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托福TPO听力33文本

Conversation1

Narrator

Listen to a conversation between a student and a university employee.

Student

Hi. I am a little lost. Um, is this the housing maintenance office?

Employee

You found it. How can I help you?

Student

Oh, good. I have a quick question. Are we allowed to keep electric heaters in our rooms?

Employee

Actually, you are not. What’s going on? Your room cold?

Student

It’s freezing in my room. I think the heat went out or something.

Employee

Are you sure it’s out? Maybe it just got turned out too far.

Student

Oh, no. I tried adjusting the, uh, the heat control, but it doesn’t make any difference. It’s so cold in my bedroom I can’t sleep at night. I’ve actually been sleeping on the sofa in the front room. The heat still works in there. Actually, we get hot air in all the bedrooms except ours.

Employee

Wow! Do you have a roommate?

Student

Yeah. But she said she isn’t bothered by the cold. But on the sofa, I am kept up by the noise out in the hall. The dorms can sometimes get pretty noisy. So what can be done about it?

Employee

Well, OK. There’s a couple of things we can do. I can have a custodian take a look at it and see if he can do something.

Student

Actually, I asked the custodian yesterday to take a look. But he said he couldn’t find anything wrong. He said that some of the other rooms have lost heat also and that if we’d come here you guys would fix it.

Employee

Oh, he did? That’s weird, because I would have…well, the custodians themselves are usually supposed to report any problems right away. OK. In that case, then what you need to do is…here, fill out this form.

Student

I have to fill out a form?

Employee

Yeah, but at least that’ll put your heater problem in a work order for the maintenance crew and they’ll get to you as soon as possible. Just so you know, because it’s not winter yet and it’s not as cold as it could be, it may take a few days for a maintenance crew to get to you.

Student

A few days? I can’t even sleep in my own room! Can’t we just get an electric heater?

 

Employee

I am sorry. But students just aren’t allowed. OK. I can see that this is a problem, and not just with your room. So if you can get the form back to me this afternoon, I’ll try to get a maintenance crew to look at your problem by tomorrow. How’s that?

Student

Oh, that would be great. Seriously. I have to take off now. But when I fill this form out, I give it to you, right?

Employee

Right. And if I am not here, just put it in my box and I’ll get it.

 

Lecture1 – Archaeology (The Great Pyramid)

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

Professor

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt might be the most famous building in the world. We know exactly when it was built. Construction started in 2547 B.C.E., about 4500 years ago. We know who had it built. That was the pharaoh Khufu. We know who oversaw its construction—the pharaoh’s brother. We know so many things about it, but the funny thing is: we still don’t know exactly how it was built.

This picture will give you an idea of the size of the Pyramid and the size of the blocks it’s made out of that. About two million stone blocks were used to build the Great Pyramid and they are incredibly massive. The average weight is two and a half tons.

The problem that has puzzled scholars for centuries is how were these blocks lifted up the height of this massive structure and then fit into place and without the benefit of modern technology. Of course, there’ve been a lot of theories over the centuries.

The oldest recorded one is by the Greek historian Herodotus. He visited Egypt around 450 B.C.E., when the Pyramid was already 2000 years old. His theory was that cranes were used, much like we use cranes today to construct tall buildings. And Herodotus may have seen Egyptians using cranes made of wood. But the problem with this theory has to do with simple mechanics. A crane needs a wide and sturdy base to stand on or it will fall over. Well, as you get toward the top of the Pyramid, there’s really no place for a crane to stand. The stone blocks are too narrow to provide a base. Well, so much for that theory.

The next one has to do with the use of a ramp that would allow workers to drag a stone block up the side of the structure. Of course the ramp can’t be too steep. It has to have a long gentle slope. And that’s the problem. If you build a ramp with a slight slope up to the top of a Pyramid that’s over 130 meters high, it would have to be almost two kilometers long. Well, the Pyramid is built on a flat area called the Giza Plateau. The Plateau is simply not big enough to accommodate a two-kilometer-long ramp.

OK. So what now? Well, if you’ve ever driven on a mountain road, you’d know that it has a lot of twists and turns and bends in it, because that’s how engineers keep the road from having to be too steep. So why not wrap the ramp around the Pyramid? Building the ramp around it as you go. Sounds like a pretty good idea. Except it’s got a serious problem. See…one of the most remarkable things about the Great Pyramid is how accurate the proportions are. The dimensions are almost perfect. To get that perfection, the engineers must have had to measure it repeatedly during construction. And the way you’d measure it is from the four corners of the base. Well, if you got a ramp spiraling up from the base of the Pyramid, those corners would be buried by that ramp during construction.

Well, who says the ramp has to be on the outside of the Pyramid? And now we get to the latest idea. If the ramp were on the inside of the Pyramid, the corners at the base would be exposed, so the engineers could do their measurements while they were building.

Well, an architect named Houdin has spent a few years working on making computer models of the building of the Pyramid. And what Houdin believes is that an exterior straight ramp was used to construct the bottom third of the Pyramid, this ramp would have been fairly short. It probably rose less than 50 meters. Then the rest of the Pyramid was constructed using an internal ramp that spiraled around the inside of the Pyramid.

But how can we test this idea? Well, there are several ways to look inside the Pyramid.

