2007年10月美国托福英语考试（TOEFL）阅读真题精选及答案解析.doc

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1、2007 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：112.00，做题时间：150 分钟)一、REAFING(总题数：5，分数：112.00)The Expression of EmotionsJoy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of many emotions

2、 may be universal. Smiling is apparently a universal sign of friendliness and approval. Baring the teeth in a hostile way, as noted by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, may be a universal sign of anger. As the originator of the theory of evolution, Darwin believed that the universal recognit

3、ion of facial expressions would have survival value. For example, facial expressions could signal the approach of enemies (or friends) in the absence of language.Most investigators concur that certain facial expressions suggest the same emotions in all people. Moreover, people in diverse cultures re

4、cognize the emotions manifested by the facial expressions. In classic research Paul Ekman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them. Those queried ran

5、ged from European college students to members of the Fore, a tribe that dwells in the New Guinea highlands. All groups, including the Fore, who had almost no contact with Western culture, agreed on the portrayed emotions. The Fore also displayed familiar facial expressions when asked how they would

6、respond if they were the characters in stories that called for basic emotional responses. Ekman and his colleagues more recently obtained similar results in a study of ten cultures in which participants were permitted to report that multiple emotions were shown by facial expressions. The participant

7、s generally agreed on which two emotions were being shown and which emotion was more intense.Psychological researchers generally recognize that facial expressions reflect emotional states. In fact, various emotional states give rise to certain patterns of electrical activity in the facial muscles an

8、d in the brain. The facial-feedback hypothesis argues, however, that the causal relationship between emotions and facial expressions can also work in the opposite direction. According to this hypothesis, signals from the facial muscles (“feedback) are sent back to emotion centers of the brain, and s

9、o a persons facial expression can influence that persons emotional state. Consider Darwins words: “The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the repression, as far as possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions.“ Can smiling give rise to feelings o

10、f good will, for example, and frowning to anger?Psychological research has given rise to some interesting findings concerning the facial-feedback hypothesis. Causing participants in experiments to smile, for example, leads them to report more positive feelings and to rate cartoons (humorous drawings

11、 of people or situations) as being more humorous. When they are caused to frown, they rate cartoons as being more aggressive.What are the possible links between facial expressions and emotion? One link is arousal, which is the level of activity or preparedness for activity in an organism. Intense co

12、ntraction of facial muscles, such as those used in signifying fear, heightens arousal. Self-perception of heightened arousal then leads to heightened emotional activity. Other links may involve changes in brain temperature and the release of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit nerve impulses

13、.) The contraction of facial muscles both influences the internal emotional state and reflects it. Ekman has found that the so-called Duchenne smile, which is characterized by crows feet“ wrinkles around the eyes and a subtle drop in the eye cover fold so that the skin above the eye moves down sligh

14、tly toward the eyeball, can lead to pleasant feelings.Ekmans observation may be relevant to the British expression “keep a stiff upper lip” as a recommendation for handling stress. It might be that a “stiff” lip suppresses emotional response - as long as the lip is not quivering with fear or tension

15、. But when the emotion that leads to stiffening the lip is more intense, and involves strong muscle tension, facial feedback may heighten emotional response.（分数：22）(1).The word despondent in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.CuriousB.UnhappyC.ThoughtfulD.Uncertain(2).The author mentions “B

16、aring the teeth in a hostile way“ in order to（分数：2）A.Differentiate one possible meaning of a particular facial expression from other meanings of itB.Support Darwins theory of evolutionC.Provide an example of a facial expression whose meaning is widely understoodD.Contrast a facial expression that is

17、 easily understood with other facial expressions(3).The word concur in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.EstimateB.AgreeC.ExpectD.Understand(4).The word them in the passage refers to（分数：2）A.EmotionsB.PeopleC.PhotographsD.Cultures(5).According to paragraph 2, which of the following was true

18、 of the Fore people of New Guinea?（分数：2）A.They did not want to be shown photographs.B.They were famous for their story-telling skills.C.They knew very little about Western culture.D.They did not encourage the expression of emotions.(6).Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential inform

19、ation in the highlighted sentence in the passage?（分数：2）A.The Fores facial expressions indicated their unwillingness to pretend to be story characters.B.The Fore were asked to display familiar facial expressions when they told their stories.C.The Fore exhibited the same relationship of facial express

20、ions and basic emotions that is seen in Western culture when they acted out stories.D.The Fore were familiar with the facial expressions and basic emotions of characters in stories.(7).According to the passage, what did Darwin believe would happen to human emotions that were not expressed?（分数：2）A.Th

21、ey would become less intense.B.They would last longer than usual.C.They would cause problems later.D.They would become more negative(8).According to the passage, research involving which of the following supported the facial-feedback hypothesis?（分数：2）A.The reactions of people in experiments to carto

22、onsB.The tendency of people in experiments to cooperateC.The release of neurotransmitters by people during experimentsD.The long-term effects of repressing emotions(9).The word rate in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.JudgeB.RejectC.DrawD.Want(10).The word relevant in the passage is close

23、st in meaning to（分数：2）A.ContradictoryB.ConfusingC.DependentD.Applicable(11).According to the passage, stiffening the upper lip may have which of the following effects?（分数：2）A.It first suppresses stress, then intensifies it.B.It may cause fear and tension in those who see it.C.It can damage the lip m

24、uscles.D.It may either heighten or reduce emotional response.Geology and LandscapeMost people consider the landscape to be unchanging, but Earth is a dynamic body, and its surface is continually altering-slowly on the human time scale, but relatively rapidly when compared to the great age of Earth (

