10月26日托福考情

10月26日托福考试落下帷幕，考情速递也已经出炉了！

阅读

R1

The Sistine Ceiling

介绍米开朗基罗创作西斯廷教堂天花板壁画、其后数百年的维护和最终的大规模修复工作。

首先，文章解释了湿壁画（buon fresco）与干壁画（a secco fresco）技法的不同。米开朗基罗采用湿壁画技法，以水调和颜料直接涂在新鲜的石灰石灰泥上，由于湿壁画对色彩的化学要求严格，米开朗基罗避免使用一些易受损的颜料，最终耗时四年完成了约300个人物形象。

由于西斯廷教堂内的蜡烛烟雾、灰尘等污染物堆积，壁画逐渐变暗，加上屋顶漏水导致盐沉积，致使画面发泡和脱落。后期的修复者尝试用蘸有酒精的海绵擦拭盐分和污垢，使用粘合剂来修补部分画面，并添加了清漆，以期恢复色彩。然而，这些措施反而让壁画覆盖上厚重的暗层。

1980年，修复团队启动大规模清理，逐层去除积累的污垢、旧漆和盐沉积，经过14年的精细修复后，壁画恢复了原始的明亮色彩。修复揭示的色彩之鲜艳令许多人震惊，同时也引发了激烈的争论：有些人认为修复应尊重原作，保持艺术品的自然老化状态，而修复团队则主张用现代手段还原作品的初始效果，认为这是对艺术家创作意图的再现

R2

鸟的藏食物和脑容量

鸟类大脑的大小存在很大差异，这与它们主要的能力有着直接关联。比如有的鸟类会储藏食物以备日后进食，此类鸟类的大脑通常较大；而相反，像一些迁徙的鸟类，其大脑就相对较小。鸟类的迁徙行为实际上是由基因决定的。因为迁徙需要大量的能量储备，如果大脑消耗过多能量，就不利于它们迁徙。对于迁徙鸟类而言，即便学会了储存食物，很可能因耗费大量精力和能量去做此事而最终毫无意义。

同一种鸟类的大脑也可能有所不同，有生态学家对几十种不同的麻雀进行了比较，这些麻雀分布在美国的东西南北，在气候恶劣的地区，鸟类的大脑会较大，且大脑内部的关联也比其他气候适宜地区的更多。在比较寒冷的地区，比如很多雪山地区，其大脑也会更大。例如在接近雪山地区的某些鸟类，大脑尺寸是平原地区鸟类的一倍，这类鸟也更加聪明。因为在寒冷地区，它们必须设法储存更多能量。

而在大脑当中也会增加一些新的连接，而这种连接会防止记忆的衰退。因为他每天都会储藏室，我并且还会拿走一些食物来进行进食。当冬天的时候他就会需要寻找更多的之间储存的粮食。这就需要他的记忆，能力会更强，所以他的大脑会更大。而这种研究也改变了科学家对脊椎动物大脑的认知。也就是脊椎动物，并不是生来就有大脑的。但是科学家们之前一直会有这种错误的想法。因此脑细胞是不停的，在生同时也会不停的死亡。而这种环境就为大脑细胞的再生和死亡提供了很好的激发作用。

R3

北美棉花种植

当美洲的土豆被引入欧洲之后，大量生产力得以解放，而解放出来的生产力，便开始用于种植棉花。在此之前，棉花的生产主要在印度和中东地区，但进口数量极少。这种棉花不仅价格昂贵，而且质量很差。

美洲的棉花质量更佳，棉线更长。不过一些热带地区的棉花也能变得更长。原本亚洲地区较短的棉花，通常被用于制造上衣。而棉线较长的美洲棉花，质量实际上比亚洲棉花更好，因此起初有人会误将其当作丝绸，还认为这些较长的棉花来自中国。传统上，欧洲人是皮衣搭配羊毛，外层是皮衣，内层是羊毛，只有贵族才有财力购买丝绸。羊毛的数量取决于牧场的规模，一旦需要更多羊毛，就需要大量土地来改建成牧场以饲养羊群。所以羊毛的供应极大地限制了这类衣物的供应。实际上，正是由于原材料供应不足，导致众多劳动力本身处于过剩状态。随着大量棉花从美洲涌入，农民劳动力能够继续从事编织工作。但相应地，由于原材料涌入量极大，所以需要更多的工人和能源。于是，在各条河流上建造的水车开始提供能源，这也使得沿整个河流出现了众多纺织工厂。

而且因为棉花的产量其实远远高于其他的原材料，但是有一个工艺非常的消耗时间，也就是棉花采摘了之后要去掉里面的种子，而这花费了很多的时间和人力。这比采摘本身花了更多的时间。但是后来有一个人发明了一种机器，就让人的也可以每天去生产几十公斤的棉花。而这种机器发明了之后，也使得成本大大降低，普通人也能买得起衣物了。而在此之前很多的棉的衣物都是贵族专用。因此在这个地球上，很多人都开始消费棉花的产品。而当时棉花的出口已经占了英国出口的1/4。而又过了几十年，它已经超过了出口总额的一半。与此同时价格也跌到了原来的1/4。

听力

C 1

今天有一篇对话是maple syrup，学生去dining Hall跟管理人员讨论食堂用的 maple syrup

L1

然后有一篇讲座是关于油画和水彩画艺术历史，主要讲了female用水彩画，创造的了一些商业上的影响。

L 2

是讲还有一篇讲座是树木倒在shallow water和larger water有不同影响，然后对比了conifer和leafy在水中产生的影响不同，因为conifer更高大，所以影响更大。具体的影响有在水中形成一个pool，然后为鱼类繁殖提供场所，然后提到了向上游的 salmon可能会受到这些dam的影响

