2月22日托福阅读机经

Reading Passage 1

Title:

indus civilization decline原因

Question types:

文章内容回顾：

主题：人文类话题
主要讲述indus文明衰落的原因，其中涉及food supply和flooding等

难度分析：

人文类话题在近期考试中几乎每场考试都有所涉及，考生在备考中需要吸取一定的重视。其次，关于sumeria和indus的相关素材也是ets考试中着着重考察的人文类素材，建议考生补充相关背景知识。

相关背景内容：

The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization(3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) in the northwestern region of the Indian Subcontinent, consisting mainly of what is now Pakistan and India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and the Ghaggar-Hakra River, which once coursed through northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
At its peak, the Indus Civilization may have had a population of over 5,000,000. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley developed new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large non-residential buildings.
The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of British India, and now is Pakistan. Among the settlements were the major urban centres of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Dholavira, Ganeriwala in Cholistan and Rakhigarhi

Reading Passage 2

Title:

美国国家公园发展

Question types:

文章内容回顾：

主题：社会学类话题
主要讲述美国建立国家公园的原因，之后涉及railway和highway的修建对于国家公园的影响以及国家公园办公室设立的原因。

难度分析：

社会学类话题，分类文章结构

相关背景内容：

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride.Furthermore, an international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined "National Park" as itsCategory II type of protected areas. While ideas for this type of national park had been suggested previously, the United States established the first such one, Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there were 6,555 national parks worldwide in 2006 that meet its criteria. IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park.
National parks are almost always open to visitors. Most national parks provide outdoor recreation and camping opportunities as well as classes designed to educate the public on the importance of conservation and the natural wonders of the land in which the national park is located.

Reading Passage 3

Title:

tide pool

Question types:

文章内容回顾：

主题 生态环境类素材
主要讲述tide pool环境恶劣不适合organism的各种原因，温差、盐分等等

难度分析：

生态类素材在托福阅读中是比较常见的素材，其中，大多以问题型文章结构，这篇也不例外，考生需要在此方面下功夫。

相关背景内容：

Tidal pools exist in the intertidal zones. These zones are submerged by the sea at high tides and during storms, and may receive spray from wave action. At other times the rocks may undergo other extreme conditions, baking in the sun or exposed to cold winds. Few organisms can survive such harsh conditions.Lichens and barnacles live in this region. In this zone, different barnaclespecies live at very tightly constrained elevations. Tidal conditions precisely determine the exact height of an assemblage relative to sea level.
The intertidal zone is periodically exposed to sun and wind, which desiccatebarnacles, which need to be well adapted to water loss. Their calcite shells are impermeable, and they possess two plates which they slide across their mouth opening when not feeding. These plates also protect against predation.