托福备考托福阅读34套TPO样题+解析+译文3--1 Architecture

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托福阅读TPO3(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:Architecture

托福阅读原文

Architecture is theart and science of designing structures that organize

and enclose space forpractical and symbolic purposes. Because

architecture grows out of human needsand aspirations, it clearly

communicates cultural values. Of all the visualarts, architecture affects

our lives most directly for it determines thecharacter of the human

environment in major ways.

Architecture is athree-dimensional form. It utilizes space, mass, texture,

line, light, andcolor. To be architecture, a building must achieve a working

harmony with avariety of elements. Humans instinctively seek structures

that will shelter and enhance their way of life. It is the work of architects

to createbuildings that are not simply constructions but also offer

inspiration anddelight. Buildings contribute to human life when they

provide shelter, enrichspace, complement their site, suit the climate, and

are economically client who pays for the building and defines

its function is an importantmember of the architectural team. The

mediocre design of many contemporarybuildings can be traced to both

clients and architects.

In order for thestructure to achieve the size and strength necessary to

meet its purpose,architecture employs methods of support that, because

they are based onphysical laws, have changed little since people first

discovered them—even while building materials havechanged

ld’s architecturalstructures have also beendevisedin

relation to the objectivelimitations of materials. Structures can be

analyzed in terms of how they dealwith downward forces created by

gravity. They are designed to withstand theforces of compression

(pushing together), tension (pulling apart), bending, ora combination of

these in different parts of the structure.

Even development in architecture has been the result of major

technological changes. Materials andmethods of construction are

integralparts of the design of architecturestructures. In earlier times it was

necessary to design structural systemssuitable for the materials that were

available, such as wood, stone, technology has progressed to

the point where it is possible to invent newbuilding materials to suit the

type of structure desired. Enormous changes inmaterials and techniques

of construction within the last few generations havemade it possible to

enclose space with much greater ease and speed and with aminimum of

material. Progress in this area can be measured by the difference inweight

between buildings built now and those of comparable size built

onehundred years ago.

Modernarchitectural forms generally have three separate components

comparable toelements of the human body: a supporting skeleton or

frame, an outer skinenclosing the interior spaces, and equipment, similar

to the body’s vital organs and systems. Theequipment includes

plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, andair-conditioning. Of course in

early architecture—suchas igloos and adobe structures—there was no

suchequipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one.

Much of the world’s great architecture has beenconstructed of stone

because of its beauty, permanence, and availability. Inthe past, whole

cities grew from thearduoustask of cutting and pilingstone upon. Some

of the world’s finest stonearchitecture can be seen in the ruins of the

ancient Inca city of Machu Picchuhigh in the eastern Andes Mountains of

Peru. Thedoorways andwindowsare made possible by placing over the

open spaces thick stone beamsthat support the weight from above. A

structural invention had to be madebefore the physical limitations of

stone could be overcome and newarchitectural forms could be created.

That invention was the arch, a curvedstructure originally made of

separate stone or brick segments. The arch wasused by the early cultures

of the Mediterranean area chiefly for undergrounddrains, but it was the

Romans who first developed and used the arch extensivelyin

aboveground structures. Roman builders perfected the semicircular arch

madeof separate blocks of stone. As a method of spanning space, the

arch cansupport greater weight than a horizontal beam. It works in

compression todivert the weight above it out to the sides, where the

weight is borne by thevertical elements on either side of the arch. The

arch is among the manyimportant structural breakthroughs that have

characterized architecturethroughout the centuries.

托福阅读试题

1. According toparagraph 1, all of the following statements about

architecture are true EXCEPT:

ecture isvisual art.

ecturereflects the cultural values of its creators.

ecture hasboth artistic and scientific dimensions.

ecture hasan indirect effect on life.

2. The word “feasible”in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in

meaning to

existence

t question

able

likely

3. The word “enhance”in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in

meaning to

t

e

ze

4. Which of thesentences below best expresses the essential information

in thehighlightedsentencein the passage (paragragh 3) ? Incorrect

choices change themeaning in important ways or leave out essential

information.

gingphysical laws have limited the size and strength of

buildings that can be madewith materials discovered long ago.

ngmaterials have changed in order to increase architectural size

and strength,but physical laws of structure have not changed.

people firststarted to build, the structural methods used to

provide strength and size wereinadequate because they were not based

on physical laws.

buildingmaterials, the methods of support used in architecture

have not changed overtime because they are based on physical laws.

