2015年12月12日
托福阅读词汇题汇总：
master=skillfully
at solving problem
hierarchy=ranking
rudimentary=simple
to a degree=to some extent
initiate=introduce
exceptional=extraordinary
install=put in place
valid=well founded
lost favor=does not preferred
master
duration=length
12月12日托福阅读第一篇
题材划分： 生命科学
主要内容：讲learning standard test set，就是如何测试不同种类动物的intelligence。
不同物种的智商不一样。人们很想知道动物的智商和人类有什么不同，遇事通过动物学习能力来检测。
前三段都是讲的这个test是怎么操作的。最先举的例子好像是猴子和什么，做的对比实验。第一次让它从三角形和长方形里选，选三角形就给奖励，选正方形就不给;第二次从圆形和多边形里选，依旧是选圆形给奖励，选择多边形不给。后面不断变化通过大量实验来看这种动物的improvements，就比如这种动物在进行第几十次测试时正确率增加了多少。一种猴子经过了三十次测试正确率就达到百分之九十了，然后这个测试的结果表明智商高的动物大脑也大。于是大家都觉得可以参考。
后面三段都在反驳这个方法不可取。又举了一个澳大利亚的mouse like的动物的例子，同样做类似上面的实验，第一次区分ab第二次区分黑白。这种动物大脑很小但是测试结果很高，是因为他们生活在wide open areas，很容易被捕食者发现，他们要避免天地还要抓很敏捷的昆虫做实物，所以这方面能力很强。然后这里有个句子简化题，大意是说动物的process different，不能说明学习能力，也不能用之前的实验来测试。然后还说了海豚虽然做这个实验成绩很低，但是如果把visual的图形换成auditory的声音就会很好，所欲这个实验不可取是因为首先实验produce中很小的difference都会造成result的很大不同，而且这些difference都是不可避免的。其次，对某些动物不适用。
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相关背景知识：
Although humans have been the primary focus of intelligence researchers, scientists have also attempted to investigate animal intelligence, or more broadly, animal cognition. These researchers are interested in studying both mental ability in a particular species, and comparing abilities between species. They study various measures of problem solving, as well as numerical and verbal reasoning abilities. Some challenges in this area are defining intelligence so that it has the same meaning across species (e.g. comparing intelligence between literate humans and illiterate animals), and also operationalizing a measure that accurately compares mental ability across different species and contexts.
Wolfgang Khler's research on the intelligence of apes is an example of research in this area. Stanley Coren's book, The Intelligence of Dogs is a notable book on the topic of dog intelligence.[18] (See also: Dog intelligence.) Non-human animals particularly noted and studied for their intelligence include chimpanzees, bonobos (notably the language-using Kanzi) and other great apes, dolphins, elephants and to some extent parrots, rats and ravens.
Cephalopod intelligence also provides important comparative study. Cephalopods appear to exhibit characteristics of significant intelligence, yet their nervous systems differ radically from those of backboned animals. Vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles and fish have shown a fairly high degree of intellect that varies according to each species. The same is true with arthropods.
第二篇
题材划分： 国家发展史
主要内容： 中世纪欧洲政府的变革。
宗教变得影响力越来越小，政府的管辖范围越来越大。法国葡萄牙等一些国家创造了nation这个定义。国家边界变得更清晰了。荷兰和英国建立了parliament，具有立法权。说贵族地位下降，官僚体系上升，但不是取代。这里有几个原因引起官僚体系上升，考了细节题。然后另一段又说了欧洲不同地方官僚体系的发展和所处时期，法国先，别的欧洲国家follow，while亚洲什么的还没有苗头，还举了法国路易十六和法语的例子，说了一个句子解释。也对比了同时期的欧洲东部和亚洲包含多个民族，不那么容易统一文化。然后又一段说这些国家的军事力量是官僚体系的基石，军队有些特点，比如统一制服，医院等。
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相关知识背景：
The High Middle Ages was the formative period in the history of the modern Western state. Kings in France, England, and Spain consolidated their power, and set up lasting governing institutions. New kingdoms such as Hungary and Poland, after their conversion to Christianity, became Central European powers. The Magyars settled Hungary around 900 under King Arpád (d. c. 907) after a series of invasions in the 9th century. The papacy, long attached to an ideology of independence from secular kings, first asserted its claim to temporal authority over the entire Christian world; the Papal Monarchy reached its apogee in the early 13th century under the pontificate of Innocent III (pope 1198–1216). Northern Crusades and the advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previously pagan regions in the Baltic and Finnic north-east brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples into European culture.
