2018年10月13日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：The Distribution of Gliding Animals

2018年10月13日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：The Distribution of Gliding Animals

Generally, gliding is used for some animal species as a mean of fleeing from the predators since it enables them to move between trees without the need to descend to the ground and it also is an energy-efficient way to travel long distances between scattered food resources. For scientist, gliding animals (flying squirrels, flying frogs, and flying lizards with wings of skin that allow them to glide through the tropical forest) have long been the intriguing subject of study. Recently, researchers have found that Southeast Asia has a unique abundance and diversity of these animals. This observation leads them to the following questions. What could be an explanation about biological diversity of these animals found in the forest of Southeast Asia and what could explain the scarcity of gliding animals in other regions? Most of all, what makes Southeast Asian rain forests unusual?

1• The word scattered in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) seasonally available

(B) hard to find

(C) highly varied

(D) widely separated

2. According to paragraph 1, why is the ability to glide considered useful to forest-dwelling species?

(A) Because gliding removes the need to travel long distances in search of food.

(B) Because gliding serves as a rapid, energy efficient way of descending from trees.

(C) Because gliding gives them an advantage of moving through the forest without being exposes to predators in the ground.

(D) Because gliding makes them possible to adapt to various forests conditions.

3. According to paragraph 1, researchers are trying to answer which of the following question about gliding species

(A) Why gliding animals, which are uncommon in most tropical forests, have developed in so many different families in Southeast Asia.

(B) Why gliding animals developed in many tropical forests in Southeast Asia before they evolved in other tropical forests in the world.

(C) Why gliding animals limitedly evolved in tropical rain forests.

(D) Why gliding animals evolved so slowly in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

Several theories have been proposed by many scientists to explain the diversity of gliding animals in Southeast Asia. The first theory might be called the tall-trees hypothesis. According to this theory, taller trees in Southeast Asia could offer longer glides as well as the opportunity to boost in a dive before gliding because the forests of this region are taller than any other forests in the world, which comes from the domination of dipterocarp family, a family of tall, tropical hardwood trees. And by providing a more advantageous situation for gliding between tall-trees, the lower wind speeds might also contribute to the great number of appearance of gliding animals. This speculation, however, has several flaws. First, gliding animals are found throughout the Southeast Asian region, even in relatively short-stature forests located in the northern area of the rain forest in China, Thailand and Vietnam. Also, some gliders thrive in low secondary forests, plantations, and even city parks. It is obvious that gliding animals do not need tall trees for their activities. In addition, many gliding animals initiate their glides from the middle of tree trunks, not necessarily ascending to the tops of trees to take off.

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following does NOT support the tall-trees hypothesis

(A) tall trees let longer glides possible.

(B) gliding from the middle of tree trunks can be possible because trees are tall.

(C) tall trees make increased speed in a dive possible.

(D) there is lower wind speeds between tall trees.

5. Select the TWO answer choices that point to flaws in the tall-trees hypothesis, according to paragraph 2. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.

(A) Many gliding animals begin their glides from midway positions of tree trunks.

(B) Gliding animals are not evenly spread throughout the forests of the Southeast Asian region.

(C) Most gliding animals are incapable of ascending to the tops of trees.

(D) Many gliding animals are found in locations where trees tend to be relatively short.

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