以下文章均选自真题及其他各类托福练习，在了解托福阅读文章的题材，形式的同时，应该重点掌握和注意下划线的词汇：
P4 One
of the most important social developments that
helped to make possible a shift in thinking
about the role of public education was the effect
of the babyboom of the 1950's and
1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but especially
in the Depression conditions of the 1930's,
the United States experienced a declining
birth rate -every thousand women aged fifteen
to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children
in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in
1940. With the growing prosperity brought
on by the Second World War and the economic boom
that followed it, young people married and established
households earlier and began to raise larger families
than had their predecessors during the
Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand
in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although
economics was probably the most important determinant,
it is not the only explanation for the baby boom.
The increased value placed on the idea of the
family also helps to explain this rise in birth
rates. The baby boomers began streaming
into the first grade by the mid-1940's and became
a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly
found itself overtaxed. While the number
of schoolchildren rose because of wartime
and postwar conditions, these same conditions
made the schools even less prepared to cope
with the flood. The wartime economy meant that
few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945.
Moreover, during the war and in the boom
times that followed, large numbers of teachers
left their profession for better-paying jobs
elsewhere in the economy.
Therefore,
in the 1950's and 1960's, The baby boom hit an
antiquated and inadequate school
system. Consequently, the "custodialrhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's
no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths
aged sixteen and older out of the labor market
by keeping them in school could no longer be a
high priority for an institution unable
to find space and staff to teach younger children
aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the
focus of educators and of laymen interested
in education inevitably turned toward the
lower grades and back to basic academic skills
and discipline. The system no longer had
much interest in offering nontraditional, new,
and extra services to older youths.
shift : n. 变化,移动,轮班,办法,移位,手段;vt.替换,转移,改变,移转,推卸,变速;vi.
转换,移动,转变,推托,变速
baby : n. 婴孩
boom : n. 繁荣,隆隆声;vi. 急速发展,发隆隆声;vt. 使兴旺,发隆隆声
depression : n. 不景气,消沉,沮丧,洼地
declining : a. 倾斜的,衰退中的
prosperity : n. 繁荣,幸运,成功
predecessor : n. 前任,先辈,以前的东西
determinant : n. 判定,决定物,决定因素;a. 决定性的
streamy : a. 多河流的,多水流的,川流般的
overtax : vt. 课税过重,使负担过度
wartime : n. 战时
postwar : a. 战后的
cope : vi. 竞争,对抗,克服;n. 长袍
moreover : ad. 而且,此外
job : n. 批,批发,工作
antiquated : a. 旧式的,过时的,古老的
inadequate : a. 不充分的,不适当的
consequently : ad. 结果
custodial : a. 保管的,保管人的;n.圣物保管容器
rhetoric : n. 修辞,修辞学,华丽虚饰的语言
priority : n. 优先权,优先顺序,优先,前,依次
laymen : 外行, 门外汉
inevitably : ad. 不可避免
discipline : n. 训练,纪律;vt. 训练,惩罚 P5 Anthropologists
have pieced together the little they know
about the history of left-handedness and
right-handedness from indirectevidence.
Though early men and women did not leave written
records, they did leave tools, bones, and pictures.
Stone Age hand axes and hatchets were
made from stones that were carefully chipped
away to form sharp cutting edges. In some, the
pattern of chipping shows that these tools
and weapons were made by right-handed people,
designed to fit comfortably into a right hand.
Other Stone Age implements were made by
or for left-handers. Prehistoric
pictures, painted on the walls of caves, provide
further clues to the handedness of ancient
people. A right-hander finds it easier to draw
faces of people and animals facing toward the
left, whereas a left-hander finds it easier
to draw faces facing toward the right. Both kinds
of faces have been found in ancient painting.
On the whole , the evidence seems to indicate
that prehistoric people were either ambidextrous
or about equally likely to be left- or right-handed.
But, in the
Bronze Age , the picture changed. The tools
and weapons found from that period are mostly
made for right-handed use. The predominance
of right-handedness among humans today had apparently
already been established.
