揭祕託福閱讀的大坑貨：地質時期
爲了幫助大家做好地質時期這種題材的託福閱讀，下面小編給大家帶來揭祕託福閱讀的大坑貨：地質時期，希望看了這篇文章後，大家會有所收穫！
揭祕託福閱讀的大坑貨：地質時期
TPO 裏面有一篇閱讀文章的開頭是這麼寫的：
Paleozoic Era 334 to 248 million years ago
Mesozoic Era 245 to 65 million years ago
—Triassic Period
—Jurassic Period
—Cretaceous Period
Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago to the present
想必大家第一反應是崩潰的，這都是什麼鬼?What the heck?
一個不幸的消息是出現這些詞的託福文章還不少。雖然託福是考查大家的英語語言能力水平，但是瞭解託福常考學科的背景知識，可以幫助大家更快地熟悉閱讀乃至聽力裏面的內容。
今天V醬請來了朗播網的王宜涵老師，帶大家瞭解一下這些單詞背後到底指的什麼和它們背後的故事
前面超複雜的英文翻譯其實是這樣的：
古生代(從 3 億 3 千 4 百萬年前到 2 億 4 千 8 百萬年前)
中生代(從 2 億 4 千 5 百萬年前到 6 千 5 百萬年前)
—三疊紀時期
—侏羅紀時期
—白堊紀時期
新生代 (從 6 千 5 百萬年前到現在)
在地質學和考古學中，地質年代 是用來描述地球歷史事件的時間單位。其中最大的時間單位是宙/元(eon)，宙下是代(era)，代下分紀(period)，紀下分世(epoch)，世下分期(age)。 如下圖所示。
一 | Paleozoic Era 古生代
古生代意爲遠古的生物時代，持續約 3 億年。對動物界來說，這是一個重要時期。它以一場至今不能完全解釋清楚的進化拉開了寒武紀的序幕。
寒武紀動物的活動範圍只限於海洋，但在古生代的廷續下，有些動物的活動轉向乾燥的陸地。古生代後期，爬行動物和類似哺乳動物的動物出現，古生代以迄今所知最大的一次生物絕滅宣吿完結。
★ Cambrian Period 寒武紀
寒武紀距今約 5 億 4 千 1 百萬年前 — 4 億 8 千 8 百萬年。這個名字來自於英國威爾士一個古代地名的羅馬名稱“Cambria”，該地的寒武紀地層被最早研究。中文名稱源自舊時日本人使用日語漢字音讀的音譯名“寒武紀”。
寒武紀距今十分久遠，人們對當時的地貌幾乎一無所知。只知當時的大陸由一塊主要大陸的和幾塊較小的組成，當時的動物都生活在海洋。
寒武紀時期氣候溫暖，海平面升高，淹沒了大片的低窪地。這種淺海地帶爲新的物種誕生創造了極爲有利的條件，產生了一批具有堅硬的貝殼或內骨骼的動物。它們很容易形成化石，因此和以前的軟體動物不同，寒武紀動物留下了大量遺體。
託福曾經就考過 Cambrian Explosion 寒武紀大爆炸。
Animals originated relatively late in the history of Earth—in only the last 10 percent of Earth’s history. During a geologically brief 100-million-year period, all modern animal groups (along with other animals that are now extinct) evolved. This rapid origin and diversification of animals is often referred to as “the Cambrian explosion.”
Excerpt from TPO 6 Reading
是不是現在讀起來更順滑了一些?
此外，寒武紀是單細胞生物變爲多細胞生物的時期，有一個非常出名的動物在此時期出現：Trilobite 三葉蟲。
三葉蟲是非常知名的化石動物，其知名度可能僅次於恐龍。大多數三葉蟲是結構簡單、體型微小的海生動物，它們在海底爬行，通過過濾泥沙來吸取營養。它們身體分節，有帶溝將身體分爲三個垂直的葉。
(V醬看着這個化石瑟瑟發抖
)
託福閱讀中出現過三葉蟲的蹤跡：
Occasionally, a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time.
For example, Peter Sheldon’s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment.
