TPO6托福阅读Passage2 William Smith文本+题目原文+答案解析

William Smith

In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith. He received rudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.

This was before the steam locomotive, and canal building was at its height. The companies building the canals to transport coal needed surveyors to help them find the coal deposits worth mining as well as to determine the best courses for the canals. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh rock outcrops created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel as much as 10,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, “A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland,” a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.

In 1831 when Smith was finally recognized by the Geological Society of London as the “father of English geology,” it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. Ever since people had begun to catalog the strata in particular outcrops, there had been the hope that these could somehow be used to calculate geological time. But as more and more accumulations of strata were cataloged in more and more places, it became clear that the sequences of rocks sometimes differed from region to region and that no rock type was ever going to become a reliable time marker throughout the world. Even without the problem of regional differences, rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers. Quartz is quartz—a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions—there’s no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.

As he collected fossils from strata throughout England, Smith began to see that the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata, the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata, but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. While rock between two consistent strata might in one place be shale and in another sandstone, the fossils in that shale or sandstone were always the same. Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particular periods in Earth's history.

Not only could Smith identify rock strata by the fossils they contained, he could also see a pattern emerging: certain fossils always appear in more ancient sediments, while others begin to be seen as the strata become more recent. [■]By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. [■]About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. [■]Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. [■]It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. 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 theCambrian—will never be found in Jurassic strata, nor a dinosaur in the Cambrian.

TPO6托福阅读Passage2age2 William Smith题目

Question 1 of 14: The word “rudimentary ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. thorough

B. strict

C. basic

D. occasional

Question 2 of 14: According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements about William Smith is NOT true?

A. Smith learned surveying by reading and by apprenticing for a local surveyor.

B. Smith’s family lived in a small English town and possessed little wealth.

C. Smith learned about fossils from books he borrowed from his uncle.

D. Smith eventually left his village to work on the excavation of an English canal.

Question 3 of 14: Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about canal building?

A. Canals were built primarily in the south of England rather than in other regions.

B. Canal building decreased after the steam locomotive was invented.

C. Canal building made it difficult to study rock strata which often became damaged in the process.

D. Canal builders hired surveyors like Smith to examine exposed rock strata.

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph2, which of the following is true of the map published by William Smith?

A. It indicates the locations of England's major canals.

B. It became most valuable when the steam locomotive made rail travel possible.

C. The data for the map were collected during Smith’s work on canals.

D. It is no longer regarded as a geological masterpiece.

Question 5 of 14: The word “meticulously ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. carefully

B. quickly

C. frequently

D. obviously

Question 6 of 14: 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.

A. The discovery of regional differences in the sequences of rocks led geologists to believe that rock types could someday become reliable time markers.

B. Careful analysis of strata revealed that rocks cannot establish geological time because the pattern of rock layers varies from place to place.

C. Smith's catalogs of rock strata indicated that the sequences of rocks are different from place to place and from region to region.

D. Because people did not catalog regional differences in sequences of rocks, it was believed that rocks could never be reliable time markers.

Question 7 of 14: Why does the author use the phrase “Quartz is quartz ”?

A. To describe how the differences between Pleistocene and Cambrian quartz reveal information about dating rocks

B. To point out that the chemical composition of quartz makes it more difficult to date than other rocks

C. To provide an example of how regional differences in rock sequences can make a particular rock difficult to date

D. To explain that rocks are difficult to use for dating because their chemical compositions always remain the same over time

Question 8 of 14: According to paragraph 4, it was difficult for Smith to distinguish rock strata because

A. the rocks from different strata closely resembled each other

B. he was often unable to find fossils in the younger rock strata

C. their similarity to each other made it difficult for him to distinguish one rock type from another

D. the type of rock between two consistent strata was always the same

Question 9 of 14: The word “endured ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. vanished

B. developed

C. varied

D. survived

Question 10 of 14: The word “virtually ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. possibly

B. absolutely

C. surprisingly

D. nearly

Question 11 of 14: Select the TWO answer choices that are true statements based upon the discussion of the principle of faunal succession in paragraph 5. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.

A. It was a principle that applied to fauna but not to flora.

B. It was discovered independently by two different geologists.

C. It describes how fossils are distributed in rock strata.

D. It explains why plants and animals undergo transformations through time.

Question 12 of 14: In mentioning "trilobite ”, the author is making which of the following points?

A. Fossils cannot be found in more than one rock stratum.

B. Faunal succession can help put rock layers in relative temporal sequence.

C. Faunal succession cannot be applied to different strata composed of the same kind of rock.

D. The presence of trilobite fossils makes it difficult to date a rock.

Question 13 of 14: Look at the four squares [■]that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

The findings of these geologists inspired others to examine the rock and fossil records in different parts of the world.

A. By following the fossils, Smith was able to put all the strata of England's earth into relative temporal sequence. 

B. About the same time, Georges Cuvier made the same discovery while studying the rocks around Paris. 

C. Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. 

D. It was actually a principle of floral succession as well, because plants showed the same transformation through time as did fauna. 

Question 14 of 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 sentences 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.

William Smith’s contributions to geology have increased our knowledge of the Earth’s history.

A.Smith found success easily in his profession because he came from a family of geologists and surveyors.

B.Smith’s work on canals allowed him to collect fossils and study rock layers all over England.

C.Smith found that fossils are much more reliable indicators of geological time than rock strata are.

D.Smith was named “the father of English geology” for his maps rather than for his other contributions to the field.

E.Smith and Cuvier discovered that fossil patterns are easier to observe in ancient rock strata than in younger rock strata.

