1、2006 年 10 月美国托福英语考试（TOEFL）阅读真题精选及答案解析(总分：120.00，做题时间：150 分钟)一、READING(总题数：5，分数：120.00)Electricity from WindSince 1980, the use of wind to produce electricity has been growing rapidly. In 1994 there were nearly 20,000 wind turbines worldwide, most grouped in clusters called wind farms that collective
2、ly produced 3,000 megawatts of electricity. Most were in Denmark (which got 3 percent of its electricity from wind turbines) and California (where 17,000 machines produced 1 percent of the states electricity, enough to meet the residential needs of a city as large as San Francisco). In principle, al
3、l the power needs of the United States could be provided by exploiting the wind potential of just three statesNorth Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas.Large wind farms can be built in six months to a year and then easily expanded as needed. With a moderate to fairly high net energy yield, these systems
4、 emit no heat-trapping carbon dioxide or other air pollutants and need no water for cooling; manufacturing them produces little water pollution. The land under wind turbines can be used for grazing cattle and other purposes, and leasing land for wind turbines can provide extra income for farmers and
5、 ranchers.Wind power has a significant cost advantage over nuclear power and has become competitive with coal-fired power plants in many places. With new technological advances and mass production, projected cost declines should make wind power one of the worlds cheapest ways to produce electricity.
6、 In the long run, electricity from large wind farms in remote areas might be used to make hydrogen gas from water during periods when there is less than peak demand for electricity. The hydrogen gas could then be fed into a storage system and used to generate electricity when additional or backup po
7、wer is needed.Wind power is most economical in areas with steady winds. In areas where the wind dies down, backup electricity from a utility company or from an energy storage system becomes necessary. Backup power could also be provided by linking wind farms with a solar cell, with conventional or p
8、umped-storage hydropower, or with efficient natural-gas-burning turbines. Some drawbacks to wind farms include visual pollution and noise, although these can be overcome by improving their design and locating them in isolated areas.Large wind farms might also interfere with the flight patterns of mi
9、gratory birds in certain areas, and they have killed large birds of prey (especially hawks, falcons, and eagles) that prefer to hunt along the same ridge lines that are ideal for wind turbines. The killing of birds of prey by wind turbines has pitted environmentalists who champion wildlife protectio
10、n against environmentalists who promote renewable wind energy. Researchers are evaluating how serious this problem is and hope to find ways to eliminate or sharply reduce this problem. Some analysts also contend that the number of birds killed by wind turbines is dwarfed by birds killed by other hum
11、an-related sources and by the potential loss of entire bird species from possible global warming. Recorded deaths of birds of prey and other birds in wind farms in the United States currently amount to no more than 300 per year. By contrast, in the United States an estimated 97 million birds are kil
12、led each year when they collide with buildings made of plate glass, 57 million are killed on highways each year; at least 3.8 million die annually from pollution and poisoning; and millions of birds are electrocuted each year by transmission and distribution lines carrying power produced by nuclear
13、and coal power plants.The technology is in place for a major expansion of wind power worldwide. Wind power is a virtually unlimited source of energy at favorable sites, and even excluding environmentally sensitive areas, the global potential of wind power is much higher than the current world electr
14、icity use. In theory, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom could use wind to meet all of their energy needs. Wind power experts project that by the middle of the twenty-first century wind power could supply more than 10 percent of the worlds electricity and 10-25 percent o
15、f the electricity used in the United States.（分数：24）(1).Based on the information in paragraph 1, which of the following best explains the term wind farms?（分数：2）A.Farms using windmills to pump waterB.Research centers exploring the uses of windC.Types of power plant common in North DakotaD.Collections
16、of wind turbines producing electric power(2).The word emit in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.UseB.RequireC.ReleaseD.Destroy(3).Based on the information in paragraph 3 and paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas mentioned at the end of
17、paragraph 1?（分数：2）A.They rely largely on coal-fired power plants.B.They contain remote areas where the winds rarely die down.C.Over 1 percent of the electricity in these states is produced by wind farms.D.Wind farms in these states are being expanded to meet the power needs of the United States(4).A
18、ccording to paragraph 3, which of the following is true about periods when the demand for electricity is relatively low?（分数：2）A.These periods are times when wind turbines are powered by hydrogen gas.B.These periods provide the opportunity to produce and store energy for future use.C.These periods cr
19、eate storage problems for all forms of power generation.D.These periods occur as often as periods when the demand for electricity is high.(5).In paragraph 4, the author states that in areas where winds are not steady（分数：2）A.Power does not reach all customersB.Wind farms cannot be usedC.Solar power i
20、s more appropriateD.Backup systems are needed(6).According to paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the problems of visual pollution and noise associated with wind farms?（分数：2）A.Both problems affect the efficiency of wind farms.B.Possible solutions are known for both problems.C.Wind power creates
21、more noise than visual pollution.D.People are more concerned about visual pollution than noise.(7).The phrase this problem in the passage refers to（分数：2）A.Interference with the flight patterns of migrating birds in certain areasB.Building ridge lines that are ideal for wind turbinesC.The killing of
22、birds of prey by wind turbinesD.Meeting the demands of environmentalists who promote renewable wind energy(8) Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essentia
23、l information.（分数：2）A.Hawks, falcons, and eagles prefer to hunt along ridge lines, where wind turbines can kill large numbers of migratory birds.B.Wind turbines occasionally cause migratory birds to change their flight patterns and therefore may interfere with the areas where birds of prey prefer to
24、 hunt.C.Some of the best locations for large wind farms are places that may cause problems for migrating birds and birds of prey.D.Large wind farms in certain areas kill hawks, falcons, and eagles and thus might create a more ideal path for the flight of migratory birds.(9).In paragraph 5, why does
25、the author give details about the estimated numbers of birds killed each year?（分数：2）A.To argue that wind farms should not be built along ridge linesB.To point out that the deaths of migratory birds exceed the deaths of birds of preyC.To explain why some environmentalists oppose wind energyD.To sugge
