作为一名技术专家和内容社区领域的专家，我关注的是如何利用技术推动内容社区的发展，提升用户体验，以及分析用户行为以优化内容策略。同时，我也探讨技术如何解决社区中的挑战，如信息过滤、用户参与度和隐私保护。
TPO-20 Westward Migration
Paragraph 3: The West had plenty of attractions: the alluvial river bottoms, the fecund soils of the rolling forest lands, the black loams of the prairies were tempting to New England farmers working their rocky, sterile land and to southeastern farmers plagued with soil depletion and erosion.
1. 主干
① West attractions farmers
2. 逻辑词：
3. 考点：绝，比，概，否
alluvial adj. 冲积的，淤积的
fecund adj. 多产的;生殖力旺盛的;有发明创造力的;(尤指)能提出新颖想法的
prairie n. 大草原;北美草原;新大陆北部草原(美国北部和加拿大)
plague with 瘟疫;用…来烦扰人，用…来折磨人
depletion n. 损耗;缺乏；贫化；亏损;空虚；干枯;弄空，竭尽，耗尽，（资源）耗减
drew v.画，描绘，描画;拖(动);拉(动);牵引;拉，拖(车);吸引，使感兴趣 draw的过去式
affect v. 影响;侵袭;使感染;
21. 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.
O Because the West had more rivers and forests than the East, its soil was more productive.
O The fertile soils of the West drew farmers from regions with barren soils.
O Farmers living in western areas of the United States were more affected by soil erosion than farmers living in eastern areas.
O The soil in western areas of the United States was richer than soil in eastern areas.
Early Settlements in the Southwest Asia
Paragraph 5: Many complex factors led to the adoption of the new economies, not only at Abu Hureyra, but at many other locations such as 'Ain Ghazal, also in Syria, where goat toe bones showing the telltale marks of abrasion caused by foot tethering (binding) testify to early herding of domestic stock.
1. 主干
① economies abrasion testify herding
2. 逻辑词：
3. 考点：绝，比，概，否
adoption n. (想法、计划、名字等的)采用;收养;领养;(候选人的)选定，推选，推举
goat n. 山羊;老色鬼;色狼;好色之徒
toe n. 脚趾;(袜、鞋等的)足尖部;有…脚趾的
telltale adj. 暴露实情的;能说明问题的
abrasion n. 磨损;(皮肤、表皮)擦伤处;(表层)磨损处
tether n. 拴绳;(拴牲畜的)拴链
testify v. (尤指出庭)作证;证明;证实;见证(上帝的存在)
herding v. (使)向…移动;牧放(牲畜、兽群)
22. 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.
O In many areas besides Abu Hureyra, complex factors led to new economies including the herding of domestic stock.
O In 'Ain Ghazal and Syria, domestic stock was more important than it was at Abu Hureyra.
O Once early methods of herding animals improved, new economies were adopted.
O Many complex theories attempt to explain the early domestication of animals.
Fossil Preservation
Paragraph 2: The empty shell of a snail or clam may be left behind, and if it is sufficiently durable and resistant to dissolution, it may remain basically unchanged for a long period of time.
1. 主干
① empty shell unchanged
2. 逻辑词：
3. 考点：绝，比，概，否
snail n. 蜗牛
left behind 遗留;留下;追过;留在后头
sufficiently adv. 足以;十分;充分地;最大限度地
dissolution n. (婚姻关系的)解除;(商业协议的)终止;(议会的)解散;消失;消亡;解体;瓦解;分裂
unchanged adj. 不变;没有变化
23. 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.
O When snail or clam shells are left behind, they must be empty in order to remain durable and resist dissolution.
O Although snail and clam shells are durable and resist dissolving, over time they slowly begin to change.
O Although the soft parts of snails or clams dissolve quickly, their hard shells resist dissolution for a long time.
O Empty snail or clam shells that are strong enough not to dissolve may stay in their original state for a long time.
[ TPO13 - C2 ]
NARRATOR
Listen to a conversation between a student and the language lab manager.
MALE STUDENT
Hi, I'm not sure, but err... is this the Carter language lab?
FEMALE MANAGER
Yes, it is. How can I help you?
MALE STUDENT
I’m taking first-year Spanish this semester. Our professor says that we need to come here to view a series of videos.
I think it’s called Spanish: Working on Your Accent.
FEMALE MANAGER
Yes, we have that... Um, they’re on the wall behind you.
MALE STUDENT
Okay,so, I can just take... err... can I take the whole series home? I think there are three of them.
FEMALE MANAGER
I guess you haven't been here before.
MALE STUDENT
No, no I haven't.
FEMALE MANAGER
Ok, well, you have to watch the videos here.
You need to sign in to reserve an open room, and sign out the video you need. Just start with the first one in the series, each video is half an hour long.
MALE STUDENT
So, it is a video library, basically?
FEMALE MANAGER
Yes, but unlike the library, you can't take any videos out of the lab.
MALE STUDENT
OK... So, how long can I use a video room for?
