2016年托福阅读专项辅导练习题及答案(七)

　　2016年托福阅读专项辅导练习题及答案(七)

　　Under the Earth's topsoil, at various levels, sometimes under a layer of rock, there are

　　deposits of clay. Look at cuts where highways have been built to see exposed clay beds;

　　or look at a construction site, where pockets of clay may be exposed. Rivers also reveal

　　Line clay along their banks, and erosion on a hillside may make clay easily accessible.

　　(5) What is clay made of? The Earth's surface is basically rock, and it is this rock that

　　gradually decomposes into clay. Rain, streams, alternating freezing and thawing, roots of

　　trees and plants forcing their way into cracks, earthquakes, volcanic action, and glaciers

　　—all of these forces slowly break down the Earth's exposed rocky crust into smaller and

　　smaller pieces that eventually become clay.

　　(10) Rocks are composed of elements and compounds of elements. Feldspar, which is the

　　most abundant mineral on the Earth's surface, is basically made up of the oxides

　　silica and alumina combined with alkalis like potassium and some so-called impurities

　　such as iron. Feldspar is an essential component of granite rocks, and as such it is the

　　basis of clay. When it is wet, clay can be easily shaped to make a variety of useful

　　(15) objects, which can then be fired to varying degrees of hardness and covered with

　　impermeable decorative coatings of glasslike material called glaze. Just as volcanic

　　action, with its intense heat, fuses the elements in certain rocks into a glasslike rock

　　called obsidian, so can we apply heat to earthen materials and change them into a hard,

　　dense material. Different clays need different heat levels to fuse, and some, the low-fire

　　(20) clays, never become nonporous and watertight like highly fired stoneware. Each clay can

　　stand only a certain amount of heat without losing its shape through sagging or melting.

　　Variations of clay composition and the temperatures at which they are fired account for

　　the differences in texture and appearance between a china teacup and an earthenware

　　flowerpot.

　　2. It can be inferred from the passage that clay is LEAST likely to be plentiful in which of the following areas?

　　(A) in desert sand dunes

　　(B) in forests

　　(C) on hillsides

　　(D) near rivers

　　答案：A