戴爾美語練功坊 托福閱讀解題技巧(03/30) - 英檢

戴爾美語練功坊 托福閱讀解題技巧(03/30)

Begging by Nestlings

Deer Populations of the Puget Sound
Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area
of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
The black-tailed deer, lowland, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern
Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian
white-tailed deer, in earlier times was common in the open prairie country;
it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the
lower Columbia River.

Nearly any kind of plant of the forest understory can be part of a
deer's diet. Where the forest inhibits the growth of grass and other meadow
plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and
almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding.
What keeps the black-tailed deer alive in the harsher seasons of plant
decay and dormancy? One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in
urge to migrate. (A)■ Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas
in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall. (B)■ Even with snow
on the ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind
bring down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder.

(C)■ The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the
entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country. (D)■ The early explorers
and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the
same breath bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal. Famous
explorers of the north American frontier, Lewis and Clark had experienced
great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until the second
of December did they kill their first elk. To keep 40 people alive that
winter, they consumed approximately 150 elk and 20 deer. And when
game moved out of the lowlands in early spring, the expedition decided to
return east rather than face possible starvation. Later on in the early
years of the nineteenth century, when Fort Vancouver became
the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, deer populations
continued to fluctuate. David Douglas, Scottish botanical explorer of
the 1830s, found a disturbing change in the animal life around the fort
during the period between his first visit in 1825 and his final contact with
the fort in 1832. A recent Douglas biographer states:" The deer which
once picturesquely dotted the meadows around the fort were gone
[in 1832], hunted to extermination in order to protect the crops."

Reduction in numbers of game should have boded ill for their
survival in later times. A worsening of the plight of deer was to be
expected as settlers encroached on the land, logging, burning, and clearing,
eventually replacing a wilderness landscape with roads, cities, towns,
and factories. No doubt the numbers of deer declined still further.
Recall the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer, now in a protected
status. But for the black-tailed deer, human pressure has had just the
opposite effect. Wild life zoologist Hulmut Buechner(1953), in reviewing
the nature of biotic changes in Washington through recorded time,
says that "since the early 1940s, the state has had more deer than at any
other time in its history, the winter population fluctuating around
approximately 320,000 deer (mule and black-tailed deer), which will yield
about 65,000 of either sex and any age annually for an indefinite period."

The causes of this population rebound are consequences of other
human actions. First, the major predators of deer---wolves, cougar,
and lynx--have been greatly reduced in numbers. Second, conservation
has been insured by limiting times for and types of hunting. But the most
profound reason for the restoration of high population numbers has been
the gate of the forests. Great tracts of lowland country deforested by
logging, fire, or both have become ideal feeding grounds of deer.
In addition to finding an increase of suitable browse, like huckleberry
and vine maple, Arthur Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific
Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to be substantially
more nutritive. The protein content of shade-grown vegetation,
for example, was much lower than that for plants grown in clearings.









1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the
white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?
(A) It is native to lowlands and marshes.
(B) It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern
Washington than to other types of deer.
(C) It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie.
(D) It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied.


2. It can be inferred from the discussion in paragraph 2 that winter conditions
(A) cause some deer to hibernate
(B) make food unavailable in the highlands for deer
(C) make it easier for deer to locate understory plants
(D) prevent deer from migrating during the winter


3. The word "inhibits" in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) reverts
(B) comprises
(C) restricts
(D) withstands



4. The author tells the story of the explorers Lewis and Clark in paragraph
3 in order to illustrate which of the following points?
(A) The number of deer within the Puget Sound
region has varied over time.
(B) Most of the explorers who came to the Puget Sound area were
primarily interested than in the West.
(C) There was more game for hunting in the East of the United States
than in the West.
(D) Individual explorers were not as successful at locating games as
were the trading companies.


5. According to paragraph 3, how had Fort Vancouver changed by the time
David Douglas returned in 1832?
(A) The fort had become the headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company.
(B) Deer had begun populating the meadows around the fort.
(C) Deer populations near the fort had been destroyed.
(D) Crop yields in the area around the fort had decreased.


6. Why does the author ask readers to recall " the fate of the Columbian
white-tailed deer " in the discussion of changes in the wilderness landscape?
(A) To provide support for the idea that habitat destruction would
lead to population decline
(B) To compare how two species of deer caused biotic changes in the
wilderness environment
(C) To provide an example of a species of deer that has successfully
adapted to human settlement
(D) To argue that some deer species must be given a protected status


7．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 5 as a factor
that has increased deer populations?
(A) A reduction in the number of predators
(B) Restrictions on hunting
(C) The effects of logging and fire
(D) Laws that protected feeding grounds of deer



Answers:

1. 根據第一段, 關於Puget Sound 之白尾鹿(white-tailed deer) 何者正確?
關鍵字詞--- white-tailed deer
原文定位 --- The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer,
in earlier times was common in the open prairie country; it is now
restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along the lower
Columbia River.
由文意解讀出: 白尾鹿(white-tailed deer) 早期時在露天鄉下草原
蠻普遍常見; 然而, 現在卻僅只侷限於沿著Columbia River 之
下游沼澤與氾洪區.因此可判讀 white-tailed deer 已不再居住
於原本之棲息處.正確答案為 D.