FEMALE MANAGER
You can sign up for two hours at a time.
MALE STUDENT
Oh, good, so I can watch more than one video when I come up here.
Is the lab pretty busy all the time?
FEMALE MANAGER
Well, rooms are usually full right after dinner time, but you can sign up the day before to reserve the room if you want.
MALE STUDENT
[musing] Hmmm, the day before . . . But I can just stop in too . . . to see if there’re any rooms open, right?
FEMALE MANAGER
Sure, stop in any time.
MALE STUDENT
What about copies of the videos? Is there just one copy of each in the series?
I don't want to miss out if everyone comes in advance.
FEMALE MANAGER
Oh, no, we have several copies of each tape in the Spanish accent series.
We usually have multiple copies of everything for each video collection.
MALE STUDENT
Super. So... how many rooms are there total in the lab?
FEMALE MANAGER
Twenty. They’re pretty small, so we normally get one person or no more than a small group of people in there watching a video together.
Actually, someone else from your class just came in and took the first Spanish video in to watch.
You could probably run in there and watch it with them.
Of course, you are welcome to have own room, but sometimes students like to watch with a classmate so they can review the material with each other afterwards... for example, if there was some content they didn’t really understand.
MALE STUDENT
I guess I prefer my own room.
I concentrate better by myself and I don't want to miss anything, you know, and he’s probably already started watching it...
FEMALE MANAGER
No problem, we've got a lot of rooms open right now.
When you come in, you sign your name on the list and you're assigned a room number ,or if you call in advance, then the attendant will tell you your room number, if you forget, just come in and take a look at the list.
The videos are over there.
MALE STUDENT
Great, thanks.
Spanish n. 西班牙语(通用于西班牙以及中、南美洲多数国家)
Accent n. 口音;腔调;土音;着重点;强调;
wall n. 墙壁;内壁;
sign in (到旅馆或俱乐部）签到，登记
reserve v. 保留，留出;留存，储备;推迟作出，暂时不作;预订，预约
sign out 退出;签名离开
the day before 前一天;前天;那天;前夕
stop in 停车;顺便访问;中途作短暂访问
miss out 没有参加，错过（益事或乐事）;遗漏;漏掉;没把…包括在内
advance adj. 预先的;事先的;
tape n. 磁带;录音带;录像带;胶带;
afterwards adv. 之后;后来;以后
assigned v. 分配(某物);分派，布置(工作、任务等);指定;
attendant n. 服务员;侍者;(要人的)侍从，随从;(病人的)护理者
What are the speakers mainly discussing?
A. How to use the language lab
B. Howe to make a video for the class
C. How to reserve a study room in the library
D. How to improve study habits
How is the language lab different form the library?
A. The language lab closes much earlier than the library does.
B. More students go to the library after dinner than to the language lab.
C. Students cannot remove educational materials from the language lab.
D. There are more rooms where students can work in groups in the library.
When can students reserve a room in the language lab?
A. When they arrive at the lab
B. After their professor signs a certain form
C. When all the members of a study group hove signed in
D. The day before they want to use room
What will the student probably do next?
A. Ask a classmate to watch a video with him
B. Sign out a Spanish video
C. Find out when the video he needs will be available
D. Buy a copy of the video series
What does the woman imply?
A. She confused the man for another student who had visited the lab earlier in the day.
B. The man is mistaken about how many videos are in the series.
C. The language lab does not own the whole series of videos the man needs.
D. The man is not familiar with the procedures used at the language lab.
Transition to Sound in Film
Paragraph 3: Beyond that, the triumph of recorded sound has overshadowed the rich diversity of technological and aesthetic experiments with the visual image that were going forward simultaneously in the 1920s. New color processes, larger or differently shaped screen sizes, multiple-screen projections, even television, were among the developments invented or tried out during the period, sometimes with startling success. The high costs of converting to sound and the early limitations of sound technology were among the factors that suppressed innovations or retarded advancement in these other areas. The introduction of new screen formats was put off for a quarter century, and color, though utilized over the next two decades for special productions, also did not become a norm until the 1950s.
Beyond that 除此之外
triumph n. 胜利;巨大成功;重大成就;(巨大成功或胜利的)心满意足;狂喜;(成功的)典范;楷模
recorded v. 记录;记载;录制;录(音);演奏音乐供录制;灌(唱片)
overshadowed v. 使显得逊色;使黯然失色;使扫兴;使蒙上阴影;掩盖;遮蔽
diversity n. 差异(性);不同(点);多样性;多样化
going forward 向前
simultaneously adv. 同时;联立;急切地
processes v. 加工;处理;审阅，审核，处理(文件、请求等);数据处理
projection n. 预测;推断;设想;投射;放映;投影;
invented v. 发明;创造;编造;捏造;虚构
tried v. 尝试;试;试图;努力;审判;试用;想要;设法;试做;试验;审理;审讯
retarded v. 阻碍;减缓;使放慢速度
put off 推迟，拖延;敷衍，搪塞;使反感;
2. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is NOT true of the technological and aesthetic experiments of the 1920's?
