📖 原文
(1) In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States had tremendous natural resources (2) that could be exploited in order to develop heavy industry. Most of the raw materials (3) that are valuable in the manufacture of machinery, transportation facilities, and consumer (4) goods lay ready to be worked into wealth. Iron, coal, and oil - the basic ingredients of in- (5) dustrial growth - were plentiful and needed only the application of technical expertise, (6) organizational skill, and labor. (7) One crucial development in this movement toward industrialization was the growth (8) of the railroads. The railway network expanded rapidly until the railroad map of the (9) United States looked like a spider's web, with the steel filaments connecting all import- (10) ant sources of raw materials, their places of manufacture, and their centers of (11) distribution. The railroads contributed to the industrial growth not only by connecting (12) these major centers, but also by themselves consuming enormous amounts of fuel, iron, (13) and coal. (14) Many factors influenced emerging modes of production. For example, machine tools, (15) the tools used to make goods, were steadily improved in the latter part of the nineteenth (16) century - always with an eye to speedier production and lower unit costs. The products (17) of the factories were rapidly absorbed by the growing cities that sheltered the workers (18) and the distributors. The increased urban population was nourished by the increased (19) farm production that, in turn, was made more productive by the use of the new farm (20) machinery. American agricultural production kept up with the urban demand and still (21) had surpluses for sale to the industrial centers of Europe. (22) The labor that ran the factories and built the railways was recruited in part from (23) American farm areas where people were being displaced by farm machinery, in part (24) from Asia, and in part from Europe. Europe now began to send tides of immigrants from (25) eastern and southern Europe - most of whom were originally poor farmers but who (26) settled in American industrial cities. The money to finance this tremendous expansion (27) of the American economy still came from European financiers for the most part, but the (28) Americans were approaching the day when their expansion could be financed in their (29) own "money market."
❓ 试题解析
问题 39: What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The history of railroads in the United States
B. The major United States industrial centers
C. Factors that affected industrialization in the United States
D. The role of agriculture in the nineteenth century
✅ 正确答案: C)Factors that affected industrialization in the United States
📝 解析: 全文讨论影响美国工业化的多种因素:自然资源、铁路、机床、城市需求、农业生产力、劳动力和资金。
💡 解题技巧: 主旨题看各段首句列举的多重因素。
问题 40: The word “ingredients” in line 4 is closest in meaning to
A. minerals
B. products
C. methods
D. components
✅ 正确答案: D)components
📝 解析: “the basic ingredients of industrial growth” — ingredients = 要素/组成部分。
💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:ingredients = components = constituents。
问题 41: Why does the author mention “a spider's web” in line 9?
A. To emphasize the railroad's consumption of oil and coal
B. To describe the complex structure of the railway system
C. To explain the problems brought on by railway expansion
D. To describe the difficulties involved in the distribution of raw materials
✅ 正确答案: B)To describe the complex structure of the railway system
📝 解析: 铁路地图像蜘蛛网,钢线连接所有重要原材料产地、制造地和分销中心 — 形容结构复杂且广泛。
💡 解题技巧: 比喻题看喻体特征(spider's web = 复杂网络)。
问题 42: The word “themselves” in line 12 refers to
A. sources
B. centers
C. railroads
D. places
✅ 正确答案: C)railroads
📝 解析: “The railroads contributed ... not only by connecting ... but also by themselves consuming” — themselves 强调 railroads。
💡 解题技巧: 代词题找反身代词所指的主语。
问题 43: According to the passage, all of the following were true of railroads in the United States in the nineteenth century EXCEPT that
A. they connected important industrial cities
B. they were necessary to the industrialization process
C. they were expanded in a short time
D. they used relatively small quantities of natural resources
✅ 正确答案: D)they used relatively small quantities of natural resources
📝 解析: 文中明确“railroads ... consuming enormous amounts of fuel, iron, and coal” — 消耗大量资源,而非少量。
💡 解题技巧: “EXCEPT”题定位“enormous amounts”。
问题 44: According to the passage, what was one effect of the improvement of machine tools?
