首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
DEFORESTATION IN NORTH AMERICA 1 The land area of the United States and Canada is just over 4.8 billion acres. When large numb
DEFORESTATION IN NORTH AMERICA 1 The land area of the United States and Canada is just over 4.8 billion acres. When large numb
admin
2012-01-14
87
问题
DEFORESTATION IN NORTH AMERICA
1 The land area of the United States and Canada is just over 4.8 billion acres. When large numbers of Europeans began to arrive in the eighteenth century, almost one-third of that area was covered with old-growth forests. In the eastern half of the continent, nearly 90 percent of the land was thick with forests of elm, ash, beech, maple, oak, and hickory. By the end of the nineteenth century, after several decades of intensive deforestation, only half of the original forests remained.
2 During the first two centuries of European colonization, settlement was concentrated along the East Coast, having almost no effect on the vast forests covering the continent. Then, in the first half of the nineteenth century, agriculture expanded and settlers began to move westward in search of land for new farms. Land for agriculture came almost exclusively from clearing forests. The demand for farmland and timber continued to soar, and by 1850, more than 100 million acres of old-growth forest had been cut or burned off in the Northeast, the Southeast, the Great Lakes region, and along the St. Lawrence River.
3 Along with agriculture, industrialization was a major cause of deforestation. The Industrial Revolution was fueled by North America’s abundance of wood, as iron makers relied on charcoal, or charred wood, to fire their furnaces. Hardwoods such as oak produced the best charcoal, which charcoal burners made by slowly burning logs in kilns until
they
were reduced to concentrated carbon. It took eight tons of wood to make two tons of charcoal to smelt one ton of iron. Thus, the
toll
on the forests was high, as countless acres were cut to feed the furnaces of the iron industry.
4 The transportation technology of the Industrial Revolution contributed greatly to deforestation. The river steamboats that came into operation after 1830 had a
voracious
appetite for wood. To keep their wheels turning, steamboats typically took on fuel twice a day. The wood was supplied by thousands of"
wood hawks
" along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi with stacks of cut firewood. Annual consumption of wood on riverboats continued to increase until 1865. Consequently, river valleys that had the heaviest traffic were stripped of their forests.
5 After 1860, immigration and westward expansion surged, and railroads swept over the continent. Clean-burning hardwood was the preferred fuel of the "iron horses," which required the cutting of 215,000 acres of woodland to stay in operation for one year. Not only did wood fuel the steam engines, but enormous amounts of oak and locust also went into the manufacture of railcars, ties, fencing, bridges, and telegraph poles. Railroads in the United States and Canada stretched from coast to coast by 1885, and each additional mile of railroad meant at least two more miles of fencing and 2,500 ties.
6 Other major consumers of forest products included ordinary homeowners.
More than four out of five of the houses constructed in the early nineteenth century-from log cabins to clapboard cottages-were built mainly of wood and roofed with wooden shingles.
All were filled with wooden furniture. Two-thirds of all households in North America were heated by open, wood-burning fireplaces, and it took between 10 and 20 acres of forest to keep a single fireplace burning for one year.
7 Throughout the century, the timber industry continued to supply the single most valuable raw material for a rapidly expanding population. Between 1840 and 1860, the annual production of lumber rose from 1.6 million to 8 billion board feet. This increase was made possible by the widespread application of steam power. Wood-fueled steam engines powered the sawmills, moved and barked the logs, and finished the boards. Railroad lines were now built right into the forests so that felled logs could be shipped directly to market. These innovations had their greatest impact in the Great Lakes region. By 1890 the technology of the timber industry had triumphed over the natural abundance of the forests, and woodlands that had once seemed endless were now depleted.
Look at the four Squares A,B, C and D , which indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
No other industry or consumer of wood could match the timber industry itself for the exploitation of North America’s forests.
A Throughout the century, the timber industry continued to supply the single most valuable raw material for a rapidly expanding population. Between 1840 and 1860, the annual production of lumber rose from 1.6 million to 8 billion board feet.B This increase was made possible by the widespread application of steam power. Wood-fueled steam engines powered the sawmills, moved and barked the logs, and finished the boards. Railroad lines were now built right into the forests so that felled logs could be shipped directly to market.C These innovations had their greatest impact in the Great Lakes region.D By 1890 the technology of the timber industry had triumphed over the natural abundance of the forests, and woodlands that had once seemed endless were now depleted.
选项
A、Square A.
B、Square B.
C、Square C.
D、Square D.
答案
A
解析
The added sentence introduces the idea that the timber industry led all others in the exploitation of North American forests. The rest of the paragraph develops this idea with facts and details: ... the timber industry continued to supply the single most valuable raw material..; ...the annual production of lumber rose...; ... the widespread application of steam power.(1.8)
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/y3yO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
Completethesummarybelow.ChooseONEWORDONLYfromthepassageforeachanswer.Writeyouranswersinboxes21-26onyourans
Completethesummarybelow.ChooseONEWORDONLYfromthepassageforeachanswer.Writeyouranswersinboxes21-26onyourans
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1?Inboxes10-13onyouranswersheet,writeTR
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1?Inboxes10-13onyouranswersheet,writeTR
WhichTWOofthefollowingaresalesstrategiesforchocolatesinItalyandGermany?AChangethelocationoftheproductonshe
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.IfAmericanshadanextradayperweek,theywouldspendit
(With)thediscovery(ofgold)intheKlondikeinCanada’sYukonTerritoryin1896,people(flockedsoon)therefrom(allparts)
(Itwas)the(splitof)elevensouthern(states)fromtheUnionin1861that(leading)totheCivilWarintheUnitedStates.
随机试题
关于体温,下列叙述中正确的是
《2010版心肺复苏指南》中成人心肺复苏时胸外按压的深度为
男性,58岁,因右肺中央型肺癌行右肺切除术。术后留置胸管,目前处于钳闭状态。此病人术后禁忌的体位是
公司被吊销营业执照时,其法人资格并未消灭。()
乙工业企业为增值税一般纳税企业。本月购进原材料200千克,货款为6000元,增值税税额为960元;发生的保险费为350元,入库前的挑选整理费用为130元;验收入库时发现数量短缺10%,经查属于运输途中合理损耗。乙工业企业该批原材料实际单位成本为每千克(
董事、监事、经理执行公司职务时违反法律、行政法规或者公司章程的规定,给公司造成损害的,应如何处理?()。
劳动仲裁过程中仲裁员应当回避的情形包括下列哪几项?()
根据《国家赔偿法》,下列说法错误的是()。
《学记》的教育思想有哪些,并谈谈其中的思想对我们现代教育改革的启示?
ThomasEdisonworked______hoursadaysohecalledhimselfa"two-shiftman".Edisonconsideredhisdeafness______.
最新回复
(
0
)