TPO20托福阅读Passage1 Westward migration文本+题目原文+答案解析

Westward migration

The story of the westward movement of population in the united states is, in the main, the story of the expansion of American agriculture-of the development of new areas for the raising of livestock and the cultivation of wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton. After 1815 improved transportation enabled more and more western farmers to escape a self-sufficient way of life and enter a national market economy during periods when commodity prices were high, the rate of westward migration increased spectacularly. “old America seemed to be breaking up and moving westward,” observed an English visitor in 1817, during the first great wave of migration. Emigration to the west reached a peak in the 1830’s. whereas in 1810 only a seventy of the American people lived west of the Appalachian mountains, by 1840 more than a third lived there.

Why were these hundreds of thousands of setters-most of them farmers some of them artisans-drawn away from the cleared fields and established cities and villages of the East? Certain characteristics of American society help to explain this remarkable migration. The European ancestors of some Americans had for centuries lived rooted to the same village or piece of land until some religious, political, or economic crisis uprooted them and drove them across the Atlantic. Many of those who experienced this sharp break thereafter lacked the ties that had bound them and their ancestors to a single place. Moreover, European society was relatively stratified; occupation and social status were inherited. In American society, however, the class structure was less rigid; some people changed occupations easily and believed it was their duty to improve their social and economic position. As a result, many Americans were an inveterately restless, rootless, and ambitious people. Therefore, these social and economic position. As a result, many Americans were an inveterately restless, rootless, and ambitious people. Therefore, these social traits helped to produce the nomadic and daring settlers who kept pushing westward beyond the fringes of settlement. In addition, there were other immigrants who migrated west in search of new homes, material success, and better lives.

The west had plenty of attractions: the alluvial river bottoms, the fecund soils of the rolling forest lands, the black loams of the prairies were tempting to New England farmers working their rock, sterile land and to southeastern farmers plagued with soil depletion and erosion. In 1820 under a new land law, a farm could be bought for 100. The continued proliferation of banks made it easier for those without cash to negotiate loans in paper money. Western farmers borrowed with the confident expectation that the exploding economy would keep farm prices high, thus making it easy to repay loans when they fell due.

  Transportation was becoming less of a problem of those who wished to move west and for those who wished to move west and for those who had far surpluses to send to market. ■Prior to 1815, western farmers who did not live on navigable waterways were connected to them only by dirt roads and mountain trails.■ Livestock could be driven across the mountains, but the cost of transporting bulky grains in this fashion was several times greater than their value in eastern markets.■ The first step toward an improvement of western transportation was the construction of turnpikes.■ These roads made possible a reduction in transportation costs and thus agriculture along their routes.

  Two other developments presaged the end of the era of turnpikes and stared a transportation revolution that resulted in increased regional specialization and the growth of a national market economy First came the steamboat; although flatboats and keelboats continued to be important until the 1850’s, steamboats eventually superseded all other craft in the carrying of passengers and freight. Steamboats were not only faster but also transported upriver freight for about one tenth of what it had previously cost on hand-propelled keelboats. Next came the Erie canal, an enormous project in its day, spanning about 350 miles. After the canal went into operation, the cost per mile of transporting a ton of freight from Buffalo to New York City declined from nearly 20 cents to less that 1 cent. Eventually, the western states diverted much of their produce from the rivers to the Erie Canal, a shorter route to eastern markets.

TPO20 托福阅读 Passage1 Westward migration 题目

Question 1 of 14: What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about western farmers prior to 1815?

A. They had limited their crop production to wheat, corn, tobacco, and cotton.

B. They were able to sell their produce at high prices.

C. They had not been successful in raising cattle.

D. They did not operate in a national market economy.

Question 2 of 14: What is the purpose of the statement, “whereas in 1810 only a seventy of the American people lived west of Appalachian Mountains, by 1840 more than a third lived there”?

