托福听力真题训练香料的作用.doc

托福听力真题训练：香料的作用小马过河为大家准备了“托福听力真题训练：香料的作用”，供各位备考托福的考生们参考使用，来提高自己的托福成绩！免费咨询电话：400-0123-267Part 1: Question1. What is the main purpose of the lecture?A. To explore the use of spices in cooking in the Middle AgesB. To explain the significance of spices for medieval societyC. To describe how the spice trade evolved in medieval EuropeD. To examine changes in the role that spices played in the Middle Ages2. Based on the lecture, indicate whether each of the following is true about spices inmedieval Europe.3. What two factors explain why medieval Europeans did not use spices to cover thetaste of spoiled meat?Click on 2 answersA. Fresh meat was less expensive than spices wereB. Spices were mainly used in incense and perfumeC. The sale of spoiled food was prohibitedD. Salt was cheaper than most spices were4. Why does the professor mention the collapse of the Roman Empire?A. To indicate that the spice trade became more directB. To explain why the price of pepper suddenly increasedC. To indicate that spices were not available in Europe for centuriesD. To explain why the origins of spices became more mysterious5. What does the professor say about European explorers during the age of discovery?A. Their discoveries caused the price of certain spices to increase.B. They were responding to the demand for spices.C. They did not expect to find spices during their explorations.D. Their main goal was to discover unknown lands.6. Why does the professor say thisA. To indicate that pepper was commonly used as paymentB. To indicate where pepper could be found at the timeC. To emphasize the high value of pepper at the timeD. To suggest that pepper was nearly as plentiful as goldPart 2: PassageNarratorListen to part of a lecture in a European history class.Professor:In order to really study the social history of the Middle Ages, you have to understandthe role of spices. Now, this might sound a little surprising, even a little strange. Butwhat seem like little things now were back then actually rather big things. So firstlets define what a spice is.Technically speaking, a spice is part of an aromatic plant that is not a leaf or herb.Spices can come from tree bark like cinnamon, plant roots like ginger, flower budslike cloves. And in the Middle Ages, Europeans were familiar with lots of differentspices, the most important being pepper, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, maize and nutmeg.These spices literarily dominated the way Europeans lived for centuries, how theytraded and even how they used their imaginations.So why this medieval fascination with spices? We can boil it down to three generalideas briefly. One was cost and rarity. Uh two was exotic taste and fragrance. Andthird, mysterious origins and kind of mythical status. Now for cost and rarity, spicesarent native to Europe and they had to be imported. Spices only grew in the EastIndies and of course transportation costs were astronomical, so spices were incrediblyvaluable even from the very beginning. Here is an example. In 408 AD, the GothicGeneral who captured Rome demanded payment. He wanted 5000 pounds of goldamong other things but he also wanted 3000 pounds of pepper. Maybe that wouldgive you an idea of exactly where pepper stood at the time. By the Middle Ages,spices were regarded as so important and expensive they were used in diplomacy, asgifts by heads of state and ambassadors.Now for the taste. The diet then was relatively bland, compared to todays. Therewasnt much variety. Especially the aristocracy who tended to eat a lot of meat, theywere always looking for new ways to prepare it, new sources, new tastes and this iswhere spices came in. Now, this is a good point to mention one of the biggest mythsabout spices. Its commonly said that medieval Europeans wanted spices to cover upthe taste of spoiled meat. But this isnt really true. Anyone who had to worry aboutspoiled meat couldnt afford spices in the first place. If you could afford spices, youcould definitely afford fresh meat. We also have evidence that various medievalmarkets employed a kind of police to make sure that people did not sell spoiled food,and if you were caught doing it, you were subject to various fines, humiliating publicpunishments. So what actually was true was this: In order to have meat for the winter,people would preserve it in salt, not a spice. Spices actually arent very effective aspreservatives. And throughout winter, they would eat salted meat, but the taste of thestuff could grow really boring and depressing after a while. So the cook startedlooking for new ways to improve the taste and spices were the answer, which bringsus to mysterious origins and mythical status.Now the ancient Romans had a thriving spice trade and they sent their ships to theeast and back. But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Agesbegan, direct trade stopped, and so did that kind of hands-on knowledge of travel andgeography. Spices now came by way of the trade routes with lots of intermediariesbetween the producer and the consumer. So these spices took on an air of mystery.Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown, ofwild places. Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely offood and spices. Add to that, spices themselves had always been considered special ormagical not just for eating and this was already true in the ancient world wherelegends about spices were abundant. Spices inspired the medieval imagination. Theywere used as medicines to ward off diseases, and mixed into perfumes, incents. Theywere used in religious rituals for thousands of years. They took on a life of their ownand they inspired the medieval imagination, spurred on the age of discovery in the15th and 16th centuries. When famous explorers like Columbus and da Gama andMagellan left Europe in their ships, they werent looking for a new world, they werelooking for spices. And we know what important historical repercussions some ofthose voyages had.Part 3: Answer1.B2.Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No3.AC4.D5.B6.CPart 4: Words1. role 角色，地位2. spice 香料3. spur 激励，鞭策4. strange 奇怪的5. define 确定，界定6. technically 严密地来说7. aromatic 芳香的8. leaf 叶子9. herb 草本植物10. cinnamon 桂皮11. bark 树皮12. root 根13. ginger 生姜14. bud 苞，芽15. cloves 丁香16. familiar 熟悉17. pepper 辣椒18. maize 玉米19. nutmeg 肉豆蔻20. literarily 字面上地21. dominated 主要的22. century 世纪23. trade 贸易24. imagination 想象力25. medieval 中世纪的26. fascination 入迷27. general 将军28. briefly 简短的29. rarity 稀有，罕见30. exotic 引进的 ， 外国的31. taste 滋味，味道32. fragrance 芳香，香味33. mysterious 神秘的34. origin 起点，起源35. status 身份，地位36. native 本土的37. import 进口38. transportation 运输39. incredibly 难以置信地40. valuable 贵重的41. Gothic 将军的名字 ： 哥特42. captured 俘获43. demand 要求44. payment 支付45. pound 磅46. diplomacy 外交术47. ambassador 大使48. bland (食物) 淡而无味49. aristocracy 贵族 ， 统治阶级50. myth 神话51. definitely 明确地52. punishment 处罚53. repercussion 后果，反响54. voyage 航程题目解析1. What is the main purpose of the lecture?A. To explore the use of spices in cooking in the Middle Ages.B. To explain the significance of spices for medieval society.C. To describe how the spice trade evolved in medieval Europe.D. To examine changes in the role that spices played in the Middle Ages.相关原文In order to really study the social history of the Middle Ages, you have to understand the role ofspices.解析文章主要解释香料对于中世纪欧洲的重要作用。正确答案B2. Based on the lecture, indicate whether each of the following is true about spices in medievalEurope.相关原文Now for cost and rarity, spices arent native to Europe and they had to be imported.By the Middle Ages, spices were regarded as so important and expensive they were used indiplomacy, as gifts by heads of state and ambassadors.They were used as medicines to ward off diseases.解析文中对于香料在中世纪时期的作用和性质做了介绍，主要有，需要进口，昂贵，用于改善食物口味，具有药用价值。正确答案YYNYN3. What two factors explain why medieval Europeans did not use spices to cover the taste ofspoiled meat.Click on 2 answers.A. Fresh meat was less expensive than spices were.B. Spices were mainly used in incense and perfume.C. The sale of spoiled food was prohibited.D. Salt was cheaper than most spices were.相关原文Anyone who had to worry about spoiled meat couldnt afford spices in the first place. If you couldafford spices,you could definitely afford fresh meat. We also have evidence that various medieval marketsemployed a kind ofpolice to make sure that people did not sell spoiled food, and if you were caught doing it, youwere subject tovarious fines, humiliating public punishments.解析首先，能够买得起香料的人，一定能够买得起新鲜的肉;其次，市场上也不允许卖坏掉的食物。正确答案AC4. Why does the professor mention the collapse of the Roman Empire?A. To indicate that the spice trade became more direct.B. To explain why the price of pepper suddenly increased.C. To indicate that spices were not available in Europe for centuries.D. To explain why the origins of spices became more mysterious.相关原文But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Ages began, direct trade stopped,and so did that kindof hands-on knowledge of travel and geography. Spices now came by way of the trade routes withlots of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer. So these spices took on an airof mystery. Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown,of wild places. Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely of foodand spices.解析由于罗马帝国的破灭， 航海技术以及香料的直接贸易就没有了， 因此香料的贸易都是经过多中介的曲折渠道，这就使得香料的来源变得很神秘的原因。正确答案D5. What does the professor say about European explorers during the age of discovery?A. Their discoveries caused the price of certain spices to increase.B. They were responding to the demand for spices.C. They did not expect to find spices during explorations.D. Their main goal was to discover unknown lands.相关原文When famous explorers like Columbus and da Gama and Magellan left Europe in their ships, theywerent lookingfor a new world; they were looking for spices.解析这些探险家出去探险的原因就是出去找香料，这也证明对于香料的需求。正确答案B6. Why does the professor say this: Maybe that would give you an idea of exactly where pepperstood at the time.A. To indicate that pepper was commonly used as payment.B. To indicate where pepper could be found at the time.C. To emphasize the high value of pepper at the time.D. To suggest that pepper was nearly as plentiful as fold.相关原文Maybe that would give you an idea of exactly where pepper stood at the time.解析教授举例说黄金和香料的例子，让学生对于香料当时所处的地位有个了解。正确答案C原文翻译为了真正学习中世纪社会历史， 你需要理解香料的作用。 现在， 这听起来可能有点令人惊讶，甚至有点奇怪。但现在看起来很小的东西回溯到以前真是件大事。所以，首先我们来定义什么事香料。专业上说，一个香料是芳香植物的一部分，芳香植物既不是叶子也不是草药。香料可