2022年6月11日托福阅读真题-Transitions in World Populations

2022年6月11日托福阅读真题-Transitions in World Populations

Unless we know the size,density,age distribution,and reproductive capacity of a population,it is difficult to understand many aspects of its society,politics,and economy.In the contemporary world,most nations conduct periodic censuses to assess the present situation of their populations and to plan for the future.Before the mid-eighteenth century,when census taking became a regular procedure,population estimates and counts were sporadic and usually inaccurate.Thus,arriving at estimates of populations from the past,especially for non-literate societies,is a highly speculative exercise in which archaeological evidence and estimates of productive capacity of agricultural practices and technology are used. The earliest date for a population estimate with a margin of error less than 20 percent is probably 1750.

1. Why dees the author that "The earliest date for a population estimate with a margin of error less than 20 percent is probably 1750."?

A To emphasize the unreliability of population estimates and counts from before the mid-eighteenth century

B To suggest that the margins of error in population studies changed many times before 1750

C To indicate that new methods of estimating past populations are needed

D To question the emphasis on the productivity of early agricultural practices as an indicator of population size

2.Paragraph 1 suggests which of the following about estimates of past populations?

A They are more accurate when based on archaeological evidence than when based on eighteenth-century census taking.

B The uncertainty of them makes fully understanding the politics and economies of past societies difficult,particularly when there are no written records.

C The errors within them are the result of census procedures developed in the mid-eighteenth century,which usually produced inaccurate counts.

D They can be made with certainty for non-literate societies of the past by using information about agricultural practices and technology.

The history of human population can be divided into two basic periods:a long era-almost all of human history-of very slow growth,and a very short period-about 250 years from the mid- 1700s to the present-of very rapid growth. ⬛ Before agriculture was developed,the hunting-and-gathering economies of the world’s populations supported 5 to 10 million people,if modern studies of such populations can be used as a guide. ⬛ After about 8000 B.C.E., when plants and animals were domesticated,the world’s population began to increase more rapidly but still at a modest level. ⬛ Although agriculture provided a more secure and larger food supply,population concentration in villages and towns would have made people more susceptible to disease and thus reduced their numbers. ⬛ Some historians also believe that the settled agricultural life also led to intensified warfare (because of the struggle for land and water) and increasing social stratification within societies.

3.The word“secure”in the passage is closest in meaning to

A varied

B nutritious

C dependable

D immediate

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