阅读理解真题解析：Cereals and Legumes: A Partnership谷物和豆类：伙伴关系

托福阅读理解真题解析：

Cereals and Legumes: A Partnership

Cereals are flowering grasses that sprout, flower, seed, and die in the space of a year, which is why gardeners refer to them as annuals. Grown for their seeds or kernels, cereals are excellent sources of energy: although they lack some amino acids, as well as calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, they provide starch and oil, and in some cases, considerable amounts of protein. [▇] Once ripe, the kernels are relatively easy to store, and they retain their nutrients for a long time. [▇] Even the stalks of cereals are useful as animal food, as bedding in stables and barns, and as a building material. A major drawback with cereals is that they depend on the soil for nitrogen. [▇] Without fertilization they eventually exhaust the fields they are growing in, but despite this, two cereals (wheat and barley) were the very first plants to be domesticated (grown for human use); and a third (rye) may have been cultivated, or even domesticated, at about the same time. Today, cereal crops including wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, and oats provide most of the calories in the human diet.

Like cereals, legumes are annuals. Some legumes are grown for animal fodder. Many other legumes, however, are cultivated for their seeds, which ripen in pods. The seeds are rich in B vitamins and iron, contain on average two times the protein but less starch than cereals, and can be eaten, sometimes pods and all, while they're still green. (Snow peas and green beans are familiar examples.) Legumes are characterized by a long period of sequential ripening, during which a single plant may have ripe pods, green pods, and flowers, all at the same time, which means that a stand of legumes can be harvested again and again over several weeks. Like cereals, legumes can be dried and stored for later use (the pods open easily when dry), and again like cereals, legumes provide food for both people and animals. However, legume plants add nitrogen to the soil, so when they are grown in the same fields as cereals, they can replace much of the nitrogen the cereals have depleted.

Growing cereals and legumes together is good for the fields, and eating them together is good for the farmers. In order to build and maintain body tissue, people need protein or more specifically, the amino acids in protein. Some amino acids are synthesized in the adult human body, but eight essential ones cannot be and have to come from food. Although all eight are present in animal protein, plant proteins are usually missing one or two. When cereals and legumes are eaten together, they provide all eight of the essential amino acids, a fact that the ancestors of early agriculturalists undoubtedly understood at least on a practical level and their descendants took advantage of that knowledge. In Asia, rice, wheat, and barley were grown along with soybeans; in India rice was paired with hyacinth bean, black gram, and green gram; in the African savanna, pear millet and sorghum were domesticated along with cow pea and Bambara groundnut; and in the New World, maize and Phaseolus beans in Central America and maize and groundnuts in South America were the bases for agriculture. Cereals and legumes are technically dry fruits (they have a hard dry layer around their seeds).

Early agriculturalists also experimented with growing succulent fruits like apples, olives, grapes, and melons, but most of these were brought into domestication much later than cereals and legumes, and in most cultures they've always been supplementary foods rather than staples. Many of them are propagated vegetatively asexually by using a plant part such as a bulb or cutting rather than sexually through seeds, so they are more complicated to grow than cereals and legumes, and this may account for their typically late addition to agricultural assemblages. It should be noted, however, that recent research in Israel suggests that figs may have been domesticated at a site near Jericho in the Jordan Valley at about the same time as the first experiments with cereals and legumes, and some archaeologists believe that in New Guinea, tubers may have been domesticated long before other crops were imported.

1.According to paragraph 1, all of the following are advantages of cereals EXCEPT:

A.They provide large amounts of energy when consumed.

B.They store easily and retain nutrients for a long time.

C.They provide considerable amounts of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

D.20They have multiple uses, including as bedding or building material.

2.According to paragraph 1, a major disadvantage of cereals is that they

A.cannot be used as animal food

B.must be planted in a different field every year

C.take a long time to ripen before they can be used or stored

D.use up all of the nitrogen in a field unless fertilizer is used

3.According to paragraph 2, one way in which legumes differ from cereals is that legumes

A.are a better source of starch

B.contain far more protein

C.take much longer to ripen

D.must be dried before being stored

4.According to paragraph 2, all of the following statements about legumes are true EXCEPT:

A.Legumes have pods that help seeds ripen quickly.

B.Legumes contain a lot of iron and B vitamins.

C.Legumes return nitrogen to the soil.

D.Legume plants can be harvested many times during a growing season.

5.Paragraph 3 supports which of the following ideas about amino acids

A.Amino acids are not produced by the human body and must be obtained from food.

