2012托福词汇精选
查字典出国留学网小编为您整理的2012年托福考试词汇精选单词题。
01. The Earth comprises three principal layers: the dense, iron-rich core, the mantle made of silicate rocks that are semimolten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust.
The word "comprises" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) adapts to
(B) benefits from
(C) consists of
(D) focuses on
02. These plates move over the semimolten lower mantle to produce all of the major topographical features of the Earth. Active zones where intense deformation occurs are confined to the narrow, interconnecting boundaries of contact of the plates.
The word "intense" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) surface
(B) sudden
(C) rare
(D) extreme
03. New oceanic crust is formed along one or more margins of each plate by material issuing from deeper layers of the Earth's crust, for example, by volcanic eruptions of lava at midocean ridges.
The word "margins" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) edges
(B) peaks
(C) interiors
(D) distances
04. If at such a spreading contact the two plates support continents, a rift is formed that will gradually widen and become flooded by the sea. The Atlantic Ocean formed like this as the American and Afro-European plates move in opposite directions.
The word "support" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) separate
(B) create
(C) reduce
(D) hold
05. Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciationof the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human well-being.
The word "appreciation" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) ignorance
(B) recognition
(C) tolerance
(D) forgiveness
06. An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the planet's dominant, most- distinctive feature-the ocean. Humans have a bias toward land that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues.
The word "bias" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) concern
(B) disadvantage
(C) attitude
(D) prejudice
07. The prevailing winds in the Great Basin are from the west. Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upward as it crosses the Sierra Nevada.
The word "prevailing" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) most frequent
(B) occasional
(C) gentle
(D) most dangerous
08. There seem to have been several periods within the last tens of thousands of years when water accumulated in these basins. The rise and fall of the lakes were undoubtedly linked to the advances and retreats of the great ice sheets that covered much of the northern part of the North American continent during those times.
The word "accumulated" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) dried
(B) flooded
(C) collected
(D) evaporated
09. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets?
The phrase "bizarre" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) odd
(B) marine
(C) simple
(D) rare
10. Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into the water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.
The phrase "casts off" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) grows again
(B) grabs
(C) gets rid of
(D) uses as a weapon
11. A folk culture is small, isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race, with a strong family or clan structure and highly developed rituals.
The word "homogeneous" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) uniform
(B) general
(C) primitive
(D) traditional
12. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in Anglo-America is the Amish, a German American farming sect that largely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age.
The phrase "largely renounces" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) generally rejects
(B) greatly modifies
(C) loudly declares
(D) often criticizes
13. Secular institutions, of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a money- based economy prevails. Because of these contrasts, "popular" may be viewed as clearly different from "folk".
The word "prevails" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) dominates
(B) provides
(C) develops
(D) invests
14. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms.
The word "subtle" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) complex
(B) regular
(C) imagined
(D) slight
15. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information.
The word "compile" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) put together
(B) look up
(C) pile high
(D) work over
16. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly.
The word "raw" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) stormy
(B) inaccurate
(C) uncooked
(D) unprocessed
17. People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos.
The word "Prospect" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) regret
(B) possibility
(C) theory
(D) circumstance
18. Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the population roughly doubled every generation during the rest of the nineteenth centuries. As the population grew, its makeup also changed.
The word "roughly" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) harshly
(B) surprisingly
(C) slowly
(D) approximately
19. Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility in the nineteenth century had special implications for women because these changes tended to magnify social distinctions. As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home.
The word "magnify" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) solve
(B) explain
(C) analyze
(D) increase
The word "distinctions" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) differences
(B) classes
(C) accomplishments
(D) characteristics
20. In science, a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be produced.
The word "related" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) connected
(B) described
(C) completed
(D) identified