○Because the costs of introducing recorded sound were low, it was the only innovation that was put to use in the 1920's.
○The introduction of recorded sound prevented the development of other technological innovations in the 1920's.
○The new technological and aesthetic developments of the 1920s included the use of color, new screen formats, and television.
○Many of the innovations developed in the 1920s were not widely introduced until as late as the 1950's.
S： NOT 排除题 technological and aesthetic experiments
D：abcd
SG：
Water in the Desert
Paragraph 5: Deserts contain large amounts of groundwater when compared to the amounts they hold in surface stores such as lakes and rivers. But only a small fraction of groundwater enters the hydrological cycle—feeding the flows of streams, maintaining lake levels, and being recharged (or refilled) through surface flows and rainwater. In recent years, groundwater has become an increasingly important source of freshwater for desert dwellers. The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank have funded attempts to survey the groundwater resources of arid lands and to develop appropriate extraction techniques. Such programs are much needed because in many arid lands there is only a vague idea of the extent of groundwater resources. It is known, however, that the distribution of groundwater is uneven, and that much of it lies at great depths.
amount n. 数量;金额;数额
store n. (大型)百货商店;商店，店铺;储存，储备;大量，丰富;储存品，备用品
feeding n. 喂食;饲养;施肥
flow n. 流;流动;持续生产;不断供应;滔滔不绝;连贯;涨潮
freshwater adj. 淡水中生长的;淡水的
dweller n. 居民;居住者;栖身者
The United Nations 联合国;联合国总部;联合国大厦;联合国家
Programme n. 程序;计划;方案;节目;
funded vt. 为…提供资金;拨款给
appropriate adj. 适当的;合适的;恰当的
extraction n. 提取;提炼;拔出;开采;有…血统;族裔;拔牙
vague adj. 模糊的;(思想上)不清楚的;含糊的;
extent n. 程度;限度;大小;面积;范围
lies at 躺在;在……睡觉；坐落于……
3. Paragraph 5 supports all of the following statements about the groundwater In deserts EXCEPT:
○The groundwater is consistently found just below the surface
○A small part of the groundwater helps maintain lake levels
○Most of the groundwater is not recharged through surface water
○The groundwater is increasingly used as a source of freshwater
S： EXCEPT 排除题 groundwater
D：abcd
SG：
[ TOP8 L3 ]
NARRATOR
Listen to part of a lecture in a history class.
FEMALE PROFESSOR
So we've been talking about the printing press, how it changed people's lives, making books more accessible to everyone.
More books meant more reading, right?
But, as you know, not everyone has perfect vision.
This increasing literacy, um, in reading, led to an increasing demand for eye glasses.
And here's something you probably haven't thought of: This increased demand impacted the societal attitudes toward eye glasses.
But, first let me back up a bit and talk about vision correction before the printing press.
And, um, what did people with poor vision do, I mean, especially those few people who were actually literate, what did they do before glasses were invented?
Well, they had different ways of dealing with not seeing well.
If you think about it, poor vision wasn't their only problem, I mean, um, think about the conditions they lived in:[listing] houses were dark, sometimes there weren't any windows; candles were the only source of light.
So in some places, um, like ancient Greece for example, the wealthiest people with poor vision could have someone else read to them. [dripping with sarcasm] Easy solution if you could afford it.
Another solution was something called a "reading stone".
Around 1000 C.E. European monks would take a piece of clear rock, often quartz, and place it on top of the reading material.
The clear rock magnified the letters, making them appear larger, um, looks like what happens when a drop of water falls on something, whatever's below the drop of water appears larger, right?
Well, the "reading stone" works in a similar way.
But rocks like quartz, quartz of optical quality, weren't cheap.
Late in the 13th century, glass maker in Italy came up with a less expensive alternative—they made reading stones out of clear glass.
And these clear glass reading stones evolved into the eye glasses we know today.
So we're pretty sure that glasses were invented in about the late 1200's, well, over a hundred years before the printing press.
But it's not clear who exactly invented them first or exactly what year, but record shows that they were invented in both Europe and China at about the same time.
By the way, we call this "independent discovery".
Independent discovery means when something is invented in different parts of the world at the same time and it's not as unusual as it sounds.
You can look at the timeline charts at the back of your textbook to see when things were invented in different cultures at about the same time to see what I'm talking about.
So now let's tie this to what I've said before about societal attitude towards glasses.
Initially in parts of Europe and in China, glasses were a symbol of wisdom and intelligence.
This is evident in the artwork from the period.
European paintings often portrayed doctors or judges wearing glasses.
In China, glasses were very expensive, so in addition to intelligence, they also symbolize affluence, um, wealth.
In 14th century Chinese portraits, the bigger the glasses, the smarter and wealthier the subject was.
So glasses were a status symbol in some parts of the world.
Now let's go back to the invention of the printing press in 1440.
What happened? Suddenly, books became readily available and more people wanted to read, so the need, oh well, actually not only the need but the demand for more affordable glasses rose drastically.