One is called microgravimetry. Microgravimetry is a technique that’s used to detect voids inside a structure. You can then take the data and generate an image that shows any empty spaces in the interior. Well, in 1986, French scientists completed a microgravimetric survey of the Pyramid. And one of the images they produced showed an empty spiral-shaped space inside it. The shape of that space corresponds exactly to what Houdin thought the ramp would look like. I think Herodotus would be convinced. We might very well be at the end of centuries of guessing.

 

Lecture2 – Environmental Science (Water Management)

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in an environmental science class.

Professor

I’d like to continue with the topic of managing water resources, but I want to focus on a particular case. Uh, um, an example of water management that’s made us reconsider the methods we use when we make these decisions. So let’s look at what’s happening in the Colorado River basin.

The Colorado River basin is a region in the Southwest United States. Seven states rely on the Colorado’s water. And as you can imagine, as the populations of these states began to grow, it became clear that a system to distribute, uh, to make sure each state got its fair share of water…some kind of system had to be created. And in 1922, a water-sharing agreement was made. Elizabeth, you have a question?

Student

Well, how exactly do you figure out how to share a river? I mean, you can’t…like cut it up into pieces.

Professor

Well, let’s start with the first step. And that’s trying to figure out how much water on average flows through the river each year. Now, researchers had started gathering data on water flow back in the late 1890s using instruments they placed in the river. When the 1922 water-sharing agreement was made, there were about twenty years of data on water flow available. The average annual flow was calculated. And, well, the agreement was based on that calculation. The same basic agreement is in effect today.

Student

Wait! That was all the data they had? And they based their decision on that?

 

Professor

Yes. And we’ll why that was a bad decision in a moment. OK. As decades passed, it became clear that measuring river flow was much more complicated than we had thought. See…a river has periods of low flow and periods of high flow. And this wasn’t taken into consideration when the 1922 agreement was made. In the 1970s, the population of the area was rising while the amount of water flowing through the river seemed to be falling. By this time, we had…what? A hundred years of recorded data to look at? That’s still a pretty short time for an ancient river.

To get more data, we looked at a different source—a source that was able to tell us about hundreds of years of the river’s history—tree rings. OK. Let me explain.

You probably know that we can determine a tree’s age by counting the rings on a cross section of its trunk. Each ring represents one year of the tree’s life. So if you know the year the tree was cut, you can count inwards and date each ring all the way back to the center. You can also tell how much moisture the tree got during each of those years by looking at the width of the rings. A wide ring means plenty of water while a narrow one indicates less.

Fortunately for us, certain areas of the Colorado River basin are home to some very old trees, some 800 years old and older. Researchers can drill core samples, uh, basically get a cross section of a tree without having to kill it, look at the rings and get a picture of what the climate was like in the basin for each of the tree’s years.

Well, the results tell us something we wouldn’t have known without this data, that over the past 500 years or so, the Colorado River basin has experienced severe droughts, some worse than any we’ve ever recorded. They also showed that the early to mid-1900s, when most of the data that led to the water-sharing agreement was collected…well, this was the wettest period in the past 400 years. Well, obviously, had water management officials known then what we know now, the 1922 agreement would have been handled differently.

But today we can use the past to help prepare us for the future. With the demand for water in the basin stays increasing and with the real likelihood of lower flows in the river, if history is our teacher, we can develop innovative methods of water conservation and reevaluate how water is distributed.  

 

Conversation2

Narrator

Listen to a conversation between a student and his biology professor.

Student

Professor Landrea.

Professor

Hi, Dennis. You are right on time. Come on in and have a seat.

Student

Great! Thanks.

Professor

So like I told you in class, I just wanted to take a few minutes to meet with everyone to make sure your class presentations for next week are all in order and coming along well. And as you know, you are supposed to report on some area of recent research in genetics, something…you know…original.

Student

Well, I think I found just the thing! It actually occurred to me a couple nights ago while I was eating dinner in the cafeteria. Tell me professor, do you like broccoli?

Professor

Broccoli? You mean the vegetable broccoli?

Student

Yeah.

 

Professor

Well, I guess not really.

Student

Me neither. I have never liked it or most other vegetables for that matter…Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower…you name it. They just taste bitter and…well…nasty to me. My mother always called me a picky eater.

Professor

OK…And?

Student

And so I got to wondering: I mean, I am obviously not the only person like this. So is this just because of some…like trauma from our childhoods? Some bad experience we’ve had with some vegetables? Or could there be some genetic explanation for why some people are picky eaters and others aren’t?

Professor

OK. I see. Well, I suppose it’s a possibility.

Student

Actually, it turns out it’s more than a possibility. I started doing some research in the library that night and I found out that a biologist at the National Institutes of Health has been looking at that very question recently.

Professor

Well, I guess that’s not too surprising. And this is great stuff actually. So what’s the verdict?

Student

Well, this guy seems to have discovered a particular gene that actually makes it possible for people to taste the bitterness in certain green vegetables. But people who have a mutation in that gene cannot taste the bitterness.

Professor

Well…that’s certainly fascinating! But…so this biologist is basically claiming that people who like to eat these vegetables actually have some sort of sensory deficit? Sort of makes us picky eaters than normal ones, doesn’t it? I mean, that’s kind of turning things on their head, isn’t it?

Student

Well…then again, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Think of it this way: humans originally needed to have a stronger sensitivity to bitter-tasting foods so they could learn what plants were good for them and which ones might be poisonous. But at some point, as people figured out what they could safely eat, this need became less crucial and a segment of the population lost that ability.

