托福TPO48阅读真题解析：Passage 1

TPO，即toefl Practice Online的首写字母，就是托福在线练习的意思，TPO可以为考生提供全真的模拟考试环境和过往真题，而TPO题库也是有着不断的更新。在托福阅读的备考过程中，除了大量的阅读之外，全面了解托福阅读的题型和解题方法也都是非常重要的环节。而对于很多备考托福的学生来说，TPO往往就是一个首先的备考材料。今天，小编就为大家带来托福TPO48阅读真题解析：Passage 1。

Chinese Population Growth

托福TPO48阅读真题解析：Passage 1  【在线咨询】

1. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 【句子简化题】
A. Commerce, industrialization, and development are common features of the Western experience.
B. Trade, industrialization, and development accelerated social change in Western societies.
C. Trade and industrialization brought about development in Western societies.
D. In Western societies, social change provided the conditions for development in a number of areas.
答案：C

解析：划线句子意为西方社会商业让工业化开始，然后带来社会各个方面的发展，对应选项C中：Trade and industrialization brought about development in Western societies。

2. The word “attributed” in the passage is closest in meaning to 【词汇题】
A. accustomed
B. credited
C. exposed
D. transformed
答案：B

解析：attribute, 归因于。B选项归功于，为同义替换，所以B选项正确。

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2  【在线咨询】

Increases in population have usually been accompanied (indeed facilitated) by an increase in trade. In the Western experience, commerce provided the conditions that allowed industrialization to get started, which in turn led to growth in science, technology, industry, transport, communications, social change, and the like that we group under the broad term of “development.” However, the massive increase in population that in Europe was at first attributed to industrialization starting in the eighteenth century occurred also and at the same period in China, even though there was no comparable industrialization.

It is estimated that the Chinese population by 1600 was close to 150 million. The transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties (the seventeenth century) may have seen a decline, but from 1741 to 1851 the annual figures rose steadily and spectacularly, perhaps beginning with 143 million and ending with 432 million. If we accept these totals, we are confronted with a situation in which the Chinese population doubled in the 50 years from 1790 to 1840. If, with greater caution, we assume lower totals in the early eighteenth century and only 400 million in 1850, we still face a startling fact: something like a doubling of the vast Chinese population in the century before Western contact, foreign trade, and industrialization could have had much effect.

3. According to paragraphs 1 and 2, which of the following is true of Chinese population growth between 1741and 1851? 【事实信息题】
A. It coincided with the beginning of industrialization in China.
B. It prompted speculation about the actual number of people living in China in previous centuries.
C. It continued the steady growth in population of previous centuries.
D. It occurred in the absence of certain conditions generally associated with population growth.
答案：D

解析：原文… increase in population … Europe … industrialization … and … China, … no … industrialization，以及原文… a doubling …Chinese population … before Western contact, foreign trade, and industrialization could have had much effect，说明中国人口增长与西方接触外贸以及工业化这些普遍因素无关，对应选项D中：It occurred in the absence of certain conditions generally associated with population growth。

4. According to paragraph2, the estimated population of China in the mid 1700s was ? 【事实信息题】
A. 143 million
B. 150 million
C. 400 million
D. 432 million
答案：A

解析：原文… but from 1741 to 1851 … beginning with 143 million …，说明18世纪中期人口大约是1亿4300万，对应选项A中：143 million。

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 3  【在线咨询】

To explain this sudden increase we cannot point to factors constant in Chinese society but must find conditions or a combination of factors that were newly effective in this period. Among these is the almost complete internal peace maintained under Manchu rule during the eighteenth century. There was also an increase in foreign trade through Guangzhou (southern China) and some improvement of transportation within the empire. Control of disease, like the checking of smallpox by variolation may have been important. But of most critical importance was the food supply.

