新托福考试习题.doc

目录
1.
APPLIED ARTS AND FINE ARTS 3
THE ORIGINS OF CETACEANS 7
DESERT FORMATION 12
EARLY CINEMA 17
AGGRESSION 22
ARTISANS AND INDUSTRIALIZATION 27
SWIMMING MACHINES 32
NINETEENTH-CENTURY POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES 37
THE EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS 42
GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE 47
GROUNDWATER 52
THE ORIGINS OF THEATER 57
TIMBERLINE VEGETATION ON MOUNTAINS 62
ARCHITECTURE 67
Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer 72
The Long-Term Stability of Ecosystems 78
Opportunists and Competitors 83
Lascaux Cave Paintings 88
Electricity from Wind 93
Deer Populations of the Puget Sound 98
Cave Art in Europe 104
Petroleum Resources 110
Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction 116
MINERALS AND PLANTS 122
THE ORIGIN OF THE PACIFIC ISLAND PEOPLE 127
THE CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION 133
Powering the Industrial Revolution 139
William Smith 145
Infantile Amnesia 150
The Geologic History of the Mediterranean 155
Ancient Rome and Greece 160
Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples 165
THE RISE OF TEOTIHUACAN 171
EXTINCTION OF THE DINOSAURS 177
RUNNING WATER ON MARS 183
Colonizing the Americas via the Northwest Coast 188
REFLECTION IN TEACHING 194
THE ARRIVAL OF PLANT LIFE IN HAWAII 200
FEEDING HABITS OF EAST AFRICAN HERBIVORES 205
LOIE FULLER 210
GREEN ICEBERGS 215
Chinese Pottery 220
Variations in the Climate 226
Seventeenth-Century European Economic Growth 232
Ancient Egyptian Sculpture 238
Orientation and Navigation 243
Begging by Nestlings 249
Which Hand Did They Use? 255
Transition to Sound in Film 261
Water in the Desert 267
Types of Social Groups 272
Biological Clocks 277
Methods of Studying Infant Perception 283
Children and Advertising 289
Maya Water Problems 294
Pastoralism in Ancient Inner Eurasia 299
A Warm-Blooded Turtle 304
Mass Extinctions 309
Glacier Formation 315

APPLIED ARTS AND FINE ARTS
Although we now tend to refer to the various crafts according to the materials used to construct them-clay, glass, wood, fiber, and metal-it was once common to think of crafts in terms of function, which led to their being known as the "applied arts." Approaching crafts from the point of view of function, we can divide them into simple categories: containers, shelters and supports. There is no way around the fact that containers, shelters, and supports must be functional. The applied arts are thus bound by the laws of physics, which pertain to both the materials used in their making and the substances and things to be contained, supported, and sheltered. These laws are universal in their application, regardless of cultural beliefs, geography, or climate. If a pot has no bottom or has large openings in its sides, it could hardly be considered a container in any traditional sense. Since the laws of physics, not some arbitrary decision, have determined the general form of applied-art objects, they follow basic patterns, so much so that functional forms can vary only within certain limits. Buildings without roofs, for example, are unusual because they depart from the norm. However, not all functional objects are exactly alike; that is why we recognize a Shang Dynasty vase as being different from an Inca vase. What varies is not the basic form but the incidental details that do not obstruct the object's primary function.

Sensitivity to physical laws is thus an important consideration for the maker of applied-art objects. It is often taken for granted that this is also true for the maker of fine-art objects. This assumption misses a significant difference between the two disciplines. Fine-art objects are not constrained by the laws of physics in the same way that applied-art objects are. Because their primary purpose is not functional, they are only limited in terms of the materials used to make them. Sculptures must, for example, be stable, which requires an understanding of the properties of mass, weight distribution, and stress. Paintings must have rigid stretchers so that the canvas will be taut, and the paint must not deteriorate, crack, or discolor. These are problems that must be overcome by the artist because they tend to intrude upon his or her conception of the work. For example, in the early Italian Renaissance, bronze statues of horses with a raised foreleg usually had a cannonball under that hoof. This was done because the cannonball was needed to support the weight of the leg. In other words, the demands of the laws of physics, not the sculptor's aesthetic intentions, placed the ball there. That this device was a necessary structural compromise is clear from the fact that the cannonball quickly disappeared when sculptors learned how to strengthen the internal structure of a statue with iron braces (iron being much stronger than bronze).

Even though the fine arts in the twentieth century often treat materials in new ways, the basic difference in attitude of artists in relation to their materials in the fine arts and the applied arts remains relatively constant. It would therefore not be too great an exaggeration to say that practitioners of the fine arts work to overcome the limitations of their materials, whereas those engaged in the applied arts work in concert with their materials.

