12月英语六级听力特训习题八

Questions 9 to 12 are based on the passage youhave just heard.

9

A.They had to work for landowners.

B.They led a self-sufficient life.

C.They had to trade for necessities.

D.They could use machines to work on land.

10

A.Farmers were more and more adept at planting crops.

B.Advanced machinery was vastly put into agricultural use.

C.Crop production decreased sharply due to economic depression.

D.Farmers went into college to study modem agricultural skills.

11

A.Weather plays the decisive part.

B.Banks and railroads dominate their life.

C.Government grants their crisis-free life.

D.Genetically modified crops are developed.

12

A.Railroads linked farmers to overseas markets.

B.Farmers now have to be concerned the way businessmen do.

C.Specialized crops brought farmers good and comfortable life.

D.President Thomas Jefferson ended farmers' free and simple life.

英语六级听力原文:

Passage One

One of the most popular myths about the UnitedStates (9) in the nineteenth century was that of thefree and simple life of the farmer. It was said thatfarmers worked hard on their own land to producewhatever their families needed. They mightsometimes trade with neighbors; but in general they could get along just fine by relying onthemselves, not on commercial ties with others.

This is how Thomas Jefferson idealized the farmer at the beginning of the nineteenth century,and, at that time, this may have been close to the truth—especially on the frontier.

(10) But by mid-century, sweeping changes in agriculture were well under way—as farmersbegan to specialize in the raising of crops such as cotton or corn or wheat. By late in thecentury, revolutionary advances in farm machinery had vastly increased production ofspecialized crops. And the extensive network of railroads had linked farmers throughout thecountry to markets in the East and even overseas. By raising and selling specialized crops,farmers could afford more and finer goods and achieve a much higher standard of living——but at a price.

(11) Now, farmers were no longer dependent just on the weather and their own efforts. Theirlives were increasingly controlled by banks, which had power to grant or deny loans for newmachinery, and by the railroads, which set the rates for shipping their crops to market. Asbusinessmen, farmers now had to worry about national economic depressions and the influenceof world supply and demand on, for example, the price of wheat in Kansas. (12) And so, bythe end of the nineteenth century, the era of Jefferson's independent farmer had come to aclose.

9.What's the main feature of American farmers' life in the 19th century?

10.What changes had taken place in the 19th century?

11.What is the American farmers' life like in the modern time?

12.Which of the following statements is incorrect?

参考答案:

【小题9】B

【小题10】B

【小题11】B

【小题12】D

习题解析:

【小题9】短文开篇提到 19 世纪的美国最流行的故事之一就是关于农民自由简单生活的故事,然后解释道农民在他们自己的土地上辛勤工作,生产他们家庭所需的产品,他们有时可能会与邻居进行交易,但通常都能靠自己过活,不用与他人交易,所以 19 世纪美国农民的主要特征就是过着自给自足的生活,故选 B。

【小题10】短文中提到,19 世纪中期农业发生了彻底的变化,因为农民在种植农作物方面开始变得专业化,到了 19 世纪晚期,农业机械的革命性进步则大大提高了专一农作物的产量,故选 B。

【小题11】短文中提到,现在美国农民不再依赖于天气和自身劳作,他们的生活越来越受到银行和铁路的制约,因为银行有权利批准或拒绝贷款给农民去购买机器,而铁路规定了运输作物的费用,故选 B。