5. The word “devised”in the passage (paragragh 3) is closest in

meaning to

ed

d

uced

ted

6. The word “integral”(paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to

ial

le

cal

ndent

7. According toparagraph 4, which of the following is true about

materialsused in theconstruction of buildings?

e newbuilding materials are hard to find, construction

techniques have changed verylittle from past generations.

availabilityof suitable building materials no longer limits the types

of structures thatmay be built.

primarybuilding materials that are available today are wood, stone,

and brick.

ects inearlier times did not have enough building materials to

enclose large spaces.

8. In paragraph 4,what does the author imply about modern buildings?

occupy muchless space than buildings constructed one hundred

years ago.

are not verydifferent from the building of a few generations ago.

weigh lessin relation to their size than buildings constructed one

hundred years ago.

take a longtime to build as a result of their complex construction

methods.

9. Which of thefollowing correctly characterizes the relationship between

the human body andarchitecture that is described in paragraph 5?

x equipmentinside buildings is the one element in modern

architecture that resembles acomponent of the human body.

components inearly buildings were similar to three particular

elements of the human body.

buildingshave components that are as likely to change as the

human body is.

general,modern buildings more closely resemble the human body

than earlier buildingsdo.

10. The word “arduous”in the passage (paragraph 6) is closest in

meaning to

ult

ary

d

11. Why does theauthor include a description of how the “doorways and

windows”(paragraph 6) ofMachu Picchu were constructed?

indicate thatthe combined skeletons and skins of the stone buildings

of Machu Picchu weresimilar to igloos and adobe structures

indicate thedifferent kinds of stones that had to be cut to build

Machu Picchu

provide anillustration of the kind of construction that was required

before arches wereinvented

explain howancient builders reduced the amount of time necessary

to construct buildingsfrom stone

12. According toparagraph 6, which of the following statements is true

ofthe arch?

Romans werethe first people to use the stone arch.

invention ofthe arch allowed new architectural forms to be

developed.

arch workedby distributing the structural load of a building toward

the center of thearch.

Romansfollowed earlier practices in their use of arches.

13. Look at thefour squares [█] that indicate wherethe following sentence

could be added to the passage.

█ 【A】Modern architectural forms generally have three separate

componentscomparable to elements of the human body; a supporting

skeleton or frame, anouter skin enclosing the interior spaces, and

equipment, similar to the body’s vital organs and systems. █ 【B】The

equipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, andair-

conditioning. █ 【C】Ofcourse in early architecture—such as igloos and

adobestructures—there was no such equipment, and theskeleton and

skin were often one. █ 【D】

Where would thesentence best fit?

14. Directions: Anintroductory sentence for a brief summary of the

passage is provided te the summary by selecting the

THREE answer choices that express themost important ideas in the

passage. Some sentences do not belong in thesummary because they

express ideas that are not presented in the passage or areminor ideas in

the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Architecture usesforms and space to express cultural values.

ects seekto create buildings that are both visually appealing and

well suited for humanuse.

the courseof the history of building, innovations in material and

methods of constructionhave given architects ever greater freedom to

express themselves.

houthistory buildings have been constructed like human bodies,

needing distinct “organ”systems inorder to function.

clients andarchitects are responsible for the mediocre designs of

some modern buildings.

buildingstend to lack the beauty of ancient stone buildings

such as those of MachuPicchu.

discovery anduse of the arch typifies the way in which architecture

advances by developingmore efficient types of structures.