Professor

OK. Well, you make a compelling case. I can’t wait to hear more about this when you deliver your report.

 

Lecture3 – Biology (Notothenioids)

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class.

Professor

Ways in which animals adapt to their environment are often quite ingenious actually. And as an example of this, let me tell you about a fish, a group of fish known as the Notothenioids. There’s over 90 known species of Notothenioids and they inhabit both shallow and very deep waters, mostly around Antarctica. Many are fairly small, though the largest species can weigh up to 150 kilograms.

Notothenioids can be identified by their large eyes, which are covered by a thick insulating layer of clear tissue. This tissue protects their eyes from freezing. Remember, the freezing point of ocean water, salt water, is lower than for fresh water, negative 1.9 degree Celsius (-1.9°C). So it can get a lot colder for fish in an ocean, say, than in a river or lake. So this means that the ocean waters around Antarctica are cold enough to freeze most types of fish, but Notothenioids don’t freeze. In fact, they thrive. They account for some 95% of all fish in the southern ocean, the ocean that surrounds Antarctica.

So, how unusual is that? To have a single family of fish dominating an entire ocean. I mean, think of…say, tropical or temperate marine environments, which have incredibly diverse fish populations. Coral reefs, for example, support over 4000 types of fish, along with sponges, crustaceans, and many other organisms.

So, exactly when and how did the Notothenioids come to dominate the southern ocean?

Well, around 30 million years ago, the waters around Antarctica were a lot warmer than they are today. Um...at that time, Antarctica was connected to South America, which means that warm air from the north could flow southward and heat up the Antarctica waters. Because the water around Antarctica then was relatively warm, it supported many types of fish. And we know this from fossil evidence.

But the 90 or so species of Notothenioids that exist today didn’t exist at all back then. In fact, only one ancestral Notothenioid species existed. But somewhere between 5 million and 14 million years ago, two major changes took place.

First, what we call a chance mutation. A tiny genetic change occurred in that one Notothenioid species. Its DNA allowed for the production of a special protein, a protein that prevents the fish from freezing. The way this…this anti-freeze protein works is: it binds to any ice crystals that form inside the fish. This binding action prevents the ice crystals from growing larger. And this is what prevents Notothenioids from freezing.

Now, at that time, the waters the Notothenioids inhabited were still not freezing cold, so the protein didn’t really make a difference as far as the fish’s survival. But this would change, because in the same period of geologic time there was a shift in the earth’s continental plates. Continental drift caused Antarctica to move apart from the landmass of South America and to drift into the Southern Polar Region. This resulted in a powerful water current encircling Antarctica, which prevented the Antarctic waters from mixing with warmer water. So the southern ocean, isolated from that warm airflow from the north, cooled down drastically, to the kinds of sub-freezing temperatures we associate with it today.

Now, most fish species couldn’t survive in this frigid environment and they became extinct. But that one Notothenioid species, with its unique ability to produce that anti-freeze protein, thrived. It had virtually the entire southern ocean to itself!

So? Well, there was little or no competition for food or space. You might think of it as…um…as a…a kind of ecological vacuum. And the Notothenioids exploited fully. The species migrated into different habitats throughout the southern ocean. And its population increased dramatically, with various sub-populations migrating into different parts of the ocean. Over time these sub-populations in all those different habitats…well, they developed very different physical traits. They adapted to survive in their particular ecological niche, their…their position within a particular ecosystem.

We call this type of species diversification within a species adaptive radiation. And what adaptive radiation is is: an evolutionary process by which a parent species rapidly undergoes changes resulting in various new species in order to fill multiple ecological niches. So in the case of the Notothenioids, that single species started colonizing empty habitats to such an extent that it evolved into a broad range of new species, the 90 or so Notothenioid species that we have today. So let me switch to adaptive radiation with regard to another species that’s also been very successful.  

 

Lecture4 – Art History (Renaissance Gardens)

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in an art history class.

Professor

OK. We have been talking about the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance, from around A.D. 1400 to around A.D. 1600. Last class, we had a look at some of the magnificent palaces and villas built during this time period. And just as class was ending, someone asked about the gardens associated with these palaces and villas. And so I’d like to say a few things about them before we move on.

Now, when I say gardens, I don’t mean vegetable gardens or simple flower gardens. These were lavishly constructed, finely detailed gardens that covered hundreds of acres, with exotic plants and ornamental statues. And they were just as much a symbol of their owners’ social position as their palaces and villas were. Again, what was the inspiration for the Renaissance? Rebecca.

Student

Classical art and architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Professor

That’s right. As we’ve said before, the main point of the Renaissance was to revive the genius of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which is why designers of Renaissance gardens designed them as the ancient Romans would have designed them, or at least as they imagined the ancient Romans would have designed them.

Student

How did they know what ancient Roman gardens look like?

 

Professor

Well, they didn’t have any pictures. But they did have some very detailed descriptions of ancient Roman villas and their gardens that had been written by famous Roman authors who lived during the height of the Roman Empire. And at least three of those authors, one was a scholar, one was a poet, and one was lawyer, were very authoritative, very reliable sources.

