1996年10月托福阅读全真试题
New waterways were needed. Sectional jealousies and constitutional scruples stood in the way of action by the federal government and necessary expenditures were too great for private enterprise. If extensive canals were to be dug， the job would be up to the various states.
New York was the first to act. It had the natural advantage of a comparatively level route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie， through the only break in the entire Appalachian Mountain chain. Yet the engineering tasks were imposing. The distance was more than 350 miles and there were ridges to cross and a wilderness of woods and swamps to penetrate. The Erie Canal begun in 1817 and completed in 1825， was by far the greatest construction job that Americans had ever undertaken. It quickly proved a financial success as well. The prosperity of the Erie encouraged the state to enlarge its canal system by building several branches. The range of the New York canal system was still further extended when the states of Ohio and Indiana， inspired by the success of the Erie Canal， provided water connections between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
9. What does the passage suggest was the principal route for transporting crops to the east prior in 1825？
（A） River to road
（B） Canal to river
（C） River to ocean
（D） Road to canal.
10.It can be inferred from the passage that shipping cargo east by way of New Orleans was
（A） Advantageous for manu factures
（B） Inexpensive for merchants
（C） Not economical for farmers
（D） Considered economical by the government
11.The word "alternative" in line 13 is closest in meaning to
（A） option
（B） transition
（C） intention
（D） authorization
12.The word "them" in line 9 refers to
（A） crops
（B） farmers
（C） prices
（D） merchants
13.Which of the following products would a northwestern farmer in the early nineteenth century be most likely to purchase from the east？
（A） Grain
（B） Vegetables
（C） Textiles
（D） Fruit.
14.According to the passage， where was the Erie Canal located？
（A） Between Ohio and Indiana.
（B） Along the Appalachian Mountains
（C） Between Lake Erie and the Ohio River
（D） Across New York State.
15.The word "imposing" in line 26 could best be replaced by
（A） impractical
（B） successful
（C） demanding
（D） misleading
16.The word "penetrate" in line 28 is closest in meaning to
（A） cut down
（B） go through
（C） fill up
（D） take over
17.The word "its" in line 32 refers to
（A） prosperity
（B） Erie
（C） System
（D） State
18.The word "extended" in line 34 is closest in meaning to
（A） increased
（B） constructed
（C） deepened
（D） measured
19.According to the passage， Indiana and Ohio supported the development of the New York canal system by
（A） helping to build the Erie Canal.
（B） Building branches to connect it with the Ohio River
（C） Providing much of the water for the Erie Canal.
（D） Contributing financially to the construction costs
20.What does the paragraph following the passage probably discuss？
（A） Industry on Lake Erie
（B） Canals in Ohio and Indiana
（C） Sectional jealousies in Indiana and Ohio
（D） Travel on the Erie Canal.
Question 21-31
Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil War （1861-1865） a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned the next spring to see what had become of his cargo. Instead of the skeletons he had expected to find， he saw his oxen，living， fat， and healthy. How had they survived？
The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans lands trampled underfoot in their haste to cross the "Great American Desert" to reach lands that sometimes proved barren. In the eastern parts of the United States， the preferred grass for forage was a cultivated plant. It grew well with enough rain， then when cut and stored it would cure and become nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing lands of the West that familiar bluejoint grass was often killed by drought. To raise cattle out there seemed risky or even hopeless.