托福閱讀原文含翻譯The Commercialization of Lumber

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托福閱讀原文含翻譯The Commercialization of Lumber

The Commercialization of Lumber

木材的商業(yè)化

In nineteenth-century America,practically everything that was built involved wood.Pine was especially attractive for building purposes.It is durable and strong,yet soft enough to be easily worked with even the simplest of hand tools.It also floats nicely on water,which allowed it to be transported to distant markets across the nation.The central and northern reaches of the Great Lakes states—Michigan,Wisconsin,and Minnesota—all contained extensive pine forests as well as many large rivers for floating logs into the Great Lakes,from where they were transported nationwide.

在19世紀(jì)的美國(guó)，幾乎所有建筑材料都含有木材。松樹在建筑方面特別有吸引力。它堅(jiān)固耐用，但又足夠柔軟，即使用最簡(jiǎn)單的手動(dòng)工具也可以輕松地進(jìn)行操作。它也可以很好地漂浮在水面上，因此可以將其運(yùn)輸?shù)饺珖?guó)各地遙遠(yuǎn)的市場(chǎng)。五大湖州的中部和北部—密歇根州，威斯康星州和明尼蘇達(dá)州—都擁有廣闊的松樹林以及許多大河，可將原木漂浮到五大湖中，并從那里運(yùn)往全國(guó)。

By 1860,the settlement of the American West along with timber shortages in the East converged with ever-widening impact on the pine forests of the Great Lakes states.Over the next 30 years,lumbering became a full-fledged enterprise in Michigan,Wisconsin,and Minnesota.Newly formed lumbering corporations bought up huge tracts of pineland and set about systematically cutting the trees.Both the colonists and the later industrialists saw timber as a commodity,but the latter group adopted a far more thorough and calculating approach to removing trees.In this sense,what happened between 1860 and 1890 represented a significant break with the past.No longer were farmers in search of extra income the main source for shingles,firewood,and other wood products.By the 1870s,farmers and city dwellers alike purchased forest products from large manufacturing companies located in the Great Lakes states rather than chopping wood themselves or buying it locally.

到1860年，美國(guó)西部的殖民地以及東部地區(qū)的木材短缺，對(duì)五大湖州松樹林的影響日益擴(kuò)大。在接下來的30年中，伐木業(yè)成為密歇根州，威斯康星州和明尼蘇達(dá)州的一項(xiàng)成熟行業(yè)。新成立的伐木公司購(gòu)買了大片的松林，并著手系統(tǒng)地砍伐樹木。殖民者和后來的工業(yè)家都將木材視為商品，但后者則采用了一種更為徹底和精明的方法來砍伐樹木。從這個(gè)意義上講，1860年至1890年之間發(fā)生的事情代表了一種對(duì)過去的重大突破。木瓦、薪柴和其他木制品不再是尋求額外收入的農(nóng)民的主要來源。到19世紀(jì)70年代，農(nóng)民和城市居民都從五大湖州的大型制造公司購(gòu)買林產(chǎn)品，而不是自己砍柴或在當(dāng)?shù)刭?gòu)買木材。

The commercialization of lumbering was in part the product of technological change.The early,thick saw blades tended to waste a large quantity of wood,with perhaps as much as a third of the log left behind on the floor as sawdust or scrap.In the 1870s,however,the British-invented band saw,with its thinner blade,became standard issue in the Great Lakes states’lumber factories.Meanwhile,the rise of steam-powered mills streamlined production by allowing for the more efficient,centralized,and continuous cutting of lumber.Steam helped to automate a variety of tasks,from cutting to the carrying away of waste.Mills also employed steam to heat log ponds,preventing them from freezing and making possible year-round lumber production.

