托福阅读历年真题精选23

会计考友 发表于 2012-8-14 22:34:35

Newspaper publishers in the United States have long been enthusiastic users
and distributors of weather maps. Although some newspapers that had carried the
United States Weather Bureau's national weather map in 1912 dropped it once the
novelty had passed, many continued to print the daily weather chart provided by
(5) their local forecasting office. In the 1930's, when interest in aviation and progress in
air-mass analysis made weather patterns more newsworthy, additional newspapers
started or resumed the daily weather map. In 1935, The Associated Press (AP) news
service inaugurated its WirePhoto network and offered subscribing newspapers
morning and afternoon weather maps redrafted by the AP's Washington, B.C., office
(10)from charts provided by the government agency. Another news service, United Press International (UPI), developed a competing photowire network and also provided
timely weather maps for both morning and afternoon newspapers. After the United
States government launched a series of weather satellites in 1966, both the AP and
UPI offered cloud-cover photos obtained from the Weather Bureau.
(15) In the late 1970's and early 1980's, the weather map became an essential
ingredient in the redesign of the American newspaper. News publishers, threatened
by increased competition from television for readers' attention, sought to package
the news more conveniently and attractively. In 1982, many publishers felt
threatened by the new USA Today, a national daily newspaper that used a page-wide,
(20)full-color weather map as its key design element. That the weather map in USA
21 Today did not include information about weather fronts and pressures attests to the
largely symbolic role it played. Nonetheless, competing local and metropolitan
newspapers responded in a variety of ways. Most substituted full-color temperature
maps for the standard weather maps, while others dropped the comparatively drab
(25)satellite photos or added regional forecast maps with pictorial symbols to indicate
rainy, snowy, cloudy, or clear conditions. A few newspapers, notably The New York
Times, adopted a highly informative yet less visually prominent weather map that
was specially designed to explain an important recent or imminent weather event.
Ironically, a newspaper's richest, most instructive weather maps often are
(30)comparatively small and inconspicuous.

会计考友 发表于 2012-8-14 22:34:36

托福阅读历年真题精选23

10.What does the passage mainly discuss? </p>(A) The differences between government and newspaper weather forecasting in the United States.
(B) The history of publishing weather maps in United States newspapers
(C) A comparison of regional and national weather reporting in the United States.
(D) Information that forms the basis for weather forecasting in the United States

11. The word "resumed" in line 7 is closest in meaning to
(A) began again
(B) held back
(C) thought over
(D) referred to

12.According to the passage, one important reason why newspapers printed daily weather maps during the first half of the twentieth century was
(A) the progress in printing technology
(B) a growing interest in air transportation
(C) a change in atmospheric conditions
(D) the improvement of weather forecasting techniques

13.What regular service did The Associated Press and United Press International begin to offer subscribing newspapers in the 1930's?
(A) A new system of weather forecasting
(B) An air-mass analysis
(C) Twice daily weather maps
(D) Cloud-cover photographs
14.The phrase "attests to" in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) makes up for
(B) combines with
(C) interferes with
(D) gives evidence of
15.The word "others" in line 24 refers to
(A) newspapers
(B) ways
(C) temperature maps
(D) weather maps
16.The word "drab" in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A) precise
(B) poor
(C) simple
(D) dull

会计考友 发表于 2012-8-14 22:34:37