TOEFL托福阅读真题整合

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托福阅读真题1

PASSAGE 31

Rent control is the system whereby the local government tells building owners how much they can charge their tenants in rent. In the United States, rent controls date back to at least World War II.

In 1943 the federal government imposed rent controls to help solve the problem of housing shortages during wartime. The federal program ended after the war, but in some locations, including New York City, controls continued. Under New York's controls, a landlord generally cannot raise rents on apartments as long as the tenants continue to renew their leases. In places such as Santa Monica, California, rent controls are more recent. They were spurred by the inflation of the 1970's, which, combined with California's rapid population growth, pushed housing prices, as well as rents, to record levels. In 1979 Santa Monica's municipal government ordered landlords to roll back their rents to the levels charged in 1978. Future rents could only go up by two-thirds as much as any increase in the overall price level.

In any housing market, rental prices perform three functions: (1) promoting the efficient maintenance of existing housing and stimulating the construction of new housing, (2) allocating existing scarce housing among competing claimants, and (3) rationing use of existing housing by potential renters.

One result of rent control is a decrease in the construction of new rental units. Rent controls have artificially depressed the most important long-term determinant of profitability — rents. Consider some examples. In a recent year in Dallas, Texas, with a 16 percent rental vacancy rate but no rent control laws, 11,000 new housing units were built. In the same year, in San Francisco, California, only 2,000 units were built. The major difference? San Francisco has only a 1.6 percent vacancy rate but stringent rent control laws. In New York City, except for government-subsidized construction, the only rental units being built are luxury units, which are exempt from controls. In Santa Monica, California, new apartments are not being constructed. New office rental space and commercial developments are, however. They are exempt from rent controls.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The construction of apartments in the United States.

(B) Causes and effects of rent control

(C) The fluctuations of rental prices

(D) The shortage of affordable housing in the United States.

2. The word They in line 9 refers to

(A) the tenants

(B) their leases

(C) places

(D) rent controls.

3. Which of the following was NOT a reason for the introduction of rent controls in Santa Monica,California?

(A) rapid population growth

(B) inflation

(C) economic conditions during wartime

(D) record-high housing prices

4. The phrase roll back in line 11 is closest in meaning to

(A) credit

(B) measure

(C) vary

(D) reduce

5. The word stimulating in line 15 is closest in meaning to

(A) experimenting with

(B) identifying

(C) estimating

(D) encouraging

6. It can be inferred that the purpose of rent control is to

(A) protect tenants

(B) promote construction

(C) increase vacancy rates

(D) decrease sales of rental units

7. The word depressed in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) saddened

(B) created

(C) lowered

(D) defeated

8. The information in the last paragraph supports which of the following statements?

(A) San Francisco has eliminated its rent control laws.

(B) Rent control leads to a reduction in the construction of housing units

(C) Luxury apartments are rarely built when there is rent control

(D) There is a growing need for government-subsidized housing.

9. According to the passage , which of the following cities does NOT currently have rent controls?

(A) Santa Monica

(B) Dallas

(C) San Francisco

(D) New York City

10. The word stringent in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) straightforward

(B) strict

(C) expanded

(D) efficient

11. According to the passage , which of the following is NOT exempt from rent control?

(A) Luxury apartments

(B) Commercial development

(C) Moderately priced apartments

(D) Office space.

PASSAGE 31 BDCDD ACBBB C

托福阅读真题2

PASSAGE 32

By 1776 the fine art of painting as it had developed in western Europe up to this time had been introduced into the American colonies through books and prints, European visitors and immigrants, and traveling colonists who brought back copies (and a few original) of old master paintings and acquaintance with European art institutions.

By the outbreak of the Revolution against British rule in 1776, the status of the artists had already undergone change. In the mid-eighteenth century, painters had been willing to assume such artisan-related tasks as varnishing, gilding teaching, keeping shops, and painting wheel carriages, houses, and signs. The terminology by which artists were described at the time suggests their status: limner was usually applied to the anonymous portrait painter up to the 1760's; painter characterized anyone who could paint a flat surface. By the second half of the century, colonial artists who were trained in England or educated in the classics rejected the status of laborer and thought of themselves as artists. Some colonial urban portraitists, such as John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, and Charles Wilson Peale, consorted with affluent patrons. Although subject to fluctuations in their economic status, all three enjoyed sufficient patronage to allow them to maintain an image of themselves as professional artists, an image indicated by their custom of signing their paintings. A few art collectors James Bowdoin III of Boston, William Byrd of Virginian, and the Aliens and Hamiltons of Philadelphia introduced European art traditions to those colonists privileged to visit their galleries, especially aspiring artists, and established in their respective communities the idea of the value of art and the need for institutions devoted to its encouragement.

Although the colonists tended to favor portraits, they also accepted landscapes, historical works, and political engravings as appropriate artistic subjects. With the coming of independence from the British Crown, a sufficient number of artists and their works were available to serve nationalistic purposes. The achievements of the colonial artists, particularly those of Copley, West, and Peale, lent credence to the boast that the new nation was capable of encouraging genius and that political liberty was congenial to the development of taste — a necessary step before art could assume an important role in the new republic.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) European influence on colonial American painting

(B) The importance of patronage to artist

(C) The changing status of artists in the American colonies in the eighteenth century

(D) Subjects preferred by artists in the American colonies in the eighteenth century.

