現在大傢在進行托福備考時 TPO 托福模考軟件相信是大傢用的最多的工具瞭，對於托福成績的提升是非常有幫助的。托福聽力可以說是整個托福考試當中比較重要的一個部分，如何利用現有資料 TPO 模考軟件來提升大傢的托福成績呢 ? 今天小編在這裡整理瞭 TPO8 托福閱讀 Passage2 原文文本 + 題目 + 答案解析來分享給大傢，希望對大傢托福聽力備考有幫助。
TPO8 托福閱讀 Passage2 原文文本
Extinction of the Dinosaurs
Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous ( the last period of the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished ) , large shallow seas covered extensive areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today ’ s. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters. Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It ’ s hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. Many plants and animals disappear abruptly from the fossil record as one moves from layers of rock documenting the end of the Cretaceous up into rocks representing the beginning of the Cenozoic ( the era after the Mesozoic ) . Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium ( Ir ) it contained.
Ir has not been common at Earth ’ s since the very beginning of the planet ’ s history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in Earth ’ s core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some meteorites, in which the solar system ’ s original chemical composition is preserved. Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of Ir seems to require a special explanation.
In view of these facts, scientists hypothesized that a single large asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers across, collided with Earth, and the resulting fallout created the boundary clay. Their calculations show that the impact kicked up a dust cloud that cut off sunlight for several months, inhibiting photosynthesis in plants; decreased surface temperatures on continents to below freezing; caused extreme episodes of acid rain; and significantly raised long-term global temperatures through the greenhouse effect. This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years.
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TPO8 托福閱讀 Passage2 題目
Question 1 of 14
According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the Late Cretaceous climate?
A. Summers were very warm and winters were very cold.
B. Shallow seas on the continents caused frequent temperature changes.
C. The climate was very similar to today ’ s climate.
D. The climate did not change dramatically from season to season.
Question 2 of 14
Which of the following reasons is suggested in paragraph 2 for the extinction of the dinosaurs?
A. Changes in the lengths of the days and nights during the late Cretaceous period
B. Droughts caused by the movement of seaways back into the oceans
C. The change from mild to severe climates during the Late Cretaceous period
D. An extreme decrease in the average yearly temperature over 10,ooo years
Question 3 of 14
Why does the author mention the survival of "snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles " in paragraph 3?
A. To argue that dinosaurs may have become extinct because they were not cold-blooded animals
B. To question the adequacy of the hypothesis that climatic change related to sea levels caused the extinction of the dinosaurs
C. To present examples of animals that could maintain a livable body temperature more easily than dinosaurs
D. To support a hypothesis that these animals were not as sensitive to climate changes in the Cretaceous period as they are today
Question 4 of 14
The word "cope " in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. adapt
B. move
C. continue
D. compete
Question 5 of 14
According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of changes in climate before the Cretaceous period and the effect of these changes on dinosaurs?
A. Climate changes associated with the movement of seaways before the Cretaceous period did not cause dinosaurs to become extinct.
B. Changes in climate before the Cretaceous period caused severe fluctuations in sea level, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs.
C. Frequent changes in climate before the Cretaceous period made dinosaurs better able to maintain a livable body temperature.
D. Before the Cretaceous period there were few changes in climate, and dinosaurs flourished.
Question 6 of 14
The word "fluctuations " in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. extremes
B. retreats
C. periods
D. variations
Question 7 of 14
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? In correct choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A. The fossil record suggests that there was an abrupt extinction of many plants and animals at the end of the Mesozoic era.
B. Few fossils of the Mesozoic era have survived in the rocks that mark the end of the Cretaceous.
C. Fossils from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic up to the beginning of the Cenozoic era have been removed from the layers of rock that surrounded them.
D. Plants and animals from the Mesozoic era were unable to survive in the Cenozoic era.
Question 8 of 14
In paragraph 4, all the following questions are answered EXCEPT:
A. Why is there a layer of clay between the rocks of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic?
B. Why were scientists interested in determining how long it took to deposit the layer of clay at the end of the Cretaceous?
C. What was the effect of the surprising observation scientists made?
D. Why did scientists want more information about the dinosaur extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous?
