【阅读理解】中石油托福真题第14套, Passage 3

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【阅读理解】中石油托福真题第14套, Passage 3

📖 原文

(1) In the United States in the early 1800's, individual state governments had more effect (2) on the economy than did the federal government. States chartered manufacturing, (3) banking, mining, and transportation firms and participated in the construction of vari- (4) ous internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads. The states encour- (5) aged internal improvements in two distinct ways: first, by actually establishing state (6) companies to build such improvements; second, by providing part of the capital for (7) mixed public-private companies setting out to make a profit. (8) In the early nineteenth century, state governments also engaged in a surprisingly (9) large amount of direct regulatory activity, including extensive licensing and inspection (10) programs. Licensing targets reflected both similarities in and differences between the (11) economy of the nineteenth century and that of today: in the nineteenth century, state (12) regulation through licensing fell especially on peddlers, innkeepers, and retail merchants (13) of various kinds. The perishable commodities of trade generally came under state (14) inspection, and such important frontier staples as lumber and gunpowder were also (15) subject to state control. Finally, state governments experimented with direct labor and (16) business regulation designed to help the individual laborer or consumer, including (17) setting maximum limits on hours of work and restrictions on price-fixing by businesses. (18) Although the states dominated economic activity during this period, the federal (19) government was not inactive. Its goals were the facilitation of western settlement and (20) the development of native industries. Toward these ends the federal government (21) pursued several courses of action. It established a national bank to stabilize banking (22) activities in the country and, in part, to provide a supply of relatively easy money to the (23) frontier, where it was greatly needed for settlement. It permitted access to public (24) western lands on increasingly easy terms, culminating in the Homestead Act of 1862, by (25) which title to land could be claimed on the basis of residence alone. Finally, it set up a (26) system of tariffs that was basically protectionist in effect, although maneuvering for (27) position by various regional interests produced frequent changes in tariff rates (28) throughout the nineteenth century.

❓ 试题解析

问题 18: What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. States' rights versus federal rights

B. The participation of state governments in railroad, canal, and turnpike construction

C. The roles of state and federal governments in the economy of the nineteenth century

D. Regulatory activity by state governments

✅ 正确答案: C)The roles of state and federal governments in the economy of the nineteenth century

📝 解析: 全文讨论19世纪州政府和联邦政府在经济中的不同角色和作用。

💡 解题技巧: 主旨题看首段州政府主导经济活动,末段联邦政府的活动。

问题 19: The word “effect” in line 1 is closest in meaning to

A. value

B. argument

C. influence

D. restraint

✅ 正确答案: C)influence

📝 解析: “state governments had more effect on the economy” — effect = 影响。

💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:effect = influence = impact。

问题 20: All of the following are mentioned in the passage as areas that involved state governments in the nineteenth century EXCEPT

A. mining

B. banking

C. manufacturing

D. higher education

✅ 正确答案: D)higher education

📝 解析: 文中提到 manufacturing, banking, mining, transportation firms — 未提到 higher education。

💡 解题技巧: “EXCEPT”题逐项核对第一段列举的领域。

问题 21: The word “distinct” in line 5 is closest in meaning to

A. separate

B. innovative

C. alarming

D. provocative

✅ 正确答案: A)separate

📝 解析: “in two distinct ways” — distinct = 不同的/分开的。

💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:distinct = separate = different。

问题 22: It can be inferred from the first paragraph that in the nineteenth century canals and railroads were

A. built with money that came from the federal government

B. much more expensive to build than they had been previously

C. built predominantly in the western part of the country

D. sometimes built in part by state companies

✅ 正确答案: D)sometimes built in part by state companies

📝 解析: 州政府通过建立州公司或为公私混合公司提供资金来参与这些内部改进项目。

💡 解题技巧: 推理题定位“establishing state companies”和“providing part of the capital”。

问题 23: The regulatory activities of state governments included all of the following EXCEPT

A. licensing of retail merchants

B. inspecting materials used in turnpike maintenance

C. imposing limits on price-fixing

D. control of lumber

✅ 正确答案: B)inspecting materials used in turnpike maintenance

📝 解析: 文中提到 licensing (peddlers, innkeepers, retail merchants)、perishable commodities and frontier staples (lumber)、restrictions on price-fixing — 未提到对修路材料的检查。

💡 解题技巧: “EXCEPT”题核对第二段列举的监管内容。

问题 24: The word “setting” in line 16 is closest in meaning to

A. discussing

B. analyzing

C. establishing

D. avoiding

✅ 正确答案: C)establishing

📝 解析: “setting maximum limits on hours of work” — setting = 设定/制定。

💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:set a limit = establish = fix。

问题 25: The word “ends” in line 20 is closest in meaning to

A. benefits

B. decisions

C. services

D. goals

✅ 正确答案: D)goals

📝 解析: “Toward these ends” — ends = 目标。

💡 解题技巧: 词汇题:ends = goals = objectives。

问题 26: According to the passage, which of the following is true of the Homestead Act of 1862?

A. It made it increasingly possible for settlers to obtain land in the West.

B. It was a law first passed by state governments in the West.

C. It increased the money supply in the West.

D. It established tariffs in a number of regions.

✅ 正确答案: A)It made it increasingly possible for settlers to obtain land in the West.

📝 解析: “permitted access to public western lands on increasingly easy terms, culminating in the Homestead Act ... title to land could be claimed on the basis of residence alone” — 定居者更容易获得土地。

💡 解题技巧: 细节题定位“permitted access”和“on the basis of residence alone”。

问题 27: Which of the following activities was the responsibility of the federal government in the nineteenth century?

A. Control of the manufacture of gunpowder

B. Determining the conditions under which individuals worked

C. Regulation of the supply of money

D. Inspection of new homes built on western lands

✅ 正确答案: C)Regulation of the supply of money

📝 解析: “It established a national bank to stabilize banking activities ... provide a supply of ... money” — 联邦政府负责货币供给。

💡 解题技巧: 细节题定位“national bank”和“supply”。

🌐 中文翻译

在19世纪早期的美国,individual 州政府对经济的影响比联邦政府更大。州政府特许制造业、银行业、采矿业和运输公司,并参与各种内部改进项目的建设,如运河、收费公路和铁路。州政府以两种两种 distinct 方式鼓励内部改进:第一,通过实际建立州公司来建设这些改进项目;第二,通过为旨在盈利的公私混合公司提供部分资本。 在19世纪早期,州政府还从事了数量惊人大的直接监管活动,包括广泛的许可和检查项目。许可的目标反映了19世纪经济与当今经济之间的异同:在19世纪,通过许可进行的州 regulation 尤其落在小贩、客栈老板和各种零售商人身上。易腐贸易商品通常受到州检查,而木材和火药等重要的 frontier staple 也受州控制。最后,州政府尝试了旨在帮助 individual 劳动者或消费者的直接劳动和商业监管,包括设定工作时间的 maximum limits 和对企业价格垄断的限制。 尽管在此期间各州主导了经济活动,但联邦政府并非 inactive。其目标是促进西部 settlement 和本国工业的发展。为了实现这些 ends,联邦政府采取了若干行动。它建立了一家国家银行以稳定全国的银行活动,并在一定程度上为 frontier 提供相对宽松的货币供应——那里 settlement 非常需要这一供应。它允许以越来越宽松的条件进入公共 western lands,最终以1862年的《宅地法》为 culmination,据此仅凭居住就可以 claim 土地所有权。最后,它建立了一套关税体系,其效果基本上是保护主义的,尽管各种地区利益为争夺 position 而 maneuvering 导致了整个19世纪关税税率的频繁变化。

🏷️ 标签:#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料

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