托福阅读理解真题

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2024-08-11
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以下是小编给大家收集的托福阅读理解真题，本文共10篇，欢迎大家前来参阅。

托福阅读理解真题

Molting is one of the most involved processes of a bird's annual life cycle. Notwithstanding preening and constant care, the marvelously intricate structure of a bird's feather inevitably wears out. All adult birds molt their feathers at least once a year, and upon close observation, one can recognize the frayed, ragged appearance of feathers that are nearing the end of their useful life. Two distinct processes are involved in molting. The first step is when the old, worn feather is dropped, or shed. The second is when a new feather grows in its place. When each feather has been shed and replaced, then the molt can be said to be complete. This, however, is an abstraction that often does not happen: incomplete, overlapping, and arrested molts are quite common.

Molt requires that a bird find and process enough protein to rebuild approximately one-third of its body weight. It is not surprising that a bird in heavy molt often seems listless and unwell. But far from being random, molt is controlled by strong evolutionary forces that have established an optimal time and duration. Generally, molt occurs at the time of least stress on the bird. Many songbirds, for instance, molt in late summer, when the hard work of breeding is done but the weather is still warm and food still plentiful. This is why the woods in late summer often seem so quiet, when compared with the exuberant choruses of spring.

Molt of the flight feathers is the most highly organized part of the process. Some species, for example, begin by dropping the outermost primary feathers on each side (to retain balance in the air) and wait until the replacement feathers are about one-third grown before shedding the next outermost, and so on. Others always start with the innermost primary feathers and work outward. Yet other species begin in the middle and work outward on both sides. Most ducks shed their wing feathers at once, and remain flightless for two or three weeks while the replacement feathers grow.

1. The passage mainly discusses how

(A) birds prepare for breeding

(B) bird feathers differ from species

(D) birds are affected by seasonal changes

2. The word Notwithstanding in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) despite

(B) because of

(D) regarding

3. The word intricate in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) regular

(B) complex

(D) important

4. The word random in line 12 is closest in meaning to

(A) unfortunate

(B) unusual

(D) unpredictable

5. The word optimal in line 13 is closest in meaning to

(A) slow

(B) frequent

(D) early

6. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that songbirds molt in the late summer?

(A) Fewer predators are in the woods.

(B) The weathers are still warm.

(D) Food is still available.

7. Some birds that are molting maintain balance during flight by

(A) constantly preening and caring for their remaining feathers

(B) dropping flight feathers on both sides at the same time

(D) only losing one-third of their feathers

8. The word Others in line 21 refers to

(A) ducks

(B) sides

(D) flight feathers

9. The author discusses ducks in order to provide an example of birds that

(A) grow replacement feathers that are very long

(B) shed all their wing feathers at one time

(D) shed their outermost feathers first

10. It can be inferred from the discussion about ducks that the molting of their flight feathers

takes

(A) a year

(B) a season

(D) a few weeks

PASSAGE 62 CABDC ABCBD

Glass fibers have a long history. The Egyptians made coarse fibers by 1600 B.C., and fibers survive as decorations on Egyptian pottery dating back to 1375 B.C. During the Renaissance (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D.), glassmakers from Venice used glass fibers to decorate the surfaces of plain glass vessels. However, glassmakers guarded their secrets so carefully that no one wrote about glass fiber production until the early seventeenth century.

The eighteenth century brought the invention of spun glass fibers. R é ne-Antoine de R é a French scientist, tried to make artificial feathers from glass. He made fibers by rotating a wheel through a pool of molten glass, pulling threads of glass where the hot thick liquid stuck to the wheel. His fibers were short and fragile, but he predicted that spun glass fibers as thin as spider silk would be flexible and could be woven into fabric.

By the start of the nineteenth century, glassmakers learned how to make longer, stronger fibers by pulling them from molten glass with a hot glass tube. Inventors wound the cooling end of the thread around a yarn reel, then turned the reel rapidly to pull more fiber from the molten glass. Wandering tradespeople began to spin glass fibers at fairs, making decorations and ornaments as novelties for collectors, but this material was of little practical use; the fibers were brittle, ragged, and no longer than ten feet, the circumference of the largest reels. By the mid-1870's, however, the best glass fibers were finer than silk and could be woven into fabrics or assembled into imitation ostrich feathers to decorate hats. Cloth of white spun glass resembled silver; fibers drawn from yellow-orange glass looked golden.