Ah…and interestingly enough, there was another source that didn’t describe classical gardens but still became a great influence on Renaissance gardens. It was also written back during the height of the Roman Empire by a mathematician known as Hero of Alexandria. Hero was a Greek. But he lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which was at the time part of the Roman Empire. Hero compiled descriptions and sketches of seventy some clever little mechanical devices, most of which utilized compressed air to cause water, or in some cases wine, to flow from one place to another, or sometimes to squirt or to make some kind of noise. Yes? John?

Student

Could you give an example?

Professor

Well, one of the devices was a sacrificial vessel that was obviously designed for a temple, not for a garden. Anyway, if you drop money into this vessel, water would flow out of it. Well, creative minds in the Renaissance realized that this little device could be nicely repurposed as a nifty little fountain. Designers of Renaissance gardens loved this sort of thing. They loved to incorporate novelties and tricks, things to amuse and impress guests.

Student

And that was the purpose? To impress people?

Professor

Sure. As a nobleman or wealthy landowner, one purpose of having a fabulous villa with a fantastic garden was to impress people. It was a way of proving your social position.

 

Student

Well…OK. You also mentioned tricks.

Professor

Well, for example, some gardens had plaster or marble birds that sang when water flowed through them. Some fountains were designed to squirt people with water.

Student

And these things were popular?

Professor

Yes. They may have been the most popular features of the gardens. I mean, flowers and statues can be nice to look at, but these things were a lot more fun. And the more clever the device is, the more famous the garden and the greater prestige the landowner enjoyed. Yes? Rebecca.

Student

What about mazes? I read that they were a major part of the Renaissance gardens.

Professor

Oh, yes. They certainly were! Mazes or labyrinths, as they’re also called, were very common in Renaissance gardens. How that came to be though is a bit of a mystery. Mazes have a long history going back to the ancient Egyptians, but they started appearing in gardens only during the Renaissance, or perhaps just a little bit prior to that. According to one source, what happened was: in the late 1400s, a highly respected expert published a book on architecture. And readers somehow mistakenly inferred from that book that ancient Romans had mazes in their gardens. So then designers of Renaissance gardens thinking they were following in the footsteps of the ancient Romans…well…guess what they did.

 

托福TPO听力33题目解析

1. Why does the woman go to see the man?

A) To ask about a university policy regarding dorm rooms

B) To report excessive noise in her dorm

C) To report that room temperatures are too high in her room

D) To inquire about the status of a request she had made for a repair

Answer: A

解析:

(16’’)Woman: I have a quick question. Are we allowed to keep electric heaters in our rooms? 这句话表示女学生来的目的就是问能否在房间里有电暖气。换句话说，就是学校政策是否允许学生在房间放电暖气。

 

2. How has the woman been dealing with her problem?

A) By using an electric heater

B) By staying in a different building

C) By sleeping in another room in her building

D) By exchanging rooms with a friend

Answer: C

解析： (31’’) Oh, no. I tried adjusting the, uh, the heat control, but it doesn't make any difference. It's so cold in my bedroom I can't sleep at night. I've actually been sleeping on the sofa in the front room. The heat still works in there. Actually, we get hot air in all the bedrooms except ours. 首先她否定了老师的想法，然后告诉老师她现在睡在另一个房间的沙发上。

 

3. What does the man imply about the custodian?

A) The custodian is not usually responsible for making repairs.

B) The custodian did not follow correct procedures.

C) The custodian needs permission before making repairs.

D) The custodian had reported the problem earlier.

Answer: B

解析：

(1’01’’) Woman: So what can be done about it? Teacher: Well, OK. There's a couple of things we can do. I can have a custodian take a look at it and see if he can do something.

(1’09’’) Woman: Actually, I asked the custodian yesterday to take a look.

也就是说老师的建议无用。 (1’21’’) Teacher: Oh, he did? That's weird, because I would have...well, the custodians themselves are usually supposed to report any problems right away.

老师的回答是“weird”，很奇怪。潜台词，这个不符合常规。后面补充，这些管理员应该要报告。也就是说，这些管理员没有按常规办事。

 

4. Why does the man mention winter?

A) To suggest that an electric heater is not yet necessary

B) To show that he understands the woman’s frustration

C) To encourage the woman to move to another room

D) To explain why it may take time to fix the woman’s problem

Answer: D

解析：

(1’35’’) teacher: Yeah, but at least that'll put your heater problem in a work order for the maintenance crew and they'll get to you as soon as possible. Just so you know, because it's not winter yet and it's not as cold as it could be, it may take a few days for a maintenance crew to get to you. 老师表示因为冬天还没到，没那么冷，所以需要几天才能安排人去修。

 

5. What will the man do to help the woman?

A) He will fill out a maintenance request form for her.

B) He will send a maintenance team to her room soon.

C) He will order a new heater for her room right away.

D) He will allow her to change rooms temporarily.