Question 9 of 14
The word "bombard " in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. approach
B. strike
C. pass
D. circle
Question 10 of 14
Paragraph 5 implies that a special explanation of Ir in the boundary clay is needed because
A. the Ir in microscopic meteorites reaching Earth during the Cretaceous period would have been incorporated into Earth ’ s core
B. the Ir in the boundary clay was deposited much more than a million years ago
C. the concentration of Ir in the boundary clay is higher than in microscopic meteorites
D. the amount of Ir in the boundary clay is too great to have come from microscopic meteorites during the time the boundary clay was deposited
Question 11 of 14
The word "disruption " in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. exhaustion
B. disturbance
C. modification
D. disappearance
Question 12 of 14
Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following effects of the hypothesized asteroid collision EXCEPT
A. a large dust cloud that blocked sunlight
B. an immediate drop in the surface temperatures of the continents
C. an extreme decrease in rainfall on the continents
D. a long-term increase in global temperatures
Question 13 of 14
Look at the four squares [ ■ ] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
Consequently, the idea that the Ir in the boundary clay came from microscopic meteorites cannot be accepted..
Question 14 of 14
Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. For a long time scientists have argued that the extinction of the dinosaurs was related to climate change.
A.A simple climate change does not explain some important data related to the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.
B.The retreat of the seaways at the end of the Cretaceous has not been fully explained.
C.The abruptness of extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous and the high concentration of Ir found in clay deposited at that time have fueled the development of a new hypothesis.
D.Extreme changes in daily and seasonal climates preceded the retreat of the seas back into the major ocean basins.
E.Some scientists hypothesize that the extinction of the dinosaurs resulted from the effects of an asteroid collision with Earth.
F.Boundary clay layers like the one between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are used by scientists to determine the rate at which an extinct species declined.
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TPO8 托福閱讀 Passage2 解析
正確答案：D
題目解析：
以 Late Cretaceous climate 做關鍵詞定位至倒數第四句： Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today ’ s. The days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. 說比現在更溫和，白天不太熱，晚上不太冷。所以 D 是答案。A 與倒數第二句矛盾，錯 ;B 與最後一句相反，錯 ;C 說跟現在 similar，跟原文的 milder 矛盾。
正確答案：C
C 以 extinction of the dinosaurs 做關鍵詞定位至最後一句，原句說不能忍受這些極端溫度的恐龍滅絕瞭，因為有個 these，所以網上看一句，說冬天很冷夏天很熱，所以 C 是答案。A 和 B 都沒說 ;D 的 decrease 沒說。
正確答案：B
B, 先讀所在句，說為什麼諸如 blabla 之類的動物能耐得住這種極端氣候呢，而且這句一開始就來瞭個 if true，所以應該是作者在質疑上端所提出的結論的正確性，而且最後一句是本段的中心句，說將氣候變化的原因歸於 sea level 是不對的，所以答案是 B。
正確答案：A