F. The discovery of the principle of faunal succession allowed geologists to establish the relative age of Earth’s rock layers.

TPO6托福阅读Passage2 William Smith答案解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：rudimentary: 基本的，初步的。A是彻底的;B是严格的;C是基础的;D是偶尔的。所以C的basic是正确答案。对应原文：He received rudimentary village schooling, but mostly he roamed his uncle's farm collecting the fossils that were so abundant in the rocks of the Cotswold hills.原句说smith接受了什么样的教育，而且在他叔叔的农场闲逛并且采集化石，所以肯定受教育不多，而且前面有说他出生在一个穷铁匠家，肯定没有很多教育。thorough彻底和strict严格明显不对;偶尔的教育不搭配，也不对。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：A中的surveying定位至第三句，正确，不选：When he grew older, William Smith taught himself surveying from books he bought with his small savings, and at the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a surveyor of the local parish. 说了是从书上和实习来学习surveying，A正确，不选;同时第三句还说他的书是自己攒钱买的，不是问他叔叔借的，所以C错，选;B中的family定位至第一句，little wealth就是没钱，所以正确，不选：In 1769 in a little town in Oxfordshire, England, a child with the very ordinary name of William Smith was born into the poor family of a village blacksmith.D中的English canal定位至最后一句，正确，不选：He then proceeded to teach himself geology, and when he was twenty-four, he went to work for the company that was excavating the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England.

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 以canal building做关键词定位至第一句，说在steam locomotive出现之前，canal building达到高潮，也就是说steam locomotive出现之后，canal building的热度开始下降，所以B是答案。那些人雇smith是帮他们找煤，不是检查暴露的岩层，D错;A和C都没有相关信息，不选。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：以map做关键词定位至最后一句，但 这句话只说了map很好很重要，没有答案，但可以知道D说反了;往上看，前句说他走了很远，跟地图无关;再往前看：He later worked on similar jobs across the length and breadth of England, all the while studying the newly revealed strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. 说他边工作边收集了他能找到的所有化石，所以C正确;ABD都没说。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：meticulously: 仔细地。A是认真地;B是快速地;Cs是频繁地;D是明显的。所以答案是A的carefully。对应原文：In 1815 he published the first modern geological map, "A Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland," a map so meticulously researched that it can still be used today.原文说他怎么研究的那张地图，使得它今天还能用。这里有一明显的因果关系，既然结果是这个地图至今还能使用，也就证明这地图做的非常不错，应该要选择一个正向词。BCD都是中立的，而A是正向的，代入后因果关系成立。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 原文的结构是随着blablabla，各地岩石层序不同，没有rock type能变成reliable time marker。A选项与原文说反; B正确;C说smith的分类，原文说了分类，但没有说smith，这个原文没说;D的因果关系纯属瞎扯。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：先读所在句子，去调插入语后，插入语之后出答案：Quartz is quartz—a silicon ion surrounded by four oxygen ions—there’s no difference at all between two-million-year-old Pleistocene quartz and Cambrian quartz created over 500 million years ago.说两百万年前的quartz和五亿年前的quartz没有任何区别，往前看，前文说即使没有regional difference，石头也不能用来做time maker。明显highlight的句子强调了不能做time maker的原因，所以答案是D。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A 以distinguish rock strata做关键词定位至第二句，说rock是非常相似的，所以难以区分，所以A对;注意C不对是因为原文没说区分岩石类型;关键词所在的那句话的后半句说明B反了;D没说。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：endure: 忍受，耐久。A是消亡，灭亡;B是发展;C是变化;D是存活，从…中坚持过来。所以D的survive正确。对应原文：Some fossils endured through so many millions of years that they appear in many strata, but others occur only in a few strata, and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum.原文说这些石头怎么样数百万年，结果在诸多岩层中都有出现，肯定是持续之类的意思，所以应该这么多年都没有什么变化。不管是vanish消失develop发展还是vary都是发生了变化，所以都不对。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：Virtually: 事实上，几乎。A是可能;B是绝对地;C是惊人地;D是几乎。所以答案D的nearly正确。对应原文：Soon it was realized that this principle of faunal (animal) succession was valid not only in England or France but virtually everywhere. 原句说faunal succession不仅在英国和法国有效而且在所有地方都有效，possibly程度太轻;absolutely程度太重;suprisingly表示一种惊奇的主观态度，原文没有体现。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：BC

题目解析：BC 注意需要选两项;排除法，A中的flora定位至倒数第二句，说也succession可以用于flora也能用于fauna;B选项要找两个人，第二句和第三句刚好符合，正确;C中的strata定位至第二句，正确;原文没解释plants和animals经历了相同的transformation，D错。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B，先读trilobite所在句，说灰岩会在寒武纪或者侏罗纪出现，但特殊时代的生物只会在特定时间出现。也就是生物比岩石类型可靠，B正确;其他的都没说。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：C 三个过渡点，these geologists，rock and fossil records还有different parts of the world，根these geologists前面一定得有地质学家，所以A和B被排除，而且应该先说different parts of the world，然后再用England和France做具体例子，所以C对D错。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：BCF

题目解析：B.C.F Smith found success选项与第一段第一句内容相反，不选。Smith’s work选项对应第二段第三句，正确。Smith found that选项对应第三段第三句和第四段最后一句，正确。Smith was named选项与第三段第一句的内容相反，不选。Smith and Cuvier选项原文没说，不选。the discovery选项对应第五段的第一和第二句，正确。

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