Reading

TPO 1

Groundwater

【单词】

saturate：vt. 渗透

meteoric：adj. 流星的，大气的

soak into：浸泡，浸透

precipitation：n. （化学）沉淀

emerge：vi. 浮现

incredible：adj. 难以置信的

unconsolidated：adj. 疏松的       consolidate：v. 巩固

gravel：n. 碎石

coarse：adj. 粗俗的

sediment：n. 沉淀物

sheet：n. 薄片     ice sheets：冰层

pebble：n. 卵石

lade：vt. 装载，装（船）；vi. （用勺子）舀出，装货       be laden with：负载着

glacial：adj. 冰的

outwash：n. 冰水沉积

deposit：vt. 放置

fanwise：adv. 呈扇叶展开地；adj. 呈扇叶展开的

slope：n. 斜坡

overlie：vt. 覆在……上面

pore：n. 孔

porous：adj. 多孔渗水的

porosity：n. 多孔性

permeability：n. 浸透性

grain：n. 颗粒，谷物

plug：v. 塞，插     be plugged with

cement：vt. 巩固     cementing：黏固的

percolate：vi. 过滤 

crystalline：adj. 透明的

basalt：n. 玄武岩

solidified：adj. 固化的，凝固的

volcanic：adj. 火山的

lava：n. 熔岩

cavity：n. 腔

crevice：n. 裂缝

cling：v. 黏紧    cling to：依附

【长难句】

1.Ordinary meteoric water is water that has soaked into the ground from the surface, from precipitation (rain and snow) and from lakes and streams.

2.The commonest spaces are those among the particles—sand grains and tiny pebbles—of loose, unconsolidated sand and gravel.

3.They are found wherever fast rivers carrying loads of coarse sediment once flowed.

4.For example, as the great ice sheets that covered North America during the last ice age steadily melted away, huge volumes of water flowed from them.

5.The same thing happens to this day, though on a smaller scale, wherever a sediment-laden river or stream emerges from a mountain valley onto relatively flat land, dropping its load as the current slows: the water usually spreads out fanwise, depositing the sediment in the form of a smooth, fan-shaped slope. 

6.Sediments are also dropped where a river slows on entering a lake or the sea, the deposited sediments are on a lake floor or the seafloor at first, but will be located inland at some future date, when the sea level falls or the land rises; such beds are sometimes thousands of meters thick.

7.In lowland country almost any spot on the ground may overlie what was once the bed of a river that has since become buried by soil; if they are now below the water’s upper surface (the water table), the gravels and sands of the former riverbed, and its sandbars, will be saturated with groundwater.

8.This is because the gaps among the original grains are often not totally plugged with cementing chemicals; also, parts of the original grains may become dissolved by percolating groundwater, either while consolidation is taking place or at any time afterwards. 

9.But note that porosity is not the same as permeability, which measures the ease with which water can flow through a material; this depends on the sizes of the individual cavities and the crevices linking them.

10.It is held there by the force of surface tension without which water would drain instantly from any wet surface, leaving it totally dry. The total volume of water in the saturated sample must therefore be thought of as consisting of water that can, and water that cannot, drain away. 

【错题】

4.According to paragraph 2, where is groundwater usually found?

A. Inside pieces of sand and gravel

B. On top of beds of rock

C. In fast rivers that are flowing beneath the soil

D. In spaces between pieces of sediment

【参考原文】

The necessary space is there, however, in many forms. The commonest spaces are those among the particles—sand grains and tiny pebbles—of loose, unconsolidated sand and gravel. Beds of this material, out of sight beneath the soil, are common. They are found wherever fast rivers carrying loads of coarse sediment once flowed. For example, as the great ice sheets that covered North America during the last ice age steadily melted away, huge volumes of water flowed from them. The water was always laden with pebbles, gravel, and sand, known as glacial outwash, that was deposited as the flow slowed down.

【总结】

答案应该是在这些砂砾碎石的碎片之间：

A选项，在一片片砂砾碎石的里面；

D选项，在沉淀物中间的空隙里，正确

在高度概括的时候会更换相同意思的词，所以需要词汇量的提高

13.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

What, then, determines what proportion of the water stays and what proportion drains away?.

【参考原文】

Much of the water in a sample of water-saturated sedimentor rock will drain from it if the sample is put in a suitable dry place. [■]But some will remain, clinging to all solid surfaces. [■]It is held there by the force of surface tension without which water would drain instantly from any wet surface, leaving it totally dry. [■]The total volume of water in the saturated sample must therefore be thought of as consisting of water that can, and water that cannot, drainaway. [■]

【解析】

"待插入句说多少流走多少剩下是什么决定的，所以之前必须得说一部分流走了一部分剩下了，原文最后一句才说到这个，所以D是答案。貌似B选项之前也说了流走和剩下，但B之后有个it is held there，这个it指的是前文的留下来的水，所以与上文过渡紧密，不能插入句子。"

14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Much of the ground is actually saturated with water.

A.Sediments that hold water were spread by glaciers and are still spread by rivers and streams.