cope: 應付。A 是適應 ;B 是移動 ;C 是繼續 ;D 是競爭。所以 A 的 adapt 適應正確。對應原文 ：It ’ s hard to understand why they would not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. 原文說很難理解為什麼其他動物沒被影響，而恐龍特別弱以至於不能怎麼樣。轉折說明恐龍被影響瞭，所以應該是難易度過之類的意思，所以 A 和 C 靠譜，至於為什麼不是 C，隻能靠認識瞭。
A 以 before the Cretaceous period 做關鍵詞，但註意原文中與之對應的是倒數第二句的 earlier，問為什麼恐龍在之前的動蕩中生存瞭下來而這次沒有，所以 A 是答案，說之前的變化沒有引起恐龍滅絕。B 說反瞭 ;C 的恐龍 better able to maintain 原文沒說 ;D 的恐龍 flourish 繁盛沒說。
fluctuation: 波動，震蕩，變化。A 是極端條件 ;B 是撤退 ;C 是周期 ;D 是變化。所以 D 的 variation 正確。對應原文：Critics also point out that the shallow seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier fluctuations but not with this one? 原句說為什麼恐龍熬過瞭其他的氣候變化而這次沒能成功熬過來，fluctuation 和 one 都指 change; 而且之前還說海道從陸上進進退退，這也是變化，所以 variation 正確 ;A 極端 B 撤退 C 周期都不對。
A 原文的結構是 blabla 的時候 plants and animals 從化石中突然消失瞭。A 正確 ;B 錯，原文沒說 few fossil;C 把非主幹部分變成瞭主幹，而且 remove 也沒說 ;D 選項缺瞭原文裡化石這個很重要的信息，錯。
A 的 layer of clay 定位至倒數第二句： Between the last layer of Cretaceous rock and the first layer of Cenozoic rock, there is often a thin layer of clay. 但原文隻是說有 layer，沒說為什麼有，所以 A 的問題沒得到回答，選 ; B 的 how long 和 deposit 定位至最後一句，正確，不選： Scientists felt that they could get an idea of how long the extinctions took by determining how long it took to deposit this one centimeter of clay and they thought they could determine the time it took to deposit the clay by determining the amount of the element iridium ( lr ) it contained. C 的 surprising observation 對應第一句和第二句： Dissatisfaction with conventional explanations for dinosaur extinctions led to a surprising observation that, in turn, has suggested a new hypothesis. C 直接對應，正確，不選 ;D 也對應第一句，說對傳統理論的不滿，導致瞭一個 observation 和相應的假說，所以 D 正確，不選。
bombard: 轟擊，炮轟，撞擊。A 是接近 ;B 是擊打 ;C 是經過，通過 ;D 是旋轉 ; 環形。所以 B 的 strike 正確。對應原文：Even today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. 原句說直到今天，那些顯微級的小星體還在怎麼樣地球，落在陸地上和海裡。後半句話是對前半句的的補充說明，意思應該一致。既然是 falling on，那麼 A 和 B 都有可能正確。而 bomb 的意思是轟炸，炸彈，那麼正確的就是 B 瞭。
D 顯然 ir 和 boundary clay 都不可以用來定位，用 special explanation 定位到最後一句，但這句知識重復瞭題幹，而 so 就告訴你要往前看。倒數第三四句話說：根據一定時期內落入地球隕星的數量可以推斷出積累這麼多鐒需要多長時間，據此推測需要幾百萬年 ; 而倒數第二句則說：但可靠的證據表明並沒有經歷這麼長的時間。因此可以推測出，如此高含量的鐒需要進一步解釋，與 D 選項對應。
disruption: 打斷，幹擾。A 是枯竭，耗盡 ;B 是幹擾，騷亂 ;C 是修改 ;D 是消失。所以 B 的 disturbance 正確。對應原文：This disruption of food chain and climate would have eradicated the dinosaurs and other organisms in less than fifty years. 原句一開始就一個 this，說明與前文有關，前面是一個很長的句子，說一個 impact 弄出瞭一大堆 dust cloud，這些 cloud 做瞭 cut off 瞭陽光，阻礙瞭光合作用，又做瞭很多 blabla 事兒。所以一定是不好的詞，C 的 modification 改變中性，不對 ;A 用盡和 D 消失都說食物鏈沒瞭，但原文沒說食物鏈消失瞭，而且兩個詞意思過於相近也不選。
C，EXCEPT 題，排除法。A 的 dust cloud，B 的 drop in the surface temperatures 和 D 的 increase in global temperatures 都能定位至第二句，都正確，不選 ;C 的 rainfall 原文沒說，錯，選。
三個過渡點，boundary clay，Ir 和 consequently，根據 boundary clay 的話 A/B/C 可能是答案，根據 Ir 的話 C 或者 D 可能是答案，所以初定答案是 C。A 點之後說需要一百萬年，B 點之後的句子說沒有一百萬年，所以 B 前後的轉折過渡緊密，B 排除 ; 而且既然沒有一百萬年，說明前面的理論不成立，所以待插入句中的 consequently 插入 C 的時候因果關系成立，所以 C 是答案。
正確答案：ACE
A.C.E a simple 選項對應原文第三段最後一句，正確。the retreat 選項對應原文第二段第一句，但這句是氣候變化原因的一部分，細節，不選。the abruptness 選項對應原文第四段第一句，正確。extreme 選項原文沒說，不選。some 選項對應原文第六段第一句，正確。 boundary clay 選項原文沒說，不選。
以上就是小編為大傢整理瞭 TPO8 托福閱讀 Passage2 原文文本 + 題目 + 答案解析，大傢可以邊借助 TPO 模考軟件聽音頻看看自己哪些地方聽不懂，然後來看看原文，同時對練習托福聽力精聽也是很有幫助的。最後，小站教育編輯預祝大傢托福考試能取得理想的成績。
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