TOEFL阅读真题

1、toefl阅读真题 为了让大家更好的准备托福考试，给大家整理一些托福阅读真题，下面就和大家分享，来欣赏一下吧。托福阅读真题1passage 40according to anthropologists, people in preindustrial societies spent 3 to 4 hours per day or about 20 hours per week doing the work necessary for life. modern comparisons of the amount of work performed per week, however, begin

2、 with the industrial revolution (1760-1840) when 10- to 12-hour workdays with six workdays per week were the norm. even with extensive time devoted to work, however, both incomes and standards of living were low. as incomes rose near the end of the industrial revolution, it became increasingly commo

3、n to treat saturday afternoons as a half-day holiday. the half holiday had become standard practice in britain by the 1870s, but did not become common in the united states until the 1920s.in the united states, the first third of the twentieth century saw the workweek move from 60 hours per week to j

4、ust under 50 hours by the start of the 1930s. in 1914 henry ford reduced daily work hours at his automobile plants from 9 to 8. in 1926 he announced that henceforth his factories would close for the entire day on saturday. at the time, ford received criticism from other firms such as united states s

5、teel and westinghouse, but the idea was popular with workers.the depression years of the 1930s brought with them the notion of job sharing to spread available work around; the workweek dropped to a modem low for the united states of 35 hours. in 1938 the fair labor standards act mandated a weekly ma

6、ximum of 40 hours to begin in 1940, and since that time the 8-hour day, 5-day workweek has been the standard in the united states. adjustments in various places, however, show that this standard is not immutable. in 1987, for example, german metalworkers struck for and received a 37.5-hour workweek;

7、 and in 1990 many workers in britain won a 37-hour week. since 1989, the japanese government has moved from a 6- to a 5-day workweek and has set a national target of 1,800 work hours per year for the average worker. the average amount of work per year in japan in 1989 was 2,088 hours per worker, com

8、pared to 1,957 for the united states and 1,646 for france.1. what does the passage mainly discuss?(a) why people in preindustrial societies worked few hours per week(b) changes that have occurred in the number of hours that people work per week(c) a comparison of the number of hours worked per year

9、in several industries(d) working conditions during the industrial revolution2. compared to preiudustrial times, the number of hours in the workweek in the nineteenth century(a) remained constant(b) decreased slightly(c) decreased significantly(d) increased significantly3. the word norm in line 5 is

10、closest in meaning to(a) minimum.(b) example(c) possibility(d) standard4. the word henceforth in line 13 is closest in meaning to(a) in the end(b) for a brief period(c) from that time on(d) on occasion5. the idea mentioned in line 15 refers to(a) the 60-hour workweek(b) the reduction in the cost of

11、automobiles(c) the reduction in the workweek at some automobile factories(d) the criticism of ford by united states steel and westinghouse6. what is one reason for the change in the length of the workweek for the average worker in theunited states during the 1930s?(a) several people sometimes shared

12、 a single job.(b) labor strikes in several countries influenced labor policy in the united states.(c) several corporations increased the length of the workweek.(d) the united states government instituted a 35-hour workweek.7. which of the following is mentioned as one of the purposes of the fair lab

13、or standards act of1938 ?(a) to discourage workers from asking for increased wages(b) to establish a limit on the number of hours in the workweek(c) to allow employers to set the length of the workweek for their workers(d) to restrict trade with countries that had a long workweek8. the word mandated

14、 in line 18 is closest in meaning to(a) required(b) recommended(c) eliminated(d) considered9. the word immutable in line 21 is closest in meaning to(a) unmatched(b) irregular(c) unnecessary(d) unchangeable10. which of the following is not mentioned as evidence that the length of the workweek hasbeen

15、 declining since the nineteenth century?(a) the half-day holiday (line 7)(b) henry ford (lines 11-12)(c) united states steel and westinghouse (line 14-15)(d) german metalworkers (line 21)11. according to the passage , one goal of the japanese government is to reduce the averageannual amount of work

16、to(a) 1,646 hours(b) 1,800 hours(c) 1,957 hours(d) 2,088 hourspassage 40 bddcc abadcb托福阅读真题2passage 41biological diversity has become widely recognized as a critical conservation issue only in the past two decades. the rapid destruction of the tropical rain forests, which are the ecosystems with the

17、 highest known species diversity on earth, has awakened people to the importance and fragility of biological diversity. the high rate of species extinctions in these environments is jolting, but it is important to recognize the significance of biological diversity in all ecosystems. as the human pop

18、ulation continues to expand, it will negatively affect one after another of earths ecosystems. in terrestrial ecosystems and in fringe marine ecosystems (such as wetlands), the most common problem is habitat destruction. in most situations, the result is irreversible. now humans are beginning to des