B.Water is stored underground in beds of loose sand and gravel or in cemented sediment.

C.The size of a saturated rock’s pores determines how much water it will retain when the rock is put in a dry place.

D.Groundwater often remains underground for a long time before it emerges again.

E.Like sandstone, basalt is a crystalline rock that is very porous.

F.Beds of unconsolidated sediments are typically located at inland sites that were once underwater.

The Origins of Theater

【单词】

speculation：n. 思索

primarily：adv. 主要地，首要地

anthropologist：n. 人类学家

envision：vt. 设想，想象    envision ... as：将……看做

ritual：adj. 仪式上的

rite：n. 仪式

perceive：vt. 察觉 → 将……理解为

well-being：n. 幸福

attribute：v. 归属，归于；n. 属性    attribute ... to：将……归属给

desirable：adj. 令人满意的        undesirable：adj. 不令人满意的，不受欢迎的

occurrence：n. 发生

refine：vt. 精炼

formalize：vt. 使形式化，使正式

representative：n. 代表

mythical：adj. 神话的

sophisticated：adj. 复杂的，老于世故的

causal：adj. 有因果关系的，有原因的

conception：n. 怀孕，受孕；构思，构想；概念，观念；想法

condition：n. 条件

prosperity：n. 繁荣

feat：n. 功绩

elaborate：v. 详尽阐述

narrator：n. 讲述者

pantomime：n. 手势，哑剧

pantomimic：adj. 哑剧的

rhythmical：adj. 节奏的

gymnastic：adj. 体操的

impersonation：n. 扮演

evolve：v. 进化     evolve out of：从……进化而来

virtuocity：n. 美术兴趣，审美能力，鉴赏能力

antecedent：n. 经历，祖先；adj. 在先的

theorize：v. 使理论化

cease：v. 停止，停息

Aristotle：亚里士多德

encounter：v. 遭遇

objectify：vt. 使具体化，使客观化，体现

whereby：adv. 凭借

penchant：n. 嗜好，倾向

autonomous：adj. 自治的，独立自主的

detachment：n. 分离

deviation：n. 偏离，背离

norm：n. 标准

retain：vt. 保留，保持

【长难句】

1.In seeking to describe the origins of theater, one must rely primarily on speculation, since there is little concrete evidence on which to draw.

2.During the early stages of its development, a society becomes aware of forces that appear to influence or control its food supply and well-being.

3.Having little understanding of natural causes, it attributes both desirable and undesirable occurrences to supernatural or magical forces, and it searches for means to win the favor of these forces.

4.Perceiving an apparent connection between certain actions performed by the group and the result it desires, the group repeats, refines and formalizes those actions into fixed ceremonies, or rituals.

5.Frequently the myths include representatives of those supernatural forces that the rites celebrate or hope to influence. 

6.Thus, the recalling of an event (a hunt, battle, or other feat) is elaborated through the narrator’s pantomime and impersonation and eventuallythrough each role being assumed by a different person.

7.One necessary conditionseems to be a somewhat detached view of human problems. For example, one sign of this condition is the appearance of the comic vision, since comedy requires sufficient detachmentto view some deviations from social norms as ridiculous rather than as serious threats to the welfare of the entire group. 

8.Another condition that contributes to the development of autonomous theater is the emergence of the aestheticsense. For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them, nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.

【错题】

3.According to paragraph 1, theories of the origins of theater

A. are mainly hypothetical

B. are well supported by factual evidence

C. have rarely been agreed upon by anthropologists

D. were expressed in the early stages of theater’s development

【解析】

以origins of theater为关键词定位至本段第一句，one must rely primarily on speculation，主要靠推测，也就是A，主要是推论的。不认识hypothetical的话之后有解释说没有事实证据，所以也能说明是推论的. B 与原文反了。 C 与原文有出入。原文说：The most widely accepted theory, championed by anthropologists 说至少有一个理论得到人类学家广泛认同。 D 原文没有提到。

4.According to paragraph 1, why did some societies develop and repeat ceremonial actions?

A. To establish a positive connection between the members of the society

B. To help society members better understand the forces controlling their food supply

C. To distinguish their beliefs from those of other societies

D. To increase the society’s prosperity

【解析】

"ceremonial action做关键词定位至全段最后一句：说人们是感觉到了他们的仪式性的活动和他们所期望的那种结果之间的联系之后他们才做这些事情的。前一句说：他们把无论好坏的结果都归因于超自然的力量，他们做这些事情是为了赢得超自然力量的眷顾，所以D为了整个社会的繁荣是正确答案。

7.According to paragraph 2, what may cause societies to abandon certain rites?

