2004年1月份托福阅读真题及其答案

Question 1-10
          After 1785, the production of childrens books in the Untied States increased but
     remained largely reprints of British books, often those published by John Newbery, the
     first publisher to produce books aimed primarily at diverting a child audience. Ultimate]y,
     Line  however, it was not the cheerful, commercial-minded Newhery, but Anglo-Irish author
     5 Maria Edgeworth who had the strongest influence on this period of American childrens
       literature. The eighteenth century had seen a gradual shift away from the spiritual intensity
       of earlier American religious writings for children, toward a more generalized moralism.
       Newbery notwithstanding, Americans still looked on childrens books as vehicles for
       instruction, not amusement, though they would accept a moderate amount of fictional
     10  entertainment for the sake of more successful instruction. As the childrens book market
       expanded, then, what both public and publishers wanted was the kind of fiction Maria
       Edgeworth wrote: stories interesting enough to attract children and morally instructive
       enough to allay adult distrust of fiction,
            American reaction against imported books for children set in after the War of 1812
     15  with the British. A wave of nationalism permeated everything,and the self-conscious new
       nation found foreign writings (particularly those from the British monarchy) unsuitable for
       the children of a democratic republic, a slate of self-governing, equal citizens. Publishers
       of childrens books began to encourage American writers to write for American children.
       When they responded, the pattern established by Maria Edgeworth was at hand, attractive
     20  to most of them for both its rationalism and its high moral tone. Early in the 1820s,
       stories of willful children learning to obey, of careless children learning to take care,
       of selfish children learning to "tire for others," started to flow from American presses,
       successfully achieving Edgeworths tone, though rarely her lively style. Imitative as
       they were, these early American stories wee quite distinguishable from their British
     25  counterparts. Few servants appeared in them, and if class distinctions had by no means
       disappeared, there was much democratic insistence on the worthiness of every level of
       birth and work. The characters of children in this fiction were serious, conscientious.
       self-reflective, and independent-testimony to the continuing influence of the earlier
       American moralistic tradition in childrens books.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

 A) The career of Maria Edgeworth as an author of childrens books   

 B) The development of childrens literature in the United States   

 C) Successful publishers of and North America   

 D) Basic differences between British and American literature for children   

 
2. The publisher John Newbery is principally known for which of the following reasons?
     

 A) He produced and sold books written by Maria Edgeworth.   

 B) He had more influence on American childrens literature than any other publisher   

 C) He published books aimed amusing children rather than instructing them.   

 D) He was commercially minded and cheerful.   

 
3. The word "notwithstanding" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
 

 A) in spite of    

 B) in addition to    

 C) as a result of    

 D) as a part of   

 
4. The word "they" in line 9 refers to 

 A) children    

 B) Americans    

 C) books    

 D) vehicles   

 
5. The word "allay" in line 13 is closest in meaning to 

 A) clarify    

 B) attack    

 C) reduce    

 D) confirm   

 
6. It can be inferred from the passage that American children's books sold before 1785 were almost always 

 A) written by Maria Edgeworth    

 B) attractive and interesting to children    

 C) written by American authors    

 D) intended only for religious and moral instruction   

 
8. The word "permeated" in line 15
 

 A) opposed    

 B) improved    

 C) competed with    

 D) spread through   

 
9. According to the passage, American children's stories differed from their British equivalents in that the characters in American stories were 

 A) children who showed a change of behavior    

 B) children who were well behaved    

 C) rarely servants    

 D) generally not from a variety of social classes   

 
10. The word" testimony to" in line 28 is closest in meaning to 

 A) inspiration for    

 B) evidence of    

 C) requirement for    

 D) development of