托福（阅读）历年真题试卷汇编7 (题后含答案及解析)
题型有： 3. Reading Comprehension
Sections Three：Reading Comprehension
Removing DamsP1: In the last century, many of the dams in the United States were built for water diversion, agriculture, factory watermills, and other purpos that allowed farming on lands that would otherwi be too dry, with low-cost hydroelectric power generation being a very significant side benefit. Building the dams was rather labor-intensive, which created jobs for workers and stimulated regional economic development. But tho oppod to large dams can marshal a sobering array of criticisms bad on tho already built, which have provided some benefits but have without exception destroyed river environments and the human communities that depend on them.P2: Many, perhaps most, of the more than 90,000 dams in the country are now obsolete, expensive, and unsafe, and were built with no consideration of the environmental costs. As operating licens come up for renewal in 1
999, habitat restoration to original stream flows will be among the options considered. As the dams age and decay, they can also become public safety hazards, prenting a failure risk and a dangerous nuisance. Wor still, with the growth of the American population, more people are moving into risky areas. Dams that once could have failed without major repercussions are now upstream of cities and development. In 1998, the Army Corps announced that it would no longer be building large dams. In the few remaining sites where dams might be built, public opposition is so great that getting approval for projects is unlikely.P3: For many years, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service had advocated the removal of the Edwards Dam, which was built in 1837 on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine, to ea navigation and generate electricity. The Kennebec River was once home to all ten species of migratory fish native to Maine, along with veral thriving commercial fisheries. Damming the river not only transformed the natural landscape, but it also prevented migration of salmon, shad, sturgeon, and other fish species up the river.In 1999, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) refud the renewal of the dam licen due to excessive negative environmental impact,
and the dam was removed, freeing a 17-mile stretch of the Kennebec River that had been submerged for 162 years. P4: The cost of keeping outdated hydroelectric equipment running decades after it was installed or upgrading dam safety systems may not be worth it. This was proven true on the Elwha River in the Olympic National Park in Washington when an extraordinarily rich salmon habitat was being disrupted by an outdated hydroelectric plant. Before dams were built on the Elwha River, 400,000 salmon returned each year to spawn, but that number dropped to fewer than 3,000 after dams were put up. Once the hydroelectric power generating capacities of the dams had outlived their uful lives, the importance of this salmon habitat necessitated the removal of the dams on the Elwha River. Simply removing the dams will not restore the salmon, however. Where 50-kilogram king salmon once fought their way up waterfalls to lay their eggs in gravel beds, there are now only concrete walls holding back still water and deep beds of muddy deposits.P5: When the negative environmental effects outweigh the benefits, a dam may be considered for removal. The Hetch Hetchy Dam, who construction was one of the first major defeats of the nascent American environmental m
ovement, was approved in 1913 to assist earthquake-ravaged San Francisco. Environmentalists and nature lovers, who said the valley’s beauty surpasd even Yomite Valley’s, have constantly fought for its removal. They claim that restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley could reclaim an area that is half the size of Yomite Valley and nearly identical in terms of beauty. Revenue and incread local spending from tourism could offt some or all of the loss from removing the dam. This problem can be thought of as appraising the relative value of two scarce resources, water and space, in Yomite National Park.P6: How does one weigh the many different economic, cultural, and aesthetic considerations for removing or not removing the dams? Do certain interests, such as the rights of native people or the continued existence of native species of fish or wildlife, take precedence over economic factors, or should this be a utilitarian calculation of the greatest good for the greatest number? And does that number include only humans, or do other species count as well?P4: ■ The cost of keeping outdated hydroelectric equipment running decades after it was installed or upgrading dam safety systems may not be worth it. ■ This was proven true on the Elwha River in the Olympic N
ational Park in Washington when an extraordinarily rich salmon habitat was being disrupted by an outdated hydroelectric plant. ■ Before dams were built on the Elwha River, 400,000 salmon returned each year to spawn, but that number dropped to fewer than 3,000 after dams were put up. ■ Once the hydroelectric power generating capacities of the dams had outlived their uful lives, the importance of this salmon habitat necessitated the removal of the dams on the Elwha River. Simply removing the dams will not restore the salmon, however. Where 50-kilogram king salmon once fought their way up waterfalls to lay their eggs in gravel beds, there are now only concrete walls holding back still water and deep beds of muddy deposits.