B.Certain amino acids that people need for building and maintaining body tissue cannot be acquired from plant proteins.

C.When legumes or cereals are consumed alone, they do not provide all of the essential amino acids.

D.Legumes are missing many more of the eight essential amino acids than cereals are.

6.In paragraph 3, why does the author discuss crops grown in Asia, India, the African savanna, and the New World

A.To show how widely the understanding of the benefits of combining legumes and cereals was applied

B.To suggest that it was most effective for the same crops to be grown year after year in many parts of the world

C.To emphasize that proteins that come from plants were recognized as valuable in many parts of the world

D.To demonstrate that a wide variety of very different cereals and legumes could be grown together

7.Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A.Many of the cereals and legumes can be propagated asexually through offshoots, cuttings, tubers, bulbs and corns or sexually through seeds, which are less complicated to grow.

B.Fruits were typically domesticated later than cereals and legumes, possibly because they tend not to be propagated through seeds and are thus more complicated to grow.

C.Plants that are propagated sexually through seeds are generally much less complicated to grow than asexually propagated plants are.

D.In addition to being propagated asexually, rather than sexually through seeds, many fruits can be added and grown later in the season than cereals and legumes.

8.Paragraph 4 supports which of the following ideas about the figs that may have been domesticated in the Jordan Valley near Jericho

A.Their early domestication casts doubt on the idea that succulent fruits were grown much later than cereals and legumes.

B.They were a more important crop to inhabitants of the Jordan Valley than cereals and legumes were.

C.They are closely related to the plants domesticated in New Guinea before other crops were imported.

D.They are much easier to grow than any other succulent fruit.

9.Look at the four squares [▇] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

Although they must be replanted each year, they can be grown for a variety of uses. Where would the sentence best fit Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.

10.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 answer choices 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 questions is worth 2 points.

A.Cereals, annual flowering grasses with usable stalks and nutritious seeds that dry and store well, were the first domesticated plants, but they must be grown with legumes to preserve soil nitrogen.

B.Legumes contain a large amount of protein and, when they are eaten with cereals, provide all the amino acids essential to humans.

C.Both the seeds and stalks of wheat and barley were eaten by early agriculturalists, who needed to take in enough nutrients and calories to work the fields.

D.Planting cereals and legumes together sped up their growing period, which meant that they could both be harvested many times over a period of several weeks to several months.

E.Because soil conditions in New Guinea and the Jordan Valley made it difficult to grow cereals such as wheat and barley, these regions began to cultivate figs and tubers instead.

F.Cereals and legumes were typically domesticated well before succulent fruits, which are harder to cultivate, and became staples in early agricultural societies.

谷物和豆类：伙伴关系

谷物是开花的草，在一年的时间内发芽，开花，播种并死亡，这就是为什么园丁将其称为一年生。谷物因其种子或果仁而生长，是极好的能量来源：尽管它们缺乏某些氨基酸以及钙，维生素A和维生素C，但它们提供淀粉和油脂，在某些情况下还提供大量的蛋白质。一旦成熟，籽粒就相对容易存储，并且可以长时间保留营养。甚至谷物的茎也可用作动物食品，马s和谷仓的垫料以及建筑材料。谷物的主要缺点是它们依赖土壤中的氮。如果没有施肥，他们最终会耗尽他们所生长的田地，尽管如此，最早要驯化的两种谷物（小麦和大麦）（供人类使用）；大约在同一时间种植或驯化了三分之一（黑麦）。如今，包括小麦，水稻，玉米，高粱，小米和燕麦在内的谷物作物提供了人类饮食中的大部分卡路里。像谷物一样，豆类是一年生的。一些豆科植物被用作动物饲料。然而，还种植了许多其他豆科植物的种子，这些种子在豆荚中成熟。种子富含B族维生素和铁，平均蛋白质含量是谷物的两倍，但淀粉含量却比谷物少，可以食用，有时甚至是豆荚，也可以食用，而它们仍然是绿色的。（豌豆和青豆是常见的例子。）豆类的特征在于长时间的顺序成熟，在此期间，一棵植物可能同时具有成熟的豆荚，生豆荚和花朵，这意味着它们的架子几周内可以一次又一次收获豆类。像谷物一样，豆类可以干燥并储存以备后用（豆荚在干燥时很容易打开），再次像谷物一样，豆类既为人又为动物提供食物。然而，一起种植谷物和豆类作物对田间有好处，而一起食用对农民来说也有好处。为了建立和维持人体组织，人们需要蛋白质，或更具体地说，蛋白质中的氨基酸。在成年人体内，某些氨基酸是合成的，但八种必需氨基酸不能而且必须来自食物。尽管所有八种均存在于动物蛋白中，但植物蛋白通常会缺失一两种。当谷物和豆类一起食用时，它们提供了全部8种必需氨基酸，这一事实使早期农业学家的祖先无疑至少在实践上有所了解，而他们的后代则利用了这一知识。在亚洲，稻米，小麦和大麦与大豆一起种植。在印度，大米搭配了风信子豆，黑克和绿克。在非洲大草原上，将梨粟和高粱与cow豆和班巴拉花生一同驯化。在新世界中，中美洲的玉米和菜豆以及南美洲的玉米和花生是农业的基础。谷物和豆类从技术上讲是干燥的水果（它们的种子周围有一层硬的干燥层）。早期的农业学家还尝试了种植多汁的水果，例如苹果，橄榄，葡萄和甜瓜，但是其中大多数都比谷物和豆类植物晚得多地被驯化了，在大多数文化中，它们一直是辅助食品，而不是主食。它们中的许多是通过使用鳞茎等植物部分进行无性繁殖，而不是通过种子进行有性繁殖，因此，与谷物和豆类相比，它们的生长更为复杂，这可能是由于它们通常在农业组合中的添加较晚。但是，应该指出的是，以色列最近的研究表明，无花果可能是在约旦谷杰里科附近的一个地点与第一次谷物和豆类实验的大约同一时间被驯化的，一些考古学家认为，在新几内亚。

