2019托福閱讀考試真題

2019年托福閱讀模擬試題及答案解析（2）托福閱讀原文TheDevelopmentofSteamPower【1】Bytheeighteenthcentury,Britainwasexperiencingasevereshortageofenergy.Becauseofthegrowthofpopulation,mostofthegreatforestsofmedievalBritainhadlongagobeenreplacedbyfieldsofgrainandhay.Woodwasinever-shortersupply,yetitremainedtremendouslyimportant.Itservedastheprimarysourceofheatforallhomesandindustriesandasabasicrawmaterial.Processedwood(charcoal)wasthefuelthatwasmixedwithironoreintheblastfurnacetoproducepigiron(rawiron).Theironindustry’sappetiteforwoodwasenormous,andby1740theBritishironindustrywasstagnating.VastforestsenabledRussiatobecometheworld’sleadingproducerofiron,muchofwhichwasexportedtoBritain.ButRussia’spotentialforgrowthwaslimitedtoo,andinafewdecadesRussiawouldreachthebarrierofinadequateenergythatwasalreadyholdingEnglandback.【2】Asthisearlyenergycrisisgrewworse,Britainlookedtowarditsabundantandwidelyscatteredreservesofcoalasanalternativetoitsvanishingwood.CoalwasfirstusedinBritaininthelateMiddleAgesasasourceofheat.By1640mosthomesinLondonwereheatedwithit,anditalsoprovidedheatformakingbeer,glass,soap,andotherproducts.Coalwasnotused,however,toproducemechanicalenergyortopowermachinery.Itwastherethatcoal’spotentialwadenormous.【3】Asmorecoalwasproduced,minesweredugdeeperanddeeperandwereconstantlyfillingwithwater.Mechanicalpumps,usuallypoweredbyhundredsofhorseswalingincirclesatthesurface,hadtobeinstalledSuchpowerwasexpensiveandbothersome.Inanattempttoovercomethesedisadvantages,ThomasSaveryin1698andThomasNewcomenin1705inventedthefirstprimitivesteamengines.Bothengineswereextremelyinefficient.Bothburnedcoaltoproducesteam,whichwasthenusedtooperateapump.However,bytheearly1770s,manyoftheSaveryenginesandhundredsoftheNewcomenengineswereoperatingsuccessfully,thoughinefficiently,inEnglishandScottishmines.【4】Intheearly1760s,agiftedyoungScotnamedJamesWattwasdrawntoacriticalstudyofthesteamengine.WattwasemployedatthetimebytheUniversityofGlasgowasaskilledcraftsworkermakingscientificinstruments.In1763：WattwascalledontorepairaNewcomenenginebeingusedinaphysicscourse.Afteraseriesofobservations,WattsawthattheNewcomen’swasteofenergycouldbereducedbyaddingaseparatecondenser.Thissplendidinvention,patentedin1769,greatlyincreasedtheefficiencyofthesteamengine.ThesteamengineofWattandhisfollowerswasthetechnologicaladvancethatgavepeople,atleastforawhile,unlimitedpowerandallowedtheinventionanduseofallkindsofpowerequipment.【5】ThesteamenginewasquicklyputtouseinseveralindustriesinBritain.Itdrainedminesandmadepossibletheproductionofevermorecoaltofeedsteamengineselsewhere.Thesteampowerplantbegantoreplacewaterpowerinthecotton-spinningmillsaswellasotherindustriesduringthe1780s,contributingtoaphenomenalriseinindustrialization.TheBritishironindustrywasradicallytransformed.Theuseofpowerful,steam-drivenbellowsinblastfurnaceshelpedironmakersswitchoverrapidlyfromlimitedcharcoaltounlimitedcoke(whichismadefromcoal)inthesmeltingofpigiron(theprocessofrefiningimpureiron)after1770inthe1780s,HenryCortdevelopedthepuddlingfurnace,whichallowedpigirontoberefinedinturnwithcoke.Cortalsodevelopedheavy-duty,steam-poweredrollingmills,whichwerecapableofproducingfinishedironineveryshapeandform.【6】TheeconomicconsequenceofthesetechnicalinnovationsinsteampowerwasagreatboomintheBritishironindustry.In1740annualBritishironproductionwasonly17：000tons,butby1844：withthespreadofcokesmeltingandtheimpactofCort’sinventions,ithadincreasedto3,000：000tons.Thiswasatrulyamazingexpansion.Oncescarceandexpensive,ironbecamecheap,basic,andindispensabletotheeconomy.