2. The word outbreak in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) cause

(B) beginning

(C) position

(D) explanation

3. The word undergone in line 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) led to

(B) transformed

(C) preferred

(D) experienced

4. According to the passage , before the American Revolution the main task of limners was to

(A) paint wheel carriages

(B) paint portraits

(C) varnish furniture

(D) paint flat surfaces

5. It can be inferred from the passage that artists who were trained in England

(A) considered artists to be superior to painters

(B) barely painted portraitists

(C) were often very wealthy

(D) imitated English painters

6. The word consorted in line 14 is closest in meaning to

(A) made decisions

(B) studies

(C) agreed

(D) associated

7. The word sufficient in line 16 is closest in meaning to

(A) adequate

(B) temporary

(C) friendly

(D) expensive

8. According to the passage , artists such as Copley, West and Peal signed their paintings

(A) increased the monetary value of the paintings

(B) made it more difficult for other artists to copy the paintings

(C) supported the artists' image of professionalism

(D) distinguished colonial American artists from European artists

9. The author mentions James Bowdoin III and William Byrd in line 17 as examples of which of

the following?

(A) Art gallery owners who displayed only European art

(B) Art collectors who had a profound influence on American attitudes toward art

(C) Artists who gave financial support to other artists

(D) Patrons whose helped to encourage artisans to become artists

10. With which of the following would the author be most likely to agree?

(A) Countries that have not had a political revolution are unlikely to develop great art.

(B) The most successful art collectors are usually artists themselves.

(C) The value of colonial American paintings decreased after the Revolution.

(D) Colonial artists made an important contribution to the evolving culture of the new nation.

PASSAGE 32 CBDBA DACBD

托福阅读真题3

PASSAGE 33

Researchers in the field of psychology have found that one of the best ways to make an important decision, such as choosing a university to attend or a business to invest in, involves the utilization of a decision worksheet. Psychologists who study optimization compare the actual decisions made by people to theoretical ideal decisions to see how similar they are. Proponents of the worksheet procedure believe that it will yield optimal, that is, the best decisions. Although there are several variations on the exact format that worksheets can take, they are all similar in their essential aspects. Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear and concise way and then listing all possible solutions to the problem. Next, the pertinent considerations that will be affected by each decision are listed, and the relative importance of each consideration or consequence is determined. Each consideration is assigned a numerical value to reflect its relative importance. A decision is mathematically calculated by adding these values together. The alternative with the highest number of points emerges as the best decision.

Since most important problems are multifaceted, there are several alternatives to choose from, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits of a pencil and paper decision-making procedure is that it permits people to deal with more variables than their minds can generally comprehend and remember. On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once. A worksheet can be especially useful when the decision involves a large number of variables with complex relationships. A realistic example for many college students is the question What will I do after graduation? A graduate might seek a position that offers specialized training, pursue an advanced degree, or travel abroad for a year.

A decision-making worksheet begins with a succinct statement of the problem that will also help to narrow it. It is important to be clear about the distinction between long-range and immediate goals because long-range goals often involve a different decision than short-range ones. Focusing on long-range goals, a graduating student might revise the question above to What will I do after graduation that will lead to successful career?

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) A tool to assist in making complex decisions.

(B) A comparison of actual decisions and ideal decisions

(C) Research on how people make decisions

(D) Differences between long-range and short-range decision making

2. The word essential in line 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) introductory

(B) changeable

(C) beneficial

(D) fundamental

3. The word pertinent in line 9 is closest in meaning to

(A) relevant

(B) preceding

(C) insightful

(D) responsive

4. Of the following steps, which occurs before the others in making a decision worksheet?

(A) Listing the consequences of each solution

(B) Calculating a numerical summary of each solution

(C) Deciding which consequences are most important

(D) Writing down all possible solutions

5. According to decision-worksheet theory, an optimal decision is defined as one that

(A) has the fewest variables to consider

(B) uses the most decision worksheets

(C) has the most points assigned to it

(D) is agreed to by the greatest number of people

6. The author develops the discussion in paragraph 1 by means of

(A) describing a process

(B) classifying types of worksheets

(C) providing historical background

(D) explaining a theory

7. The author states that On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at

once (lines 17-18) to explain that

(A) most decisions involve seven steps

(B) human mental capacity has limitations

(C) some people have difficulty making minor as well as major decisions

(D) people can learn to keep more than seven ideas in their minds with practice

8. The word succinct in line 24 is closest in meaning to

(A) creative

(B) satisfactory

(C) personal

(D) concise

9. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage ?

(A) Proponents (line 5)

(B) Optimal (line 5)

(C) Variables (line 17)

(D) Long-range goals (line 25)

10. The word it in line 24 refers to

(A) worksheet

(B) problem

(C) distinction

(D) decision

11. The word revise in line 26 is closest in meaning to

(A) ask

(B) explain

(C) change

(D) predict

PASSAGE 33 ADADC ABDBB C

TOEFL托福阅读真题整合

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