Glass fibers were little more than a novelty until the 1930's, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous filaments were developed. In the modern manufacturing process, liquid glass is fed directly from a glass-melting furnace into a bushing, a receptacle pierced with hundreds of fine nozzles, from which the liquid issues in fine streams. As they solidify, the streams of glass are gathered into a single strand and wound onto a reel.

1. Which of the following aspects of glass fiber does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The major developments in its production

(B) Its relationship with pottery making

(D) The variety of its uses in modern industry

2. The word coarse in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) decorative

(B) natural

(D) weak

3. Why was there nothing written about the making of Renaissance glass fibers until the seventeenth century?

(A) Glassmakers were unhappy with the quality of the fibers they could make.

(B) Glassmakers did not want to reveal the methods they used.

(D) Production methods had been well known for a long time.

4. According to the passage , using a hot glass tube rather than a wheel to pull fibers from molten

glass made the fibers

(A) quicker to cool

(B) harder to bend

(D) longer and more durable

5. The phrase this material in line 16 refers to

(A) glass fibers

(B) decorations

(D) novelties for collectors

6. The word brittle in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) easily broken

(B) roughly made

(D) shiny

7. The production of glass fibers was improved in the nineteenth century by which of the

following

(A) Adding silver to the molten glass

(B) Increasing the circumference of the glass tubes

(D) Using yarn reels

8. The word appreciated in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) experienced

(B) recognized

(D) increased

9. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage ?

(A) invention (line 7)

(B) circumference (line 17)

(D) bushing (line 25)

PASSAGE 53 ACBDA ADBD

The term folk song has been current for over a hundred years, but there is still a good deal of disagreement as to what it actually means. The definition provided by the International Folk Music Council states that folk music is the music of ordinary people, which is passed on from person to person by being listened to rather than learned from the printed page. Other factors that help shape a folk song include: continuity (many performances over a number of years); variation (changes in words and melodies either through artistic interpretation or failure of memory); and selection (the acceptance of a song by the community in which it evolves).

When songs have been subjected to these processes their origin is usually impossible to trace. For instance, if a farm laborer were to make up a song and sing it to a-couple of friends who like it and memorize it, possibly when the friends come to sing it themselves one of them might forget some of the words and make up new ones to fill the gap, while the other, perhaps more artistic, might add a few decorative touches to the tune and improve a couple of lines of text. If this happened a few times there would be many different versions, the song's original composer would be forgotten, and the song would become common property. This constant reshaping and re-creation is the essence of folk music. Consequently, modem popular songs and other published music, even though widely sung by people who are not professional musicians, are not considered folk music. The music and words have been set by a printed or recorded source, limiting scope for further artistic creation. These songs' origins cannot be disguised and therefore they belong primarily to the composer and not to a community.

The ideal situation for the creation of folk music is an isolated rural community. In such a setting folk songs and dances have a special purpose at every stage in a person's life, from childhood to death. Epic tales of heroic deeds, seasonal songs relating to calendar events, and occupational songs are also likely to be sung.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) Themes commonly found in folk music

(B) Elements that define folk music

(D) The standards of the International Folk Music Council

2. Which of the following statements about the term folk song is supported by the passage ?

(A) It has been used for several centuries.

(B) The International Folk Music Council invented it.

(D) There is disagreement about its meaning.

3. The word it in line 8 refers to

(A) community

(B) song

(D) memory

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a characteristic of the typical folk

song?

(A) It is constantly changing over time.

(B) It is passed on to other people by being performed.

(D) It appeals to many people.

5. The word subjected in line 9 is closest in meaning to

(A) reduced

(B) modified

(D) imitated

6. The author mentions the farm laborer and his friends (lines 10-14) in order to do which of the

following?

(A) Explain how a folk song evolves over time

(B) Illustrate the importance of music to rural workers

(D) Demonstrate how a community, chooses a folk song

7. According to the passage , why would the original composers of folk songs be forgotten?

(A) Audiences prefer songs composed by professional musicians.

