托福考试必读阅读试题：十九世纪的农业革命

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READING COMPREHENSION

Question 1-10

The agricultural revolution in the nineteenth century involved two things: the invention of labor-saving machinery and the development of scientific agriculture. Labor-saving machinery naturally appeared first where labor was scarce. "In Europe, said Thomas Jefferson, "the object is to make the most of their land, labor being abundant: here it is to make the most of our labor, land being abundant. It was in the United States, therefore, that the great advances in nineteenth-century agricultural machinery first came.

At the opening of the century, with the exception of a crude plow, farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural implements on their backs; by 1860, most of the machinery in use today had been designed in an early form. The most important of the early inventions was the iron plow. As early as 1790 Charles Newbold of New Jersey had been working on the idea of a cast-iron plow and spent his entire fortune in introducing his invention. The farmers, however, were not interested in it, claiming that the iron poisoned the soil and made the weeds grow. Nevertheless, many people devoted their attention to the plow, until in 1869 James Oliver of South Bend, Indiana, turned out the first chilled-steel plow.

1.What is the main topic of the passage?

(A) The need for agricultural advances to help feed a growing population

(B) The development of safer machines demanded by the labor movement

(C) Machinery that contributed to the agricultural revolution

(D) New Jersey as a leader in the agricultural revolution

2.The word "naturally" in line 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) unsurprisingly

(B) gradually

(C) apparently

(D) safely

3. The expression "make the most of" in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) get the best yield from

(B) raise the price of

(C) exaggerate the worth of

(D) earn a living on

4. Which of the following can be inferred from what Thomas Jefferson said (line 3-5)?

(A) Europe was changing more quickly than the United States.

(B) Europe had greater need of farm machinery than the United States did.

(C) The United States was finally running out of good farmland.

(D) There was a shortage of workers on United States farms.

5.The word "here" in line 4 refers to

(A) Europe

(B) United States

(C) New Jersey

(D) Indiana

6. What point is the author making by stating that farmers could carry nearly all their tools on

their backs.

(A) Farmers had few tools before the agricultural revolution.

(B) People in the United States were traditionally self-reliant.

(C) Life on the farm was extremely difficult.

(D) New tools were designed to be portable.

7. When was the iron plow invented?

(A)In 1790.

(B) In the early 1800 s.

(C) In 1869.

(D) In the early 1900 s.

8. According to the passage, which of the following statements about Charles Newbold is true?

(A) He was James Oliver s assistant.

(B) He was born in Europe.

(C) He was opposed to scientific agriculture.

(D) He spent his own money to promote his invention.

9. The word "it" in line 12 refers to

(A) scientific agriculture

(B) James Oliver s invention

(C) the cast-iron plow

(D) Charles Newbold s fortune

10. Why did farmers reject Newbold s plow?

(A) Their horses were frightened by it.

(B) They preferred lighter tools.

(C) It was too expensive.

(D) They thought it would ruin the land.

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