19、troy marine ecosystems through other types of activities, such as disposal and run off of poisonous waste; in less than two centuries, by significantly reducing the variety of species on earth, they have unraveled cons of evolution and irrevocably redirected its course.certainly, there have been per

20、iods in earths history when mass extinctions have occurred. the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by some physical event, either climatic or cosmic. there have also been less dramatic extinctions, as when natural competition between species reached an extreme conclusion. only .01 percent of the

21、 species that have lived on earth have survived to the present, and it was largely chance that determined which species survived and which died out.however, nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the physical and chemical world and demolishing the e

22、nvironment. in fact, there is wide agreement that it is the rate of change humans are inflicting, even more than the changes themselves, that will lead to biological devastation. life on earth has continually been in flux as slow physical and chemical changes have occurred on earth, but life needs t

23、ime to adapt time for migration and genetic adaptation within existing species and time for the proliferation of new genetic material and new species that may be able to survive in new environments.1. what does the passage mainly discuss?(a) the causes of the extinction of the dinosaur(b) the variet

24、y of species found in tropical rain forests.(c) the impact of human activities on earths ecosystems(d) the time required for species to adapt to new environments2. the word critical in line 1 is closest in meaning to(a) negative(b) essential(c) interesting(d) complicated3. the word jolting in line 5

25、 is closest in meaning to(a) predicted(b) shocking(c) unknown(d) illuminating4. the author mentions the reduction of the variety of species on earth in line 12 to suggest that(a) new habitats can be created for species(b) humans are often made ill by polluted water(c) some species have been made ext

26、inct by human activity(d) an understanding of evolution can prevent certain species from disappearing5. the author mentions all of the following as examples of the effect of humans oil the worldsecosystems except(a) destruction of the tropical rain forests(b) habitat destruction in wetlands(c) damag

27、e to marine ecosystems(d) the introduction of new varieties of plant species6. the author mentions the extinction of the dinosaurs in the second paragraph to emphasizethat(a) the cause of the dinosaurs extinction is unknown(b) earths climate has changed significantly since the dinosaurs extinction,(

28、c) not all mass extinctions have been caused by human activity(d) actions by humans could not stop the irreversible process of a species extinction7. the word magnitude in line 20 is closest in meaning to(a) concern(b) determination(c) carelessness(d) extent8. according to the passage , natural evol

29、utionary change is different from changes caused byhumans in that changes caused by humans(a) are occurring at a much faster rate(b) are less devastating to most species(c) affect fewer ecosystems(d) are reversible9. with which of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?(a)

30、 human influence on ecosystems should not be a factor in determining public policy.(b) the extinction of a few species is an acceptable consequence of human progress.(c) technology will provide solutions to problems caused by the destruction of ecosystems.(d) humans should be more conscious of the i

31、nfluence they have on ecosystemspassage 41 cbbcd cdad托福阅读真题3passage 42railroads reshaped the north american environment and reoriented north american behavior. in a quarter of a century, claimed the omaha daily republican in 1883, they have made the people of the united states homogeneous, breaking

32、through the peculiarities and provincialisms which marked separate and unmingling sections.the railroad simultaneously stripped the landscape of the natural resources, made velocity of transport and economy of scale necessary parts of industrial production, and carried consumer goods to households;

33、it dispatched immigrants to unsettled places, drew emigrants away from farms and villages to cities, and sent men and guns to battle. it standardized time and travel, seeking to annihilate distance and space by allowing movement at any time and in any season or type of weather. in its grand and impr

34、essive terminals and stations, architects recreated historic roman temples and public baths, french chateaus and italian bell towers edifices that people used as stages for many of everyday lifes high emotions: meeting and parting, waiting and worrying, planning new starts or coming home.passenger t

35、erminals, like the luxury express trains that hurled people over spots, spotlight the romance of railroading. (the twentieth-century limited sped between chicago and new york in twenty hours by 1915). equally important to everyday life were the slow freight trans chugging through industrial zones, t

36、he morning and evening commuter locals shuttling back ions and urban terminals, and the incessant comings and goings that occurred in the classifications, or switching, yards. moreover, in addition to its being a transportation pathway equipped with a mammoth physical plant of tracks signals, crossi

37、ngs, bridges, and junctions, plus telegraph and telephone lines the railroad nurtured factory complexes, coat piles, warehouses, and generating stations, forming along its right-of-way what has aptly been called the metropolitan corridor of the american landscape.1. what does the passage mainly disc

38、uss?(a) the influence of ancient architecture on the design of railroad terminals(b) the importance of natural resources in the development of railroads(c) the railroads impact on daily life in the united states in the nineteenth century(d) technological improvements in the area of communication in

39、the nineteenth century2. it can be inferred from the quote from the omaha daily republican (line 2-4) that railroads(a) made all sections of the nation much wealthier(b) brought more unity to what had been a fragmented nation(c) reduced dependence on natural resources(d) had no effect on the environment of the un