托福阅读真题+题目+答案+译文：Cereals and Legumes: A Partnership

2015年7月11日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Cereals and Legumes: A Partnership

1. Cereals are flowering grasses that sprout, flower, seed, and die in the space of a year, which is why gardeners refer to them as annuals. Grown for their seeds or kernels, cereals are excellent sources of energy: although they lack some amino acids, as well as calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, they provide starch and oil, and in some cases, considerable amounts of protein. Once ripe, the kernels are relatively easy to store, and they retain their nutrients for a long time. Even the stalks of cereals are useful as animal food, as bedding in stables and barns, and as a building material. A major drawback with cereals is that they depend on the soil for nitrogen. Without fertilization they eventually exhaust the fields they are growing in, but despite this, two cereals (wheat and barley) were the very first plants to be domesticated (grown for human use); and a third (rye) may have been cultivated, or even domesticated, at about the same time. Today, cereal crops including wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, and oats provide most of the calories in the human diet.

谷类作物是在一年的时间内发芽、开花、结籽和死亡的开花禾本科植物，这就是为什么园丁将其称为一年生植物。谷类作物的种植是为了取其种子或籽粒，谷类作物是极好的能量来源：虽然它们缺少某些氨基酸、钙、维生素A和维生素C，但是它们可以提供淀粉和油。在某些情况下，其蛋白质含量也相当可观。一旦成熟，其籽粒相对易于储存，且能够长时间保留营养。我们甚至可以将谷类作物的秸秆用作动物饲料、马厩和谷仓的垫料以及建筑材料。谷类作物的一个主要缺点是它们依赖于土壤中的氮。如果不进行施肥，他们最终会耗尽其生长的田地。尽管如此，两种谷类作物(小麦和大麦)成为了人类第一批驯化的作物(其栽培主要为人类利用);大约在同一时间，人类可能还栽培甚至驯化了第三种(黑麦)谷类作物。今天，包括小麦、水稻、玉米、高粱、小米和燕麦在内的谷类作物在人类饮食中提供了大部分的热量。

2. Like cereals, legumes are annuals. Some legumes are grown for animal fodder. Many other legumes, however, are cultivated for their seeds, which ripen in pods. The seeds are rich in B vitamins and iron, contain on average two times the protein but less starch than cereals, and can be eaten, sometimes pods and all, while they're still green. (Snow peas and green beans are familiar examples.) Legumes are characterized by a long period of sequential ripening, during which a single plant may have ripe pods, green pods, and flowers, all at the same time, which means that a stand of legumes can be harvested again and again over several weeks. Like cereals, legumes can be dried and stored for later use (the pods open easily when dry), and again like cereals, legumes provide food for both people and animals. However, legume plants add nitrogen to the soil, so when they are grown in the same fields as cereals, they can replace much of the nitrogen the cereals have depleted.

像谷类作物一样，豆类作物也是一年生植物。一些豆类作物的种植是用作动物饲料。然而，许多其他豆类作物的种植是为了取其种子，其种子在豆荚中成熟。其种子富含B族维生素和铁。相比谷类作物，其蛋白质含量通常是谷类作物的两倍，但淀粉含量较少。当还是绿色的时候，它就可以被食用，其豆荚甚至整个豆子有时也可以被食用。(荷兰豆和四季豆是众所周知的例子)。豆类作物的特点是长时间的相继成熟。在此期间，单株植物可以同时具有成熟的豆荚、绿荚和花。这意味着，一片豆类作物可以在几周内一次又一次地被收割。像谷类作物一样，豆类作物可以被干燥并储存以供以后使用(荚在干燥时容易打开)。同时，像谷类作物一样，豆类作物可以同时为人类和动物提供食物。然而，豆类作物可以为土壤添加氮。因此，当它们和谷物被种植于相同田地时，它们可以偿还谷类作物已经耗尽的大部分氮。

。。。。。此处省略余下原文！

托福阅读真题题目：

1..According to paragraph 1, all of the following are advantages of cereals EXCEPT:

A. They provide large amounts of energy when consumed.

B. They store easily and retain nutrients for a long time.

C. They provide considerable amounts of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

D. They have multiple uses, including as bedding or building material.

2..According to paragraph 1, a major disadvantage of cereals is that they

A. cannot be used as animal food

B. must be planted in a different field every year

C. take a long time to ripen before they can be used or stored

D. use up all of the nitrogen in a field unless fertilizer is used

3..According to paragraph 2, one way in which legumes differ from cereals is that legumes

A. are a better source of starch

B. contain far more protein

C. take much longer to ripen

D. must be dried before being stored

4..According to paragraph 2, all of the following statements about legumes are true EXCEPT:

A. Legumes have pods that help seeds ripen quickly.

B. Legumes contain a lot of iron and B vitamins.

C. Legumes return nitrogen to the soil.

D. Legume plants can be harvested many times during a growing season.

。。。。。此处省略余下题目和答案！

2015年7月11日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Cereals and Legumes: A Partnership，完整版下载，10元有偿！