C 2

说的是学生要做一个presentation，他的professor建议他去读一篇最近刚刚发表的文章，然后学生问为什么他没有找到这篇文章，到时跟他说说，因为这些刚发表的文章是不能被search的。

L 3

在这节物理课上，教授展示了一些被认为是艺术的图像，同时也与流体力学的研究相关。教授提到“流动可视化”这个概念，它是指能够让我们看到液体和气体如何流动的过程。他展示了染料在水中融合的图片，强调这不仅仅是美的展示，也是流体科学的重要工具。接下来，教授展示了一张卫星拍摄的地球照片，图片中是太平洋上的云朵和智利海岸的亚历山大·塞尔库克岛。

风将云层吹向岛屿，形成涡流，这些涡流在物理学中被称为“冯卡门涡街”。每个涡流代表一个单独的冯卡门涡，教授解释了这种现象的命名来源及其在自然界中的普遍存在。实际上，冯卡门并不是第一个研究涡街的人，达芬奇在十五世纪就已经画出了类似的涡流图。教授还提到，涡街不仅在地球上出现，也在木星的大气中观察到。这些现象为我们了解气候变化提供了重要线索。最后，教授表示将深入探讨涡街的机制，进一步连接艺术与科学的概念。

口语

TASK 1独立口语题

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Good teachers admit when they have made a mistake or do not know something.

TASK 2校园题

When the school was first established, there was a very large mural on the gymnasium. Now if you want to restore it, the cost will be extremely high. Moreover, from the perspective of the input-output ratio, it is actually cheaper to simply paint it white. Besides, these murals are very old and not in line with the current style.

However, this view is not supported in the listening material.

Because many students like this mural very much. This mural is nearly a hundred years old. Now there are students in the art department in this school, and they can be directly recruited to do the restoration work. Moreover, a university should have a history, and history is an integral part of the university. And when there is history, the novel architecture of the university will look really cool.

TASK 3学术讲座题

In life, human beings often exaggerate or downplay the factors that bring them happiness or sadness. And this often leads people to make wrong decisions.

Listening

There is also a relative of the listener who had an excellent job in Chicago and he liked that company very much. His apartment was also great. However, last year there was a heavy snowstorm and the temperature was extremely low. People didn't go out and they had to dress very thickly. When the professor called his nephew, the nephew was unhappy, even though his job was great and his apartment was nice. Later, he moved to a warm place and went to work in Southern California. Because it was sunny in Southern California, he felt that it would make him happy. But in fact, he didn't like his new job position or his new apartment.

TASK 4 学术讲座题

In the desert, without the protection of rock masses, many animals can be easily spotted and attacked by their natural enemies. Therefore, these animals have found ways to avoid their natural enemies.

One way is to move as short a distance as possible. When it moves frequently and then stops often, it's actually very difficult for its natural enemies to detect it. Because when it stops frequently, its natural enemies can hardly see it. The example given is the jerboa. It doesn't run long distances either. Instead, it runs for a while and then stops. Then it makes a quick dash again.

Another way is to try not to leave a shadow as much as possible, because many natural enemies discover their prey by spotting shadows. Therefore, many jerboas run as close to the ground as they can when running so that they won't leave a shadows.

写作

综合写作

The writer believesthat there is a plant that is considered an invasive species, but scientists believe that its helpful role is significant. However, the professor’s lecture casts doubt on the reading.

To begin with, the fruit of this plant itself attracts many animals. When small animals come to eat, they will peel open these fruits and expose the seeds, which often take the seeds to other places, facilitating the spread of the seeds. The professor in the lecture challenges the opinion, for the reason that when plants spread seeds, they spread the seeds of berries and other plants together. However, this type of nut often kills its competitors, thus causing it to encroach on a lot of soil.

In addition,this plant can control the outbreak of wildfires. Because wildfires are often caused by dry branches. And this plant can provide shade. So it will prevent the soil and branches from being too dry. However, the professor maintains an opposite opinion that after fire, the soil will release a lot of chemical elements. And these chemical elements will form good fertilizers for soil, which can feed many plants. When there is no wildfire, there will be a lack of nutrients.

In the end, the writer holds the viewthatberries attract some specific bird species, which eat these berries before migration to increase nutrition and energy reserves. Whereas, the professor in the lecture believes, on the contrary of reading, birds fly for a long time during migration, which requires them to store a large amount of fat in advance. And another type of berry actually contains a large amount of oil itself. And this berry has no oil, so it doesn't provide enough energy.

学术讨论

Your professor is teaching a class . Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response, you should do the following.

Express and support your opinion.

Make a contribution to the discussion in your own words.

An effective response will contain at least 100 words.

Doctor Achebe

This week, we'll be looking at what governments around the world are doing to improve transportation in large cities. Some governments are expanding roadways-adding lanes to highways, widening other heavily used routes and even constructing new roads. Other governments are focusing on improvements to public transportation by modernizing existing train and bus systems. Which approach do you think should be the priority in large cities? why?

Kelly：

Focusing on public transportation makes the most sense. There is already so much traffic on the roads. Better-quality bus and train service would help reduce the congestion problem by motivating more people to take public transit, which would lead to fewer cars on the road.

Andrew：

Unfortunately, it could take years to modernize a public transit system. If governments want to more quickly see improvements in transportation, it would be better to focus first on upgrading roadways to handle more traffic. This would make car trips more efficient because drivers would spend less time in traffic each day.