25、about 4,500 billion years). There are two principal influences that shape the terrain: constructive processes such as uplift, which create new landscape features, and destructive forces such as erosion, which gradually wear away exposed landforms.Hills and mountains are often regarded as the epitome

26、 of permanence, successfully resisting the destructive forces of nature, but in fact they tend to be relatively short-lived in geological terms. As a general rule, the higher a mountain is, the more recently it was formed; for example, the high mountains of the Himalayas are only about 50 million ye

27、ars old. Lower mountains tend to be older, and are often the eroded relics of much higher mountain chains. About 400 million years ago, when the present-day continents of North America and Europe were joined, the Caledonian mountain chain was the same size as the modern Himalayas. Today, however, th

28、e relics of the Caledonian orogeny (mountain-building period) exist as the comparatively low mountains of Greenland, the northern Appalachians in the United States, the Scottish Highlands, and the Norwegian coastal plateau.The Earths crust is thought to be divided into huge, movable segments, called

29、 plates, which float on a soft plastic layer of rock. Some mountains were formed as a result of these plates crashing into each other and forcing up the rock at the plate margins. In this process, sedimentary rocks that originally formed on the seabed may be folded upwards to altitudes of more than

30、26,000 feet. Other mountains may be raised by earthquakes, which fracture the Earths crust and can displace enough rock to produce block mountains. A third type of mountain may be formed as a result of volcanic activity which occurs in regions of active fold mountain belts, such as in the Cascade Ra

31、nge of western North America. The Cascades are made up of lavas and volcanic materials. Many of the peaks are extinct volcanoes.Whatever the reason for mountain formation, as soon as land rises above sea level it is subjected to destructive forces. The exposed rocks are attacked by the various weath

32、er processes and gradually broken down into fragments, which are then carried away and later deposited as sediments. Thus, any landscape represents only a temporary stage in the continuous battle between the forces of uplift and those of erosion.The weather, in its many forms, is the main agent of e

33、rosion. Rain washes away loose soil and penetrates cracks in the rocks. Carbon dioxide in the air reacts with the rainwater, forming a weak acid (carbonic acid) that may chemically attack the rocks. The rain seeps underground and the water may reappear later as springs. These springs are the sources

34、 of streams and rivers, which cut through the rocks and carry away debris from the mountains to the lowlands.Under very cold conditions, rocks can be shattered by ice and frost. Glaciers may form in permanently cold areas, and these slowly moving masses of ice cut out valleys, carrying with them hug

35、e quantities of eroded rock debris. In dry areas the wind is the principal agent of erosion. It carries fine particles of sand, which bombard exposed rock surfaces, thereby wearing them into yet more sand. Even living things contribute to the formation of landscapes. Tree roots force their way into

36、cracks in rocks and, in so doing, speed their splitting. In contrast, the roots of grasses and other small plants may help to hold loose soil fragments together, thereby helping to prevent erosion by the wind.（分数：20）(1).According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements is true of changes i

37、n Earths landscape?（分数：2）A.They occur more often by uplift than by erosionB.They occur only at special times.C.They occur less frequently now than they once did.D.They occur quickly in geological terms.(2).The word relatively in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.UnusuallyB.ComparativelyC.O

38、ccasionallyD.Naturally(3).Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the mountains of the Himalayas?（分数：2）A.Their current height is not an indication of their age.B.At present, they are much higher than the mountains of the Caledonian range.C.They were a uniform height about 400 m

39、illion years ago.D.They are not as high as the Caledonian mountains were 400 million years ago.(4).The word relics in the passage IS closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.ResemblancesB.RegionsC.RemainsD.Restorations(5).According to paragraph 3, one cause of mountain formation is the（分数：2）A.effect of climatic

40、 change on sea levelB.slowing down of volcanic activityC.force of Earths crustal plates hitting each otherD.replacement of sedimentary rock with volcanic rock(6).Why does the author mention Carbon dioxide in the passage?（分数：2）A.To explain the origin of a chemical that can erode rocksB.To contrast ca

41、rbon dioxide with carbonic acidC.To give an example of how rainwater penetrates soilD.To argue for the desirability of preventing erosion(7).The word seeps in the passage is closest in meaning to（分数：2）A.Dries graduallyB.Flows slowlyC.Freezes quicklyD.Warms slightly(8).The word them in the passage re

42、fers to（分数：2）A.Cold areasB.Masses of iceC.ValleysD.Rock debris(9).Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage?（分数：2）A.When they are relatively young, hills and mountains successfully resist the destructive forces of nature.B.Althou

43、gh they seem permanent, hills and mountains exist for a relatively short period of geological timeC.Hills and mountains successfully resist the destructive forces of nature, but only for a short timeD.Hills and mountains resist the destructive forces of nature better than other types of landforms.(1

44、0).According to paragraph 6, which of the following is both a cause and result of erosion?（分数：2）A.Glacial activityB.Rock debrisC.Tree rootsD.SandGroundwaterGroundwater is the word used to describe water that saturates the ground, filling all the available spaces. By far the most abundant type of gro

45、undwater is meteoric water; this is the groundwater that circulates as part of the water cycle. Ordinary meteoric water is water that has soaked into the ground from the surface, from precipitation (rain and snow) and from lakes and streams. There it remains, sometimes for long periods, before emerg

46、ing at the surface again. At first thought it seems incredible that there can be enough space in the “solid” ground underfoot to hold all this water.The necessary space is there, however, in many forms. The commonest spaces are those among the particlessand grains and tiny pebblesof loose, unconsoli

47、dated 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 wa

48、ter 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.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 relativel

49、y 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. 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.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