5. The word “constant ” in the passage is closest in meaning to 【词汇题】
A. unique
B. dominant
C. altered
D. unchanging
答案：D

解析：constant, 恒定的。D选项不变的，为同义替换，所以D选项正确。

6. Paragraph 3 supports all of the following statements about eighteenth-century Chinese society EXCEPT: 【否定事实信息题】
A. It was troubled by frequent conflicts with foreign nations.
B. It improved its transportation system.
C. It experienced growth in international commerce.
D. It managed to prevent the spread of certain diseases.
答案：A

解析：原文… an increase in foreign trade …，说明外贸增长，对应选项C中：… growth in international commerce;原文and … improvement of transportation …，说明交通进步，对应选项B中：It improved its transportation system;原文Control of disease … important，说明防控疾病，对应选项D中：… prevent … diseases;

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 4  【在线咨询】

Confronted with a multitude of unreliable figures, economists have compared the population records with the aggregate data for cultivated land area and grain production in the six centuries since 1368. Assuming that China’s population in 1400 was about 80 million, the economist Dwight Perkins concludes that its growth to 700 million or more in the 1960s was made possible by a steady increase in the grain supply, which evidently grew five or six times between 1400 and 1800 and rose another 50 percent between 1800 and 1965. This increase of food supply was due perhaps half to the increase of cultivated area, particularly by migration and settlement in the central and western provinces, and half to greater productivity—the farmers’ success in raising more crops per unit of land.

7. Paragraph 4 answers which of the following questions about China’s population growth between 1400 and 1965? 【组织结构题】
A. Which figures relating to China’s population growth were unreliable?
B. Why did Dwight Perkins assume that China’s population in 1400 was about 80 million?
C. Where in China did most of the population increase take place?
D. What factors made China’s population growth between 1400 and 1965 possible?
答案：D

解析：原文… China’s population in 1400 was about 80 million, … its growth to 700 million or more in the 1960s was made possible by a steady increase in the grain supply, which evidently grew five or six times between 1400 and 1800 and rose another 50 percent between 1800 and 1965，说明人口增长的原因是粮食供应增长，所以第四段回答了中国人口增长的因素，对应选项D中：… factors … China’s population growth …。

8. The word “aggregate” in the passage is closest in meaning to【词汇题】
A. available
B. reliable
C. combined
D. recorded
答案：C

解析：aggregate, 合计的。C选项加在一起的，为同义替换，所以C选项正确。

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 5  【在线咨询】

This technological advance took many forms: one was the continual introduction from the south of earlier-ripening varieties of rice, which made possible double-cropping (the production of two harvests per year from one field). New crops such as corn (maize) and sweet potatoes as well as peanuts and tobacco were introduced from the Americas. Corn, for instance, can be grown on the dry soil and marginal hill land of North China, where it is used for food, fuel, and fodder and provides something like one-seventh of the food energy available in the area. The sweet potato, growing in sandy soil and providing more food energy per unit of land than other crops, became the main food of the poor in much of the South China rice area.

9. What can be inferred from paragraph 5 about the introduction of corn and sweet potatoes in China? 【推理题】
A. These crops required much more care than other crops.
B. These crops were consumed in limited quantities.
C. These crops permitted an expansion of the area used for farming.
D. These crops became available all over China within a short period of time.
答案：C

解析：原文Corn … the dry soil and marginal hill land of North China, …. The sweet potato, … sandy soil … South China rice area，说明玉米和甘薯让许多并不肥沃的土壤也能产出粮食，拓宽了可种地的范围，对应选项C中：These crops … expansion … farming。

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 6  【在线咨询】

Productivity in agriculture was also improved by capital investments, first of all in irrigation. From 1400 to 1900 the total of irrigated land seems to have increased almost three times. There was also a gain in farm tools, draft animals, and fertilizer, to say nothing of the population growth itself, which increased half again as fast as cultivated land area and so increased the ratio of human hands available per unit of land. Thus the rising population was fed by a more intensive agriculture, applying more labor and fertilizer to the land.

10. The word “ratio” in the passage is closest in meaning to 【词汇题】
A. proportion
B. availability
C. importance
D. cost
答案：A

解析：ratio, 比例。A选项比例，为同义替换，所以A选项正确。

托福TPO48阅读Passage 1 ——Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 6  【在线咨询】

This technological advance took many forms: one was the continual introduction from the south of earlier-ripening varieties of rice, which made possible double-cropping (the production of two harvests per year from one field). New crops such as corn (maize) and sweet potatoes as well as peanuts and tobacco were introduced from the Americas. Corn, for instance, can be grown on the dry soil and marginal hill land of North China, where it is used for food, fuel, and fodder and provides something like one-seventh of the food energy available in the area. The sweet potato, growing in sandy soil and providing more food energy per unit of land than other crops, became the main food of the poor in much of the South China rice area.