A. To illustrate that generally population shifts occur rapidly

B. To correct a mistaken impression of American agriculture from 1810 to 1840

C. To emphasize the range and speed with which the westward migration occurred

D. To demonstrate how attractive the Appalachian Mountains were to Americans

Question 3 of 14: The word ‘fringes’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. Borders

B. Groups

C. Types

D. Directions

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph 2, all of the following are reasons why Americans migrated westward EXCEPT

A. The desire to move from one pace to the next

B. The hope of improving their socioeconomic status

C. The opportunity to change jobs

D. The need to escape religious or political crises

Question 5 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. Because the West had more rivers and forests than the East, its soil was more productive.

B. The fertile soils of the West drew farmers from regions with barren soils.

C. Farmers living in western areas of the United States were more affected by soil erosion that farmers living in eastern areas.

D. The soil in western areas of the United States was richer than soil in eastern areas.

Question 6 of 14: According to paragraph 3, what was the significance of the land law passed in 1820?

A. It granted government-supported loans to farmers.

B. It provided farmland at an affordable price.

C. It required banks to offer loans to farmers.

D. It enabled farmers to sell their land for a profit.

Question 7 of 14: The word “proliferation” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. Growth

B. Cooperation

C. Importance

D. Success

Question 8 of 14: Paragraph4 suggests that turnpikes affected farmers by

A. Making the price of grain uniform for both eastern and western farmers

B. Making western farm products more profitable than eastern farm products.

C. Allowing farmers to drive their livestock across mountain trails

D. Allowing a greater number of farmers to sell their farm products in a commercial market

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

A. Replaced

B. Reformed

C. Equaled

D. Increased

Question10 of 14: The word “diverted” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. Collected

B. Shifted

C. Transported

D. Sold

Question11 of 14: Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5 about flatboats and keelboats?

A. They ceased to b used as soon as the first turnpikes were built.

B. They were slower and more expensive to operate than steamboats.

C. They were used for long distance but not for regional transportation.

D. They were used primarily on the Erie Canal.

Question 12 of 14: Paragraph 5 mentions that the Erie Canal led to a reduction in all of the following EXCEPT

A. The length of the route that goods from the West traveled across to reach eastern markets

B. The cost of transporting freight

C. The price of produce from western states

D. The amount of produce from western states that was shipped on rivers

Question13 of 14: In fact, goods could be shipped more cheaply across the much greater distance of the Atlantic Ocean than they could from western New York to coastal cities.

Where would the sentence best fit?

Click on a square( ■ )to insert the sentence in the passage.

A. Prior to 1815, western farmers who did not live on navigable waterways were connected to them only by dirt roads and mountain trails.

B. Livestock could be driven across the mountains, but the cost of transporting bulky grains in this fashion was several times greater than their value in eastern markets.

C. The first step toward an improvement of western transportation was the construction of turnpikes.

D. These roads made possible a reduction in transportation costs and thus agriculture along their routes.

Question14 of 14: The westward movement of population across the United States led to expanded agricultural production.

Answer Choices

A. The desire to improve their livelihood often inspired people to move west.

B. Among the people who moved to the western United States were a number of artisans.

C. The fertility of western farmland as well as favorable government policies supported agricultural gains.

D. Steamboats were originally used to transport passengers rather than freight.

E. Commercial farming in the West was greatly enhanced by improvements in land and water transportation.

F. The transportation revolution resulted in regional economies that operated independently of a national market economy.

