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2001年5月TOEFL考题(9) |
| 来源:www.stu88.com 时间:2006-04-27 |
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Questions 1-10
In the early 1800’s, over 80 percent of the United States labor force was engaged
in agriculture. Sophisticated technology and machinery were virtually nonexistent.
People who lived in the cities and were not directly involved in trade often participated
Line in small cottage industries making handcrafted goods. Others cured meats, silversmiths, candle
5) or otherwise produced needed goods and commodities. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, candle
makers, and other artisans worked in their homes or barns, relying on help of family
Perhaps no single phenomenon brought more widespread and lasting change to the
United States society than the rise of industrialization. Industrial growth hinged on several
10） economic factors. First, industry requires an abundance of natural resources, especially
coal, iron ore, water, petroleum, and timber-all readily available on the North American
continent. Second, factories demand a large labor supply. Between the 1870’s and the
First World War (1914-1918), approximately 23 million immigrants streamed to the
United States, settled in cities, and went to work in factories and mines. They also helped
15）build the vast network of canals and railroads that crisscrossed the continent and linked
important trade centers essential to industrial growth.
Factories also offered a reprieve from the backbreaking work and financial
unpredictability associated with farming. Many adults, poor and disillusioned with
farm life, were lured to the cities by promises of steady employment, regular paychecks,
20) increased access to goods and services, and expanded social opportunities. Others were
pushed there when new technologies made their labor cheap or expendable; inventions
such as steel plows and mechanized harvesters allowed one farmhand to perform work
that previously had required several, thus making farming capital-intensive rather than
labor-intensive.
25） The United States economy underwent a massive transition and the nature of work
was permanently altered. Whereas cottage industries relied on a few highly skilled craft
workers who slowly and carefully converted raw materials into finished products from
start to finish, factories relied on specialization. While factory work was less creative and
more monotonous, it was also more efficient and allowed mass production of goods at
less expense.
1.What aspect of life in the United States does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The transition from an agricultural to an
industrial economy
(B) The inventions that transformed life in the
nineteenth century
(C) The problems associated with the earliest
factories
(D) The difficulty of farm life in the nineteenth
century
2. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and candle makers are mentioned in lines 5-6 as examples of
artisans who
(A) maintained their businesses at home
(B) were eventually able to use sophisticated
technology
(C) produced unusual goods and commodities
(D) would employ only family members
3. The phrase “hinged on” in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) recovered from
(B) depended on
(C) started on
(D) contributed to
4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a reason for the industrial growth that occurred in the United States before 1914?
(A)The availability of natural resources found only in the United States
(B) The decrease in number of farms resulting
from technological advances
(C) The replacement of canals and railroads by
other forms of transportation
(D) The availability of a large immigrant work
force
共10页:  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] 9 [10] 
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