Eventually, inexpensive glasses were produced, and then glasses were available to everyone.
People could purchase them easily from a traveling peddler.
printing press n. 印刷机
vision n. 视力;视野;想象;幻象;梦幻;神示;异象;想象力;俊男;影像，画面
literacy n. 读写能力
correction n. 校正;修正;改正;纠正;改正的行动(或过程);惩罚;处罚;惩治
monk n. 和尚;僧侣;修道士
optical adj. 眼的，视力的，视觉的;光的，光学的
quality n. 质量;品质;上乘;优质;
artwork n. 艺术品;(书刊等上的)插图，图片;(尤指博物馆里的)艺术作品
in addition to 除了;另外，加之，除…之外（还）
rose v.上升;攀升;提高;达到较高水平(或位置);起床;起立;站起来 rise的过去式
peddler n. 毒品贩子
What is the lecture mainly about?
A. Political events that led to the invention of eyeglasses
B. A comparison of attitudes toward vision correction in Europe and China
C. The relationship between the printing press and literacy
D. An overview of vision correction over time
According to the professor, what was an advantage of using clear glass instead of quartz to make reading stones?
A. Clear glass was easier to find than quartz
B. Clear glass was easier to cut to the appropriate size
C. Clear glass magnified the letters more than quartz did
D. Clear glass was less expensive than quartz
What does the professor imply about the invention of eyeglass?
A. Its historical records are more detailed than those of other inventions
B. It has little impact on social attitudes toward vision correction
C. Its occurrence in different places at approximately the same time is out unusual
D. It contributed to a substantial increase in the number of literate people.
Which sentence best describe eyeglasses before the invention of the printing press?
A. They were available to everyone
B. They were a symbol of wealth and wisdom
C. They could not correct vision accurately
D. They could be bought only from traveling peddlers
Put the events in the order that they happened.
A. Inexpensive eyeglasses became available
B. The first eyeglasses were made
C. The number of people interested in reading increased
D. The printing press was invented
BDCA
What does the professor imply when she says this:
00:0000:21
A. She is impressed by the solution
B. The solution she describe is obvious
C. The solution was not a common practice
D. The solution was not particularly expensive
TPO-13
Biologic Clock
Paragraph 1: Survival and successful reproduction usually require the activities of animals to be coordinated with predictable events around them. Consequently, the timing and rhythms of biological functions must closely match periodic events like the solar day, the tides, the lunar cycle, and the seasons. The relations between animal activity and these periods, particularly for the daily rhythms, have been of such interest and importance that a huge amount of work has been done on them and the special research field of chronobiology has emerged. Normally, the constantly changing levels of an animal's activity—sleeping, feeding, moving, reproducing, metabolizing, and producing enzymes and hormones, for example—are well coordinated with environmental rhythms, but the key question is whether the animal's schedule is driven by external cues, such as sunrise or sunset, or is instead dependent somehow on internal timers that themselves generate the observed biological rhythms. Almost universally, biologists accept the idea that all eukaryotes (a category that includes most organisms except bacteria and certain algae) have internal clocks. By isolating organisms completely from external periodic cues, biologists learned that organisms have internal clocks. For instance, apparently normal daily periods of biological activity were maintained for about a week by the fungus Neurospora when it was intentionally isolated from all geophysical timing cues while orbiting in a space shuttle. The continuation of biological rhythms in an organism without external cues attests to its having an internal clock.
intense adj. 强烈的;激烈的;很大的;严肃紧张的;有强烈感情(或意见、想法)的;尖锐的;热切的
rhythm n. 节奏;韵律;律动;规则变化;规律;节律
cue n. 暗示;提示;信号;(戏剧的)提示，尾白;(台球等的)球杆，弹子棒
predictable adj. 可预测的;可预见的;可预料的;意料之中的;老套乏味的
solar adj. 太阳的;太阳能的
field n. 领域;田;地;牧场;
chronobiology n. 时间生物学；生物钟学
constantly adv. 不断地;一直;始终
metabolizing v. 新陈代谢(将食物、矿物质等通过化学过程转换成新细胞、能量和废料)
hormone n. 激素;荷尔蒙
generate vt. 生成;产生;引起
universally adv. 全体地;一致地;共同地;到处;随时随地;在各种情况下
eukaryotes 真核生物;真核细胞
isolating v. (使)隔离，孤立，脱离;将…剔出
apparently adv. 显然地;显然;看来;据…所知
intentionally adv. 故意;有意地;蓄意地
geophysical adj. 地球物理的;地球物理学的
orbiting v. 沿轨道运行;围绕…运动
attest v. 证明;证实;是…的证据;作证(如在法庭上)
4. According to paragraph 1, all the following are generally assumed to be true EXCEPT:
○It is important for animals' daily activities to be coordinated with recurring events in their environment.
○Eukaryotes have internal clocks.
○The relationship between biological function and environmental cycles is a topic of intense research.
○Animals' daily rhythms are more dependent on external cues than on internal clocks.