伐木業(yè)的商業(yè)化是技術(shù)變革產(chǎn)物的一部分。早期較厚的鋸片往往會(huì)浪費(fèi)大量的木材，大約有三分之一的原木以木屑或碎屑的形式留在地板上。然而，在19世紀(jì)70年代，英國(guó)發(fā)明了帶鋸，其刀片較薄，成為五大湖區(qū)各木材廠的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)配置。同時(shí)，蒸汽工廠的興起允許人們更高效，集中和連續(xù)地切割木材，從而實(shí)現(xiàn)了流水線生產(chǎn)。蒸汽幫助人們實(shí)現(xiàn)了從切割到廢物處理等各種任務(wù)的自動(dòng)化。工廠還使用蒸汽加熱原木池，防止它們結(jié)冰，并使全年的木材生產(chǎn)成為可能。

For industrial lumbering to succeed,a way had to be found to neutralize the effects of the seasons on production.Traditionally,cutting took place in the winter,when snow and ice made it easier to drag logs on sleds or sleighs to the banks of streams.Once the streams and lakes thawed,workers rafted the logs to mills,where they were cut into lumber in the summer.If nature did not cooperate—if the winter proved dry and warm,if the spring thaw was delayed—production would suffer.To counter the effects of climate on lumber production,loggers experimented with a variety of techniques for transporting trees out of the woods.In the 1870s,loggers in the Great Lakes states began sprinkling water on sleigh roads,giving them an artificial ice coating to facilitate travel.The ice reduced the friction and allowed workers to move larger and heavier loads.

為了使工業(yè)化伐木成功，必須找到一種方法來抵消季節(jié)對(duì)生產(chǎn)的影響。從傳統(tǒng)來說，伐木是在冬天進(jìn)行的，當(dāng)時(shí)的雪和冰使得雪橇上的原木更加容易運(yùn)到溪流邊。一旦溪流和湖泊融化，工人便將原木漂流至工廠，在夏天將原木砍成木材。如果自然不配合—如果冬天干燥溫暖，如果春天解凍延遲—生產(chǎn)將受到影響。為了應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化對(duì)木材生產(chǎn)的影響，伐木工人嘗試了多種將樹木運(yùn)出樹林的技術(shù)。在19世紀(jì)70年代，五大湖州的伐木工人開始在雪橇道路上灑水，為它們鋪上人造冰，以方便運(yùn)輸。冰減少了摩擦，使工人可以移動(dòng)更大，更重的貨物。

But all the sprinkling in the world would not save a logger from the threat of a warm winter.Without snow the sleigh roads turned to mud.In the 1870s,a set of snowless winters left lumber companies to ponder ways of liberating themselves from the seasons.Railroads were one possibility.At first,the remoteness of the pine forests discouraged common carriers from laying track.But increasing lumber prices in the late 1870s combined with periodic warm,dry winters compelled loggers to turn to iron rails.By 1887,89 logging railroads crisscrossed Michigan,transforming logging from a winter activity into a year-round one.

但是，世界上所有的灑水行為都不能使伐木工人免受暖冬的威脅。沒有積雪，雪橇道路變成了泥路。在19世紀(jì)70年代，一系列沒有雪的冬天使木材公司開始思考從季節(jié)中解放自己的方法。鐵路是一種可行之道。起初，松樹林的偏僻阻礙了普通承運(yùn)公司鋪設(shè)道路。但是在19世紀(jì)70年代后期，木材價(jià)格上漲，加上周期性的溫暖干燥的冬季，迫使伐木工人轉(zhuǎn)向鐵軌運(yùn)輸。到1887年，密歇根州有89條伐木鐵路縱橫交錯(cuò)，將伐木從冬季活動(dòng)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槿昊顒?dòng)。

Once the logs arrived at a river,the trip downstream to a mill could be a long and tortuous one.Logjams(buildups of logs that prevent logs from moving downstream)were common—at times stretching for 10 miles—and became even more frequent as pressure on the northern Midwest pinelands increased in the 1860s.To help keep the logs moving efficiently,barriers called booms(essentially a chain of floating logs)were constructed to control the direction of the timber.By the 1870s,lumber companies existed in all the major logging areas of the northern Midwest.

一旦原木到達(dá)河流，其順流到達(dá)工廠之旅將會(huì)漫長(zhǎng)而曲折。原木阻塞（阻止原木向下游移動(dòng)的原木積聚）很普遍（有時(shí)會(huì)延伸10英里），并且隨著19世紀(jì)60年代中西部北部松樹地帶的伐木壓力增加而變得更加頻繁。為了保持原木的有效運(yùn)輸，人們建造了稱為吊桿（基本上是浮動(dòng)的原木鏈）的障礙物，以控制木材的方向。到19世紀(jì)70年代，木材公司已經(jīng)存在于中西部北部的所有主要伐木區(qū)。

Question 1 of 14

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

A.readily available

B.long lasting

C.dense

D.flexible

正確答案：B

Question 2 of 14

According to paragraph 1,all of the following characteristics of pine made it a desirable material for building in nineteenth-century America EXCEPT:

A.It was long lasting.

