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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.
7.The word “expendable” in line 21 is closest in
meaning to
(A) nonproductive
(B) unacceptable
(C) nonessential
(D) unprofitable Question 11-20
Molting is one of the most involved processes of a bird’s annual life cycle.
Notwithstanding preening and constant care, the marvelously intricate structure of a bird’s
Feather inevitably wears out. All adult birds molt their feathers at least once a year, and
Line upon close observation, one can recognize the frayed, ragged appearance of feathers that
5) are nearing the end of their useful life. Two distinct processes are involved in molting.
The first step is when the old, worn feather is dropped, or shed. The second is when a new
feather grows in its place. When each feather has been shed and replaced, then the molt
can be said to be complete. This, however, is an abstraction that often does not happen:
incomplete, overlapping, and arrested molts are quite common.
10) Molt requires that a bird find and process enough protein to rebuild approximately
one-third of its body weight. It is not surprising that a bird in heavy molt often seems
listless and unwell. But far from being random, molt is controlled by strong evolutionary
forces that have established an optimal time and duration. Generally, molt occurs at the
time of least stress on the bird. Many songbirds, for instance, molt in late summer, when
15) the hard work of breeding is done but the weather is still warm and food still plentiful.
This is why the woods in late summer often seem so quiet, when compared with the
Exuberant choruses of spring.
Molt of the flight feathers is the most highly organized part of the process. Some species,
for example, begin by dropping the outermost primary feathers on each side (to retain
20) balance in the air) and wait until the replacement feathers are about one-third grown before
shedding the next outermost, and so on. Others always start with the innermost primary
feathers and work outward. Yet other species begin in the middle and work outward on both
weeks while the replacement feathers grow.
19.The author discusses ducks in order to provide
an example of birds that
(A) grow replacement feathers that are very long
(B) shed all their wing feathers at one time
(C) keep their innermost feathers
(D) shed their outermost feathers first
20. It can inferred from the discussion about ducks
that the molting of their flight feathers takes.
(A) a year
(B) a season
(C) several months
(D) a few weeks 谢谢拉！  | 
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发表于 2004-11-6 11:05:00
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