Productivity in agriculture was also improved by capital investments, first of all in irrigation. From 1400 to 1900 the total of irrigated land seems to have increased almost three times. There was also a gain in farm tools, draft animals, and fertilizer, to say nothing of the population growth itself, which increased half again as fast as cultivated land area and so increased the ratio of human hands available per unit of land. Thus the rising population was fed by a more intensive agriculture, applying more labor and fertilizer to the land.

11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraphs 5 and 6 as one of the strategies the Chinese applied in agriculture? 【否定事实信息题】
A. The growing of two crops on the same field during the same year
B. The improvement of systems to supply crops with water
C. The application of increasing amounts of fertilizer to the land
D. The reduction in the amount of human labor per unit of land
答案：D

解析：原文… a more intensive agriculture, applying more labor and fertilizer to the land，说明劳动力和肥料都增多，说明选项D错在：… reduction … human labor …，对应选项C是被提到过的：…increasing…fertilizer…。原文… improved by … irrigation，说明灌溉系统改进了，对应选项B是被提到过的：… improvement of systems to supply crops with water。原文… one was … earlier-ripening varieties of rice, … double-cropping (the production of two harvests per year from one field)，说明引进了一年两熟的庄稼，对应选项A是被提到过的：… two crops on the same field during the same year。

12. What purpose does paragraph 5 serve in the larger discussion about China’s population growth? 【组织结构题】
A. It provides evidence of China’s emerging foreign trade relations.
B. It illustrates how the Chinese increased their food supply.
C. It provides evidence of why population growth was most noticeable in the south.
D. It shows how foreign crops gradually gained greater acceptance in China.
答案：B

解析：原文首先说中国人口增长和工业化无关，然后再逐渐揭开原因是粮食增长，然后再说粮食增长是因为科技进步投资增长，说明第五段的作用就是为了说明中国粮食是如何增长的，对应选项B是被提到过的：… illustrates how the Chinese increased their food supply。

13.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. 【句子插入题】
Other developments addressed the problems of dry and sandy areas unsuitable for growing China’s native crops.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.
This technological advance took many forms: one was the continual introduction from the south of earlier-ripening varieties of rice, which made possible double-cropping (the production of two harvests per year from one field). ■ New crops such as corn (maize) and sweet potatoes as well as peanuts and tobacco were introduced from the Americas. ■Corn, for instance, can be grown on the dry soil and marginal hill land of North China, where it is used for food, fuel, and fodder and provides something like one-seventh of the food energy available in the area. ■The sweet potato, growing in sandy soil and providing more food energy per unit of land than other crops, became the main food of the poor in much of the South China rice area. ■
答案：A

解析：待插入句子意为其他进步解决了中国本土作物无法再干燥和沙化区域生长的问题，说明这句话后面要详细展开这些发展是什么，对应原文New crops such as corn (maize) and sweet potatoes as well as peanuts and tobacco were introduced from the Americas，所以应该把句子放在A处。

14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. 【概要小结题】
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it.
To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT.
Over the centuries, China has experienced an extraordinary increase in its population.
Answer Choices
A. Understanding the exceptional increase in population in China requires giving up commonly held assumptions relative to the phenomenon of population growth.
B. The economist Dwight Perkins applied a particular statistical method to determine the increase in China’s population.
C. The sudden population growth in China started in its northern and southern provinces, and it spread rapidly to the central and western areas of the country.
D. Improved transportation management and enhanced disease control contributed to China’s population explosion.
E. The increase in China’s food supply, which affected population growth, was the result of technological developments in agriculture and capital investment.
F. A steady increase in foreign trade since the 1400s provided the conditions necessary for large-scale agricultural development.
答案：ADE

解析：原文首先介绍中国人口增长和工业化这样的普遍因素无关，对应选项A中：… increase … population in China … giving up commonly held assumptions … population growth，原文然后介绍人口增长的其他原因有交通进步和疾病控制，对应选项D中： … transportation … and … disease control contributed to China’s population explosion，原文最后介绍人口增长的重要原因是粮食供给增长，而粮食供给增长的原因是科技进步和投资增大，对应选项E中：The increase in China’s food supply, … population growth, … result of technological … and … investment。文章没有提到经济学家应用了某种特别的统计方法，选项B错在a particular statistical method。文章没有提到提到人口增长的地域顺序，选项C错在started in its northern and southern provinces。文章说贸易增长是西方人口增长的主要原因并不是中国的，选项F错在increase in foreign trade。

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