2026年托福阅读阅读真题

2026年托福阅读阅读真题

Passage1

Theconceptof"rewilding"hasgainedsignificanttractioninconservationbiologyoverthepasttwodecades.Atitscore,rewildingisanecologicalrestorationstrategythataimstorestoreandprotectnaturalprocessesandcorewildernessareas,oftenbyreintroducingkeystonespeciesorallowingnaturaldisturbancestooccur.Unliketraditionalconservation,whichmayfocusonpreservingaspecificspeciesinamanagedhabitat,rewildingismoreholisticandambitious,seekingtoinitiateself-sustainingecosystemsthatrequireminimalhumaninterventioninthelongterm.

Therearegenerallythreecentralprinciplesguidingrewildingprojects.Thefirstistheconceptof"trophiccascades,"whichdescribesthepowerfulindirecteffectsthatpredatorshaveonecosystems.TheclassicexampleisthereintroductionofwolvestoYellowstoneNationalParkintheUnitedStatesinthe1990s.Thewolvesreducedthepopulationofelk,whichhadbeenover-browsingwillowandaspensaplings.Withtheelkincheck,thevegetationrecovered.Thisledtoincreasedbeaverpopulations(whichrelyonthetrees),whichinturncreatedwetlandhabitatsthroughtheirdams,benefitingnumerousotherspecies.Thewolves'presencethustriggeredacascadeofeffectsthatreshapedthelandscape'sphysicalgeographyandbiodiversity.

Thesecondprincipleinvolvesallowingfornaturaldisturbanceregimes,suchaswildfires,floods,orstorms.Formuchofthe20thcentury,theprevailingpolicyinmanyprotectedareaswastosuppressallfires.However,ecologistsnowunderstandthatmanyecosystemsarefire-dependent.Certainplantseedsonlygerminateafterexposuretointenseheat,andfiresclearoutdeadbiomass,recyclenutrients,andcreateamosaicofhabitatsatdifferentstagesofsuccession.Rewildingadvocatesargueforamanagedapproachthatpermitsthesenaturaldisturbancestoplaytheirecologicalrole,ratherthanseeingthemsolelyasdestructiveeventstobecontrolled.

Thethirdpillaristheimportanceoflarge-scaleconnectivity.Humaninfrastructurelikeroads,cities,andfarmsfragmentshabitatsintoisolated"islands."Thispreventsanimalmigration,reducesgeneticdiversity,andmakespopulationsmorevulnerabletoextinction.Rewildingprojectsoftenproposeandworktowardscreatingwildlifecorridors—stripsofnaturalhabitatthatconnectprotectedareas.Thesecorridorsenablespeciestomoveinresponsetoclimatechange,findnewresources,andmaintaingeneticexchangebetweenpopulations.Ambitiousprojects,suchastheEuropeanGreenBeltortheYellowstonetoYukoninitiative,envisioncontinent-scaleconnectednetworks.

Criticsofrewildingraiseseveralvalidconcerns.Onemajorissueisthepotentialforconflictbetweenreintroducedspecies,particularlylargecarnivores,andhumaninterests.Livestockpredationandfearsforhumansafetycanleadtolocalopposition.Furthermore,theecosystemsweaimto"rewild"oftennolongerhaveatruehistoricalbaselineduetoclimatechange,extinctspecies,andpermanentalterationstosoilandwatersystems.Thechoiceofwhichhistoricalperiodtotargetforrestorationisinherentlyarbitrary.Thereisalsotheriskofunintendedconsequences,whereanintroducedspeciesactsasaninvasivedisruptorratherthanarestorativeforce.

Despitethesechallenges,rewildingrepresentsaparadigmshiftfromdefensive,species-centricconservationtoamoreproactive,ecosystem-basedvision.Itacknowledgesthatsimplysettingasidelandisinsufficientifecologicalprocessesarebroken.Byfocusingonreinstatingkeyprocesses—predation,disturbance,andconnectivity—rewildingaimstobuildresilientecosystemscapableofadaptingtofutureenvironmentalchanges,ultimatelyreducingtheneedforperpetualhumanmanagement.

Questions1-5:FactualInformation

1.Accordingtoparagraph1,howdoesrewildingdifferfromtraditionalconservation?

A)Itfocusesmoreonprotectingindividualendangeredspecies.

