2014年托福考试精选练习及答案(第十套)

　　Topic 1

　　Reading

　　Easter Island, a small, remote island in the Pacific Ocean, was once home to a flourishing culture. But about 500 years ago (A. D. 1500), its society went into a steep decline. History teaches us that events like this are often caused by outside influences. So it is not unreasonable to consider whether there are facts about the decline of Easter Island’s society that would be explained by a hypothesis of an invasion.

　　One such fact has to do with trees. Most Pacific island societies have managed to find an ecologically balanced way of living by using—but not overexploiting—natural resources such as trees. Most Pacific islands, therefore, remain lush—but not Easter Island. Although it was once densely forested, most of its trees had disappeared by about 500 years ago. Environmental destruction of this sort has often been caused by invaders who deplete an area’s natural resources without any concern for the future.

　　Facts about the large stone statues on Easter Island could also support the idea of an invasion. There are about 900 of these statues on the island; the largest is over 20 meters tall. The native society clearly placed a great deal of importance on their production. Yet about the same time that the island became deforested, islanders stopped making these huge statues. An invasion would help explain why this traditional practice came to a sudden end.

　　Furthermore, we know that around the time these other changes were taking place, a new religion developed on Easter Island: the “Birdman” worship. There is no convincing evidence that the Birdman religion existed before 1500, which suggests that this new religious practice may have been introduced by outsiders.