2. 第二段談及冬天之氣候狀況下可推論出:
此類型題為推論題 (Inference) ---
利用文中 (1)轉折語(2) 極致詞; (3) 強調字等原則進行分析.
根據題幹, 先定位關鍵詞: winter conditions ---winter
可聯想 cold / freezing / snow / harsh 等字詞.
Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas in summer
down to the lowland areas in late fall. (B)■ Even with snow on the
ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind bring
down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder.
文中敘述 即使在下雪時, 高的灌木林下葉層亦會暴露出來, 同時,
雪與風也會吹落cedar (香柏) , hemlock (鐵杉) , red alder (赤陽木)
含葉之枝條及其他樹木飼料.選擇 (C) make it easier for deer to locate
understory plants


3. inhibit 抑制/ 克制 = curb = bridle = suppress = repress = mortify
= restrain = check = temper = contain
(A) revert 回復 / 復歸 revert to …..
(B) comprise 組成 = be composed of = be made up of = consist of
(C) restrict 限制 = confine = circumscribe = limit
(D) withstand 抵抗 = resist
答案選 C .


4. 作者於第三段談及關於 Lewis 與 Clark 之故事目的主要在:
關鍵詞 Lewis / Clark :
The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of
Europeans into Puget Sound country. The early explorers and settlers
told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the same breath
bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal.
Famous explorers of the north American frontier, Lewis and Clark
had experienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not
until the second of December did they kill their first elk. To keep 40
people alive that winter, they consumed approximately 150 elk and 20 deer.
And when game moved out of the lowlands in early spring, the expedition
decided to return east rather than face possible starvation.
本段內容主要敘述自從歐洲探險家一進入 Puget Sound 鹿之數量
就一直呈現出波動. ---- 在1800初鹿之數量頗為大量, 然而同時間卻
哀嘆其獵物數量卻短缺不足, Lewis 與Clark 在探勘時即經歷找尋
獵物之困難. 正確選擇 A .


5. 根據第三段, 直到 1832 David Douglas 回到 Fort Vancouver
當地產生何種變化?
Later on in the early years of the nineteenth century, when Fort
Vancouver became the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, deer
populations continued to fluctuate. David Douglas, Scottish botanical
explorer of the 1830s, found a disturbing change in the animal life around
the fort during the period between his first visit in 1825 and his final
contact with the fort in 1832. A recent Douglas biographer states:
" The deer which once picturesquely dotted the meadows around the fort
were gone [in 1832], hunted to extermination in order to protect the crops."

由訊息分析得知 " 一度於 fort 處鹿到處點綴於草坪之景象已
不復見, 主要乃是為保護農作物將鹿撲殺殆盡.
因此答案選擇 (C) Deer populations near the fort had been destroyed.


6. 為何作者問讀者, 回想在原野荒地Columbian white-tailed deer之命運?
此題主要測驗"修辭目的" (Rhetorical Purpose)
原文 --- Reduction in numbers of game should have boded ill for their
survival in later times. A worsening of the plight of deer was to be
expected as settlers encroached on the land, logging, burning, and clearing,
eventually replacing a wilderness landscape with roads, cities, towns,
and factories. No doubt the numbers of deer declined still further.
Recall the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer, now in a protected status.

作者提出 the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer , 主要為說明"
當移民者入侵土地, 進行伐木, 燃燒, 清除, 最後荒地之景象亦將轉為
由道路, 城鎮及工廠取代. 由此暗示人為活動破壞鹿之原有棲息地,
進而導致鹿的數量減少.答案為 A.


7. 下列何者並非於第五段所提到鹿的數量增加之原因?
針對此種否定訊息細節題型 ----
Except / Not ---- 可利用文中是否出現負面字詞(negative words)
或列舉 (enumeration) 之技巧進行解題.
根據題幹定位key word 關鍵字詞 : increased deer populations
原文: The causes of this population rebound are consequences of other
human actions. First, the major predators of deer---wolves, cougar,
and lynx--have been greatly reduced in numbers. Second,
conservation has be en insured by limiting times for and types of hunting.
But the most profound reason for the restoration of high population
numbers has been the gate of the forests. Great tracts of lowland country
deforested by logging, fire, or both have become ideal feeding grounds of deer.
The causes of this population rebound (彈回/恢復)
-- 唯獨(D) 文章無提及, 因而選D.


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