托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐二：农业（2）

1托福阅读常考话题：农业练习题

Paragraph 1: Agriculture and fishing formed the primary sector of the economy in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Dutch agriculture was modernized and commercialized new crops and agricultural techniques raised levels of production so that they were in line with market demands, and cheap grain was imported annually from the Baltic region in large quantities. According to estimates, about 120,000 tons of imported grain fed about 600,000 people: that is about a third of the Dutch population. Importing the grain, which would have been expensive and time consuming for the Dutch to have produced themselves, kept the price of grain low and thus stimulated individual demand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods.

1. By indicating that production was in line with market demands the author means that Dutch farmers were able to

A. exceed other European countries in agricultural production

B. produce crops mat were similar to those popular in other European countries

C. supply sufficient quantities of the agricultural products that the Dutch population wanted to buy

D. satisfy the demand for high quality agricultural products from the Baltic region

2. 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. Buying imported grain led to the Dutch demanding that other foodstuffs and consumer goods be imported.

B. Because the Dutch were able to import inexpensive grain, they had money available to create a demand for other food products and consumer goods.

C. Keeping the price of grain low was a primary goal of the Dutch at a time when they could not produce enough grain to provide for all their needs.

D. The demand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods forced the Dutch to import grain and other products at a time when maintaining low prices was especially important.

Paragraph 2: Apart from this, being able to give up labor-intensive grain production freed both the land and the workforce for more productive agricultural divisions. The peasants specialized in livestock husbandry and dairy farming as well as in cultivating industrial crops and fodder crops: flax, madder, and rape were grown, as were tobacco, hops, and turnips. These products were bought mostly by urban businesses. There was also a demand among urban consumers for dairy products such as butter and cheese, which, in the sixteenth century, had become more expensive than grain. The high prices encouraged the peasants to improve their animal husbandry techniques; for example, they began feeding their animals indoors in order to raise the milk yield of their cows.

3. The phrase “Apart from” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. Besides

B. Despite

C. As a result of

D. Instead of

4. According to paragraph 2, the increases demands on Dutch agriculture made by urban consumers had which of the following results?

A. Seasonal shortages of the products consumers most wanted

B. Increased production of high-quality grain products

C. Raised prices charged by peasants to urban consumers

D. Different ways of caring for dairy-producing animals

Paragraph 3: In addition to dairy farming and cultivating industrial crops, a third sector of the Dutch economy reflected the way in which agriculture was being modernized-horticulture. In the sixteenth century, fruit and vegetables were to be found only in gardens belonging to wealthy people. This changed in the early part of the seventeenth century when horticulture became accepted as an agricultural sector. Whole villages began to cultivate fruit and vegetables. The produce was then transported by water to markets in the cities, where the consumption of fruit and vegetables was no longer restricted to the wealthy.

5. The word “consumption” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. sale

B. storage

C. exportation

D. utilization

6. According to paragraph 3, the modernization of agriculture in the Netherlands was evident in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

A. The production of fruits and vegetables became a commercial venture.

B. The wealthy stopped growing fruits and vegetables in their gardens and grew flowers instead.

C. Horticultural produce was transported to city markets by water.

D. Many more people were able to afford to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Paragraph 4: As the demand for agricultural produce from both consumers and industry increased, agricultural land became more valuable and people tried to work the available land more intensively and to reclaim more land from wetlands and lakes. In order to increase production on existing land, the peasants made more use of crop rotation and, in particular, began to apply animal waste to the soil regularly, rather than leaving the fertilization process up to the grazing livestock. For the first time industrial waste, such as ash from the soap-boilers, was collected in the cities and sold in the country as artificial fertilizer. The increased yield and price of land justified reclaiming and draining even more land.

7. Select the TWO answer choices that, according to paragraph 4, indicate two methods people used to increase the productivity of their land. To receive credit you must select TWO answers

A. They planted different crops in different sections of the farm each year.

B. They used improved irrigation methods to increase the yield of crops.

C. They increased the use of fertilizers to supply more nutrients to plants.

D. They used new horticultural practices to produce different varieties of plants in the same section of the farm.