Answer: B

解析：

(1’49’’) Woman: A few days? I can't even sleep in my own room! 女生抗议，认为这太久了。 (1’58’’) Teacher: OK, I can see this is a problem and not just with your room. So, if you can get the form back to me this afternoon, I’ll try to get a maintenance crew to look at your problem by tomorrow. How’s that? 老师表示理解，如果女生能明天把表格给他，他可以明天安排人去修。

Conversation 1梗概：女生去问宿舍能不能有电暖气，因为她宿舍的暖气坏了，她只能睡在沙发上。但是老师表示不能，让她去找管理员。但是女生说管理员已经看过了。老师表示管理员没有按流程办事，让女生填表格，并说过几天找人修。女生抗议。老师说那就填好表格，明天派人去修。

 

Lecture1

6. What is the lecture mainly about?

A) Building techniques that were common in the ancient world

B) Evidence of several early attempts to build a pyramid

C) Possible answers to an ancient mystery

D) The history of the pyramids of Egypt

Answer: C

解析： (30’’)We know so many things about it, but the funny thing is, we still don’t know exactly how it was built. 首先，教授提出金字塔这个主题，然后说我们知道很多，但是，我们不知道它是如何被建造的。

(1’05’’) Of course there have been a lot of theories over the centuries. 当然，有许多理论。接着整篇文章都是在讲各个理论。

 

7. According to the professor, what is the main

argument against the theory that the stone blocks of the Great Pyramid were lifted into place with cranes?

A) Wooden cranes would have been too weak to lift the blocks.

B) There is no evidence of ancient Egyptians ever using cranes.

C) The use of cranes would have resulted in imprecise dimensions.

D) There would not have been enough room for a platform for the cranes.

Answer: D

解析：

(1’09’’) The oldest recorded one is by the Greek historian Herodotus. He visited Egypt around 450 B.C.E. when the pyramid was already two thousand years old. His theory was that cranes were used much like we use cranes today to construct tall buildings, seen Egyptians using cranes made of wood. 首先提出最老的一个理论，是由HERODOTUS这个人提出的，他认为古埃及人是用木头的起重机建造的金字塔。 (1’30’’) But the problem with this theory has to do with simple mechanics: a crane needs a wide and sturdy base to stand on or it will fall over. Well, as you get to the top of the pyramid, there’s really no place for a crane to stand. The stone blocks are too narrow to provide a base. 教授简单描述理论之后立刻提出转折，这个理论的问题就在于金字塔顶端没有地方可以给crane。

 

8. Why does the professor mention a mountain road?

A) To illustrate an alternative to a steep ramp

B) To emphasize the effort needed to move large stone blocks

C) To imply that progress on the Great Pyramid was slow

D) To describe the shape of the road leading to the Giza Plateau

Answer: A

解析： (1’50’’) The next one has to do with the use of a ramp that would allow workers to drag a stone block up the side of the structure. 另一个理论就是有关使用斜坡的理论。 (2’13’’) Well, the pyramid is built on a flat area called the Giza plateau. The plateau is simply not big enough to accommodate a two-kilometer long ramp. OK, so what now? 教授用well来引出这个理论的问题，即这个高原没有这么大来承载一个2公里的长坡。然后再以问题来引出答案。 (2’25’’) Well, if you’d ever driven on a mountain road, you know that it has a lot of twists and turns and bends in it because that’s how engineers keep the roads from having to be too steep. 教授再用well来引出话题，提出山路有很多转弯就是工程师来解决山坡太陡的问题。也就是用山坡的例子来说明如何处理坡太陡的难题。

 

9. Why does the professor talk about the accuracy of the proportions of the Great Pyramid?

A) To provide background on the principles of microgravimetry

B) To discount the possibility that a ramp once spiraled around outside of the pyramid

C) To explain the effectiveness of computer models of the pyramid

D) To emphasize the difficulty of building a ramp with the correct slope

Answer: B

解析： (2’35’’) So why not wrap the ramp around the pyramid, building a ramp around it as you go. Sounds like a pretty good idea except it’s got a serious problem. 讲完山路的问题之后，教授回到话题，表示用把斜坡环绕金字塔是否也行呢?后面跟着的词是重点，”sounds like” – 听起来似乎是，潜台词是”其实并非如此“。于是，教授后面说，See, one of the most remarkable things about the great pyramid is how accurate the proportions are. 其实教授说这句话就已经表达了“并非如此”的重要原因，即accurate proportion. 最后，教授还说了，Well, if you’ve got a ramp spiraling up from the base of the pyramid, those corners would be buried by that ramp during construction.因此，这是行不通的。

 

10. The professor discusses different methods the Egyptians may have used to build the Great Pyramid. For each method listed below, place a check in the box that show with whom it is associated. Click the correct boxes. This question is worth 2 points.

	Herodotus	Houdin	Neither Herodotus nor Houdin
Spiral ramp inside the pyramid		Y
Wooden cranes used to lift heavy blocks	Y
A straight ramp used for the entire pyramid			Y
A straight ramp used for the bottom of the pyramid only		Y

本题对应了文章的大结构。最老的方案是由HERODOTUS提出的，关于用WOODEN CRANE建造。第二个方案是斜坡，但是没有说是谁。第三个方案是HOUDIN提出的，金字塔底部在外面用斜坡建造，剩下的在里面用斜坡建造。

 

11. What is the professor’s view of the Houdin’s theory?

A) She would like to see more detailed microgravimetric surveys before she will be convinced it is true.

B) She is surprised at how similar it is to Herodotus’ theory.

C) She finds the microgravimetric evidence for it to be very strong.

D) She thinks it is plausible but leaves some important questions unanswered.

Answer: C

解析： (4’33’’) I think Herodotus would be convinced. 关于教授对某个理论的态度，一般都是在说完该理论之后教授才会表达。

 

Lecture2

12. What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The use of tree rings to measure water usage rates

B) Collecting data that are useful for planning water distribution

C) Investigating the history of water use in the Colorado River basin

D) The need for more government involvement in water distribution

Answer: B

解析：整篇文章都是以科罗拉多盆地为例子来说明研究者是如何搜集数据来分配水资源的。

 

13. What does the student find surprising about the 1922 water-sharing agreement?

A) It was based on only twenty years of data.

