『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 6 Passage 1阅读练习：The word “vastly” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 6 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 6 Passage 1阅读原文The word “vastly” in the passage is closest in meaning to题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

在英国，与工业革命而来最显著的变化之一就是动力的运用。

In Britain one of the most dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution was the harnessing of power.

自中世纪以来，在乔治三世（1760-1820年）统治之前，可用的工作和旅行动力来源一直没有增加。

Until the reign of George III (1760-1820), available sources of power for work and travel had not increased since the Middle Ages.

那时有三种动力的来源：动物或人的肌肉能量； 风能，作用在让风帆或风车上运转上； 和流动的水能。

There were three sources of power: animal or human muscles; the wind, operating on sail or windmill; and running water.

这些机器中只有水能完全适合机器的连续运行，尽管兰开夏郡和苏格兰以及谷物工厂和纺织厂的水力资源丰富，但它有一个很大的缺点：溪流流向自然需要它们的地方，水力驱动的工厂必须设在河岸旁边，无论这里在其他条件上是否理想。

Only the last of these was suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to, and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks, whether or not the location was desirable for other reasons.

此外，即使最可靠的水力也随季节而变化，并在干旱中消失。

Furthermore, even the most reliable waterpower varied with the seasons and disappeared in a drought.

简而言之，如果没有新的可动和恒定动力来源，就不可能诞生新的机械时代。

The new age of machinery, in short, could not have been born without a new source of both movable and constant power.

这种能源早已为人所知，但未被利用。

The source had long been known but not exploited.

在本世纪初，一种泵被使用起来了，泵中膨胀的蒸汽使汽缸中的活塞升起，当蒸汽在汽缸内凝结以形成真空时，大气压又使其下降。

Early in the century, a pump had come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure brought it down again when the steam condensed inside the cylinder to form a vacuum.

这种“大气发动机”由托马斯·萨弗里（Thomas Savery）发明，并由他的搭档托马斯·纽科门（Thomas Newcomen）进行了很大改进，体现了革命性的原理，但是它是如此效率低下且浪费燃料，以致只能用于所设计的煤矿上，煤矿之外则无用武之地。

This “atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner, Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles, but it was so slow and wasteful of fuel that it could not be employed outside the coal mines for which it had been designed.

在1760年代，詹姆斯·瓦特（James Watt）完善了一个单独的蒸汽冷凝器，这样就不必在每个冲程都对气缸进行冷却。 然后他设计了一种方法，使活塞转动车轮，从而将往复运动（来回运动）转换为旋转运动。

In the 1760s, James Watt perfected a separate condenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be cooled at every stroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thus convert reciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion.

因此，他将有限使用效率低下的泵转变为千次以上经常使用的蒸汽机。

He thereby transformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine of a thousand uses.

最后一步是将蒸汽引入汽缸以向后和向前驱动活塞，从而提高了发动机的速度并降低了其燃油消耗。

The final step came when steam was introduced into the cylinder to drive the piston backward as well as forward, thereby increasing the speed of the engine and cutting its fuel consumption.

瓦特的蒸汽机很快就显示出了它独到的优势。

Watt’s steam engine soon showed what it could do.

它使工业摆脱了对流动的水的依赖。

It liberated industry from dependence on running water.

发动机通过驱动高效的泵消除了矿井中的水，这使得越来越深的采矿成为可能。

The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining.

可便利使用的煤炭激发了威廉·默多克（William Murdoch）在1790年代开发出了一千五百年来首个新形式的夜间照明。

The ready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half.

煤气可以与烟熏油灯和闪烁的蜡烛相媲美，在新世纪初，富裕的伦敦人已经习惯了汽油照明的房屋甚至街道。

Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the new century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gaslit houses and even streets.

曾经依赖木炭而渴望燃料的钢铁制造商也受益于煤炭供应的不断增长。 带有蒸汽驱动的风箱的高炉为新机器生产了更多的钢铁。

Iron manufacturers, which had starved for fuel while depending on charcoal, also benefited from ever-increasing supplies of coal; blast furnaces with steam-powered bellows turned out more iron and steel for the new machinery.

蒸汽成为工业革命的动力，因为煤和铁矿石是原材料。

Steam became the motive force of the Industrial Revolution, as coal and iron ore were the raw materials.

到1800年，不列颠群岛已使用了1000多台蒸汽机，英国一直保持对蒸汽机生产的垄断地位，直到1830年代。

By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s.