B)Itrequiresmoreintensiveandcontinuoushumanmanagement.

C)Itaimsforecosystemsthatcansustainthemselveswithlittlehumanhelp.

D)Itisprimarilyconcernedwithpreventingnaturaldisturbances.

2.TheauthordiscussesthereintroductionofwolvestoYellowstoneprimarilyto:

A)Arguethatpredatorcontrolisnecessaryforecosystemhealth.

B)Provideanexampleofhowakeystonespeciescantriggerwidespreadecologicalchange.

C)Demonstratethefailureoftraditionalconservationmethods.

D)Showhowhumaninterventioncancorrectpastmistakescompletely.

3.Accordingtoparagraph3,whatisthecurrentecologicalunderstandingofwildfiresinmanyecosystems?

A)Theyarealwaysdestructiveandmustbesuppressed.

B)Theyplayacrucialroleinnutrientcyclingandhabitatcreation.

C)Theyareonlybeneficialwhenstartedbyhumanactivity.

D)Theireffectsarelimitedtotheimmediateareatheyburn.

4.Theprimarypurposeofwildlifecorridors,asdiscussedinparagraph4,isto:

A)Providenewareasforurbandevelopment.

B)Isolatespeciestoprotectthemfromdisease.

C)Connectfragmentedhabitatstoallowspeciesmovement.

D)Serveastouristattractionsforecologicaleducation.

5.WhichofthefollowingisNOTmentionedinthepassageasacriticismofrewilding?

A)Potentialforconflictbetweenreintroducedanimalsandhumancommunities.

B)Thedifficultyindetermininganappropriatehistoricalbaselineforrestoration.

C)Thehighfinancialcostcomparedtootherconservationstrategies.

D)Theriskofunintendednegativeconsequencesfromspeciesreintroductions.

Questions6-10:Vocabulary

6.Theword"traction"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)resistance

B)attention

C)popularity

D)friction

7.Theword"holistic"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)expensive

B)comprehensive

C)experimental

D)temporary

8.Theword"suppress"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)study

B)prevent

C)imitate

D)encourage

9.Theword"mosaic"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)asingle,uniformtype

B)abeautifulpainting

C)amixtureofdifferentparts

D)adamagedsection

10.Theword"paradigm"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)problem

B)model

C)limitation

D)cycle

Questions11-13:SentenceSimplification

11.OriginalSentence:Unliketraditionalconservation,whichmayfocusonpreservingaspecificspeciesinamanagedhabitat,rewildingismoreholisticandambitious,seekingtoinitiateself-sustainingecosystemsthatrequireminimalhumaninterventioninthelongterm.

Whichofthefollowingbestexpressestheessentialinformationinthehighlightedsentence?Incorrectchoiceschangethemeaninginimportantwaysorleaveoutessentialinformation.

A)Traditionalconservationandrewildingbothaimtocreateself-sustainingecosystemswithouthumanhelp.

B)Rewildinghasabroadergoalofestablishingindependentecosystems,whiletraditionalconservationoftentargetssinglespeciesincontrolledsettings.

C)Themainambitionoftraditionalconservationistomanagehabitatsholisticallyforspecificspecies.

D)Rewildingrequiresmorehumaninterventionthantraditionalconservationtoachieveitsholisticgoals.

12.OriginalSentence:Criticsofrewildingraiseseveralvalidconcerns,onemajorissuebeingthepotentialforconflictbetweenreintroducedspecies,particularlylargecarnivores,andhumaninterests.

Whichofthefollowingbestexpressestheessentialinformationinthehighlightedsentence?Incorrectchoiceschangethemeaninginimportantwaysorleaveoutessentialinformation.

A)Criticsunanimouslyagreethatreintroducinglargecarnivoresisabadideaduetoinevitablehumanconflict.

B)Onesignificantcriticismisthatthereturnofcertainanimals,likebigpredators,mayleadtoproblemswithpeople.

C)Humaninterestsarealwaysinconflictwiththegoalsofrewilding,accordingtocritics.

D)Theonlyvalidconcernaboutrewildingisrelatedtolargecarnivoresthreateninghumansafety.

Question14:InsertText

Lookatthefoursquares[A],[B],[C],and[D]thatindicatewherethefollowingsentencecouldbeaddedtothepassage.