B) It was approved by all seven states in the region.

C) It was meant to remain in effect for more than 100 years.

D) It was based on data from outside the Colorado River basin.

Answer: A

解析： (1’11’’) Now, researchers had started gathering data on water flow back in the late 1890s using instruments they placed in the river. When the 1922 water-sharing agreement was made, there were about twenty years of data on water flow available. The average annual flow was calculated and, well, the agreement was based on that calculation. The same basic agreement is in effect today. (1’35’’) Female student: Wait! That was all the data they had and they based their decision on that?

教授的now这个词引发了一个重点，就是从1890年代到1922年时，研究者搜集了20年的数据。女生打断了教授的话，并表达一种惊讶。

 

14. According to the professor, what was the problem with the data recorded before the 1970s?

A) The data were recorded on old instruments.

B) The recorded data and human observation did not match.

C) There were gaps in the recorded data.

D) The data did not reflect the historical changes in the flow of the Colorado River.

Answer: D

解析： (1’40’’) Yes, and we’ll see why that was a bad decision in a moment. OK, as decades past, it became clear that measuring river flow was much more complicated than we had thought. See, a river has periods of low flow and periods of high flow and this wasn’t taken into consideration when the 1922 agreement was made.

教授回答女生说，我们将马上看到为何这是一个错误的决定。这句话先表达一个观点，即这

个决定是错的。然后给出理由。因为测量河流的流量是很复杂的，有低流量和高流量的时候。说明决定错误的原因跟流量的变化有关。

 

15. What assumption did researchers use to draw conclusions about the Colorado River basin?

A) Ancient tree ring data can only be obtained from dead trees.

B) The climate in an area tends to remain constant over time.

C) Rainfall has a limited impact on water flowing in rivers.

D) Width of tree rings can correspond to the amount of moisture in an area.

Answer: D

解析：

(2’17‘’) As we get more data, we look at a different source, a source that was able to tell us about hundreds of years of the river’s history: tree rings. OK, let me explain.

(2’45’’) You can also tell how much moisture the tree got during each of those years by looking at the width of the rings. A wide ring means plenty of water while a narrow one indicates less.

当教授说明决定错误之后，开始转入另一个重要结构，即另一个数据来源，树的年轮。并再后面解释，年轮不仅告诉我们树的年纪，而且粗细对应了当年的水量。

 

16. What does the professor imply when he describes the early to mid-1900s as the wettest period for the Colorado River in 400 years?

A) The climate in the Colorado River basin will become wetter in the future.

B) The 1922 agreement was based on overestimated average river flows.

C) Water flowing in the Colorado River rises and falls at a predictable rate.

D) Human activity caused climate change in the Colorado River basin.

Answer: B

解析：

(3’20’’) Well, the results tell us something we wouldn’t have known without this data: that over the past five hundred years or so, the Colorado River Basin has experienced severe droughts, some worse than any we’ve ever recorded. They also show that the early to mid-1900s, when most of the data that led to the water-sharing agreement was collected, well, this was the wettest period in the past four hundred years.

教授告诉我们数据显示在过去的500年里，盆地经历过严重的干旱。而协议的数据来源正是最湿润的季节。换句话说，协议基于最湿润的季节来安排水分配，显然会导致在干旱的时候水不够用。协议高估了水量。

 

17. What is the professor’s attitude toward future water-management plans in the Colorado River basin?

A) He believes better methods for collecting data need to be developed.

B) He does not believe water management will be a concern in the immediate future.

C) He is optimistic that new data will lead to better planning.

D) He is not certain all scientists understand the current condition of the Colorado River.

Answer: C

解析： (3’54’’) But, today, we can use the past to help us prepare for the future. 教授的用词表达了教授的态度，’help us prepare’,很乐观。

 

Conversation2

1. Why does the professor meet with the student?

A) To determine if the student has selected an appropriate topic for his class project

B) To find out if the student is interested in taking part in a genetics project

C) To discuss the student’s experiment on taste perception

D) To explain what the student should focus on for his class presentation

Answer: A

解析： (17’’) So, like I told you in class, I just wanted to take a few minutes to meet with everyone to make sure your class presentations for next week are all in order and coming along well. And as you know, you’re supposed to report on some areas of recent research on genetics, something, you know, original. 这次对话是教授主动叫学生来了解对方是否已经准备好了PRESENTATION。

 

2. Why does the student ask the professor about broccoli?

A) To get her to describe some of its genetic features

B) To find out if she is familiar with recent research on vegetable DNA

C) To introduce an idea that he has had for a research topic

D) To help explain why he needs extra time to prepare his presentation

Answer: C

解析：

(36’’) It actually occurred to me a couple of nights ago while I was eating dinner at the cafeteria. Tell me, Professor, do you like broccoli? 首先学生表示已经准备好了，并且是在吃晚餐的时候想到的。然后突然问老师喜不喜欢吃broccoli。说明这个东西跟他的PRESENTATION的TOPIC有关。

(1’07’’) And so I got to wondering, I mean, I’m obviously not the only person like this. So, is this just because of some, like, trauma from our childhoods? Some bad experience we’ve had with vegetables? Or could there be some genetic explanation for why some people are picky eaters and others aren’t? 老师听完学生问的BROCCOLI的问题之后觉得困惑，学生就总结了自己是由此得出的TOPIC.

