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1996年8月托福阅读全真试题(5) |
| 来源:www.stu88.com 时间:2006-04-27 |
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30.In line 26, the word "inclinations" is closest in meaning to
(A) tricks
(B) opportunities
(C) preferences
(D) experiences
31.In lines 26-29, the author mentions a pet crow to illustrate which of the following?
(A) The clever ways that crows solve problems.
(B) The differences between pet crows and wild crows.
(C) The ease with which crows can be tamed.
(D) The affection that crows show to other creatures
32.Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
(A) Crows have relatively long lives.
(B) Crows have keen vision.
(C) Crows are usually solitary.
(D) Crows are very intelligent.
Questions 33-41
In the early days of the United States, postal charges
were paid by the recipient and Charges varied with the
distance carried. In 1825, the United States Congress permitted
local postmasters to give letters to mail carriers for home
delivery, but these carriers received no government salary and their
entire compensation depended on what they were paid by the
recipients of individual letters.
In 1847 the United States Post Office Department
adopted the idea of a postage stamp, which of course simplified
the payment for postal service but caused grumbling by those
who did not like to prepay. Besides, the stamp covered only
delivery to the post office and did not include carrying it to a
private address. In Philadelphia, for example, with a population
of 150,000, people still had to go to the post office to get
their mail. The confusion and congestion of individual citizens
looking for their letters was itself enough to discourage use of
the mail. It is no wonder that, during the years of these
cumbersome arrangements, private letter-carrying and express
businesses developed. Although their activities were only
semilegal, they thrived, and actually advertised that between
Boston and Philadelphia they were a half-day speedier than the
government mail. The government postal service lost volume
to private competition and was not able to handle efficiently
even the business it had.
Finally, in 1863, Congress provided that the mail carriers
who delivered the mail from the post offices to private addresses
should receive a government salary, and that there should
be no extra charge for that delivery. But this delivery service
was at first confined to cities, and free home delivery became a
mark of urbanism. As late as 1887, a town had to have 10,000
people to be eligible for free home delivery. In 1890, of
the 75 million people in the United States, fewer than 20
million had mail delivered free to their doors. The rest, nearly
three-quarters of the population, still received no mail unless
they went to their post office.
33.What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The increased use of private mail services.
(B) The development of a government postal system.
(C) A comparison of urban and postal services.
(D) The history of postage stamps.
34.The word "varied" in line 2 could best be replaced by
(A) increased
(B) differed
(C) returned
(D) started
35.Which of the following was seen as a disadvantage of the postage stamp?
(A) It had to be purchased by the sender in advance.
(B) It increased the cost of mail delivery.
(C) It was difficult to affix to letters.
(D) It was easy to counterfeit.
36.Why does the author mention the city of Philadephia in line 13?
(A) It was the site of the first post office in the United States.
(B) Its postal service was inadequate for its population.
(C) It was the largest city in the United States in 1847.
(D) It was commemorated by the first United States postage stamp. 共7页:  [1] [2] [3] [4] 5 [6] [7] 
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