Excerpt from TPO 30 Reading
這回終於知道三葉蟲是什麼鬼了。
二 | Mesozoic Era 中生代
中生代最早是由意大利地質學家 Giovanni Arduino 所建立，在希臘文中，中生代意爲“中間的”+“生物”。中生代介於古生代與新生代之間，可分爲三疊紀，侏羅紀和白堊紀三個紀。
由於這段時期的優勢動物是爬行動物，尤其是恐龍，因此又稱爲爬行動物時代(Age of the Reptiles)。中生代的氣候非常溫暖，對動物的演化產生影響。在中生代末期，已見現代生物的雛形。
★ Triassic Period 三疊紀
三疊紀是 2.5 億至 2 億年前的一個地質時代，它位於二疊紀和侏羅紀之間，是中生代的第一個紀。 這一時期最出名的應該就是盤古大陸(Pangea)了，考古學家認爲這一時期地球上的陸地都是連接在一起的，直到侏羅紀末期陸地纔開始漂移，彼此分開。
★ Jurassic Period 侏羅紀
侏羅紀(1 億 9960 萬年前到 1 億 4550 萬年前)界於三疊紀和白堊紀之間，是中生代的第二個紀。
侏羅紀前期，因爲經歷大滅絕，所以各種動植物都非常稀少，不過恐龍伺機稱霸陸地。侏羅紀中晚期以後，恐龍成爲地球上最繁榮昌盛的優勢物種，此後統治地球長達 1.5 億年。
ETS 可能覺得大家對侏羅紀非常的熟悉，所以託福很少涉及到這一時期的內容。但偶爾，侏羅紀還是會冒出來刷一波存在感，在 TPO 6 的閱讀文章中就曾經考查過相關內容。
Limestone may be found in the Cambrian or—300 million years later—in the Jurassic strata, but a trilobite—the ubiquitous marine arthropod that had its birth in the Cambrian—will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.
Excerpt from TPO 6 Reading
這一句話不僅有 Jurassic，還有前面提到的 Cambrian 和 trilobite，emmmmm，出題人還真是喜歡寒武紀。
★ Cretaceous Period 白堊紀
白堊紀是中生代的最後一個紀，長達 8000 萬年，因歐洲西部該年代的地層主要爲白堊沉積而得名。白堊紀的氣候相當暖和，是恐龍最興盛的時期，託福中經常提到的恐龍都是出自白堊紀。
舉個栗子：綜合寫作中出現過的Tyrannosaurus(簡稱 T—rex)也就是霸王龍，相信不少同學剛聽到的時候腦子是懵懵的。 What the hell?
我們來看一篇 TPO 閱讀裏面的節選片段：
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.
Excerpt from TPO 8 Reading
現在結合白堊紀的背景，讀起來是不是沒有理解上的障礙了?
三 | Cenozoic Era 新生代
新生代是地球歷史上最新的一個地質時代，它從 6600 萬年前開始一直持續到今天。
隨着恐龍的滅絕，中生代結束，新生代開始。新生代中，盤古大陸徹底分裂，地球上的各個大陸逐漸移動到今天的位置上。
託福經常考的是這時期的“冰川時期 the Ice Age”，比如：
Eventually, Agassiz and others convinced geologists and the general public that a great continental glaciation had extended the polar ice caps far into regions that now enjoy temperate climates.
For the first time, people began to talk about ice ages. It was also apparent that the glaciation occurred in the relatively recent past because the drift was soft, like freshly deposited sediment. We now know the age of the glaciation accurately from radiometric dating of the carbon-14 in logs buried in the drift.
The drift of the last glaciation was deposited during one of the most recent epochs of geologic time, the Pleistocene, which lasted from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago.
Excerpt from TPO 19 Reading
Pleistocene 爲更新世，它是新生代下面的其中一個世。瞭解些許的背景，這段理解起來就沒有之前那麼困難了，si 不 si?
大家讀到到這裏，心裏的 mmp 就出來了，託福閱讀就愛考這些奇奇怪怪、超難記的單詞，真想送一首《涼涼》給自己。
但現實是殘酷的，想拿到高分，還是需要大家認真準備。同時，如果學有餘力還可以多多瞭解託福常考的話題的背景知識，一來可以給自己長長見識，二來萬一托福考到了，嘴上可以笑嘻嘻喲。
零基礎如何搞定託福閱讀
今天，首先要聊的就是新託福閱讀。
當我們從0基礎起步的時候，有一個特別應該注意的關鍵性問題，就是一定不要試圖一開始就面面俱到!換句話說，我們在準備托福考試的時候，首先第一件事要做的，就是要先打開一個突破口，然後順勢而入，繼而攻克其他的幾個單項。這是首先一定要有的一個策略問題!
