they were

(A) very large

(B) located in forests

(D) connected in a systematic way

Questions 11-21

The Music of Films

Keywords: films, music, pianists, orchestras, conductor

Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as "silent", the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient.

and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film. As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases,

and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown (if, indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then), the musical arrangement as normally improvised in the greatest hurry .

To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as "pleasant', "sad", "lively". The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next.

composed and arranged for D. W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation, which was released in 1915. 11. The passage mainly discusses music that was

(A) performed before the showing of a film

(B) played during silent films

(D) recorded during film exhibitions

12. What can be inferred that the passage about the majority of films made after 1927 (A)

They were truly "silent".

(B) They were accompanied by symphonic orchestras.

(D) They corresponded to specific musical compositions.

(A) simple

(B) serious

(D) silent

14. It can be inferred that orchestra conductors who worked in movie theaters needed to

(A) be able to play many instruments

(B) have pleasant voices

(D) be able to compose original music

(A) years

(B) hands

(D) films

16. According to the passage, what kind of business was the Edison Company? (A)

It produced electricity .

(B) It distributed films.

(D) It made musical instruments.

17. It may be inferred from the passage that the first musical cue sheets appeared around

(A) 1896

(B) 1909

(D) 1927

18. Which of the following notations is most likely to have been included on a musical cue sheet of the early 1900's?

(A) "Calm, peaceful"

(B) "Piano, violin"

(D) "Directed by D. W. Griffith"

(A) selected

(B) combined

(D) created

(A) totals

(B) successes

(D) groups of musicians

21. The passage probably continues with a discussion of

(A) famous composers of the early twentieth century

(B) other films directed by D. W. Griffith

(D) the music in Birth of a Nation

Questions 22-31

semimolten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust. There are two kinds of crust, a lower and denser oceanic crust and an upper, lighter continental crust found over only about 40 percent of the Earth's surface. The rocks of the crust are of very different ages. Some continental rocks are over 3,000 million years old, while those of the ocean flow are less than 200 million years old. The crusts and the top, solid part of the mantle, totaling about 70

These plates move over the semimolten lower mantle to produce all of the major topographical features of the

contact of the plates.

There are three main types of zones of contact: spreading contacts where plates move apart, converging contacts where plates move towards each other, and transform contacts where plates slide past each other. New

oceanic crust is formed along one or more margins of each plate by material issuing from deeper layers of the Earth's crust, for example, by volcanic eruptions of lava at midocean ridges. If at such a spreading contact the two plates support continents, a rift is formed that will gradually widen and become flooded by the sea. The Atlantic Ocean formed like this as the American and

Afro-European plates move in opposite directions. At the same time at margins of converging plates, the oceanic crust is being reabsorbed by being subducted into the mantle and remelted beneath the ocean trenches. When two plates carrying continents collide, the continental blocks, too light to be drawn down, continue to float and therefore buckle to form a mountain chain along the length of the margin of the plates.

(A) adapts to

(B) benefits from

focuses on

23. According to the passage, on approximately what percent of the Earth's surface is the continental crust found?

(A) 15

(B) 40

(D) 100

(A) crusts

(B) kilometers

(D) continents

(A) surface

(B) sudden

(D) extreme

26. What does the second paragraph of the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The major mountain chains of the Earth

(B) Processes that create the Earth's surface features

(D) The rates at which continents move

27. Which of the following drawings best represents a transform contact (line 13-14)?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(A) edges (B)

peaks (C)

interiors

(D) distances

(A) separate

(B) create

(D) hold

30. According to the passage, mountain range are formed when

(A) the crust is remelted

(B) two plates separate

(D) continental plates collide

31. Where in the passage does the author describe how oceans are formed? (A)

Lines 3-4

(B) Lines 6-8 (C)

Lines 16-18 (D)

Lines 19-21

Questions 32-40

Biological Diversity

Keywords: diversity，species，Earth，human，animal，plant

the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human well-being. Much has been written about the diversity of terrestrial organisms, particularly the exceptionally rich life associated with tropical rain-forest habitats. Relatively little has been said, however, about diversity of life in the sea even though coral reef systems are comparable to rain forests in terms of richness of life.

An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the planet's dominants, most-distinctive feature-the

from far away, it is easy to realize that landmasses occupy only one-third of the Earth's surface. Given that two-thirds of the Earth's surface is water and that marine life lives at all levels of the ocean, the total three-dimensional living space of the ocean is perhaps 100 times greater than that of land and contains more than 90 percent of all life on Earth even though the ocean has fewer distinct species.

