1995年10月托福阅读全真试题

　　36.The river Meriwether Lewis was instructed to explore was the

　　（A） Wood

　　（B） Missouri

　　（C） Columbia

　　（D） Mississippi

　　37.According to the passage， the explorers spent their first winter in what would become

　　（A） North Dakota

　　（B） Missouri

　　（C） Montana

　　（D） Idaho

　　38.The author states that Lewis and Clark studied all of the following characteristics of the explored territories EXCEPT

　　（A） mineral deposits

　　（B） the weather

　　（C） animal life

　　（D） native vegetation

　　39.The phrase "Picking up" in line 23 could best be replaced by which of the following？

　　（A） Searching for

　　（B） Following

　　（C） Learning about

　　（D） Lifting

　　40.It can be inferred from the passage that prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition the size of the continent had been

　　（A） of little interest

　　（B） underestimated

　　（C） known to native inhabitants of the West

　　（D） unpublished but known to most scientists

　　41.Wherer in the passage does the author refer to the explorers' failure to find an easy passageway to the western part of the continent？

　　（A） Lines1-3

　　（B） Lines7-8

　　（C） Lines16-18

　　（D） Lines21-24

　　Questions 42-50

　　For a century and a half the piano has been one of the most popular solo instruments for Western music. Unlike string and wind instrument， the piano is completely self- sufficient， as it is able to play both the melody and its accompanying harmony at the same time. For this reason， it became the favorite household instrument of the nineteenth century.

　　The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early key board instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries - the spinet， the dulcimer， and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ， the clavichord， and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group， a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful； nevertheless， because of the variety of tone possible to it， many composers found the clavichord a sympa -thetic instrument for intimate chamber music. The harpsichord with its bright， vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.

　　The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy （though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument）。 This instrument was called a piano eforte（soft and loud）， to indicate its dynamic versatility； its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century， including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it， the perfection of a metal frame and steel wire of the finest quality，finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound， from a liquid， singing tone to a sharp， percussive brilliance.

　　42. What does the passage mainly discuss？

　　（A） The historical development of the piano

　　（B） The quality of tone produced by various keyboard instruments

　　（C） The uses of keyboard instruments in various types of compositions

　　（D） The popularity of the piano with composers