托福阅读答案

题排除法，以visual art做关键词定位至本段最后一句，A对，不选；以cultural values做关键词定位至第二句，B对，不选；以artistic and scientific

dimensions做关键词定位至第一句，C对，不选；D选项与A选项在同一句，indirect effect和directly的原文说反，错，选

le可行的，原文说了建筑的若干优点，比如提供遮风避雨的场所，丰富了空间，经济上怎么样，肯定是个正面的词，A存在中性，错；B没有问题，虽然是正面但太过，不选，C正确，D非常可能虽然正面，但程度不足，不选

3.词汇题，问的是第二段第三句中的enhance，备选项分别是protect, improve,

organize, match，enhance提高，原文中与enhance their way of life并列的动词是shelter，庇护之意，所以再选protect的话重叠，而且也不应该是保护他们的生活方式；organize组织match搭配都不能与庇护并列，所以improve改善生活方式最靠谱

order for只是一个表目的的状语，暂时放弃不看，同时because那部分插入语不看，整个句子就变成了建筑师们采用的方法是不变的，尽管建筑材料发生了很大变化。A没说原文的建筑材料发生了很大变化，而且law没有限制size

and strength，所以完全不对；B错在in order的那个状语部分，increase原文没说；C说not based on physical laws与原文相反，错，D正确

设计，所在句说全世界的建筑也要怎么样根据简直材料的限制，因为有also，所以是接着前一句的，前句在上题中已经分析过了，说建筑师为了达到要求采用了多种方法，说明建筑的产生应该是一个从无到有的过程，所以B选项create最合适，A联合C介绍，引进D建议，表明都不对

al完整的，构成整体的，原文说建筑材料和建筑方法是建筑什么样的部分，代入选项也知道应该是A重要的部分，B可变的C实际的都不靠谱，D独立的虽然意思基本说的通，但明显违反原文，建筑材料和方法应该是互相影响的，不能独立

7.以material为关键词定位至本段第二句和第三句，说以前必须根据建筑材料来设计建筑，现在我们可以发明新材料，A说不容易到新材料，反了；C的三种材料应该是以前不是现在；D没说；B说现在建筑材料充分，不会再影响建筑设计，是原文的意思，正确

8.以modern buildings做关键词定位至最后一句，说比较现在和一百年前大小相似的建筑的重量我们就能发现建筑技术所取得的进步，也就是以前的重现在的轻，所以答案是C，其他的都没说

9.本段将建筑结构与人体的结构进行了比较，发现；额三个共同点，排除法，A以equipment做关键词定位至第一句的最后半句，equipment像的应该是vital

organs and systems，不是一个component；以early building做关键词定位至文章最后一句，skeleton和skin是一样的，所以和人不同；C的change原文没说；D正确因为原文说现代建筑像人体，以前的建筑的skeleton和skin是一个，所以现代建筑比之前的建筑更像人体

s艰巨的，困难的。原文说过去整个城市都是靠切割和堆积石头搞定的，这个任务肯定是比较困难的，而代入原文的话似乎有技巧的和有必要的也是靠谱的，但D分享的一定不对，如果说切割是需要技巧的话，堆积应该是不需要的，注意不要联想。堆积和切割石头一定是造城市的必要任务么？可以用木头和其他的建筑材料，所以necessary太偏了，正确答案difficult

11.修辞目的题，读doorways and windows所在的一句话，说门窗是通过把承的石头横梁放在space上面形成的，读前一句的时候发现也是个例子，所以不是答案，往下句看，说想克服石头带给建筑的障碍，必须有一个新发明。按照原文，门窗的形成是一种克服石头带来的障碍的一种方法，所以答案是C

12.以arch为关键词定位至thatinvention was the arch句，接上题看到的那句，想克服石头带给建筑的障碍，必须有一个新发明，这个发明就是arch，所以说arch的出现使得其他建筑方法成为可能，B正确。罗马人是第一个把arch广泛用在地上建筑的，不是第一个用arch的，A错，也没follow前人的方法，D错；是把压力分散，divert，不是往中点集中，C说反

r和again unifying都说明正确插入点之前必须说把skeleton and

skin分开，所以A和B不对，C之后的suchequipment指代C之前的内容，过渡紧密，不适合插入句子，所以D是正确答案

ects选项对应全文首段首句，正确

Over选项对应第四段第三句和第三段首句，正确

Throughout选项与第五段首句相反，错

Both选项是细节，不选

Modern选项错，因为原文没说现代的建筑不好看，不选

The discovery选项第六段最后一句，正确