TOEFL集结号 暑期集中突破小组之阅读（1）

zongwwwUID: 2330777

本阅读材料来自文勇的iBT黄金23篇，在此对他的辛勤劳动表示感谢！

文勇的ibt黄金23篇有几下几个来源：
1. OG1之中的10篇文章；
2. 4次（套）TPO2之中的3*4=12篇文章；
3. 早期3报名之时ETS赠送的3篇在线测试题；
4. ETS官方给出的模考软件之中抽出的1篇文章；

在这23篇由ETS出的文章没有做完之前，我们实在不应该花时间在任何其他的题目之上。我有时候甚至会对着我的弟兄们高呼：“没有把这２3篇做３遍，你好意思上考场么？你好意思花钱在任何一本垃圾资料书上面么？经过ETS打磨的文章，极具模仿价值，文章看得多了，写也就越来越容易了。——文勇


我每天晚上会上来发一篇，大家有什么问题就直接跟帖回复。祝大家好运！

参考答案（反白显示）
1.○It cannot conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals.
2.○It is not difficult to imagine what they looked like
3.○valuable
4.○Skull shapes
5.○Pakicetus
6.○Visible
7.○Could not have walked on land
8.○In a marine environment
9.○The legs provided important information about the evolution of cetaceans.
10.○Although Ambulocetus had no fluke, its backbone structure shows that it swam like modern whales.
11.○Moving forward
12. ○在Missing前添加This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages.
13-14. ○ 1 2 5

THE ORIGINS OF CETACEANS

It should be obvious that cetaceans-whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke1 and blowhole2 cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.

Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale. The fossil was officially named Pakicefus in honor of the country where the discovery was made. Pakicetus was found embedded in rocks formed from river deposits that were 52 million years old. The river that formed these deposits was actually not far from an ancient ocean known as the Tethys Sea.

The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans. Although limited to a skull, the Pakicetus fossil provides precious details on the origins of cetaceans. The skull is cetacean-like but its jawbones lack the enlarged space that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving underwater sound in modern whales. Pakicetus probably detected sound through the ear opening as in land mammals. The skull also lacks a blowhole, another cetacean adaptation for diving. Other features, however, show experts that Pakicetus is a transitional form between a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals, the mesonychids, and cetaceans. It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean. It probably bred and gave birth on land.

Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12 million years after Pakicefus. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes. Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs.

An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans ("the walking whale that swam"] lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9 million before Basilosaurus. The fossil luckily includes a good portion of the hind legs. The legs were strong and ended in long feet very much like those of a modern pinniped. The legs were certainly functional both on land and at sea. The whale retained a tail and lacked a fluke, the major means of locomotion in modern cetaceans. The structure of the backbone shows, however, that Ambulocetus swam like modern whales by moving the rear portion of its body up and down, even though a fluke was missing. The large hind legs were used for propulsion in water. On land, where it probably bred and gave birth, AmbuIocetus may have moved around very much like a modern sea lion. It was undoubtedly a whale that linked life on land with life at sea.

1. Fluke: the two parts that constitute the large triangular tail of a whale
2. "Blowhole: a hole in the top of the head used for breathing

zongwwwUID: 2330777

Questions:
Paragraph 1: It should be obvious that cetaceans-whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke3 and blowhole4 cannot disguise their affinities with land-dwelling mammals. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like. Extinct but, already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.

Directions: Mark your answer by filling in the oval next to your choice.

1. In paragraph 1, what does the author say about the presence of a blowhole in cetaceans?
○It clearly indicates that cetaceans are mammals.
○It cannot conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals.
○It is the main difference between cetaceans and land-dwelling mammals.
○It cannot yield clues about the origins of cetaceans.

2. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about early sea otters?
○It is not difficult to imagine what they looked like
○There were great numbers of them.
○They lived in the sea only.
○They did not leave many fossil remains.

Paragraph 3: The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans. Although limited to a skull, the Pakicetus fossil provides precious details on the origins of cetaceans. The skull is cetacean-like but its jawbones lack the enlarged space that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving underwater sound in modern whales. Pakicetus probably detected sound through the ear opening as in land mammals. The skull also lacks a blowhole, another cetacean adaptation for diving. Other features, however, show experts that Pakicetus is a transitional form between a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals, the mesonychids, and cetaceans. It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean. It probably bred and gave birth on land.

3. The word precious in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Exact
○Scarce
○Valuable
○Initial

4. Pakicetus and modern cetaceans have similar
○Hearing structures
○Adaptations for diving
○Skull shapes
○Breeding locations

5. The word it in the passage refers to
○Pakicetus
○Fish
○Life
○ocean

Paragraph 4: Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12 million years after Pakicefus. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes. Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs.

