2012年3月18日托福阅读真题及来源-新东方前途出国

    　　2012年3月18日托福考试结束之后，新东方的老师们跟据考生的回忆，及时整理了本次托福考试阅读试题，并对试题进行了解读。

    　　第一篇：真菌(fungi)

    　　考生回忆：

    　　·在欧洲，过去采集真菌相对容易;而现在不仅数量减少了，外形也变小了。真菌有很强的环境敏感度，这同树木不同;故环境出现问题则真菌首当其冲。真菌也可以储存养分供给树木。

    　　·在北美，那里的人食用真菌类食物(如蘑菇)比较少，且历史较短。人们把其他蘑菇等都算进真菌里面。虽然没有显著减少，但是也有危险。

    　　·里面用了很多TPO文章The Arrival of Plant Life in Hawaii的很多内容;

    　　参考文献说明

    　　“欧洲真菌减少”的回忆似乎并不太合常识。经过对自然科学类期刊论文数据库检索后，找到了发表于1990年的一篇论文”Decline of ectomycorrhizal fungi in Europe”，探讨了欧洲“外生菌”(Ectomycorrhizal Fungi)的数量减少，其中提到的主要原因便是环境因素，同回忆相符。该论述如下(参考阅读中划线句子)：

    　　“It is argued that changes in the populations of ectomycorrhizal fungi are most likely to be attributable to indirect effects of air pollution, in particular to increases in amounts of available nitrogen (possibly in combination with acidification) and/or to decreased tree vitality wity consequent reductions in the transport of current assimilates to roots and mycorrhizas.”

    　　该论文由学术数据库ScienceDirect收录，来源如下：

    　　Eef Arnolds , “Decline of ectomycorrhizal fungi in Europe “, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 35, Issues 2-3, April 1991, Pages 209-244

    　　参考阅读(上述论文摘要部分)

    　　Abstract

    　　Recent changes in the species diversity and sporocarp production of ectomycorrhizal fungi in different regions of, and forest communities within, Europe are discussed with special emphasis on events in The Netherlands. In some forests in some regions fewer ectomycorrhizal fungi are now producing sporocarps, notably those associated with trees more than 40 years old and in particular conifers, for instance species of Phellodon, Hydnellum, Suillus, Tricholoma and Cortinarius. It is argued that this decline in different parts of Europe is coincident with decreased numbers of mycorrhizas. A scheme of progressive changes with three phases of ectomycorrhizal impoverishment and seven subphases is presented. The more probable causes ofdecline are discussed, namely forest succession, the collection of sporocarps (of edible mycorrhizal fungi), changes in forest management, direct influences of air pollutants, acidification of forest soils and consequent increased availability of aluminium in soil solution, nitrogen deposition, increased litter accumulation, changes in the herb layer of forests and reduced tree vitality.

    　　It is argued that changes in the populations of ectomycorrhizal fungi are most likely to be attributable to indirect effects of air pollution, in particular to increases in amounts of available nitrogen (possibly in combination with acidification) and/or to decreased tree vitality wity consequent reductions in the transport of current assimilates to roots and mycorrhizas. The relative importance of these different factors, and their interactions, are likely to differ in different locations. It is supposed that liming and applications of other corrective fertilizers are unlikely to restore the diversity and sporocarp production of ectomycorrhizal fungi; they may even have adverse effects. In the circumstances therefore it seems that the abatement of emissions is likely to be the only effective way of improving and sustaining stable forest ecosystems in areas at risk, notably in densely populated Europe.