A. Lower manufacturing costs
B. Better distribution of goods
C. More efficient transportation of natural resources
D. A reduction in industrial jobs
✅ 正确答案: A)Lower manufacturing costs
📝 解析: “always with an eye to speedier production and lower unit costs” — 机床改进旨在提高速度、降低单位成本。
💡 解题技巧: 细节题定位“lower unit costs”。
问题 45: According to the passage, who were the biggest consumers of manufactured products?
A. Railway workers
B. Farmers
C. City dwellers
D. Europeans
✅ 正确答案: C)City dwellers
📝 解析: “The products of the factories were rapidly absorbed by the growing cities” — 城市居民消费工厂产品。
💡 解题技巧: 细节题定位“absorbed by”。
问题 46: The word “nourished” in line 18 is closest in meaning to
A. protected
B. fed
C. housed
D. paid
✅ 正确答案: B)fed
📝 解析: “The increased urban population was nourished by the increased farm production” — nourished = 滋养/养活。
💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:nourish = feed = provide sustenance for。
问题 47: Which of the following is NOT true of United States farmers in the nineteenth century?
A. They lost some jobs because of mechanization.
B. They were unable to produce sufficient food for urban areas.
C. They raised their productivity by using new machinery.
D. They sold food to European countries.
✅ 正确答案: B)They were unable to produce sufficient food for urban areas.
📝 解析: 文中说“American agricultural production kept up with the urban demand and still had surpluses” — 能满足城市需求并有盈余。
💡 解题技巧: “NOT”题定位“kept up with ... and still had surpluses”。
问题 48: According to the passage, what did the United States supply to European cities?
A. Machine tools
B. Money
C. Raw materials
D. Agricultural produce
✅ 正确答案: D)Agricultural produce
📝 解析: “surpluses for sale to the industrial centers of Europe” — 农产品。
💡 解题技巧: 细节题定位“sale to”。
问题 49: The word “ran” in line 22 is closest in meaning to
A. operated
B. hurried
C. constructed
D. owned
✅ 正确答案: A)operated
📝 解析: “The labor that ran the factories” — ran = 经营/运作。
💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:run = operate = manage。
问题 50: Where in the passage does the author mention the financial aspect of industrial expansion?
A. Lines 1-2
B. Lines 11-13
C. Lines 20-21
D. Lines 26-29
✅ 正确答案: D)Lines 26-29
📝 解析: “The money to finance this tremendous expansion ... came from European financiers ... Americans were approaching the day when their expansion could be financed in their own ‘money market’。”
💡 解题技巧: 定位题找“money”、“financiers”、“money market”。
🌐 中文翻译
在19世纪中期,美国拥有巨大的自然资源可用于发展重工业。大多数在机械、运输设备和消费品制造中有价值的原材料都已准备好被加工成财富。铁、煤和石油——工业增长的基本要素——非常丰富,只需应用技术专长、组织技能和劳动力即可。 工业化进程中的一个关键发展是铁路的增长。铁路网络迅速扩张,直到美国的铁路地图看起来像一张蜘蛛网,钢线连接着所有重要的原材料产地、制造地和分销中心。铁路不仅通过连接这些主要中心促进了工业增长,而且其本身也消耗了大量的燃料、铁和煤。 许多因素影响了新兴的生产模式。例如,用于制造商品的机床在19世纪后期稳步改进——始终着眼于更快的生产和更低的单位成本。工厂的产品迅速被不断发展的城市吸收,这些城市容纳了工人和分销商。增长的城市人口得到了增长的农业生产的滋养,而农业生产又因新农机的使用而提高了生产力。美国的农业生产跟上了城市需求,并且仍有剩余产品销往欧洲的工业中心。 经营工厂和修建铁路的劳动力一部分来自美国农业地区(那里的人们被农机取代),一部分来自亚洲,还有一部分来自欧洲。欧洲现在开始从东欧和南欧送来移民潮——他们大多数原本是贫穷的农民,但定居在美国的工业城市中。为美国经济这一巨大扩张提供资金的资金大部分仍然来自欧洲金融家,但美国人正在接近可以在自己的“货币市场”上为自己的扩张融资的日子。
🏷️ 标签:#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料