(B) Singers dislike the decorative touches in folk song tunes.

(D) Folk songs are not considered an important form of music.

8. The word essence in line 16 is closest in meaning to

(A) basic nature

(B) growing importance

(D) first phase

9. The author mentions that published music is not considered to be folk music because

(A) the original composer can be easily identified

(B) the songs attract only the young people in a community

(D) the composers write the music in rural communities

PASSAGE 56 BDBCC ACAA

The most thoroughly studied cases of deception strategies employed by ground-nesting birds involve plovers, small birds that typically nest on beaches or in open fields, their nests merely scrapes in the sand or earth. Plovers also have an effective repertoire of tricks for distracting potential nest predators from their exposed and defenseless eggs or chicks.

The ever-watchful plover can detect a possible threat at a considerable distance. When she does, the nesting bird moves inconspicuously off the nest to a spot well away from eggs or chicks. At this point she may use one of several ploys. One technique involves first moving quietly toward an approaching animal and then setting off noisily through the grass or brush in a low, crouching run away from the nest, while emitting rodent like squeaks. The effect mimics a scurrying mouse or vole, and the behavior rivets the attention of the type of predators that would also be interested in eggs and chicks.

Another deception begins with quiet movement to an exposed and visible location well away from the nest. Once there, the bird pretends to incubate a brood. When the predator approaches, the parent flees, leaving the false nest to be searched. The direction in which the plover escapes is such that if the predator chooses to follow, it will be led still further away from the true nest.

The plover's most famous stratagem is the broken-wing display, actually a continuum of injury-mimicking behaviors spanning the range from slight disability to near-complete helplessness. One or both wings are held in an abnormal position, suggesting injury. The bird appears to be attempting escape along an irregular route that indicates panic. In the most extreme version of the display, the bird flaps one wing in an apparent attempt to take to the air, flops over helplessly, struggles back to its feet, runs away a short distance, seemingly attempts once more to take off, flops over again as the useless wing fails to provide any lift, and so on. Few predators fail to pursue such obviously vulnerable prey. Needless to say, each short run between flight attempts is directed away from the nest.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The nest-building techniques of plovers

(B) How predators search for plovers

(D) Why plovers are vulnerable to predators

2. The word merely in fine 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) often

(B) only

(D) at first

3. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage about plovers?

(A) Their eggs and chicks are difficult to find.

(B) They are generally defenseless when away from their nests.

(D) Their nests are on the surface of the ground.

4. The word emitting in line 10 is closest in meaning to

(A) bringing

(B) attracting

(D) minimizing

5. In the deception technique described in paragraph 2, the plover tries to

(A) stay close to her nest

(B) attract the predator's attention

(D) frighten the approaching predator

6. The word spanning in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) covering

(B) selecting

(D) explaining

7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following aspects of the plover's behavior gives the

appearance that it is frightened?

(A) Abnormal body position

(B) Irregular escape route

(D) Unusual amount of time away from the nest

8. The word pursue in line 25 is closest in meaning to

(A) catch

(B) notice

(D) chase

9. According to the passage , a female plover utilizes all of the following deception techniques

EXCEPT

(A) appearing to be injured

(B) sounding like another animal

(D) pretending to sit on her eggs

10. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage ?

(A) A description of the sequence of steps involved in plovers nest building

(B) A generalization about plover behavior followed by specific examples

(D) A cause-and-effect analysis of the relationship between a prey and a predator

PASSAGE 63 CBDCB ABDCB

PASSAGE 64

What unusual or unique biological trait led to the remarkable diversification and unchallenged success of the ants for ever 50 million years? The answer appears to be that they were the first group of predatory eusocial insects that both lived and foraged primarily in the soil and in rotting vegetation on the ground. Eusocial refers to a form of insect society characterized by specialization of tasks and cooperative care of the young; it is rare among insects. Richly organized colonies of the land made possible by eusociality enjoy several key advantages over solitary individuals.