Paragraph 1: Although we now tend to refer to the various crafts according to the materials used to construct them-clay, glass, wood, fiber, and metal-it was once common to think of crafts in terms of function, which led to their being known as the "applied arts." Approaching crafts from the point of view of function, we can divide them into simple categories: containers, shelters and supports. There is no way around the fact that containers, shelters, and supports must be functional. The applied arts are thus bound by the laws of physics, which pertain to both the materials used in their making and the substances and things to be contained, supported, and sheltered. These laws are universal in their application, regardless of cultural beliefs, geography, or climate. If a pot has no bottom or has large openings in its sides, it could hardly be considered a container in any traditional sense. Since the laws of physics, not some arbitrary decision, have determined the general form of applied-art objects, they follow basic patterns, so much so that functional forms can vary only within certain limits. Buildings without roofs, for example, are unusual because they depart from the norm. However, not all functional objects are exactly alike; that is why we recognize a Shang Dynasty vase as being different from an Inca vase. What varies is not the basic form but the incidental details that do not obstruct the object's primary function.

3. The word they in the passage refers to
○Applied-art objects
○The laws of physics
○Containers
○The sides of pots

4. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
○Functional applied-art objects cannot vary much from the basic patterns determined by the laws of physics.
○The function of applied-art objects is determined by basic patterns in the laws of physics.
○Since functional applied-art objects vary only within certain limits, arbitrary decisions cannot have determined their general form.
○The general form of applied-art objects is limited by some arbitrary decision that is not determined by the laws of physics.

Paragraph 2: Sensitivity to physical laws is thus an important consideration for the maker of applied-art objects. It is often taken for granted that this is also true for the maker of fine-art objects. This assumption misses a significant difference between the two disciplines. Fine-art objects are not constrained by the laws of physics in the same way that applied-art objects are. Because their primary purpose is not functional, they are only limited in terms of the materials used to make them. Sculptures must, for example, be stable, which requires an understanding of the properties of mass, weight distribution, and stress. Paintings must have rigid stretchers so that the canvas will be taut, and the paint must not deteriorate, crack, or discolor. These are problems that must be overcome by the artist because they tend to intrude upon his or her conception of the work. For example, in the early Italian Renaissance, bronze statues of horses with a raised foreleg usually had a cannonball under that hoof. This was done because the cannonball was needed to support the weight of the leg. In other words, the demands of the laws of physics, not the sculptor's aesthetic intentions, placed the ball there. That this device was a necessary structural compromise is clear from the fact that the cannonball quickly disappeared when sculptors learned how to strengthen the internal structure of a statue with iron braces (iron being much stronger than bronze).

5. According to paragraph 2, sculptors in the Italian Renaissance stopped using cannonballs in bronze statues of horses because
○They began using a material that made the statues weigh less
○They found a way to strengthen the statues internally
○The aesthetic tastes of the public had changed over time
○The cannonballs added too much weight to the statues

6. Why does the author discuss the bronze statues of horses created by artists in the early Italian Renaissance?
○To provide an example of a problem related to the laws of physics that a fine artist must overcome
○To argue that fine artists are unconcerned with the laws of physics
○To contrast the relative sophistication of modern artists in solving problems related to the laws of physics
○To note an exceptional piece of art constructed without the aid of technology

7. 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.

This passage discusses fundamental differences between applied-art objects and fine-art objects.
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Answer Choices
○Applied-art objects fulfill functions, such as containing or sheltering, and objects with the same function have similar characteristics because they are constrained by their purpose.
○It is easy to recognize that Shang Dynasty vases are different from Inca vases.
○Fine-art objects are not functional, so they are limited only by the properties of the materials used.
○Renaissance sculptors learned to use iron braces to strengthen the internal structures of bronze statues.
○In the twentieth century, fine artists and applied artists became more similar to one another in their attitudes toward their materials.
○In all periods, fine artists tend to challenge the physical limitations of their materials while applied artists tend to cooperate with the physical properties of their materials.

8. Directions: Complete the table below to summarize information about the two types of art discussed in the passage. Match the appropriate statements to the types of art with which they are associated. This question is worth 3 points.

TYPES OF ART STATEMENTS
The Applied Arts Select 3
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The Fine Arts Select 2
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Statements
○An object's purpose is primarily aesthetic.
○Objects serve a functional purpose.
○The incidental details of objects do not vary.
○Artists work to overcome the limitations of their materials.
○The basic form of objects varies little across cultures.
○Artists work in concert with their materials.
○An object's place of origin is difficult to determine.
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text.

THE ORIGINS OF CETACEANS
It should be obvious that cetaceans-whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke1 and blowhole2 cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.

Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale. The fossil was officially named Pakicetus in honor of the country where the discovery was made. Pakicetus was found embedded in rocks formed from river deposits that were 52 million years old. The river that formed these deposits was actually not far from an ancient ocean known as the Tethys Sea.

The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans. Although limited to a skull, the Pakicetus fossil provides precious details on the origins of cetaceans. The skull is cetacean-like but its jawbones lack the enlarged space that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving underwater sound in modern whales. Pakicetus probably detected sound through the ear opening as in land mammals. The skull also lacks a blowhole, another cetacean adaptation for diving. Other features, however, show experts that Pakicetus is a transitional form between a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals, the mesonychids, and cetaceans. It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean. It probably bred and gave birth on land.

Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12 million years after Pakicetus. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes. Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs.

An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans ("the walking whale that swam") lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9 million before Ba