(A) folk
(B) nations
(C) countries
(D) objects
29.Which of the following is NOT given as a reason why folk-made objects are replaced by mass-produced objects?
(A) Cost
(B) Prestige
(C) Quality
(D) Convenience
Question 30-40Many of the most damaging and life-threatening types of
weather - torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes
- begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly,
devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas
untouched. One such event, a tornado, stuck the
northeastern" title="ad.&a.向东北(的)">
northeasternsection of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987. Total damages
from the tornado exceeded $250 million, the highest ever for
any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the
atmosphere have
limited value in
predicting short - lived local
storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available
weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to
discern the subtle
atmospheric changes that precede
these storms. In most nations, for example, weather -balloon
observations are taken just once every twelve hours at location
typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such
limiteddata,
conventionalforecasting models do a much better job
predicting general weather conditions over large regions than
they do
forecasting
specific local events.
Until recently, the observation -
intensive approach needed
for accurate, very short - range
forecasts, or "Nowcasts," was
not
feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands
of
conventional weather stations was prohibitively high,
and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing
the raw weather data from such a
network were insurmountable.
Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have
overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated
weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making
detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at
a
relatively low cost. Communications satellites can
transmitdata around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern
computers can quickly
compile and analyzing this large volume
of weather information. Meteorologists and computer
scientists now work together to design computer programs and
video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into
words, symbols, and vivid
graphic displays that
forecasters
can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun
using these new technologies in weather
forecasting offices,
Nowcasting is becoming a reality.
30.What does he passage mainly discuss?
(A) Computers and weather
(B) Dangerous storms
(C) Weather
forecasting
(D) Satellites
31.Why does the author mention the tornado in Edmonton, Canada?
(A) To indicate that tornadoes are common in t
he summer
(B) To give an example of a damaging storm
(C) To explain different types of weather
(D) To show that tornadoes occur frequently in Canada
32.The word "subtle" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
(A) complex
(B) regular
(C) imagined
(D) slight
33.Why does the author state in line 10 that observations are taken "just once every twelve hours?"
(A) To indicate that the observations are timely
(B) To show why the observations are on limited value
(C) To compare data from balloons and computers
(D) To give an example of international cooperation
34.The word "they" in line 13 refers to
(A) models
(B) conditions
(C) regions
(D) events
35.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advance in short - range weather forecasting?
(A) Weather balloons
(B) Radar systems
(C) Automated instruments
(D) Satellites
36.The word "compile" in line 23 is closest in meaning to
(A) put together
(B) look up
(C) pile high
(D) work over
37.With Nowcasting, it first became possible to provide information about
(A) short-lived local storms
(B) radar networks
(C) long - range weather forecasts
(D) general weather conditions
38.The word "raw" in line 25 is closest in meaning to
(A) stormy
(B) inaccurate
(C) uncooked
(D) unprocessed
39.With which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree?
(A) Communications satellites can predict severe weather.
(B) Meteorologists should standardize computer programs.
(C) The observation - intensive approach is no longer useful.
(D) Weather predictions are becoming more accurate.
40.Which of the following would best illustrate Nowcasting?
(A) A five-day forecast
(B) A warning about a severe thunderstorm on the radio
(C) The average rainfall for each month
(D) A list of temperatures in major cities上一页[1] [2] [3]下一页
Question 41-50
People in the United States in the nineteenth century
were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in
he nation's economy would bring social chaos. In the years
following 1820, after several decades of relative stability, the
economy entered a period of sustained and extremely rapid
growth that continued to the end of the nineteenth century.
Accompanying that growth that was a structural change that
featured increasing economic diversification and a gradual shift
in the nation's labor force from agriculture to manufacturing
and other nonagricultural pursuits.
Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high
level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The
population roughly doubled every generation during the
nineteenth centuries. As the population grew, its makeup also
changed. Massive waves of immigration brought new ethnic
groups into the country. Geographic and social mobility -
downward as well as upward - touched almost everyone. Local
studies indicate that nearly three - quarters of the population -
in the North and South, in the emerging cities of the Northeast,
and in the restless rural counties of the West - changed
their residence each decade. As a consequence, historian David
Donald has written, "Social atomization affected every
segment of society," and it seemed to many people that "all the
recognized values of orderly civilization were gradually being
eroded."
Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility
in the nineteenth century had special implications for women
because these tended to magnify social distinctions. As
the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly
defined, so did the roles they played in the home. In the
context of extreme competitiveness and dizzying social change,
the household lost many of its earlier functions and the home
came to serve as a haven of tranquillity and order. As the size
of families decreased, the roles of husband and wife became
more clearly differentiated than ever before. In the middle
class especially, men participated in the productive economy
while women ruled the home and served as the custodians of
civility and culture. The intimacy of marriage that was
common in earlier periods was rent, and a gulf that at times
seemed unbridgeable was created between husbands and
wives.
41.What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The economic development of the United States in the eighteenth century
(B) Ways in which economic development led to social changes in the United States
(C) Population growth in the western United States
(D) The increasing availability of industrial jobs for women in the United States
42.The word "Prospect" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(A) regret
(B) possibility
(C) theory
(D) circumstance
43.According to the passage, the economy of the United States between 1820 and 1900 was
(A) expanding
(B) in sharp decline
(C) stagnate
(D) disorganized
44.The word "roughly" in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) harshly
(B) surprisingly
(C) slowly
(D) approximately
45.The word "its" in line 10 refers to
(A) century
(B) population
(C) generation
(D) birth rate
46.According to the passage, as the nineteenth century progressed, the people of the United States
(A) emigrated to other countries
(B) often settled in the West
(C) tended to change the place in which they lived
(D) had a higher rate of birth than ever before
47.Which of the following best describes the society about which David Donald wrote?
(A) A highly conservative society that was resistant to new ideas
(B) A society that was undergoing fundamental change
(C) A society that had been gradually changing since the early 1700's
(D) A nomadic society that was starting permanent settlements
48.The word "magnify" in line 20 is closest in meaning to
(A) solve
(B) explain
(C) analyze
(D) increase
49.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of the social changes occurring in the United States after 1820?
(A) Increased social mobility
(B) Increased immigration
(C) Significant movement of population
(D) Strong emphasis on traditional social values
50.The word " distinctions" in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) Differences
(B) Classes
(C) Accomplishments
(D) characteristics
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关键字:TOEFL托福历年真题
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