蒸汽动力不仅使棉花和铁卷旋转。 在新世纪初，这也使单名工人一天可以生产的纸张数量增加了十倍。

Steam power did not merely spin cotton and roll iron; early in the new century, it also multiplied ten times over the amount of paper that a single worker could produce in a day.

同时，第一批印刷机的操作员通过蒸汽而不是手工操作，发现可以在一小时内生产一千页而不是三十页。

At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an hour rather than thirty.

蒸汽还实现了消除运河船或收费公路无法完全解决的运输问题。

Steam also promised to eliminate a transportation problem not fully solved by either canal boats or turnpikes

船可以承载沉重的重量，但是运河不能穿越丘陵地带。收费公路可以穿越山丘，但路基无法承受沉重的负担。

Boats could carry heavy weights, but canals could not cross hilly terrain; turnpikes could cross the hills, but the roadbeds could not stand up under great weights.

这些问题还需要另一种解决方案，而解决这些问题的要素就近在咫尺。

These problems needed still another solution, and the ingredients for it lay close at hand.

在一些工业区，马车沿着铁轨拖着重载的带有法兰轮的货车。 而固定式蒸汽机正在工厂和矿井里吹气提供动力。

In some industrial regions, heavily laden wagons, with flanged wheels, were being hauled by horses along metal rails; and the stationary steam engine was puffing in the factory and mine.

又过了一代人的时间，发明家们成功地结合了这些条件，通过将发动机放在轮子上，轮子置于轨道上，从而提供了一种代替马的机器。

Another generation passed before inventors succeeded in combining these ingredients, by putting the engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide a machine to take the place of the horse.

因此，铁路时代从18世纪沉积的条件中应运而生。

Thus the railroad age sprang from what had already happened in the eighteenth century.

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that before the reign of George III there were no sources of power that

Which of the following best describes the relation of paragraph 2 to paragraph 1?

The word “exploited” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “vastly” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 2, the “atmospheric engine” was slow because

According to paragraph 2, Watt’s steam engine differed from earlier steam engines in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

In paragraph 3, the author mentions William Murdoch’s invention of a new form of nighttime illumination in order to

The phrase “grew accustomed to” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “retained” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements about steam engines is true?

According to paragraph 4, providing a machine to take the place of the horse involved combining which two previously separate ingredients?

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. The factories did not have to go to the streams when power could come to the factories.  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Powering the Industrial Revolution In Britain one of the most dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution was the harnessing of power. Until the reign of George III (1760-1820), available sources of power for work and travel had not increased since the Middle Ages. There were three sources of power: animal or human muscles; the wind, operating on sail or windmill; and running water. Only the last of these was suited at all to the continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to, and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks, whether or not the location was desirable for other reasons. Furthermore, even the most reliable waterpower varied with the seasons and disappeared in a drought. The new age of machinery, in short, could not have been born without a new source of both movable and constant power. The source had long been known but not exploited. Early in the century, a pump had come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure brought it down again when the steam condensed inside the cylinder to form a vacuum. This “atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner, Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles, but it was so slow and wasteful of fuel that it could not be employed outside the coal mines for which it had been designed. In the 1760s, James Watt perfected a separate condenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be cooled at every stroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thus convert reciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion. He thereby transformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine of a thousand uses. The final step came when steam was introduced into the cylinder to drive the piston backward as well as forward, thereby increasing the speed of the engine and cutting its fuel consumption. Watt’s steam engine soon showed what it could do.  It liberated industry from dependence on running water.  The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining.  The ready availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half. Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the new century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gaslit houses and even streets. Iron manufacturers, which had starved for fuel while depending on charcoal, also benefited from ever-increasing supplies of coal; blast furnaces with steam-powered bellows turned out more iron and steel for the new machinery. Steam became the motive force of the Industrial Revolution, as coal and iron ore were the raw materials. By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s. Steam power did not merely spin cotton and roll iron; early in the new century, it also multiplied ten times over the amount of paper that a single worker could produce in a day. At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an hour rather than thirty. Steam also promised to eliminate a transportation problem not fully solved by either canal boats or turnpikes. Boats could carry heavy weights, but canals could not cross hilly terrain; turnpikes could cross the hills, but the roadbeds could not stand up under great weights. These problems needed still another solution, and the ingredients for it lay close at hand. In some industrial regions, heavily laden wagons, with flanged wheels, were being hauled by horses along metal rails; and the stationary steam engine was puffing in the factory and mine. Another generation passed before inventors succeeded in combining these ingredients, by putting the engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide a machine to take the place of the horse. Thus the railroad age sprang from what had already happened in the eighteenth century.