6. The word in exposed the passage is closest in meaning to
○Explained
○Visible
○Identified
○Located

7. The hind leg of Basilosaurus was a significant find because it showed that Basilosaurus ○Lived later than Ambulocetus natans
○Lived at the same time as Pakicetus
○Was able to swim well
○Could not have walked on land

8. It can be inferred that Basilosaurus bred and gave birth in which of the following locations
○On land
○Both on land and at sea
○In shallow water
○In a marine environment

Paragraph 5: An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans ("the walking whale that swam"] lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9 million before Basilosaurus. The fossil luckily includes a good portion of the hind legs. The legs were strong and ended in long feet very much like those of a modern pinniped. The legs were certainly functional both on land and at sea. The whale retained a tail and lacked a fluke, the major means of locomotion in modern cetaceans. The structure of the backbone shows, however, that Ambulocetus swam like modern whales by moving the rear portion of its body up and down, even though a fluke was missing. The large hind legs were used for propulsion in water. On land, where it probably bred and gave birth, AmbuIocetus may have moved around very much like a modern sea lion. It was undoubtedly a whale that linked life on land with life at sea.

9. Why does the author use the word luckily in mentioning that the Ambulocetus natans fossil included hind legs?
○Fossil legs of early whales are a rare find.
○The legs provided important information about the evolution of cetaceans.
○The discovery allowed scientists to reconstruct a complete skeleton of the whale.
○Until that time, only the front legs of early whales had been discovered.

10. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
○Even though Ambulocetus swam by moving its body up and down, it did not have a backbone.
○The backbone of Ambulocetus, which allowed it to swim, provides evidence of its missing fluke.
○Although Ambulocetus had no fluke, its backbone structure shows that it swam like modern whales.
○By moving the rear parts of their bodies up and down, modern whales swim in a different way from the way Ambulocetus swam.

11. The word propulsion in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Staying afloat
○Changing direction
○Decreasing weight
○Moving forward

Paragraph 1: Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. ■How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? ■Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.■Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. ■In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale.

12. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage. This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages. Where would the sentence best fit?

○Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged?■Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans. ■Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans.■ In 1979, a team looking for fossil in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale.
○Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. ■How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages. Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans. ■Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans.■ In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale.
○Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. ■How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? ■ Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans. This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages. Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. ■In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale.
○Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. ■How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? ■Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans. ■Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most likely origins of cetaceans. This is a question that has puzzled scientists for ages. In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale.

13-14. 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 answer choices do not belong in the summary
because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
This passage discusses fossils that help to explain the likely origins of cetaceanswhales, porpoises, and dolphins.
●
●
●
Answer Choices
1. Recent discoveries of fossils have helped to show the link between land mammals and cetaceans.
2. The discovery of Ambulocetus natans pro-vided evidence for a whale that lived both on land and at sea.
3. The skeleton of Basilosaurusw as found in what had been the Tethys Sea, an area rich in fossil evidence.
4. Pakicetus is the oldest fossil whale yet to be found. 5. Fossils thought to be transitional forms between walking mammals and swimming whales were found. 6. Ambulocetus' hind legs were used for propulsion in the water.

thatllUID: 2538832

我要问第一题为什么不是第三个

1点50分UID: 2474836

3# thatll
第一题不会是第三个的，首先先进行定位 blowhole
然后考点是 cannot disguise 所以选择第2个
第3个说是主要的不同，这里没有提到blwohole是他们的不同点  更别说是main difference了
不知道我解释的你清楚了吗

出来吧葡萄UID: 2658129

除了把第三题的precious看成了precise选了exact，其他没什么问题了...

thatllUID: 2538832

4# 1点50分
我当时选C，感觉要突出land吧，但是现在感觉B也很有道理，原文说这个不能掩饰和land mammals的密切关系，也就是这些个他和land mammals有很大的区别，但是我们知道的一个事实就是他生活在水中，所以我们也直接可以说这个不能掩饰他是mammals。
我还是很挣扎，不知道选哪个。

zongwwwUID: 2330777

6# thatll
原文中cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals与It cannot conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals表述的是同一意思，而It is the main difference between cetaceans and land-dwelling mammals未直接提到，第三选项属于推理过度。

阅读所选的答案是the best，相对而言，第二选项比第三选项好

zhtwdUID: 2319724

这篇文章我把第六题选成了Located... 可能自己想多了吧

出来吧葡萄UID: 2658129

6# thatll
除了那些inferred、concluded...之类的题目，其他的都不要做推理，选最直接的

sjtupeelerUID: 2425202

错一遍的时候差点做错一个，第9题，错选A
后来再仔细想想，文中没有提及难度问题，应该是一个干扰项，其他没什么大问题，u家哟

zongwwwUID: 2330777

10# sjtupeeler

加油！

做题的时候一定要小心，还有就是不要想太多了