2014.9.7小托福閱讀2篇(含翻譯)

1、A In the sixteenth century, an age of great marine (海運(yùn)業(yè)) and terrestrial(陸地的) exploration, Ferdinand Magellan(斐迪南麥哲倫（西班牙航海家）) led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble(貴族), he served the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire(無(wú)法脫身的困境) of politic

2、al intrigue(陰謀) at court(當(dāng)庭) and lost the kings favor. After he was dismissed from service to the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain.A papal decree(宗教的判決) of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude（經(jīng)度） to Spain and all the l

3、and east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority（權(quán)力）. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water route

4、（航線） across the continent. This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula（半島） of South America. Finally they found the passage they sought near a latitude（緯度） of 50 degrees S. Magellan named this passage（通路） the Strait of All Saints, but today we know it as the St

5、rait of Magellan.One ship deserted（遺棄） while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze at that first panorama（全景） of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian（子午線） we now call the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after ninety-

6、eight days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellans men died of starvation and disease.Later Magellan became involved in an insular conflict （海民的沖突）in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal（種族的） battle. Only one ship and seventeen sailors under the command of the Ba

7、sque（巴斯克人（居住在西班牙北部和法國(guó)南部） navigator（航海家） Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice（懸崖） at the edge.1.The sixteenth century was an age of great _exploration.(A) cosmic(宇宙的) (B) land (C) mental (D) common man （平民

8、） (E) none of the above2. Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political _.(A) entanglement（糾纏） (B) discussion (C) negotiation (D) problems (E) none of the above3. The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one s

9、ideorthe other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _ direction.(A) north and south (B) crosswise (橫向)(C) easterly (D) south east (E) north and west4. One of Magellans ships explored the _ of South America for a passage across the continent.(A) coastline （

10、海岸線）(B) mountain range （山脈）(C) physical features （實(shí)際尺寸）(D) islands (E) none of the above5. Four of the ships sought（尋找（seek的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞）a passage along a southern _.(A) coast (B) inland (C) body of land with water on three sides (D) border （邊界）(E) answer not available6. The passage was found near 50 de

11、grees of _.(A) Greenwich (B) The equator (C) Spain (D) Portugal (E) MadridBThe longer food is kept, the more likely it is to attract insects. Even foods stored in containers（容器） often attract bugs. To solve this problem, scientists have been working with different odors（氣味） in an attempt（試圖） to find

12、 one strong enough to keep insects from going near food. One possibility would be to use plants with strong smells, like garlic or pine（松木）, to keep insects away. Unfortunately, however, using these smells might keep some people away too! A more promising repellent（有前景的防護(hù)劑） is citronella oil(香茅油), w

13、hich comes from a type of lemongrass. An experiment was done using this oil with a certain（某類） insect, the red flour beetle（米蟲(chóng)）. Scientists sprayed（噴灑在） cardboard（紙箱） boxes with citronella oil and noticed that the beetles did not enter those boxes. They were much more interested in boxes that were n

14、ot sprayed. One problem with using citronella oil as a repellent（防護(hù)劑）, however, is that it is quite ephemeral（短暫的） it simply does not last very long. After a few months it loses its smell, and bugs no longer find it unpleasant. Scientists hope to improve citronella oil so that its scent（氣味） remains

15、strong for a longer time. It will also be necessary to make sure that the oil is not harmful to people, as scientists are still not sure whether it is safe to use around food. 7. What is the passage mainly about? (A) Oils used in cooking (B) Ways of protecting food (C) The behavior of a kind of beet

16、le (D) Smells produced by different grasses 8. The word one refers to . (A) an odor (B) an insect(C) a scientist (D) a container 9. What does the author imply about the odors of garlic and pine? (A) They last for a long time. (B) They are not always very strong. (C) They can be unpleasant to people.

17、 (D) They attract certain species of beetles. 10. What are repellents? (A) A food source for beetles (B) Machines used to get oil from plants (C) Substances used to keep insects away (D) Chemicals used to speed up plant growth 11. Which substance is NOT mentioned as being unpleasant to insects? (A)

18、Pine (B) Flour (C) Garlic (D) Citronella oil 12. What does the author say about the sprayed boxes? (A) Beetles avoided them. (B) They were very heavy. (C) They did not contain much food. (D) Many insects were trapped in them. 13.The word ephemeral is closest in meaning to . (A) weightless (B) short-lived (C) overpriced (D) not distinguishable 14. What are scientists hoping to do in the future? (A) Breed larger beetles (B) Produce better-tasting foods (C) Grow lemongrass in gre