anthropologist :
n. 人类学家
piece : n. 块,片,篇,碎片,部分;vt. 修补,修理,结合;vi. 接头
left-handed : a. 左撇的,用左手的,笨拙的
right-handed : a. 用右手的,向右转的,右旋性的
indirect : a. 间接的,次要的,欺骗的
evidence : n. 证据,迹象
axes : n. 轴,轴线,轴心
hatchet : n. 斧头,手斧,战斧
chip :n.芯片,晶片,薄片,碎片;vt.削,切,削成碎片,使摔倒,凿;vi. 碎裂
pattern : n. 模范,典型,式样,模式,样品,格调,图案;vt. 模仿,仿造,以图案装饰;vi.形成图案
weapon : n. 武器,兵器;vt. 武装
implement : n. 工具,器具;vt. 实现,使生效,执行
left-hander : n. 左撇子,左击,左手投球
prehistoric : adj. 史前的；老式的
ancient : a. 远古的,旧的
whereas : conj. 然而,反之,鉴于
ambidextrous : a. 两手俱利的,怀有二心的
bronze : n. 青铜,铜像;a. 青铜色的
predominance : n. 卓越,优势,控制
establish : vt. 建立,确立,制定;vi. 移植生长
P6
Here in the United States, before agricultural
activitiesdestroyed the natural
balance, there were great migrations
of Rocky Mountain locusts (Melanoplus
spretus) . Great migrating were often
destroyed; the worst years were those from 1874
to 1877. One of these migrating swarms
was estimated to contain 124 billion
locusts. During another migration in Nebraska,
it was estimated that the swarm of locusts averaged
half a mile high and was 100 miles wide and
300 miles long. Usually, these swarms take off
from the ground against the wind, but,
once airborne, they turn and fly with
it. Warm convectioncurrents help
to lift them, often to great heights. During
the great locust plagues the situation
in Nebraska became so serious that the
original state. Constitution had
to be rewritten to take care of the economic
problems. The new document was known
as "The Grasshopper Constitution." It
is now believed that these locusts were a migratory
form or phase of the lesser migratory
locust which is still common there. In
this respect, the North American migratory
locusts resemble their African relatives.
In both regions the migratory forms arise
as a result of crowding and climaticfactors. Migratory forms are apparently
natural adaptations which bring
about dispersal when locust populations
become too crowded. Fortunately for our
farmers, the migratory form---the so-called
spretus species--no longer
seems to occur regularly, although there
was a serious outbreak as late as 1938
in midwestern United States and Canada. Actually
there is no reason why the destructive
migratory form might not again appear if circumstances
should become favorable.
activity : n. 活动,动作,活力
destroy : vt. 破坏,毁坏,消灭
balance : n. 平衡,差额;vi. 平衡,相等;vt. 称,权衡,比较,抵消,使平衡,结算;资产平稳表
migration : n. 移民,移往,移动
locust : n. 蝗虫,蚱蜢,蝉
migrate : vi. 移动,移往,随季节而移居;vt. 使移居
swarm : n. 群,大群,蜂群;vi. 群集,聚集一块,云集,爬树;vt. 挤满,爬(树)
estimate : n. 估计,判断;vt. 估计,评价,判断;vi. 估计
contain : vt. 包含,容纳,容忍;vi. 自制
Nebraska : n. 内布拉斯加州,(美国中西部的一州)
against : prep. 反对,靠,倚
airborne : a. 空运的,空中传播的,空降的
convection : n. 传送,对流,对流
current : n. 涌流,趋势,流;a. 流通的,现在的,当前的,最近的
plague : n. 瘟疫,麻烦,灾祸;vt. 折磨,使苦恼,使得灾祸
situation : n. 情形,境遇,位置
serious : a. 严肃的,认真的,重要的,严重的
original : a. 最初的,原始的,有创意的;n. 原物,原作
constitution : n. 组织,宪法,体格
document : n. 文件,公文;vt. 证明,为...引证;n. 文档
grasshopper : n. 蚱蜢,蝗虫
phase : n. 时期,局面,阶段;vt. 使调整相位,逐步执行,实行
lesser : a. 较少的,较小的,次要的
common : a. 通常的,共同的,通俗的,公共的
respect : n. 尊敬,尊重,关心;vt. 尊敬,注意,遵守
resemble : vt. 相似,类似,象
relative : n. 亲戚,关系词;a. 有关系的,相对的,比较的
region : n. 区域,地方,地区,范围,区,领域,层
arise : vi. 站立,出现,起来
crowd : n. 群众,一伙;vt. 拥挤,挤满,挤进
climatic : a. 气候上的
factor : n. 因素,因数,代理人
migratory : a. 迁移的,流浪的
adaptation : n. 改编,适应,改编成的作品
bring : vt. 带来,产生,促使,提出;vi. 停下
dispersal : n. 散布,传播,分散
fortunately : ad. 幸运地
species : n. 种,类,外形
occur : vi. 发生,想到,存在
outbreak : n. 爆发,暴动
reason : n. 理由,原因,理智,理性,道理,前提;vt.说服,推论,辩论;vi.
推论,劝说,思考
destructive : a. 毁灭性的,破坏的,有害的
circumstance : n. 环境,状况,事件
favorable : a. 有利的,赞许的,良好的