 

3. What possible causes does the student consider for not liking the taste of vegetables?

[Choose two answers]

A) A genetic predisposition

B) Cooking methods that fail to remove the vegetables’ bitter taste

C) A bad childhood experience associated with eating vegetables

D) Not being served enough vegetables during childhood

Answer: AC

解析：

(1’07’’) So, is this just because of some, like, trauma from our childhoods? Some bad experience we’ve had with vegetables?

 

4. According to the student, why was it advantageous for early humans to be sensitive to bitter tastes?

A) It helped them to identify vegetables as sources of vitamins.

B) It helped them to avoid eating foods that were not healthy for them.

C) It made them less likely to limit their diet to sweet and salty foods.

D) It allowed them to distinguish between ripe and unripe vegetables.

Answer: B

解析：

(2’21’’) Think of it this way, humans originally needed to have a stronger sensitivity to bitter-tasting foods so they could learn what plants were good for them and which ones might be poisonous. 学生最后解释为什么人们会有品尝苦味的基因，因为早期的人们需要鉴别有毒与无毒。

 

Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

5. What does the student imply when he says this?

A) He has often disagreed with the professor in the past.

B) The biologist in question has a history of advocating nontraditional ideas.

C) Biologists’ research methods are sometimes regarded as unusual by other scientists.

D) Scientific explanations are sometimes contrary to what people might expect.

Answer: D

解析：

(2’02’’) But, so this biologist is basically claiming that people who like to eat these vegetables actually have some sort of a sensory deficit?

(2’17’’) Well, then again, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? 学生是在回应老师的话。原本学生被妈妈说成是口味挑剔的人，但科学家却说其实口味挑剔是帮助鉴别是否有毒的基因导致的。

 

Lecture3

6. What is the lecture mainly about?

A) How various proteins function in notothenioids

B) How notothenioids became the dominant type of fish in the Southern Ocean

C) An example that contradicts the theory of adaptive radiation

D) Changes in ocean habitats caused by continental drift

Answer: B

解析：

(08’’) Ways in which animals adapt to their environment are often quite ingenious, actually. And as an example of this, let me tell you about a fish, uh, a group of fish, known as the Notothenioids

(1’18’’) So, how unusual is that? To have a single family of fish

dominating an entire ocean,

(1’40’’) So, exactly when and how did the Notothenioids come to dominate the southern ocean?

教授开始的一分钟里都在介绍这种特殊的鱼，它们可以在很冷的海里生活，而且能大量繁殖。然后提出本文的重点：How?

 

7. Why does the professor mention that coral reefs support more than 4,000 species of fish?

A) To find out what students know about tropical fish

B) To contrast two types of ocean environments

C) To imply that there may be species in the Southern Ocean that have not been discovered yet

D) To imply that there may be fossil evidence of coral reefs in the Southern Ocean

Answer: B

解析：

(1’18’’) So, how unusual is that? To have a single family of fish dominating an entire ocean, I mean, think of, say, tropical or temperate marine environments, which have incredibly diverse fish populations. Coral reefs, for example, support over four thousand types of fish, along with sponges, crustaceans and many other organisms. 教授首先说这种一种鱼遍布整片南极海洋的事情很特别，然后提出热带海洋有非常多的种类的鱼。并举例。所以举例是为了对比两种海洋环境。

 

8. What characteristic of notothenioids helps them survive in subfreezing temperatures?

A) They maintain an unusually high body temperature.

B) A special tissue in their eyes enables them to see through ice.

C) Special proteins make their blood circulate too fast to freeze.

D) Ice crystals in their bodies are prevented from growing large enough to harm them.

Answer: D

解析： (2’29’’) First, what we call a chance mutation, a tiny genetic change occurred in that one

Notothenioids species. Its DNA allowed for the production of a special protein, a protein that prevents the fish from freezing. The way this, this anti-freeze protein works is it binds to any ice crystal that forms inside the fish. This binding action prevents the ice crystal from growing larger. And this is what prevents Notothenioids from freezing. 种变化是基因变化，这种基因可以阻止小冰晶变大。

 

9. Why did the antifreeze protein initially give no special advantage to the earliest notothenioids?

A) Many other types of fish had the same protein.

B) The notothenioids were not living in subfreezing temperatures.

C) The effect of the antifreeze protein was neutralized by other proteins.

D) The antifreeze protein functioned only in the smallest notothenioids.

Answer: B

解析：

(3’01’’) Now, at that time, the waters the Notothenioids inhabited were still not freezing cold. So the protein didn’t really make a difference as far as the fish’s survival. 教授用now这个词引导出重点，当时水温不低，所以这种蛋白质没有帮助这种鱼。

 

10. According to the professor, what factors led to the rapid distribution of notothenioids throughout the Southern Ocean?

[Choose two answers]

A) A genetic mutation occurred in the DNA of the earliest notothenioid.

B) There was an increase in competition for food in temperate waters.

C) Antarctica broke off and drifted away from the South American continent.

D) The waters around Antarctica temporarily warmed up.