B.It was relatively easy to transport.

C.Its softness made it easy to work with.

D.It produced buildings that were especially attractive.

Paragraph 1 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：D

Question 3 of 14

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

A.product

B.problem

C.opportunity

D.advantage

正確答案：A

Question 4 of 14

What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about timber in America before the year 1860?

A.Farmers of the American West earned most of their income by selling timber to newly arrived settlers.

B.Timber came primarily from farmers who wished to supplement their income.

C.Timber was much more expensive before the year 1860 because it was less readily available.

D.Timber came primarily from large manufacturing companies in the East.

Paragraph 2 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：B

Question 5 of 14

Why does the author discuss the British-invented band saw?

A.To give an example of how steam power led to technological advancements

B.To help explain how the thickness of a saw blade determines how much wood is wasted

C.To explain how competition with other countries benefited the American lumber industry

D.To illustrate the impact of new technology on the lumber industry

Paragraph 3 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：D

Question 6 of 14

The phrase“allowing for”in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.encouraging

B.introducing

C.making possible

D.emphasizing

正確答案：C

Question 7 of 14

All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 as resulting from the use of steam in the lumber industry EXCEPT:

A.Work became centralized,and many tasks were automated.

B.Lumber could be produced more efficiently and on a larger scale.

C.Waste materials could be re-used as fuel to power the lumber mills.

D.Lumber production could continue throughout the cold winter months.

Paragraph 3 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：C

Question 8 of 14

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

A.expand

B.ease

C.transform

D.permit

正確答案：B

Question 9 of 14

According to paragraph 4,how could a warm,dry winter interfere with lumber production?

A.Certain trees would become dry and yield low-quality lumber.

B.There would not be enough water in streams and lakes to raft the logs to mills.

C.It would be more difficult to transport logs to streams and lakes.

D.Rivers would not be full enough in the spring to power mills.

Paragraph 4 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：C

Question 10 of 14

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

A.decline

B.density

C.size

D.isolation

正確答案：D

Question 11 of 14

In paragraph 5,why does the author include the information that 89 logging railroads crisscrossed Michigan by 1887?

A.To argue that Michigan had replaced other Great Lakes states as the center of the lumbering industry

B.To provide evidence of the growing importance of logging railroads to the lumbering industry

C.To support the claim that Michigan winters had become more severe in the late 1800s than they had been earlier

D.To challenge the idea that climate discouraged the laying of track

Paragraph 5 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：B

Question 12 of 14

According to paragraph 6,the construction of booms benefited the logging industry by

A.reducing the pressures placed on the northern Midwest pinelands in the 1860s

B.reducing the length of the downstream trip to a mill by as much as 10 miles

C.increasing the number of logs that could be floated down a river at a single time

D.allowing logs to move downstream more quickly and easily

Paragraph 6 is marked with an arrow

正確答案：D

Question 13 of 14

Look at the four squares[■]that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.Some sleighs were capable of carrying over 100 tons worth of timber.Where would the sentence best fit?Click on a square[■]to add the sentence to the passage.

正確答案：D

Question 14 of 14

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.

Increasing demands for timber in nineteenth-century America transformed lumbering in the Great Lakes region.

Answer Choices:

A.

During the nineteenth century,lumbering became a large-scale industry controlled by manufacturing companies rather than a local enterprise controlled by farmers.

B.

After 1860 farmers continued to be the main suppliers of new timber,but lumbering companies took over its transport and manufacture into wood products.

C.

Technological advances,including the use of steam power,led to increased productivity,efficiency,and commercialization of the lumbering industry.

D.

The invention of new technology,such as band saws,allowed American lumbering companies to make a profit by exporting surplus lumber to Britain and other countries.

E.

Seasonal changes and severe winters made the development and laying of track for logging railroads slow and difficult.

F.

New methods for transporting logs to mills helped transform lumbering from a seasonal activity to a year-round activity.

正確答案：ACF

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