"Thisfragmentationisaleadingcauseofspeciespopulationdecline."

Wherewouldthesentencebestfit?

AHumaninfrastructurelikeroads,cities,andfarmsfragmentshabitatsintoisolated"islands."BThispreventsanimalmigration,reducesgeneticdiversity,andmakespopulationsmorevulnerabletoextinction.CRewildingprojectsoftenproposeandworktowardscreatingwildlifecorridors—stripsofnaturalhabitatthatconnectprotectedareas.DThesecorridorsenablespeciestomoveinresponsetoclimatechange,findnewresources,andmaintaingeneticexchangebetweenpopulations.

Question15-16:Summary

Directions:Anintroductorysentenceforabriefsummaryofthepassageisprovidedbelow.CompletethesummarybyselectingtheTHREEanswerchoicesthatexpressthemostimportantideasinthepassage.Somesentencesdonotbelonginthesummarybecausetheyexpressideasthatarenotpresentedinthepassageorareminorideasinthepassage.

Rewildingisanecologicalrestorationstrategybasedoncoreprinciplesthataimtocreateresilient,self-sustainingecosystems.

AnswerChoices:

A)Itreliesheavilyoncontinuoushumanmanagementandtechnologicalinterventiontocontrolrestoredecosystems.

B)Akeyprincipleinvolvesreintroducingkeystonespeciestotriggertrophiccascadesthatreshapeecosystems.

C)Itpromotesallowingnaturaldisturbanceslikefirestofulfilltheirecologicalrolesratherthansuppressingthem.

D)Traditionalconservationisconsideredobsoleteandhasbeencompletelyreplacedbyrewildingapproaches.

E)Creatingconnectivitybetweenhabitatsthroughwildlifecorridorsisessentialforspeciesmigrationandgenetichealth.

F)Mostrewildingprojectshavebeenunsuccessfulduetostrongpublicoppositionandlackofscientificsupport.

Passage2

ThedeciphermentoftheMayascript,oneofthemostcomplexwritingsystemsintheancientworld,standsasamonumentalachievementinmodernarchaeologyandlinguistics.Forcenturies,theintricateglyphsadorningstelae,pottery,andtemplewallsintheMayaregionofMesoamericawereconsideredimpenetrablemysteries,oftenmischaracterizedaspurelyreligiousorastronomicalsymbols.Thebreakthrough,achievedprimarilyinthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,transformedourunderstandingofMayasocietyfromapeacefultheocracyofstargazingprieststoalandscapeofdynamiccity-statesengagedinpolitics,warfare,commerce,andcomplexhistoricalrecord-keeping.

Thepathtodeciphermentwaslongandarduous,hinderedbyearlymisconceptionsandthecatastrophiclossofmostMayatextsduringtheSpanishconquest.BishopDiegodeLanda,inthe16thcentury,providedapartialkey—alistofMayaglyphspairedwithSpanishletters—buthismisunderstandingsaboutthescript'snature(assumingitwasasimplealphabet)actuallysetprogressbackforcenturies.Trueprogressbeganwiththerealizationthatthescriptwaslogosyllabic,acombinationoflogograms(symbolsrepresentingwholewordsorconcepts)andsyllabograms(symbolsrepresentingsyllables).

ApivotalfigurewastheSovietlinguistYuriKnorozov.Workinginthe1950sandoftenagainsttheprevailingscholarlyopinion,herigorouslyappliedstructurallinguisticprinciplestoLanda'salphabet.KnorozovdemonstratedthatMayaglyphscouldrepresentphoneticsounds,notjustideas.Hecorrectlyidentifiedthatasingleconceptcouldbewritteninmultipleways—usingalogogram,asetofsyllabicsigns,oracombinationofboth.Hiswork,initiallymetwithskepticism,especiallyfromtheinfluentialMayanistJ.EricS.Thompson,providedthefoundationalmethodologyfordecipherment.

Thefinalstagesofdeciphermentgainedmomentuminthe1970sand1980s,becomingacollaborativeeffortamonglinguists,epigraphers,andarchaeologists.Amajorcatalystwasthediscoverythatmanyinscriptionsrecordedhistoricalevents,suchasbirths,accessionstothethrone,militaryvictories,andalliances.TheworkofscholarslikeDavidStuart,StephenHouston,andLindaSchelewasinstrumental.Bylinkingspecificglyphstoknownhistoricalcontextsfromdifferentsitesandcross-referencingthemwithsurvivingMayacalendars,theybegantoreadthetextsasnarratives.Forinstance,theverbfor"capture"wasidentified,followedbythenamesofspecifickingsandtheplacestheyconquered.

