1995年8月托福考试阅读理解全真试题（上）

　　5. The word "extracting" in line 18 is closest in meaning to

　　（A） breaking

　　（B） locating

　　（C） removing

　　（D） analyzing

　　6. The Deep Sea Drilling Project was significant because it was

　　（A） an attempt to find new sources of oil and gas

　　（B） the first extensive exploration of the ocean bottom

　　（C） composed of geologists from all over the world

　　（D） funded entirely by the gas and oil industry

　　7. The word "strength" in line 21 is closest in meaning to

　　（A） basis

　　（B） purpose

　　（C） discovery

　　（D） endurance

　　8. The word "they" in line 36 refers to

　　（A） years

　　（B） climates

　　（C） sediments

　　（D） cores

　　9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being a result of the Deep Sea Drilling Project？

　　（A） Geologists were able to determine the Earth s appearance hundreds of millions of years ago.

　　（B） Two geological theories became more widely accepted by scientists.

　　（C） Information was revealed about the Earth s past climatic changes.

　　（D） Geologists observed forms of marine life never before seen.

　　Questions 10-21

　　Basic to any understanding of Canada in 20 years after the Second World War is the country s impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945， there were over five in 1996. In September 1966 Canada s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930 s and the war had held back marriages and the catching - up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950 s， producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada s history， in the decade before 1911， when the prairies were being settled. Undoubtedly， the good economic conditions of the 1950 s supported a growth in the population， but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per thousand， one of the highest in the world.

　　After the peak year of 1957， the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war， but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer， more women were working，young married couples were buying automobiles or houses before starting families， rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the Industrial Revolution.