Under most circumstances groups of workers are better able to forage for food and defend the nest, because they can switch from individual to group response and back again swiftly and according to need. When a food object or nest intruder is too large for one individual to handle, nestmates can be quickly assembled by alarm or recruitment signals. Equally important is the fact that the execution of multiple-step tasks is accomplished in a series-parallel sequence. That is, individual ants can specialize in particular steps, moving from one object (such as a larva to be fed) to another (a second larva to be fed). They do not need to carry each task to completion from start to finish — for example, to check the larva first, then collect the food, then feed the larva. Hence, if each link in the chain has many workers in attendance, a series directed at any particular object is less likely to fail. Moreover, ants specializing in particular labor categories typically constitute a caste specialized by age or body form or both. There has been some documentation of the superiority in performance and net energetic yield of various castes for their modal tasks, although careful experimental studies are still relatively few.

What makes ants unusual in the company of eusocial insects is the fact that they are the only eusocial predators (predators are animals that capture and feed on other animals) occupying the soil and ground litter. The eusocial termites live in the same places as ants and also have wingless workers, but they feed almost exclusively on dead vegetation.

1. Which of the following questions does the passage primarily answer?

(A) How do individual ants adapt to specialized tasks?

(B) What are the differences between social and solitary insects?

(D) Why have ants been able to thrive for such a long time?

2. The word unique in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) inherited

(B) habitual

(D) natural

3. The word rotting in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) decaying

(B) collected

(D) cultivated

4. The word key in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) uncommon

(B) important

(D) temporary

5. According to the passage , one thing eusocial insects can do is rapidly switch from

(A) one type of food consumption to another

(B) one environment to another

(D) a defensive to an offensive stance

6. The task of feeding larvae is mentioned in the passage to demonstrate

(A) the advantages of specialization

(B) the type of food that larvae are fed

(D) the different stages of ant development

7. The author uses the word Hence in line 16 to indicate

(A) a logical conclusion

(B) the next step in a senes of steps

(D) the relationship among ants

8. All of the following terms art defined in the passage EXCEPT

(A) eusocial (line 3)

(B) series-parallel sequence (line 13)

(D) predators (line 23)

9. The word they in line 25 refers to

(A) termites

(B) ants

(D) predators

10. It can be inferred from the passage that one main difference between termites and ants is

that termites

(A) live above ground

(B) are eusocial

(D) eat almost no animal substances

PASSAGE 64 DCABC AACAD

Composers today use a wider variety of sounds than ever before, including many that were once considered undesirable noises. Composer Edgard Varèse(1 883-1965) called thus the liberation of sound...the right to make music with any and all sounds. Electronic music, for example — made with the aid of computers, synthesizers, and electronic instruments — may include sounds that in the past would not have been considered musical. Environmental sounds, such as thunder, and electronically generated hisses and blips can be recorded, manipulated, and then incorporated into a musical composition. But composers also draw novel sounds from voices and nonelectronic instruments. Singers may be asked to scream, laugh, groan, sneeze, or to sing phonetic sounds rather than words. Wind and string players may lap or scrape their instruments. A brass or woodwind player may hum while playing, to produce two pitches at once; a pianist may reach inside the piano to pluck a string and then run a metal blade along it. In the music of the Western world, the greatest expansion and experimentation have involved percussion instruments, which outnumber strings and winds in many recent compositions. Traditional percussion instruments are struck with new types of beaters; and instruments that used to be couriered unconventional in Western music — tom-toms, bongos, slapsticks, maracas—are widely used.

In the search for novel sounds, increased use has been made in Western music of microtones. Non-western music typically divides and interval between two pitches more finely than western music does, thereby producing a greater number of distinct tones, or microtones, within the same interval. Composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki create sound that borders on electronic noise through tone clusters — closely spaced tones played together and heard as a mass, block, or band of sound. The directional aspect of sound has taken on new importance as well. Loudspeakers or groups of instruments may be placed at opposite ends of the stage, in the balcony, or at the back and sides of the auditorium.