The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the world's rain forests does not seem surprising, considering the huge numbers of insects that comprise the bulk of the species. One scientist found many different species of ants in just one tree from a rain forest. While every species is different from every other species, their genetic makeup constrains them to be insects and to share similar characteristics with 750,000 species of insects. If basic, broad categories such as phyla and classes are given more emphasis than differentiating between species, then the greatest diversity of life is unquestionably the sea. Nearly every major

To appreciated fully the diversity and abundance of life in the sea, it helps to think small. Every spoonful of

ocean water contains life, on the order of 100 to 100,000 bacterial cells plus assorted microscopic plants and animals, including larvae of organisms ranging from sponges and corals to starfish and clams and much more.

32.What is the main point of the passage?

(A) Humans are destroying thousands of species.

(B) There are thousands of insect species.

(D) Coral reefs are similar to rain forests.

(A) ignorance (B)

recognition (C)

tolerance (D)

forgiveness

34.Why does the author compare rain forests and coral reefs (lines 4-6)?

(A) They are approximately the same size.

(B) They share many similar species.

(D) Both have different forms of life

(A) concern

(B) disadvantage

(D) prejudice

36.The passage suggests that most rain forest

species are

(A) insects (B)

bacteria (C)

mammals

(D) birds

(A) the sea

(B) the rain forests

(D) the Earth's surface

38.The author argues that there is more diversity of life in the sea than in the rain forests because

(A) more phyla and classes of life are represented in the sea (B)

there are too many insects to make meaningful distinctions (C)

many insect species are too small to divide into categories (D)

marine life-forms reproduce at a faster rate

39.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of microscopic sea life? (A)

Sponges

(D) Shrimp

40.Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage?

(A) Ocean life is highly adaptive.

(B) More attentions needs to be paid to preserving ocean species and habitats.

(D) The sea is highly resistant to the damage done by pollutants.

Questions 41-50

What geologists call the Basin and Range Province in the United States roughly coincides in its northern portions with the geographic province known as the Great Basin. The Great Basin is hemmed in on the west by the Great Basin are from the west. Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upwar d Nevada. At the higher altitudes it cools and the moisture it carriers is precipitated as rain or snow on the western slopes of the mountains. That which reaches the Basin is air wrung dry of moisture. What little water falls there as rain or snow, mostly in the winter months, evaporates on the broad, flat desert floors. It is, therefore, an environment in which organisms battle for survival. Along the rare watercourses, cottonwoods and willows eke out a sparse existence. In the upland ranges, pinon pines and junipers struggle to hold their own.

But the Great Basin has not always been so arid. Many of its dry, closed depressions were once filled with water. Owens Valley , Panamint Valley , and Death Valley were once a string of interc onnected lakes. The two largest of the ancient lakes of the Great Basin were Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville. The Great Salt Lake is all that remains of the latter

these basins. The rise and fall of the lakes were undoubtedly linked to the advances and retreats of the great ice sheets that covered much of the northern part of the North American continent during those times. Climatic changes during the Ice ages sometimes brought cooler, wetter weather to midlatitude deserts worldwide, including those of the Great Basin. The broken valleys of the Great Basin provided ready receptacles for this moisture. 41.What is the geographical relationship between the Basin and Range Province and the Great Basin? (A) The Great Basin is west of the Basin and Range Province.

(B) The Great Basin is larger than the Basin and Range Province.

(D) The Great Basin is mountainous; the Basin and Range Province is flat desert.

42.According to the passage, what does the great Basin lack?

(A) Snow

(B) Dry air

(D) Access to the ocean

(A) most frequent

(B) occasional

(D) most dangerous

44.It can be inferred that the climate in the Great Basin is dry because

(A) the weather patterns are so turbulent

(B) the altitude prevents precipitation

(D) precipitation falls in the nearby mountains

(A) Pacific Ocean

(B) air

(D) the Great Basin

46.Why does the author mention cottonwoods and willows in line 8-9?

(A) To demonstrate that certain trees require a lot of water

(B) To give examples of trees that are able to survive in a difficult environment

(D) To assert that there are more living organisms in the Great Basin than there used to be

47.Why does the author mention Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley in the second paragraph? (A) To explain their geographical formation

(B) To give examples of depressions that once contained water

(D) To explain what the Great Basin is like today

(A) Lake Bonneville

(B) Lake Lahontan

(D) Pyramid Lake

(A) dried (B)

flooded (C)

collected

(D) evaporated

50. According to the passage, the Ice Ages often brought about

(A) desert formation

(B) warmer climates

(D) wetter weather

老托福阅读真题及答案解析

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