Answer: AC

解析： (3’12’’) But this would change, because in the same period of geologic time, there was a shift in the Earth’s continental plates. Continental drift caused Antarctica to move apart from the landmass of South America and to drift into the southern colder region. (3’50’’) Now, most fish species couldn’t survive in this frigid environment and they became extinct, but that one Notothenioids species, with its unique ability to produce that anti-freeze protein, thrived.

除了基因的转变之外，另一个变化就是地球板块运动，南极洲与南美洲分离，让很多鱼都灭绝了，给这种鱼创造了繁衍生息的机会。

 

11. According to the professor, what happened to notothenioids that migrated to different areas of the Southern Ocean?

A) They evolved into a wide variety of notothenioid species.

B) They developed the ability to tolerate a wide range of temperatures.

C) Some of them became extinct because of new predators.

D) Some of them developed additional antifreeze proteins.

Answer: A

解析：

(4’20’’) The species migrated into different habitats throughout the southern ocean. And its population increased dramatically with various sub-populations migrating into different parts of the ocean. 当该物种进入其他地方之后，它快速增加出许多亚类物种出来。

 

Lecture4

12. What does the professor mainly discuss?

A) The most popular features of ancient Roman gardens

B) The goals of Renaissance garden designers

C) The influence of Renaissance gardens on modern Italian gardens

D) Differences between ancient Greek gardens and ancient Roman gardens

Answer: A

解析： (22’’) just as the class was ending, someone asked about the gardens associated with these palaces and villas. And so I’d like to say a few things about them before we move on.

先回顾了上节课讲的内容，然后提到有人在最后问了关于GARDEN的问题，所以总结，我们应该讲一讲。

 

13. The professor mentions three authors from ancient Rome. What point does the professor make about the three authors?

A) They provided credible descriptions of ancient Roman gardens.

B) They probably exaggerated the beauty of ancient Roman gardens.

C) They probably never owned gardens themselves.

D) They invented gardening practices that are still used in Italy today.

Answer: A

解析： (1’20’’) Female Student: How did they know what ancient Roman gardens looked like?

Well, they didn’t have any pictures but they did have some very detailed descriptions of ancient Roman villas and their gardens that had been written by famous Roman authors who lived during the height of the Roman Empire. And at least three of those authors, one was a scholar, one was a poet and one was a lawyer, were very authoritative, very reliable sources.学生提问他们怎么知道花园长什么样。教授回答，因为有详细记录，特别是有三位很靠谱的人记录了。

 

14. Why does the professor mention Hero of Alexandria?

A) To explain the relationship between ancient Greek gardens and ancient Roman gardens

B) To explain how ancient Roman gardens came to be influenced by Egyptian culture

C) To point out that garden designers were highly respected members of Roman society

D) To indicate the origin of some of the features of Renaissance gardens

Answer: D

解析： (1’44’’) Uh, and interestingly enough, there was another source that didn’t describe classical gardens but still became a great influence on Renaissance gardens. It was also written back during the height of the Roman Empire, by a mathematician known as Hero of Alexandria. 教授用标志性的词“interestingly enough” 提出一个重点，即另一个对garden有很大影响的资源，是由Hero of Alexandria所写。

 

15. According to the professor, what was one goal of the designers of Renaissance gardens?

A) To incorporate plants from as many parts of the world as possible

B) To develop beautiful new breeds of plants

C) To provide amusement for guests

D) To create a peaceful setting for prayer and meditation

Answer: C

解析： (2’28’’) (male student) Could you give an example?

Well, one of the devices was a sacrificial vessel that was obviously designed for a temple not for a garden. Anyway, if you dropped money into this vessel, water would flow out of it, well, creative minds in the Renaissance realized that this little device could be nicely re-purposed as a nifty, little fountain. Designers of Renaissance gardens loved this sort of thing. They loved to incorporate novelties and tricks, things to amuse and impress guests.

这道题是典型的以对话引出问题和答案的细节题。学生让老师给一个例子，老师给了一个例子，并总结，设计者喜欢这种创意来取悦顾客。

 

16. What does the professor imply about mazes?

A) They were not part of ancient Roman gardens.

B) They were not common in Renaissance gardens.

C) They often incorporated hidden water tricks.

D) They were the most creative aspect of Renaissance gardens.

Answer: A

解析：

(3’44’’) (female student) What about mazes? I read that they were a major part of the Renaissance gardens?

Oh, yes, they certainly were. Mazes, or labyrinths as they also called, were very common in Renaissance gardens.

(4’19’’) And readers somehow mistakenly inferred from that book that ancient Romans had mazes in their gardens.

师生互动提出maze的重点。教授先说maze是文艺复兴时代的花园的一部分。但是后来说，读者错误的推论它是罗马花园的一部分，言外之意就是，它不是罗马花园的一部分。

 

Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.

17. What does the professor imply when he says this?

A) Designers of Renaissance gardens were in some ways more creative than the designers of ancient Roman gardens.

B) Designers of Renaissance gardens sometimes had inaccurate conceptions of ancient Roman gardens.

C) Designers of Renaissance gardens sometimes deliberately violated the design principles used in ancient Roman gardens.

D) Designers of Renaissance gardens were able to take advantage of technology that was not available to the designers of ancient Roman gardens.

Answer: B

解析：

Or, at least, as they imagined the ancient Romans would have designed them. 这句补充的话意思是至少他们想象……，言外之意，与事实是有差距的。所以是inaccurate conceptions.

 

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