Factories also offered a reprieve from the backbreaking work and financialunpredictability associated with farming. Many adults, poor and disillusionedwith farm life, were lured to the cities by promises of steady employment,regular paychecks, increased access to goods and services, and expanded socialopportunities. Others were pushed there when new technologies made their laborcheap or expendable; inventions such as steel plows and mechanized harvestersallowed one farmhand to perform work that previously had required several, thusmaking farming capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive.
The United States economy underwent a massive transition and the nature ofwork was permanently altered. Whereas cottage industries relied on a few highlyskilled craft workers who slowly and carefully converted raw materials intofinished products from start to finish, factories relied on specialization.While factory work was less creative and more monotonous, it was also moreefficient and allowed mass production of goods at less expense.
1. What aspect of life in the United States does the passage mainlydiscuss?
(A) The transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy
(B) The inventions that transformed life in the nineteenth century
(C) The problems associated with the earliest factories
(D) The difficulty of farm life in the nineteenth century
2. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and candle makers are mentioned in lines 5-6as examples of artisans who
(A) maintained their businesses at home
(B) were eventually able to use sophisticated technology
(C) produced unusual goods and commodities
(D) would employ only family members
3. The phrase hinged on in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) recovered from
(B) depended on
(C) started on
(D) contributed to
4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a reason for theindustrial growth that
occurred in the United States before 1914?
(A) The availability of natural resources found only in the UnitedStates
(B) The decrease in number of farms resulting from technologicaladvances
(C) The replacement of canals and railroads by other forms oftransportation
(D) The availability of a large immigrant work force
5. The word lured in line 19 is closest in meaning to
(A) attracted
(B) assigned
(C) restricted
(D) attached
6. The word Others in line 20 refers to other
(A) adults
(B) promises
(C) goods and services
(D) social opportunities
7. The word expendable in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) nonproductive
(B) unacceptable
(C) nonessential
(D) unprofitable
8. It can be inferred from the passage that industrialization affectedfarming in that
industrialization
(A) increased the price of farm products
(B) limited the need for new farm machinery
(C) created new and interesting jobs on farms
(D) reduced the number of people willing to do farm work
9. What does the author mean when stating that certain inventions madefarming
capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive (lines 23-24)?
(A) Workers had to be trained to operate the new machines.
(B) Mechanized farming required more capital and fewer laborers.
(C) The new inventions were not helpful for all farming activities.
(D) Human labor could still accomplish as much work as the firstmachines.
10. According to the passage , factory workers differed from craft workersin that factory workers
(A) were required to be more creative
(B) worked extensively with raw materials
(C) changed jobs frequently
(D) specialized in one aspect of the finished product only
【TOEFL阅读理解|TOEFL托福阅读真题精选篇】PASSAGE 52 AABDA ADDBD

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标题：TOEFL阅读理解|TOEFL托福阅读真题精选篇( 三 )