第三篇
题材划分：动物类
主要内容：鸟类应对食物短缺。
第一段讲了鸟类为什么会食物短缺。比如在冬天鸟的食物例如小虫会钻进泥土深处，他们够不到。还有一个原因是一些食物的营养不够。所以鸟类会改变它们的食物从一种到另一种，但是在改变的这个阶段它们会很脆弱。它们会通过储存食物来度过脆弱的时期。
第二段说小鸟体内脂肪很少，而且要不停地为活动提供能量消耗更多能量。如果不吃食物，难以支撑超过一两天(插入题)。大鸟体脂多，消耗相对慢，能撑一周以上。
然后第三段说还可以体外储存食物。肉食鸟寸一周，吃素的能存很多坚果以备生孩子过冬。但是挺不过一年。说这些鸟记性好，果子藏在不同地方都记得，分散储存也是为了防止被偷。做了一个实验(出题)证明了它们令人惊讶地记忆储藏地方的能力。但是储藏并不能使所有鸟类都度过艰难时期。
最后一段说冬眠，鸟类通过长时间的睡眠降低热量的输出，降低心跳提问到inactive的程度。有些小鸟每晚都这样，有些是能这样挺过好几天，它们这种情况和某种mammal的冬眠很像。
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相关知识背景：
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in endotherms. Hibernation refers to a season of heterothermy that is characterized by low body temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, and low metabolic rate. Although traditionally reserved for "deep" hibernators such as rodents, the term has been redefined to include animals such as bears and is now applied based on active metabolic suppression rather than based on absolute body temperature decline. Many experts believe that the processes of daily torpor and hibernation form a continuum and utilize similar mechanisms. Hibernation during the summer months is known as aestivation. Some reptile species (ectotherms) are said to brumate, or undergo brumation, but any possible similarities between brumation and hibernation are not firmly established. Some insects, such as the wasp Polistes exclamans hibernate by aggregating together in groups in protected places called hibernacula.
Often associated with low temperatures, the function of hibernation is to conserve energy during a period when sufficient food is unavailable. To achieve this energy saving, an endotherm will first decrease its metabolic rate, which then results in a decreased body temperature. Hibernation may last several days, weeks, or months depending on the species, ambient temperature, time of year, and individual's body condition.
第四篇
题材划分： 地质类
主要内容： 一种矿石的化学组成可以推测那个时候的地球这种矿石的特性，让它们得以承受地球的恶劣条件而保存下来。根据氦原子同位素的数量，氧原子的数量可以推断当时的温度很压强。但是钻石的出现否定了这种说法。因为钻石需要高压，而那时候并不存在这种条件。
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相关知识背景：
Pressure resistance：
Used in so-called diamond anvil experiments to create high-pressure environments, diamonds are able to withstand crushing pressures in excess of 600 gigapascals (6 million atmospheres).
Surface property：
Diamonds are naturally lipophilic and hydrophobic, which means the diamonds' surface cannot be wet by water but can be easily wet and stuck by oil. This property can be utilized to extract diamonds using oil when making synthetic diamonds. However, when diamond surfaces are chemically modified with certain ions, they are expected to become so hydrophilic that they can stabilize multiple layers of water ice at human body temperature.[34]
Chemical stability：
Diamonds are not very reactive. Under room temperature diamonds do not react with any chemical reagents including strong acids and bases. A diamond's surface can only be oxidized at temperatures above about 850 °C (1,560 °F) in air.
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