當我們有這樣一個指導方針之後，首先第一步，象形各位考友都會非常心裏有數的選擇背單詞了。在此特別提醒，一定要背2本單詞書：大學4級單詞+7天搞定託福單詞。很多人總是會誤解，認爲考托福考試，就只背託福單詞就好了，但是實際上，所有的託福單詞書都是默認去掉大學4記單詞的，但是對於0基礎的考生，又恰巧是缺了這部分單詞，因此一定要背2部分單詞，分別是大學4級單詞與託福單詞。
第二步，語法。語法其實應該被我們分爲2個部分，第一個部分是基礎的語法知識，這個部分應該參照《iBT新託福語法》系列，將這個部分的內容進行補齊。
但是這個僅僅是一部分，還有第二部分，也就是對於更基礎性的語法內容，應該首先讓各位考友先報露出自己的問題，然後再通過矯正的手段來解決問題。要想這麼做最好的方法就是，先寫作文，然後再進行批改，這種方法是最好的，一個發現問題，然後解決問題的手段。
第三步，長難句。其實，現在中國的英語教學是重學不重用，對，也就是不中用。英語考試的核心應該是注重應用和理解，但是中國的英語考試，由於各種各樣的原因，使得中國的英語考試就喜歡考察一些邊角廢料，最不常用的內容。
反過來倒使得最關鍵的立即和應用變成了配角，不得不說是一個天大的悲哀!分析託福閱讀長難句，其實最關鍵的目的就是要去讓自己快速的理解和整合句意，以達到快速解題的目的。
第四步，看美劇。尤其是要將中文字幕放在屏幕上面，英文字幕放在屏幕下面。這樣做的目的就是讓我們還原英語是一門語言的這個本質，去多接觸英語怎麼說，通過量變達到質變，這一點尤其對於最後期望達到100分的考友來說，十分重要。
託福閱讀真題1
PASSAGE 69
Newspaper publishers in the United States have long been enthusiastic users and distributors of weather maps. Although some newspapers that had carried the United States Weather Bureau's national weather map in 1912 dropped it once the novelty had passed, many continued to print the daily weather chart provided by their local forecasting office. In the 1930's, when interest in aviation and progress in air-mass analysis made weather patterns more newsworthy, additional newspapers started or resumed the daily weather map. In 1935, The Associated Press (AP) news service inaugurated its WirePhoto network and offered subscribing newspapers morning and afternoon weather maps redrafted by the AP's Washington, B.C., office from charts provided by the government agency. Another news service, United Press International (UPI), developed a competing Photowire network and also provided timely weather maps for both morning and afternoon newspapers. After the United States government launched a series of weather satellites in 1966, both the AP and UPI offered cloud-cover photos obtained from the Weather Bureau.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's, the weather map became an essential ingredient in the redesign of the American newspaper. News publishers, threatened by increased competition from television for readers' attention, sought to package the news more conveniently and attractively. In 1982, many publishers felt threatened by the new USA Today, a national daily newspaper that used a page-wide, full-color weather map as its key design element. That the weather map in USA Today did not include information about weather fronts and pressures attests to the largely symbolic role it played. Nonetheless, competing local and metropolitan newspapers responded in a variety of ways. Most substituted full-color temperature maps for the standard weather maps, while others dropped the comparatively drab satellite photos or added regional forecast maps with pictorial symbols to indicate rainy, snowy, cloudy, or clear conditions. A few newspapers, notably The New York Times, adopted a highly informative yet less visually prominent weather map that was specially designed to explain an important recent or imminent weather event. Ironically, a newspaper's richest, most instructive weather maps often are comparatively small and inconspicuous.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The differences between government and newspaper weather forecasting in the United
States.
(B) The history of publishing weather maps in United States newspapers
(C) A comparison of regional and national weather reporting in the United States.
(D) Information that forms the basis for weather forecasting in the United States
2. The word resumed in line 7 is closest in meaning to
(A) began again
(B) held back
(C) thought over
(D) referred to
3. According to the passage , one important reason why newspapers printed daily weather maps
during the first half of the twentieth century was
(A) the progress in printing technology
(B) a growing interest in air transportation
(C) a change in atmospheric conditions
(D) the improvement of weather forecasting techniques
4. What regular service did The Associated Press and United Press International begin to offer
subscribing newspapers in the 1930's?