A. Emphasizing theater as entertainment

B. Developing a new understanding of why events occur

C. Finding a more sophisticated way of representing mythical characters

D. Moving from a primarily oral tradition to a more written tradition

【解析】

以abandon rites做关键词定位至全段倒数第三句，有个as a result，说明之前的句子是导致人们放弃这种仪式的原因，也正是问题的答案。随着人们越来越智慧，他们对超自然的能力的认识，还有超自然能力和他们所期待的结果之间的因果关系会变化，也就是很多人不再认为是超自然的能力在左右他们，所以B有了新的认识是正确答案。 A entertainment概念在本段最后才提到。 C sophisticated 概念在前句提到，原文As a person becomes more sophisticated，是说人变得复杂了，而不是复杂的代表神秘角色的方式。 D 原文完全没有提到。

【总结】

不要看到有原文单词就选，更可能是陷阱；托福的答案更多的是换一种说法

Timberline Vegetation on Mountains

【单词】

tundra：n. 苔原

shrub：n. 灌木

herb：n. 香草

timberline：n. 树带界线      upper/lower timberline 上/下行树带界线

steppe：n. 西伯利亚一带没有树木的大草原

tropics：n. 热带地区

deciduous：adj. 每年落叶的

broadleaf：n. 阔叶树

birch：n. 桦木

twisted：adj. 扭曲的，变态的

deformed：adj. 畸形的    deform：v. 变形

latitude：n. 纬度

ridge：n. 山脊

whereas：conj. 然而

duration：n. 持续时间

prone：adj. 有……倾向

frost：n. 严寒

cessation：n. 停止，中止，中断

smother：vt. 使窒息

avalanche：n. 雪崩

creep：n. 爬行     snow creep：雪移

seedling：n. 秧苗

elevation：n. 提拔

graze：vt. 放牧，擦伤

ibex：n. 野生山羊，阿尔卑斯山上的野山羊

alpine：adj. 高山的    alpine tundra：高山苔原

adjacent：adj. 邻近的

fairly：adv. 相当的

low-lying：adj. 低洼的

moss：n. 苔藓

lichen：n. 青苔

prostrate：adj. 平卧的；沮丧的，一蹶不振的

snowdrift：n. （被风吹成的）雪堆

rigor：n. 严密，严格

insulation：n. 绝缘，保温

equatorial：adj. 赤道上的

prevalent：adj. 流行的

【长难句】

1.In many semiarid areas there is also a lower timberlinewhere the forest passes into steppe or desert at its lower edge, usually because of a lack of moisture.

2.Timberline trees are normally evergreens, suggesting that these have some advantage over deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves) in the extreme environments of the upper timberline. 

3.This is particularly true for trees in the middle and upper latitudes, which tend to attain greater heights on ridges, whereas in the tropics the trees reach their greater heights in the valleys. 

4.Late-lying snow reduces the effective growing season to the point where seedlings cannot establish themselves.

5.Some scientists have proposed that the presence of increasing levels of ultraviolet light with elevation may play a role, while browsing and grazinganimals like the ibex may be another contributing factor. 

6.Immediately adjacent to the timberline, the tundra consists of a fairly complete cover of low-lyingshrubs, herbs, and grasses, while higher up the number and diversity of species decrease until there is much bare ground with occasional mosses and lichens and some prostratecushion plants. 

【错题】

1.The word “dramatic” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. gradual

B. complex

C. visible

D. striking

【原文参考】

The transition from forest to treeless tundra on a mountain slope is often a dramatic one. Within a vertical distance of just a few tens of meters, trees disappear as a life-form and are replaced by low shrubs, herbs, and grasses. This rapid zone of transition is called the upper timberline or tree line. In many semiarid areas there is also a lower timberlinewhere the forest passes into steppe or desert at its lower edge, usually because of a lack of moisture.

【解析】

"dramatic: 剧烈的，戏剧化的，就单词本身能够想到drama戏剧，所以这个应该是戏剧的形容词。A是逐渐的；B是复杂的；C是可见的；D是显著的，突出的，惊人的。根据词意，正确答案是D。

14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.At the timberline, whether upper or lower, there is a profound change in the growth of trees and other plants.

A.Birch is one of the few species of tree that can survive in the extreme environments of the upper timberline.

B.There is no agreement among scientists as to exactly why plant growth is sharply different above and below the upper timberline.

C.The temperature at the upper timberline is probably more important in preventing tree growth than factors such as the amount of snowfall or the force of winds.

D.The geographical location of an upper timberline has an impact on both the types of trees found there and their physical characteristics.

E.High levels of ultraviolet light most likely play a greater role in determining tree growth at the upper timberline than do grazing animals such as the ibex.

F.Despite being adjacent to the timberline, the alpine tundra is an area where certain kinds of low trees can endure high winds and very low temperatures.

【解析】

A选项提到了具体的树种桦树，明显是一个细节选项，A选项不选；B选项对应第四段首句，B选项正确；由第四自然段大意及第四自然段的“Probably the most important environmental factor is temperature”可得C选项正确；D选项对应第二段的第三句和第三段的首句，D选项正确；E选项中，原文没有将两者进行比较，则E选项不正确；F选项中，虽然文章倒数第二自然段提到了紧挨着树带界线，苔原上都是矮灌木、草本植物和牧草，但是，文章中并没有直接介绍说这些低矮的树木能够忍受大风和低温。