May 15 TOEFL test recall

May 15 TOEFL test recall, let's take a look at today's test questions!

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Earth's changing climate

This article focuses on how the Earth is getting colder and colder. The main way scientists study Earth's climate change over the past hundreds of thousands of years is by analyzing the ice sheets of the Antarctic and the Arctic. These ice sheets have been preserved for hundreds of thousands of years, and with climate change, the composition of the liquids and gases inside them has also changed. These ice sheets also contain tiny organisms that contain oxygen and carbon that directly reflect the climate of the time. Therefore, by studying the ice sheets, we can obtain climate records for the past hundreds of thousands of years.

Even billions of years ago, the sun released very little heat, far less than it does now. As a result, the earth was very cold at that time, with scarce water and extensive ice cover. But as the sun grows, the amount of heat released increases, and so does the earth.

Over the past few billion years, the Earth's orbit around the Sun has been constantly changing, sometimes circular and sometimes elliptical. This change causes a change in the distance of the earth from the sun, which affects the amount of heat that the earth gets. When the Earth is farther away from the Sun, the Earth becomes colder and the ice increases, reflecting the sun's rays, further reducing the Earth's heat absorption. As the Earth moves closer to the Sun, more heat causes the ice to melt, less heat reflected back into space, and the Earth's temperature rises.

Volcanic eruptions can also cause changes in the Earth's temperature. Volcanic eruptions release large amounts of soot that shade the sun's rays, reducing the amount of heat the Earth receives and lowering temperatures. For example, after a massive volcanic eruption a few years ago, the global average temperature dropped by 1°C over the next few years, and the United States experienced its coldest winter. But this effect usually lasts only a few years.

Another factor that affects the Earth's temperature is the absorption and release of carbon dioxide. When the Earth's temperature drops, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, making the climate colder. When the temperature rises, the ocean releases carbon dioxide, and the amount of carbon dioxide in the air increases, further affecting the earth's air temperature. This change in carbon dioxide levels has a lasting impact on the Earth's climate.

American bison decline

Native Americans have long hunted a variety of native bison. Native Americans hunt hundreds of thousands of bison each year, but because of their large numbers, the bison herd continues to thrive even after so many are hunted. In Native American cultures, they believed that bison would go underground in the winter to live and breed in the grasslands that we can't see, so the bison population has always remained huge.

From the perspective of the aborigines, the whole body of the bison is a treasure. Bones were used to make tools, meat was edible, and skins were used to make clothing, which helped Native Americans a lot.

The traditional method of capturing bison is to scare them off cliffs and let them fall to their deaths in the process of falling. While this approach is effective, it is not economical or sustainable. Archaeologists have found some bison sites with bulls, cows and calves, some of which were not even slaughtered and were left in place. This suggests that the indigenous people are not making full use of these bison, and sometimes they do not take them all away because of the large catches. Moreover, studies have shown that Aboriginal people prefer the tongue and skin of bison and also prefer to slaughter bulls because their meat is more juicifier. Over time, the indigenous people began to trade cattle products with neighboring countries, and within a few years they supplied 100,000 pieces of cowhide clothing to other countries. However, reduced rainfall in North America led to a significant decline in bison populations, upsetting the species balance at the time.

Aboriginal people believe that bison will go underground to breed in winter, so if there are fewer bison in spring and summer, they think that these bison are still underground and have not returned to the surface, so they feel that bison resources are inexhaustible and will not consider conservation.

However, many archaeologists believe that the real decline in bison populations is due to the fact that European countries began to import large quantities of American hides. At that time, the leather industry in the United States was already large, and cowhide was mainly used to make conveyor belts for heavy machinery. Due to the lack of bison in North America, they began to import hides from South America. Later, some factories discovered ways to make more resilient leather, further increasing the demand for cowhide. Millions of bison are killed each year, preventing the bison population from growing sustainably.

bitumen

In the middle of the 19th century, with the advancement of the Industrial Revolution, asphalt construction began to be used for road paving, especially in France and England, and the construction of asphalt roads gradually emerged. Asphalt pavement has good wear resistance and can withstand repeated crushing of vehicles without being easily damaged, which has a longer service life than traditional slate or gravel pavement.

