托福阅读模拟试题：十九世纪农业革命

 　　READING COMPREHENSION

　　Question 1-10

　　The agricultural revolution in the nineteenth century involved two things: the invention of labor¹-saving machinery² and the development of scientific agriculture. Labor-saving machinery naturally appeared first where labor was scarce. "In Europe, said Thomas Jefferson, "the object is to make the most of their land, labor being abundant: here it is to make the most of our labor, land being abundant. It was in the United States, therefore, that the great advances in nineteenth-century agricultural machinery first came.

　　At the opening of the century, with the exception of a crude plow³, farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural implements⁴ on their backs; by 1860, most of the machinery in use today had been designed in an early form. The most important of the early inventions was the iron plow. As early as 1790 Charles Newbold of New Jersey⁵ had been working on the idea of a cast-iron plow and spent his entire fortune in introducing his invention. The farmers, however, were not interested in it, claiming that the iron poisoned the soil and made the weeds grow. Nevertheless, many people devoted⁶ their attention to the plow, until in 1869 James Oliver of South Bend, Indiana, turned out the first chilled-steel plow.

　　1.What is the main topic of the passage?

　　(A) The need for agricultural advances to help feed a growing population(B) The development of safer machines demanded by the labor movement(C) Machinery that contributed to the agricultural revolution(D) New Jersey as a leader in the agricultural revolution2.The word "naturally" in line 3 is closest in meaning to(A) unsurprisingly

　　(B) gradually

　　(C) apparently⁷

　　(D) safely

　　3. The expression "make the most of" in line 4 is closest in meaning to(A) get the best yield from

　　(B) raise the price of

　　(C) exaggerate the worth of

　　(D) earn a living on

　　4. Which of the following can be inferred from what Thomas Jefferson said (line 3-5)?

　　(A) Europe was changing more quickly than the United States.

　　(B) Europe had greater need of farm machinery than the United States did.

　　(C) The United States was finally running out of good farmland.

　　(D) There was a shortage of workers on United States farms.

　　5.The word "here" in line 4 refers to

　　(A) Europe

　　(B) United States

　　(C) New Jersey

　　(D) Indiana

　　6. What point is the author making by stating that farmers could carry nearly all their tools ontheir backs.

　　(A) Farmers had few tools before the agricultural revolution.

　　(B) People in the United States were traditionally self-reliant.

　　(C) Life on the farm was extremely difficult.

　　(D) New tools were designed to be portable.

　　7. When was the iron plow invented?

　　(A)In 1790.

　　(B) In the early 1800 s.

　　(C) In 1869.

　　(D) In the early 1900 s.

　　8. According to the passage, which of the following statements about Charles Newbold is true?

　　(A) He was James Oliver s assistant.

　　(B) He was born in Europe.

　　(C) He was opposed to scientific agriculture.

　　(D) He spent his own money to promote his invention.

　　9. The word "it" in line 12 refers to

　　(A) scientific agriculture

　　(B) James Oliver s invention

　　(C) the cast-iron plow

　　(D) Charles Newbold s fortune

　　10. Why did farmers reject Newbold s plow?

　　(A) Their horses were frightened by it.

　　(B) They preferred lighter⁸ tools.

　　(C) It was too expensive.

　　(D) They thought it would ruin the land.

 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

3 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

4 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。