S： EXCEPT 排除题
D：abcd
SG：
Methods of Studying Infant Perception
Paragraph 2: Such techniques, however, have limitations. First, the observation may be unreliable in that two or more observers may not agree that the particular response occurred, or to what degree it occurred. Second, responses are difficult to quantify. Often the rapid and diffuse movements of the infant make it difficult to get an accurate record of the number of responses. The third, and most potent, limitation is that it is not possible to be certain that the infant's response was due to the stimulus presented or to a change from no stimulus to a stimulus. The infant may be responding to aspects of the stimulus different than those identified by the investigator. Therefore, when observational assessment is used as a technique for studying infant perceptual abilities, care must be taken not to overgeneralize from the data or to rely on one or two studies as conclusive evidence of a particular perceptual ability of the infant.
impossible adj. 不可能的;不可能存在
diffusely adv. 扩（分）散地；漫射地
stimuli n. 促进因素;激励因素;刺激物;(使生物产生反应的)刺激
stimulus n. (使生物产生反应的)刺激;刺激物;促进因素;激励因素
present adj. 存在;出现;出席;在场;当前的
agree v. 同意;赞成;
degree n. 度;程度;度数
perception n. 知觉;感知;洞察力;悟性;看法;见解
diffuse adj. 弥漫的;扩散的;漫射的;不清楚的;难解的;冗长的;啰唆的
potent adj.（药品等）有强效的;强有力的，有影响力的
assessment n. 看法;评估;评定;核定;判定;核定的付款额
perceptual adj. 知觉的;感知的
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a problem in using the technique of direct observation?
○It is impossible to be certain of the actual cause of an infant's response.
○Infants' responses, which occur quickly and diffusely, are often difficult to measure.
○Infants do not respond well to stimuli presented in an unnatural laboratory setting.
○It may be difficult for observers to agree on the presence or the degree of a response.
S： NOT 排除题
D：abcd
SG：
Paragraph 3: Observational assessment techniques have become much more sophisticated, reducing the limitations just presented. Film analysis of the infant's responses, heart and respiration rate monitors, and nonnutritive sucking devices are used as effective tools in understanding infant perception. Film analysis permits researchers to carefully study the infant's responses over and over and in slow motion. Precise measurements can be made of the length and frequency of the infant's attention between two stimuli. Heart and respiration monitors provide the investigator with the number of heartbeats or breaths taken when a new stimulus is presented. Numerical increases are used as quantifiable indicators of heightened interest in the new stimulus. Increases in nonnutritive sucking were first used as an assessment measure by researchers in 1969. They devised an apparatus that connected a baby's pacifier to a counting device. As stimuli were presented, changes in the infant's sucking behavior were recorded. Increases in the number of sucks were used as an indicator of the infant's attention to or preference for a given visual display.
heightened v. (使)加强，提高，增加 heighten的过去分词和过去式
indication n. 指示;显示;表明;标示;象征
assessment n. 看法;评估;评定;核定;判定;核定的付款额
sophisticated adj. 复杂的;精密的;先进的;老练的;见多识广的;
respiration n. 呼吸
nonnutritive 无营养的;没有营养;与营养无关
quantifiable adj. 可以定量的;能量化的
pacifier n. (用橡皮或塑料制成的)安抚奶嘴
6. Paragraph 3 mentions all of the following as indications of an infant's heightened interest in a new stimulus EXCEPT an increase in
○sucking behavior
○heart rate
○the number of breaths taken
○eye movements
S： EXCEPT 排除题 indications stimulus increase
D：abcd
SG：
TPO-14 Children and Advertising
Paragraph 1: Young children are trusting of commercial advertisements in the media, and advertisers have sometimes been accused of taking advantage of this trusting outlook. The Independent Television Commission, regulator of television advertising in the United Kingdom, has criticized advertisers for "misleadingness"—creating a wrong impression either intentionally or unintentionally—in an effort to control advertisers' use of techniques that make it difficult for children to judge the true size, action, performance, or construction of a toy.
toy n. 玩具;玩物;玩意儿
Commission n. 委员会;佣金;回扣;(银行等的)手续费;正式委托;军官职务;做出（错事）
regulator n. (某行业等的)监管者，监管机构;
intentionally adv. 故意;有意地;蓄意地
performance n. 表演，演出;艺术上的表现，演技;演技;表现，性能
7. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as being a difficult judgment for children to make about advertised toys?
○How big the toys are
○How much the toys cost
○What the toys can do
○How the toys are made
S： NOT 排除题 indications stimulus increase
D：abcd
SG：
[ TPO10 - L2 ]
NARRATOR
Listen to part of a lecture in a European History Class.
FEMALE PROFESSOR
So would it surprise you to learn that many of the food that we eat today consider traditional European dishes that their key ingredients were not even known in Europe until quite recently, until the European started trading with the native people in North and South America?
I mean, you probably aware that the Americas provide Europe and Asia with foods like squash, beans, turkey, peanuts.
But what about all those Italian tomato sauces, hungarian goulash or my favorite, French fries? Those yummy fried potatoes.