托福閱讀試題.Whatcanbeinferredfromparagraph1aboutBritain'sshortsupplyofwoodintheeighteenthcentury?A.WoodfromBritain’sgreatforestswasbeingexportedtoothercountriesforprofit..Agrowingpopulationhadrequiredcuttingdownforeststoincreaseavailablelandforfarming.C.Largerfamiliesrequiredtheconstructionoflargerhomesmadefromwood.D.Whatwasleftofthegreatforestsafterthemedievalperiodwasbeingstrictlyprotected..SelectTWOanswerchoicesthat,accordingtoparagraph1,aretruestatementsaboutRussia’sironindustryintheeighteenthcentury.Toobtaincredit,youmustselectTWOanswerchoices.A.RussiareacheditsmaximumproductionofironatthesametimeasBritain.RussiaexportedmuchofitsironproductiontoBritain.C.Russia’sappetiteforironincreasedrapidlyafter1740.D.Russia’senergyresourceseventuallybecameinsufficientandlimitedthegrowthofitsironindustry.Theword"abundant"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningtoA.reliableB.plentifulC.well-preservedD.existingWhyare"beer,glass,soap,andotherproducts"mentionedinthediscussionofBritain’senergy?A.TohelpexplainwhytheenergycrisiswassosevereB.Toshowthatdespitetheenergycrisisandasearlyas1640,LondonhomeswereadvancedandwellsuppliedC.Toemphasizethatafter1640,BritishhomesrequiredenergyformorethanheatD.ToindicatethatcoalhadbeenusedfortheproductionofcertainproductsbeforetheeighteenthcenturyAccordingtoparagraph3,allofthefollowingarewaysinwhichtheSaveryandNewcomenenginesweresimilarEXCEPT：A.Bothbecamerelativelyinexpensiveafterthe1770s.Bothproducedsteambyburningcoal.C.Bothwereusedtooperatepumps.D.Bothwereveryinefficient.Theword"gifted"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningtoA.independentB.talentedC.famousD.ambitiousAccordingtoparagraph4,whatwasJamesWatt’smajorachievement?A.Hewasabletoapplyhisunderstandingofphysicstoinventavarietyofscientificinstrumentsandtoolsforskilledcraftsworkers.B.Hetaughtuniversityphysicscoursestooutstandingstudentswhoseobservationsledtomanypatentedinventions.C.HeimprovedtheefficiencyofNewcomen’senginebypreventingenergyfrombeinglost.D.HeredesignedNewcomen’senginesothatitnolongerneededaseparatecondenser..Theword"splendid"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningtoA.originalB.necessaryC.magnificentD.popular.WhichofthefollowingisNOTmentionedinparagraph5asadevelopmentthatgreatlychangedtheproductionofiron?A.TheuseofcokeinthesmeltingofpigironB.TheinventionofafurnacethatusedcoketorefineironC.ThediscoveryofamethodforincreasingtheproductionofcharcoalD.Theinventionofpowerfulmachinerythatcouldshape,form,andfinishironnparagraph6,whydoestheauthorcompareBritishironproductionin1740withthatof1844?A.TocontrasttheamountsofironneededinBritainintwodifferentcenturiesB.ToillustratehoweasyitwastomakemoneyusingCort’sinventionC.TodemonstratethetremendousgrowthoftheironindustryinBritainD.Todemonstratehowinexpensivecoalhadbecome.Theword"indispensable"inthepassageisclosestinmeaningtoA.advantageousB.essentialC.lesscostlyD.highlystimulating.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingistrueaboutthedevelopmentofsteampower?A.Thesteamengine’sbasictechnologycanbetracedbacktomedievalBritainwhensteam-poweredmachinerywasbeingtriedinfarmingactivities.B.AlthoughRussiaandBritaindevelopedsteam-powertechnologysimultaneously,Britainwasfirsttotryitinalarge-scaleindustryduetoagreaterneedforiron.C.Steam-powertechnologywaslargelytheresultofimprovementsdevelopedtoincreasethesupplyofcoalasaprimarysourceofenergy.D.Adaptationstosteamenginesrequiredfortheiruseincotton-spinningmillsledtoradicaldevelopmentsinmachineryusedintheironindustry..Lookatthefoursquares[■]thatindicatewherethefollowingsentencecouldbeaddedtothepassage.Wherewouldthesentencebestfit?EnergyhadnotbeenaproblemforBritaininthepastbecauseitreliedonarichsourceofenergy：itsvastforests.Bytheeighteenthcentury,Britainwasexperiencingasevereshortageofenergy.■【A】Becauseofthegrowthofpopulation,mostofthegreatforestsofmedievalBritainhadlongagobeenreplacedbyfieldsofgrainandhay.■【B】Woodwasinever-shortersupply,yetitremainedtremendouslyimportant.■【C】Itservedastheprimarysourceofheatforallhomesandindustriesandasabasicrawmaterial.■【D】Processedwood(charcoal)wasthefuelthatwasmixedwithironoreintheblastfurnacetoproducepigiron(rawiron).Theironindustry’sappetiteforwoodwasenormous,andby1740theBritishironindustrywasstagnating.VastforestsenabledRussiatobecometheworld’sleadingproducerofiron,muchofwhichwasexportedtoBritain.ButRussia’spotentialforgrowthwaslimitedtoo,andinafewdecadesRussiawouldreachthebarrierofinadequateenergythatwasalreadyholdingEnglandback..Directions：Anintroductorysentenceforabriefsummaryofthepassageofthepassageisprovidedbelow.CompletethesummarybyselectingtheTHREEanswerchoicesthatexpressthemostimportantideasinthepassage.Someanswerchoicesdo