托福阅读原文含翻译The Commercialization of Lumber

托福阅读原文含翻译The Commercialization of Lumber，今天中国教育在线就来为大家分析这个问题。

托福阅读原文含翻译The Commercialization of Lumber

The Commercialization of Lumber

木材的商业化

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世纪的美国，几乎所有建筑材料都含有木材。松树在建筑方面特别有吸引力。它坚固耐用，但又足够柔软，即使用最简单的手动工具也可以轻松地进行操作。它也可以很好地漂浮在水面上，因此可以将其运输到全国各地遥远的市场。五大湖州的中部和北部—密歇根州，威斯康星州和明尼苏达州—都拥有广阔的松树林以及许多大河，可将原木漂浮到五大湖中，并从那里运往全国。

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，美国西部的殖民地以及东部地区的木材短缺，对五大湖州松树林的影响日益扩大。在接下来的30年中，伐木业成为密歇根州，威斯康星州和明尼苏达州的一项成熟行业。新成立的伐木公司购买了大片的松林，并着手系统地砍伐树木。殖民者和后来的工业家都将木材视为商品，但后者则采用了一种更为彻底和精明的方法来砍伐树木。从这个意义上讲，1860年至1890年之间发生的事情代表了一种对过去的重大突破。木瓦、薪柴和其他木制品不再是寻求额外收入的农民的主要来源。到19世纪70年代，农民和城市居民都从五大湖州的大型制造公司购买林产品，而不是自己砍柴或在当地购买木材。

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.

伐木业的商业化是技术变革产物的一部分。早期较厚的锯片往往会浪费大量的木材，大约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世纪70年代，英国发明了带锯，其刀片较薄，成为五大湖区各木材厂的标准配置。同时，蒸汽工厂的兴起允许人们更高效，集中和连续地切割木材，从而实现了流水线生产。蒸汽帮助人们实现了从切割到废物处理等各种任务的自动化。工厂还使用蒸汽加热原木池，防止它们结冰，并使全年的木材生产成为可能。

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.

为了使工业化伐木成功，必须找到一种方法来抵消季节对生产的影响。从传统来说，伐木是在冬天进行的，当时的雪和冰使得雪橇上的原木更加容易运到溪流边。一旦溪流和湖泊融化，工人便将原木漂流至工厂，在夏天将原木砍成木材。如果自然不配合—如果冬天干燥温暖，如果春天解冻延迟—生产将受到影响。为了应对气候变化对木材生产的影响，伐木工人尝试了多种将树木运出树林的技术。在19世纪70年代，五大湖州的伐木工人开始在雪橇道路上洒水，为它们铺上人造冰，以方便运输。冰减少了摩擦，使工人可以移动更大，更重的货物。

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，世界上所有的洒水行为都不能使伐木工人免受暖冬的威胁。没有积雪，雪橇道路变成了泥路。在19世纪70年代，一系列没有雪的冬天使木材公司开始思考从季节中解放自己的方法。铁路是一种可行之道。起初，松树林的偏僻阻碍了普通承运公司铺设道路。但是在19世纪70年代后期，木材价格上涨，加上周期性的温暖干燥的冬季，迫使伐木工人转向铁轨运输。到1887年，密歇根州有89条伐木铁路纵横交错，将伐木从冬季活动转变为全年活动。

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.

一旦原木到达河流，其顺流到达工厂之旅将会漫长而曲折。原木阻塞（阻止原木向下游移动的原木积聚）很普遍（有时会延伸10英里），并且随着19世纪60年代中西部北部松树地带的伐木压力增加而变得更加频繁。为了保持原木的有效运输，人们建造了称为吊杆（基本上是浮动的原木链）的障碍物，以控制木材的方向。到19世纪70年代，木材公司已经存在于中西部北部的所有主要伐木区。

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

正确答案：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

正确答案：D

Question 3 of 14

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

A.product

B.problem

C.opportunity

D.advantage

正确答案：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

正确答案：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

正确答案：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

正确答案：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

正确答案：C

Question 8 of 14

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

A.expand

B.ease

C.transform

D.permit

正确答案：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

正确答案：C

Question 10 of 14

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

A.decline

B.density

C.size

D.isolation

正确答案：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

正确答案：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

正确答案：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.

正确答案：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.

正确答案：ACF

今天“托福阅读原文含翻译The Commercialization of Lumber”的全部内容就是这些啦，更多托福阅读原文解析请关注托福阅读专题栏。