Because standard music notation makes no provision for many of these innovations, recent music scores may contain graphlike diagrams, new note shapes and symbols, and novel ways of arranging notation on the page.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The use of nontraditional sounds in contemporary music

(B) How sounds are produced electronically

(D) Several composers who have experimented with the electronic production of sound

2. The word wider in one 1 is closest in meaning to more impressive

(A) more distinctive

(B) more controversial

(D) more impressive

3. The passage suggests that Edgard Var è se is an example of a composer who

(A) criticized electronic music as too noiselike

(B) modified sonic of the electronic instruments he used in his music

(D) wrote music with environmental themes

4. The word it in line 12 refers to

(A) piano

(B) string

(D) music

5. According to the passage , which of the following types of instruments has played a role in

much of the innovation in western music?

(A) string

(B) percussion

(D) brass

6. The word thereby in line 20 is closest in meaning to

(A) in return for

(B) in spite of

(D) by that means

7. According to the passage , Krzysztof Penderecki is known for which of the following practices?

(A) Using tones that are clumped together

(B) Combining traditional and nontradinonal instruments

(D) Playing Western music for non-Western audiences

8. According to the passage , which of the following would be considered traditional elements of

Western music?

(A) microtones

(B) tom-toms and bongos

(D) hisses

9. In paragraph 3, the author mentions diagrams as an example of a new way to

(A) chart the history of innovation in musical notation

(B) explain the logic of standard musical notation

(D) indicate how particular sounds should be produced

PASSAGE 54 ACCBB DACD

In 1903 the members of the governing board of the University of Washington, in Seattle, engaged a firm of landscape architects, specialists in the design of outdoor environment — Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts — to advise them on an appropriate layout for the university grounds. The plan impressed the university officials, and in time many of its recommendations were implemented. City officials in Seattle, the largest city in the northwestern United States, were also impressed, for they employed the same organization to study Seattle's public park needs. John Olmsted did the investigation and subsequent report on Seattle's parks. He and his brothers believed that parks should be adapted to the local topography, utilize the area's trees and shrubs, and be available to the entire community. They especially emphasized the need for natural, serene settings where hurried urban dwellers could periodically escape from the city. The essence of the Olmsted park plan was to develop a continuous driveway, twenty miles long, that would tie together a whole series of parks, playgrounds, and parkways. There would be local parks and squares, too, but all of this was meant to supplement the major driveway, which was to remain the unifying factor for the entire system.

In November of 1903 the city council of Seattle adopted the Olmsted Report, and it automatically became the master plan for the city's park system. Prior to this report, Seattle's park development was very limited and funding meager. All this changed after the report. Between 1907 and 1913, city voters approved special funding measures amounting to $4,000,000. With such unparalleled sums at their disposal, with the Olmsted guidelines to follow, and with the added incentive of wanting to have the city at its best for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, the Parks Board bought aggressively. By 1913 Seattle had 25 parks amounting to 1,400 acres, as well as 400 acres in playgrounds, pathways, boulevards, and triangles. More lands would be added in the future, but for all practical purposes it was the great land surge of 1907-1913 that established Seattle's park system.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The planned development of Seattle's public park system

(B) The organization of the Seattle city government

(D) The design and building of the University of Washington campus

2. The word engaged in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) trained

(B) hired

(D) evaluated

3. The word subsequent in line 8 is closest in meaning to

(A) complicated

(B) alternate

(D) detailed

4. Which of the following statements about parks does NOT reflect the views of the Olmsted

Brothers firm?

(A) They should be planted with trees that grow locally.

(B) They should provide a quiet, restful environment.

(D) They should be designed to conform to the topography of the area.

5. Why does the author mention local parks and squares in lines 14 when talking about the

Olmsted plan?

(A) To emphasize the difficulties facing adoption of the plan

(B) To illustrate the comprehensive nature of the plan

(D) To describe Seattle's landscape prior to implementation of the plan

6. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about how citizens of Seattle received

the Olmsted Report?

(A) They were hostile to the report's conclusions.

(B) They ignored the Olmsted's findings.

(D) They favored the city council's seeking advice from another firm.

7. According to the passage , when was the Olmsted Report officially accepted as the master plan

for the Seattle public park system?

(A) 1903

(B) 1907

(D) 1913

8. The word sums in line 20 is closest in meaning to

(A) problems

(B) amounts

(D) debts

9. According to the passage , which of the following was most directly influenced by the

Alaska-Yukon- Pacific Exposition?

