单选题
What is the main topic of the talk?
a. Jefferson's views about commercialized agriculture.
b. International trade in the nineteenth century.
c. Improvements in farm machinery in the United States.
d. Farmers' loss of independence.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[听力原文]21-25
One of the most popular myths about the United States in the 19th century was that of the free and simple life of the farmers. It was said that the farmers worked hard on their own land to produce whatever their families needed. They might sometimes trade with their neighbors, but in general they could get along just fine by relying on themselves, not on commercial ties with others. This was how Thomas Jefferson idealized the farmers at the beginning of the 19th century. And at that time, this might have been close to the truth especially on the frontier. But by the mid century sweeping changes in agriculture were well underway as farmers began to specialize in raising crops such as cotton or corn or wheat. By late in the century, revolutionary advances in farm machinery have vastly increased production of specialized crops and an extensive network of railroads had linked farmers throughout the country to markets in the east. By raising and selling specialized crops, farmers could afford more and finer goods and achieve a much higher standard of living but at a price. Now farmers are no longer dependent just on the weather and their own effort, their lives are increasingly controlled by banks, which have the power to grant or deny loans for new machinery, and by the railroads, which set the rates for shipping their crops to the market. As businessmen, farmers now have to worry about national economic depressions and the influence of world supply and demand on, for example, the price of wheat in Kansas. By the end of the 19th century, the era of Jefferson's independent farmer had come to a close.
[分析] 主旨题。
本题要求听者掌握全文的主要内容。本文主要围绕19世纪美国农民自己自足生活的改变进行，从历史发展的不同阶段分析了这种生活方式改变的原因和结果，因此，涉及自己自足生活的改变的选项d是正确答案。
[解题关键] 文章首尾部分一般是全文的中心句，这就需要听者在听一篇文章时，要格外对首尾部分留神，如本文第三句“...but in general they could get along just fine by relying on themselves...”和最后一句“By the end of 19th century, the era of Jefferson's independent farmer had come to a close.”都涉及到 independence。因此与该词有关的选项有可能就是题解。
单选题
What was the major change in agriculture during the 19th century?
a. Crop production became increasingly specialized.
b. Economic depressions lowered the prices of farm produce.
c. New banking laws made it easy to buy farmland.
d. The United States increased its agricultural imports.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[分析] 语义逻辑关系的找寻和判断。
根据原文，其主要议题是美国19世纪农业的变迁史，分析变迁原因是本文的重要组成部分，文中谈到情况变化时，在第六句说道“But by the mid century...farmers began to specialize in raising crops...”，而由此变化产生的结果则是农民“achieve a much higher standard of living but at a price”(第八句)即“农民的生活水平提高了，但也付出了代价”，这句话暗示农民生活变迁的结果就是后面提到的banks，national economic depressions等选项b和c的内容，至于选项d的内容原文并没有明确提出，因此只有选项a是正确答案。
[解题关键] 该文涉及美国19世纪农业的变迁史，变迁的原因是重点内容，因此关于变迁原因的重点词汇或词组应反复出现。原文中specialize这个核心词汇反复出现，听者应予以注意，涉及该词的选项有可能就是正确答案。
单选题
What was one result of the increased use of machinery on farms of the United States?
a. Prices for farm produce rose.
b. Farmers became more dependent on loans from banks.
c. Jefferson established government programs to assist farmers.
d. Farmers relied less on foreign markets.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[分析] 因果关系的判断。
根据文章第七句“...revolutionary advances in farm machinery have vastly increased production of specialized crops...”及第八句“By raising and selling specialized crops...achieve a much higher standard of living but at a price.”可知，其逻辑关系是农业机械化的进步使专门作物的产量提高，而种植和销售该作物又可提高农民的生活水平，但这种变化也使农民付出了代价。后面具体列举了各项事实，实际上就是前面变化产生的结果，其中包括选项 b的内容，因此该项是正确答案。
[解题关键] 根据暗示因果关系的单词或短语作出正确的因果判断。如本文中上下句间at a price(付出代价)的使用，暗示了前后句间存在因果关系。
单选题
Why was the world market important for the United States agriculture?
a. It provided evidence that Jefferson's ideal could be achieved.
b. It made farmers less dependent on local bankers.
c. It affected the prices that farmers could receive for their crops.
d. It decreased the power of the railroads to control farm prices.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[分析] 语义因果关系的判断。
文章最后说道“...farmers now have to worry about...the influence of world supply and demand on, for example, the price of wheat in Kansas.”即“农民们现在不得不操心世界供需市场对他们的影响，如Kansas小麦的价格”，根据前后上下文可判断，这句话存在因果关系，因此涉及price的选项c的说法是正确的。
[解题关键] 正确解读语句间的逻辑关系是解答本题的关键。
单选题
Which of the following is NOT a factor for the change in agriculture in the United States?
a. Advances in machinery.
b. Specialization in farming.
c. The extensive network of railroads.
d. The change in world supply and demand on oil.