新托福阅读真经5

精选文库Passage Agricultural Society in Eighteenth-Century British AmericaP1: Throughout the colonial period, most Northerners, especially New Englanders,depended on the land for a livelihood, although a living had literally to be wrested from the earth. Community lands were used for grazing and logging (people could petition the town for the right to cut wood). Agriculture was the predominant occupation, and what industrial and commercial activity there was revolved almost entirely around materials extracted from the land, the forests, and the ocean.P2: At the end of the eighteenth century, approximately 90 percent of all Americans earned a major portion of their living by farming. Generally, high ratios of land and other natural resources to labor generated exceptionally high levels of output per worker in the colonies. Located between the Potomac and the Hudson rivers, the Middle Colonies were, on the whole, fertile and readily tillable, and therefore enjoyed a comparative advantage in the production of grains and other foodstuffs. Most production in the New World was for the colonists own consumption, but sizable proportions of colonial goods and services were produced for commercial exchange. In time, New England colonists had tapped into a sprawling Atlantic trade network that connected them to the English homeland as well as the West African Slave Coast, the Caribbeans plantation islands, and the Iberian Peninsula.1. Paragraph 1 mentions all of the following as economic activities that New Englanders practiced EXCEPT A growing crops B raising animals C trading goods D cutting timber2. Paragraph 1 and Passage 2 support all of the following statements about the economies in colonial period EXCEPT A The northern colonies engaged in international trade. B The middle colonies had agricultural advantages the northern colonies did not. C The northern colonists earned their living by farming D The middle colonies were less prosperous than the northern colonies.3. According to paragraph2, what can be inferred about New Englanders at the end of the eighteenth century? A They wanted to connect with their homeland. B They prepared products for international trade. C They could not be self-sufficient on grains. D They produced most of the goods in the New World. 4. The word “sizable” in the passage is closet in meaning to A mixed B enormous C growing D constantP3: In the North, land was seemingly limitless in extent and therefore not highly priced, and almost every colonist wanted to be a landholder. The widespread ownership of land distinguished farming society in Colonial America from every other agricultural region of the Western world. Equal access to land ownership in this early period made it possible for most men other than indentured servants to purchase or inherit a farm of at least 50 acres. The North was developed as a rigidly hierarchical society in which status was determined by or at least strongly correlated with the extent to which one owned, controlled, or labored on land.5. According to paragraph 3 in what way did farming society in the northern colonies differ from farming societies in the rest of the Western world? A The differences between social classes were much greater. B People lived much closer together. C The proportion of land owners was much higher. D Many more families had servants.P4: The eighteenth century witnessed a sharp rise in population, which left many faced with the harsh reality of an increasingly limited supply of land; this was especially true in New England, where farms inherited from prior generations could not be divided and subdivided indefinitely. An example of this principle in action was the life of Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts, a proprietor of the town, who had significant civic responsibilities, including road-building, militia duty, and fence-viewing, and who received parcels of land in return for his investment and work. By 1653, he owned over 55 acres and ranked twelfth of 78 property owners in terms of the size of his holdings. Eventually, the Richards family controlled several hundred acres of land, enough for Nathaniel Richards, Edwards son, to give 80-acre farms to two sons while a third retained the central farm after his death. In this way, the average farm would shrink by two thirds in a century.6. The word “indefinitely” in the passage is closet in meaning toA fairlyB safelyC more than onceD without limit7. Why does author include a discussion of “Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts”A To give an example of the type of inheritance farm owners generally provided for their sons.B To help explain why the farms started by the founders averaged at least 250 acres.C To indicate that New England farms were always inherited by the oldest sons from their fathers.D To help illustrate how limited the overall land supply was in New England.P5: The decreasing fertility of the soil compounded the problem of dwindling farm size in New England. When land had been plentiful, farmers had planted crops in the same field for three years and then let it lie fallow in pasture seven years or more until it regained its fertility. On the smaller farms