    　　(新东方网版权所有，转载请注明来源和作者。)

    　　相关阅读：

    　　托福报名流程　官网入口

    　　新托福(toefl)网考评分标准

    　　2012年托福考试真题汇总

    　　第二篇：美国工业化、铁路与内战

    　　附图：美国早期的地图--新英格兰地区

    　　考生回忆：

    　　·美国的农业在新英格兰地区发展，所有的必需品由水路运输。由于土地条件、收益甚微及内陆农业发达等原因，新英格兰地区农业发展开始转向工业发展，而原来的农业人口成为了首批产业工人。

    　　·美国工业的发展过程中，铁路运输贯穿始终。随着铁路网的密集化，西部的矿产可以很容易地运往东部。

    　　·而南部却则一直发展农业。而内战(南北战争)是一个彻底的分捩点，南部确定了其农业主导的地位。

    　　·这种南北经济向不同方向转型并引发内战的原因归结于铁路的发展。

    　　·美国的工业归根结底是建立在车轮子上的。

    　　参考阅读：

    　　美国早期工业化

    　　American industrialization was facilitated by a unique confluence of geographical, social, and economic factors. The post-Revolution American population remained low relative to its European counterparts and the demand for manual labor created strong incentives to mechanize labor-intensive tasks. The eastern seaboard of the United States, with a great number of rivers and streams along the Atlantic seaboard, provided many potential sites for constructing mills and infrastructure necessary for early industrialization. A vast supply of natural resources along with a large labor supply consisting of surplus domestic rural workers and massive immigration from European nations enabled industrialization. The ready supply of labor was an advantage American industrialism had over European.

    　　南北铁路建设的区别

    　　Railroads have played a large role in the development of the United States of America, from the industrial revolution in the North-east to the colonization of the West. The American railway mania began with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad? in 1828 and flourished until the Panic of 1873 bankrupted many companies and temporarily ended all growth. Although the South started early to build railways, it concentrated on short lines linking cotton regions to oceanic or river ports, and the absence of an interconnected network was a major handicap during the Civil War.

    　　铁路因素在南部失败中的作用

    　　Rail was strategic during the American Civil War, and the Union used its much larger system much more effectively. Practically all the mills and factories supplying rails and equipment were in the North, and the Union blockade kept the South from getting new equipment or spare parts. The war was fought in the South, and Union raiders (and sometimes Confederates too) systematically destroyed bridges and rolling stock-and sometimes bent rails-to hinder the logistics of the enemy.

    　　In the South most railroads in 1860 were local affairs connecting cotton regions with the nearest waterway. Most transport was by boat, not rail, and after the Union blockaded the ports in 1861 and seized the key rivers in 1862, long-distance travel was difficult. The outbreak of war had a depressing effect on the economic fortunes of the railroad companies, for the hoarding of the cotton crop in an attempt to force European intervention left railroads bereft of their main source of income. Many had to lay off employees, and in particular, let go skilled technicians and engineers. For the early years of the war, the Confederate government had a hands-off approach to the railroads. Only in mid-1863 did the Confederate government initiate an overall policy, and it was confined solely to aiding the war effort. With the legislation of impressment the same year, railroads and their rolling stock came under the de facto control of the Confederate military.

    　　参考文献

    　　Publications

    　　·Robert C. Black, The Railroads of the Confederacy (1988); George Edgar Turner, Victory Rode the Rails: The Strategic Place of the Railroads in the Civil War (1953)

    　　·Charles W. Ramsdell, "The Confederate Government and the Railroads, American Historical Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (July, 1917), p. 795.

    　　·Mary Elizabeth Massey. Ersatz in the Confederacy (1952) p. 128.

    　　Jstor Database:

    　　·Hermon King Murphey, “The Northern Railroads and the Civil War”, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, Dec., 1918, p. 327

    　　Internet Resource:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States

    　　第三篇：human activity and archaeological records

    　　第三篇只回忆出了标题，而且范围有些过大(人类活动与考古记录)，并不易于还原。

    　　但据以为新东方的老学员回忆，其文章组织的形式是很经典的“假设-反驳-立新论”的多理论列举型文章。同学们今后再做阅读时可使用大纲法阅读，捋清每种理论的要点以及缺陷，方可避免因遗忘和术语过多导致的概念混淆。