Theimpactofdeciphermentcannotbeoverstated.ItrevealedMayahistoryaswrittenbytheMayathemselves.WenowknowthenamesofpowerfulrulerslikePakalofPalenqueandWaxaklajuunUb'aahK'awiilofCopán.WeunderstandtheintenserivalriesbetweencitieslikeTikalandCalakmul,whichengagedinprotractedwarfare.Thetextsdetailrituals,bloodlettingceremonies,ballgameoutcomes,anddynasticsuccessions.Astronomyandcalendarcalculations,whilestillimportant,arenowseenaspartofabroaderintellectualandpoliticalframeworkusedtolegitimizeroyalpower.

Furthermore,deciphermenthasilluminatedthelinguisticlandscapeoftheancientMaya.ItconfirmedthatthelanguagesrepresentedintheClassicperiodglyphsareancestraltothenumerousMayanlanguagesstillspokentoday,suchasCh'olandYucatec.Thisprovidesanunprecedentedhistoricaldepthtolinguisticstudiesintheregion.Thescriptitselfisnowunderstoodtobeafullyfunctionalwritingsystemcapableofexpressinganyfacetofspokenlanguage,frompoetrytolegaltexts,thoughexamplesofthelatterhavenotsurvivedonthedurablestoneandpotterythatformthebulkofourcorpus.

Questions17-21:FactualInformation

17.Accordingtoparagraph1,howdidthedeciphermentoftheMayascriptchangescholarlyviewsofMayasociety?

A)ItconfirmedtheearlierviewthatMayasocietywasprimarilypeacefulandfocusedonastronomy.

B)ItrevealedthatMayawritingwasonlyusedfordecorativepurposesontemples.

C)ItshowedMayasocietytobecomposedofcomplexcity-stateswithpoliticalandhistoricalrecords.

D)ItprovedthattheMayahadnointerestinrecordingtheirownhistory.

18.WhydidBishopDiegodeLanda'sworkinitiallyhinderthedeciphermentoftheMayascript?

A)Hedeliberatelydestroyedallhisresearchnotes.

B)Hecorrectlyidentifieditasalogosyllabicsystem,whichwastoocomplexforlaterscholars.

C)Hemistakenlyassumeditwasasimplealphabet,leadingscholarsdownthewrongpath.

D)Herefusedtosharehisfindingswithotherresearchers.

19.Accordingtoparagraph3,whatwasYuriKnorozov'skeycontributiontodecipheringtheMayascript?

A)HediscoveredanewcacheofMayacodicesthatprovidedmoreexamples.

B)Heprovedthattheglyphswerepurelypictorialandhadnophoneticvalue.

C)Heappliedlinguisticprinciplestoshowtheglyphscouldrepresentsounds.

D)HewasthefirsttomatchglyphstospecificMayakings.

20.Whatdiscoveryinthe1970sand1980sactedasamajorcatalystfordecipherment,asdiscussedinparagraph4?

A)Therealizationthatinscriptionscontainedhistoricalrecordsofevents.

B)Thefindingthatallglyphswererelatedtoastronomicalphenomena.

C)TheproofthattheMayahadinventedaperfectalphabet.

D)Theacceptancethatthescriptcouldneverbefullyunderstood.

21.Accordingtoparagraph6,whatisonesignificantlinguisticoutcomeofthedecipherment?

A)ItprovedthatallMayanlanguagesdiedoutaftertheSpanishconquest.

B)ItshowedadirectconnectionbetweentheClassicperiodglyphsandmodernMayanlanguages.

C)ItrevealedthattheMayascriptwasborrowedfromancientEgyptianhieroglyphs.

D)Itdemonstratedthatthewritingsystemwasonlyusedforreligiouspoetry.