of the eighteenth century, however, farmers reduced fallow time to only a year or two. Such intense use of the soil reduced crop yields, forcing farmers to plow marginal land or shift to livestock production.8. The word “compounded” in the passage is closet in meaning toA added toB resulted fromC led toD occurred before9. According to paragraph5, what causes the crop yields in New England to fail? A The shift to livestock production by many farmers. B The decreased amount of time that fields were left fallow. C The practice of planting crops in the same field for three years in a row. D The reduced size of the average field.P6: Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what little land they had. The diminishing size and productivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificant portion of the regions total commercial output for sale (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with other intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled trades of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.10. According to paragraph 6 why did many New Englanders move out of the area in the eighteenth century A They wanted to live in towns rather than on farms. B Their farms no longer provided them with good living. C There was unequal distribution of males and females in New England. D They were being crowded out by migrants from outside New England.11. The word “endeavor” in the passage is closet in meaning to A effect B improvement C effort D accelerator12. Why does the author include the information about the “intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving” that northern cultivators engaged in?A To suggest that northern cultivators were not as skilled at agricultural work as southern cultivators were.B To indicate an economic effect of the shorter northern growing season on northern cultivators.C To challenge the claim that work routines in the north were less intense than they were in the south.D To emphasize that northern workers tried to change their agriculturally centered economy.P6: Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what little land they had. The diminishing size and productivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificant portion of the regions total commercial output for sale. (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with other intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled trades of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.13. Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. By the end of the eighteenth century, New England was a net importer of food and fiber. Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text.In eighteenth century British America agriculture was more productive and profitable in the middle colonies than in New England.Answer ChoicesA By the mid-eighteenth century shipping had become important to the economy of the middle colonies where farmers produced large surpluses of foodstuffs for trade with Europe and elsewhere.B The labor provided by indentured servants allowed most New England farmers to raise enough food and livestock to earn a living and leave a comfortable inheritance for their children.C Declining farm size forced farmers to greatly reduce the time fields were left fallow, and this more intensive use of relatively poor soil resulted in seriously decreased fertility and lowered crop yields.D Land ownership was far more important to New Englanders than to people in the middle colonies because it was necessary for political rights and economic independence only in the North.E Land ownership was widespread in the North but a shortage of farmland and the practice of dividing family farms among the sons had left the average farm barely big enough to support a family.F The reduced size and productivity of northern farms forced many farmers to move to other regions or to take up other occupations at least during those periods when little work was required on a farm.Answers Passage 1.C 2.D 3.B 4.B 5.C 6.D 7.D 8.A 9.B 10.B 11.C 12.B 13.C 14. C E FExplanations 1.【否定事实信息题】第一段提到放牧、砍柴、农业种植，而没有提到贸易。2.【否定事实信息题】第一、二两段提到新英格兰人，也就是北方殖民地居民参与到贸易当中；中部殖民地的土壤更肥沃，所以在农业上比北方有优势；新英格兰人靠农业生存。 3.【推断题】文中提到在新大陆，生产大多数是为了满足自己的日常消耗，但是还有很大一部分的产品被生产出来是为了商业贸易。因为新英格兰人加入了贸易组织，所以他们应该准备了贸易的货物。4.【词汇题】sizable意为“相当大的”。 5.【事实信息题】文中提到北方的农耕社会与西方世界不同的地方在于北方有更多人拥有土地。 6.【词汇题】indefinitely 意为“无限地”。 7.【修辞目的题】前文提到越来越多的人口使得土地供应越来越有限，从先辈那里继承来的土地不能一再分割，尤其是在新英格兰，所以作者提到该地区的例子是为了说明新英格兰土地非常有限。 8.【词汇题】compound意为“加重，恶化”。 9.【事实信息题】文中提到当土地很多的时候，土地的休耕时间在七年左右或者直到土地重新变得肥沃，而后来土地减少，休耕时间只有一两年，所以土地使用强度过大导致土地产量下降。 10.【事实信息题】文中提到家庭农场的规模以及生产力的下降迫使新英格兰人在18世纪搬去其他地方，所以他们搬走是因为家庭农场再也不能满足他们的生活需要。 11.【词汇题】endeavor 意为“努力”。12.【修辞目的题】前文提到作物的生长期较短，只有春季种植与秋季收割时才需要不停地劳作，于是很多北方的种植者会间断性地从事一些其他工作，所以作者提到其他阶段性的工作是为了说明较短的生长期给北方种植者带来的经济方面的影响。 13.【句子插入题】空前提到农业对新英格兰很重要，但是在商业出口方面却没有太多贡献，而且在18世纪末，新英格兰甚至只进口产品，所以空后讲它必须找到其他的经济模式。14.【文章总结题】本文主要介绍了18世纪美洲殖民地农业社会的一些变化及特征。当时土地私有，但是随着土地被分给下一代，农场的土地就少的不足以养活整个家庭；因为土地变少，休耕的时间也随之变短，导致土地贫瘠，产量下降；越来越多的人被迫离开，北方庄稼生长期比较短，所以除了春秋季节人们忙于农耕，其余时间也要从事一些其他职业。所以涉及到当时农业社会变化的C、E、F三个选项正确，A 、B 、D三个选项属于细节偏离主旨，或者与文章内容不一致。参考译文18世纪英属美洲殖民地的农业社会在整个殖民统治时期，即使从土地中谋生存真的很艰难，但是大多数北方人尤其是新英格兰人还是依靠种地生活。集体土地被用来放牧、砍伐木材（人民可以向镇上申请砍伐树木的权利）。务农是最普遍的职业，而且当地工业以及商业活动所用的材料几乎都