【实例解析】托福综合写作备考练习题-你所不知道的巨屋.doc

【实例解析】托福综合写作备考练习题-你所不知道的巨屋 托福综合写作(Integrated Writing)长期以来都是托福考试的难点之一，全面考察考生快速阅读、听取关键信息和原文复述的能力。由于阅读和听力实力较弱导致综合写作失分严重，想要提升却不得其法。从传统备考思路看提升阅读和听力固然没错，但如何在有限的时间内加强针对性、高效提分才是关键。下面就为大家带来托福综合写作的阅读材料，希望在练习中能不断提升大家的托福综合写作能力。 托福综合写作阅读材料： As early as the twelfth century A.D., thesettlements of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico in the American Southwest werenotable for their “great houses,” massive stone buildings that contain hundredsof rooms and often stand three or four stories high. Archaeologists have beentrying to determine how the buildings were used. While there is still nouniversally agreed upon explanation, there are three competing theories. 早在12世纪，美国西南部墨西哥地区查科峡谷的居民就以他们的“巨屋”而闻名。这种石质材料建成的“巨屋”包好有数百个房间，而且通常有三到四层高。很多考古学家都试图解释这些建筑的用途。尽管业界尚未达成一致，但现在有三个比较有竞争力的理论。 One theory holds that the Chaco structureswere purely residential, with each housing hundreds of people. Supporters ofthis theory have interpreted Chaco great houses as earlier versions of the architectureseen in more recent Southwest societies. In particular, the Chaco houses appearstrikingly similar to the large, well-known “apartment buildings” at Taos, NewMexico, in which many people have been living for centuries. 一个理论认为这些巨屋是单纯用来居住的，每个可以容纳数百人。持有这种理论的人解释说查科巨屋同时间较近的一些西南族群早期建筑的雏形。尤其值得一提的是，查科的这些建筑同新墨西哥陶斯镇著名的“寓所式建筑”非常相似。这些寓所式建筑供很多人居住了数个世纪。 A second theory contends that the Chacostructures were used to store food supplies. One of the main crops of the Chacopeople was grain maize, which could be stored for long periods of time withoutspoiling and could serve as long-lasting supply of food. The supplies of maizehad to be stored somewhere, and the size of the great houses would make themvery suitable for the purpose. 第二个理论认为查科建筑是用来储存食物的。查科人的主食之一是玉米。玉米可以不宜变质，可长期储存，因此可以作为长期的食物来源。这些玉米一定是要储存在某个地方的。而巨屋的规模非常适合作为储存地。 A third theory proposes that houses wereused as ceremonial centers. Close to one house, called Pueblo Alto,archaeologists identified an enormous mound formed by a pile of old material. Excavationsof t