1． According to paragraph 1, building dams was beneficial in each of the following ways EXCEPT
A．increasing the amount of land that could be ud for farming
B．strengthening local economies
C．increasing the availability of low-cost electricity
D．expanding the aquatic habitats of native species
正确答案：D
解析：【否定事实信息题】末2行提到会破坏河流环境，与D选项矛盾。其他三个选项在原文中均可找到对应。
2． According to paragraph 2, the likelihood that new dams will be built has decread becau
A．construction costs have incread enormously
金钻花B．safety standards have become much higher
C．public opposition to dam construction has incread
D．at most suitable sites an existing dam would have to be removed first
正确答案：C
解析：【事实信息题】末句提到少数可能建大坝的地方的民众也非常反对，所以建造大坝的可能性变小了。
3． The word “obsolete’in the passage is clost in meaning to
A．unpopular
忡怎么读B．inefficient
C．out of date
D．unnecessary
发开头的成语接龙正确答案：C
解析：【词汇题】obsolete意为“过时的”，后文有age和decay这样的呼应。
4． Paragraph 2 supports which of the following ideas about operating licens for large
dams?
A．Since 1999 licens have been renewed only for small dams.
甜酒的制作过程B．Before 1999, owners applying for a licen renewal were more likely to have their applications than they were after that date.
C．Strong public opposition to their renewal was common even before 1999, but it was bad on safety considerations, not on environmental ones.
D．The environmental cost of dams has been a minor consideration in licen renewal applications since 1999.
正确答案：B
解析：【推断题】第2句说到随着运营许可证的更新，水源地的生态恢复被纳入条款，而1999年之前的大坝建造没有考虑到环境的问题，所以1999年之前申请运营许可证更容易一些。
5． According to paragraph 3, why did the United States Fish and Wildlife Service want the Edwards Dam removed?
A．Becau the age of the dam made it unsafe.
B．Becau the dam was negatively affecting various species of fish.
C．Becau the dam had caud wetlands to form.
D．Becau the dam no longer provided economic benefits.
正确答案：B
解析：【事实信息题】本页最后一句提到很多年来，美国鱼类及野生动物管理局一直提出要拆除这个大坝。因为它阻碍了很多鱼类的迁徙。
6． Paragraph 3 suggests that one main consideration for keeping the Edwards Dam was
A．the electricity it generated.
B．the length of time it had been in operation,
C．the high cost of removing it.
D．the fact that removing it would t a bad example.
正确答案：A
解析：【事实信息题】首句末行提到当初建造大坝是为了便利航行与发电，所以要保留大坝的理由是它能发电这个好处。
7． According to paragraph 4, why would removing the Elwha and Glines dams not be enough to restore salmon to the Elwha River?
A．They are not the only dams on the Elwha River.
B．The number of salmon is too small for the fish to recover.
C．Too many species of salmon are competing for survival in one river.
D．The dams have left the river’s spawning beds in an unusable condition.
正确答案：D
平凉旅游解析：【推断题】末2行提到鲑鱼游到上游的瀑布，在砾石层产卵，但是现在只有水泥墙挡着静止的水以及厚厚的淤泥层，所以只移除大坝是不够的，因为它使得鲑鱼失去了产卵地。
8． The word “disrupted” in the passage is clost in meaning to悼念亲人
A．modified
B．affected
C．upt
D．discharged
正确答案：C
解析：【词汇题】disrupted意为“扰乱”。
9． The word “offt” in the passage is clost in meaning to
A．counteract
B．embark on
C．exceed
土建施工合同范本D．challenge
正确答案：A
解析：【词汇题】offt意为“抵消”。
10． According to paragraph 5, why do environmental groups want the Hetch Hetchy Dam removed?
A．To assist earthquake-ravaged San Francisco.景的成语
B．To compete with Yomite Valley
C．To increa the size of Yomite National Park
D．To restore a valley to its original beauty
正确答案：D
解析：【推断题】第3句说环境保护主义机构认为赫奇峡谷恢复后可以增加大约有优胜美地峡谷一半的规模，而且可以恢复得与它一样美丽。所以环境保护机构想拆掉赫奇大坝是为了恢复该峡谷原本的美景。
11． The phra “take precedence over” in the passage is clost in meaning to