By the 20th century, the global use of asphalt became widespread, especially after the advent of the automobile age, the requirements for road quality increased, and asphalt became the preferred material for road construction due to its properties. Asphalt pavement has good waterproof properties, which can prevent moisture from penetrating into the pavement structure, thereby protecting the roadbed from water damage. In addition, asphalt pavement has good elasticity and vibration damping, which can improve driving comfort and safety. Asphalt pavement is also relatively easy to construct and maintain, and has strong slip resistance and flatness.

Speaking section

Task 1

Some people think that, when moving to a new country, they should adapt to the cultural habits and traditions of the new country. Other people prefer to keep their original habits and traditions. Which do you think is better?

Task 2

学生提议学校 ban sleeping in the library。 男生反对。

It's easy to find a table sit down and study in the library first, and while the chair may not be as comfortable as the sofa, it's okay. So if students want to learn, there is a place.

The second boy didn't think it would make a bad impression on the visitors who came to the school, because he had taken a campus tour before coming to the school, and the tour guide took them to the library and saw the students sleeping there, but it didn't bother them.

Task 3

open source development，意思是有些公司会让竞争公司 access and modify their designs。

An example is of a company that sells electric cars, but it doesn't sell well at first because the cars are expensive and don't perform well.

At that time, there were no batteries that were light and sufficient, so the company spent a huge amount of money to design the battery, so the performance of the car was not good and expensive. So this company allowed other companies to look at their own design, which was good because other companies had good suggestions for improving the battery, and then everyone used the improved battery, and finally because the performance of the car also became better and cheaper, these companies sold more electric cars.

Task 4

讲的是 thermoregulation 的两个好处 in plants。

一个是prevent certain damage to plants' cells.

For example, skunk cabbage sprouts in early spring when it is still cold, and other flowers and plants freeze to death, but it can keep the leaves warm and survive, and the heat they generate can even melt the surrounding ice.

The second is to help plants reproduce. An example is lotus flower. They can attract insects by keeping them warm.

Writing section

Integrated Writing

Biologists have always wanted to help the world through genetic modification.

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1. Genetically modified animals usually have stronger insect resistance, so they do not need to spray pesticides. This reduces the use of pesticides and helps protect the surrounding environment from pesticide pollution.

2. Agriculture usually requires a lot of water for irrigation, but some genetically modified plants can also grow well and get good harvests in drought conditions. Growing genetically modified crops can boost farmers' incomes.

3. The vitamin A content in rice is very low, so people in areas where rice is mainly the staple food are often deficient in vitamin A. Scientists can help people in these regions maintain good health by increasing the vitamin A content in rice through genetically modified technology.

听力

1. When the transgenic plant has a disease and pest resistance gene, the surrounding weeds may also acquire this gene, causing the weeds to grow wildly uncontrollably, which is no less negative than the use of pesticides.

2. Farmers have to buy high-priced seeds from genetically modified seed companies every year, which is a big burden for farmers, and the final profit may be lower than the profit of using traditional seeds.

3. Genetically modified rice does not solve the problem of vitamin A deficiency well, so the best way to supplement vitamins is to increase the intake of vegetables and fruits, because they provide more types of vitamins than genetically modified rice.

Academic discussions

Your professor is teaching a class on sociology. 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.

Dr. Achebe:

As countries work to reduce emissions and protect the environment, many governments are encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles through new policies. This week we will discuss ideas for policies that could promote electric vehicle usage. In your post, I would like you to address this question: What policies should the government implement to promote electric vehicles for environmental protection?

Claire:

More charging stations are key to getting people to buy electric cars. It's frustrating when you can't charge your car. The government should offer big tax credits to businesses to build charging stations. If charging spots are everywhere, range anxiety will go away and electric car sales will take off. We need that to help the Earth.

Paul:

The government needs to create entire highways just for electric cars. These special roads could have charging stations along the way so range anxiety disappears. Exclusive electric highways would show electric cars are the transportation of the future. We'd see tons more Teslas on the road helping clear the air.