MALE STUDENT
Wait. I mean I knew potatoes were from where, South America?
FEMALE PROFESSOR
South America. Right, the Andes Mountains.
MALE STUDENT
But you are saying tomatoes too?
I just assume since they're used in so many Italian dishes.
FEMALE PROFESSOR
No, like potatoes, tomatoes grew wild in the Andes.
Although unlike potatoes, they weren't originally cultivated there.
That seems to have occurred first in Central America.
And even then the tomato doesn't appear to have been very important as a food plant until the Europeans came on the scene.
They took it back to Europe with them around 1550.
And Italy was indeed the first place where it was widely grown as food crop.
So in a sense, it really is more Italian than American.
And another thing and this is true of both potato and tomato.
Both of these plants are members of Nightshade family.
The Nightshade family is a category of plants which also includes many that you wouldn't want to eat, like mandrake, belladonna, and even tobacco.
So it's no wonder that people once considered tomatoes and potatoes to be inedible too, even poisonous.
And in fact, the leaves of the potato plant are quite toxic.
So it took both plants quite a while to catch on in Europe.
And even longer before it made a return trip to North America and became popular food items here.
FEMALE STUDENT
Yeah, you know, I remember, I remember my grandmother telling me that when her mother was a little girl, a lot of people still thought tomatoes are poisonous.
FEMALE PROFESSOR
Oh, sure. People didn't really start eating them here until the mid-eighteen hundreds.
FEMALE STUDENT
But seems like I heard didn't Tom Jefferson grow them or something?
FEMALE PROFESSOR
Well, that's true.
But then Jefferson is known not only as the third president of the United States, but also as a scholar who was way ahead of his time in many ways.
He didn't let the conventional thinking of his day restrain his ideas.
Now, potatoes went through a similar sort of rejection process, especially when they were first introduced in Europe.
You know how potatoes can turn green if they are left in the light too long?
And that greenish skin can make the potatoes taste bitter; even make you ill.
So that was enough to put people off for over 200 years. Yes, Bill?
MALE STUDENT
I'm sorry professor Jones. But I mean yeah ok.
American crops have probably contributed a lot to European cooking over the years. But...
FEMALE PROFESSOR
But have they really played any kind of important role in European history?
Well, as a matter of fact, yes. I was just coming to that.
Let's start with North American corn or maize, as it's often called.
Now before the Europeans made contact with the Americas, they subsist mainly on grains, grains that often suffered from crop failures.
And it's largely for this reason that the political power in Europe was centered for centuries in the South, around the Mediterranean Sea which was where they could grow these grains with more reliability.
But when corn came to Europe from Mexico, wow, now they had a much hardier crop that could be grown easily in more northerly climates and centers of power began to shift accordingly.
And then, well, as I said potatoes weren't really popular at first.
But when they finally did catch on which they did first in Ireland around 1780.
Well, why do you suppose it happen?
Because potatoes have the ability to provide an abundant and extremely nutritious food crop, no other crop grown in North Europe at the time had anything like the number of vitamins contained in potatoes.
Plus, potatoes grow on the single acre of land could feed many more people than say, uh....wheat grow on the same land.
Potatoes soon spread to France and other Northern European countries.
And as a result, the nutrition of the general population improved tremendously and population soared in the early 1800 and so the shift of power from southern to northern Europe continued.
consider v. 考虑;认为;觉得;以为;(尤指为作出决定而)仔细考虑;细想;体谅;顾及;端详
dishes n. 碟;盘;(待清洗的)餐具;一道菜;菜肴 dish的第三人称单数和复数
squash n. 南瓜;壁球; v. 压软(或挤软、压坏、压扁等);把…压(或挤)变形;
hungarian adj. 匈牙利的
goulash n. 匈牙利红烩牛肉;匈牙利的辣椒炖肉;菜炖牛肉
yummy adj. 美味的，可口的，好吃的;性感的，迷人的
fried v. 油炸;油煎;油炒;(被阳光)灼伤，晒伤 fry的过去分词和过去式
Although conj. 虽然;尽管;即使;不过;然而
Nightshade 茄属植物;龙葵;颠茄;夜影
mandrake n. 曼德拉草
no wonder 难怪;怪不得;不足为怪;（表示找出某事的原因）难怪
inedible adj. 不能吃的;不宜食用的
took while 花了一段时间
catch on 明白;懂得;认识到;时兴;流行
introduced v.把…介绍(给);主持(节目);使初次了解;使尝试 introduce的过去分词和过去式
greenish adj. 带绿色的;浅绿色的
reliability n. 可靠性
hardier adj. 能吃苦耐劳的;适应力强的;耐寒的;能越冬的 hardy的比较级
vitamin n. 维生素;维他命
soared v. 急升;猛增;升空;升腾;高飞;翱翔 soar的过去分词和过去式