刘凯老师独家解析：

1.答题解析：答案：C。注意题干要选错误的。Grown for their seeds or kernels, cereals are excellent sources of energy（对应A）; Once ripe, the kernels are relatively easy to store, and they retain their nutrients for a long time（对应B）; Even the stalks of cereals are useful as animal food, as bedding in stables and barns, and as a building material（对应D）; Grown for their seeds or kernels, cereals are excellent sources of energy: although they lack some amino acids, as well as calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, 这里说cereals缺乏这些营养，而C说有，矛盾，选C。

2.答题解析：答案:D；A major drawback with cereals is that they depend on the soil for nitrogen. Without fertilization they eventually exhaust the fields they are growing in，D为此说法的转述。HOWEVER之前侧重讲legumes和cereals共同点（但也有讲不同点），HOWEVER之后强调了一个不同点：一个消耗氮气一个补充氮气。

3.答题解析：答案:B；（注意描述的对象是legumes）The seeds are rich in B vitamins and iron, contain on average two times the protein but less starch than cereals, and can be eaten, sometimes pods and all, while they’re still green.B对。A说法反了，starch含量更低，不是better。选项C易错，虽然阅读材料中提到Legumes are characterized by a long period of sequential ripening，但是它只能说明legumes的特点是long period of sequential ripening, 并没有提及是与cereals 的不同点，因此不选C. 托福阅读不要随意infer.

4.答题解析：答案:A；The seeds are rich in B vitamins and iron（对应B）, However, legume plants add nitrogen to the soil, so when they are grown in the same fields as cereals, they can replace much of the nitrogen the cereals have depleted.（对应C）, Legumes are characterized by a long period of sequential ripening, during which a single plant may have ripe pods, green pods, and flowers, all at the same time, which means that a stand of legumes can be harvested again and again over several weeks（对应D）

5.答题解析：答案:C；本题为supports引导的推断题。Some amino acids are synthesized in the adult human body, but eight essential ones cannot be and have to come from food.有的可以合成，有的必须靠饮食，说明A错，还是可以合成一些的。关于B，原文说Although all eight are present in animal protein, plant proteins are usually missing one or two. When cereals and legumes are eaten together, they provide all eight of the essential amino acids，原文说的两种植物一起饮食摄入，营养就全了，B说法肯定不对。D毫无体现。C对，因为原文的意思就是两者一起相互补充就全了，单一种是不行的，C对。

6.答题解析：答案:A；举这些例子作为论据，是为了论证前面的论点：When cereals and legumes are eaten together, they provide all eight of the essential amino acids, a fact that the ancestors of early agriculturalists undoubtedly understood at least on a practical level and their descendants took advantage of that knowledge.当谷物和豆类一起食用时，它们提供了所有的八种必需氨基酸。毫无疑问，早期农业学家的祖先至少在实践层面上了解这一事实，他们的后代利用了这一知识。即A，其余均不对。

