2011年TOEFL词汇模拟题精选系列八

031. The quality of preservation is outstanding, but what is even more impressive is the number of ichthyosaur fossils containing preserved embryos.
The word "outstanding" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) extensive
(B) surprising
(C) vertical
(D) excellent

032. Ichthyosaurs with embryos have been reported from 6 different levels of the shale in a small area around Holzamden, suggesting that a specific site was used by large numbers of ichthyosaurs repeatedly over time.
The word "site" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) example
(B) location
(C) development
(D) characteristic

033. The quality of preservation is almost unmatched, and quarry operations have been carried out carefully with an awareness of the value of the fossils. But these factors do not account for the interesting question of how there came to be such a concentration of pregnant ichthyosaurs in a particular place very close to their time of giving birth.
The phrase "account for " is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) record
(B) describe
(C) equal
(D) explain

034. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century.
The words "a supremacy" in line 9 are closest in meaning to
(A) a suggestion
(B) an improvement
(C) a dominance
(D) a development

035. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame, and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a ship, percussive brilliance.
The word "myriad" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) noticeable
(B) many
(C) loud
(D) unusual

031 D

032 B

033 D

034 C

035 B