(A) The University of Washington

(B) Brookline, Massachusetts

(D) The Seattle Parks Board

PASSAGE 55 ABCCB CABD

Often enough the craft worker's place of employment in ancient Greece was set in rural isolation. Potter, for instance, found it convenient to locate their workshops near their source of clay, regardless of its relation to the center of settlement. At Corinth and Athens, however, two of the best-known potters' quarters were situated on the cities' outskirts, and potters and makers of terra-cotta figurines were also established well within the city of Athens itself. The techniques of pottery manufacture had evolved well before the Greek period, but marked stylistic developments occurred in shape and in decoration, for example, in the interplay of black and other glazes with the red surface of the fired pot. Athenian black-figure and red-figure decoration, which emphasized human figures rather than animal images, was adopted between 630 and 530 B.C.; its distinctive color and luster were the result of the skillful adjustments of the kiln's temperature during an extended three-stage period if firing the clayware. Whether it was the potters or the vase-painters who initiated changes in firing is unclear, the functions of making and decorating were usually divided between them, but neither group can have been so specialized that they did not share in the concerns of the other.

The broad utility of terra-cotta was such that workers in clay could generally afford to confine themselves to either decorated ware and housewares like cooking pots and storage jars or building materials like roof tiles and drainpipes. Some sixth- and fifth-century B.C. Athenian pottery establishments are known to have concentrated on a limited range of fine ware, but a rural pottery establishment on the island of Thasos produced many types of pottery and roof tiles too, presumably to meet local demand. Molds were used to create particular effects for some products, such as relief-decorated vessels and figurines; for other products such as roof tiles, which were in some quantity, they were used to facilitate mass production. There were also a number of poor-quality figurines and painted pots produced in quantity by easy, inexpensive means — as numerous featureless statuettes and unattractive cases testify.

1. The passage mainly discusses ancient Greek pottery and its

(A) production techniques

(B) similarity to other crafts

(D) resemblance to earlier pottery

2. The phrase regardless of in line 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) as a result of

(B) no matter what

(D) according to

3. It can be inferred from the passage that most pottery establishments in ancient Greece were

situated

(A) in city centers

(B) on the outskirts of cities

(D) near other potters' workshops

4. The word marked in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) original

(B) attractive

(D) patterned

5. The word confine in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) adapt

(B) train

(D) organize

6. It can be inferred from the passage that terra-cotta had which of the following advantages

(A) It did not break during the firing process.

(B) It was less expensive than other available materials.

(D) It could be used for many purposes.

7. The word presumably in line 21 is closest in meaning to

(A) frequently

(B) practically

(D) probably

8. The word they in line 24 refers to

(A) molds

(B) particular effects

(D) vessels and figurines

9. According to the passage , all of the following are true of ancient Greek potters and vase

painters EXCEPT:

(A) Their functions were so specialized that they lacked common concerns.

(B) They sometimes produced inferior ware.

(D) They decorated many of their works with human images.

PASSAGE 57 ABCCC DDAA

Hunting is at best a precarious way of procuring food, even when the diet is supplemented with seeds and fruits. Not long after the last Ice Age, around 7,000 B.C. (during the Neolithic period), some hunters and gatherers began to rely chiefly on agriculture for their sustenance. Others continued the old pastoral and nomadic ways. Indeed, agriculture itself evolved over the course of time, and Neolithic peoples had long known how to grow crops. The real transformation of human life occurred when huge numbers of people began to rely primarily and permanently on the grain they grew and the animals they domesticated.

Agriculture made possible a more stable and secure life. With it Neolithic peoples flourished, fashioning an energetic, creative era. They were responsible for many fundamental inventions and innovations that the modern world takes for granted. First, obviously, is systematic agriculture — that is, the reliance of Neolithic peoples on agriculture as their primary, not merely subsidiary, source of food.

Thus they developed the primary economic activity of the entire ancient world and the basis of all modern life. With the settled routine of Neolithic farmers came the evolution of towns and eventually cities. Neolithic farmers usually raised more food than they could consume, and their surpluses permitted larger, healthier populations. Population growth in turn created an even greater reliance on settled farming, as only systematic agriculture could sustain the increased numbers of people. Since surpluses of food could also be bartered for other commodities, the Neolithic era witnessed the beginnings of large-scale exchange of goods. In time the increasing complexity of Neolithic societies led to the development of writing, prompted by the need to keep records and later by the urge to chronicle experiences, learning, and beliefs.