TPO20托福阅读Passage1 Westward migration真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以1815做关键词定位至第二句，提到1815年之后，交通的改善使得更多农民不再自给自足，进入全国范围内的市场经济，也就是说1815年之前是自给自足不参与国家化的市场经济的，所以答案是D。其他选项都无关。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：先读例子所在句子，提到向西的移民潮在30年代达到顶峰，接着给出具体数字来解释，所以是为了说明移民的数量和范围很广，所以答案是C。A只提到速度，不全面；B没有mistaken impression；D提到阿巴拉契亚有吸引力不合文意。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：fringe“边缘，边缘的”，所以正确答案是border，原句提到社会使那些人一直向西迁移，跨过了定居的什么，所以这里很显然边缘，边界这个意思是符合的，所以A是答案，其他都不合文意。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以reason做关键词定位至第二句之后的内容，即问题后的解释。之后文章说到美国人的欧洲祖先长期固定居住在一个地方，知道有经济危机迫使他们不得不穿过大西洋，所以这里说的由于经济危机而迁移的应该是The European ancestors of some Americans，而不是美国人，这里D选项正好是答非所问了，答案是D。后面提到了美国人换工作容易，对应选项C；以及认为自己有义务去提高社会、经济地位，对应B选项；以及最后说的美国人的特点，rootless刚好对应了A选项。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：这句话一开头就说西部有很大的吸引力，然后举例说这些优良的地质特点对新格兰的农民以及东南部的农民造成了很大的吸引，然后描述了这两个地方都有一个特点，就是土地是被侵蚀过的，所以结合选项，B答案正确。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以1820做关键词定位至第二句，提到1820年通过的新法案使农民可以用100USD买土地，后面又提到银行业的兴盛使得那些没钱的人能得到纸币贷款，所以是农民买得起土地，正确答案是B。A的government-support，C的require和D的sell都未提及。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：proliferation“扩张，扩散，增殖”，所以答案是growth。银行的什么使得没钱的人得到贷款，importance完全不合文意；银行成功了或者跟银行合作人们都不一定能拿到贷款，success和cooperation都不正确。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以turnpike做关键词定位至后面两句，提到改善运输状况的第一步是建公路，使得交通的费用变低，并且刺激了农业的商业化，所以答案是D“鼓励人们卖东西”。A“东西价格相等”，B中的对比和C mountain trail完全未提及。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：supersede“代替”，所以replace是答案。原句提到尽管到50年代两种船船还很重要，但蒸汽船最终怎么样了这两种船，increase不合文意；reform是“革新”，是在原来的基础上变革，所以也不合文意。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：divert“转移，娱乐，使分心”，所以shift正确。原句提到西部各州将他们的农产品怎么样到Erie Canal上。前句说Erie canal建成运营之后，运输成本降至原来的1/20，按照常理，人们愿意用便宜的，所以应该是转到Erie canal，A和D完全不合文意，C没体现“转”这个概念。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以两种船做关键词定位至第二句，提到最终蒸汽船代替了原有的两种船，往下看，提到蒸汽船不仅快而且便宜，也就是说前面的两种慢而且不便宜，所以答案是B，A与原文相反，C和D原文没有相应的信息能够推导出来。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：采用排除法。A的length of the route做关键词定位至最后一句，从a shorter route可以看出A描述是正确的，不选；同时看到部分运输被分到Erie canal上，所以河上运的东西就少了，所以D的shipped on river有下降，D也正确，不选；B的cost和freight做关键词定位至倒数第二句，提到从20下降到1，所以也下降了，不选；C的price原文无对应，所以C错误，可选，不要自己想运输成本下降了价格就一定会下降。答案是C。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：三个过渡点，名词goods，副词cheaply和in fact。根据goods与第一句的surpluses以及后面的livestock可能同义重现判断A、B或C可能正确；cheaply和in fact结合判断前句必须与价格有关， in fact与B前面的句子不符合，所以C选项是正确答案。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：ACE

解析：A选项对应的是原文第二段的内容，因为想要改善生活状况导致他们向西迁移，正确；B选项说迁到美国西部的人中有一部分是技工，只是文章第二段的一个小细节，不能算是主要的内容，所以不选；C选项说西部的土地状况和政府的政策使得农业获得收益，对应原文第三段，正确；选项D与原文与第五段细节相反，不选；E选项对应原文第五段，水陆运输的改善大大支持了农业商业化，正确；F选项说交通的改革导致了在国家市场中独立运行的区域经济，而原文中并没有体现区域经济，说的是东部和西部的整体的经济联系。所以答案选ACE。

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