7.答题解析：解析B。这句话讲了这些植物比cereals and legumes引入的更晚的原因：要通过拼接，无性生殖。只有B准确表达了原句中因和果的两点。tend not to be propagated through seeds，即为无性生殖（无需种子）。

8.答题解析：解析A。前面说开始种植cereals and legumes早于其他植物。最后一句转折说figs几乎和cereals and legumes同时开始种植，即否定了“开始种植cereals and legumes早于其他植物”。A为此的一个转述和概括。其余选项无依据。

9.答题解析：解析A。根据这句话，前面应讲了must be replanted each year相关的意思，而后面应是具体展开they can be grown for a variety of uses：即具体说哪些用途。A之前有个annuals。A之后几句话分别说了用途，如A之后一句讲了提供能量，再之后一句讲了多种用途。

10.答题解析：选ABF。C的说法全文无提及。D说Planting cereals and legumes可以加快生长，几个星期到几个月里多次被收获。全文没有提到。E原文也没有讲。

A为一二三段的概括，B为第三段的概括，F为第四段主要内容，有同学可能会觉得段末有转折因而不对，但请注意虽然最后一句讲的是反对意见，但加了typically对此说法也加了一定的限制。

刘凯老师介绍

刘凯，男，蒙古族，黑龙江省齐齐哈尔人。本科为哈尔滨师范大学英语系，硕士为北京理工大学。2010年赴美国宾夕法尼亚大学交流学习；2013年美国亚利桑那大学访问学者；2015年澳大利亚新南威尔士大学ESL研修；2018年加州理工学院语言学双学位获得者；2019年赴澳大利亚麦考瑞大学交流习；GRE托福考试全球高分获得者；荣获长江商学院EMBA。

北京市优秀青年教师，北京市级重点高中示范校骨干教师，多年高中一线执教经验，高三年级把关教师，多次参与东城区模拟试题命题工作，教学理念先进，教学成果突出，多篇教学论文获市区级奖项。多篇文章发表在《中国教育报》《中国考试》《北京教育》等报刊上。多次参加高考阅卷工作，参与人民教育出版社、北京教育出版社、外研社等各类高考教学用书的编写工作，有丰富的备考经验，国际核心期刊发表多篇论文。

教育部课题研究员，参与国家十二五课题计划，并作出突出贡献，参与初中、高中各年级区级试题的命制，多次承担区级和市级研究课任务。北京市科技英语优秀指导教师，所带学生在各级英语口语、作文竞赛中多次获奖；将扎实的英语基本功和严谨的学术思想作为教学的基础，课堂上善于寓教于乐，信息量大，内容丰富，使学生在和谐的课堂气氛下欣赏英语、享受英语、掌握英语、运用英语。

2009-2012年期间，多次受邀在北京广播电台主持英语高考大纲解析及英语新课程改革节目，学术功底深厚，兼具偶像派与实力派特点，教风亲切洒脱，诙谐幽默，思维开阔，屡有奇思妙想，善于引导学生学以致用，对高考动向把握极其准确，深受学生和家长欢迎。尤其擅长英语语法和单词记忆法。

海外生活学习十年，社科人文类学科偏爱者；10年雅思教龄，知名教师培训师；指导上万考生快速冲刺雅思写作、阅读，平均分数7.5分；独创“段落清空”、极简化“针对检索式”阅读法等众多高效技法；每年雅思考试均在10次以上；均分8+；真题回忆准确度97%以上；贴近西式思路和语言指导学生写作；善于帮助学生突破学术写作思维瓶颈。讲授科目有长难句、翻译、四六级考试、阅读和写作；在2014、2015、2017、2019四年考研中，接受其培训的所有考生中有近万名考生取得高分。带给学生的不只是考分的提高，更多的是对英语领悟和感知的突破。纯正的英音、独到的见解、睿智的思维和轻松幽默的语言，为其赢得了广大学生的认同和喜爱。

资深考研培训讲师；

英语四六级考试天团高级讲师；

雅思阅读、雅思写作培训主讲名师；

六级考试阅卷组成员；

深谙命题规律和解题套路，对英语的学习规律和方法见解独特。

呼吁国人学习英语的态度：

重复是记忆之母。

用听，用看，用心去触摸每个单词，你便会有好的记忆。

中国人要学好英语就要有一点点变态。

上课特点：课堂从不需点名，却无人缺席

教学理念：英语教师很幸运也有责任与学生一同叩响世界之门