Paragraph 2: General concern about misleading tactics that advertisers employ is centered on the use of exaggeration. Consumer protection groups and parents believe that children are largely ill-equipped to recognize such techniques and that often exaggeration is used at the expense of product information. Claims such as "the best" or "better than" can be subjective and misleading; even adults may be unsure as to their meaning. They represent the advertiser's opinions about the qualities of their products or brand and, as a consequence, are difficult to verify. Advertisers sometimes offset or counterbalance an exaggerated claim with a disclaimer—a qualification or condition on the claim. For example, the claim that breakfast cereal has a health benefit may be accompanied by the disclaimer "when part of a nutritionally balanced breakfast." However, research has shown that children often have difficulty understanding disclaimers: children may interpret the phrase "when part of a nutritionally balanced breakfast" to mean that the cereal is required as a necessary part of a balanced breakfast. The author George Comstock suggested that less than a quarter of children between the ages of six and eight years old understood standard disclaimers used in many toy advertisements and that disclaimers are more readily comprehended when presented in both audio and visual formats. Nevertheless, disclaimers are mainly presented in audio format only
tactics n. 战术;策略;手段;招数;兵法
employ vt. 雇用;应用;运用;使用
exaggeration n. 夸张;夸大;言过其实
ill-equipped adj. 装备不完善的;技术不够的
represent 代表，表示;代理（个人或团体）;代表（个人或团体）出席;
qualities n. 质量;品质;上乘;优质;高标准;(尤指好的)人品，素质，品德 quality的复数
offset vt. 抵消;弥补;补偿
counterbalance n. 平衡;平衡抵消物;平衡重(或块、锤)
qualification n. (通过经验或具备技能而取得的)资格;资历;学历;限定条件;获得资格
part n. 部分;片段; v. 离开;分别;分离;分开;隔离;分散;解散
nutritionally 在营养上;营养学上的;营养学上;营养地;滋养地
interpret v. 解释;诠释;口译;说明;把…理解为;领会;演绎
understood v. 懂;理解;领会;了解;认识到;明了;谅解;体谅 understand的过去分词和过去式
standard n. 标准;(品质的)水平;规格;规范;正常的
comprehended v. 理解;领悟;懂 comprehend的过去分词和过去式
8. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of disclaimers made in advertisements EXCEPT:
○They are qualifications or conditions put on a claim.
○They may be used to balance exaggerations.
○They are usually presented in both audio and visual formats.
○They are often difficult for children to understand.
S： EXCEPT 排除题 disclaimers
D：abcd
SG：
Maya Water Problems
Paragraph 2: From north to south in the Yucatan Peninsula, where the Maya lived, rainfall ranges from 18 to 100 inches (457 to 2,540 millimeters) per year, and the soils become thicker, so that the southern peninsula was agriculturally more productive and supported denser populations. But rainfall in the Maya homeland is unpredictably variable between years; some recent years have had three or four times more rain than other years. As a result, modern farmers attempting to grow corn in the ancient Maya homelands have faced frequent crop failures, especially in the north. The ancient Maya were presumably more experienced and did better, but nevertheless they too must have faced risks of crop failures from droughts and hurricanes.
thicker adj. 厚的;粗的;(询问或说明厚度)有…厚;浓密的;稠密的;茂密的 thick的比较级
peninsula n. 半岛
presumably adv. 很可能;大概;想必是
9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a difference between the northern and southern Yucatan Peninsula?
○The annual rainfall was greater in the south.
○The population density was lower in the north.
○Agricultural productivity was greater in the south
○Rainfall was more unpredictable and variable in the south.
S： NOT 排除题
D：abcd
SG：
[ TPO05 - P3 ]
Scientists have asked important questions about this explosion for more than a century. Why did it occur so late in the history of Earth? The origin of multicellular forms of life seems a relatively simple step compared to the origin of life itself. Why does the fossil record not document the series of evolutionary changes during the evolution of animals? Why did animal life evolve so quickly? Paleontologists continue to search the fossil record for answers to these questions.
explosion n. 爆炸;爆破;爆裂(声);突增;激增;(感情，尤指愤怒的)突然爆发，迸发
multicellular adj. 多细胞的;多室的；多孔的；多管的；多单元的
form v. (使)出现;使）（关系、习惯或想法）形成;构成，
life n. 生活;生活方式;生命，性命;人命;人生阶段;生物，活物;
Paleontologists 古生物学家;古生物学者
extinction n. 灭绝;(植物、动物、生活方式等的)绝种;消亡
eruption n. 喷发;长（萌）出，爆（喷）发，喷溢，发疹
The period discussed in the passage is referred to as an "explosion" because it
A. occurred 0.6 billion years ago, late in Earth’s history
B. was characterized by the unusually fast evolution of many new life-forms
C. was characterized by widespread animal extinction
D. was characterized by violent volcanic eruptions
Scientists have asked important questions about this explosion for more than a century. Why did it occur so late in the history of Earth? The origin of multicellular forms of life seems a relatively simple step compared to the origin of life itself. Why does the fossil record not document the series of evolutionary changes during the evolution of animals? Why did animal life evolve so quickly? Paleontologists continue to search the fossil record for answers to these questions.