The transition to settled life also had a profound impact on the family. The shared needs and pressures that encourage extended-family ties are less prominent in settled than in nomadic societies. Bonds to the extended family weakened. In towns and cities, the nuclear family was more dependent on its immediate neighbors than on kinfolk.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) Why many human societies are dependent on agriculture

(B) the changes agriculture brought to human life

(D) Why the first agricultural societies failed

2. The word precarious in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) uncertain

(B) humble

(D) unusual

3. The author mentions seeds and fruits in line 2 as examples of

(A) the first crops cultivated by early agricultural societies

(B) foods eaten by hunters and gatherers as a secondary food source

(D) the most common foods cultivated by early agricultural societies

4. The word settled in line 15 is closest in meaning to

(A) advanced

(B) original

(D) stable

5. According to the passage , agricultural societies produced larger human populations because

agriculture

(A) created more varieties of food

(B) created food surpluses

(D) encouraged bartering

6. According to the passage , all of the following led to the development of writing EXCEPT the

(A) need to keep records

(B) desire to write down beliefs

(D) growth of social complexity

7. The word chronicle in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) repeat

(B) exchange

(D) describe

8. According to the passage , how did the shift to agricultural societies impact people's family

relationships?

(A) The extended family became less important.

(B) Immediate neighbors often became family members.

(D) Family members began to wok together to raise food.

9. The author mentions all of the following as results of the shift to agricultural societies EXCEPT

(A) an increase in invention and innovation

(B) emergence of towns and cities

(D) a decrease in warfare

10. Which of the following is true about the human diet prior to the Neolithic period?

(A) It consisted mainly of agricultural products

(B) It varied according to family size.

(D) It was transformed when large numbers of people no longer depended on the grain they grew

themselves.

PASSAGE 58 BABDB CDADC

The economic depression in the late-nineteenth-century United States contributed significantly to a growing movement in literature toward realism and naturalism. After the 1870's, a number of important authors began to reject the romanticism that had prevailed immediately following the Civil War of 1861-1865 and turned instead to realism. Determined to portray life as it was, with fidelity to real life and accurate representation without idealization, they studied local dialects, wrote stories which focused on life in specific regions of the country, and emphasized the true relationships between people. In doing so, they reflected broader trends in the society, such as industrialization, evolutionary theory which emphasized the effect of the environment on humans, and the influence of science.

Realists such as Joel Chandler Harris and Ellen Glasgow depicted life in the South, Hamlin Garland described life on the Great Plains, and Sarah Orne Jewett wrote about everyday life in rural New England. Another realist, Bret Harte, achieved fame with stories that portrayed local life in the California mining camps. Samuel Clemens, who adopted the pen name Mark Twain, became the country's most outstanding realist author, observing life around him with a humorous and skeptical eye. In his stories and novels, Twain drew on his own experiences and used dialect and common speech instead of literary language, touching off a major change in American prose style.

Other writers became impatient even with realism. Pushing evolutionary theory to its limits, they wrote of a world in which a cruel and merciless environment determined human fate. These writers, called naturalists, often focused on economic hardship, studying people struggling with poverty, and other aspects of urban and industrial life. Naturalists brought to their writing a passion for direct and honest experience.

Theodore Dreiser, the foremost naturalist writer, in novels such as Sister Carrie, grimly portrayed a dark world in which human beings were tossed about by forces beyond their understanding or control. Dreiser thought that writers should tell the truth about human affairs, not fabricate romance, and Sister Carrie, he said, was not intended as a piece of literary craftsmanship, but was a picture of conditions.

1. Which aspect of late-nineteenth-century United States literature does the passage mainly

discuss?

(A) The influence of science on literature

(B) The importance of dialects for realist writers

(D) The effects of industrialization on romanticism

2. The word prevailed in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) dominated

(B) transformed

(D) generalized

3. The word they in line 8 refers to

(A) authors

(B) dialects