26、st that wind turbines result in relatively few bird deaths(10).The phrase amount to in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.Can identifyB.ChangeC.Are reduced byD.Total(11).The word project in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.EstimateB.RespondC.ArgueD.Plan(12).Which of the following
27、 statements most accurately reflects the authors opinion about wind energy?（分数：2）A.Wind energy production should be limited to large wind farms.B.The advantages of wind energy outweigh the disadvantages.C.The technology to make wind energy safe and efficient will not be ready until the middle of the
28、 twenty-first century.D.Wind energy will eventually supply many countries with most of their electricity.Deer Populations of the Puget SoundTwo species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer, lowlan
29、d, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer, in earlier times was common in the open prairie country, it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the lower Columbia River.Nearly any
30、kind of plant of the forest understory can be part of a deers diet. Where the forest inhibits the growth of grass and other meadow plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding. What keeps the black-tailed d
31、eer alive in the harsher seasons of plant decay and dormancy? One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in urge to migrate. Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall. Even with snow on the ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; als
32、o snow and wind bring down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder.The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country. The early explorers and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the same b
33、reath bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal. Famous explorers of the north American frontier, Lewis and Clark had experienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until the second of December did they kill their first elk. To keep 40 people alive that winter, they cons
34、umed approximately 150 elk and 20 deer. And when game moved out of the lowlands in early spring, the expedition decided to return east rather than face possible starvation. Later on in the early years of the nineteenth century, when Fort Vancouver became the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company,
35、deer populations continued to fluctuate. David Douglas, Scottish botanical explorer of the 1830s found a disturbing change in the animal life around the fort during the period between his first visit in 1825 and his final contact with the fort in 1832. A recent Douglas biographer states:“ The deer w
36、hich once picturesquely dotted the meadows around the fort were gone in 1832, hunted to extermination in order to protect the crops.“Reduction in numbers of game should have boded ill for their survival in later times. A worsening of the plight of deer was to be expected as settlers encroached on th
37、e land, logging, burning, and clearing, eventually replacing a wilderness landscape with roads, cities, towns, and factories. No doubt the numbers of deer declined still further. Recall the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer, now in a protected status. But for the black-tailed deer, human press
38、ure has had just the opposite effect. Wild life zoologist Hulmut Buechner(1953), in reviewing the nature of biotic changes in Washington through recorded time, Says that “since the early 1940s, the state has had more deer than at any other time in its history, the winter population fluctuating aroun
39、d approximately 320,000 deer (mule and black-tailed deer), which will yield about 65,000 of either sex and any age annually for an indefinite period.”The causes of this population rebound are consequences of other human actions. First, the major predators of deer-wolves, cougar, and lynx-have been g
40、reatly reduced in numbers. Second, conservation has been insured by limiting times for and types of hunting. But the most profound reason for the restoration of high population numbers has been the gate of the forests. Great tracts of lowland country deforested by logging, fire, or both have become
41、ideal feeding grounds of deer. In addition to finding an increase of suitable browse, like huckleberry and vine maple, Arthur Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to be substantially more nutritive. The protein content of shade-grown v
42、egetation, for example, was much lower than that for plants grown in clearings.（分数：24）(1).According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?（分数：2）A.It is native to lowlands and marshes.B.It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern Washington
43、than to other types of deer.C.It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie.D.It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied.(2).It can be inferred from the discussion in paragraph 2 that winter conditions（分数：2）A.Cause some deer to hibernateB.Make food unavailab
44、le in the highlands for deerC.Make it easier for deer to locate understory plantsD.Prevent deer from migrating during the winter(3).The word “inhibits“ in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.Consists ofB.CombinesC.RestrictsD.Establishes(4).The phrase “in the same breath“ in the passage is cl
45、osest in meaning to（分数：2）A.ImpatientlyB.HumorouslyC.ContinuouslyD.Immediately(5).The author tells the story of the explorers Lewis and Clark in paragraph 3 in order to illustrate which of the following points?（分数：2）A.The number of deer within the Puget Sound region has varied over time.B.Most of the
46、 explorers who came to the Puget Sound area were primarily interested in the West.C.There was more game for hunting in the East of the United States than in the West.D.Individual explorers were not as successful at locating games as were the trading companies(6).According to paragraph 3, how had For
47、t Vancouver changed by the time David Douglas returned in 1832?（分数：2）A.The fort had become the headquarters for the Hudsons Bay Company.B.Deer had begun populating the meadows around the fort.C.Deer populations near the fort had been destroyed.D.Crop yields in the area around the fort had decreased.
48、(7).Why does the author ask readers to recall “the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer” in the discussion of changes in the wilderness landscape? （分数：2）A.To provide support for the idea that habitat destruction would lead to population declineB.To compare how two species of deer caused biotic ch
49、anges in the wilderness environmentC.To provide an example of a species of deer that has successfully adapted to human settlementD.To argue that some deer species must be given a protected status(8).The phrase “indefinite period” in the passage is closest in meaning to period（分数：2）A.Whose end has not been determinedB.That does not begin when expectedC.That lasts only brieflyD.Whose importance remains unknown(9).Which of the following statements about deer populations is supported by the information in paragraph 4?（分数：2）A.Deer populations reached their highest point during the 1940