According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is NOT a question that paleontologists asked about the Cambrian explosion?
A. Why was the origin of life a simple step in Earth’s history?
B. Why did it take so long for multicellular organisms to develop?
C. Why did animal life evolve so rapidly?
D. Why does the fossil record lack evidence of animal evolution during that time?
S： NOT 排除题
D：abcd
SG：
The Ediacara fossil formation, which contains the oldest known animal fossils, consists exclusively of soft-bodied forms. Although named after a site in Australia, the Ediacara formation is worldwide in distribution and dates to Precambrian times. This 700-million-year-old formation gives few clues to the origins of modern animals, however, because paleontologists believe it represents an evolutionary experiment that failed. It contains no ancestors of modern animal groups.
date back to 回溯至
Precambrian adj. 前寒武纪的
consist v. 包括;在于;由…组成;由…构成;存在于
exclusively adv. 唯一地;排他地;独占地;专有地;完全地
named after 以…命名;以……命名;以...命名;按...命名
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 4 as being true of the Ediacara formation?
A. It contains fossils that date back to the Precambrian period.
B. It contains only soft-bodied animal fossils.
C. It is located on a single site in Australia.
D. It does not contain any fossils of the ancestors of modern animals.
S： NOT 排除题
D：abcd
SG：
A slightly younger fossil formation containing animal remains is the Tommotian formation, named after a locale in Russia. It dates to the very early Cambrian period, and it also contains only soft-bodied forms. At one time, the animals present in these fossil beds were assigned to various modern animal groups, but most paleontologists now agree that all Tommotian fossils represent unique body forms that arose in the early Cambrian period and disappeared before the end of the period, leaving no descendants in modern animal groups.
slightly adv. 轻微地;稍微;略微;身材瘦小的
present adj. 存在;出现;出席;在场;
arose v. 发生;出现;(由…)引起;(因…)产生;发展 arise的过去式
descendant n. 后代;后裔;子孙;(由过去类似物发展来的)派生物 adj. 同“descendent”
unclear adj. 不清楚的;不确定的;难以掌握的;不完全明白;不理解
1. 主干
① fossils represent unique body leaving no descendants
2. 逻辑词：but
3. 考点：绝，比，概，否
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.
A. The animals found in the Tommotian fossil bed were once thought to belong to a variety of modern animal groups, but now they are thought to have descended from a single group.
B. Animals in the Tommotian fossil beds were initially assigned to modern animal groups but are now thought to belong to groups that emerged and died out during the Cambrian period.
C. Though at first they thought otherwise, paleontologists now agree that the animals in the Tommotian have body forms from which modern animals have descended.
D. It is unclear whether the Tommotian fossils from the early Cambrian period represent unique body forms or whether they should be assigned to various modern animal groups.
A third fossil formation containing both soft-bodied and hard-bodied animals provides evidence of the result of the Cambrian explosion. This fossil formation, called the Burgess Shale, is in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. Shortly after the Cambrian explosion, mud slides rapidly buried thousands of marine animals under conditions that favored fossilization. These fossil beds provide evidence of about 32 modern animal groups, plus about 20 other animal body forms that are so different from any modern animals that they cannot be assigned to any one of the modern groups. These unassignable animals include a large swimming predator called Anomalocaris and a soft-bodied animal called Wiwaxia, which ate detritus or algae. The Burgess Shale formation also has fossils of many extinct representatives of modern animal groups. For example, a well-known Burgess Shale animal called Sidneyia is a representative of a previously unknown group of arthropods (a category of animals that includes insects, spiders, mites, and crabs).
representative adj. 典型的;有代表性的
arthropods 节肢动物;节肢动物类;节足动物;节肢生物
mite n. 螨（状似蜘蛛的微小动物，在动植物、地毯等上生活）
crab n. 蟹;螃蟹;蟹肉;阴虱寄生病
relative n. 亲戚;亲属;同类事物
extinct adj. 灭绝的;绝迹的;绝种的;
"Sidneyia" is an example of
A. a relative of Anomalocaris and Wiwaxia
B. a previously unknown Burgess Shale animal
C. an extinct member of a currently existing category of animals
D. an animal that cannot be assigned to any modern animal group
Fossil formations like the Burgess Shale show that evolution cannot always be thought of as a slow progression. The Cambrian explosion involved rapid evolutionary diversification, followed by the extinction of many unique animals. Why was this evolution so rapid? No one really knows. Many zoologists believe that it was because so many ecological niches were available with virtually no competition from existing species. Will zoologists ever know the evolutionary sequences in the Cambrian explosion? Perhaps another ancient fossil bed of soft-bodied animals from 600-million-year-old seas is awaiting discovery.
What can be inferred from paragraph 7 about why the Cambrian explosion is so unusual?
A. It generated new ecological niches through the extinction of many unique animals.
B. It was a period of rapid evolution, and evolution is often thought of as a slow process.
C. It is a period whose evolutionary sequences are clearly marked.
D. It generated a very large number of ancient fossil beds containing soft-bodied animals.
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