(A) A new system of weather forecasting
(B) An air-mass analysis
(C) Twice daily weather maps
(D) Cloud-cover photographs
5. The phrase attests to in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) makes up for
(B) combines with
(C) interferes with
(D) gives evidence of
6. The word others in line 24 refers to
(A) newspapers
(B) ways
(C) temperature maps
(D) weather maps
7. The word drab in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A) precise
(B) poor
(C) simple
(D) dull
8. In contrast to the weather maps of USA Today, weather maps in The New York Times tended to
be
(A) printed in foil color
(B) included for symbolic reasons
(C) easily understood by the readers
(D) filled with detailed information
9. The word prominent in line 27 is closest in meaning to
(A) complex
(B) noticeable
(C) appealing
(D) perfect
10. The author uses the term Ironically in line 28 to indicate that a weather map's appearance
(A) is not important to newspaper publishers
(B) does not always indicate how much information it provides
(C) reflects how informative a newspaper can be
(D) often can improve newspaper sales
PASSAGE 69 BABCD ADDBB
託福閱讀真題2
The origins of nest-building remain obscure, but current observations of nest-building activities provide evidence of their evolution. Clues to this evolutionary process can be found in the activities of play and in the behavior and movements of Birds during mating, such as incessant pulling at strips of vegetation or scraping of the soil. During the early days of the reproductive cycle, the birds seem only to play with the building materials. In preparation for mating, they engage in activities that resemble nest-building, and continue these activities throughout and even after the mating cycle. Effective attempts at construction occur only after mating.
Although nest-building is an instinctive ability, there is considerable adaptability in both site selection and use of materials, especially with those species which build quite elaborate constructions. Furthermore, some element of learning is often evident since younger birds do not build as well as their practiced elders. Young ravens, for example, first attempt to build with sticks of quite unsuitable size, while a jackdaw's first nest includes virtually any movable object. The novelist John Steinbeck recorded the contents of a young osprey nest built in his garden, which included three shirts, a bath towel, and one arrow.
Birds also display remarkable behavior in collecting building materials. Crows have been seen to tear off stout green twigs, and sparrowhawks will dive purposefully onto a branch until it snaps and then hang upside down to break it off. Golden eagles, over generations of work, construct enormous nests. One of these, examined after it had been dislodged by high winds, weighed almost two tons and included foundation branches almost two meters long. The carrying capacity of the eagles, however, is only relative to their size and most birds are able to carry an extra load of just over twenty percent of their body weight.
1. The word obscure in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(A) interesting
(B) unclear
(C) imperfect
(D) complex
2. According to the passage , which of the following activities is characteristic of the early part of the reproductive cycle of birds?
(A) Selecting a mate
(B) Collecting nest-building materials
(C) Playing with nest-building materials
(D) Building a nest
3. The word display in line 17 is closest in meaning to
(A) communicate
(B) imitate
(C) initiate
(D) exhibit
4. The novelist John Steinbeck is mentioned in line 14 because he
(A) conducted a scientific study on the behavior of ospreys
(B) was the first to describe where ospreys built their nests
(C) described the materials ospreys can use to build their nests
(D) compared the size of osprey nests with the nests of other species
5. Which of the following birds are mentioned as those that build nests that include unusual
objects?
(A) Ravens
(B) Ospreys
(C) Crows
(D) Sparrowhawks
6. According to the passage , when gathering materials to build their nests, sparrowhawks do
which of the following?
(A) Hang upside down
(B) Select only green twigs
(C) Use objects blowing in the wind
(D) Collect more branches than necessary
7. The word these in line 20 refers to
(A) golden eagles
(B) generations
(C) winds
(D) nests
8. The word load in line 23 is closest in meaning to
(A) weight
(B) number
(C) section
(D) level
9. The author mentions twenty percent in line 23 to indicate that
(A) eagles are twenty percent bigger than most birds
(B) twenty percent of all nests include foundation branches
(C) the nests of eagles are twenty percent of larger than those of other birds
(D) birds can carry twenty percent more of their own weight
PASSAGE 70 BCDCB ADAD