Questions22-26:Vocabulary

22.Theword"impenetrable"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)understandable

B)beautiful

C)incomprehensible

D)ancient

23.Theword"arduous"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)quickandeasy

B)difficultandtiring

C)well-funded

D)accidental

24.Theword"pivotal"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)minor

B)controversial

C)central

D)forgotten

25.Theword"skepticism"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)greatenthusiasm

B)doubtanddisbelief

C)financialsupport

D)carefulstudy

26.Theword"illuminated"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningto:

A)darkened

B)simplified

C)clarified

D)questioned

Questions27-28:Inference

27.Whichofthefollowingcanbeinferredfromparagraph2aboutBishopDiegodeLanda'slistofglyphs?

A)Itwascompletelyuselessforlaterdeciphermentefforts.

B)Itcontainedaccuratephoneticinformationthatwasmisunderstoodforcenturies.

C)Hecreateditwiththehelpofmodernlinguistictools.

D)ItwasintendedtobeacomprehensivedictionaryoftheMayalanguage.

28.Whatcanbeinferredaboutthepre-deciphermentviewoftheMayafromthepassage?

A)Scholarsaccuratelyunderstoodtheirpoliticalcomplexity.

B)Theywereviewedasapeoplelargelywithouthistoryorindividualagency.

C)Theirachievementsinmathematicsandastronomywerecompletelyignored.

D)Itwaswidelybelievedtheyhadnoformofwriting.

Question29-30:ProseSummary

Directions:Anintroductorysentenceforabriefsummaryofthepassageisprovidedbelow.CompletethesummarybyselectingtheTHREEanswerchoicesthatexpressthemostimportantideasinthepassage.Somesentencesdonotbelonginthesummarybecausetheyexpressideasthatarenotpresentedinthepassageorareminorideasinthepassage.

ThedeciphermentoftheMayascriptwasaprolongedprocessthatrevolutionizedtheunderstandingofMayacivilization.

AnswerChoices:

A)EarlyeffortsbySpanishmissionariessuccessfullypreservedandtranslatedthemajorityofMayatexts.

B)Amajorbreakthroughcamewiththerealizationthatthescriptwaslogosyllabic,combiningwordandsyllablesigns.

C)TheworkofYuriKnorozovwascrucialforprovingthephoneticcomponentoftheglyphs.

D)Mayawritingisnowknowntohavebeenusedexclusivelyfortrackingastronomicalcyclesandreligiousceremonies.

E)Deciphermentrevealedhistoricalnarratives,showingMayasocietyasaworldofcompetitivecity-stateswithrecordeddynasties.

F)Theprimaryreasonfordeciphermentwastoprovethesuperiorityofmodernlinguistictechniquesoverarchaeologicalones.

AnswerKey&Explanations

Passage1:Rewilding

1.C-Thepassagestatesrewildingseeks"self-sustainingecosystemsthatrequireminimalhumanintervention,"contrastingitwithtraditionalconservation'sfocusonspecificspecies.

2.B-TheYellowstonewolfexampleisintroducedtoillustratetheprincipleof"trophiccascades,"showinghowakeystonespeciescancausewidespreadchange.

3.B-Paragraph3statesthatfires"clearoutdeadbiomass,recyclenutrients,andcreateamosaicofhabitats,"indicatingacrucialecologicalrole.

4.C-Paragraph4defineswildlifecorridorsasconnectingprotectedareasto"enablespeciestomove."

5.C-Thepassagementionshuman-wildlifeconflict,arbitraryhistoricalbaselines,andunintendedconsequences.Itdoesnotdiscusscomparativefinancialcosts.

6.C-"Traction"inthiscontextmeansgainingacceptanceorpopularity.

7.B-"Holistic"meansdealingwiththewholesystem,notjustparts;comprehensive.

8.B-"Suppress"meanstoputanendtoorprevent,asinpreventingfires.

9.C-A"mosaic"isapatternmadeofmanydifferentsmallpieces.

10.B-A"paradigm"isatypicalexample,pattern,ormodel.

11.B-Thiscorrectlycapturesthecontrast:traditional(specificspecies,managed)vs.rewilding(holistic,self-sustaining).

12.B-Thisaccuratelysimplifiesthecriticismtotheconflictbetweenreintroducedanimals(especiallylargecarnivores)andhumaninterests.

13.B-ThesentenceshouldbeinsertedatsquareB.Theprevioussentenceintroduces"fragmentation,"andthenewsentencedirectlyexplainsitsmajorconsequence("leadingcauseofdecline").Thesentencea